Today’s Men’s News (10/23)

Written by: Staff on 23rd October 2012

Today's Men's News (10/23)

epa03280885 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain returns to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their first round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 25 June 2012. EPA/GERRY PENNY |

Basel

Singles – First Round: N Davydenko def. (4) S Wawrinka 7-6(9-7) 7-6(7-3)

Stanislas Wawrinka was already out of the Race; he’s now out of the contest even for a Top Fifteen spot, at least for this week. One more win might put Nikolay Davydenko back in the Top Forty.

Singles – First Round: (6) M Youzhny def. B Tomic 6-0 6-2

Bernard Tomic won’t lose any points, but this leaves him still just above #50. He’ll need at least 300 more points to earn an Australian Open seed. It doesn’t look likely.

Singles – First Round: G Dimitrov def. (8) V Troicki 6-3 6-2

Things just aren’t getting any better for Viktor Troicki, who will remain below the Top Thirty. If he doesn’t shake this slump soon — as in “by next week” — he might lose his Australian Open seed.

Singles – First Round: M Ebden def. (LL) V Hanescu 6-3 7-6(7-3)

Matthew Ebden will need more than this to avoid having to take an Australian Open wildcard, but at least he is ending 2012 nicely.

Singles – First Round: (WC) M Chiudinelli def. G Garcia-Lopez 5-7 6-3 6-4

At least the Swiss got something out of the day. Marco Chiudinelli will need a lot more if he wants to make the Top Hundred or get direct entry into the Australian Open, though.

Singles – First Round: K Anderson def. J Nieminen 7-6(7-4) 6-3

Jarkko Nieminen stays below the Top Forty, and looks likely to end the year there. Kevin Anderson needs one more win to defend his points, but he now looks likely to stay Top Forty.

Singles – First Round: B Baker def. (Q) R Stepanek 2-6 7-6(7-5) 6-3

Yes, Radek Stepanek’s ranking would have gotten him direct entry here; he must have messed up his planning. And, perhaps, messed up is preparation with those extra matches; he remains below #35.

Singles – First Round: T Bellucci def. G Soeda 4-6 6-4 6-3

This makes it just about certain that Go Soeda won’t end the year in the Top Fifty. One more win would likely take Thomaz Bellucci to #32.

Doubles – First Round: Haase/Norman def. (2) Bhupathi/Bopanna 7-5 2-6 14-12 (Match TB)

A severe blow to Bhupathi/Bopanna in their London quest. They are sure to remain in the hunt until Paris, but obviously they can only lose ground, especially given the next result:

Doubles – First Round: (4) Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Benneteau/Gasquet 6-7(5-7) 6-4 12-10 (Match TB)

A real scare for Fyrstenberg/Matkowski, who are down to #8 in the Race, meaning that the have to add some points to qualify for London….

Valencia

Singles – First Round: (1) D Ferrer def. (Q) O Rochus 7-5 7-5

David Ferrer really struggled here, but perhaps it was just rust due to the illness problem he suffered at Shanghai. If he can shake that off, his chances for a title just got a lot better, since the #2, #3, and #4 seeds are all out of the draw here.

Singles – First Round: X Malisse def. (2) J Tsonga 3-1 retired (Low Back Pain)

This was not smart on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s part. He wasted a lot of energy last week at a 250 point event, and so came here hurt and unable to add any points. That would be a real blow to his London chances, except that…

Singles – First Round: G Simon def. (3) J Tipsarevic 5-4 retired (Right Shoulder)

Janko Tipsarevic pays an even higher price than Tsonga, because he came here #9 in the Race. He, too, wasted energy last week at an event that wasn’t likely to help, and now suffers. He still has a good chance for London if Rafael Nadal doesn’t play, but if Nadal decides to take part, Tipsarevic’s chances are very bad. This doesn’t mathematically clinch for Juan Martin del Potro, but it’s close. Here is our current take on the Top Twenty in the Race, with their hopes (note that the point totals are for the Race, not the rankings):

1..Djokovic….11410…CLINCHED

2..Federer……9255…CLINCHED

3..Murray…….7510…CLINCHED

4..Nadal……..6840…CLINCHED

5..Ferrer…….4780…CLINCHED

6..Berdych……4225…CLINCHED

7..Del Potro….3740…

8..Tsonga…….3310…

9..Tipsarevic…2810…

10..Almagro……2425…

11..Gasquet……2370…

12..Monaco…….2340…

13..Raonic…….2290…

14..Isner……..2205…

15..Cilic……..2150…

16..Wawrinka…..1810…OUT

17..Simon……..1805…OUT

18..Kohlschreibe.1760…OUT

19..Nishikori….1740…OUT

20..Haas………1695…OUT

Singles – First Round: (6) N Almagro def. (WC) J Ferrero 7-5 6-3

Nicolas Almagro regards Juan Carlos Ferrero as a friend and mentor, so this was a friendly match. Indeed, Ferrero said that it had been “a long time since I enjoyed myself so much on a tennis court.” Both players were smiling and joking. But even with Almagro suffering what appeared to be a shoulder problem, he was too strong for Ferrero (who, of course, has his own history of injuries). Ferrero, the 2003 Roland Garros winner and former #1, will retire with his singles ranking well below #100. Although he isn’t quite done yet; he is still in the doubles.

Singles – First Round: S Querrey def. F Lopez 6-3 7-6(7-4)

No movement for Feliciano Lopez this week, it seems — he’ll remain #35 or perhaps fall very slightly. This is a significant blow to his Australian Open seeding chances. Sam Querrey needs two more wins to move.

Singles – First Round: A Dolgopolov def. (LL) F Volandri 6-3 7-6(7-5)

Close to a free gift to Alexandr Dolgopolov — he was supposed to face Tommy Haas, but Haas is out, replaced by Volandri. Which actually makes it two gifts to Dolgopolov, because Haas would be the player he would replace in the Top Twenty if Dologopolov can win his next match.

Singles – First Round: J Melzer def. C Berlocq 6-3 6-3

Jurgen Melzer defends his points and makes it highly likely that Carlos Berlocq will end the year below #50.

Doubles – First Round: (1) Granollers/M Lopez def. Kas/Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2

Marcel Granollers faced an interesting choice this week: Concentrate on defending his singles title or go all-out in doubles to clinch a London spot. As it turns out, Granollers/Lopez have now officially qualified for London, so this match wasn’t very important. But it doesn’t look as if Granollers slacked off….

Doubles – First Round: Cilic/Sa def. (3) Dodig/Melo 7-6(7-3) 7-5

Doubles – First Round: Marrero/Verdasco def. (WC) Bautista-Agut/Gimeno-Traver 3-6 6-3 10-8 (Match TB)