Men’s Tennis Pro Tour News

Editors note: Great to see Donald Young junior have such a great tourney. He is a terrific kid and put in a ton of work these last few years put on some muscle. Awesome first set. Then for some reason got mad at himself in the second game of the second set. He had already held serve. He wanted a break? But Ferrer isn’t number 3 in the world without being a feisty little guy fighting to win at all physical costs. He pushes everyone to the limit. Bravo D.Y. Good luck in Melbourne.

 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

PRO TOUR NEWS – MEN

 

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

 

* Del Potro, Tursunov only seeds left in Sydney as Janowicz, Seppi, Benneteau, Cilic upset

* Haas, Anderson, Paire fall in Auckland

 

****** TODAY’S MEN’S NEWS ******

 

Auckland

 

Singles – First Round: (Q) B Klahn def. (9) D Brands 7-5 4-6 6-3

When Gael Monfils withdrew, it opened up a seed for Daniel Brands. But Brands had to fly in from Chennai, and they gave him a match early in the day. (Not much choice about that, since it was one of the last two first round matches.) Maybe jet lag played a role. Or maybe his draw spot was jinxed. Either way, he remains below #50.

Singles – First Round: (LL) S Johnson def. (WC) M Baghdatis 7-5 6-7(3-7) 6-4

Yes, Marcos Baghdatis needed a wildcard here. That’s because his ranking is down to #109. This means that he will remain below #100; there is no sign that his slump will ever end. (See our Movers report below.)

Singles – Second Round: (1) D Ferrer def. (Q) D Young 6-7(5-7) 6-3 6-1

For the second straight week, David Ferrer struggled, but at least he survived to keep his winning streak here alive.

Singles – Second Round: (WC) J Sock def. (2) T Haas 6-4 6-4

Whoever gave Jack Sock that wildcard sure had a good premonition — it was an amazing day for unheralded Americans, with Johnson, Klahn, and Sock winning the day’s first three matches. For Tommy Haas, that means another week of no progress toward the Top Ten (he couldn’t get above #12 this week, but at least he could have cut the gap. Not now). For Jack Sock, it is the best win of his career — he had only one other Top Twenty win, over #14 Milos Raonic at Memphis last year.

Singles – Second Round: (3) J Isner def. (Q) L Lacko 7-6(7-1) 3-6 6-2

The amazing run for American continues, but John Isner needs a final to earn any points and a title to move in the rankings.

Singles – Second Round: (LL) S Johnson def. (4) K Anderson 7-5 6-4

This is surely mostly about Kevin Anderson’s physical problems, but still, what a run for Steve Johnson. He knocks Anderson, who was defending finalist points, out of the Top Twenty.

Singles – Second Round: (5) P Kohlschreiber def. H Zeballos 6-4 6-2

This was the day’s first non-upset, but it doesn’t do Philipp Kohlschreiber any good yet. Mostly it continues the funk of Horacio Zeballos (see the Feature).

Singles – Second Round: R Bautista Agut def. (6) B Paire 6-3 6-4

This made it a total of seven seeds eliminated in one day! Benoit Paire wasn’t defending anything, but this means he won’t be hitting the Top 25.

Singles – Second Round: G Garcia-Lopez def. S Giraldo 6-7(7-9) 6-2 6-3

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez might have a shot at the Top Fifty this week if he keeps this up.

Singles – Second Round: Y Lu def. (Q) B Klahn 6-7(3-7) 6-2 6-3

Yes, it’s a loss for Bradley Klahn, but it’s still pretty impressive that he made it through six sets on Wednesday.

Doubles – First Round: (1) Peya/Soares def. Cabal/Farah 7-5 6-1

Doubles – First Round: (4) Gonzalez/Lipsky def. Brunstrom/Marach 7-6(7-2) 6-3

 

Doubles – First Round: Nielsen/Sijsling def. (Alt) Bautista Agut/Gimeno-Traver 6-4 6-4

This is now the longest winning streak for Frederick Nielsen since he won Wimbledon.

