Ojai Tournament: Sam Querrey #1 seed!

GRANITECHIEF

GRANITECHIEF

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This is a very cool non-pro tournament with a $4000 first prize to the Mens Open Single Winner. That is as much or more $$ than some Futures and Challengers.

Here is the draw:

http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=32067&E=5&D=M&S=F

Anybody know any of these players or have played them. Many of them have atp rankings.

Sam Querrey plays Samuel (Adam ) Webster in the first round. I've played Adam in dubs before in the Santa Barbara Open. He's awesome, lefty, but not quite at the pro-level. I will be interested in seeing the result of that.

Paul Warkentin (slot 10) is freakin awesome. Although not many likes Roddick's style, it is effective and almost exactly how Paul plays. I lost a 6-4 set one time, serving out of my mind but all the others have been 6-2 or worse. Looks like he got a tough draw against #4 seed.

I was going to play Vincent Mackey (slot 30) (http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/default2.asp?playersearch=mackey) in the semis of the last SB tournament but my ailing back made me withdraw. Paul whooped him in the finals 6-4,6-1. Paul also whooped Dusty Kemmick (slot 18) in a small tourney in Oxnard, CA recently.
 
GRANITECHIEF said:
This is a very cool non-pro tournament with a $4000 first prize to the Mens Open Single Winner. That is as much or more $$ than some Futures and Challengers.

Here is the draw:

http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/Draws/EventDraw.aspx?T=32067&E=5&D=M&S=F

Anybody know any of these players or have played them. Many of them have atp rankings.

Sam Querrey plays Samuel (Adam ) Webster in the first round. I've played Adam in dubs before in the Santa Barbara Open. He's awesome, lefty, but not quite at the pro-level. I will be interested in seeing the result of that.

Paul Warkentin (slot 10) is freakin awesome. Although not many likes Roddick's style, it is effective and almost exactly how Paul plays. I lost a 6-4 set one time, serving out of my mind but all the others have been 6-2 or worse. Looks like he got a tough draw against #4 seed.

I was going to play Vincent Mackey (slot 30) (http://www.atptennis.com/en/players/playerprofiles/default2.asp?playersearch=mackey) in the semis of the last SB tournament but my ailing back made me withdraw. Paul whooped him in the finals 6-4,6-1. Paul also whooped Dusty Kemmick (slot 18) in a small tourney in Oxnard, CA recently.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, so there is the infamous Robert Yim! I'm going to try and play in a lot more tournaments this year. The only problem is the darn gas prices. I'll play in 2 maybe 3 more because I think you need that many to get a ranking.
 
I'm pretty sure Lester Cook was one of the top players at Texas A&M a few years ago, then he turned pro in the middle of the season, some Aggies I know weren't too happy about that. Oren Montevassel, isn't he from Israel ? Played on the tour for years and now teaches in So Cal ? Bryan Junio played at Fresno State along with his twin brother in the 90's, one of them played Davis Cup for the PI. I think Gary Sacks is one of the top juniors in California. he's originally from South Africa and may be playing under that flag now. Looks like a good mix of young guys and veterans.
 
Alex Reichel did pretty well in Futures last year; Brian Wilson was a big star at Illinois; Sondhu is ranked in the top 5 of the 18s in Socal. I say Querrey takes it this year. If I remember correctly last year he barely lost in the final to journeyman Cecil Mamiit.
 
Atatu you are ont top of it. Oren M is one of the Top 35 m singles in the USA. Had lunch w/ him and his dbls partner from Tulane during the WA St Open last yr. Good guy. Lester Cook was antsy for the pro's. Brian Wilson led Illinois to the National Champ. I think he won the singles.
 
LN_Dad said:
Alex Reichel did pretty well in Futures last year; Brian Wilson was a big star at Illinois; Sondhu is ranked in the top 5 of the 18s in Socal. I say Querrey takes it this year. If I remember correctly last year he barely lost in the final to journeyman Cecil Mamiit.
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Reichel is done as far as the pros. He probably pushing 35-40 right now. I'm pretty sure his ranking isnt above 800 anymore. He used to be top 200 but that was about as high as he got. He's probably still trying to play because he doesnt have anything else to do, needs to work on his plan for life after pro tennis.
 
That's one scary looking draw. I haven't seen most of those guys play but I know some by reputation. Mike Gurman is top 10 in SoCal boy's 18's, and he's going to get spanked in the first round. Intense. I'd really like to drive up and watch this tournament.

Is the Pac-10 tournament tougher than the men's open? As tough maybe?
 
RobC, Reichel is 34 and you're right that's pretty old for someone still trying to make it at the ATP level. Time to consider being an assistant college coach somewhere.
 
