Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer ATP Finals 2019 Preview and Prediction
It will be a winner takes all affair on Thursday when Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer face off in the evening session…
It will be a winner takes all affair on Thursday when Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer face off in the evening session…
American twins to finish career at US Open
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan announced today their decision to retire from professional tennis in 2020. The 41-year-old American twins will bid farewell following the US Open, scene of their major championship debut in 1995, marking the culmination of a legendary doubles partnership.
As the most accomplished team in doubles history, the Bryan brothers have captured an Open Era record 118 trophies in 25-season careers, including all four Grand Slams, all nine ATP Masters 1000s, Nitto ATP Finals (four titles) and Olympic gold medal. They also own the all-time team record for Grand Slam titles (16) and ATP Masters 1000 crowns (39). From 2005 to 2017, the Bryans were presented the ATP Tour Fans’ Favourite Team award each year.
“Mike and I chose to finish our 2019 season after the US Open, even knowing there was a strong chance we’d qualify for the [Nitto] ATP Finals,” said Bob Bryan. “After much discussion, we decided that it would be best to rest our minds and strengthen our bodies in preparation for 2020 which will be our final season on the ATP Tour.”
“For the last 21 years, we have been so grateful for the opportunity to live out our dreams of playing professional tennis. It has truly been a magical ride. However, we want to end this great ride while we’re healthy and we can still compete for titles.”
Mike Bryan said: “We are currently extremely motivated and excited going into our last season. We will enjoy and appreciate each moment we have while saying our goodbyes and giving thanks to the fans who have given us so much joy.”
The Bryans have been the standard bearers for doubles for more than 16 years, since they first ascended to No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Rankings on 8 September 2003. They spent 438 total weeks and ended 10 seasons as the No. 1 team [2003, 2005-07, 2009-2014]. Mike, who became the oldest doubles No. 1 at age 40 on 16 July 2018, has spent the most weeks at the summit of the team game (506).
Bringing their own energy and charisma to the court, they have endeared themselves to the public throughout the world, appearing in 177 tour-level finals and lifting tour-level trophies in 34 different cities. They also helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 2007 and at the 2012 London Olympics won the gold medal, adding to their 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medal.
Bob underwent right hip surgery in August 2018, but the Bryan brothers reunited at the start of the 2019 season. This year they won two ATP Tour titles at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com (d. Skupski/Skupski) in February and their sixth Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Koolholf/Tsitsipas) in March. After a runner-up finish at the BB&T Atlanta Open, they also claimed their 1,100th team win at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal and currently own a 1,102-358 team record overall.
Additionally, the Bryan Brothers Foundation has raised over USD$1.2 million to support children’s charities. Bob and Mike host two annual fundraisers in their hometown of Camarillo, California and West Palm Beach, Florida, where they partner with golf legend Jack Nicklaus to raise funds to positively impact the lives of children around the country.
Final six nations qualify in ATP Cup Standings
The field is set for the inaugural ATP Cup, to be held from 3-12 January 2020 in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. The final six countries — Bulgaria, Chile, Poland, Uruguay, Moldova and Norway — have qualified in the ATP Cup Standings to complete the 24-team field.
Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria), Cristian Garin (Chile), Hubert Hurkacz (Poland), Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay), Radu Albot (Moldova) and Casper Ruud (Norway) will lead their countries in the spectacular event that launches the 2020 ATP Tour season. The ATP Cup will feature nine members of the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings — including Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Spain’s Rafael Nadal — and 26 of the Top 30 committed to play.
See Schedule & Get Tickets
View Updated Standings, Qualified Teams & Committed Players
As the highest qualified country at the second entry deadline, Bulgaria replaced Switzerland and joined Belgium and Great Britain in Group C in Sydney. The remaining five countries were drawn into their groups/cities in a live ceremony on 14 November. (Watch a replay of the draw on the ATP Cup’s Facebook page.)
Chile (Group A, Brisbane), Uruguay (Group B, Perth), Moldova (Group C, Sydney), Norway (Group D, Perth), Poland (Group E, Sydney).
The group stages of the AU $22 million/US $15 million ATP Cup will be hosted in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney over six days. Eight countries will then compete at the Final Eight in Sydney that will feature quarter-finals over two days, semi-finals and a final. Each tie will comprise of two singles and one doubles match.
