This week see’s Aussies Abroad focus on the Australia F1 Future event in Melbourne as the men compete at their first Australian ITF event for the season.
(A successful Matthew Barton with the ball boys and ball girls at the West Lakes ATP Challenger event)
Last week was another successful week for Aussies Abroad with another two Australian winners on the ATP Challenger and ITF circuit in Australian events.
Amazingly it was also the emergence of two future stars who shone throughout the week as well.
In Adelaide – at the inaugural West Lakes challenger event – young Australian Matt Barton continued his good form for 2013 by taking out his maiden Challenger title.
After taking out the Australia F6 Future event in Alice Springs and making the semi finals at Burnie last week, Barton continued that form to take out the West Lakes event without dropping a set.
It was a similar result in Launceston at the 25,000 ITF event with young Western Australian Storm Sanders winning her first ever ITF event.
After progressing through qualifying for the event, Sanders then progressed through the tournament to win the event without also dropping a set during the tournament.
Impressively she defeated 5 players in the top 300, including current Australian top 5 player in Olivia Rogowska.
(Storm Sanders won her first ever tournament in Launceston after qualifying for the tournament as the 9th seed) PHOTO CAME FROM HERE
The win will move her almost 200 spots in the rankings, which will be great for the Australian.
In other results last week, both Matheson Klein and Gavin Van Peperzeel made the second round in ITF events in Mexico and Turkey respectively, earning valuable points for their rankings.
Finally Australia played defending champions, the Czech Republic, in the Fed Cup last week and were unfortunately beaten 4-0 in the first round of the World Group.
They will now play Switzerland in the World Group playoff later this year.
More on that later.
Before we look at this week, here is a look at the key results from last week in Aussies Abroad.
* A quarter final appearance for Greg Jones at the ATP Challenger event in West Lakes
* A quarter final appearance for Sam Groth at the ATP Challenger event in West Lakes
* A semi final appearance for Nick Kyrgios at the ATP Challenger event in West Lakes
* A win at the ATP Challenger event in West Lakes for Matthew Barton
* A quarter final appearance for Olivia Rogowska at the 25,000 ITF event in Launceston
* A quarter final appearance for Viktorija Rajicic at the 25,000 ITF event in Launceston
* A semi final appearance for Sacha Jones at the 25,000 ITF event in Launceston
* A win at the 25,000 ITF event in Launceston for Storm Sanders
* A second round appearance for Gavin Van Peperzeel at the Turkey F5 Future event
* A second round appearance for Matheson Klein at the Mexico F3 Future event
You can view the rest of the results for last week at the link below:
https://shanejonessport.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/aussies-abroad-in-the-wta-and-atp-322013-922013/
You can also check the rankings of the Aussie ATP at this link
https://shanejonessport.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/australian-atp-player-ranking-for-year-2013/
And the WTA rankings here:
https://shanejonessport.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/australian-wta-ranking-for-year-2013/
Speaking of rankings, here are the key rankings for this week, the 11th of February.
