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Paris Masters -- Third Round
First up was Iglar vs. Marcek. The Czech Republic's top two players were not thrilled about playing each other this early -- they'd much rather play a final as in Shanghai -- but it's hard to imagine Iglar throwing away a chance at #1 to aid another player. Still, Marcek hung tough early, fighting off two break chances late in the first set to force a tiebreak, which quickly went to Iglar. A quick break early in the second looked to be all Antonin needed, and he steamrolled his way to a 7-6(2), 6-0 win. Marcek was beaten mentally after that breaker, and Mehul's chances to qualify were now very good. 28 in a row. And counting.
Almagro and Prieto were on court shortly afterwards. It was a close match at the start and both players had chances to break early. The turning point seemed to be when Prieto failed to break in the sixth game, then lost his serve in the very next game to fall behind. After losing the first set, he had every opportunity to fold but unlike Marcek did not. Rallying from a quick break, he turned the tables and forced a decisive third. Again the sixth game was key; what looked like a routine hold turned into a disaster, Prieto double-faulted on break point and was ultimately undone by his compatriot, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The list of candidates shrunk again; David Prieto has played the tour finals for five straight years, but he will not see a sixth.
The last important match of the day session was the 'eliminator' between Goncharenko and Hammerstein. The loser was out, the winner had the chance to spoil Mehul's party if they kept going. Goncharenko snagged an early break, and survived triple break point as he served out the first set. Hammerstein had to be kicking himself after that, a perfect chance to get back in the match, and he blew it. The Austrian soon found himself down in the second set, once again missing opportunities to even it up. Not the typical pattern for Julian, normally very tough in the most critical moments. He went from long shot to history in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, not putting up much of a fight in the process.
And then there were three. Evgeni Topolski was now all but in, but it wasn't over yet. He found himself in more of a fight than he bargained for, barely sneaking past Groeneveldt 7-6(5), 7-6(3). Heck of a fight by the Luxembourg star, who may have enough skill to add to his impressive athleticism to join the elite next year. He's not quite there yet, but nearly pulled off a big upset.
The last important match, in terms of the Race, was Alvarez v. Mehul in the evening. A loss here, and it would only take one Goncharenko upset tomorrow to knock him out of the finals. It started well for Anil -- of course, that had happened in Valencia as well. Up an early break, he came up with some well-timed aces to prevent Alvarez from breaking back in the sixth game. The Spaniard had a loose game midway through the second set, allowing a relatively straight-forward 6-2, 6-4 win, avenging the loss in Valencia. As a result, Goncharenko would need to reach the final, including stopping the Iglar freight train along the way, in order to surpass him. Unlikely, but not impossible. Meanwhile, the only way Topolski fails to qualify now is for both Mehul and Goncharenko to reach the championship match. That possibility is remote at best.
Quarterfinal Matchups
Three of the four impact on the Race:
** Benda vs. Mehul. Anil will be looking to repeat his success two weeks ago in the Stockholm final.
** Iglar vs. Topolski. A Topolski win would leave Goncharenko winning the title as his only path to failing to qualify.
** Elder vs. Goncharenko. If Elder stops the Russian #2, the Race is over and Topolski & Mehul are the final pair. He's the spoiler's last hope, so to speak.
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