Rain in continental europe halted play several times at the Bastad and Gstaad Opens! The wet weather that caused so much havoc at Wimbledon crossed the channel and both tournaments now have backlogged matches. However the clay dries faster than grass and can be raked so the interuptions are often shorter.
In Gstaad, Switzerland both top seeds are already out. Gael Monfil of France defeated Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in 3 tight sets while number 2 seed and compatriot Mikail Youzhny went out in straight sets to Austrain veteran Stefan Koubek. Defending champion and Wimbledon semi-finalist Richard Gasquet of France had an easier time defeating Spainsh clay court specialist Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo in straight sets. other notable winners are Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador and Andreas Seppi of Italy.
In Bastad, Sweden there where wins for home favourites Robin Soderling and Thomas Johansson. Spaniards David ferrer and Fernando Verdasco are also through on their favourite service however top seed and defending champion Tommy Robredo was defeated in a sea-saw match with Peru's Luis Horna 1-6 6-1 1-6.
Better weather was to be had in the USA where the men are still playing on the grass courts. Former finalist Vince Spadea is already through to the quarters as is Aiman Quereshi. The Pakistani qualifier defeated top seeded Mardy Fish in round one before ousting Australian lucky loser Nathan Healey in 3 sets in the 2nd round. The tournament is the last chance on the ATP calander to practice there grass court skills before the 2008 British grass court season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment