ANDREY GOLUBEV IS THE ROTHENBAUM WINNER 

Andrey Golubev is the sensational winner of the German Open Tennis Championships 2010! The 23 years old was very convincing on Center Court in front of 7500 spectators. He dismissed Austria’s Jürgen Melzer 6:3, 7:5, celebrating his first tournament win of an ATP tour. Moreover he’s the first player of Kazakhstan, winning an ATP tournament. 

“My counterpart must have a really good day in order to defeat me”, said Melzer before the match. Golubev had this great day. He served constantly well and the Austrian didn’t have the possibility to find his rhythm. In the eighth game of the first set, Golubev used his break point for a return winner.  For Melzer it was the first set in the whole tournament that he dropped.

During the second set Melzer wasn’t able to use his break chances. Especially in the sixths game the Austrian held five break points without managing to capitalize on any.

In the eleventh match the Kazakh was already declared the winner when Melzer asked the referee to look at the ball mark again. And indeed: The ball was outside. Golubev had to repeat his match point. “That was funny. I had many things in may head. I told myself that it was only one match point. And it worked.”

“Congratulations for your incredible week. You really deserve it. Playing like this, it is very difficult to defeat you”, said Melzer after the match. “I would never have thought to get my first title on clay. But in the end I don’t care”, laughed Golubev.

MAYER’S FAIRY TALE ENDS WITH SEMIFINALS – FINAL BETWEEN MELZER AND GOLUBEV

In the end he wasn’t strong enough. Florian Mayer misses the final of the German Open Tennis Championships 2010 at Hamburg Rothenbaum. After 1 hour and 42 minutes, the Bavarian was overpowered by Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev 6:7 (6), 3:6  in front of 8000 spectators on Center Court. Tomorrow at 2 pm Golubev will face the Austrian Jürgen Melzer in the final.    

“It was evident that my body didn’t give a 100 percent. Andrey played very well, being really aggressive. He deserved to win“, admitted Mayer. “I think, Ferrero wouldn’t have beaten Golubev either“, says Mayer who already knew that the encounter would be a difficult task to face when he got up in the morning.  Mayer had a good start of the first set, but he couldn’t break his counterpart as early as he wanted. “I had heavy legs and that is why I was always one or two steps behind”, analyses Mayer. “I wasn’t able to continue my good performances of the last matches”, he says.

All in all Mayer had of course a fantastic week at the Rothenbaum tournament. “I dismissed three really good players, convincing with my game and I showed my fitness”, resumes the player from Bayreuth. 

Andrey Golubev is a kind of an outsider of this tournament and will be facing Austria’s Jürgen Melzer in the final. Melzer’s performance is outstanding and the more he advances in the tournament the better he gets. In the semifinal against Andreas Seppi Melzer played constantly a convincing game, emerging the victor in two sets 6:4, 6:1 after 78 minutes. Both players haven’t dropped a set in this tournament so far.

 Moreover the 29 year old from Lower Austria has proved that he belongs to the best 15 players of our planet. “More and more often I take the right decisions on the court, which gives me a lot of self-confidence. I’m sure the other players are now showing more respect for me”, explains Melzer. “Probably the Wimbledon win with Philipp also increased my popularity in front of German tennis fans.”

Today the ninth final of the ATP tour is waiting for Melzer. Until now he won only twice. “I won’t show up in order to lose, but I want to put the lid on it”, says Melzer, hoping for his victory of the German Open. “I won’t watch my counterpart, I will just play my match. A rival has to perform very well in order to beat me”, comments Austria’s N° One on tomorrow’s final.

The show must go on – first German semifinalist since 1997

8.15 pm Friday evening: After a rain shower the roof of Center Court had been closed when the crowd started cheering at the encounter’s winner of a tough match. The Bavarian Florian Mayer eliminated Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero 6:7 (3), 6:2, 6:3 and is the first German since 1997 to be in the semifinals at Rothenbaum. Mayer was overwhelmed with joy. 7500 spectators were celebrating the German with standing ovations. Brilliant ball exchanges and a thrilling fight characterized the match – tennis fans from Hamburg fully enjoyed the encounter. “The support of the public under the roof was unbelievable”, says Mayer.  He played with a lot of pressure, forcing Ferrero to commit errors. Finally he defeated the French Open winner from 2003 for the first time after having lost against him the last four matches.

Semifinal between South Tyrol and Lower Austria

South Tyrol’s Andreas Seppi and Austria’s Jürgen Melzer are the first players, qualifying for the semifinals of the German Open Tennis Championships in Hamburg. In an extensive match against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, Seppi dismisses his rival 7:6 (0), 5:7, 7:5 after three hours and eleven minutes.

Melzer eliminated Italy’s clay specialist Potito Starace 6:4, 6:1, dominating clearly the match. Melzer’s performance was very strong and constant. He’s one of the favorites for the win of the Championship. “I felt very comfortable from the very beginning. I will do my very best to reach the final”, declares Melzer.

