San Antonio Major Zone

Sorry for the delay in getting this out but here is the thread to talk about the tournament in San Antonio this weekend. This is probably the smallest of the three San Antonio majors but it still is worth 400 points for the winners so I'm sure it means a lot to those playing.

4.5 Singles--The top half looks stacked so whomever makes it to the final will have a lot of tough matches. Sevin, Agostini, and Gloria are all strong candidates. Bottom half is more of a mystery but based on ranking, Ben Hawkins should do well. He and I are playing tomorrow so I should have a better idea of his chances.

4.5 Doubles--I'm not familiar with too many of these teams but the Dugas brothers have been talking a lot of smack on the Houston blog but I don't know if anybody can knock off the top two seeds. A lot of teams from San Antonio entered here.

4.0 Singles--More names here unfamiliar to me but I would expect #1 seed Murray to go at least to the semis. Winans had a bad showing/draw in Abilene so I expect him to rebound with another semifinal here. Spadoni and Yaremenko could surprise some people in the bottom half. Tuyen Nguyen should cruise to the semis in his section. I look for a predictable 1 vs. 2 final unless somebody unknown comes out of the woodwork, which happens in nearly every major.

4.0 Doubles--Interesting quarterfinal between 1 seeds and Knox/Marshall. Winner of that should have good shot to make the finals. Wood/Zepeda have a solid record in majors so they should make the other finals. Other good players include Tim Newman and Tuyen Nguyen but they have different partners so that is always interesting.

3.5 Singles--Still not my area of expertise but here goes. Flores, Kincy, and Whitson should all be strong contenders in the top half of the draw. Bottom half looks tougher with Getz getting 2 seed slot again and Canaan, Anderson, and Van Gompel all have good history. Any sleepers here?

3.5 Doubles--No idea. Somebody else feel free to make predictions.

Valdez should cruise through Open and Reader cruises through 5.0 unless I'm missing something.

Feel free to contradict my predictions or make your own on any other draws.

Good luck to all players this weekend!! We will be watching.

Abilene Major Zone

After hours and hours of waiting the draws are finally out for Abilene. Yes the field is watered down because of the Brookhaven tournament and because it's early February in Abilene but this is still a major zone that is worth the same as the Houston Major. All three of those points should be changed by the way but let's talk about the draws.

4.5 Singles--A lot of top players in the draw and many of them are playing each other early. Sevin will have his hands full with the winner between Moser and Urbiola but the winner of that should be the favorite in the final. If JD is back in top form he will have a good shot to make the final.

4.5 Doubles--Interesting that Rosenquist and Cherry are playing with different partners in their hometown tournament. Rosenquist and Leija should make a dominant team even though I don't believe they've ever played together.

4.0 Singles--I like Tuyen vs. Foad in the top semifinal and I'll take Carter vs. Stanfield in the other semi. I'm not as knowledgeable on 4.0 since there are so many new names so I would expect there are some sleepers in there.

4.0 Doubles--A lot of intriguing pairings in the doubles with Newman/Robinson topping the seeds. I would expect them to do well and at least make it to the semis. Watch out for Sanders and Stanfield to make noise.

3.5 Singles--The infamous Getz makes an appearance in the draw but Zack Stein could give him a challenge. Bottom half looks much tougher than the top. I look for a Pedro/Stein semifinal in the bottom and Molina to roll through to the final.

3.5 Doubles--I'm not even going to try. Somebody else feel free to fill me in.

These are the most applicable draws to the blog I think but anybody should post analysis of any others that you want to talk about. Can you believe it will actually be in the 70s too? I'll believe it when I see it.

See you in Abilene.

BROOKHAVEN INDOOR DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Men's 3.5 Draw
Men's 4.0 Draw
Men's 4.5 Draw

I think that most would concur that this draw has been watered down by the Abilene Major Zone.
And in terms of seeding, in doubles, rarely can you judge the quality of the teams by how highly they are seeded.
I don't see anyone that really stands out, so predictions from the anonymous are welcome.

Is anyone interested to doing the interactive Draws again?
It's a bit of work, but I could have it done in a couple days.
let me know.
Two-Face Out!

Operation: Dallas Super Team

Target: The Nationals

I though this would be a good time to approach this subject since there is nothing to talk about right now and nobody has signed up for any teams yet.

Is this Possible?
Is it Prudent?

What computer Rated players should be on the 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 teams?
I would assume anyone who has successfully appealed down should be at the top of the list.

Who should the Captains be?
3.5 - Dirty John Sisk or Father Bob Bender? (Both have national Experience)

4.0 - Bob SomeButt or maybe Lucky Thunder Himself?

4.5 - Has anyone had more success than Rusty Branch?

Do you support this idea or does it defeat the purpose of USTA League Tennis.
Discuss...

Corey and Cary will have to fight it out over who gets to be Wonder Woman and Hawk-Girl.

Australian Open Winner?

To bide the time between the Tri-level and the Abilene tourney, I was curious on folks thoughts on what is going on Down-Under. A few rounds are already under the belt, but it is still not clear who will win the first major.

Is it going to be:

1) Nadal - new number one and the current Grand Slam King

2) Federer - Is the great one back on form and is the motivation of hating being referred to #2 going to be the difference?

3) Djokovic - can he repeat?

4) Murray - the hot guy on tour and the Bookie favourite

5) Tsonga - is this tourney special for him again and is he finally healthy?

6) Simon - moving up the ladder quickly

7) Roddick - can he get back to winning form?

8) Del Potro - another high flyer since the summer

9) Blake - can Obama inspire him to break through?

Or will someone else come out of the woodwork again like a Baghdatis, Fish, Ferrer Ljubicic?

It will be an interesting next ten days as there are some great matchups in the near term such as Roddick - Santoro; Fish - Baghdatis; Federer - Safin; Ferrer - Del Potro in 4th rd. and any of the matchups likely in the Nadal part of the draw.

I am not a Nadal fan per se, but he is my bet on winning this based on what I saw yesterday. His athleticism and skill are a lethal combination in this tourney. His toughest matches will likely be in the middle rounds so if he is gets through them it may make the big name matchups a little easier to handle.

Should be some good tennis, it's nice to have more than just 1-2 players capable of winning.