Federer Takes Singles, Begemann & Knowle The Doubles. Gerry Weber Open 2014 - The Curtain Comes Down - UBITENNIS
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Federer Takes Singles, Begemann & Knowle The Doubles. Gerry Weber Open 2014 – The Curtain Comes Down

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9 years ago

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TENNIS GERRY WEBER OPEN – Roger Federer won the Gerry Weber Open Singles final. Andre Begemann of Germany and Julian Knowle of Austria captured the Doubles, and Tournament Director, Ralf Weber kicked off the day summarizing the 2014 event and talked about the 2015 expectations when Halle becomes an ATP 500…From Halle, Mark Winters

 

A set routine is always followed on the final Sunday at the Gerry Weber Open, in Halle, Germany. It has been the same for the twenty-two years that the tournament has been held. Several hours before Roger Federer defeated Alejandro Falla of Columbia 7-6, 7-6 to earn his seventh title, dapper Tournament Director, Ralf Weber addresses the media. At these gatherings, he discusses the event that is about to conclude as well as some of the plans for the next championships (and the “progress” that will be made is always part of the Ralf Weber “Performa”).

Not only does he organize the Halle tennis operation, as if he was a symphony orchestra conductor, Weber appreciates the way professional tennis is played along with its captivating moments. He noted, “The Tie-Break that decided the Dustin Brown and Philipp Kohlschreiber match was electrifying and is one which none of us will ever forget.” He also enjoyed the performances of international stars, such as Kei Nishikori and Gael Monfils, as well as the German professionals who participated.

“They always tend to be able to get the best tennis out of themselves here at the Gerry Weber Open,” he said. “That is facilitated also by the way the venue is set up with the players always a short walk (during the tournament they stay at the Sportparkhotel) from everything. The concept of an oasis of well-being is spot on here.”

Weber was particularly pleased with Roger Federer reaching his ninth final saying, “He’s simply phenomenal”, as well as the performances of German wildcards, Peter Gojowczyk and Brown. As for Rafael Nadal, who lost to Brown, 6-4, 6-1 in the second round after receiving a first round Bye, Weber said: “It’s always saddening when the top seed goes out after the first match, and it is a bit disappointing too, but he came up against an opponent who rose above himself. Next year, there will be a full week between the end of the Roland Garros (French Open) and the start of the Gerry Weber Open and that will make the conditions more balanced and fairer for all of the players.”

Weber mentioned that ATP Executive Chairman and President, Chris Kermode visited Halle for the first time and told the Tournament Director that the experience was an “eye-opener.” Weber added, “He was hugely impressed and said it was an inspiration for how to stage a modern tennis event. By that, he meant what we offer above and beyond just tennis matches.”

As an aside, Weber called attention to the fact that television audiences were provided with exceptional coverage by Eurosport and the viewing numbers were similar to those realized in 2013.

The Gerry Weber Open mantra could be “Tennis for the people.” The Webers have always evidenced awareness and concern for, as Ralf said, “Helping people who may lead their lives in the shade of others.” He continued, “The social involvement of the tournament is an indispensable part of this event, and much more than merely fulfilling a duty.”

Over the years, the tournament has received accolades from the ATP and the tennis community for reaching out to the local community. Weber said of the effort, “It is an inspiration to go about this wonderful work with even greater dedication. Our players are also right behind these activities – they visit critically-ill children or handicapped people, gifting them with moments of joy and happiness.”

The close cooperation with Federer, in this regard, was also praised. “For ten years, the Gerry Weber Open has been supporting the work of the Roger Federer Foundation with another donation handed over to the Swiss player this year. At the start of the tournament, Federer paid the Bodelschwinghschen Foundation in Bielefeld a second memorable visit. Over all, the sum of donations to charitable organizations, in the tournament’s history, has now reached 1,243,772 Euros.”

