Djokovic To Face Murray In Rome Final

* FINALS PREVIEW: In a re-match of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid final, and perhaps a preview of the Roland Garros final, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will meet for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title on Sunday. Serving for the Madrid title, the World No. 1 saved seven break points to complete a 62 36 63 victory over Murray on May 8. Should he capture his fifth Rome championship, Djokovic would become the first tennis player to exceed $100,000,000 in prize money and extend his own record with a 30th ATP Masters 1000 singles title.

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Murray is also making history this week as the first Brit to reach the Rome final in the Open Era. He will return to No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday just in time for Roland Garros seedings. A key to Murray’s success of late has been his improvement on clay. He had a 63-37 clay-court record with no finals appearances entering the 2015 season. Murray is 28-3 on clay since then, highlighted by back-to-back titles at Munich and Madrid last May. However, Murray is 0-4 against Djokovic on clay and 9-23 overall, losing 12 of 13 meetings since the 2013 Wimbledon final.

With Djokovic and Murray in the Rome final, a member of the Big Four is ensured to win the title at a 17th consecutive ATP Masters 1000 event. Djokovic, Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will have also combined to win 47 of the last 50 ATP Masters 1000 titles. In Rome, no player outside the Big Four has reached the final since David Ferrer finished as the runner-up in 2010. Murray needed under an hour to defeat Lucas Pouille in the semi-finals, while Djokovic’s match against Kei Nishikori lasted more than three hours and finished at 11:13 pm local time.

The doubles final features three-time Rome champions Bob and Mike Bryan against Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock, who are in the Top 50 of both singles and doubles. The teams will meet for the sixth time in less than two years. Pospisil and Sock stunned the Bryans in five sets to cap their first event as a team with the 2014 Wimbledon title. They lead the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head 3-2, though the Bryans’ wins came in ATP Masters 1000 finals at 2014 Cincinnati and 2015 Miami.

FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS: SINGLES AND DOUBLES FINALS

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [2] Andy Murray (GBR) Djokovic Leads 23-9
06 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Hard R16 Novak Djokovic 1-6 7-5 6-3
07 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-3
07 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-0
08 ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo Clay R16 Novak Djokovic 6-0 6-4
08 ATP Masters 1000 Toronto (Canada) Hard QF Andy Murray 6-3 7-6(3)
08 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (U.S.A.) Hard F Andy Murray 7-6(4) 7-6(5)
09 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard F Andy Murray 6-2 7-5
11 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-2 6-3
11 ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Italy) Clay SF Novak Djokovic 6-1 3-6 7-6(2)
11 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (U.S.A.) Hard F Andy Murray 6-4 3-0 ret
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-3 3-6 6-7(4) 6-1 7-5
12 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard SF Andy Murray 6-2 7-5
12 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-1 7-6(4)
12 London Olympics (Great Britain) Grass SF Andy Murray 7-5 7-5
12 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard F Andy Murray 7-6(10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2
12 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard F Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6(11) 6-3
12 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Hard RR Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-3 7-5
13 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-7(2) 7-6(3) 6-3 6-2
13 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass F Andy Murray 6-4 7-5 6-4
14 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard QF Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3
14 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard QF Novak Djokovic 7-6(1) 6-7(1) 6-2 6-4
14 Beijing (China) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4
14 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard QF Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-2
15 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Novak Djokovic 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0
15 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-3
15 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard F Novak Djokovic 7-6(3) 4-6 6-0
15 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 5-7 5-7 6-1
15 ATP Masters 1000 Montréal (Canada) Hard F Andy Murray 6-4 4-6 6-3
15 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-3
15 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-4
16 Australian Open (Australia) Hard F Novak Djokovic 6-1 7-5 7-6(3)
16 ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Clay F Novak Djokovic 6-2 3-6 6-3

Djokovic 2016 FastFacts
W (5): Doha (d. Nadal); Australian Open (d. Murray); ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. Raonic); ATP Masters 1000 Miami (d. Nishikori); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (d. Murray); QF: Dubai (l. to Lopez)
YTD W-L: 37-2 (9-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 5 / Career Titles: 64
Date of Birth: May 22, 1987
Emirates ATP Ranking: 1 (Career-High)
Rome W-L (Best Result): 38-5 (2008, 2011, 2014-15 Champion)