I wonder if that is the same Jason Zimmerman who played at Duke and Cin'ti Hills Christian here? Says Hollywood FL but he could have moved.
 
atatu said:
I'm pretty sure Lester Cook was one of the top players at Texas A&M a few years ago, then he turned pro in the middle of the season, some Aggies I know weren't too happy about that. Oren Montevassel, isn't he from Israel ? Played on the tour for years and now teaches in So Cal ? Bryan Junio played at Fresno State along with his twin brother in the 90's, one of them played Davis Cup for the PI. I think Gary Sacks is one of the top juniors in California. he's originally from South Africa and may be playing under that flag now. Looks like a good mix of young guys and veterans.
Click to expand...

Oren Motevassel is indeed from Israel. I saw him last year playing here in Charlotte, he is small but the strokes are steady, no power but can carve you like a turkey. I can't believe he was at one point ranked around 150 if my memory servesme right.
 
I didn't see any matches this morning but, looking at the draw, the one between my buddy Paul Warky and Lester Cook looked like a battle; 4-6,6-3,6-4 with Lester for the win. That guy is ranked like 700 or so.

So far the seeds are making they're way, with Noah Newman (5) taking out Jeff Thompson 6-4,7-5. Zybnek Mlybarik def Shan Sondhu, 6-1,6-0 ouch!

Atatu mentioned Brian Junio, he got beat by the guy that beat my dubs partner in the qualies, Eric Basica 6-3,6-4. Basica beat my dubs partner Todd D 6-3,6-1. Basica was ranked 1125 3 years ago and is currently ranked 1000 in dubs.

Oren Montevassel won vs Zerbini 6-3,6-1 and plays Lester Cook next. I predict Cook will beat him in straight sets.

Querrey v. Webster should be finishing or in progress. I'd be surprised if it wasn't a competitive match.
 
GRANITECHIEF said:
Oren Montevassel won vs Zerbini 6-3,6-1 and plays Lester Cook next. I predict Cook will beat him in straight sets.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that. Montevassel is very steady and more experienced than Cook. The local pro who coaches my son played him a few years ago and said this guy didn't miss a shot so you got bring some weapons to put him away so he'll give Cook a battle.
 
LN_Dad said:
I don't know about that. Montevassel is very steady and more experienced than Cook. The local pro who coaches my son played him a few years ago and said this guy didn't miss a shot so you got bring some weapons to put him away so he'll give Cook a battle.
Click to expand...

Montevassel strings his racquets at 37 lbs. He has amazing control! He can put the ball exactly where he wants it, but he rarely hits with any power. He made former NCAA semifinalist Eric Drew look pretty bad last year at the WA St Open.
 
Radiotennis.com is broadcasting the Pac-10 matches from Ojai. The schedule is on thier website.
 
Mike Gurman plays at a park I often go to. He beat the number 1 boy's 18 player in the country. Wow. I could see he's good but I had no idea.
 
All the seeded players through except for MGurman who won with the following scoreline against AReichel: 5-7; 6-0; 3-0 Ret (inj). Ouch, i wonder what happened.

I was correct that Lester Cook took out OMontevassel in two sets. That is a testament to how tough PWarkentin is.

Quarters: Querrey v Gurman. Dont know Gurmans game but Sam is huge favorite.

Newman v Cook, both tough as nails, flip a coin.

Laporte v Mlynarik: no comment, don't know there games.

Yim v Wilson: same as above:

Can anyone expand on the quarterfinal matchups?
 
GRANITECHIEF said:
Newman v Cook, both tough as nails, flip a coin.

Laporte v Mlynarik: no comment, don't know there games.

Yim v Wilson: same as above:

Can anyone expand on the quarterfinal matchups?
Click to expand...

I'd put my money on Cook since I heard Newman is 10yrs older and may not be as quick.
 
QUERREY QUESTIONS OPPONENT'S INJURY
Rhiannon Potkey, Ventura County Star

Sam Querrey is generally known for his calm, cool, collected nature, but
the Thousand Oaks resident can get a little fire in his belly when prompted.

Querrey was leading 6-2, 4-0 in his quarterfinal match of the Men's Open
singles on Friday at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa when his opponent, Mike
Gurman, retired because of an injury. But Querrey thought the only injury
was to Gurman's pride.

"He wasn't hurt. He was just losing really bad and quit," Querrey said.
"I got in his face about it. He was acting like a little baby after the
match. He seemed fine to me. I was just giving him a little beatdown."

The players were tied 2-2 in the first set when Querrey rolled off eight
consecutive games.