The duel with Seppi is the fourth encounter between them. In 2007 and 2009 Seppi had dismissed Melzer on clay whereas Melzer had eliminated Seppi on hard court in Rotterdam. “I’m looking forward to the encounter with Seppi. Hopefully the public will continue to support me”, says a satisfied Jürgen Melzer.  But he won’t have an easy task in facing Andreas Seppi, the son of a German mother who feels very comfortable here in Hamburg. In 2008 he reached the semifinals and was at the end eliminated by Roger Federer.

In the semifinal Florian Mayer will have to face Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev. Golubev eliminated his rival Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6:4, 6:1, being very convincing with his fast play.

Mayer reaches quarterfinals in Hamburg!

Florian Mayer reaches for the first time the quarterfinals of the German Open Tennis Championships. The player from Bayreuth confirmed  his strong performance of the two first matches, swatting aside Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez 7:6 (1), 6:0. The tiebreak during the first set was decisive when Mayer demoralized his counterpart. 

“It is overwhelming – the public made me win“, says Mayer, thanking the 5000 enthusiastic spectators. Mayer seems to be in an excellent condition – a good requirement for tomorrow’s encounter against Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Germany’s Number 1 Philipp Kohlschreiber didn’t reach the quarterfinals of the most important German tennis tournament. After his triumph over Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela, “Kohli” wasn’t able to defeat another South American rival, Brasil’s Tomaz Bellucci. During the first set, the Bavarian  seemed to have lost self-confidence. Finally he was dismissed 5:7, 4:6. After the match he recognizes the strong play of his counterpart. “Everything turned out as I had expected. I had some good possibilities. Serving three breaks, it would have been possible to win a match like this. But Bellucci was a great returner“, analyses Kohlschreiber. 

Andreas Seppi of South Tyrol qualified for the next round as well, eliminating his compatriot Fabio Fognini 6:4, 6:4. Austria’s French Open semifinalist Jürgen Melzer and specialist on clay Potito Starace of Italy also made it to the quarterfinals, dismissing their rivals Jeremy Chardy 7:5, 7:6 (4) and Pere Riba 4:6, 6:4, 6:4.

Julian Reister faced Usbekistan’s Denis Istomin in a very close match and was finally dismissed  6:3, 3:6, 6:7 (3). “I would have loved to give the people from Hamburg another match”, said Reister, showing his disappointment. “During the tie-break he had really strong serves”, explains the local hero from Hamburg.

Today Denis Istomin will have to face Kasakhstan’s Andrey Golubev who surprisingly eliminated last year’s German Open winner Nikolay Davydenko 6:3, 3:6, 6:7 (3). None of the eight quarterfinalists has ever won in Hamburg. Consequently the winner’s name will be a new name.

STANDING OVATIONS FOR JULIAN REISTER IN HAMBURG

 
What’s his name? Reister is his name! Julian Reister! Since yesterday not only tennis fans from Hamburg know him. 5000 spectators were celebrating his 7:6 (4), 6:4 triumph against Rumania’s Viktor Hanescu. Reister is now one of the last 16!  
 
5:35 pm on Wednesday: Reisters passing shot reaches Viktor Hanescu’s side – he converts his first match point. Reister can’t believe it. “I have no clue what has happened”, says the local hero after a 99 minutes match.
 
The German’s performance was excellent. He played the whole match straight forward and showed patience. At the French Opens he already did very well when passing to the third round and was only dismissed by Roger Federer. In his hometown an even bigger triumph seems to be waiting for him.  
 
SPANISH FAVOURITES FAIL
 
Nicolas Almagro and Albert Montanes had been considered as potential winners of the Rothenbaum tournament. The Spanish tournament winners from Bastad (Almagro) and Stuttgart (Montanes) were eliminated prematurely. Montanes was dismissed by his compatriot Pere Riba in a fascinating duel after two and a half hours. Nicolas Almagro also showed a great performance and he even fended off five match points of his rival, Usbekistan’s Denis Istomin. But finally he surrendered 6:7 (5), 6:7 (7) .

BERRER DEFEATED

During the first Center Court Match this Wednesday Michael Berrer was the first seeded German player being eliminated. He was dismissed by Italy’s Andreas Seppi 2:6, 6:7 (4). The 30 year old from Stuttgart demonstrated a lots of passion during the match, but committed too many errors. Seppi will face his compatriot Fabio Fognini in the round of the last 16.

The performance of Philipp Petzschner was disappointing. He didn’t have any chances against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy and was eliminated 3:6, 4:6.  So the duel between him and Melzer won’t take place tomorrow. “If Jürgen would like me to come and see the match tomorrow, I will be there, otherwise, I don’t want to see this sport tomorrow.”, he says.
 