TOP FIVE IN WTA AND ATP:
ATP:
Bernard Tomic 45
Marinko Matosevic 59
Lleyton Hewitt 112
Matthew Ebden 113
John Millman 167
WTA:
Sam Stosur 9
Casey Dellacqua 123
Anastasia Rodionova 131
Olivia Rogowska 139
Jarmila Gajdosova 165
RANKINGS RISERS:
ATP:
NICK KYRGIOS – 267 spots to 576 (Made the semi finals at West Lakes)
COLIN EBELTHITE – 182 spots to 786 (Qualified and made the second round at West Lakes)
MATT BARTON – 103 spots to 242 (Won his first Challenger event in West Lakes)
MATHESON KLEIN – 30 spots to 532 (Made the semi finals in Mexico F2)
SAM GROTH – 11 spots to 235 (Made the quarters at West Lakes)
WTA:
TAMMI PATTERSON – 27 spots to 386 (Made 2nd round of 25,000 Burnie)
AZRA HADZIC – 24 spots to 410 (Made 2nd round of 25,000 Burnie)
VIKTORIJA RAJICIC – 22 spots to 384 (Made 2nd round of 25,000 Burnie)
JESSICA MOORE – 18 spots to 377 (Made 2nd round of 25,000 Burnie)
MONIQUE ADAMCZAK – 8 spot to 176 (Made final of 25,000 Burnie)
RANKING FALLERS:
ATP:
NIMA ROSHAN – 185 spots to 1242 (Failed to defend points from Caloundra)
CARSTEN BALL – 112 spots to 639 (Failed to defend points at Dallas Challenger)
GREG JONES – 62 spots to 362 (Failed to defend finalist spot from Caloundra)
MAVERICK BANES – 56 spots to 860 (Failed to defend points from Caloundra)
JAMES DUCKWORTH – 38 spots to 263 (Failed to defend semi final spot from Caloundra)
WTA:
SALLY PEERS – 14 spots to 346 (Failed to defend points from 25,000 Burnie)
STORM SANDERS – 7 spots to 626 (Failed to defend points from 25,000 Burnie)
KAROLINA WLODARCZAK – 5 spots to 584 (Failed to defend points from 25,000 Burnie)
ANASTASIA RODIONOVA – 2 spots to 131 (Had her points re-adjusted after Pattaya City was on the week after in 2012)
PLAYERS WHO HAVE POINTS TO DEFEND THIS WEEK:
ATP:
Chris Letcher – 2 points in Guatemala F1
Matt Ebden – 20 points in San Jose ATP event
Andrew Harris – 1 point in Australia F1
Isaac Frost – 1 point in Australia F1
Mark Verryth – 8 points in Australia F1
James Lemke – 1 point in Australia F1
John Peers – 3 points in Australia F1
Matt Barton – 1 point in Australia F1 – Non Countable
Dane Propoggia – 1 point in Australia F1
Luke Saville – 3 points in Australia F1
Brydan Klein – 3 points in Australia F1
WTA:
Jelena Dokic – 1 point in Bogota
Sam Stosur – 620 points in Doha
Jarmila Gajdosova – 1 point in Doha
Casey Dellacqua – 20 points in Doha
DESPITE NO EVENT FOR THE 25,000 SYDNEY, PLAYERS WILL HAVE TO DEFEND THESE POINTS.
Nicole Hoynaski – 1 point in 25,000 Sydney
Ashley Keir – 1 point in 25,000 Sydney
Abbie Myers – 1 point in 25,000 Sydney
Sally Peers – 1 point in 25,000 Sydney
Isabella Holland – 8 points in 25,000 Sydney
Bojana Bobusic – 8 points in 25,000 Sydney
Monique Adamczak – 8 points in 25,000 Sydney
Arina Rodionova – 1 point in 25,000 Sydney
Ash Barty – 51 points in 25,000 Sydney
Sacha Jones – 8 points in 25,000 Sydney
Olivia Rogowska – 34 points in 25,000 Sydney
Finally a few players achieved their career high ranking last week.
Here is the list.
Nick Kyrgios – Career high ranking of 576
Matheson Klein – Career high ranking of 532
Matt Barton – Career high ranking of 242
Naiktha Bains – Career high ranking of 952
Abbie Myers – Career high ranking of 662
Azra Hadzic – Career high ranking of 410
Priscilla Hon – Entered the charts at the ranking of 1112
Finally here is the calendar year points so far acquired by Aussie players in the WTA and ATP.
