David Ferrer helped Spain advance into the Davis Cup quarterfinals against France and thus begins Spain’s road to its second-consecutive title defense. Ferrer took no time in taking apart Stanislas Wawrinka and any Swiss hopes with a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory. Nicolas Almagro finished up strong in his emphatic victory over Marco Chiudinelli at 6-1 6-3 after 75 minutes of play.
It goes to show how deep Team Spain is. Even without Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco and Juan Carlos Ferrero, they still were able to advance comfortably. Hopefully, Spain will be much healthier in their quarterfinal matchup.
Team Spain is much deeper than France. France could be a formidable foe if Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga can stay healthy and play well. Team France now has a great doubles partnership in Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau, which can now handle any of the Spanish pairings.
Tsonga had to retire with a mild foot injury in his dead rubber match against German Simon Greul this afternoon. Why Guy Forget would play Tsonga in a dead rubber matchup seems kind of crazy to me. Luckily, they won the first round in their first-three matches. If they were in a dogfight with Spain, this would definitely be a problem. Injuries are really France’s Achilles heel.
No matter what happens, the France-Spain matchup in July will be entertaining.
Sunday’s Results
R4 – David Ferrer (ESP) def. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 6-2 6-4 6-0
R5 – Nicolas Almagro (ESP) def. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-1 6-3
(Image: AP)
France was pretty efficient in its 3-0 victory over Germany. Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra defeated Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
It looked like the French team would blow out the Germans when they won the first set 6-1, but Kas and Kohlschreiber slowly worked their way into the match. The Germans then returned the favor in the third set when they won it 6-1, but Llodra and Benneteau buttoned it up in the fourth. The French duo kept it close and then broke on the Kas serve for a 6-1 6-4 1-6 7-5 victory.
France now waits for the winner of the Spain-Switzerland duel. Their opponent will most likely be Spain. This French line-up looked good this weekend and could perhaps give Spain some trouble if there are no French flake outs.
Saturday’s Results
R3 – J. Benneteau (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) def. C. Kas (GER)/P. Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-1 6-4 1-6 7-5
(Image: AP)
What a difference a year makes. France now leads Germany 2-0. Gael Monfils won his first Davis Cup match. He put in a solid performance against Philipp Kohlschreiber and defeated the German 6-1 6-4 7-6(5). Monfils is now 1-1 in Davis Cup play.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga then followed up Monfil’s win with another French victory over Benjamin Becker. The top-ranked Frenchman was on his way to a dominant win until he had a hiccup in the third set. In the fourth set, Tsonga was able to wrap it up with 6-3 6-2 6-7(2) 6-3 win. The victory brings the world no. eleven’s Davis Cup record to 7-0.
Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra are up for France in doubles tomorrow. The French duo has proven to be a winning combination. They will meet Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber and could easily put France through to the quarterfinals.
France vs. Germany
Friday’s Results
R1 – Gael Monfils (FRA) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-1 6-4 7-6(5)
R2 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Benjamin Becker (GER) 6-3 6-2 6-7(2) 6-3
Saturday’s Match
R3 – R. Benneteau (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) vs. C. Kas (GER)/P. Kohlschreiber (GER)
(Images: AP)
Tommy Robredo beat last week’s Open 13 singles finalist and doubles champion. The Spaniard had an easy time with Julien Benneteau 6-2 6-1 after just 44 minutes of work. Benneteau double’s partner from last week and the Open 13 champion did not fare much better today. Michael Llodra had to withdraw from his match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with a hamstring injury.
Robredo will advance to play Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the second round. The Spaniard leads their head-to-head 4-3. The new world no. 23 dropped 6 spots this week and has struggled this year. He is 2-4 before his match today. Since he was last year’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, he lost 500 points for not defending or replacing his championship points in Costa Do Sauipe and Buenos Aires.
