Title: s-Hertogenbosch
Description: 17th - 13th June
Description: 17th - 13th June
Dinky Jo - June 17, 2007 08:34 AM (GMT)
Manzikert - June 20, 2007 10:59 AM (GMT)
Don't know if anyone has seen this but the Ordina Open site is offering live streams of centre court!
Link to the site's streaming page.
Link to the site's streaming page.
Manzikert - June 22, 2007 06:11 AM (GMT)
The draw has shaped up a bit disappointingly. Ljubicic is the last seed standing, winning his first ever quarterfinal on grass 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-3 over Tipsarevic.
Honestly he seems to have a well-suited game for the surface, with a formidable serve, long reach and decent touch at net, so it's puzzling why he hasn't done well on it before. For all that he was a bit lucky to get past his fellow Balkan player; the Serb was creating some fine angles and displayed spirited shotmaking throughout, dominating many of the rallies, but just didn't have the focus on the big points, letting eleven break points go begging (five in the decider alone, which would have let him draw even) and let slip four set points across different occasions in the second, including double set point in the tiebreaker, before finally taking his fifth. To be sure Ljubicic served his way out of trouble some of the time, but he actually let Tipsarevic have a look at a second serve on most of them. Most disappointing was the decisive service break in the first, which Tipsarevic all but gave away with a DF and poor UEs. Still he did well to reach his first ATP-level QF on the year (with third-round showings at bigger events in IW and RG), and seems motivated to live up to the Serbian lovefest that has been going on in the tennis world.
The Croat will face debonair Frenchman Benneteau in the semis. I'd have preferred to see Caņas (who is a former finalist here, believe it or not) come through that quarter, but I would like Benneteau to go all the way now that he's put some good wins together. Until his ranking fell after dropping the entirety of his RG QF points recently, he was the highest ranking player to have not won a title; in fact he has yet to reach a final. But it'll probably be Ljubicic who takes it.
The top half was decimated, the biggest casualty being top-seeded Robredo in the QFs, so that we have the 488-ranked Wessels probably facing off against 345-ranked Dupuis (who leads Becker 7-6(2), 3-all in a rain-interrupted match) in a clash of anonymous veterans. :wacko: Needless to say I hope the affable Becker is given a boost from the reprieve and manages to scrape through (he is also seeking his first career final), although Dutchman Wessels seems inspired before his home crowd and may have another upset or two left in him.
Honestly he seems to have a well-suited game for the surface, with a formidable serve, long reach and decent touch at net, so it's puzzling why he hasn't done well on it before. For all that he was a bit lucky to get past his fellow Balkan player; the Serb was creating some fine angles and displayed spirited shotmaking throughout, dominating many of the rallies, but just didn't have the focus on the big points, letting eleven break points go begging (five in the decider alone, which would have let him draw even) and let slip four set points across different occasions in the second, including double set point in the tiebreaker, before finally taking his fifth. To be sure Ljubicic served his way out of trouble some of the time, but he actually let Tipsarevic have a look at a second serve on most of them. Most disappointing was the decisive service break in the first, which Tipsarevic all but gave away with a DF and poor UEs. Still he did well to reach his first ATP-level QF on the year (with third-round showings at bigger events in IW and RG), and seems motivated to live up to the Serbian lovefest that has been going on in the tennis world.
The Croat will face debonair Frenchman Benneteau in the semis. I'd have preferred to see Caņas (who is a former finalist here, believe it or not) come through that quarter, but I would like Benneteau to go all the way now that he's put some good wins together. Until his ranking fell after dropping the entirety of his RG QF points recently, he was the highest ranking player to have not won a title; in fact he has yet to reach a final. But it'll probably be Ljubicic who takes it.
The top half was decimated, the biggest casualty being top-seeded Robredo in the QFs, so that we have the 488-ranked Wessels probably facing off against 345-ranked Dupuis (who leads Becker 7-6(2), 3-all in a rain-interrupted match) in a clash of anonymous veterans. :wacko: Needless to say I hope the affable Becker is given a boost from the reprieve and manages to scrape through (he is also seeking his first career final), although Dutchman Wessels seems inspired before his home crowd and may have another upset or two left in him.
petalp - June 23, 2007 10:32 AM (GMT)
Yip, this tournament does seem low-key, doesn't it? Well, it's Lluby in the final, I know that much and either Wessels or Dupuis as his opponent there..
Unsurprisingly not many posts waxing lyrical about this one! :
Unsurprisingly not many posts waxing lyrical about this one! :