Tennis News

FINAL PREVIEW: For the second time in three years, top seed Novak Djokovic and No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal meet in the China Open final. Two years ago, Djokovic won 6-3, 6-4, and since then he has won six of the last seven meetings against the Spaniard. This will be the 45th meeting, which is the most match-ups in the Open Era. Nadal leads 23-21, but Djokovic owns a 14-7 advantage on hard courts. This is their first hard court meeting since last year’s Miami Open, which Djokovic won 6-3, 6-3. The 28-year-old Serb comes into the final with a 28-match and 25-set China Open winning streaks. He is trying to win his sixth China Open title in as many finals and he is looking to remain unbeaten in ATP World Tour finals in China (8-0). This is Djokovic’s 12th straight final of the year (7-4 in finals). Nadal is looking for his fourth title of the season (3-1), the first on hard courts since Doha in January 2014, when he defeated Gael Monfils. Nadal is appearing in his third China Open final (1-1). He won the title in his debut in 2005 (d. Coria) and reached the final two years ago. Nadal will rise to No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Race to London with a win in the Beijing final.

FINALS HISTORY:    

Djokovic is appearing in his 82nd career ATP World Tour level final. He is 55-26 in finals (7-4 in 2015).
Nadal is appearing in his 97th career ATP World Tour level final. He is 67-29 in finals (3-1 in 2015).

THE FINAL: (Leads tournament in this category +)

RIVALRY FOR THE AGES:  This is the 45th meeting between Djokovic and Nadal, which is an Open Era record. Here is the breakdown:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   NOVAK DJOKOVIC

• World No. 1 has a 28-0 lifetime record in China Open matches and 56-3 in sets (25 straight). Has only lost 14 games going into final, fewest in his career with minimum four matches played. En route to final, has beaten No. 4 Ferrer 6-2, 6-3 in SF, No. 6 Isner 6-2, 6-2 in QF, qualifier Bolelli 6-1, 6-1 and wild card Zhang 6-2, 6-1
• Has held serve 29 of 31 games (94%), saving eight of 10 BPs (broken twice vs. Ferrer) and leads this week in
1st-serve percentage (69%) and return games won (19 of 31, 61%) while converting 19 of 28 BPs (68%)
• With win on Friday, passed Connors for 2nd-best start at any tournament in Open Era (see chart below)
• Clinched year-end No. 1 in Emirates ATP Rankings for 4th time in last 5 years (2011-12, ’14-15) and will pass McEnroe on Nov. 2 for 5th all-time with 171 total weeks at No. 1
• Won 8th, 9th and 10th Grand Slam singles titles at Australian Open (d. Murray), Wimbledon (d. Federer) and US Open (d. Federer) respectively. Fell short of calendar Grand Slam in Roland Garros final (l. to Wawrinka)
• Became 1 of 3 players to play in all 4 major finals in a single year during Open Era (also Laver and Federer)
• Making 12th straight final appearance after falling in Doha QF to start season (l. to Karlovic). Last player to reach 10 or more consecutive finals in a season was Federer (11 in ’06, 17 dating back to ’05)
• Has a 7-4 record in finals this season. Also captured titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Rome, moving into a tie with Federer for 2nd all-time with 24 ATP Masters 1000 championships (Nadal 27)
• Appearing in 82nd  career final, 9th in China. Has a 55-26 career record in finals (8-0 in China)
• Has a 22-4 record vs. Top 10 opponents this year, beating every Top 10 opponent he’s faced (has not played No. 10 Simon) at least once (149-79 in career)
• Along with 2014 Paris title, won 30 straight matches at ATP Masters 1000 events before falling to Murray in Montreal final. Also lost to Federer in Cincinnati final

NOVAK DOMINATES CHINA: Djokovic comes into the final having won 32 of his last 33 matches in China, winning consecutive titles in Beijing and Shanghai in 2012-13 and Beijing last year. His 28-match winning streak in China ended last year when he lost to Federer in the semi-finals in Shanghai. Overall, he has won eight career titles in China (five in Beijing, three in Shanghai). He has never lost in the China Open (28-0) and is 19-3 at the Shanghai Rolex Masters (since 2009). He also went 4-4 at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2007-08, winning title in ’08. The only country in which he’s won more titles is the U.S. (11). He has never lost in a final in China (8-0) 

