ATP European Open 2019 (Antwerp, Belgium)

[D-Lite]

GB's Kyle Edmund was the defending champion, but his title defence came to an end in R1 of qualifying, losing 6-4 6-7 6-3 to Slovakia's Norbert Gombos.
Previous champions Gasquet ('16) and Tsonga ('17) are in the draw, plus previous runners-up Schwartzman (2 time - '16 and '17) and Monfils ('18).
Draw info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_European_Open_–_Singles

 

[D-Lite]

A couple of notes (opinions...) from me:

- I'd choose Murray as the victor, but I'm not yet convinced of his form over 5 straight matches, but I could see him making the semis and playing Goffin.
- WCs went to Coppejans, Darcis (both Belgian) and Sinner (Italian) - I wonder why they chose to give the WC to Sinner and not their defending champion, Edmund? I appreciate his form is rather lacklustre but I think it's pretty harsh that the defending champ doesn't get a MD spot to actually try and defend. Maybe their mentality was that he needs more matches vs lesser opponents or if he will defend he will be in good enough form to get through qualifying too. Anyway, that's a management decision, but with Sinner being a 'NextGen' prospect, maybe they've had pressure on that part.
- I really don't know who is actually in form of the seeds, I found it really hard to choose a victor, but I recall Tsonga winning the Moselle Open last month so he's got some indoor form.

 

[Zardoz7/12]

I can't believe Kyle Edmund chose to qualify for the tournament he won last year (his ranking was high enough for direct entry) then loses in the 1st round of Qualifying.

I voted for Tsonga.

 

[Picmun]

 

[D-Lite]

I can't believe Kyle Edmund chose to qualify for the tournament he won last year (his ranking was high enough for direct entry) then loses in the 1st round of Qualifying.

I voted for Tsonga.

Chose to qualify for form reasons or because he entered too late?

 

[Mainad]

I can't believe Kyle Edmund chose to qualify for the tournament he won last year (his ranking was high enough for direct entry) then loses in the 1st round of Qualifying.

Another sign of the complete disarray his game is in these days. As of today, his place as #1 ranked British player is now held by Dan Evans. Let's hope he can work to get his game back on track without the pressure and spotlight of being British #1.

 

[James P]

Goffin wins and he takes a microscopic 5 point race lead on Berrettini going into the Vienna/Basel double.

 

[tennis4me]

Murray won against Belgian WC Coppejans (#153) 6-4,7-6(4). Murray seems a long way from his pre-surgery form.

 

[Picmun]

Murray won against Belgian WC Coppejans (#153) 6-4,7-6(4). Murray seems a long way from his pre-surgery form.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

That there's no one in this draw that could beat Murray before or after his surgery says a lot about the quality of the opposition.

 

[Mainad]

That there's no one in this draw that could beat Murray before or after his surgery says a lot about the quality of the opposition.

That's still very much a work in progress.

 

[yokied]

Simon picked up a pretty tidy win over Darcis. He could annoy the crap out of everyone and go quite deep here. I'd love to see him slowly Muzzle the whiner.

 

[Meles]

A couple of notes (opinions...) from me:

- I'd choose Murray as the victor, but I'm not yet convinced of his form over 5 straight matches, but I could see him making the semis and playing Goffin.
- WCs went to Coppejans, Darcis (both Belgian) and Sinner (Italian) - I wonder why they chose to give the WC to Sinner and not their defending champion, Edmund? I appreciate his form is rather lacklustre but I think it's pretty harsh that the defending champ doesn't get a MD spot to actually try and defend. Maybe their mentality was that he needs more matches vs lesser opponents or if he will defend he will be in good enough form to get through qualifying too. Anyway, that's a management decision, but with Sinner being a 'NextGen' prospect, maybe they've had pressure on that part.
- I really don't know who is actually in form of the seeds, I found it really hard to choose a victor, but I recall Tsonga winning the Moselle Open last month so he's got some indoor form.

The answer on wildcards is Edmund simply does not deserve one due to his horrible play this year. Frankly he needs the qualifying matches. Sinner absolutely does and is more likely to up his level for the event given that a win here would propel him into Milan. Sinner is in perhaps the roughest section of the draw and faces Monfils next, but having just turned 18 he is an amazing prospect a year younger than FAA.

 

[D-Lite]

The answer on wildcards is Edmund simply does not deserve one due to his horrible play this year. Frankly he needs the qualifying matches. Sinner absolutely does and is more likely to up his level for the event given that a win here would propel him into Milan. Sinner is in perhaps the roughest section of the draw and faces Monfils next, but having just turned 18 he is an amazing prospect a year younger than FAA.

Who will get the WC in Milan? Surely it'll be Sinner this year anyway?

 

[stringertom]

Who will get the WC in Milan? Surely it'll be Sinner this year anyway?

Confirmed. The Italians will still have their playoff but the winner will be the alternate.

 

[Meles]

Who will get the WC in Milan? Surely it'll be Sinner this year anyway?

Oh no. They have a poorly advertised play in tournament which I'd love to see this year because they may have two 17 year old prospects in their top NextGen 8. Its a backup for Sinner, but he'd still have to win 3 matches to play in Milan right before the main event starts.

 

[Meles]

Confirmed. The Italians will still have their playoff but the winner will be the alternate.

Alternate? For Tsits? ???

 

[D-Lite]

Alternate? For Tsits? ???

I think it's an alternate for any injuries/withdrawals. Tsitsipas is locked in for London, so it's now ranks 2-8 who qualify directly,plus 1 WC.

 

[Meles]

I think it's an alternate for any injuries/withdrawals. Tsitsipas is locked in for London, so it's now ranks 2-8 who qualify directly,plus 1 WC.

And WC determined by play in event.

 

[stringertom]

And WC determined by play in event.

No, Sinner is confirmed as the WC and the play-in determines first alternate.

 

[Meles]

No, Sinner is confirmed as the WC and the play-in determines first alternate.

What on earth kind of Roman corruption is going on here? Is this within the rules? Does this mean they'll have two Italians for sure?

 

[stringertom]

What on earth kind of Roman corruption is going on here? Is this within the rules? Does this mean they'll have two Italians for sure?

No, only if someone gets injured.

If you subtract out Tsits, Sinner is #15 in the <22 rankings so it’s not a stretch to give him the WC in order to guarantee the most level playing field Milan has ever had.

 

[Meles]

No, only if someone gets injured.

If you subtract out Tsits, Sinner is #15 in the <22 rankings so it’s not a stretch to give him the WC in order to guarantee the most level playing field Milan has ever had.

I guess the rule is the Italian Tennis Federation gets one wildcard. This year they've selected their wildcard rather than the play in tournament. Tsits was alternate in 2017, Mmoh and Humbert last year who also were next in the depth chart. So in 2019 they have wildcard event to select this alternate rather than doing what they did last year and what is done at WTF. Still pretty slick on their part. Two Italians may end up in the main draw.

Wow it does look impressive even with Tsits skipping.

 

[The Green Mile]

Simon gets a rare win over Jo on a Hard-court, previously 9-1 in favor of Jo. Definitely one of the worst performances from Jo against Simon that I've seen though, his 1st serve not delivering at all and the forehand was untidy most of the time. Not too long ago I watched Jo beat Gilles 6/3 6/3 back in 09 Cinci, Simon played better in that match lol... Still, a solid performance from 2019 Simon.

For someone who is usually so confident and sure minded when playing Simon, Jo looked quite frustrated and impatient in the exchanges. You could see and hear his monologues on changeover, venting to himself frequently. Jo, who usually defends his backhand corner so well and can out maneuver Simon with slice which in turn allows Jo to find forehands, didn't find a lot of success today.

Wawrinka up next, quite the QF. I was hoping for Lopez, too many grass encounters in the Lopez/Simon H2H for my liking Need to balance it out a bit

Man, look at this BS. 5/8 meetings on the grass, pretty crazy.

Spoiler

2019	London / Queen's Club Great Britain	Outdoor Grass	F	Feliciano López	62 674 762
2018	Stuttgart Germany	Outdoor Grass	R16	Feliciano López	766 64
2017	Stuttgart Germany	Outdoor Grass	R32	Feliciano López	63 63
2017	ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Spain	Outdoor Clay	R32	Feliciano López	63 36 763
2014	ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai China	Outdoor Hard	SF	Gilles Simon	62 761
2013	Wimbledon Great Britain	Outdoor Grass	R128	Feliciano López	62 64 7611
2013	Eastbourne Great Britain	Outdoor Grass	F	Feliciano López	762 675 60
2008	Rotterdam Netherlands	Indoor Hard	R32	Gilles Simon	63 64

 

[stringertom]

Simon gets a rare win over Jo on a Hard-court, previously 9-1 in favor of Jo. Definitely one of the worst performances from Jo against Simon that I've seen though, his 1st serve not delivering at all and the forehand was untidy most of the time. Not too long ago I watched Jo beat Gilles 6/3 6/3 back in 09 Cinci, Simon played better in that match lol... Still, a solid performance from 2019 Simon.

