Tennis News

A career year, right? The kind that summons comparisons to the sport’s all-time greats. But even though we’re barely into October, the 28 year old insists his 2015 campaign has already surpassed it.  

“Somehow I feel like this one is even better,” said Djokovic, in Beijing to defend his title at the China Open. “I just feel like a more complete person and a player. I’m a father and a husband, just different circumstances that happen in my life in the last couple of years that have helped me to enjoy all the success that I have on the tennis court even more. So 2011 was absolutely an incredible year. But I feel this year I’m enjoying it even more because I’m more, I would say, fulfilled, more complete, more mature as a person and a player.”

Djokovic, who for the second time in his career came within one major (Roland Garros) of a calendar year Grand Slam, will surely add to his 2015 numbers in the coming weeks. The World No. 1 is already 63-5 with seven titles on the year and traditionally plays some of his best tennis during the ATP World Tour’s Asian swing. He’s chasing a record sixth China Open title, and has won the Shanghai Rolex Masters in two of the past three years.

“I love playing these tournaments,” he said. “I’ve had lots of success in these two cities. The first time I came to Beijing was for the [2008] Olympic Games and I won the bronze medal.  Ever since then, I’ve won five trophies here. Shanghai I won a couple times there, won the first Masters Cup. So the record that I have in these tournaments in China gives me a lot of obvious motivation to come back, a lot of great memories that I built my approach on for this year.”

Djokovic, who has already qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November, is determined to maintain his run of form through to the end of the year.

“It’s been a long season, no question about it, a lot of matches played,” he said. “But this is what I do. This is my life. I’m looking forward to perform in front of the Chinese people, who give me a lot of support over the years…The way they wait for me in front of the hotel and the club is something that I don’t experience really more or less anywhere, maybe very few places in the world.”

Djokovic will open his title defence this week against Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli, against whom he’s 4-0.   

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Stars Aligned in Beijing, Tokyo  – The Asian circuit on the ATP World Tour continues with 500 level tournaments with the China Open 2015 in Beijing and the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo. They are two of the 13 ATP World Tour 500 events. Between both tournaments, 40 of the Top 45 players in this week’s Emirates ATP Rankings are in action. In Beijing, World No. 1 and five–time champion Novak Djokovic and No. 5/2011 winner Tomas Berdych are the top two seeds. In Tokyo, Stan Wawrinka and reigning champion, local favorite Kei Nishikori, who are the top two seeds and 4^th and 6^th, respectively, in the Emirates ATP Race to London.

Emirates ATP Race to London – 13 of the Top 15 players in the Emirates ATP Race to London for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are in action. Top four have qualified. There are four spots remaining to the season finale and 500 points to the champion at stake. Here are the points leaders on Sunday:

China Open (Beijing)  -The China Open 2015 features an outstanding field with 10 of the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, led by World No. 1 and five-time Beijing champion Novak Djokovic and No. 2 seed/2011 winner Tomas Berdych, who met in last year’s final. Djokovic won 6-0, 6-2. The other seeds are: No. 3/’05 champ Rafael Nadal, No. 4 David Ferrer, No. 5 Milos Raonic, No. 6 John Isner, No. 7 David Goffin and No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Raonic and Goffin are making their debut. Djokovic, Nadal and Berdych are the former champions in the field.

Reigning Champ/World No. 1 – Djokovic returns to the China Open for the sixth time and the five-time champion is looking to maintain his unbeaten record (24-0). He’s only dropped three sets (to left-handers Verdasco twice, Berrer) in 51 sets played. He has won the title in 2009-10, 2012-14. Djokovic comes in with a 63-5 match record (40-4 on hard) on the season with seven titles: Australian Open, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Wimbledon and US Open. This is Djokovic’s first tournament since capturing his 10^th Grand Slam title at the US Open on Sept. 13 (d. Federer). This is the 167^th week overall he has ranked No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, which is sixth-most. He will surpass No. 5 John McEnroe’s total of 170 on Nov. 2. He will finish No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the fourth time in five years (except ’13). Here are the other players to win at least their first 20 matches in a tournament in the last 40 years:

Rafael Nadal started 31-0 at Roland Garros between 2005 & 2009. He is now 70-2.

