Editors note :
* Berdych wins only two game against Wawrinka in “worst match of the season”
* Cilic’s luck no better against Djokovic
* Kubot/Lindstedt show they have one last surprise; upset Bryans
Earlier in the week an Italian journalist went on a routine of asking all the players which one of the other players they’d most like to have dinner with and what question they’d ask that player. Four — Nishikori, Cilic, Raonic, and Wawrinka — chose Roger Federer, for differing reasons. Nishikori said Federer was his idol; Raonic said he wanted to get Federer to tell stories about his life and experiences on tour before he got surrounded by family; and Wawrinka because dinner with him “is always good fun”; Cilic because “I have a lot of time with Novak,” so dinner with Federer is a less frequent opportunity. Djokovic indicated he’d pick Cilic or Raonic, since they all speak the same language. (Earlier, Cilic had mentioned how many players now are from the former Yugoslavia; Goran Ivanisevic has apparently been marveling at the fact that when he played he was the only one and now there are ten or fifteen.) Murray picked one of the doubles players, who is a good friend. Federer, in happy symmetry, chose Wawrinka: “And we’d talk about our kids!”
And then there was Tomas Berdych, who took four tries to understand the question and finally said he wouldn’t pick anybody. “My team, my family, if I have to choose,” he said, noting that all the players have their teams and their own rituals. “We want our privacy.”
He likes privacy, but on Monday, instead what he got was probably the loneliest position in tennis: down two match points after barely an hour of play against Wawrinka. There isn’t much to say about a match that lasts 58 minutes and in which most points ended with a Berdych error.
Afterwards, Berdych called it “my worst match of the whole season,” noting that the scoreline leaves him in the worst possible position he could be in. With his two remaining round robin matches against Djokovic and Cilic, he said, “The only chance to qualify is to beat them. It’s almost a mission impossible.” He plans, of course, to try.
Singles – Round Robin: (3) S Wawrinka def. (6) T Berdych 6-1 6-1
It was hard to remember, watching this match, that Stan Wawrinka has been having a horrible autumn. Of course, playing Tomas Berdych helped. The stats say Berdych had only twenty errors, but they were evidently very memorable errors, because it felt like he was always whiffing. It’s hard to see Berdych going anywhere if he keeps playing like that. Wawrinka hasn’t clinched the #4 ranking by any means, but this certainly helps.
Singles – Round Robin: (1) N Djokovic def. (8) M Cilic 6-1 6-1
It was a good thing we had doubles, because the singles obviously wasn’t much! This win guarantees that Novak Djokovic will remain #1 after London, and if he can win just one more match, not even Davis Cup will be enough to help Roger Federer; Djokovic will clinch the year-end #1.
Doubles – Round Robin: (8) Kubot/Lindstedt def. (1) Bryan/Bryan 7-6(7-3) 6-3
If we were going to give an award for “Strangest Year,” Kubot/Lindstedt would surely be top contenders. They started the year by winning the Australian Open. They then turned into pumpkins; other than that one title, Lindstedt’s results were probably barely Top Fifty. And now they’re ending the year with a win over the Bryans?
Doubles – Round Robin: (3) Peya/Soares def. (5) Rojer/Tecau 6-3 3-6 12-10
You hated to see anyone lose this. The match tiebreak lasted seventeen minutes, and included one of the most amazing points we’ve ever seen. Frankly, the result is a little surprising; despite the seedings, we’d consider Rojer/Tecau to have had the better year. But maybe this explains the rankings difference — they don’t win the really big ones.
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of November 10, 2014
Rank &
Prior…Player………..Points
1..(1) Djokovic……….10210
2..(2) Federer…………8900
3..(3) Nadal…………..6835
4..(4) Wawrinka………..5095
5..(5) Nishikori……….4825
6..(6) Murray………….4475
7..(7) Berdych…………4465
8..(8) Raonic………….4440
9..(9) Cilic…………..4150
10.(10) Ferrer………….4045
11.(11) Dimitrov………..3645
12.(12) Tsonga………….2740
13.(13) Gulbis………….2455
14.(14) Lopez…………..2130
15.(15) Bautista Agut……2110
16.(16) Anderson………..2080
17.(17) Robredo…………2015
18.(18) Isner…………..1890
19.(19) Monfils…………1825
20.(20) Fognini…………1790
21.(21) Simon…………..1730
22.(22) Goffin………….1599
23.(23) Dolgopolov………1455
24.(24) Kohlschreiber……1415
25.(26) Benneteau……….1365
26.(27) Gasquet…………1350
27.(28) Karlovic………..1320
28.(25) Mayer…………..1299
29.(29) Chardy………….1240
30.(30) Rosol…………..1210
London Championships — Week of November 9
GROUP A
……………DJOKO…WAWRI…BERDY…CILIC…W/L…Sets
(1)Djokovic….XXXXX…=====…=====…=====…1/0….2/0
(3)Wawrinka….=====…XXXXX…WAWRI…=====…1/0….2/0
(6)Berdych…..=====…WAWRI…XXXXX…=====…0/1….0/2
(8)Cilic…….=====…=====…=====…XXXXX…0/1….0/2
GROUP B
……………FEDER…NISHI…MURRA…RAONI…W/L…Sets
(2)Federer…..XXXXX…=====…=====…FEDER…1/0….2/0
(4)Nishikori…=====…XXXXX…NISHI…=====…1/0….2/0
(5)Murray……=====…NISHI…XXXXX…=====…0/1….0/2
(7)Raonic……FEDER…=====…=====…XXXXX…0/1….0/2
SCORES
MONDAY
London
Singles – Round Robin – Group A
(1) N Djokovic def. (8) M Cilic 6-1 6-1
(3) S Wawrinka def. (6) T Berdych 6-1 6-1
Doubles – Round Robin – Group A
(8) Kubot/Lindstedt def. (1) Bryan/Bryan 7-6(7-3) 6-3
(3) Peya/Soare def. (5) Rojer/Tecau 6-3 3-6 12-10
Content Via Bob LARSON news service.
Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Bryan Brothers, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, milos raonic, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis Results, Tomas Berdych
RESULTS & SCORES & #TENNIS NEWS FROM THE #BarclaysATPWorldTour YEAR END MATCHES @ THE 02 ARENA, #LONDON- http://t.co/CoSMTrBmqF #Federer