Novak Djokovic be warned: Andy Murray wants your place atop the Emirates ATP Race To London. After a mid-season surge that has seen him reach seven consecutive finals, including his second Wimbledon title run in July, Murray has the chance at the US Open to do what just three months ago seemed unthinkable: dethrone Novak Djokovic from first place in the Race.

When Djokovic defeated Murray in the Roland Garros final on June 5, the Serb held a 3,225-point lead in the Race. Murray has now cut that to 1,215 points after reaching the final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati this past Sunday.

At the US Open, Murray is vying to become just the fourth player in the Open Era – Laver (’69), Federer (’04, ’06-‘07) and Djokovic (’05) – to reach all four major finals in the same year. Should Murray win the title he will go to first place in the Race unless Djokovic is the man he beats in the final. If Murray and Djokovic meet for the third time (Australian Open, Roland Garros) in a Grand Slam final this year, Djokovic will still lead the Race by 415 points even if Murray wins the final.

With a US Open title, Murray would also put the ultimate goal in play: the year-end World No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking, which Djokovic is attempting to clinch for the third consecutive year and fifth time overall. Just 16 players have ever finished the year No. 1.

A total of 25 players have held No. 1 during their careers. Interestingly, 24 players have won 600 tour-level matches, a mark Murray passed last week in Cincinnati. Murray is only one of eight players to top 600 match wins without ever ranking No. 1. The others are Guillermo Vilas (929 wins), David Ferrer (683), Arthur Ashe (681), Brian Gottfried (680), Michael Chang (662), Stan Smith (657) and Manuel Orantes (641).

Returning focus to London, Murray and Djokovic are the only two players to have secured their berths at this year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held November 13-20 at The O2 arena. The battle for the remaining six spots – which are determined by the Race – took some twists and turns in Cincinnati and will only intensify at Flushing Meadows.

Milos Raonic (4,375 points), third in the Race, and Kei Nishikori (fourth with 3,595 points) have reason to be confident that they will qualify for London. Austrian 22-year-old Dominic Thiem (3,025), who is looking to make his London debut, moved past Rafael Nadal (3,020) in fifth place after a quarter-final showing (l. Raonic) in Cincinnati.

Both players are less than 500 points clear of ninth-placed Tomas Berdych, although the Czech will miss the US Open due to appendicitis, giving both Thiem and Nadal a chance to add a handy buffer inside the Top 8 if they reach the second week.

Sixth-placed Stan Wawrinka (2,820) is 290 points clear of Berdych. French showman Gael Monfils (2,635), who like Thiem is seeking his first berth in London, holds the coveted eighth spot, just 105 points clear of Berdych.

Thrusting himself into London contention last week by claiming his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, Marin Cilic (2,310) this week surges nine places to 10^th in the Race, just 325 points behind eighth-placed Monfils. The US Open champion in 2014 and semi-finalist last year, Cilic has reason to expect that he can leverage his hot form and recent US Open performances to make a deep run at Flushing Meadows and perhaps break into the Top 8 in the Race.

David Goffin (2,130) is tied for 11^th with Roger Federer (who will miss the rest of the season through injury) and is 505 points behind Monfils. The Belgian missed an opportunity last week to press his London claim, as did 13^th placed Nick Kyrgios (1,825), with both players suffering early exits in Cincinnati.

Top seed Richard Gasquet fought for a win in his opening match Tuesday, overcoming Great Britain’s Daniel Evans 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and 28 minutes at the Winston-Salem Open. 

“It was a tough match for me,” said the Frenchman, who had been sidelined for five weeks with a back injury and made his return last week in Cincinnati. “I think physically I’m not in my best shape. But I know I’m still tough to beat.

“It’s important for me to do this kind of match,” he added. “Everything is possible in this draw.”

After dropping serve late in the second set, World No. 15 Gasquet saved two break points in the third and went ahead a decisive break at 4-2. 

