Tennis News

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Riding a 21-match winning streak, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic stands to etch out several more slices of history should he defeat second seed Andy Murray when the two go toe to toe in Sunday’s BNP Paribas Masters decider. With the final to mark the end of the ATP World Tour regular season, the Serb will look to cap an already astonishing run this against a player he has beaten five times this year and fallen to just once.

Djokovic is now just one match shy of becoming the first player to capture six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in a season since the events were linked in 1990 and is trying to become the first four-time champion in tournament history, surpassing his coach Boris Becker and former World No. 1 Marat Safin’s trio of Paris titles. It would mark the second time in his career after 2011 he has won 10 titles in a season.

With his three-set triumph over his Roland Garros nemesis Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals, Djokovic became the first player in the Open Era to reach 14 straight finals in a calendar year, with his last pre-final defeat coming in the Doha quarter-finals to Ivo Karlovic at the start of the year. Roger Federer reached 17 straight finals but across two seasons in 2005 and 2006. Not since top seed Stefan Edberg beat second-seeded Becker in 1990 have the top two seed met for the Paris title.

Murray, the first British finalist since Tim Henman won the title in 2003, will secure the year-end No. 2 ranking by defeating the Serb. The Scot has never finished a season higher than No. 3, doing so in 2012 after claiming the Olympic gold medal and US Open.

Murray is appearing in his seventh different ATP Masters 1000 final, only missing Monte-Carlo and Rome. Djokovic has played in all nine ATP Masters 1000 finals, with Cincinnati the sole title he has yet to claim. In 2015 alone, the Serb has won ATP Masters 1000 titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome and Shanghai. Murray has dropped one set en route to the final, beating Richard Gasquet in a three-set semi-final on Friday but will need to defy the pair’s FedEx Head2Head record, in which Djokovic has won nine of his past 10 meetings with the Scot (20-9 overall).

In the doubles final, unseeded Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock are playing for their second ATP Masters 1000 title, as well as the eighth and final spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. However, if the 25-year-old Canadian and 23-year-old American fall to No. 2 seeds Marcelo Melo and Ivan Dodig, then BNP Paribas Masters quarter-finalists Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea will secure the last ticket to London on November 15.

The BNP Paribas Masters is Pospisil and Sock’s 12th event of the season, fewest among the Top 10 teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London. They’ve also overcome a five-match summer losing streak, winning the Beijing title in October to get back in the race.

That win will be difficult to come by against Melo and Dodig. Melo is on a 15-match winning streak, including three titles in as many weeks at Tokyo (w/Raven Klaasen), the Shanghai Rolex Masters (w/Klaasen) and Vienna (w/Lukasz Kubot). The 32-year-old Brazilian arrived in Paris as the new No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, and he will leave as the year-end No. 1. Melo is the first year-end No. 1 other than Bob or Mike Bryan since Nenad Zimonjic in 2008. He joins countryman and good friend Gustavo Kuerten, who topped the year-end singles rankings in 2000.

A World No. 1 rocking up to practise only to find the opponent for his next big clash using his practice court would be enough to send many archrivals into a tailspin. Not Novak Djokovic if that opponent is Stan Wawrinka.

After claiming the 25^th installment in their rivalry in the BNP Parisbas Masters in Paris on Saturday, the Serb shed some light on the practice double booking. “He stole my court,” Djokovic joked, before explaining the relationship he shared with the only player to have beaten him in the majors in the past two years.

“I feel like (I have) a very special relationship with Stan, I think like no other top player, honestly. I do appreciate that. I do enjoy that good relationship we have. I think that was strengthened even more after Roland Garros final.”

It was in that final that the Swiss player denied Djokovic the career Grand Slam, the only major final he would lose in 2015. It would be the second time Wawrinka had defeated the Serb on his way to a Grand Slam title.

“Of course it was probably the biggest win he ever had and it was disappointing for me to lose that, but I felt like we had that special connection in the end,” Djokovic said. “Look, at the end of the day, we are friends, we are people. Of course we both want to win. When we get on the court, it’s all about business and getting the job done. You do everything that you can to win. But once the match is over, I mean, why not share some nice moments and joke around?”

Djokovic downplayed talk of Wawrinka being the player whose heavy, flashy shot-making had the ability to scare him more than any other player’s. “He scares me with his presence, with his fancy shorts from Roland Garros,” he grinned. “He is trying to provoke me with that, he put it on the bag. We were joking around in the locker-room about that.

“Definitely he’s one of the players that can push me backwards. The game at this level, most of the players are trying to protect the baseline, trying to own the baseline and trying to dictate the play.  So it’s a little bit of play of cat and mouse who can stay on the line more.

“I agree that he’s definitely one of the guys that can do that.  Not scare me, but push me back, back and forth.”

