• Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka take to the Cincinnati courts for their first-round matches at the Western & Southern Open on Monday. Of the three, former World No. 1 Djokovic is nearest to returning to his peak position after elbow surgery, having ended a career-long 54-week title drought by winning Wimbledon in July for his 13th Grand Slam title. Djokovic meets Steve Johnson, the third-highest-ranked American, for the first time on Tour on Monday.

• Murray and Wawrinka each received wild cards for the Cincinnati main draw, as they both continue to rebound from recent hip and knee surgeries, respectively. Murray electrified the Washington crowd two weeks ago with a trio of tough three-set wins to reach his first quarter-final of the year; the former World No. 1 will try for a fifth win in five meetings against No. 16 seed Lucas Pouille to see if he can make another run. Former World No. 3 Wawrinka also faces a seeded player, No. 12 seed Diego Schwartzman, the highest-ranked player to stand 5-foot-7 or shorter since 1981.

• Two of the top American hopes will face off in the first round on Monday as well, when American No. 1 John Isner meets Sam Querrey. It will be the second time in four years that No. 9 seed Isner and Querrey, who have won two doubles titles together, meet in the opening round at Cincinnati. In their 2015 meeting, Querrey claimed the win. Querrey has a 4-2 lead in their head-to-head record.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the Rogers Cup & vote for who you think will win! 
Murray vs. Pouille | Isner vs. Querrey | Shapovalov vs. Tiafoe

FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS: MONDAY FIRST-ROUND SINGLES MATCHES

[9] John Isner (USA) vs Sam Querrey (USA) Querrey Leads 4-2
10 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard F Sam Querrey 6-7(3) 7-6(5) 6-3
10 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (U.S.A.) Hard R32 John Isner 7-6(3) 6-4
10 Belgrade (Serbia) Clay F Sam Querrey 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4
15 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard QF Sam Querrey 7-6(3) 7-6(2)
15 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Sam Querrey 6-3 7-6(3)
16 Auckland (New Zealand) Hard R16 John Isner 7-6(8) 6-7(4) 6-4

Isner 2018 Summary:
W (2): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (d A. Zverev); Atlanta (d Harrison); SF (1): Wimbledon (l Anderson);     QF (3): Houston (l Johnson); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l A. Zverev); Lyon (l Norrie)
YTD W-L: 26-14
YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 14
Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 (33)
ATP Ranking: 9
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 15-10 (2013 Finalist)

• Tournament Note: As the World No. 22, reached 2013 final with wins over No. 11 Gasquet in 2R, No. 10 Raonic in 3R, No.1 Djokovic in QF, and No. 7 Del Potro in SF, before losing to Nadal in 2 tiebreak sets in final.
• Saved 2 MPs vs. Bemelmans en route to 1st Grand Slam SF at Wimbledon, hitting tournament-record 214 aces.
• In Wimbledon SF, lost to Anderson 26-24 in 5th after 6h36m — 2nd-longest match in Grand Slam history.
• Achieved career-high No. 8 in ATP Rankings on 16 July after reaching No. 9 on 16 April 2012.
• Defeated No. 3 Cilic, No. 6 Del Potro and No. 5 A. Zverev to capture 1st ATP Masters 1000 singles title at Miami.
• Became oldest 1st-time ATP Masters 1000 champion at age 32 since series began in 1990.
• As World No. 17, became lowest-ranked Miami champion since No. 18 Courier in 1991.
• Improved to 31-4 at Atlanta with 5th title in 8th final at tournament (d. Harrison).
• Hit 10,000th ace during Houston QF loss to Johnson, becoming 4th player to reach milestone since ATP started tracking aces in 1991. Stats do not include all Davis Cup matches, as well as Olympic matches prior to 2008.
• Reached Roland Garros 4R for 3rd time in last 5 years (l. to Del Potro).
• Squandered 3 MPs vs. Gojowczyk in Delray Beach 2R and 1 MP vs. Monfils in ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 2R.
• Did not drop a set en route to 3rd ATP Masters 1000 doubles title — 2nd w/Sock — at Indian Wells (d. Bryan/Bryan).
• Helped USA advance to Davis Cup SF with wins over Lajovic in 1R and De Loore in QF.
• Withdrew from Halle due to left knee injury.