ATP:
Bernard Tomic 340 (250+90) (2 tournaments)
John Millman 132 (80+20+32) (3 tournaments)
Matt Barton 123 (80+29+6+8) (4 tournaments)
Greg Jones 54 (32+7+15) (3 tournaments)
James Duckworth 45 (1 tournament)
Sam Groth 40 (15+18+7) (3 tournaments)
Lleyton Hewitt 30 (20+10) (2 tournaments)
Nick Kyrgios 29 (1 tournament)
Adam Feeney 23 (8+15) (2 tournaments)
Matt Reid 22 (8+7+7) (3 tournaments)
James Lemke 18 (1 tournament)
Jordan Thompson 18 (10+8) (2 tournaments)
Andrew Whittington 15 (1 tournament)
John-Patrick Smith 13 (6+7) (2 tournaments)
Marinko Matosevic 10 (1 tournament)
Matt Ebden 10 (1 tournament)
Michael Look 10 (1 tournament)
Colin Ebelthite 10 (1 tournament)
Alex Bolt 8 (1 tournament)
Brydan Klein 7 (1 tournament)
Luke Saville 7 (1 tournament)
Matheson Klein 6 (1 tournaments)
Dane Propoggia 5 (1 tournament)
Carsten Ball 3 (1 tournament)
Chris Letcher 1 (1 tournament)
WTA:
Jarmila Gajdosova 135 (5+60+70) (3 tournaments)
Sam Stosur 102 (100+1+1) (3 tournaments)
Anastasia Rodionova 86 (40+40+6) (3 tournaments)
Arina Rodionova 52 (50+1+1) (3 tournaments)
Tammi Patterson 46 (40+6) (2 tournaments)
Monique Adamczak 42 (40+1+1) (3 tournaments)
Bojana Bobusic 26 (20+1+5) (3 tournaments)
Sacha Jones 11 (5+6) (2 tournaments)
Storm Sanders 10 (8+2) (2 tournaments)
Viktorija Rajicic 9 (1+6+2) (3 tournaments)
Olivia Rogowska 7 (5+1+1) (3 tournaments)
Casey Dellacqua 7 (5+1+1) (3 tournaments)
Ash Barty 6 (5+1) (2 tournaments)
Azra Hadzic 3 (2+1) (2 tournaments)
Jessica Moore 3 (2+1) (2 tournaments)
Abbie Myers 3 (2+1) (2 tournaments)
Sally Peers 3 (2+1) (2 tournaments)
Priscilla Hon 2 (1 tournament)
Lizette Cabrera 1 (1 tournament)
Naiktha Bains 1 (1 tournament)
Stephanie Bengson 1 (1 tournament)
Karoline Wlodarczak 1 (1 tournament)
Before we look at this week’s action, here is a review of last week’s Fed Cup match between Australia and the Czech Republic.
Australia last week faced last year’s winner of the Fed Cup in the Czech Republic away from home at the Cez Arena in Ostrava.
Unfortunately for the team, they were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by the defending champions in a contest that was all over early on the second day.
Here were the results and a quick summary of each match.
Petra Kvitova (CZE) defeated Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 7-6 6-3
In a close contest between the two players, Kvitova was able to gain the upper hand at the crucial times to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead.
Despite the first set going to a tiebreaker, Kvitova was in control of it, and after gaining a decisive break in the second set, she was able to wrap up the victory.
Lucie Safarova (CZE) defeated Sam Stosur (AUS) 7-6 7-6
In a recurring theme for Australia in this fixture, Stosur was defeated in two tiebreakers which gave the Czech Republic a handy 2-0 lead in the tie.
Stosur didn’t do too much wrong in this match. She didn’t lose serve and was strong throughout the match.
Unfortunately though she didn’t have luck in the tiebreakers and was defeated in both of them.
That made it 3-0 to Czech Republic in tiebreakers as well.
Petra Kvitova (CZE) defeated Sam Stosur (AUS) 2-6 7-6 6-4
Another tiebreaker loss to Australia resulted in an elimination from the World Group.
After Stosur won the first set against Kvitova, she then lost the second set in a tiebreaker, before Kvitova gained the upper hand in a final set that see-sawed throughout.
It was unfortunate for Stosur and the team and also made it the fourth tiebreaker lost by Australia in the fixture.
A. Hlavackova/ L. Hradecka (CZE) defeated A. Barty/ C. Dellacqua 6-0 7-6
With the tie already over, the final match of the fixture was the doubles, with Ash Barty making her debut in the Fed Cup.
Barty became the second youngest Australian – behind Jelena Dokic – to compete for Australia at just 16 years of age.
Unfortunately the lack of experience showed in the first set with her and Dellacqua completely outplayed by the Czech pairing.
