Kuwait 2nd and 3rd Tournaments: 2nd Career Doubles Title
After making the finals of singles and doubles of Kuwait F1, I only had one day off before the second tournament started. In my first round of doubles, my partner Miles and I faced off against the Polish team of Kossek/Smola. One of our opponents was clearly the better player as he has a career high ranking of 331 in doubles. He had a huge serve and good volleys at net. His partner went for his shots but was more erratic. There were no breaks early in the match as both teams were serving well. Both teams got solid holds to make it 3-all in the 1st. At this point we got broken on the No-Ad point as our opponents hit a good return to take a 4-3 lead. We played a solid return game and broke them right back to even it at 4-all. Both teams held their next two service games to send it to a 1st set tiebreak. My partner and I came out focused by holding our first service point to go up 1-0. We then played two good return points which made it 3-0. We held both our service points to take a commanding 5-0 lead in the tiebreak. They responded by winning both of their service points to cut our lead to 5-2. We split the next two points on our serve to go up 6-3. They hit a good serve to make it 6-4. We then won the tiebreak 7-6(4) after hitting a solid return. We jumped out to a fast start in the 2nd set by breaking them at 2-1. We then held our next service game to go up 4-1. We were serving well and hitting our spots. At 5-2, we broke them again to take a good 1st round win 7-6(4), 6-2.
In my first round of singles I played Karlo Cubelic from Germany. He is currently ranked #1912 in singles. He is a lefty who has a good serve and likes to rip his forehand. I broke my opponent in the first game and followed that up with a hold to take a 2-0 lead. We both held our next service game which made it 3-1. I then played a great return game by playing aggressive tennis to go up a double break 4-1. I held for 5-1 with some strong serving. I broke him a 3rd time to take the 1st set 6-1. I knew that I was serving well in the 1st set, but after the match I looked at the statistics and I had a first serve percentage of 100%. I had made 14/14 first serves in and won 12/14 of those points. I continued my momentum by holding to start the 2nd set and breaking my opponent to go up 2-0. However, I lost a little focus at this point as my opponent also raised his level. I got broken to make it 2-1. My opponent then got a good hold to even it at 2-all. I then got broken again to go down a break 2-3. I started making a few unforced errors and wasn’t playing as aggressive. However, I refocused and broke him back to make it 3-all. I got a solid hold to go up 4-3. I then broke my opponent again to go up 5-3. I served out the match in the next game at 40-15 to take the win 6-1, 6-3. This was a good match from me but I need to focus on staying aggressive and maintaining my focus throughout the whole match.
In the quarterfinals of doubles, my partner and I faced off against the team of Bittoun Kouzime (France)/Samaha (Lebanon). This was an all-lefty team who were both good players. They are both ranked in the top 850 in doubles. Both players had good lefty serves and were good doubles players. Both teams held their first service to make it 1-1. We then broke them after hitting a few good returns and attacking the net to go up 2-1. We held to go up 3-1. Both teams held their next service game to make it 4-2. We then got another break after breaking on the No-Ad point to go up 5-2. We served out the first set 6-2. The second set was closer as the first four games went to serve. At 2-all we got a break to go up 3-2. We held to go up 4-2 in the next game. Our opponents got another hold to cut our lead to 4-3. We then were down two break points on our serve at 30-40 before hitting two good serves to hold for 5-3. They held for 5-4. We served out the match in the next game to take a solid 6-2, 6-4 win. This was a good match as we returned at a high level and also didn’t get broken. We were into another doubles semifinal!
