Men’s Latest Tennis Results / Paris

Written by: Staff on 3rd November 2013

BNP Paribas 2013 Masters Tennis Tournament

Men's Latest Tennis Results / Paris

epa03934767 Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with his trophy after beating David Ferrer of Spain in their final match at the BNP Paribas 2013 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 02 November 2013. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

****** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ******

* Djokovic struggles to Paris win

* Bryans earn eleventh title of the year

****** TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS ******

Paris

Singles – Final: (2) N Djokovic def. (3) D Ferrer 7-5 7-5

When the first point of this lasted 27 strokes, one of the watchers commented that it was going to be a long afternoon. It might have been a lot longer had David Ferrer been able to hold on to leads. He led by a break in the first set and lost it, then was broken again, losing the last four games of the set. He led by a break in the second, lost that lead also, and once again lost four games in a row to lose the match. That ends his winning streak here at nine straight.

And that means that, yes, we still have a contest for the year-end #1. Djokovic is 1420 points behind Rafael Nadal in the race for the top spot. That means Djokovic has to win all five of his London matches to earn #1, and Rafael Nadal can’t win any, but Djokovic goes to the year-end event knowing that he still has a chance.

(He might also be able to pick up enough points in Davis Cup to do it, if it’s close after London. But it has to be close, and how many points he earns in Davis Cup is not entirely up to him….)

Djokovic improves his record this year to 62-9, with six titles, including his last three in a row. And they’re all big titles (Australian Open, Dubai, Monte Carlo, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris). Plus he had finals at Wimbledon and the U. S. Open, and a semifinal in Roland Garros. Just his luck that this had to be the year that Nadal has gone 70-6 — and counting…. It has truly been a two-man show this year; Nadal has twice as many points as the #3 player, and Djokovic only slightly less than twice.

It’s title #40 of Djokovic’s career — he is one of only 15 players in ATP history to have reached that total.

David Ferrer has a chance — a very good chance — at the year-end #3. He didn’t defend his title here (meaning that he has lost his last seven finals in a row!), but he earns enough points to keep him ahead of Andy Murray. The only player who can still take the #3 ranking from him is Juan Martin del Potro, and he is 750 points back, meaning that he needs, at minimum, to reach the final and earn two round robin wins. If Ferrer can win even one round robin match, del Potro would need a title.

Doubles – Final: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. (2) Peya/Soares 6-3 6-3

Last week, we saw just the tiniest hint that Peya/Soares were threatening to catch up with the Bryans when they beat the Bryans at Valencia; the Americans hadn’t won a title since Cincinnati. Clearly the Bryans didn’t want to go to London with any such cloud hanging over their heads! They add an eleventh title to their 2013 tally, including eight required events on all four surfaces: Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Cincinnati on hardcourt; Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros on clay; Wimbledon on grass; and now Paris indoors. A season for the ages… and they could still add London.

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

A Talk with Juan Martin del Potro

Juan Martin del Potro is late. It’s not his fault: waiting with his group for the train in Paris, he turned to sign an autograph and when he turned back his suitcase was gone. Yes, he tells the inquiring press on arrival in London, he has his racquets and clothes. But that split-second of inattention cost him his passport, a couple of hours while he dealt with the French police, and — most important to him — the rosary he carries that was blessed by the Pope.

Even so, he shrugs. “It happens in every country,” he says. He seems remarkably calm.

And then the press direct his attention to the display to his right showing the freshly made draw, which he hasn’t seen yet. He is in the group with Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, and Roger Federer, who less than 24 hours ago beat him in the Paris quarter-finals. He smiles, but it has an “eek!” quality to it.

“It’s a tough draw,” he admits. “I will have three finals, for sure.” I take this to mean the round robin matches will be the equivalent of three finals: at any other tournament, where he wouldn’t be playing any of those guys until the final weekend.

Argentina has produced a long roster of great players, but with the retirement of David Nalbandian a month or two back, del Potro is the only one left for now. He points out that in fact he is the only player in the final eight from South American. It’s only later that I notice he’s the only one from an America of any kind; Andy Roddick’s retirement in 2012 means this is the second year in history where there’s no one from the U.S. either.

Del Potro was having a ho-hum year until Wimbledon, where he made a run to the semifinals, losing to Djokovic in a five-set thriller. Since then, he’s compiled a run of results that Roger Federer would like to have right now: titles in Washington, DC, Tokyo, and Basel, a final in Shanghai, and a good showing in Cincinnati. Granted, he lost in the second round of the US Open (to Hewitt, who also beat him at Queen’s) and in Canada (to Raonic).

