Watch highlights of the 2015 Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow final, which saw Marin Cilic beat Roberto Bautista Agut.
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Watch highlights as Rafael Nadal survives. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
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Rafael Nadal rallied to defeat old foe Lukas Rosol in the first round.
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The No. 2-seeded American duo of Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock stormed to the If Stockholm Open title on Sunday with a 7-5, 6-2 win over the Croatian/New Zealander combo of Mate Pavic and Michael Venus.
Monroe/Sock, playing their second ATP World Tour event, earned 250 ATP Emirates Rankings points, and will split €29,680 in prize money.
“It always helps when you can have a partner like Jack on your side,” said Monroe.
“He can carry me a little bit to get over the hump.”
Will the compatriots team up again in the future?
“When we can,” explained Sock. “I play with Vasek [Pospisil] a lot of the year. Next year I’m not going to play as much doubles, I don’t think. I pick some pretty specific tournaments. If Vasek isn’t available that week, [Nicholas] is usually the first guy I call.”
Pavic/Venus, playing their third ATP World Tour final as a team, fell to 15-10 lifetime. They won the Nice title earlier this year (d. Rojer/Tecau), and finished as runners-up in Bogota (l. to Roger-Vasselin/Stepanek).
Sock was appearing in his 10th ATP World Tour doubles final (6-4), highlighted by the 2013 Wimbledon title (w/Pospisil). Monroe is 3-4 in ATP World Tour doubles finals, with all three titles coming in Sweden.
Race to London Home Stretch – The final multiple tournament week of the season on the ATP World Tour takes place with the 500–level Swiss Indoors in Basel and the 250–level Valencia Open. There are two spots available for the season finale and 13 of the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Race To London are in action.
Emirates ATP Race to London Update: With 15 days remaining in the Emirates ATP Race To London, two spots are still up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals from Nov. 15-22. The Top 8 players in the race on Nov. 9 will compete at the year-end championships. Six players have qualified so far: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych. Marin Cilic was eliminated from London contention when David Ferrer won the Vienna title on Sunday. A maximum of 1,500 race points are on the line after the Kremlin Cup at an ATP World Tour 250 event in Valencia (Oct. 26-Nov. 1); an ATP World Tour 500 event in Basel (Oct. 26-Nov. 1); and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris (Nov. 2-8).
|
Race |
Player |
Points |
Sunday Final |
Title |
This Week |
|
1 |
Novak Djokovic* |
14,285 |
——- |
——- |
——- |
|
2 |
Andy Murray* |
7,870 |
——- |
——- |
——- |
|
3 |
Roger Federer* |
6,750 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
4 |
Stan Wawrinka* |
6,140 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
5 |
Tomas Berdych* |
4,340 |
Stockholm |
4,440 |
——- |
|
6 |
Rafael Nadal* |
4,330 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
7 |
Kei Nishikori |
3,945 |
——- |
——- |
——- |
|
8 |
David Ferrer |
3,745 |
Vienna |
3,945 |
Valencia |
|
9 |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
2,545 |
——- |
——- |
——- |
|
10 |
Richard Gasquet |
2,535 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
11 |
Kevin Anderson |
2,385 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
12 |
John Isner |
2,315 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
13 |
Marin Cilic |
2,295 |
Moscow |
2,395 |
Basel |
|
14 |
Milos Raonic |
2,170 |
——- |
——- |
——- |
|
15 |
Gilles Simon |
2,055 |
——- |
——- |
——- |
|
16 |
Feliciano Lopez |
1,680 |
——- |
——- |
Valencia |
|
17 |
David Goffin |
1,670 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
18 |
Bernard Tomic |
1,630 |
——- |
——- |
Valencia |
|
19 |
Dominic Thiem |
1,555 |
——- |
——- |
Basel |
|
20 |
Benoit Paire |
1,508 |
Brest Challenger |
1,558 |
Valencia |
* Qualified
Swiss Indoors (Basel) – Six-time Basel winner Roger Federer will be making his 16th appearance in his hometown tournament (56-9 record). Countryman Stan Wawrinka, who is appearing in the tournament for the 12th time (9-11 record), is the No. 2 seed. No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal returns to Basel for the second straight year and he is playing back-to-back years for the first time since 2003-04.The other seeds are: No. 4 Kevin Anderson, No. 5 Richard Gasquet, No. 6 John Isner, No. 7 Marin Cilic and No. 8/last year’s runner-up David Goffin. Federer is the only former champion in the field. He is 6-5 in finals, reaching the title match in each of the last nine years (6-3).In last year’s final, Federer defeated first-time Basel participant Goffin 62 62.