In the second round of singles I played Peter Heller, the #1 seed from Germany. He is currently ranked #273 in singles and was the highest ranked player that I have played against. He is a baseliner who likes to attack with his forehand while also defending and moving at a high level. He also has a good slice backhand. I played a good first game and broke him right away to go up 1-0. I saved two break points in my first service game before getting a hold to go up 2-0. I was attacking him early on and playing more aggressive. He held to make it 2-1. My serve then got broken after I made a few unforced errors which made it 2-all. We both held our next service game and the score was even at 3-all. At this point my opponent started to play more aggressive and was looking to move me. He held to go up 4-3. He doesn’t have the biggest serve I’ve faced by he hits his spots well and hits a lot of corners. I saved another break point before getting a big hold to make it 4-all. He got a quick hold with some good serving to go up 5-4. He then raised his level and hit a few winners to break me and take the 1st set 6-4. He held to open the 2nd set. I was disappointed as I got broken in my first service game of the 2nd set. This was a big momentum swing and allowed him to really be loose and go for his shots. He jumped out to a 3-0 lead. I saved 4 break points in the next game after going down 0-40. He held to go up 4-1. I hit a few solid serves to cut his lead to 2-4. I had two break points in his next service game but he played them well and saved them. He subsequently held for 5-2. I held to make it 3-5. But he closed it out in the next game and served out the match 6-4, 6-3. I had a lot of opportunities in this match but didn’t play at a high enough level. He’s a very good player so I couldn’t win with my “B” tennis on this day. I need to keep working to improve so I don’t have to play my best tennis to beat players at his level.
In the semifinals of doubles, my partner and I faced off against the #1 seeds, Peter Heller and Kai Wehnelt. We just played this German duo in the finals of the 1st week in Kuwait and lost in a tough 3 set match. It’s always interesting playing the same team 2 weeks in a row as both teams are better prepared the 2nd time. It almost comes down to which team executes better. We started playing this match on Friday afternoon. Both teams got a few easy holds to start off the match. The score was even at 3-all in the 1st set. However, at this point it started to rain. My partner and I hit two good returns to go up 0-30 on their serve. The match was suspended until the next day. We went up 30-40 in that game and had two break points. They saved the first one and then on the No-Ad point I hit a big 2nd serve return to give us the break. We got two more holds to close out the first set 6-4 after a good serving set. They started to pressure us on our serves and had some good looks. At 0-1 in the 2nd set we saved two break points to make it 1-all. Then in the next game at 1-2, we saved two more break points. They went on to break us in our next service at 2-3 when they hit a good return on the No-Ad point. Our opponents held for 5-2. We held to make cut their lead to 3-5. We had two break points to get it back on serve but they came up clutch and took the 2nd set 6-3. We would play a 10-point tiebreak. We won the first point to go up 1-0. We got one of the points on their serve to take a 2-1 lead. We then hit two good serves to jump out to a 4-1 lead. My partner and I hit a good return to go up 5-2. Our opponents got one of the two points on our serve to make it 6-3. They made it closer after winning the next two points. At 6-5, we won both points on my partner’s serve to go up 8-5. Our opponents hit two good 1st serves to make it 8-7. I then hit a good 1st serve to make it 9-7. And on match point, I hit a solid 2nd serve and my partner put-away the volley to give us a solid win. We took the match 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 to move into our 2nd straight doubles final!
In the finals of doubles we faced off against the #4 seeds Binding (GBR) and De Valk (NED). They are ranked 459 and 611 in doubles respectively. This team was a lefty/righty combo who did everything pretty well. The first few games went to the server but each team had a few break opportunities that they were unable to convert. At 2-all in the 1st set we had two more break chances but they saved them both. At 2-3, we held for 3-all with a solid hold. We then played a great return game to break them and go up 4-3. Each team held their next service game to make it 5-4. We then served out the first set at 40-15 to take a solid first set 6-4. My partner and I continued to serve well as we made a high percentage of 1st serves. Both teams held their first two service games of the 2nd set. At 2-all we had one break chance on a No-Ad point but they saved it with a good serve. We got a hold to make it 3-all. Both teams got fairly easily holds in the next few service games. We got a hold at 4-5 to make it 5-all. My partner and I had two break points here but we were unable to convert. We got a love hold to send the match to a 2nd set tiebreak. We took the first point to go up 1-0. Then we got one of the two points on our opponent’s serve to go up a mini-break 2-1. We went up 3-1 after hitting a good serve. They hit a great return to get it back on serve as we were up 3-2. Our opponents held both of their service points to take a 4-3 lead. We split the next two points and found ourselves in a 4-5 hold. I was serving at 4-5 and hit a good serve to make it 5-all. At 5-all, they hit a good return and I hit a solid half-volley and hit a drop volley after closing hard to take a 6-5 lead. At match-point, my partner hit a good return crosscourt and then we hit a few shots from the baseline with them at the net. I lobbed them and then they missed a volley wide and we took the title 6-4, 7-6(5)! I was pretty excited to win my second professional doubles title and my first with Miles Seemann. We played some solid doubles this week and played our best match in the finals. For winning the doubles we each earned $465 plus I got $258 for making the Round of 16 in singles.
