Men Tennis Update – Paris, London and Rankings

Written by: Staff on 4th November 2012

BNP Paribas 2012 Masters Tennis Tournament

Men Tennis Update - Paris, London and Rankings

epa03456795 David Ferrer of Spain returns the ball to Michael Llodra of France during their semi final match at the BNP Paribas 2012 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 03 November 2012. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

Paris

Singles – Semifinal: (4) D Ferrer def. (WC) M Llodra 7-5 6-3

That big title is getting closer and closer for David Ferrer. So is another year-end Top Five finish. Indeed — as today’s Feature reveals — it’s starting to look as if he has a shot at ending the year at #4. Not a good shot, but a chance. He’s now within 1200 points of Rafael Nadal. And a title here would make that gap less than 800 points.

Singles – Semifinal: (Q) J Janowicz def. G Simon 6-4 7-5

This match probably demonstrates why Jerzy Janowicz has improved so dramatically this year. He wasn’t just hitting big serves and big forehands. He was using touch, too, notably a drop shot. He tried one of those on his first match point, and it didn’t work against the speedy Simon. But Janowicz tried it again on his next chance — and that one worked. This match was, if anything, less close than the score; Janowicz won 57% of the points. And, of course, the biggest result of his life (he has almost doubled his points), and a career high; we show him at #26!

Doubles – Semifinal: (5) Bhupathi/Bopanna def. Hanley/Marray 7-5 6-3

It’s really interesting: Bhupathi/Bopanna had a year that was far below either of their standards, but they are doing much better at the very end. Bhupathi intends to retire in another year anyway. So what happens next year?

Doubles – Semifinal: (7) Qureshi/Rojer def. Cilic/Melo 0-6 6-4 11-9 (Match TB)

The pressure is off Qureshi/Rojer; they are going to London. But, of course, there is still a title to be won here, and an amazingly wide-open final….

Men’s Look Forward: London

This time, Roger Federer was the lucky one.

You probably know what that means. Andy Murray is in Group A, along with Novak Djokovic. As well as Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. A pretty toxic group, and one where everyone knows how to deal with Federer.

Federer’s Group B is truly much better. Juan Martin del Potro of course beat him last week at Basel, but Federer won all their other meetings this year, and the rest of the group — David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic — isn’t likely to trouble him. Given the rules for making the draw here, there were eight possible draws — and we’d say that at least six of the other possibilities, and possibly all seven, would have been worse for Federer.

To top it all off, Tipsarevic has been sick, and Ferrer is tired, and del Potro played himself to a frazzle over the last month. Federer looks like a near-lock for the semifinal. As for who the other semifinalist will be — your guess is as good as ours.

In the Djokovic/Murray group, obviously Djokovic and Murray are the favorites — but Berdych and Tsonga both like indoor surfaces, so it’s by no means open and shut. It’s reported that Murray feels more confidence than usual, though — having won the U. S. Open, he is relatively relaxed about this event. Which could be particularly important given Novak Djokovic’s family troubles….

The Rankings

There isn’t much to talk about here. In doubles, the Bryans will end the year at #1. In singles, Novak Djokovic will be #1, Roger Federer #2, and Andy Murray #3. It is still theoretically possible for David Ferrer to end the year at #4, and the odds get better if he wins Paris, but he’ll need at least a London final. Which means two Round Robin wins plus a semifinal win over either Djokovic or Murray. Whew!

Tomas Berdych still has a shot at taking the #5 ranking from Ferrer, but he’ll need a title, and a Paris title for Ferrer would eliminate the possibility. Juan Martin del Potro has a shot at #6, but he needs to produce two more wins than Berdych. Tsonga would surely need a final to pass del Potro. Tipsarevic will need three wins to pass Tsonga. In other words, although we might see movement, odds are that the rankings after London will be almost the same as those after Paris. Very possibly exactly the same.

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Janowicz, London tennis news, men tennis rankings, Paris tennis news, Roger Federer