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Brian Swartz · 08-19-2019, 05:59 PM

Show-off :P.

Monte Carlo

Nicolas Perez has now won the last three clay Masters - and RG last year - six of the last eight big events on the surface overall. He defeated Calisto Aviles, last year's trophy-holder, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to claim his 10th Masters Shield. It was the only match this week that Perez lost a set in. Aviles on the other hand survived 3-set encounters with Wentz in the semis, L. Perez in the quarters, and Amrik Kasaravalli in a close final tiebreaker before that. It would have been a great opportunity for Amrik, but I didn't expect him to get that close to slaying the dragon. He's got a chance to do some damage on the clay, and hopefully will continue to put himself in positions to try to do that.

Chisulo Mpakati was the other semifinalist, which seems to be his appointed time to lose. Dropping out in the quarters were Tim de Jong who had narrowly escaped Hart, Mike Rhodes who might be 30 but beat Haas to show he still can play on his favorite surface, and Jung who got absolutely sandblasted by Harald Wentz. Other Anilophiles in the draw were:

** Seamus Hughes, second-round loser to N. Perez.
** Clavet Moniotte, who was the demonstration model for the abilities of young gun Fabio Cagide. The Spaniard would go to lose to Perez in round three.
** Algot Hakanson nearly knocked off Mathou in the second round, but succumbed in a final-set TB.
** Joao Narciso had an unfortunate draw, getting flattened in the opener by Rhodes.
** Sushant Chiba was beaten by Molyneaux at the initial hurdle in a contest of 30-somethings. He did qualify in doubles however as he slowly begins to turn his focus in that direction.

Elsewhere

Anilophiles swept the challenger events this week. Noting that Tommy Fitzpatrick elected to play at CH2 Santos, the tougher field of the two, I stayed clear of it. Fitz was pushed to three sets in the last two rounds, but came out on top over #1 seed Manual Iruso to claim the title. CH2 Naples was my destination, where aging Giona Angloma(ITA, #50), formerly ranked as high as 34th, was the top opposition. Angloma smashed Satyagit Guha in the quarterfinals, but it was still a good week for him to get that far - and be part of a strong doubles run that pulled down the hardware. Angloma went into the final having lost only one game in his previous two matches combined; both SF matches were double-bagels with Nasir Chittoor approaching on the challenger side of the draw after a more competitive quarterfinal. Nasir took a 6-3, 6-3 final that didn't really live up to the billing, getting himself back on track. I'll have more on this soon, but it's probably the last non-practice tournament for the doubles pairing here. Twas a good one to get plenty of matches in for both players here though.

08-19-2019, 05:59 PM	#1155
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Show-off :P. Monte Carlo Nicolas Perez has now won the last three clay Masters - and RG last year - six of the last eight big events on the surface overall. He defeated Calisto Aviles, last year's trophy-holder, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to claim his 10th Masters Shield. It was the only match this week that Perez lost a set in. Aviles on the other hand survived 3-set encounters with Wentz in the semis, L. Perez in the quarters, and Amrik Kasaravalli in a close final tiebreaker before that. It would have been a great opportunity for Amrik, but I didn't expect him to get that close to slaying the dragon. He's got a chance to do some damage on the clay, and hopefully will continue to put himself in positions to try to do that. Chisulo Mpakati was the other semifinalist, which seems to be his appointed time to lose. Dropping out in the quarters were Tim de Jong who had narrowly escaped Hart, Mike Rhodes who might be 30 but beat Haas to show he still can play on his favorite surface, and Jung who got absolutely sandblasted by Harald Wentz. Other Anilophiles in the draw were: Seamus Hughes, second-round loser to N. Perez. Clavet Moniotte, who was the demonstration model for the abilities of young gun Fabio Cagide. The Spaniard would go to lose to Perez in round three. Algot Hakanson nearly knocked off Mathou in the second round, but succumbed in a final-set TB. Joao Narciso had an unfortunate draw, getting flattened in the opener by Rhodes. Sushant Chiba was beaten by Molyneaux at the initial hurdle in a contest of 30-somethings. He did qualify in doubles however as he slowly begins to turn his focus in that direction. Elsewhere Anilophiles swept the challenger events this week. Noting that Tommy Fitzpatrick elected to play at CH2 Santos, the tougher field of the two, I stayed clear of it. Fitz was pushed to three sets in the last two rounds, but came out on top over #1 seed Manual Iruso to claim the title. CH2 Naples was my destination, where aging Giona Angloma(ITA, #50), formerly ranked as high as 34th, was the top opposition. Angloma smashed Satyagit Guha in the quarterfinals, but it was still a good week for him to get that far - and be part of a strong doubles run that pulled down the hardware. Angloma went into the final having lost only one game in his previous two matches combined; both SF matches were double-bagels with Nasir Chittoor** approaching on the challenger side of the draw after a more competitive quarterfinal. Nasir took a 6-3, 6-3 final that didn't really live up to the billing, getting himself back on track. I'll have more on this soon, but it's probably the last non-practice tournament for the doubles pairing here. Twas a good one to get plenty of matches in for both players here though. Last edited by Brian Swartz : 08-21-2019 at 12:15 AM.