ATP

Federer & Nadal Are The Names, But Others Share Quiet Importance At Halle

Published

9 years ago

15/06/2014

TENNIS ATP HALLE – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were the featured names at the Gerry Weber Open, but Federer will face Alejandro Falla in tomorrow’s singles final. He will also team with Marco Chiudinelli against Andre Begemann and Julian Knowle in the doubles, but others share quiet importance…From Halle, Mark Winters

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are hugely popular tennis players and well known world personalities. They are a major reason the Gerry Weber Open, in Halle, Germany, has broken attendance records each of its twenty-two years. Gerry Weber, the event’s founder, and his son, Ralf, the Tournament Director, could hold “How To Do It” seminars about organizing a tennis championship because theirs is so successful.

As with any endeavor, there are multiple pieces required to make a puzzle a perfect fit. Staging an ATP tournament in an area fit for an Impressionist’s painting helps, and so does the fact that the Gerry Weber Stadion Center Court has a closeable roof, which means, unlike the AEGON Championships (Queen’s) in London, there are never any, “Rain, rain, go away…” chants. It also helps that annually the Webers improve the look and set-up of their Gerry Weber World facility. But, the major component of the feel and ambience that makes Halle, Halle is the commitment of the local people.

They use their yearly vacations, or simply take time off from real jobs to participate. They do it because, (and it is a sincere belief), the Gerry Weber Open is their tournament.

For some this may appear to be an overly optimistic wish or hope if you will, but to those behind-the-scenes, it is their reality. That certainly is true of the eclectically interesting array of special people involved with the tournament’s Transportation Service. Were Guido Kriete, not Dr. Kriete at Georg-August-Universitaet at Goettingen, where he is a Senior Scientist working in the field of Plant Genetic Research, he could be the Gerry Weber Open GPS unit. He has been part and parcel of the driving effort for the event’s entire twenty-two years, and knows the roads hither and yon throughout the area.

Daniel Hartwig has been part of the “team” for eleven years. Kriete, though he said, “Mentor is too strong a word to use”, brought Hartwig up to speed when he began. “I have tried to help people and find out what they do not know,” Kriete said. “It is important that they know there are rules and how to manage a situation that they have not previously faced.”

Hartwig, an IT specialist, played tennis as a hobby, and used to attend the tournament when he was a youngster. The players were impressive, but the fact that they were transported from here to there in a Mercedes-Benz made an impact. “When I saw that people drove for the tournament and they used Mercedes-Benzes, that impressed me. So did the atmosphere. The drivers all seemed to be friends, and it is fun to drive.”

Lionel Brathwaite and Dorthe Peperkorn Photo by Mark Winters

Lionel Brathwaite spent twelve years with the British Forces in Germany. Though he retired from the service, he works as a BF Transportation Coordinator when not motoring around for the Gerry Weber Open. Having been involved in every event, the personable Brathwaite, who is another “Mr. GPS”, has stories to tell. “Two years ago, when the Gerry Weber Open celebrated its 20^th Anniversary, twenty to twenty-five of us, who had been involved with the tournament, were all going to Dusseldorf,” he said. “We were at the train station trying to get on, in the car where our suits were, as people were getting off the train, it was very crowded, so seeing that it was I, along with three others in the group, went to another entry door. But, just as we were about to get on, it closed. We were left behind, but two of the women worked for Gerry Weber so we went into the station, explained what had happened and were able to take the next train. Of course, we called the others to tell that what had happened because we knew they would worry about us, and we are all part of the team.”

During the Gerry Weber Open, Dorthe Peperkorn rarely has an opportunity to rest. The eighteen-year veteran of the Transportation Service has, for the past three years, been in charge of the operation. She is respectfully called, “The Chief.” She is up early every morning, not only during the week-long tournament, but also during the week prior when players are just getting into town and the qualifying takes place. Her days often end when the next one begins, meaning 12:00 or later, is not an oddity.

