Chennai and Brisbane qualifying Round up - Anderson claims another American shock - UBITENNIS
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Chennai and Brisbane qualifying Round up – Anderson claims another American shock

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Gulbis is still struggling after a horrible 2015 (Image by thenational.ae)

Chennai Qualifying:

 

Somdev Devvarman managed to turn a match around against James Ward 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Ward had come out of the blocks hot, as he lost just four points on serve in the opening set. Devvarman posted underwhelming numbers on both counts as he was broken twice without reply. The Indian, formerly ranked as high as No. 62 did then manage to turn things around in tight second and third sets. Devverman was able to break Ward twice in each, and limited Ward to just one recovery in each for the win.

There was no such luck for the other home players left in the draw. Saketh Myneni was beaten in straight sets by third seed Thomas Fabbiano 6-4, 6-2, and N. Siriam Balaji went down it two tight tie-break sets to Ante Pavic, 7-6, 7-6. Josef Kovalik was able to spring another mini upset as he beat fourth seed Alexander Kudryavtsev 3-6, 7-6, 6-1. Kudryavtsev found himself just two points from victory in the second set tie-break, but Kovalik levelled, and Kudryavtsev then capitulated, winning just one game in the final set.

Brisbane Qualifying:

It was once again an unhappy day for American players in Brisbane, as Tim Smyczek and Jared Donaldson joined earlier departee Dennis Novikov in bowing out before reaching the main draw. Donaldson as the sixth seed put up a strong battle against the experienced Ivan Dodig, but ultimately losing 6-3, 3-6,6-4. Donaldson improved upon his first meeting with Dodig, where he had lost 6-3, 6-2 in Wimbledon qualifying last year. Ernests Gulbis was also a victim, the top seed being defeated by Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, 6-3, 6-4. Tobias Kamke won back-to-back matches as he beat Jurgen Zopp 6-3, 6-2 but the biggest story of the day once again belonged to a certain teenage Australian

Oliver Anderson had recovered from the loss of the first set to beat Dennis Novikov yesterday, and he did the same again as he recovered to beat Tim Smyczek 6-7, 7-6, 6-2. It will be the first time that Anderson will play in the main draw of an ATP event.

The four winners of each qualifying event will now be inserted into the main draws of their respective events. The qualifying event for Doha is yet to be completed though Kyle Edmund, Dustin Brown and surprisingly Aslan Karatsev were all winners and will feature in the main draw there.

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Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

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Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

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Arthur Fils eases past Flavio Cobolli to move to 2-0 at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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World number 36 Arthur Fils eased past Flavio Cobolli 4-1 4-2 4-2 in 59 minutes to move to 2-0 in Green Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fils won 72% of his first service points and fired five aces. 

 

Fils saved a break point in the first game on the deciding point. The Frenchman broke serve in the second game and rallied from 0-30 down to hold serve in the third game. 

Fils served out the first set 4-1 with a hold at love. 

Cobolli made a double fault at 30-30 in the first game of the second set, but Fils broke serve when Cobolli hit his backhand into the net. 

Cobolli saved a break point with an ace on the deciding point in the third game. Fils won his next two service games with ease to seal the second set 4-2. The Frenchman dropped two points on serve in the second set.

Fils earned an early break in the first game of the third set. Cobolli broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Fils broke for the second time at love in the third game with a backhand down the line return winner and sealed the win on his second match point. 

Fils, who beat Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will face Dominic Stricker in his third round-robin match. 

“I played very nice today. I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy with it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s what I can do”, said Arthur Fils. 

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