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9/23/09 5:20 PM | Ricky Dimon
Andrei Pavel wraps up his career in front of hometown Romanian fans on Wednesday, losing to Pablo Cuevas in straight sets. Cuevas reaches the Bucharest quarterfinals along with Albert Montanes.
(8) Pablo Cuevas d. (WC) Andrei Pavel 6-3, 7-6(2)
The 35-year-old Pavel, who has been on the pro tour for 15 years, played his last match on Wednesday afternoon at the BCR Open Open Romania. He dropped a first-round encounter to Cuevas after one hour and 20 minutes, but the No. 646 player in the world at least managed to make it competitive. Cuevas needed just one service break to take the first set, as the eighth-seeded Uruguayan served at 72 percent and won 18 of 21 first-serve points.
Both men earned one break in the second en route to a tiebreaker. It was Cuevas, however, who put consistent pressure on his opponent's serve throughout the set, so it was surprising to see him dominate the decider seven points to two. On his way to a second-round clash with Peter Luczak, Cuevas struck eight aces and one double-fault. Pavel, meanwhile, did not win a single match at the ATP level in 2009 (0-6) and won only two qualifying matches. The veteran Romanian was once as high as No. 13 in the world, and he now hopes to open an academy in the United States while also developing Romanian tennis.
(5) Albert Montanes d. Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-3
Montanes needed only one hour and seven minutes to crush Granollers in the Bucharest second round on Wednesday afternoon. The fifth-seeded Spaniard did not face a single break point in the entire match as he won 21 of 25 first-serve points. He broke twice in the first set before serving it out at 5-1, then capitalized on two of seven break chances during the second frame of play. Montanes' fourth break of the proceedings finished off his countryman in style.
Montanes, who improves to 2-1 lifetime against Granollers, helped his cause by winning 10 of 17 second-serve return points. In the quarterfinals the world No. 53 will face either Fabio Fognini or fellow Spaniard and No. 2 seed Nicolas Almagro.
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Can't say I am sorry to see the end for Pavel. He was taking up valuable spots in Grand Slams that could have been used by players who had a real chance to win a match or two.
RickyDimon , 9/23/09 5:39 PM