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Federer: 'Never Easy Against Isner'

Federer: 'Never Easy Against Isner'

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

Roger Federer knew he would have his hands full against John Isner on Court Central. Sure, he was 5-1 against the altitudinous American, his only defeat coming in a Davis Cup clash on clay in 2012. But the Swiss was well aware of Isner’s record on the indoor courts of Paris, where the 6-foot-10 power server was 7-6 and had reached the semi-finals in 2011. With a serve like his, anything can happen.

“When I saw the draw and I saw I had a possibility of playing him in the second round,” Federer observed, “it’s the kind of draw I don’t really like to see.” 

“I know it’s not going to be easy,” said Federer prior to the match. “I need to make sure I focus on my own game and see what I can do on his serve. There are only so many opportunities. I’m aware of that. He goes through a lot of close matches. He’s used to that kind of stuff. We’re not used to that many tie-breakers and 7‑6s in the third.”

Prescient words from Federer, as Thursday’s Round-of-16 match-up would indeed come down to a third-set tie-break, Isner emerging victorious behind 27 aces 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(5).

As he showed at the BNP Paribas Masters, with no sun, no wind, no game-changing elements to affect his toss, Isner’s weapon of choice is as lethal as they come.

“I think he serves consistent throughout the year,” said Federer, who despite the loss registered 13 of his own aces and was never broken. “I think with him it’s more can he serve big when he really needs it the most?  Does indoors maybe help him there a little bit? Potentially. He’s got the size, got the power, got the angles. I thought he did very well today when he needed it. The breakers, he served great. Those are the ones he needed.  That was the difference.”

On Wednesday, Federer needed just 47 minutes to dispatch Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-1. There would be no such brevity against the former collegiate standout, the three-set match lasting some two hours and 16 minutes.

Did his title run last week in Basel (d. Rafael Nadal 6-3, 5-7, 6-3) take a toll on his body?

“Maybe the eye was a thousandth of a second slower,” quipped the 34-year-old, who said he “played without pain” despite a mid-match visit from a trainer to check his arm. “I mean, what do you want me to tell you?  I was definitely not tired from last night. I was ready to go today.”

Next up for Federer is the Nov. 15-22 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, where he has had his share of success in the past. In fact, the World No. 2 has held the trophy at the year-end showdown on no less than six occasions.

“I have been there since 2002,” he said. “It’s one of the tournaments that I’ve enjoyed most and that I’ve had a lot of pleasure winning.  I’m happy I’m qualified.  We’ll see the groups, the round robins. I’m very eager to go to London and get prepared as well as I can.  I’m in good shape.  I’m healthy, so I want that tournament to start.”

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Isner Shocks Federer In Paris

Isner Shocks Federer In Paris

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

John Isner came through a tense third-set tie-break on Thursday to beat Roger Federer 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(5) at the BNP Paribas Masters. The American secured the win on his fourth match point after two hours and 16 minutes and improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the No. 3 seed to 2-5. Both of Isner’s wins (2012 Davis Cup, indoor clay) have come indoors.

“Does indoors maybe help him there a little bit? Potentially,” Federer said. “He’s got the size, got the power, got the angles. I thought he did very well today when he needed it. The ‘breakers, he served great. Those are the ones he needed. That was the difference.”

Federer went down despite claiming the lone service break of the match, midway through the second set. The third-seeded Swiss struck 13 aces and saved all six break points faced, but misfired on a forehand to drop the first set and was on the receiving end of an unplayable 145 miles per hour Isner serve on the final point of the match.

“If you know me, you know that that’s my favorite serve,” said Isner about his play selection on match point. “It’s sort of one of those things, a lot of people know I’m going there. Catch it if you can. It’s like a pitcher with a fast ball, I guess. It’s a shot I have hit a million times. I have played a lot of matches in my career now. I have been in that situation before.”

Federer, the 2011 Paris champion had been perfect in tie-breaks against Isner since the pair’s first meeting at the 2007 US Open (5-0), but lost the initiative in both on Thursday. In the first-set tie-break, Isner fired a forehand winner to move ahead 3/1 before serving it out. In the decider, the American found the critical mini-break by drawing Federer to the net and forcing the Swiss into a backhand overhead miss.

“At the US Open, I won my tie-breakers,” Federer said. “Here, I lost them. It’s a pity. I didn’t play a bad match. I haven’t been broken during six sets against him, and I lost the match. This is how it happens against John.  It’s always on his racquet, especially indoors.”

