A blockbuster showdown between David Ferrer and Gael Monfils will headline the semifinal proceedings in Vienna on Saturday. The other match is set to feature Steve Johnson and Ernests Gulbis.
(1) David Ferrer vs. (6) Gael Monfils
Ferrer and Monfils will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the Erste Bank Open on Saturday. Monfils is leading the head-to-head series 3-2, but Ferrer has won two of their three previous hard-court encounters. The two veterans most recently faced each other on the indoor hard courts of Valencia in 2013, when the Spaniard prevailed 6-3, 6-2. Monfils’ last victory over Ferrer came via a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6 decision in round four of the 2011 French Open.
Ferrer is surging toward the World Tour Finals thanks to a convincing bounce-back from an elbow injury. The eighth-ranked Spaniard missed Wimbledon and almost the entire American summer before reaching the third round of the U.S. Open, capturing a title in Kuala Lumpur, and advancing to the Beijing semis. So far this week he has taken out Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Fabio Fognini. Monfils booked his spot in the last four by defeating Thomaz Bellucci, Paolo Lorenzi, and Lukas Rosol. This is the 21st-ranked Frenchman’s first tournament since the U.S. Open and he had previously not won a match since Montreal. Ferrer, who lost eight total games to Garcia-Lopez and Fognini, is too confident and focused right now for Monfils.
Pick: Ferrer in 3
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Ernests Gulbis vs. Steve Johnson
This surprising Vienna battle is an intriguing matchup between arguably the ugliest backhand in the top 50 and almost unquestionably the most inconsistent forehand in the soon-to-be top 100 (Gulbis is currently 117th but he will climb to at least the top 90). Interestingly, though, the Latvian has never been particularly competitive in the head-to-head series. Johnson pulled away for a 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 victory at the 2012 U.S. Open before coasting 6-4, 6-4 at the 2014 Cincinnati Masters.
Gulbis’ presence in this rare all-unseeded 500-point semifinal is especially stunning. He had been a dismal 9-22 at the ATP level in 2015 prior to this week and was riding a six-match losing streak dating back to Montreal. Suddenly, though, Gulbis found his game and ousted Lucas Miedler, John Isner, and Ivo Karlovic. Johnson has advanced with wins at the expense of Alexandr Dolgopolov, Jerzy Janowicz, and Kevin Anderson. In six combined matches this week, Gulbis and Johnson have played only one straight-setter (Gulbis in two tiebreakers against Karlovic). Based on current form and past history, Johnson should once again stay mentally strong enough to get the best of his opponent in a close one.
Pick: Johnson in 3
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who ya got?
I am happy that Monfils got the win over Rosol. But I think Ferrer will be too tough here. I love to watch Monfils, especially when he’s on his game. I would be okay with either guy winning this, but I will go with Ricky’s pick of Ferrer in 3 sets.
I am really surprised to see Gulbis in the semis. Any semis for that matter! 🙂 I heard about Johnson’s win against Anderson on the tennis channel and saw some of the highlights. I am really happy for Johnson. A nice win against a guy who’s been playing well.
Whenever Gulbis decides to play tennis, he can be dangerous. But I am going again with Ricky’s pick of Johnson for the win over Gulbis in 3 sets.
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I finally got to see Anderson/Johnson on the tennis channel replay. I thought Johnson played great in that third set to get the break. He hit some insane shots. He deserved that win. After watching him, if he can continue playing like this, he has a great chance to beat Gulbis.
He owns Gulbis regardless of what kind of form he is in.
Reblogged this on ndadanmartin.
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides.
The Monfils tactic’s won’t cut it with Ferrer. First set close – possibly a TB
Ferrer in 2 sets.
Gulbis/Johnson is harder to call. Haven’t seen enough of Johnson to know his game but reckon Gulbis will keep his winning streak going for another round.
Gulbis in 3
yep about Monfils-Ferrer
Taking ferrer and Johnson in straights because both are more solid and reliable than their opponents imo.
Yep
Gulbis monfils would be such an interesting final imo. I’m rooting for Johnson though and I’ll be happy no matter who wins between monfils and ferrer.
Monf vs anyone is often interesting
Ferrer-Johnson would NOT be interesting!
?? me again I don’t know why my phone is not saving my user info all of a sudden anyways yeah ferrer vs Johnson or gulbis wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as monfils and gulbis or monfils vs Johnson.
Hahah and wrong email there ok I’m on right account now lol.
Gulbis and Ferrer
Gulbis is back to his erratic way as Johnson is 5-2 up
Gulbis with a drop shot but Johnson chases it down and hits a winner Gulbis with a shocking forehand miss puts him down 0-30 but he serves an ace to reduce the arrears then a back hand winner and its 30-30, but a forehand wide by Gulbis and Johnson has a set point, Gulbis saves it with a lob as Johnson comes to the net Gulbis hits a backhand winner to move to advantage Johnson with a return winner and we are at deuce again Gulbis serves an ace he has game point again and this time he gets the job done. Johnson to serve for the set at 5-3
Johnson serves it out with ease first set to Johnson 6-3
Gulbis holds to love to start 2nd set.