There was not much time to rest as I only had one day off to celebrate the victory before getting back at it for the 3rd tournament in Kuwait. In my first round of singles I played the #7 seed, Jose Vidal Azorin. The Spaniard is currently ranked #744 and is an aggressive baseliner who likes to rip his forehand. He is consistent and moves well. I got off to a great start by breaking him the first game and following that up with a hold. I led 2-0, then my opponent got on the board to make it 2-1. I saved two break points in my next service game before holding for 3-1. I then continued to play solid tennis and got another break to go up 4-1. I was getting a good amount of free points on my serve and I then held for 5-1. I got another break to close out the first set 6-1. I held in the first game of the 2nd set and then broke him right away to take a 2-0 lead. At this point I lost a little bit of focus as I had game point on my serve but ended up losing a long Deuce game. He then held for 2-all after saving two break points. I held to take a 3-2 lead. My opponent started to raise his game and he played more aggressive while also cutting down his unforced errors. He got a hold to even it at 3-all. I held for 4-3 and then had two more break point opportunities but wasn’t able to convert either of them. He held to make it 4-all. I then had two game points on my serve but he played some solid points and ended up breaking me after hitting a passing shot winner. He served out the set at 40-30 to take the second set 6-4. I had a lot of opportunities in that set but credit to my opponent for playing the big points well. The games were tight to start the 3rd set as a few of them were long Deuce games. I held to go up 1-0. My opponent then evened it at 1-all. I got another hold to go up 2-1 and then played a great return game to go up 3-1 in the 3rd set. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sustain my momentum and got broken right back. My opponent held which made the score 3-all. He played another good return game and broke me to take a 4-3 lead. He held for 5-3. I got a quick hold to cut his lead to 4-5 and put the pressure on him. I played aggressive here and broke him finally on my 4th break point in that game. I was still alive as that brought it to 5-5. I got a big hold to go up 6-5. Then my opponent responded to send it to a tiebreak. I won the first point of the tiebreak for 1-0. Then I played two solid return points to go up 3-0. I remained focused and went after my serve and won both service points to take a 5-0 lead. I kind of relaxed at this point but my opponent kept fighting. He won both of his service points to cut my lead to 5-2. He then hit a forehand winner to make it 5-3. I hit a well-placed serve to go up 6-3. He saved the first two match points with some tough points on his serve. At 6-5, I missed my first serve and then we rallied a few balls from the baseline before I hit an approach shot and my opponent missed the passing shot. I survived a tough battle 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5). I played well for parts of the match but it was a little inconsistent. My opponent fought back and played some quality tennis, so I was happy to get the victory.
In the first round of doubles of the 3rd tournament in Kuwait, we played the Italian team of Ocleppo/Longo. One of them is ranked very high in doubles at #185 while his partner is unranked. The higher ranked guy had a good serve and great touch at the net. We broke early at 1-all to go up 2-1 after hitting a few solid returns. Both teams held their next service came to make it 3-2. On the No-Ad point, I hit a great flat serve wide on the Ad side but they hit a backhand down the line return winner that landed right on the line. Simply too good as they broke for 3-all. We broke them right back after being the more aggressive team getting to the net. At 4-3 we got a solid hold to make it 5-3. Then we broke them again to take the 1st set 6-3. My partner and I held for 1-0 to open the 2nd set. Then we continued to return well as we got the break for 2-0. We held for 3-0 in the next game. We weren’t serving a high percentage of 1st serves but we were defending our 2nd serve well. They held to make it 3-1. We responded with a solid hold for 4-1. Both teams held their next service games which made it 5-2. Then we broke once more to close out the win 6-3, 6-2. This was a solid 1st round win as we faced tough opponents.
