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Brian Swartz · 10-25-2016, 01:41 PM

2048 Wimbledon

Going in, this was the first time that it was theoretically possible, though unlikely, for Prakash Mooljee to seize the #1 ranking. He'd had to win the tournament outright, and Girsh would have to lose by the fourth round. Unlikely to be sure, but possible. At the other end of the spectrum, Senepathy lost to Caminha in a trio of 6-3 sets in the first round. Another slightly unfortunate matchup, with the predictable result. Elias Trulsen was stunned by Mexico's Andres Guardado in an entertaining five-set upset. The Swede has already tumbled several spots since RG and will tumble further, seemingly on his way out finally. The only other seed to lose their first match was the last one, South Africa's Mqabukonyongolo Nkomo. If he stays in the Top 32 for long, my keyboard may go on strike. Nkomo lost to China's Yoo-ngan Dun, 8-6 in the fifth. At least the match was good enough to make it worth the effort to type out their names.

In the second round, Xavier Caminha had a rougher match. He went five sets before prevailing, and one of them ended in the standard distance. 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 6-7(6), 4-6, 8-6 was the count over Perry Mockler, a blast from the past who seems to still show up and do something interesting once or twice a year. One thing about grass is that it often makes the matches closer, and there would be more epic encounters to come in this event. In fact, there was a truly ridiculous one on the same day, which is to date the longest match in terms of games played that I've seen. Roger Federer outlasted Srbulovic 19-17 in their 5th set. Apparently they were going for Isner-Mahut II but got bored of it. Another rough loss for the American who has had a tough year, and the veteran Swede, in his first Slam since dropping out of the Top 32, making a little magic. Andronikov was pushed to five but survived, while Benitez lost in four to Djurdje Moicevic. And then Yoo-ngan Dun was at it again ... 14-12 in the 5th of his second-round match, his second time surviving an epic in a row. And there were five more rounds to go. A whale of a start for this year's tournament.

So, round three. Federer again goes the distance and then some, 11-9 in the 5th over Andre Herrera. 446 total points there. I'm really not sure how, at nearly 32, he can even still stand up. Anil Mehul got his first challenge, a close match but he won in three over Andronikov. Blagota Cojanovic came through with a rare signature win, only 6-4 in the 5th against McCuskey. Most of the players were starting to get closer matches but the favorites still came through routinely. Luc Janin backed up his RG showing with a tough four-set win over Gaskell, and Cirakovic rallied after losing the first set to knock out Poilblan in four also. Ujjaval, Caratti, and others got challenged but made it through.

In the fourth round, an exhausted Federer went out meekly to Mugur Kinczllers. That was the only truly one-sided match of the day though. Girish Girsh needed five to survive over de los Santos ... it should have ended sooner, but he's a plucky fighter and found a way to win a couple of close sets. Anil Mehul and Blagota Cojanovic were the only duo to go the distance, and this was one Mehul will not soon forget. The final was 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(7), 9-7, with the Croat advancing after twice trailing by a set. Mehul really dominated this match on the whole, similar number of points won overall but he had 61 as a returner to only 41 for Cojanovic. He was just 2 of 14 on break chances though, and in the last two sets couldn't come up with the goods at the end to close it out, often just a point or two away from doing so. No way he should have lost this, but he did. Cojanovic reaches the quarters for the second time this year(AO also), while Mehul loses in the fourth round of the event he won four straight times, second year in a row he's been upset early. Ujjaval kept moving on with a good four-set victory over Cirakovic, but the other big surprise was Antonin Iglar ... who was dumped deservedly in a competitive straight-set surprise by Theodore Bourdet. The last time the Czech legend didn't reach the second week of a Slam was at RG in 2040, over eight years ago. Perhaps the writing's on the wall a bit here.

