Week 6 Summary

Rotterdam (ATP, 500)

It was the dream final from the spectator's and organizers point of view. The tournaments highest seeded players met in the final. Andy Murray defeated Rafael Nadal for the Rotterdam crown 6/3 4/6 6/0. The second and third sets turned into a farse as the world No.1 player was injured and went for broke on every occasion.

From 2-1 in the 2nd set, the players showed a festival of breaks, you wouldn't imagine to ever see on an ultra fast and pacy indoor hardcourt from the world's No.1 and No.4 players. The 8 consecutive breaks of serve the spectators saw, will surely not be repeated very quickly on the ATP World Tour...

"Obviously it's not the way you want to win as I could see Rafa had an injury. I thought the first set was good quality and then at the start of the second, when I saw that he was injured, my concentration and level of play dipped. He made it difficult as he was hitting the ball so hard and being aggressive on every shot to try and keep the points short. It just shows how he good he is that he can beat me on one leg!" Murray said.

This was already the 10th title in the young Scotts career, who after his semifinal match has decieded to pull out of his next tournament. His withdrawal has been not only sensational, but more controversial as he manged to beat Mario Ancic 6/1 6/2 in the semis. There will surely be serious consequences for his absensce.

"It's been a great week here and I feel like I've played better as the week has progressed. After my ATP World Tour Masters 1000 wins, this has to count as one of my biggest victories. I've got a bit of a sore ankle so I'll get some rest this week before heading out to Dubai." Murray commentated.

His final opponent showed himself very mysterious about his injury, but at the same time was full of appreciation for his rival. Rafa, who had to play three three-set matches, admitted he wasn't ideally prepared for the tournament.

"I had a problem with the injury but I don't want to talk about that. Andy played very well today and he deserved to win the tournament. I am very happy with my performance this week. I came here without the best preparation after Australia, so it was a great result for me to get to the final here and I am very happy with that."

Worth mentioning was another comeback to form from Mario Ancic. The talented Croat surprised Gilles Simon in the 2nd round in three sets and backed that up with a solid win over Mikhail Youzhny in the quarters.

Also having a great week was the French armada: Gael Monfils, Julien Benneteau and Marc Giqcuel. Monfils reached the semis, before going to Rafa. He beat Benneteau in the quarers, who played a flawless match against Nikolay Davydenko in the 2nd round. Giqcuel also reached the quarters after solid wins over higher ranked players - Koroleev and Mathieu.


San Jose (ATP, 250)

While his girlfriend, Nicole Vaidisova, is still struggling big time, Radek Stepanek is having the time of hs life on court. He beat the home crowd favourite Mardy Fish 3/6 6/4 6/2 for the San Jose title.

"I started the season well in Brisbane, and I made two rounds at the Australian Open, so I came here with a lot of confidence with a lot of winning matches and it just paid off. I did very hard off-season practice. I believe in myself and I feel great physically. Now with five weeks in the bag, it’s definitely my best beginning to a year. This is great for me, and I’ll work hard to keep this level." said Stepanek.

The Czech must have found a new recipie for winning. He just lets the opponent win the first set and then he comes into play and wins the next two sets. This was the case in 4 out of his 5 matches this week. The strangest one came in the quarters against qualifier Todd Widom, when he produced the stunning scoreline 5/7 6/0 6/0. In the semis it was a more classical score against the tournament's top seed Andy Roddick 3/6 7/6(5) 6/4. Great effort from Radek!

Mardy Fish can also be happy of his achievements this week as he beat very good names on the way to the final - former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, the ace-tower John Isner, No.2 seed (king of smaller events) Juan Martin Del Potro and (the injured) No.3 seed James Blake.

"I played every set this week about as good as I could have against a lot of good players. [The third set] definitely was the worst set I played all week. Everything went – starting with my leg, my feet. You stop moving, you get a little tight. You get so close to winning this. To say it doesn’t creep in your mind that you remember some of those losses you have in all those finals – I have 10 losses in all those finals – that’s a lot." said Fish.


Costa do Sauipe (ATP, 250)

It's always a strange feeling to be playing on clay in February, but because Tommy Robredo is no stranger to clay, it didn't feel strange for him to win the title by beating a surprise finalist and hometown favourite Thomaz Bellucci 6/3 3/6 6/4. And because winning is such a fun feeling, the Spaniard also decieded to win the doubles title (together with Marcel Granollers).

"It's wonderful to play tennis when the public is excited about the match and behind one of the players. Obviously, as long as it's respectful, as the public was tonight. Naturally the public was backing Thomaz tonight, but I was able to concentrate on what I needed to do. Although Thomaz was nervous at the beginning, this turned into a great match. He is a great player and plays well. He had opportunities and made some great shots, but luckily I was able to win and I'm very happy about it. This was a great way to end a fantastic week here in Brazil. I hope to return many times to Costa do Sauipe." said Robredo.

The Spaniard literally cruised past his opponents. He had a tricky semifinal against Jose Acasuso, to whom he lost a week ago at the same stage. This time Robredo showed his best play polishing the Argentinian 6/2 6/1.

