Tennis Tour Results
Tennis Tour Results
****** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ******
* Nadal needs only six games to earn #1 ranking
* Del Potro to face Raonic in Tokyo
****** TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS ******
Tokyo
Singles – Semifinal: (1) (WC) J Del Potro def. (6) N Almagro 7-6(9-7) 7-6(7-1)
An impressive run for Nicolas Almagro, given that this is a hardcourt — but it ends with him still #16. It’s Juan Martin del Potro who makes the substantial rankings move: This takes him past Roger Federer into the #6 ranking. He’ll rise to #5 if he can win the title.
Singles – Semifinal: (3) M Raonic def. I Dodig 7-6(7-4) 6-1
Back to the final here for Milos Raonic. He stays at #11, and will be #11 even if he wins the title, but he is definitely improving his race chances. He leaves Ivan Dodig just above #30.
Doubles – Semifinal: J Murray/Peers def. Knowle/Melzer 6-3 6-4
Jamie Murray and John Peers have won three titles this year — but they were all 250 pointers. A 500 point win would be quite a nice way to head into the last weeks of the season.
Beijing
Singles – Semifinal: (1) N Djokovic def. (5) R Gasquet 6-4 6-2
In a strange scheduling move, this match was played after Rafael Nadal’s, so Novak Djokovic already knew that he would lose the #1 ranking. So the main effect of this was to leave Richard Gasquet at #10 (meaning that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will remain the #1 French player… for one more week).
Singles – Semifinal: (2) R Nadal D (4) T Berdych 4-2, retired (Back)
Not much of a semifinal, obviously. One would guess Tomas Berdych was trying to save himself for Shanghai. Even so, it settles the top spot: Rafael Nadal is back at #1 for the first time since 2011. A Twitter post made another interesting point: When they face each other in the final, Djokovic and Nadal will have met at every active ATP-level event: Slams, year-end Championships, Masters, 500s, 250s — plus Davis Cup and Olympics. It’s hard to compare this across eras, because the tiers keep shifting, but it’s a rare feat.
Doubles – Semifinal: Fognini/Seppi def. (1) Nestor/Paes 3-6 7-5 10-8
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
Men’s Look Forward: Shanghai
This week should settle a lot of things.
For starters, it might well all but settle the year-end #1. For another, it will eliminate a lot of players from the ATP Race. It will likely bring others close to clinching.
The latter list likely will not include Roger Federer. He comes here right on the bubble, and he was the one London contender who wasn’t in action last week. (Andy Murray wasn’t in action either, but he’s clinched.) At least Federer is in Shanghai. But he’s seeded a mere #5, and stuck in the same quarter as #1 Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal, our new #1, is seeded #2; he would face #8 Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinal. #3 David Ferrer, who has been struggling, would face #7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has also been struggling. The other quarterfinal is even more interesting: #4 Tomas Berdych, who was injured at Beijing, against #6 Juan Martin del Potro, with only one of them having a chance for the Top Five.
In the Round of Sixteen, Djokovic would face #16 Tommy Robredo, Federer would take on #9 Richard Gasquet, Ferrer would be against #13 Gilles Simon, Tsonga (whose ranking is falling) would take on #12 Kei Nishikori (who would have fallen to the #16 seed based on the post-Tokyo rankings), del Potro goes against #11 Tommy Haas, Berdych is in line to meet #15 Nicolas Almagro, Wawrinka would face #10 Milos Raonic, and Nadal would go against #14 John Isner.
That means that we have nine of the Top Ten (Murray is the only one missing). The only other Top Twenty player missing is Jerzy Janowicz.
