In his debut at the season ending event, Grigor Dimitrov is the champion of the ATP Finals with a three set win over David Goffin.…
When Grigor Dimitrov lifted the trophy on Sunday at the Nitto ATP Finals, it marked the conclusion of the ATP World Tour season. But one week remains on the tennis calendar in 2017, with the ATP Challenger Tour finale featuring four tournaments on three continents.
Critical Emirates ATP Rankings points are up for grabs, as players jockey for position to cement themselves in the year-end Top 100. In fact, six players are poised to battle for coveted Top 100 spots this week, as they hope to secure direct entry into ATP World Tour events in 2018.
The eight-week South American swing concludes at the Rio Tennis Classic in Rio de Janeiro. Top seed Rogerio Dutra Silva eyes a title on home soil, while Saturday’s Santiago champion Nicolas Jarry looks to cap his season with back-to-back victories. Jarry became the first Chilean to feature in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since Paul Capdeville in 2011. At No. 99, the 22-year-old is also one of the biggest movers to the Top 100 this year, having opened his campaign at No. 303.
Jarry is joined by fellow Rio de Janeiro competitors Dutra Silva (No. 101), Roberto Carballes Baena (No. 107) and Gastao Elias (No. 114) as players in contention for year-end Top 100 berths. Elias opened the eight-week South American swing with a title in nearby Campinas, Brazil.
Two events feature on Asian soil, with the inaugural Bengaluru Open in Bangalore set to cap a two-week Indian swing and the $150,000 EA Hua Hin Open Challenger, in Hua Hin, Thailand. In Bangalore, last week’s Pune champion Yuki Bhambri looks to go back-to-back on home soil as he continues to push towards a Top 100 return.
The third seed is up 352 spots since the start of the year to No. 122, in his comeback from an elbow injury. He is joined by top seed and World No. 102 Blaz Kavcic as players vying to secure their Top 100 standings. #NextGenATP Swede Elias Ymer is also in the field, on the heels of his first hard-court title in Mouilleron-le-Captif, France.
In Hua Hin, top seed Matthew Ebden is up to No. 80 after clinching the title in Toyota, Japan. The Aussie is guaranteed to finish in the year-end Top 100, completing a stunning 615-spot climb after concluding 2016 at No. 695 following knee surgery. Countrymen Akira Santillan and John Millman are other contenders in Hua Hin.
Andria, Italy, maintains its traditional season-ending tournament on the indoor hard courts of the ASD Pro Tennis Andria. The event has been a staple of the final week of the season since its debut in 2013. Home hope Stefano Travaglia is the top seed, with 2014 champion Ricardas Berankis seeded second.
The final week of the 2017 #ATPChallenger season is here. Four events on three continents and one place to watch the action ?: https://t.co/BSGzRUzoZi
Bangalore ??
Hua Hin ??
Andria ??
Rio de Janeiro ?? pic.twitter.com/JDh7OJDSll— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) November 20, 2017
Former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna has died at the age of 49.
The Women’s Tennis Association said Novotna, who had cancer, “died peacefully, surrounded by her family”.
The Czech player had lost in the Wimbledon final in 1993 and 1997 before winning the Grand Slam tournament when she beat Nathalie Tauziat in 1998.
Novotna captured the hearts of fans when she burst into tears after losing to German great Steffi Graf in 1993 and was consoled by the Duchess of Kent.
“Jana was an inspiration both on and off court to anyone who had the opportunity to know her,” said WTA chief executive Steve Simon.
“Her star will always shine brightly in the history of the WTA. Our condolences and our thoughts are with Jana’s family.”Novotna was renowned for her serve and volley game and achieved a career-high singles ranking of number two.
In addition to her only singles Grand Slam win at Wimbledon, she claimed 12 Grand Slam doubles titles and four in mixed doubles.
She was also inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.
It was Novotna’s exploits at Wimbledon which particularly endeared her to supporters, especially the 1993 defeat by Graf at the All England club.
Novotna had a 4-1 lead in the third set and was a point away from going 5-1 up only to serve a double fault and lose the next five games in a row as she was beaten 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-4.
She started crying when presented with the loser’s trophy before the Duchess of Kent put a comforting arm around her and gave her a shoulder to shed her tears on during emotional scenes on Centre Court.
