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Three SF Spots Up For Grabs On Thursday In Milan

  • Posted: Nov 09, 2017

Three SF Spots Up For Grabs On Thursday In Milan

Chung is into the semi-finals after winning his first two matches

Hyeon Chung may have secured his semi-final spot at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals on Wednesday, but there will be plenty of action on Thursday. Three more spots in the final four are up for grabs on the final day of round-robin play.

The stakes are clearest in one match in particular, as the winner between Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov will qualify as the second semi-finalist in Chung’s group. Both players are 1-1 so far in Group A action. The Russian-Canadian battle will be their first meeting

Rublev, who earned his first ATP World Tour title in Umag, is trying to earn his 20th win of the season (19-17). The 18-year-old Shapovalov is the youngest player in the field and he advanced to his maiden semi-final on home soil at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Montreal.

Chung will attempt to finish 3-0 in the group as he takes on Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi for the first time as professionals. Quinzi won both of their meetings in the juniors, triumphing in Milan five years ago on clay, and also beating the South Korean in the 2013 Wimbledon Boys’ Singles final.

In Group B action, No. 2 seed Karen Khachanov, fourth-seeded Borna Coric and No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev are all in contention for the two semi-final spots. Fifth-seeded Jared Donaldson has been eliminated.

Coric has the best chance of advancing, after winning his first two matches in Milan. The Croatian will take on Khachanov for the second time this season. In February, Coric won in two sets in the Rotterdam first round.

Khachanov, who is 1-1 so far, lost to his countryman, Medvedev, in four sets in the opening match of the tournament. He then beat Donaldson in straight sets on Wednesday. Khachanov has posted a career-high 26 wins this season.

Medvedev is 1-1 so far in group play and he takes on Donaldson (0-2) for the first time. Both players have cracked the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings this season with Medvedev reaching a career-high No. 48 on 24 July and Donaldson No. 50 on 23 October.

Medvedev reached his first ATP World Tour final in Chennai (l. to Bautista Agut) in the opening week of the season and was a semi-finalist in Eastbourne (l. to Djokovic) prior to Wimbledon.

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Innovations Rule Day 1 In Milan

  • Posted: Nov 09, 2017

Innovations Rule Day 1 In Milan

Players competed in shorter sets, with electronic line-calling and more for the first time

It took all of five games on Tuesday at the Next Gen ATP Finals for the numerous innovations being tested to play a major factor.

During the first match, Russian Daniil Medvedev served a deciding deuce point at 40/40, 2-3. Win it, and Medvedev would force a tie-break and still have a chance to win the opening set. But lose it, and he’d be down a set against countryman Karen Khachanov.

Medvedev eventually lost the point, and therefore the set. But the moment made clear just how much the innovations and rule changes would dominate Day 1 of the inaugural tournament, which saw a plethora of potential future changes tested for the first time on the ATP World Tour.

Perhaps the most noticeable innovation: no lines people were on court and an automated voice from Hawk-Eye Live called balls “out” and shouted “fault” when serves landed outside the box.

“I really liked it,” Medvedev said of the electronic line calling. “It was very fun for me, and, it’s something new and fresh. Especially at the end of the season, when you are tired, for me it was really cool to play with these rules.”

Khachanov also OK’d Hawk-Eye Live, but the Russian suggested a slightly more personal touch for the system.

“I think it’s better that all umpires record their voices,” Khachanov said. “You hear the same voice, looks like he’s calling the outs. But this is definitely a good thing.”

In-match coaching also debuted to positive reviews as coaches and players discussed strategy live on broadcast television. American Jared Donaldson was the lone player of the eight #NextGenATP finalists who did not utilise the end-of-set conferences.

Learn More About The Milan Innovations

Khachanov sought guidance after falling behind two sets to one, and his coach, Galo Blanco, cited the statistics on his tablet while communicating the way forward.

“The difference Karen, is look, in the third set you did 16 unforced errors. And in between the first and the second, you did 10. So that’s the main thing,” Blanco said. “When you are controlling the point, you are kind of rushing and selecting the wrong shot and you are missing. Try to find the balance in between being aggressive and going for the shot and not playing passive.”

Denis Shapovalov, who lost to South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, also chatted with his coach and eyed statistics during breaks in the match.

“It’s definitely another cool feature to have. I always thought, ‘Why can’t we look at stats during the match?’” Shapovalov said. “So it’s good to look at the basics, too, just your serve percentage, unforced errors, winners, just stuff like that.”

The ability to view the stats had a direct impact during Medvedev’s win against Khachanov. The victorious Russian said he altered where he was serving after viewing Hawk-Eye data on direction of serves.

“For [Khachanov] it was totally the same percentage of serving either wide or T. For me, it was not,” he said. “Before the fourth set, in my mind I was, like, ‘OK, I need to change it a little bit.’ I don’t know if it worked, but finally I won, didn’t lose the serve, so I guess I made those things right.”

Speaking of serves, more than a few of them slapped the net cord and landed in the service box and were played by the #NextGenATP players, except for one instance during which a chair umpire showed his human side.

During the Medvedev-Khachanov match, a serve hit the net cord for the first time in the tournament, and chair umpire Carlos Bernardes instinctively called a let, before calling another let because the #NextGenATP players are to play all serves that hit the net cords.

