ROGER FEDERER IS BETTERER THAN GRIGOR DIMITROV TODAY , RAFA NADAL’S YEAR ENDS WITH HIS APPENDIX WINNING THE STAND OFF , REPORT FROM BASEL / LOOK @ PARIS

Written by: Staff on 24th October 2014

ROGER FEDERER IS BETTERER THAN GRIGOR DIMITROV TODAY , RAFA NADAL'S YEAR ENDS WITH HIS APPENDIX WINNING THE STAND OFF , REPORT FROM BASEL / LOOK @ PARIS

epa04462104 Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts during his quarterfinal match against Croatia's Borna Coric at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS |

PRO TOUR NEWS – MEN

TIDBITS

* Ferrer boosts Race chances and records career win #600 at Valencia

* Will face tired Murray

* Raonic shocked by Goffin in Basel; Race hopes hit

* Nadal loses to Coric, bails out of Paris, prepares for surgery

BASEL UPDATE

Singles – Quarterfinal: (1) R Federer def. (5) G Dimitrov 7-6(7-4) 6-2

This should have been Grigor Dimitrov’s big chance; the draw here had emptied out by the time these two took the court, and Roger Federer had had a very long match the day before. None of it mattered. Federer looked just fine. Dimitrov remains #11 in the rankings, and he’s #11 in the Race, 250 points behind #10 and more than 500 behind #8 Andy Murray. He’s still in the Race, but he’s going to need at least a final in Paris — and probably a title.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer cheers after winning the first set of his quarterfinal match against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

Singles – Quarterfinal: (WC) B Coric def. (2) R Nadal 6-2 7-6(7-4)

Not only did Rafael Nadal lose his match in Basel, he also announced that he was pulling out of Paris for were originally called “personal reasons.” Which turns out to be appendix surgery (scheduled for November 3); he is through for the year. He’ll have to rest for more than a month before resuming training.

Even if he were to play London, though, he could have forgotten about ending the year at #1 after this, and frankly, without Paris, he didn’t even have a shot at #2. It’s going to be Djokovic and Federer on top at year-end.

Croatia’s Borna Coric returns to Spain’s Rafael Nadal during their quarterfinal match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns to Croatia’s Borna Coric during their quarterfinal match at the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, 24 October 2014. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

Singles – Quarterfinal: (7) D Goffin def. (4) M Raonic 6-7(3-7) 6-3 6-4

This day was about as bad for Milos Raonic as it could get. For starters, it costs him the #9 ranking; Andy Murray will get that. Worse, it hits him in the Race. He may still end up ahead of David Ferrer, because he had more room to add points — but he gives Ferrer a free and clear chance to pass him. If Raonic doesn’t make London, this match is likely to be why. For David Goffin, though, this almost certainly spells a Top 25 spot, replacing Leonardo Mayer.

Singles – Quarterfinal: (8) I Karlovic def. B Becker 6-4 6-4

Ivo Karlovic will likely rise to #27; he leaves Benjamin Becker at #35 — still a career high.

Doubles – Quarterfinal: Inglot/Mergea def. S. Gonzalez/Rosol 6-3 7-5

Valencia

Singles – Quarterfinal: (1) D Ferrer def. (Q) T Bellucci 6-1 6-2

A big, big day for David Ferrer — this is career win #600 of his career. There are only three other active players who can match that total: Roger Federer (986), Rafael Nadal (706), and Lleyton Hewitt (611; it seems pretty clear Ferrer will end up ahead of Hewitt on the all-time wins list). Plus, of course, the Spaniard adds to his Race total. He still needs one more win to keep the #5 ranking, but he’s surely thinking more about London now. And his chances to reach the final here may be better than expected, in light of the next result:

Singles – Quarterfinal: (3) (WC) A Murray def. (7) K Anderson 6-7(3-7) 6-4 6-4

Andy Murray mostly played a decent match, but he suffered one bad serving spell in the first set, and although he managed to get that break back, he was still rather a mess come the tiebreak. Then he settled down, but he was on court for two hours and 43 minutes. David Ferrer spent only an hour and seven minutes. It looks as if Murray will be regaining the #9 ranking, but can he score another win over Ferrer after this?

