Internazionali BNL d'Italia

Up next is the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. It's a Master-event, so pretty important as well!

Tournament Info:

Place: Rome, Italy
Date: May 7-13, 2007
Draw Size: 64
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: €2,082,500
Tournament Director: Sergio Palmieri
Ticket Hotline:+39 06 3283 7240
Website: www.internazionaliditalia.it

TV-Schedule:

ATP MASTERS SERIES
Australia: Fox Sports (all matches)
Belgium: BETV (all matches)
Brazil: Globosat (all matches)
Bulgaria: Diema (all matches)
Canada: RDS (all matches)
Canada: TSN (all matches)
China: CCTV (to be confirmed)
China: Nu Com Media (all matches)
Czech Republic: Galaxie Sport (all matches)
Fiji: Fiji TV (all matches)
France: Sport+ (all matches)
GBR: Sky Sports (all matches)
Greece & Cyprus: Supersport (all matches)
Holland: Sport1 (all matches)
Hungary, Romania, Serbia: IKO Sport Club (all matches)
Italy: Sky Italia (all matches)
Macedonia: TV4 (all matches)
Malta: Melita Cable (all matches)
Norway: TV2 Norway (all matches)
Poland: Polsat (all matches)
Portugal: Sport TV (all matches)
Russia: NTV+ (all matches)
Scandinavia: Ladbrokes (all matches)
Scandinavia: Viasat (all matches)
Switzerland: SRG (all matches)
Spain: TVE (all matches)
Thailand: BBTV (all matches)
Ukraine: Megasport (all matches)
Usa: ESPN (highlights)
Usa: The Tennis Channel (all matches)
Africa: Supersport international (all matches)
American Forces Network: AFN (all matches)
Arabic Language: Al-Jazeera Sports Channel (all matches)
Asia: ESPN Star Sports (all matches)
Europe (excluding France, Italy, Spain & GBR): Betandwin (all matches)
Latina America, Isreael, Northern Africa, New Zeland: ESPN International (all matches)

Round, points, money
W 500 €340,000
F 350 €170,000
SF 225 €85,000
QF 125 €42,000
R16 75 €21,250
R32 35 €11,800
R64 5 €5,930

Past winners:

SINGLES
DOUBLES
2006
Rafael Nadal
Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
2005
Rafael Nadal
Michael Llodra/Fabrice Santoro
2004
Carlos Moya
Mahesh Bhupathi/Max Mirnyi
2003
Felix Mantilla
Wayne Arthurs/Paul Hanley
2002
Andre Agassi
Martin Damm/Cyril Suk
2001
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Wayne Ferreira/Yevgeny Kafelnikov
2000
Magnus Norman
Martin Damm/Dominik Hrbaty
1999
Gustavo Kuerten
Ellis Ferreira/Rick Leach
1998
Marcelo Rios
Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes
1997
Alex Corretja
Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor
1996
Thomas Muster
Byron Black/Grant Connell
1995
Thomas Muster
Cyril Suk/Daniel Vacek
1994
Pete Sampras
Yevgeny Kafelnikov/David Rikl
1993
Jim Courier
Jacco Eltingh/Paul Haarhuis
1992
Jim Courier
Jakob Hlasek/Marc Rosset
1991
Emilio Sanchez
Omar Camporese/Goran Ivanisevic
1990
Thomas Muster
Sergio Casal/Emilio Sanchez
1989
Alberto Mancini
Jim Courier/Pete Sampras
1988
Ivan Lendl
Jorge Lozano/Todd Witsken
1987
Mats Wilander
Guy Forget/Yannick Noah
1986
Ivan Lendl
Guy Forget/Yannick Noah
1985
Yannick Noah
Anders Jarryd/Mats Wilander
1984
Andres Gomez
Ken Flach/Robert Seguso
1983
Jimmy Arias
Francisco Gonzalez/Victor Pecci
1982
Andres Gomez
Heinz Gunthardt/Balazs Taroczy
1981
Jose-Luis Clerc
Hans Gildemeister/Andres Gomez
1980
Guillermo Vilas
Mark Edmondson/Kim Warwick
1979
Vitas Gerulaitis
Peter Fleming/Tomas Smid
1978
Bjorn Borg
Victor Pecci/Belus Prajoux
1977
Vitas Gerulaitis
Brian Gottfried/Raul Ramirez
1976
Adriano Panatta
Brian Gottfried/Raul Ramirez
1975
Raul Ramirez
Brian Gottfried/Raul Ramirez
1974
Bjorn Borg
Brian Gottfried/Raul Ramirez

