Emirates ATP Rankings Update 28 August 2017
Emirates ATP Rankings Update 28 August 2017
Aug292017
| US Open |
|---|
| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day |
| US Open |
|---|
| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day |
Croatia’s Marin Cilic won his first match since losing the Wimbledon final, beating American Tennys Sandgren in the US Open first round.
The 2014 champion triumphed 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-3 in two hours and 47 minutes.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev made it into the second round with a straight-set win over Barbados’ Darian King.
The 20-year-old German won 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 6-4 in two hours and 49 minutes after an 81-minute opening set and will face Croatia’s Borna Coric next.
Spain’s 21st seed David Ferrer lost 6-4 3-6 2-6 1-6 to Mikhail Kukushkin.
American 13th seed Jack Sock was another early casualty, losing 6-2 7-6 (14-12) 1-6 5-7 6-4 to Australian Jordan Thompson in just under four hours on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
French eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Romanian Marius Copil 6-3 6-3 6-4, while American 10th seed John Isner won 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-3 against France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Tsonga will play Denis Shapovalov in the second round, after the Canadian beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-1 6-2, while Isner faces South Korea’s Chung Hyeon.
Sandgren, ranked 105th in the world, had been due to play Andy Murray, before the Briton’s withdrawal on Saturday.
“I feel just a little bit rusty,” fifth seed Cilic said after Monday’s win.
“I need a few matches to get in the rhythm. I was hitting some good shots and then making some unforced errors,” added the world number seven, who will play German Florian Mayer in the second round.
American Sam Querrey, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals, beat Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4 6-3 6-4, while Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller was a 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 winner over Australian Bernard Tomic.
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#NextGenATP stars set to meet in second round
Sporting a 1970s throwback, Alexander Zverev ended his US Open shift victorious at 2:04 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning. The fourth seed, wearing a striped headband, pinstripe shirt and knee-high socks, admitted to staying up beyond his bed time following a 7-6(9), 7-5, 6-4 first-round win over qualifier Darian King on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The German will next face fellow #NextGenATP Borna Coric of Croatia, who is currently No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Race To London for one of the eight places at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held from 7-11 November in Milan. Zverev has already booked his place, having won five ATP World Tour titles this year – including two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Western & Southern Open. He has a 47-14 match record (22-7 on hard courts) in 2017.
Zverev, who came into his encounter against King with a 1-2 record at the final Grand Slam championship of the year, didn’t have things all his own way as he failed to impose his game, appearing frustrated at times and committed 64 unforced errors.
King, the first player from Barbados to play at a major championship, opened up a 3-1 lead in the first set, which lasted 82 minutes. Zverev was unable to convert set point opportunities on King’s serve at 5-6, 30/40, then again at 6/5 and 7/6 in the tie-break. King held two set points of his own at 8/7 and 9/8, courtesy of flashy forehands, before Zverev closed out at 10/9. A single break at 5-5 for Zverev helped him to the second set, before he broke in the third game of the third set and later saved two break points when serving at 4-3.
Coric defeated Jiri Vesely 7-6(5), 7-6(2), 6-2 in two hours and 28 minutes, firing nine aces.
The Croatian claimed the lone previous clash against Zverev, having prevailed in a deciding tie-break at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati in 2015. The winner will face either 28th seed Kevin Anderson or Ernests Gulbis, after the South African raced past qualifier JC Aragone 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 and the former World No. 10 Latvian defeated Alessandro Giannessi 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5.
Also in this quarter of the draw, 34-year-old Gilles Muller and 35-year-old Paolo Lorenzi will square off in a battle of elder statesmen in the second round. Thirteen years removed from their first meeting, Muller leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head by a total of 3-1. Muller rallied past Bernard Tomic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and Lorenzi did the same to defeat Joao Sousa 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2.
| US Open |
|---|
| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Britain’s Johanna Konta said it was “tough to take” as she headed home from the US Open after just one day following defeat by Aleksandra Krunic.
The unseeded Serb won 4-6 6-3 6-4 against the seventh seed to cause the first major upset of the tournament.
Konta had been hoping to improve on previous semi-final appearances at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
“It’s definitely not an easy defeat to take – it was a close match,” Konta told BBC Radio 5 live.
“It went to three sets and over two hours. I try to keep a very good perspective on how this sport works and that is there are no easy matches.