Jimmy Connors went 26-0 at Birmingham, Alabama between 1974 & 1980.

Mats Wilander started 23-0 at Barcelona between 1982 & 1985, finished 27-3.

John McEnroe started 23-0 at Milan between 1979 & 1989, finished 26-2.

John McEnroe started 22-0 at Sydney Indoor between 1980 & 1992, finished 22-1.

Novak in China – Djokovic comes into Beijing having won 28 of his last 29 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 Beijing Open (24-0) and is 19-3 at the Shanghai Rolex Masters (since 2009). The only country in which he’s won more titles is the U.S. (11).

Rafa Returns – Nadal is making his third straight appearance in Beijing and fifth overall. Nadal is 14-3 in Beijing, winning the title in his debut in 2005 (d. Coria) and reaching the final in ’13 (l. to Djokovic), semi-finals in 2009 (l. to Cilic) and quarter-finals last year (l. to Klizan). Nadal has a 45-15 match record on the season, including 14-7 on hard courts and 26-6 on clay. He has won three ATP World Tour titles (Buenos Aires, Stuttgart, Hamburg) and final at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid. His streak of 10 consecutive years with at least one Grand Slam crown came to an end this season. His best Slam results were quarter-finals at Australian Open and Roland Garros.

Ivo Eyes Aces Record – Ivo Karlovic, who is making his fourth tournament appearance in Beijing (1-3), is closing in on the all-time ATP World Tour aces record (since 1991), currently held by countryman Goran Ivanisevic, who hit 10,237 aces in his career. Karlovic comes into Kuala Lumpur trailing by 35 with 10,202. These figures don’t include Davis Cup matches. Karlovic leads the ATP World Tour this season with 1,207 aces, the fourth year he’s surpassed 1,000 in a campaign.

Milos Makes Debut – Raonic is making his Beijing debut after a successful five-year stretch in Tokyo where he compiled a 14-5 match record and reached the final the last three years (l. to Nishikori in 2012, 2014, del Potro in 2013). The 24-year-old Canadian is coming off his seventh career ATP World Tour title in St. Petersburg (d. Sousa) on Sept. 27. Raonic moved up a spot to No. 12 in the Emirates ATP Race to London and he’s trying to qualify for the second straight year in the season finale.

Doubles Draw Highlights – Top seeds and defending champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau lead a strong doubles field, which features four of the Top 10 teams. Rojer/Tecau, the reigning Wimbledon champions, are No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings and they have clinched a spot for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic received a wild card entered with brother Djordje and they are playing together for the first time in an ATP World Tour tournament. Novak teamed with his other brother Marko in five ATP tournaments (0-5). Nadal, who won his ninth career ATP World Tour doubles title in Doha (w/Monaco), is entered with countryman Feliciano Lopez.  Other Top 15 teams are: No. 6 Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, the Australian Open champions, No. 7 Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic and No. 10 Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock, last year’s Wimbledon champs. They play Bolelli/Fognini in the first round. No. 13 Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin are trying to make a late season charge for London. They are 11-2 since teaming together for the first time in August, reaching the final in Montreal and winning the title in Cincinnati.        

Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (Tokyo) -The longest running tournament in Asia on the ATP World Tour, which began in 1972, is led for the second straight year by top seed and World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka The other seeds are: No. 2/two-time champion Kei Nishikori, No. 3 Gilles Simon, No. 4 Richard Gasquet, No. 5 Kevin Anderson, No. 6 Marin Cilic, No. 7 Feliciano Lopez and   No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov.  Nishikori is the only former winner in the draw. Gasquet was runner-up in 2007 (l. to Ferrer).

Stan Top Seed – Wawrinka is playing in Tokyo for the fourth time (4-3) and last year he was upset by local wild card Tatsuma Ito in the first round. They could meet in the second round if both players win their opening matches. In his previous two visits in 2009 and 2012, he reached the QF. The 30-year-old Swiss has already qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. He enters with a 43-13 match record on the season (25-7 on hard) with three titles (Chennai, Rotterdam, Roland Garros). Six of his 10 career titles have come in 2014-15 after winning four between 2006-13. The Swiss is one of two players (Djokovic) to reach the quarter-finals or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments this season.