“I like to drive,” she said with a smile. “I like to organize. I like everyone on the team. I think my job is all about ‘learning by doing’.”

Brathwaite clearly defined what it is like to be a member of the driving team when he said, “Some of us don’t see one another except for once a year, during the tournament. We meet and become a big happy family. Then we wait for another year to pass so we can do it again.”

In tomorrow’s singles final, Roger Federer, the six-time tournament champion, who defeated Kei Nishikori of Japan, in one of today’s semifinals, 6-3, 7-6 will face Alejandro Falla of Columbia, who surprised fan favorite Philipp Kohlschreiber, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4. Federer will be looking to double his Gerry Weber Open trophy collection and duplicate the victory he scored in 2005, with countryman, Yves Allegro, when he and Marco Chiudinelli, also from Switzerland, take on Andre Begemann of Germany and Julian Knowle of Austria in the doubles wrap up.

While the players have been featured throughout the 2014 Gerry Weber Open, and will be the focus of attention on Sunday, people such as Guido Kriete, Daniel Hartwig, Lionel Brathwaite and Dorthe Peperkorn share quiet importance.

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ATP

Miami Open Daily Preview: Alcaraz and Sinner Meet Again in the Semifinals

Published

11 hours ago

31/03/2023

Matthew Marolf

Carlos Alcaraz two weeks ago at Indian Wells (twitter.com/bnpparibasopen)

Both ATP semifinals will be played on Friday, as well as the second WTA semifinal.

For the third consecutive big event in the United States (US Open, Indian Wells, Miami), Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will collide. At the US Open, they played an epic five-hour five-setter that went into the early hours of the morning. At Indian Wells, they contested a high-quality semifinal. Both of those matches went to Alcaraz. Will he prevail again on Friday?

And are we on the verge of a rematch from the Indian Wells final between Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev? Fellow Russian Karen Khachanov will be Medvedev’s opposition on Friday. And in the remaining WTA singles semifinal, Petra Kvitova plays Sorana Cirstea for the right to face Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s championship match.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.

Daniil Medvedev (4) vs. Karen Khachanov (14) – 1:00pm on Stadium

Medvedev is now 27-3 this season, and has claimed 22 matches within the past seven weeks alone. Daniil has easily advanced to this semifinal, averaging just over an hour on court across his three matches thus far. He is vying for his fifth final in as many tournaments.

Khachanov is 13-5 on the year, and this is his third significant hard court semifinal since last summer. At the US Open, he defeated both Pablo Carreno Busta and Nick Kyrgios in five sets to reach the semis. At the Australian Open, he beat both Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda to advance to this stage. And this week, he took out both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Francisco Cerundolo, who was a Miami semifinalist a year ago.

Medvedev leads their head-to-head 3-1, which includes a straight-set victory at the beginning of this season in Adelaide. And based on his current run on hard courts, I like Daniil to achieve his first final in Miami.

Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Jannik Sinner (10) – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium

Alcaraz is 18-1 in 2023, while Sinner is 20-4. Neither has dropped a set this fortnight, so both are feeling fully fresh and quite confident heading into this blockbuster matchup.

Overall Carlitos is 3-2 against Jannik, and 3-0 on hard courts. Sinner’s two victories have come on grass (Wimbledon) and clay (Umag). Since holding a match point against Alcaraz in the fourth set of last summer’s US Open quarterfinal, and failing to convert, the Italian has lost four straight sets to the Spaniard.

Both men have made previous appearances in the Miami final, with Sinner losing to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021, and Alcaraz defeating Casper Ruud in 2022. Carlitos needs to defend his title in order to maintain his No.1 ranking. And considering how well he’s played since returning to the tour in February, I favor Alcaraz to eliminate Sinner again on Friday.