"If I don't like a guy, I am usually a little more fired up and I wanted
to kill him," Querrey said. "I was just doing my usual thing ˜ big serve
and using my forehand."

The top-seeded Querrey will face Noah Newman of Beverly Hills in the
semifinals this morning at Libbey Park at 9:30 a.m. Newman defeated No. 4
Lester Cook 6-3, 6-4.

"I never played him, so it's always fun to play someone new," Querrey
said. "And I am really excited about being at Libbey. There is going to
be a big crowd."
Click to expand...
I love how cocky junior tennis stars are. Cockiest people in the world.
 
Did anyone see the Querrey-Gurman match? In Querrey's defense may be Gurman did act like a baby and that ticked him off. Kids who are really bad losers often quit and fake an injury to deny their opponents the satisfaction of beating them. Anyone who has kids competing in the juniors can tell you that this happens all the time. Gurman is ranked 7th in the B18s so he's not even close to Querrey so he should be more mature and accept the loss more graciously.
 
My gut tells me that Sam's gripe was justified, even though Mike seems like a really nice kid. Mike is currently 48th in the country in Boy's 18. Yeah, he's really not anywhere near Sam's league. Still, he beat the number 1 boy's 18 player in the country first round. He'll be a solid D-1 player.
 
Anyways, the finals should be interesting. Mlynarik has been ranked as high as 206 in the world, but currently he's 682. Sam is currently 359 but you've gotta think he'll eventually be a top 50 player. It's going to be close match. Actually, they're playing right now, aren't they?
 
Man, what happened to Sam today? This is the second year in a row that he lost the ojai open final to an ATP journeyman. I guess Mlynarik's experience more than compensated for the youngster's power game.
 
this is a shout out to mr. plummer park and the big tennis daddy

Listen y'all, you guys really need to get a life or start spending more money on your childs tennis lessons at the local country club so they can get to the round of 16 at your local open tourny, cause to say gurman faked his injury is ridicoulus. better yet, to say gurman is not at querreys level is another idiotic remark. he beet the #1 player in u.s. in this tourney, what stops him from getting a piece of sam? SO here's some advice "LN Dad," focus on your childrens tennis and stop worrying about other people and maybe they could be solid D-3 tennis players or intermeural one day...
 
jack johnson tennis said:
Listen y'all, you guys really need to get a life or start spending more money on your childs tennis lessons at the local country club so they can get to the round of 16 at your local open tourny, cause to say gurman faked his injury is ridicoulus. better yet, to say gurman is not at querreys level is another idiotic remark. he beet the #1 player in u.s. in this tourney, what stops him from getting a piece of sam? SO here's some advice "LN Dad," focus on your childrens tennis and stop worrying about other people and maybe they could be solid D-3 tennis players or intermeural one day...
Click to expand...
One day maybe you can learn to spell intramural you ****.
 
Listen y'all, you need to get a life or start spending more money on some tutoring sessions. Your post is almost incomprehensible.

What is your connection to Gurman? Father? Brother? Boyfriend? Stalker?
 
jack johnson tennis said:
Listen y'all, you guys really need to get a life or start spending more money on your childs tennis lessons at the local country club so they can get to the round of 16 at your local open tourny, cause to say gurman faked his injury is ridicoulus. better yet, to say gurman is not at querreys level is another idiotic remark. he beet the #1 player in u.s. in this tourney, what stops him from getting a piece of sam? SO here's some advice "LN Dad," focus on your childrens tennis and stop worrying about other people and maybe they could be solid D-3 tennis players or intermeural one day...
Click to expand...
First of all, Jack Johnson plays music and surfs. While he may play tennis once in a while, he is not a player. Second, y'all, you don't know jack about people's lives here and especially how much $$ we spend on our kids tennis skills. If Sam suspected that Gurman was wimping out, he's probably right. After all, he was closer to Gurman than anyone at that time. If Querrey beats Gurman 6-0,6-0 or Gurman can only get a couple games, then Querrey is at a higher level. When did Gurman "BEET" Roddick? 20 years ago? What stops him from getting a piece of Sam is Sams 130+ mph serve and monstrous
forehand. I'm sure LN DAD is very appreciative of your advice and how do you know that he doesn't have a daughter that plays D1 ball?

Please don't contribute to any of my threads untill you turn at least 14.
 
Since when is Stewart the #1 Boys 18s in the country anyway? He didnt play the Easter Bowl, but I checked back to last year at Kalamazoo and he was seeded 26th, and lost in the 4th rd.

There are a few players he would have had to overtake to be #1, including guys like DY, Alex Clayton etc.