His run of straight sets was ended at 29 as he faced his sternest test in two months, but it was not enough to throw Novak Djokovic off his stride as the World No. 1 finished with aplomb to defeat Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 on Saturday to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.

The Serb will face Andy Murray in Sunday’s final and goes into the contest on a 21-match winning streak, dating back to the Cincinnati title match on 23 August, when he was beaten by Roger Federer.

Murray will look to halt that run and record his second win this season over Djokovic, having beaten the Serb in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal. But Djokovic has defeated the Scot on five other occasions in 2015, most recently for the loss of just four games in the Shanghai semi-finals.

“It’s always a special kind of challenge because we have the rivalry that goes back for a long time,” said Djokovic. “We played just recently in Shanghai. I played one of my best matches against him. I’m hoping I can play as well as I did there. But I’m sure that he’s going to try to do something different.

“I have seen he is playing some terrific tennis this week. He’s feeling good. It’s going to be a close one. No question about it. It always is. It’s always very physical, also very psychologically demanding. We push each other to the limit, and I don’t expect anything less from that.” 

Incredibly, the 28-year-old Djokovic will contest his 14^th tour-level final in a row – an Open Era record. The right-hander has not failed to reach the title match at a tournament since the very first week of the season, when he was beaten in the Doha quarter-finals by Ivo Karlovic.

Djokovic recorded his ATP-best 77^th win of the season as he overcame Wawrinka’s challenge in one hour and 51 minutes. Wawrinka had been responsible for denying Djokovic a slice of history when he stunned the Serb in the Roland Garros final in May, but despite his best efforts and some dazzling tennis, ultimately came out on the losing side in Paris to fall to a 4-19 mark in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

An early service break proved decisive in the first set and Djokovic seemed poised to put his foot down in the second set as he went up 2-0. But Wawrinka’s best was yet to come. The Swiss raised his level to earn his first break points of the contest in the fourth game and converted his fifth as Djokovic volleyed long to get back on serve.

Wawrinka then turned the set on his head with another service break in the sixth game as Djokovic’s forehand landed long and then fended off three break points in the following game to secure a 5-2 lead. The Lausanne native served out to level the match and end Djokovic’s incredible run of sets won, which dated back to a four-set victory over Federer in the US Open final.

How would Djokovic react to losing a set? By raising his game to another level. It served as a catalyst for the Serb who raced away with the third set with three service breaks, taking his tally in decisive sets this year to 16-2, with four of those by a 6-0 scoreline.

“I thought in the second, even though I lost the set, I felt there were games that were very close,” assessed Djokovic. “I had close games and break points and I felt I’m there.

“Credit to Stan for playing a great second set and coming back, winning five games in a row, obviously serving more accurately, playing more powerfully from the baseline, getting more balls back, and it worked for him. He played very well.

“But I still felt like I was hitting the ball well. With this kind of feeling and approach, I got to the third set and played the best set of the tournament so far.”

“The beginning [of the third set] was important,” said Wawrinka, who had edged Rafael Nadal in a late-finishing quarter-final on Friday night. “Unfortunately, he started to play well. I did a few mistakes, first three games, and then he started to relax and play too fast. I had no more energy to come back at 0-3. He started to play his best game when he played really fast and went for winners. Then it was really tough.” 

Djokovic is bidding to win the Paris crown for the fourth time, following victories in 2009 (d. Monfils), 2013 (d. Ferrer) and 2014 (d. Raonic). It would be his 26^th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown and 10^th trophy of the season.

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World No. 3 Andy Murray is through to his seventh tour-level final of the season after another dominant display in Paris saw him defeat 2012 champion David Ferrer 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Masters.

The Scot has dropped just one set at the ninth and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year, with commanding victories over Borna Coric, David Goffin and the in-form Richard Gasquet also behind him this week. In Sunday’s final he will face Novak Djokovic.

“I feel like this year I have pushed him close and beaten him once,” said Murray. “But I also had, I think, two of the matches in Indian Wells and the last one in Shanghai, from my side weren’t good. But apart from those ones, I have been close. So it’s up to me to learn from the ones like the ones in Shanghai to make sure they aren’t as lopsided as that.” 

Should Murray win the title this week in Paris-Bercy, the Dunblane native will be guaranteed the year-end No. 2 spot in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time in his career. Murray has won a career-high 68 matches on the ATP World Tour this season, second only to Djokovic’s tally of 76.

Murray improved to an 11-6 FedEx ATP Head2Head record over Ferrer as he reeled off the final five games of the contest to prevail in one hour and 36 minutes and reach the final in Paris for the first time.

“This is a tournament I’ve struggled at in the past,” said Murray. “It’s nice to come here, put a few good wins together, and I think a few very good performances, as well.”

