WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN QUALIFYING FIELDS ANNOUNCED
Qualifying Event Part of First Watch Opening Weekend
Alison Riske (Photo: @Tennis_Shots)
CINCINNATI (July 23, 2019) – Players who have won a total of 11 tour titles this season are among the entrants into the qualifying tournament for the 2019 Western & Southern Open. The qualifying event will take place over First Watch Opening Weekend, August 10-11, at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
A total of 15 players – seven women and eight men – will advance out of the two-round qualifying tournament into the 56-player main draw fields for the Western & Southern Open.
The winners of seven ATP titles – Nicolas Jarry (Bastad), Juan Ignacio Londero (Cordoba), Feliciano Lopez (Queen’s), Reilly Opelka (New York), Tennys Sandgren (Auckland), Lorenzo Sonego (Antalya) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Montpellier) – will be joined by four WTA champions – Polona Hercog (Lugano), Alison Riske (‘s-Hertogenbosch), Elena Rybakina (Bucharest) and Yafan Wang (Acapulco) – in the qualifying fields.
Tsonga
In addition, players in the qualifying fields have combined to reach another 14 tour-level finals in 2019. The women’s field also features a duo coming off deep runs at Wimbledon in semifinalist Barbora Strycova and quarterfinalist Riske.
“The qualifying tournament often provides some of the most compelling action because there is a lot on the line for these players who are battling to reach the main draw,” said Western & Southern Tournament Director Andre Silva. “We think these two days are a great opportunity for our fans to not only see these matches across eight courts but also provide a chance to get up-close-and-personal to main draw competitors who are practicing across the other nine courts.”
Tickets for First Watch Opening Weekend start at $14. Tickets for these and all other sessions of the tournament are on sale now at wsopen.com.
Below are the initial player entry lists for the qualifying fields for the 2019 tournament:
WTA Rank • Name (Nationality) Age
32 Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) 33
35 Shuai Zhang (China) 30
37 Alison Riske (USA) 29
43 Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) 26
44 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 28
45 Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) 25
48 Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) 24
49 Viktoria Kuzmova (Slovakia) 21
50 Kristina Mladenovic (France) 26
52 Yafan Wang (China) 25
53 Alize Cornet (France) 29
54 Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 28
55 Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) 22
57 Margarita Gasparyan (Russia) 24
58 Mihaela Buzarnescu (Romania) 31
59 Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) 24
60 Magda Linette (Poland) 27
61 Iga Swiatek (Poland) 18
64 Anastasia Potapova (Russia) 18
65 Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 20
67 Kateryna Kozlova (Ukraine) 25
68 Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 34
69 Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) 26
70 Rebecca Peterson (Sweden) 23
71 Tatjana Maria (Germany) 31
73 Lauren Davis (USA) 25
74 Bernarda Pera (USA) 24
76 Jennifer Brady (USA) 24
ATP Rank • Name (Nationality) Age
38 Nicolas Jarry (Chile) 23
43 Jordan Thompson (Australia) 25
44 Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) 22
45 Mikhail Kukushkin (Kazakhstan) 31
46 Ugo Humbert (France) 21
49 Joao Sousa (Portugal) 30
50 Marton Fucsovics (Hungary) 27
52 Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) 24
54 Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) 23
55 Dan Evans (Great Britain) 29
56 Juan Ignacio Londero (Argentina) 25
57 Reilly Opelka (USA) 21
59 Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) 28
60 Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 37
61 John Millman (Australia) 30
62 Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 30
66 Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia) 19
67 Federico Delbonis (Argentina) 28
68 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 34
69 Casper Ruud (Norway) 20
70 Tennys Sandgren (USA) 28
71 Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) 22
72 Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 35
73 Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan) 23
Four players will be added to each of these fields through wild card entries.
In 2018, the Western & Southern Open attracted more than 194,000 spectators. The reigning singles champions are ATP No. 1 Novak Djokovic and WTA No. 5 Kiki Bertens. In addition to the tennis, the W&S Open features more than 50 musical acts, 20 food vendors, six signature bar areas and a retail plaza for patrons to enjoy between matches.
The Western & Southern Open is an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA Premier 5 tournament and is a member of the US Open Series. Started in 1899, the tournament annually supports a number of charities in the Cincinnati area.
Aljaz Bedene, Lukas Rosol Move To Paris Masters Main Draw Adam Addicott, Tennis Atlantic Embed from Getty Images
The tenth and final Masters tournament of 2015 will get underway on Monday at the BNP Paribas Masters Open, held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The tournament will be a golden opportunity for the lower ranked players to end their season on a high note as they prepare for their off-season.
24 players participated in the qualifying tournament for six places in the main draw. Leading the seeds was Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene. Bedene is currently at a career ranking high of 48th in the world and has claimed three Challenger titles this year. In his opening match, Bedene faced French wild card Gregoire Barrere. The 21-year-old won his second Futures title in September, first since 2013. Despite there being almost 200 places between the two players, Barrere put up a spirited fight before losing 7-6 (2), 7-6( 2), to the Brit. The reward for Bedene was a mouthwatering clash with Jerzy Janowicz. Janowicz defeated Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in three sets in the first round (7-5, 3-6, 6-3).
It was at the Paris Masters where Janowicz had his breakthrough tournament where as a qualifier he defeated five top 20 players to reach the final of the 2012 tournament before losing to David Ferrer. The Polish player failed to reproduce his sensational run this year as Bedene defeated the 24-year-old 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-5. Janowicz had two chances in the final game of the match to force proceedings into a deciding tiebreak but failed to convert either as Bedene held his nerve to progress to the main draw.
Spanish 11th seed Marcel Granollers overcame a duo of French players to reach his sixth Paris Masters main draw. After dismissing wild card Quentin Halys in straight sets (6-4, 6-4), he set up a showdown against Kenny de Schepper. Schepper eased into the final round after second seed Donald Young retired early in the second set. Young was playing a day after his quarterfinal loss to Jack Sock at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. In the final clash Granollers edged past Schepper 6-4, 6-4 after an hour and 44 minutes. The Spaniard fended off three break points throughout the match and converted 2/11 break points.
Rosol (photo credit: Marc Imperatori)
Czech world No.69 Lukas Rosol caused an upset on his way into the main draw. The 30-year-old is yet to win a title this year and currently has a main draw win-loss this season of 19-29. Rosol started his qualifying campaign with a straightforward 6-3, 6-3, win against Moldova’s Radu Albot. In the final round he played 3rd seed Teymuraz Gabashvili, the Russian defeated Inigo Cervantes in straight sets in his first match. The Czech was forced to come from a set down to stun Gabashvili 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7). In the crucial tiebreak, Rosol squandered three match point opportunities before he was successful with his fourth.
Pablo Carreno Busta dropped 11 games in two matches during his qualifying campaign. During his first match, the world No.70 recovered from a 1-3 deficit in the second set to defeat 35-year-old German, Michael Berrer, in straight sets (6-2, 7-5). Carreno Busta avoided a final clash with Argentine 4th seed Federico Delbonis after he suffered a tough three-set loss to America’s Rajeev Ram. Earlier this year Ram claimed his second ATP title in July at the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport. After a tight opening set, the 31-year-old was blown away by Carreno busta ,6-4, 6-0, in just 58 minutes. This year the 24-year-old Spaniard has won two Challenger titles in Poznan and Perugia.
Out of the five home players participating in the draw, only one managed to grab back-to-back wins. Edouard Roger-Vasselin staged a epic comeback to upset Ukrainian 8th seed Sergiy Stakhovsky in his first match. The Frenchman trailed 4-6, 0-3, before clawing his way back in the second set on route to grabbing the seemingly unlikely victory (4-6, 6-4, 6-3). The next test for Roger-Vasselin was Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. Struff knocked out 5th seed Robin Haase in his first match. After losing a close first set tiebreak, the world No.150 won 12 out of 15 games to win 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-1. The 31-year-old has enjoyed greater success on the doubles tour this year by winning three ATP titles.
Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic completes the line-up of qualifiers. Lajovic, who was unseeded in the qualifying draw, defeated 12th seed Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round – 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-2. The win was sweet revenge for the Serbian after he suffered a straight sets loss to the Spanish player in their previous meeting at the 2013 Buenos Aires Open. In his final qualifying match he faces France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Mathieu was originally awarded a wildcard into the main draw but refused. The Frenchman refused because he was afraid of compromising his place in the Australian Open next year. If he lost in the first round, he would of got zero points and lose 10 points. In contrast, if he played in the qualifying rounds, a win would give him 16 points which would cement his place in the main draw of the Australian Open.
The Frenchman grabbed the 16 points after beating 6th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round. Mathieu’s run was swiftly ended in the final round by Lajovic after the Serbian took the match 6-3, 6-3 to move into the main draw. The 25-year-old has so far only won one main draw match in a Masters tournament, which was in the first round of the 2014 Miami Masters.
The main draw matches
(Q) Edouard Roger-Vasselin – Ivo Karlovic ~ Karlovic has played Roger-Vasselin three times before, winning two of them. Their last meeting was at the 2013 Hall of Fame Championships where the Frenchman won in straight sets.
(Q) Lukas Rosol – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ~ This is the third meeting between the two players this year. Garcia-Lopez has won both of them in straight sets.
(Q) – Pablo Carreno-Busta – Grigor Dimitrov – Dimitrov has won their two previous encounters in straight sets. Their last meeting was in the first round of the 2014 Madrid Masters where the Bulgarian won 6-2, 6-4.
(Q) Marcel Granollers – (Q) Aljaz Bedene ~ This will be their second meeting. Last year in the first round of the Argentina Open, Granollers won in three sets.
(Q) Dusan Lajovic – (WC) Nicolas Mahut ~ first meeting
Djokovic Wins 3rd ATP Paris Title, Becomes 1st Player to Retain ATP Paris Title in Modern History
ATP Paris
Novak Djokovic won his third career ATP Paris crown with a decisive 6-2 6-3 dismantling of Milos Raonic in the final, which was rather uncompetitive. Raonic falls to 1-2 in ATP finals this season and is now 0-2 in his career in Masters level finals. Djokovic all but secures the year-end number one ranking by virtue of retaining his Paris title and he notched his sixth title of the season. He finishes 4-0 in ATP Masters level finals this year.
Djokovic’s path to the final emerged by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber, Gael Monfils, Andy Murray, and Kei Nishikori without dropping a set, as he was dominant in Paris all week long.
Raonic secured his place in the World Tour finals, alongside Djokovic, Federer, Wawrinka, Murray, Nishikori, Cilic, and Berdych. The Canadian number one beat Jack Sock in 3 sets, Roberto Bautista Agut in straights, Roger Federer in a straight set upset, and Tomas Berdych in 3 sets to reach the final. His serving was impeccable this week even on a rather slow surface.
The Bryans beat Marcin Matkowski and Jurgen Melzer for the doubles title as both the world number one singles player and the world’s number one doubles team capped the ATP World Tour Season off in style by lifting tournament trophies in Paris.
2014 ATP Paris Preview, Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
The season finale for all but the top 8 has arrived, as it’s time for Paris Bercy, the final Masters 1000 event of the season. Once again, I’ve greatly enjoyed covering all the action on the ATP World Tour this year for our readers, and we hope that you enjoyed it as well.
The 2015 season promises to be a special one and we hope you will keep browsing over to Tennis East Coast to get previews and recaps of all the action. Great things are in store for our site in the coming year.
ATP Paris
BNP Paribas Masters
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Paris, France
October 27-November 2, 2014
Prize Money: € 2,884,675
Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Novak Djokovic (1)
2: Roger Federer (2)
3: Stan Wawrinka (4)
4: David Ferrer (5)
5: Tomas Berdych (6)
6: Kei Nishikori (7)
7: Milos Raonic (9)
8: Andy Murray (10)
The top 16 seeds receive first round byes. Only Rafa Nadal and Ernests Gulbis, both of whom are injured, and Marin Cilic, are out in terms of active top 20 players. Otherwise, this is a strong field for the season finale for all but the top 8.
First round matchups to watch:
Gael Monfils vs. Joao Sousa
Monfils and Sousa have split meetings this year, both of which took place on indoor hard courts, and Sousa recently got the best of Monfils in the Metz semifinals, winning 6 and 2. That said, the Portuguese number 1 is carrying a four match losing streak, and he’s slumping to end the season with three losses to lower ranked opponents in his last three matches. Monfils hasn’t played since Metz, but judging by his practice photos, he appears healthy and motivated for the final event of the season on home soil. Expect some acrobatic shot-making and a lot of rallying between these two. Monfils should win this, in 2, maybe 3 sets.
Tommy Robredo vs. Vasek Pospisil
Robredo just lost another heartbreaking final to Andy Murray in Valencia, and he may already be on the ropes physically before his first ever meeting with Pospisil. Vashy lost to Grigor Dimitrov in round 2 in Basel as expected, but he’s had a good year overall and this should be a competitive match where either player has a chance at victory. I’d give a slight edge to Pospisil given Robredo should enter this match fatigued.
Jerzy Janowicz vs. (Q)Sam Querrey
Janowicz has never lost to Querrey (2-0 career head to head including a win this year in the Winston-Salem semifinals), but the American is on a long winning streak at the moment. Querrey has won 16 straight, all at the challenger or ATP qualifying level as he returned to the challenger circuit to help build up some confidence and wins. Still, Querrey has not faced an ATP level opponent on hard courts since the US Open, and Janowicz is a big step up in terms of competition. The Pole has lost four of his last five matches, but all of those losses are to quality or in-form opponents, so he has nothing to be ashamed about. JJ had that shocking run to the Paris final in 2012 and he seems to enjoy playing in Bercy, so I have him winning this match in a slight upset over Querrey, who simply has not faced tough competition as of late.
Dominic Thiem vs. Alex Dolgopolov
This match should feature some exciting shot-making, as Thiem and Dolgo will meet for the first time. Dolgo has only won one match since returning from a knee injury, but that was over an in-form Gilles Simon in Valencia, and he does have a chance to get hot and play well here for the last tournament of the season. Thiem is still looking to build his ranking on European soil and he is just 1-4 since the US Open, as he seems to be wearing down this fall. I’d give Dolgo a slight edge here, but you never know what is going to happen when he steps foot on a tennis court. He could surrender a bagel or give a bagel, and Thiem also has dips and peaks in his performance.
Richard Gasquet vs. (Q)Denis Istomin
With Gasquet slumping, this match has some upset potential. Istomin has gone 5-3 since the US Open, with his only losses coming to top tier players Raonic, Dimitrov, and Federer, and he pushed the eventual Basel champion Federer to 3 sets. He beat two quality indoor opponents to qualify in Paris, Nicolas Mahut and Gilles Muller, without dropping a set.
Gasquet is just 2-3 since the US Open and has not played a match since Shanghai in what has been an overall poor season for him. I question what Gasquet’s motivation will be here at the end of the year, even on home soil, and an in-form Istomin should snatch the upset. The hard court h2h is 2-1 in favor of Gasquet, and Gasquet has two wins over Istomin this season, including once at the US Open.
Top Half:
Two time Paris Masters champ Novak Djokovic will open with Philipp Kohlschreiber or Edouard Roger-Vasselin, but most likely Kohli. With neither of those players likely to pose a threat to the world #1, look for Djokovic to meet Gael Monfils or John Isner in the round of 16. I favor Monfils over Isner because Isner has lost two straight matches and the h2h is almost even, 4-3 in favor of Isner since 2007. If Djokovic is in the mindset to conserve his energy before the World Tour Finals, Monfils could pose a threat to him, but Djokovic is 9-0 on hard courts career against the Frenchman and he won a great three setter with him this year in Toronto, so the advantage goes to Djokovic to reach the quarterfinals at least.