Even with all that, five of the top eight made it to the quarterfinals. Cojanovic was the only real outlier, everyone else was in the top dozen. At this point though, it simply became an all-out war. This was I think the most competitive set of quarterfinal matches I've ever seen. Three of them went the distance, and the fourth could have. First up, Girsh Girsh against Kinczllers. It was tight early, but Girsh had this match by the throat after an epic second-set tiebreak with multiple match points either way went to him, giving him a 2-0 lead. The Italian came storming back though, for a truly epic 3-6, 6-7(13), 6-4, 7-6(5), 10-8 final. Two-time defending champion, Girsh could only stare in disbelief as he was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the third time in as many Slams this season. He actually won the most points(185-182), and it was a pretty short match in terms of points for a long 5-setter. He won the ace count as well, 33-26, and neither player had a lot of success returning. In the second half of the match though, he didn't have any, and that proved to be the difference. Could have gone either way, but Kinczllers more consistent pressure made him a deserving victor.

Next up was a matchup of two of Mooljee's generational rivals, lesser-known ones of course. Tomas Niklas had just enough to prevent a second straight upset by Cojanovic, he trailed early but ended up rallying for a 5-set win. No tiebreaks in this one though. 23 aces for the Croat were not quite enough. Then came an all-Sri Lanka matchup, with Ujjaval going up against Prakash Mooljee. Mooljee looked to be back in focus, and had not really been challenged up to this point. He won a close first-set tiebreak, but couldn't hold back Ujjaval after that. 6-7(6), 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(7) in another tight one, and definitely a surprise. Ujjaval was able to prevent Moojee from getting many chances at his serve(only 4 break points, saving 3), and his expertise on the grass was just enough to pull off the upset. The last match was Bourdet against Gustavo Caratti. The Frenchman won both of the match's tiebreaks, and pulled out a five-set win in what was basically a pick-em match. Caratti probably should have won, but he went 2 of 12 on break points to open the door, and Bourdet returns to the semifinals for the second year in a row.

Phew. What a tournament, and the semifinals promised something interesting. The Top 5 players were all eliminated at this stage, and nobody left had ever won a Slam championship. Somebody was about to have the biggest moment of their career. Which, naturally, esp. since this post is running so long, made this a great spot for a cliffhanger :P ...

