Asian Circuit Kicks Off – The three week, five-tournament Asian circuit on the ATP World Tour, begins with the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen Open. This is the second year in a row that China will host tournaments across all three ATP World Tour tournament categories (250, 500, Masters 1000). The swing continues with a pair of 500 events, the China Open in Beijing and Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, before culminating with the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Oct. 11.

Emirates ATP Race to London – There are two players competing this week in contention for the four remaining spots to the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nov. 15-22. No. 5 Tomas Berdych is the top seed in Shenzhen and No. 8 David Ferrer is the top seed in Kuala Lumpur. Here is a look at the Race standings:

Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur)  –The Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, a seventh-year tournament on the ATP World Tour, features an outstanding field led by top seed David Ferrer, who is No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Race to London. Other seeds with first-round byes are: No. 2 Feliciano Lopez, No. 3/wild card Ivo Karlovic, No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov. The other remaining seeds are: No. 5 Viktor Troicki, No. 6 Jeremy Chardy, No. 7 Nick Kyrgios and No. 8 Vasek Pospisil. The lone former winner in the draw is unseeded Portuguese native Joao Sousa (2013).

Kyrgios Homecoming – Aussie Nick Kyrgios, whose mother, Norlaila, is from Malaysia, returns to the tournament for the second straight year (l. to Matosevic in 1R). The 20-year-old Aussie comes in as the No. 7 seed with an 18-15 match record on the season after reaching a career-high ranking of No. 25 in June. He advanced to his first ATP World Tour final in Estoril in May (l. to Gasquet).

Ferrer Top Seed – This is the second time this season that Ferrer is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament. In June in Nottingham, he lost in his opening round match (l. to Baghdatis) as the top seed. The 33-year-old Spaniard is putting together another outstanding Top 10 campaign, winning three titles (Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco). He has compiled a 40-10 match record (19-5 on clay, 21-4 on hard) and has reached the quarter-finals or better in nine of 13 tournaments. He missed the North American summer hard court circuit with a right elbow injury before returning at the US Open where he reached the third round (l. to Chardy). Last weekend, he won both Davis Cup matches in Denmark. Ferrer has a 6-4 career record in Kuala Lumpur, reaching the semi-finals in 2010 and ’12, and the quarter-finals in his last appearance two years ago (l. to eventual champ Sousa).

Ivo Nears Aces Record – Ivo Karlovic, who is making his tournament debut in Kuala Lumpur, is closing in on the all-time ATP World Tour aces record (since 1991), currently held by countryman Goran Ivanisevic, who hit 10,237 aces in his career. Karlovic comes into Kuala Lumpur trailing by 66 with 10,171. These figures don’t include Davis Cup matches. Karlovic leads the ATP World Tour this season with 1,176 aces, the fourth year he’s surpassed 1,000 in a campaign. The 36-year-old Croat enters No. 18 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and he is the oldest in the Top 20 since 37-year-old Jimmy Connors was No. 20 during the week of Feb. 19, 1990. Karlovic, who went from No. 21 to No. 18 after the US Open on Sept. 14, last ranked in the Top 20 the week of Oct. 20, 2008.

Grigor Working With Davin – Grigor Dimitrov is working this week with former Juan Martin del Potro coach Franco Davin, who helped the Argentine to a career-high ranking No. 4 in January 2010 and the US Open title in 2009, on a trial basis. Dimitrov parted ways with Aussie Roger Rasheed after Wimbledon and traveled this summer with Johan Ortegren on a trial basis. Dimitrov is ranked No. 19 with a 27-17 match record and his best results are semi-finals in Brisbane and Istanbul. Last year he won three ATP World Tour titles and reached a career-high No. 8 in August before finishing No. 11.

Teenage Match Wins Leaders – Borna Coric (22) and Alexander Zverev (13) have the most match wins among teenagers on the ATP World Tour this year.

Jarkko Begins Final Asian Swing – Veteran Finnish native Jarkko Nieminen is retiring at next month’s Stockholm Open. Nieminen has been a fixture in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings for the last 14 years. He’s reached 13 ATP World Tour finals (2-11), with his lone Asian final in Bangkok in 2010 (l. to Garcia-Lopez).

Shenzhen Open (Shenzhen)  –The second edition of the Shenzhen Open is led by top seed and World No. 5 Tomas Berdych, who looks to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the sixth consecutive year. Other seeds are: No. 2 Marin Cilic, No. 3 Tommy Robredo, No. 4 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez,  No. 5 Adrian Mannarino, No. 6 Jiri Vesely, No. 7 Aljaz Bedene and No. 8 Victor Estrella Burgos. Last year Andy Murray won the inaugural title, saving five match points  over Robredo 57 76(9) 61 in the final. Garcia-Lopez (2), Vesely and Estrella Burgos have all won at least one ATP World Tour title this season. 

Berdych Top Seed –  Berdych comes in as the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament for the second week in a row. Last week in St. Petersburg, Berdych after an opening round bye, lost to Italian Simone Bolelli 76(5) 64. The recently turned 30-year-old Czech Republic native has a 45-16 match record on the season and he’s reached three finals (Doha, Rotterdam, ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo). He has won at least two matches at 14 of his 16 tournaments with only two opening round losses (Montreal, St. Petersburg). Berdych is on pace to post the best winning percentage and year-end ranking of his career:

* Year-end rankings used for 2010-2014

Cilic Looks to Finish Strong  –  Last year’s US Open champion Marin Cilic made a solid attempt to defend his title, falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The 27-year-old Croat enters with a 23-14 match record on the season and No. 14 ranking. He was sidelined until early March with a right shoulder injury and after a 4-6 start, he has compiled a 19-8 match record from the beginning of Roland Garros. His best results are semi-finals in Stuttgart, Washington and the US Open along with quarter-finals for second year in a row at Wimbledon. 

Chung on the Rise – Hyeon Chung is one of four teenagers in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings. The 19-year-old Korean won his fourth title of the season at the Kaohsiung City Challenger in Taiwan (d. Bhambri). Chung has a 34-7 match record and has climbed 100 spots to No. 73 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (from No. 173 last year). He will be making his tournament debut.

Local Wild Cards — The main draw wild cards are the top three Chinese players in the Emirates ATP Rankings: No. 215 Ze Zhang, No. 223 Di Wu and No. 266 Yan Bai, who won his first ATP World Tour main draw match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in 2010. Zhang was a quarter-finalist in ’12 Beijing. Wu is 0-9 in ATP play.

Birthdays

28 September – Marin Cilic (27)

In Case You Missed It

At the Moselle Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Gilles Simon for his 12th ATP World Tour title and third in Metz. Read 

Lukasz Kubot and Edouard Roger-Vasselin rallied from a set down to capture the Moselle Open doubles title. Read 

Milos Raonic ended a 14-month title drought on Sunday in St. Petersburg as he defeated Joao Sousa 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to capture his seventh ATP World Tour title. Read 

Top seeds Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen capped a dream debut together on Sunday in the St. Petersburg Open final. Read