Vote For Fans' Favourite In 2017 ATP World Tour Awards
Vote For Fans' Favourite In 2017 ATP World Tour Awards
Oct102017
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The Top five players in the Emirates ATP Race To London will be in second-round action at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Wednesday. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the headliners with year-end No. 1 on the line beginning this week. If Nadal wins his first Shanghai title and Federer fails to reach the semi-finals, the Spaniard will finish 2017 at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
View FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup for Day 4 of the Shanghai Rolex Masters and vote for who you think will win!
Federer vs. Schwartzman | Nadal vs. Donaldson | Goffin vs. Simon
Nadal meets #NextGenATP player Jared Donaldson at 6 pm, followed by Federer against Diego Schwartzman at 8 pm. Donaldson and Schwartzman are both bidding for the biggest wins of their respective careers. As is Aljaz Bedene, who faces No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev earlier on Stadium Court. Play begins at 1 pm with No. 6 seed Grigor Dimitrov taking on Ryan Harrison.
Following Pablo Carreno Busta’s loss on Tuesday, No. 10 seed Sam Querrey and No. 11 seed Kevin Anderson could gain ground in the race with wins on Wednesday. It’s also a big day for wild card Wu Di, who is playing second-round matches in singles and doubles. No Chinese player has reached the singles third round or doubles quarter-finals at the Shanghai Rolex Masters (est. 2009).
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Two doubles teams looking to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in London next month made strides on Tuesday at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in China. Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez (no relation), in 10th place in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, advanced to the second round at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event by walkover.
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Defending champions John Isner and Jack Sock didn’t compete because Sock was suffering from dehydration. Lopez/Lopez are in 10th place in the Doubles Race, 185 points behind eighth-placed Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram. The top eight doubles teams qualify for the prestigious season-ending tournament, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November. Lopez/Lopez will face second seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the second round.
Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, alternates at the Nitto ATP Finals a year ago, escaped a tight opener 6-7(8), 7-6(7), 10-8 against Nikola Mektic and Nicholas Monroe. Cabal/Farah are in 11th place in the Doubles Race, 70 points behind Lopez/Lopez. Cabal/Farah will next meet third seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.
Nitto ATP Finals hopeful Marin Cilic improved his chances of returning to The O2 in London for the prestigious season-ending tournament as he opened his Shanghai Rolex Masters title bid Tuesday with a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Brit Kyle Edmund.
The Croatian will guarantee his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals if he wins the Shanghai title, which would be his second Masters 1000 crown (Cincinnati 2016). Cilic, who is currently sixth in the Emirates ATP Race To London, previously qualified in 2014 and ’16.
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Cilic saved all three break points against the 22-year-old Edmund, prevailing in one hour and 38 minutes to move into the third round. The fourth seed will next face Chinese wild card Di Wu or American Steve Johnson.
Johnson, a quarter-finalist last week in Tokyo, advanced to the second round after No. 13 seed Nick Kyrgios retired after dropping the first set. The Australian had opened up a 4/2 lead in the opening set tie-break before Johnson reeled off five of the last six points to take it 7-6(5), before Kygrios called time.
British number three Naomi Broady was knocked out in the first round of the Linz Open in three sets by Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old lost 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in two hours, 10 minutes in Austria.
World number 132 Broady served 16 aces but added 10 double faults to Tomova’s none as the world number 151 fought back from a set down.
Broady made the first round via a lucky loser spot having lost in qualifying to Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova.
Experience and composure kept Juan Martin del Potro rolling on Tuesday as the 2013 runner-up saw off #NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The No. 16 seed prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in his first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting with the 19 year old.
The Argentine put the foot down early to break for 2-0 and was dominant on serve throughout. He never faced a break point in either set and finished with 14 aces to set a third-round showdown with either No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev or Aljaz Bedene, an earlier 6-1, 6-4 winner over Paolo Lorenzi.
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Rublev, currently No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, let his frustrations show when he dropped serve to open the second set, having worked hard to save three break points. He showed momentary glimpses of his best when he saved a match point at 3-5, serving to stay in the second. Despite a thumping forehand winner down the line to fend off a second match point on del Potro’s serve, it was momentary reprieve as the Argentine closed the match out a point later.
Fabio Fognini also advanced to the third round after a 7-6(7), 6-3 upset of No. 15 seed Lucas Pouille of France. Both players finished with nine aces but it was Fognini who was more effective on break points, fending off all three faced.
The Italian’s win nudged up his FedEx ATP Head2Head ledger with Pouille to 2-1. He awaits the winner of top seed Rafael Nadal and #NextGenATP American Jared Donaldson.
Andy Murray and Serena Williams are set to play at the Australian Open in January, according to tournament director Craig Tiley.
British number one Murray, 30, has not played since July when a hip injury hampered him in a quarter-final defeat at Wimbledon, while Williams, 36, gave birth to her first child in September.
The pair could be joined by Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, says Tiley.
“All the top players will be back in Melbourne,” he said.
Former world number one Djokovic has been sidelined since suffering an elbow injury at Wimbledon, while Wawrinka and Nishikori have been out since the summer with respective knee and wrist problems.
“I can tell you that in talking to Andy, he has been training and he is preparing for having a great year in 2018,” Tiley said.
“How much would this year have hurt him, to watch over the entire year Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] share four Grand Slam titles – he would not have liked that.
“As competitive as Andy is, we know he’s back and he’ll want to improve his current ranking of number three in the world and getting back to number one.”
Murray had hoped to return for the US Open in August but pulled out 48 hours before it started.
During his absence, the Scot has dropped to number three in the world behind number one Nadal and number two Federer.
Last month, Murray’s mother Judy said there was “no timescale” for his return to competitive action.
Williams’ potential return to Melbourne Park would allow the American to defend the 2017 title she won while eight weeks pregnant.
The 23-times Grand Slam champion said before giving birth that she was planning to play at the tournament.
Tiley said Williams has a “special relationship” with the Australian Open, while the player has said the initials of her daughter’s name – Alexis Olympia Ohanian – are a nod to the tournament.
“She wants to come back in 2018 and defend her title,” Tiley said.
“Obviously, at training now, there is several months to go and it will be up to her as far as where she is with her fitness.”
The men’s and women’s singles winners will each collect four million Australian dollars (£2.4m) in 2018, up from A$3.7m in 2017, while the entire prize money pool has increased by 10% to A$55m (£32.4m).
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent
While there is nothing to suggest Andy Murray won’t be in Melbourne in January, it is simply too early to say he will definitely be fit.
He is happy to be away from the public eye as he continues his rehabilitation, and is still planning to play Roger Federer in a charity exhibition match in Glasgow in a month’s time.
And although Murray has not officially called time on the 2017 season, it seems almost certain his next competitive appearance won’t be before the Brisbane tournament in the first week of the New Year.
British number two Aljaz Bedene reached the second round of the Shanghai Masters with a straight-sets defeat of Italian world number 39 Paolo Lorenzi.
The 28-year-old won 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 13 minutes and will now face German third seed Alexander Zverev, who was given a first-round bye.
World number 48 Bedene hit 10 aces and won 84% of the points on his serve.
Later on Tuesday, British number three Kyle Edmund will play Croatian fourth seed Marin Cilic in the second round.
Edmund served well to beat Jiri Vesely 6-3 6-2 in one hour and seven minutes to set up the tie with the 2014 US Open champion.
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