28 | September | 2015 | Tennis Courts Map Directory

Cilic Celebrates Birthday In Shenzhen

Posted: Sep 28, 2015

Marin Cilic celebrated his 27^th birthday on Monday as he prepares to make his debut at the Shenzhen Open.

The second seed will open his campaign later in the week against John Millman. Millman was leading Ernests Gulbis 7-6(7), 2-0 when the Latvian retired from their first-round match on Monday due to a wrist injury. It will be Cilic’s first meeting with the No. 75-ranked Millman, who notched his third tour-level win of the season.

American Austin Krajicek set a second-round clash with top seed Tomas Berdych as he claimed a 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-1 victory over James Duckworth. Krajicek trailed 2-4 in the tie-break, but finished strongly to prevail in two hours and 28 minutes.

Australia’s Matthew Ebden, China’s Zhizhen Zhang and Japan’s Takuto Niki and Hiroki Moriya all came through the final round of qualifying to earn main draw berths in the second edition of this ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament.

Inglot Notches 100^th Win

Dominic Inglot claimed his 100^th tour-level win as he and partner Robert Lindstedt reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Victor Estrella Burgos and Nicholas Monroe.

The British/Swedish duo have compiled a 9-1 record in their past three tournaments, lifting their first team trophy in Winston-Salem (d. Butorac/Lipsky) and reaching the US Open semi-finals (l. to Dodig/Melo).

Kyrgios, Becker Make Winning Starts In Kuala Lumpur

Posted: Sep 28, 2015

Seventh seed Nick Kyrgios made a winning return to action as he advanced to the second round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

The seventh-seeded Australian, who was playing his first match since a first-round exit against Andy Murray at the US Open, advanced when Santiago Giraldo retired ill from their match. Kyrgios had been leading 6-1, 2-1.

“I think it was a really good performance,” said Kyrgios. “I haven’t played a lot of matches in the past couple of weeks. I’ve been doing a lot of hard work back home and I feel as if it showed today. It’s my first ever win in Kuala Lumpur, so it’s really special.”

Kyrgios, whose mother, Norlaila, is Malaysian, claimed his 19^th win of the season. The 20 year old reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open at the start of the year (l. to Murray) and reached his first ATP World Tour final in Estoril (l. to Gasquet).

Last year’s quarter-finalist Benjamin Becker defeated Sam Groth 6-1, 7-6(6). The 34-year-old German withstood 17 aces to break Groth twice in the 74-minute contest. Becker goes on to face sixth seed Jeremy Chardy or Alexander Zverev.

“It’s always really tough to play Sam; he has such a big serve,” said Becker. “It’s tough to play your game. It’s all about neutralising his serve. I did well in the first set. In the second he served much better. I just tried to hang in there, take care of my service games and wait for the chance. He had chances in the tie-break, but I played some good points in the end and that’s how I won.”

Japan’s Yuichi Sugita and Yasutaka Uchiyama, Germany’s Mischa Zverev and Poland’s Michal Przysiezny all advanced through the final round of qualifying.

Raonic, Tsonga Keep Pace In Race

Posted: Sep 28, 2015

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 Federer and 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 15-22 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	No

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Sky’s The Limit For Troicki And Kyrgios

Posted: Sep 28, 2015

Ahead of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, No. 5 seed Viktor Troicki and No. 7 seed Nick Kyrgios visited Kuala Lumpur’s Skyrides Festivals Park, where a helium balloon theme park is one of the various attractions. The ATP World Tour players also had the opportunity to take a boat ride on the scenic Putrajaya Lake.

“I have nice memories from 2011 when I played in the semi-finals here,” said the Serb, who is making his second appearance at the tournament. “I am happy to be back and I hope to play well here. I am looking forward to the Asian swing, people are really friendly and look after us. It is a strong tournament and everyone likes to play here in Kuala Lumpur.

“It is always fun when you have the opportunity to experience something different in other countries,” added Troicki, who is looking for his second final appearance in an Asian tournament (Bangkok 2009) “We took a little boat ride and it was nice.”

Kyrgios, who lost in the opening round of last year’s event, is aiming to score his first match win in his mother’s native country against Santiago Giraldo on Monday evening. Kyrgios beat Giraldo 7-6(3), 7-5 in Toronto in 2014.

“It is always a time of the year I enjoy to play,” said Kyrgios, who reached his first ATP World Tour final in Estoril earlier this year (l. to Gasquet). “My match against Giraldo is going to be tough. I have played him once and it was close. I am looking forward to getting back out on the court. I feel it would be real special if I had some good results here. It is a bit of pressure when I am playing here as well.”

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