As usual at a Masters, a lot of the seeds will be challenged. Djokovic may well start against countryman Janko Tipsarevic. Robredo, the #16 seed, will likely face Fabio Fognini, the top unseeded player, in round two. Gasquet has to start against Vasek Pospisil, then perhaps Gael Monfils. Federer will likely open against Andreas Seppi. Ferrer will face Julien Benneteau or Lukas Rosol. Simon begins against countryman Benoit Paire. Nishikori opens against Grigor Dimitrov, then Jurgen Melzer or Beijing semifinalist Ivan Dodig. Tsonga is likely to open against Mikhail Youzhny — which, on current form, looks like an upset. Del Potro will have to face the steady defense of Philipp Kohlschreiber. Haas opens against Sam Querrey. Almagro’s second round will be against Jeremy Chardy or Bernard Tomic. Berdych, if he can play, will have to face Feliciano Lopez or Jarkko Nieminen. Wawrinka might face Kevin Anderson, if Anderson is out of his funk. Raonic’s second round will probably be against Fernando Verdasco; Isner’s most likely against Dmitry Tursunov. And Nadal will probably open against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
The Rankings
The big question here is already answered. Novak Djokovic is defending champion, and Rafael Nadal didn’t play last year, so Djokovic cannot regain the #1 ranking. It’s going to be Rafael Nadal’s. Djokovic will stay #2. #3, now, that gets interesting….
Djokovic isn’t the only one with a lot on the line, of course. Andy Murray was the finalist, with Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych semifinalists. The quarterfinalists were Marin Cilic (not in the draw, obviously), Radek Stepanek (not in the draw), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Tommy Haas. David Ferrer didn’t even play last year. Which means that Murray will be losing the #3 spot. Ferrer will be taking it. Murray is safe at #4. #5, though, is a contest. Juan Martin del Potro has the inside track, and will have a huge advantage if he wins the Tokyo final, but Berdych or Federer could still regain it.
Del Potro, Berdych, and Federer are bound to be #5-#7 in some order; there is a huge gap between #7 and #8. But between #8 Wawrinka and #11 Raonic is only 300 points (less, if Raonic wins Tokyo), with Gasquet and Tsonga in the middle. So we have a four-way competition for three Top Ten spots, with the competition very close to a tie. That may take most of the week to settle.
Stepanek is probably bound back out of the Top Fifty. Haas might end up around #15. Cilic is toast anyway….
After this week, we’re likely to have six players effectively clinched for London: Nadal, Djokovic, Ferrer, Murray (if he can play), Berdych, and Del Potro. That obviously leaves two spots. Those are wide open. One or two players here could dramatically improve their chances. But all the remaining serious contenders (Federer, Wawrinka, Gasquet, Tsonga, and Raonic) are here, so it’s hard to predict anything at this point. We’ll be starting regular Race updates soon.
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Beijing (500/Hard). Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic
Tokyo (500/Hard). Defending Champion: Kei Nishikori
NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Shanghai (1000/Hard). Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic
******** STATS AND FACTS ********
RANKINGS
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of October 4, 2013
Rank &
Prior…Player………..Points
1..(2) Nadal………….11160
2..(1) Djokovic……….10920
3..(3) Murray………….6895
4..(4) Ferrer………….6710
5..(5) Berdych…………4550
6..(7) Del Potro……….4525
7..(6) Federer…………4515
8..(9) Wawrinka………..3150
9..(8) Tsonga………….3115
10.(10) Gasquet…………3095
11.(11) Raonic………….2815
12.(12) Haas……………2265
13.(16) Isner…………..2115
14.(14) Simon…………..2095
15.(15) Janowicz………..2085
16.(17) Almagro…………2030
17.(19) Fognini…………1885
18.(13) Nishikori……….1840
19.(18) Robredo…………1830
20.(21) Anderson………..1775
21.(20) Youzhny…………1735
22.(22) Seppi…………..1555
23.(25) Kohlschreiber……1445
24.(23) Tipsarevic………1435
