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Ferrer Strengthens London Chances, Reaches Vienna QFs

Ferrer Strengthens London Chances, Reaches Vienna QFs

  • Posted: Oct 22, 2015

David Ferrer further improved his chances of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the seventh time Thursday when he reached the Erste Bank Open quarter-finals. The Spaniard, who is currently No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, added 45 points after he defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-1 in 63 minutes.

Ferrer, who recorded the 650th match win of his career with victory over Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round, is now 49-12 on the year by reaching his 12th quarter-final (or better). He has won four ATP World Tour titles in 2015. The top seed will next challenge eighth seed Fabio Fognini, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Radek Stepanek earlier in the day.

Kei Nishikori and Ferrer are both on course to clinch the final two spots that are up for grabs at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson survived the loss of the first set to eliminate Jiri Vesely 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5. Anderson held two set points on his opponent’s serve in the opening set, but was edged by the Czech in the tie-break. The South African rallied to even the match, then broke serve on the final point of the match to secure the win.

Anderson served 15 aces to move to 980 for the year. He has never fired 1,000 aces in a season, but is now within reach of becoming the third player to reach the milestone in 2015, following Ivo Karlovic and John Isner. Since Infosys ATP aces statistics were first kept in 1991, there has never been a season in which three players topped 1,000 aces in a year.

“It was a very tough match,” noted Anderson. “I’ve played Jiri a couple of times so I knew what to expect. I missed my chance in the first set but took really good care of my serve. I dug deep to save break points at five-all in the third.”

With the win, Anderson set up a quarter-final clash against American Steve Johnson.

“Our college careers never overlapped, but [Steve] was one of the best collegiate players in history and we’ve had the chance to face each other on the [ATP World] Tour a few times,” noted Anderson, who was a standout in NCAA Division I tennis for the University of Illinois before turning pro. He holds a 4-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the USC alumnus.

Johnson battled hard to beat Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4, striking 20 aces to Janowicz’s 23. He also lost just four of his service points and saved both break points he faced.

Murray/Peers Advance To Doubles SFs

Second seeds Jamie Murray and John Peers, who will compete in the English capital next month, saved eight of nine break points to beat Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 6-2, 6-3 in 59 minutes. Murray will team up with Soares in 2016. Murray and Peers will next face Fognini and Max Mirnyi, who beat Julian Knowle and Daniel Nestor 6-3, 6-2. Nestor, 43, has 997 doubles match wins.

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Vienna Thursday Highlights

Vienna Thursday Highlights

  • Posted: Oct 22, 2015

Watch highlights as top seeds advance in Vienna. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com

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Baghdatis Upsets Tomic To Reach Stockholm QFs

Baghdatis Upsets Tomic To Reach Stockholm QFs

  • Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Former champion Marcos Baghdatis upset fourth seed Bernard Tomic 7-6(7), 6-3 on Wednesday at the If Stockholm Open to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since June.

“I think I played very smart today,” said Baghdatis. “I used my slice a lot, I used my brain a lot. It was important to do that against Bernie. You need to be smart on court and not hurry too much and I think I did it very well. It paid off today so I’m very, very happy.”

The Cypriot won the third of his four ATP World Tour titles in Stockholm in 2009, defeating Olivier Rochus in the final. The 30-year-old Baghdatis, who was runner-up in Atlanta in the summer (l. to Isner), goes on to face Gilles Muller, whom he beat in their one previous meeting in the Atlanta semi-finals.

“I’ve known him since we were juniors,” said Baghdatis. “We’ve traveled together since we were 14 years old. We know each other very well. I’ll try to work on some things tomorrow and hopefully I can come 100 per cent ready on Friday and try to find a way to win.”

Eighth seed Muller reached his 10th ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season as he defeated John Millman 7-5, 6-3 in the second round.

The 32-year-old Muller fired 14 aces and converted three of his four break points as he wrapped up his 33rd victory of the season in 76 minutes.

No. 7 seeded American Jack Sock served his way into the quarter-finals (10 aces, 85 per cent of first serve points won) with a 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4 win over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco. The 23-year-old is seeking his second career ATP World Tour title, his first coming in Houston earlier this year.