“I feel unbelievable,” he says. “My tennis works perfect again, and I shall be ready and waiting for my chances and try to take all of them.”

If he wins the right matches here in London, he could end the year at number 3, a career high.

Del Potro himself is aware of this, but it’s not his primary target.

“One of my best goals for this year was fighting with the top guys and playing in finals in important tournaments,” he says, “and I think in the second part of the year I really reached my goal and I’m looking forward to finishing closer to them. But I’m OK with number five. We’ll see what position we’re in after the tournament.”

— Wendy M. Grossman

KEYWORDS: Interview Juan Martin del Potro

******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********

THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:

London (Championships/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic

NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:

Davis Cup Final

******** STATS AND FACTS ********

RANKINGS

Estimated ATP World Tour RACE

As of November 3, 2013

Rank &

Prior…Player………..Points

1..(1) Nadal………….12030

2..(2) Djokovic……….10610

3..(4) Ferrer………….5800

4..(3) Murray………….5790

5..(5) Del Potro……….5055

6..(6) Berdych…………3980

7..(7) Federer…………3805

8..(8) Wawrinka………..3330

9..(9) Gasquet…………3300

10.(10) Tsonga………….3065

11.(11) Raonic………….2860

12.(12) Haas……………2435

13.(13) Almagro…………2290

14.(15) Isner…………..2150

15.(14) Youzhny…………2145

16.(16) Fognini…………1930

17.(17) Nishikori……….1915

18.(18) Robredo…………1810

19.(19) Simon…………..1790

20.(20) Anderson………..1650

21.(21) Janowicz………..1615

22.(22) Kohlschreiber……1525

23.(23) Dimitrov………..1520

24.(24) Gulbis………….1393

25.(25) Seppi…………..1360

26.(26) Paire…………..1345

27.(27) Melzer………….1315

28.(28) Lopez…………..1310

29.(29) Tursunov………..1244

30.(32) Verdasco………..1235

**DRAWS

Paris — Week of October 29

WINNER: Novak Djokovic

……………3R…………..QF……….SF……..F

1 Nadal……..(1)Nadal……..Nadal…….Nadal

14 Janowicz….(14)Janowicz

9 Gasquet……(9)Gasquet……Gasquet

8 Tsonga…….Nishikori

3 Ferrer…….(3)Ferrer…….Ferrer……Ferrer….Ferrer

15 Simon…….(15)Simon

10 Raonic……(10)Raonic

6 Berdych……(6)Berdych……Berdych

5 Federer……(5)Federer……Federer…..Federer

11 Haas……..Kohlschreiber

16 Fognini…..Dimitrov

4 del Potro….(4)del Potro….del Potro

7 Wawrinka…..(7)Wawrinka…..Wawrinka

12 Almagro…..(12)Almagro

13 Isner…….(13)Isner

2 Djokovic…..(2)Djokovic…..Djokovic….Djokovic..Djokovic

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Nadal……..lost SF (Ferrer)

2 Djokovic…..WON TOURNAMENT

3 Ferrer…….lost F (Djokovic)

4 del Potro….lost QF (Federer)

5 Federer……lost SF (Djokovic)

6 Berdych……lost QF (Ferrer)

7 Wawrinka…..lost QF (Djokovic)

8 Tsonga…….lost 2R (Nishikori)

9 Gasquet……lost QF (Nadal)

10 Raonic……lost 3R (Berdych)

11 Haas……..lost 2R (Kohlschreiber)

12 Almagro…..lost 3R (Wawrinka)

13 Isner…….lost 3R (Djokovic)

14 Janowicz….lost 3R (Nadal)

15 Simon…….lost 3R (Ferrer)

16 Fognini…..lost 2R (Dimitrov)

London — Week of November 4

GROUP A

1 Nadal

3 Ferrer

5 Berdych

7 Wawrinka

GROUP B

2 Djokovic

4 del Potro

6 Federer

8 Gasquet

******** SCORES ********

SUNDAY

Paris

Singles – Final

(2) N Djokovic def. (3) D Ferrer 7-5 7-5

Doubles – Final

(1) Bryan/Bryan def. (2) Peya/Soares 6-3 6-3

Topics: 10sballs, Andy Murray, Atp, Bob Bryan, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Mike Bryan, Novak Djokovic, Paris, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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