Doubles – First Round: Begemann/Emmrich def. (WC) Fleming/Hutchins 7-6(7-5) 6-3

Not the greatest news for Ross Hutchins’s comeback, but at least it was a loss to a pretty good team.

Sydney

 

Singles – Second Round: (1) J Del Potro def. N Mahut 1-6 6-3 6-4

This was already Juan Martin del Potro’s tournament to win, and as of now, every other Top Thirty player is out of the draw. But he won’t rise above #5 even if (or when, as is more likely) he takes the title. Nicolas Mahut will probably be just below #45.

Singles – Second Round: A Dolgopolov def. (2) J Janowicz 6-2 6-2

Jerzy Janowicz was unable to play Hopman Cup last week, so this is probably more a token of his injury than anything else. Still, it seems a bad omen. Ironically, he is likely to rise in the rankings (because of the loss of points by Kevin Anderson); we show him up to #20 in safe points.

Singles – Second Round: (WC) M Matosevic def. (3) A Seppi 6-3 6-4

Andreas Seppi, like Janowicz, had physical problems last week. He ought to be over the bug by now, but maybe he is still struggling with the lack of practice.

Singles – Second Round: (4) D Tursunov def. L Rosol 3-6 6-3 6-3

Other than del Potro, Dmitry Tursunov is the only seed still standing here. Too bad he’s in del Potro’s half. It looks as if he’ll be hitting the Top Thirty, though, so it has been a good week no matter what.

Singles – Second Round: (Q) S Stakhovsky def. (6) J Benneteau 6-3 6-2

Julien Benneteau was defending semifinalist points, so this will drop him to about #38.

Singles – Second Round: D Istomin def. (7) M Cilic 6-3 6-4

Marin Cilic needed a title here to add any points, so maybe it’s just as well he gets a little rest before the Australian Open, where the points will count.

Singles – Second Round: R Stepanek def. A Ramos 6-2 7-6(7-5)

This will probably take Radek Stepanek above #45.

Singles – Second Round: B Tomic def. (Q) B Kavcic 6-3 4-6 6-4

Bernard Tomic continues to do well here, and he is in the bottom half which has been emptied of seeds (he is, in fact, the top player left in the half) — but he still has more than 200 points to defend.

Doubles – First Round: Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin def. (2) Paes/Stepanek 6-4 6-4

Not the best omen for the Australian Open champions. Especially given that Edouard Roger-Vasselin had to retire from singles!

Doubles – First Round: (4) Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Berlocq/Seppi 7-5 6-7(2-7) 10-5

Five straight wins to start the year for Marius Fyrstenberg.

Doubles – First Round: Nestor/Zimonjic def. Llodra/Mahut 2-6 6-4 11-9

Five straight for Daniel Nestor also. But not a very good way for Michael Llodra to start what is believed to be his last run.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Rosol/Sousa def. (1) Bryan/Bryan 3-6 6-3 14-12

We wish we could explain this — but we can’t.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: (3) Bopanna/Qureshi def. Huey/Inglot 6-7(3-7) 7-6(7-5) 10-3

Australian Open

 

The seed list is out, and there are no surprises. The only potential seed not in the draw is Jurgen Melzer. So our seed list is as follows:

1. Rafael Nadal

2. Novak Djokovic

3. David Ferrer

4. Andy Murray

5. Juan Martin del Potro

6. Roger Federer

7. Tomas Berdych

8. Stanislas Wawrinka

9. Richard Gasquet

10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

11. Milos Raonic

12. Tommy Haas

13. Nicolas Almagro

14. John Isner

15. Mikhail Youzhny

16. Fabio Fognini

17. Kei Nishikori

18. Tommy Robredo

19. Gilles Simon

20. Kevin Anderson

21. Jerzy Janowicz

22. Philipp Kohlschreiber

23. Grigor Dimitrov

24. Ernests Gulbis

25. Andreas Seppi

26. Gael Monfils

27. Feliciano Lopez

28. Benoit Paire

29. Vasek Pospisil

30. Jeremy Chardy

31. Dmitry Tursunov

32. Fernando Verdasco

 

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

 

This Week’s Movers — Men

 

Each week, Daily Tennis will look at the biggest movers of the week, looking at how they did what they did.

