THE LATEST MEN’S TENNIS NEWS, MILOS RAONIC, JO WINFRED TSONGA KEEP PACE FOR THE END OF YEAR BARCLAYS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE – TENNIS UPDATES

Written by: Staff on 28th September 2015

St. Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament

THE LATEST MEN'S TENNIS NEWS, MILOS RAONIC, JO WINFRED TSONGA KEEP PACE FOR THE END OF YEAR BARCLAYS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE - TENNIS UPDATES

epa04952957 Milos Raonic of Canada hits a forehand during the final of the St.Petersburg Open ATP tennis tournament against Joao Sousa of Portugal, St.Petersburg, Russia, 27 September 2015. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV |

Six weeks remain in the Emirates ATP Race To London and Milos Raonic is eager to cap a tumultuous season with a berth in the season finale.

The 24 year old hoisted his seventh ATP World Tour trophy on the hard courts of St. Petersburg on Sunday and, with four of eight singles berths remaining, is hoping to continue his push to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for a second straight season. He became the first player born in the 1990s to compete at The O2 last year.

“It was very special, a great experience,” Raonic told ATPWorldTour.com. “I wish I would have done better and stayed healthy in that moment, but it’s something I want to give myself another shot and another go at it.”

Winning the St. Petersburg Open brings the Canadian an additional 250 points in the Emirates ATP Race To London, which sees him pass Marin Cilic into 12th position. Having missed more than a month of action after undergoing foot surgery in May, Raonic is making significant strides in returning to top form.

“It would be special, especially with the difficulties I’ve faced this year with my health and missing a lot of big events. Playing a part of the year with a kind of hindrance, it would be special and something that will require a lot of winning in what’s left of the year. I believe I can do it.”

David Ferrer, top seed this week in Kuala Lumpur, currently occupies the eighth and final qualification spot with 3,005 points, but is hotly pursued by a host of contenders, including Richard Gasquet, Kevin Anderson, John Isner and Raonic. All are less than 1,000 points behind the Spaniard. Last week’s Metz finalists Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon also kept alive their outside chances of qualifying.

“I’m really happy to win here in Metz and stay in the Race,” Tsonga said. “I’m still in the running. I hope I will continue to play like this to try to qualify. For the moment, I’m just thinking about my level and hope to produce good tennis.”

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federerand Stan Wawrinka have already qualified in the Emirates ATP Race To London and No. 5 Tomas Berdych is next in line. The consistent Czech has reached the quarter-finals at 11 of 16 tournaments entered this year, reaching the final at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, as well as in Rotterdam and Doha. With valuable points up for grabs, Berdych is the top seed this week in Shenzhen and seeking to further boost his bid. A semi-finalist at the season finale in 2011, he has qualified in each of the past five years.

Berdych will be looking over his shoulder in the coming weeks, with Kei Nishikori and Rafael Nadal hotly pursuing the Czech. Currently in the sixth and seventh positions, they are less than 200 points back. Champion in Memphis, Barcelona and Washington, Nishikori reached the London semi-finals on debut last year. Nadal, who missed the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals following an appendectomy, is a two-time finalist (2011, ’13).

Djokovic was the first to earn a place in the elite eight-man field after reaching the Roland Garros semi-finals. Bidding to become the first player in history to capture four successive Barclays ATP World Tour Finals singles titles, he has maintained his stranglehold on the top spot ever since. The 28 year old will make his ninth straight appearance, having emerged victorious in 2008 and 2012-’14. Champion at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Rome, Djokovic leads the way with 12,785 points.

In second position is Murray, who punched his ticket for an eighth straight year. A titlist at the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Montreal, as well as in Munich and Queen’s Club, the Scot owns a 770-point lead over Federer. The most successful player to compete at the season finale, the Swiss has triumphed on six occasions (2000-’01, 2003-’04, 2006-’07) and boasts a 48-11 record. Federer is a five-time champion on the ATP World Tour this year.

Federer’s compatriot Wawrinka reached the semi-finals the past two years and will look to go one step further after punching his ticket at the US Open. The Swiss is 3-0 in tour-level finals in 2015, winning on the hard courts of Chennai and Rotterdam, while capturing his second Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros. Wawrinka has already surpassed his match win total from a year ago, improving to 41-13 with a semi-final run at the US Open.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has welcomed more than 1.5 million fans to The O2 arena over the past six years, establishing itself as the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world since moving to London in 2009. Tickets to the tournament, which takes place from 16-22 November, can be purchased at: www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals – The Contenders

Based on the calendar-year Emirates ATP Race To London standings as of Sunday, 27 September 2015. The top eight eligible players will qualify.

Player YTD Points In Action This Week?

(1) Novak Djokovic 12,785 No

(2) Andy Murray 7,510 No

(3) Roger Federer 6,740 No

(4) Stan Wawrinka 5,505 No

(5) Tomas Berdych 3,805 Shenzhen

(6) Kei Nishikori 3,770 No

(7) Rafael Nadal 3,715 No

(8) David Ferrer 3,005 Kuala Lumpur

(9) Richard Gasquet 2,355 No

(10) Kevin Anderson 2,205 No

(11) John Isner 2,180 No

(12) Milos Raonic 2,080

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/raonic-tsonga-stay-in-london-contention-2015 )

Topics: Andy Murray, ATP Race To London, ATP World Tour Finals, David Ferrer, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, John Isner, Kei Nishikori, Kevin Anderson, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer, sports news, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis, Tomas Berdych

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September 28, 2015 at 9:42 am

THE LATEST MEN’S TENNIS NEWS, MILOS RAONIC, JO WINFRED TSONGA KEEP PACE FOR THE END OF YEAR BARCLAYS CHAMPIONSHIP… http://t.co/HyJLVtSp4T

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