He's not even #1 in SoCal. McClune & Jung are ahead of him. Not saying he's not a good player, but I'm pretty sure he isnt #1 in the country.
 
Laughing my ass off!

i've never been one to write on messageboards, but after seeing all these replies I must say it is COMEDY!! So rather than settling this over a keyboard and plastic screen, lets all meet up, we'll get some popcorn, and watch some tennis vs. mr gurman (who's up to the challenge since he is supposedly faking his injury with his shoulder right?) any day of the week. how does $150 a set sound. Ill arrange it any park in the LA area, no worries. So, if you guys have the balls to reply to this, then great! i'll glady give you my cell number as well to arrange something.
 
jack johnson tennis said:
better yet, to say gurman is not at querreys level is another idiotic remark.
Click to expand...
If you look at their accomplishments, it's not even close. Sam was the kind of player who plays international tournaments, WINS the Easter Bowl, and he's won an ATP match and has taken a set off James Blake. Sam was a hitting partner for the Davis Cup team. He's the most sought after college recruit in the country after Donald Young, who we all know isn't going to college anytime soon. One match at Ojai isn't enough to conjecture that they're anywhere near the same level. If you think it's idiotic, just go ask the people at the USTA. Ask who's the better player, "Sam Querrey or Mike Gurman?" Ask any college coach who they'd like on their team.
Rob_C said:
Since when is Stewart the #1 Boys 18s in the country anyway? He didnt play the Easter Bowl, but I checked back to last year at Kalamazoo and he was seeded 26th, and lost in the 4th rd.
Click to expand...
On the USTA's website, he's listed as number 1.
jack johnson tennis said:
So rather than settling this over a keyboard and plastic screen, lets all meet up, we'll get some popcorn, and watch some tennis vs. mr gurman (who's up to the challenge since he is supposedly faking his injury with his shoulder right?) any day of the week.
Click to expand...
Are you his dad or girlfriend or something?
 
LN_Dad said:
According to this USTA website, Gurman is 7 in SoCal so I'm not sure how he can be 1 in the US.

http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/rankings/rankinglists.aspx?id=213252

Jacky boy, I don't understand your challenge. None of us here claimed we can beat your idol Gurman. Why doesn't he challenge the #1 guy on the above list? That would be Mr. McClune to you.:p
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Stewart was supposedly #1, not Gurman.

And to 35FT6, I tried to check the USTA website, I got an error.

But, DY is still eligible to play USTA events, and there's no way Stewart is above DY, not to mention the other top guys like Clayton, Damico (sp?), etc etc etc.

Has he even won a big tournament.

I'll try to check again right now.

I just found the list 35FT6 was referring to. According to that list, Stewart is #1, and Querrey is #4 and DY is #11. That says it all. Its not the actual seedings that would in effect for a tournament if those players were all entered in a tournament. Its probably the result of playing the smaller Nat'l tourneys that Dy & Querrey wouldnt play at this stage.

http://tournaments.usta.com/tournaments/rankings/rankinglists.aspx?id=183906

Is Querrey still eligible to play jrs? He turns 19 this year.
 
^ Yeah, I'm talking about the latest...

2006 National Standing List (4/27/2006)
and
2006 National Top 100 Bonus Points List (4/4/06)

Both of which have Stewart at number 1.

There's also a 2006 National National Championship Selection List, and that list is very different. Not sure if "National National" is a typo. The top five on that list is:

1. Attila Bucko
2. Houston Barrick
3. Donald Young
4. Jamie Hunt
5 Clint Bowles

I'm confused as to what this list actually is. Gurman's beaten Bucko. Barrick doesn't seem to have done much of anything. Confused.
 
RobC, your link goes to a ranking list dated Jan06. My link is for a SoCal ranking list updated yesterday. Stewart is 3 and Gurman is 7.
BTW, Gurman lost to Jamie Hunt^ just last month.
 
LN_Dad said:
RobC, your link goes to a ranking list dated Jan06. My link is for a SoCal ranking list updated yesterday. Stewart is 3 and Gurman is 7.
BTW, Gurman lost to Jamie Hunt^ just last month.
Click to expand...

I mentioned the fact that Stewart wasnt even #1 in SoCal in one of my previous posts. The link was supposed to be for the whole page of rankings, whcih go month by month, but I guess I selected the wong URL. Anyway, there's a whole page of monthly rankings somwhere close to that URL. If anyone's interested.

Speaking of that article, I know Pihilip King, and his sister Vania. I'm surprised to hear Philip say that going to college was disastrous for his pro career. The funny thing to me is, his sister is doing extremely well on tour right now, better than he ever did, she's close to top 100 right now, and she's still keeping her college options open.