For someone who is usually so confident and sure minded when playing Simon, Jo looked quite frustrated and impatient in the exchanges. You could see and hear his monologues on changeover, venting to himself frequently. Jo, who usually defends his backhand corner so well and can out maneuver Simon with slice which in turn allows Jo to find forehands, didn't find a lot of success today.

Wawrinka up next, quite the QF. I was hoping for Lopez, too many grass encounters in the Lopez/Simon H2H for my liking Need to balance it out a bit

Stanimal was never broken in his 3-set tussle with FeLo, 6-7 6-4 7-6. Dominant on serve (won 79% of total service points), got the lone break and played a tidy TB FTW.

h2h is 5-3 Stanimal but 1-3 for Simon on HCs, all outdoor.

 

[The Green Mile]

Barry Cowan called Simon "semen" today as well. Quickly corrected himself with along with an uncomfortable laugh, followed by silence by his female counterpart.

 

[James P]

Copil knocks off Schwartzman.

 

[Big_Dangerous]

Barry Cowan called Simon "semen" today as well. Quickly corrected himself with along with an uncomfortable laugh, followed by silence by his female counterpart.

Let's hope there's not a player out there with a last name that's close to ji zz.

 

[Meles]

Monfils crushed by a cool and composed Sinner; Gael on verge of tears in 2nd set as his WTF prospects dwindle. Sinner may get another Italian into Milan (would give up wildcard if he qualifies directly), but probably needs to nearly win this event or at least get SE into event next week.

 

[Meles]

Cuevas serving at 4-5 vs Murray

 

[Meles]

30-0 becomes 30 all in a blink

 

[Meles]

BP

 

[Meles]

Murray 6-4!

 

[Picmun]

 

[3fees]

Congrats to MuRrAy blnt Pabilto 64 63 Murray knocks out 6th seed.

Cheers
3Fees

 

[stringertom]

Goffin fails to defend home soil again, getting demolished by Ugo Humbert 3&1. Best result there is one SF in the inaugural European Open in 2016.

In fact, all previous champions and finalists have been eliminated (r/u: Schwartzman 2x, Monfils; champs: Gasquet, Tsonga and Edmund).

 

[James P]

Really opened up like Stockholm. Two seeds plus Murray left.

 

[Mainad]

Goffin fails to defend home soil again, getting demolished by Ugo Humbert 3&1. Best result there is one SF in the inaugural European Open in 2016.

In fact, all previous champions and finalists have been eliminated (r/u: Schwartzman 2x, Monfils; champs: Gasquet, Tsonga and Edmund).

What the heck was the matter with Goffin getting demolished like that by Humbert, at his home event and all???

Won't have done his chances of getting to London any good at all!!

 

[stringertom]

What the heck was the matter with Goffin getting demolished like that by Humbert, at his home event and all???

Won't have done his chances of getting to London any good at all!!

Fognini got double breadsticks baked for him by Tipsy so they both wasted chances to close in on the most likely three-for-two race with Zverev, Berrettini and RBA the ones they are chasing.

 

[Mainad]

Fognini got double breadsticks baked for him by Tipsy so they both wasted chances to close in on the most likely three-for-two race with Zverev, Berrettini and RBA the ones they are chasing.

Evidently, 'ol Tipsy ain't done yet but what was the problem with Gael?

 

[stringertom]

Evidently, 'ol Tipsy ain't done yet but what was the problem with Gael?

He was beaten by a Sinner.

Just getting a jump on what many will experience.

 

[Winners or Errors]

So, will Sinner win it all? Is Monfils still the guru?

 

[stringertom]

So, will Sinner win it all? Is Monfils still the guru?

Baby steps. First it’s The Ultimate Sinner vs St. Frances. Lots of high velocity rallies there!

 

[Picmun]

 

[Picmun]

 

[Mainad]

Can't believe Andy let a 6-3,4-1 scoreline go to 5 all in the 2nd!

 

[Rebel-I.N.S]

Can't believe Andy let a 6-3,4-1 scoreline go to 5 all in the 2nd!

Classic Murray.

 

[Rebel-I.N.S]

Why Andy? Why?

 

[Breakpointerer]

Can't believe Andy let a 6-3,4-1 scoreline go to 5 all in the 2nd!

Was he up a double break?

 

[Red Rick]

Was he up a double break?

No but he did have 4 BPs for 5-1