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Post by getta on Aug 5, 2010 20:52:40 GMT -5
it took Marcos 46 min to win the first set 6-3.
surely no one is broadcasting live streaming video of the exciting things happening on court 2.
go Marcos go
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Post by getta on Aug 5, 2010 22:12:23 GMT -5
Marcos lost the second-set tie-break 7-5 and got broken in the opening game of the third set. his hopes under serious threat. oh well, i don't mind what he brings, as long as he brings his best on the stage. that's all i can ask of him.
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Post by getta on Aug 5, 2010 23:06:10 GMT -5
Marcos won 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3. what a moment, just so happy for him. and, what a great fighter this man was and is. the suave Spanish lefty top tenner is up next. here are some photos i took last spring in Barcelona. now if these photos don't work, here's another one. Nando won the tournament. good luck, Marcos. you'll definitely need it.
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Post by getta on Aug 6, 2010 0:10:07 GMT -5
www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/08/31/Washington-Thursday-Malisse-Foils-Isner.aspxMalisse Foils Isner In Tie-Break Washington, D.C., U.S.A. by ATP Staff | 05.08.2010Belgian Xavier Malisse handed John Isner his first third-set tie-break loss at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, prevailing against the fifth-seeded American 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Malisse broke the recent Atlanta finalist to go up 5-4 and served out the first set in 35 minutes, but double-faulted to give Isner the 2-0 lead in the second set. With neither player able to capitalise on his break point opportunities in the third set, the match went the way of a tie-break – similar to their one previous meeting earlier this season in Houston. Just as he had in April, the 30-year-old Malisse got the better of the 6’9” Isner. He took the mini-break to go up 6-5 and went on to clinch the win in just over two hours. Isner had won his seven previous matches decided in a third-set tie-break at this ATP World Tour 500 tennis tournament, including a record five straight in his debut appearance three years ago. He reached the final that year before falling to countryman Andy Roddick. He dropped to a 14-7 mark in tie-breaks in Washington. Malisse, a quarter-finalist two weeks ago in Atlanta, next meets top-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, who struggled past 16th-seeded Kazakhstani Andrey Golubev 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in two hours and 20 minutes. Berdych failed to serve out the match on his first try as the recent Hamburg champion drew level at 5-all in the decisive set, but quickly recovered to win the final two games. World No. 8 Berdych is playing in his first tournament since a runner-up finish at Wimbledon, where he upset Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic before falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. He also reached the Grand Slam semi-finals at Roland Garros (l. to Soderling). American qualifier Ryan Sweeting earned the first service break in both sets in his third-round match, but was unable to maintain the advantage as World No. 10 Fernando Verdasco responded each time with two breaks of serve to complete a 6-4, 7-5 win.
The third-seeded Spaniard, who is making his Washington debut this week, had fought his way through his opening match Tuesday by saving two match points against German Michael Berrer.
Verdasco advances to his ninth tour-level quarter-final of 2010. He has won two titles this season, on hard court in San Jose (d. Roddick) and on clay in Barcelona (d. Soderling).
The 26-year-old Madrid native will next face former World No. 8 Marcos Baghdatis for the first time. The eighth-seeded Cypriot battled past Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 in two hours and 40 minutes to reach the quarter-finals for a second straight week.
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Post by getta on Aug 6, 2010 0:55:35 GMT -5
Getty ImagesGetty ImagesWASHINGTON - AUGUST 05: A rain delay postpones day 4 of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on August 5, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
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Post by getta on Aug 6, 2010 0:58:16 GMT -5
Friday OoPSTADIUM Matches Start At: 12:00 noon Tomas BERDYCH (CZE) vs. Xavier MALISSE (BEL) Not Before 2:15 PM Fernando VERDASCO (ESP) vs. Marcos BAGHDATIS (CYP)followed by Rohan BOPANNA (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq QURESHI (PAK) vs. Bob BRYAN (USA)/Mike BRYAN (USA) Not Before 7:00 PM David NALBANDIAN (ARG) vs. Gilles SIMON (FRA) Not Before 9:15 PM Janko TIPSAREVIC (SRB) vs. Marin CILIC (CRO) and GRANDSTAND Matches Start At: Not Before 4:30 PM (After Suitable Rest)Julian KNOWLE (AUT)/Andy RAM (ISR) vs. Marcos BAGHDATIS (CYP)/Stanislas WAWRINKA (SUI)followed by Mardy FISH (USA)/Mark KNOWLES (BAH) vs. Simon ASPELIN (SWE)/Paul HANLEY (AUS)
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Post by christos on Aug 6, 2010 4:42:51 GMT -5
Go for both!