Kei Back Home – Nishikori is making his eighth tournament appearance (14-5 record). In 2012, he became the first Japanese player to win the Japan Open title and last year he beat Raonic for the second time in the final. He opens against talented Croat teenager Borna Coric in the first round. The 25-year-old Japanese star, is putting together another outstanding season with three titles in four finals. He reached a career-high No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on 2 March and he is No. 6 coming into Tokyo. He has compiled a 48-11 match record (29-7 on hard). Nishikori, who is 6^th in the Emirates ATP Race to London, is trying to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the second straight year (SF in ’14). Coach Michael Chang compiled a 21-12 record in the Japan Open, reaching the final in 1994 (l. to Sampras) and semi-finals in 1991-92 and 1995.

Cilic Makes Return – Cilic is playing in Tokyo for the first time since a second-round exit in 2007. Last year’s US Open champion made a solid attempt to defend his title, falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Djokovic. The 27-year-old Croat was appearing in the semi-finals in Shenzhen on Sunday (vs. Garcia-Lopez). He was sidelined until early March with a right shoulder injury and after a 4-6 start, he has compiled a 21-9 match record from the beginning of Roland Garros.

His best results are semi-finals in Stuttgart, Washington, US Open and Shenzhen along with quarter-finals for second year in a row at Wimbledon. His last ATP World Tour title came in Moscow on 19 October, 2014.

Bryans Lead Doubles Draw  – Bob and Mike Bryan are appearing in Tokyo for the third straight year and they are looking for their first win (0-2) after back-to-back first-round losses. The Bryans are playing in their first tournament since a rare first-round exit at the US Open (l. to Johnson/Querrey). Five of the Top 15 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings are in the draw, including No. 5 and US Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. They are the No. 2 seeds. Other Top 15 teams include: No. 9 Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, No. 11 Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (play Bryans in 1R) and No. 15 Feliciano Lopez and Max Mirnyi.

Birthdays

5 October – Federico Delbonis (25), Blaz Rola (25)

7 October – Sam Querrey (28)

8 October – Simone Bolelli (30)

In Case You Missed It

At the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, David Ferrer overcame compatriot Feliciano Lopez to claim his 25^th ATP World Tour title. Read 

A Monday final will be necessary at the rain-delayed Shenzhen Open. Tomas Berdych will take on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Read 

Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming pull double duty to claim the Shenzhen doubles title. Read 

No. 2 seeds Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen earned their second title in two weeks by winning in Kuala Lumpur. Read 

Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming survived the ultimate test on Sunday at the Shenzhen Open, winning their first team title amidst torrential rain and a move indoors.

A typhoon in southern China forced Erlich and Fleming to play both their semi-final and final matches on Sunday. The Israeli-British duo defeated Mao-Xin Gong and Michael Venus 6-2, 6-4 in 67 minutes, before downing Chris Guccione and Andre Sa 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-6 for the title.

The title match, which was moved indoors, lasted 81 minutes and saw Erlich and Fleming convert on three of five break chances. They split $33,600 in prize money as well as 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings Points.

“We had a lot of fun at a great event,” 38-year-old Erlich said. “The hotel and venue are great. I’m happy we could play very solid throughout the week and I’m very happy for the title. The last few years I made some finals but could never go all the way. I’m happy it finally came.”

Individually, Erlich captured his 18th ATP World Tour crown in his 35th final. Victory was sweet for the Israeli, who won his first title since the 2012 Serbia Open in Belgrade. Fleming staked claim to his eighth title, having finished runner-up in Marseille earlier this year with Jonathan Marray, as well as in Atlanta with Gilles Muller. It was his first title in two years.

“I’m delighted to win another title,” said Fleming. “I didn’t expect it, but Jonathan and I played great tennis this week and I’m so happy to get over the line after a tough two matches today. It’s been a great week here at a great tournament in Shenzhen.”

Guccione and Sa were bidding to hoist their second trophy together, following success in Nottingham in June. The Aussie fell to 4-4 in ATP World Tour finals, while the Brazilian dropped to 10-16. They take home $17,660 and 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings Points for their efforts.