In the 2nd round of singles I faced off against Marc Dijkuizen (NED). He is a lefty who is currently ranked #1269. He has a good lefty serve and he likes to play aggressive and finish points at the net. I beat him in the 1st tournament in Kuwait, and it’s never easy to play the same opponent again two weeks later. We both held our opening service games despite saving a few break points. I broke him first to go up 2-1 in the 1st set. I got broken right back after not making many 1st serves in combined with making two unforced errors. At 2-all, I broke again after returning well and attacking my opponent before he could attack me. I got a good hold to make it 4-2. In the next game I had two break points at 15-40 but played them passively and my opponent ended up holding. He broke me right back to even it at 4-all. He then got a quick hold to go up 5-4. The pressure was right back on me as I was down 0-30 on my serve. I remained calm and looked to be aggressive here. I hit a few solid first serves and came back to hold for 5-5. I broke my opponent again after he gave me a two unforced errors. At 6-5 I closed out the first set at love to take it 7-5. I returned well this set but I wasn’t feeling my serve very well and struggled as I got broken three times. My opponent held for 1-0 to open the 2nd set. I then played a poor service game to go down an early break 0-2. We both held our next service game which made it 1-3. I started to play more aggressive and held for 2-3. I then played a smart return game as I looked to take time away and rush him. I broke for 3-all. I held to take a 4-3 lead. He responded to make it 4-all. I then held and broke to take the victory 7-5, 6-4. This wasn’t my cleanest match but you don’t have to play your best tennis every match. You just have to play better than your opponent that day. It was great to advance to the quarterfinals and get the chance to improve in my next match.
In the quarters of doubles, we faced off against Inui (JPN)/ Hadzalic (CRO). They are both ranked #1000 in doubles. They both hit the ball solid but aren’t natural doubles guys. We had two break point chances in the first game but they saved both and held for 1-0. We held in our first service game for 1-all. We then had two more break points but again were unable to convert. They broke us in the next game to take a 3-1 lead. Our opponents held for 4-1. In our next service game we were down 30-40 and faced two break points. We saved both to get it back to 2-4. We then broke them for the first time in the match to bring it to 3-4. My partner and I then held for 4-all. We started to get in a good rhythm on our returns and got another break. We served out the set in the next game to win 5 games in a row to take it 6-4. It was a huge save for us to come back in that 1-4 game. We jumped out to an early break in the 2nd set and went up 1-0. We held for 2-0. Both teams held their next service game to make it 3-1. We were serving better and getting ahead early in the points. We went up a double break, 4-1, after breaking them again. We held for 5-1 in the next game. We closed out the match in the next game and took the match 6-4, 6-2. An interesting stat from the match was that we won 100% of the points when we made our 1st serve in. We were into the semis of the doubles.
My opponent in the quarters of singles was Constantin Bittoun Kouzime from France. He was the #2 seed in the tournament and is currently ranked #527. He is a lefty who is solid from the baseline and can play aggressive at times. He is fast and moves very well. My opponent held to open the match. I then had a shaky first service game where I hit two double faults but I managed to hold after saving 4 break points. At 1-all, I played an aggressive game to break him and take the 2-1 lead. However, I didn’t follow up with a good game and got broken at 30-40 which made it 2-all. He held his service game to take a 3-2 lead. My opponent broke me again after I didn’t make a high percentage of first serves. At 2-4, I had one break point on his serve but was unable to convert. He went on to hold for 5-2. I got a hold to make it 3-5, but he closed out the first set 6-3. I didn’t serve at a high enough level and also wasn’t getting back to neutral when returning. I got broken right away in the 2nd set to go down 1-0. He held for 2-0. I then was down 0-40 on my serve in the next game and battled back after saving 4 break points to hold for 1-2. We both held our next service game which made it 2-3. My opponent continued to serve well and held for 4-2. I responded with a hold for 3-4. In the next game I got it to Deuce but was unable to get any break point chances. He held for 5-3. I saved two match points on my serve and got a tough hold to cut his lead to 4-5. However, he played a good service game to close out the match 3-6, 4-6. I raised my level from my first two matches but didn’t quite play well enough to get the victory. It was unfortunate to go down early breaks in both sets. Still a positive week to make the quarterfinals in singles and pick up 2 more ATP points.