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Post by getta on Aug 6, 2010 18:13:58 GMT -5
www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/08/31/Washington-Friday-Malisse-Bounces-Berdych.aspxUpsets Continue As Malisse Bounces Berdych, Baghdatis Ousts Verdasco Washington, D.C., U.S.A. by ATP Staff | 06.08.2010The upsets continued Friday at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic as World No. 62 Xavier Malisse ousted top seed and World No. 8 Tomas Berdych 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tennis tournament. The Belgian backed up his third-round win over fifth-seeded American John Isner by reaching his second ATP World Tour semi-final of the season. He also reached the last four on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Stakhovsky) in June and improved to a 19-15 mark on the season. Playing in his first tournament since reaching the Wimbledon final (l. to Nadal), Berdych had struggled through his opening two matches and quickly fell to a 1-5 deficit against Malisse, paying the price for an inconsistent performance in blustery and warm conditions. The Czech player was able to recoup one of the service breaks as he began to find his range, but Malisse closed out the one-set lead at the second time of asking. Berdych hit back in the second set, reining in his errors and benefitting from a double fault from Malisse in the eighth game to earn a 5-3 lead. He then levelled the match with a faultless love service game. The Czech could not maintain his improved level in the deciding set, though, spraying a backhand long to go down a service break in the fourth game. Brimming with confidence after a succession of strong performances this week, Malisse then broke serve once more in the eighth game to seal victory in two hours and 10 minutes. Former World No. 19 Malisse, a winner of three ATP World Tour titles during his career, next will face eighth-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who defeated third-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6(3), 6-4. What a difference a year has made for both Malisse and Baghdatis. Twelve months ago, Malisse was ranked World No. 206 and Baghdatis was No. 136 when the pair clashed in the final of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Vancouver, which Baghdatis won in straight sets. The 25-year-old Baghdatis recorded his second Top 10 win of the season, having also defeated then-World No. 1 Roger Federer in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March. He is through to his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season and went on to win his fourth career title in Sydney in January. In difficult conditions on Stadium, neither player was able to produce his best tennis, with seven breaks of serve occurring and 15 double faults. After edging Verdasco in the first-set tie-break, Baghdatis rallied from 2-4 down in the second set to win the final four games of the match and seal victory in one hour and 42 minutes. Baghdatis, who did not complete this third-round match until 11.38pm Thursday, said that it was a challenge to adjust to very different conditions during Friday's day session. "It was tough conditions because playing at night is not the same because of the humidity and the balls are heavier. Playing outside and not in a stadium is a bit different also. Today I felt like the balls were flying a bit so I couldn’t control them very well. I’m happy I won the match. I found a solution to win and that’s very positive.”The 26-year-old Verdasco dropped to a 36-14 match record on the season. The Madrid native, who was making his debut in Washington D.C., this week, had saved two match points in his second-round match against Michael Berrer. “I think I didn’t play very good," Verdasco said. "It was windy. Neither of us played very good. It was windy and tough to play."
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Post by getta on Aug 6, 2010 19:29:47 GMT -5
Marcos and Stan lost to Knowle and Ram 6-3 7-6(6). hope Marcos feels he's playing well against the X-man after this good practice session.
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Post by getta on Aug 6, 2010 21:14:35 GMT -5
Saturday OoP
STADIUM
Matches Start At: 1:00 pm Xavier MALISSE (BEL) vs. Marcos BAGHDATIS (CYP)
followed by Tomas BERDYCH (CZE)/Radek STEPANEK (CZE) vs. Julian KNOWLE (AUT)/Andy RAM (ISR)
Not Before 7:00 PM [Janko TIPSAREVIC (SRB) or Marin CILIC (CRO)] vs. David NALBANDIAN (ARG)
followed by Mardy FISH (USA)/Mark KNOWLES (BAH) vs. Rohan BOPANNA (IND)/Aisam-Ul-Haq QURESHI (PAK)
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Post by getta on Aug 7, 2010 12:57:43 GMT -5
Marcos won the first set 6-2 in commanding fashion. a physically struggling X-man is helping him out with a lot of unforced errors though.
