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Post by Dissident on Mar 23, 2004 22:08:39 GMT -5
The Copa Gerdau is held in my home town. I attend the tournament early since three years ago, and this is the first time it's a Grade One ITF tournament. I'm going there every day (I think), and will post my reports here for anyone who might be interested in reading.  |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 23, 2004 22:14:04 GMT -5
TUESDAY March 23, 2004
First thing I saw was Erakovic vs Hanisch. Florentina is a blonde girl who ties her hair up like Anna, very cute, but it always looks like she is moving a truck with her hands every time she hits the ball, so much effort! Marina on the other hand is a natural: all her shots have power and you dont even notice from her movements. The first set was all for the New Zealander, Marina was lost. The second set started well for the brazilian, breaking and going up 3-0, but she was broke back soon and the set went to a tiebreak. I kept waiting for Hanisch to crack emotionally (she was close many times) but it didnt happen. Erakovic was the one to crumble. The third set was relatively easy as Marina came back into the match. I liked Erakovic's game a lot, I'll definitely try to see her more. Marina Erakovic won 6-2 6-7(9) 6-2
After that, I took a look in Agnes Szavay (I got to see her play Kleibanova last year and got a good impression) against Shulaeva. The canadian played well, but inconsistently, even though she had the noticeable help from Zoricic, who kept asking her to smile and have a positive atittude from what I could read of her gests by my side. Shulaeva was really hard on herself, and didn't follow her friend's hints at all. Result: Agnes got the win even though she didn't play anywhere as well as she can. Agnes Szavay won 6-7(4) 6-2 6-2
The time was short, so I just took a look at the Banana Bowl Boys 18 Champion Schwank play Vallverdu and win routinely. Eduardo is a power machine, and he controled the match throughout. Usually the winner of Banana Bowl loses early here, but not this time. Schwank looked sharp and didn't give his opponent any chance. Eduardo Schwank won 6-3 6-4.
Bruno Rosa was the next to play, but I had to leave and didn't get to see him play. I know he won, though.
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Post by Dissident on Mar 24, 2004 19:08:38 GMT -5
WEDNESDAY March 24, 2004
I got to the club at 10 am more or less. First match I saw was Irina Kotkina vs Ana Marie Zubori. Kotkina was the doubles champion (with Alisa Kleybanova) and a singles semifinalist in the Banana Bowl tournament last week, so I wanted to see her. The match was a rout in the first set. Zubori was totally out of the match and the russian looked like she would win in a double bagel easily. Her shots were deep and hard, and Zubori was self-destructing. But the well known russian nerves got to her, and she got broken after leading the second set 3-0. From then on, it was a break fest. Zubori couldn't put serves in, would get broken every single time, but Kotkina couldn't have her nerves under control on her own serve. The set went to a tiebreak, and Irina managed to control herself and play well once again. She won, shaked hands and left, really cold. Maybe she wasn't satisfied with the lead blow at all. Zubori was mad all the time, complained and threw her racquet every two minutes. Kotkina won 6-0 7-6.
I left as soon as the match was over to go see Erakovic once again. She was gonna play Katarina Zoricic in what promised to be a hell of a match. I only got to see the first set before I had to leave for lunch, and they were both playing solid. Kat managed a break and won the set 4-6. I heard later that Erakovic stepped up after that and won a hard-fought second set on a tiebrek which gave her the edge emotionally. I noticed Zoricic walks around wearing a Evert Academy t-shirt. I guess she is training there? Erakovic won 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2.