On the other hand, JP Fruttero, who played with Philip as kids, went to college also and now he's close to top 200, better than Phillip is doing now.
 
Those USTA rankings are obviously crap. The 2006 College Recruiting List is a better ranking of the top juniors, here is a link.
http://www.tennisinformation.com/rank/5/7/7/4/4/
It has Querry #2, Stewart #14, and Gurman #30. Querry was #1 for a long time, but hasn't played many junior events lately and dropped. He will probably disappear from the list soon, as DY already has. Obviously this list shows that Gurman really isn't quite in the same league as Querry as many posters stated previously. He is obviously still an amazing player, however.
 
RobC, where did Philip King go to college? I saw his sister hit at CMTC one time and B. Dent had to work pretty hard to give her a good workout. She's a pretty good player.
 
LN_Dad said:
RobC, where did Philip King go to college? I saw his sister hit at CMTC one time and B. Dent had to work pretty hard to give her a good workout. She's a pretty good player.
Click to expand...

Philip went to Duke. According to father, it was partly to get away from the USC/UCLA pressures on him to go to one of those two schools. I've been thinking about his comments that college tennis was disastrous for him. Scott Humphries felt the same way, but Humphries never really had any success on the tour. He was more basing it on his Jr Wimby title, when he beat Phillippousssis, I think. But just because you win a jr GS, or are successful in the jrs, that doesnt mean you;re gonna be successful in the pros.

Back to Philip, he was top 300 out of high school, then he went to college. I dont necessarily think college is the reason he isnt back in the top 300, even though he's getting closer, in the 400s now.

Take guys like Vahaly, Fleishman, Mamiit. Vahaly was top 60 I believe, now he's struggling to stay in the top 200. I think its likely that the game passed him by, not because he went to college, but just that the game is constantly changing and requires more to stay on top. Ask Roddick.

Mamiit & Fleishman only played one year of college, Mamiit cracked the top 100 a few years back, but is pretty much a journeyman right now, so is Fleishman. Who's to say Philip wouldnt have ended up like Robert Yim.

The only drawback is the potential sponsorship deals he lost out on, plus the additional prize money that he would have earned, I think. I dont think it permanently hindered his game.

B. Dent?? Brett Hansen Dent??
 
RobC,
Thanks for the info. Yes, it's Hansen-Dent. Do you know him? He also runs the summer camp my son goes to. Adam Peterson will be helping him with the camp this summer. I took lessons from him too; great guy to hit against.
 
Steve Dykstra said:
Those USTA rankings are obviously crap. The 2006 College Recruiting List is a better ranking of the top juniors, here is a link.
http://www.tennisinformation.com/rank/5/7/7/4/4/
It has Querry #2, Stewart #14, and Gurman #30. Querry was #1 for a long time, but hasn't played many junior events lately and dropped. He will probably disappear from the list soon, as DY already has. Obviously this list shows that Gurman really isn't quite in the same league as Querry as many posters stated previously. He is obviously still an amazing player, however.
Click to expand...
Nah, he's a good player, but I'm surprised by some of his wins. He's got some great shots but I never would have guessed he was capable of beating top 5 ranked nationally ranked boy's 18 players. Then again, a friend and I were watching him play Mousheg, this kid who's ranked around 15 or so in the nation in Boy's 14's, a very very smart, resourceful player for his age (although he can have mental lapses), and we agreed that Mike, if he ever became more consistent, has the kind of explosiveness that would take him far in college. His forehand seems to have a hitch in it but it's still very powerful.
 
The way I see it, King will have a degree from Duke when his playing days are over, which is pretty good. Just like Goldstein, who is now top 60, has his Stanford degree to fall back on. If you're a sure fire prospect (i.e. top 50) then definitely turn pro. When Chang turned pro, he had a Reebok contract that basically assured that his expenses, etc. would be covered, so it wasn't really a risk. Some of these other guys, like Yim, did not have that guarantee.
 
LN_Dad said:
RobC,
Thanks for the info. Yes, it's Hansen-Dent. Do you know him? He also runs the summer camp my son goes to. Adam Peterson will be helping him with the camp this summer. I took lessons from him too; great guy to hit against.
Click to expand...

Nah, I dont know him personally, I've just seen him play college & open matches.

That's gotta be a pretty good camp if he & Peterson are running it. I guess we know what Peterson is doing these days, post Davenport.
 
Rob_C said:
Nah, I dont know him personally, I've just seen him play college & open matches.

That's gotta be a pretty good camp if he & Peterson are running it. I guess we know what Peterson is doing these days, post Davenport.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and Alex Reichel will be one of the pros there too.
 
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