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Brian Swartz · 06-19-2016, 11:32 AM

2046 Australian Open

Shreya Ujjaval had a somewhat unfortunate draw, going up against 16th-seeded Bourdet in the first round. It was a competitive match, but he lost in straight sets. Prakash Mooljee, on the other hand, was quite fortunate. His first opponent was Ivo Montalvo(ARG, 77th). Mooljee surrendered just six games, controlling the match easily and dominating break points(11 of 13 overall won) to crush him. Another early story was that the Peruvians came in unprepared with not nearly enough matches played. 12th-seeded Agustin Herrera was one of three seeds to lose in their opening match and by far the highest, falling to 46th-ranked Mqabukonyongolo Nkomo, South Africa's top player, in shockingly easy fashion -- 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. Thiago Herrera, the world's #9, barely outlasted Hector Deblock, 7-5 in the 5th.

In the second round, Mooljee faced 28-seed Khasan Zakirov of Uzbekistan. It was their sixth meeting, with Mooljee winning three in a row until losing in the Samarkand challenger final last year. Here he took an opening-set tiebreak and then thumped Zakirov from there out for another straight-set win and his first third-round appearance in a Slam. Thiago Herrera had no heroics this time in a close straight-set loss to Jens Petersen of Denmark, a humiliatingly early defeat for a Top-10 player. The rest pretty much went according to form, though Radek Smitala was pushed hard, going the max against Chinese wild-card Yoo-ngan Doon. Another American, 31st-seed Philip Carter, had his second five-setter in as many rounds, going to 10-8 in the decider.

Anil Mehul and Girish Girsh continued to cruise in the third round, taking out a pair of Americans in Smitala and Fabricio Gilardino. They've won all matches so far easily in straight sets as you might expect. Mooljee had Marcelo Herrera up next, the best of the Peru players remaining. He still wasn't up to full speed though, and in the biggest win of his career by far Prakash thumped him 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, moving into the fourth round! Other notable result included a extremely tight match that saw Federer survive in five over Condon, and Peter Sampras pulling off a fairly stunning upset over Trulsen in four sets.

In the fourth round, Mooljee's gravy train ended as he was Mehul's opponent. All the cliches about how the achievement was in just getting here, etc. applied to this. It was a mismatch, and although Mooljee stole a set Mehul outclassed him as expected, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2. Roger Federer had another five-setter and won again, this time coming from two sets down against fellow veteran Pierce Gaskell. Girsh had a bit closer match than in earlier rounds but still won in straight sets over Bourdet, and Caratti staged a comeback from being down two sets as well, over Marcek.

On to the second week, where it was mostly the usual suspects with Bourdet and Federer crashing the party. The Frenchman met up with Mehul and made it a match before losing in a competitive four-setter. Federer wasn't done yet, and knocked off Bjorn Benda 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Antonin Iglar and Mugur Kinczllers, both of whom sailed through to this point, had a trio of 6-4 sets, all won by Iglar. In the last match, Girsh had to survive a pair of tiebreaks to do it, but he still hasn't lost a set after defeating Caratti.

At 29 years old, Roger Federer(15th, SUI) is making his first appearance in the second week of a Slam. That's quite an unusual set of circumstances. Also interesting was that Anil Mehul, after defeating him in a pretty close straight-sets win, reached the final without having played anyone ranked higher. The second semi was the more anticipated, with the winner between Iglar and Girsh set to take the #2 ranking after the tournament. Girsh prevailed for the fourth time in their last five meetings, 6-3, 6-7(11), 6-3, 6-4, allowing only one break in five chances. The career head-to-head is still very much lopsided, but right now Girsh seems to clearly have the upper hand.

Yet another all-Sri Lanka final. Girsh would be within striking distance of the #1 ranking if he won, not to mention that whole first Slam title thing. He was a bit more tired though, while Mehul was still playing at his best in this one. That was enough, though only barely. It looked like Girsh might have it after taking the third set to seize control of the match, but Mehul finished best for a 7-5, 5-7, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. He's now won 7 total Slams, tying him for sixth on the all-time list with a great many others, including Benda. That's also three straight on hardcourt after he had not won a single one on this surface previously. As for Girsh, he still moves past Iglar into second place, while Mooljee is up to a new high well at 33rd -- right on the edge of the challengers/elite break in the rankings.

Up Next ...

Another tournament for Dudwadkar, while the rest go up against the unprepared Peruvians in the next round of WTC group play.