I went back there in the afternoon to watch some of the boys too. I got to see the second set of Bruno Rosa's match against the slovakian Cervenak. Bruno was shaky in that set, and his coach was right by my side, really furious as his pupil lost his serve when leading the second set by one break. Just after the outburst, he started giving Rosa some incentive and he acknowledged it instantly winning the match on a tiebreak. Last point was amazing. Rosa moved the tall slovakian around, approached the net and hit a not-so-good volley that Cervenak counterattacked with a lob. Rosa then ran after the ball, turned around and hit a winner a-la-Agassi. Everyone stood up and aplauded him. Brilliant point. Bruno impressed me. He was not in the best of the days, but played really inspiring tennis on the important moments. Rosa won 7-6(4) 7-6(4)
I got to see a bit of Thomaz Belluci after that. This one REALLY impressed me. I only got to see the first set, which Thomaz won 6-3. Belucci has a great serve, he is tall and strong, has good power and moves well. All the things you could ask of a tennis player. Let's see how his carreer develops. But he filled me with some hope along with Rosa. Maybe we can have some good players for the future. Thomaz won the match 6-3 6-7(8) 6-1.
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Post by TennisHack on Mar 24, 2004 19:49:26 GMT -5
So both Bruno Rosa and Thomaz Belluci are Brazilian? They sound very promising from your reports I'm glad you're having a good time and getting to see some action-packed matches Heh, you could be our scout of the future! |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 24, 2004 21:42:33 GMT -5
So both Bruno Rosa and Thomaz Belluci are Brazilian? They sound very promising from your reports I'm glad you're having a good time and getting to see some action-packed matches Heh, you could be our scout of the future! yep, they are both brazilians. And I forgot to add I got a few glances of Teliana Pereira playing bolivian Alvarez. Teliana is a brazilian girl, thin and tall, and a natural moonballer.  Seriously, she was driving Alvarez nuts with the changes in pace! I always have fun watching the young guys and girls. You see the players just a couple years before they explode on the main tour, and they are playing without that giant pressure of being a pro... I wouldnt mind being a scout at all.  |
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Post by Lee on Mar 24, 2004 21:48:26 GMT -5
WEDNESDAY March 24, 2004 ... I went back there in the afternoon to watch some of the boys too. I got to see the second set of Bruno Rosa's match against the slovakian Cervenak. Bruno was shaky in that set, and his coach was right by my side, really furious as his pupil lost his serve when leading the second set by one break. Just after the outburst, he started giving Rosa some incentive and he acknowledged it instantly winning the match on a tiebreak. Last point was amazing. Rosa moved the tall slovakian around, approached the net and hit a not-so-good volley that Cervenak counterattacked with a lob. Rosa then ran after the ball, turned around and hit a winner a-la-Agassi. Everyone stood up and aplauded him. Brilliant point. Bruno impressed me. He was not in the best of the days, but played really inspiring tennis on the important moments. Rosa won 7-6(4) 7-6(4) I got to see a bit of Thomaz Belluci after that. This one REALLY impressed me. I only got to see the first set, which Thomaz won 6-3. Belucci has a great serve, he is tall and strong, has good power and moves well. All the things you could ask of a tennis player. Let's see how his carreer develops. But he filled me with some hope along with Rosa. Maybe we can have some good players for the future. Thomaz won the match 6-3 6-7(8) 6-1. That's very impressive with Rosa. And this is the first time I heard of Belluci. May be with the rebel led by Guga, there will be a brighter future for this junior players. |
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Post by TennisHack on Mar 24, 2004 23:33:14 GMT -5
yep, they are both brazilians. And I forgot to add I got a few glances of Teliana Pereira playing bolivian Alvarez. Teliana is a brazilian girl, thin and tall, and a natural moonballer. Seriously, she was driving Alvarez nuts with the changes in pace! I always have fun watching the young guys and girls. You see the players just a couple years before they explode on the main tour, and they are playing without that giant pressure of being a pro... I wouldnt mind being a scout at all. Long live the junkballers!  Hehe, we can make it official, then, since you're the only one who gets to see juniors. Well, I see them, too, but perhaps 14s are a bit too early to tell the talents from the nontalents |
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Post by vaiva on Mar 25, 2004 13:27:07 GMT -5
Diss, excellent! I  you! Marina! Agnes! Irina Let's roll babies :banana2: |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 25, 2004 14:27:13 GMT -5
Lol, Hackie. Why don't you change my name tag to that, then? ;D hehe And you're welcome, mom vaiva. I don't mind at all. I NEED to find a new russian player to cheer for, you know... |
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Post by TennisHack on Mar 25, 2004 15:19:36 GMT -5
Lol, Hackie. Why don't you change my name tag to that, then? ;D hehe Done  Nice to see you again, vaiva! |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 25, 2004 21:45:25 GMT -5
LMAO! You really did it!! Thanks, I like it.  |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 25, 2004 21:53:35 GMT -5
THURSDAY, March 25, 2004.