“First rounds are always tricky and difficult, regardless of the tournament but I guess especially in Slams, so I think that’s for everybody, not just me.
“My opponent dealt with it and I competed until the very last ball, so I can’t be too harsh on myself in that sense, but I’ve definitely got a lot to improve on, which is also a positive thing.”
Konta, 26, has enjoyed another terrific year, cementing her place inside the top 10, winning one of the biggest titles in the sport in Miami, and reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and semi-finals at Wimbledon.
There was every reason to believe that she would reach similar heights at Flushing Meadows, on her favourite surface of hard courts, but she produced an erratic performance on day one.
After easing into a 4-1 lead, the Briton’s serve deserted her and hovered around the 40% mark, allowing Krunic to take the initiative.
“Credit needs to be given where it’s due and that’s to how my opponent played,” said Konta, who finished the match with 42 unforced errors.
“I felt that she raised her level of tennis consistently throughout the match, whereas I struggled to maintain that and fluctuated a little bit more.
“That’s credit to her for playing as freely as she did.”
Konta had arrived in New York with an outside chance of taking the world number one ranking, but she is now looking the other way and hanging on to a place in the top eight.
That would give her a place in the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time, after she narrowly missed out in 2016.
“The goal is to stay healthy, for one, and play a full season, but also to keep trying to get better.
“I think, if anything, today gives me a great opportunity to do just that, and I’ve got still a few tournaments left in the season, and if Singapore is in the cards for me, then I will take it and be very grateful.
“If not, I will take what comes my way.”
| US Open |
|---|
| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Maria Sharapova made a dramatic return to Grand Slam action by knocking out world number two Simona Halep at the US Open.
The Russian won 6-4 4-6 6-3 in front of a sell-out night session crowd of almost 24,000 people in New York.
Sharapova, 30, was playing her first Grand Slam match since serving a 15-month doping suspension.
The 2006 champion needed a wildcard to enter the main draw as she is currently ranked 146th.
When her name was drawn alongside Halep’s in the first round it set up a contest that felt more like a Grand Slam decider than opener.
Over the course of two hours and 44 minutes, Sharapova’s greater pace off the racquet outstripped Halep’s speed of foot, with 60 winners proving decisive despite 64 errors.
“You never know what you’re going to feel until you win that match point, but everything you go through is worth it for this moment,” said Sharapova, who now has a 7-0 record against Halep.
“You sometimes wonder why you put in all the work, and this is exactly why.”
Sharapova goes on to face Hungary’s Timea Babos, the world number 59, in round two on Wednesday.
Sharapova returned from her ban in April but has struggled with thigh and forearm injuries, playing just once since May, and was also refused a wildcard by the French Open.
The United States Tennis Association took a different view, handing the Russian a place in the main draw in New York, and she took full advantage.
John McEnroe had been among those wondering whether the Flushing Meadows crowd would react badly to the 2006 champion, but she was given a warm reception as she stepped on court.
It was Sharapova’s first appearance at a Grand Slam since she lost to Serena Williams in the 2016 Australian Open quarter-final – and she relished returning to the big stage.
“It’s prime-time baby – I love it,” she joked afterwards. “I embrace every moment of it and I love it.”
Halep has three times been on the brink of the number one ranking this year, and was match-tight after playing 12 times on North American hard courts over the last month, but in the end she was overpowered by Sharapova.
The five-time Grand Slam champion edged ahead in a gripping first four games that lasted 27 minutes, and a blizzard of winners brought her the first set.
The same fierce hitting seemed like carrying Sharapova all the way at 4-1 up in the second, but Halep recovered with five straight games to level.
With the error-count growing, it appeared that Sharapova was running out of gas, but after a six-minute bathroom break she returned rejuvenated for the decider.
Once again she raced ahead, building another 4-1 lead, and this time she would not be pegged back.
Halep had saved a remarkable 17 of 22 break points but could only find the net when given a chance to get back on terms, and Sharapova edged home in a dramatic closing game, dropping to her knees in celebration.
“This girl has a lot of grit and she is not going anywhere,” added Sharapova.
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent at Flushing Meadows
There were smiles and tears as Sharapova celebrated a spectacular win on her first Grand Slam appearance for 19 months.
The 2006 champion’s lack of match practice looked as if it would cost her when she let slip a 6-4 4-1 advantage, but she maintained the aggression in the deciding set and her nerve steadied.
