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Old 02-16-2016, 11:06 PM   #260
Brian Swartz
Grizzled Veteran
 
Join Date: May 2006
World Team Cup Quarterfinals
Germany(3rd) vs. Sri Lanka(10th), Clay

Monday: A. Mehul d. H. Oncken, 6-2, 6-0, 6-3
Tuesday: B. Benda d. G. Girsh, 6-2, 7-6(6), 6-3
Wednesday: H. Arendt/R. Waigel d. S. Ujjaval/R. Kuttikkad, 6-0, 6-1, 6-1
Thursday: B. Benda d. A. Mehul, 6-0, 6-2, 6-3
Friday: G. Girsh d. H. Oncken, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3

Germany defeats Sri Lanka, 3-2.

Well bummer. That was expected, but still disappointing. Sri Lanka is done for the year, second straight season we lose 3-2 to Germany on their best surface. Both nations keep their rankings(3rd and 10th respectively). A couple of noteworthy things were the new doubles team, a fairly short-lived thing but it's a result of both of our top players having reached the elite echelon where they are focusing on their singles games almost exclusively. They wouldn't have won anyway, but it would have been closer. Mehul's effort against Benda, the one possible upset that could have won it, was ... despicable. He just got annihilated. 49-23% in return points, lost 9 of 10 break points(all of his, six of seven that Benda had), just yikes. Ugly and then some. Can't remember the time he looked that bad, and it's a pretty terrible time for it to happen.

Both players will now prep for Shanghai in a little over three weeks. Mehul especially needs a big finish, now that he'll be losing out on some of his WTC points from last year.

Prakash Mooljee had another tier-2 Futures this week, this time on hardcourt in China. There were no available tier-1 events so that will have to wait a bit. He met an old 'friend', journeyman Lazlo Fazekas, in the semifinals. Again it went the distance. Fazekas' no-serve, all rally approach is both his greatest strength and weakness. He had multiple match points, including a triple in a second-set tiebreak, but couldn't close the door. His 16 double faults, and an identical number of aces from Mooljee, swung things in the younger player's favor and Prakash escaped again, 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-2 .. and then surrendered just a single game in an anticlimactic final. He still hasn't lost in 2043.

Last edited by Brian Swartz : 02-16-2016 at 11:06 PM.
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