Marat's Results:

2006: round 2
2005: round 2
2004: round 3
2002: round 2
2001: round 2
2000: round 2
1999: round 2

Round 2 Doubles

Marat and Dmitry lost to Erlich and Ram 67(8) 76(6) 911. Though they lost, it was a very close match as you can see at the score. A sad ending but I think it was a good match! I haven't found any articles/interviews/pictures yet of this match (they do more with the singles) but if I get some I will post it here:)

Stuff

After this dissapointing loss I found some articles and more stuff. Apparently Marat is moving on. And I'm so glad of that:) That's what we all should do, all the time!

From the Eurosport website:

Marat Safin said he was not overly concerned about his recent poor run of form after he made another early exit, this time in the first round of the Barcelona Open.
The Russian former world number one was beaten 6-4 7-6 by Italian Simone Bolelli, the world number 103.
That followed his second-round defeat by Belgian Kristof Vliegen in Monte Carlo last week, when he squandered four match points, having won the first set 6-0.
Safin's win-loss record this year is now 10-8 after losing his opening matches in three of his last four tournaments, but the former U.S. Open and Australian Open champion said he was not bothered by his apparent loss of form.

"I don't care," he said. "I am playing well, I am still 26 in the rankings.
"With one good result I will be top 20, but I don't really care about the rankings any more. I just need to stay focused on my tennis."

Safin's best performance of the year came in the Davis Cup earlier this month when he won the deciding rubber against Paul-Henri Mathieu to give Russia a quarter-final victory over France on indoor clay in Moscow.
On that occasion, Safin barely missed a ball, the kind of form that took him to the top of the rankings and his two grand slam titles.

The Russian's early exits from Monte Carlo and Barcelona cost him the chance to climb the rankings, but Safin said his confidence was unaffected.

"With all of your losses, you try to put them behind you," he said. "There is always next week and it's difficult to play well all the time.

"I couldn't find my game today on the court. It was pretty slippery, and I didn't play my best tennis so that's why. I barely had a chance.



"He was solid, he had nothing to lose. He went for his shots, he was serving well in the tiebreak, he just did his job and he had no pressure at all."

Safin's next tournament will be the Masters Series event in Rome, beginning a week on Monday.


"I will just take it easy and practise and do my job," he said.






Pictures:

Round 1

Round 1 singles, there's not much to say about this one. They have never met before. Bolellie is the number 121th of the world. His highest ranking was 103. I'm sure he's a good opponent, but he's not like any of the top10-players. We'll see how it goes!

He plays doubles as well as you know now. Marat and Dmitry played doubles with eachother many times before so hopefully they will do well this tourny!

It's not clear yet when Marat plays. The tournament started today, but I don't think Marat will play tomorrow because there playing qualifiers in the weekend. Well, that's it for today I guess.
I'll keep you informed!

Doubles round 1: Marat and Dmitry have won there doubles! With 6-0 76(6)! Good job! In Round 2 they'll play J.Erlich and A.Ram. On this tournament, they are seeded as third.. So will see! Good luck guys!

Singles round 1: Marat lost.. 46 67(5). There was nothing to do about it. I think we just need to be supportive now.. I read other forums and there was so much anger and hate there. I can't believe those people! I mean, he did his best and it won't help him or anybody if you keep saying that he should retire and this and that.. Horrible! I found some stuff but I'll put it in a new post!

Draw announcing!

The draw for Barcelona is announced.

