Atp Finals: 3 Spots Up For Grabs In A Hot Autumn Of Tennis - UBITENNIS
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Atp Finals: 3 Spots Up For Grabs In A Hot Autumn Of Tennis

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10 years ago

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TENNIS – The race for the ATP Finals is really heating up. Three players Djokovic, Federer and Nadal have already booked their berth for the end-of-season ATP Finals. Wawrinka is currently fourth in the ATP Ranking and can already plan in advance his second consecutive travel to the British capital. The other surprising Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic, has almost secured his ticket to London. The three remaining spots for the great season-finale are up for grabs. The race is wide open. Diego Sampaolo

It will be a hot autumn for tennis fans, as the race for London will be decided in the tournaments starting from the Asian Swing.

The Asian Swing starts this week with two ATP 250 Tournaments in Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen. Next week features two ATP 500 in Beijing and Tokyo, followed by the Master 1000 in Shanghai. China will host tournaments in all three categories (250, 500 and Master 1000). After the Asian Swing the circuit will return to Europe with a series of Indoor tournaments (Stockholm, Vienna, Moscow, Valencia, Basel) before the last Master 1000 Tournament in Paris Bercy.

Kei Nishikori starts his Asian campaign this week in Kuala Lumpur in search for points for the ATP Finals after his first Grand Slam final at the US Open. It will be his fourth appearance in the Malaysian Open. Nishikori is also planning to play in Tokyo and Shanghai. The Florida-based player will be bidding to become the first Asian player in history to qualify for the ATP Finals. Nishikori has made a real breakthrough this year reaching his first Master 1000 final in Madrid (where he came close to beating Nadal but had to surrender to injury problems on his back). The Japanese player has reached his first ever Grand Slam final after overcoming very tough and long battles against Milos Raonic after a marathon five-set match in the fourth round that lasted until 2.30 in the night, Stan Wawrinka in the quarter final and Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. The question is to see how the injury-prone player has recovered from these efforts.

World Number 6 Nishikori leads the field at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur where he will face Number 13 Ernests Gulbis, who won in Marseille and Nice and reached the semifinal in the Roland Garros and is just one match-win away from equalling his career best after winning 36 matches this year.

The Malaysian Open will also feature Joao Sousa who won this tournament last year after saving a match point against Julien Benneteau. Sousa finished runner-up this year in Bastad last July and in Metz last week where he lost against David Goffin.

Andy Murray has received a wild-card to play in Shenzhen this week and Beijing next week to look for points to stand a chance to qualify for London. The Scotsman will be looking to win his first tournament of the year in Shenzhen against a strong field featuring against David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet and Tommy Robredo.

It was a season of ups and downs for Murray following a back injury and his change to coach Amelie Mauresmo. Murray has accepted a late wild-card to play in Shenzhen and a win in the Chinese tournament could boost his confidence for the final part of the year after dropping to World Number 11 in the ATP Ranking. Ironically he reached his best result of this season on his less favourite clay surface at the Roland Garros where he qualified for the semifinal after two five-set matches against Phillip Kohlschreiber in the third round and in the quarter final against Gael Monfils. He reached the third round at the Queen’s and the quarter final at Wimbledon where he lost to Grigor Dimitrov. He reached three quarter finals in Toronto, Cincinnati and the US Open

Murray is looking to lift his first title since his Wimbledon triumph in 2013. He is currently ranked 11th with 3155 points, 355 points behind Tomas Berdych who is currently ranked eighth with 3510. In 2011 Murray won three tournaments in a row in the Asian Swing in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai.

“I want to try and get some energy and get the winning feeling feeling back. That was the reason why I added this tournament to my schedule. You have to try and approach these tournaments wanting to win the event. I managed to do that once before a few years ago in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai when I played three of the best weeks that I have ever played. I am not expecting to do that this time but I am going to try”, said Murray.

Murray has played well in the Chinese tournaments in the most recent years. In Shanghai he won two titles in 2010 and 2011 and lost against Novak Djokovic in 2012 after a fantastic final in which the Serbian player saved five match points in a second-set tie-break. At Flushing Meadows he lost to Novak Djokovic after beating Jo Wilfred Tsonga in the fourth round.

In the second week of the Asian Swing Murray will face a star-studded field at the China Open in Beijing which features Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal who makes his come-back from a wrist injury which has sidelined from the North-American hard-court season, US Open champion Marin Cilic and two strong contenders for ATP Finals points like Tomas Berdych and Grigor Dimitrov.

