Olivo Reflects On Buenos Aires Challenger 2016 Title
Olivo Reflects On Buenos Aires Challenger 2016 Title
London contender Monfils leads the Stockholm field
Kevin Anderson fought back from a set and a break down to beat eighth seed Marcos Baghdatis 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to the second round of the If Stockholm Open on Monday. The South African broke Baghdatis at 3-4 in the second set and again at 5-4 to even the match.
Anderson fell behind a break in the third set as well but reeled off five straight games to upset the 2009 champion. “Things weren’t looking great… I fought through,” Anderson said. “I felt that if I could keep my mind a little bit and just take it one point at a time, I definitely was going to give myself a shot.”
He will next face American Ryan Harrison, who lost only seven of his first-serve points to knock out fellow qualifier Adam Pavlasek 6-3, 7-5. Harrison’s compatriots were less fortunate in Sweden.
Fifth seed Steve Johnson, No. 24 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, fell to Radu Albot of Moldova 6-3, 6-4 in 80 minutes. Albot, No. 103 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will play Swede wild card Elias Ymer, a member of the ATP Next Generation, or German qualifier Tobias Kamke in the second round. Frenchman Adrian Mannarino got the better of Donald Young 7-5, 6-4 and will next meet #NextGen star Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed.
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals contender Gael Monfils leads the field at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament. Monfils is currently in sixth place in the Emirates ATP Race To London, 1,060 points ahead of eighth-placed Rafael Nadal. The top eight at the end of the season qualify for the year-ending championships, to be held 13-20 November at The O2 in London.
Who’s Chasing Nadal? View The Emirates ATP Race To London Standings
Shanghai finalist Bautista Agut headlines field
Thomaz Bellucci, the 2012 finalist, knocked out wild card Cem Ilkel 7-5, 6-1 in 86 minutes at the VTB Kremlin Cup on Monday and will next face eighth seed Andrey Kuznetsov or Guido Pella in the second round in Moscow.
Czech Lukas Rosol defeated Austrian Gerald Melzer 7-5, 6-2 to move into the second round. Rosol will next face Stephane Robert or Marcel Granollers. The Spaniard started his doubles campaign on the right note. Playing with Pablo Carreno Busta, the top seeds hung on to beat Indians Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 6-4, 4-6, 10-4.
Roberto Bautista Agut, runner-up in Moscow for the past two years, leads the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, having just lost to Andy Murray in the Shanghai Rolex Masters final. Bautista Agut is currently No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, 865 points behind No. 8-placed Dominic Thiem (3,205) in the battle to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The season-ending tournament will be held 13-20 November at The O2 in London.
Who’s Ahead of Bautista Agut? View The Emirates ATP Race To London Standings
What’s the best way to celebrate being a new ambassador for Maui Jim? How about mixing up a drink in a coconut! Monday in Antwerp, David Goffin’s smoothie skills were put to the test during a media event to announce him as a new ambassador for the sunglass brand.
At the Maui Jim Flying Jimmy booth near the European Open Practice Court, Goffin, who is No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, made the quintessential Maui Jim smoothie: mango, yoghurt, honey, lime, ginger and chia seeds on top with a violet flower served in a fresh coconut! The Belgian later picked out some new shades and gifted some to the journalists in attendance.
I am delighted to belong to the @OfficialMauiJim family and see the world in a different way ? #MauiJim pic.twitter.com/ewQfcVy2CL
— David Goffin (@David__Goffin) October 17, 2016
The top seed in Antwerp this week, Goffin awaits the winner of Tommy Robredo and Florian Mayer in the second round.
Home favourite Goffin the top seed in Antwerp
Italian Andreas Seppi kicked off the inaugural European Open in Antwerp on Monday with a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-3 upset against eighth seed Federico Delbonis. The 32-year-old Seppi will next face Robin Haase, who beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-2.
Seppi will look to turn around his season in Belgium this week. He has fallen to No. 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, his lowest ranking since 9 July, 2007 when he was No. 111.
