Marin Cilic defeated Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6 6-3 to capture the Queens Club title, the result is a big one for Cilic as he won the match despite a steep h2h disadavantage against the Serbian superstar and he came back from a set down to win.
Cilic claimed his first title of 2018 after wins against Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Muller, Sam Querrey, and Nick Kyrgios to reach the final. He dropped sets to Muller and Djokovic but all in all put together a tremendous week on grass against solid competition that suggests he could win the Wimbledon title in a few weeks time.
Djokovic is rounding into form on grass as he blitzed past John Millman, Grigor Dimitrov, Adrian Mannarino, and Jeremy Chardy to reach the final without dropping a set. Alongside Cilic he will have a great chance of winning Wimbledon.
Henri Kontinen and John Peers defeated Murray/Soares in the doubles final.
Croatia’s Borna Coric stunned Roger Federer 7-6 3-6 6-2 in Halle to claim his second career ATP title, this time on grass as a massive underdog. Coric didn’t drop a set until the final as he blitzed past Alexander Zverev, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Andreas Seppi, and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Federer struggled while reaching the final, as he was challenged by Aljaz Bedene, Benoit Paire, Matthew Ebden, and Denis Kudla. Coric was his toughest opponent of the tournament and at that point he finally suffered a loss. His first on grass this season.
Kubot/Melo beat the Zverev brothers to win the doubles final.
Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka All In Action at ATP London Queens Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The Fever-Tree Championships 500 on Grass at London Queens is a pivotal warm-up tournament for Wimbledon, accordingly many ATP stars are back in action including Andy Murray who returns to the ATP Tour after a long injury layoff. Here is your look at all the action.
Top Half:
Marin Cilic, the top seed, faces Fernando Verdasco round 1 and Denis Shapovalov or Gilles Muller round 2, a pretty brutal opening start. Cilic is good enough on this surface though to suggest he’ll win both matches and reach the quarterfinals.
Stan Wawrinka is not in good form but Cam Norrie and Jay Clarke or Sam Querrey isn’t the worst start in the world. I’ll back Wawrinka to edge Norrie but fall to Sam Querrey as Querrey should reach the quarterfinals before losing to Cilic.
Milos Raonic played well in Stuttgart, reaching the final, and should ease past Yuki Bhambri and Feliciano Lopez or David Goffin to reach the quarters. I’ll back Lopez to upset Goffin but Raonic to win the section and defeat Nick Kyrgios in the quarters. Kyrgios also had a great run on grass in Stuttgart and should defeat Andy Murray in his return from a hip injury. Kyle Edmund is also in this section and should defeat Ryan Harrison before falling to Kyrgios.
With #2 seed Grigor Dimitrov struggling look for Novak Djokovic to benefit. Djokovic should defeat qualifier John Millman and then Dimitrov (or Damir Dzumhur) to reach the quarters. I’ll back wild card Dan Evans to await Djokovic at that stage, Evans has been fantastic on grass since returning from a drug ban, he should beat a struggling Adrian Mannarino, and Tomas Berdych or Julien Benneteau before falling to Djokovic.
Kevin Anderson looks set to make a nice run, Leonardo Mayer and Jared Donaldson or Frances Tiafoe will be his first set of opponents. Jack Sock could await in the quarters with Sock facing Daniil Medvedev and Tim Smyczek or Jeremy Chardy in round 2. I’ll back Medvedev over Sock and Chardy but Anderson to win the quarterfinal.
I’ll back Raonic to go one further than the previous week and take the title. Cilic and Djokovic are good opponents but if Raonic serves well he could fight his way to a massive title this week.
Fan Favorites Federer and Lopez Use Vintage Form To Capture Grass Titles Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
ATP Halle
Roger Federer banked his ninth Halle title, and made a case for renaming the tournament after him as he dominated on German grass yet again to defeat Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-3 in the final. Federer moves to 24-2 on the year, shaking off an early loss on grass last week and not dropping a set in Halle as he drubbed Yuichi Sugita, Mischa Zverev, Florian Mayer, and Karen Khachanov to reach the final. Federer being one of the few ATP players to defeat a pair of brothers en route to a title.
the younger Zverev moved to 33-12 on the season, reaching a fourth final this season by fighting past Roberto Bautista Agut, and Richard Gasquet in consecutive fashion, both wins needing three sets. Earlier in the week he flexed his skills against Paolo Lorenzi and Philipp Kohlschreiber. Both finalists sohuld perform well at Wimbledon, with Federer strengthening his case to be the favorite at SW19 in one week’s time.
