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Brian Swartz · 10-30-2016, 06:01 AM

Canada Masters

Shyam Senepathy made it through qualifying this week, and then got a whole two games against Andronikov in the first round. The favorites did fine to start things off, but in the second round a whole bunch went tumbling. Agustin Herrera went out to Jolland, Browne pulled off another US upset against Theodore Bourdet, Hugo Jurco made it a clean sweep of the French players by eliminating Poilblan, and Kinczllers dropped his first match of the tournament against Cirakovic. Before the event even had a chance to heat up, there was already a fair bit of chaos.

Gustavo Caratti had a narrow escape himself, but it didn't get him far as he lost 7-5, 6-4 to Zourab Andronikov in his next match. Meanwhile, Jurco kept going with a stunning upset of Antonin Iglar in the third round as well. Shreya Ujjaval had his first test, but snuck past Cirakovic in a pair of tiebreaks.

Half of the top eight missed out on the quarterfinals overall, and three players remaining were ranked 14th or lower. To start things off, Girish Girsh found himself on the losing end of a great match against Tomas Niklas, 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3). He was the better player by just a hair, but 3 of 15 on break points killed him, and the tiebreaks didn't go his way. Anil Mehul had no problems with Andronikov, ditto for Mooljee against Zakirov, and Ujjaval had a bad set but still beat Jurco fairly easily. If Girsh had managed to eke out his match, it would have been an all-Sri Lanka semifinal field -- that would have been a heck of a thing.

Mehul returned the favor against Niklas, winning a match he probably should have lost in a tight third-set tiebreak. The stunner though was in the second match, with Ujjaval blasting Prakash Mooljee, 6-1, 6-4! That one wasn't even close, and Mooljee should have won it ... starting to think something's really wrong with his game. Not that the semifinals are a bad result, but he's clearly a better player on hardcourt. Mehul easily took care of business in the final, 6-3, 6-3. With that, he made some history; by over a year, he's the oldest player to win a Masters at 32 and 20 weeks. Gorritepe's mark of 31 and 5 is easily eclipsed. I thought Anil Mehul was done stamping his name in the books but apparently that's not quite the case. It's his 9th Masters overall, and vaults him back into 4th with some margin now ahead of Caratti.

Cincinatti Masters

The US players figured to be a major factor here as well in the last tuneup before the USO. Senepathy qualified again ... and then lost to another qualifier, Muhammed Bedriddin of Germany. He won the first set, and then fell apart, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Sigh.

The early rounds were to significant degree a repeat of last week. Jake Jolland pulled another upset, with Davide Poilblan his victim, tumbling out early for the second straight week. Not a good year for him, though it was a tight match. Kinczllers and Agustin Herrera(against another American, McCuskey) narrowly survived. Hugo Jurco was at it again, getting past de los Santos in three, while Tomas Niklas dropped the first set to Browne but refused to be the latest victim and rallied for the win.

The third round had a lot of tough matches. First challenge for Girsh as he won a couple of tough breakers against Jolland to end his run. Shreya Ujjaval suffered a tough loss against Tiosav Srbulovic, 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), to the delight of the crowd here. Particularly stunning though was Luc Janin, who hadn't done much on his home court last week -- but won an epic struggle against Prakash Mooljee as the world no. 2 lost his second out of his last three matches and exits early, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5). It's official, he's definitely in a slump now. Janin is of course a phenomenal young player, but he's not nearly at Mooljee's level yet if they both play to their abilities.

Six of the top eight reached the quarterfinals nonetheless, and some of them easily as the overall upsets were not as prevalent. Another tough one for Girsh, but he made it through against Mugur Kinczllers who also had a better run this week, 7-5 in the third. Tiosav Srbulovic got his second Sri Lankan pelt in as many rounds, and had to fight hard for this one as well, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 against Anil Mehul. Janin kept on rolling by knocking out Caratti, and once again Antonin Iglar left a bit early in a tight third-set loss against Niklas.

All of a sudden Girish Girsh was a pretty big favorite, and he easily took care of Srbulovic. The second match between Luc Janin and Tomas Niklas was an exciting one with both players still well on the younger side of their careers. The Canadian prodigy kept on going with a tough win,m 7-5 in the third. He'd only made the quarterfinals once in a Masters event before, and now he was in the final! Girsh dominated him 6-4, 6-1 to defend his title here from last season, but that doesn't diminish the achievement. It's Girsh's 14th Masters, just his second on the year but it keeps him at #1 for at least a few more weeks with Mooljee departing early. Srbulovic is up to 12th, Janin to 15th, and Niklas is just a hair behind Caratti for 5th as the youth surge continues.

Coming Up ...

The US Open is the last, best chance for those needing to make a splash, improve their chances of making the Tour Finals, etc. Girsh pretty much has to defend his title from last year to stay #1, and even if he does, Mooljee will still surpass him if he reaches the semifinals. Prakash's bigger problem is finding his game, which seems to have gradually been deserting him after the torrid start the last few months, and now is quite missing. The way these last couple of weeks have gone, a lot of players could go deep and make a significant move here.