25.(26) Melzer………….1425
26.(27) Gulbis………….1381
27.(28) Paire…………..1380
28.(29) Dimitrov………..1375
29.(34) Dodig…………..1330
30.(24) Lopez…………..1320
**DRAWS
Beijing — Week of September 29
……………QF…………..SF………..F
1 Djokovic…..(1)Djokovic…..Djokovic…..Djokovic
6 Wawrinka…..Querrey
3 Ferrer…….(3)Ferrer
5 Gasquet……(5)Gasquet……Gasquet
8 Isner……..(8)Isner
4 Berdych……(4)Berdych……Berdych
7 Haas………Fognini
2 Nadal……..(2)Nadal……..Nadal……..Nadal
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 Djokovic
2 Nadal
3 Ferrer…….lost QF (Gasquet)
4 Berdych……lost SF (Nadal)
5 Gasquet……lost SF (Djokovic)
6 Wawrinka…..lost 2R (Querrey)
7 Haas………lost 1R (Hewitt)
8 Isner……..lost QF (Berdych)
Tokyo — Week of September 29
………………QF…………..SF………F
1 del Potro…….(1)del Potro….del Potro..del Potro
8 Tipsarevic……Dolgopolov
4 Nishikori…….(4)Nishikori
6 Almagro………(6)Almagro……Almagro
7 Anderson……..Lacko(LL)
3 Raonic……….(3)Raonic…….Raonic…..Raonic
[Przysiezny(LL)]..Nieminen
2 Tsonga……….Dodig………..Dodig
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 del Potro
2 Tsonga…….lost 2R (Dodig)
3 Raonic
4 Nishikori….lost QF (Almagro)
5 Simon……..WITHDREW
6 Almagro
7 Anderson…..lost 1R (Lacko)
8 Tipsarevic…lost 2R (Dolgopolov)
Shanghai — Week of October 7
1 Djokovic
–bye
Granollers
Tipsarevic
Qualifier
Fognini
Montanes
16 Robredo
9 Gasquet
Pospisil
Qualifier
Monfils
Hewitt (WC)
Seppi
–bye
5 Federer
3 Ferrer
–bye
Benneteau
Rosol
Wu (WC)
F Mayer
Paire
13 Simon
12 Nishikori
Dimitrov
Melzer
Dodig
Youzhny
Andujar
–bye
7 Tsonga
6 del Potro
–bye
Kohlschreiber
Gong (WC)
Qualifier
Brands
Querrey
11 Haas
15 Almagro
Qualifier
Chardy
Tomic
Lopez
Nieminen
–bye
4 Berdych
8 Wawrinka
–bye
Hanescu
Anderson
Zhang (WC)
Verdasco
Qualifier
10 Raonic
14 Isner
Qualifier
Tursunov
Berlocq
Dolgopolov
Qualifier
–bye
2 Nadal
******** SCORES ********
FRIDAY
Tokyo
Singles – Semifinal
(1) (WC) J Del Potro def. (6) N Almagro 7-6(9-7) 7-6(7-1)
(3) M Raonic def. I Dodig 7-6(7-4) 6-1
Doubles – Semifinal
J Murray/Peers def. Knowle/Melzer 6-3 6-4
Beijing
Singles – Semifinal
(1) N Djokovic def. (5) R Gasquet 6-4 6-2
(2) R Nadal D (4) T Berdych 4-2, retired (Back)
Doubles – Semifinal
Fognini/Seppi def. (1) Nestor/Paes 3-6 7-5 10-8
****** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ******
* Serena cruises into Beijing final
* Jankovic ends Kvitova’s run
* Black/Huber win second straight title
****** TODAY’S WOMEN’S NEWS ******
Beijing
Singles – Semifinal: (1) Serena Williams def. (3) Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-2
Yawn. Agnieszka Radwanska may be #4, but she really isn’t a threat to the top three. Certainly not to Serena Williams, who is going to be #1 for the rest of the year and quite a lot longer….
Singles – Semifinal: (8) Jelena Jankovic def. (9) Petra Kvitova 6-7(7-9) 6-1 6-1
This, on the other hand, was no open-and-shut case — and it was the bigger contest in terms of consequences. Petra Kvitova’s winning streak ends at eight, with her still at #7 in the rankings, but she loses her shot at #6. Still, she did well enough to pretty well clinch her Istanbul spot. As did Jankovic, who rises from #11 to #8. Right now, it really looks as if the Istanbul Eight will be Serena, Azarenka, Sharapova, Radwanska, Li, Errani, Kvitova, and Jankovic. If Sharapova can’t play, then we still have an open contest for the last spot, although Angelique Kerber has the inside track. Interestingly, other than Sloane Stephens, most of the contenders are taking the coming week off.
Doubles – Final: (8) Black/Mirza def. Dushevina/Parra Santonja 6-2 6-2
What a way to end the year for Black/Mirza! Back-to-back titles at the Pan Pacific and here. Those two results alone put them at about #15 in the doubles Race. And Black came here at #10 in the Race with Marina Erakovic. The Race is over, but if Black/Mirza had started just a few weeks earlier, they might have been contenders. If they stay together, they probably will be contenders next year. Pretty impressive for Cara Black, whose ex-partner Liezel Huber thought she was washed up even before she became a mother….