Singles:Marat will play Simone Bolelli from Italy in the first round. He could meet Sam Querry in the second and Juan Ignacio Chela in the 3rd. And Nadal is waiting for him in the quarters...
What to think of this draw? Is it good or bad one, cause you never know what's good or bad with Marat!
Let's give him our best support, so he can show us his best tennis!

Doubles: yes, he plays doubles as well! That was new for me too! He plays with Dmitry Tursunov and the first round is against Jarkko Nieminen and Robert Lindstedt. Good luck int your doubles too!

For whole draw: http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=/1/posting/2007/425/MDS.pdf or check picture below:

Marat flew to Barcelona on Saturday, with company of his friend Danny and his fitnesscoach Miguel Maseo.

Interview

From the official website, an interview about his start in this clay-season.

We caught up with Marat over the week-end in Moscow just before his departure to Barcelona.
We wanted to discuss his feeling regarding the beginning of the clay court season.

Q. Hi Marat. How do you feel and when are you leaving for Barcelona?
A. I'm feeling good. I feel like I have my energies back after the disappointment in Monte Carlo. I even thought about skipping Barcelona after my loss in Monte Carlo because I felt completely drained of energies, but the last few days at home have recharged my "batteries" again.
Q. What really happened during the match in Monte Carlo (Vliegen)?
A. I felt that I had full control of the match. However always after winning a set 6-0 it is a dangerous position because you know that the opponent is going to change his game and start to attack more and play more aggressive and it is always important to try and break in the second set in order to continue the momentum. I didn't manage to get a break up in the second set and in the tie break I had my chances (3 match points). In the third set I was up a break but by that time it started to get darker and the courts became very fast and I didn't manage to capitalize my lead and lost my serve and lost the game.
Q. It must have been very disappointing?
A. It was one of my most disappointing losses because an easy match turned into a very difficult one, and I was looking forward to playing Nadal who is the "King" of clay and as I have never played him before, I wanted to challenge myself by playing him.
Q. How do you re-group mentally after such a disappointment?
A. It's not easy as a lot of things were going through my mind but with the support of Friends and my Team and with my experience I decided to go home for a few days, clear my head and start all over again. Now I'm just trying to be competitive in all my matches and get as many wins under my belt and to hope that my confidence will return, and with that a good streak of wins.
Q. Who is going to be traveling with you to Barcelona?
A. My long time childhood friend Danny Gomez who I grew up with together in Valencia, as well as my fitness coach, Miguel will join me in Barcelona. Sasha Volkov my coach, will most probably join me at the Masters Series events in Rome and Hamburg and on to the French.
Q. What are your plans for the week after Barcelona?
A. I am not scheduled to play the week after and will probably go to Valencia to practice and get ready for the Masters Series event.
Q. Going a step back to the Davis Cup tie against France, can you explain to your fans exactly what happened during the tie and why you were not playing the entire tie and then came up so brilliantly for the final and decisive rubber?
A.We have great depth in our Davis Cup Team and don't forget that I had been traveling overseas sincere the trip to Chile. I was very tired and the Captain decided to play the singles with two other players and I was scheduled to play the doubles. I was also suffering from serious blisters on my feet. This happens to me sometimes when I change surfaces until I get adjusted to the new surface. A Davis Cup always has an element of surprises and when Davydenko could not play the rubber on the last day and Andreev stepped in, we were all sure that he would beat Grosjean and close the tie. It was a risk, but don't forget that Youzhny was not fit for the last rubber due to his tiring match on the first day and I was not fit because of my blisters. After Andreev lost and the score was 2-2 I was shocked that I would have to play the decisive rubber in my condition, but like always, in Davis Cup and especially playing in Russia with the support of the great crowd, I put the pain and inconvenience aside and really played a terrific game.
Q. How do you feel about the semi final tie against Germany?
A. Tommy Haas is in great shape this year and Germany has a very in depth squad and a good doubles team, but I feel that in Moscow most likely on clay courts again, we will be the favorite team and will probably make the finals again for the second year in a row. I think this will be a tremendous achievement because many times after a team wins Davis Cup there is a natural let down so if we can make it again it will show that we have a team with very positive character. There is only one problem with reaching the finals again this year!
Q. What is the problem?
A. It will mean that my vacation at the end of the year will be very short again for the second year in a row!!!