Tuesday’s Order of Play
Singles First Round
4 Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Florent Serra (FRA) 6-7(5) 6-4 6-1
5 WC Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Michael Llodra (FRA) 7-6(9) RET. (left hamstring)
6 Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Arnaud Clement (FRA) 6-2 6-4
7 Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 6-7(3) 7-6(5) 6-1
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 7-6(4) 7-5
Michael Berrer (GER) def. Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 6-4 7-6(3)
Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-2 6-1
Q Somdev Devvarman (IND) def. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-4 7-5
Q Bjorn Phau (GER) def. WC Mohammad Ghareeb (KUW) 3-0 RET. (back)
Doubles First Round
S. Aspelin (SWE)/P. Hanley (AUS) def. N. Djokovic (SRB)/D. Vemic (SRB) 6-4 6-3
J. Tipsarevic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) def. F. Serra (FRA)/G Simon (FRA) 7-6(4) 6-0
C. Kas (GER)/D. Norman (BEL) def. I. Ljubicic (CRO)/J. Melzer (AUT) 6-4 7-6(4)
Wednesday’s Order of Play
(Image: Getty Images)
Michael Llodra won the singles and doubles titles at the Open 13. The singles champion scored his fourth-career singles title and second indoor title.
The French lefty lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last year. By Friday, it looked like there would be a rematch. Eighth-seed Julien Benneteau instead broke that all up when he took out second-seed Tsonga in the semifinals on Saturday.
Today, Llodra upset the last remaining seed to take the French singles title. He secured the victory with a 6-3 6-4 win over Benneteau and denying the runner-up his first-career title. Don’t feel bad for the singles runner-up though.
As consolation, Benneteau teamed up later with the singles champion to help secure Llodra's third Marseille doubles title (2010, 2009, 2007). The tricolored duo upset top-seeds Julien Knowle and Robert Lindstedt 6-4 6-3. The doubles title is Llodra’s 18th and his second title with Benneteau. Benneteau now has six-career doubles titles of his own.
Championship Sunday
Singles Final
Michael Llodra (FRA) def. 8 Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-3 6-4
Doubles Final
2 J. Benneteau (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) def. 1 J. Knowle (AUT)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) 6-4 6- 3
Saturday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
Michael Llodra (FRA) def. Mischa Zverev (GER) 6-1 7-6(3)
8 Julien Benneteau (FRA) def. 2 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (FRA) 7-6 (11) 5-7 7-6(3)
Doubles Semifinals
2 J. Benneteau (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) def. A. Clement (FRA)/N. Mahut (FRA) 7-6(0) 6-4
(Image: Yohan Brandt/Open 13)
Michael Llodra sure loves this tournament. Last year’s singles finalist and doubles champion took down top-seed Robin Soderling. The Swede can ratchet his play up at times, but today Llodra took it up a notch to surpass Soderling 7-6(2) 6-4.
The Frenchman will back on double duty tomorrow with singles and doubles tomorrow. He will play his former partner Arnaud Clement, with whom he won this title twice, for the last spot in the final in the battle of the exes.
In his singles semifinal, he will meet German Mischa Zverev. Llodra leads their head-to-head 2-0.
Friday’s Results
Singles Quarterfinals
Michael Llodra (FRA) def. 1 Robin Soderling (SWE) 7-6(2) 6-4
2 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (FRA) def. LL Illya Marchenko (UKR) 6-3 6-4
8 Julien Benneteau (FRA) def. 3 Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-3 7-5
Mischa Zverev (GER) def. WC Guillaume Rufin (FRA) 7-5 6-7(4) 6-3
Doubles Semifinals
1 J. Knowle (AUT)/R. Lindstedt (SWE) def. R. Bopanna (IND)/J. Coetzee (RSA) 6-4 0-6 10-6
Saturday’s Matches
Singles Semifinals
Michael Llodra (FRA) vs. Mischa Zverev (GER)
2 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (FRA) vs. 8 Julien Benneteau (FRA)
Doubles Semifinals
2 J. Benneteau (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) vs. A. Clement (FRA)/N. Mahut (FRA)
Saturday’s Order of Play
(Image: AP)
Later on in the day, he beat Sergiy Stakhovsky and Rogier Wassen with partner Julien Benneteau in doubles. The Frenchman is trying to defend his doubles title with a different partner. They will next meet play the person he won the title with last year, Arnaud Clement, who is now paired with Nicolas Mahut, in the semifinals.
Not a bad day’s worth of work for Monsieur Llodra.
