Fire and Ice!
Well, OK, the temperature didn’t drop that much, but the tennis all but set the courts alight today at the Tiburon Challenger! Number 1 seed, Marcel Granollers once again brought a level of intensity to his match, and he is rapidly gaining favor amongst the crowds, which, I might add, have been flocking in to watch this event all week. He was up against the Aussie JP Smith, who, don’t forget, doesn’t mind an old-school chip and charge himself. Granollers came out hot, though, breaking Smith in the very first game, and he held serve — 2-0. Smith, struggling to find his groove, let his second-service game get away from him early on also — 3-0 change sides. Granollers stayed focused and closed out the set 6-2. Smith, often a slower starter in this tournament, rallied in the second set, and they pushed one another all the way, but it was Granollers who claimed his spot in the semifinals, winning the second set 7-5.
Mmoh marches on
That’s eight matches in a row for Michael Mmoh, who won last week in Columbus and added three matches here in Tiburon. Back-to-back titles? You’ll have to come on down and cheer him on and see, although you could live-stream it on your phone through the tournament website. But why would you, when you can see it all unfold right before your eyes at the Tiburon Peninsula Club.
“Jersey Boy” Tommy Paul had a lot riding on the match this evening, so no wonder he was not going to throw in the towel at 0-5 in the third set. If he had won tonight, he would have earned a Special Exempt into the Stockton Challenger next week. It was not to be, and he’s probably in his car right now on his way to Stockton to prepare for qualifying tomorrow.
At 0-5 Paul held serve — on the board. Hold on, he breaks the Mmoh serve — 2-5 change side. Mmm, was that a glimmer in Paul’s eye? Service hold from the Paul. and things are warming up. The crowd is braving the now fairly dark and chilly conditions and assisted by the steady flow of adult beverages is starting to roar its approval!
If Paul can break one more time, it’s back on serve and almost all square. He saves two match points much to the delight of the committed crowd, but at the end of the day it was too little, too late. Game, set and match Mmoh. Off to meet James Duckworth in the semifinals.
“Turbo Gazelle” always looking for an opportunity to move forward — A pleasure to watch!
RESULTS FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
Men’s Singles Quarterfinals
[1] M. Granollers (ESP) d J. Smith (AUS) 62 63
[5] Michael Mmoh (USA) d {WC] Tommy Paul (USA) 76(7) 26 63
[6] N. Rubin (USA) d C. Eubanks (USA) 64 63
[Alt] J. Duckworth (AUS) vs. M. Arevalo (ESA) 75 63
Men’s Doubles Semifinal
G. Granollers (ESP)/P. Martinez (ESP) d E. King (USA)/N. Pasha (USA) 76(4) 75