• Tournament Note: Seeking 6th title in last 7 ATP Masters 1000 events and 11th in last 15 (DNP 2015 Madrid)
• Tied Emerson’s all-time record with 6th Australian Open title (d. No. 2 Murray)
• Moved into tie with Laver and Borg for 5th all-time with 11 Grand Slam men’s singles titles
• Won a 5-set match en route to title for 7th time at a major, overcoming 100 unforced errors in 4R (d. Simon)
• Swept Indian Wells (d. Raonic) and Miami (d. Nishikori) for 3rd straight year and 4th time overall
• Added Madrid title for record-setting 29th ATP Masters 1000 championship (d. No. 2 Murray)
• Captured 60th career title to start season at Doha, not dropping a set all week (d. No. 5 Nadal)
• Became 3rd active player to reach 700 wins by beating Jaziri in Dubai 2R on Feb. 24 (also Federer, Nadal)
• Fell 1 shy of Lendl’s Open-Era record 18 straight finals when eye problem forced ret in Dubai QF (l. to Lopez)
• Had not retired since 2011 Davis Cup SF vs. del Potro, a stretch of 350 matches (318-32)
• Defeated Nedovyesov in 3 sets and Kukushkin in 5 sets to help Serbia beat Kazakhstan 3-2 in Davis Cup 1R

Murray 2016 FastFacts
F (2): Australian Open (l. to Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Djokovic); SF: ATP Masters
1000 Monte-Carlo (l. to Nadal)
YTD W-L: 21-5 (11-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 35
Date of Birth: May 15, 1987
Emirates ATP Ranking: 3
Rome W-L (Best Result): 13-9 (2016 Finalist)

• Event Note: Finalist in 8 of 9 ATP Masters 1000 events during his career (all but Monte-Carlo)
• Fell to 0-5 in Australian Open finals with 4th championship match loss to No. 1 Djokovic
• With older brother Jamie, became 1st brothers in Open Era to reach singles and doubles finals at same major
• Beat No. 8 Berdych and No. 5 Nadal en route to ATP Masters 1000 Madrid final (l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Lost 3-setters in Indian Wells 3R (l. to Delbonis), Miami 3R (l. to Dimitrov) and Monte-Carlo SF (l. to No. 5 Nadal)
• Improved to 20-7 in 5-setters with wins over Raonic in Australian Open SF and No. 6 Nishikori in Davis Cup 1R
• Extended Davis Cup win streak to 14 matches with 3 victories to lead Great Britain past Japan 3-1

[5] Bob Bryan (USA)/Mike Bryan (USA) vs [8] Vasek Pospisil (CAN)/Jack Sock (USA) – Pospisil/Sock Leads 3-2
14 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass F Pospisil/Sock 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-4 3-6 7-5
14 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (U.S.A.) Hard F Bryan/Bryan 6-3 6-2
15 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard QF Pospisil/Sock 6-4 6-4
15 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard F Bryan/Bryan 6-3 1-6 [10-8] 15 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard QF Pospisil/Sock 7-6(3) 6-3

• Bryan/Bryan beat Johnson/Querrey 46 63 13-11 in 2R (saved 3 MPs), [4] J. Murray/Soares 63 64 in QF and [PR] Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin 67(5) 62 10-7 in SF (finished Sunday at 1:05 am)
• American twins are 21-8 this season and 976-299 lifetime — most team wins in Open Era
• Own 111-53 record as a team in finals, including 35-18 mark in ATP Masters 1000 finals
• Winners in their last 6 ATP Masters 1000 finals and 13 of last 14
• Saved 2 MPs in Houston 1R vs. Kudla/Young en route to 110th team title (d. Estrella Burgos/S. Gonzalez)
• Followed with 111th title at Barcelona (d. Kubot/Matkowski, Huey/Mirnyi and Cuevas/Granollers)
• Passed Connors’ 109 singles championships for most ATP World Tour titles ever in singles or doubles
• Defeated Hewitt/Peers in 5 sets to improve to 13-0 in Davis Cup road matches (USA d. AUS 3-1)
• Lost 3 matches with combined 17 MPs: Memphis 1R vs. Krajicek/Monroe (3 MPs), Delray Beach final vs. Marach/Martin (6 MPs) and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells QF vs. Roger-Vasselin/Zimonjic (8 MPs)
• Dropped to No. 9 and No. 10 in Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings on Apr. 18 (lowest since Aug. 26, 2002)

• Pospisil/Sock beat Huey/Mirnyi 76(6) 64 in 2R, Cuevas/Granollers 64 76(4) in QF and [6] Bopanna/Mergea 76(4) 76(2) in SF
• Canadian and American are 10-4 this season and 49-18 lifetime
• Own 4-4 record in finals, including 1-4 mark in ATP Masters 1000 finals
• Champions at 2015 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (d. Bolelli/Fognini)
• First team since Hewitt/Mirnyi at 2000 US Open to capture major title in debut (d. Bryan/Bryan at ’14 Wimbledon)
• Also won titles at 2014 Atlanta (d. Johnson/Querrey) and 2015 Beijing (d. Nestor/Roger-Vasselin)
• In 2016, reached Australian Open QF (l. to Cuevas/Granollers) and ATP Masters 1000 final (l. to Herbert/Mahut)
• FedEx ATP H2H: Sock defeated Pospisil in their lone singles meeting 62 64 in 2016 Auckland 2R