“I want to win. Every tournament I play I want to win. I’m happy with my performance and happy with my game right now.”
Runner-up in Brisbane, winner in Sofia, Daniil Medvedev is one of the player to follow. He defeated Robin Haase, Martin Klizan, Gael Monfils and Marton Fucsovics en route to the Sofia title, his fourth overall, all won on hard courts. For sure, he’s not the best-known NextGen player, but he’s in constant progress and about to break into the Top 10.
Marton Fucsovics advanced to his second ATP Tour final by beating Andreas Seppi, Yannick Maden, and Matteo Berrettini – he benefited from Bautista Agut’s forfeit in the quarter-finals. Fucsovics triumphed in Geneva last year to become the first male Hungarian player to win an ATP title since Balazs Taroczy in 1982.
Mirza Basic was the defending champion, but lost to Martin Klizan in the first round. Number one seed Karen Khachanov lost to Matteo Berrettini in the second round. Number two seed and recent Australian Open semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten in straight sets in the quarter-finals by a resurgent Gael Monfils.
Nikola Mektic and Jurgen Melzer defeated Cheng-Peng Hsieh and Christopher Rungkat to win their first team title. It was only their third tournament as a duo.
Thanks to Yulian Todorov for the pictures.
I only watched the first set, won easily by Tsonga 6-2, before heading to court 1 for the Nishikori-Robredo second round match. I was quite surprised to learn that Tsonga had to battle three sets to defeat Melzer.
Here are a few pictures of the match:
Follow our Bercy 2014 coverage on Tennis Buzz.
Photo credit: Peg
More reports from Cincinnati:
On the way to the Western & Southern Open
The Western & Southern Open main draw party
Friday evening at Lindner Family Tennis Center
Seeking relief from the heat
Proximity
Interviews and Press Conferences
The Mixed Zone
Stars and Flowers
Players at practice
Thanks a lot to Peg for sharing her experience from Cincinnati!
More reports from Cincinnati:
On the way to the Western & Southern Open
The Western & Southern Open main draw party
Friday evening at Lindner Family Tennis Center
It’s been in at least the high 80s (Fahrenheit) all weekend here in Mason. That’s cooler than where I’m from (Nashville), but it’s still plenty hot. Players such as Lleyton Hewitt were reaching for ice towels even around 6 p.m.:
Jurgen Melzer iced down his legs as well as head and neck (he was looking stiff toward the end of the match), and applied a bare bag directly to his head at one point:
Earlier in the day, the umbrellas were out in evidence on Grandstand, especially around noon, during Tomic vs. Ebden. They were opened for the players during changeovers:
In the audience, I counted at least fifteen. Some were beat-up and basic, some were flowery, some were fashionable …
The crowd tended to cluster under overhangs and other shaded areas:
It was also a fine day for hat-admiring, both of serviceable and stylish chapeaux:
Sometimes, though, a mere cap needed help:
It was bright enough that today’s human statue wore shades:
The Grandstand umpires sit under a canopy. (Richard Haigh chaired the Ebden-Tomic match.)
I also overheard folks complaining about sunburn and reapplying sunblock. To help with the latter, the Andy Caress Melanoma Foundation has representatives handing out packets of SPF 30 sunscreen. These wonderful people were on duty near Court 16 (where loads of fans were waiting for the Djokovic-Wawrinka 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. practice to get underway):
Queen’s 2014 champion Grigor Dimitrov:
World number 3 Stanislas Wawrinka, beaten by Dimitrov in the semifinal:
