Grand Prix Hasan II Casablanca

[herios]

Seeds:

1. K. Anderson
2. G. Monfils
3. B. Paire
4. M. Granollers
5. J. Sousa
6. F. Del Bonis
7. R. Haase
8. G. Garcia Lopez

An interesting note, Gilles Simon plays in the qualifications. I assume he decided too late to enter this event. He could have been seeded 2, in fact.

Update: Monfils is gone from the draw, replaced by LL Andrey Kuznetsov.
Also today two seeds were upset, Anderson by Victor Hanescu and HHaase by Nedovyesov.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfvq6GN51-w[/video]

 

[herios]

The surprise of the day has the name:

Roberto Carballes Baena and of course he is from Spain, 21y old and ranked 273.
He upset J. Sousa (POR) seeded 5: 6-7, 7-6, 6-2.
He is a qualifier, so he won 3 matches there and in R1 he defeated Goffin who was also a qualifier.

QF round:

Hanescu - Del Bonis
Granollers - Carreno Busta
Paire - Garcia Lopez
Carballes Baena - A. Kuznetsov

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo_4jNd79os[/video]

 

[isabelle]

Delbonis is in semis

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Delbonis is in semis

I expected it. Remember that Delbonis is the winner of World's best indoor
clay tournament this year.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLW-gM4CQfQ[/video]

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5EMl4yRRdI[/video]

 

[herios]

3 Spanish players in the SF:

Granollers - Del Bonis
GG Lopez - Carballes Baena

R Carballes Baena played a single ATP match his whole career until this event.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fub9Q5FbAbs[/video]

 

[herios]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fub9Q5FbAbs[/video]

Experience prevailed. Granollers defeated Del Bonis in straight sets.
In the other SF, Lopez also defeated the young Carballes Baena in 3 sets.

There will be an all Spanish final. Granollers has 4 titles to date, Lopez 2.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

3 Spanish players in the SF:

Granollers - Del Bonis
GG Lopez - Carballes Baena

R Carballes Baena played a single ATP match his whole career until this event.

What a surprise, three Spanish players in SF at a no-name 250 Clay event. :laydownlaughing

 

[Moxie]

Granollers seems to have made rather short work of Delbonis: 6-1, 6-4. but GG Lopez needed three to take out young Carballes Baena. Looking forward to finding out how this new Spaniard develops.

 

[tented]

Experience prevailed. Granollers defeated Del Bonis in straight sets.
In the other SF, Lopez also defeated the young Carballes Baena in 3 sets.

There will be an all Spanish final. Granollers has 4 titles to date, Loppez 2.

I'm not surprised Granollers won, but I am disappointed.

As for the final, I'm going with Granollers beating GG Lopez.

 

[herios]

Granollers seems to have made rather short work of Delbonis: 6-1, 6-4. but GG Lopez needed three to take out young Carballes Baena. Looking forward to finding out how this new Spaniard develops.

Roberto C.B. has gained 86 ranking positions this week, jumping up to 187. I hope they gave him a WC in Barcelona.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Looks like it does not matter in which part of the world, a clay tournament is being
held, and what level it is (250, 500 etc), only Spaniards end up remaining at the end.

In Houston, it is two Spaniards and so it is in Casablanca. All of this happens when
many Spaniards are not even playing this week.

There is so much dirt in Spain. Something needs to be done about this.
I don't know what.

 

[pavlik89]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gZGOWqYCnM[/video]

 

[herios]

Looks like it does not matter in which part of the world, a clay tournament is being
held, and what level it is (250, 500 etc), only Spaniards end up remaining at the end.

In Houston, it is two Spaniards and so it is in Casablanca. All of this happens when
many Spaniards are not even playing this week.

There is so much dirt in Spain. Something needs to be done about this.
I don't know what.

Perhaps the rest of the world learn how to play better on this surface?

 

[Moxie]

Looks like it does not matter in which part of the world, a clay tournament is being
held, and what level it is (250, 500 etc), only Spaniards end up remaining at the end.

In Houston, it is two Spaniards and so it is in Casablanca. All of this happens when
many Spaniards are not even playing this week.

There is so much dirt in Spain. Something needs to be done about this.
I don't know what.

Perhaps the rest of the world learn how to play better on this surface?

Agreed, herios. I don't know why GSM thinks something should "be done about" it…like limiting the number of Spaniards who can reach the SFs of a given tournament? Emilio Sanchez Vicario says that in Spain, they teach children to move their feet on a tennis court before they let them hit the ball, which he is now bringing to his tennis academy in FL. Perhaps that will help.

 

[tented]

Looks like it does not matter in which part of the world, a clay tournament is being
held, and what level it is (250, 500 etc), only Spaniards end up remaining at the end.

In Houston, it is two Spaniards and so it is in Casablanca. All of this happens when
many Spaniards are not even playing this week.

There is so much dirt in Spain. Something needs to be done about this.
I don't know what.

Perhaps the rest of the world learn how to play better on this surface?

:clap :clap This deserves more than just a "like".