Next tournament : Monte-Carlo
The first MS on clay of the year.
Fernando will travel to Monte-Carlo on April 10th, 2007. Fernando has 225 points to defend in Monte-Carlo.
We now know that Fernando will only play as a “minor” tournament, Estoril, the others weeks will be dedicated to the Masters Series and Grand slams.
Best of luck to Fernando on clay !!!
Fernando finished second, with 8,064 votes, and just after… Roger Federer, again and again lol RafaelNadal finished third.
Congratulations to Fernando, for his fans, he’ll remain the number 1 !!!
Highlights (from TVN)
It’s already the end of the Sony Ericsson Open for Fernando, he lost in straights sets against the French player, Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6/3 7/6. It was not a good day for Fernando. Mathieu lead very fast 4-1 in the first set, but in the second set, Fernando was leading but Mathieu came back, Fernando had 4 set points but didn’t succeed to win the second set. Mathieu won in 1h51 minutes, it’s his best performance of the season.
Highlights of the match (alexullua)
Some quotes from la Tercera :
“I haven’t played well a good tennis, it’s clear. The only thing is that I have always waited for the opportunity, but lamentably, I failed”. I have 4 great opportunities, that I didn’t take advantage in the second set.”
“Now, I have other arms and I have the experience to play badly and to play well, but today, it didn’t reach me. It’s a pair of errors that I made, and which have changed the history of the second set, and the history of the match”
Quotes from Lun.cl
“The conditions were difficult (there was a lot of wind), but they are the same for both players. This is the difference between a good player and a great player : to manage to have the conditions in your favour.” Fernando didn’t mention that there was a lot of wind, but by “condition”, he meant the strong wind. “To play with the wind is the most difficult, it’s frustrating to have an opportunity and to fall, it’s frustrating, i should have won the second set, and in the third, anything could happen. At this level, one or two points can make the history”
Now, Fernando will have a rest for several days with his family in Miami and to prepare on clay, he will return on the courts in three weeks, with the start of the clay season. He has to defend a lot of points in Monte-Carlo, Rome, Hamburg and Roland-Garros, the second grand slam of the year.
Here are the tournaments, Fernando he supposed to play on clay this season :
- MS Monte-Carlo
- ATP Estoril
- MS Roma
- MS Hamburg
- OFF
- Roland-Garros
[From the Sony Ericsson website]
In another men’s third round match today, the No. 5 ranked Fernando Gonzalez will face Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Until recently, Gonzalez was considered an underachiever, failing to take advantage of his big game – his serve and forehand could be considered lethal weapons. But last May, Gonzalez hired top notch coach Larry Stefanki, a no-nonsense kind of guy who made the more casual Chilean get serious.
Gonzalez has had an excellent start to his 2007 campaign, reaching his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, where he lost to world No. 1 Roger Federer.
The assignment of handling Gonzalez will be a weighty task for Mathieu, who at this point and time is considered a bit of an underachiever on the ATP tour. If you’re into betting, gambling on Gonzalez will likely work in your favor
GRANDSTAND Matches Start At: 11:00 AM
ATP: Kevin KIM (USA) vs Tommy ROBREDO (ESP)
followed by
ATP: Robert KENDRICK (USA) vs Andy MURRAY (GBR)
followed by
ATP: Michael LLODRA (FRA) vs Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB)
followed by
ATP: Fernando GONZALEZ (CHI) vs Paul-Henri MATHIEU (FRA)
Not Before 5:00 PM
ATP: Mikhail YOUZHNY (RUS) vs Juan Martin DEL POTRO (ARG)
Fernando defeated the Swede, Thomas Johansson, in straights sets, 7/6 6/3 in the second round of the MS Miami, in one hour and 27 minutes. Fernando will face in the next round, the French player, Paul-Henri Mathieu who defeated Jurgen Melzer.
Head to Head : Fernando leads 2-1. Last meeting was in Paris, 2005 and Paulo won
Interview with Fernando, on the Sony Ericsson website
[More pics in the Photo Gallery]
What Fernando said during that interview just before his first match :
About playing in Miami – Fernando’s confidence
“I’ve been playing really good in the last months, and this is a good place for me to play tennis, the ball is heavy and the court is very fast, the atmosphere is very good for the latins, so it’s a very good tournament for me.”
About his great start in 2007 – A disappointing Indian Wells
” I try every week. I started very good Australia, I had a good week in Indian Wells, but anyway I was feeling better and better. My next chance is here in Miami.”
