Front Office Football Central - View Single Post

Brian Swartz · 09-04-2016, 03:32 PM

A lot of catching up to do here again.

2047 Roland Garros

Once again Sri Lanka has five in the draw. Shyam Senepathy exited quickly, taking only six games in the three sets he played against Phillipe Besson, an improving 22-year-old Swiss player that could be noteworthy in a year or two. The other four were all seeded 20th or better, and got through the first round easily. A couple of seeds departed stage left; American Johnny Browne(27th), and the consistently-disappointing veteran Marcelo Herrera(24th). The next round brought more of the same. McCuskey barely survived a five-set scare, and Andre Herrera(PER) beat one of the lower seeds but that doesn't really qualify as an upset here as he was among the more dangerous floaters.

The third round started to heat things up a bit. Girsh lost a set to Khasan Zakirov, but his run would not be derailed long despite the challenger's recent surge. Shreya Ujjaval had a true epic against no. 7 Theodore Bourdet, eventually taking down the top-ranked Frenchman 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 10-8!! Bourdet blasted 27 aces, but Ujjaval was consistently a bit better in the rallies, and it was just barely enough for him to come back from a set down twice and outlast his opponent in a long 5th set. Garreth McCuskey survived a second straight five-setter, this one against his declining countryman Sampras. Prakash Mooljee met up with Sava Cirakovic, just two spots below him in the rankings. This figured to be a real pick-em match, but Mooljee had the better of it. Unfortunately, his best play was mostly concentrated in one set. In the last two, he narrowly came up short in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) defeat ... despite out-pointing his foe 146-132. Yet another example this year of a match Mooljee should have won, but didn't, and he only manages to equal last season's result here. Another good match was between Agustin Herrera and Zourab Andronikov, with Herrera narrowly able to advance despite losing a pair of tiebreakers.

Girsh and Ujjaval both got back on track with straight-set wins in the fourth round. Antonin Iglar dropped a set for the first time against Cirakovic, but came through in four. Mugur Kinczllers had to go five to beat T. Herrera, and the Peruvians all dropped out when Agustin lost to Davide Poilblan. Then there was Anil Mehul going up against Benda, and getting his 29th win over the German in four sets there.

Six of the top eight then made the quarterfinals, with Ujjaval and Poilblan the party-crashers. Three Sri Lankans in the final eight; not bad. Girish Girsh ended Ujjaval's push 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-1, aided by the younger players typical over-playing. Caratti lost his first set of the tournament against Pierce Gaskell, but dismissed the American in four. Iglar came through against Kinczllers in a high-quality four-set match, and Mehul overcame an ineffective serve to save 14 of 16 BPs against Poilblan.

So once again, the Big Four form the semifinals. Yawn. Girsh played well enough to have a chance against the tiring Gustavo Caratti, but missed on all four of his break chances and bowed out 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. As for Anil Mehul, he laid a complete egg in his semifinal, getting annihilated with only six games won against Iglar. So it was that the Czech legend looked to join the annals of over-30 Slam champions ... but he didn't show up for the title match. Surprisingly, despite his fatigue, Caratti thumped him 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 for his third straight RG title ... one more Slam than Girsh has to date, by the way. I didn't think he could do it being this worn out, esp. after the results in the clay Masters, but perhaps Caratti is just that much better than everyone else on this surface. More likely, he simply found his best game when he needed it most. Either way, he did what he needed to finish another strong clay campaign.

09-04-2016, 03:32 PM	#474
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	A lot of catching up to do here again. 2047 Roland Garros Once again Sri Lanka has five in the draw. Shyam Senepathy exited quickly, taking only six games in the three sets he played against Phillipe Besson, an improving 22-year-old Swiss player that could be noteworthy in a year or two. The other four were all seeded 20th or better, and got through the first round easily. A couple of seeds departed stage left; American Johnny Browne(27th), and the consistently-disappointing veteran Marcelo Herrera(24th). The next round brought more of the same. McCuskey barely survived a five-set scare, and Andre Herrera(PER) beat one of the lower seeds but that doesn't really qualify as an upset here as he was among the more dangerous floaters. The third round started to heat things up a bit. Girsh lost a set to Khasan Zakirov, but his run would not be derailed long despite the challenger's recent surge. Shreya Ujjaval had a true epic against no. 7 Theodore Bourdet, eventually taking down the top-ranked Frenchman 4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 10-8!! Bourdet blasted 27 aces, but Ujjaval was consistently a bit better in the rallies, and it was just barely enough for him to come back from a set down twice and outlast his opponent in a long 5th set. Garreth McCuskey survived a second straight five-setter, this one against his declining countryman Sampras. Prakash Mooljee met up with Sava Cirakovic, just two spots below him in the rankings. This figured to be a real pick-em match, but Mooljee had the better of it. Unfortunately, his best play was mostly concentrated in one set. In the last two, he narrowly came up short in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) defeat ... despite out-pointing his foe 146-132. Yet another example this year of a match Mooljee should have won, but didn't, and he only manages to equal last season's result here. Another good match was between Agustin Herrera and Zourab Andronikov, with Herrera narrowly able to advance despite losing a pair of tiebreakers. Girsh and Ujjaval both got back on track with straight-set wins in the fourth round. Antonin Iglar dropped a set for the first time against Cirakovic, but came through in four. Mugur Kinczllers had to go five to beat T. Herrera, and the Peruvians all dropped out when Agustin lost to Davide Poilblan. Then there was Anil Mehul going up against Benda, and getting his 29th win over the German in four sets there. Six of the top eight then made the quarterfinals, with Ujjaval and Poilblan the party-crashers. Three Sri Lankans in the final eight; not bad. Girish Girsh ended Ujjaval's push 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-1, aided by the younger players typical over-playing. Caratti lost his first set of the tournament against Pierce Gaskell, but dismissed the American in four. Iglar came through against Kinczllers in a high-quality four-set match, and Mehul overcame an ineffective serve to save 14 of 16 BPs against Poilblan. So once again, the Big Four form the semifinals. Yawn. Girsh played well enough to have a chance against the tiring Gustavo Caratti, but missed on all four of his break chances and bowed out 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. As for Anil Mehul, he laid a complete egg in his semifinal, getting annihilated with only six games won against Iglar. So it was that the Czech legend looked to join the annals of over-30 Slam champions ... but he didn't show up for the title match. Surprisingly, despite his fatigue, Caratti thumped him 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 for his third straight RG title ... one more Slam than Girsh has to date, by the way. I didn't think he could do it being this worn out, esp. after the results in the clay Masters, but perhaps Caratti is just that much better than everyone else on this surface. More likely, he simply found his best game when he needed it most. Either way, he did what he needed to finish another strong clay campaign.