Johnson holds to 30 and its 1-1
Johnson breaks with some help from Gulbis
Johnson holds to love and extends his lead
Johnson nets a backhand 15-0 Gulbis with a double fault 15-15 Gulbis with another double fault 15-30 a nonreturnable serve and its 30-30 and Gulbis with 2 more strong serves holds.
Gulbis wins the first point on Johnson’s serve but Johnson wins 4 straight points to hold and make it 4-2
Johnson nets a forehand Gulbis then misses an easy volley another error from Gulbis and its 15-30 a forehand winner from Gulbis makes it 30-30 Gulbis win the next 2 points to hold serve.
Johnson misses the pass as Gulbis comes to the net Gulbis misses an easy forehand Johnson serves a double fault and its 15-30 Johnson puts away an over head smash to make it 30 all Johnson nets a forehand to give Gulbis a break point and Gulbis breaks with a good forehand.
Gulbis holds to 15 and makes it 5-4
Johnson serving to stay in the set and he produces a love hold 5-5.
Gulbis races to a 40-0 lead but then Johnson wins 3 points in a row and its 40-40 Gulbis survives and now Johnson will serve to force a tie break.
I think Johnson will win the TB
Johnson holds and its a tie break.
Johnson with a passing winner then 2 good serves and its 3-0
Gulbis wins both service points to reduce the arrears
Gulbis with a volley winner and its 3-3 as players change ends
Johnson with an outstanding volley and he moves to a 4-3 lead
Gulbis nets an easy forehand another miss on the forehand gives Johnson 3 match points
Just as I said; Johnson takes the TB. GSM Johnson 63 76
Match stats
Johnson 11 aces 2 double faults 29 winners 12 unforced errors broke serve twice
Gulbis 8 aces 4 double faults 23 winners 29 unforced errors broke serve once
Johnson misses the 1st match point but serves an ace to win 6-3 7-6(4)
ALLEZ Stevie J!! GAME SET MATCH!!??????
Anonymous comment is mine of course lol. Anyways lets go steve!! Now onto ferrer and monfils.
The Stokholm SF were something of a let down with a wimpish performance by Gasquet to hand Sock an easy win. Then a walkover for Berdy after one set when Baggy was forced to retire.
Over in Vienna the lst SF didn’t live up to expectations thanks to Gulbis reverting to having a death wish face to face with Johnson. Apart from a brief spell midway through the 2nd set it was one way traffic for Johnson.
Hope Monfils will keep the confrontation with Ferrer competitive.
Ferrer vs Monfils match has started with Ferrer serving first.
Ferrer saves 3 Bps to holds serve.
Monfils with a backhand passing shot a forehand winner moves ahead 30-0 Ferrer wins a point to make it 30-15 but 2 big serves allow Monfils to hols comfortably.
2 backhands into the net by Ferrer and Monfils has 2 bps Ferrer saves the first when he forces Monfils to hid wide on a forehand an extended baseline exchange and Monfils this time misses a backhand and its deuce Monfils goes for a high risk backhand down the line but misses and Ferrer has game point Ferrer holds as Monfils nets a backhand.
No such problems for Monfils as he holds serve to love in 53 seconds.
Ferrer wins first 2 points on serve Monfils with a winner followed by a miss from Ferrer and its 30-30 Ferrer had game point but he misses a backhand and its 2nd deuce of the game, Monfils hits a forehand long and Ferrer has adv again Ferrer holds as he comes to the net and forces monfils to miss a forehand passing shot on the run.
Monfils starts his service game with a double fault, Monfils with a backhand winner but Ferrer gets to 15-30 with another Monfils error Ferrer has 2 bps Mon saves the fist with a forehand winner Monfils saves the 2nd too but an overhead winner and Ferrer has a 3rd break point but Monfils saves the Bp and holds to make it 3-3
Ferrer isn’t discouraged by missing out on 3 bps as he holds to love Ferrer 4-3.
Monfils has a 30-0 lead on serve Ferrer makes it 30 all but Monfils wins the next 2 points to hold its 4-4
Monfils moves to 0-30 on the Ferrer serve Ferrer serves an ace to make it 15-30 a long rally goes to Ferrer as Monfils net a forehand, Monfils then misses a return and Ferrer has game point, a misses forehand by Ferrer and its deuce a put away at net Ferrer has game point again, Ferrer serves his first double fault deuce again, Ferrer misses a backhand long and Monfils has his 8th bp of the match but Monfils again fails to convert as Ferrer saves it Ferrer then moves to advantage as he puts away a volley after a series of forehands Ferrer holds for 5-4 when Monfils misses a forehand.
a double fault by Monfils and Ferrer is 2 points away from the set Monfils hits a drop shot ferrer comes to the net but Monfils hits a lob winner Ferrer comes up with a backhand passing winner and he has set point which Monfils saves with a big serve Monfils wins the next 2 points to deny Ferrer and hold to make it 5 all.
Ferrer with a 30-15 lead but a backhand long by Ferrer its 30-30 Monfils tries a inside out forehand but misses wide and Ferrer has game point, Monfils denies Ferrer with a backhand winner its deuce, Ferrer with a overhead winner and he is a point away from 6-5 Ferrer holds and now Monfils will serve to stay in the set.
The war of attrition is going to a tiebreak – as per my prediction.
Monfils holds easily to force a tiebreak after 1 hour and 4 mins.
Monfils thinks he has a minibreak but hawk eye shows it was in 1-0 Ferrer Monfils wins the next point 1-1 but Ferrer with an astonishing shot gets the mini break Ferrer 2-1.
double fault by Ferrer and Monfils gets the mini break back, Ferrer goes for a drop shot but Monfils chases it down and wins the point he now has a mini break advantage.
a miss on the backhand by Monfils and its 3-3 as players change ends.
a double fault this time by Monfils and Ferrer has a mini break 4-3
a miss on the forehand by Monfils and Ferrer is 5-3 up Ferrer now moves ahead 6-3 and has 3 set points first 2 of them on the Monfilsd serve.
Monfils saves the first set point and the 2nd but Ferrer has a 3rd set point on his own serve and he converts to take the first set 7-6(5)
Classic Monf when he saved the first two set points, no?
And Daveed takes the TB. One down, one to go
this first set took 1 hour and 15 minutes.
bad news for Monfils
Touch and go if Monfils can last another set. Once the terrier has his teeth in he rarely lets go :-).
Monfils had so many bps in the first set, but he overcomes the disappointment of losing the first set and holds to love.
Monfils blasts a forehand winner to start the game but Ferrer just too consistent from the baseline forcing Monfils into errors Ferrer holds to 15.
Monfils holds again this time to 30 neither player has lost serve so far.
Ferrer holds with utmost ease.
Ferrer with a 15-30 lead Monfils makes it 30-30 with a drop shot and 40-30 with a strong forehand that forces Ferrer to net but Ferrer with a combo of inside out forehand and a volley winner makes it deuce, Monfils has advantage with a good serve and he holds when Ferrer misses a risky backhand down the line.
risky
risky by Ferrer’s standards.
1st point Ferrer with a good serve 2nd point a miss by Monfils at the net 3rd point another miss by Monfils and 4th point a shocking Monfils forehand and in a jiffy Ferrer holds at love.
Monfils holds to 15 4-3 with 19 straight holds of serve.
Ferrer holds to 15. We have 20 holds of serve in a row.
Ferrer had a 0-30 lead but Monfils wins the next 4 points to hold.
Ferrer serving to stay in the set.
Hypnotic match. Ultimate edge of the seat stuff but instinct says Ferrer will scrape across the line.
btw: your live blogging is brilliant 64aces
Just a side note: Has anyone seen the Basel draw cuz it has some awesome first round match ups including Stan vs Ivo and Nadal vs Rosol and coric vs Anderson and gulbis vs Isner.
Benny G (at 3:59 pm),
I have posted the Basel draw on 2 pages: “The rest” and “Rafael Nadal – 2015.”
Gussie: Should have let you know sooner. Finally fathomed it out after you posted the screen shot showing how it branches out from the original Rafa thread. It took a while before the penny dropped !!
ed251137 (at 4:22 pm),
🙂
Ferrer holds again 5 all
Monfils with a double fault his 8th of the match followed by another double fault and yes monfils with a hat-trick of double faults gifts Ferrer 3 bps and now a forehand wide Monfils commits Hara-kiri and is broken at love Ferrer to serve for the match.
Inevitable 🙁 In many ways it was a surprise it took so long
But I’m happy for Ferrer. He earnt the win the hard way.
Ferrer wins the first point, Monfils with a jumping forehand winner 15 all Ferrer wins the next point 30-15 an errant forehand by Ferrer and its 30 all, a volley winner and Ferrer has Match Point and Ferrer gets the win. GSM Ferrer 7-6 (5) 7-5.
Ferrer vs Johnson final.
Monfils didnt convert on any Bp had 10 double faults in the match and 8 in 2nd set alone he also had 40+ unforced errors. Ferrer won 63% points on 2nd serve if i am not wrong.
Looks like Fed rafa in same half in Basel. Rafa opens against Rosol 🙂
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/basel/328/draws
See my post on October 24, 2015 at 4:02 pm (above).
I add that THEY are not in the same half.