N.Sriram Balaji/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan Thread

[Atithee]

Good to hear positive news on Indian tennis and that these two can do even better.

[suresh]

Jeevan is almost Leander-like at times in what he can do, and Balaji is almost Mahesh-like in his strengths too. Okay, maybe a poor man's versions of LP and MB, but that is still pretty damn good.

I agree. Jeevan at the net is almost as good a Leander.

[Omkara]

Maybe both Saki and Yuki are not that great at the net. Saki had the serve but Yuki doesn't have that either. Yuki is the more talented than others, so he may develop those skills if he puts enough effort.

[arjun2761]

Yuki is very good at the net - both instincts and placement. Saketh’s instincts are pretty good but his placement could be improved as he leaves a lot of his volleys in the middle of the court where they come back.

LP could be in contention for GOAT of net play…

[jayakris]

^^^ I agree. Yuki is (or can be) pretty damn good at the net. At least that is what I always felt when he was playing his best singles (the three separate years when he went to top-100). That is why I kept saying that "Yuki and whoever plays doubles with him" was the best doubles team we had. But unfortunately, he has been VERY error-prone at the net in doubles lately. I don't know what the problem is. He just makes mistakes frequently, right after hitting great net shots. It is like he loses focus momentarily in the fast paced doubles game, unlike in singles. Hopefully he will work on it and fix it. He can be really great in doubles if he gets his net game in order.

Agree on Saki too. I feel often that he forgets that he can hit to the doubles alley! It is there to use, Saki! (But this is all in the wrong thread...)

[Dinesh]

BalaJee takes on Marcelo Demoliner/Andrea Vavassori. The Italian is having a stellar tournament having reached his maiden ATP QF in singles (beating 2 top-100 players) as a qualifier and the semis in doubles.

Tough match for our pair, but I hope the opponents are a little spent considering they will be playing their second match on the same day. OOP says the match is not supposed to start before 2P local time, but it’s already 4P there, so anytime now.

The Austrian pair of Alexander Erler and Lucas Meidler has already reached the finals.

[jayakris]

They will be given at least an hour or 90 minutes to rest. The SF will probably not start till 5:15 or 5:30 pm there.

[sameerph]

Tough match for our pair, but I hope the opponents are a little spent considering they will be playing their second match on the same day. OOP says the match is not supposed to start before 2P local time, but it’s already 4P there, so anytime now.

Vavassori also played singles QF earlier today. So, he will be playing his third match of the day. Hope our pair can take advantage.

[Dinesh]

SF match begins in 16 minutes.

Edit- Organizers moved the SF match to tomorrow (10:30AM), finals will also be played the same day.

[jayakris]

Argh. Just to help out Vavassori, they took away our team's advantage today. Not just that; they have also put the winner of the SF match at a disadvantage, having to play the Austrians who will be fresh. Doubly unfair to the Indian pair.

[sameerph]

Bala and Jeevan take the first set 6-3 in the SF.

[jayakris]

But they lost the second set 3-6 .... Now an STB... And they lost it 3-10.

[SF] N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l. Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Andrea Vavassori (ITA), 63 36 [3-10]

Our guys made about $5000 each from the Marrakech ATP 250. Not bad. Keep going, guys.

[Dinesh]

Off to the Madrid 75 Challenger this week, where they are the 2nd seeds.

[sameerph]

Good start in Madrid for them.

At Madrid Challenger 75 (Clay), Spain

[R1] (2) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) d. Evgeny Karlovskiy (RUS) / Alexander Shevchenko (RUS) 76(6) 64

Next,

[QF] (2) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs. (WC) Miguel Damas (ESP) /Alejandro Moro Canas (ESP)

[sameerph]

They are thru to SF with another straight sets win.

At Madrid Challenger 75 (Clay), Spain

[QF] (2) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) d. (WC) Miguel Damas (ESP) /Alejandro Moro Canas (ESP) 76(4) 63

Next,

[SF] (2) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs. Patrik Niklas-Salminen (FIN) /Bart Stevens (NED)