Moscow 2016
Moscow 2016
Oct172016
Shanghai finalist Bautista Agut headlines field
Thomaz Bellucci, the 2012 finalist, knocked out wild card Cem Ilkel 7-5, 6-1 in 86 minutes at the VTB Kremlin Cup on Monday and will next face eighth seed Andrey Kuznetsov or Guido Pella in the second round in Moscow.
Czech Lukas Rosol defeated Austrian Gerald Melzer 7-5, 6-2 to move into the second round. Rosol will next face Stephane Robert or Marcel Granollers. The Spaniard started his doubles campaign on the right note. Playing with Pablo Carreno Busta, the top seeds hung on to beat Indians Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 6-4, 4-6, 10-4.
Roberto Bautista Agut, runner-up in Moscow for the past two years, leads the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, having just lost to Andy Murray in the Shanghai Rolex Masters final. Bautista Agut is currently No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, 865 points behind No. 8-placed Dominic Thiem (3,205) in the battle to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The season-ending tournament will be held 13-20 November at The O2 in London.
Who’s Ahead of Bautista Agut? View The Emirates ATP Race To London Standings
What’s the best way to celebrate being a new ambassador for Maui Jim? How about mixing up a drink in a coconut! Monday in Antwerp, David Goffin’s smoothie skills were put to the test during a media event to announce him as a new ambassador for the sunglass brand.
At the Maui Jim Flying Jimmy booth near the European Open Practice Court, Goffin, who is No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, made the quintessential Maui Jim smoothie: mango, yoghurt, honey, lime, ginger and chia seeds on top with a violet flower served in a fresh coconut! The Belgian later picked out some new shades and gifted some to the journalists in attendance.
I am delighted to belong to the @OfficialMauiJim family and see the world in a different way ? #MauiJim pic.twitter.com/ewQfcVy2CL
— David Goffin (@David__Goffin) October 17, 2016
The top seed in Antwerp this week, Goffin awaits the winner of Tommy Robredo and Florian Mayer in the second round.
Home favourite Goffin the top seed in Antwerp
Italian Andreas Seppi kicked off the inaugural European Open in Antwerp on Monday with a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-3 upset against eighth seed Federico Delbonis. The 32-year-old Seppi will next face Robin Haase, who beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-2.
Seppi will look to turn around his season in Belgium this week. He has fallen to No. 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, his lowest ranking since 9 July, 2007 when he was No. 111.
Spaniard Inigo Cervantes set up a second-round contest with Frenchman Richard Gasquet after outlasting 36-year-old German qualifier Michael Berrer 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 32 minutes. The third-seeded Gasquet is going for his second ATP World Tour title of the season. He beat Mathieu in February for the Montpellier title.
Home favourite David Goffin, Belgium’s No. 1, leads the Antwerp field. Goffin has posted a 10-3 record since the US Open, including a semi-final run in Metz, a finalist showing in Tokyo and a last eight appearance at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. If the 25 year old wins his home tournament on Sunday, he’ll rise to No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The top eight at the end of the season will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held 13-20 November at The O2 in London.
Who’s Close To Goffin? View The Emirates ATP Race To London Standings
Take a closer look at the Emirates ATP Race To London
The focus for qualification to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals now shifts to the three-week European indoor circuit, beginning today at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, the If Stockholm Open and the European Open in Antwerp. Seven players in the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Race To London are in action, with three singles spots left up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The season finale will be held at The O2 in London from 13-20 November.
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Gael Monfils will step up his bid to qualify for the first time at this week’s If Stockholm Open, where he competes alongside Grigor Dimitrov, Ivo Karlovic and #NextGen’s Alexander Zverev. Monfils, the next in line to qualify, is currently No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London with 3,625 points. He is 325 points ahead of seventh-placed Rafael Nadal (3,300) and has a 420-point advantage over eighth-placed Dominic Thiem.
David Goffin rose one spot to 11th position on 2,645 points, after reaching the Shanghai Rolex Masters quarter-finals, and this week competes at the inaugural European Open in Antwerp, alongside David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet, Pablo Cuevas and Gilles Simon.
Roberto Bautista Agut, one of five players within 1,000 points of Thiem, moved up four spots to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race To London on 2,340 points after he reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final in Shanghai (l. to Murray). The Spaniard, a two-time ATP World Tour titlist this year, headlines this week’s VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where he reached the 2014 and 2015 finals (l. to Cilic both times).
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori have already qualified for next month’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. By winning Shanghai, Murray closed the gap between himself and World No. 1 Djokovic to 915 points in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals could play a pivotal role in deciding who finishes as year-end No. 1.
View Emirates ATP Race To London
Four of the Top 16 teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London are in action led by No. 1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, who are the top seeds in Antwerp. The French duo (7,075) lead Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares by just five points (7.070) as both teams battle to become the year-end No. 1 team.