****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******
Women’s Look Forward: Linz, Osaka
For most of the players in Osaka, this is likely to be the end of the year. Why fly west from here to Europe to play one more event, then knock off for the year? The one exception might be the Osaka champion, who would have at least a chance of qualifying for the “other” year-end Championships in Sofia.
Which makes it rather surprising that the only real Istanbul contender in action this week decided to play Osaka. Jelena Jankovic took a wildcard to earn the #1 seed in what is otherwise a pretty weak draw. Sabine Lisicki is #2, rapidly-sinking Samantha Stosur #3; they are the only Top Twenty players. Flavia Pennetta is #4, fast-rising Eugenie Bouchard #5, Madison Keys #6, Laura Robson took a wildcard to earn the #7 spot, and Monic Puig is #8. (Talk about a draw full of up-and-comers!) Naturally there aren’t a lot of strong unseeded players, but Jankovic could face Zheng Jie in round two, and Keys might take on suddenly in-form Zhang Shuai. Stosur’s second round might be against Lauren Davis. Robson will open against Kimiko Date-Krumm, who is about twice her age. Puig opens against defending champion Heather Watson. And Lisicki’s second round could be against Polona Hercog, who seems to be firmly back in form.
Linz can’t claim any Top Ten players, but it’s a little deeper overall, presumably because it’s in Europe. Sloane Stephens is #1, Ana Ivanovic #2, Carla Suarez Navarro #3, and Kirsten Flipkens #4. Those four were probably all hoping to still be in the Race at this point, but Beijing pretty well eliminated that. Sorana Cirstea is #5, Dominika Cibulkova #6, Daniela Hantuchova #7, and Klara Zakopalova #8. Here again, there aren’t a lot of strong unseeded players, but Stephens has to open against Magdalena Rybarikova, who just missed seeding, then perhaps Andrea Petkovic. Flipkens has to start against countrywoman Yanina Wickmayer, then perhaps Francesca Schiavone. Zakopalova’s path will likely run through Donna Vekic and Julia Goerges. And Suarez Navarro will have to face Mona Barthel or Elina Svitolina in the second round.
The Rankings
The two events this week are both bottom-tier, so they won’t matter much at the top — not even to world #2 Victoria Azarenka, who won Linz last year but isn’t back this time. The player she beat in the final was Julia Goerges, so the German runs a real risk of falling below the Top Sixty. The semifinalists were Irina-Camelia Begu and Kirsten Flipkens, but it looks as if Flipkens is probably safe in the Top Twenty. The real surprises were at Osaka, though: Heather Watson won it, over Chang Kai-Chen; Samantha Stosur and Misaki Doi were semifinalists. Stosur is at risk of losing her Top Twenty spot, and Watson and Doi can expect to fall below #100. Chang has hardly played this year; that final represents more than half her points. She will fall to around #270.
Don’t expect any movement in the Top Ten. Jankovic is up to #8, but she needs to beat Serena in Beijing to have any chance of rising in Osaka.
As far as the Race goes, it appears this week won’t make any difference. The players we aren’t seeing are important: No Roberta Vinci or Caroline Wozniacki or Simona Halep. It looks as if we can cross them off the Race list. And even Stephens is probably out of it unless Maria Sharapova withdraws. The only real contest left is between Jankovic and Kerber for the #8 spot — and Jankovic has a chance to put that away in the next few days.
