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Brian Swartz · 10-16-2016, 01:04 PM

Thanks ... it's been a fun ride.

Madrid Masters

Senepathy lost in qualifying again, no shocker there. Pierce Gaskell's brief surge in the hardcourt season definitely reversed itself, as he lost badly to a qualifier right away. Srbulovic was also out quickly, having the misfortune of playing Andronikov, one of the most dangerous floaters, in his first match. In the second round, Girsh was pushed to three by Condon but finished it off easily. Cirakovic knocked out Bourdet in an epic three-tiebreak encounter, and Mehul went three as well but got past home favorite Rui Padilla, fresh off his Barca title. Most of the rest went as expected, with a couple more close matches later on in the day. Zakirov escaped de los Santos 7-5 in the third in one of them.

There were few easy wins to come by in the third round. Girsh moved on again, but the first real shocker of the tournament came with Gustavo Caratti exiting very early in three against Agustin Herrera. Caratti was in control of this match for the most part, but after a long second-set tiebreaker went against him he couldn't finish it off, going just 2 of 9 on break points. A rough result for him after the last few years. Anil Mehul was an upset victim as well, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Andronikov. Same story really there; 1 of 11 on BPs while losing both on his own serve. Outplayed the top Georgian by far, but didn't come through when it mattered. There was a strange match with Kinczllers and Shreya Ujjaval. After trading bagel sets, Kinczllers outlasted him 7-5 in the third. Then Mooljee finished out his match strong after losing a set to Zakirov.

Top three players made it to the quarterfinals, but after that it was a smattering. The upsets didn't stop here either. Girish Girsh handed Tomas Niklas a beating in the first set, but couldn't keep it up and fell 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. The other matches pretty much went according to plan though. Two very different semis with no. 12 Niklas and no. 10 Agustin Herrera meeting in the first, Niklas taking it 6-4 in the third to reach his first Masters final. In the second, a critical matchup in Mooljee's bid to reach the #2 spot sooner rather than later as he met up with Antonin Iglar. Iglar's serve was quite ineffective on this day, and Mooljee won in straights.

The final was a joke, 6-0, 6-2 as Prakash Mooljee took his third Masters Shield in the last nine weeks. Worth noting here is that he's still a year and a half younger than Mehul was at his first Masters title, two years younger than Girsh managed. He's still #3 but closing the gap, while Caratti tumbles to 5th behind Mehul. Tomas Niklas moves up to 9th, and at 24 years old the heir apparent to Iglar's spot as the top Czech could well become Mooljee's best competition before long. Ujjaval, who has been horribly overplayed this year, slides into 10th.

10-16-2016, 01:04 PM	#531
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Thanks ... it's been a fun ride. Madrid Masters Senepathy lost in qualifying again, no shocker there. Pierce Gaskell's brief surge in the hardcourt season definitely reversed itself, as he lost badly to a qualifier right away. Srbulovic was also out quickly, having the misfortune of playing Andronikov, one of the most dangerous floaters, in his first match. In the second round, Girsh was pushed to three by Condon but finished it off easily. Cirakovic knocked out Bourdet in an epic three-tiebreak encounter, and Mehul went three as well but got past home favorite Rui Padilla, fresh off his Barca title. Most of the rest went as expected, with a couple more close matches later on in the day. Zakirov escaped de los Santos 7-5 in the third in one of them. There were few easy wins to come by in the third round. Girsh moved on again, but the first real shocker of the tournament came with Gustavo Caratti exiting very early in three against Agustin Herrera. Caratti was in control of this match for the most part, but after a long second-set tiebreaker went against him he couldn't finish it off, going just 2 of 9 on break points. A rough result for him after the last few years. Anil Mehul was an upset victim as well, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Andronikov. Same story really there; 1 of 11 on BPs while losing both on his own serve. Outplayed the top Georgian by far, but didn't come through when it mattered. There was a strange match with Kinczllers and Shreya Ujjaval. After trading bagel sets, Kinczllers outlasted him 7-5 in the third. Then Mooljee finished out his match strong after losing a set to Zakirov. Top three players made it to the quarterfinals, but after that it was a smattering. The upsets didn't stop here either. Girish Girsh handed Tomas Niklas a beating in the first set, but couldn't keep it up and fell 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. The other matches pretty much went according to plan though. Two very different semis with no. 12 Niklas and no. 10 Agustin Herrera meeting in the first, Niklas taking it 6-4 in the third to reach his first Masters final. In the second, a critical matchup in Mooljee's bid to reach the #2 spot sooner rather than later as he met up with Antonin Iglar. Iglar's serve was quite ineffective on this day, and Mooljee won in straights. The final was a joke, 6-0, 6-2 as Prakash Mooljee took his third Masters Shield in the last nine weeks. Worth noting here is that he's still a year and a half younger than Mehul was at his first Masters title, two years younger than Girsh managed. He's still #3 but closing the gap, while Caratti tumbles to 5th behind Mehul. Tomas Niklas moves up to 9th, and at 24 years old the heir apparent to Iglar's spot as the top Czech could well become Mooljee's best competition before long. Ujjaval, who has been horribly overplayed this year, slides into 10th.