Novotna said the Duchess had told her “she would do it” when she went to collect her trophy and, despite losing to Martina Hingis in 1997, she finally won Wimbledon a year later.
In doing so, she became the then oldest first-time Grand Slam singles winner in the Open era at 29 years and nine months.
Novotna gave an interview to BBC World Service’s Sporting Witness in 2015 where she spoke about her career and the 1993 final.
“The next day, even though I was sad and disappointed, I opened the newspaper and my picture with the Duchess of Kent was on the front pages,” she said during the programme.
“For a moment it felt like I was the winner and that was a great feeling. I still have the newspapers, they’re beautiful pictures and I think it showed the human side of professional tennis, which most of the people came to remember instead of me losing.”
She added: “It wouldn’t sound great to say the 1993 final was the one I was most proud of because I lost the match when I was ahead.
“But it meant so much for me and maybe it made me a better player, a better person and maybe that match helped me to accomplish a lot more in my career.
“If I could do it again I would – all of it – except I would win Wimbledon three times this time around.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
The abiding image of Jana Novotna’s career is of her accepting – quite literally – a shoulder to cry on by the Duchess of Kent as she received the runners-up trophy at Wimbledon in 1993.
She had been in a winning position in her first final against the great Steffi Graf, but undeterred, she would be back.
Martina Hingis was too strong in the 1997 final, but just as the Duchess had predicted, it was third time lucky when Novotna made it through to the final again.
An instinctive serve-volleyer and a superb athlete, Novotna was also a brilliant doubles player: winning a total of 16 Grand Slam titles. She reached number two in singles and number one in doubles, won the Fed Cup with the Czech Republic and medals in both singles and doubles for her country at the Olympic Games.
In more recent years, she was a charming member of the BBC commentary team at Wimbledon. Jana was never ostentatious in her delivery, but her love for the sport shone out.
Jana’s microphone always needed a boost as she was so softly spoken. But she was born to play, and commentate, on Centre Court. Her words were carefully chosen, but the authority cut through.
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Jana Novotna was consoled by the Duchess of Kent after losing the Wimbledon final in 1993 – five years later she won the title at SW19.
BBC Sport looks back at the 2017 ATP Finals in London, where Grigor Dimitrov made history by becoming the first man for 19 years to win the tournament on his debut appearance.
One of the biggest storylines of the 2017 ATP World Tour season was undoubtedly the fresh faces ascending the Emirates ATP Rankings. A new contingent of stars staked their claim with career-highs inside the Top 10, sending a message to the rest of the circuit. Meanwhile, veterans returning from injury rediscovered their elite form in returning to the upper echelons of the game.
Four players made their debut in the Top 10 in 2017: Alexander Zverev, David Goffin, Jack Sock and Pablo Carreno Busta. Zverev and Carreno Busta are the biggest movers to the Top 10, with both rising 20 spots from the start of the season. At age 20, Zverev is the youngest member of the group and is the highest-ranked German since Tommy Haas in 2002, concluding his campaign at No. 4. The first-time qualifier at the Nitto ATP Finals was bolstered by ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns in Rome and Montreal. Carreno Busta, meanwhile, soared from No. 30 to No. 10 behind semi-final finishes at the US Open and in Indian Wells.
The German and the Spaniard were two of five players to rise double-digit spots to the Top 10, joining fellow debutant Sock as well as Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer. Sock rose 15 spots to No. 8 following his title at the Rolex Paris Masters, while Nitto ATP Finals champion Dimitrov climbed 14 spots to No. 3, three years after first making his Top 10 debut. On the heels of a tour-leading seven titles, Federer impressively returned to No. 2 after falling out of the Top 10 due to injury. He also moved up 14 spots.
In addition, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is in the top spot to conclude a season for the fourth time. After kicking off 2017 at No. 9, he has made the biggest single-season jump to year-end No. 1 since Andy Roddick went from No. 10 in 2002 to No. 1 in 2003.