Djokovic will be looking to win his third consecutive title in the Chinese capital where he triumphed four times in the last five years.

On the same week as Beijing, the calender features another ATP 500 Tournament in Tokyo where Nishikori will be looking to win his second title in the home tournament in front of his home fans. The player coached by Michael Chang and Dante Bottini will face a very tough task against David Ferrer, Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka. The Tokyo tournament has been won by different players every single year since 1996 when Pete Sampras clinch his third title in the Japanese capital.

The third week of the Asian Swing will be highlighted by the Shanghai Master 1000 where Novak Djokovic won the last two editions in 2012 against Andy Murray and in 2013 against Juan Martin Del Potro. Federer will return to the court three weeks after leading Switzerland to the historic second Davis Cup final against Italy in Geneva. Federer said after Geneva that his two major goals for the end of the year are the Davis Cup final against France in Lille and the ATP Finals in London. The goal to win the first Davis Cup title in Swiss history could change his plans for the end of the year

Who are the favourite players to book a ticket for the O2 Arena? Nishikori is currently ranked sixth in the ATP Ranking with 3675 points with a slight lead over David Ferrer (3535), Tomas Berdych (3510 points), Milos Raonic (3440 points), Grigor Dimitrov (3335 points) and Andy Murray (3155 points) in what promises to be a close battle for just three berths for the ATP Finals in London.

Tomas Berdych is not in his best form as he showed last week in the Davis Cup semifinal in Paris against France where he lost in three sets against Richard Gasquet in what he described as “his worst Davis Cup match”.

David Ferrer lost the Cincinnati final against Federer but lost in the third round against Giles Simon in the US Open but he is an experienced player at this level and has still chances to qualify for London. The Spanish player will be trying to win for the fifth consecutive year and the sixth overall. He won in Buenos Aires earlier this year against Fabio Fognini and has clinched at least one title every year since 2010.

Grigor Dimitrov, a quarter finalist at the Australian Open and a semifinalist at Rome and Wimbledon, has still a good chance to qualify for his first ATP Finals. More recently he lost the semifinal against eventual winner Jo Wilfred Tsonga in the semifinal in Toronto but he lost in the second round against Jerzy Janowicz. At the US Open he lost against Gael Monfils in three close sets.

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Wrist Injury Threatening To End Holger Rune’s Olympic Dream

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5 days ago

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21/07/2024

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Holger Rune will have a second medical opinion on Monday before deciding if he is fit enough to play at the Olympic Games, according to his team. 

The Danish world No.17 recently retired from his quarter-final match at the Hamburg Open due to a knee injury. The hope at the time was that his withdrawal would be just a precautionary measure ahead of the Olympics. However, he is also dealing with a second issue that appears to be more serious.

According to TV 2 Sport, Rune has been struggling with a wrist issue and underwent a scan on Sunday which his mother Aneke says ‘doesn’t look promising.’ Aneke is also the manager of her son’s career. Rune’s Olympic dreams now rest on the outcome of a second medical expert that he will visit tomorrow who has a better understanding of the sport. 

“Unfortunately, it does not look promising after the first medical opinion after the review of the scan of the wrist,” Aneke Rune told TV 2 Sport.

“We are waiting for two tennis-specific doctors who will give a second opinion tomorrow (Monday). Tennis wrists look different from regular wrists, so we’ll hold out hope for one more day.” 

Rune is one of three Danish players entered into the Olympic tennis event along with Caroline Wozniacki and Clara Tauson. The country has only won one medal in tennis before which was at the 1912 Games when Sofie Castenschiold won silver in the women’s indoor singles event. 

So far this season, the 21-year-old has won 27 matches on the Tour but is yet to claim a title. He reached the final of the Brisbane International and then the semi-finals of three more events. In the Grand Slams, he made it to the fourth round of the French Open and Wimbledon. 

It is not known when a final decision regarding Rune’s participation in Paris will be made.

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Hubert Hurkacz Undergoes ‘Knee Procedure’ Ahead of Olympic Bid

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1 week ago

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17/07/2024

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Poland’s top player on the ATP Tour is not giving up on his dream of winning a medal at the Olympic Games despite recently undergoing a medical procedure.

World No.7 Hubert Hurkacz suffered a knee injury during his second round clash at Wimbledon against France’s Arthur Fils. In the fourth set tiebreak of their clash, Hurkacz dived for a shot but landed badly on his knee and required on-court medical attention. He then played two more points before retiring from the match. 