Preview:
City: Marseille, France
Surface: Indoor Hard
Championship Points: 250
2009 Singles Champion: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2009 Doubles Champion: Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra
Draws: Singles | Doubles
Wednesday’s Results
Singles First Round
WC Guillaume Rufin (FRA) def. LL Laurent Recouderc (FRA) 7-5 4-6 7-6(2)
Q Yannick Mertens (BEL) def. Jan Hajek (CZE) 7-6(8) 6-1
Singles Second Round
2 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (FRA) def. LL Joanna Ouanna (FRA) 7-6(9) 6-4
Mischa Zverev (GER) def. 4 Tommy Robredo (ESP) 6-2 3-6 6-1
Michael Llodra (FRA) def. 7 Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 7-6(6) 6-4
8 Julien Benneteau (FRA) def. Florent Serra (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Doubles First Round
R. Bopanna (IND)/J. Coetzee (RSA) def. C. Rochus (BEL)/O. Rochus (BEL) 6-2 6-1
Doubles Quarterfinals
2 J. Benneteau (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) def. S. Stakhovsky (UKR)/R. Wassen (NED) 6-2 6-2
A. Clement (FRA)/N. Mahut (FRA) def. R. de Voest (RSA)/A. Qureshi (PAK) 6-3 7-5
Thursday’s Order of Play
(Image: EQ)
Novak Djokovic was all business today with Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Ukrainian eventually retired with a left knee injury after losing the first set and trailing 1-4 in the second set.
The Serb will advance to play Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland in the second round. Chiudinelli barely got past Frenchman Michael Llodra, who had a slow start, but the Swiss eventually prevailed 6-1 6-7(5) 7-6(6) after a 2 hour 36 minutes of battle. Djokovic won his last meeting with Chiudinelli this year in the second round of the Australian Open.
Tuesday’s Results
Singles First Round
1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 6-2 4-1 RET. (left knee)
6 Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. Q Andrey Golubev (KAZ) 1-6 7-6(0) 7-6(5)
Julien Benneteau (FRA) def. 7 Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) 6-3 6-3
Q Marsel Ilhan (TUR) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-1 6-4
Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) def. Michael Llodra (FRA) 6-1 6-7(5) 7-6(6)
WC Thiemo de Bakker (NED) def. LL Jan Hajek (CZE) 7-6(5) 6-3
Doubles First Round
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. J. Tipsarevic (SRB)/V. Troicki (SRB) 7-6(1) 6-1
2 F. Cermak (CZE)/M. Mertinak (SVK) def. WC J. Huta Galung (NED)/I. Sijsling (NED) 6-3 6-2
4 C. Kas (GER)/D. Norman (BEL) def. I. Ljubicic (CRO)/J. Melzer (AUT) 6-1 7-6(2)
F. Lopez (ESP)/T. Robredo (ESP) def. M. Damm (CZE)/F. Polasek (SVK) 6-4 7-6(3)
Wednesday’s Order of Play
(Image: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament)
It looked like Frenchman Michael Llodra would upset 30-seed Juan Monaco of Argentina. The Argentine had a slow start while the French veteran had a great start. The veteran serve-and-volleyer frustrated Monaco with his solid net play. Monaco started to pass the veteran but then errors undid any sort of comeback for the Argentine. Before long Llodra was up two sets, and Monaco was sitting on the sideline talking to himself.
Monaco settled down for the third set. He managed to hold stay even with the Frenchman and then broke in game nine. Serving for the match, Monaco immediately lost his serve to Llodra. By this point, the Argentine was beside himself. Looking at 40-0, Monaco fought back and broke the Frenchman again. Now, it iwas Llodra turn to be frustrated. Llodra kicked the court and lost his sneaker in the process.
Monaco served for the third set again, and quickly found himself down 0-40. He erased two break points, but then hit the ball in the net to be broken again and forced to play a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, the two players remained close until 5-5. Monaco won the next two points to win the set and stay in the match.
After the loss of the set, Llodra took an injury time out for his foot. Monaco was able to steamroll the Frenchman in the fourth set. For the final set, Llodra was able to must up some fight, but Monaco was able to seal the deal 3-6 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2 6-3.
Monaco advances to play Nikolay Davydenko, who is probably playing the best at this point in the year. Davydenko leads it 3-1.
Thursday's Results
Friday's Order of Play
(Image: AP/John Donegan)
Spaniards Tommy Robredo and David Ferrer enjoyed wins over Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Richard Gasquet in singles action today in Shanghai.
After suffering from injuries this year, Michael Llodra has dropped in the rankings. He qualified for the tournament this weekend but unfortunately drew Tommy Robredo in the first round in a bad case of tournament evils. Robredo had no trouble dispatching the French qualifier 6-1 6-4 after 105 minutes of play. The Spaniard’s win draws Robredo ahead 2-1 in their head-to-head match ups.
In another case of tournament evils, Richard Gasquet met David Ferrer.