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo defeated the Zverev brothers in the doubles final, as Alexander Zverev was a double runner-up this week.
ATP London Queen’s
Feliciano Lopez has reached consecutive grass court finals, and is enjoying the best part of his season, this time in the final he didn’t let the chance at a title pass him by, winning ATP title #6 4-6 7-6 7-6 as the underdog against Marin Cilic. Playing in his second final of the year, only the closest margins denied Cilic, who had a match point, the champions trophy. He still had a good week, defeating Gilles Muller in the semifinals (three sets), and three Americans, John Isner, Stefan Kozlov, and Donald Young, all without dropping a set, as Cilic would not be someone the USA would want to face in Davis Cup.
Lopez had a much tougher draw, but he didn’t let it phase him. His serve clicked and he got past Stan Wawrinka, Jeremy Chardy, Tomas Berdych, and Grigor Dimitrov, three of those four victories, plus the one against Cilic all coming against some of the best players in the men’s game right now. Simply put, no one wants to draw Lopez early at Wimbledon, as he should be able to do damage.
The home fans enjoyed Jamie Murray teaming with Bruno Soares to take the doubles title against Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
2017 ATP London Queens Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
It’s one of the biggest ATP tournaments on the calendar up this week, the player and fan favorite Aegon Championships in London. This is the biggest ATP World Tour grass court stop, and here is your complete preview, with predictions.
Aegon Championships
ATP World Tour 500
June 19-25, 2017
London, Great Britain
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: €1,836,660
Top 4 seeds (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Andy Murray (1)
2: Stan Wawrinka (3)
3: Milos Raonic (6)
4: Marin Cilic (8)
London Queen’s is the biggest warmup tournament prior to Wimbledon as most of the top players look to get in at least a couple of matches prior to taking part in a Grand Slam.
First round matches to watch:
(1)Andy Murray vs. Aljaz Bedene
five-time and defending Queen’s club champion Andy Murray shouldn’t have any trouble out of the starting blocks, but Aljaz Bedene is an in-form dark horse who has nothing to lose in this one. Bedene comes off the quarters in Rosmalen and has enough of a game on grass to catch Murray if the Brit struggles with his serve. Murray should win this one in straights, but it’s a good form test for him.
(4)Marin Cilic vs John Isner
The Rosmalen semifinalist Cilic should be safe in this one but Isner is not the easiest round one opponent on grass. Cilic has been in good form as of late, and if Isner can rise up and get an upset that would be huge. Expect at least one tiebreak in this one, with Cilic getting another quality win.
(2)Stan Wawrinka vs. Feliciano Lopez
Wawrinka’s worst surface is Lopez best and that sets up the potential for an upset in this match. Lopez comes off the final in Stuttgart, as he found form on grass already, while the Roland Garros finalist Wawrinka is playing his first match on the surface this year. Wawrinka is the better player, and he won’t back down easily in this one, but Lopez is my upset pick, as his serve and volley should annoy the Swiss into submission.
Top Half:
Murray/Bedene will face Cam Norrie or Sam Querrey in round 2, Querrey is another dangerous player on grass who could catch Murray if the Brit is having a bad day. Presuming Murray makes the quarters, Gilles Muller is his most likely opponent, I have the Rosmalen champion defeating Nikoloz Basilashvili and the winner of Adrian Mannarino/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga is good on grass, and Mannarino is no slouch either, but Muller’s form is fearsome right now, and if Murray gets to the semis, it won’t be because he had an easy path.4
Nick Kyrgios and Cilic/Isner look set to face off in the other top half quarterfinal, Kyrgios is hoping that grass will bring him better form. The Aussie starts with a struggling Donald Young, and then will face the Viktor Troicki/Janko Tipsarevic winner in that all-Serbian clash. Cilic/Isner will face an American, either Steve Johnson or Stefan Kozlov, in round 2. Johnson is dangerous, but Cilic’s form should be too much, as I have Cilic beating Kyrgios in the quarterfinals.