Roger Reigning Champ – Federer enters with a 53-9 match record on the season, including nine finals (5-4), second only to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s 13 finals (9-4). Among Federer’s five titles, he won for the seventh time in Dubai and ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati where he beat the Top-2 players back-to-back (Murray, Djokovic) without getting broken. He also won for the eighth time in Halle. All four of his runner-up losses have come to Djokovic, including at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells and Rome and Grand Slam events at Wimbledon and US Open. Federer is 56-9 lifetime in Basel and the last time he failed to reach the final in Basel came in 2003 when he lost to Ivan Ljubicic in the second round. He did not play in Basel in 2004-05 but he’s reached the final every year since 2006 when he won the title for the first time (d. F. Gonzalez). He began with a 14-6 record in Basel but over the last nine years is 42-3.
Roger as Top Seed – This is the eighth time Federer comes into Basel as the top seed and the previous seven times he reached the final, winning five times. He is 33-2 as the No. 1 seed in Basel. Here is a look at his results:
2014 – Winner (d. Goffin)
2012– Runner-up (l. to del Potro)
2010 – Winner (d. Djokovic)
2009 – Runner-up (l. to Djokovic)
2008 – Winner (d. Nalbandian)
2007 – Winner (d. Nieminen)
2006 – Winner (d. Gonzalez)
Stan the Man – Wawrinka comes in as the No. 2 seed, the highest in his 12th Basel appearance (9-11 record). The 30-year-old Swiss is 4-0 in finals this season, winning his second Grand Slam crown a Roland Garros. Wawrinka’s best results in Basel came in 2006 and ’11 when he advanced to the semi-finals. He brings a 5-1 head-to-head record against big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic in the first round.
1,000 Aces Club – For the first time going into an ATP World Tour tournament, three players with at least 1,000 aces are in the main draw. The trio of Ivo Karlovic (1,321), John Isner (1,162) and Kevin Anderson (1,003) have surpassed 1,000 aces this season, with Anderson the latest to accomplish the feat in Vienna where he hit 23 in his quarter-final loss to Steve Johnson.
Rafa Returns –Nadal is back in Basel for the second consecutive year after reaching the quarter-finals last year (l. to Coric). This is the first time he’s played back-to-back years in Basel since 2003-04 when he lost in the first round both years. Nadal is coming off a strong performance in China where he reached the final in Beijing (l. to Djokovic) and followed with a semi-final at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l. to Tsonga). Nadal has won two career indoor ATP World Tour titles, at 2005 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid and 2013 Sao Paulo (on clay).
Nestor Eyes Milestone – Daniel Nestor is closing in on a historic doubles milestone. The 43-year-old Canadian is three match wins away from becoming the first player in the Open Era to register 1,000 career match wins. Nestor is playing with Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Since teaming up with the Frenchman in Montreal for the first time, they have compiled a 16-4 match record together.
Valencia Open (Valencia) – The Valencia Open, one of three tournaments in Spain, is led by top seed David Ferrer, who is a three-time champion (2008, ’10, ’12). This is the seventh consecutive year the tournament is being played at the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, one of the most unique places in Valencia. The tournament was played on clay up until 2008. The other seeds are: No. 2 Feliciano Lopez, No. 3 Bernard Tomic, No. 4 Fabio Fognini, No. 5 Benoit Paire, No. 6 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, No. 7 Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 8 Jeremy Chardy. There are three other former champions in the field: Marcel Granollers (2011), Nicolas Almagro (2006-07) and Fernando Verdasco (2004).
