Raonic and Sousa Claim Titles in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur

OK lets get to Bangkok first. In the poll I posted on my blog most people expected Berdych to win this title. Of course it's just a poll but I kind of expected him to win the title too after going without a title so far this year, and yet making the top 5 for the first time with consistently solid results. I thought today was a great chance for a title at an ATP 250 event but Raonic was just too solid. There were no breaks in the 1st set and in the breaker Raonic got the mini break right at the start.

He then just kept it solid and there were no more breaks, so he wrapped up the 1st set. In the 2nd set he got the early break as well and from there on was unstoppable. These best of 3 set matches can be over fast like that, especially against a guy with a huge serve like Raonic. He was consistently pumping out 220 kph first serves and he was pretty good in other aspects of the game as well. It was just nice to see two players with attacking games in indoor conditions.

That kind of tennis is scarce these days with all the base line grinding going on. Raonic was the best at it today and claimed his 2nd title of the year after he won San Jose earlier in the year. In the end probably his serving was the key. But of course that is not enough. He was still clutch in the breaker to hold on after getting the mini break and to get the service break in the 2nd set as well. No surprise that San Jose is indoor as well.

Raonic is just very dangerous in these conditions with his big serve and power game. He's probably the best of the young players, although Janowicz may have something to say about that. Anyway it is good to see young talent coming through, especially since they are attacking players. Maybe they are a little one-dimensional with their big serves but at least they balance out some of the base line grinding that is taking the game over.

Talking of base line grinding Joao Sousa fits that bill pretty well. Not that I mind. It was great to see him win the title today against Benneteau after being match point down in the 2nd set. Like yesterday I was impressed with his mental fortitude and composure. I mean it was his first ATP final and coming back from match point down to win it 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 say a lot. On match point Benneteau attacked the net with a 50/50 approach and Sousa came up with the running forehand pass down the line.

It was the shot that changed it all. That was at 4-5 and in the next game he broke Benneteau and squared things up at a set all. He then got the break early in the 3rd set while Benneteau was still regretting not converting the match point. Although Benneteau fought like a madman to get back in the match the writing was on the wall. Benneteau had his chances to break back but like I said the writing was on the wall. Very tough loss for Benneteau who is still without an ATP title after 9 finals.

Today must really hurt after dominating the first half of the match against a rookie and having match point. As for Sousa he became the first Portuguese man to win an ATP Tour title. It has really been a great story for him since the US Open. Before the US Open he could barely qualify for main tour events. Then he makes his first slam 3rd round after wins over Dimitrov and Nieminen. After that he makes the semis in St. Petersburg and now he wins an ATP Tour title.

You won't get a more clear cut case of mental strength and mental weakness than in this match. Benneteau fails for the 9th straight time in an ATP final after having match point while a first time finalist saves match point and wins the title on his first attempt. Some players just have 'it', while others don't. Sousa actually reminds a lot of Nadal with the amount of work he puts on his forehand and his mental fortitude. He is like a lesser version of Nadal, even though he is right handed.

Well that concludes this past week on tour and of course this coming week we have the ATP 500 events in Beijing and Tokyo so I'm excited for that. You can view the draw for Beijing here and the draw for Tokyo here. The big boys Nadal and Djokovic are back in their first outing since the US Open where of course they played in the final. It will be interesting to see how Djokovic can pick himself up after yet another disappointing loss against Nadal and whether Nadal can keep dominating.

They are the first two seeds in Beijing. Djokovic(11,120 pts) is still #1 but Nadal(10,860 pts) is now very close. Surely just a formality for Nadal to become #1 now despite saying today: "it will be very difficult to win the number one spot". What he really meant to say was: "it will be very easy to win the number one spot". That is just the way Nadal rolls. He relentlessly tries to take pressure off himself. I expect Nadal to keep dominating during the indoor season.

I think he will win Beijing and it is hard to see him losing anything the way he has been playing of late. Probably he has his first Masters Cup title coming up too. Beijing should be pretty interesting though. There are many good players in the draw and Nadal won't have it all his own way. In Tokyo Del Potro is back as well as the #1 seed while Tsonga continues his comeback as the #2 seed. Looking forward to the action heating up in the coming week!

Berdych Gets Lucky Against Simon, Wawrinka Sent Packing in Kuala Lumpur

Hi folks. Today I had some time to watch the action and I quite enjoyed the matches between Berdych and Simon as well as Sousa against Melzer. The two matches were being played at the same time so I had the old double live stream window open and alternated between them. Berdych quickly went a break up against Simon and for a moment there I thought this could be an easy win for Berdych. But Berdych couldn't pull away from Simon all match. Simon broke back and won the first set 7-6(5).