Ferrer had no trouble dealing with Gasquet and bested the Frenchman 6-4 6-3 after just 85 minutes of play. Ferrer managed to break him five times during the course of the match. It could have been a larger rout if Ferrer had not allowed Gasquet to break back twice in the first set.
Today’s victory now gives Ferrer a 5-1 lead over Gasquet in their head-to-head meetings. Though the Frenchman is still trying to get back into form, he has a long way to go. Hopefully, he will put in some long hours of training in the off-season.
Robredo will now meet German Florian Mayer in the next round, and Ferrer will encounter compatriot Feliciano Lopez in another evil match up. Robredo should enjoy his relatively easy second-round match because he could be on a collision course with Rafael Nadal in the round after that.
(Images: Andy Wong/AP, Eugene Hoshiko/AP)
City: Metz, France
Surface: Indoor Hard
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: Dmitry Tursunov
2008 Doubles Champions: Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra
Defending champion, Dmitry Tursunov will not defend his title this year, as he is out because of ankle surgery. Gael Monfils tops the seeds and is the hometown and crowd favorite. Mostly French and German players join him this week.
Philip Kohlschreiber, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Philipp Petzschner, Fabrice Santoro, Benjamin Becker, Andreas Beck and Ivan Ljubicic round out the other seeds. Richard Gasquet will also be on hand to try to return to form. Fabrice Santoro puts in his last appearance at the tournament since he will retire at the end of the year. On the doubles side, Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra are back together and will defend their title for the second-straight time.
As stated before, it is harder to tell the clear favorites, as injuries and burnout become the tale of the season. This should be an exciting tournament, as there are plenty of quality players duking it out this week.
Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles
Monday’s Order of Play
(Image: Open de Moselle)
This evil match came and went on Wednesday. Michael Llodra and Nicolas Kiefer faced off in first-round action. I suspected Kiefer might have troubles since he has had nagging injuries this summer and was heavily taped up for the match.
Llodra jumped out with a break and was leading 3-0. Suddenly Kiefer found his game and killed Llodra with forehand winners. After he pretty much dismantling Llodra's game, he ended up beating the Frenchman 6-3 6-4 6-4. The German must have some tennis voodoo over Llodra because he is now 3-0 over the Frenchman.
Kiefer now has the large task of meeting Rafeal Nadal this evening. Nadal leads this matchup 4-0, so there will be little doubt who will come out on top of that matchup.
(Image: Denise/tennisfiend)
Unlike the Spaniards (Verdasco lost, Lopez lost), the Frenchies had a good day today in Cincinnati. Ninth-seed Gilles Simon was able to subdue a tough charge from the Russian Igor Andreev. Simon secured a spot in the round of 16 with a 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 6-1 victory. He now awaits the winner of the Davydenko-Kunitsyn match.
In doubles, Micheal Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga topped Jurgen Melzer and Radek Stepanek 7-6(2) 6-7(6) 6-1 in their Cincinnati debut. They will now have the opportunity to meet the fifth-seeds Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett in the round of 16.
(Images: Denise/tennisfiend)
David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo played Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in first-round doubles action yesterday in Montreal. The Frenchmen dominated most of the first set. Somehow Ferrer and Robredo were able to rally while the French duo fell apart in the first-set tiebreak.
In the second set, Llodra and Tsonga dominated again. This time they did not allow the Spaniards back into the set. They were able to draw out the match to take it to a third-set tiebreak.
It looked like the French duo would run off with the match. Like in the first set tiebreak, things came apart again for the French duo. Ferrer and Robredo rallied to sneak off with the tiebreak and take the match 7-6(6) 1-6 10-8.
(Images: Denise/tennisfiend)
Poor Michael Llodra. He had been out with an injury for most of the clay-court season. He returned to the French Open and was on track during the grass season. After playing consistently for a month, Michael Llodra took a nasty spill at 2-3 in the first set, which happens to be documented in the video. Two games later he had to retire.
What a tough break for the Frenchman!
Fernando Verdasco returned to the tour after being out with an ankle injury. This was his first match since his great showing at the Australian Open earlier this year. He is back sporting a more severe fauxhawk and a new coach, Darren Cahill.
The Spaniard played this year’s Brazilian Open finalist and fellow lefty, Thomaz Bellucci. Verdasco looked good and moved well on the court. The young Brazilian staye
d with Verdasco in the first set and had a big serve of his own until Verdasco broke him during the twelfth game. After losing the first set, the Brazilian lost steam. Bellucci was broken the second game of the second set and then Verdasco cruised to victory to win the match 7-5 6-1.