Biggest Upward Mover — Most Places Moved (Top 100)

 

Leader: TIE:

Lleyton Hewitt — Moved 17 places, from #60 to #43

Alejandro Gonzalez — Moved 17 places, from #91 to #74

Lleyton Hewitt broke a more than three year title drought at Brisbane, beating Roger Federer along the way. Gonzalez made the final of the Sao Paulo $125K Challenger, losing to Joao Souza (who rose 24 places, to #116, but that’s still too low to get him a movers nomination — not that that’s Souza, not Sousa). Sao Paulo also features Horacio Zeballos as the #1 seed — but he lost his opener.

Biggest Percentage Mover — Cut Ranking By Highest Percent (Top 100)

 

Leader: Hewitt, cut ranking 28%

Runner-Up: Edouard Roger-Vasselin — Moved 12 places, 23%, from #52 to #40

Roger-Vasselin’s Chennai final put him at a career high.

Biggest Loser — Most Places Lost (Top 100)

 

Loser: Marcos Baghdatis — Dropped 22 places, from #87 to #109

Last year, Baghdatis made the Brisbane semifinal. It was his best result left; he had only two other quarterfinals (at Rotterdam and Washington).

Biggest Percentage Loser — Worst Percentage Increase in Ranking (Top 100)

 

Loser: Janko Tipsarevic, ranking increased 17 places, 47%, from #36 to #53.

Tipsarevic, a champion at this time last year, was too injured even to play this year.

Ranking Notes

 

There weren’t many big upward movers this year; Hewitt and Roger-Vasselin were the only players to rise as much as 20%. Gonzalez was third with a 19% move. Alejandro Falla rose 16%, to #83; Gael Monfils gained 16%, to #26; no one else gained as much as 12%.

We had slightly more big downward moves. Tipsarevic, down 47%. Roberto Bautista Agut, down 26%, to #73. Baghdatis, down 25%. Adrian Mannarino, down 20% (to #71). Zeballos, down 18% (evidently he should have taken Sao Paulo more seriously). No one else fell as much as 15%.

Our Personal Picks for “Best Mover of the Week”

 

These are subjective picks!

Tricky. Hewitt had the biggest move, but he’s nowhere near a career high and he’s won plenty of titles, if not lately. Roger-Vasselin was the #2 mover, plus he matched his best-ever result (he was also a finalist at Delray Beach last year) and he easily hit a career high (he had only once before been Top Fifty — he was #48 for one week last October). So we’ll go for Roger-Vasselin.

KEYWORDS: Movers Men Roger-Vasselin

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

 

THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:

Sydney (250/Hard). Defending Champion: Bernard Tomic

Auckland (250/Hard). Defending Champion: David Ferrer

NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:

Australian Open (Slam/Hard). Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic

 

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

 

RANKINGS

 

Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings

As of January 8, 2014

 

Rank &

Prior…Player………..Points

1..(1) Nadal………….13130

2..(2) Djokovic……….12260

3..(3) Ferrer………….5640

4..(4) Murray………….5560

5..(5) Del Potro……….5255

6..(6) Federer…………4355

7..(7) Berdych…………4180

8..(8) Wawrinka………..3890

9..(9) Gasquet…………3140

10.(10) Tsonga………….3065

11.(11) Raonic………….2860

12.(12) Haas……………2435

13.(13) Almagro…………2290

14.(14) Isner…………..2150

15.(15) Youzhny…………2145

16.(16) Fognini…………1930

17.(17) Nishikori……….1915

18.(18) Robredo…………1810

19.(19) Simon…………..1790

20.(21) Janowicz………..1615

21.(20) Anderson………..1580

22.(23) Dimitrov………..1460

23.(22) Kohlschreiber……1420

24.(24) Gulbis………….1418

25.(25) Seppi…………..1360

26.(27) Lopez…………..1310

27.(28) Paire…………..1300

28.(29) Melzer………….1290

29.(30) Pospisil………..1289

30.(32) Tursunov………..1269

**DRAWS

 

