Albert Montanes hoists the BCR Open trophy in Bucharest, Romania. Photo via d.yimg.com

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In a battle of two players who live for tiny clay court events like this one, Albert Montanes bested Juan Monaco 7-6(2), 7-6(6) to claim the BCR Open title in Bucharest Sunday. 

Congratulations are in order for Montanes, certainly, but his victory only leaves me to wonder why Nikolay Davydenko didn't show up to this event.  A 250-level autumn clay court event in Eastern Europe should have had his name all over it.

Montanes was solid in the first set, but got lucky to take the final in straight sets.  Monaco was rolling in the second set, leading 5-2 before falling and hurting his leg, not able to keep up the level he had been playing at any point after.  Montanes won the next four games, and eventually the match in the second set tiebreak.

This is not the first time Monaco has had bad luck with injuries in the late stages of a tournament.  Having won his singles semifinal in Vina del Mar in 2008, he sprained his ankle in a doubles match by tripping over the ad box surrounding a line judge's chair, and had to withdraw from the final. 

It was again a line judge's chair that felled Monaco today in Romania.  To get injured by an immobile wooden box once is a shame, but to let it happen to you twice is just embarrassing. 

The boxes stay in the same place the whole match.  Nobody else ever has this problem. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to successfully avoid the boxes like every other tennis professional does with ease. Seriously, Juan, just watch where you're going.

Like most of you, I'm not following the BCR Tennis Open in Bucharest with particularly rapt attention.  But the photos I've seen from that tournament have me wondering what Abe Vigoda is up to these days.

Fabio Fognini (above) and his slightly more angry looking eyebrows have already scared #2 seed Nicolas Almagro out of the tournament in straight sets, carrying the young Italian into the quarterfinals.

#8 seed Pablo Cuevas (below) and his sleepy looking caterpillars have successfully furrowed their way through two rounds, knocking out Andrei Pavel in what was the last singles match of Pavel's long career, then scrunching Peter Luczak in the second round.

The two players and their impressive brows would not face each other until the final, so it could be a full week of bristly battles in Bucharest.