2013/05/24

Haas Beats Countryman Kohlschreiber for Munich Title

Tommy Haas

(May 5, 2013) German tennis veteran Tommy Haas won his first Munich Open in his tenth attempt, ousting defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6 (3).  The match was first all-German final in Munich in 48 years.

“It’s a sensational feeling to be quite honest,” Haas said of the win. “It was another one of those milestones that I hoped for, to maybe win this title one year. To have done that, this late in my career, is a big highlight for me. Every time you win a title, it’s a reflection of putting everything together the whole week. It doesn’t happen that often. You’re really proud of those moments.

“It’s the icing on the cake when you have family here that you don’t see too often. Having my fiancé, my daughter and my mother-in-law coming all the way here to support me, couldn’t have been much better.

“I knew it was going to be tough. He’s played well here before and was looking for his third crown and it was maybe my last opportunity to win the title here. So I gave myself a little bit of extra pressure. I served well and I played well when it counted. When I was serving for the match, he played aggressive, came up with some good shots, and was rewarded for it. Then I told myself to get into the tie-break and play it as well as you can. I didn’t want to play a third set against him, having served for the match, so I was really pleased with that.”

Despite not defending his title, Kohlschreiber said it was a good week.  “It’s very frustrating to lose in the final, of course, but Tommy played a very good match. It was a great week; it’s always special to play at home. I’m happy with my performance. I really look forward to the upcoming clay-court tournaments. I’m pretty confident playing on clay and hopefully I’ll have a good run.”

Haas is the first 35-year-old to win an ATP World Tour event, since Frenchman Fabrice Santoro won Newport in 2008. It’s his 14th career title, 4th on German soil.

Haas will see his ranking rise to No. 13 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

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Tsonga Unhappy But Eases Through to Australian Open Third Round

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga at 2011 Sony Ericsson Open Players Party

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga at 2011 Sony Ericsson Open Players Party

By Jaclyn Stacey

(January 17, 2013)  MELBOURNE PARK, Australia – Seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought through Melbourne heat to defeat Japan’s Go Soeda in straight sets 6-3 7-6(1) 6-3 in the first match of Australian Open day four on Margaret Court Arena ahead of a packed house.

 

With the mercury tipped to top 39°C (102.2°F) on Thursday at Melbourne Park, Tsonga clearly struggled with with the rising temperatures early on in the match. He became openly frustrated with his inability to get moving on the court and looked like he had just stepped out of the shower throughout the duration of the match.

 

The 2008 Australian Open runner-up needed just one break in the sixth game of the first set to claim the lead in the match.

 

He immediately went down a break at the beginning of the second set. He managed to break back with Soeda serving for the set at 5-3 30-40 by coming into the net and forcing his opponent to make the error. The set went to a tie-break which Tsonga rolled through to take a two sets to love lead in the match.

 

The final set played out identical to the first and Tsonga progresses into a third round meeting with either Australian wildcard James Duckworth or world number 93 Blaz Kavcic.

 

Tsonga said in his post match press conference that he was not happy with his performance.

 

“Well, I was not like in the good attitude for me. That’s it. And on the next match, like I said, I will

try to be a bit more aggressive, try to play more than my game than what I did today.”

 

On the soaring temperatures Tsonga said “Oh, it was hot today, of course. Was not easy because the ball was flying a lot because of the heat. You know, it’s like this. Anyway, you have an opponent, you have everything around, and you have to deal with it. That’s it.”

 

Tsonga reached the final of the Australian Open in 2008 losing to first time champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. When asked whether he feels closer to winning his first Grand Slam Tsonga said, “I did some good results already, but, you know, I want to join the next step.

It’s maybe to win one. Today I’m just working for that. I’m doing everything, you know, to achieve these things. So, yeah, I mean, I don’t have too much goals. The only goal is to play well in that kind of tournament.”

 

In other one day four men’s action Ricardas Berankis required only 77 minutes to defeat twenty-fifth seed Florian Mayer 6-2 6-3 6-1 and will play Andy Murray in the third round on Saturday.

 

Thirteenth seeded Canadian Milos Raonic defeated Czech Lukas Rosol in straight sets and will play 17th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round.

 

Jaclyn Stacey is a Melbourne based freelance journalist covering the Australian Open tournament as media for Tennis Panorama News.  Follow her Australian Open updates on @TennisNewsTPN. Follow her personal twitter @JackattackAU.

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In Late Night Stunner, Isner Falls to Kohlschreiber

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY –  Ninth seed American John Isner and 19th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany didn’t take the court until 11pm on Sunday.  The match which went into Monday at 2:25 am, produced an upset with the German coming back from being down two sets to 1 to take out the American 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, after 3 hours, 20 minutes.

Isner, after going up two sets to one, appeared to be in control. He failed to take advantage of break point chances in the opening game of the fourth set. In the eighth game of the fourth set double faulted to give a crucial break to the German.

The fifth set saw Isner rattled when he was unsuccessful with two challenges and foot faulted to give Kohlschreiber a break.

