Tennis News

ZHUHAI, China – An on-fire Venus Williams overpowered Roberta Vinci in 65 minutes to reach the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai final. It was her milestone 40th match win of the year.

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The last time the two played there was almost nothing separating them – Williams actually had to fight off a match point to beat Vinci in the semifinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open a month ago.

But this time it was one-way traffic from start to finish, as the No.1-seeded Williams unleashed big serves and groundstrokes into the corners time and time again to completely overpower the No.4-seeded Vinci, breaking serve six times – including in the final game – en route to a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

“Wow, first final here – I’m very honored to be in the first final in Zhuhai!” Williams said in her on-court interview after the match. “Today wasn’t an easy match – every game was really well-contested and she never gave me any points. She’s had a great year; I felt like I really earned the win today.”

Williams not only improved to 5-0 lifetime against Vinci, but this was also her 40th match win of the year – a milestone she hasn’t hit since all the way back in 2008 (when she had 40 total for the year).

Nine of those wins have come in China – six to win the Wuhan title, three so far in Zhuhai.

“China’s been good to me this year!” Williams said. “I played well in Wuhan, and now another final here in Zhuhai, and I hope I can win one more match. It won’t be easy – I’m looking forward to it.”

And what does the seven-time Grand Slam champion think of the tournament, which is in its first year?

“It’s just an experience for the players – this has been amazing,” Williams said. “Of course, the participation from the fans is another amazing moment. And engagement of the city. Again, amazing.

“So all of these things are happening perfectly, and it can only get better, which is awesome.”

Williams will be playing in the 78th WTA final of her career. She’s 47-30 in the first 77.

Vinci’s 2015 season is now finished, but what a finish it was. Having gone into the US Open with a 21-20 record and ranked No.43, the Italian will now finish well inside the Top 20 thanks largely to three huge results – her first Grand Slam final in Flushing Meadows and semifinals in Wuhan and here.

.@VenusesWilliams on her way to her 3rd final of 2015! #WTAEliteTrophy https://t.co/vHfAYNMcyu

— WTA (@WTA) November 7, 2015

ATP World Tour players have voted Benoit Paire as the Comeback Player Of The Year.

Paire had been lingering inside the Top 50 for a few years when a left knee injury forced him to struggle through 2014. But it didn’t take long for the talented Frenchman to regain his footing this year. He took out No. 28 seed Fabio Fognini en route to the third round at Roland Garros (l. to Tomas Berdych), and the following month captured his first ATP World Tour title in Bastad (d. Robredo), becoming the sixth first-time titlist of 2015. In doing so, he also became the first player since Steve Darcis in 2007 to win an ATP World Tour, ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Futures title in the same season. But arguably his greatest moment came at the US Open, where he shocked World No. 4 and defending champion Kei Nishikori in the opening round in five sets. It marked his third Top-10 win and first over a Top-5 opponent. In October, he fell short in his bid for second career title, losing to top seed Wawrinka in the Tokyo final. He backed up his US Open upset of Nishikori by beating the Japanese star in the semi-finals.

Other Nominees

ALJAZ BEDENE
After a left wrist injury brought his 2014 to an abrupt end, Slovenian-turned Brit Bedene has returned to the ATP World Tour and is enjoying one of the most productive campaigns of his seven-year pro career. In the first week of the 2015 season the 26-year-old qualified for Chennai, then went on to defeat three of the top five seeds en route to his first ATP World Tour final (l. to Stan Wawrinka). In July, he dispatched No. 23-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut in two tie-break sets in the second round in Hamburg, and later this summer he saved two match points to defeat No. 11 Gilles Simon in Winston-Salem.

JOHN MILLMAN
A serious shoulder injury suffered midway through 2013 had the 26-year-old doubting whether he could play at an elite level again. But he kicked off 2015 by pushing 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer to three sets in his hometown of Brisbane. After upsetting Tommy Robredo to reach the second round at Wimbledon, he claimed a pair of Challenger titles in Lexington and Aptos. In the fall, he again took out Robredo in reaching the Round of 16 in Beijing.  

JACK SOCK
The American has had much to overcome in 2015. Due to hip surgery, he didn’t play his first match until Indian Wells in March. His knee kept him from playing at 100 percent during a first-round loss at Wimbledon. After winning the first two sets of his second-round match against Ruben Bemelmans at the US Open, he collapsed to the court, a victim of the soaring humidity. But as the 23-year-old noted via Twitter, “life is full of speed bumps, but I’ll be back even stronger.” In the midst of it all, he captured his first ATP World Tour title in Houston (d. Sam Querrey), recording four straight wins over seeded players in the process. In May, he recorded his eighth Top-20 win over No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov at Roland Garros, where he went on to become the youngest American into the fourth round since Pete Sampras in 1993. He made his Davis Cup debut in September, leading the US back into World Group with a pair of singles wins against Uzbekistan. In October, Sock teamed with Vasek Pospisil for their fourth career doubles title in Beijing.

Table values correct as at 19 October, 2015

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