Today’s Men’s News (10/11)

Written by: Staff on 11th October 2012

Today's Men's News (10/11)

epa03423015 Andy Murray of Britain serves the ball to Milos Raonic of Canada during their semi final match in the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships tournament in Tokyo, Japan, 06 October 2012. Raonic later won the match and advanced to then final. EPA/TOMOYUKI KAYA |

Shanghai

Singles – Third Round: (1) R Federer def. (13) S Wawrinka 4-6 7-6(7-4) 6-0

For about an hour and a half, it looked as if the #1 ranking might be on the line. Then Roger Federer’s backhand started working and Stanislas Wawrinka collapsed. The final set went by in the blink of an eye — Wawrinka won only five points. And so Federer will stay #1 for another week at least — although his margin might be small.

Singles – Third Round: (2) N Djokovic def. F Lopez 6-3 6-3

Novak Djokovic can’t earn the #1 ranking this week, but he can still get very close — and make it almost sure that he ends the year there. He drops Feliciano Lopez, last year’s semifinalist, to about #35.

Singles – Third Round: (3) A Murray def. A Dolgopolov 6-2 6-2

Andy Murray had a bye in the first round, and a walkover in the second, so he needed this win to earn any points. He’s going to be #3 no matter what, of course. Alexandr Dolgopolov was still #20 in safe points when this ended, but waiting to see how three other players did to know if he could stay there.

Singles – Third Round: (4) T Berdych def. S Querrey 6-2 6-7(3-7) 6-4

This was one “save” for Dolgopolov. Sam Querrey won’t be rising above #22.

Singles – Third Round: (5) J Tsonga def. M Baghdatis 6-2 7-6(7-2)

This puts Jo-Wilfried Tsonga up against Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinal. Which could be quite a match — Tsonga comes in at #6, Berdych at #7. The winner of that quarterfinal will end up with the #6 ranking — and a chance at #5 if he can win the title.

Singles – Third Round: T Haas def. (6) J Tipsarevic 6-2 6-1

This was the day’s last match, and with it, Dolgopolov’s luck ended. Tommy Haas will be our new Top Twenty player; Dolgopolov falls to #21. Janko Tipsarevic will stay at #9, but a rather distant #9. This is a very big blow to his London chances; it’s hard to believe he can make it now.

Singles – Third Round: R Stepanek def. (8) J Isner 6-4 6-7(5-7) 6-3

That ends John Isner’s hopes for a return to the Top Ten — which pretty well assures that Juan Monaco will keep the #10 spot. It’s also a big blow to Isner’s hopes of qualifying for London. It’s still possible, but he appears to be pretty well out of it in practice. The chances that the eight qualifiers will be Djokovic, Federer, Murray, Nadal, Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych, and del Potro are getting better and better. Of course, if Nadal can’t play, there will be an additional spot….

Singles – Third Round: (10) M Cilic def. F Verdasco 4-6 6-1 6-4

This added Fernando Verdasco to the list of players who won’t take Alexandr Dolgopolov’s Top Twenty place. It appears he will keep the #23 ranking he came in with. Marin Cilic is up to #14.

Doubles – Second Round: (2) Mirnyi/Nestor def. Berdych/Zimonjic 6-2 7-6(7-5)

This was an interesting match on a lot of counts. There was Max Mirnyi going for career win #600; this obviously means he has made it. There was the interesting psychological fact of Nestor versus Zimonjic. And… there was the ATP Race. The Bryans have a huge lead. But they are out of Shanghai. This keeps the contest for the year-end #1 alive.

Doubles – Second Round: Fleming/Hutchins def. (3) Lindstedt/Tecau 6-4 7-5

Lindstedt/Tecau can forget any hopes they might have had of ending the year at #1, though. They still have an outside shot at #3/#4, but even that looks pretty dim after this.

Doubles – Second Round: (4) Paes/Stepanek def. Anderson/Querrey 6-4 6-4

Paes/Stepanek last week lost a final they should have won, but this makes up for some of that.

Doubles – Second Round: Cilic/Melo def. (5) Fyrstenberg/Matkowski 7-5 7-6(7-4)

The Poles still have decent chances for London. But this is a distinct blow. They came in at #6, and #8 won’t qualify because Marray/Nielsen will earn the Grand Slam Wildcard. So the Poles can’t afford to fall lower than #7…

Doubles – Second Round: (6) Qureshi/Rojer def. Andujar/F Lopez 6-2 1-6 10-8 (Match TB)

…and Qureshi/Roger, who came in at #7, appear to have passed Fyrstenberg/Matkowski.

Doubles – Second Round: (7) Bhupathi/Bopanna def. Huey/Marray 7-6(11-9) 6-4

A small but significant boost to the Indians’ London chances. They’re still at #8, but they’re getting close to the #7 team.

Doubles – Second Round: Melzer/Raonic def. (8) Peya/Soares 6-3 6-4

Peya/Soares see their winning streak end at eight. Not bad, especially when you consider all the tools Melzer/Raonic bring to the court.