While the Aussies responded in the second set, they fell to the curse of the tiebreaker with the Czech’s winning their 5th straight tiebreaker in the fixture.
The positive from this is that Barty will learn from this experience, and will be a major factor in both singles and doubles in the future for Australia in the Fed Cup.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Had Australia won the 5 tiebreakers in the match, it would have won two ties and forced a deciding set in two other matches. That’s the funny game of tennis sometimes. You get so close, yet so far.
Take nothing away from the Czech Republic, they played well, and showed why they are the defending champions.
However, Australia’s lack of composure to win the crucial points and the crucial sets was telling. They had chances to win and to take sets, but ultimately fell short and were punished by the champions.
Australia will now have to face Switzerland to win their way back into the World Group for 2014 and shanejonessport will preview that as the tie gets closer.
Now onto this week’s results and we start with the ATP and WTA events in the United States, Brazil, Qatar, Colombia, and the Netherlands.
ATP:
ROTTERDAM ATP 500 EVENT:
MAIN DRAW:
Bernard Tomic (45) lost to Grigor Dimitrov 3-6 6-3 3-6
SAO PAULO ATP 250 EVENT:
NO AUSSIES INVOLVED:
SAN JOSE ATP 250 EVENT:
MAIN DRAW:
Lleyton Hewitt (112) defeated Blaz Kavcic 3-6 6-4 7-6
Lleyton Hewitt (112) lost to Sam Querrey 6-7 6-1 6-7
Marinko Matosevic (59) defeated Jack Sock 7-6 6-1
Marinko Matosevic (59) lost to Alejandro Falla 4-6 4-6
Matt Ebden (113) defeated Rik De Voest 6-2 7-5
Matt Ebden (113) lost to Xavier Malisse 7-5 5-7 6-7
WTA:
DOHA: (PREMIER EVENT)
QUALIFYING:
Anastasia Rodionova (131) defeated Maria Sakkari 6-2 6-2
Anastasia Rodionova (131) defeated Michaela Honcova 6-2 6-4 to qualify for the main draw.
MAIN DRAW:
Anastasia Rodionova (131) defeated Jie Zheng 6-2 6-3
Anastasia Rodionova (131) lost to Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6 2-6
Sam Stosur (9) defeated Monica Niculescu 6-4 1-6 6-3
Sam Stosur (9) defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 7-5
Sam Stosur (9) lost to Maria Sharapova 2-6 4-6
CALI: (125,000 SERIES)
NO AUSSIES INVOLVED:
ATP CHALLENGER:
ATP Challenger event in Quimper:
NO AUSSIES INVOLVED:
ITF:
The first ITF event in Australia for the men was held this week in Melbourne at the same courts which held the Australian Open a couple of weeks ago.
It has replaced Toowoomba – which hosted the Australia F1 last year – and while some took the week off in preparation for the Sydney Challenger in two weeks time, others took the opportunity to gain valuable points towards their ranking.
Here are all the results from last week with the likes of James Duckworth, Nick Kyrgios, Sam Groth, Greg Jones, Alex Bolt and Matt Reid all in contention to do well over the week.