Other Notable Matches on Friday:

Petra Kvitova (15) vs. Sorana Cirstea – Kvitova has now advanced to the quarterfinals or better at the last three WTA 1000 tournaments held in the United States. Cirstea has been playing some of the best tennis of her career since hiring Thomash Johansson as her coach. Petra leads their head-to-head 6-4, which dates all the way back to 2008. They met twice on hard courts in 2022, and split those two encounters.

Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens (6) vs. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula (2) – This is a quarterfinal, and the winners will come back later in the day to face Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez in the semifinals.

Magda Linette and Bernarda Pera vs. Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend – This is a semifinal. Prior to this event, Linette and Pera had not teamed up since last year’s Wimbledon. This is only Fernandez and Townsend’s second tournament as a team.

Friday’s full Order of Play is here.

ATP

Miami Open Daily Preview: Elena Rybakina Plays Jessica Pegula in the Semifinals

Published

1 day ago

30/03/2023

Matthew Marolf

Elena Rybakina two weeks ago at Indian Wells (twitter.com/bnpparibasopen)

Due to rain on Wednesday, only one WTA semifinal will be played on Thursday.

Elena Rybakina is just two wins away from completing the “Sunshine Double,” which is winning both Indian Wells and Miami. But in Thursday’s WTA semifinal, American No.1 Jessica Pegula stands in her way. The other semifinal is still to be determined, and will not be played until Friday, as Petra Kvitova and Ekaterina Alexandrova will contest their rain-delayed quarterfinal on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the ATP quarterfinals will be completed on Thursday. Indian Wells finalist Daniil Medvedev faces American Chris Eubanks, who has been the breakout story of this tournament thus far. Also, Karen Khachanov takes on Francisco Cerundolo, who is vying for his second consecutive semifinal in Miami. And delayed from Wednesday night, Carlos Alcaraz battles Taylor Fritz in another ATP quarterfinal.

You can find a preview of the Alcaraz/Fritz and Kvitova/Alexandrova quarterfinals in yesterday’s daily preview here.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.

Chris Eubanks (Q) vs. Daniil Medvedev (4) – 1:00pm on Stadium

Medvedev leads the ATP with 26 wins this season, as well as with three titles. Daniil has not dropped a set to this stage, though he’s only played two matches thus far due to a walkover earlier this week.

Eubanks has already won six matches this fortnight after coming through qualifying. And the 26-year-old achieved a career goal of breaking into the top 100 with this quarterfinal run. Chris became emotional on-court after clinching that feat on Monday, and followed it up with another upset the next day, over Adrian Mannarino. The American is projected to become ranked 85^th in the world on Monday, but a win on Thursday would propel him into the top 60.

In their first career meeting, of course the self-proclaimed “hard court specialist” Medvedev is a strong favorite. But I’m quite interested to see how Eubanks performs in the biggest match of his career. During a rain delay on Monday, Frances Tiafoe provided Eubanks with some advice in the locker room, which Chris credited with helping him come back in the second-set tiebreak once play resumed. He’s played more freely since that comeback, and Eubanks may feel as if he has nothing to lose on Thursday.

Elena Rybakina (10) vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – Not Before 8:30pm on Stadium

Rybakina is 20-4 this season, and is currently on a 10-match win streak. If her 2,000 points from winning Wimbledon last summer counted, she’d currently be ranked third in the world. Elena easily dispatched of Martina Trevisan in the last round.

Pegula is 19-5 on the year, and 10-3 in Miami. This is her second consecutive semifinal at this event, and she’s the No.3 player in the world without Rybakina’s Wimbledon points counting. She saved multiple match points to come back and defeat Anastasia Potapova during Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

Pegula is 2-0 against Rybakina, with both matches taking place on hard courts during 2022. A year ago at this same tournament, Jess prevailed in straight sets. And last fall in Guadalajara, Pegula outlasted Rybakina in a final-set tiebreak, another match in which the American saved multiple match points. As confident as Elena currently is, with her big serve and groundstrokes dictating play, it’s hard not to favor the reigning Wimbledon champ. But based on their recent history, as well as Pegula’s rising confidence after saving match points in the last round, I give Jess the slight edge in Thursday’s semifinals on home soil.