10-25-2016, 01:41 PM	#536
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	2048 Wimbledon Going in, this was the first time that it was theoretically possible, though unlikely, for Prakash Mooljee to seize the #1 ranking. He'd had to win the tournament outright, and Girsh would have to lose by the fourth round. Unlikely to be sure, but possible. At the other end of the spectrum, Senepathy lost to Caminha in a trio of 6-3 sets in the first round. Another slightly unfortunate matchup, with the predictable result. Elias Trulsen was stunned by Mexico's Andres Guardado in an entertaining five-set upset. The Swede has already tumbled several spots since RG and will tumble further, seemingly on his way out finally. The only other seed to lose their first match was the last one, South Africa's Mqabukonyongolo Nkomo. If he stays in the Top 32 for long, my keyboard may go on strike. Nkomo lost to China's Yoo-ngan Dun, 8-6 in the fifth. At least the match was good enough to make it worth the effort to type out their names. In the second round, Xavier Caminha had a rougher match. He went five sets before prevailing, and one of them ended in the standard distance. 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 6-7(6), 4-6, 8-6 was the count over Perry Mockler, a blast from the past who seems to still show up and do something interesting once or twice a year. One thing about grass is that it often makes the matches closer, and there would be more epic encounters to come in this event. In fact, there was a truly ridiculous one on the same day, which is to date the longest match in terms of games played that I've seen. Roger Federer outlasted Srbulovic 19-17 in their 5th set. Apparently they were going for Isner-Mahut II but got bored of it. Another rough loss for the American who has had a tough year, and the veteran Swede, in his first Slam since dropping out of the Top 32, making a little magic. Andronikov was pushed to five but survived, while Benitez lost in four to Djurdje Moicevic. And then Yoo-ngan Dun was at it again ... 14-12 in the 5th of his second-round match, his second time surviving an epic in a row. And there were five more rounds to go. A whale of a start for this year's tournament. So, round three. Federer again goes the distance and then some, 11-9 in the 5th over Andre Herrera. 446 total points there. I'm really not sure how, at nearly 32, he can even still stand up. Anil Mehul got his first challenge, a close match but he won in three over Andronikov. Blagota Cojanovic came through with a rare signature win, only 6-4 in the 5th against McCuskey. Most of the players were starting to get closer matches but the favorites still came through routinely. Luc Janin backed up his RG showing with a tough four-set win over Gaskell, and Cirakovic rallied after losing the first set to knock out Poilblan in four also. Ujjaval, Caratti, and others got challenged but made it through. In the fourth round, an exhausted Federer went out meekly to Mugur Kinczllers. That was the only truly one-sided match of the day though. Girish Girsh needed five to survive over de los Santos ... it should have ended sooner, but he's a plucky fighter and found a way to win a couple of close sets. Anil Mehul and Blagota Cojanovic were the only duo to go the distance, and this was one Mehul will not soon forget. The final was 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(7), 9-7, with the Croat advancing after twice trailing by a set. Mehul really dominated this match on the whole, similar number of points won overall but he had 61 as a returner to only 41 for Cojanovic. He was just 2 of 14 on break chances though, and in the last two sets couldn't come up with the goods at the end to close it out, often just a point or two away from doing so. No way he should have lost this, but he did. Cojanovic reaches the quarters for the second time this year(AO also), while Mehul loses in the fourth round of the event he won four straight times, second year in a row he's been upset early. Ujjaval kept moving on with a good four-set victory over Cirakovic, but the other big surprise was Antonin Iglar ... who was dumped deservedly in a competitive straight-set surprise by Theodore Bourdet. The last time the Czech legend didn't reach the second week of a Slam was at RG in 2040, over eight years ago. Perhaps the writing's on the wall a bit here. Even with all that, five of the top eight made it to the quarterfinals. Cojanovic was the only real outlier, everyone else was in the top dozen. At this point though, it simply became an all-out war. This was I think the most competitive set of quarterfinal matches I've ever seen. Three of them went the distance, and the fourth could have. First up, Girsh Girsh against Kinczllers. It was tight early, but Girsh had this match by the throat after an epic second-set tiebreak with multiple match points either way went to him, giving him a 2-0 lead. The Italian came storming back though, for a truly epic 3-6, 6-7(13), 6-4, 7-6(5), 10-8 final. Two-time defending champion, Girsh could only stare in disbelief as he was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the third time in as many Slams this season. He actually won the most points(185-182), and it was a pretty short match in terms of points for a long 5-setter. He won the ace count as well, 33-26, and neither player had a lot of success returning. In the second half of the match though, he didn't have any, and that proved to be the difference. Could have gone either way, but Kinczllers more consistent pressure made him a deserving victor. Next up was a matchup of two of Mooljee's generational rivals, lesser-known ones of course. Tomas Niklas had just enough to prevent a second straight upset by Cojanovic, he trailed early but ended up rallying for a 5-set win. No tiebreaks in this one though. 23 aces for the Croat were not quite enough. Then came an all-Sri Lanka matchup, with Ujjaval going up against Prakash Mooljee. Mooljee looked to be back in focus, and had not really been challenged up to this point. He won a close first-set tiebreak, but couldn't hold back Ujjaval after that. 6-7(6), 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(7) in another tight one, and definitely a surprise. Ujjaval was able to prevent Moojee from getting many chances at his serve(only 4 break points, saving 3), and his expertise on the grass was just enough to pull off the upset. The last match was Bourdet against Gustavo Caratti. The Frenchman won both of the match's tiebreaks, and pulled out a five-set win in what was basically a pick-em match. Caratti probably should have won, but he went 2 of 12 on break points to open the door, and Bourdet returns to the semifinals for the second year in a row. Phew. What a tournament, and the semifinals promised something interesting. The Top 5 players were all eliminated at this stage, and nobody left had ever won a Slam championship. Somebody was about to have the biggest moment of their career. Which, naturally, esp. since this post is running so long, made this a great spot for a cliffhanger :P ...