In the last match of today Philipp Kohlschreiber dismissed Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela. From the second set on the South German dominated the match and converted his second match point 2:6, 6:2, 6:4. “I did a good fight although I could have played better”, analyses Kohlschreiber.
On Thursday Kohlschreiber will have to face Brasil’s Thomaz Bellucci, a specialist on clay. “This year I defeated him already, but it won’t be an easy encounter”, explains Kohlschreiber.

Florian Mayer triumphing – Reister great first match – Davydenko cold as ice

Florian Mayer is the very first! The 26 year old from Bayreuth is the first German player who made it to the third round of the German Open Tennis Championships 2010.  The match  culminated in a standing ovation for Mayer on Center Court. He defeated Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov  4:6, 7:6 (2), 6:3. “It was an important match for me. I’ve never played against him“, says Mayer after the game.  “I didn’t know what to expect.” At the beginning of the match he couldn’t show yet his strong performance from yesterday. „During the first set I couldn’t do anything against Dolgopolov. His play was very surprising“, declares Mayer. But at the beginning of the last set Mayer was back again. “The spectators today were great. I felt very comfortable on the court“, said Mayer.

Julian Reister used his home advantage at his first match on Center Court. He defeated the South German Daniel Brands 6:2, 7:6 (10). “Today I haven’t been that nervous. The spectators were really inspiring”, said Reister, who was able to find more quickly his rhythm than his counterpart.  For Brands the adaptation from grass to clay apparently hasn’t been that easy.  Only in the second set he was as strong as Reister. In the tie-break he had three set points, but committed two errors. Reister converted the third matchball and was then celebrated by the public.

Another local hero wasn’t that lucky. Tobias Kamke from Lübeck was eliminated by Argentina’s Eduardo Schwank 3:6, 4:6. He didn’t manage to control the match. “I am very frustrated. I didn’t play as well as I had planned to“, analyses Kamke.

Nikolay Davydenko’s tournament start was perfect. He lately suffered from the consequences of a wrist fracture. The Russian dismissed France’s Florent Serra 6:3, 6:1 in only 57 minutes. Davydenko didn’t have to show his full potential yet and could save his forces for the next round. The winner from 2006, Spaniard Tommy Robredo and Frenchman Gilles Simon didn’t do that well. The top-seeded players were eliminated  in this round of the tournament.  .

On Wednesday the three German seeded players Philipp Petzschner, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Michael Berrer are going to show their performances. Furthermore it will be a pleasure to watch the first encounter of French Open semifinalist Jürgen Melzer this Wednesday as well as the matches of the strong  Spaniards Albert Montanes and Nicolas Almagro.

Mayer brilliant – Four Germans on Center Court!

We all kept our fingers crossed – but it didn’t help! Florian Mayer is the only German player winning his opening match at the German Open Tennis Championships at Hamburg Rothenbaum. For Andreas Beck, Björn Phau, Simon Greul and local hero Mischa Zverev the most important German tennis tournament is already finished after day one.
Florian Mayer is bright shining as the sun in Hamburg at Rothenbaum. Opening the main draw of the German Open Tennis Championships 2010 on Center Court, he defeated last year’s surprise semifinalist, Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, 6:4, 6:1 and became the first player to make it to the second round.
“I did a very good job today”, said Mayer after the match. After having reached the quarterfinals at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart last week, Mayer showed lots of self-confidence against Cuevas. The one-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist dominated the match after a balanced first set and was rewarded for his risky game. He is now hoping to achieve his best result ever in Hamburg. „Continuing like this, chances are good that I get much further – perhaps I will even reach the semis,” Mayer declared, raising the hopes of the German tennis fans. In the second round on Tuesday, he will face the No. 15 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine.
Apart from Mayer, the German performances on this first day of the main draw haven’t been convincing. After qualifying for the main draw Björn Phau wasn’t able to continue his triumph. While the 30 year old from Weilerswist showed a tough fight against Italy’s Potito Starace during the first set, he was lost in the second set, surrendering  5:7, 0:6.
Andreas Beck is still looking for the top of his form after his elbow injury. He fell to Czech player Jan Hajek, 3:6, 6:4, 5:7. For Beck this was the ninth defeat in a first round in 2010.  Although the player from Ravensburg showed some fighting spirit, he ended up losing out to Hajek. Some spectacular trick shots through his legs couldn’t help him win either.
Mischa Zverev didn’t use his home advantage. The local from Hamburg played well in the first set, but was defeated 5:7, 1:6. “The match was a blackout. He returned every ball early and that is why I was constantly under pressure”, stated a disappointed Zverev. At the same time, Simon Greul didn’t have any more luck. After his good performances in Stuttgart he was eliminated by Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli 6:7 (4), 6:7 (4).

On Tuesday, the German encounter between Daniel Brands and Julian Reister will be the match of the day on Center Court.  Before, Tobias Kamke will have a difficult task in facing Argentina’s Eduardo Schwank. Last year’s winner Nikolay Davydenko will start his title defense later in the afternoon. He will meet France’s Florent Serra.