Querrey 2018 Summary:
F (1): New York (l Anderson); QF (2): ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Raonic); London / Queen’s Club (l Cilic)
YTD W-L: 17-15
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 10
Date of Birth: October 7, 1987 (30)
ATP Ranking: 34
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 11-11 (2007 Quarter-finals)

• Tournament Note: Had best performance in 2007 ranked No. 65, reaching QF with wins over No. 10 Youzhny and Monaco (l. to No. 8 Blake in QF).
• Achieved career-high No. 11 in ATP Rankings on 26 February.
• Fell to 0-4 lifetime in ATP Masters 1000 QFs at Indian Wells (l. to Raonic in 3 sets).
• Lost to eventual champion Cilic in London/Queen’s Club QF.
• Owns 0-7 record this season in deciding-set tiebreaks, including loss to Anderson in New York final and losses as defending champion to Ebden in Acapulco 1R and Gerasimov in Los Cabos 2R after holding 2 MPs.
• Defeated Djere in Davis Cup 1R (USA d. SRB 3-1) and Bemelmans in Davis Cup QF (USA d. BEL 4-0).

[10] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Steve Johnson (USA) First Meeting

Djokovic 2018 Summary:
W (1): Wimbledon (d Anderson); F (1): London / Queen’s Club (l Cilic); SF (1): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Nadal);  QF (1): Roland Garros (l Cecchinato)
YTD W-L: 27-10
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 69
Date of Birth: May 22, 1987 (31)
ATP Ranking: 10
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 26-11 (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 Finalist)

• Tournament Note: Would complete set of all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles with Cincinnati trophy; lost his 5 finals to Federer 3 times and Murray twice.
• Ended career-long 54-week title drought by winning 4th Wimbledon and 13th Grand Slam title overall (d. Anderson).
• As World No. 21, became lowest-ranked Grand Slam champion since No. 44 Gaudio at 2004 Roland Garros.
• Improved to 27-25 vs. Nadal by defeating World No. 1 in SF 10-8 in 5th after 5 hours, 15 minutes.
• Earned 800th career win in London/Queen’s Club QF (d. Mannarino), but squandered 1 MP in final (l. to Cilic).
• Advanced to Roland Garros QF-or-better for 9th straight year (l. to Cecchinato in QF).
• Reached ATP Masters 1000 Rome QF-or-better for 12th straight season (l. to Nadal in SF).
• Lost to Chung in Aus. Open 4R, Daniel in Indian Wells 2R and Paire in Miami 2R — first 3-match skid since 2007.
• Fell to No. 22 in ATP Rankings on 21 May — lowest since No. 22 on 2 October 2006. Returned to Top 10 on 16 July.
• Underwent surgery on right elbow shortly after Australian Open, which was his 1st tournament in 6 months.

Johnson 2018 Summary:
W (2): Houston (d Sandgren); Newport (d Ramanathan); SF (2): Delray Beach (l Gojowczyk); Geneva (l Fucsovics)
YTD W-L: 22-16
YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: December 24, 1989 (28)
ATP Ranking: 33
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 5-3 (2016 Quarter-finals)

• Tournament Note: Defeated No. 10 Tsonga to reach 2016 QF for best result (l. to Dimitrov).
• Defeated 5 countrymen to become 1st back-to-back champion at Houston since Roddick in 2001-02 (d. Sandgren).
• After winning only U.S. clay-court event at Houston, won only U.S. grass-court event at Newport (d. Ramanathan).
• Advanced to SFs at Delray Beach (d. Raonic in 2R, l. to Gojowczyk) and Geneva (l. to Fucsovics).
• Reached Roland Garros 3R for 3rd time in last 4 years (l. to Cilic).
• Squandered 5 MPs in New York 1R vs. Menendez-Maceiras.
• Returned to ATP Challenger Tour for 1st time since 2014 and reached Irving, USA SF (l. to Kukushkin).
• Clinched USA’s 3-1 win over Serbia in Davis Cup 1R w/Harrison (d. Milojevic/Zekic).