The German was a perfect 3 for 3 in break point opportunities. The win gives him his first round of 16 at the US Open. He’ll face Janko Tipsarevic for a place in the quarterfinals.

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Haase Defends Kitzbühel Title

Robin Haase of the Netherlands came back to beat top-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2 to defend last year’s Kitzbühel title.

“I didn’t feel too much pressure even if I was the defending champion. I was a bit nervous in the first match against [Philipp] Oswald,” Haase said. “From the quarterfinals on, I started a bit nervously, before calming down and winning. I’m happy I won here again. I don’t think many players have won here twice. It doesn’t happen too often nowadays. I’m very proud of that.”

“I will fly to London [for the Olympics] tonight at 9 p.m. Against [Richard] Gasquet, I have to play with confidence and serve well.”

“The last two days were very intense. It was a great tournament and [I have had] a great season so far, said the German. “It’s a bit tough right now, but I’m still happy since I reached the Top 20 with my performance this week and I played very well here.”

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Murray, Ferrer, Kohlschreiber and Mayer through to Wimbledon Quarterfinals

WIMBLEDON – Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Florian Mayer and Philipp Kohlschreiber made their way into the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Tuesday.

 

In a rain delayed match carried over from Monday, No. 4 Murray defeated 16th-seed Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 to gain a spot in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the fifth straight year.

Murray spoke about all the stops and starts of  match due to the rain: “Yeah, it’s tough.  You know, I mean, obviously in matches you kind of can build momentum and build leads, and then when you stop, once you come back out again, you feel like you’re starting off from square one.

“But I did well today.  He started the third set well.  He had a few chances.  I came up with some big serves.  I served very well in the third set especially.

But, yeah, it’s never easy.  There were, what, three, four, three stops or something.  It’s not easy.”

“Today was one of my best matches in this court, sure,” Ferrer said after defeating No. 9 seed Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.  “But I’m not sure if is my best or not.

“Of course, in this season, grass court, today it was the best match.”

Ferrer was asked if he felt strange about being the only Spaniard left in the tournament: “No, for me is not different.  I am focus only in the tournament.  Of course I prefer Rafael (Nadal) or another Spanish here with me because I am only with my team.

“But I am doing the same like if they are here, the more Spanish.”

Philipp Kohlschreiber put an end to the run of American Brian Baker who began Wimbledon in the Qualifying. Baker had been off the tour for seven years due to surgeries. The German defeated the American 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to gain his first major quarterfinal.

“Today I played perfect match,”Florian Mayer said after defeating Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.  “I really played well.  First time in this tournament I felt no pressure going on the court.  I played a guy top 15 in the world.  He was the favorite.  I played with less pressures than the matches before and my performance was much better than the last two rounds.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling for me right now.  Eight years ago I was here in quarters, and now eight years later it’s again.  So it’s a wonderful dream for me.”

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Kohlschreiber Nabs Second Munich Crown

Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Marin Cilic 7-6 (8), 6-3 to win the BMW Open for the second time. He previously took the title in 2007. He’s now the first two-time German winner in Munich.

”I improved from match to match, felt very well for the whole week and played good tennis, said Kohlschreiber.

“As we walked on the court, we had a nice crowd and the weather cleared up. I think we had a tight and great first set. I was a little more lucky in the important moments. Maybe that was the key to the whole match. I had a good start in the second set, making a break and I held it until the end.”

“It’s tough to find the words when you win your home tournament. The win at the BMW Open in 2007 gave me a great start in my career. Now, in the later stages of my career, it’s an amazing feeling to win in front of my home fans.

”I don’t really know what I should say, I  don’t have as much experience of this as (Roger) Federer.”

The victory gave him his fourth ATP World Tour tournament, $94,000 dollars and a white BMW convertible worth more than $73,000

 

RESULTS – SUNDAY, 6 MAY, 2012

Singles – Final
[4] P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [3] M Cilic (CRO) 76(8) 63

Doubles – Final
[1] F Cermak (CZE) / F Polasek (SVK) d X Malisse (BEL) / D Norman (BEL) 64 75

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Around the Grounds at the BNP Paribas Open – Friday, March 9, 2012

 

By Jennifer Knapp

INDIAN WELLS, California- First full day on site  – so many matches (and practices) to see but so little time.   Armed with a fresh camera battery, 8gb memory card and fully charged iPhone, I plotted my plan of attack.   I have a love/hate relationship with the early rounds.  I love the fact that there are so many matches to see any one time but I hate having to make the often times difficult prioritization decisions.  Okay, so I’ll admit that when I think about what I just said, I realize that I am quite lucky to have such a predicament but it really can be quite stressful!   Here it goes!

 

A few minutes after I got settled in the media room, word spread that Feliciano Lopez, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco were on the practice courts so I quickly grabbed my camera and headed downstairs.  Before I could get very far, I saw a huge crowd looked up and realized it was Juan Martin Del Potro.  Took a few (blurry) photos and headed over to the grassy area just in time to see Feliciano Lopez kicking around a soccer ball.  More photos.  I spotted Ferrer and Verdasco practicing on the far court and Caroline Wozniacki on the court closest to me. More photos.  Practicing nearby on separate courts were Victoria Azarenka and Janko Tipsarevic. Even more photos before I finally made it to Court 8 for Tommy Haas versus Jarko Nieminen.

