Showing posts with label Davidoff Swiss Indoors. Show all posts
I Didn't Really Think They'd Beat The Bryan Brothers
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Bob and Mike Bryan became the first team to win at least 10 titles in a season since 1996 - when Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde captured 12 titles – at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors on Sunday.
The top-seeded Americans overwhelmed the first-time pairing of James Blake and Mark Knowles 6-1, 6-1 in just 43 minutes.
It was their third title in Basel, following victories in 2002 (d. Knowles-Nestor) and 2004 (d. Arnold Ker-Hood).
The Bryans didn’t allow their opponents any chance to establish themselves in the final. The pair ran through the first set in 21 minutes, with breaks of serve in the fourth and sixth games.
It was a similar story in the second set, as Blake and Knowles dropped their serve in the first, fifth and seventh games. The Bryans won all 12-service points in the second set - and 28 of 35 points overall.
The Stanford ATP Doubles Race winners have a 72-9-season record, which includes titles at the Australian Open, Las Vegas, Houston, Los Angeles, Washington and ATP Masters Series events in Miami, Monte-Carlo, Hamburg and Madrid.
The Bryan brothers are at No. 5 among all-time doubles title leaders with 43 trophies, after Woodbridge/Woodforde (61), Peter Fleming/John McEnroe and Bob Hewitt/Frew McMillan (57) and Sergio Casal/Emilio Sanchez (44).
Blake drops to 5-2 lifetime in ATP doubles finals, while Knowles falls to 46-34 in title-matches.
The Bryans earned the first prize of €45,750, while Blake and Knowles split €26,900 in prize money.
Source - ATP
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Blake and Knowles Doubles in Basel, Who Knew?!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
James Blake and Mark Knowles needed an astonishing 13 match points before finally upsetting second seeds Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 7-5, 6-7(5), 12-10 (Match TB) in the semifinals of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel. In Sunday's final they will play top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan.
In the second set Blake and Knowles squandered three match points at 5-4 and two more at 6-5. In the third set Match TB they had six consecutive match points at 9-
3 and another at 10-9 before converting their 13th at 11-10.
"Today was a fantastic, thrilling match," Knowles said. "We had a lot of match points early and it took us a long time to close it out but I think that's a credit to how good the other guys are under pressure.
"I've been playing for so long I figured that I'd seen everything. But that's definitely the most match points I've ever taken to close out a match. But the important thing is we won the last one and got the job done.
"I'm having so much fun playing with James and to play the No. 1 team in the world makes for an exciting final.
Source - ATP
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Blake and Knowles Still Winning In Basel
Friday, October 26, 2007
American James Blake went down in defeat in the singles draw yesterday, but he and teammate Bahamian Mark Knowles are still alive in doubles. Today they defeated the doubles team of Swede Robert Lindstedt and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-4, 7-5.
Next up in the quarterfinals for the duo is Australian Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe.
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Karlovic Serves Blake Out Of Basel
Tree-top Croatian Ivo Karlovic, the tallest man in tennis, rained down 24 aces on American James Blake to drive the fourth seed out of the Swiss Indoors 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 on Thursday.
The second-round setback against the 6'10" Karlovic leaves Blake with all to play for next week at the concluding Paris Masters, where final positions for the eight-man Masters Cup in Shanghai will be determined.
Blake, last year's losing finalist in China against Roger Federer, stands provisional tenth in the race for the eight-man season wrap up.
Against this month's Stockholm champion Karlovic, Blake got off to a good start as he lifted the opening set.
But the huge serves of the 6'10" Croatian began to tell, with Blake's baseline game unable to make an impression.
Blake, who last played Basel in 2003 found himself facing three Karlovic match points, saving one before going down in defeat with a return into the net after just shy of two hours.
Source - Sports Plus
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Blake Stays Alive As Shanghai Race Heats Up
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
James Blake led a parade of seeds to first-round Swiss Indoor wins on Wednesday as a handful players keep up the fight for one of three spots still open for next month's season wrap up.
Blake, who played the final of the season-ending Masters Cup a year ago against Roger Federer, perked up his qualifying campaign for event from November 11 in Shanghai with a Basle victory.
His 6-3, 6-4 dispatch of Spaniard Oscar Hernandez made up for an opening loss at Madrid a week ago after starting his indoor season with a Stockholm semi-final this month.
The fourth seed stands provisional tenth in the race for one of three remaining spots in the eight-strong China field.
But up to 20 contenders for the places are so tightly bunched that the American is just two points shy of current number eight Tommy Haas - 327 to 329 points.
Source - Sports Plus
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Doubles Delight for Blake and Tsonga
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Today at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland, the doubles team of American James Blake and Bahamian Mark Knowles defeated Swede Simon Aspelin and his doubles partner Austrian Julian Knowle 5-7, 7-6(7), 10-4.
Over in Lyon, France at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon,
Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sebastien Grosjean defeated compatriots Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-4, 0-0. Benneteau and Llodra retired at the end of the second set.
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