Biggest Movers Inside Top 20
|
Player |
Positions Moved |
Start of 2017 |
End of 2017 |
|
Kevin Anderson |
+53 |
No. 67 |
No. 14 |
|
Juan Martin del Potro |
+27 |
No. 38 |
No. 11 |
|
Alexander Zverev |
+20 |
No. 24 |
No. 4 |
|
Pablo Carreno Busta |
+20 |
No. 30 |
No. 10 (career-high) |
|
Sam Querrey |
+18 |
No. 31 |
No. 13 (career-high) |
|
Jack Sock |
+15 |
No. 23 |
No. 8 (career-high) |
| Roger Federer | +14 | No. 16 | No. 2 |
| Grigor Dimitrov | +14 | No. 17 | No. 3 (career-high) |
While Carreno Busta, Dimitrov, Federer, Sock and Zverev enjoyed significant moves to the Top 10, two players celebrated even bigger ascents to the Top 20. Kevin Anderson soared 53 spots to No. 14 following an injury-plagued 2016 campaign, while Juan Martin del Potro rose 27 places to No. 11. With neither player having Emirates ATP Rankings points to defend in January, both will be in strong position to return to the Top 10 in the early stages of the 2018 season.
The surging #NextGenATP contingent also made great strides in climbing the Emirates ATP Rankings this year. Denis Shapovalov, the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates, was also named the Most Improved Player for a reason. The Canadian teen vaulted 199 spots, from No. 250 to No. 51, thanks to a breakthrough semi-final run at the Rogers Cup and Round of 16 finish at the US Open.
Two other #NextGenATP stars also enjoyed moves of at least 100 spots to the Top 100, with Andrey Rublev catapulting 117 positions to No. 39 and Stefanos Tsitsipas rising 120 spots to No. 89. Rublev notched his maiden ATP World Tour title in Umag, while Tsitsipas won his first ATP Challenger tour crown in Genova, Italy, and had a stunning run to the semi-finals at the European Open in Antwerp as a qualifier.
But no list of 2017 Emirates ATP Rankings movers would be complete without Matthew Ebden, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Filip Krajinovic and Nicolas Jarry, following their performances on the ATP Challenger Tour. The quartet are the only players to soar at least 200 spots to the Top 100. Stebe and Krajinovic were nominees for the Comeback Player of the Year in the 2017 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon, while Ebden has risen a whopping 615 spots to No. 80 in his return from knee surgery. Jarry, aged 22, makes his Top 100 debut on Monday after claiming his third title of the season in his comeback from wrist surgery.
Grigor Dimitrov knows as well as any, the problem with being a precocious prospect is the enormous weight of expectations from a young age. Wrapping up 2017 as the Nitto ATP Finals champion, he has made it abundantly clear he has landed.
For years, the gifted Bulgarian has garnered hype as one of the next big things. His results have provided hope, but it was not until 2017 that he solidified his intentions with a first tour title in 2.5 years in Brisbane, a title on home soil in Sofia, a maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy in Cincinnati and now the biggest title of his career at The O2.
Dimitrov started the year in a canter, falling in a high-quality five-set semi-final defeat to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals. But after a triumph over David Goffin in the Sofia final helped propel him to a 16-1 start in 2017, inconsistency began to plague the mid-part of his season, the type that had so often hamstrung his progress in previous years.
At 26, maturity, experience and dedication taught Dimitrov, though, he could turn things around if he put his mind to it. Qualifying for his first season finale was surely validation and a hint of what was potentially in store for 2018.
“I think I’ve had good results in the past, but now, as I said, I need to be even more consistent on those kind of events, and in the same time raise up my level on occasions like this,” Dimitrov said.
“Obviously, this is a great, unbelievable achievement for me, yes. But I still have a lot to give. I want to perform better and better.”
Win or lose the final against Goffin on Sunday, Dimitrov was assured of reaching a career-high of No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. A form and motivation slump had seen his ranking take a hit when he fell to as low as World No.40 in July last year.
“There I was thinking, ‘How can I put it together, put three balls in the court?’ But again, with the right state of mind, with the right people, with the right support, things happen,” Dimitrov said.
“For me, that period really helped me a lot. I think I needed that. And I appreciate those, six, seven months that were a complete struggle for me. I appreciate them in a way that only yourself, if you’ve been through that, you would understand that… Little by little, drop by drop, here I am.”
Victory over Goffin saw the Bulgarian finish his debut Nitto ATP Finals campaign undefeated, having seen off No. 4 seed Dominic Thiem, Goffin and Pablo Carreno Busta in the group stages.
After he let four match points slip against Jack Sock the last time they played this year in Indian Wells, Dimitrov was understandably nervous when he needed three match points to get the job done in their semi-final of the season finale on Saturday. In Sunday’s final, there would be no repeat of the 6-0, 6-2 thrashing he dealt Goffin in the group stage.
