#match points

[sporadicpursefreakbakery]

[novaknole]

Novak’s on court interview after his semi final win over Fernando Verdasco at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Friday

(via PavlikTNS on YouTube)

[stateofsport211]

Naples R2: Miomir Kecmanovic [5] def. Corentin Moutet 5-3 ret. Situation

A retirement because of slippery courts?

The last moments when Corentin Moutet retires (🎥 Naples feed, via an alt link source)

There is no day without a story back in Naples. The story began with a full-day rain Thursday last week, which resulted in the unplayable courts just before the first days of qualifying. As a result, the qualifiers were moved to TC Pozzuoli, which is a 30-minute drive from Naples, but also started late due to court maintenance after the rain. Furthermore, among any other situations (this can end up being its own list), they rebuilt the court in just 2 nights by importing the court from Florence, with the repaint coming from Bologna in hopes to fix the court problem.

Unplayable courts remain the issue until this day, particularly in the night session. However, it was not a reason of retirement until Corentin Moutet retires at *5-3 against Miomir Kecmanovic. Knowing the humidity and court situation, Moutet then added it was "too risky" to play, knowing his adductor situation, with such slippery courts. Additionally, both players complained about this situation throughout the match.

The situation leading up to Fognini-Carballes Baena being suspended (📸 TennisTV)

At the end of the day, the match between Fabio Fognini and Pablo Carreno Busta was suspended because of a dew, another reason behind the play suspension. It was found after Fognini called the supervisor, having him re-check the court situation before the play was called for the rest of the night. The match will continue earlier today from Carreno Busta leading 3-0, where the winner of this match faces Miomir Kecmanovic, likely in the evening.

With the last few days coming up, it can be intriguing to follow what happens next. Knowing a lot of negative reviews to the way this tournament is organized, then...

[stateofsport211]

Tel Aviv Q1: Edan Leshem [WC] def. Lorenzo Giustino [7] 6-3, 6-1 Match Point + Match Stats

🎥 Sport 5 IL

And just like that, with strong service games (if I am not mistaken, there were aces or unreturned serves), and a nicely executed rally (which ended up with Giustino's ball being wide), Leshem took the second set and won the match at 6-3, 6-1. It was rather straightforward, considering Giustino being out-of-form lately, but luckily I saved the stats to help me navigate through, especially the erratic second set (in Giustino's part).

📸 Sport 5 IL

What a match. I reflected on how the second set's outcome was a combination of Leshem's solidity and Giustino's erratic second set, and somehow the match stats confirmed some of that. Let's break that down with the flow of the match.

In terms of service games, although Giustino's first serve was 1% higher than Leshem's, Leshem's service games were more solid, winning 66% points from his first and 65% points from his second serves. With 2 aces and several unreturned serves, those kinds of service games came in clutch at crucial points, especially when he was almost broken and had to defend the follow-ups. It went well. He did not risk it, either way, looking at Giustino's 5 double faults, several came consecutively.

Responding to those double faults, Leshem upped his return games in a way, there were several good points admittedly (including the drop shot and some winners). That way, he managed to convert 5 out of 8 break points, while Giustino could only convert one-fourth of his. How he closed the rally was brought to my attention, because it often ended in error, or it was too wide, resulting in fewer winners or somewhere along those lines. To sum up, in general: the rallies' pace was in Leshem's racquet, he was the one in control here.

Leshem is going to face Luca Nardi in the next round, who defeated Andrey Chepelev 6-3, 6-1. The recap of this match is going to follow after this post.

[stateofsport211]

Tel Aviv Q1: Nicolas Alvarez Varona [6] def. Daniel Cukierman 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Match Point + Recap

🎥 Sport 5 IL

I am going to dump the moments from which matches I watched before moving to several other matches. This is where I would like to recap some of the flows, if needed, in several posts.

The first match I watched throughout my Tel Aviv coverage frenzy was Nicolas Alvarez Varona vs. Daniel Cukierman (although my match-watching adventure was interrupted by the main draw drawing and press conference). Alvarez Varona was solid in his service games on the first set, which was almost a bakery product until, thankfully, Cukierman held his serves.

The momentum shifted a little bit in the second set when Cukierman figured the returns in a way, although Alvarez Varona re-raised his level in the third set (as if it was the first) with even more working serves. I feared Cukierman's returning error, in this regard, due to the several occasions I spotted failed backhands between either the first or the third sets.

Alvarez Varona sealed the match with an ace (as documented), confirming my thoughts on his service games and how he controlled the rally. After all, it was still positive progress in singles for Cukierman, with him trying to raise his level once in the second set (and even broke several times!).

[stateofsport211]

🎥 US Open via SpoTV Indonesia

And Krejcikova/Siniakova did it! That clutch return enabled them not only to take the third set 6-1, then win the US Open, but also Career Golden Slam in dubs!

They raised their level while being 1-4 down in the second set, continued to build their momentum from there, and kept their intensity in their rally approaches until the end! Late recap coming on the next post.

[stateofsport211]

🎥 US Open via SpoTV Indonesia

At the end of the day, it was Joe's smash again that brought Ramsbury successful in defending their US Open title, closing the set by breaking it 7-5.

Nailing returns on critical points, with such shots (height advantage is a bonus here, Joe!), was the big key in this neat match. Specifically, when you executed those shots nicely, the outcome would deliver eventually.

Let's see if I could summarize this (since my original tape took ages to load...).

[stateofsport211]

🎥 US Open via SpoTV Indonesia

And that was that! Carlos Alcaraz def. Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3. What a match, fantastic showing from both players.

Reflecting back, while those two might have had problems with their serves, the other aspects really did it for the rest. Somehow, Alcaraz was equally solid with Sinner at almost every aspect, but how he handled the crucial points was another thing. Those swift returns, then sealed this one with an ace, fabulous.

This match ended with a warm hug between both players. Well, Alcaraz is set to face Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals, should also be neat too!

Back to covering another Challenger, because that rain delay might have lasted forever, I guess.