COUNTRIES & TOP 2 PLAYERS COMMITTED TO 2020 ATP CUP
No. |
Country
|
No. 1 Player | No. 2 Player |
1. |
Serbia
|
Novak Djokovic | Dusan Lajovic |
2. |
Spain
|
Rafael Nadal | Roberto Bautista Agut |
3. |
Russia
|
Daniil Medvedev | Karen Khachanov |
4. |
Austria
|
Dominic Thiem | Dennis Novak |
5. |
Germany
|
Alexander Zverev | Jan-Lennard Struff |
6. |
Greece
|
Stefanos Tsitsipas | Michail Pervolarakis |
7. |
Japan
|
Kei Nishikori | Yoshihito Nishioka |
8. |
Italy
|
Matteo Berrettini | Fabio Fognini |
9. |
France
|
Gael Monfils | Lucas Pouille |
10. |
Belgium
|
David Goffin | Steve Darcis |
11. |
Croatia
|
Borna Coric | Marin Cilic |
12. |
Argentina
|
Diego Schwartzman | Guido Pella |
13. |
Georgia
|
Nikoloz Basilashvili | Aleksandre Metreveli |
14. |
South Africa
|
Kevin Anderson | Lloyd Harris |
15. |
United States
|
John Isner | Taylor Fritz |
16. |
Canada
|
Denis Shapovalov | Felix Auger-Aliassime |
17. |
Great Britain
|
Andy Murray | Daniel Evans |
18. |
Australia
|
Alex de Minaur | Nick Kyrgios |
19. |
Bulgaria
|
Grigor Dimitrov | Dimitar Kuzmanov |
20. |
Chile
|
Cristian Garin | Nicolas Jarry |
21. |
Poland
|
Hubert Hurkacz | Kamil Majchrzak |
22. |
Uruguay
|
Pablo Cuevas | Martin Cuevas |
23. |
Moldova
|
Radu Albot | Alexander Cozbinov |
24. |
Norway
|
Casper Ruud | Viktor Durasovic |
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut clinched their place in the final four at the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday, beating Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 7-5, 7-6(3).
The French pairing extended their winning streak to six matches after one hour and 33 minutes, winning 75 per cent of first-serve points (40/53) and saving three of five break points. Herbert and Mahut have not dropped a set since arriving at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Strong backhand returns from Mahut earned the 2018 finalists an early break on their way to a 5-2 lead in the first set. But Krawietz and Mies responded well, as Mies fired multiple returns at the laces of Herbert to save set point and level the score at 5-5. The Frenchmen managed to snap Krawietz and Mies’ momentum with a love service hold before lobbing their opponents to take the opener after 41 minutes.
With Krawietz and Mies both firing forehand winners in the opening game of the second set, Herbert committed two double faults to drop serve. Mahut and Herbert found their way back into the set with a break at 4-3, before claiming victory in the tie-break. Herbert captured three mini-breaks with aggressive returning in the tie-break to improve his record with Mahut this year to 16-5.
Krawietz and Mies drop to 1-1 in Group Max Mirnyi, where they will face Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in their final round-robin match. Krawietz/Mies, Cabal/Farah and Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau can all still qualify for Saturday’s semi-finals.
Watch the best shots as Rafael Nadal keeps his hopes of winning his first ATP Finals title alive after beating Daniil Medvedev.
2019 Nitto ATP Finals |
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Venue: O2 Arena, London Dates: 10-17 November |
Coverage: Watch live coverage of one match per day on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and online; Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app. Click here for Live Guide. |
Rafael Nadal saved a match point to beat Russian Daniil Medvedev and boost his hopes of a first ATP Finals title.
Nadal, bidding to keep his world number one ranking, could have been eliminated on Wednesday with defeat but beat the fourth seed 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
The Spaniard trailed 5-1 in the third set and saved match point on his serve at 5-2 before a stunning comeback.
“This match is one of those that one [time] out of 1,000 you win,” Nadal said. “Honestly, I was super lucky.”
The 33-year-old’s hopes of progression to the semi-finals rest on his meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.
Greek Tsitsipas plays Alexander Zverev, who beat Nadal in their opening round-robin match, later on Wednesday.