Bottom Half:
Presuming Lopez upsets Wawrinka, he should have a clear path to the quarters with Tomas Berdych most likely waiting there. Lopez will face either Pierre-Hugues Herbert or Jeremy Chardy in round 2, Kyle Edmund should beat young qualifier Denis Shapovalov before facing Berdych or Steve Darcis. Berdych isn’t in his best form, and thus Lopez is my pick to reach the semifinals.
With Ryan Harrison in poor form, he probably won’t be able to upset Grigor Dimitrov in round 1, Julien Benneteau or James Ward will also be underdogs against the Bulgarian, despite the fact he played poorly in his first grass court outing this year. Milos Raonic should defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis, and then continue to improve his form coming off injury woes this season, defeating either serve and volleyer Nicolas Mahut, or a rapidly improving Daniil Medvedev, who made the quarters in Rosmalen. Raonic is my pick for the semifinals with his powerful serve.
Dark Horse: Feliciano Lopez
I have Lopez reaching the semis and falling to Cilic, but a second straight final on grass would not be out of the question. Lopez just needs to improve a bit on return, and his performances will get even better on grass.
Predictions
Semis Murray d. Cilic
Raonic d. Lopez
After Murray surprised everyone at Roland Garros and reached the semis, it seems foolish to pick against him on grass at the Queen’s club. I don’t count out Cilic and Raonic at all though, and both should be serious challengers at Wimbledon.
A sudden rise at the end of the season propelled Andy Murray to his first ever year end #1 ranking, and he capped it all off in a showdown with Novak Djokovic, the long time world #1 in the finals of the 2016 ATP World Tour Finals. In a 6-3 6-4 upset, Murray won just his second match of the season against Djokovic as the Serbian continued his late season slide, compared to his usually lofty standards.
Murray finished the year by winning 25 straight matches, a remarkable blitz that included two Masters titles, and six top 10 wins. He’s a fitting world #1 after claiming the Wimbledon title, and the Olympic gold medal this year, along with nine titles overall, and three Masters titles overall, across all of the ATP surfaces. It was quite special to him to be able to clinch the #1 ranking in front of a home crowd in London.
Djokovic finished the year with seven titles, including two Grand Slams and four Masters titles. He found form to defeat David Goffin, Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem, and Kei Nishikori in the World Tour Finals. Murray beat Stan Wawrinka, Nishikori, Marin Cilic, and Raonic in a third set tiebreak.
Henri Kontinen and John Peers beat Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram in the doubles final. Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray finish the year as the top ranked doubles team, marking the first time brothers have been #1 in doubles and singles, with Andy and Jamie Murray achieving that feat. Nicolas Mahut is the world’s #1 doubles player in his own right.
The ATP top 10 in singles is Murray, Djokovic, Raonic, Wawrinka, Nishikori, Cilic, Gael Monfils, Thiem, Rafael Nadal, and Tomas Berdych, marking the first time players from different countries have made up the entire top 10.
Four players, Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric, Karen Khachanov and Taylor Fritz will finish the year inside the top 100 under the age of 21. Meanwhile the ATP continues to be a veteran’s sport, as sixteen players 33 years of age or older are inside the top 100.
2016 ATP World Tour Finals Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The final ATP tournament of the season, the year end celebration that is the World Tour Finals, takes place with a field of eight doubles teams, and eight singles players. Here is a look at the field in London with predictions for the final result of the year.
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
London, Great Britain
November 13-20, 2016
Surface: Indoor Hard
Prize Money: $7,500,000
The Field
Group 1: Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic
Group 2: Novak Djokovic, Gael Monfils, Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem
The new world #1 Andy Murray gets the far tougher group as Wawrinka, Nishikori, and Cilic are some of the most dangerous players in the field. World #2 Djokovic is in a group without any Grand Slam winners, and Raonic is probably the second toughest player in the group if he’s healthy.
Group 1 Predictions Murray d. Cilic in 3, Nishikori in 2, Wawrinka in 3 (3-0 in matches, 6-2 in sets) Cilic d. Nishikori in 3, Wawrinka in 3 (2-1 in matches, 5-4 in sets)
Nishikori d. Wawrinka in 3 (1-2 in matches, 3-4 in sets)
Wawrinka 0-3 in matches 3-6 in sets
Murray is on a red hot winning streak, and despite Cilic and Wawrinka likely being able to challenge him, I see him toughing out his matches. Cilic’s strong recent form should propel him to advance from the group, while Wawrinka struggled at the end of the season, and Nishikori looks to be the man in the middle.
