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September 2008 - Andre Begemann
By Nick Fishpool |
 | | Andre Begemann |
This month we are featuring German 24-year old, Andre Begemann.
This month saw him competing in four tournaments on the ITF Men’s Circuit and proving to be a thorn in the side for one particular player.
Fresh from his title winning performance in Giza at the end of August, Andre remained in Egypt and made the trip to Cairo, officially named Al-Qahirah, for his first tournament this month. His appearance in the capital, and also largest city of Egypt, on the back of his triumph in Giza was all the more fitting as Cairo means “the Victorious” or “the Triumphant”.
Seeded eighth, Begemann quickly saw off the challenge from Syria’s Issam Al Taweel in straight sets 61 61. This was followed with a tougher 75 63 victory in the second round against local resident Tarek El Esawy. Another Cairo resident, Karim Maamoun, provided the opposition in the quarterfinal, but, despite taking the opening set against the second seeded player, Begemann’s quest for the singles title came to an end as he went on to lose the next two sets in tie breakers. Fortunately for Begemann, his Egyptian adventure was not to end with this defeat as, with partner Ioan-Alexandru Cojanu from Romania, he took the doubles title with a straight sets win over Syrian pair, Issam Al Taweel and Hayan Maarouf.
Upon leaving Egypt, Begemann remained on the African continent and travelled to Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi. Lying at the northeastern corner of Lake Tanganyika, Burundi’s largest city was hosting the nation’s first ever ITF Pro Circuit tennis tournament. Israel’s Tomer Hodorov proved to be a tough opening round opponent and Begemann, seeded six here, was pushed hard, eventually winning 75 76(6). Qualifier Gregory Chambaz was then defeated more comfortably 62 61 to set up a quarterfinal with third seed Motaz Abou El Khair from Egypt. A 64 62 victory was followed by another straight sets win in the semi final taking Begemann through to the final and what was to be the first of three meetings this month with Lithuania’s Gvidas Sabeckis. Begemann took the first set of the final 7-2 on a tiebreak against his second seeded opponent before securing the title, his third in 2008, by taking the second set 64. In his post match speech, Begemann, aware of the problems with civil unrest in Burundi, stated “I had my doubts coming to Africa for the first time”. He was, however, impressed by the level of organisation, given that it was the first time they had organised an ITF Pro Circuit tournament.
As in Egypt the previous week, he made it to the doubles final, this time however with a new partner, Alexei Filenkov from Russia. Their attempt to win the title however came to an end in the final with a 76(1) 63 defeat.
Next was a trip into central Rwanda for a Futures tournament being held in the capital city of Kigali. Two successive straight sets victories brought about a second consecutive quarterfinal match with Motaz Abou El Khair who was seeded five on this occasion. Once more it was Begemann who emerged victorious, this time in two contrasting sets, 61 76(4). In the semi final, he faced the tournament top seed, Bogdan-Victor Leonte from Romania. In this match, Begemann found himself a set down for the first time this month but recovered to book his place in the final with a 67(5) 64 62 triumph. As in Burundi, it was Sabeckis who he faced in the final who once again was the second seed. Any thoughts of gaining revenge for his defeat at the hands of Begemann the previous week were soon brushed aside as Begemann dropped just three games, all in the opening set, to take the title 63 60.
Despite their failure to capture the doubles title in Burundi, Begemann and Filenkov teamed up once more. After coming through three tough rounds, all decided on champions tie breaks, they again found themselves finishing as runners-up, losing in straight sets 76(2) 63.
Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, played host to the final tournament this month for Begemann. His opening round match featured Gregory Chambaz, his opponent from the second round in Burundi, and, just as he did then, Begemann, seeded third, won the match in straight sets. A relatively comfortable 60 63 victory followed over India’s Krishik Divakar. The sixth seed, Marco Bella, was then also defeated in straight sets to take him into a third straight singles semi final and a second successive semi final against Bogdan-Victor Leonte, who was again the top seed. Unlike their previous encounter, this match went Begemann’s way from the start and he only dropped four games in a 61 63 victory. A familiar face awaited him the final as for the third consecutive singles final Begemann was up against Gvidas Sabeckis, who, just as before was seeded two. Was this to be the moment when Sabeckis gained his revenge, having been defeated in each of the last two finals? For a moment it looked like this might be the case when, having lost the opening set 63 to Begemann, he levelled the match by taking the second set 7-2 on a tie break. Not to be denied a hat trick of titles, Begemann recovered from the loss of the second set to take the deciding set just as he had the first, 63.
Again, the Begemann/Filenkov partnership were in action and as top seeds made it comfortably through to their third successive final. This time they were the ones celebrating at the end of the match, bringing an end to their run of final defeats, with a 63 63 victory.
A successful month then for Andre Begemann with three singles titles, all coming against Gvidas Sabeckis, and two doubles titles from four finals. In total this month in singles competition he won thirty-five sets and lost just four. He has now appeared in five career singles finals, all in 2008, winning the title on each occasion. In doubles, he has now appeared in eight career finals, winning the title on six occasions.
The release of the ATP rankings on 6th October 2008 saw him at a career high in both singles (455) and doubles (739).
If Andre can maintain the form he has shown during September he should soon find himself climbing even higher in the rankings lists.
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