Kevin Anderson will not rise above the #17 ranking he came in with.

Singles – Quarterfinal: T Robredo def. P Andujar 7-6(7-4) 6-4

At least Pablo Andujar got some good news today: The withdrawals from Paris mean that he has direct entry. But this means he won’t rise higher than #39. Whereas Tommy Robredo should rise to #18.

Singles – Quarterfinal: J Chardy def. (WC) P Carreno Busta 6-1 6-2

No big Race implications for this match, but it will probably suffice to put Jeremy Chardy in the Top Thirty.

Doubles – Semifinal: Anderson/Chardy def. (WC) Carreno Busta/Garcia Lopez 6-3 6-4

TODAY’S FEATURE :PARIS INDOORS NEXT WEEK

Men’s Look Forward: Paris

Last call. That’s the usual description of Paris: The last chance to earn points before the Race is closed. And, for all but the Top Eight, the last chance to settle their year-end rankings.

The effects of that are curious. Some years, when the Race is tight, Paris is extraordinarily strong. Other years, it ends up extremely weak.

This year is in between. We had three significant pullouts on Friday — and all of them, interestingly, involve players whose fate is largely set. Rafael Nadal, as mentioned above, is out. So is U. S. Open champion Marin Cilic; secure in the knowledge that he will get into London on the Grand Slam wildcard, he pulled out citing fatigue. And Ernests Gulbis, who had already been eliminated from the Race, gave up due to his bad shoulder. In one sense, that means that only three of the Top Twenty are missing from Paris. But those three include two of this year’s our Slam winners!

Novak Djokovic is of course the #1 seed, and this is his chance to pretty well put away the year-end #1. Roger Federer is #2, and this is his chance to prevent that. Stan Wawrinka is #3, but he has been having a lousy fall; it may be to Federer’s advantage that they are in the same half. David Ferrer, seeded #4 but much lower in the Race, is in Djokovic’s half. Tomas Berdych is #5 and in Wawrinka’s quarter — and this is his favorite surface and the site of one of his biggest triumphs; he is surely a danger to both Wawrinka and Federer. Kei Nishikori hasn’t been seen much lately, but he is #6 and in Ferrer’s quarter. Milos Raonic is #7 and in Federer’s quarter; Andy Murray is #8 and in Djokovic’s. Our last London contender, Grigor Dimitrov, is #9 and in Murray’s part of the draw, so odds are that one or the other of them will be eliminated in the Round of Sixteen.

The French will be happy to see the return of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, always a threat here; he is #10 and in Nishikori’s part of the draw. Roberto Bautista Agut, who got hurt last week, will nonetheless try to play as the #11 seed; he is in Raonic’s section. Feliciano Lopez is #12 and drawn to face Berdych. Djokovic’s third round opponent would be #13 John Isner; Wawrinka drew #14 Kevin Anderson; Ferrer got stuck with #15 Gilles Simon, who is playing very well; and Federer had the good fortune to draw #16 Fabio Fognini, who hasn’t done anything since the clay season.

Of course, quite a few of them could be tested early. Djokovic will likely open against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Gael Monfils, who feared he would be out for the season, will try to come back against Joao Sousa, with the winner facing Isner. Dimitrov may open against Leonardo Mayer, one of this year’s biggest surprises. Ferrer will open against red-hot David Goffin or against Lukas Rosol. Simon will likely start against Fernando Verdasco. Nishikori will probably begin against Tommy Robredo, who just missed seeding. Anderson might start against Mikhail Youzhny, although Youzhny’s ranking is in the tank. Wawrinka will have to face either Dominic Thiem or Alexandr Dolgopolov. Bautista Agut is likely to face Richard Gasquet, another player who just missed seeding. Fognini is likely to open against Ivo Karlovic. And Federer has to be prepared for a meeting with Jeremy Chardy, who is in very good form just now and who is French.