“Tough one; I had chances in the third set,” said Evans. “Obviously he’s a class player and class showed through in the end… I was happy with how I played, just a few too many mistakes at the wrong time.”

Gasquet next faces countryman Stephane Robert, who needed two hours and 21 minutes to battle past No. 13 seed Federico Delbonis 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in another late-night match. 

Donald Young topped another Frenchman, last year’s runner-up Pierre-Hugues Herbert, to advance to the second round. The American, No. 57 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, did not face a break point in the 57-minute match as he won 6-4, 6-1.

 “I was fortunate enough to break early in both sets, so it let me relax,” said Young. “It definitely wasn’t easy and I’m definitely pleased with the win and looking forward to the next round.” The American will next face No. 14 seed Marcos Baghdatis for the third time. Their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry is tied at 1-1.

Fourth seed Steve Johnson will face Lukas Rosol in the second round after the Czech beat Victor Estrella Burgos 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, while sixth seed Sam Querrey will open against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez after the Spaniard defeated Damir Dzumhur 7-6(7), 6-1. 

Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, the No. 12 seed, made his way through to the third round after countryman Mikhail Youzhny withdrew with a leg injury following his first-round match. Youzhny had defeated Australian qualifier James Duckworth 7-6(8), 1-6, 6-3.

During his first visit to Winston-Salem, Frenchman Richard Gasquet will try to achieve what his fellow countrymen have been unable to do during their debut years at the tournament. Gasquet, the top seed, will try to win the title and gain his second ATP World Tour title of the season.

In 2011, the first year of the tournament, Julien Benneteau started the tradition of French players coming to Winston-Salem. Benneteau qualified and reached the final before falling to American John Isner. In 2012, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the semi-finals before also losing to eventual champion Isner.

The next year, 15^th seed Gael Monfils retired in the final against Austrian Jurgen Melzer down 6-3, 2-1. Top seed Gilles Simon bowed out in the second round to Brit Aljaz Bedene last year.

“They all told me it’s a very nice tournament to play,” Gasquet said of his French buddies.

Tournament director Bill Oakes said having Benneteau and Tsonga play at the tournament in its early years was key to bringing more French players to the tournament.

“The rest of the French players saw that I think that really made it easier for them to understand how we take care of the guys here,” Oakes said. “I think our fans have really appreciated all of them and really enjoyed watching them play.”

Gasquet isn’t quite thinking about one-upping his countrymen, though; the 30 year old is simply craving more matches. He retired after six games because of a back injury during his fourth-round match at Wimbledon and had to miss the next five weeks trying to recover.

Gasquet returned to the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last week and prevailed past countryman Adrian Mannarino 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-1. But he fell in the second round to South African Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-4.

“That’s why it’s important for me to be here. I didn’t play so much – just two matches in Cincinnati, so I need to play,” Gasquet told ATPWorldTour.com.

Before his injury, the 15-year ATP World Tour veteran had been enjoying another consistent season.

In February, Gasquet won his 13^th career title and his third consecutive at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. In May, during his 13^th time playing Roland Garros, the Frenchman reached the quarter-finals for the first time. He succumbed to eventual finalist Andy Murray in four sets.

Gasquet is hoping to regain that form in North Carolina. He faces Brit Daniel Evans for the first time on Monday evening. The 26-year-old Evans won his first-round match in Winston-Salem and reached a career high of No. 60 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last week.

“It’s always difficult to stop for such a long time [and] come back,” Gasquet said. “I’m feeling better. I have no more injuries… Now I need to practise and play more matches.”

American tennis fans should be “optimistic” about the group of young Americans rising through the Emirates ATP Rankings and winning ATP World Tour matches as teenagers, former American champions Jim Courier, Andy Roddick and James Blake said on Sunday at the Winston-Salem Open.

But fans should resist setting any lofty expectations for the group just yet. Instead, they’d be wise to enjoy the group’s attempted climb to the top.