Andy Murray, who survived a grueling Valencia final and has won titles in consecutive weeks. That pretty much assures him a spot in the World Tour Finals after a strong late push, now that Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the tournament. He opens with Julien Benneteau or Rendy Lu, but most likely Benneteau. Murray may be worn down from grueling consecutive weeks of tennis and could mail it in in Paris, falling to Benneteau. If he wins that match, I still have him losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16. The Bulgarian has to reach the final in order to qualify for the World Tour Finals, and he will open his efforts against Pablo Cuevas or Leo Mayer. The Basel quarterfinalist, who fell to Federer, should win that, and then beat Murray/Benneteau/Lu in order to setup a meeting with Djokovic or Monfils in the quarters. Dimitrov has beaten Murray twice this year after losing to him three times prior, and given the fatigue and motivation factor, the match favors the Stockholm finalist Dimitrov by some margin.
Vienna finalist and Valencia semifinalist David Ferrer is also still in competition for the final World Tour Finals spot. He’ll need to put up a stirring performance against Lukas Rosol/David Goffin to get out of his first match. Given how well Goffin, a finalist in Basel, is playing, that still may not be enough, depending on the Belgian’s fatigue level. Ferrer, a former Paris champion, and Goffin are both hard working players and given they have both played a lot of tennis recently, I’m tipping Goffin to get through to the round of 16 in a bit of an upset. Goffin is rising while Ferrer is falling to some extent and the result should reflect that.
Below Ferrer/Goffin in the draw is Gilles Simon, who was playing very well before a shocking round 1 loss in Valencia, and also Donald Young, who qualified, and Fernando Verdasco. All three of these players can be dangerous. Simon and Verdasco have split h2h hard court meetings, but besides that freak Valencia result, Simon is playing the better of the two this Fall and on home soil I favor him to advance to the round of 16 and meet Goffin or Ferrer. Simon has never played Goffin and he beat Ferrer at the US Open this year, so I have Simon into the quarterfinals as a bit of a dark horse.
Kei Nishikori is at the bottom of the top half of the draw. He opens with Robredo/Pospisil, and then should meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the round of 16, assuming Tsonga defeats Jurgen Melzer/Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (two veterans who are playing poorly right now). Nishikori took some time off after Shanghai and should out-hustle Robredo/Pospisil, while the former Bercy champ Tsonga looks to find form having lost two straight and also not having played since Tokyo. Nishikori beat Tsonga in Paris last year and is 3-1 against him overall, so it should be Nishikori in the quarterfinals.
Bottom Half:
Shanghai and Basel champ Roger Federer, who also has a Paris masters title to his name, will open with a Frenchman, either Kenny De Schepper or Valencia semifinalist Jeremy Chardy in round 2. Federer, even if slightly fatigued, should cruise into the round of 16 and crush Ivo Karlovic again just like he did in the Basel semifinals. Karlovic opens with Frenchman Lucas Pouille, and then will face a slumping Fabio Fognini in round 2, who is unlikely to put in much effort into making the round of 16. Chardy shocked Federer this year on clay in Rome, but Federer beat him on hard courts in 3 sets in Brisbane at the start of the season, and he should avenge that Rome loss.
Milos Raonic, a quarterfinalist in Basel, will need to beat Jack Sock again in order to reach the round of 16 in Paris. Sock, who qualified, faces Valencia quarterfinalist Pablo Andujar, who upset Tomas Berdych there in round 1. Sock lost to Andujar at the US Open, but I have the result reversed in Paris and Raonic should win his seventh consecutive meeting against the American in what would also be his fifth win this season against him. In the round of 16, Raonic could face Moscow champ Roberto Bautista Agut, who has had a strong season but gave a walkover in Valencia, or the Gasquet/Istomin winner. If RBA happens to not be 100%, Istomin will have a nice shot at a good run, but as it stands it should be Raonic over Bautista for the quarterfinals. It would be their first head-to-head meeting.
Stan Wawrinka is really struggling at the moment, and I have him losing to the Thiem/Dolgopolov winner, no matter which of those players wins that round 1 matchup. Wawrinka has lost four matches in a row and with World Tour Finals action and the Davis Cup final looming, he may be looking to conserve himself for that.
Thiem/Dolgopolov/Wawrinka should meet Kevin Anderson or perhaps Mikhail Youzhny/Santiago Giraldo in the round of 16. Giraldo and Youzhny are both struggling right now, and Anderson is 2-0 career against Giraldo. Since Kev made quarters in Valencia and also beat Youzhny in Paris last year, he should be safe for the round of 16 where I have him beating Dolgopolov as he did earlier this year in Acapulco in 3 sets. The overall h2h between them is 1-1. Anderson also beat Thiem in Tokyo recently for a 2-0 overall h2h against him and he beat Wawrinka in Toronto earlier this year.
Former Paris champ Tomas Berdych is still in the race for the World Tour Finals along with Ferrer, Raonic and Dimitrov. After winning Stockholm, he played poorly in Valencia and will look to recover against Pierre-Hugues Herbert or Adrian Mannarino. Both French wild cards have played well indoors and Herbert played well in Paris last year. That said, a motivated Berdych should cruise to the quarterfinals over Feliciano Lopez/Sam Querrey/Jerzy Janowicz. Lopez should be his most likely opponent, though Janowicz is also a possibility. It’s a toss-up as to who makes the round of 16 among those three players.
Predictions:
Quarters:
Djokovic d. Dimitrov
Nishikori d. Simon
Berdych d. Anderson
Federer d. Raonic
Strange things tend to happen in Paris but Djokovic has beaten Dimitrov twice this year, including recently dominating him in Beijing, so he has to be the favorite. Simon and Nishikori have never met, but Nishikori is the superior player and the superior ball striker so he should advance. Berdych and Anderson have met multiple times every season since 2012, but Berdych has always come out on top because he is superior at the type of game Anderson plays. Raonic has a serious shot against Fed, but given the h2h favors the Swiss 6-0 including 2-0 this season, I’m not going to pick it.
Semis:
Nishikori d. Djokovic
Berdych d. Federer
Nishikori beat Djokovic at the USO and he has won the last two meetings against the world number one, though they have only met twice since 2011 surprisingly enough. Given that h2h though, including a win indoors, and how well Nishikori has been playing all year, and especially in the second half of the season, I feel an upset win in a Masters tournament would be well deserved for him, and I’m going out in a limb and picking him to prevail and reach the final. I’m picking Berdych over Federer because Federer has World Tour Finals and the Davis Cup final coming up and Berdych has seven career wins against Federer. The h2h is still in Federer’s favor but Berdych has proven he can beat Fed and they played a 3 set final in Dubai this year that Federer won. Given Berdych wants to make the World Tour Finals, and Federer has every reason to conserve his energy, such a result wouldn’t shock me at all.
Final:
Nishikori d. Berdych
Nishikori deserves a Masters title and I believe he will get one in Paris, it’s not an odds on pick but Paris, being at the end of the season, often yields underdog and breakthrough results, and given Nishikori is 3-0 on hard courts against Berdych he should be the favorite. I’d also pick him against Federer.
The World Tour finals participants should be Djokovic, Federer, Wawrinka, Nishikori, Cilic, Berdych, Murray, and Raonic. I feel Raonic will do better than Ferrer this week and that will secure him the final spot, with Murray and Berdych qualifying as well, and Dimitrov falling short unless he can upset Djokovic.
Federer Wins First in Shanghai, Bryans Claim Golden Masters Crown Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
One of the greatest singles players of all time, and perhaps the greatest doubles tandem of all time both made more history at the Masters series tournament in Shanghai this past week. Roger Federer defeated Gilles Simon, who was competing in his second career Masters 1000 level final, 7-6 7-6 to win his maiden Shanghai title. The title is the 23rd at the Masters Series level for the Swiss and he returns to the World Number 2 ranking at the age of 33.
Federer saved five match points against Leo Mayer before winning a third set tiebreak 9-7 to advance to round 3, and he took control of all his other matches, comfortably handling Roberto Bautista Agut, and Julien Benneteau before winning a thrilling contest with world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals 6-4 6-4.. The two titans of the game battled each other and Federer took just the slightest advantage, knocking out the two time defending Shanghai champion with a pair of breaks.