GRANDSTAND

Nishikori 2018 Summary:
F (1): ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Nadal); SF (1): New York (l Anderson); QF (3): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); Wimbledon (l Djokovic); Washington (l A. Zverev)
YTD W-L: 22-12
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: December 29, 1989 (28)
ATP Ranking: 23
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 3-4 (2012, 2016 3rd Round)

• Tournament Note: Lost 3R to Tomic in two tiebreak sets in most recent appearance in 2016.
• Earned Top 5 wins over Cilic and A. Zverev to reach Monte-Carlo final (l. to No. 1 Nadal). Fell to 0-4 in ATP Masters 1000 finals. As World No. 36, became lowest-ranked Monte-Carlo finalist since No. 53 Arazi in 2001.
• Played 42 tour-level events since most recent title at 2016 Memphis (d. Fritz). Lost his last 7 finals.
• At Wimbledon, became 1st Japanese player to complete set of QFs at all 4 Grand Slams (l. to Djokovic).
• Reached New York SF (l. to Anderson in 3rd-set TB), Rome QF (l. to Djokovic) and Washington QF (l. to A. Zverev).
• Defeated Frenchmen Janvier, Paire and Simon to reach Roland Garros 4R for 4th straight year (l. to Thiem).
• Fell to No. 39 in ATP Rankings on 2 April — lowest since No. 40 on 10 October 2011.
• Captured 6th ATP Challenger Tour title — 1st since 2010 — at Dallas, USA as WC (d. McDonald).
• Withdrew from Brisbane, Sydney and Australian Open (right wrist), as well as Indian Wells (illness).

Rublev 2018 Summary:
F (1): Doha (l Monfils); SF (1): Washington (l de Minaur); QF (3): Montpellier (l Tsonga); Rotterdam (l Dimitrov); Umag (l Haase)
YTD W-L: 15-13
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: October 20, 1997 (20)
ATP Ranking: 37
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 0-0 (Main Draw Debut)

• Tournament Note: In only prior appearance, fell in 1R of qualifying last year to Gulbis.
• Achieved career-high No. 31 in ATP Rankings on 19 February.
• Saved 1 MP vs. Pella to reach 2nd ATP World Tour singles final of career at Doha (l. to Monfils).
• Squandered 4 MPs vs. de Minaur in Washington SF and 1 MP vs. Thiem in Monte-Carlo 2R.
• Reached QFs at Montpellier (l. to Tsonga), Rotterdam (d. Pouille in 1R, l. to Dimitrov) and Umag (l. to Haase).
• Defeated 2-time semi-finalist Ferrer in 5 sets en route to Australian Open 3R (l. to Dimitrov).
• Reached 2nd ATP World Tour doubles final at ATP Masters 1000 Miami w/Khachanov (l. to Bryan/Bryan).
• Withdrew from Auckland (right arm) and did not play from 17 April to 17 July (lower back stress fracture).

[16] Lucas Pouille (FRA) vs [WC] Andy Murray (GBR) Murray Leads 4-0
16 ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Italy) Clay SF Andy Murray 6-2 6-1
16 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-1 6-3
16 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-3 6-0
17 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard SF Andy Murray 7-5 6-1

Pouille 2018 Summary:
W (1): Montpellier (d Gasquet); F (2): Marseille (l Khachanov); Dubai (l Bautista Agut); SF (1): Stuttgart (l Raonic)
YTD W-L: 20-15
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: February 23, 1994 (24)
ATP Ranking: 17
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 0-1 (2016 1st Round)

• Tournament Note: In only prior appearance, lost to Kyrgios in 2016 1R.
• Became 5th active Frenchman to break into Top 10 on 19 March (also Gasquet, Monfils, Simon, Tsonga).
• Reached 3 finals in 4 weeks, highlighted by 5th ATP title at Montpellier (d. Tsonga after saving 2 MPs and Gasquet).
• Runner-up at Marseille (l. to Khachanov) and Dubai (l. to Bautista Agut).
• As defending champion, lost in Budapest 2R (l. to Millman) and Stuttgart SF (l. to Raonic).
• Fell to 0-5 lifetime at Australian Open (l. to Bemelmans in 1R).
• Clinched France’s 3-1 Davis Cup QF win over Italy by beating Seppi in 5 sets and Fognini in 4 sets.
• Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 Miami due to back injury and Hamburg due to leg muscle tear.