Thank you so much for giving us of your time.Have a successful trip to Spain.
Marat - thanks and regards to all my Fans

Open Seat Barcelona

I know, it's not nice to start about a new tournament after this sad loss. But we have to move on just like Marat, right? I couldn't find any interviews yet, about his win and loss, but if I find some interviews I'll post them in 'Round 2' post. So here is Marat's next tournament. I think he can do well, under whatever circumstances he may get. Cause I don't think it matters anymore, with Marat, if he plays top-10 or top-100 players.

Open Seat Barcelona, starting on next Monday (23 April) till Sunday (29 April)

Official website: http://www.openseatbarcelona.com/1/en/home/

Playerslist 2007

Rafael Nadal
ESP
2
Nikolay Davydenko
RUS
4
Tommy Robredo
ESP
7
David Nalbandian
ARG
10
Andy Murray
GBR
14
David Ferrer
ESP
15
Jarkko Nieminen
FIN
19
Dmitry Tursunov
RUS
21
Juan Carlos Ferrero
ESP
23
Marat Safin
RUS
24
Radek Stepanek
CZE
26
Robin Soderling
SWE
27
Agustin Calleri
ARG
29
Juan Ignacio Chela
ARG
31
Nicolas Almagro
ESP
32
Fernando Verdasco
ESP
33
Ivo Karlovic
CRO
34
Carlos Moya
ESP
36
Benjamin Becker
GER
38
Gaston Gaudio
ARG
41
Hyung-Taik Lee
KOR
47
Kristof Vliegen
BEL
48
Gael Monfils
FRA
48
Paradorn Srichaphan
THA
52
Filippo Volandri, ITA
ITA
54
Max Mirnyi, BLR
BLR
55
Juan Monaco
ARG
56
Philipp Kohlschreiber
GER
59
Guillermo Canas
ARG
60
Nicolas Lapentti
ECU
61
Sam Querrey
USA
67
Guillermo Garcia
ESP
68
Vincent Spadea
USA
70
Evgeny Korolev
RUS
71
Alberto Martin, ESP
ESP
75
Igor Kunitsyn
RUS
78
Teimuraz Gabashvili
RUS
80
Thomas Johansson
SWE
85
Yen-Hsun Lu
TPE
91
Feliciano Lopez, ESP
ESP
92
Potito Starace, ITA
ITA
93
Paul Goldstein
USA
95
Oscar Hernandez
ESP
98

Marats Results on this tournament:
Marat played this tournament 4 times with these (pretty) good results:
2005: round 1, lost to Jose Acasuco with 46 46
2003: final, lost to Carlos Moya with 75 62 62 03 ret.
2000: winner, won from Juan Carlos Ferrero with 63 63 64
1999: round 2, lost to Tommy Robredo with 61 46 46
1998: round 3, lost to Carlos Costa with 46 63 26

Tournament information
Dates: April 21-29, 2007
Site: Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899
Bosch 1 Gimpera 5-13083034
Barcelona SpainTel: +34 93 2052117
Fax: +34 93 2803273
Tournament Director: Sixte Cambra
Surface: Clay
Prize Money: € 850,000,-

Race Points - Prize Money

Winner 60 - €130,200
Finalist 42 - €68,500
Semifinalist 27 - €36,000
Quarterfinalist 15 - €19,000
Round 16, 5 - €10,000
Round 32, 3 - €5,250
Round 56 1 - €2,770

Ticket Information
Click here for ticket information
Players
Click here for players
For more tournament-info: http://www.openseatbarcelona.com/en/tourn_info/