The Rankings

Although the only event played at this time a year ago was Paris, both Paris and London come off at this time, making Race and rankings almost the same. Novak Djokovic won Paris last year, over David Ferrer (who is more of an indoor player than we usually think), with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer semifinalists and Richard Gasquet, Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin del Potro, and Stan Wawrinka quarterfinalists. Gasquet’s Top 25 ranking is in danger, and del Potro will fall to somewhere around #140, but the big news, of course, is in the Race. You may recall that Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, and Wawrinka are sure to be in the Top Eight, with the rest of the Top Dozen in the Race being as follows:

1..Djokovic………9010 MAX:.10010 * CLINCHED

2..Federer……… 8050 MAX:..9400 * CLINCHED

3..Nadal……….. 6835 MAX:..6835 * CLINCHED (but will not play)

4..Wawrinka………4805 MAX:..5805 * CLINCHED

5..Nishikori……. 4265 MAX:..5265 *

6..Cilic……….. 4150 MAX:..5150 * CLINCHED

7..Berdych……… 4105 MAX:..5105 *

8..Murray………..4065 MAX:..5565 *

9..Raonic………..3840 MAX:..4840 *

10..Ferrer………..3805 MAX:..5155 *

11..Dimitrov………3555 MAX:..4965 *

12..Tsonga………..2650 MAX:..3650 * OUT

13..Gulbis………..2455 MAX:..3455 * OUT

14..Lopez……….. 2040 MAX:..3065 * OUT

15..Bautista Agut… 2020 MAX:..3020 * OUT

So we still have the same old list of London contenders: Cilic clinched by virtue of the Grand Slam wildcard, and Nishikori almost clinched, and Berdych, Murray, Raonic, Ferrer, and Dimitrov chasing the last spots. There really is no telling what order they will emerge in; rest assured, we’ll be keeping you up to date!

The one footnote is that Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal has opened another spot. Interestingly, that does not put anyone else back in the hunt. It merely means that one more of the current contenders will play. Good news in particular for Milos Raonic and David Ferrer, since one of them will probably qualify who wouldn’t have otherwise.

