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Brian Swartz · 09-11-2017, 07:07 PM

2054 US Open

The junior and pro events are synchronized for this unlike in the summer, so this was clearly the biggest tournament week left in the year. Sushant Chiba's partner was ranked 91st, so they weren't the best doubles team and lost a tight one in the quarterfinals. In singles he saw his usual QF result also, with (5)Uglesa Svajnovic(CRO) an easy 6-1, 6-4 winner: it was almost a copy of their other meeting earlier in the year. The Croatian had more in mind this time though. He barged through to the final and absolutely shocked previously unbeaten(this year) #1 Stanley Edleman, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, vaulting himself up to second in the rankings. It appears our American friend, though he should have won(only 1 of 7 on BPs), is not invincible after all.

Mehul/Kroese did well in the pro doubles, getting to the semis before a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Cordasic/Aspelin. However, given that they won this event a year ago, another tumble in the rankings was inevitable regardless. Shyam Senepathy pulled off a good straight-sets win in his first match, and then ate a couple of breadsticks courtesy of Mooljee in round two. Such is the life of the journeyman, and Senepathy is well-versed in it.

Russian Alexey Alenichev was the man of the hour in the opening round, accounting for the lone notable upset; #18 Andres Guardado went out in four sets. American Harry Bayliss brought cheers from the crowd as he almost took out Zimolo, the 30-seed, but ultimately the pride of Monaco prevailed in five. The partisans had more reason to cheer in the second, watching wild-card Hugo Cordova outlast Niklas 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Cordova was ranked 263rd at the end of last year; he'll have cut that in half by the end of this match. Heck of a story there. (28)Benno Duhr was the victim of another US player, Stuart Pargeter, also in five. That wasn't a huge upset, and neither was one final bit: (31)Angel Zaferia was eliminated, easily, by a name we haven't had occasion to mention in several months: Ukrainian Alexey Nikitin. Nikitin's too good not to pull his head out of his arse -- perhaps now's the time for that to start.

There were several epic matches to come in the round of 32. One thing's for sure: this year's USO did not get off to a boring start. (10) Hsuang-tsung Teng bumbled away his recent exploits by losing to (21)Andres Varas, 6-4 in the 5th there after he led two sets to one. Borja made a rare appearance, outlasting Santos, though not a big surprise: Espinoza went out to Gregory Mackenzie in a close three, another US triumph; and Ruben Piazzola had yet another disappointment, dropping his match with Besson in four. The last two matches were another couple of epics, both involving Americans. Dick Blake nearly took out Kronecker, but the top German got him 7-5 in the final set. Nikitin also had his upset bit narrowly squashed, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-4 against rising (16)Matthew Panter, just a bit short on the comeback there. I have to think we'll be seeing increasingly high-level matches between those two for quite some time to come.

On to the fourth round, where Kaspar continued to blaze a trail, having yet to give up four games in the same set. Same story, different verse for everyone unlucky enough to be in his path through the draw. Looking to back up his last performance, Varas was the victim of a triple-bagel from Ritwik Dudwadkar. That's a rare thing in the first round, never mind here, against a guy ranked in the Top 25!! Valentin Rosenberg, who I forgot to mention before, outlasted #6 Zarco in a five-setter in the previous round, then won in four here over Janin. He's still pushing, make no mistake. Johnny Browne narrowly escaped Mackenzie in an 8-6, final-set TB, while Panter kept on going with a tight straight-sets victory over Kronecker.

The quarterfinal tally was five of the top six, then also surprises Rosenberg and Panter. In the first match, Dudwadkar gave Mateo Kaspar his efforts and ended a weird scoreline: 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-2. The French legend advanced again obviously, but how do lose three sets like that and then win one in a dominant tiebreak? Honestly it was probably boredom more than anything for Kaspar. Rosenberg found himself on the losing end this time against Guus Dircx, but a fine run there; Fangio obliterated Browne, losing just five games; and Panter's run ended but not without a fight. Mooljee got him 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 7-5, a brutal result for the young gun to not get at least a set.

So after all the craziness, the top four were left. Return to status quo. Routine three-set win for Kaspar over Dircx, and Prakash Mooljee pushed one set to a tight tiebreaker but ultimately went fairly meekly in his 5th straight(10 of the last 11) against Fangio. France vs. Italy, #1 vs. #2, etc. for the final. You already know the result. Gillo Fangio comes up short again, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Their head-to-head is now 28-4. Yowzers. The king lost just the one set, which Dudwadkar can claim, and takes all four Slams for the second time.

