Tennis returns as Paul-Henri Mathieu wins his 1st round tie against Stebe, 64 64

:yeah:

and cedrik continues to look for his first win on the main tour this year

0-3 now

:yeah:

Very emotional win for the Frenchman. :awww:

Good for Mathieu, bad for Stebe... What's Stebe's next tournament?

cedrik has yet to prove that he can really do anything on the main tour outside clay..now ofcourse it is his full year so i'll give him time but..he's barely winning sets

That's really impressive, didn't play a match at the highest level since november 2010.

PHM didn't seem to play the backhound down the line at all, but he hit a few flashy winners and his serving was solid for the most part. His movement looked okay. Steeb looked ordinary.

where has he been anyway?

Stebe actually should have taken Hewitt to five sets at the Australian Open, but he choked away the fourth set.

phm is baQ

Stebe actually should have taken Hewitt to five sets at the Australian Open, but he choked away the fourth set.

he was not good enough

well done PHM :yeah:

What injury did Mathieu have?

The little prick Stebe is faking injuries in every match now or what? Took a TO again at 4-6 4-5. Did the same against Fleming and Fognini, always before his opponents serve. Against Hewitt he faked as well.

so he's developing a nasty little habit already...or is he really that injury prone?

No he finished all these matches without physical problems. He beat Fleming from 4-5* in the third after taking the TO and also beat Fognini in 2 after taking the TO at 2-3* in the 2nd.

https://twitter.com/#!/colin_fleming/statuses/47618352365051904
https://twitter.com/#!/colin_fleming/statuses/47618670070988801
https://twitter.com/#!/colin_fleming/statuses/47618788035792896

What injury did Mathieu have?knee injury + tibial osteotomy

The little prick Stebe is faking injuries in every match now or what? Took a TO again at 4-6 4-5. Did the same against Fleming and Fognini, always before his opponents serve. Against Hewitt he faked as well.Paulo didn't seem bothered, as he hit 3 big serves to start the final game.

PHM :yeah: A win!

Stebe :shrug:

Paulo :woohoo: Hope he wins more here.

Paulo :woohoo: Hope he wins more here.

I thought you were perm banned for racism?

cedrik has yet to prove that he can really do anything on the main tour outside clay..now ofcourse it is his full year so i'll give him time but..he's barely winning sets

Still I think winning challenger masters in Hard Indoor is quite good...

he was not good enough
No, he pulled off an amazing choke.

so he's developing a nasty little habit already...or is he really that injury prone?

Well, he was injured for the most part of 2010 because of back issues and today he took the MTO because of his back so maybe he felt sth there again :shrug:

On the match, Stebe is simply not good on this fast indoor hardcourt (these CH Tour Finals were played on a slower surface) and PHM was clearly the better player. But didn't expect this loss...

Some amazing backhand winners near the need. God i missed him

Still I think winning challenger masters in Hard Indoor is quite good...

against a fading dudi sela and headcase andi beck who really should have closed him out in the semi

Paulooooo! :D :banana: :woohoo:

Quite a surprising win after being out for more than a year! Didn't expect win here at all. However, it was a bit of a break fest with many breakes of serve for an indoor match.

Paulo showing his massive talent and class. :worship: :cool:

NIEMINEN(8) next! Can he do it again?

Paulo, how I've missed your chokefests :hearts:

:bounce:

great win by phm, wasnt expecting this at all :yeah: and welcome back on the tour :wavey:

Coming to dislike Stebe rather a lot, which is a shame because he has a nice game

Mathieu can still hit a clean ball even after 1 year and a half of being side-lined. That's "talent".

PHM is back!

:woohoo:

That's really impressive, didn't play a match at the highest level since november 2010.
OMG he was really out for that long :awww:

Mathieu is actually alive? I totally forgot him.

:yeah:
Best of wishes for the grand retour mate :)

You know i'm a fan of the guy as well ;)

Welcome back, Paulo! Decent win against a reasonably good opponent after so long out. Hopefully he keeps it up.

Great :yeah:

The King is here :worship:, king of choking that is ;).

Some amazing backhand winners near the need. God i missed him
amazing shots!

:hearts: Paulo and Gonzo back.

Yay! :D :bigclap: welcome back!

Great for Paulo.

This guy should have had a better career if he had some balls. I don't know how many close matchs he lost, including this fuckin' Davis Cup final in 2002 :'-(

Well done,i really like him

Fantastic win for PHM :yeah:.

Stebe in a horrid slump :help:.

Holy crap how long has it been??! Welcome back PHM!

Paulo is back!Fingers crossed it's for good!

PHM gonna smash Jarkko tomorrow.

Nice to see Paulo back with a win :) I've missed him on tour!

Paulo had played a first match in the qualies of Heilbronn challenger previous week and was very close from beating Bemelmans who eventually reached the final of the tournament.

Such performances after such a long reeducation I didn't expect at all !

After the Heilbronn match, he said it was just great being able to play again :)

And, more importantly, without any pain, which was a big win in itself.