Verdasco will face Richard Gasquet in the third round. Gasquet currently leads their head-to-head 4-1. In their last meeting, Verdasco beat Gasquet in Canada in their 2007 meeting.
Gasquet beat fellow countryman, Michael Llodra prettily handily 6-4 6-0. Gasquet did everything well. Llodra tried to come to the net, but that did not seem to rattle Gasquet.
(images l to r: EFE, Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his second title in three weeks. Two weeks ago, it was the South African Open, and today it is the Open 13 in Marseille, France. He beat countryman Michael Llodra 7-5 7-6(3) in front of a hyped-up French crowd.
Yesterday, Llodra gave Gilles Simon trouble with his serve and volleying. Tsonga was bothered by it early in the match but then started to pass Llodra to put his compatriot on his heels late in the first set. In the second set, he began to crank his serve for 8 aces (11 for the match). Tsonga then took over in the tiebreak to best Llodra for the match. 
All was not lost for Michael Llodra. He and Arnaud Clement won the doubles title by upsetting top seeds Knowle and Ram 3-6 6-3 10-8 in 73 minutes of work. This win gives the French duo their seventh ATP title together.
(Open 13, Panoramic)
Open 13
The French are excited this weekend. There will be an all-French singles final. Frenchies Clement and Llodra advanced to the doubles final. Michael Llodra was also a double winner today.
Match Results:
Singles Semifinals
4 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. 1 Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-4 7-6(1)
Michael Llodra (FRA) def. 2 Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6(5) 6-2
Doubles Semifinals
A. Clement (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA) def. 4 S. Huss (AUS)/R. Hutchins (GBR) 6-2 7-6(2)
Sunday's Matches:
Singles Championship
4 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs. Michael Llodra (FRA)
Doubles Championship
1 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) vs. A. Clement (FRA)/M. Llodra (FRA)
Watch Live
I guess Michael Llodra is all about Marseille this year. Michael Llodra today upset second seed Gilles Simon in straight sets 7-6(5) 6-2 in 76 minutes. He will also play later in the doubles semifinals with partner, Arnaud Clement to book the last spot against top seeds Knowle and Ram in the doubles final.
Llodra’s singles match against Simon was close in the first set. There were no breaks, but he was able to sneak off with the first set in the tiebreaker. The second set was not as close, and Simon seemed completely out of sorts. He was not able to handle Llodra’s lefty serve and could not seem to find an answer for Llodra’s serve and volleying. By the end of the set, Simon had completely unraveled and could only seem to find the outer boundaries of the court.
Llodra played solidly today and has booked the last spot in the finals against compatriot, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The two players have never played in an ATP or Grand Slam event. This will be Tsonga’s second final in three weeks. The final should be fun to watch.
(image: Open 13)
Open 13
Gilles Simon had no problems dismissing countryman, Julien Benneteau in straight sets. The entire match took 79 minutes to complete. He will play another countryman, Michael Llodra in the semifinals.
AP (both images)
Micheal Llodra defeated Mikhail Youzhny in two straight-set tiebreaks. Llodra did a good job of taking care of his serve by saving 8 of 9 break points. There were no breaks in the first set, and the two traded breaks in the second. Youzhny's second serve provided the difference in the match, and Llodra took advantage.
Llodra had a great day today because he also advanced into the doubles semifinals with partner, Arnaud Clement. He will play Gilles Simon in the singles semifinals, where he leads their head-to-head 2-0. His last win over Simon came in January 2008 in Adelaide but before Simon broke through last year, by winning three titles and making it the final in Madrid. 
AP
After 68 minutes of work, Novak Djokovic had an easy win over German Mischa Zverev in straight sets. The top seed has quietly taken care of business this tournament, his first since his controversial Australian Open retirement in the quarterfinals. 
AP
After winning his first two matches of the season in Marseille, Feliciano Lopez played a respectable match. He took Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to three sets. 
AP
In the end, Tsonga overpowered the Spanish lefty. After serving 18 aces and never facing break point, Tsonga pushed Lopez aside. He will face Novak Djokovic next in the semis. Tsonga has had the Serb's number of late, where he has won their last three meetings, but the Serb's only win over the Frenchman came during the 2008 Australian Open championship.
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