No. 3 Seed Gilles Simon of France dispatched Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-2, 6-4, converting four of six break-point opportunities in the one-hour, 19-minute contest.

“It’s always more difficult than it looks,” said Simon. “I had a really good start. Then it was a bit harder in the middle of the second set. Finally, I played a really good match.”

Of the prospect of facing Sock in the next round, Simon said, “He’s playing great tennis. It’s going to be difficult. We met in Rome. I won [4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3], but it was a tough match.” 

Top Seeds Reach Doubles Quarter-finals

Top seeds Jeremy Chardy and Robert Lindstedt raced into the quarter-finals, defeating German duo Benjamin Becker and Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-1 in just 51 minutes. Chardy and Lindstedt are playing together for just the second time. Home hope Lindstedt is bidding to win the Stockholm crown for the first time, following runner-up finishes in 2012 (w/ Zimonjic) and 2013 (w/ Bjorkman).

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Istomin Sets Cilic Clash In Moscow

Istomin Sets Cilic Clash In Moscow

  • Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Defending champion and top seed Marin Cilic will open his Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow campaign against Denis Istomin after the Uzbekistani defeated Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-3 in the first round on Wednesday.

Cilic takes a 5-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead over Istomin into their second-round clash at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard court tournament. The Croat is looking to claim his first title of 2015 and continue his strong finish to what has been an injury hit season. Istomin captured his maiden ATP World Tour title earlier this year in Nottingham (d. Querrey).

World No. 70 Lucas Pouille claimed his 11th win of the season. The 21-year-old Frenchman was leading 7-5, 4-1 when Simone Bolelli retired from their first-round contest. Pouille goes on to face Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

Teymuraz Gabashvili upset No. 3 seed Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-3, winning 85 per cent (23 of 27) of his first-serve points in the one hour, four minute second-round clash.

Ricardas Berankis also advanced, beating Malek Jaziri 6-4, 6-4 in 84 minutes. As a qualifier last year, the Lithuanian knocked out World No. 9 Milos Raonic to reach the quarter-finals (l. to Bautista Agut).

Second seed Roberto Bautista Agut saved the only break point he faced in dismissing Marsel Ilhan in one hour and 15 minutes 6-2, 7-5.

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Erste Bank Open Highlights

Erste Bank Open Highlights

  • Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Watch highlights from Vienna as Tsonga and Gulbis advance.

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Tsonga Goes Down The Line In Vienna

Tsonga Goes Down The Line In Vienna

  • Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga crushes a down-the-line forehand winner against Tommy Haas in Vienna.

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Tsonga Staying In the Moment In Vienna

Tsonga Staying In the Moment In Vienna

  • Posted: Oct 21, 2015

Frenchman says he’s not looking too far ahead when it comes to qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Courtesy of Erste Open.

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Nieminen Plays Final Singles Match

Nieminen Plays Final Singles Match

  • Posted: Oct 21, 2015

A decade-and-a-half after launching his professional career, an emotional Jarkko Nieminen —the greatest tennis player Finland has ever produced — bid farewell to the singles game on Tuesday at the If Stockholm Open, where he was defeated in three sets by Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4.

The three-time finalist was making his 16th consecutive tournament appearance in Stockholm. He was a finalist in 2001 (l. to Sjeng Schalken), 2006 (l. to James Blake) and 2011 (l. to Gael Monfils). During his career, the 34-year-old lefthander captured two singles and five ATP World Tour doubles titles, and reached a career-high No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in July 2006.

The soon-to-be retiree held two match points at 6-4 in the second-set tiebreak, but couldn’t close out his opponent. Almagro proved too powerful from the service stripe in the opening-round contest. He registered 15 aces and won 91 percent (45 of 49) of his first-serve points.

Nieminen broke into tears at the conclusion of the two-hour, eight-minute match, the crowd showing its support for the wildcard entrant’s long career.

