CricSim Tennis: Hamburg [Cl] and Rosmalen [G]

Hamburg - Singles first round

• Top seed Samuel Vimes made the perfect start to his campaign in Hamburg, following a straight sets win over England's J.H. Ridd. Ridd put up a brave fight in both sets, but, on an unfavoured surface, was unable to advance past the first round thanks to a tough draw. After taking the first set 6-3, Vimes faced trouble in the second as he was forced to save break points in his first two service games. Ridd, however, was unable to take advantage of either, and, in a cruel blow, was broken late, as Vimes advanced to the second round 6-3, 7-5.

• The Monte Carlo champ will play New Zealand's Joshua Ritchie next, following his come-from-behind win over fellow qualifying New Zealander Heath Davis. In what was mostly a slugfest between the pair, Davis took the first set, only to be broken late in the next two. The Davis serve was working well, but he still gave Ritchie opportunities in too many service games. It cost him in the end, as the resilient Ritchie advanced 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

• Elsewhere, another qualifier moved to the quarters, with Chad Dyer victorious against Luka Popovic. While Popovic produced decent tennis in Monte Carlo, he was abysmal to start with, as Dyer claimed the first set to love. Popovic lifted in the second set, but quickly floundered under the continued pressure of the Englishman, who advanced 6-0, 6-3.

• Despite the dominant win, he'll have played more tennis than his second round opponent, Matt James, following the Victorian's 6-1, 6-1 mauling of Lucas Schaw. Schaw, who rolled an ankle in the first set, managed to play out the match, but he did so on paper only, as he was mentally without a chance for most of the second set. James' win sees him qualify to a second straight quarterfinal.

 

Sigh

 

Rosmalen - Quarterfinals

• In the first of the two quarters, third seed Hilary Bots advanced to the semis, with a straight sets win over qualifier Justin Howe. The Englishman, who won his first round match comfortably, put up a strong fight, but was ultimately unable to best his Kiwi opponent. In two tight sets, Bots prevailed with late service breaks, to continue his good run of form with a 7-5, 6-4 win.

• His opponent will be another qualifier in the form of Alistair Son, who overcame an early choke to beat Asia's Ritwik Chowdhuri. Despite holding a double break 4-0 lead in the first set, Son dropped it in a tiebreaker to the persistent Chowdhuri. Heard shouting "fucking Ritwik" at the changeover, and fined for it, Son rallied to take the next two sets through sheer consistency, as he advanced 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4.

• In the day's doubles action, second seeds Bruce Force/Jordan Logan beat Morgan Burridge/Ivan Ryabovol 6-0, 6-4, while Nigel Scott/Alistair Son also advanced to the semis with a 6-7(6), 6-4, [10-4] win over Chad Ochocinco/Leumas Himann.

 

the voice of the forum speaks

 

Wtf @ Justin