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Shanghai Masters
Both players waltzed into the quarterfinals having given up no more than two games in any set. Once there, things got much more difficult. Girish Girsh had another chance to gain ground on Marcek, and like a month ago at the US Open, he came from behind to do so, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Anil Mehul had a fairly strange match with Radek Smitala, and was on the losing end of a stunning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 upset. It was an even match with Mehul not nearly as impressive as he had been in most contests recently, and the servers dominated except for break chances, of which only one failed. Smitala was 3-for-3, Mehul had three chances as well and missed on one of them, which was ultimately the difference in the match.
Girsh had his 13th encounter with Iglar in the semifinals, pushing the no. 1 to three sets before losing. He's taken a set in their last two meetings now, and was the only player to so -- the Czech beat Gaskell in straight sets in the final -- so the gap appears to be closing but it's still a completely one-sided affair so far.
Mehul's early loss puts a big damper on his hopes to gain the #1 spot. It may in fact turn out to be a fatal one. He almost never loses to players out of the Top 10, and he clearly picked a bad day against a guy who has been great on hardcourts esp. this year to not bring his best play.
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