Spaniard Inigo Cervantes set up a second-round contest with Frenchman Richard Gasquet after outlasting 36-year-old German qualifier Michael Berrer 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 32 minutes. The third-seeded Gasquet is going for his second ATP World Tour title of the season. He beat Mathieu in February for the Montpellier title.
Home favourite David Goffin, Belgium’s No. 1, leads the Antwerp field. Goffin has posted a 10-3 record since the US Open, including a semi-final run in Metz, a finalist showing in Tokyo and a last eight appearance at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. If the 25 year old wins his home tournament on Sunday, he’ll rise to No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The top eight at the end of the season will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held 13-20 November at The O2 in London.
Who’s Close To Goffin? View The Emirates ATP Race To London Standings
Take a closer look at the Emirates ATP Race To London
The focus for qualification to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals now shifts to the three-week European indoor circuit, beginning today at the VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, the If Stockholm Open and the European Open in Antwerp. Seven players in the Top 20 of the Emirates ATP Race To London are in action, with three singles spots left up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The season finale will be held at The O2 in London from 13-20 November.
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Gael Monfils will step up his bid to qualify for the first time at this week’s If Stockholm Open, where he competes alongside Grigor Dimitrov, Ivo Karlovic and #NextGen’s Alexander Zverev. Monfils, the next in line to qualify, is currently No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London with 3,625 points. He is 325 points ahead of seventh-placed Rafael Nadal (3,300) and has a 420-point advantage over eighth-placed Dominic Thiem.
David Goffin rose one spot to 11th position on 2,645 points, after reaching the Shanghai Rolex Masters quarter-finals, and this week competes at the inaugural European Open in Antwerp, alongside David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet, Pablo Cuevas and Gilles Simon.
Roberto Bautista Agut, one of five players within 1,000 points of Thiem, moved up four spots to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race To London on 2,340 points after he reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final in Shanghai (l. to Murray). The Spaniard, a two-time ATP World Tour titlist this year, headlines this week’s VTB Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where he reached the 2014 and 2015 finals (l. to Cilic both times).
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori have already qualified for next month’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. By winning Shanghai, Murray closed the gap between himself and World No. 1 Djokovic to 915 points in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals could play a pivotal role in deciding who finishes as year-end No. 1.
View Emirates ATP Race To London
Four of the Top 16 teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London are in action led by No. 1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, who are the top seeds in Antwerp. The French duo (7,075) lead Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares by just five points (7.070) as both teams battle to become the year-end No. 1 team.
Fifth-placed Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo (4,130 points) secured their fourth straight qualification on Saturday, leaving three places up for grabs. Henri Kontinen and John Peers boosted their qualification chances by reaching the Shanghai final (l. to Isner-Sock), rising one spot to No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London on 3,310 points, 630 points ahead of ninth-placed Jean Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, last year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champions and 2015 No. 1 team.
View Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London
ATP statement on Australian player
Following the completion of its investigation into Nick Kyrgios’ second round match last week at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, the ATP has announced that Kyrgios has been found to have committed the player major offense ‘Conduct Contrary to the Integrity of the Game.’
The offense means that Kyrgios receives an additional fine of US$ 25,000, and is suspended from ATP tournaments for eight tournament weeks, effective from today, Monday 17 October, 2016, through to Sunday 15 January, 2017.
However, the suspension will be reduced to three tournament weeks upon agreement that the player enters a plan of care under the direction of a Sports Psychologist, or an equivalent plan approved by ATP, meaning Kyrgios could regain eligibility to compete on the ATP World Tour or Challenger Tour from Monday 7 November, 2016.
Kyrgios had already been fined a total of US$ 16,500 for breaches of the ATP Code of Conduct by the ATP Supervisors on-site in Shanghai. He received the on-site maximum fine of US$ 10,000 for violations of the Best Efforts provision in the Code, as well as a US$ 5,000 fine for Verbal Abuse of a Spectator, and a US$ 1,500 fine for Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
Today’s announcement completes the ATP’s investigation into this matter which, following the conclusion of the on-site process, included further review of the match, as well as comments made during Kyrgios’ post-match press conference.