Spaniards Lead the Way – There are nine Spaniards in the main draw (not including potential qualifiers). Since the tournament moved to hard courts in 2009, there have been three Spanish winners, Ferrer in 2010 and ’12 and Granollers in 2011. There are two all-Spanish first-round matches: Bautista Agut vs. (WC) Almagro and Garcia-Lopez vs. Verdasco.
Ferrer Top Seed Again – This is the fifth straight year Ferrer is the top seed in Valencia. The 33-year-old Spaniard won the title on clay in 2008 and on hard courts in 2010 (d. Granollers) and 2012 (d. Dolgopolov). He has a 32-7 career record since making his tournament debut in 2003. He also was runner-up in 2005 (l. to Andreev) and in 2013 (l. to Youzhny). He is 5-0 in ATP World Tour finals after winning Vienna (d. Johnson). Earlier this month, he captured his 25th career title in Kuala Lumpur (d. Lopez). He has won at least one title every year since 2010 (and nine of last 10 years). He is trying to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the fifth time in six years (seventh overall). Last year he was an alternate, playing one match in place of Milos Raonic.
Lopez Looks to Rebound – No. 2 seed Lopez has never won back-to-back matches in 10 previous appearances in Valencia. The 34-year-old Madrid native has a 3-10 career record, reaching the second round in 2004, ’09 and last year. Lopez, who is ranked No. 17 after reaching a career-high No. 12 in March, comes in with a 32-24 match record on the season. His best results are runner-up showings in Quito (l. to Estrella Burgos) and Kuala Lumpur (l. to Ferrer).
Teenager to Watch – Wild card Andrey Rublev, who is the youngest player in the draw at 18 (birthday last Tuesday) and youngest in the Top 200 Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 179. Rublev won his first career ATP World Tour doubles final in Moscow (w/Tursunov). He has a 7-12 record in ATP World Tour level matches this season with two Top 50 wins over Spaniards No. 37 Fernando Verdasco in Barcelona and No. 32 Pablo Andujar in Davis Cup fifth and decisive match. He plays wild card Marcel Granollers, who won the 2011 title. Granollers, who has a 14-6 tournament record, also reached the final in 2010.
Bernie Eyes Top 20 – No. 1 Aussie Bernard Tomic, who reached a career-high No. 18 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last Monday, is trying to finish in the Top 20 for the first time in his young career. Tomic has posted a personal-best 39 match wins and repeated his title in Bogota (d. Mannarino). In the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, he beat No. 8 Ferrer and No. 11 Gasquet en route to the quarter-finals (l. to Djokovic).
Paire Makes Comeback – One of the leading candidates for ATP Comeback Player of the Year is Frenchman Benoit Paire, who has won titles at the Futures, Challenger and ATP World Tour level this year. Last year Paire was bothered by a left knee injury and he finished at No. 118 with his last tournament at the US Open. He has jumped to a career-high No. 23 and in July he won his maiden ATP World Tour title in Bastad, defeating the top three seeds along the way without dropping a set.
Race Movers
Marin Cilic 13 (+1 spot)
Benoit Paire 21 (+2 spots)
Roberto Bautista Agut 24 (+3 spots)
Jack Sock 29 (+3 spots)
Steve Johnson 33 (+14 spots)
Marcos Baghdatis 41 (+8 spots)
Potential Milestones
Basel – Singles
Marco Chiudinelli – 47 wins
Jerzy Janowicz – 95 wins
Ivo Karlovic – 297 wins
Lukas Rosol – 97 wins
Basel – Doubles
Marcin Matkowski – 397 wins
Daniel Nestor – 997 wins
Valencia – Singles
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez – 246 wins
Santiago Giraldo – 147 wins
Valencia – Doubles
Eric Butorac – 249 wins
Mate Pavic – 47 wins
In Case You Missed It
David Ferrer improved to 5-0 in finals this year with a win over Steve Johnson in Vienna. Read
Marin Cilic defeated Roberto Bautista-Agut in a rematch of the 2014 Moscow final. Read
Tomas Berdych upended Jack Sock to claim his third Stockholm title. Read
Birthdays
26 October – Alexander Kudryavtsev (30)
Watch Hot Shot as David Ferrer runs down a Steve Johnson drop shot. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
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No doubt about it, Roger Federer has been a game changer.
