Epic Rivalry Renewed In Indian Wells SFs

DAY 10 PREVIEW: The semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday features two of the game’s all-time greats in the longest-running Open Era rivalry (since 1968) and a pair of 25-year-old stars in the Top 20 Emirates ATP Rankings.   

In the first semi-final, No. 15 seed David Goffin of Belgium takes on No. 12 Milos Raonic of Canada. Goffin won the previous meeting 67 63 64 in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Oct. 24, 2014. Goffin is appearing in his first career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final and he’s only the second Belgian to reach the semis at a Masters 1000 event. In 2005, Christophe Rochus advanced to the semi-finals in Hamburg (l. to Gasquet). Raonic, who is off to a career-best 13-1 start, is making his second straight semi-final showing in Indian Wells and sixth SF overall in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament. He’s reached two finals, in 2013 Montreal (l. to Nadal) and 2014 Paris-Bercy (l. to Djokovic). He is the only player remaining yet to lose a set and he’s held serve 33 of 35 games (94%). Meanwhile, Goffin has been broken 12 times, saving 33 of 45 break points. He won the first three matches in three sets, including a third set tie-break in his opener when he saved two match points (vs. Tiafoe). His lone straight-sets match was a 76 62 win over Marin Cilic in QFs.

In the second match, World No. 1 and four-time BNP Paribas Open champion Novak Djokovic squares off for the 48^th time with No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal. Djokovic holds a winning record (24-23) for the first time in their rivalry and he’s won the last five meetings (nine of last 10). Nadal’s last win came in the final of 2014 Roland Garros. Djokovic also has a 17-7 advantage on hard courts, winning the last six times since the Spaniard won in the 2013 US Open final. This is their fourth meeting in Indian Wells (Djokovic leads 2-1). Nadal won in the 2007 final before Djokovic prevailed in the 2008 semi-finals and 2011 final. Djokovic, who is tied with Roger Federer with four career Indian Wells titles, is trying to become the tournament’s first five-time winner (2008, ’11, ’14-15). He’s won his last 15 matches here since losing in the semi-finals in 2013 (l. to del Potro). Nadal is appearing in the semi-finals for the ninth time in 12 visits and he’s trying to win a fourth title (2007, ’09, ’13). The Spaniard is also eyeing his 100^th career singles final (67-32).

TOP FIVE CHAMPIONS: In 14 of the past 15 years, a Top 5 player has emerged victorious at the BNP Paribas Open with 2010 champion Ivan Ljubicic the only exception. Djokovic or Nadal are looking to extend that streak with a title on Sunday. Djokovic and Nadal are two of the three active players who have won the title here (Federer is a four-time winner).

DOUBLE-DIGIT SEEDS: This is the second time in three years two double-digit seeds are in the semi-finals in Indian Wells. The winner between Raonic and Goffin will be the first double-digit seed to reach the Indian Wells final since No. 11 Isner in 2012 (l. to Federer). Two years ago, No. 12 Isner and No. 28 Dolgopolov both lost in the semi-finals.

BIG FOUR DOMINANCE: The ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal have won 48 of the last 52 ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, which dates back to Nadal’s triumph at Monte-Carlo in 2010. The only other players to emerge with an ATP Masters 1000 title are: Robin Soderling (2010 Paris), David Ferrer (2012 Paris), Stan Wawrinka (2014 Monte-Carlo) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2014 Toronto).

SEMI-FINALS FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS: In Order of Play

[15] David Goffin (BEL) vs [12] Milos Raonic (CAN)

Goffin Leads 1-0     

Goffin 2016 FastFacts

QF: Marseille (l. to Berdych)

YTD W-L: 12-4 (10-4 on hard)

YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2

Date of Birth: December 7, 1990

Emirates ATP Ranking: 18

Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 5-2 (2016 Semi-finalist)

• 2016 Indian Wells: The 25-year-old Belgian won three straight three-setters, including a final-set TB vs. Tiafoe in 2R (saved 2 MPs). Also beat [3] Wawrinka in final set TB in 4R and lone straight-sets win came over [10] Cilic 76 62 in QFs. First Belgian man to reach SFs in tournament history (since 1976) and first Belgian in an ATP Masters 1000 SF since Christophe Rochus in Hamburg in 2005 (l. to Gasquet)

• Infosys ATP Scores & Stats: Has been broken 12 times (43 of 55 games held, 78%), most among SFs, and has

faced most break pts. in tournament, saving 33 of 45 (73%). His career avg. is 59%

• Tournament Note: Snapped 14-match losing streak vs. Top 10 with win over [3] Wawrinka and prior to this year

had an 1-2 match record in Indian Wells (DNP last year)

• Advanced to Australian Open 4R for 1st time (d. Thiem, l. to No. 3 Federer)

