Wk.5- No Matter How Long It Takes

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

You can't hurry love
No, you'll just have to wait
Just trust in a good time
No matter how long it takes
I always preferred the Supremes version to the Phil Collins version, but then again I'm a sucker for Motown and most anything sung from that period. I see you there, Roy Orbison. Anyway, Phil sung that in the early eighties and it was at its biggest in January 1983. Collins was top of the charts the last time an all-New Zealand pair won a tournament and it was , rather fittingly, at Auckland. It was Chris Lewis/Russell Simpson [who lost in straight sets in the final] then.

Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak overcame an in form pair in the doubles final, Inglot and Mergea, 3-6, 6-4, 16-14. They both won their second title here, with one of the previous ties coming at Auckland in 2010, though not together. 32 years is a long time. Really shows just how long it was between men's singles champions for the Brits. Over 80 years. A lifetime.

The women, of course, had the very talented Ann Haydon Jones and Virginia Wade. Jones recently celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary. A lefty, she rose to world number two, won three slams [including two at Wimbledon] and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985, before our world number two and two former world number ones were born. Wade got three quarters of the Grand Slam, the French eluding her, over the span of about ten years, winning Wimbledon in the twilight of her career. She made the Hall of Fame in 1989. That is before our world number three was born. But neither of them ever rose to number one like my Evonne did.

The big news the ATP is talking about, that doesn't involve going off on a tangent about '60s British female stars, is that Estrella Burgos is the oldest first time winner ever on the ATP at 34 years of age. I saw him at Queens last year. He looked good but not this good. He has shown desire and talent. And at the age of 34 that is no mean feat. The title reflects Burgos' career, too -- no matter how long you have to wait.

In lighter news, Sharapova has been caught smiling. She and Kuznetsova appear to get on well together.




Sharapova isn't playing because she wants to be in the Olympics next year, she is totally playing because she loves Russia. Kuznetsova is most definitely loyal and I am inclined to give Sharapova a pass here:



Also, guess who is back in Indian Wells? Todd will no doubt be talking about this plenty so I'll leave my special guest star Serena to talk you through it. No, really. Here she is: http://time.com/3694659/serena-williams-indian-wells/

Gasquet has compiled a 20-6 record at the Open Sud de France and has three titles here, as well as three consecutive finals since 2013, winning two. This tournament is a stone's throw from his home town and he has stated previously the reason he plays well here is due to the fact he lives so close.

And finally, have you ever wanted the tennis equivalent of a movie marathon? Well, you could watch the 2006-08 Wimbledon finals back to back to back. It features the greatest passing shot of all time bar none:



Well, let's see what happened this week.



*WEEK 5 CHAMPIONS*
MONTPELLIER, FRANCE
S: Richard Gasquet/FRA d. Jerzy Janowicz/POL 3-0 ret.
D: Danniell/Sitak d. Inglot/Mergea
QUITO, ECUADOR
S: Victor Estrella Burgos/DOM d. Feliciano Lopez/ESP 6-2/6-7(5)/7-6(5)
D: Kretschmer/Satschko d. Estrella Burgos/Souza
ZAGREB, CROATIA
S: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez/ESP d. Andreas Seppi/ITA 7-6(4)/6-3
D: Draganja/Kontinen d. Martin/Raja


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Victor Estrella Burgos, DOM
...Sometimes stories are just too good not to tell. This guy is 34. He has broken so many Dominican Republic records and he has to be given kudos for that. My favorite Dominican Republic native is Big Papi, but even he doesn't quite have the amazing story Burgos does. Estrella could be the first seeded man from his country at a slam. He is lighting up the ATP tour with his Cinderella story, but unlike with other Cinderella stories, this one should be here to stay. Unlike the Royals. Burgos was seeded eighth, itself an achievement. He was playing with house money. He wins a couple matches, that's a success. The draw falls for him a little. That's fine, too. But the star from the unlikeliest of countries would not be denied his career defining moment. Well, so far anyway. If he wins a 500 or makes a big run at the French I would not be surprised. He beat Ghem 6-4, 6-4 and then Olivio 7-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. If he was playing with house money before, it was nothing compared to the kind of free money he was playing with at this point. He sent Klizan packing with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 win. Next up was Bellucci and now he had something to lose, he had something that he didn’t want to miss. His maiden final was calling him. He answered the summons with a 7-6, 7-5 win over the Brazilian. Then he defeated the top seed in the final, which was surely a dream. He was up 4-1 in the third set, but got dragged back before finally winning 6-2, 6-7, 7-6. He kept his cool and he kept up the intensity throughout. It was an impressive display of nerves. In his career he has made $752,125. The average worker's salary in his home country is RD$12,441 (or about $278 U.S.) and that means the average worker has to work 60 months, or five years, to make that much. So Victor Estrella Burgos, we here at Backspin salute you.