“This is a very big tournament,” Isner said. “He’s an incredible player. My favorite player and the greatest of all time, in my opinion. It was a huge win for me. I’m very proud I was able to get it done.”

Isner will contest his 10th quarter-final of the season against David Ferrer, who topped Grigor Dimitrov 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes. The tenacious returner was unable make inroads on the Dimitrov serve in the opening set, but went five-for-10 on break points the rest of the way to secure his fifth win over the Bulgarian (5-1).

Isner and Ferrer have met six times with the Spaniard winning five of those matches. However, the big-serving American’s win came in the Paris quarter-finals four years ago.

“It’s been a while since I have played him,” Isner said. “That’s sometimes how it works out. You play a lot of the top guys, three, four times a year. Some you never play. This will be a tough challenge for me. I know going in he’s never going to give up and he’s always going to fight. He’s an incredible player with an unbelievable work ethic, and he’s earned everything he’s ever gotten. It will be a fun match.”

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Dimitrov Sits Down On The Job Paris 2015 Hot Shot

Dimitrov Sits Down On The Job Paris 2015 Hot Shot

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

Watch Hot Shot as Grigor Dimitrov showcases terrific athleticism on Thursday against David Ferrer at the BNP Paribas Masters. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com

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Murray At The Races In Paris

Murray At The Races In Paris

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

Andy Murray advanced to the BNP Paribas Masters quarter-finals for the sixth time on Thursday in Paris. Second seed Murray lost seven of his service points in a 6-1, 6-0 victory over No. 16 seed David Goffin in 53 minutes. He is now 8-0 lifetime against Belgians.

Murray has dropped just four games in two matches this week, having beaten Borna Coric 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes on Wednesday. He now meets Richard Gasquet, the No. 10 seed, who is one match win away from equalling his best performance in Paris (2007 semi-finals) after he led 7-6(3), 4-1 only to see sixth seed Kei Nishikori retire due to an abdominal injury.

“It was difficult for me to do something today,” said Goffin. “I felt tired. My body was on the court, but there was nobody on the inside.” Murray is set to meet Goffin again in the Davis Cup final, from 27-29 November, when Great Britain faces Belgium in Ghent.

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Isner Serves Notice In Paris

Isner Serves Notice In Paris

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

A nothing-to-lose mentality helps John Isner overcome crowd favorite Roger Federer at the BNP Paribas Masters.

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Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers: Double Duty

Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers: Double Duty

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

Heading into this week’s BNP Paribas Masters, the final event of the regular season, five players had this year won 20 or more Tour-level matches in both singles and doubles. This list of five contains players from two teams: Australian Open doubles champions Fabio Fognini & Simone Bolelli and 2014 Wimbledon doubles champions Jack Sock & Vasek Pospisil.

Doubling Up On Success

2015 Match Wins Singles Doubles Total
Fabio Fognini (ITA) 32 29 61
Jack Sock (USA) 35 26 61
Simone Bolelli (ITA) 28 28 56
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 32 22 54
Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 25 21 46

ATP World Tour doubles matches (not including Grand Slams) feature a sudden-death point at deuce to decide the game. One team, Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt, is a clear winner in this category, claiming almost two thirds (64 percent) of all deciding points they have played in 2015.

Deciding Points Won

Rank Team % No. Played
1 Inglot/Lindstedt 64 81
2 Bopanna/Mergea 60 179
3 Nestor/Roger-Vasselin 60 92
4 Bopanna/Nestor 57 75
5 Inglot/Mergea 56 94
6 Matkowski/Zimonjic 54 212
7 Granollers/Lopez 54 127
8 Pospisil/Sock 54 123
9 Monroe/Sitak 54 68
10 Peya/Soares 53 226

There’s nothing like the pressure of playing a Match Tie-break (first to 10 points, must win by two) instead of a third set to decide the outcome of a doubles match on the ATP World Tour. But does luck play a part in the outcome? The unheralded team of Rameez Junaid and Adil Shamasdan are tied with World No. 1 doubles player Marcelo Melo and partner Ivan Dodig, with both teams winning 86 percent of deciding points. (Although both teams have only played a small sampling of seven Match Tie-breaks in 2015.) Five teams (denoted with *) on this list are in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London).

