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Miami Masters
A repeat fourth-round matchup with David Prieto was the first challenge, and this one was much closer but Mehul prevailed in three sets. The quarterfinals brought Iglar a round earlier than their last few meetings; he had just outlasted Gaskell in a third-set tiebreak, a surprisingly competitive match. It was clear early on that he'd hit a patch of poor form or was bored or whatever but not his usual dominant self. The match went back and forth but Anil prevailed, his first win on the pro tour against Antonin in five tries, all within the last several months. 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 was the rather unusual scoreline.
This presented an opportunity, a real shot at a Masters title with the presumptive favorite out of the way. Joining him in the semis were the rest of the top four seeds, and Mick Elder was next up. Mehul had won two of the last three after dropping his first three encounters with the veteran American. He was now the better player both technically and athletically, but Elder still has that fantastic mental game which essentially made up most if not all of the difference, and was the reason he hasn't faded as quickly as others of his generation. It was a clear letdown match as Mehul was fed a breadstick in the opening set. He fought back hard in the second, playing as he needed to from the start, and perhaps if he had things might have been different. As it was, Elder took the match 6-1, 7-6(6) after a tight tiebreak. Hogue would go on to beat him in the final for just his second Masters crown.
A disappointing loss, but three semifinals in the big events of the first hardcourt swing is better than Mehul could have hoped for. The year is off to a fine start.
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