The last meeting between Nadal and 23-year-old Medvedev was September’s US Open final, which the Spaniard won in five sets, and this match was almost as thrilling.
Both players looked beaten at times, Medvedev when he was distracted while he was losing the second set and Nadal when a double-break down in the decider.
Errors from Nadal and a resurgence from Medvedev at the start of the third set had led to the Russian racing into a 4-0 lead.
He had two break points for 5-0, and the match point two games later, but 19-time Grand Slam champion Nadal showed all of his trademark fighting spirit, roared on by the crowd at London’s O2 Arena.
As Nadal clawed his way back, Medvedev lost focus again, sarcastically giving a thumbs-up to his box as games slipped away.
After losing five successive games, the Russian settled himself to force a tie-break and was on serve at 4-5 in the breaker before he dragged a short forehand wide to give Nadal a mini-break and match point.
Another gruelling rally followed but a Medvedev shot that was originally called in was ruled out by Hawk-Eye to hand Nadal victory after two hours 49 minutes.
The win means even if Nadal loses his final match and does not qualify for the semi-finals, Novak Djokovic will have to win the tournament to overtake him as year-end world number one.
Nadal can also secure the position at the top of the rankings if he wins his final group match and makes the final, regardless of Djokovic’s results.
The Serb plays Roger Federer on Thursday in Group Bjorn Borg with the winner progressing to the last four and the loser eliminated.
The winner of the match between Tsitsipas and Zverev can seal a semi-final spot later on Wednesday (20:00 GMT).
Greece’s Tsitsipas is through if he beats Zverev in two sets, while the German will be guaranteed progression with any win.
Rafael Nadal dug deep to send his match with Daniil Medvedev to a deciding set on Wednesday at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Spaniard fought back to level the score at 6-7(3), 6-3.
Nadal holds a 2-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Medvedev. Both wins came this year in title matches at the Coupe Rogers and US Open. They are both looking for their first win of the week in Group Andre Agassi.
The Spaniard is also looking to finish as year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings for the fifth time. If he defeats Medvedev, then Novak Djokovic must win the title in order to finish as year-end No. 1 for a record-tying sixth time.
Medvedev is seeking his 60th tour-level win of the season (59-19). He’s won 29 of his past 34 matches, including his first two ATP Masters 1000 titles at the Western & Southern Open (d. Goffin) and Rolex Shanghai Masters (d. Zverev), in addition to a maiden crown on home soil at the St. Petersburg Open (d. Coric).
Nadal saved the lone break point of the opening set at 3-3 with a passing shot winner. Both players remained even until midway through the tie-break, when Medvedev leaned into a forehand for a 5/3 mini-break advantage. Two points later, a big first serve from Medvedev gave him the early lead.
The two-time finalist (2010, 2013) at this event refused to bow out quietly, though. Nadal pumped his first after securing a break in the opening game of the second set and maintained the momentum. With Medvedev serving at 3-5, the Russian hit a forehand wide on set point to tie up the score.
More to follow…
Defending champion Alexander Zverev is in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals of the ATP Finals and could…
There is likely to be at least one surprise departure in the group stages with Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev seeking…
Watch free live stream of Jannik Sinner’s opening match in Ortisei, from 8pm CET/2pm EST…
Three days ago, he lifted the trophy at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. On Wednesday, Jannik Sinner is back in action, kicking off his final tournament of the season on home soil in snowy Ortisei.
The 18-year-old Italian is set to compete at the ATP Challenger Tour event in northern Italy, located less than two hours from his hometown of San Candido. This is the 10th edition of the Sparkasse Challenger Val Gardena. Last year, Ugo Humbert lifted the trophy and Sinner is looking to follow in his fellow #NextGenATP’s footsteps.
The teenager opens against Austria’s Lucas Miedler in a sold-out night session. They have met twice already this year, with the Italian prevailing in straight sets in both Bergamo and Orleans.
Sinner has taken the Challenger circuit by storm this year, en route to his Milan breakthrough. In February, he became Italy’s youngest winner ever with his maiden title in Bergamo and joined elite company with a second crown in Lexington over the summer. The biggest mover to the Top 100 this year, he has soared more than 600 spots to a career-high No. 96 in the ATP Rankings.