Fifth-placed Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo (4,130 points) secured their fourth straight qualification on Saturday, leaving three places up for grabs. Henri Kontinen and John Peers boosted their qualification chances by reaching the Shanghai final (l. to Isner-Sock), rising one spot to No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London on 3,310 points, 630 points ahead of ninth-placed Jean Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, last year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champions and 2015 No. 1 team.
View Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London
ATP statement on Australian player
Following the completion of its investigation into Nick Kyrgios’ second round match last week at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the ATP has announced that Kyrgios has been found to have committed the player major offense ‘Conduct Contrary to the Integrity of the Game.’
The offense means that Kyrgios receives an additional fine of US$ 25,000, and is suspended from ATP tournaments for eight tournament weeks, effective from today, Monday 17 October, 2016, through to Sunday 15 January, 2017.
However, the suspension will be reduced to three tournament weeks upon agreement that the player enters a plan of care under the direction of a Sports Psychologist, or an equivalent plan approved by ATP, meaning Kyrgios could regain eligibility to compete on the ATP World Tour or Challenger Tour from Monday 7 November, 2016.
Kyrgios had already been fined a total of US$ 16,500 for breaches of the ATP Code of Conduct by the ATP Supervisors on-site in Shanghai. He received the on-site maximum fine of US$ 10,000 for violations of the Best Efforts provision in the Code, as well as a US$ 5,000 fine for Verbal Abuse of a Spectator, and a US$ 1,500 fine for Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
Today’s announcement completes the ATP’s investigation into this matter which, following the conclusion of the on-site process, included further review of the match, as well as comments made during Kyrgios’ post-match press conference.
Australian Nick Kyrgios has been banned for eight weeks and fined $25,000 (£20,560) by the ATP for his behaviour – including “lack of best efforts” – in last week’s Shanghai Masters.
The 21-year-old patted the ball over the net several times when serving in his 6-3 6-1 defeat by Mischa Zverev.
He also began walking back to his chair before a Zverev serve had landed.
World number 14 Kyrgios said he was “truly sorry” and would “use this time off to improve on and off the court”.
He added: “I regret that my year is ending this way. I do understand and respect the decision by the ATP.
“The season has been a long one as I battled several injuries and other challenges towards the end of the summer.
“My body finally just gave out in Shanghai both physically and mentally.
“This is no excuse, and I know very well that I need to apologise to the fans.”
Kyrgios’ suspension is set to end on Sunday, 15 January 2017.
But the ATP, the governing body for men’s tennis, said the ban would be reduced to three weeks if Kyrgios agrees to “a plan of care under the direction of a sports psychologist”.
Tennis Australia said Kyrgios has agreed to seek professional help and that it would continue to offer advice.
Sometimes the mental health of players is not really discussed because we’re supposed to be mentally strong
During the second-round match with Zverev, Kyrgios also argued with a fan and received a code violation for swearing, after which he was fined $16,500 (£13,546) for breaching the ATP code of conduct.
Last week British world number two Andy Murray said he was “not convinced” a fine was the best solution.
“Sometimes players do need protecting. Sometimes he goes into press and says things he regrets,” said the Scot.
“In those situations he maybe needs to be guided a little bit better.”
World number one Novak Djokovic has said: “I share the opinion of many players and many people in the tennis world that he’s one of the greatest talents the game has seen lately.”
In 2015, Kyrgios was banned for 28 days and fined $25,000 for making lewd remarks about Stan Wawrinka’s girlfriend during a Rogers Cup match in Montreal.
He was also criticised for his displays at Wimbledon and the US Open, and withdrew from Rio 2016 following a row with the Australian Olympic Committee.
Tennis correspondent Russell Fuller:
The length of the suspension is less significant than the fact this course of action has been chosen. The ATP will hope this shocks the Australian into addressing more seriously the issues which are holding back his career.
Kyrgios’ behaviour in Shanghai was unacceptable, as it has been on numerous occasions in the past. But reproach and sanction can only ever be part of the solution.
How many 21-year-olds outside the world of sport and entertainment would be able to deal with the stress of performing under such an unforgiving spotlight – and of living up to such high expectations so early?
Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week’s WTA Finals in Singapore because of a shoulder injury.
The American world number two, 35, has not played since reaching the semi-finals of the US Open in September.
Williams’ place could go to British number one Johanna Konta, who is ninth in the rankings, although she has an abdominal injury.
The top eight players qualify automatically for the end-of-season finals, which run from 23-30 October.
Konta, who reached the final of the China Open this month, pulled out of last week’s Hong Kong Open and will not compete in this week’s Kremlin Cup.
She will be overtaken in the rankings if Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro or Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, 10th and 11th in the rankings respectively, win the tournament in Moscow.
Konta, 25, is aiming to become the first British female player since Virginia Wade in 1980 to reach the finals.
Williams, who has won five Tour Finals, said: “I am really, really bombed that I won’t be able to compete.
“It has been a really tough year for me, just dealing with my shoulder injury.
“My doctor insists that I stay at home and heal it every single day so I can have a chance to play next year.”