The Weber tournament marketing magic continued as he admitted, “We managed to sell all the 80 VIP boxes we could sell, and 7,000 VIP tickets changed hands. We gained new global brands as sponsors. Recently, even Microsoft and EBay became involved. Furthermore, partnerships with Melitta, Dr. Oetker, Storck, Schüco and Mercedes-Benz continue to grow.”

Those celebrating Jubilee anniversaries of working more than ten years with the Gerry Weber Open were honored before the Men's Singles final. Photo GERRY WEBER OPEN

Those celebrating Jubilee anniversaries of working more than ten years with the Gerry Weber Open were honored before the Men’s Singles final. Photo GERRY WEBER OPEN

In 2015, the Gerry Weber Open will be a week later on the tennis calendar (meaning two weeks after Roland Garros) and more importantly, it will become an ATP World Tour 500 series event. Weber said: “We’re very confident dealing with this challenge. We’re planning to expand the facilities here, including a park for families and children. We’re already in talks with sports article manufacturers and sports associations.

“Another project, in the pipeline, is the modernization and improvements to Court 1, which will be made fully accessible to television cameras. It should also receive Hawkeye technology. The capacity will be increased by 1,000, and Court 2 will increase its seating by 600-700 places.
“Even more world-class players will be invited to participate, but costs will be kept under control. With an extra million dollars in prize money, which we are going to have to put up, we have got to have enter into serious negotiations about appearance fees. I’m sure that we will have an even stronger field next year. The tournament is going to receive even more international recognition, even if it is only by the fact it will be broadcast in 120 countries.

“Furthermore, Germany’s Sabine Lisicki is going to take part in the 2015 Champions Trophy (an exhibition match played in the Gerry Weber Stadion on the Sunday before the tournament begins). Last year’s Wimbledon finalist has spent the past few days training in Halle.”
Weber concluded saying, “The 22nd Gerry Weber Open was fantastic, thrilling experience for the spectators. The atmosphere, all over the venue, was fantastic from the first to the last minute. I was really able to see the pleasure many visitors were having – pleasure in this great sport and great entertainment. Indeed, the number of spectators was exceptional with around 50,000 passing through the gates over the Whitsun weekend (Pentecost) alone. Including Sunday’s finals day, 110,700 will have paid a visit of the tournament, which is a new record. Having famous German celebrities such as Tim Bendzko, Christina Stürmer, Milow, Marlon Roudette, VoXXclub and Rea Garvey all appeared. This is just a free extra that we like to give to the spectators and it is something that nobody else provides. This is done in order to facilitate things for the fans next year, and tickets will go on sale even earlier, starting this September.”
(Federer, who was looking to duplicate his 2005 Gerry Weber Open double win came up short with Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland, losing in a dramatic doubles final to Andre Begemann of Germany and Julian Knowle of Austria, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (12-10).)

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

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11 hours ago

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31/03/2023

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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.

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

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1 day ago

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30/03/2023

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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 85th 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.

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Novak Djokovic Set For US Open Return

Novak Djokovic is all set to return to the US Open for the first time in two years.

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1 day ago

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30/03/2023

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Novak Djokovic (@RelevantTennis - Twitter)

Novak Djokovic is set for a return to the US Open after the US senate voted to eliminate some of the COVID-19 restrictions.

 

The restrictions have been in place for the last two years which have denied foreign travellers the chance to visit America if they are unvaccinated.

As is well documented Djokovic hasn’t had his vaccination which is the reason for his absence at Indian Wells and Miami.

However Djokovic could be set to return to America after the US senate passed a bill to eliminate the COVID-19 restrictions in the country.

US president Joe Biden is expected to put the final signature on the bill which will then allow unvaccinated travellers from abroad to enter the country.

This means that Djokovic will be allowed to play the US Open for the first time since the 2021 final where he missed out on the chance to complete the calendar Grand Slam after losing to Daniil Medvedev.

Djokovic will look to win a fourth US Open title when he returns to Flushing Meadows on the 28th of August.

However in the short-term, Djokovic will look to reclaim his world number one ranking over the clay court season as he plays Monte-Carlo on the 9th of April.

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