In a social media post published on Wednesday, the  27-year-old confirmed he underwent a procedure on his knee earlier this week but didn’t provide any further details.  Although Hurkacz has stated his intention to play at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, where the tennis event will be held on the clay at Roland Garros. 

“I had a knee procedure this Monday, but I’m feeling better already and my team and are dedicating extensive time each day to the rehab process.” He wrote on Instagram. 

“It’s a dream for every athlete to represent their country at the Olympics, and I want to make sure I am fully fit and ready before making the final decision to step on court. The aim is not only to participate, but to win a medal for my country.”

So far this season Hurkacz has won 34 out of 48 matches played on the Tour. He won the Estoril Open in April and was runner-up to Jannik Sinner in Halle. 

The Olympic tennis event is scheduled to begin a week Saturday on July 27th. Poland is yet to win a medal in the event but expectations are high with women’s No.1 Iga Swiatek also taking part. 

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Motivation, Pressure And Expectations – Novak Djokovic Targets History At Wimbledon

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2 weeks ago

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13/07/2024

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image via x.com/wimbledon

Novak Djokovic has broken numerous records throughout his career but he still feels the pressure of trying to make history in the sport. 

The world No.2 is through to his 10th Wimbledon final where he will play Carlos Alcaraz, who beat him at this stage of the tournament 12 months ago. There is plenty on the line for the Serbian who could equal Roger Federer’s record for most men’s titles won at SW19 and break the overall record for most major singles won in the sport if he triumphs over the Spaniard. Djokovic currently has 24 Grand Slam trophies to his name which is the same as Margaret Court, who won some of her titles before the Open Era started. 

“Obviously I’m aware that Roger [Federer] holds eight Wimbledons. I hold seven. History is on the line.” Djokovic said on Friday after beating Lorenzo Musetti.

“Also, the 25th potential Grand Slam. Of course, it serves as a great motivation, but at the same time it’s also a lot of pressure and expectations.”

Coming into Wimbledon, there had been doubts over Djokovic’s form after he underwent surgery to treat a knee injury he suffered at the French Open. However, he has defied the odds to reach the final. His run has also seen him beat Alexi Popyrin and Holger Rune before getting a walkover in the quarter-finals from Alex de Minaur, who sustained an injury during the tournament. Then on Friday, he overcame a spirited Musetti in three sets. 

Despite the challenge, Djokovic has insisted that his expectations to do well are always high no matter what the situation is. During what has been a roller-coaster first six months of the season, he is yet to win a title this year or beat a player currently ranked in the top 10. Although he will achieve both of these if her beats Alcaraz on Sunday. 

“Every time I step out on the court now, even though I’m 37 and competing with the 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches, and people expect me to win, whatever, 99% of the matches that I play.” He said.

“I always have to come out on the court and perform my best in order to still be at the level with Carlos [Alcaraz] or Jannik [Sinner] or Sascha [Zverev] or any of those guys, Daniil [Medvedev]. 

“This year hasn’t been that successful for me. It’s probably the weakest results the first six months I’ve had in many years. That’s okay. I had to adapt and accept that and really try to find also way out from the injury that I had and kind of regroup.”

Djokovic hopes that a Wimbledon win will help turn his season around like it has done in the past for him. 

“Wimbledon historically there’s been seasons where I wasn’t maybe playing at a desired level, but then I would win a Wimbledon title and then things would change.” He commented.

“For example, that was the case in 2018 when I had elbow surgery earlier in the year, dropped my rankings out of top 20, losing in fourth round of Australian Open, I think it was quarters of Roland-Garros, and just not playing the tennis that I want to play. Then I won Wimbledon and then won US Open and then later on became No.1 very soon.”

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Alcaraz is hoping to stop Djokovic in his tracks. Should he defend his title at Wimbledon, he would become the first player outside the Big Three to do so since Pete Sampras more than 20 years ago. He has won their only previous meeting on the grass but trails their head-to-head 3-2. 

“I’m sure he knows what he has to do to beat me,” said Alcaraz.

“But I’m ready to take that challenge and I’m ready to do it well.”

When the two players take to the court to play in the Wimbledon final, Djokovic will be 15 years and 348 days older than Alcaraz. Making it the largest age gap in a men’s Grand Slam final since the 1974 US Open. Whoever is victorious will receive £2,700,000 in prize money. 

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