Australia F1 Future:
QUALIFYING:
Round 1:
Kaiser Concha (N/A) lost to Ivo Klec 0-6 0-6
Adam Taylor (N/A) defeated Marlino Pascual 7-5 6-2
Jonathon Cooper (1781) defeated Dale Sutherland (N/A) 6-2 6-2
Daniel Guccione (N/A) defeated Leon Frost (1213) 5-7 6-3 4-5 retired
James Lemke (492) defeated Lawrence Bataljin (N/A) 6-0 6-2
Jay Andrijic (1781) defeated Andrej Lukic (N/A) 6-3 6-2
Sam Dowler (N/A) lost to Thomas Pura (N/A) 2-6 3-6
Matt Roso (1425) lost to Sebastian Bader 6-7 0-6
Andre Mick (N/A) lost to Ruan Roelofse 1-6 1-6
Jack Swindells (N/A) defeated Andrew Thomas (N/A) 6-3 2-6 6-4
Jai Corbett (N/A) defeated Luke Gerry (N/A) 6-3 7-5
Jake Delaney (N/A) lost to Michael Venus 0-6 2-6
Alex J Trillini (N/A) defeated Jason Taylor (N/A) 7-5 4-6 7-6
Alex Espositos (N/A) lost to Masaki Fukushima 3-6 2-6
Aaron Addison (N/A) defeated Harry Bourchier (1473) 7-6 2-6 7-6
Jacob Scott (N/A) lost to Artem Sitak 2-6 3-6
Dimitri Vidin (N/A) defeated Shoki Hachiya 1-6 6-3 6-2
Adam Haanappel (N/A) defeated Matthew Nickels (N/A) 6-1 6-7 7-6
Ryan Thomas (1232) defeated Chanchai Sookton-Eng (N/A) 6-2 6-4
Ryan Agar (841) defeated Aleksandar Vukic (N/A) 6-1 6-4
Simo Rikalo (N/A) defeated Marshall Street (N/A) 6-4 6-4
Scott Browne (N/A) defeated William Myler (N/A) 6-4 6-7 6-0
Daniel Ferretti (1444) defeated Sean Carson (N/A) 6-4 6-4
Simon Ede (851) defeated Lewis Miles (N/A) 6-3 6-7 6-4
Radomir Jovanovic (N/A) defeated John Giakoumakis (N/A) 7-5 6-0
Mitchell Burman (N/A) defeated Mario Matejcek (N/A) 6-2 6-1
Daniel Byrnes (N/A) lost to He Feng 6-4 6-7 4-6
Jacob Grills (1110) defeated Andy Zelea (N/A) 6-0 6-0
Joshua Cheah (N/A) defeated Cody Brackenreg (N/A) 6-4 6-3
William Ma (N/A) defeated David Barclay (1781) 6-3 7-6
Blake Mott (1564) defeated Marc Polmans (1846) 7-6 6-3
Round 2:
Adam Taylor (N/A) lost to Ivo Klec 3-6 3-6
Daniel Guccione (N/A) defeated Jonathon Cooper (1781) 6-3 3-6 6-3
Jay Andrijic (1781) defeated James Lemke (492) 7-6 7-6
Jack Swindells (N/A) lost to Ruan Roelofse 5-7 1-6
Jai Corbett (N/A) lost to Erik Elliott 4-6 2-6
Alex J Trillini (N/A) lost to Michael Venus 1-6 1-6
Aaron Addison (N/A) lost to Masaki Fukushima 4-6 2-6
Dimitri Vidin (N/A) lost to Artem Sitak 2-6 2-6
Ryan Thomas (1232) defeated Adam Haanappel (N/A) 6-3 6-3
Ryan Agar (841) defeated Simo Rikalo (N/A) 6-1 6-3
Daniel Ferretti (1444) defeated Scott Browne (N/A) 6-2 6-4
Simon Ede (851) defeated Radomir Jovanovic (N/A) 6-3 6-3
Mitchell Burman (N/A) lost to He Feng 1-6 2-6
Jacob Grills (1110) defeated Joshua Cheah (N/A) 6-2 6-0
Blake Mott (1564) defeated William Ma (N/A) 6-3 6-2
Round 3:
Daniel Guccione (N/A) lost to Ivo Klec 4-6 3-6
Jay Andrijic (1781) defeated Thomas Pura 6-4 6-4
Ryan Thomas (1232) lost to Artem Sitak 1-6 1-6
Ryan Agar (841) defeated Daniel Ferretti (1444) 6-0 4-6 6-1
Simon Ede (851) defeated He Feng 6-4 6-3
Jacob Grills (1110) defeated Blake Mott (1564) 4-6 6-1 7-6
ALL WHO WON PROGRESSED TO THE MAIN DRAW:
MAIN DRAW:
Round 1:
Jordan Thompson (801) defeated Peter Polansky 3-1 retired