Other Notable Matches on Thursday:

Francisco Cerundolo (25) vs. Karen Khachanov (14) – Cerundolo was in danger of falling out of the top 40 with an early loss in Miami, defending the best result of his career at this level, but has impressed by returning to the quarterfinals, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime on the way. Khachanov upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last round, and is looking to reach his first Masters semifinal since 2019. Last summer in Canada, Karen defeated Francisco in three sets.

Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.

ATP

Miami Open Daily Preview: Indian Wells Champs Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz Collide

Published

2 days ago

29/03/2023

Matthew Marolf

Carlos Alcaraz two Sundays ago at Indian Wells (twitter.com/atptour)

On Wednesday in Miami, 2023 Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz faces 2022 champ Taylor Fritz for the first time.

Alcaraz is just three wins away from defending his Miami title, which he needs to do in order to remain World No.1. Wednesday’s other ATP quarterfinal sees Indian Wells semifinalist Jannik Sinner take on Emil Ruusuvuori, who is the first Finnish quarterfinalist at a Masters 1000 tournament in a decade.

In the WTA singles draw, Aryna Sabalenka and Petra Kvitova are one round away from a big-hitting semifinal. But first, they must get past Sorana Cirstea and Ekaterina Alexandrova, respectively.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (18) vs. Petra Kvitova (15) – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium

Kvitova is 14-5 this season, and has now reached the quarterfinals of both Indian Wells and Miami this month. Petra has also now advanced to the fourth round or better of this event for the fifth straight time, and has not dropped a set this fortnight.

Alexandrova had a losing record this year before arriving in Miami. She defeated Belinda Bencic two rounds ago, and advanced in the last round after Bianca Andreescu’s upsetting ankle injury. This is Ekaterina’s second WTA 1000 quarterfinal, after first achieving that feat last year in Madrid, when she advanced to the semifinals.

Their only previous encounter occurred three years ago at the Australian Open, when Kvitova comfortably prevailed 6-1, 6-2. Ekaterina does not possess the same offensive weaponry of Petra, so on a hard court, the two-time Wimbledon champion is a considerable favorite to win again on Wednesday.

Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Taylor Fritz (9) – Not Before 8:30pm on Stadium

Alcaraz is 17-1 on the season, despite missing all of January due to injury. His only loss came to Cam Norrie in the final of Rio, a match in which Carlitos reaggravated his leg injury. He’s yet to drop a set during this tournament.

Fritz is 20-5 in 2023, and has now reached the quarterfinals or better at his last five events. This is Taylor’s first quarterfinal in Miami, and his third consecutive quarterfinal as Masters 1000 events in North America. Like Alcaraz, he’s also yet to lose a set in Miami, but he’s 1-4 in his last five Masters quarterfinals.

This is the first career meeting between the World No.1 and the American No.1. Fritz certainly has the firepower to threaten Alcaraz on this day. But based on Carlitos’ recent sharp form, the 19-year-old is the favorite to advance to the semifinals.

Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:

Sorana Cirstea vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka is now a stellar 20-2 on the year, and has allowed her opponents this past week an average of just 2.5 games per set. Cirstea is having an excellent March, having advanced to her second consecutive WTA 1000 quarterfinal, a stage she hadn’t reached since 2017. This is another first-time career meeting.

Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Jannik Sinner (10) – Sinner is vying for his second consecutive Masters semifinal, and has not dropped a set thus far in Miami. This is Ruuuvuori’s maiden Masters 1000 quarterfinal, at the only Masters event where he had ever previously advanced beyond the third round. Jannik is 4-0 against Emil, with all of those wins in straight sets, except a match in Miami a year ago that went to a third-set tiebreak, and saw Sinner save three match points.

Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.