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Beijing (Premier Mandatory/Hard). Defending Champion: Victoria Azarenka
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Linz (International/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Victoria Azarenka
Osaka (International/Hard). Defending Champion: Heather Watson
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
**RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of October 5, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank….Name…………..Points
1..(1) SWILLIAMS ……… 12960*
2..(2) AZARENKA ………..8485
3..(3) Sharapova ……… 6941
4..(4) ARADWANSKA ………6195
5..(5) LI ……………..5365
6..(6) ERRANI ………….4435
7..(7) KVITOVA ……….. 4315
8.(11) JANKOVIC ………..3860*
9..(8) WOZNIACKI ……… 3845
10..(9) KERBER ………….3645
11.(12) VINCI …………. 3195
12.(13) STEPHENS ………..3185
13.(10) Bartoli ……….. 3172
14.(16) LISICKI ……….. 2830
15.(18) KIRILENKO ……… 2755
16.(14) IVANOVIC ………..2715
17.(17) HALEP …………. 2685
18.(15) SUAREZ NAVARRO …..2665
19.(19) FLIPKENS ………..2601
20.(20) STOSUR ………….2445
21.(21) CIRSTEA ……….. 2170
22.(25) KUZNETSOVA ………2143
23.(23) CIBULKOVA ……… 2126
24.(22) Makarova ………..2066
25.(24) VESNINA ……….. 1960
26.(26) Hampton ……….. 1851
27.(27) CORNET ………….1790
28.(34) SAFAROVA ………..1775
29.(30) KANEPI ………….1751
30.(28) PAVLYUCHENKOVA …..1750
**DRAWS
Beijing — Week of September 29
……………….3R……………….QF……….SF……….F
1 S Williams…….(1)S.Williams……..Williams….Williams….Williams
16 Halep………..Kirilenko
11 Stephens……..(11)Stephens
6 Wozniacki……..(6)Wozniacki………Wozniacki
3 A Radwanska……(3)A.Radwanska…….Radwanska…Radwanska
14 Ivanovic……..Hercog
10 Vinci………..(10)Vinci
7 Kerber………..(7)Kerber…………Kerber
5 Errani………..(5)Errani
9 Kvitova……….(9)Kvitova………..Kvitova…..Kvitova
13 Lisicki………(13)Lisicki
4 Li……………(4)Li…………….Li
8 Jankovic………(8)Jankovic……….Jankovic….Jankovic…Jankovic
12 Suarez Navarro..(12)Suarez Navarro
15 Stosur……….Safarova………….Safarova
2 Azarenka………Petkovic
STATUS OF SEEDS:
1 S Williams
2 Azarenka……….lost 1R (Petkovic)
3 A Radwanska…….lost SF (S. Williams)
4 Li…………….lost QF (Kvitova)
5 Errani…………lost 3R (Kvitova)
6 Wozniacki………lost QF (S. Williams)
7 Kerber…………lost QF (A. Radwanksa)
8 Jankovic
9 Kvitova………..lost SF (Jankovic)
10 Vinci…………lost 3R (Kerber)
11 Stephens………lost 3R (Wozniacki)
12 Suarez Navarro…lost 3R (Jankovic)
13 Lisicki……….lost 3R (Li)
14 Ivanovic………lost 1R (Hercog)
15 Stosur………..lost 1R (Safarova)
16 Halep…………lost 1R (U Radwanska)
Linz — Week of October 7
1 Stephens
Rybarikova
Petkovic
Meusburger
Moser (WC)
Voegele
Knapp
7 Hantuchova
4 Flipkens
Wickmayer
Ka. Pliskova
Schiavone
Begu
Qualifier
Beck
6 Cibulkova
8 Zakopalova
Vekic
Goerges
Qualifier
Svitolina
Barthel
Qualifier
3 Suarez Navarro
5 Cirstea
Mayr-Achleitner (WC)
Qualifier
Qualifier
Cadantu
Klaffner (WC)
Niculescu
2 Ivanovic
Osaka — Week of October 7
1 Jankovic (WC)
Wozniak
Fichman
Zheng
Zhang
Medina Garrigues
Qualifier
6 Keys
3 Stosur
Larsson
Davis
Qualifier
Doi
Soler-Espinosa
Date-Krumm
7 Robson (WC)
5 Bouchard
Lepchenko
Mladenovic
Morita
Hsieh
Qualifier
Qualifier
4 Pennetta
8 Puig
Watson
Nara (WC)
Garcia
Hercog
Cetkovska
Scheepers
2 Lisicki
******** SCORES ********
SATURDAY
Beijing
Singles – Semifinal
(1) Serena Williams def. (3) Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-2
(8) Jelena Jankovic def. (9) Petra Kvitova 6-7(7-9) 6-1 6-1
Doubles – Final
(8) Black/Mirza def. Dushevina/Parra Santonja 6-2 6-2
Topics: Agnieszka Radwanksa, Atp, Juan Martin Del Potro, Li Na, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tennis, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka, Wta
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