The main matches wouldn't start before 11:30am, so I went to the club by 11am. When I got there, I saw 'Vojka' Lukic practicing with some girl I didn't know. She was hitting the ball well, but soon they were interrupted by the guy who had to prepare the court for the next match. He was not polite, and Lukic complained, but left the court anyway. On her way out, a brazilian kid who looked no more than 8 years old got next to her, and she stopped to talk to him. She asked his name, if he played tennis, if he spoke english.. I couldn't understand his name, and he didn't answer the other questions. He didn't speak english, and a guy next to them tried to translate the questions to spanish to the kid's amusement. He got sick and left running as I was going there to help. Vojka left smiling as the spanish guy said she should be doing clinics in here, as she likes kids and has a way with them. Very cute.
The kid then rushed into the court where a guy looking like blonde Xavier Malisse (a half ponytail and sort of a beard) was the next to interview him. The guy spoke a perfect english and an even better spanish. The kid was happy, and left soon after. I would discover later that this man was Nicholas, Mareike Biglmaier's coach. He talked to me as well, and he seems like a very sociable guy.
Based on all that, I decided to watch the match on that same court (5). It was Mareike Biglmaier (GER-7) vs Magdalena Kiszczynska (POL-12). They both started playing well, it was a very entertaining match. I left to take a look at the other courts when the match was 3-2, and came back 10 minutes later to see Mareike had lost the first set 6-2. Shocked, I tried to discover what happened. It seems like her wrist was not alright, and she needed a Vioxx. As the tournament didn't have any, Nicholas asked the tournament director to get it for her, early in the first set. The match went further and further, Mareike lost control of her nerves, feeling more and more frustrated, and soon it was already 2-6 2-3 with Magda leading by a break. The german stopped the match, talked to the chair umpire and asked for her tablet. The umpire said she would have to take an injury break. The physio came on, but soon the match was over. And no Vioxx. Later in the day, Nicholas said that there was no reason for her defeat, she just couldn't handle the pressure. Great of him that they don't blame external interference, that's the attitude of champions.
Magda, on the other hand, played her own game. She didn't let the opponent's injury get to her, talked to Mareike to ask what she was feeling, just hang in there waiting for her chances. She was going for her shots, using some dropshots, crosscourt backhands and forehands down the line mostly. Biglmaier has a wicked slice on her backhand, and Magda dealt pretty well with it too. It would have been a whole lot better of a match if the german was playing her best.. Too bad.
Ps - Magdalena Kiszczynska df Mareike Biglmaier 6/2 6/2
Right after this one, I headed to Teliana Pereira (BRA-13) vs Sharon Fichman (CAN). When I got there, the first game was just starting. It was too long to not mention. The first GAME took 30 minutes. No, I'm not exhagerating. Fichman used the same strategy that Alvarez had used against Tetê: moonballs. But Fichman was the master of the masters. I stayed there for almost an hour, and I don't remember seeing the canadian take two shots in a row without a ball that went less than 3 meters over the net. Teliana was upset, and even irritated with the strategy. Some time early in that first game, she shouted "Patience, patience!" and looked right at me and smiled. I smiled back, and she did that some other couple of times. Really sweet girl. But she was not patient at all. Sharon digged her way through Tetê's brains. Her mental died, and she lost the match eventually. Smart move from the canadian, but I can't say I liked her game. Maybe it was just strategy for today, but if she plans on succeeding as a pro hitting those shots, I fear for her: someone will be more patient and then eat her alive. She is still very young, though... I meant to ask her coach if she always played like this, but I felt he might get mad at me. I left for lunch in the middle of the first set.