Jay Andrijic (1781) lost to Michael Venus 6-3 2-6 2-6
Nick Kyrgios (576) defeated Ryan Agar (841) 7-5 6-3
James Duckworth (263) defeated He Feng 6-1 6-3
Ben Mitchell (389) defeated Jack Schipanski (931) 7-6 4-6 6-3
Luke Saville (341) lost to Andrea Arnaboldi 2-6 1-6
Greg Jones (362) defeated Sam Groth (235) 6-2 2-1 retired
Michael Look (460) lost to Artem Sitak 6-3 2-6 2-6
Omar Jasika (1239) defeated Simon Ede (851) 4-6 6-3 6-3
Dayne Kelly (1473) lost to Stephane Robert 1-6 1-6
Matt Reid (296) defeated Dane Propoggia (415) 6-4 2-6 6-2
Jacob Grills (1110) defeated Ruan Roelofse 6-4 6-3
Alex Bolt (366) defeated Adam Feeney (301) 4-6 6-3 retired
Brydan Klein (225) defeated Sean Berman 7-6 5-7 6-4
Round 2:
Jordan Thompson (801) lost to Michael Venus 3-6 3-6
Nick Kyrgios (576) defeated Jose (Rubin) Statham 6-7 6-2 6-4
James Duckworth (263) defeated Ben Mitchell (389) 6-0 6-1
Greg Jones (362) defeated Artem Sitak 6-3 1-6 6-3
Omar Jasika (1239) lost to Stephane Robert 4-6 4-6
Matt Reid (296) defeated Jacob Grills (1110) 7-6 6-1
Alex Bolt (366) defeated Brydan Klein (225) 6-3 3-6 6-4
Quarter Final:
Nick Kyrgios (576) lost to Michael Venus 2-6 4-6
James Duckworth (263) defeated Andrea Arnaboldi 7-6 6-4
Greg Jones (362) lost to Stephane Robert 2-6 5-7
Alex Bolt (366) defeated Matt Reid (296) 6-3 6-4
Semi Final:
James Duckworth (263) defeated Michael Venus 6-3 6-3
Alex Bolt (366) lost to Stephane Robert 6-7 6-4 6-2
Final:
James Duckworth (263) lost to Stephane Robert 6-7 3-6 to go close to his first ever ITF future tournament win in Australia.
(James Duckworth enjoyed another impressive week on the Melbourne International Tennis Centre courts as he came close to his first ever ITF title in Australia)
Here are the other ITF future events for the week.
ITF:
MEN:
Turkey F6 Future:
QUALIFYING:
Scott Puodziunas (1378) lost to Kirill Dimitriev 4-6 3-6
Spain F2 Future:
QUALIFYING:
Harrison Lombe (N/A) defeated Alejandro Salmeron 6-2 6-1
Harrison Lombe (N/A) lost to Miki Jankovic 1-6 2-6
MAIN DRAW:
Jason Kubler (404) lost to Simone Vagnozzi 0-6 retired
Mexico F4 Future:
MAIN DRAW:
Chris Letcher (572) defeated Will Gray 6-2 6-2
Chris Letcher (572) defeated Felipe Mantilla 6-4 6-3
Chris Letcher (572) lost to Eduardo Peralta-Tello 5-7 1-6
Matheson Klein (532) defeated Keith-Patrick Crowley 6-1 6-1
Matheson Klein (532) lost to Gianni Mina 6-7 1-6
Croatia F1 Future:
NO AUSSIES INVOLVED:
WOMEN:
10,000 Antalya tournament in Turkey:
MAIN DRAW:
Alexandra Nancarrow (911) lost to Pia Konig 1-6 2-6
10,000 Sharm El Sheikh tournament in Egypt:
NO AUSSIES INVOLVED:
10,000 Leimen tournament in Germany:
NO AUSSIES INVOLVED:
10,000 Linkoping tournament in Sweden:
NO AUSSIES INVOLVED:
25,000 Rancho Santa Fe tournament in the United States:
QUALIFYING:
Sally Peers (346) defeated Alyssa Grace Smith 7-5 6-2
Sally Peers (346) lost to Sanaz Marand 3-6 2-6
Julie Moriarty (754) lost to Mayo Hibi 2-6 2-6
That’s it for Aussies Abroad this week, join us next week for another edition.
ShaneJonessport 