He knew the Belgian was going to change his tactics after the previous clash. This one would require patience.
“Well, I was a little bit tired, as well. I had to play a few matches obviously back-to-back against solid opponents,” Dimitrov said of his more conservative approach on Sunday. “I think throughout the whole week, I’ve been keeping a good level. I knew that David is going to try something new. He had to be aggressive so he doesn’t let me play my game.
“Obviously a little nervous towards the end of the match, which is I think quite normal. But again, I’m over that hurdle. I’m very happy just to finish strong.”
It caps a career-best season for the Bulgarian and a potential prelude to what’s in store. For now, it’s a few days of complete rest until he admits he’ll probably have to go for a run: “I’m going to get so restless.”
Watch Full Match Replays
His backhand kept him in the match, but it was his forehand that wrapped both hands around the trophy.
Grigor Dimitrov defeated David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to win the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 on Sunday, with his forehand hugely responsible for the only break of serve in the third and deciding set. With Goffin serving at 2-3 in the third, Dimitrov hit 12 rally backhands in the game, committing two errors. Importantly, no Dimitrov rally backhand extracted an error from Goffin on the other side of the court.
His forehand, on the other hand, did all the heavy lifting.
Dimitrov hit 11 rally forehands in the game, five of which forced an error from the Belgian – including the final two points of the game to secure the critical break. Those five rally forehands from Dimitrov won’t turn up in a winner column on a stats sheet, but they had a major bearing on the final result.
Three of the five errors from Goffin in the game actually came from run-around forehands from Dimitrov, as he upgraded from his comparatively slower backhand to his more potent forehand. If Dimitrov had just accepted those rally five balls to the Ad court as a backhand, the match could easily have taken a different twist at that important juncture.
Overall for the match, Dimitrov hit 62 per cent (174) forehands and 38 per cent (108) backhands, with his forehands being struck almost 20 per cent harder. Dimitrov averaged 75mph from his forehand wing, and just 62mph with his backhand.
In general play, Goffin was always looking to match up his stronger backhand through the Ad court to Dimitrov’s backhand, which made it imperative for the Bulgarian to hit as many run-around forehands as possible to escape the effective “backhand cage” tactics from Goffin.
The Belgian hit a substantial 82% of his backhands cross court to Dimitrov’s backhand, enjoying a critical power advantage in this area, mainly because he could force Dimitrov to slice the ball from deep behind the baseline where Goffin was not in any danger of getting hurt.
Average Backhand Speed
• Goffin = 68mph
• Dimitrov = 62mph
Groundstroke Topspin / Slice Ratio
• Goffin = 93% topspin / 7% slice
• Dimitrov = 73% topspin / 27% slice
Backhand Rally Hit Point
• Goffin = 21% inside baseline / 79% behind
• Dimitrov = 14% inside baseline = 86% behind
Dimitrov Serving
Dimitrov’s serve performance was up and down during in the match, with nerves playing a part in some wayward tosses, and also responsible for six double faults. But in the third set, Dimitrov’s serve lifted, particularly winning critical free points by forcing more return errors from Goffin than in any other set.
Dimitrov Unreturned Serves
• Set 1 = 30%
• Set 2 = 28%
• Set 3 = 41%
Dimitrov also won the highest percentage of first and second serve points of any set in the third set, sending down just one ace, but most importantly, just committing one double fault.
Dimitrov 1st Serve Points Won
• Set 1 = 70%
• Set 2 = 61%
• Set 3 = 73%
Dimitrov 2nd Serve Points Won
• Set 1 = 25%
• Set 2 = 60%
• Set 3 = 64%
Rally Length
Dimitrov won just six more points than Goffin (108 – 102) for the match. with that slight advantage coming mostly in the extended rallies of 10+ shots. Overall, 91 per cent of all points were in the single digits of nine shots or less, with both players being almost dead even in points won.
Points Won Under 9 Shots
• Dimitrov = 96
• Goffin = 95
Points Won 10+ Shots
• Dimitrov = 12
• Goffin = 7
It was a see-sawing, high quality final that had the packed house on the edge of their seats as they witnessed Dimitrov finally seal victory on his fifth match point. A handful of seemingly random forehands earlier in the set had an important say in Dimitrov winning the biggest title of his career.