With so many players now peaking later in their careers and continuing to play their best tennis into their 30s, the 34-year-old Swiss believes it is down to a change in professionalism and attitude, sparked by his own and others’ commitment to the tour.
Speaking at the Swiss Indoors Basel on Sunday, Federer explained how the norm in tennis has shifted, with players now contesting a full calendar and allowing no let-up as the season draws to a close. The lure of the prestigious Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has players chasing points until the end in a bid to land one of the coveted eight places in London.
Indeed, while other players are still fighting for the two remaining spots at this year’s Final Showdown, Federer is also hoping for a big finish to end the year above Andy Murray as No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.
“We were a good generation,” said World No. 3 Federer. “We were in the transition of becoming really professional, understanding that we need to change our life around to become more physical.
“The end of the season was always a grind, you just felt tired thinking about it. A lot of players would check out. I don’t feel that’s the case anymore.
“So a lot has happened and now it will be interesting to see the next two-three years. I think there’s a good wave of players coming through and that will be a true test for our generation to see how we’re going to handle it.”
Federer is preparing to make his 16th appearance at his hometown tournament in Basel. The right-hander has a 56-9 record at the ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard court tournament, lifting the trophy six times, most recently triumphing last year with victory over David Goffin.
Casting his mind back to his first appearance in 1998, when he lost in the first round to Andre Agassi, Federer reminisced about a vast change in expectations over the course of the past 18 years.
“[At first], let’s say winning maybe five or six games in the first round was going to be a good result,” said Federer. “Then it was maybe if you win a set, it would be great. Winning a round would be great. Next thing you know, I was defending titles. It would be nice [to do that] again. That’s changed obviously a lot in the approach and with experience, I’m less nervous and less anxious.
“I still enjoy it as much as ever. It’s true that the routines now are easier. I know how to handle ticketing. I know how to handle having friends here and family. In the beginning there was just so much going on that it was kind of crazy, but in a good way. I remember I was always very nervous on court because I always wanted to do so well here.
“I grew up here. I played soccer just behind the stadium. I came here on my bike as a ball boy. It feels like it was yesterday. This is what makes the tournament so special.”
Federer is due to open his bid against Mikhail Kukushkin, whom he leads 2-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. The Basel native is looking claim his 1050th match win and is chasing his sixth ATP World Tour title of the season this week.
The first-time pairing of Andrey Rublev and Dmitry Tursunov became the fourth all-Russian team to capture the doubles title at the Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow. The wild cards defeated Radu Albot and Frantisek Cermak on Sunday 2-6, 6-1, 10-6 in 67 minutes.
Rublev, appearing in his first ATP World Tour final, joined Tursunov in earning 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings points. The duo will split the prize money of $38,600. Tursunov also lifted the trophy with Marat Safin in 2007 and Igor Kunitsyn in 2010. Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko were also Russian winners in 2004. Tursunov was appearing in his first tournament since the 2014 US Open. He has now secured seven doubles titles.
“It’s a very good start for my first tournament back,” said Tursunov. “I’m very happy. It’s going to be a long way back in singles, but it’s definitely good to get a few matches under my belt — especially matches where there’s a lot of seesaw action. It gives you a good taste of that nervousness. That’s going to translate into the singles matches as well.”
Albot/Cermak surged into a 4-0 lead in the first set, but in a reversal of fortunes Rublev/Tursunov took a 5-0 lead in the second set. They maintained the momentum in the Match Tie-break, winning six of the first seven points before Albot/Cermak recovered to 6-7.
“Dimitry can do everything well,” said the 18-year-old Rublev. “He returned and served perfectly. If I play a bad point, I know he will make a good shot. This is what it’s all about. In the important moments, he plays so good.”
