2009 SA Tennis Open
Encyclopedia
The 2009 SA Tennis Open was a tennis
tournament played on hard courts indoors. It is the 18th edition of the SA Tennis Open (and the first since 1995), and is part of the ATP World Tour 250 series
of the 2009 ATP World Tour
. It took in Johannesburg
, South Africa
from 2 February through 8 February 2009.
The singles line up was led by Association of Tennis Professionals
(ATP) No. 7 and 2008 Australian Open
runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Originally, Gaël Monfils
was scheduled to play in the tournament, but later withdrew due to a wrist injury.
, Denis Istomin
and Frederico Gil
, as well as seventh seed Kristof Vliegen
in the quarter-finals, winning them all in straight sets for the loss of only 22 games. His final opponent was his fellow countryman, the fifth-seeded Jérémy Chardy
who had progressed against Jiří Vaněk
, qualifiers Marco Chiudinelli
and Sébastien de Chaunac
in straight sets before a more tricky test against second seed David Ferrer
. In the final Tsonga came through 7–6, 6–4 to take the title.
Five South African players (Kevin Anderson
, Andrew Anderson
, Izak van der Merwe
, Raven Klaasen
and Rik de Voest
) were present in the draw and the latter three reached the second round. de Voest knocked out sixth seed Iván Navarro
while Klaasen defeated another Spaniard, Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
and van der Merwe overcame Benjamin Becker
.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jérémy Chardy
6–4, 7–6(5)
James Cerretani
/
Dick Norman
def.
Rik de Voest
/
Ashley Fisher
6–7(7), 6–2, 14–12
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
tournament played on hard courts indoors. It is the 18th edition of the SA Tennis Open (and the first since 1995), and is part of the ATP World Tour 250 series
ATP World Tour 250 series
The ATP World Tour 250 series is a new series for tennis tournaments of the Association of Tennis Professionals from the 2009 ATP World Tour...
of the 2009 ATP World Tour
2009 ATP World Tour
The Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World...
. It took in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
from 2 February through 8 February 2009.
The singles line up was led by Association of Tennis Professionals
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) No. 7 and 2008 Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Originally, Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
was scheduled to play in the tournament, but later withdrew due to a wrist injury.
Singles
The singles competition was won by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who was the top seed for the tournament. On his route to the final he faced unseeded players Thiago AlvesThiago Alves (tennis)
Thiago Alves is a professional tennis player who competes mainly on the ITF Tour. His career high rank was #88, achieved on July 13, 2009.- In Grand Slams :He has made four Grand Slam main draw appearances, qualifying into the...
, Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin is a professional Uzbek tennis player. His career high rank is #39, achieved on August 30, 2010. He is coached by his mother.- 2006 :...
and Frederico Gil
Frederico Gil
Frederico Gil is a Portuguese professional tennis player who competes on the ATP Tour. In April 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking no. 62, the highest ranking a Portuguese player has ever held until September when Rui Machado placed 61st in the rankings...
, as well as seventh seed Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...
in the quarter-finals, winning them all in straight sets for the loss of only 22 games. His final opponent was his fellow countryman, the fifth-seeded Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy is a French professional tennis player. He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 US Open Boys' Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting. His career high rank is no...
who had progressed against Jiří Vaněk
Jirí Vanek (tennis)
Jiří Vaněk is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He was born in Domažlice and lives in Prague. He turned professional in 1995. As of 11 February 2009 he was ranked 119 in the world.-External links:* *...
, qualifiers Marco Chiudinelli
Marco Chiudinelli
Marco Chiudinelli is a tennis player from Switzerland.-Biography:Marco is the only child of father Lorenzo Chiudinelli and mother Reni, . Marco grew up in Münchenstein in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. He visited schools in Münchenstein and Basel...
and Sébastien de Chaunac
Sébastien de Chaunac
Sébastien de Chaunac is a now inactive French professional tennis player. He mainly played ATP Challenger Series tournaments, capturing one singles and two doubles titles...
in straight sets before a more tricky test against second seed David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
. In the final Tsonga came through 7–6, 6–4 to take the title.
Five South African players (Kevin Anderson
Kevin Anderson (tennis)
Kevin Anderson is a male South African tennis player.He became the top-ranked South African player on 10 March 2008 after making the final at the 2008 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas...
, Andrew Anderson
Andrew Anderson (tennis)
Andrew Anderson is a South African tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour.As of January, 2011, Anderson has played in one main draw match in an ATP Tour event. He qualified for the singles main draw of the 2009 SA Tennis Open - he lost this match 4-6, 2-6 to No. 8 seed Marcos Baghdatis...
, Izak van der Merwe
Izak van der Merwe
- Professional career :In June 2008, van der Merwe qualified into the 2008 Wimbledon main draw, beating World No. 177 Miguel Ángel López Jaén, World No. 126 Kristian Pless, and World No. 246 Frédéric Niemeyer...
, Raven Klaasen
Raven Klaasen
Raven Klaasen born October 16, 1982 in King William's Town, South Africa is a professional South African player on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Klaasen's career-high ranking was World Number 208, which he achieved on October 24, 2011...
and Rik de Voest
Rik de Voest
Rik de Voest is a professional South African tennis player. As of September 6, 2007, de Voest's career-high ranking was World Number 110, which he achieved on August 21, 2006....
) were present in the draw and the latter three reached the second round. de Voest knocked out sixth seed Iván Navarro
Iván Navarro (tennis)
Iván Navarro Pastor is a professional tennis player from Spain. He is sponsored by Head and Li-Ning for his racquets and attire. He employs the serve-and-volley strategy, very much like his compatriot Feliciano López. He has a habit of changing racquets each game, using one racquet for serving and...
while Klaasen defeated another Spaniard, Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo is a professional male tennis player from Spain. His career-high ATP entry ranking is #50 , and his current ranking is #84 . He turned pro in 1998...
and van der Merwe overcame Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....
.
Singles
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jérémy ChardyJérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy is a French professional tennis player. He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 US Open Boys' Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting. His career high rank is no...
6–4, 7–6(5)
- It was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's 1st title of the year and his 3rd overall.
Doubles
James CerretaniJames Cerretani
James Cerretani is an American professional tennis player. A doubles specialist, he has won three ATP World Tour titles in his career. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of World No...
/
Dick NormanDick Norman
Dick Norman is a professional tennis player. He has achieved a degree of folk popularity among tennis fans due to his height , his left-handed power game and, in the last few years, his age .Turning professional in 1991, Norman notched up only his 14th Grand Slam...
def.
Rik de VoestRik de Voest
Rik de Voest is a professional South African tennis player. As of September 6, 2007, de Voest's career-high ranking was World Number 110, which he achieved on August 21, 2006....
/
Ashley FisherAshley Fisher
Ashley Fisher is a professional tennis player who comes from New South Wales in Australia. Fisher turned professional in 1998. Fisher has never played a major singles match on the ATP Tour, but has won four notable doubles titles on tour. The doubles specialist reached his highest doubles ranking...
6–7(7), 6–2, 14–12