Ps - Sharon Fichman df Teliana Pereira 7/6(6) 6/1
On the other court, Jenifer Widjaja was served as lunch for Agnes Szavay. I got to see a couple of points, not pretty for the brazilian. Szavay is playing better and better...
Ps - Agnes Szavay df Jenifer Widjaja 6/1 6/1
I had lunch really fast and got back in time to catch some part of Irina Kotkina (RUS-8) vs Estefania Cracium (URU). I am the biggest jinxer of Stefie's carreer. I saw three matches of her here, and she lost every single one of them. I should consider never going to her matches from now on, I don't want to ruin her carreer. Seriously, though, Irina played yet another killer first set, won in yet another imposing bagel (3rd time she wins a first set in a bagel in her three matches) and then declined in the second set for the second time in three matches. Once again, she lets her opponent step up a bit and need a tiebreak to win a match that looked a certain double bagel. But another thing worth the mention, she played great in the final moment again. A 7/6(5) breaker win against an opponent like Stefie, who won't give you anything for free is something to be pumped up with, and she looked a lot happier this time around. The russian pumped her fist, and even smiled a bit once the match was over. And then got back to her serious self, leaving the court already re-focused.
Ps - Irina Kotkina df Estefania Cracium 6/0 7/6(5)
After this match, I walked around the complex, seeing a lot of matches at once, and even ran into Fernando Meligeni, who was here (Porto Alegre was the city he adopted as his home after he left Argentina) for some lectures and interviews. He was smiling and talking to some kids, I said hi and he just answered back. Cool guy.
Among the things I saw, Thomaz Belucci lost to american Neilly after winning an easy first set. Neilly has a giant serve, reminded me of Roddick. Belucci was controlling him with his returns, but sometime in the beggining of the second set he just lost all the rhyhtm and fell very fast. A shame...
Ps - Timothy Neilly df Thomaz Belucci 2/6 6/1 6/2
I got to see a bit of Bruno Rosa too, and he was not playing well. Jan Marek was a little better, and that was enough. The match was a hard fight, and the bits I saw were like mini battles. The czech prevailed in the end, though. Another big shame. Brazil has two players left in the main draw, both on the boys: Andre Miele and Raony Carvalho.
Ps - Jan Marek df Bruno Rosa 7/6(4) 7/5
Aleksandra Wozniak's match against qualifier Mailyne Andrieux was a marathon. Her mom, Shulaeva, Zoricic, and many others were by the side of the court helping her to keep her spirit on the tough moments. She seems to be playing well. Andrieux was confident as she was the only non-brazilian to come out of the qualies, a tough opponent. Two first sets went to tiebreaks, that says how tough the match was. Great win for her.
Ps - Aleksandra Wozniak df Mailyne Andrieux 6/7(4) 7/6(6) 6/3
And the last match of the day, and the best, was Vojislava Lukic (SCG-6) vs Bibiane Schoofs (NED-10). Vojka was someone I had to go see after the kid 'incident' on the morning, so I took a seat for almost all the match. I couldn't have had a better idea. Lukic was feeling dizzy in several moments because of the heat, I guess. She called the trainer two times, and once she dropped her racquet and I thought she would pass out or throw up. Poor girl. Besides that, this was the best match I've seen so far. Bibi was playing good defense, and Vojka had trouble because she always needed to hit one or two extra shots. Schoofs won the first set and we could see Lukic was feeling really bad. The Serbian bounced back to win the second set playing great shots (many winners, few errors). The third set was nervous and very emotional. Both players had great moments, and awful moments. Bibi stepped up after Lukic's second injury break and won the match playing a perfect final game on Vojka's serve. After the win, she jumped and shouted in joy, left the court running and jumped on her coach's lap where she stood crying for some two minutes. I couldn't help but feel happy for her, even though my heart was broken to see Vojislava as she refused to even leave the bench on court. I'm sure both the ladies will keep the memories of this match, I know I will.
