Dmitry Tursunov has made a nice run in Eastbourne this week and has booked a spot in the final. The second-seed did so by getting passed eighth-seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez pretty easily 6-2 6-2 after just 70 minutes of play. The Russian has had a less than a stellar season so far and has not passed the round of 16, so this week’s run is a season booster.

He books a spot against Canadian-qualifier Frank Dancevic, who beat Fabrice Santoro 6-4 6-4. The 24 year old and current ATP World No. 126 is looking for his first career title, and tomorrow’s appearance will only be his second career final. It will be an uphill battle for the Canadian, as the Russian is a little more experienced with a couple more years on tour and five career titles. Tursunov also leads their head-to-head 2-0.

(Images: AEGON International)

Dmitry Tursunov was able to fend off Fabio Fognini in his Eastbourne debut. He defeated the Italian 6-3 4-6 6-4 in a not quite two-hour match. Tursunov is not having the greatest season this year. His best showings this year are in the round of 16 in Marseille and Halle.

In the next round, he will meet British qualifier Alex Bogdanovic. Tursunov leads their head-to-head 1-0. Their only meeting was at the Queen’s Club in 2006. It would be nice to see the Russian put a string of matches together for a run in Eastbourne.

(Image: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images)

City: Dusseldorf, Germany
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Championship Points: World Team Cup
2008 Champions: Sweden

Sweden received a wildcard to defend its title this year. Argentina, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Serbia and the USA will also participate in the tournament. Most of the top players are not around since this tournament is a week before the French Open. In the case of France, Argentina and Germany, they have part of the their Davis Cup teams participating in the tournament.

Russia has a good team of Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov with Evgeny Korolev rounding it out. France has another good team with Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jeremy Chardy, but the French have been inconsistent this year. Argentina is in a good position to take the tournament. It is basically their new Davis Cup team since David Nalbandian is out with hip surgery. Juan Martin del Potro and Juan Monaco should do a lot of damage this week.

Tournament Draw
Round Robin

(Image: ARAG ATP World Team Championship)

Rafael Nadal emerged victorious in his match against Dmitry Tursunov today. The Spaniard bested the Russian 6-3 6-3. Nadal's train rolls on into the round of 16 after 78 minutes of play. On the bright side for Tursunov, he did keep the Spaniard on the court for over 70 minutes, which is quite a feat when playing Nadal of late.

It was an impressive and convincing win for the Spaniard, who will play David Nalbandian in the next round. Nalbandian beat Victor Troicki 6-4 6-2 today. Currently, Nalbandian leads Nadal 2-0 in their head-to-head matchup. Both victories came on hardcourts in 2007 at Masters events in Paris and Madrid. Since Nadal has improved dramatically on hard surfaces, this matchup should be an exciting one.
(image: AP)

In his first match after his Davis Cup showing, Rafael Nadal’s beatdown tour continued today, but this time it was on a hard court. He gave the business to German Michael Berrer by winning 6-2 6-1 in just 67 minutes of play. The Spaniard dominated the German in all areas, and even won points he should not have won. Berrer tried to come to the net, but Nadal just played target practice.

Nadal was so relentless that he wanted to win every point and every game. When the German won his second game in the first set after facing a breakpoint, Nadal was furious that he did not seize another break opportunity. That kind of focus is scary and makes one frightened for his next opponent.

That lucky person will be Dmitry Tursunov in the third round. Nadal currently leads their head-to-head 1-0 where he won their last meeting in Rotterdam in 2008. Tursunov is a much better player than Berrer, so we shall see if he gives Nadal a little more trouble.
(image: AP)

Marat Safin, who replaced Teimuraz Gabashvili, paired up with Dmitry Tursunov. They took on Marius Copil and Horia Tecau.

It looked like the Russians were going to finish the sweep today. They were up two sets against the Romanians, when Copil and Tecau rallied to win the next three sets and the match to keep Romania in the tie.

Tomorrow, Safin plays Victor Hanescu, and Mikhail Youzhny plays Crivoi.
(image: Mihai Barbu)

Novak Djokovic beat David Ferrer 7-5 6-3 in the championship match. The match consisted of two of the best returners on tour, so there were a lot of breaks. Djokovic struck first in game six and then there were another three consecutive breaks. Ferrer was the first to hold serve to tie the set up at 5-5. Djokovic held at love and then broke Ferrer to take the first set 7-5.

