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  • Rotterdam rd1 review - bottom half

    2/21/08 9:15 AM | David Cox
    - Rotterdam has been somewhat like a graveyard of the seeds over the past few days with Youzhny, Ferrero and Baghdatis all on the plane home by the end of day 2. Andy Murray was another shock addition to the casualty list, 20 year old Robin Haase giving the Dutch fans plenty to cheer about with a 7-5, 6-3 win.

    Murray looked very sluggish throughout the match and after game 1 (where he had two break points) his usually excellent return game completely deserted him. Without it he was left battling to stay in the match and Haase kept him under constant pressure with a barrage of big shots, only his over-eagerness on key points keeping him from the vital break. It still looked like a tiebreak would be necessary to settle the first set until the Scot’s first serve completely deserted him at 5-6; 30-15. It was a deserved breakthrough for the Dutchman and he broke again in the 8th game of the second with a huge forehand return before closing it out comfortably.

    Afterwards Murray said he’d struggled to get used to the surface, Rotterdam being much slower than Marseille and it affected his returning rhythm. A delighted Haase was quick to thank his large crowd of supporters saying “I’ve won several important matches this year, but I’ve also missed a few opportunities. Luckily it all came together today. Having 8,000 people in your corner certainly helps !”

    There were no such problems for David Ferrer or Nicolay Davydenko, neither of whom dropped a set. Ferrer earned a workmanlike 6-4, 7-5 win over Simone Bolleli, content to play a rather defensive game and rely on his speed to eventually outhustle the Italian. Ferrer now faces Mischa Zverev who caused another big upset, taking out Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 7-5. Kohschreiber was another player to struggle finding any return rhythm and Zverev exploiting that fully, mixing up his serves with great effect

    Sadly for Raemon Sluiter it wasn’t the fairlytale final tournament run he was hoping for. The long standing stalwart of Dutch tennis made it clear he would retire after this event and bowing out on centre court in the latter stages would have been a fitting end to a fine career which saw him remain in the top 50 for a number of years. However, Michael Llodra failed to read the script, winning 6-1, 7-6(6). The Frenchman was totally dominant in a first set which lasted a mere 22 minutes, dropping just 2 points on serve. Luckily Sluiter found his game to make a fight of the second and had 3 chances in the tiebreak to force a 3rd. Llodra kept a cool head, setting an early claim for shot of the tournament with an outrageous backhand pass and he finished Sluiter’s career with an ace. For the Dutchman, the media studio and coaching assignments beckon, for Llodra “the undertaker” (Davydenko) awaits next.

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