Group 2 Predictions Djokovic d. Thiem in 2, Monfils in 2, Raonic in 3 (3-0 in matches, 6-1 in sets) Raonic d. Monfils in 3, Thiem in 2 (Raonic 2-1 in matches, 5-2 in sets)
Thiem d. Monfils in 3 (Thiem 1-2 in matches, 2-5 in sets)
Monfils 0-3 in matches, 2-6 in sets
Djokovic is in a weak group, so despite his recent struggles he should ease past Thiem and Monfils, and also beat Raonic. Presuming Raonic is healthy, he’ll be the favorite against Monfils and Thiem, both of whom struggled at the end of the season, despite being worthy contenders in the WTFs this year. Thiem should finish third in the group with a win over Monfils.
Semifinals
Murray d. Raonic in 2
Djokovic d. Cilic in 3
Murray and Djokovic should be the clear favorites to matchup in the final ATP match of the season.
Final
Murray d. Djokovic in 3
Given Murray is playing better right now, I’m going to pick him to win the World Tour finals at home in London.
2016 ATP Grass Court Season Recap: Murray and Thiem Soar Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The last four ATP grass court tournaments after the French Open featured most of the top players looking to get practice before Wimbledon, and a host of players making strong runs. Many of these players will likely find themselves wishing their was more grass court tennis after Wimbledon, while others are already ready for hard court action.
Austrian superstar Dominic Thiem has moved into the top 8 after his fourth title of the season was won in Stuttgart at the Mercedes Cup. Thiem has won titles on all of the surfaces (hard court, clay, and grass) already this season and has clearly demonstrated his all-court prowess. Thiem beat Sam Groth, Mikhail Youzhny, and grass court legend Roger Federer, before toppling Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final. Only against Groth did Thiem not drop a set, but he showed great fight to prevail in his matches. Kohlschreiber had defeated Thiem earlier this season in a clay final, so the Austrian got his revenge.
The German defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Denis Kudla, Radek Stepanek, and Juan Martin Del Potro to reach the final. Del Potro showed great form as he continues his return from serious wrist injuries.
Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak defeated Fabrice Martin and Oliver Marach in the doubles final.
ATP ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch)
Nicolas Mahut won a second consecutive, and a third overall Den Bosch title as he defeated fellow big server Gilles Muller in the final. Mahut defeated Lukas Lacko, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Bernard Tomic, and Sam Querrey en route to the final, surviving in three sets against all but Lacko and Muller. The Frenchman clearly enjoys playing in Holland.
Muller contested his second career ATP final as he defeated Robin Haase, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, David Ferrer, and Ivo Karlovic to get that far. Both Ferrer and Tomic disappointing. At 33 he’s still looking for an elusive first ATP title.
Mate Pavic and Michael Venus defeated Dominic Inglot and Raven Klaasen in the doubles final as New Zealanders won both doubles titles on offer last week.
Florian Mayer stunningly captured his first title since 2011 as the oft-injured German will return to the top 100. Mayer defeated countryman Alexander Zverev in the final, the passionate Zverev simply didn’t have consistency to prevail in the third set. Mayer with his funky game has seen a resurgence in his tennis on grass this season. The 32 year old defeated Brian Baker, got a walkover against Kei Nishikori, and then defeated Andreas Seppi, and the in-form Dominic Thiem to reach the final.
The 19 year old Zverev dropped his second career ATP final after posting wins over Viktor Troicki, Benjamin Becker, Marcos Baghdatis, and most surprisingly, Roger Federer in three sets. Federer will now enter Wimbledon without a grass court title, though he entered two events. The Swiss legend hasn’t won an ATP title this season.
Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram defeated Alexander Peya and Lukasz Kubot in the doubles final.
Andy Murray was a set and a break down against Milos Raonic before he fought back to capture a fifth career London Queen’s title. Murray defeated Nicolas Mahut, Aljaz Bedene, Kyle Edmund, and Marin Cilic, as he dropped sets against Edmund and Cilic, along with Raonic. Murray has been in tremendous form as he moved to 33-6 on the season with two ATP titles. Murray hasn’t lost a match before the final since Monte Carlo.
