Juan Martin del Potro Advances to Semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Martin del Potro survives scare to advance at Indian Wells.

The 29-year-old Argentine tennis player has earned a spot in the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

del Potro defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semis.

For a second-straight match, the world No. 9 found himself needing to win two straight sets after a sluggish first.

del Potro was out of sorts when this match started, having trouble with the way Kohlschreiber was mixing things up. The German was moving del Potro around as much as he could, and he was also making excellent use of the drop shot.

del Potro would not stay down for long. The new set invigorated del Potro, who took out some frustration on his racquets. Settled in, he took care of business in the second set to force a decider.

The third set was even more straightforward, as del Potro began to play his best tennis right when Kohlschreiber started to play his worst. del Potro’s forehand was at its fearsome best late in the match, and Kohlschreiber was unable to handle it.

The icing on the cake for the world No. 9 came when he gave Kohlschreiber a taste of his own medicine, utilizing a drop shot of his own to help hold serve and go up 4-2 in the third.

del Potro will face 32nd-seeded Milos Raonic on Saturday.

Nadal Celebrates 1,000th ATP Tour Level Match with a Win at the Miami Open

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal has joined an elite team of tennis stars…

The 30-year-old Spanish tennis star celebrated his 1,000th tour level match by beating German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber in a topsy-turvy, come-from-behind victory at the Miami Open.

Nadal is safely through to the fourth round, despite failing to win a game in a stunning first set. Luckily, he recovered to prevail 0-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Kohlschreiber was unstoppable in the early stages and romped through the opening set in just 21 minutes.

It was the first time Nadal had failed to win a game in the first set of an ATP Tour encounter since 2008.

But the fifth seed was undaunted and fought back in determined fashion to claim the 822nd win of his illustrious career and a last-16 tmatch against France’s Nicolas Mahut, who beat Guido Pella 6-4 6-3.

Nadal joins an 11-strong group headed by Jimmy Connors (1,535) to have played at least 1,000 matches on tour.

“One thousand matches is a lot of matches,” said Nadal afterwards. “Obviously that’s good news, because that says I am having a long career.

“During a lot of years, I heard that I’m going to have a short career, so it’s something important for me.

“I remember the first match very well because it was at home in Mallorca. It was my first victory on the ATP and was a great feeling.”

Olivo Upsets Top-Seed Philipp Kohlschreiber at German Open to Reach First Career Semifinal

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Renzo Olivo has pulled off a major upset…

The 24-year-old Argentine tennis player saved two match points and went on to take down top-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber in the German Open quarterfinals on Friday.

Olivo, currently listed as No. 153 in the ATP World Tour rankings, rallied to win 1-6, 6-0, 7-5, saving two match points in the ninth game of the final set as Kohlschreiber was serving for the match at 5-3.

In Olivo’s first career semifinal, he will have to stop third-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.

Cuevas of Uruguay defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (7), 6-1 in a repeat of the 2009 semifinal that was won by Mathieu.

Cuevas, who won consecutive titles in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in February, fired 12 aces and won 79 percent of his service points to beat Mathieu.

Stephane Robert of France beat eighth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3.

His semifinal opponent will be seventh-seeded Martin Klizan of Slovakia, who beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-4, 6-3.

Nadal to Face Kei Nishikori in the Barcelona Open Final

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Rafael Nadal is one win away from back-to-back titles…

The 29-year-old Spanish tennis star will face Kei Nishikori in the Barcelona Open final after both past champions won their semifinals in straight sets on Saturday.

Nadal fought off Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-3 to return to his first final here since 2013, when he won the tournament a record eighth time.

Last weekend, Nadal defeated Gael Monfils to claim a ninth title at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Nishikori, the two-time defending champion, beat Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-2 earlier on the outdoor clay court.

Nadal holds an 8-1 win-loss record against Nishikori, but expects a tough final.

“I will have to play my best,” he said.