Past winners

2005 Rafael Nadal (ESP) d J Ferrero (ESP) 6-1 7-6(4) 6-3
L. Paes/N.Zimonjic/ d F. Lopez/R.Nadal 6-3 6-3
2004 Tommy Robredo (ESP) d Gaston Gaudio (ARG) 6-3 4-6 6-2 3-6 6-3
M.Knowles/D.Nestor d M.Hood/S.Prieto 4-6 6-3 6-4
2003 Carlos Moyà (ESP) d Marat Safin (RUS) 5-7 6-2 6-2 3-0 ret.
B. Bryan/M. Bryan d C. Haggard/R. Koenig 6-4 6-3
2002 Gastón Gaudio (ARG) d Albert Costa (ESP) 6-4 6-0 6-2
M. Hill/D. Vacek d L. Arnold/G. Etlis 6-4 6-4
2001 Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) d Carlos Moyà (ESP) 4-6 7-5 6-3 3-6 7-5
D. Johnson/J. Palmer d T. Robredo/F. Vicente 7-6(2) 6-4
2000 Marat Safin (RUS) d Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 6-3 6-3 6-4
N. Kulti/M. Tillström d P. Haarhuis/S. Stolle 6-2 6-7(2) 7-6(5)
1999 Félix Mantilla (ESP) d Karim Alami (Mar) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-3
P. Haarhuis/Y. Kafelnikov d Bertolini/Brandi 7-5 6-3
1998 Todd Martin (USA) d Alberto Berastegui (ESP) 6-2 1-6 6-3 6-2
J. Eltingh/P. Haarhuis d E. Ferreira/R. Leach 7-5 6-0

Round 2

O god.. This was a terrible match or you could say it was a great one. I don't agree with both of them. I feel so unincredibly sorry for Marat. He lost to Vliegen 60 67(8) 46! He had 4 matchpoints in the second set en led 4-1 in the 3rd! I must say Vliegen is mentally very strong, but still. Marat is a better player! I don't think this is good for his confidence.. He was almost there.. Now you can see what tennis can do. You can still be the better one, but if you think you are already there, you're making mistakes (and believe me.. it's true)!

No Nadal in the 3rd. And I don't think Vliegen has enough strength to beat this guy and Marat would have had. So this is just SHIT! Can't describe it..

Good luck Marat! Remember: it will come one day! We still love you!

Round 2

Marat is playin Vliegen right now! His match was rescheduled cause of withdrew Murray! He plays on center court now.. Sorry for this late update, but I wasn't at home myself!
Go Marat!

Live scoring: http://www.protennislive.com/frameset.asp?year=2007&wkno=16&lang=en&tabno=1&eventid=0410&ref=www.atptennis.com

Marat played Vliegen only ones before, which was on hardcourt Madrid Masters in 2006. He did defeat him with 63 62. Hopefully he can do it again!

For an updated tv-schedule: http://montecarlo.masters-series.com/4/en/event/tv/default.asp

Good luck tomorrow Marat! We know you can do it!

He won!!!

And again in his lucky lime shirt;)! And we like it..!

Yeeh! He won! But it wasn't easy though! 57 63 62 for our Marat! Good job!

Next he will play either Vliegen or Mathieu.. they are playing tomorrow, so it could be that they play on Tuesday. But perhaps because of rest for tomorrows winner, they play on Wednesday.

Articles and pictures are coming soon!

Monte Carlo Draw & Sunday!

The draw is announced! Marat will first meet Jarkko Nieminen(Fin) in the 1st round. Marat is not seeded. He has a 5-2 record against him and they last played in Indian Wells when Nieminen won 64 63. If he gets through, he could meet Mathieu(!) or Vliegen and perhaps, if he also wins that one, he could meet Nadal in the 3rd!

All the usual links:

For the whole draw: http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=http://www.atptennis.com/1/posting/2007/410/mds.pdf

For head-to-head statistics: http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/headtohead/?player1=safin&player2=jarkko+nieminen

For the order of play: http://www.atptennis.com/en/common/TrackIt.asp?file=http://www.atptennis.com/1/posting/2007/410/op.pdf

(For normal site: http://montecarlo.masters-series.com/1/en/home/ and for tournament info check post below)

For the tv-schedule: http://montecarlo.masters-series.com/4/en/event/tv/ (only this is not yet updated, cause it's from last year but it will be soon, I guess)

For live-scoring: http://www.protennislive.com/frameset.asp?year=2007&wkno=16&lang=en&tabno=3&eventid=0410&ref=www.atptennis.com

(sorry for the mistake, it was only today when qualfiers played)
Marat plays tomorrow! On centercourt, the 3rd match after a start on 11.00 am (CE(S)T). For a time difference: www.timeanddate.com (type your city in the bar left, above).
Let's all be supportive! You can do it Marat!
Davai Marat!

