Today’s Men’s News (10/07)

Written by: Staff on 7th October 2012

BNP Paribas 2011 Masters Tennis Tournament

Today's Men's News (10/07)

epa02996662 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga of France returns to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain during their first round match at the BNP Paribas 2011 Masters Tennis tournament in Paris, France, 08 November 2011. EPA/HORACIO VILLALOBOS |

Beijing

Singles – Final: (1) N Djokovic def. (3) J Tsonga 7-6(7-4) 6-2

Novak Djokovic himself admitted that the first set of this could have gone either way. But once he had the first set, the momentum of having two previous titles here kicked in. And maybe Jo-Wilfried Tsonga started to think about the fact that this was a 500 point event, and he has big problems with big titles.

At least Tsonga lasted long enough to move up to #6, and to improve his chances (already fairly good) of qualifying for London.

But it’s Djokovic who is looking for the big rankings prize: The year-end #1. This significantly improves his chances, although he tried to play things down, after admitting that #1 is “the target,” and that “This will definitely help me,” he pointed out that “it’s still quite open. There are still tournaments to come, big ones. Shanghai, obviously the first 1000 event that is next week.” If he can do well there, his top spot will be very likely indeed. As it is, we’d say he’s likely to have more wins this year than Roger Federer; we show Djokovic with 65 wins (excluding Davis Cup), Federer with 60. On the other hand, Federer has six titles, Djokovic still has only four.

Doubles – Final: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. (Alt) Berlocq/Istomin 6-3 6-2

Of course, if you want to count titles, no one can count them like the Bryans. This is #7 of 2012 for them; they’ve won Sydney, Monte Carlo, Nice, the Olympics, the Canadian Open, the U. S. Open, and now Beijing. That’s every outdoor surface, and every tier available — Sydney and Nice are 250s; Beijing is a 500; the Olympics, uniquely, a 750; Monte Carlo, uniquely, an optional 1000; the Canadian Open a required 1000; and the U. S. Open a Slam. If they can win the year-and Championships, they will accomplish a feat that has never been done before, and probably will never be done again, of winning seven different tiers of events in one year (winning six is already record-breaking under the current system). Even if they don’t win London, they seem just about sure to end the year at #1.

Again.

Tokyo

Singles – Final: (8) K Nishikori def. (6) M Raonic 7-6(7-5) 3-6 6-0

“I’m partying tonight!”

Those were Kei Nishikori’s words after winning the biggest title of his career — and becoming the first Japanese man ever to win his nation’s biggest title. He did admit that he was going to have trouble with his prize of a year’s supply of beer, saying ruefully that he doesn’t like beer.

He probably likes points, though, and he earns 500 of those. He will rise from #17 to a career-high #15 as a result — and is now talking about the Top Ten.

That will probably require more titles. This is only the second of his career, the first coming back at Delray Beach 2008. Still, he is only 22. It’s hard to believe that this will be the last.

Milos Raonic ironically ends up ranked one spot ahead of Nishikori, at #14. He too can boast of a career high. He has one more career title than Nishikori — but that first 500 point event is proving elusive….

Doubles – Final: (4) Peya/Soares def. (1) Paes/Stepanek 6-3 7-6(7-5)

So are Paes/Stepanek a great doubles team because they won the Australian Open — or a rather weak team because they haven’t won a title in half a year and can’t even beat Peya/Soares on a hardcourt?

We can’t answer that, but it is starting to look as if they’ll be going to London on a sour note. And that may be rather bad news in another way, given Radek Stepanek’s big role in Davis Cup. This could indirectly but significantly influence the Cup final.

Peya/Soares are on a real hot streak. They won Kuala Lumpur last week, and now this. Pretty good for a team that had never won anything before.

Shanghai

Singles – First Round: (16) P Kohlschreiber def. R Harrison 6-4 6-4

We can’t start doing next week’s rankings yet, but it seems likely that this will suffice to keep Philipp Kohlschreiber Top Twenty. It certainly means no return to the Top Fifty for Ryan Harrison.

Singles – First Round: M Klizan def. T Bellucci 6-3 6-4

After a couple of bad weeks, it looks as if Martin Klizan is back in form. He still has a good shot at ending the year in the Top Thirty.

Singles – First Round: F Verdasco def. G Soeda 6-2 6-4

Fernando Verdasco’s chances of ending the year in the Top Twenty aren’t great, but this is a solid start — and he’ll have more rest than most of the players here.