Simon has been playing some great tennis at the end of the season, and he has had a surprising run of form in Asia. The Frenchman was untroubled by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez after a poor first set, he survived a long match with Stan Wawrinka, eventually prevailing in 3 sets, as both players had chances to take the match, and Wawrinka gave away a break advantage a couple of times. Simon had an easier time against Melake Jaziri in round 3, and then he beat Tomas Berdych in 3 sets to setup a semifinal with Feliciano Lopez, who had beaten Rafael Nadal and John Isner earlier in the week. Simon won that one in two sets with a lone tiebreak, and as I said he has been showing some great fighting spirit in recent weeks, outlasting and out grinding his opponents in some tight contests.
The Bryan Brothers have no other accomplishments to lay claim to in terms of the ATP doubles circuit, after they won Shanghai over Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. They have now won all of the ATP Masters Series events as a men’s doubles team, along with all of the Grand Slams, and they remain the World’s Number 1 ranked Men’s doubles tandem.
2014 ATP Shanghai Preview, Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
The pinnacle of the Asian swing, the Shanghai Rolex Masters, which is also one of the favorite stops on tour for the players, kicks off overnight Sunday, and most of the big names are in action this week vying for critical ranking points at the end of the season.
ATP Shanghai
Shanghai Rolex Masers
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Shanghai, China
October 5-October 12, 2014
Prize Money: $4,195,895
Top 8 seeds (who all receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Novak Djokovic (1)
2: Rafael Nadal (2)
3: Roger Federer (3)
4: Stan Wawrinka (4)
5: David Ferrer (5)
6: Tomas Berdych (6)
7: Kei Nishikori (7)
8: Milos Raonic (8)
Of active top 50 players, only Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Fernando Verdasco, Lleyton Hewitt, Andreas Seppi, and Philipp Kohlschreiber are not playing in Shanghai this week.
First Round matchups to watch:
Lukas Rosol vs. Dominic Thiem
Thiem earned a big win earlier this season in Miami over Rosol, and he’d love to hand the Czech his sixth consecutive loss this week in Shanghai. The Austrian is carrying his own two match losing streak, and he was rather disappointing against Kevin Anderson in Tokyo, but I do favor him to recover and earn his second career win against Rosol.
Santiago Giraldo vs. Vasek Pospisil
Pospisil has a pair of wins over Giraldo this year, and given Santi has had a strong season, those are quality wins for the Canadian, both on hard courts. He played a spirited contest with Novak Djokovic in Beijing, losing in straight sets, while Giraldo is reeling from back to back losses, though he made the semis in Shenzen. Giraldo can certainly create some highlights but I feel Pospisil has his number and his form is steady, at the moment, so he should advance.
Richard Gasquet vs. Jeremy Chardy
Richard Gasquet should be on upset alert against his countryman Chardy. The Frenchman with the gifted forehand, Chardy, reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo and recorded a quality win over Kevin Anderson en route. The Frenchman with the gifted backhand, and more defensive approach, Gasquet, has lost two straight matches and was run off the court by Rafael Nadal in Beijing. Gasquet has not had a great year and he appears to be slumping at the end of it. Gasquet has a lone head to head win five years ago on a hard court, but I have Chardy in an upset in my bracket.
Yen-Hsun Lu vs. Marcel Granollers
Rendy Lu comes off taking the silver medal as the top seed in the Asian Games competition, while Granollers upset David Ferrer in Tokyo before falling to Steve Johnson in 3 sets in round 2. Lu has beaten Granollers twice this season and barring some sort of physical problem he should record a third win over the Spaniard.
Top Half:
Novak Djokovic will likely go into Shanghai looking to do a double for the third year in a row, as he is in the final of Beijing presently and a favorite to take the title there. He won Shanghai in 2012 and 2013 and he will open with the Rosol/Thiem winner. A match between Djokovic and the young gun Thiem would be entertaining.
In round 3, it should be Djokovic against Kevin Anderson or Tommy Robredo. Robredo lost a 3 setter to John Isner in Beijing, after reaching the final in Shenzen, and he is either in great form or exhausted at the moment. If you remember, Robredo upset Djokovic in Cincy earlier this season. Anderson only made it to round 2 in Tokyo, a disappointing performance. Robredo opens with Mikhail Kukushkin and Anderson opens with a qualifier. Potential qualifiers include the dangerous Viktor Troicki, Bernard Tomic, the rising Peter Gojowczyk, and young Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis.
David Ferrer has lost two straight matches, and the 2011 Shanghai finalist is in a bad slump at the moment. He will open with a qualifier or Beijing semifinalist Martin Klizan. Klizan played fantastic in Beijing, qualifying and then defeating Rafael Nadal en route to the semis, but he is likely to be too exhausted to produce similar results in Shanghai. He was meekly dispatched by Tomas Berdych in the semis there. Unless Ferrer falls to a qualifier, maybe even Troicki, who beat him in Shenzen, the Spaniard is likely to face Andy Murray in the third round.
Murray, twice a champion in Shanghai, made the semis in Beijing after winning in Shenzen and is playing great right now. The path for Murray to round 3 is a qualifier and Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Jerzy Janowicz. He beat Janowicz in 3 sets in Beijing, and the Pole likely wants a rubber match. It’s a hard section to predict, but a Djokovic vs. Murray rematch that Djoker just won in Beijing, is the most likely outcome in the quarterfinals.
Roger Federer is making his Asian swing debut in Shanghai. He opens with Leo Mayer or Di Wu, an easy start, and then one of Pospisil/Giraldo over Alex Dolgopolov/Roberto Bautista Agut. Dolgo struggled in his first match back on tour since injury, falling to Jack Sock in Tokyo, while RBA suffered a heartbreaking loss to Gilles Simon, also in Tokyo. He gave away multiple match point chances and had to retire in the third set due to exhaustion. I have a Federer vs. Pospisil round 3 meeting set, and then Federer through to the quarters. Giraldo and RBA also could make the round of 16, and Dolgopolov is capable of catching fire.
Possible Tokyo champion, and Kuala Lumpur champion, Kei Nishikori will play Jack Sock or a qualifier in round 2. The Japanese number one could be seeking his third consecutive ATP title, in what would be a spectacular feat. Sock was a quarterfinalist in Tokyo and is at a career high ranking. Unless Nishikori is suffering the effects of exhaustion from all of his tennis in the past two weeks, look for him to get through and face Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16.
Dimi opens with an out of shape and out of form Denis Istomin, who scored a couple of wins to reach the quarterfinals in Tokyo, and then Julien Benneteau or Ze Zhang in round 2. Dimitrov was a quarterfinalist in Beijing, though he didn’t play his best. That being said, I like Dimitrov over Nishikori and into the quarterfinals given the fatigue factor. A fresh Nishikori would beat Dimitrov right now on any surface, but a tired Nishikori should be a slight underdog, even with Dimi not at his best. Federer and Dimitrov are my picks to meet in the quarterfinals.
Bottom Half:
Beijing quarterfinalist Rafael Nadal, who played two good matches before being shockingly upset by Klizan, opens
with Feliciano Lopez or a qualifier. Lopez played terribly against Tomas Berdych in Beijing, and the qualifier will have an upset chance in that match. Nadal should face John Isner in the round of 16, the American will open with Pablo Andujar, then Steve Johnson or a qualifier. Johnson did well to make quarters in Tokyo and is improving, but Isner should be superior. A qualifier faces Johnson in round 1. Nadal should have a decided edge over Isner, though anything is possible.
Tokyo finalist and possible champ Milos Raonic, who is playing some great tennis right now, will open with Joao Sousa or Juan Monaco, with Sousa also playing well. Raonic could face Ernests Gulbis in round 3, though Gulbis is really struggling and retired with an injury in his last match in Beijing. He opens with the out of form Mikhail Youzhny, and then the Ivan Dodig/Pablo Cuevas winner. Dodig gave Kei Nishikori a quality match in Tokyo, and I have him facing Raonic in round 3, getting past Gulbis to get there. Raonic should be safe for the quarterfinals.