In the second set, Djokovic took over and began to show why he is the world no. 3 for the first time this year. Djokovic held for the first game and then broke Ferrer to take a 2-0 lead. The Serb went into cruise control to take the second set and the match. This championship is Djokovic’s first title of the year and the twelfth of his career. In a couple of weeks, he will defend his title at Indian Wells.

The duo Rik de Voest and Dmitry Tursunov came back from losing the first set to defeat Martin Damm and Robert Lindstredt in three sets. Remarkably, this is the duo’s first pairing together, and both can add this title to their other doubles championships. Tursunov won in Rotterdam with Tomas Berdych in 2008 and the Moscow Open with Marat Safin in 2007. De Voest won the China Open in 2007 with Ashley Fisher.

Championship Results:
Singles Final
1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 4 David Ferrer (ESP) 7-5 6-3

Doubles Final
R. de Voest (RSA)/D. Tursunov (RUS) def. M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) 4-6 6-3 10-5

(images: Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship, AP)

Novak Djokovic (pictured in his favorite pose, shirtless) beat Gilles Simon in a three set match that clocked in at 259 minutes 3-6 7-5 7-5. Djokovic did not play particularly well but managed to pull out the win in the third set.

Djokovic’s forehand failed him for much of the day but was able to stay in the match with his serve. Simon broke Djokovic in the first game of the third set, and it looked like the Frenchman would cruise into the final. In the end, the Serb broke Simon in the sixth game, which was part of his three game rally, to put himself back into the match. Djokovic then broke again to close out the match in the twelfth game. He will play David Ferrer from Spain in the final tomorrow.

David Ferrer was all business today. He played like the rent was due and trampled Richard Gasquet 6-2 6-2. If he continues to play like he did today, EPMD might have to dedicate an album to him.

Ferrer had an all around solid match. He served, returned, volleyed and moved well. The Spaniard was aggressive, and Gasquet really had no real answers for any of it. Every time Gasquet tried to get back into the match, Ferrer would immediately shut any door of opportunity. The Frenchman had six break points in the second set and did not convert.

Ferrer looked today like the player who rose to the ranking of world no. 4 early last year. The Spaniard struggled at the end of last year and is now ranked 14. He is now the third highest ranked Spaniard (after #1 Nadal and #9 Verdasco).

The start of this year, his results were mixed. He was sent packing in the round of 32 at the Australian Open and then made it to the semifinals in Auckland and Johannesburg. In the matches I have seen, the Spaniard looked frustrated, and his shots looked forced. Today was another story, so let us hope he is back to form this year.

If Ferrer plays like he did today, he should be able to take Djokovic. Let’s hope today’s Ferrer shows up tomorrow. Ferrer’s head-to head with Djokovic is split at 3-3, though Djokovic is 4-1 on hard surfaces.

In doubles news, David Ferrer’s doubles fate did not end like his single’s fate ended. He and partner Marat Safin lost to Rick De Voest and Dmitry Tursunov 7-5 3-6 5-10. De Voest and Tursunov will meet Damm and Lindstedt in the doubles final tomorrow.

Friday’s Results:
Singles Semifinals
1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 3 Gilles Simon (FRA) 3-6 7-5 7-5 4
David Ferrer (ESP) def. Richard Gasquet (FRA) 6-2 6-2

Doubles Semifinals
M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) def. M. Matkowski (POL)/R. Schuettler (GER) 6-4 6-4
R. de Voest (RSA)/D. Tursunov (RUS) def. D. Ferrer (ESP)/M. Safin (RUS) 5-7 6-3 10-5

Saturday's Matches:
Singles Final
1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. 4 David Ferrer (ESP)

Doubles Final
M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) vs. R. de Voest (RSA)/D. Tursunov (RUS)

(images: Barclays Dubai Tennis Tournament)

Serbian Novak Djokovic enjoyed a routine win over Croat Marin Cilic. He will play Gilles Simon in the semifinals. Their head-to-head is split 1-1 with Djokovic winning at the Masters Cup in China last year and Simon winning in Marseille last year. Simon will need to bring his A-game tomorrow because he has struggled in the last few tournaments.

In doubles news, Dmitry Tursunov and Rik De Voest upset defending champions, Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in straight sets. The first-time pair will meet the David Ferrer and Marat Safin in the semifinals. Another first-time pairing, Ferrer and Safin defeated South Africans Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie in three sets. Ferrer and Safin already knocked off fourth-seeds Andy Ram and Kevin Ullyett in the round of 16.