Monte Carlo AMS & News

Unfortunatly not much news this week. From what I've heard I know that Marat flew to Monte Carlo today (after spending a few days in Moscow, probably practising). The tournament starts on Monday, 14 April, so the draw will be announced soon, hopefully!
Let's just hope Marat does well in this tournament and I'll keep you informed!
kisses

Here just some tournament info:

Website: http://montecarlo.masters-series.com/1005/

Masters Series Monte-Carlo presented by ROLEX
April 14-22, 2007
S.M.E.T.T 48, boulevard d’Italie
Le Puccini
BP 212 MC 98004 MONACO

CEDEXTél : 00377-97-98-70-00
Fax : 00377-97-98-70-01

Surface: Claycourt
Draw size: 56 players
Prize money: €2,082,500 euros
2006 Champion:Rafaël NADAL (ESP)
Format: Best of 3 sets

COME TO THE TOURNAMENT:

• Tournament map
• How to get to the MCCC
• Train Timetable

Last year, Marat lost to Mathieu (!), in the 1st round with 60 75.

2005: Marat lost to Ferrero, in the 3rd round with 62 64

2004: Marat lost to Coria, in semi-final with 46 61 36

2003: Marat lost to Moya, in quarter-final with 16 62 67

and so on... (for more results: http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/playeractivity.asp?prevtrnnum=605&year=0&query=Singles&selTournament=410&player=S741&x=21&y=6 )

Previous winners

• 1969 Tom Okker (NED)
• 1970 Zeljko Franulovic (CRO)
• 1971 Ilie Nastase (ROM)
• 1972 Ilie Nastase (ROM)
• 1973 Ilie Nastase (ROM)
• 1974 Andrew Pattison (RSA)
• 1975 Manuel Orantes (ESP)
• 1976 Guillermo Vilas (ARG)
• 1977 Bjorn Borg (SWE)
• 1978 Raul Ramirez (MEX)
• 1979 Bjorn Borg (SWE)
• 1980 Bjorn Borg (SWE)
• 1981 Guillermo Vilas (ARG)
• 1982 Guillermo Vilas (ARG)
• 1983 Mats Wilander (SWE)
• 1984 Henrik Sundstrom (SWE)
• 1985 Ivan Lendl (USA)
• 1986 Joakim Nystrom (SWE)
• 1987 Mats Wilander (SWE)
• 1988 Ivan Lendl (USA)
• 1989 Alberto Mancini (ARG)
• 1990 Andreï Chesnokov (RUS)
• 1991 Sergi Bruguera (ESP)
• 1992 Thomas Muster (AUT)
• 1993 Sergi Bruguera (ESP)
• 1994 Andrei Medvedev (UKR)
• 1995 Thomas Muster (AUT)
• 1996 Thomas Muster (AUT)
• 1997 Marcelo Rios (CHI)
• 1998 Carlos Moya (ESP)
• 1999 Gustavo Kuerten (BRA)
• 2000 Cédric Pioline (FRA)
• 2001 Gustavo Kuerten (BRA)
• 2002 Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)
• 2003 Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP)
• 2004 Guillermo Coria (ARG)
• 2005 Rafael Nadal (ESP)
• 2006 Rafael Nadal (ESP)
  

Davis Cup Photo's!

I found some amazing photo's on the TGFR-website. I was allowed to put the link on this blog, so thanks a lot TGFR!!!

The link: http://guyfromrussia.proboards48.com/index.cgi?board=fanreports&action=display&thread=1176135798 (copy and paste if it doesn't work)

There all from the Davis Cup this weekend, with Marat sitting on the bench!

Enjoy!

Pictures of Day 3 Davis Cup