The top-seeded Nadal eased past Kohlschreiber, breaking his serve three times and saving the only break chance he conceded to the German. The home favorite sealed the win when Kohlschreiber hit his return long.

Ferrer Oulasts Philipp Kohlschreiber to Reach Erste Bank Open Final

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

David Ferrer is a survivor…

The 32-year-old Spanish tennis player came back from a break down in the final set to defeat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (3) on Saturday and set up a final match against Andy Murray at the Erste Bank Open.

Ferrer, the tournament’s top seed, will appear in his fourth final of the season. He’s seeking his 22nd career ATP title and second of the year.

Murray leads Ferrer 7-6 though the fifth-ranked Spaniard won their only previous meeting this season in Shanghai last week. Both players are competing to qualify for the ATP Finals in London next month.

“I am fighting for the Race to London,” Ferrer said and called the final “a difficult match for sure. I know I have to play very good and have to serve better.”

Murray’s 50th win of the season saw him provisionally rise to eighth place in the qualifying race to the eight-man event.

If Murray holds on to his position, he will qualify for a seventh straight year for the prestigious season-ending tournament, though he pulled out following back surgery in 2013.

But he faces a tough challenge from Ferrer, who hadn’t lost a service game in the tournament before the semifinals but had to save five break points in the opening set against Kohlschreiber.

The German managed to break Ferrer twice in the second set to level the match but couldn’t hold on to a 4-2 lead in the final set.

Ferrer Defeats Julien Benneteau to Reach the Western & Southern Open Final

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

The third time has proven to be the charm for David Ferrer…

Playing in his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinal of the year, the 32-year-old Spanish tennis player soundly defeated France’s Julien Benneteau to advance to the Western & Southern Open final, his first Masters 1000 final in 2014.

Ferrer, the sixth seed, was a comprehensive winner as against Benneteau, losing just five games.He needed just an hour and 11 minutes to complete a 6-3 6-2 win over his French opponent, who was playing in a Masters 1000 semifinal for the first time in his career.

The unseeded Benneteau managed to keep pace with Ferrer for the first six games before dumping a backhand into the net to give the Spaniard a break of serve.

Ferrer held his own serve then broke Benneteau again to wrap up the set, finishing things off with a backhand winner down the line.

Unforced errors continued to flow from Benneteau’s racquet at the start of the second set and Ferrer went a break up again in the fourth game.

The Frenchman did manage one more service hold and then showed admirable spirit to save four match points in the eighth game before finally succumbing on the fifth.

Ferrer, who was forced to save two match points in his opening clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber earlier this week, said afterwards: “I’m going step by step. Tennis is always a surprise. When I looked in my quarter of the draw and saw Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga there, I knew it was not easy.

“But as they lost, I took my chance and got into the final. I’m trying to improve my game every day. Watching the top 10 guys is a great inspiration to improve also. I’m feeling very comfortable on hard courts. On those I can play more with my timing than with power.”

Ferrer will now face former World No. 1 Roger Federer in the men’s final, his first in 11 tries at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 event.

Almagro Beats Rafael Nadal for the First Time to Reach Barcelona Open Semifinals

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

For the first time in his career, Nicolas Almagro has taken down Rafael Nadal…

The 28-year-old Spanish professional tennis player beat his compatriot on Friday in a hard-fought, three-set quarterfinal match at the Barcelona Open, ending the World No. 1’s 41-match winning streak at the tournament.

Nadal was looking for his ninth title in Barcelona but lost a week after going out in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters to David Ferrer.

Nadal, widely considered the greatest clay-court player of all time, hadn’t lost in Barcelona since his debut as a 15-year-old in 2003, although he missed the tournament in 2010. He had not dropped a set here since the 2008 final.

Almagro, ranked No. 20 in the world, converted his second match point, smashing a forehand down the line for his first career victory over Nadal on the 11th try.

“I had a lot of opportunities in the second set,” Nadal said. “I didn’t take advantage of break points, so credit goes to him.”