• Defeated Coric and Cilic, but lost doubles w/Bemelmans to Dodig/Skugor during Davis Cup 1R (CRO d. BEL 3-2)

• Reached Marseille QF (l. to No. 8 Berdych)

• Trying to reach 6^th career ATP World Tour title match (2-3) and last year reached finals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Mahut) on grass and Gstaad (l. to Thiem) on clay

• Will jump from No. 18 to No. 15 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and to No.13 if he reaches the final

OUTSIDE TOP 10 TO REACH FINAL: The Goffin-Raonic winner will be the first player outside the Top 10 to reach the Indian Wells final since No. 11 Isner in 2012. Here are the players outside the Top 10 in the final since 2000:

Year – Emirates ATP Ranking

2012 – No. 11 John Isner lost to Roger Federer

2010 – No. 26 Ivan Ljubicic def. Andy Roddick

2008 – No. 98 Mardy Fish (u) lost to Novak Djokovic

2007 – No. 13 Novak Djokovic lost to Rafael Nadal

2006 – No. 14 James Blake lost to Roger Federer

2003 – No. 24 Gustavo Kuerten (u) lost to Lleyton Hewitt

2000 – No. 26 Alex Corretja (u) def. Thomas Enqvist

Note: (u) Unseeded

Raonic 2016 FastFacts

W: Brisbane (d. Federer); SF: Australian Open (l. to Murray)

YTD W-L: 13-1 (13-1 on hard)

YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 8

Date of Birth: December 27, 1990

Emirates ATP Ranking: 14

Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 15-5 (2015-16 Semi-finalist)

• 2016 Indian Wells: The 25-year-old Canadian is back in SFs for second straight year and only player remaining

yet to drop a set (8-0). Saved 2 set points in 2nd set en route to 64 76(7) win over [6] Berdych in 4R and followed

with 75 63 victory over [13] Monfils on Thursday night. Last year (d. No. 3 Nadal in QF, l. to Federer in SF)

• Infosys ATP Scores & Stats: No. 2 in tournament with 94% of service games won (33 of 35), saving 4 of 6 break

pts. and has hit 30 aces (7.5 avg.) compared to 15.5 on season. Also No. 3 with 66% of 2nd-serve points won

• Tournament Note: Saved 3 MPs to beat No. 3 Nadal 46 76(10) 75 en route to 2015 SF (l. to No. 2 Federer). His 15

match wins is most at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament

• Won 1st 9 matches of 2016 season, highlighted by 8th career ATP World Tour title at Brisbane (d. No. 3 Federer)

• Victory over Federer avenged loss to Swiss in 2015 Brisbane final

• Upset No. 4 Wawrinka in 5 sets en route to 2nd Grand Slam SF at Australian Open (l. to No. 2 Murray in 5 sets)

• Withdrew from Delray Beach, Acapulco and Davis Cup 1R due to adductor tear sustained in Australian Open SF

• Trying to reach 17^th career ATP World Tour final (8-8), 3^rd ATP Masters 1000 final (’13 Toronto, l. to Nadal; ’14 Paris-Bercy, l. to Djokovic)

• Will remain No. 14 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (with SF) and will go to No.12 if he reaches the final (No. 10 if wins title)

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [4] Rafael Nadal (ESP)

Djokovic Leads 24-23

Djokovic 2016 FastFacts

W (2): Doha (d. Nadal); Australian Open (d. Murray); QF: Dubai (l. to Lopez)

YTD W-L: 20-1 (20-1 on hard)

YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 61

Date of Birth: May 22, 1987

Emirates ATP Ranking: 1 (Career-High)

Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 45-6 (2008, 2011, 2014-2015 Champion)

• 2016 Indian Wells: Since losing 1^st set in opening match vs. Fratangelo, has won 8 sets. Avenged only loss of

season and did not face a BP in 63 63 win over [18] Lopez in 4R. Then beat Tsonga 76(2) 76(2) to reach 8^th SF

• Tournament Note: No. 1 or No. 2 in Emirates ATP Rankings each week since winning 2011 title and 190^th week at

No. 1 in career (89 straight weeks since July 7, 2014). Trying to become first 5-time winner in event history

• Tied Emerson’s all-time record with 6th Australian Open title (d. No. 2 Murray)

• Moved into tie with Laver and Borg for 5th all-time with 11 Grand Slam men’s singles titles

• Won a 5-set match en route to title for 7th time at a major, overcoming 100 unforced errors in 4R (d. Simon)

• Captured 60th career title to start season at Doha, not dropping a set all week (d. No. 5 Nadal)

• Became 3rd active player to reach 700 wins by beating Jaziri in Dubai 2R on Feb. 24 (also Federer, Nadal)