10-30-2016, 06:01 AM	#542
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Canada Masters Shyam Senepathy made it through qualifying this week, and then got a whole two games against Andronikov in the first round. The favorites did fine to start things off, but in the second round a whole bunch went tumbling. Agustin Herrera went out to Jolland, Browne pulled off another US upset against Theodore Bourdet, Hugo Jurco made it a clean sweep of the French players by eliminating Poilblan, and Kinczllers dropped his first match of the tournament against Cirakovic. Before the event even had a chance to heat up, there was already a fair bit of chaos. Gustavo Caratti had a narrow escape himself, but it didn't get him far as he lost 7-5, 6-4 to Zourab Andronikov in his next match. Meanwhile, Jurco kept going with a stunning upset of Antonin Iglar in the third round as well. Shreya Ujjaval had his first test, but snuck past Cirakovic in a pair of tiebreaks. Half of the top eight missed out on the quarterfinals overall, and three players remaining were ranked 14th or lower. To start things off, Girish Girsh found himself on the losing end of a great match against Tomas Niklas, 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(3). He was the better player by just a hair, but 3 of 15 on break points killed him, and the tiebreaks didn't go his way. Anil Mehul had no problems with Andronikov, ditto for Mooljee against Zakirov, and Ujjaval had a bad set but still beat Jurco fairly easily. If Girsh had managed to eke out his match, it would have been an all-Sri Lanka semifinal field -- that would have been a heck of a thing. Mehul returned the favor against Niklas, winning a match he probably should have lost in a tight third-set tiebreak. The stunner though was in the second match, with Ujjaval blasting Prakash Mooljee, 6-1, 6-4! That one wasn't even close, and Mooljee should have won it ... starting to think something's really wrong with his game. Not that the semifinals are a bad result, but he's clearly a better player on hardcourt. Mehul easily took care of business in the final, 6-3, 6-3. With that, he made some history; by over a year, he's the oldest player to win a Masters at 32 and 20 weeks. Gorritepe's mark of 31 and 5 is easily eclipsed. I thought Anil Mehul was done stamping his name in the books but apparently that's not quite the case. It's his 9th Masters overall, and vaults him back into 4th with some margin now ahead of Caratti. Cincinatti Masters The US players figured to be a major factor here as well in the last tuneup before the USO. Senepathy qualified again ... and then lost to another qualifier, Muhammed Bedriddin of Germany. He won the first set, and then fell apart, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Sigh. The early rounds were to significant degree a repeat of last week. Jake Jolland pulled another upset, with Davide Poilblan his victim, tumbling out early for the second straight week. Not a good year for him, though it was a tight match. Kinczllers and Agustin Herrera(against another American, McCuskey) narrowly survived. Hugo Jurco was at it again, getting past de los Santos in three, while Tomas Niklas dropped the first set to Browne but refused to be the latest victim and rallied for the win. The third round had a lot of tough matches. First challenge for Girsh as he won a couple of tough breakers against Jolland to end his run. Shreya Ujjaval suffered a tough loss against Tiosav Srbulovic, 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), to the delight of the crowd here. Particularly stunning though was Luc Janin, who hadn't done much on his home court last week -- but won an epic struggle against Prakash Mooljee as the world no. 2 lost his second out of his last three matches and exits early, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5). It's official, he's definitely in a slump now. Janin is of course a phenomenal young player, but he's not nearly at Mooljee's level yet if they both play to their abilities. Six of the top eight reached the quarterfinals nonetheless, and some of them easily as the overall upsets were not as prevalent. Another tough one for Girsh, but he made it through against Mugur Kinczllers who also had a better run this week, 7-5 in the third. Tiosav Srbulovic got his second Sri Lankan pelt in as many rounds, and had to fight hard for this one as well, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 against Anil Mehul. Janin kept on rolling by knocking out Caratti, and once again Antonin Iglar left a bit early in a tight third-set loss against Niklas. All of a sudden Girish Girsh was a pretty big favorite, and he easily took care of Srbulovic. The second match between Luc Janin and Tomas Niklas was an exciting one with both players still well on the younger side of their careers. The Canadian prodigy kept on going with a tough win,m 7-5 in the third. He'd only made the quarterfinals once in a Masters event before, and now he was in the final! Girsh dominated him 6-4, 6-1 to defend his title here from last season, but that doesn't diminish the achievement. It's Girsh's 14th Masters, just his second on the year but it keeps him at #1 for at least a few more weeks with Mooljee departing early. Srbulovic is up to 12th, Janin to 15th, and Niklas is just a hair behind Caratti for 5th as the youth surge continues. Coming Up ... The US Open is the last, best chance for those needing to make a splash, improve their chances of making the Tour Finals, etc. Girsh pretty much has to defend his title from last year to stay #1, and even if he does, Mooljee will still surpass him if he reaches the semifinals. Prakash's bigger problem is finding his game, which seems to have gradually been deserting him after the torrid start the last few months, and now is quite missing. The way these last couple of weeks have gone, a lot of players could go deep and make a significant move here.