Albot partnered with Dusan Lajovic to win the Istanbul title earlier this year. Cermak dropped to 3-3 in Moscow finals, including titles in 2011 (w/Filip Polasek), 2012 (w/Michal Mertinak) and 2014 (w/Jiri Vesely). It was his 32nd tour-level doubles final.
Top seed Tomas Berdych stretched his winning streak to 12 matches with his third If Stockholm Open title by virtue of a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory over Jack Sock. The Czech, who has already qualified for the Barclay ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, won the ATP World Tour 250 tournament without dropping a set and improved his career record in finals to 12-17.
“I’ve definitely built up a good history here, which always helps,” noted Berdych. “The tournament does a really good job taking care of us, making us feel at home. Sometimes you find a place in the world that suits you well, and it’s the case here. I’m glad to be able to add to my titles here.”
It was Berdych’s second title of the year, after winning Shenzhen earlier this month (d. Garcia-Lopez). He earned 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €97,700, while Sock took home 150 points and €51,450.
The 23-year-old Sock, who will play for the Stockholm doubles title later on Sunday, was attempting to become the first American man since Andy Roddick (2008 Beijing) to win an ATP World Tour singles title after the US Open. This week, he and Steve Johnson became the first Americans since Donald Young (2011 Bangkok) to reach a singles final after the fourth Grand Slam event of the season. Despite saving 77 per cent (24/31) of break points faced coming into the final, Sock only saved one of four break points against Berdych in the final.
“[Sock] is doing the right things,” said Berdych of his opponent. “He has already had some great results in doubles, which will help him gain experience and improve in singles. He can absolutely be a very dangerous player.”
An early hiccup from Berdych saw the American earn the first break of serve, but the 6’5” Czech broke back when Sock served for the opening set at 5-4. Berdych made the most of his first-strike style thereafter, dominating the tie-break and winning the second set without facing a break point. He finished with nine aces and won 90 per cent of first service points during the 84-minute match.
“I found a way to deal with a tough situation in the first set,” said Berdych. “Afterwards I was able to find my game and get better and better.”
First-time pairing Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo fought back on Sunday to capture the Erste Bank Open title. Kubot and Melo recovered from a set an 2-4 deficit to beat second seeds Jamie Murray and John Peers 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-6 in the Vienna final, which lasted one hour and 33 minutes.
Kubot and Melo earned 500 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and shared €125,000 in prize money. Melo and his regular partner, Ivan Dodig, have already qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November. Kubot lifted the 2009 Vienna title with Oliver Marach.
“It’s an amazing feeling, following surgery in May and the decision to focus solely on doubles,” said Kubot. “I couldn’t find a permanent partner this year, after I came back, so I am very happy to have won one of my favourite tournaments. I’m glad they got [ATP World Tour] 500-level status, because they really do deserve it as an indoor tournament. It’s my fourth title of the year, with my fourth different partner on four different surfaces. I am very happy to have played with Marcelo, maintaining his momentum. Our opponents had everything under control, but we took our chances and won the last point.”
Murray and Peers broke in the third game of the 33-minute opener, and looked to be on course to capture their seventh ATP World Tour team title when they lead 4-2 in the second set. But Kubot and Melo broke in the eighth game and clinched the first three points in the tie-break.
Kubot is now 13-7 in title matches, including his fourth crown of 2015 with as many partners. Melo, now 18-18 overall in finals, is projected to pass Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings on 2 November. He will be the first No. 1 other than the American twins since Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in the week of 3 September 2012.
“I’m living the dream, playing three tournaments – winning 500, 1000 and 500 [Emirates ATP Rankings] points again,” Melo told ATPWorldTour.com. “There was a lot of pressure on my shoulders to become No. 1, this is a tough achievement. I am a really lucky guy to [soon-to-be] No. 1 with the Bryans still around.”
Murray and Peers, who have qualified for the season finale in the English capital, are now 6-9 in finals (2-5 in 2015). They finished runners up at Wimbledon (l. to Rojer/Tecau) and the US Open (l. to Herbert/Mahut). Murray is now 13-14 overall in championship matches, while Peers is 6-9.