“I think they should be optimistic,” Roddick said of fans. “I prefer that term over expecting anything.”

The U.S. currently has four players close to the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Rankings: No. 21 Steve Johnson, No. 22 John Isner, No. 27 Jack Sock and No. 28 Sam Querrey.

But it’s been six years since an American won an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title (Roddick, Miami 2010). He and James Blake also were the last Americans to claim spots in the Top 5 – Roddick, August 2009; Blake, January 2007.

The former champions are hopeful for a turnaround, though. They see a hungry group of young Americans eager to bring their country back to the top of the ATP World Tour.

Leading the way is #NextGen star Taylor Fritz, who will make his Winston-Salem singles debut on Monday. In the past 12 months, Fritz, a strong candidate for this year’s ATP Star Of Tomorrow presented by Emirates, has climbed 624 spots in the Emirates ATP Rankings to No. 54.

In Winston-Salem, he’ll look for revenge against another up-and-coming American: 18 year old Frances Tiafoe, who has hiked 151 spots in the past 12 months to No. 124. The two have played four times, including three times in juniors and at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells earlier this season. Tiafoe has won every time.

“I’ve never won so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” Fritz said.

The list of young Americans continues: 18 year old Reilly Opelka reached the semi-finals of the BB&T Atlanta Open earlier this month; 19 year old Tommy Paul won his first tour-level match earlier this season in Houston; 18 year old Stefan Kozlov knocked off Johnson in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June; 20 year old Noah Rubin is ranked No. 193; and 18 year old Michael Mmoh won the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships a week ago.

“We’ve had some very good players pop through [but[ this is the first time we’ve had this amount of depth at that level. I’m very hopeful, very optimistic,” said Courier, who was in Winston-Salem with Roddick and Blake for an exhibition on Sunday evening. “I think they can play off of each other, share some of the pressure, share some of the expectations and also push each other.”

The American tennis generation Courier grew up in included himself, former World No. 4, former World No. 2 Michael Chang and former World No. 1’s Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. They all benefited from developing as a group, Courier said.

“We were able to push each other and really propel each other to greater heights,” he said.

Roddick, Blake and Mardy Fish also pushed each other and shared a “healthy jealousy”, Roddick said. He’s talked with most of the up-and-comers and is optimistic because he hasn’t noticed a sense of entitlement that has accompanied past American tennis prospects.

“They know that they have to earn their place and I think that’s a great thing,” he said.

It’s far too early, though, to set specific expectations for them, Blake said. Their bodies have yet to go through a full season on the ATP World Tour. They also lack significant match experience against some of the game’s best players.

“I want to see who’s going to progress because right now they’re all still pretty raw,” Blake said.

Fritz said he believes he and others will produce results that all American tennis fans will enjoy. It just might take a little bit.

“The one thing to say to the fans is it’s probably going to take time. And just let it happen. Just let it happen,” Fritz said. “This group is going to be really good. As long as not too many expectations and not too much pressure is put on this whole group, I think we’re going to have a lot of Top 50 players and a lot of Top 20 players.”

Eric Butorac has been playing tennis for the past 30 years. He’s played more than 500 doubles matches during his 14-year ATP World Tour career. He’s also won 18 ATP World Tour doubles titles.

But on Sunday at the Winston-Salem Open, the 35 year old experienced a first for his tennis career: Butorac plopped himself in a wheelchair and tried to play wheelchair tennis.

“Challenging” was how Butorac, No. 45 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, described playing the sport. Hitting the ball was no problem, he said. But he often forgot he was in a wheelchair and that he first had to move to the ball, and then hit it.

“We don’t ever have to think about moving towards the ball, so that was another step,” he said.

The doubles champion also learned that his usual tactics don’t work as well in wheelchair tennis.

“I tried to approach the net one time and that’s completely the wrong strategy,” he said. “But it was fun to try and have a new respect for the game.”

