St. Petersburg Open 250 HC

[herios]

Draw:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/st-petersburg/568/draws

Strong field here, with 3 top 10 players. Milos is the defending champion.

 

[isabelle]

wow, the new N°3 is there, very surprising indeed

 

[delPoFearhand]

It'll be interesting to see how Tipsy does against Raonic in R2- this could be a dangerous matchup for the Canadian if Tipsy really is on his way back to his old form.

This draw is incredibly stacked for a 250- big appearance fees, I guess?

 

[herios]

It'll be interesting to see how Tipsy does against Raonic in R2- this could be a dangerous matchup for the Canadian if Tipsy really is on his way back to his old form.

Janko did not make it to Milos, because he lost to Misha Youzhny.

 

[delPoFearhand]

And to back that up, Youzhny takes out Raonic in 3 sets.

I did not expect Youzhny to be playing so well- I guess it makes a certain amount of sense, given it is one of his rare opportunities to play in a home environment.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

It is always fun to note Raonic's loss

 

[Puppet Master]

Wawrinka seems to have caught some good form on hard courts this year, he will probably win this title. I will go for a bold prediction and say that I am almost certain that he will win one of these 3 events: Shanghai, Paris or WTF. With Murray being in iffy form he is definitely a contender for all 3 events.

 

[isabelle]

Birdie won

 

[El Dude]

And then lost. Little Alex doing well, although I expect him to lose to Stan in the final.

 

[El Dude]

Congrats to Alex Zverev on his first ATP title! He's the youngest player on tour to win an ATP title.

 

[herios]

Congrats to Alex Zverev on his first ATP title! He's the youngest player on tour to win an ATP title.

Good on Sasha. From the top of my head, I think he is the first teenager to win a title on the tour since Kei Nishikori in 2008

 

[El Dude]

That is correct, herios. Kyrgios was just 21 when he won his first in May. Milos was 20 when he won his first, Grigor 21. Kei won his first in early 2008 at the tender age of 18, but then didn't win another for four and a half years in late 2012, when he was 22, almost 23.

 

[El Dude]

In fact, Zverev won his first ATP title about a month before Federer did, in terms of age. He has now made a second "benchmark of greatness":

1. Top 100 ranking before 19 (at age 18)
2. ATP title before age 21 (at age 19)

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Many players win their first title in a lowly tourney at which no one shows up. Even thought, this is just an ATP 250, Zverev had to beat Berdych in SF and Stan in F. Thus making Zverev's victory even more remarkable. :clap

 

[Fiero425]

Many players win their first title in a lowly tourney at which no one shows up. Even thought, this is just an ATP 250, Zverev had to beat Berdych in SF and Stan in F. Thus making Zverev's victory even more remarkable. :clap

:cover uzzled :nono What is Stan with 3 majors and recent winner of USO over #1 and defending champion "mince meat?" I'm proud of Sasha and he's fulfilling my hope and his promise for the next gen.; Thiem making final as #1 seed in Metz! W/o seeing it, I'm sure Thiem is running on fumes; pretty much overplaying all season! :clap

 

[herios]

[ W/o seeing it, I'm sure Thiem is running on fumes; pretty much overplaying all season! :clap

Let's make something clear, Thiem losing to Pouille is not a disaster either. Lucas Puille upped his status this year to a level which looks as promising as the other's leaders of Next generation.
It remains to be seen who will be the better player overall among them.
I know Pouille was not talked about as much as Kyrgios, Thiem or Zverev, but at the last two majors he outplayed them and by a wide margin, making two QF in slams, back to back.
The race is on for next year that is for sure.

 

[Fiero425]

[ W/o seeing it, I'm sure Thiem is running on fumes; pretty much overplaying all season! :clap

Let's make something clear, Thiem losing to Pouille is not a disaster either. Lucas Puille upped his status this year to a level which looks as promising as the other's leaders of Next generation.
It remains to be seen who will be the better player overall among them.
I know Pouille was not talked about as much as Kyrgios, Thiem or Zverev, but at the last two majors he outplayed them and by a wide margin, making two QF in slams, back to back.
The race is on for next year that is for sure.

I'm not undermining Poulle's win or making excuses for Thiem; just stating fact! I'm sure both have played twice as many tournaments as the elites of the game! I thought I had read somewhere, his team or at least commentators thought he should scale back, but you know kids! They think they have limitless energy! :nono :angel: :dodgy:

 

[isabelle]

Stan played poorly, Zverev was the best sunday and deserved to win

 

[delPoFearhand]

Stan is Stan. He isn't going to play every match like he did in the US Open final. Sunday was below average for him, but not all that far- Zverev made the most of a fast indoor court and was smartly baiting Stan into making errors.

I was also impressed by Zverev's resolve- there were multiple times where he could have "gone away", let Stan have the match and still been patted on the back (by himself and others) for having a good tournament for beating Berdych & reaching the final. But it seems like he has the real competitive streak in him, the desire to win every match he plays that a top of the top player needs.