Murray 2018 Summary:
QF (1): Washington (w/o vs de Minaur)
YTD W-L: 4-2
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 45
Date of Birth: May 15, 1987 (31)
ATP Ranking: 375
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 31-10 (2008, 2011 Champion)

• Tournament Note: 2-time champion defeated Djokovic in final for both titles; also reached final in 2016 (l. to Cilic).
• Earned 3-set wins over McDonald, Edmund and Copil to reach Washington QF (w/o vs. de Minaur)
• Defeated fellow 3-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka at Eastbourne as WC (l. to Edmund in 2R).
• Returned following 11-month hiatus and lost 3-setter to Kyrgios in London/Queen’s Club 1R.
• Fell to No. 839 in ATP Rankings on 16 July — lowest since ATP Rankings debut at No. 774T on 21 July 2003.
• Passed by Edmund in ATP Rankings on 5 March, ending reign as No. 1 Brit since 10 July 2006.
• Underwent right hip surgery by Dr. John O’Donnell on 8 January in Melbourne, AUS.
• Withdrew from Wimbledon, where he is 2-time champion, due to hip injury.

[WC] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs [12] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) First Meeting

Wawrinka 2018 Summary:
SF (1): Sofia (l Basic); QF (1): Geneva (l Fucsovics)
YTD W-L: 8-12
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 16
Date of Birth: March 28, 1985 (33)
ATP Ranking: 151
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 13-10 (2012 Semi-finals)

• Tournament Note: Beat No. 5 Ferrer, Nishikori, and Raonic en route to 2012 SF before losing to compatriot Federer.
• Reached Australian Open 2R in return following 2 left knee surgeries in August (d. Berankis, l. to Sandgren).
• Defeated No. 6 Dimitrov to reach Wimbledon 2R (l. to Fabbiano).
• Advanced to Sofia SF as substitute for injured Dimitrov (l. to Basic).
• Fell to eventual champion Fucsovics as 2-time defending champion in Geneva QF.
• Dropped to No. 263 in ATP Rankings on 11 June — lowest since No. 284 on 11 August 2003.
• Retired in Marseille 2R vs. Ivashka and withdrew from Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid due to left knee injury.

Schwartzman 2018 Summary:
W (1): Rio de Janeiro (d Verdasco); QF (3): Buenos Aires (l Bedene); Roland Garros (l Nadal); Hamburg (l Mayer)
YTD W-L: 27-18
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: August 16, 1992 (25)
ATP Ranking: 12
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 0-1 (2017 1st Round)

• Tournament Note: In main draw debut last year, lost to Khachanov in 1R.
• Did not drop a set en route to 2nd ATP World Tour title at Rio de Janeiro (d. Verdasco).
• Achieved new career-high 8 times in ATP Rankings, peaking at No. 11 on 11 June. 
• Highest-ranked player to stand 5-foot-7 or shorter since 5-foot-6 Solomon was No. 10 on 27 July 1981.
• Rallied from 2 sets down to beat Anderson and advance to 2nd Grand Slam QF at Roland Garros (l. to No. 1 Nadal).
• Won 1st set against Nadal to end Spaniard’s 38-set win streak at Roland Garros.
• Also reached QFs at Buenos Aires (l. to Bedene) and Hamburg (l. to L. Mayer).
• Defeated Lajovic 11-9 in 5th en route to Australian Open 4R (l. to No. 1 Nadal in 4 sets).
• Advanced to Wimbledon 2R with 1st win in 8th try on grass (d. Basic, l. to Vesely).
• Withdrew from London/Queen’s Club due to abdominal injury.

STADIUM 3

Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs [13] Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) Carreno Busta Leads 1-0
16 Beijing (China) Hard R16 Pablo Carreno Busta 5-7 6-4 6-1

Gasquet 2018 Summary:
W (1): s-Hertogenbosch (d Chardy); F (2): Montpellier (l Pouille); Bastad (l Fognini); SF (1): Marrakech (l Edmund); QF (1): ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l A. Zverev)
YTD W-L: 25-15
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 15
Date of Birth: June 18, 1986 (32)
ATP Ranking: 26
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 11-11 (2015 Quarter-finals)

