Mahut a Surprise Winner, Halep Runs Streak to 10 Matches

The tournaments this week showed what the short grass court can bring: unexpected champions and victories from players who are not often in the limelight.  None shows that more than the men's event in at 's-Hertogenbosch, where 31-yr-old Nicolas Mahut, ranked no. 240 in the world, loser of the longest match ever played but also the '00 boys Wimbledon champion, won his first career title by beating a top 10 player.  (He had reached two previous finals, not surprisingly, both on grass.)  Another lover of the grass is Feliciano Lopez, and he has endured a poor season but turned it around quickly on England's lawns, defeating a top 20 player in the Eastbourne final.  And on the women's side, it was Elena Vesnina who triumphed in Eastbourne, battling past an American qualifier in the final.  She's showed an aptitude for grass in the past, reaching the Wimbledon doubles final with Zvonareva in '11.  And then there is the WTA's hottest player not named Serena, who will enter Wimbledon on 10-match winning streak across two different surface.  Simona Halep won on clay in Nurnberg last week, and now won the women's event on grass in 's-Hertogenbosch, defeating the revived '03 girls Wimbledon champion Flipkens in the final.

Good Stories
-Jamie Hampton (USA) qualified and reached the final in Eastbourne, picking up wins over top seed A.Radwanska and Wozniacki before ran out of gas and won only 3 games against Vesnina in her first WTA final.
-Bernard Tomic (AUS) may be getting his season back on track with a QF result in Eastbourne.
-Evgeny Donskoy (RUS), a 23-yr-old, reached his first ATP quarterfinal in 's-Hertogenbosch.  He beat Isner in the first round.
-Garbine Muguruza (ESP), a 19-yr-old who has been on the rise since beating Zvonareva in '12 Miami and reaching the 4th round, reached her first WTA quarterfinal and semifinal in 's-Hertogenbosch.  She is currently ranked no. 70.

Bad Stories
-Milos Raonic (CAN) will be sporting an 0-2 grass court record for 2013 heading into Wimbledon after his first round loss to Dodig in Eastbourne
-John Isner (USA) will have just one match as a Wimbledon tune-up after a first round loss to Donskoy at 's-Hertogenbosch

WTA Premier: Eastbourne, United Kingdom

Elena Vesnina (RUS) def. Q) Jamie Hampton (USA) 6-2 6-1

-Vesnina wins 2nd career title, 2nd of 2013, last '13 Hobart

Defending champion: Tamira Paszek (AUT), R1 l. to Wozniacki

Quarterfinalists: 2) Na Li (CHN), 5) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)-SF, 6) Maria Kirilenko (RUS), Ekaterina Makarova (RUS), Lucie Safarova (CZE), Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)-SF

Players reaching QF in '12 and '13: Makarova and Safarova, though Pironkova made the quarters her last year but this year made the same stage at 's-Hertogenbosch

Locals performance: 2-3, wins for Robson and Watson, who then lost to Wozniacki and Vesnina, Konta lost her opening round match

Americans performance: 4-3, Hampton the only winner.  McHale and Lepchenko went out in the first round.

Third set tiebreaks: none

ATP 250: Eastbourne, United Kingdom

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) def. 2) Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 6-0

-Lopez wins 3rd career title, last '10 Johannesburg (3.5-yr drought)
-His 2 previous titles were on hard courts

Defending champion: Andy Roddick (USA) - now retired

Quarterfinalists: 7) Andreas Seppi (ITA)-SF, 8) Fabio Fognini (ITA), Bernard Tomic (AUS), Radek Stepanek (CZE), Fernando Verdasco (ESP), Ivan Dodig (CRO)-SF

Players reaching QF in '12 and '13: Seppi, Fognini
Locals performance: 1-2, Ward lost but a first round win for 18-yr-old Kyle Edmund, the reigning boys French Open doubles champ, ranked no. 442 in the world.

Americans performance: 1-2, q-Blake lost q-Harrison won one match

Third set tiebreaks: Harrison def. Mathieu (R1), Tomic def. Benneteau (R2)

ATP 250: 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Q) Nicolas Mahut (FRA) def. 2) Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 6-3 6-4

-Mahut wins 1st career title!

Defending champion: David Ferrer (ESP) - R1 l. to Malisse

Quarterfinalists: 5) Jeremy Chardy (FRA), Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)-SF, Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP), Xavier Malisse (BEL)-SF, Evgeny Donskoy (RUS), Q) Jan Hernych (CZE)

Players reaching QF in '12 and '13: Malisse

Locals performance: 2-3, wins for Haase and Huta Galung with a first loss for de Bakker
Americans performance: 0-1, Isner
Other notable winners: a pair of 22-yr-olds, Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) and Marius Copil (ROU)

Third set tiebreaks: Bautista Agut def. Bohil (R1) (14-12!)

WTA International: 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Simona Halep (ROU) def. 4) Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 6-4 6-2

-Halep wins 2nd career title, last '13 Nurnberg

Defending champion: Nadia Petrova (RUS) - R1 l. to Stosur (in Eastbourne)

Quarterfinalists: 2) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK), 3) Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)-SF, 7) Urszula Radwanska (POL), Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL), Q) Garbine Muguruza (ESP)-SF, L) Lesia Tsurenko (UKR)

Players reaching QF in '12 and '13: Cibulkova, Flipkens, U.Radwanska
Locals performance: 1-3, Krajicek the only winner, first round losses for Rus and Bertens

Americans performance: 1-1, Davis lost to Muguruza in the second round after beating a qualifier

Third set tiebreaks: Cibulkova def. Dominguez Lino (R1)

There was also action in Americas Zonal Group III where host Bolivia and Paraguay defeated Bahamas and Costa Rica in the two finals to make an immediate return to Group II after being relegated last year.  Cuba returned to Davis Cup competition for the first time since 2009.