Stan Wawrinka was shocked in round 1 in Tokyo by challenger journeyman Tatsuma Ito. He will look to assuage the memory of that poor result against Gilles Simon or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Lopez was poor against Djokovic in Beijing. Simon made the semis in Tokyo and played very well but appeared tired out in that semifinal. I think Wawrinka will get it together and reach the quarterfinals, as possible round 3 opponents Fabio Fognini, and Donald Young don’t seem overly imposing. A qualifier is also in this section and Chinese wild card Chunan Wang. Look for Young to have a dark horse shot at the quarterfinals, as he gave Kei Nishikori a quality test in Tokyo.
Beijing finalist and possible champion Tomas Berdych will open with the Chardy/Gasquet winner. He should be in good enough form to get to round 3, where Beijing quarterfinalist Marin Cilic, who was dispatched by Andy Murray, is a possible opponent. Cilic needs to beat his slumping countryman Ivo Karlovic, and then the Granollers/Lu winner. Cilic vs. Berdych is a hard match to pick but given Cilic has won their last two meetings, both in grand slams (the US Open and Wimbledon), I have him winning for a third consecutive time and reaching the quarters.
Dark Horse: Donald Young
I have Young in the quarterfinals as a non-seed getting past a qualifier, Fabio Fognini, and Wawrinka in consecutive matches. Young has beaten Wawrinka before and both of their career h2h matches have been close, including a 3 setter in Shanghai in 2011. I feel Wawrinka is not playing near his best right now and DY can capitalize on that. He should lose to Cilic or Berdych in the quarters.
Predictions
Quarters:
Djokovic d. Murray
Federer d. Dimitrov
Cilic d. Young
Raonic d. Nadal
Djokovic just handled Murray in Beijing with ease. Federer and Dimitrov are often compared to each other. Federer won their only meeting last year indoors, and Dimitrov didn’t appear to be playing that well in Beijing. Cilic or Berdych should have the edge over Wawrinka or Young, and Cilic is a player it is hard to predict form wise right now. Nadal normally dominates Raonic but I feel he’s still finding his form, so Raonic should get some luck and catch him in a beatable state.
Semis:
Djokovic d. Federer
Raonic d. Cilic
Djokovic has generally had an edge this year in their head to head meetings and he tends to play very well during the fall swing. Raonic is too consistent for Cilic (or Berdych), assuming he’s not too exhausted. The Canadian’s consistency all year has been underrated, and Raonic beat CIlic last year on an outdoor hard court.
Final:
Djokovic d. Raonic
Djokovic is 2-0 this year against Raonic. Both of those matches came on clay though, and Raonic will have his chances, but Djokovic should be too good to not take the title in Shanghai.
Chris De Waard’s Picks
Quarters
Djokovic d. Murray
Federer d. Dimitrov
Cilic d. Wawrinka
Nadal d. Raonic
Sitting directly across from King’s Island, made most famous to me by the Brady Bunch episode back in 1973, it’s an awesome childhood-induced feeling to look out on Center Court from the glass-enclosed, air-conditioned Media Center perched atop Center Court and catch a match.
I had no idea, simply no idea, the size of this tournament nor the size of the grounds nor the hordes of teeming fans who trek from Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and more distant places to attend this event every year.
It’s only fitting that the Cincinnati Masters is held with an amusement park in the background, because this is a theme park of all the best of tennis–from the ravenous autograph seekers to the unprecedented access those same fans have to the players. The practice courts are the envy of the nation, as die-hards get a front row view of the world’s top 10 as they warm up every day.
Don’t get me wrong: It still lacks the intimacy of the smaller tournaments on the tour. It will never be Newport or Washington, but it is clearly the Indian Wells of the East.
Sorry, Miami.
Maybe even better than Indian Wells itself, because of its immediate relevance to the US Open.
It is not without some problems, most notably the glaring traffic infrastructure failures. It is exceptionally well-attended and there is no such thing as mass transit here, so the only way in and out is by car or hotel shuttle.
There was a four mile backup on Interstate 71 when I drove in Tuesday morning, and it took over an hour to get two miles to a parking space. The Western & Southern Open’s impact on traffic is so pronounced that it actually creates a reverse-commute jam. When day-sessioneers leave the parking lots and head back toward Downtown at 6:00 p.m., it’s madness all the way there heading south, while the northbound lanes heading out of Downtown Cincinnati are relatively empty.
And another thing–people here drive safely. If you’re an I-95er like myself, that can be dangerous. Everyone from the East Coast should be diagnosed with some degree of road rage compared to Buckeye motorists. When Ohioans stop at a stop sign, they really stop. For like 10 seconds. No ‘California Roll’ here. Be advised.
I spoke with many fans this week who drove as many as 18 hours to attend this tournament and have no intention of attending the US Open. Two told me that the expense of traveling to and staying in New York was a big disappointment since they spent more time waiting in lines and looking for celebrities.
It makes sense. For me, the biggest draw of the US Open is its relative proximity to the rest of the Mid-Atlantic, about a 3 1/2 hour drive for me from Baltimore. It’s twice as far to the Western & Southern Open, but instead of the pushiest fans on the continent, everyone is well-behaved, the concessions are more reasonable, and there are a variety of non-frightening lodging choices nearby that deliver a big bang for the buck. Most importantly, there’s no Queens here. Instead of auto body shops, ‘dodgy’ motels and a creaky subway above, there’s a water park, golf courses and the Faux Eiffel Tower of King’s Island overhead.
The New York press grumbled about the lack of high-end dining options all week, as I’m told they always do, but there were more than enough choices, especially for folks who spend 16(!) hours each day at a tennis tournament.
The Food Court options were impressive, with several local restaurants and caterers serving up amazing dishes.
‘But Where Will We Eat?’, They Say
Speaking of amazing, one gauge of the lack of gouge at the concessions was the Skyline Chili booth–‘The Official Chili Of The Cincinnati Reds and the Western & Southern Open’. After Maria Sharapova dodgily pooh-poohed the ‘3way’ on Monday, I raced to a Skyline drive-through and got the Cincy-famous dish for $5.54.
At the Skyline Food Court location on tournament grounds, the same chili, spaghetti and cheddar cheese combo ran me $7.00. Impressively Populist. I love it.
Fan Protip: You can buy a can–a whole can–of used match Penn ATP/WTA tennis balls for $1. That’s right. $.33333 for each match-used ball with the Western & Southern logo stamped thereon. You have to keep asking every day, and it’s one can per person, per day.
Best fandom deal in pro tennis. Cash Only. Ask daily at the tournament’s information booths, because supplies are extremely limited.
And here’s a Fan Protip: If you’re buying upper-level tickets, try the 320s. From there, you can use the restrooms below which are adjacent to the interview rooms used by the players and media. A steady stream of players come and go from there for interviews. If you’re a ticket-holder in the 320s, you’re also entitled to ride the elevator up to your seat. That elevator is often packed with players early in the week. It’s also a gruelingly-slow ride, and it stops at the players lounge, the interview level and the upper deck, giving you plenty of time to chat with players in the elevator.
The list of positives grew even longer when I stopped in at the Great Wolf Lodge to visit my good buddy, @Tennis_Shots, who was the only single guy with no kids to ever check into this indoor water park and wizardry-themed fun fest filled with kids in PJs running with magic wands illuminating crystals all evening throughout the hotel.
That’s when I realized–this is way, way better a family vacation with high-caliber tennis than the US Open will ever be in a million years.
I know I was only here for five days, but this is a drastically better experience than Flushing Meadows for serious tennis fans and families. Let me put it this way. New York is a distraction and a pain when your only objective is to enjoy slam-style matches with your loved ones.
Even a seasoned New York tennis correspondent agreed with my premise off the record: If you want to visit New York, then visit New York. But for all the US Open tennis without the New York Hustle, visit the Western & Southern Open.
And that brings me to Arthur Ashe Kids Day. I don’t think he would even want his name associated with that event at this point because there’s no tennis involved with that particular off-day at the Open. No qualies or anything remotely resembling competitive pro tennis. Just a gaggle of on-court celebs who know very little about the sport. And I should know because I interviewed her on the hallowed Courts of Ashe for two seconds.