“It’s amazing how Swedish people have supported me since the beginning,” said Nieminen. “I’ve always felt that there was a little Swedish tennis culture in me, not only for the support I get, but all the time that I have spent here I think I have learned a lot.” 

Nieminen remains in the doubles draw with Johan Brunström, who he partnered to the 2010 final (l. to Butorac-Rojer). The duo will face No. 4 seeds Jonathan Marray/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Wednesday.

Nieminen’s Career Highlights

• Three Grand Slam quarter-finals: 2005 US Open, 2006 Wimbledon, 2008 Australian Open

• Earned 400th singles win on Mar. 8, 2015 (d. Benjamin Balleret in Davis Cup)

• Winningest player in Finland’s 88-year Davis Cup history (59-26)

• Two singles and five doubles titles on ATP World Tour

• 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympian

• 1999 US Open junior champion

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Donskoy, Kukushkin Move On In Moscow

Donskoy, Kukushkin Move On In Moscow

  • Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Russia’s Andrey Rublev celebrated his 18th birthday on Tuesday at the Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow. But there would be no gifts from his veteran opponent, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin, who rolled to a 6-2, 6-4 win over the hometown favorite at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium.

The 61st-ranked Kukushkin won 75 percent of his first-serve points in the one-hour, 15-minute match.

Rublev, the youngest player in Top 200 of the Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 179, failed to convert any of his four break-point opportunities. Despite the loss, the former World No. 1 junior remains fourth among active players with eight tour-level wins before his 18th birthday — one more than both Borna Coric and 17-time Grand Slam singles champion Roger Federer.

Wild card and World No. 118 Evgeny Donskoy reached the second round for the third year running by beating the No. 6-seeded Coric 6-4, 6-4 in 86 minutes.

Fifth seed Pablo Cuevas led 6-1 when qualifier Pere Riba retired due to a right leg injury after 25 minutes of play.

Doubles Seeds Fall In Openers

Top seeds Philipp Oswald/Adil Shamasdin and third seeds Aliaksandr Bury/Denis Istomin lost their opening doubles matches Tuesday afternoon.

Ricardas Berankis/Teymuraz Gabashvili could not convert four match point opportunities at 5-4 in the second set, but did enough to beat Oswald/Shamasdin 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 10-8 in one hour and 54 minutes. Aslan Karatsev/Daniil Medvedev knocked out Bury/Istomin 3-6, 7-6(2), 10-1 for a spot in the quarter-finals.

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Ferrer, Isner Victorious in Vienna

  • Posted: Oct 20, 2015

Albert Ramos-Viñolas was coming off perhaps the biggest win of his career — a 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 upset of Roger Federer in Shanghai. But there would be no upset bid on Tuesday against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who overcame a slow start against his No. 9-seeded foe to prevail 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Despite landing just 53 per cent of his first serves, Ferrer converted three of four break-point opportunities to reach the second round in one hour and 52 minutes. He improved to 5-0 lifetime against Ramos-Viñolas in FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups.

Third seed John Isner scraped into the second round by striking 16 aces past qualifier Kenny de Schepper in a 7-6(4), 7-6(5) win. Isner, who is currently No. 12 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, could not convert a match point on de Schepper’s serve at 4-5, 30-40 in the second set, but was able to hold his nerve in the tie-break to wrap up victory in one hour and 43 minutes. He will now face Ernests Gulbis.

“In a way, he’s like a left-handed version of me,” said Isner. “I thought he served very well. He served a high percentage. The match came down to a few points, which I was able to win. I’m happy with my performance.”

Sergiy Stakhovsky brushed past qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4 and now challenges seventh seed Ivo Karlovic, who has struck more aces than any other player since the ATP World Tour started keeping records in 1991. Paolo Lorenzi withstood 16 aces from Rajeev Ram‘s racquet to triumph 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4.

Frenchman Gael Monfils rallied from a set down to oust Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, saving six of eight break points and totaling nine aces.

Peya/Soares Begin Quest

Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, who are battling to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, defeated Austrian wild cards Andreas Haider-Maurer and Oliver Marach 6-4, 6-3 for a place in the quarter-finals.

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