STATS AND FACTS : PARIS DRAW

RANKINGS

Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings

As of October 24, 2014

Rank &

Prior…Player………..Points

1..(1) Djokovic……….11510

2..(2) Federer…………8960

3..(3) Nadal…………..8195

4..(4) Wawrinka………..5385

5..(6) Berdych…………4485

6..(5) Ferrer………….4465

7..(7) Nishikori……….4355

8..(8) Cilic…………..4105

9.(10) Murray………….3975

10..(9) Raonic………….3930

11.(11) Dimitrov………..3645

12.(12) Tsonga………….2660

13.(13) Gulbis………….2465

14.(15) Lopez…………..2085

15.(14) Bautista Agut……2065

16.(16) Isner…………..1970

17.(17) Anderson………..1945

18.(21) Robredo…………1850

19.(18) Simon…………..1810

20.(19) Fognini…………1790

21.(20) Monfils…………1735

22.(22) Gasquet…………1485

23.(23) Kohlschreiber……1460

24.(24) Dolgopolov………1455

25.(28) Goffin………….1446

26.(25) Mayer…………..1404

27.(31) Karlovic………..1355

28.(26) Benneteau……….1330

29.(30) Rosol…………..1245

30.(34) Chardy………….1205

DRAWS

Basel — Week of October 20, 2014

…………..QF………….SF

1 Federer…..(1)Federer…..Federer

5 Dimitrov….(5)Dimitrov

3 Wawrinka….Becker

8 Karlovic….(8)Karlovic….Karlovic

7 Goffin……(7)Goffin……Goffin

4 Raonic……(4)Raonic

6 Gulbis……Coric(WC)……Coric

2 Nadal…….(2)Nadal

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Federer

2 Nadal…….lost QF (Coric)

3 Wawrinka….lost 1R (Kukushkin)

4 Raonic……lost QF (Goffin)

5 Dimitrov….lost QF (Federer)

6 Gulbis……lost 1R (Coric)

7 Goffin

8 Karlovic

Valencia — Week of October 19, 2014

………………QF………………SF

1 Ferrer……….(1)Ferrer………..Ferrer

6 Bautista Agut…Bellucci(Q)

3 Murray (WC)…..(3)Murray(WC)…….Murray

7 Anderson……..(7)Anderson

8 Simon………..Chardy…………..Chardy

4 Lopez………..Carreno Busta(WC)

5 Isner………..Robredo………….Robredo

2 Berdych (WC)….Andujar

STATUS OF SEEDS:

1 Ferrer

2 Berdych (WC)…lost 1R (Andujar)

3 Murray (WC)

4 Lopez……….lost 2R (Carreno Busta)

5 Isner……….lost 1R (Robredo)

6 Bautista Agut..WITHDREW from 2R

7 Anderson…….lost QF (Ferrer)

8 Simon……….lost 1R (Dolgopolov)

Basel — Week of October 27, 2014

1 Djokovic

–bye

Kohlschreiber

Roger-Vasselin (WC)

Sousa

Monfils

–bye

13 Isner

9 Dimitrov

–bye

L Mayer

Cuevas

Benneteau

–bye

8 Murray

4 Ferrer

–bye

Rosol

Goffin (SE)

Qualifier

Verdasco

–bye

15 Simon

10 Tsonga

–bye

Melzer (PR)

Garcia-Lopez

Robredo

Pospisil

–bye

6 Nishikori

5 Berdych

–bye

Herbert (WC)

Mannarino (WC)

Janowicz

Qualifier

–bye

12 Lopez

14 Anderson

–bye

Youzhny

Giraldo

Thiem

Dolgopolov

–bye

3 Wawrinka

7 Raonic

–bye

Qualifier

Andujar

Gasquet

Qualifier

–bye

11 Bautista Agut

16 Fognini

–bye

Karlovic

Qualifier

Chardy

–bye

2 Federer

* SCORES

FRIDAY

Basel

Singles – Quarterfinal

(1) R Federer def. (5) G Dimitrov 7-6(7-4) 6-2

(WC) B Coric def. (2) R Nadal 6-2 7-6(7-4)

(7) D Goffin def. (4) M Raonic 6-7(3-7) 6-3 6-4

(8) I Karlovic def. B Becker 6-4 6-4

Doubles – Quarterfinal

Inglot/Mergea def. S Gonzalez/Rosol 6-3 7-5

Valencia

Singles – Quarterfinal

(1) D Ferrer def. (Q) T Bellucci 6-1 6-2

(3) (WC) A Murray def. (7) K Anderson 6-7(3-7) 6-4 6-4

J Chardy def. (WC) P Carreno Busta 6-1 6-2

T Robredo def. P Andujar 7-6(7-4) 6-4

Doubles – Semifinal

Anderson/Chardy def. (WC) Carreno Busta/Garcia-Lopez 6-3 6-4

***

STORY VIA Bob LARSON TENNIS NEWS

Topics: Atp World Tour, Basel, Benjamin Becker, Borna Coric, David Goffin, Federer is betterer, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Ivo Karlovic, milos raonic, Rafa, Roger Federer, Tennis Results

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10sBalls_com says:

October 24, 2014 at 6:48 pm

ROGER #FEDERER IS #BETTERER THAN @GrigorDimitrov TODAY, @RafaelNadal’s YEAR ENDS WITH HIS APPENDIX WINNING… http://t.co/NpCD9qUXVx #tennis