You can’t fake family, US Open. The attendees at the Western & Southern Open ARE FAMILY, and you can’t hold a candle to them.
Take notes, USTA. Next year, I think I’ll head out Route 70 and skip the hot mess that you so fancifully hype.
Alright, maybe I’ll go to USO qualies, but that is it. 🙂
(Disclaimer: The USTA owns 80% of the Western & Southern Open. The other 20% is Pure Magic.)
Nearly everyone expected to win did so today, except Novak Djokovic. It didn’t break his heart or at least he didn’t show it.
Novak Djokovic will apparently play with two rackets at the US Open in an effort to maintain his world #1 ranking. At least that’s what he told Tennis Panorama News’ Dave Gertler at the Western & Southern Open in Greater Cincinnati today after being defeated by Tommy Robredo. For Djokovic, he’s the first #1 seed since 2008 not to reach the quarters. The dodgy Cincinnati ‘Capodimonte Cup’ continues to elude him.
Cincinnati Capodimonte Cup
Australian Open Champion Stan Wawrinka made quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters today with a 3 set win over Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. His first serve has been off as of late and Stan only hit 27% of his first serves today. I asked him about that and he acknowledged the issue. Wawrinka will meet Julien Benneteau in the quarters tomorrow. The head to head between the pair favors the Frenchman 2-1.
Julien Benneateau had never beaten Jerzy Janowicz in ATP play until today, where he posted a 7-5, 6-1 win over the big Pole. Benneteau’s serve was on and he was patient with every point. He’ll need that serve when he faces Wawrinka for a chance to make the semis in Cincinnati, a feat he’s never reached before.
“I am not the favorite, but I’ll have my chances and just be ready to take it”, he told me, referring to tomorrow’s match with Wawrinka.
Fabio Fognini is the first Italian quarterfinalist at the Western & Southern Open since 1995. He doesn’t care who he plays in the quarterfinals tomorrow. He’s just thrilled to be here so deep in the tournament and peaking around the US Open.
Simona Halep is getting used to the attention of being a world #2 and she dosen’t care if she plays on Center Court or not. This is her 2nd post-match press conference after acceding to her new post. She also answered an interesting question about being #1 whether or not you win a slam.
Finally, Evina Svitolina beat Carla Suarez Navarro to advance to her first Premier-level quarterfinals today, getting revenge for Suarez Navarro’s win over her earlier this year in Linz. Svitolina’s next opponent is Ana Ivanovic. She spoke me with me after the match and discussed the improvements in her mental game. The 19-year-old is the first teen quarterfinalist here since Pavs did it in 2010.
ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014
CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
ATP – [3] Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) vs. Julien Benneteau (France)
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – [1] Serena Williams (USA) vs [8] Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)
Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – [16] Tommy Robredo (Spain) vs. [6] David Ferrer (Spain)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – [8] Andy Murray (Great Britain) vs. [2] Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Not Before 9:00 pm
WTA – [9] Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) vs. Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
ATP – Vasek Pospisil (Canada) / Jack Sock (USA) vs. [2] Alexander Peya (Austria) / Bruno Soares (Brazil)
Not before 1:00 pm
ATP – [5] Milos Raonic (Canada) vs. [15] Fabio Fognini (Italy)
Not before 3:00 pm
WTA – [4] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) vs. [12] Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
Not before 7:00 pm
WTA – [5] Maria Sharapova (Russia) vs. [2] Simona Halep (Romania)
WTA – [8] Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia)/Anastasia Rodionova (Australia) vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain)/Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan)
COURT 3 start 12:00 noon
WTA – Kimiko Date-Krumm (Japan) / Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) vs. Garbine Muguruza (Spain) / Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain)
Not before 1:30 pm
ATP – After Suitable Rest – [6] Julien Benneteau (France) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France) vs. [3] Daniel Nestor (Canada) / Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia)
WTA – [7] Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) / Abigail Spears (USA) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) / Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)
ATP – Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) / Marcin Matkowski (Poland) vs. [WC] Steve Johnson (USA) / Sam Querrey (USA)
ATP – [1] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) vs. Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) / Horia Tecau (Romania)
Results – Thursday, August 14, 2014
Men’s Singles – Round of 16
[16] Tommy Robredo (Spain) d [1] Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 76(6) 75
[2] Roger Federer (Switzerland) d Gael Monfils (France) 64 46 63
[3] Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) d [14] Marin Cilic (Croatia) 36 60 61
[5] Milos Raonic (Canada) d [WC] Steve Johnson (USA) 67(7) 63 76(4)
[6] David Ferrer (Spain) d Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 75 60
[8] Andy Murray (Great Britain) d [11] John Isner (USA) 67(3) 64 76(2)
[15] Fabio Fognini (Italy) d Yen-Hsun Lu (Chinese Taipei) 36 63 63
Julien Benneteau (France) d Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) 75 61
Men’s Doubles – Second Round
[1] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) d Eric Butorac (USA) / Raven Klaasen (South Africa) 61 64
[2] Alexander Peya (Austria) / Bruno Soares (Brazil) d Marin Cilic (Croatia) / Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) 76(3) 76(6)
[WC] Steve Johnson (USA) / Sam Querrey (USA) d [8] David Marrero (Spain) / Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 76(4) 64
Women’s Singles – Round of 16
[1] Serena Williams (USA) d [13] Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 62 62
[2] Simona Halep (Romania) d [16] Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 64 75
[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) d Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 61 61
[5] Maria Sharapova (RUS) d Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 64 76(2)
[8] Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) d Sloane Stephens (USA) 76(4) 64
[9] Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) d Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 62 26 63
[12] Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) d [6] Angelique Kerber (Germany) 75 62
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) d [15] Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain) 46 64 64
Women’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
Timea Babos (Hungary) / Kristina Mladenkovic (France) d [1] Sara Errani (Italy) / Roberta Vinci (Italy) 26 61 10-8
Women’s Doubles – Second Round
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) / Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) d [2] Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) / Shuai Peng (China) 36 75 10-5
Garbine Muguruza (Spain) / Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) d [5] Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) / Elena Vesnina (Russia) 76(1) 16 12-10
[7] Racquel Kops-Jones (USA) / Abigail Spears (USA) d [WC] Melanie Oudin (USA) / Taylor Townsend (USA) 63 61
[8] Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) / Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) d Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) / Arantxa Parra Santonja (Spain) 63 62
Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) / Yaroslave Shvedova (Kazakhstan) d Cara Black (Zimbabwe) / Sania Mirza (India) 63 63
Jerzy Janowicz hasn’t had a great summer. Last year’s ATP phenom has played middling tennis in 2014, including first round losses in Bastad and Toronto. After dropping out of the top 50 after Wimbledon, Janowicz has won two straight here in Cincinnati. He’s on to the third round for the first time in a while and the first time at Western & Southern Open. Janowicz lost in the first round here and in Flushing Meadows last year, so this one had to mean a lot. Janowicz hit 12 aces on his way to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over world #8 Grigor Dimitrov in 1:47. I say it had to mean a lot because not me nor anyone in the media requested an interview with him after the match. I had assumed someone else had. Next time.
Genie Bouchard has also had a bummer summer after her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. She continued her Summer of Discontent with a 3 set loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Bouchard turned the tables on the press afterwards, who tried to remind her that she hasn’t been at the top of her form immediately preceding other Slams in which she’s seen success.
It was good to see her stick up for herself.
“[S]ometimes you guys ask me the questions and then you sound kind of more negative than I feel. I’m like, well, okay”, she responded.
Photo: Christopher Levy for TennisNow.com
Fernando Verdasco went for career win #400 today against 14 seed Marin Cilic, but couldn’t give the Cincy fans an “I was there” moment for them, edged out 7-6(6), 7-6(5). 400 wins is a feat that only 11 other ATP players have pulled off and it will arrive soon enough, just not in Mason.
Photo: Christopher Levy for TennisNow.com
Petra Kvitova, Grigor Dimitrov and Thomas Berdych were all eliminated early in today’s first session. Kvitova was a straight sets victim of Elina Svitolina 6-2, 7-6(2). Svitolina will face Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round.