Berdych then ran away with the 2nd set 6-2. In the 3rd set Simon got the early break but Berdych broke right back. Berdych then broke himself at 5-5 and the next game was a bit of an anti-climax. Simon went up 40-0 on the Berdych serve and yet again it looked like he was gonna reel Berdych back in. But at 40-30 after a long rally Berdych steered a forehand wide and it was called good. The commentary was in French but I'm pretty sure Simon was out of challenges, because the ball was clearly out.

Simon had broken back but due to a clear mistake from the line judge Berdych had won the match. I felt Berdych got really lucky because he just could not pull away from Simon and it was clear to me that Simon was a problem opponent for him. In fact Simon is an awkward opponent period. He doesn't give you pace and is a good counter puncher. Berdych was clearly frustrated and toiled for almost 3 hours before he got a lucky break.

Simon had used up his challenges but how the line judge and the umpire both missed the call is beyond me. Anyway Berdych will take it and now plays Raonic for the title after Raonic beat Gasquet 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. I didn't watch the match but apparently Gasquet lost less than 10 points on serve in the last 2 sets but when he served to stay in the set he just gifted the break to Raonic. Sounds like another classic choke job and the old Gasquet looks to be back.

Same for Stan who got routined 6-4, 6-3 by Benneteau. I guess the US Open performances by Stan and Gasquet was just a flash in the pan from both. We will see how they both fare during the rest of the season. In the remaiming semi Sousa had another impressive win over Melzer, prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Sousa was dominant at the start and I was impressed with this player I never saw play. Melzer lost his temper in the 2nd set after going a break down and smashed his racquet, after which a momentum shift occurred.

He broke back and won the 2nd set, and then went a break up in the 3rd. But this time it was Sousa who smashed his racquet. Again a momentum shift occurred as Sousa broke back. Sousa finally broke again at 5-4 in the 3rd with an epic angled backhand smash. Melzer challenged but the replay showed the ball caught the line. Sousa was into his 1st ATP main tour final and like I said I was impressed with his composure. He has a great chance to win his first ATP main tour title too.

It would be a great story if he does so. Benneteau and Sousa have never played and neither have won an ATP main tour title. As for Berdych vs Raonic the latter have won their only meeting last year and Berdych will be playing to win his first title of 2013. Hard to believe after the consistent season he has had. Raonic will be aiming for his 2nd title of the year after winning San Jose. The matches I watched today were enjoyable and I will be looking forward to some good tennis tomorrow as well.

I'll pick Berdych and Sousa to win.

Wawrinka Scrapes through against Tursonov, Sousa Upsets Ferrer

Well the remaining action of today made for some good tennis and one big upset. That was the #1 seed Ferrer losing in Kuala Lumpur 6-2, 7-6(6) to 77th ranked Joao Sousa from Portugal. Sousa is basically a challenger tour player who has been having some good results since the US Open where he defeated Dimitrov and Nieminen over 5 sets in the first two rounds. Last week he made semis in St. Petersburg as well, and now he is in the semis of Kuala Lumpur again.

Pretty exciting stuff. We don't hear much from Portuguese players. The one that comes to mind is Frederico Gil, but we haven't seen a Portuguese player who has really been competitive at the very top of the game. Not that I know of anyway. Maybe Sousa can do something. He now plays Melzer and has a real chance to make his first ATP main tour final. In the other semi Wawrinka will play Benneteau after he had a very close call against Tursonov.

Stan lost the first set 6-2 after getting close to getting breadsticked. He immediately broke in the 2nd set though and held on to square things at a set all. The 3rd set went down to the wire and he came out the winner 7-3 in the breaker. For a minute there after the 1st set I thought the old Stan was back. But the fact that he came back to win this against a difficult opponent shows me Stan 2.0 is alive and well. Tusonov is currently ranked 34th and no push over.

The head-to-head between Stan and Benneteau is 1-1. It should be a competitive match. In Bangkok Raonic and Gasquet joined Berdych and Simon in the semi-finals. Raonic just defeated Lopez 6-4, 6-3 in an impressive serving display making 86% first serves. With his massive serve you better believe he is gonna be very hard to beat when he makes that many first serves. The match between Gasquet and Youzhny went to 3 sets as I expected with Gasquet prevailing 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.

Pretty impressive stuff from Gasquet after dropping the first set. He has always been a great talent and many expected him to be the next Federer, just like many are now expecting something similar from Dimitrov. Lets face it though; there will never be a next Federer. But it is nice to see Gasquet finally starting to fulfill some more of the vast potential he always had. The semi-final between him and Raonic should be very interesting indeed, as should the one between Berdych and Simon.

Gasquet and Raonic is tied at 1-1 after their 5 set US Open marathon, while Simon seems to be a difficult opponent for Berdych because Simon leads the head-to-head 5-2. Berdych is a player who likes pace and Simon doesn't give much pace. Simon is also good at absorbing pace and uses variations of pace to mess with the rhythm of his opponents. I would imagine those are the reasons Berdych has trouble with him. Lets see if the trend continues tomorrow!