Raonic defeated Nick Kyrgios, Jiri Vesely, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Bernard Tomic to reach his third ATP final of the season. The Canadian has established himself as a possible Wimbledon dark horse.
Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeated Chris Guccione and Andre Sa in the doubles final as they will perhaps be the Wimbledon men’s doubles favorites given their prowess on grass and great success this season as a team.
Novak Djokovic saw his winning streak since the US Open snapped just before he won 25 straight, in round robin play by Roger Federer, but he rebounded to win two straight matches over Rafael Nadal and Federer to capture his fifth overall and fourth straight World Tour Finals trophy. Djokovic has had a career best season with three Grand Slam titles, six Masters 1000 titles, and now another WTF’s trophy, finishing the season with an 81-6 record, and five of those six losses coming against top 5 players.
Novak rolled over Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych in his first two group matches, as they showed little belief they could overcome the world #1, Federer then shocked him 7-5 6-2, but Djokovic then beat Nadal and Federer without giving up more than four games in any one set, maximizing his game to finish strong.
Federer finishes the year as world #3, behind Andy Murray at #2, though at times he’s shown himself to be the clear #2 player even at 34. The Swiss maestro needed three sets against Nishikori but scored straight set wins over Berdych, and rival Stan Wawrinka along with the 1-1 record against Djokovic. A 63-11 record for the Swiss #1.
Wawrinka beat Andy Murray, and David Ferrer without dropping a set, but was beaten handily by Rafael Nadal along with Federer. He finishes 55-18 with a Grand Slam title and three additional ATP titles to his name, as he continues to perform near his best level at world #4.
Nadal finished the year strong with a 60-20 record overall (16-5 post US Open), and performed well on indoor hard, which is normally a weaker surface for him. It was a tough year at times for Rafa but the Spanish lefty took three titles and beat David Ferrer in three sets, along with Wawrinka, and Murray in the World Tour Finals, three quality wins. Next season Nadal should have every chance to get himself back into the top four after seeing his ranking slip to #5 now.
Rojer/Tecau takes doubles title without dropping a set
In the doubles season finale, Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau finish as the world #1 team after they ran a murders row of doubles competitors without dropping a set to win the title. Rojer/Tecau beat Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo, Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut, and Marcin Matkowski/Nenad Zimonjic before rolling past the Bryan Brothers and Florin Mergea/Rohan Bopanna in the final. Rojer and Tecau illustrate a changing in the guard with world class doubles as the Bryans are beginning to slip with age. Rojer/Tecau finish with three titles on the season.
2015 ATP World Tour Finals Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The final ATP tournament of the season is the Final Showdown in London where the top 8 players this season will battle on indoor hard courts, in matches that could set the tone for the 2016 ATP season that will begin in just over a month’s time.
ATP World Tour Finals
London, England
November 15-November 22, 2015
Prize Money: $7,000,000
Stan Smith Group
1: Novak Djokovic
3: Roger Federer
6: Tomas Berdych
8: Kei Nishikori
World #1 Novak Djokovic won three Grand Slams this season, and six Masters, enters the World Tour Finals as a clear favorite to take his fifth title in tournament. Djokovic has won four straight World Tour Finals events, and after a dominant fall season that saw him drop just one set in fifteen matches, he should be able to extend his winning streak in London.
Roger Federer looks to be Djokovic’s only challenge in this group, as he enters the Final Showdown with a 59-10 record on the season and six ATP titles, including a Masters title. Federer is 8-2 this Fall and an early exit in Paris may be just what he needed to recharge his batteries and prep himself for this tournament as a six-time Champion (including twice in London).
I would expect Federer and Djokovic to both win their matches over Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori. Berdych is 57-19 this year with two titles, his best season ever in terms of win total, but he’s been an inconsistent 12-4 this fall and doesn’t match-up well recently with the Serbian or the Swiss. Nishikori is 53-14 on the season with three titles but he’s struggled this Fall and hasn’t been healthy, thus I’d be surprised if he won a match in the group.