Dimitrov was upended by Jerzy Janowicz as mentioned above and gets Julien Benneteau in the 3rd round.
Thomas Berdych fell to Yen-Hsun Lu. Lu came back big after dropping the first set and took out the 4 seed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Instead of Berdych, Fabio Fognini will play Lu next. One of them will advance to the quarterfinals. I very briefly spoke with Fognini before he hit the shower today.
Serena Williams prevailed in a two set tiebreaker nail-biter, 7-6(7), 7-6(7) over Sam Stosur, who must be wondering what more she could possibly have done to beat the world #1.
A massive win for Steve Johnson over Ernests Gulbis today. The next time he hits the court, Stevie will attempt to become the first qualifying quarterfinalist in 7 years at this event.
And let’s not Roger Federer. Naturally, the 5-time Cincy champion advanced.
And everyone was there to see it, as the tournament announced ‘the Wednesday day session drew a single-session record of 14,336, surpassing the mark of 13,704 that was set at this same session in 2013. Today’s total attendance combing both sessions was 25,686, surpassing the mark of 25,155 that was set on this same day in 2013’.
This is an amazing and not-so-secret event.
ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014
CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
ATP – [3] Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) vs [14] Marin Cilic (Croatia)
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – [1] Serena Williams (USA) vs [13] Flavia Pennetta (Italy)
Not Before 2:30 pm
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (Serbia) vs [16] Tommy Robredo (Spain)
Night Session – Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – Gael Monfils (France) vs [2] Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Not Before 9:00 pm
WTA – [12] Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) vs [6] Angelique Kerber (Germany)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
ATP – Julien Benneteau (France) vs Jerzy Janowicz (Poland)
ATP – [8] Andy Murray (Great Britain) vs [11] John Isner (USA)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA – [5] Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [4] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) vs Sabine Lisicki (Germany)
[1] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) vs Eric Butorac (USA) / Raven Klaasen (South Africa)
COURT 3 start 11:00 am
WTA – [16] Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) vs [2] Simona Halep (Romania)
ATP – [15] Fabio Fognini (Italy) vs Yen-Hsun Lu (Chinese Taipei)
Not Before 2:30 pm
ATP – [5] Milos Raonic (Canada) vs [WC] Steve Johnson (USA)
WTA – Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) vs [9] Ana Ivanovic (Serbia)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) vs [6] David Ferrer (Spain)
COURT 9 start 1:00 pm
WTA – [15] Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain) vs Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA – Sloane Stephens (USA) vs [8] Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)
COURT 4 start 11:00 am
WTA – Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) / Yaroslave Shvedova (Kazakhstan) vs Cara Black (Zimbabwe) / Sania Mirza (India)
WTA – [8] Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) / Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) vs Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) / Arantza Parra Santonja (Spain)
WTA – [1] Sara Errani (Italy) / Roberta Vinci (Italy) vs Timea Babos (Hungary) / Kristina Mladenkovic (France)
[7] Racquel Kops-Jones (USA) / Abagail Spears (USA) vs [WC] Melanie Oudin (USA) / Taylor Townsend (USA)
WTA after suitable rest – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) / Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) vs [2] Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) / Shuai Peng (China)
Court 6 start not before 1:30 pm
ATP after suitable rest – Marin Cilic (Croatia) / Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) vs [2] Alexander Peya (Austria) / Bruno Soares (Brazil)
WTA after suitable rest – Garbine Muguruza (Spain) / Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) vs [5] Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) / Elena Vesnina (Russia)
ATP after suitable rest – [WC] Steve Johnson (USA) / Sam Querrey (USA) vs [8] David Marrero (Spain) / Fernando Verdasco (Spain)
Results – Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Men’s Singles – Second Round
[2] Roger Federer (Switzerland) d Vasek Pospisil (Canada) 76 (4) 57 62
Yen-Hsun Lu (Taipei) d [4] Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 36 63 64
[5] Milos Raonic (Canada) d [WC] Robby Ginepri (USA) 62 62
[6] David Ferrer (Spain) d Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 67 (4) 76 (4) 76 (4)
Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) d [7] Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 64 36 63
[8] Andy Murray (Great Britain) d Joao Sousa (Portugal) 63 63
[WC] Steve Johnson (USA) d [9] Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) 64 64
[11] John Isner (USA) d [Q] Marinko Matosevic 63 76 (1)
[14] Marin Cilic (Crotia) d Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 76 (6) 76 (5)
Gael Monfils (France) d [13] Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain) 64 61
[15] Fabio Fognini (Italy) d Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 61 64
[16] Tommy Robredo (Spain) d [Q] Sam Querrey (USA) 62 64
Mikahil Youzhny (Russia) d Andreas Seppi (Italy) 63 64
Julien Benneteau (France) d [Q] James Ward (Great Britain) 62 62
Men’s Doubles – Second Round
[3] Daniel Nestor (Canada) / Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) d Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) / Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) 62 63
Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) / Marcin Matkowski (Poland) d [4] Ivan Dodig (Croatia) / Marcelo Melo (Brazil) 62 64
Vasek Pospisil (Canada) / Jack Sock (USA) d [5] Leander Paes (India) / Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 61 46 10-8
[6] Julien Benneteau (France) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France) d Juan Sebastian Cabal (Colombia) / Tommy Robredo (Spain) 16 64 10-7
Jean-Julien Rojer (Russia) / Horia Tecau (Romania) d [7] Marcel Granollers (Spain) / Marc Lopez (Spain) 75 76 (5)
Men’s Doubles – First Round
Eric Butorac (USA) / Raven Klaasn (South Africa) d Feliciano Lopez (Spain) / Jurgen Melzer (Austria) 46 36
Women’s Singles – Second Round
[1] Serena Williams (USA) d Samantha Stosur (Australia) 76 (7) 76 (7)
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) d [3] Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 62 76 (2)
[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) d Kurumi Nara (Japan) 62 62
[6] Angelique Kerber (Germany) d Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 64 61
Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) d Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 64 36 62
[8] Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) d [Q] Annika Beck 61 76 (0)
[9] Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) d [WC] Christina McHale (USA) 64 60
[13] Flavia Pennetta (Italy) d [Q] Taylor Townsend (USA) 64 63
Sabine Lisicki (Germany) d [14] Sara Errani (Italy) 64 26 76 (2)
[15] Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) d [Q] Pauline Parmentier (France) 63 75
[16] Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) d [Q] Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan) 64 62
Sloane Stephens (USA) d Barbora Zahlavova (Czech Republic) 75 61
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) d [Q] Karin Knapp (Italy) 61 63
Women’s Doubles – Second Round
[1] Sara Errani (Italy) / Roberta Vinci (Italy) Daniela Hantuchova (Croatia) / Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) 63 75
Kimiko Date-Krumm (Japan) / Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) d [3] Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) / Katarina Srebotnik (Croatia) 64 06 10-6
Timea Babos (Hungary) / Kristina Mladenovic (France) d Klaudia Jans-Ignacik (Poland) / Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 66 Ret.
Women’s Doubles – Second Round
[5] Ekaterina Makarove (Russia) / Elena Vesnina (Russia) d Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) / Alicja Rosolska (Poland) 61 61
Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) / Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) d Andrea Petkovic (Germany) / Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) 64 64
Marina Erakovic (Australia) / Arantxa Parra Santonja (Spain) d Oksana Kalashnikova (Georgia) / Olga Savchuk (Ukraine) 16 64 11-9
2014 ATP Clay Court Season In Review Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
In review: The 2014 ATP Clay Court Season
After Kitzbuhel concluded last week, the clay court calendar portion of the 2014 ATP season came to an end. With that conclusion, we can now review which players performed the best, and which players underachieved on the dirt this season. Clay courts comprise a large portion of the ATP calendar so there is a much larger sample size to draw from compared to, say, the grass court season.
27 year old journeyman Argentine Leonardo Mayer has transformed himself into a top 30 player this season and his best results have come on clay. He posted 18 wins on the surface compared to just 10 losses this season at the ATP level and scored wins over household names David Ferrer, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Joao Sousa and Tommy Robredo on the surface; he also pushed top 6 player Tomas Berdych to three sets in Oeiras.
