Sunday 17 July 2022

Another Week on European Clay in July: ATP 500 Hamburg, 250 Gstaad - WTA 250s Hamburg, Palermo, Italy

 


ATP 500 Hamburg European Open
Hamburg, Germany
ATP 250 EFG Swiss Open
Gstaad, Switzerland
WTA 250 Hamburg European Open
Hamburg, Germany
WTA 250 33rd Palermo Ladies Open
Palermo, Italy

Congratulations to this week's Champions - Bastad - Francisco Cerundolo, Newport - Maxime Cressey. And Budapest - Bernarda Pera, Lausanne - Petra Martic.

This week we have an ATP 500 in Hamburg, Germany, a 250 in Gstaad, Switzerland, and two WTA 250s  - Hamburg and Palermo, Italy.

We're taking a gastronomic tour in each of the cities - Food was the unanimous choice of this week's theme so let's go👇

Hamburg European Open ATP 500
Rothenbaum Tennis Center
Hamburg, Germany
July 18 - 24, 2022


Surface: Clay

Draw: Singles 32, Doubles 16

This is the 116th edition of the tournament. It is a joint tourney with a WTA 250.

Most titles: Roger Federer with 4.

Defending champion: Pablo Carreno Busta (defeated Filip Krajinovic)

Seeds (in order of seeding): Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Diego Schwartzman, Pablo Carreno Busta, Botic van de Zandschulp, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Karen Khachanov, Holger Rune

Notables include: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Wildcards: German players Max Hans Rehberg, Nicola Kuhn, Jan-Lennard Struff

Protected ranking: Aljaz Bedene, Borna Coric
1960 Vintage Faller Pictorial Map of Germany as Fairytale Land.
Includes vignettes of many classic fairy tales including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White.
How many characters, people, places and things can you identify?

Withdrawals: Marton Fucsovics, Gael Monfils, Oscar Otte, Jannik Sinner


EFG Swiss Open Gstaad ATP 250
Roy Emerson Arena
Gstaad, Switzerland
July 18 - 24, 2022

This is the 54th edition of the tournament. Gstaad is 3,450 ft above sea level, the highest venue for an ATP Tour event in Europe. (The Ecuador Open, held in the Andes, is even higher.) One claim to fame is the tournament twice gave Roger Federer a cow, in 2003 and 2013.
'Udder Joy' - Roger Federer with his Cow Juliette, held by cheesemaker Hanspeter Reust on the Alp Eggli - Gstaad

Roy Emerson had the most titles, with four in the amateur era and the last in the open era in 1969.

Defending champion: Casper Ruud (defeated Hugo Gaston)

Seeds (in order of seeding): Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Roberto Bautista Agut, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Pedro Martinez, Cristian Garin, Hugo Gaston, Joao Sousa

Notables include: Richard Gasquet, Lorenzo Sonego, Mikael Ymer

Wildcards: Swiss players Marc-Andrea Huesler, Alexander Ritschard, Dominic Stricker

Protected ranking: Dominic Thiem

Withdrawals: Henri Laaksonen, Arthur Rinderknech

The Swiss Cheese Chart!
I recognize only Gruyere although I'm sure Turophiles here know the rest intimately!


Hamburg European Open WTA 250
Rothenbaum Tennis Center
Hamburg, Germany
July 17 - 23, 2022


Surface: Clay

Draw: Singles 32, Doubles 16

This is the 20th edition of the tournament. It was not held from 2003 to 2020. It is a joint tournament with an ATP 500 tourney.

It shouldn't be difficult to identify every one of these traditional German food plates!

Most titles: Steffi Graf with 6, consecutively 1987-1992.

Defending Champion: Elena-Gabriela Ruse (defeated Andrea Petkovic)

Seeds (in order of seeding): Anett Kontaveit, Daria Kasatkina, Barbora Krejcikova, Alexandra Sasnovich, Tamara Zidansek, Varvara Gracheva, Maryna Zanevska, Andrea Petkovic

Wildcards: German players Eva Lys, Nastasja Schunk, plus Anett Kontaveit.

Withdrawals include: Danielle Collins, Marta Kostyuk, Zheng Qingwen, Elena Rybakina


Palermo Ladies Open WTA 250
Country Time Club
Palermo, Italy
July 18 - 24, 2022

Surface: Clay

Draw: Singles 32, Doubles 16

Most titles: Anabel Medina Garrigues with 5.

2021 Champion: Danielle Collins (defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse)

Seeds (in order of seeding): Martina Trevisan, Yulia Putintseva, Zhang Shuai, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Caroline Garcia, Irina-Camelia Begu, Anna Bondar, Nuria Parrizas Diaz
Sicilian food, veggies wines and its cities- Palermo, Polizzi Generosa, Siracusa, Marsala, Trapani & Catania.

The Sicilian island - settled by the Greeks 2700+ years ago - is a source of famous Greek & Roman mythologies, including the Argonauts who were left to the devices of Hera and Athena and one saved by Aphrodite after jumping into the sea by the Siren Islands. It's home to some of the world's most famous people, history, culture, and architecture including food, wine and gangsters. 

Polizzi (Pulizzi) Generosa - a hilltop commune in the Metropolitan City of Palermo - home to Domenico Dolce, one half of the famous Dolce & Gabbana design team. Also, Martin Scorsese's grandparents hail from this town. 

On the east coast sits Siracusa (Syracuse), founded by the Corinthians, allied with Sparta and home to the pre-eminent mathematician & engineer Archimedes. 

Catania - the 2nd largest city in Sicily after Palermo - is the site of the first university in Sicily established in 1434. It's home to one of the world's most famous opera composers Vincenzo Bellini.  It's most famous for its location at the base of Mount Etna (facing the Ionian Sea) - largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy.  Mount Etna destroyed the city in 1669 and was followed by a catastrophic earthquake which once again devastated the rebuilt city in 1693. 

Trapani sits on Sicily's east coast and is famous for fishing and its varieties of pestos -  e.g., pesto ala trapanese using almonds instead of dates. It's also the sister city of Constanta, Romania (all hail to Simona and the Haleps)! 

Marsala, obviously famous for its wines, but also a large mafiosa clan, the Genno Brothers - 'Bloody Angelo,' Michele 'Mike the Devil' plus Vincenzo, Antonio Jr, Pietro and Salvatore - who ruled 1920's Chicago but violently butted the wrong heads - The North Side Gang and Bugs Moran.

Palermo - the capital of Sicily known for millennia of history, culture, mythology and gastronomy. It's also home to ATP player Marco Cecchinato and Italy's President, Sergio Mattarella.
The Sicilian island - famous places, food and wine.
'Eat, Pray & Love' -  'Eat, Drink and Be Merry'!

Wildcards: Italian players Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Sara Errani, Lucrezia Steffani

Protected ranking: Laura Siegemund

Withdrawals: Kaja Juvan, Ajla Tomljanovic

 Italian Pasta Poster advert for an Italian cuisine restaurant - includes lasagna, fettuccine, spaghetti, penne, rosemary, basil, chili pepper, et al. 
For all who read the fine print, the message in Latin is a little odd - a very loose translation: "A lot of pain is a lot, enhanced monitoring procedures. Thank you for being a smart follower the ecological problems of the disease, the anxious torturer" (I think?)

Draws & venue information ~ Ms Shirley Hartt ~ Molto buona, Sehr gut!✌

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