• Tournament Note: Made QF in 2015 after 3R win over No. 9 Cilic (l. to Murray).
• Became 1st Frenchman with 500 career wins when he beat M. Zverev in Monte-Carlo 3R (l. to A. Zverev in QF).
• Claimed 15th ATP World Tour 250 title at ’s-Hertogenbosch (d. Chardy).
• Advanced to 6th consecutive Montpellier final, falling to 3-3 in title matches (d. Goffin, l. to Pouille).
• Made 3rd final of season at Bastad (l. to Fognini). Did not drop a set en route to Marrakech SF (l. to Edmund).
• Suffered 9th straight loss to Federer in Australian Open 3R. Fell to 0-16 vs. Nadal in Roland Garros 3R.
• Dropped to No. 38 in ATP Rankings on 2 April — lowest since No. 38 on 6 September 2010.
• Defeated Haase to help France beat The Netherlands 3-1 in Davis Cup 1R.

Carreno Busta 2018 Summary:
SF (3): ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l A. Zverev); Barcelona (l Tsitsipas); Estoril (l Tiafoe); QF (3): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Cilic); Bastad (l Verdasco); Hamburg (l Basilashvili)
YTD W-L: 24-16
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: July 12, 1991 (27)
ATP Ranking: 13
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 2-2 (2017 3rd Round)

• Tournament Note: Claimed first Cincinnati wins over Lorenzi and M. Zverev last year (l. to Ferrer).
• Advanced to 2nd ATP Masters 1000 SF at Miami (d. Anderson in 3rd-set TB after saving 1 MP, l. to A. Zverev).
• Saved 3 MPs vs. Mannarino and earned biggest career win over No. 5 Dimitrov at Barcelona (l. to Tsitsipas in SF).
• At ATP Masters 1000 Rome, reached singles QF (l. to Cilic) and doubles final w/Sousa as ALT (l. to Cabal/Farah).
• Also on clay, advanced to Estoril SF (l. to Tiafoe), Bastad QF (l. to Verdasco) and Hamburg QF (l. to Basilashvili).
• Reached Australian Open 4R for 1st time in 5th appearance (d. Muller, l. to Cilic).
• Saved 1 MP vs. Zeballos en route to ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 4R (l. to Anderson in 3rd-set TB).
• Opened season by squandering 3 MPs vs. Coric in Doha 1R for his 5th straight loss and 9th loss in last 10 matches.

[WC] Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN) Tiafoe Leads 1-0
18 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard SF Frances Tiafoe 7-5 6-4

Tiafoe 2018 Summary:
W (1): Delray Beach (d Gojowczyk); F (1): Estoril (l Sousa); QF (2): New York (l Anderson); London / Queen’s Club (l Chardy)
YTD W-L: 24-15
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: January 20, 1998 (20)
ATP Ranking: 38 (Career-High)
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 2-1 (2017 3rd Round)

• Tournament Note: Ranked No. 87, upset No. 7 A. Zverev to reach 3R last year (l. to Isner).
• Advanced to 1st SF and final en route to 1st ATP World Tour title at Delray Beach (d. Shapovalov and Gojowczyk).
• As 20-year-old, became youngest American champion on tour since Roddick, 19, at 2002 Houston.
• Forgot to sign up by Delray Beach entry deadline, becoming 1st WC to win title in 26-year tournament history.
• Went on to reach 2nd ATP World Tour final at Estoril (d. Sandgren in 1R after saving 3 MPs, l. to Sousa).
• Reached New York QF (l. to Anderson), London/Queen’s Club QF (l. to Chardy) and Miami 4R (l. to Anderson).
• Squandered 2-set lead in 1st Grand Slam 3R appearance at Wimbledon (l. to Khachanov).

Shapovalov 2018 Summary:
SF (2): Delray Beach (l Tiafoe); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l A. Zverev); QF (1): Eastbourne (l M. Zverev)
YTD W-L: 23-19
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 15, 1999 (19)
ATP Ranking: 32
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 0-0 (Debut)

• At 19, youngest quarter-finalist and semi-finalist ever at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (d. Raonic in 3R, l. to A. Zverev).
• Achieved career-high 11 times in ATP Rankings — peaking at No. 23 on 11 June.
• Lost to eventual champion in Delray Beach SF (l. to Tiafoe) and Eastbourne QF (l. to M. Zverev).
• Saved 1 MP vs. Troicki and defeated Querrey en route to ATP Masters 1000 Miami 4R (l. to Coric in 3 sets).
• Reached 2R at Australian Open (l. to Tsonga in 5 sets), Roland Garros (l. to Marterer) and Wimbledon (l. to Paire).
• Withdrew from Geneva due to right knee injury.