06-19-2016, 11:32 AM	#401
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	2046 Australian Open Shreya Ujjaval had a somewhat unfortunate draw, going up against 16th-seeded Bourdet in the first round. It was a competitive match, but he lost in straight sets. Prakash Mooljee, on the other hand, was quite fortunate. His first opponent was Ivo Montalvo(ARG, 77th). Mooljee surrendered just six games, controlling the match easily and dominating break points(11 of 13 overall won) to crush him. Another early story was that the Peruvians came in unprepared with not nearly enough matches played. 12th-seeded Agustin Herrera was one of three seeds to lose in their opening match and by far the highest, falling to 46th-ranked Mqabukonyongolo Nkomo, South Africa's top player, in shockingly easy fashion -- 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. Thiago Herrera, the world's #9, barely outlasted Hector Deblock, 7-5 in the 5th. In the second round, Mooljee faced 28-seed Khasan Zakirov of Uzbekistan. It was their sixth meeting, with Mooljee winning three in a row until losing in the Samarkand challenger final last year. Here he took an opening-set tiebreak and then thumped Zakirov from there out for another straight-set win and his first third-round appearance in a Slam. Thiago Herrera had no heroics this time in a close straight-set loss to Jens Petersen of Denmark, a humiliatingly early defeat for a Top-10 player. The rest pretty much went according to form, though Radek Smitala was pushed hard, going the max against Chinese wild-card Yoo-ngan Doon. Another American, 31st-seed Philip Carter, had his second five-setter in as many rounds, going to 10-8 in the decider. Anil Mehul and Girish Girsh continued to cruise in the third round, taking out a pair of Americans in Smitala and Fabricio Gilardino. They've won all matches so far easily in straight sets as you might expect. Mooljee had Marcelo Herrera up next, the best of the Peru players remaining. He still wasn't up to full speed though, and in the biggest win of his career by far Prakash thumped him 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, moving into the fourth round! Other notable result included a extremely tight match that saw Federer survive in five over Condon, and Peter Sampras pulling off a fairly stunning upset over Trulsen in four sets. In the fourth round, Mooljee's gravy train ended as he was Mehul's opponent. All the cliches about how the achievement was in just getting here, etc. applied to this. It was a mismatch, and although Mooljee stole a set Mehul outclassed him as expected, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2. Roger Federer had another five-setter and won again, this time coming from two sets down against fellow veteran Pierce Gaskell. Girsh had a bit closer match than in earlier rounds but still won in straight sets over Bourdet, and Caratti staged a comeback from being down two sets as well, over Marcek. On to the second week, where it was mostly the usual suspects with Bourdet and Federer crashing the party. The Frenchman met up with Mehul and made it a match before losing in a competitive four-setter. Federer wasn't done yet, and knocked off Bjorn Benda 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Antonin Iglar and Mugur Kinczllers, both of whom sailed through to this point, had a trio of 6-4 sets, all won by Iglar. In the last match, Girsh had to survive a pair of tiebreaks to do it, but he still hasn't lost a set after defeating Caratti. At 29 years old, Roger Federer(15th, SUI) is making his first appearance in the second week of a Slam. That's quite an unusual set of circumstances. Also interesting was that Anil Mehul, after defeating him in a pretty close straight-sets win, reached the final without having played anyone ranked higher. The second semi was the more anticipated, with the winner between Iglar and Girsh set to take the #2 ranking after the tournament. Girsh prevailed for the fourth time in their last five meetings, 6-3, 6-7(11), 6-3, 6-4, allowing only one break in five chances. The career head-to-head is still very much lopsided, but right now Girsh seems to clearly have the upper hand. Yet another all-Sri Lanka final. Girsh would be within striking distance of the #1 ranking if he won, not to mention that whole first Slam title thing. He was a bit more tired though, while Mehul was still playing at his best in this one. That was enough, though only barely. It looked like Girsh might have it after taking the third set to seize control of the match, but Mehul finished best for a 7-5, 5-7, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. He's now won 7 total Slams, tying him for sixth on the all-time list with a great many others, including Benda. That's also three straight on hardcourt after he had not won a single one on this surface previously. As for Girsh, he still moves past Iglar into second place, while Mooljee is up to a new high well at 33rd -- right on the edge of the challengers/elite break in the rankings. Up Next ... Another tournament for Dudwadkar, while the rest go up against the unprepared Peruvians in the next round of WTC group play.