Smith Group Predictions Djokovic d. Federer, Berdych, and Nishikori in 2 sets
Federer d. Berdych in 2 sets, and Nishikori in 3 sets
Berdych d. Nishikori in 2 sets
Djokovic and Federer advance to the semifinals.
Ilie Năstase Group 2: Andy Murray
4: Stan Wawrinka
5: Rafael Nadal
7: David Ferrer
Home favorite Andy Murray has posted a fantastic 68-12 campaign this season and he’s far from finished as he has this tournament, and then the Davis Cup final against Belgium looming after that. The Brit took home four titles this season (including one Masters) and has only lost to Djokovic (x2) post US Open for a 9-2 record. Thus he should be prepared to do well here with fan support behind him, but the question is, will he want to rest up for the more important DC final.
Stan Wawrinka went 53-16 with three ATP titles and a Grand Slam this season as the veteran Swiss has cemented himself as a threat to the top players on tour, and part of the new “Big Four” (or “Big Five” if you still include Nadal). Wawrinka isn’t always consistent but with his lethal backhand and a 12-3 record post US Open he’s certainly a contender in London. His match with Murray will prove critical (Wawrinka has won the last two meetings), as to who gets out of this group.
The Murray vs. Wawrinka match is key because Rafael Nadal has caught fire this Fall and looks to be the other qualifier, whichever spot he claims in the standings. Rafa went 57-19 with three ATP titles this season and secured his Tour Finals participation with a 13-4 record post US Open. Nadal struggled at times this season but his game is markedly improved in recent weeks, and he appears to be putting together the form needed to get him off to a hot start in 2016. Nadal split meetings with Wawrinka this Fall, is 2-1 on indoor hard vs. Murray, and leads the final group participant David Ferrer 23-6 in their all-time h2h, as Nadal is generally superior to his fellow Spaniard.
Ferrer went 53-13 this season with five ATP titles as he continues to function as an under the radar battler at 33 years old, and a player who maximizes his natural talent and skill to excel. Ferrer is 15-3 this Fall and is also playing well, making this the toughest group to be in. He could well qualify and has a chance at an upset in any of his three matches, but given his peak level he’s still the underdog in this group by far.
Năstase Group Predictions Nadal d. Ferrer in 2, and Wawrinka in 3
Murray d. Ferrer in 2, and Nadal in 3
Wawrinka d. Murray in 3, Ferrer in 3
Nadal and Murray advance to the semifinals via the number of sets won tiebreaker.
Predictions
Semis Djokovic d. Murray in 2
Federer d. Nadal in 3
Djokovic has won two straight against Murray, and dominates the h2h overall, I don’t see anyone being able tos top him in London, unless Wawrinka is able to face him. Federer won his only meeting with Nadal this Fall in Basel, it was a nip and tuck three setter, and I see Fed having an advantage on this surface in their rivalry.
Final Djokovic d. Federer in 2
Djokovic is 4-2 against Federer this season, and look for him to make that 5-2 as he should be able to continue to buzzsaw the competition. Federer is at times his most dangerous opponent but Djokovic has been at a level above recently.
World Tour Finals Doubles
The World Tour Finals doubles teams in the Ashe/Smith Group are Bob and Mike Bryan, Jamie Murray/John Peers, Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini, and Rohan Bopanna/Florin Mergea. In the Fleming/McEnroe group is Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau, Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo, Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut, and Marcin Matkowski/Nenad Zimonjic.
The defending champion Bryans, the greatest doubles specialist tandem of all-time, have six ATP titles this season (three of them are Masters titles), and they have four career World Tour finals crowns. It’s been a relatively down year for them at 42-14 but the 37 year old brothers have yet to show signs of a serious decline. Peers/Murray have two titles together this season as it’s been a breakthrough year for them as doubles specialists.
Fognini/Bolelli are the only singles focused pairing to make the Finals as a doubles team, they won the Australian Open at the start of the season together and have combined their fiery games and personalities to have success. The 35 year old Bopanna continues to represent Indian tennis with tremendous class and has two ATP titles this year (including one Masters) with his partner Mergea of Romania.