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RISER: Richard Gasquet, FRA
...Gasquet continues to hover solidly inside the top 25, though only just at 24, having been hurt by injuries and his inability to defend his semi-final points from the 2013 U.S. Open. He has fourth round points to defend in Miami [he lost to Federer and got just three games] but not much to defend in Indian Wells. He always plays well in France, including at the French Open, though he is yet to make the quarterfinals there.
This week he decided to win and he did so without dropping a set, though he did win via retirement in the final. No disgrace in that and it is nowhere near the record. I believe his compatriot Mauresmo benefited from three retirements at least on her way to the 2006 Australian Open title, including the semi-finals and final themselves. Gasquet started off by edging talented Pouille 6-3, 7-6 [6] in the second round after a bye. He was too good for Istomin and Monfils, beating them 6-3,6-4 and 6-4,6-3 respectively. When Gasquet gets going, watch out. After defeating his conqueror from the final last year in the semi-finals this year, he was three games into the final match of the tournament before his opponent, Jerzy Janowicz, said enough was enough. Gasquet remarked he could tell he was injured. Gasquet is hitting form again and looks to be at a good level of fitness, but a top sixteen ranking is imperative.
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SURPRISE: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, ESP
...I think more people should be fans of GGL. He is quiet and unassuming but he plays a great game and he is quite nice to watch. He should get more credit. He recently eased his way into the Australian Open fourth round where he went down in four very tight sets to Wawrinka. He has seven finals on three different surfaces [Murray can't claim finals on clay] and he has won four of those seven finals. Being seeded inside the top four at a 250 guarantees the opportunity for success a lot of the time, especially after a slam. GGL was able to take this success. He spanked Dzumhur for the loss of just two games, but then struggled against Troicki. He still prevailed 6-1, 6-7, 7-5 but after that he seemed to gain a new lease on life. Bagman went down meekly 6-4, 6-4 in the semi but Seppi denied Granollers to present the Spaniard with what should have been his toughest test yet. The final went to a breaker where Seppi got 4-1 up. GGL won a 47-shot rally and then took five more points on the bounce. Once he had that first set he still had to battle his way through a lengthy second one, eventually winning 7-6, 6-3.
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FRESH FACE: Horacio Zeballos, ARG
...I know what you're thinking -- this guy is one of only three people to ever beat Nadal in a clay final. The only lefty, only non slam winner, only man to not have been a world number one and only South American to have ever beaten Rafa in a clay court final. But since then, what has happened to him? When was the last time he actually won something? When was the last time he won a match? Unlike Rosol -- the pair are now inexorably linked for their exploits -- who has won in Bucharest and carved out a solid, if not stellar, career for himself, Zeballos has visibly struggled. Zeballos has not been seen playing well for some time. He beat talented American youngster Krajicek [distantly related to that Krajicek] in straight sets to get through to the next round before falling 8-6 in the third set breaker to Bellucci. It is an improvement and a move in the right direction -- upwards.
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DOWN: Philipp Kohlschreiber, GER
...Outside of Germany, Kohl doesn't do much other than the odd run at a slam here and there, usually the French. He struggled past Mathieu, who choked, before losing tamely to Sousa in straight sets. The German is in a slump right now but still remains inside the top thirty. Kohl struggles to put together a run these days but is always dangerous. The German lost to Tomic in four sets in Australia, an acceptable loss but a loss nonetheless.
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UPSET: Victor Estrella Burgos, DOM
...Fourth seeded Klizan was on strong form coming into the tournament and looked primed for a run in Quito. He is a handy clay courter, too, don't forget. The only guy in his section was some old guy with one ATP semi-final in his career. This guy was seeded eighth but he'd just lost in the first round of the Australian Open. It would be a pushover. It turned out to be so. Burgos beat Klizan 6-2, 6-2. No problems, no fuss.
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*Five things I liked this week...*
1. Janowicz was ill all through this week and fought his way to the final. That shows grit that other young guns are missing.
2. Gasquet thanking the tournament for a good week in the region

Merci à tous pour cette belle semaine dans la région !! @OpenSuddeFrance pic.twitter.com/U4CqjepZUr

— Richard Gasquet (@richardgasquet1) February 8, 2015

3. Errani/Vincing getting hit off the court in the Fed Cup. Nothing like a good Fed Cupset.
4. Estrella won 21 futures and five challengers before finally getting his maiden ATP crown. That probably feels better than winning the Australian Open did for Serena.
5. The respect given and the way our community comes together when tragedy strikes. Violetta Degtiareva passed away recently and had been hailed as the new Anna Kournikova.


1. QUITO FINAL – Burgos d. Lopez 6-2, 6-7, 7-6
...A good week for Lopez was an even better one for the greatest Dominican tennis player ever to grace the ATP tour. Burgos won by keeping his cool in the fiery heat of South America. The veteran, if he can be called that, was on rare form in this final and he broke the big serving Spaniard multiple times.
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2. ZAGREB QF - GGL d. TROICKI 6-2, 6-7, 7-5
...When players get banned for whatever reason they actually improve a bit. They essentially have a holiday which furthers their career. I think doping needs to be more heavily punished than just time away to get fitter and train more. Sure the ranking goes down, but these are good players. Is a ban really the answer?
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3. ZAGREB 1st RD. - Baghdatis d. Karlovic 3-6, 7-6, 7-6
...Hey, he's still got it!
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=ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS=
=SF=
Muray [1] d. [3] Berdych
Wawrinka [4] d. [2] Raonic
=FINAL=
Murray [1] d. [4] Wawrinka

=MEMPHIS, USA=
=SF=
Isner [3] d. [1] Nishikori
Anderson [2] d. Tomic
=FINAL=
Isner [3] d. [2] Anderson

...Isner is in America. All else is irrelevant.

=SAO PAULO, BRAZIL=
=SF=
Lopez [1] d. [4] Mayer
Fognini [3] d. Almagro
=FINAL=
Lopez [1] d. [3] Fognini

...I like Almagro to do well here, as he usually does, especially with an injured Robredo his only challenger. Fognini does well here, too. But Lopez is too consistent. Look at the control here, especially with the rackets they had back then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZZMuXBr_Hk

Fognini has nice stroke work, but not patience. He needs to have the level of patience Vilas had.


Casey Dellacqua lost 6-7, 7-6, 10-6 in the doubles rubber of the Fed Cup with the tie already gone. Petkovic was the hero during the tie, going 12-10 and 8-6 in deciding sets. Dellacqua has not started the year strongly, but it is only February. The next tournament she may play is in Dubai.

Thanx all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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