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Brian Swartz · 10-19-2022, 01:10 PM

Wimbledon: Championship Week

The trend of the higher seeds moving on forward continued in the quarterfinals, but most of the matches were competitive. Solitris Papadias took a set from Cananis, same for Oleg Urazov against Faille, and and Toni Bardales against Xanthos. That one was particularly tight on the surface; 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(2). In actuality though, Xanthos had 10 break points to just 2 for Bardales. Jochen Weigle put up almost no fight against Polychroniadis in the other match; a bagel and a 6-2 set sandwiching a tiebreak.

Then it was time for another 'how much have things really changed' moment. Last year Renke Cananis stopped Ben Faille in the semifinals here. Faille comes in having won two out of three ... well, make that three out of four, as he takes this one in four sets. Leon Polychroniadis was upset in the fourth round a year ago, but he had no such intentions this season. Xanthos bows out after a tough four-setter as well. The final was ... well, here's the scoreline. 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 7-6(5). Four sets, all tiebreaks. Faille blasted 28 aces to 11 for Polychroniadis, and perhaps that was the difference in putting him over the top in all of these tiebreaks. He was slightly better overall, but it was definitely a match where it could have gone either way; one break to each player even with a combined 18 chances.

It's hard to escape the conclusion that Ben Faille has become the de facto best player in the world. The rankings at the top tighten up as a result of this, closing the gap some between Cananis at #1 and Polychroniadis at #2, with Faille still at #3. If he wins again at the US Open on a couple of months though, that will look a lot different.

Elsewhere ...

A close third-round singles exit in Nicosia for Aparna Chandrasekharan, although he had a deep run in doubles.

We'll return for the Olympics in a month, which are being played on an Indoor venue in Prague, and then it will be time to return to the hardcourts. For all his recent impressive accomplishments, Faille does not yet hold a major title on the most prevalent surface. He looks ready, but we'll see what happens.

10-19-2022, 01:10 PM	#1304
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Wimbledon: Championship Week The trend of the higher seeds moving on forward continued in the quarterfinals, but most of the matches were competitive. Solitris Papadias took a set from Cananis, same for Oleg Urazov against Faille, and and Toni Bardales against Xanthos. That one was particularly tight on the surface; 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(2). In actuality though, Xanthos had 10 break points to just 2 for Bardales. Jochen Weigle put up almost no fight against Polychroniadis in the other match; a bagel and a 6-2 set sandwiching a tiebreak. Then it was time for another 'how much have things really changed' moment. Last year Renke Cananis stopped Ben Faille in the semifinals here. Faille comes in having won two out of three ... well, make that three out of four, as he takes this one in four sets. Leon Polychroniadis was upset in the fourth round a year ago, but he had no such intentions this season. Xanthos bows out after a tough four-setter as well. The final was ... well, here's the scoreline. 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 7-6(5). Four sets, all tiebreaks. Faille blasted 28 aces to 11 for Polychroniadis, and perhaps that was the difference in putting him over the top in all of these tiebreaks. He was slightly better overall, but it was definitely a match where it could have gone either way; one break to each player even with a combined 18 chances. It's hard to escape the conclusion that Ben Faille has become the de facto best player in the world. The rankings at the top tighten up as a result of this, closing the gap some between Cananis at #1 and Polychroniadis at #2, with Faille still at #3. If he wins again at the US Open on a couple of months though, that will look a lot different. Elsewhere ... A close third-round singles exit in Nicosia for Aparna Chandrasekharan, although he had a deep run in doubles. We'll return for the Olympics in a month, which are being played on an Indoor venue in Prague, and then it will be time to return to the hardcourts. For all his recent impressive accomplishments, Faille does not yet hold a major title on the most prevalent surface. He looks ready, but we'll see what happens. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 10-19-2022 at 01:10 PM.