Querrey Back to Winning Ways

The tournaments this week and next were left fighting over the scraps left by the Olympics, but in Kitzbuhel two players competed in the final and then needed to be in London by the next day.  Robin Haase defended his title there and in so doing pulled himself from a most-of-the-season funk with a win over Philipp Kohlschreiber.  In Baku the once promising Bojana Jovanovski won her first career title.  We expected great things from her a year and a half ago, but then she slumped miserably and dropped out of the top 100.  But now she has righted the ship and won a tournament.  And finally, after 2011 season frustrated by injury, Sam Querrey is back doing what he does best:  winning small tournaments, especially those in the USA.

ATP 250: Los Angeles, CA, USA

2) Sam Querrey (USA) def. Q) Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 6-0 6-2

-Querrey wins 7th career title, last '10 Los Angeles

-It is his 3rd win in LA ('09, '10)

-Other QF:  3) Leonardo Mayer (ARG), 4) Nicolas Mahut (FRA), 5) Xavier Malisse (BEL), 6) Marinko Matosevic (AUS)-SF, Michael Russell (USA), Rajeev Ram (USA)

-Other seeds:  1) Paire (R2 l. to Russell), 7) Phau (R1 l. to Berankis), 8) Baker (R1 l. to Ram)

-Gulbis was the defending champion but isn't playing this week.
-There was no returning quarterfinalists from last year, but hardly any of them competed.

-This is a nice revival from Berankis who dropped off the face of the year earth after emerging in early '11.
-Matosevic continues to have good tournament here and there, especially in the US.
-Russell reached his 3rd tour QF of '12 after I thought he was digressing at the age of 34.

-Of course the draw was full of lower ranked Americans.  In all, they went 8-8 which would be slightly disappointeing.

ATP 250: Kitzbuhel, Austria

3) Robin Haase (NED) def. 1) Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-7(2) 6-3 6-2

-Haase wins 2nd career title, last '11 Kitzbuhel
-Other QF:  5) Martin Klizan (SVK)-SF, Lukas Rosol (CZE), Filippo Volandri (ITA)-SF, Simone Bolelli (ITA), Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA), Wayne Odesnik (USA)

-Other seeds:  2) F.Mayer (R2 l. to Bolelli), 4) Ramos (R2 l. to Volandri), 6) Garcia-Lopez (R1 l. to Zopp), 7) Gulbis (R2 l. to Dutra Silva), 8) Kavcic (R1 l. to Veic)

-He is the 2nd player in as many weeks to successfully defend his/her only career title.  (Hercog in Palermo)

-Haase was the only player to reach the quarters this year and last.
-This tournament was played one weeks earlier than last year.
-Another main draw win for Attila the Hun (Balazs) but then he lost to Kohlschreiber.

-Austrian wildcards went 0-3 (Fischer, Haider-Maurer, and Thiem) but they got a win from qualifier Oswald.

-Odesnik is slowly but surely reviving his career after his 1-year ban for doping.

WTA International: Baku, Azerbaijan

5) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) def. Julia Cohen (USA) 6-3 6-1

-Jovanovski wins first career title

-Other QF:  2) Alexandra Panova (RUS)-SF, 3) Mandy Minella (LUX), 6) Nina Bratchikova (RUS), Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK), Olga Puchkova (RUS)-SF, Q) Aleksandra Krunic (SRB)

-Other seeds:  1) Pervak (R1 ret. to Cohen), 4) Hlavackova (R1 l. to Krunic), 7) Amanmuradova (R1 l. to Puchkova), 8) Birnerova (R1 l. to Rybarikova)

-Zvonareva was the defending champion, but chose to prepare for the Olympics rather than return here.

-There were no returning quarterfinalists from '11.

-This tournament is being played one week later than last year.

-Cohen is a 23-yr-old American ranked 134, who has had some success on the ITF circuit this year but was in just her 2nd WTA main draw this year.

-Young Polish players Zaniewska and Domachowska won first round matches. Krunic has seen action on the Serbian doubles team in Fed Cup.  Zaniewska is ranked #9 among players born in '92 and Krunic is #10 among her peers, those born in '93.

-There wasn't much local talent.  The wildcard from Azerbaijan, Kamila Farhad, won just 1 game against Kudryatseva.