It was an action-packed week in the world of tennis, with plenty of talking points on both the men’s and women’s sides.
The highlight of the weekend was Victor Estrella Burgos’ maiden ATP tournament victory in Quito. In securing the title in the Ecuadorean capital, he became the oldest first-time winner of an event on the senior circuit. It also sees him rise to a career high 52 in the world from 73 the previous week. The Dominican overcame Brazilian Andre Ghem comfortably in his first outing, before disposing of Renzo Olivo 7-6, 6-4. His next opponent was Martin Klizan, who was seeded fourth and had recently been as high as 26 in the world. However Estrella Burgos sensationally demolished him 6-2, 6-2 to set up a clash with Thomaz Bellucci. This was a much tighter affair, but it still ended up being a straight-sets victory, 7-6, 7-5.
Lopez lay in wait, haiving just defeated his compatriot Verdasco. Despite facing a vastly more experienced player, who occupies a ranking of No.14, Burgos was not cowed and snaffled up the opening set 6-2. The Spaniard showed considerable guts and determination to eke out the second set on a tiebreak and force the decider. However, Estrella Burgos was taking his chances, and his encouraging break point conversion rate and knack of saving break point opportunities on his serve saw him close out the match on another tiebreak and seal an unforgettable triumph for the 34 year-old.
On the women’s side, the Fed Cup quarter-finals took centre stage. The first tie was between Canada and the Czech Republic. Tereza Smitkova and World No. 20 Karolina Pliskova wrapped up comprehensive victories over their much less illustrious opponents. The doubles pairing of Denisa Allertova and Lucie Hradecka finished the job off, before Pliskova rubbed salt into the wounds in her second singles rubber.
They will next face France, who fought back from 2-0 down to down Italy in a thrilling battle. World No.13 Sara Errani squeezed past World No.30 Caroline Garcia 7-6, 7-5, before Camila Giorgi recorded a slight shock by outwitting Alize Cornet. Kristina Mladenovic was drafted in to replace Cornet, and this seemed to do the trick as she pulled off a stunner upset by beating Errani, a player around 60 places higher than her in the rankings. Garcia then coped with the loss of a first set brilliantly to storm back against Giorgi and take the match.
The tie therefore went to a decider, and even though Italy had experience on their side, with Errani and consummate doubles performer Roberta Vinci, they were steamrollered by the Mladenovic-Garcia partnership. The other semi-final clash will see Russia go up against Germany.
The Russians faced Poland, whose hopes largely fell on Agnieszka Radwanska’s shoulders. So there will have been a feeling of resignation right across her homeland when she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova, the two-time Grand Slam force. Radwanska’s sister Urszula was only in for a short time at the crease, as she was thumped in pretty brutal fashion by a whirlwind performance by Maria Sharapova. The outcome at this point was a formality, and Sharapova eased past A. Radwanska to ensure a safe passage to the last four.
Images courtesy of www.vettri.net
Alex Bowmer