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Miami Masters
More of the same for Shreya Ujjaval, a pretty easy first-round win and then a loss to the Peruvian Herrera clan. This time it was Tiago.
There were some close matches in the early rounds, but none involving my guys until the fourth. Girish Girsh narrowly avoided defeat against Caratti, and I do mean narrowly. 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(11)! Had to save 9 of 11 break points to do it, and it was one of those coin-flip affairs, not just in the epic tiebreak that ended it either. Mehul made the second week as well on cruise control.
Popping over to the other players, Prakash Mooljee had another tier-2 event at Marrakech. He was seeded third, and potential rival Jonathan Ardant(FRA) took a close tiebreak ... and then was served a pair of bagels in the quarterfinals. He did well from there, winning the tournament in straight sets including a semifinal victory over top-seeded Vito Brandini(ITA, 45th). Another sign he's ready to move up into the Top 50 himself there.
Ritwik Dudwadkar's latest outing saw him lose in singles qualifying again -- the fifth straight time -- and qualify in doubles before falling in the quarters there. He still definitely hasn't gotten over the hump.
Back in Miami for the conclusion the next week, Girsh had an easy one over Kinczllers and it was Anil Mehul's turn to struggle. Gaskell nearly broke a 13-match losing streak against the world no. 2, but he got through eventually 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5. The semifinals were a joke, both of them. Antonin Iglar crushed Girsh horribly, 6-2, 6-1. Not a shame to lose; but to not even compete is another story. Meanwhile Mehul dispatched Benda almost as easily.
All of the big three hardcourt tournaments this year have had the same matchup in the finals. This one was closer than Indian Wells, but not as close as the 7-5, 7-6(4) score would indicate. Regardless, Iglar takes it again for his 26th Masters Shield.
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