"It was very emotional and moving to feel the public support me to that degree; yelling my name and even some people crying at the end." said Bellucci.

The Brazilian was very lucky to get so far, as he had a very difficult 2nd round match against Poland's Łukasz Kubot, the Pole was 4/1 up in the third, but choked and didn't win another game. Bellucci then upped his game to beat former world No.1 Juan Caros Ferrero in the next round in three sets and Frederico Gil, who made a second semifinal in as many weeks.
His match against the No.1 seed and defending champion, Nicolas Almagro proved to be a scandalous filled one and the talking point of the week. More on the story behind that one - HERE.


Paris Premier (WTA, $700,000)

The indoor tournament in Paris was all about Amelie Mauresmo, as the Frenchwoman finally found her mojo again and beat three top ten players in a row to take the home crown. In the final she beat the in-form Elena Dementieva in what was surely the match of the tournament 7/6 2/6 6/4.
The tears Amelie shead after winning the final didn't wonder anyone in the crowd. Everyone knew, how much it meant to the former world No.1 to finally win a title and state a comeback of form. It took Amelie two long years to add a title to her previous 24. Doubts creeped into the mind of the 29 year old, as the reporeters were repeadietly asking her, if it's about time to hang up her racquet, but knew Mauresmo she still had it, 'cause you can not just lose the skill.

"I'm just happy it finally showed after a couple of years of struggling. During the last few months in practice I could see there were some great moments, but it was only showing in matches now and then. I didn't know when my consistency at this level was going to happen again, or if it would. When you look at the field and all the great players that were here in Paris, I'm very happy and very proud about this week."

Mauresmo began the week with a win over Sara Errani, who she had lost to in two sets two days earlier in a Fed Cup match. It was revange time for Amelie as she beat the Italian by the impressive score 6/2 6/0. Next up, she lost only three games to Monica Niculescu, but the major shock came in the quarters as she destroyed world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska 6/2 6/0. In the semis the Frenchwoman also impressed the crowd with a win over recent world No.1 Jelena Jankovic 6/2 0/6 6/1.

The final was a see-saw match, where Dementieva raced out to a 5/3 lead in the first set and held a set point in the tiebreak. After winning the first set Momo got an early break and seemed to be able to runaway with the match, but Dementieva is not a player who gives you anything for free. She's even more dangerous, when she's down. She won the second set 6/2. The Frenchwoman raced out to a 5/1. The Russian closed the gap to 5/4, but wasn't able to complete the little comeback, as Mauresmo confidently closed out the match to love on her second attempt denying the Russian her 500th win on Tour.

"The level of our match was just incredible. The whole week, Amélie was playing very solid. She really picked up her game and played her best, especially today. It was a really impressive win for her today. I'm just very glad for her. She has had some difficult times with all of those injuries, and it's really great to see her win here, especially since it's at home." Dementieva said.

The hosts can be generally very happy with their countryman's performances. The quarterfinals were an intriguing affair between the top 4 seeds and Frenchwomen and though only one emerged as a winner, it was the one who eventually captured the crown.

There were also some negative headlines this week, as the new world No.1 Serena Williams decieded to pull out of the tournament before her semifinal clash against Dementieva. The Australian Open champion cited an injured knee as the reason of her withdrawal.
"At the end of the match (against Emilie Loit) I felt pain and this morning it was bad. My left knee has already often been injured and here it's the right, that's the good news... I really think it's just a question of a few days of rest" Serena said.

The American had really dissapointed the crowd, who was expecting a great showdown between this year's two best players. One can question Serena's action as she immidietly made the trip to the bigger tournament in Dubai and will have only three days rest. It seems like Williams didn't take the tournament seriously at all, which is very sad and disappointing!


Pattaya International (WTA, $220,000)

Vera Zvonareva was the No.1 seed and the totally dominant player in Pattaya City, winning the title without losing a single set, but it was her final opponent, Sania Mirza, who made all the headlines and stole the Russian the show.

First things first - it was a fantastic week for Zvonareva, who just rolled over her opponents, not even having to contest a tiebreak. It seems Vera hasn't lost anything from her last year's spark. If anything, she has exelerated - reaching semis at the Australian Open, her best Grand Slam result, and now winning the title. We'll see, if she can keep this up...

The beaten finalist, Sania Mirza, must be very proud of what she achieved over the past month. In only her second event after a right wrist injury forced her out of the Tour for more than 4 months. She came back at the AO, where as the first Indian in history she captured the mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi. More on that HERE.

"This is my second tournament this year after six months of injury last year. I couldn't ask for a better start by winning the mixed doubles in the Australian Open and making it to the final here in Pattaya City."

Also making headlines this week were the semifinalist - Magdalena Rybarikova from Slovakia and Israeli Shahar Peer.

Peer reached her first semifinal since Memphis, exactly a year ago.
Rybarikova, on the other hand has posted her career best win after dismanteling world No.12 and No.2 seed in Pattaya Caroline Wozniacki 6/4 6/1.

~jachal