Tomorrow should be a good day since all the matches have interesting pairings.

Thursday's Results:
Singles Quarterfinals
1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 5 Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-3 6-4
Richard Gasquet (FRA) def. Andy Murray - walkover 3
Gilles Simon (FRA) def. Fabrice Santoro (FRA) 7-6(3) 6-1 4 David Ferrer (ESP) def. 6 Igor Andreev (RUS) 7-5 6-1

Doubles Quarterfinals
R. de Voest (RSA)/D. Tursunov (RUS) def. 2 M. Bhupathi (IND)/ M. Knowles (BAH) 7-6(4) 6-2
M. Matkowski (POL)/R. Schuettler (GER) def. J. Knowle (AUT)/J. Melzer (AUT) 4-6 6-4 12-10
M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) def. S. Bolelli (ITA)/I. Karlovic (CRO) 6-2 7-6(2)
D. Ferrer (ESP)/ M. Safin (RUS) def. J. Coetzee (RSA)/ W. Moodie (RSA) 5-7 6-4 12-10

Friday’s Matches:
Singles Semifinals
1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. 3 Gilles Simon (FRA)
4 David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Richard Gasquet (FRA)

Doubles Semifinals
M. Matkowski (POL)/R. Schuettler (GER) vs. M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE)
D. Ferrer (ESP)/M. Safin (RUS) vs. R. de Voest (RSA)/D. Tursunov (RUS)

(image: Barclays Dubai Tennis Tournament)

Open 13

Dimitry Tursunov of Russia defeated countryman Teimuraz Gabashvili in three sets. Tursunov lost the first set because Gabashvili broke him three times. In the last two sets, the Tursunov was able to hold on to his serve and ended up breaking Gabashvili four times. Tursunov now will meet Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the next round and currently leads the Spaniard 2-1 in their head-to-head.


Open 13

French doubles duo, Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra upset no. 2 seeds Michael Damm and Robert Lindstedt in a three set match. The Frenchmen will go on to play Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman in the next round.


Panoramic

Richard Gasquet withdrew from the tournament because of a shoulder injury. George Bastl of Switzerland has taken his place in the draw.

Singles Round of 32:
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) def. Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 3-6 6-2 6-2
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. 5 Tomas Berdych (CZE) 6-4 6(2)-7 6-1 8
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 3-6 6-4 7-5
Jan Hernych (CZE) def. Kristof Vliegen (BEL) 6-3 3-6 6-4

Doubles Round of 16:
A. Clement (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) def. 2 M. Damm (CZE)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) 7-6(5) 6(7)-7 10-3
W. Moodie (RSA)/D. Norman (BEL) def. J. Brunstrom (SWE)/J. J. Rojer (NED) 7-6(5) 6-2

Top-seeded Igor Andreev of Russia lost to a qualifier, Ivan Dodig from Croatia. Two other Croatians, Mario Ancic and Ivo Karlovic move through to the next round.

The match-up of the day was the up-and-coming Ernest Gulbis from Latvia and Russian Dimitry Tursunov. The match lasted almost two hours with the Latvian besting the Russian veteran. Gulbis meets Dodig in the next round.


Singles:

Ivan DODIG def. Igor ANDREEV 6-1 6-4
Ernest GULBIS def. Dimitry TURSUNOV 4-6 6-4 6-4
Mario ANCIC def. Lukas Lacko 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5
Jan HERNYCH def. Nikola MEKTIC 6-3 7-5
Mischa ZVEREV def. Andreas SEPPI 7-6(4) 3-6 6-2
Viktor TROICKI def. Simone BOLELLI 6-3 6-4
Sergiy STAKHOVSKY def. Dominik HRBATY 6-2 4-6 6-1
Ivo KARLOVIC def. Philipp PETZSCHNER 6-3 6-4
Evgeny KOROLEV def, Jurgen MELZER 6-4 6-0

DOUBLES:

M. DAMM/R. LINDSTEDT def. I. DODIG/E. ELESKOVIC 6-3 4-6 10-8
F. SKUGOR/J. TOPIC def. M. GICQUEL/P. MATHIEU 4-6 6-4 10-8
C. KAS/R. WASSEN def. M. CILIC/L. ZOVKO 6-4 7-6(11)