Sharapova was able to dictate the course of the match against the world number two: whatever the rights and wrongs of her being awarded a wildcard by the USTA, this was a magnificent effort and an exceptional match.
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| US Open |
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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Two-time champion Venus Williams was pushed all the way by world number 135 Viktoria Kuzmova before reaching the second round of the US Open.
The 37-year-old American took her second match point on teenager Kuzmova’s serve to win 6-3 3-6 6-2.
Williams has seven Grand Slam singles titles, while Kuzmova was making her main-draw debut at tour level.
Meantime, two-time finalist Caroline Wozniacki beat Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1 7-5 to reach round two.
The Dane will face Russian Ekaterina Makarova next.
“I didn’t do a lot wrong, she just just stepped it up,” said Williams, who is aiming for her first major since 2008 and plays France’s Oceane Dodin on Wednesday.
Williams, who has not won the title at Flushing Meadows since 2001, reached her first Slam final since 2009 when she lost to Garbine Muguruza at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Victory would make her the oldest female Grand Slam champion in the Open era, and could see her return to top of the world rankings for the first time since July 2002.
Williams is one of seven women left in the draw who could reach top spot, with British number one Johanna Konta’s chance disappearing when she suffered a shock defeat by Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic.
“I just want to win, and if you win you get the ranking. Winning is all I want to do,” added Williams.
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Four of the Top 5 Americans in the Emirates ATP Rankings were in action on opening day of the US Open, with John Isner, Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson all kicking off their campaigns with victories. Jack Sock succumbed to Jordan Thompson in five gripping sets on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Isner overcame Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to improve to 11-1 in the first round at his home Grand Slam. Seeded 10th, the big-serving North Carolina native launched 59 winners, including 22 aces, to advance after two hours and 23 minutes. His return game was on song as well, saving six of seven break points faced.
Isner enters New York following one of the best US Open Series campaigns of his career. The champion at the BB&T Atlanta Open and semi-finalist at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, he boasts a dominant 13-3 mark since Wimbledon. The top American will next face Korean #NextGenATP star Hyeon Chung, who topped Horacio Zeballos 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4, 6-3.
“I don’t know if it benefits really anyone,” Isner said of the milder, less humid weather conditions. “Of course, it certainly can help some players. If it’s 90 and humid, that’s rough. For the most part the weather over the years has been pretty temperate at the Open, but especially this year.
“I certainly like it. Only changed shirts out there one time. I’m a big sweater. I like it. I really would actually say that all the players enjoy it. We do play matches in pretty oppressive conditions sometimes. This is not the case so far here at the US Open. I think I’m playing pretty well. I’ve had a strong summer. I thought I played really well today. I was very happy with how I played. I’m in a good spot.”
Querrey turned in arguably the most dominant performance among the American contingent on Monday, racing past Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 52 minutes for his 31st match win of the season. He fired 10 aces to claim his third FedEx ATP Head2Head victory over Simon and first on hard courts.
“I thought I did everything pretty well,” said Querrey. “The best thing I thought I did well was not get too down on myself. I lost serve three or four times in a row at one point, which doesn’t happen too often. I did a good job of battling through that. Every part of my game felt good today, so overall I was pretty happy.”
A deep run in New York could prove critical for Querrey’s hopes in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The Nitto ATP Finals contender enters on the heels of a semi-final run at Wimbledon and title in Los Cabos. He tangles with Dudi Sela next after the Israeli secured a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over Georgia Tech University standout Christopher Eubanks.
The winner of Querrey/Sela will face either qualifier Radu Albot or Yen-Hsun Lu. The Moldovan ousted American #NextGenATP Ernesto Escobedo 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, while the Taiwanese surprised 25th seed Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
There was no first-round drama for Steve Johnson this year at the US Open, with the California native notching a 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) victory in two hours and 21minutes. Johnson, who had saved six match points to defeat Evgeny Donskoy in his 2016 opener, fired 37 winners and 16 aces to prevail on the Grandstand. Kyle Edmund awaits next.
Jared Donaldson carried the #NextGenATP torch for the Americans on Monday, downing Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6). It looked like the first-round affair would head to a fifth set after Basilashvili broke to open the fourth, but Donaldson drew level and eventually converted his second match point in the ensuing tie-break. The Rhode Island native, who stunned David Goffin in last year’s opening round, will look to pull another upset over a Top 20 seed when he faces No. 16 Lucas Pouille. He will have history on his side, having defeated Pouille in straight sets at the Coupe Rogers earlier this month.