Butorac and his Winston-Salem doubles partner, fellow American Scott Lipsky, participated in the Orthotic and Prosthetic Activities Foundation (OPAF) wheelchair tennis clinic, which was made possible with grant funding from USTA Wheelchair Tennis. The clinic was held at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center, next door to the outdoor courts of the Winston-Salem Open.

“[I] definitely respect these guys for doing what they do,” said Lipsky, who helped shag balls while Butorac played. “It’s amazing to see how good they actually are.”

Chris Gallal, a 17 year old from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been playing wheelchair tennis for the past three months and participated in the clinic. He was impressed that Butorac hopped in the wheelchair. “It was a very nice experience and I really enjoyed it,” he said.

Robin Burton, executive director of OPAF, said the participation from the ATP World Tour players helped bridge the gap between able-bodied tennis and wheelchair tennis, which are usually two entirely separate sports, she said.

The longtime coach who helped run the clinic also appreciated the support from the ATP World Tour veterans. Frank Adams, who’s been coaching wheelchair tennis for the past 20 years, said Butorac and Lipsky’s participation will inspire wheelchair athletes for months to come.

“I think it’s outstanding to have [ATP World Tour] players participate in something so significant… Being willing to go out there and play wheelchair tennis before they start their tournament, not a lot of players would do that,” Adams said. “I think it inspires everyone who got a chance to see them to take that risk.”

A top seed at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event for the first time, Andy Murray did well to reach the final of the Western & Southern Open before falling to Marin Cilic. The Brit saw his career-best 22-match win streak snapped by the inspired Croatian, but took positives from his deep run in Cincinnati.

“I’m very proud of this week. Obviously today didn’t go the way I would’ve wanted, but I certainly didn’t expect to get to the final,” said Murray, who arrived in Cincinnati after winning his second consecutive Olympic gold medal. “It was a very positive week. Now I’m looking forward to a few days’ rest.”

The short turnaround after Rio caused Murray some physical discomfort and nearly derailed his Cincinnati run.

“After the first match I played, I was having problems with my shoulder,” Murray said. “I did speak about it with my team, but my physio was pretty confident that it was just fatigue, and that I didn’t have any sort of structural damage in my shoulder.

“When it was said that I wasn’t going to make it worse by playing, I thought: ‘Let’s go for it this week. Let’s try and get through as many matches as we can.’”

Murray’s superior form carried him to a seventh consecutive final and nearly allowed him to win his fifth title of the year. In 2016, Murray won the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome and the Aegon Championships before securing his second Wimbledon title. Against Cilic, he was aiming for his 40^th tour-level crown.

“I think I’m playing my best tennis just now. It’s not even close to anything else I had done before. Seven finals in a row, winning Wimbledon again, and the Olympics. It’s been really good,” said Murray, whose next event will be the US Open, a tournament he won in 2012. “I really didn’t expect to be here. It’s obviously disappointing when you get to the final and not win, but it was a very, very positive week considering everything. Mentally I’m in a good place just now. So I’m looking forward to New York for sure.”

Marin knew. Andy knew. The crowd even knew, but there was nothing anybody could do to stop Marin Cilic’s wide sliding serve in the deuce court from carving up Andy Murray in the final of the Western and Southern Open on Sunday.

Cilic won 6-4, 7-5, overwhelming Murray with precision serves, power forehands, and a tenacity to keep points short and sweet against the most in-form player on the planet.

Tennis is a game of primary and secondary patterns that are mixed based on the scoreboard and the guessing game of shot location constantly going on inside players’ minds. Primary patterns are the prime movers, run seven or eight times out of ten, while secondary patterns are surprise guerrilla tactics used to confuse the opponent when they get a scent of what’s really happening to them.

Cilic Deuce Court Wide Slider
There was no pattern of play more important for Cilic against Murray than his wide sliding serve in the deuce court. It stretched Murray way off the court to begin the point, creating a huge positioning hole for Cilic to immediately exploit with his forehand.

