[Brian Swartz]

October

Only a two-week break between Shanghai and Paris, but boy is there always a lot going on. The first week Mehul was off, but Girsh was off to the Kremlin Cup(250). It was an easy trip for him, with a blast down memory lane as he knocked off Fabian Graff in the quarters, then easily took care of the shell of what used to be Mick Elder in the semis. The final opponent was Viktor Goncharenko, at least an equal to Girsh overall but indoors I thought he had a good chance of the upset. It didn't work out that way, a 6-3, 7-6(4) score that was more one-sided in favor of the Russian than that score would indicate. Fairly disappointing that, but another good result even if he didn't have to beat anybody good to achieve it.

Prakash Mooljee headed off to Tokyo, a Tier-3 during a strange week that didn't have any larger events. Because of that, a tougher field was feared but one of the top players pulled out at the last minute and he ended up the second seed. It was a pretty easy run to a singles title and runner-up in doubles. He'll probably have only one more tournament this year.

The following week, Mehul and Girsh were both in action. The younger player was at the Swiss Indoors(500), while the older played at Valencia(500), both indoor events. Girsh reached the semis against top-seeded Perry Hogue, a better player than Goncharenko but even so the match was closer. It was the first real sign of life from him since the spring, but still a loss, 6-4, 7-6(4). He was just a little short of being able to pull it off ... and then Hogue lost to unseeded Roger Federer in the final. Figures.

Mehul expected to yawn his way through, but was stunned in the final going for his second straight title and 10th straight win. David Alvarez beat him 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Overall Mehul was better but might have taken it too lightly: on an indoor court Alvarez should not be serious competition for him, but the Spaniard was the more consistent player and won more of the big moments. It was exactly the kind of loss that could derail his push to knock Benda out of the #2 spot, and probably his worst defeat of the year.

Coming Up

Naturally it's the Paris Masters now, with Girsh making his debut and seeded no less, 15th after his last couple weeks have moved him up a bit. It will be his last tournament of the year. Mehul made the semis last year and his goal is at least to make the final. Iglar is the only player who should beat him indoors, but as we have seen all over the place this fall, nobody is invincible if they don't bring their best tennis.

The Race is also not over, it seems. Hammerstein changed his mind and is playing here, so if he goes further than Marcek he should get the last spot. Once again it will come down to the wire.

Real-Time Update:

Both made it through their first matches(second round). In the round of 16 both are favored, with Marcek taking on Groeneveldt, and Hammerstein meeting unseeded David Prieto(how times change for that to happen). Mehul should have a walk against Andres Blanco, while Girsh has a very interesting matchup with Pierce Gaskell, who has not yet been eliminated either but he needs to take the title and have both of the other contenders lose before the semis so his chances are extremely small.