RAFAEL NADAL

• No. 2 Spaniard is into 3rd China Open final after beating [WC] Wu 64 64, Pospisil 76(3) 64, Sock 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and Fognini 7-5, 6-3. Playing a seeded opponent for 1st time in Djokovic
• Ranks No. 3 in 1st serve pct. (67%) and No. 8 in 2nd-serve points won (54%). Has held in 38 of 46 service games (83%), saving 10 of 18 brk, pts. (56%). Has won 14 of 45 return games (31%)
• Playing in 1st hard-court final since falling to Djokovic in 2014 ATP Masters 1000 Miami championship match (10 hard-court events ago). Trying to win his 1st hard court title since  2014 Doha (d. Monfils)
• Captured titles at Buenos Aires (d. Monaco), Stuttgart (d. Troicki) and Hamburg (d. Fognini), also reaching final at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Murray). Appearing in 97th
• Denied a 10th Roland Garros title by No. 1 Djokovic in QF, falling to 70-2 lifetime on Parisian clay
• Also reached Australian Open QF (l. to No. 7 Berdych), Wimbledon 2R (l. to No. 102 Brown) and US Open 3R (l. to Fognini after up 2-0 sets). Failed to win at least 1 Grand Slam title in a season for 1st time since 2004
• Yet to win an ATP Masters 1000 title in 2015 (1+ each year from 2005-2014)
• Has a 2-7 record vs. Top 10 opponents this year, losing last four (131-67 in career). His wins came over No. 7 Ferrer (Monte-Carlo) and No.7 Berdych  (Madrid). Last beat a No.1 in ’13 US Open final (Djokovic)

DOUBLES FINAL: Vasek Pospisil (CAN)/Jack Sock (USA) vs. [4] Daniel Nestor (CAN)/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)

• Unseeded Pospisil of Canada and Sock of the U.S. play No. 4 seeds Nestor of Canada and Roger-Vasselin of France in a first-time meeting.
• Pospisil and Sock are contesting their third ATP World Tour final (1-1) of the year and sixth of their career (3-2) since teaming up at Wimbledon last year. They are No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings. They have an 18-8 match record this season, winning the title at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells and reaching the final in Miami. Pospisil is 4-3 in career doubles finals while Sock is 4-4. Both are trying to win their first ATP World Tour title on Asian soil.
• They came into Beijing having lost four straight 1R matches before beating No. 3 seeds/Australian Open champions Bolelli/Fognini in 1R, Djokovic brothers in QF and reigning Wimbledon champs Rojer/Tecau in SF.
• Nestor and Roger-Vasselin are appearing in their third ATP World Tour final (1-1) in fourth tournament together (14-2 record) They first paired up in August in Montreal and reached the final (l. to Bryans). The following week they won the title in Cincinnati (d. Matkowski/Zimonjic). At the US Open they lost in the 3R.
• They came in No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings. The 43-year-old Nestor has an 88-56 career record in finals (3-1 in ‘15) with titles at Sydney in January and Dubai in February (both w/Bopanna).
Roger-Vasselin has an 11-3 career record in doubles finals and in July won in Bogota (w/Stepanek). He also won last month in Metz (w/Kubot). His biggest career title came last year at Roland Garros  (w/Benneteau).

The Shanghai Rolex Masters — the eighth ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season — will feature a star-studded field, including the entire Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Race to London.

Defending champion and World No. 2 Roger Federer, set to make his fifth appearance in Shanghai (13-3 record), finds himself in the same half of the draw as longtime rival Rafael Nadal, and could face the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Round of 16, and Kei Nishikori, Kevin Anderson, Nick Kyrgios or Fabio Fognini should he return to the quarter-finals.

Nadal’s quadrant also includes some heavy-hitting competition in Milos Raonic, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka.

See Full Shanghai Draw

Meanwhile, top-seeded Novak Djokovic’s draw is no cakewalk either. The former champion had his 13-match winning streak in Shanghai snapped with a semi-final loss to Federer last year, and in 2015 could be tested as early as the Round of 16 by Feliciano Lopez, and in the quarters by Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer or Bernard Tomic.

Lurking elsewhere in Djokovic’s half of the draw are potential semi-final opponents Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Gilles Simon and John Isner.

Shanghai will mark Federer’s first tournament since reaching the US Open final on September 13 (l. to Djokovic). The following weekend he played in a Davis Cup World Group playoff tie vs. the Netherlands, winning both singles matches. The 34-year-old Swiss star enters with a 53-8 record on the year (29-3 on hard courts). He has five ATP World Tour titles on the year. His last title came in August in Cincinnati, where he captured his 24^th career ATP Masters 1000 crown (d. Djokovic).

This is the seventh year of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament at the Qizhong Tennis Center, which was the site of the Tennis Masters Cup from 2005 to 2008. Reigning champion Federer, 2012-13 winner Djokovic and 2010-11 titleholder Murray are all former champions.

Benoit Paire held his nerve on Saturday to record the fourth Top 10 win of his career for a place in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships final. Paire, who captured his first ATP World Tour title at Bastad (d. Robredo) in July, will now challenge his good friend, Stan Wawrinka, the top seed. Wawrinka leads Paire 4-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Paire came back from a slow start to beat second seed Kei Nishikori, the two-time champion, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to silence the Japanese support at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo. Paire, who will now contest his fourth ATP World Tour final (1-2 record) also beat Nishikori last month in the US Open first round.