• Fell 1 shy of Lendl’s Open-Era record 18 straight finals when eye problem forced ret in Dubai QF (l. to Lopez)

• Had not retired since 2011 Davis Cup SF vs. del Potro, a stretch of 350 matches (318-32)

• Defeated Nedovyesov in 3 sets and Kukushkin in 5 sets to help Serbia beat Kazakhstan 3-2 in Davis Cup 1R

 

Nadal 2016 FastFacts

F: Doha (l. to Djokovic); SF (2): Buenos Aires (l. to Thiem); Rio de Janeiro (l. to Cuevas)

YTD W-L: 12-4 (8-2 on hard)

YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 67

Date of Birth: June 3, 1986

Emirates ATP Ranking: 5

Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 48-8 (2007, 2009, 2013 Champion)

• 2016 Indian Wells: Saved 1 MP vs. A. Zverev in 4R (won 15 of last 16 pts. in match) and 5 set points in 2nd set vs.

Verdasco in 3R. Beat No. 6-ranked Nishikori 64 63 in QFs for first Top 10 win of season

• Tournament Note: Winner of 3 singles and 2 doubles titles (2010 and 2012 w/M. Lopez). Appearing in 9^th SF in

12^th tournament visit and has a 4-4 record in SF matches. Trying to reach 5^th final (R-up in ’11)

• Reached 99th career final to start season in Doha (l. to No. 1 Djokovic) and trying to advance to 100^th final (67-32)

• His last title came in Hamburg last August (d. Fognini)

• Has played 20 hard-court tournaments since last title on surface at 2014 Doha (d. Monfils)

• Lost to eventual champions in back-to-back SFs at Buenos Aires (l. to Thiem after holding 1 MP) and Rio de Janeiro (l. to Cuevas)

• Suffered 2nd Grand Slam 1R loss of career at Australian Open vs. Verdasco in 4h41m, 5-set marathon

• Has a 19-15 career record vs. No. 1 ranked opponents (13-6 vs. Federer, 6-9 vs. Djokovic)

Doubles Championship: [6] Vasek Pospisil (CAN)/Jack Sock (USA) vs. [7] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)

• Pospisil/Sock defeated Qureshi/Simon 60 75 in 1R, Bellucci/Pella 63 67(6) 10-5 in 2R, Kohlschreiber/Sock 75 63 in QF and Lopez/Lopez 46 63 12-10 in SF

• Canadian and American are 45-15 on ATP World Tour (6-1 in 2016)

• Reigning ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells champions (d. Bryan/Bryan in QF and Bolelli/Fognini in final)

• Trying to become first repeat Indian Wells champions since Bryan/Bryan in 2013-14. Prior to that

Knowles/Nestor won back-to-back titles in 2005-06

• Became 1st duo since Hewitt/Mirnyi at 2000 US Open to capture Grand Slam title in team debut at 2014 Wimbledon (d. Bryan/Bryan 75 in 5th)

• Also won titles at 2014 Atlanta (d. Johnson/Querrey) and 2015 Beijing (d. Nestor/Roger-Vasselin)

• FedEx ATP H2H: Sock defeated Pospisil in their lone singles meeting 62 64 in 2016 Auckland 2R

• World No. 17 Pospisil is 8-1 lifetime at Indian Wells and World No. 14 Sock is 8-0

• Pospisil is 6-4 in doubles finals (won Rotterdam w/Mahut last month) and Sock is 6-5 in doubles finals

 

• Herbert/Mahut defeated Dimitrov/Mirnyi 76(5) 62 in 1R, Nestor/Stepanek 46 64 10-5 in 2R, [Alt] Chardy/Martin 61 75 in QF and No. 8 Roger-Vasselin/Zimonjic 46 63 10-6 in SF

• They are trying to become first French duo to win Indian Wells title since Arnaud Clement/Sebastien Grosjean in 2004 (d. W. Black/Ullyett)

• Frenchmen are 36-15 on ATP World Tour (6-2 in 2016)

• Reigning US Open champions (d. M. Lopez/Granollers, Rojer/Tecau, Inglot/Lindstedt and J. Murray/Peers)

• Advanced to 2015 Australian Open final (d. Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin and Dodig/Melo, l. to Bolelli/Fognini)

• Also reached finals in 2015 at ’s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Karlovic/Kubot) and Metz (l. to Kubot/Roger-Vasselin)

• World No. 18 Herbert is 4-0 lifetime at Indian Wells and World No. 13 Mahut is 6-3, reaching QF in 2014 w/Tsonga (d. Anderson/Haase and Nestor/Zimonjic, l. to Bryan/Bryan)

• Herbert is 3-3 in doubles finals and Mahut is 11-10 in doubles finals (won Rotterdam w/Pospisil last month)