Need to be more consistent in Miami ?
“I have a couple of finals in the last months, but my game is improving every week, I mean that I just have to be patient, and wait for my opportunity.”
Miami, like another grand slam ?
“The tournament is very good, the city, the atmosphere, and everything is like everyone’s call it as the 5th grand slam, so it’s very important for us.”
Mas que tenis : episode 6 [to download]
A tour of California with Fernando, one of his hobby : the cars, interview with Gisela Dulko, autograph session in IW, Palm Springs Air Museum visit, the ESPN chat backstage.
Fernando is the seed number 5 and will have a bye in the first round. In the second round, he’ll face Thomas Johansson
Good luck to Fernando in Miami !!
Tennis fans have long had a soft spot for Fernando Gonzalez, and why not? It’s easy to love a go-for-broke style that offers highlights and gaffes worthy of a Best and Worst Hits DVD. The 26-year-old Chilean has spent a decade on the ATP circuit, alternately painting lines and threatening ball kids with his howitzer of a forehand. Gonzo? Few nicknames fit more perfectly.For the past six months, though, thanks to a new coach and an attitude adjustment, Gonzalez has been playing deep into the weekends instead of self-destructing in the middle rounds. He reached three consecutive ATP finals at the end of 2006 and played his first Grand Slam final at the 2007 Australian Open, where he lost to Roger Federer. Now Gonzalez rolls into Indian Wells and Miami with a career-best No. 5 ranking. “I used to have a big hole on my left side,” he says, referring to his less-than-booming backhand. “No more. And I’m more fit. Now I’m trying to stay a little bit more calm, because maybe my game can get a bit crazy sometimes.”
Maybe? Sometimes? The guy might as well have invented the term “unforced errors.” He used to punish mistake-prone rackets by smashing them. When, after a close loss to No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, he was asked why he refused to harness his game, Gonzo said, “I prefer to be great one week and then three not so good.” But that was before his makeover, which was directed by 49-year-old Larry Stefanki, a former tour player who coached Marcelo Rios, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Tim Henman to career rankings. “Larry’s 20-year record with players with different styles, personalities and cultures speaks volumes about his coaching pedigree,” says Todd Martin, another player-turned-coach. Stefanki has a rep for pushing players hard and getting instant success (he helped Rios and Kafelnikov reach No. 1) right before the relationship sours. Gonzalez, who had hovered for years just outside the Top 10, hired Stefanki in May to overhaul his backhand and net game — everything except the forehand and serve. The coach responded with a challenge: “Do you really want to work on those things, or do you want to talk about working on those things?”
The answer lies in the results. Improving the weaker parts of Gonzo’s portfolio has loaded even more power into a forehand that Stefanki calls “the best in the game.” Many tennis experts think Gonzalez, and not No.2 Rafael Nadal, has what it takes to slow the Federer Express (despite an 0–10 deficit so far). “I have to be ready when Roger goes down a little bit,” Gonzalez says.
Toppling the king? Now that would be gonzo.
David Higdon, former Senior Writer at Tennis Magazine, has covered tennis and other sports for The New York Times, In Style and other outlets.
Fernando lost in the 1/8 F of the MS Indian Wells, 6/3 6/2, against the player from Germany, Tommy Haas, in one hour and one minute. In that match, Tommy played a high level tennis, Fernando couldn’t do anything. Tommy took his revenge on Melbourne semi-final where Fernando played magnificently. Good luck to Tommy Haas for the rest of the tournament.
Next tournament : MS MIAMI
Photo gallery updated (3 new)
Highlights of the match (from Alexito)
HEAD TO HEAD
Fernando leads 2-0
Last meeting : Australian Open 2007, semi-final
A few words from Fernando, in la Tercera :
“I played against him in Australia, where I defeated him. I think it will be a tough match, he’s playing well at the moment”
“The first rounds are always difficult, in addition with the climate conditions. It’s very warm here, but hopefully, I adapt well”.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
STADIUM 1 start 11:00 am
WTA – [15]V Zvonareva (RUS) vs [12]N Li (CHN)
Not Before 12:30 PM
ATP – [4]N Davydenko (RUS) vs [13]A Murray (GBR)
ATP – C Moya (ESP) vs [14]D Ferrer (ESP)
Not Before 6:00 PM
WTA – [14]D Hantuchova (SVK) vs [11]S Peer (ISR)
Not Before 8:30 PM
ATP – [9]T Haas (GER) vs [5]F Gonzalez (CHI)
