2018 ATP 250's...Open Sud de France; Ecuador Open; Kiema Xtra Sofia Open

[don_budge]

Montpellier, France...Open Sud de France ATP 250

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/score...lier/375/draws

Seeded players: David Goffin, Lucas Pouille, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Damir Dzumhur, Richard Gasquet, Andrey Rublev, David Ferrer, Yuichi Sugita


Quito, Ecuador...Ecuador Open ATP 250

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/score...ito/7161/draws

Seeded players: Pablo Busta, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Gael Monfils, Pablo Lorenzi, Horacio Zeballos, Victor Burgos, Ivo Karlovic, Nicolas Jarry


Sofia, Bulgaria...Diema Xtra Sofia Open ATP 250

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/sofia/7434/draws

Seeded players: Stan Wawrinka, Adrian Mannarino, Gilles Muller, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Robin Hasse, Viktor Troicki, Joao Sousa, Evgeny Donskoy

Three ATP 250 level tournaments. No Roger Federer, one Stan Wawrinka. Anything of interest? One question...why is Gael Monfils way over in Ecuador when he could be home in France this week. Other than that perhaps the tournament in Bulgaria has the stronger field. But still...no Roger Federer.

Take your pick.

[gzhpcu]

No thanks, think I will pass..

[don_budge]

No thanks, think I will pass..

Tomorrow at 5pm here in Europe Stan Wawrinka makes an appearance in Bulgaria as the number one seed. Stan made an early exit down under at the Australian Open against Tennys Sandgren. He plays Marin Klizan whom he has played twice before. Two wins...both close matches. Wawrinka has been out for months with injuries along with a host of the top echelon of ATP players. Perhaps a singular match of interest.

This isn't saying much unless it is saying a lot about the lack of entertainment value of professional tennis. Three ATP 250 tournaments in one week and slim pickings in terms of matches of any interest. I start to try and watch one of these contests and within minutes I am bored numb.

[gzhpcu]

Roger accepted a wild card to play Rotterdam next week. 3 wins and he is number 1.... And the oldest number 1 in Open history...

[don_budge]

Absolutely great news! Thanks. But don't forget the "other" Swiss bookend. Stan Wawrinka making a comeback.

[don_budge]

Tomorrow at 5pm here in Europe Stan Wawrinka makes an appearance in Bulgaria as the number one seed. Stan made an early exit down under at the Australian Open against Tennys Sandgren. He plays Marin Klizan whom he has played twice before. Two wins...both close matches. Wawrinka has been out for months with injuries along with a host of the top echelon of ATP players. Perhaps a singular match of interest.

This isn't saying much unless it is saying a lot about the lack of entertainment value of professional tennis. Three ATP 250 tournaments in one week and slim pickings in terms of matches of any interest. I start to try and watch one of these contests and within minutes I am bored numb.

Sorry Stan. Seinfield comes on at 5pm too. I will try to look in on the match a bit. But I can't miss Seinfield!

[don_budge]

Stan Wawrinka down. I didn't have any high hopes or high interest for that matter. Just a bit curious as to how it all stacks up to Roger Federer. You know...sort of litmus test. Wawrinka is coming back from a knee injury. Apparently he has had it operated on twice since last year's Wimbledon. While the jury may still be out the initial results are less than inspiring and it appears that it might be a long road back for the "other" Swiss tennis player. What a shame too. That glorious backhand somewhat hampered by just an incremental loss of mobility. One handed drive backhands are dependent upon the player getting into perfect position to meet the ball as early as needed to produce the beauty of the stroke. Stan is not a half a step slow...maybe just a quarter. But it is enough to render him neutered. Ouch.

Fascinating opponent who took him down. Mirza Basic. All he had to do was go back to Basics. He put a bit of pressure on Stan. He went to the net at unexpected times and Wawrinka seemed to be a bit off balance and couldn't come up with the goods when he had to. Mirza dueled him to a tie-break in the first set. I think Wawrinka may have been up 4-2 on his serve but he just dumped two points in a row which opened the door for his opponent. You've got to maintain pressure on your opponent and it looked like Stan got just a bit complacent when he went up a mini break in the tie-break. He should have been going for the jugular but instead he got tentative. He backed off from the moment of truth and blinked and all of a sudden his opponent was inspired. This is what happens in tennis with two evenly matched opponents. The difference is minuscule sometimes much as it was here yesterday. What gives?

Mirza Basic is an interesting story. Take a look at his journeyman journey around the globe the past year or so. Looking for matches. Probably looking for a pay check too. It's a tough road to hoe for the journeyman tennis player and you have to seize the moment when it is on your plate. Wawrinka looking like a mere shadow of his usual self...at least his Grand Slam self. He has been know to disappear early in lesser events. But you can bet your bottom dollar Mirza doesn't give a crap about that. He has a Wawrinka scalp on his belt now. That is all that matters. The interesting comparison is with Roger...as usual. How did Roger comeback to win last year's Australian Open after being away from the tour so long. Watching Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Wawrinka makes it all the more miraculous. Or is it? Does the talent pool take a nosedive after the top five or six? Duh...I guess it must.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/playe...chType=singles


I even watched the other semifinal a bit. Interesting...you never hear of these guys. Marius Copil is the other opponent in the final of the Diema Xtra Sofia Open being played in Sofia, Bulgaria. Nice game from a fellow you will never here of. Ranked #93 you can understand why. These guys toil in obscurity. But when they get their chance they must seize it by the throat. No sense in being careful or tentative. You've got to Seize the Day. Carpe Diem. Copil with a nice one hand backhand...cruised yesterday to win a spot in the final. I watched a bit of this match as well. Just keeping a finger on the pulse.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/marius-copil/ca99/player-activity?year=all

[don_budge]

Mirza Basic went from #129 to the #77 professional tennis player in the world. He did it by winning the Diem Xtra Sofia Open in Sofia, Bulgaria. His opponents were Florian Mayer, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Maximilian Marterer, Stan Wawrinka and finally Marius Copil. Quite a run for the 26 year old from Sarajevo...formerly Yugoslavia. The map was somehow redrawn a couple of years ago. A pretty solid player and hardened competitor. You only have to look at his career activity on the ATP website.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/playe...ivity?year=all

The only thing this old world understands in the end is hard work. The work paid off here and he capitalized on his opportunity. The win over Wawrinka may be in the same boat as Hyceon Chung's win over Djokovic in Australia. Stan is trying get back in the groove after a prolonged absence. What made it such a great week for Basic was his win over Marion Copil in the finals. He could have won that match over Wawrinka and thought to himself that was a great week. But he soldiered on and toughed out a good final against a very good opponent.

Marius Copil went from #94 to #75. Marius has a really nice one handed backhand and pretty good style. There aren't too many players around these days that you can use the word "stylish" to describe their play. Copil is 27 years old and he has been around forever too trying to make it to the big time on a regular basis.