After failing to convert any of his five break points in the second set, Nadal missed a return in the tiebreaker to give Almagro a 6-5 lead. Almagro followed up with a crosscourt forehand winner to level the match and end Nadal’s streak of 44 straight sets at the tournament.

Both players were steady on serve until an exchange of breaks made it 4-4 in the third, and Nadal then sent a shot long to be broken again and give Almagro a chance to serve for the match.

Nadal set up two straight chances to break back, but hit a forehand long and then sent a smash into the net with Almagro out of position.

Nadal then saved the first match point when Almagro’s backhand flew wide. But Almagro used a serve-and-volley to save a third break point of the game before Nadal’s long return set up the second match point.

“This is an important win for my career,” said Almagro, who celebrated wildly. Almagro will face Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo in Saturday’s semifinals after Philipp Kohlschreiber retired with an injury while trailing 6-4, 4-3.

Ferrer Ties Emerson’s Record by Winning Heineken Open

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

David Ferrer has matched a nearly 50 year record…

The 30-year-old Spanish tennis star beat Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday to win the Heineken Open title for the third straight year and fourth time overall.

The tournament’s No. 1 seed Ferrer beat Kohlschreiber 7-6 (5), 6-1 to match the record of Australia’s Roy Emerson, who won the Auckland singles title in 1960, ’65, ’66 and ’67.

Ferrer took the title for the first time in 2007.

He received an email from Emerson just before the final, wishing him well in his effort to equal his record.

The Spaniard, who heads to the Australian Open, said he would return in 2014 to try for a record fifth win.

Saturday’s win gave Ferrer the 19th singles title of his career and his eighth in the past 12 months.

His win in Auckland last January gave him the first of seven singles titles he won in eight finals appearances in 2012.

Kohlschreiber, ranked No. 19, was attempting to win the Heineken Open for the second time after his victory in.

He dominated early, serving strongly and returning aggressively. He even broke Ferrer’s serve in the third game of the opening set and didn’t concede a point on serve until the eighth game when he was broken to allow Ferrer to even the set at 4-4.

Kohlschreiber broke again and had a set point as he served for the match at 5-4. But he faltered, dropped serve again and saw Ferrer take the set into a tiebreak.

Ferrer gained an early mini break and held it, winning the first set in 53 minutes.

Kohlschreiber’s spirits seemed to sag after the setback. He wasn’t able to serve as forcefully in the second set, or to challenge Ferrer’s increasing confidence on his own serve.

Ferrer broke Kohlschreiber in the third, fifth and seventh games, to take the second set in only 24 minutes. While Kohlschreiber served five aces to none and while both players won around 65 percent of points on first serve, the German had an increasing number of unforced errors.

He made 26 in the first set and 41 in the match while Ferrer, after his slow start, was accurate and consistent.

“I’m so happy,” said Ferrer. “It was amazing for me to win here four times. Now I can say this is my favorite tournament.”

Falla Scores Big Upset at Australian Open

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro Falla has scored the first big upset of the tournament in the men’s draw at the Australian Open…

The 28-year-old Colombian tennis player defeated American Mardy Fish, ranked No. 8 in the world, in straight sets in their second round matchup.

Falla, ranked 71st in the world, ousted Fish by a score of 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).

The lefty, who turned pro in 2000, played aggressively from the start, remaining rock-solid throughout the match with his backhand and pressuring the forehand of the American, who committed several unforced errors on key points, especially during the third-set tiebreaker.

“He’s a good player,” Fish, who committed 58 unforced errors, said after the match. “He was up two sets to love against Roger (Federer) at (the 2010) Wimbledon (before losing in five sets). The guy can play. I wasn’t shocked that I was in that position (of down two sets), but … you’ve got to battle. You’ve got to fight. I tried but it didn’t work out.”

Falla’s next round match will be against German player Philipp Kohlschreiber, who currently ranks at No. 41.

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