Day Five Review: Johannesburg, Zagreb, and Santiago
February 5, 2010 · Print This Article
SA Tennis Open—Johannesburg, South Africa
Second seed David Ferrer raced into the semifinals of the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg on Friday, defeating Somdev Devarrman 6-1, 6-3.
Ferrer, who made the semifinals in first trip to the event last year, dominated the one hour and six minute contest with his two-handed backhand. Striking four aces while winning 80 percent of his first-serve points, Ferrer improved to 4-2 on the year. The former world No. 4 and tournament No. 2 seed will next meet No. 8 seed Stephane Robert.
The unheralded Frenchman ended the surprising run of Jamaican player Dustin Brown, defeating the world No. 141 7-6 (5), 6-3. Robert, who came into the event ranked No. 100, will face Ferrer for the first time. Brown had entered the quarterfinals as the first Jamaican player to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP World Tour event since 1989.
Robert, who recently entered the top 100 in world, won his fifth match of the season.
Elsewhere, high-flying Spaniard Feliciano Lopez advanced to his first semifinal of the year by defeating Rajeev Ram 7-6 (3), 6-3. Capturing the lone break of the match in the second set, Lopez prevailed in the servers’ duel in one hour and 35 minutes. Both players had 12 aces.
The final match of the day will feature top seed Gael Monfils against Yen-Hsun Lu. Monfils, who is currently ranked No. 13 in the world, remains adamant on rejoining the world’s top 10. Not losing a set in the event thus far, the 23-year-old Paris native will be the strong favorite heading into his clash with Lu.
PBZ Zagreb Indoors—Croatia
No. 4 seed Viktor Troicki suffered a shocking defeat on Friday in Zagreb, falling to world No. 65 Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-3.
Possessing on of the hardest serves on the circuit, Troicki quickly found the tricky serve of his strong opponent the day’s major concern. Winning 84 percent of his first serve points, Berrer broke the serve of Troicki on two occasions, while saving the lone break point chance on his serve. Serving out the match after one hour and 23 minutes, Berrer improved to 6-3 on the year. Reaching his first semifinal since 2007 (Kremlin Cup), Berrer will next face countryman Philipp Petzchner.
Petzchner won a slightly more complicated affair earlier in the day over Lucas Lacko 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-2. Striking 11 aces while winning 76 percent of his first serve points, Petzchner used his risky return-of-serve skills to break Lacko on six of 12 occasions.
Reaching his first Tour-level semifinal since winning in Vienna, Austria in 2008, Petzchner improved to 3-2 on the year. The German had started the year 0-2.
Matches that are still to come on day five action will include:
No. 1 seed Marin Cilic taking on hard-serving countryman Ivo Karlovic, and No. 3 seed Jurgen Melzer facing Illya Marchenko.
Movistar Open—Santiago, Chile
Day five action in Santiago will feature three potential French Open darkhorses in action.
First up, No. 1 seed Fernando Gonzalez will battle clay-court comfortable Marcel Granollers for a place in Saturday’s semifinals. Gonzalez, who owns four titles in his home event, has not dropped a set all week. Granollers, who won his lone career title in Houston in 2008, defeated Robin Soderling in the first-round of the Australian Open.
No. 2 seed Juan Monaco will also be in action on Friday, taking on veteran Australian Peter Luczak. Monaco has always possessed a great game on the dirt, but has never advanced deep at any major clay-court tournament. Could this be his year?
The final two matches of the day will feature:
No. 3 seed Thomaz Bellucci, who is another player to watchout for on clay, taking on Eduardo Schwank of Argentina. Schwank career highlights have included making the third-round of the 2008 French Open, while briefly hosting a top 50 ranking in Feb. 2009.
Bellucci has improved his ranking every season, currently standing at No. 35. His career highlights include winning his maiden ATP World Tour title in Gstaad in 2009.
Spanish veteran Alberto Martin will also be on the schedule on Friday, taking on Brazilian Joao Souza. Martin currently holds the No. 129 position in the world, while Souza is ranked No. 208.
As always, please check TennisConnected’s live score section located on the top menu for live results of today’s matches. Talk soon.
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