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Post by getta on Aug 7, 2010 13:59:47 GMT -5
Marcos won 6-2 7-6(4). Xavier played much better in the second set. Marcos, apparently, slightly sprained his left ankle in the 8 th game and was forced to take a medical time-out, then he failed to consolidate his break in the 11 th game and serve out the match but he managed to come through in the end. hope he plays David in the final. i see this as a good test for him to see if he stands a chance for his first second-round win at Flushing Meadows. that’s something that does really matter to him.
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Post by getta on Aug 7, 2010 16:15:33 GMT -5
www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/08/31/Washington-Saturday-Baghdatis-Into-Final.aspx Baghdatis Rolls Into Washington Final, Where Nalbandian Awaits Washington, D.C., U.S.A. by ATP Staff | 07.08.2010© Getty Images Marcos Baghdatis advances to his first ATP World Tour final on American soil.Marcos Baghdatis will have a nervous lead-in to Sunday’s Legg Mason Tennis Classic final as he waits to see how his ankle recovers from a mishap during today’s semi-final win over Xavier Malisse. The Cypriot rolled his left ankle during the eighth game of the second set when Malisse held a break point. After calling an injury time out, Baghdatis rallied to hold serve and then showed great heart to grind out a 6-2, 7-6(4) win in his first tour-level meeting with the Belgian. “It looked fine at the end and I was moving pretty good. Hopefully I won't have pain tonight and it will be fine tomorrow,” Baghdatis said of his ankle. “Right now I am going to enjoy my victory. I’m very happy I won and it was a great fight.”Baghdatis, who won his fourth ATP World Tour title in Sydney in January, will play David Nalbandian in Sunday's final. Nalbandian enjoyed a crushing 6-2, 6-2 win over fourth seed Marin Cilic and will look to repeat the title run of fellow Argentine Juan Martin del Potro last year. In the first set Baghdatis broke Malisse in the third and fifth games to take a commanding lead. In the second set Malisse held break point at 4-3 30/40 when he hit an aggressive down-the-line backhand back in behind Baghdatis, who was moving to his left towards the ad court. The former Australian Open finalist rolled his ankle as he attempted to pivot. Malisse’s backhand fell just long, and after taking an injury time out, Baghdatis held serve for 4-all. Baghdatis broke Malisse for 6-5 but made three unforced errors as he served for the match. But helped by back-to-back aces at the start of the tie-break, Baghdatis powered to a 6-1 lead and soon after closed out the match. Like Baghdatis, whom he has beaten just once in four career meetings, Nalbandian will also be appearing in his first ATP World Tour final on American soil. He last appeared in a final in January 2009, when he won the Sydney title. Cilic won precious few extended rallies as Nalbandian hit with greater power and placement. The Croat won just six of 23 points on his own second serve. "I played great; I've been playing well all week," said Nalbandian, who made just 14 unforced errors to Cilic's 27. "I returned well today, which gave me more confidence for all my game. I tried to press him a lot."When you spend a lot of time outside the court you miss the tennis, miss the adrenaline. I'm trying to enjoy it every time I go out. I think I have another three or four years of playing at this level. I'm working hard to be fit."Nalbandian returned to the ATP World Tour in Buenos Aires in mid February this year following a nine-month layoff due to right hip surgery in May, 2009. He won two matches and then was forced to withdraw from the tournament with an adbuctor muscle tear in his right leg. A hamstring injury later sidelined him for more than two months between April and July. In his first appearance in Washington, Nalbandian has now dismissed three seeds, having previously toppled No. 7 seed Stanislas Wawrinka and No. 13 seed Gilles Simon.
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Post by christos on Aug 7, 2010 16:40:44 GMT -5
Great for Marcos! 2nd final this year
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Post by getta on Aug 7, 2010 17:37:22 GMT -5
Marcos, a happy bird, is twittering looking forward to the pleasure of seeing butterflies fill the sky with their colours tomorrow: really happy, played a smart game today ... looking forward to the final see you there !about 1 hour ago via TweetDeck
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