He reached his first career final in Vina Del Mar, but fell short against Fabio Fognini there, and he finally got his maiden title in Hamburg over Ferrer in 3 sets. Winning that final set tiebreak ended a long journey to the top 30 for Leo and he remains an under recognized and underappreciated Argentine player. With Del Potro perpetually injured and Nalbandian now retired, Argentine will have to look to the likes of Mayer to carry Davis Cup and national hopes for a while. He reached the third round of the French Open and had quarterfinal appearances in both Oeiras and Nice to round out his best results on clay for 2014.
Honorable mentions for clay court surprise: Carlos Berlocq, Santiago Giraldo, Kei Nishikori, Roberto Bautista Agut
Carlos Berlocq joins his countryman Mayer as a surprising player this season. He won an ATP title for the second year in a row, this time coming in Oeiras where he upset and outlasted Tomas Berdych. The loud and flamboyant dirtballer also posted quarterfinals in Nice and a semifinal in Bastad to compliment his win in Oeiras. This highlights an overall 16-9 record on clay at the ATP level for 2014. He tends to get overmatched in the masters level and grand slam events but against a 250 level field he often flourishes. Notable opponents he defeated this year on clay include Andreas Seppi, Milos Raonic, Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt at the French, along with the aforementioned Berdych.
Santiago Giraldo, a shotmaking Colombian with a huge forehand, has also had some of the best success of his career this season. He went 19-11 on clay and though he did not win a title, he reached the final in Barcelona, his second career final, along with semis in Houston and Vina Del Mar, and a pair of quarterfinals in Madrid and Stuttgart. Giraldo beat top players Tommy Robredo, Andy Murray, Nicolas Almagro, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga this season. Giraldo joins Mayer as a first time top 30 player after success on clay.
Kei Nishikori had an underappreciated clay court season this year, partially due to the fact that he had to battle injuries during that portion of the season, He played just three tournaments but posted a 10-2 record in them with a title in Barcelona and a final in Madrid, where he took a set off Nadal but had to retire during the third set of the match. He had top tier wins over Roberto Bautista Agut, Marin Cilic, Ferrer, Ernests Gulbis, and Raonic among his 10 overall and should he be able to stay healthy he has shown himself to be a threat on clay.
Bautista Agut is the last player I’ll discuss. He went 12-5 on clay and won his first title on the surface in Stuttgart over Lukas Rosol. Success on clay has helped him reach the top 20 for the first time in his career and he beat Robredo, Fernando Verdasco, and Fognini this year on the surface. RBA doesn’t play prototypical Spanish tennis but he’s still a top performing Spaniard on red clay.
Biggest upset: ATP Barcelona quarterfinals: Nicolas Almagro d. Rafael Nadal 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4
The powerful Spaniard Almagro had been outclassed by his much more successful countryman Nadal eight previous times on clay. Finally, Nico was able to get a victory against perhaps the greatest clay courter of all time. The first set was a routine affair, but Almagro fought back hard and Rafa played poorly, resulting in Nadal’s first loss on clay after winning the first set in over six years. Nadal had his chances to close out the match in the second, and didn’t face break points himself, but he couldn’t convert and the tiebreak went against him, giving Almagro an opening he took advantage of by winning a decisive fifth and final break in the third set to seal the victory. Nadal struggled to win his service points, and at the time, many were deeply worried about how he was playing going into the French Open. The fact Rafa did win the French perhaps makes this victory by Almagro look even more improbable and top quality, given Rafa showed his career wasn’t in serious decline yet.
Clay court breakthroughs: Dominic Thiem, Alex Zverev and Dusan Lajovic
A trio of young players found maiden ATP success on clay, while new Austrian number one Dominic Thiem was a mere 12-8 on clay at the ATP level. He went 4-0 in qualifying matches on the surface and won multiple main draw matches in Barcelona, Madrid and Hamburg. He finally reached his first career ATP final on home soil in Kitzbuhel and appears very close to his first career ATP title. Thiem had notable wins over Radek Stepanek and Stan Wawrinka this year on clay.
Alex Zverev, a teenager, notably made the semifinals in Hamburg, a one off showing but clearly a sign of things to come for the young German. Zverev had wins over Mikhail Youzhny and Giraldo en route. I have a feeling Thiem vs. Zverev may develop into a clay court rivalry in the future. Both players have things to work on but we could have a Germany vs. Austria French Open final come 2018 or beyond.
Dusan Lajovic established himself as a top 70 player with a strong clay court season. He also established himself as the Serbian number 2 behind Djokovic and should feature on their Davis Cup team for quite some time. He went 14-11 in both ATP main draw action and qualifying on clay this season and along with quarters in Hamburg and Bastad, he reached the round of 16 at the French Open, his best ever result in a major. He didn’t beat many top names this season but he still proved he can grind out matches to increase his ranking.
Clay Court Disappointments: Tommy Robredo, Stan Wawrinka, Gilles Simon, Joao Sousa and Andreas Seppi
The well-liked veteran Spaniard Robredo went just 15-12 this year on clay after going a tremendous 25-10 on the surface in 2013. His age may finally be catching up with him as he reached just one final, one semi and one quarterfinal this season along with posting seven early round exits. Once he finishes this season he will have a lot to think about going into to 2015.
Wawrinka did not have a terrible clay court season, but he underachieved after high expectations were placed on him after winning his first grand slam in Australia at the start of the year. He won Monte Carlo, but that was the only highlight of his 6-3 clay court season. He had a trio of surprising early exits in Madrid, Rome and the French Open, and next season he will have much to gain during the clay court portion of the year. He posted a 43-17 record on clay over the previous two seasons before this one and has the ability to do much better than he did in 2014.
Veteran Frenchman Gilles Simon has struggled to stay healthy in 2014 and he had a disappointing clay court season that has contributed to his fall from the top 30. He won consecutive matches in a clay court tournament just twice this season and failed to beat any players ranked above him on the surface. He also had bad losses to Teymuraz Gabashvili, Lukasz Kubot and Pablo Andujar. He was a subpar 8-9 on the surface overall in 2014. ‘
After a breakthrough 2013, top Portugese player Joao Sousa was a disappointing 7-13 on clay in 2014, struggling against ATP level competition on the surface. He reached one quarterfinal and one final but suffered ten opening match exits and eleven early round exists overall with multiple losses to players ranked below him. Sousa will need to improve considerably and adjust his game if he hopes to be more successful on clay in the future.
After struggling on clay in 2013, Italian veteran Andreas Seppi did so again in 2014. He is just 18-22 on the surface over the past two seasons and was 11-12 this season. He failed to reach a semifinal in any clay court tournament this year.
First time winners: Federico Delbonis, David Goffin and Pablo Cuevas
23 year old Argentine Federico Delbonis won his maiden title in Sao Paulo and has been successful on clay overall this season, posting an 18-13 ATP record. He later made a final in Nice, semifinals in Casablanca and a quarterfinal in Stuttgart to complement his Sao Paulo victory. Delbonis also showed his prowess on the red stuff last season when he reached the final in Hamburg and he should be a name to watch in many clay court tournaments to come.
David Goffin snagged a maiden title in Kitzbuhel at the tail end of the clay court season after getting red hot on the ATP Challenger Tour prior. Goffin, who had that run to the fourth round as a qualifier at the 2012 French Open, and has seen his once promising career fade from the spotlight since then, returned to the challenger tour to find his game and hopefully he will be able to keep himself at the ATP level this time. Goffin is undersized and many players were able to hit him off the court at the top level but perhaps he has rediscovered a path to success for himself given the limitations of his physical stature.
Lastly, Pablo Cuevas, who has overcome multiple knee and shoulder injuries and built his ranking back up to ATP status from the challenger tour, won his maiden title at 28 years old in Bastad, then followed it up with a title in Umag a couple of weeks later. Cuevas makes his living on clay and has been rapidly improving as of late. He pushed Fernando Verdasco to five sets at the French Open and has wins over Robredo, Fognini, Seppi, Sousa, and Verdasco this season. Cuevas’ rise is a testament to his tenacity and the work he has put into his game.
Tennis Atlantic 