09-11-2017, 07:07 PM	#676
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	2054 US Open The junior and pro events are synchronized for this unlike in the summer, so this was clearly the biggest tournament week left in the year. Sushant Chiba's partner was ranked 91st, so they weren't the best doubles team and lost a tight one in the quarterfinals. In singles he saw his usual QF result also, with (5)Uglesa Svajnovic(CRO) an easy 6-1, 6-4 winner: it was almost a copy of their other meeting earlier in the year. The Croatian had more in mind this time though. He barged through to the final and absolutely shocked previously unbeaten(this year) #1 Stanley Edleman, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, vaulting himself up to second in the rankings. It appears our American friend, though he should have won(only 1 of 7 on BPs), is not invincible after all. Mehul/Kroese did well in the pro doubles, getting to the semis before a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Cordasic/Aspelin. However, given that they won this event a year ago, another tumble in the rankings was inevitable regardless. Shyam Senepathy pulled off a good straight-sets win in his first match, and then ate a couple of breadsticks courtesy of Mooljee in round two. Such is the life of the journeyman, and Senepathy is well-versed in it. Russian Alexey Alenichev was the man of the hour in the opening round, accounting for the lone notable upset; #18 Andres Guardado went out in four sets. American Harry Bayliss brought cheers from the crowd as he almost took out Zimolo, the 30-seed, but ultimately the pride of Monaco prevailed in five. The partisans had more reason to cheer in the second, watching wild-card Hugo Cordova outlast Niklas 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Cordova was ranked 263rd at the end of last year; he'll have cut that in half by the end of this match. Heck of a story there. (28)Benno Duhr was the victim of another US player, Stuart Pargeter, also in five. That wasn't a huge upset, and neither was one final bit: (31)Angel Zaferia was eliminated, easily, by a name we haven't had occasion to mention in several months: Ukrainian Alexey Nikitin. Nikitin's too good not to pull his head out of his arse -- perhaps now's the time for that to start. There were several epic matches to come in the round of 32. One thing's for sure: this year's USO did not get off to a boring start. (10) Hsuang-tsung Teng bumbled away his recent exploits by losing to (21)Andres Varas, 6-4 in the 5th there after he led two sets to one. Borja made a rare appearance, outlasting Santos, though not a big surprise: Espinoza went out to Gregory Mackenzie in a close three, another US triumph; and Ruben Piazzola had yet another disappointment, dropping his match with Besson in four. The last two matches were another couple of epics, both involving Americans. Dick Blake nearly took out Kronecker, but the top German got him 7-5 in the final set. Nikitin also had his upset bit narrowly squashed, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-4 against rising (16)Matthew Panter, just a bit short on the comeback there. I have to think we'll be seeing increasingly high-level matches between those two for quite some time to come. On to the fourth round, where Kaspar continued to blaze a trail, having yet to give up four games in the same set. Same story, different verse for everyone unlucky enough to be in his path through the draw. Looking to back up his last performance, Varas was the victim of a triple-bagel from Ritwik Dudwadkar. That's a rare thing in the first round, never mind here, against a guy ranked in the Top 25!! Valentin Rosenberg, who I forgot to mention before, outlasted #6 Zarco in a five-setter in the previous round, then won in four here over Janin. He's still pushing, make no mistake. Johnny Browne narrowly escaped Mackenzie in an 8-6, final-set TB, while Panter kept on going with a tight straight-sets victory over Kronecker. The quarterfinal tally was five of the top six, then also surprises Rosenberg and Panter. In the first match, Dudwadkar gave Mateo Kaspar his efforts and ended a weird scoreline: 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-2. The French legend advanced again obviously, but how do lose three sets like that and then win one in a dominant tiebreak? Honestly it was probably boredom more than anything for Kaspar. Rosenberg found himself on the losing end this time against Guus Dircx, but a fine run there; Fangio obliterated Browne, losing just five games; and Panter's run ended but not without a fight. Mooljee got him 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 7-5, a brutal result for the young gun to not get at least a set. So after all the craziness, the top four were left. Return to status quo. Routine three-set win for Kaspar over Dircx, and Prakash Mooljee pushed one set to a tight tiebreaker but ultimately went fairly meekly in his 5th straight(10 of the last 11) against Fangio. France vs. Italy, #1 vs. #2, etc. for the final. You already know the result. Gillo Fangio comes up short again, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Their head-to-head is now 28-4. Yowzers. The king lost just the one set, which Dudwadkar can claim, and takes all four Slams for the second time.