Ferrer rallied from an early break deficit in the first set and almost turned the set around as he held four break points on Murray’s serve in the eighth game. But the Scot held from 0/40 and broke Ferrer to love in the following game before sealing the opener. From 1-3 down in the second set, Murray upped his level to race to the finish line.

“I do think I played some good tennis today,” said Murray. “I managed to shorten a lot of the points. There was some variety in there with the way the points finished, which was pleasing for me.” 

The 28-year-old Murray has a 4-2 record in finals this season and is looking to add to the trophies he won in Munich (d. Kohlschreiber), Madrid (d. Nadal), The Queen’s Club (d. Anderson) and Montreal (d. Djokovic). The right-hander is chasing his 12^th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown and third of the season.

Both Murray and Ferrer have qualified for the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be played at The O2 in London from 15-22 November. Ferrer has compiled a 55-13 mark this season and was looking to reach his ninth final.

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The BNP Paribas Masters semi-finals on Saturday are led by top seed/World No. 1 and reigning two-time champion Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Andy Murray along with No. 4 Stan Wawrinka and No. 8 David Ferrer. The foursome also have qualified for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nov. 15-22.  Djokovic and Ferrer (2012) are former champions here while Murray and Wawrinka are appearing in their first semi-final.

In the opening singles match on Court Central, Murray brings a 10-6 FedEx ATP Head 2 Head record (8-2 on hard) against Ferrer. The Scot has won the last three meetings, including their last encounter in the QF at Roland Garros in June. If Murray wins the title, he will secure the year-end No. 2 Emirates ATP Ranking for the first time in his career.

In the second match, Djokovic takes his 20-match and 28 sets winning streaks against Wawrinka in a rematch of the Roland Garros final in June. The Swiss No. 2 won that match in four sets to claim his second Grand Slam crown and end Djokovic’s 28-match winning streak on the season. It was also Djokovic’s lone Slam loss of the year (27-1). The Serb leads the overall series 18-4, including 13-2 on hard courts. Djokovic won the last meeting 64 61 in the QF at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati in August. Djokovic is trying to become the first player to win six ATP Masters 1000 titles in a season and also claim a tournament record fourth title. Coach Boris Becker and former No.1 Marat Safin each have won three titles in Bercy.

STREAKS ON THE LINE: Djokovic has a number of streaks on the line going into Saturday:

–              28 sets winning streak since losing 2nd set vs. Federer in US Open final on September 14

–              20 match winning streak since last loss to Federer in final of Cincinnati on August 23

–              15 semi-finals won in a row since last loss to Federer in SF of Shanghai in October 2014

–              13 finals in a row since falling in QFs to Karlovic in Doha in January (opening week of year)

–              13 match winning streak in Bercy since last loss to Querrey in 2R (opening match) in 2012

SUCCESS IN PARIS:  All four players have enjoyed success in Paris during their career:

–              Djokovic          24-6 in Bercy (3 Titles), 48-11 at Roland Garros (3 Finals)                                    

–              Murray            16-8 in Bercy (1 SF), 28-8 at Roland Garros (3 SFs)  

–              Wawrinka        13-10 in Bercy (1 SF), 27-10 at Roland Garros (1 Title)

–              Ferrer              21-9 in Bercy (1 Title), 40-13 at Roland Garros (1 Final)                         

EMIRATES ATP RACE TO LONDON UPDATE: Each of the eight singles spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Nov. 15-22 has been secured entering the BNP Paribas Masters. Four of the ‘Elite Eight’ players coming to London are in the semi-finals.

EMIRATES ATP DOUBLES RACE TO LONDON UPDATE: Marcelo Melo debuts this week as the new World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, ending a 173-week run by Bob and/or Mike Bryan atop the rankings. No. 4 Dodig/Melo will move to No. 3 if they reach the final. There are two teams attempting to clinch the eighth and final spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (Nov. 15-22). It will come down to No. 8 Bopanna/Mergea and No. 10 Pospisil/Sock, who will qualify if they win the title on Sunday. 

CLOSER LOOK AT DJOKOVIC vs. WAWRINKA: Djokovic has an 18-4 record against Wawrinka in their FedEx Head 2 Head and here’s a summary of their previous meetings:

–              Wawrinka beat Djokovic en route to his 2 major titles (2014 Australian Open, 2015 Roland Garros)

–              Djokovic and Wawrinka have gone 5 sets in 5 of their 7 Grand Slam and Davis Cup matches

–              From 2007 to 2013, Djokovic enjoyed a 14-match win streak over Wawrinka

–              Djokovic is 9-0 against Wawrinka at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments

–              Djokovic has won 8 of 9 tie-breaks against Wawrinka during their 21-match rivalry

–              Wawrinka won his 1st ATP World Tour title by beating Djokovic in the 2006 Umag final (6-6 ret)

–              17-year-old Djokovic beat 19-year-old Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3 in their first meeting (2004 Aachen CH)