In the semifinals of doubles, my partner and I played Walder/Cubelic. The German duo is ranked in the top 1500 in doubles. They are a big serving team and a tough team to play as they are both left-handed. Both teams held their first two service games to open the match. At 2-all, we got the first break of the match after hitting a few solid returns. We held our next service game to go up 4-2. They responded and got a hold to make it 4-3. We got broken on the No-Ad point in the next game after our opponents hit a return winner. This evened the score at 4-all. Both of us held our next service game which made it 5-all. We got another break after I hit a strong 2nd serve return on the No-Ad point. We served out the first set at love to take it 7-5. They held to go up 1-0 in the 2nd set. We continued to serve well and make a high percentage of 1st serves. At 1-all they got a hold to take a 2-1 lead. Both teams held their next service game which gave them a 3-2 lead. We held for 3-all. Then we had one break point on their serve but they saved it with a big serve. At 3-4, we were down 0-40 on our serve but we saved all 4 break points to get a big hold. They held to go up 5-4. We responded to even it at 5-all. Our opponents took a 6-5 lead as they continued to serve very well. We held to take it to a second set tiebreak. The tiebreaker was close as the first 3 points went to serve. At 1-2, we held both of our service points to take a 3-2 lead. They responded and won the next two points. At 3-4, we won both points to go up 5-4. We were up 6-5, and had our first match point. Unfortunately they hit a big serve to even it at 6-all. They hit another good serve to take a 7-6 lead. Then they took the 2nd set with a return winner to take it 7-6(6). We went up 1-0 in the 10-point tiebreak. They they responded with two good points to go up 2-1. We got both of our service points to go up 3-2. Then we got one of the points on their serve after hitting a solid return. We were up 4-3. However, we split the two points on our serve which made it 5-4. They took a 6-5 lead after continuing to serve well and make a lot of 1st serves. We evened it at 6-all. We took a 7-6 lead after a good serve. Then they won the next point for 7-all. I hit a great return which gave us an 8-7 lead. On the next point, I hit a well-placed serve down the T to go up 9-7. Then on match point I hit a solid 2nd serve and they missed a return. We battled through a tough match to win 7-5, 6-7(6), 10-7. This wasn’t our best tennis but our opponents served at a high level which made it difficult on us. We were into a 3rd straight doubles final in Kuwait.
In the finals we faced off against the team of Binding (GBR)/De Valk (NED). We had just beaten this team in the finals last week in a tight match. They held to open the match and take a 1-0 lead. Our opponents then played a great return game to break me. They followed the break up with a hold to jump out to a 3-0 lead. We got one hold to get on the board and make it 1-3. My partner and I had two break points in this game but were unable to convert. We held in the next game to cut their lead to 2-4. They continued to serve well and held for 5-2. We saved one set point in the next game to make it 3-5. They closed out the first set 6-3. We played at a decent level but our opponents played very well and were playing very aggressive. Both teams held their first two service games to open the 2nd set. At 2-all, they broke us on the No-Ad point to go up a break 3-2. They were returning well and were finishing points at the net. They held for 4-2. We stayed in it by getting a big hold to cut their lead to 3-4. We had one break point here in the 2nd set to get it back on serve but they saved it with a big serve. At 3-5, we held to make it 4-5 and put the pressure on them. We got up 0-30 on their serve in this game but they won the last 4 points to take the victory. We lost a tough match 3-6, 4-6. Just one break in each set but our opponents just played a little bit better than us. We didn’t return well enough as we weren’t able to get any breaks of serve. Not the best way to finish out 3 great weeks in Kuwait, but we accomplished a lot. We made 3 straight finals in doubles, winning 1 of them. For making the quarterfinals of singles and the finals of doubles, I earned $708 for the week.
It takes a week for your points to go into the computer after a tournament. Before going to Kuwait I was ranked #1036 in singles and #624 in doubles. After all my points went in, I moved up 207 spots in the rankings to a career high #829 in singles!
In doubles, I moved up 163 spots to break the top 500 in doubles. This week I am ranked a career high 461 in the world in doubles.
“To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Upcoming Schedule
December 3-10 – Dominican Republic F2 $15,000 Futures
December 11-18 – Dominincan Republic F3 $15,000 Futures
Comments
Post a Comment