Ps - Bibiane Schoofs df Vojislava Lukic 6/4 1/6 7/5
Players party would be tonight. I don't know why I didn't go... Oh well, now it's too late.
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Post by TennisHack on Mar 25, 2004 22:04:25 GMT -5
LMAO! You really did it!! Thanks, I like it. It was you who suggested it, how I could refuse? I am your biggest fan, after all |
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Post by TennisHack on Mar 25, 2004 22:12:10 GMT -5
Players party would be tonight. I don't know why I didn't go... Oh well, now it's too late. Erm, because that would have been weird? How old are most of these players? Thanks again for the great reports, it's almost like being there More great matches, especially the last one. I hope this bad loss doesn't break Lukic's spirit. |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 25, 2004 22:35:38 GMT -5
Erm, because that would have been weird? How old are most of these players? Thanks again for the great reports, it's almost like being there More great matches, especially the last one. I hope this bad loss doesn't break Lukic's spirit. hmm, 16-18. But I wasnt going to shag anyone, so why weird? The coaches and parents were going too. And many people from the club... |
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Post by TennisHack on Mar 25, 2004 22:39:32 GMT -5
hmm, 16-18. But I wasnt going to shag anyone, so why weird? The coaches and parents were going too. And many people from the club... LMAO, I know you weren't interested in the players I just thought they were younger. I remember you telling me a 14-year-old won last year so I thought maybe it was a 16s event or something :red: Oops. |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 26, 2004 6:56:16 GMT -5
Alisa Kleybanova was 14 when she won the Banana Bowl last year. But she lost in the semis here. Its a tournament with U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 draws. I don't really go see anything but the 18s, though. And sometimes you see some really young girls (especially girls) playing on the U18s. Like Alisa. |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 28, 2004 20:30:26 GMT -5
Irina Kotkina won the girls singles, Eduardo Schwank won the boys singles, Arevalo/Mirzadeh won boys doubles and Alvarez/Jerman won girls doubles. I have a website up with all the reports and the pictures I took. If anyone is interested, take a look. I had some very nice moments. ;D members.lycos.co.uk/gerdaucup |
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Post by Lee on Mar 30, 2004 1:49:10 GMT -5
Irina Kotkina won the girls singles, Eduardo Schwank won the boys singles, Arevalo/Mirzadeh won boys doubles and Alvarez/Jerman won girls doubles. I have a website up with all the reports and the pictures I took. If anyone is interested, take a look. I had some very nice moments. ;D members.lycos.co.uk/gerdaucupGabi doesn't look like a 9 years old girl. May be Brazilian girls are more mature? |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 31, 2004 7:06:08 GMT -5
Gabi doesn't look like a 9 years old girl. May be Brazilian girls are more mature? Yes, she does look older. She is almost an adolescent already!  Its pretty hard to deal with it, to say the truth. |
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Post by TennisHack on Mar 31, 2004 8:48:32 GMT -5
Aww, you're such a great brother, Diss Girls are maturing quite early these days. Watch out! So I see you got a picture of the kid being proclaimed 'the new Roger Federer'. I can't remember his name at the moment, but he's the one who won the event. What are your thoughts on him? |
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Post by Dissident on Mar 31, 2004 18:43:50 GMT -5
Eduardo Schwank. My thought on him are somewhere on my report. I dont think he is the new Federer. He is dominating the juniors since 1, 2 months. Its too early. He has a very good clay game, thats undeniable. His forehand is huge, he puts tons of topspin on his shots, and his serve was shitty, but he was hurt on his abdominal. He plays solid and with good tactics. |
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Seriously, she was driving Alvarez nuts with the changes in pace! 
Gugaaaaaaaaa 
Marcos Baghdatis 
Its pretty hard to deal with it, to say the truth.