Meanwhile, American wild card Thai-Son Kwiatkowski nearly claimed his first tour-level match win in stunning fashion, pushing Mischa Zverev to five sets before succumbing 7-6(5), 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Zverev, seeded 23rd, took the first-round clash after three hours and 28 minutes and will face Benoit Paire next. Paire defeated lucky loser Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5).
Fifth seed Marin Cilic opened his quest for a second US Open crown with a 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over American Tennys Sandgren on Monday. The 2014 winner in Flushing Meadows rifled 55 winners, including 11 aces, to prevail after two hours and 47 minutes.
Cilic looked in fine form in his return to action, having withdrawn from the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati with an adductor injury. The Wimbledon finalist will next face Florian Mayer on Wednesday, following the German’s 7-5, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Rogerio Dutra Silva.
“Everything feels okay physically,” said Cilic. “I’m very happy with that. That’s the number one thing. It was a good fight towards the end of the match. Also I was not running away to try to shorten up the points. I was actually feeling that could be also quite good for me to get in some rallies, battle it out, just mentally-wise to get myself in a good position.
“I’m feeling quite positive with the first round. Not the best as I would want, but still in a good way keeping myself positive. The last eight, nine days I’m practising full without thinking about it. That’s quite good. With this first match out of the way, I think that just resolves everything.”
In other action, Mikhail Kukushkin pulled one of the upsets of the day in dismissing an in-form 21st-seed David Ferrer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 6-1. The Kazakh is on a roll after claiming a trio of match wins to emerge from qualifying and reaching the second round for the first time since 2015. Ferrer was coming off his first appearance in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in two years, advancing to the last four two weeks ago in Cincinnati.
Kukushkin needed two hours and 43 minutes to snap an 0-7 FedEx ATP Head2Head drought against the Spaniard. He converted an impressive seven of 15 break points to set a second round encounter with Evgeny Donskoy. The Russian prevailed over Andreas Haider-Maurer when the Austrian retired due to injury down 7-6(3), 5-1.
Diego Schwartzman earned a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 triumph over countryman Carlos Berlocq, grabbing seven of 11 break chances, while staving off four of five faced. He booked his spot in the US Open second round for just the second time, extending a strong run following a quarter-final appearance at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal. Schwartzman earned his first Top 10 win there, stunning Dominic Thiem. Awaiting the Argentine is former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic, who stormed back to oust Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(5), 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(2), 6-3 for his 19th career five-set victory and sixth from two sets down. It was the first Grand Slam match win for the Serbian this year, as he continues to make progress in his comeback from a lengthy injury absence.
Lucas Pouille, who registered one of the most thrilling victories of the entire 2016 season in the US Open fourth round, stunning Rafael Nadal in a fifth-set tie-break, kicked off his 2017 campaign with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Ruben Bemelmans. The Frenchman triumphed after one hour and 42 minutes, firing an impressive 49 winners, while turning aside all eight break points faced. The 16th seed awaits the winner between Nikoloz Basilashvili and home hope Jared Donaldson.
Britain’s Johanna Konta suffered a shock first-round defeat against unseeded Serbian Aleksandra Krunic at the US Open.
Konta, seeded seven, was among the favourites for the title and one of eight women who could have ended the tournament as world number one.
However, a first-serve percentage of just 45% allowed the clean-hitting Krunic to attack off the return, and the world number 78 fought back for a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory.
Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie had earlier claimed first-round victories in the men’s singles, but Heather Watson was beaten in the women’s singles.
Following two days after Andy Murray’s withdrawal with a hip injury, Konta’s defeat means neither British number one player survived beyond the first afternoon.
Konta, 26, looked in command when she moved 4-1 clear in the opening set on a quiet Grandstand Court that had just seen home hope Steve Johnson win.
Within an hour, the stands had begun to fill and the atmosphere intensified as Krunic began to seriously threaten an unconvincing Konta.
The Briton’s first serve deserted her, slipping from 41% in the first set to a desperate 39% in the second.
Krunic dominated the final three games of the second to level at one set all and looked the more likely as Konta grimly clung on in the third.
The seventh seed screamed “come on” after holding in a lengthy service game for 3-2, but Krunic would break at the next opportunity and serve out the match brilliantly.
Konta sent a backhand wide on match point and was off the court within seconds, ending her Grand Slam year in disappointment.
More to follow.