Watch Full Match Replays
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov became the first man for 19 years to win the ATP Finals on his debut appearance with victory over Belgian David Goffin.
Sixth seed Dimitrov, 26, claimed the biggest title of his career as he won 7-5 4-6 6-3 at London’s O2 Arena.
The Bulgarian collected £1.9m in prize money for coming through the tournament unbeaten in five matches across the group stage, semi-finals and final.
He will end the year ranked third in the world, with Goffin up to seventh.
“I’m still trying to think about what I just did,” said Dimitrov, who follows in the footsteps of Spain’s Alex Corretja, who won the season-ending title on his debut in 1998.
“This is a great, unbelievable achievement for me, but I still have a lot to give.
“One of my main goals is to win a Grand Slam tournament. This has always been a dream of mine. Now, slowly, I think [I’m] getting there.”
Injuries to Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic kept two of the sport’s biggest names out of the ATP Finals, while world number one Rafael Nadal was forced to pull out injured after his opening round-robin match and Roger Federer was stunned in the semi-finals by Goffin.
But Dimitrov said it was too soon to say a new era was coming to tennis.
“Next year I think is going to be obviously pretty interesting, especially the beginning of it,” he said. “There’s still quite a few names that are going to come back and play. You should never count them out.”
He added: “Am I one of those guys? Well, right now I’m right here. I’m the winner of the tournament. But that’s about it.
“The important thing is just to stay on the ground and put your head down, even work harder because once you get to that point, everything becomes so narrow for you.
“I don’t want to get too hyped up because I’ve done well, now I’m number three in the world. This makes me even more locked in, more excited about my work, and for what’s to come.”
While Dimitrov’s season is now over, Goffin will try to help Belgium to a first ever Davis Cup victory against France next week.
“It was a special week for me,” said the Belgian. “A week with a lot of emotion and a lot of fatigue. Now I am feeling tired but it was an amazing week.”
Finland’s Henri Kontinen and Australian John Peers, the second seeds, retained the doubles title they won last year with a 6-4 6-2 win over top seeds Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Brazilian Marcelo Melo.
Dimitrov had thrashed Goffin for the loss of just two games only four days earlier in the group stage, but the Belgian proved a far tougher opponent in the final.
Goffin beat top seeds Nadal and Federer on the way through, and he made the early running as the underdog once again.
Dimitrov had to recover breaks of serve twice in the opening eight games but moved ahead when he converted a fifth set point in game 12.
After five breaks of serve in the first set, the second was a much tighter affair, with Dimitrov missing out on a potentially decisive break in game six after a Hawkeye challenge.
Goffin grabbed his chance in the next game with a forehand winner and confidently served out the set to force a decider.
The final set was a thrilling contest in itself, with Dimitrov fending off four break points in the first game before moving 4-2 up when Goffin sent a backhand long.
With two hours on the clock, and the large Bulgarian contingent chanting “Grigor, Grigor”, their man edged to the brink of victory, only for Goffin to serve his way back from 0-40 and three match points down.
The Belgian was given a huge ovation by the 18,000 spectators inside the O2 Arena, and he fended off a fourth match point, before Dimitrov finally sealed it when Goffin dumped a seemingly unmissable drop volley into the net.
Tim Henman, former British number one:“It could be a huge moment in Dimitrov’s career, a turning point winning on a huge stage.
“The next step is to get into a Grand Slam final and get one of those under his belt.”
Pat Cash, former Wimbledon champion: “I think the Australian Open is the obvious target for Dimitrov, before the other guys get a grasp of their fitness again. It’s a good opportunity for someone like Grigor to get to a final or, who knows, even win.
“It was a crazy year last year and I think the guys coming back will take a bit of time. I think we’ll see Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Zeverev, and we should see Dimitrov press towards Grand Slam semis and finals.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
The size of the prize, and the opportunity presented by the absence of Roger Federer, caused bundles of nerves – and also some gripping drama.
A visibly tiring Goffin showed great resilience in the deciding set, until a poor volley prevented him saving a fifth championship point.
Dimitrov won his first Masters event in Cincinnati in August and has now landed the biggest title outside of the Grand Slams. He has always had to deal with huge expectations, and that will only increase when he arrives in Australia in January as the world number three.
This title should give him enormous confidence, and hopefully the springboard to develop further the huge potential he has always shown.
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