David Ferrer (ESP) vs Benoit Paire (FRA) Ferrer Leads 3-0
11 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 David Ferrer 6-4 6-4 6-4
12 Roland Garros (France) Clay R64 David Ferrer 6-3 6-3 6-2
12 s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands) Grass SF David Ferrer 7-6(5) 3-6 6-1

Ferrer 2018 Summary:
SF (1): Auckland (l del Potro)
YTD W-L: 9-16
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 27
Date of Birth: April 2, 1982 (36)
ATP Ranking: 79
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 21-13 (2014 Finalist)

• Tournament Note: Most recent of his 7 Masters 1000 finals of career came at Cincinnati in 2014 (l. to Federer).
• Four-time champion advanced to Auckland SF (l. to Del Potro).
• Also lost in Acapulco 2R and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R to Del Potro, who went on to win both titles.
• Defeated Kohlschreiber 7-5 in 5th after 4 hours, 51 minutes in deciding rubber of Davis Cup QF (ESP d. GER 3-2).
• Withdrew from tournaments in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Estoril and Madrid before birth of son Leo.
• After Leo’s birth, lost openers at Rome (l. to Sock in 1R), Geneva as WC (l. to Gojowczyk in 2R) and Roland Garros (l. to Munar in 1R). Squandered 2-set lead vs. Munar, suffering 1st Roland Garros 1R loss in 16th appearance.

Paire 2018 Summary:
SF (2): Pune (l Anderson); Sydney (l de Minaur); QF (1): Montpellier (l Pouille)
YTD W-L: 20-20
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: May 8, 1989 (29)
ATP Ranking: 57
Tournament W-L (Best Result): 1-5 (2015 2nd Round)

• Tournament Note: Only main draw win came as lucky loser in 2015: def. Muller in 1R, then l. to No. 1 Djokovic in 2R.
• Advanced to SFs at Pune (d. Fucsovics after saving 5 MPs in 2R, l. to Anderson) and Sydney (l. to de Minaur).
• Lost 10 of last 11 ATP World Tour SFs since reaching biggest final of career at 2015 Tokyo.
• Upset 6-time champion Djokovic in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 2R (l. to Krajinovic in 3R).
• Squandered 1 MP vs. Simon in Marrakech 1R, but reached doubles final w/Roger-Vasselin (l. to Mektic/Peya).
• Also squandered 2 MPs against 9-time champion Federer in Halle 2R.
• Fell to No. 231 Krueger in ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 1R — 15th loss to player outside Top 100 since 2016.

COURT 4

Peter Gojowczyk (GER) vs Joao Sousa (POR) First Tour-Level Meeting
Other Meeting
13 Valencia Q (Spain) Hard Q2 Joao Sousa 4-6 6-4 6-3

COURT 7

Maximilian Marterer (GER) vs [Q] Bradley Klahn (USA) First Tour-Level Meeting
Other Meetings
17 Monterrey CH (Mexico) Hard F Maximilian Marterer 7-6(3) 7-6(6)
17 Fairfield CH (USA) Hard SF Bradley Klahn 6-1 6-3

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) Chardy Leads 2-1
10 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Jeremy Chardy 7-6(4) 6-3
10 ATP Masters 1000 Canada (Canada) Hard R32 Jeremy Chardy 6-7(7) 7-6(5) 6-2
16 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-4

No. 15 (Career High) Stefanos Tsitsipas, +12
The #NextGenATP Greek, who was at No. 168 in the ATP Rankings only 12 months ago, is now at a career-high No. 15 after a sensational week at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, which included four Top 10 consecutive victories — over Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Kevin Anderson — en route to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final. The 20-year-old fell to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and earns a 12-spot rise from No. 27. Read More & Watch Toronto Final Highlights

No. 27 (Career High) Karen Khachanov, +11
The Russian moved into his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Canada, beating No. 9-ranked John Isner in the third round to end a nine-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents (3-12 lifetime). The 22-year-old jumped 11 places to a career-high No. 27 with his first tour-level semi-final since lifting the Open Provence 13 trophy in February. Khachanov started 2018 at No. 45.

