|
Madrid Masters
Last year the Spanish contingent didn't do much of anything at their home Masters. They seemed determined to avenge that this year, with unseeded Hector Mendias and (10) Ene Cabellero joining (7) Toni Bardales for a trio in the quarterfinals. Early losses by (4) Themis Xanthos and (5) Jochen Weigle were the price of these inclusions.
Oleg Urazov was easily brushed aside by Faille, but Caballero kept going, rudely dismissing Solitris Papadias 6-2, 6-3. None of the quarterfinal matches were really competitive; Bardales took a set from Polychroniadis, but was beat down badly in the other two sets. And Mendias as expected was slapped aside by Cananis.
Caballero's run finally came to an end 6-2, 6-2 against Ben Faille in the semifinals, but it was still a fine showing. Already the second meeting this year of the current king of tennis against possibly a future one. The latest edition of 2 vs. 3 was won 7-5, 7-5 by Leon Polychroniadis over Renke Cananis, and he went on to upset Faille in a super-tight epic final, 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-4. Masters Shield #14.
Caballero was probably still the story of the tournament though. This has him on pace to break into the Top 8 by the end of the clay season if he can keep showing strong results.
Elsewhere ...
Aparna Chandrasekharan keeps grinding away, adding yet another second-round FT3 finish. Meanwhile Girish Raychaudhari appears he will be spending most of the year at the JG4 level after another singles loss in the final at Belgrade. That makes three titles and three runner-ups for him at that level in the last several months.
|