Murray regularly made contact with his forehand return 6.6 metres (22 feet) from the center of the court, creating an instant hole for Cilic to attack Murray in the vacant ad court, and also behind Murray in the deuce court as the Brit sprinted back hard after the defensive return to stay alive in the point.

Overall, Cilic directed 80 per cent (24/30) of first serves in the deuce court out wide, dining there again and again whenever he needed a point. Of the 24 first serves he hit out wide, he made 15 and won 12.

Of the 12 he won, he served and volleyed four times, highlighting the confidence he had in this specific serve to immediately follow it to the net. Of the other eight points, Murray committed three return errors and Cilic was 5/5 in hitting a forehand as the all-important “Serve +1” groundstroke immediately following the serve. Of those 12, Cilic only played one rally that lasted more than seven shots, showing how much he was able to immediately dictate behind the fearsome delivery. Of the three points Cilic lost behind his wide deuce slider, Murray was on full defence, slicing six of eight shots to barely stay afloat in the point.

At 6-4, 3-3, Murray’s average return speed against Cilic’s first serve was a lowly 48mph. The wide slider in the deuce court had a lot to do with that. Cilic, by comparison, was averaging 64mph with his first serve returns.

Cilic Serve +1 Forehands
Hitting a forehand as the first shot after the serve was also a key tactic for Cilic, completing it 61 per cent (22/36) of the time to stay on top of Murray as the point unfolded. Cilic won 73 per cent (16/22) of his points beginning with a Serve +1 forehand and only 43 per cent (6/14) beginning with a Serve +1 backhand strategy.   

With Cilic leading 6-4, 3-4 on serve, his forehand had done a masterful job of pushing Murray further back behind the baseline than the Brit was comfortable with. When Murray defeated Milos Raonic in the semi-finals, Murray made contact with only 16 per cent of his groundstrokes more than two metres behind the baseline, but that more than doubled that to 35 per cent against Cilic after a set and a half of play.

First Four Shots
Cilic imposed his will all over the court, especially when it came to the key metric of rally length. Sixty percent of points in the match were a maximum of four shots. Cilic won this vital battleground 39-34, won the 5-8 shot rallies 22-19 and lost the long rallies of 10 shots or more 5-4.

Dominating the shorter rallies is proven to be a much better indicator of who will win the match than winning the longer rallies. At the 2015 US Open, the match winner won 90 per cent of the 0-4 shot rallies, 66 per cent of the 5-8 shot rallies, and just 56 per cent of the longer rallies that reached double digits.

Cilic looks in ominous form heading into this year’s US Open – a title he won in 2014. When the 6’6” Croatian is in this vein of form, his game is so big and so powerful that he can blow right through opponents with his massive serve and forehand combination.

American Bjorn Fratangelo beat Evgeny Donskoy 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the second round at the Winston-Salem Open on Sunday. The 23-year-old wild card fired eight aces and capitalised on five of his 11 break point chances in the one-hour, 51-minute victory.

“I felt more and more comfortable as the match went on,” said Fratangelo, who will next face No. 11 seed Paolo Lorenzi. “I prepared correctly, it was just tough.” 

Top seed Richard Gasquet will begin his campaign on Monday against Daniel Evans, who advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Gastao Elias. Jan-Lennard Struff topped Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-3 in 64 minutes to set a second-round meeting with No. 16 seed Pablo Carreno Busta.

Yen-Hsun Lu topped Illya Marchenko 7-6(5), 6-3, while Stephane Robert beat fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Yoshihito Nishioka, Radu Albot, James McGee and James Duckworth advanced to the main draw after winning their final round matches in qualifying over Liam Broady, Tim Van Rijthoven, Michael Berrer and Petros Chrysochos, respectively.

Winston-Salem is the final ATP World Tour event of the U.S. summer, welcoming 48 players to the Wake Forest campus in North Carolina. Top seed Gasquet is making is tournament debut. Kevin Anderson, the fifth seed, returns to defend his title.