ATP Finals: Djokovic with Wawrinka and Cilic, Murray and Nishikori with Federer - UBITENNIS
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ATP Finals: Djokovic with Wawrinka and Cilic, Murray and Nishikori with Federer

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10 years ago

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TENNIS ATP FINALS – The draw ceremony of the ATP World Tour Finals was held on Monday afternoon in London. Defending champion Novak Djokovic has been drawn in the Group A against two Grand Slam champions Marin Ciic, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych. Roger Federer has been drawn into a very tough Group B against Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic, who are enjoying a good period of form during the indoor season. Diego Sampaolo

Novak Djokovic won the Paris Bercy Indoor Master 1000 last week for the third time in his career extending his lead over Roger Federer to 1310 point in the ATP Ranking and has a good chance to end as the World Number 1 player for the third time in his career. Federer’s hopes to overtake Djokovic have been dashed after his defeat in the quarter final against Milos Raonic in Paris Bercy.

Djokovic is looking to win the ATP World Tour Finals title for the third consecutive year after beating Federer in 2012 and Nadal in 2013.

The ATP World Tour Finals will feature three newcomers Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic who have reached the end-of-year tournament for the first time in their careers after their outstanding season. Cilic won the US Open following in the footsteps of his coach Goran Ivanisevic, who won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2001. The Croatian player beat Kei Nishikori in the US Open final. The Japanese player is the first Asian player to play at the ATP Finals

Group A

Djokovic is the strong favourite to win the Group A as the only player in his group who beat him this year was Wawrinka. The Swiss player won their quarter final clash at last January’s Australian Open and went on to clinch his first ever Grand Slam Tournament. The Belgrade player has extended his winning streak indoors to 27 consecutive matches and had more time to rest between Shanghai and Paris Bercy and reaches London well-rested and with a strong motivation after becoming father of his first son Stefan two weeks ago.

“Two consecutive wins in London in the last two years give me reason to believe that I can do well. It helps that I am playing well and that I am feeling well about myself on the court playing indoors. Every match that I play gets me closer to holding the Number 1 spot at the end of the year”, said Djokovic

The A group features the two Grand Slam champions of this year Cilic and Wawrinka and 2010 Wimbledon finalist Stan Wawrinka.

Djokovic has a combined winning record of 41-5 in his head-to-head matches against Wawrinka, Cilic and Berdych and never lost in his 10 career matches against Cilic. The Serbian player had to dig deep to beat Cilic in five sets in the quarter final at Wimbledon last July. Djokovic won six ATP titles this year, more than anyone else. He triumphed at Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Wimbledon (after a fantastic five-set match against Federer), Beijing and Paris Bercy. Djokovic secures the World Number 1 spot at the end of the year if he wins all his three matches in his group or reaches the final with at least one win in the round-robin group.

Berdych is the slight favourite for second place in the round-robin Group A as he showed recent good form winning in Stockholm and reaching the semifinal in Paris Bercy where he lost to Milos Raonic in three sets. Berdych is more experienced in this kind of tournament as he will play for the fifth time, On the contrary Wawrinka has qualified for the second time in his career after reaching the semifinal last year. Cilic will make his debut in the end-of-season after winning his first Grand Slam of his career at the US Open and three more tournaments in Zagreb, Delray Beach and Moscow and lost the Rotterdam final against Berdych last February after beating Andy Murray in the quarter finals. Cilic skipped Paris Bercy because of a right arm injury. The Croatian player beat Berdych twice in two Grand Slam tournaments this year at Wimbledon and at the US Open but doesn’t have a winning record against any of his rivals in his group.

Wawrinka won the Australian Open and Monte-Carlo but he has won just one match since he reached the quarter final at the US Open. The Lausanne player suffered three first round matches against Tatsuma Ito in Tokyo, Giles Simon in Shanghai and Mikhail Kukushkin in Basel and won only against Dominic Thiem in straight sets in Paris Bercy before losing in the next match against Kevin Anderson after serving for the match

Berdych has secured his spot for London for the fifth consecutive year with his win in three sets over Kevin Anderson in the Paris Bercy quarter finals. The Czech player won two indoor titles in Rotterdam and Stockholm and played in three more finals at Dubai, Oeiras and Beijing “Qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals is always the proof of having a great season, especially in this era of tennis when you have the guys like today. So you have to fight”, said Berdych

Group B

Roger Federer, winner of five tournaments this year at Dubai, Halle, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Basel, starts as the favourite in the Group B against very strong rivals who have recently played very well during the indoor season Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic.

Federer has won the end-of-season tournament six times but has not won this title since 2011. He has reached the semifinals every year except from 2008 when he suffered from a back injury.

Federer boasts a 19-14 winning streak against the rivals in his group. He is tied 11-11 against Andy Murray but the Basel player won all his two head-to-head matches against the Scotsman this year in quarter final matches at the Australian Open and Cincinnati.

Federer is tied 2-2 in his head-to-head matches against Kei Nishikori. This year Nishikori beat Federer in the Miami quarter final but Federer took his re-match against the Florida based Japanese player in Halle.

The young Japanese player won four titles in Memphis, Barcelona, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo and reached the final in Madrid against Rafa Nadal. He came close to winning his first Master 1000 Tournament but he was hampered by a back injury. At the US Open he beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinal to become the first ever Asian Grand Slam finalist. If he is fit without injury worries Nishikori could be a threat for every player. Last week Nishikori reached the semifinal in Paris Bercy where he lost to Djokovic after a marathon match against David Ferrer.

Federer won six career matches against Milos Raonic but the young Canadian broke his losing streak against the seventeen-time Grand Slam champion last week in the quarter final at Paris Bercy. This defeat put an end to his winning streak of 17 consecutive matches. Raonic played his second career Master 1000 one year after Toronto. Raonic showed consistency throughout the year reaching the semifinal in Rome and at Wimbledon.

Murray will have time to rest after playing 23 matches in six consecutive weeks winning three titles in Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia after dropping out of the top 10. The reigning Olympic champion and 2013 Wimbledon winner lost his most recent match in the quarter final in Paris Bercy against Djokovic. .

“Winning the ATP World Tour Finals would be the goal but I know it will be difficult. A lot of guys, especially Novak and Roger are going in with a lot of motivation and would go in as the strong favourites. The guys with big serves Raonic, Berdych and Cilic enjoy playing indoors. It’s going to be an interesting tournament. If I play well, I give myself a good chance. I am definitely match fit. I won’t go in there undercooked”, said Murray.

Nishikori leads 4-1 on his head-to-head matches against Raonic this year. Murray has won all his three matches against Nishikori but he won only one of his four clashes against Raonic.

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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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