Brisbane

Sydney

 

1 del Potro…..(1)del Potro

[Ramos(LL)]…..Stepanek

4 Tursunov……(4)Tursunov

7 Cilic………Istomin

 

6 Benneteau…..Stakhovsky(Q)

3 Seppi………Matosevic(WC)

8 Granollers….Tomic

2 Janowicz……Dolgopolov

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 del Potro

2 Janowicz…..lost 2R (Dolgopolov)

3 Seppi……..lost 2R (Matosevic)

4 Tursunov

5 Pospisil…..WITHDREW

6 Benneteau….lost 2R (Stakhovsky)

7 Cilic……..lost 2R (Istomin)

8 Granollers…lost 1R (Tomic)

Auckland

 

……………..QF

1 Ferrer………(1)Ferrer

8 Haase……….Garcia-Lopez

4 Anderson…….Johnson(LL)

9 Brands………Lu

 

5 Kohlschreiber..(5)Kohlschreiber

3 Isner……….(3)Isner

6 Paire……….Bautista Agut

2 Haas………..Sock(WC)

 

STATUS OF SEEDS

1 Ferrer

2 Haas………..lost 2R (Sock)

3 Isner

4 Anderson…….lost 2R (Johnson)

5 Kohlschreiber

6 Paire……….lost 2R (Bautista Agut)

7 Monfils……..WITHDREW (replaced by Brands)

8 Haase……….lost 1R (Garcia-Lopez)

9 Brands………lost 1R (Klahn)

 

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

 

WEDNESDAY

Auckland

Singles – First Round

(Q) B Klahn def. (9) D Brands 7-5 4-6 6-3

(LL) S Johnson def. (WC) M Baghdatis 7-5 6-7(3-7) 6-4

Singles – Second Round

(1) D Ferrer def. (Q) D Young 6-7(5-7) 6-3 6-1

(WC) J Sock def. (2) T Haas 6-4 6-4

(3) J Isner def. (Q) L Lacko 7-6(7-1) 3-6 6-2

(LL) S Johnson def. (4) K Anderson 7-5 6-4

(5) P Kohlschreiber def. H Zeballos 6-4 6-2

R Bautista Agut def. (6) B Paire 6-3 6-4

G Garcia-Lopez def. S Giraldo 6-7(7-9) 6-2 6-3

Y Lu def. (Q) B Klahn 6-7(3-7) 6-2 6-3

Doubles – First Round

(1) Peya/Soares def. Cabal/Farah 7-5 6-1

(4) Gonzalez/Lipsky def. Brunstrom/Marach 7-6(7-2) 6-3

Nielsen/Sijsling def. (Alt) Bautista Agut/Gimeno-Traver 6-4 6-4

Begemann/Emmrich def. (WC) Fleming/Hutchins 7-6(7-5) 6-3

Sydney

Singles – Second Round

(1) J Del Potro def. N Mahut 1-6 6-3 6-4

A Dolgopolov def. (2) J Janowicz 6-2 6-2

(WC) M Matosevic def. (3) A Seppi 6-3 6-4

(4) D Tursunov def. L Rosol 3-6 6-3 6-3

(Q) S Stakhovsky def. (6) J Benneteau 6-3 6-2

D Istomin def. (7) M Cilic 6-3 6-4

R Stepanek def. A Ramos 6-2 7-6(7-5)

B Tomic def. (Q) B Kavcic 6-3 4-6 6-4

Doubles – First Round

Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin def. (2) Paes/Stepanek 6-4 6-4

(4) Fyrstenberg/Matkowski def. Berlocq/Seppi 7-5 6-7(2-7) 10-5

Nestor/Zimonjic def. Llodra/Mahut 2-6 6-4 11-9

Doubles – Quarterfinal

Rosol/Sousa def. (1) Bryan/Bryan 3-6 6-3 14-12

(3) Bopanna/Qureshi def. Huey/Inglot 6-7(3-7) 7-6(7-5) 10-3

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