“Kei was playing unbelievably well in the first set,” said Paire. “I couldn’t do anything, he made no mistakes. He wasn’t missing and hitting every ball on the line. The only thing I could do was stay focused and try to hold my serve. That’s what I did and I began to build my confidence. But then I think he began to feel to the pressure. In the third set, it was different. I was playing very well, aggressively and serving well. I think I was better in the third set.”

The loss denies Nishikori the opportunity to strengthen his claims for one of the four remaining spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November. Rafael Nadal has risen one spot, usurping Nishikori at No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, with his run to this week’s China Open final in Beijing.

Nishikori took a 3-0 lead in the 21-minute first set, breaking a second time in the sixth game and seemingly having the answer to everything Paire threw at him.

The second set was more competitive with neither player giving away any half chances. Paire had strapped applied around his left ankle after the fifth game, then, at 3-3, saved five break points in a 20-point game.

Paire grew in confidence and on leading 5-4 his moment came. Although he could not convert two set point opportunity on Nishikori’s serve from 15/40, he struck a stunning backhand winner down the line on his third chance to take the pair’s fourth meeting to a decider.

The breakthrough was the catalyst as Paire took a 3-0 lead in the third set, courtesy of breaking Nishikori in a 12-point second game. Paire went on to save one break point at 4-2, 30/40 with an ace down the middle, which proved to be Nishikori’s last chance. At 2-5, 30/40, Paire’s first match point, the 2012 and 2014 titlist could not successfully scramble back a second deep forehand and struck a lob long.

Paire hit 11 aces and saved seven of nine break points, regrouping from winning just seven of his service points in the first set, to improve to a 23-14 match record on the season.

The 25-year-old Nishikori, now 17-6 lifetime at the future tennis venue of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, had been looking to reach his 16th final. He is now 51-12 on the year, the fourth best ATP World Tour match wins record in 2015. His wait on qualifying for the London season finale continues. Next week, he has been drawn to play Nick Kyrgios or Andreas Haider-Maurer in the Shanghai Rolex Masters second round.

Rafael Nadal isn’t one to shy away from a rivalry. His confrontations with peers Novak Djokovic (44 matches), Roger Federer (33 matches) and Andy Murray (21 matches) are the stuff of tennis legend. But there’s a new antagonist on the scene these days: Italy’s Fabio Fognini.

Nadal and Fognini faced each other just four times prior to 2015, Nadal emerging victorious on each occasion. But coming into the China Open, they had played that many times this year alone, Fognini having reversed his fortunes with three victories, including a stunning come-from-behind third-round shocker at the US Open, one in which he erased a seemingly irreversible two-sets-to-love deficit. Nadal had never lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets.

As fate would have it, they would meet yet again on Saturday with a trip to the Beijing final on the line. But this time it was Nadal who would move ahead 6-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head with a 7-5, 6-3 win on a chilly day at the National Tennis Center.

There were no less than five breaks of serve in the jittery opening set as the foes searched for rhythm from the baseline. But with Fognini serving to stay in the stanza at 5-6, it was Nadal who grabbed the break that mattered most.

Nadal would score another important break in the sixth game of the second set when a Fognini backhand sailed long, giving him a 4-2 advantage. The 28th-ranked Italian managed to save two match points to hold at 2-5, but one game later his opponent held serve to close it out in one hour, 45 minutes.

“He’s a great player, a great and talented player,” said Nadal. “It was a tough first set, as I expected. Tough match in general. But I think I played well. I played much closer to the baseline than the previous days. That’s very important for me, very important for my game. The position for me on the court today was more aggressive, and that’s why I was able to beat him today after a couple of defeats.”

Nadal, who landed 73 per cent of his first serves and converted four of 10 break-point chances, remains in the hunt for one of four remaining spots at the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be played 15-22 November at London’s O2 arena. The Beijing champion will receive 500 points in the Emirates ATP Race to London.

“I’m happy to be in the final obviously,” said Nadal. “It’s a good result for me, very positive one. And tomorrow is a match to enjoy.

“[This result gives me] a lot of important points for the [Barclays ATP World Tour Finals] too,” added Nadal. “I don’t say that I am qualified, but with that result I am much closer to being qualified for the World Tour Finals.

“At the same time, the goal for me is try to find a good level at this end of the season. Playing matches is the best practice possible, trying to do things in the matches, to have better feelings, practice the things that I need to do next year. I think today was an important victory. I really played the way that I wanted to play.” 

Fognini, still seeking his first title of 2015, was hoping to join Djokovic as one of only two men to beat Nadal four or more times in a single season. Nadal will next meet the top-seeded Djokovic for the Beijing title.

“Of course, I’m disappointed because I lost,” said Fognini. “But this is sport. I think I played good tennis. I have to accept these kinds of matches, that I know I can beat him anytime at the moment. So it’s really good for me that I know I can play with him.”