Rojer/Tecau are bidding to be the new #1 team in the world, as they won two titles together this season, including Wimbledon. Tecau is the other half of Romania’s doubles success, while Rojer is by far the most successful Dutch tennis player in recent years. Marcelo Melo is the current #1 ranked doubles player, and his veteran partner Ivan Dodig joins him in their own bid for world #1. Dodig used to have more success in singles but he’s trending towards becoming a doubles specialist. Melo/Dodig have three titles together this season including the French Open.
The 24 year old Herbert is the youngest tour finals qualifier, and he’s won two titles this season with his veteran compatriot Mahut, including the US Open. Herbert continues to improve in singles, and his big serving game is a good fit with Mahut’s throwback serve and volley, as the veteran Frenchman’s singles career is winding down. Lastly 39 year old Nenad Zimonjic is the oldest Tour Finals qualifier, and though he and his partner Marcin Matkowski have no titles to their name this season, Zimonjic has over 650 wins, and 53 titles in his career, as the Serbian knows how to win. Be sure to watch his doubles prowess before he calls it a career.
Tennis Atlantic hopes everyone enjoys the World Tour Finals action, and it’s been a pleasure providing you with coverage of the ATP World Tour for yet another exciting season of world-class tennis. Our full ATP coverage will continue next year.
Maiden Title Mania in Halle and Queen’s as Klaasen/Ram and Mahut/Herbert win their first ATP level titles as a team Joe Craven, Tennis Atlantic
It was a week of maiden titles on the ATP doubles tour as both the Halle and Queen’s titles were won by teams who had never won an ATP level title before. Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram were able to capture the title in Halle, whilst Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert were victorious at Queen’s.
Mahut and Herbert sealed their first ATP level doubles title as a team by beating the team of Nenad Zimonjic and Marcin Matkowski in the final. Even though Mahut and Herbert were seeded lower then their opponents in the Final, the Frenchmen had the advantage going into the match as they played their Semi Final on Friday, whilst Zimonjic and Matkowski had to play theirs on the same day as the Final. Mahut and Herbert only faced three break points against their serve and were able to seal a 6-2 6-2 victory in just 47 minutes.
The pair didn’t drop a set all tournament, notching wins against the teams of Hewitt/Kokkinakis, Anderson/Chardy and Peya/Soares on their way to the Final. This win certainly meant a lot to the Frenchmen and after falling short in both the Australian Open Final earlier on in the year and the s’Hertogenbosch Final last week, Herbert described the win as “a dream”. The 24 year old who had never played at Queen’s Club before this year went on to say that “Everything we did was working. We know that if we play well, it will be difficult for our opponents, so we just focused on what we could do.”. After steady success this year the pair now sit 6th in the doubles race to the ATP World Tour Finals and for Mahut, who had grass court success in singles last week winning s’Hertogenbosch, it’s definitely a target, which the frenchman stating that “We hope to have a good run in the next few weeks, but for sure the goal is to come back to London later this year.”
Herbert will now play in the Wimbledon Singles Qualifying draw, whilst Mahut will have time to prepare for the main draw of both singles and doubles, after being awarded wildcard into the singles competition last week.
ATP Halle
The fresh pairing of Klaasen and Ram were able to capture the Halle title on Sunday. Playing only their second ATP level event as a team, they were able to defeat the team of Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the final. The road to the Final wasn’t wasn’t easy for the pairing, despite only dropping one set throughout the tournament they had to play a tiebreak in 5 out of the 8 regular sets they played, all of which they won. Klaasen and Ram defeated the teams of Tipsarevic/Tomic, Cuevas/Marrero in the 1st and 2nd rounds respectively, before saving two match points against Rojer/Tecau in the Semi Final.
After only teaming up recently, the team has already flourished, with a Final at the Challenger level in Manchester as well as a Quarter Final in S’Hertogenbosch. It was the first ATP level doubles title for Ram in over 3 years (St Petersburg 2012) who said that the team “started the match a little bit slowly”, however things got easier for the pair as the match went on with Ram going onto explain that “we played very clean [in the second set]. We communicated well and we were ready for our opportunities.” The experience of playing on Centre Court seemed to make Klaasen enjoy the occasion even more, with the South African stating that “Playing on the Centre Court was something special” and that he will “definitely be coming back”.
The pairing will now head straight to the ATP 250 event in Nottingham to continue their preparations for Wimbledon, a tournament which they’ll be confident about doing well in.
Tennis Atlantic 