View Latest ATP Rankings

No. 56 Daniil Medvedev, +12
The Russian qualified for Toronto and reached the third round in his 11th Masters 1000 tournament, matching his best result at the BNP Paribas Open in March. The 22-year-old moved up 12 positions to No. 56, which is eight places off his career-high of No. 48 (on 24 July 2017).

No. 100 (Career High) Ilya Ivashka, +25
The Belarusian qualified for his second Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto, beating Yuichi Sugita and Ryan Harrison en route to the third round (l. to Anderson) for a 25-place rise and a place in the Top 100 for the first time. The 25-year-old was at No. 230 in the ATP Rankings on 1 January.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers This Week
No. 3 (Career High) Juan Martin del Potro, +1
No. 38 (Career High) Frances Tiafoe, +3
No. 42 (Career High) Nicolas Jarry, +2
No. 43 (Career High) Alex de Minaur, +2
No. 63 Feliciano Lopez, +8

It’s a forehand unlike any other. 

The ‘Serve +1’ forehand – struck as the first shot after a serve – is the biggest sleeper in our sport. It’s perfectly disguised as a regular rally forehand, but it’s actually the main offensive juggernaut once the return of serve is put back in play.  

Rafael Nadal defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 7-6(4) in the final of the Rogers Cup on Sunday, with both players leaning heavily on Serve +1 forehands to collect their rally winners. 

To the Toronto final, Nadal was hitting a remarkable 87 per cent forehands as the first shot after his first serve, and 77 per cent behind second serves. In the final against Tsitsipas, he blew those numbers out the window, hitting an astonishing 41 Serve +1 forehands (95 per cent) and just two Serve +1 backhands. Nadal won 18 of 20 (90 per cent) Serve +1 forehands behind his first serve, and 14 of 21 (67 per cent) Serve +1 forehands behind his second serve.

Tsitsipas was also heavily reliant on his Serve +1 forehand, hitting it 86 per cent (36/42) of the time behind all serves in the match. 

The real question is why do these elite players have such a thirst for a forehand right after the serve? The answer is simple. The Serve +1 forehand enjoys the “halo effect” of a dominant serve, delivering the server more time and improved court position to immediately end the point before the returner can diffuse the rally into a neutral battle.

The following breakdown shows just how offensive Serve +1 forehands really are. 

Nadal Forehand Winners
• Serve +1 Forehands = 11 
• All Other Forehands = 4 

Tsitsipas Forehand Winners
• Serve +1 Forehands = 8 
• All Other Forehands = 0 

It’s important to note that Serve +1 forehands contributed 19 winners, while the eight combined Serve +1 backhands didn’t register a single winner. Of the 23 total forehand winners hit at all rally lengths in the match, 83 per cent (19) were struck with a Serve +1 forehand.

There was only one forehand winner for the entire match that came after a player returned serve. It was Nadal returning in the first point of the 3-1 game in the opening set. The Spaniard hit a deep backhand return, and an even deeper forehand on the next ball that set up a crushing forehand blow standing right on the baseline. 

With so much offence happening around Serve +1 forehands, is there also an inordinate amount of errors here as well?

The short answer is no. 

Nadal Forehand Errors
• Serve +1 Forehands = 2 
• All Others = 5 

Tsitsipas Forehand Errors
• Serve +1 Forehands = 5 
• All Others = 13 

Serve +1 forehands accounted for 83 per cent (19/23) of all forehand winners, but only 23 per cent (7/25) of forehand errors. It’s stock just keep rising and rising.

Nadal’s 11 Serve +1 forehand winners were sourced primarily from serving to Tsitsipas’ backhand return. The Greek hit seven backhand returns (5 Ad Ct / 2 Deuce Ct) and four forehand returns (3 Deuce Ct / 1 Ad Ct) that Nadal immediately hit a Serve +1 forehand winner from. 

The only dynamic that we have traditionally counted with groundstrokes is winners and errors. We can clearly see from this match that more layers are needed to paint an accurate picture of baseline performance – specifically who is serving and at what rally length was the ending shot struck. 

On match point, with Nadal serving at 6/4 in the second set tie-break, He made a first serve and ran around a return directed to his backhand and crushed a Serve +1 forehand winner to win the match. What a fitting way to cross the finish line.