Week Five ATP Roundup: Ivan Dodig and Pablo Cuevas Are Loved Too

The tennis world seems to experience a fallout after the Aussie Open, with no major events to be played until late May. But Grand Slam Events or not, the ATP chugs on, with three minor tournaments this week.

First, the first ever South African Open was held in Johannesburg. The field of 32 held some respectable competition, but none moreso than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer.

Second, at PZB Zagreb Indoors, the draw contained many of the finer players from Eastern Europe, including Croatians Marin Cilic, Mario Ancic and Ivo Karlovic. Other well-known competitors were Igor Andreev, Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Andreas Seppi.

Lastly, Chile hosted the Vina Del Mar Movistar Open, the first tournament on red clay this season. Like at Zagreb, most of the competitors were local. Veteran Fernando Gonzalez was the top seed, followed by the likes of Tommy Robredo, Jose Acasuso, and Juan Monaco.

SA Open

1. Champion: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France
2. Runner-Up: Jeremy Chardy, France
3. Semi-Finalists: Fredrico Gil, Portugal and David Ferrer, Spain

Surface

Hard courts, outdoors.

Championship

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated fellow countryman Jeremy Chardy to win the first ever South American Open, 6-4 7-6(5). Despite Chardy serving well (57 percent on first serves), he never managed to break Tsonga.

The relatively short match was loaded with short points, with the players firing a combined 27 aces. Tsonga did not drop a set all tournament.

Tsonga has attempted to right the ship after several disappointing losses already. After bowing out in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to Fernando Verdasco, he rebounded with a purpose, hammering through the field of Johannesburg.

Best Match

Jeremy Chardy's victory over David Ferrer in the semi-finals. Chardy won 1-6 7-6(9) 7-6(4). The young Frenchman has taken no time to begin his climb in the ATP Rankings, ascending 13 spots already since January.

Chardy fought back from a first-set blowout and also saved match point in the second set. The three set match nearly lasted three hours.

Chardy has also shown in the first month and a half of 2009 that he can compete with the ATP's finest. He played well against Novak Djokovic in Melbourne and saw solid results in Sydney.

Biggest Upset

Local favorite and veteran Rik De Voest dumped Ivan Navarro in the first round. Navarro, coming in at 73rd in the world had high hopes for this season, but the Spaniard has only gathered one win in four tournaments played so far.

That was over Frenchman Jonathan Dasnieres De Veigy, currently ranked 340th.

PZB Zagreb

1. Champion: Marin Cilic, Croatia
2. Runner-Up: Mario Ancic, Croatia
3. Semi-Finalists: Jan Hernych, Czech Republic and Viktor Troicki

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