Match Tie-breaks Won

Rank  Team % No. Played
1 Junaid/Shamasdin 86 7
1 Dodig/Melo* 86 7
3 Bryan/Bryan* 75 16
4 Draganja/Kontinen 75 12
5 Bopanna/Mergea* 68  19
Zimonjic/Matkowski* 62 13
7 Lopez/Mirnyi 67 9
Pospisil/Sock* 64 11
9 Cabal/Farah 60 25
10 Fyrstenberg/Gonzalez 60 10

Dig deeper at Infosys ATP Scores & Stats

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Rojer/Tecau Prevent Nestor From Claiming Historic Win

Rojer/Tecau Prevent Nestor From Claiming Historic Win

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau prevented 43-year-old Daniel Nestor from becoming the first ATP World Tour doubles player to reach 1000 match wins on Wednesday in the second round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. The No. 3 seeds downed the Canadian and partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 6-2 in just over an hour, saving all four break points faced. Nestor, the oldest player on the ATP World Tour, will now have to wait until 2016 to hit four digits in the win column, as he fell out of contention for a spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Still in the running for a berth at the year-end showdown are Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock. The Canadian-American team kept its London hopes alive with a 6-3, 5-7, 10-5 first-round win over Frenchmen Paul-Henri Mathieu and Benoit Paire. Pospisil/Sock only landed 54 per cent of their first serves and hit more doubles faults than aces (7/6), but saved four of six break points faced to advance in 78 minutes.

Top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan kicked off their Paris title defence with a 6-1, 2-6, 10-7 win over Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi and Gilles Simon in the second round. The Americans, who had a first-round bye, snapped a four-match losing streak together by breaking their opponents twice and securing their 42nd win of the year (42-13) in 57 minutes. The Bryans are still No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, but only hold a 65-point lead over Rojer/Tecau (6,285 vs. 6,220 points).

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Fed Fantastique In Paris Opener

Fed Fantastique In Paris Opener

  • Posted: Nov 05, 2015

Roger Federer scored his best-in-the-business 327th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 victory on Friday at the BNP Paribas Masters, easily downing Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-1.

In 13 previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, Seppi had defeated Federer on just one occasion: a 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5) third-round upset earlier this year at the Australian Open. But that seemed but ancient history at the AccorHotels Arena, where Federer overwhelmed the Italian in 47 minutes.

So speedy was the match that one reporter asked the World No. 2 if he had promised his children he would be home in time for dinner.

Federer quipped, “No, I’m too late now.”

“But it’s very pleasant to play matches like this one,” he continued. “Of course, I like great battles, playing two, three, four, five hours. But 47 minutes is always very pleasant. You need to focus a lot for the very short time you are on the court, not to make any mistakes. I’m very happy with this mental performance.”

Federer, 34, playing his first match since claiming his seventh Basel title on Sunday, played near-flawless tennis in taking the opening set in an efficient 19 minutes, winning 92 per cent of his service points.

The 28th-ranked Seppi never seemed to recover in the second set. It wasn’t until, serving for survival at 0-5, that he got on the scoreboard. But it was too little too late. He finished with 18 unforced errors to just five winners.

Seppi fell to 2-8 against Top-10 competition in 2015. Federer, meanwhile, improved to 59-9 overall on the year. He will now meet John Isner in the Round of 16. The Swiss is 5-1 against the power-serving American in FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters.

“Indoors here in Paris, he’s played well historically,” Federer observed. “I’m aware of that, and I know it’s not going to be easy. I need to make sure I focus on my own game and see what I can do on his serve. There is only so many opportunities.”

Trailing 1-4 in the opening set against Viktor Troicki, 15th seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain battled back before falling 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4. The Serb will next face Stan Wawrinka. Elsewhere, No. 9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made quick work of Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, winning 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and two minutes.

“I wanted to keep focused and not give away anything along the way,” said Tsonga. “And this I did well. I didn’t want to get caught in a very long match. It was too dangerous.”

The Frenchman smacked eight aces and converted four of eight break points in earning a Round of 16 match-up with Tomas Berdych.

In a marathon match that lingered until 12:24 a.m. local time, Kevin Anderson outlasted Dominic Thiem 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 7-6(5) for the right to meet Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16. The two-hour and 44-minute affair saw Anderson register 30 aces, totaling 55 winners and 39 unforced errors. Both players saved match points before the decisive third-set tie-break, but it was the South African who would come through in the end.

For the first time since 2009, 14 of 16 seeds are through to the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Masters.

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