 

Tommy Haas

Haas seemed to be in control in the first set but ended up winning it in a tie break – one that he came very close to losing.  He eventually won the match but he cracked at least a few rackets along the way.  Haas has long since been a desert favorite and he didn’t disappoint.  And yes, I took more pictures.

 

Next up was the Novak Djokovic/Viktor Troicki versus Feliciano Lopez/Marcel Granollers match on Stadium One.  It was a very entertaining match but I think the primarily pro-Djokovic/Troicki crowd was quite shocked to see Lopez/Granollers win in straight sets.  No pictures for this one as I was sitting up too high – in the shade – but after a few hours in the direct sun, it was a welcomed relief.

 

Juan Monaco and Rafael Nadal

I made my way back to the practice courts in time to see a huge crowd watching Rafael Nadal and Juan Monaco.  Very little chance of finding any free space, I opted to take photos from the other side and relied on my zoom to make them look much closer than I actually was. 

Also on the practice courts at the same time was Bernard Tomic who was tucked far away from the fans.   I think this might have been his first time in Indian Wells and unfortunately, it was a brief visit as he ended up losing in 3 sets to Gilles Muller.

 

My next destination was Court 2 to watch David Nalbandian and Potito Starace.  It was extremely hot sitting courtside so I took a bunch of photos and headed up to the top of the stands where you have a much better chance of catching a breeze.  The first set was a tight one with Nalbandian taking in in a tiebreak but it seemed like Starace gave up pretty early in the second set and eventually was bageled. Ouch.

 

My Twitter timeline let me know that Victoria Azarenka was in trouble on Stadium 1 so I hightailed it back over there.  The idea the #1 player in the world, riding an unbeaten streak in 2012, could crash out in the first round seemed unthinkable but it came way too close to happening.  Total crowd thriller though and what a match for Mona Barthel.

 

Andy Roddick

Took a quick break to freshen up and got myself situated (in the cafeteria) for the Andy Roddick/Mardy Fish versus Florian Mayer/Jarkko Nieminen match.  Wanted to catch some of the Gael Monfils/Philipp Kohlschreiber doubles but I knew it was going to conflict so I made one of those judgement calls.  Mayer/Nieminen started off with a bang and jumped to an early lead but Roddick/Fish fought back to take the second set and come within only a few points of winning the match. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.   Managed to catch the last few minutes of Roddick’s news conference and heard him answering questions about his radio show and the Olympics.  

 

Last but not least was the highly anticipated doubles match between Rafael Nadal/Marc Lopez and Nenad Zimonjic/Michael Llodra.  Sat in the photo pit for this one and it was quite a view.  Nadal and Lopez were clearly fired up and seem to play some of their best doubles matches in Indian Wells.  Tonight was no exception as they beat the No. 3 seeds in straight sets.  During the on court interview, Nadal “encouraged” Lopez to speak to the crowd in English but Lopez opted to stick to Spanish.  Great way to end the evening!

 

My next and final task for the day was to complete this write up which I am now finishing after 11:00pm  – 13 hours after my “tennis” day began.  It was an amazing day and Saturday promises to be equally exciting so stay tuned!

Jennifer Knapp is covering the BNP Paribas Open as media for Tennis Panorama News. Follow her updates on twitter @TennisNewsTPN. Follow her personal twitter @Jusbjen.

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Wilson Racquet Sports Fashion Show 2012 Collection

NEW YORK, New York – Prior to New York fashion week Wilson Racquet Sports  hosted its own fashion show in at Exit Art in New York City previewing Summer/Spring 2012 performance apparel for retailers and media.

 

Wilson players Philipp Kohlschreiber, Feliciano Lopez, Mandy Minella, Robert Lindstedt, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Horia Tecau and Anne Keothavong lended their support for the new line and attended the event.

 

Tennis Panorama News took a few short videos of the fashion show to give readers a sneak peek into the new line.

 

Catching Up with Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Wilson Racquet Sports Fashion Show

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Catching Up with Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Wilson Racquet Sports Fashion Show (Podcast)

Philipp Kohlschreiber

NEW YORK, New York – Tennis Panorama News caught up with Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Wilson Racquet Sports Fashion Show at Exit Art. He spoke to the site about his short US Open, his schedule, the German women making a splash in tennis again and his long relationship with Wilson.

Listen to the interview with Philipp Kohlschreiber -MP3 file

More about the fashion show in a future article.

Catching up with Kohlschrieber [ 2:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Roddick Loses Composure and Match to Kohlschreiber

 

 

Eleventh seeded Andy Roddick fell to Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1 on Monday in the first round of the Western and Southern Open.

Roddick also lost his composure during the match first by flinging a racquet onto the court after losing the second set and then received a point penalty when he hit a ball high into the stands.

Roddick is scheduled to play the Winston-Salem Open next week.

Cincinnati – Monday Results, Tuesday Schedule

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