“I liked the let rule, because it did help me a lot on the match point. It was really lucky,” said Borna Coric, whose final serve during his straight-sets win against Jared Donaldson clipped the tape. “I think it should also be in the other tournaments, because I think we are having many arguments about what is it a let.”

The shot clock debuted with little trouble. Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi was called for a time violation, but it was at the start of the match, and the left-hander shrugged it off.

But the shot-clock innovation did weigh on players’ minds. Coric found himself rushing to the service line because he was worried about receiving a time violation. The Croatian also felt more tired than usual during the match.

“I didn’t want to get the warning,” Coric said. “Also my coach told me that sometimes I would serve and I had still 15 seconds left. So I just don’t like that pressure. I mean, it’s also good in some ways, because it does speed up the game. But I just need to get used to that so that maybe I can start my whole motion with seven or eight seconds left, not on maybe 15.”

The free movement of fans on the sides of the court earned mixed reviews, and others called for more time to compete with the new rules before offering judgement on everything.

It has been, after all, only one day of the Next Gen ATP Finals, and there will be many more experiments and comments, perhaps a few more net cords, but definitely more discussions about the tournament’s innovations.

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Coric Closes on SF Berth

  • Posted: Nov 09, 2017

Coric Closes on SF Berth

Croatian claims his second victory of the Next Gen ATP Finals

Wednesday’s final match was intense, and it was largely due to the innovative format being used at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals.

Borna Coric was serving for the match against Daniil Medvedev, up two sets to one and 3-2, 40/15. On the surface, it seemed like the Russian had little chance. But thanks to the no-ad scoring system, when Medvedev found his way to deuce, everything was on the line. One more point and he could force a tie-break, and from there a fifth set.

But Medvedev could not save a third match point, and Coric prevailed, 4-3(5), 2-4, 4-1, 4-2.

“I think it was really physical,” Coric said. “The first two sets were extremely tough.

Coric’s physicality was simply too much for Medvedev. The Croatian wore the seventh seed down over the course of the match. Coric began to gain rhythm on the Russian’s serving patterns, especially in the deuce court, and once rallies became extended the advantage went to Coric, who won 61 per cent of the total points over the final two sets, erasing all four break points.

Whereas Hyeon Chung advanced to the semi-finals earlier in the day thanks to his second victory of the tournament, Coric still has work to do after his second triumph. Both Group B spots in the semi-finals remain up for grabs on Thursday, the final day of round-robin play.

Coric will play the group’s other Wednesday winner, Karen Khachanov, in Thursday’s final evening session match.

Medvedev, who defeated Khachanov in the first match of the event, will look to add his second win against Jared Donaldson, who seeks his first.

There are 13 different qualifying scenarios for Group B, with Coric moving on in all but possibly two of them. If Khachanov and Medvedev both triumph in three sets, then Khachanov will win the group and Medvedev would qualify second. If Khachanov wins in four sets and Medvedev in three sets, then Donaldson the order will be determined by the percentage of games won. In all scenarios, Donaldson has been eliminated from contention for the semi-finals.

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Shapovalov Goes Old-School

  • Posted: Nov 08, 2017

Shapovalov Goes Old-School

Shapovalov sets up a match to reach the semi-finals against top-seeded Rublev

The Next Gen ATP Finals has been branded as “The Future of Tennis”. But Denis Shapovalov was all old-school on Wednesday night in Milan.

The 18-year-old Canadian dominated Italian wild card Gianluigi Quinzi at the Fiera Milano, blasting 41 winners to pick up his first victory at the inaugural tournament, 4-1, 4-1, 3-4(5), 4-3(5) in 89 minutes.

Shapovalov is now 1-1 in Milan and will have a chance to reach the semi-finals on Thursday when he faces top seed Andrey Rublev. The winner will advance to the last four. 

“It was extremely tough. Gianluigi started playing unbelievable in the third set,” Shapovalov said. “It was tough to stay in it mentally so I’m really proud of myself.”

Learn More About The Next Gen ATP Finals Innovation

Shapovalov had dropped his opener, falling on Tuesday to South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, who became the first to reach the semi-finals on Wednesday behind a 2-0 start and is the Group A champion. But the Canadian, who counts wins against Juan Martin del Potro, Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga among his best victories this year, had to like his chances against the left-handed Quinzi.

Every time the 21-year-old Italian hit his best shot – his forehand – cross-court, he fed it to Shapovalov’s best shot – his forehand. So points often resulted in forehand rallies, a matchup Shapovalov welcomed all evening.

Down two sets to love, Quinzi mixed up his tactics in the third set, targetting Shapovalov’s backhand. The change helped him mount a comeback and force Shapovalov into a fourth set. But the Canadian avoided a five-setter against the home favourite.

Quinzi, a former junior World No. 1 who won the 2013 Wimbledon junior boys title, will go for his first win in Milan when he faces Chung on Thursday.

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Safin Returns From Ballot Boxes To Service Boxes

  • Posted: Nov 08, 2017

Safin Returns From Ballot Boxes To Service Boxes

Former world No. 1 served in Russian parliament for six years

To survive in both elite tennis and Russian politics, you need good intelligence or just to be exceptionally astute. Who can you trust?

“In tennis and politics, you have to know who your friends are and also who your enemies are,” says Marat Safin.

The Russian has navigated both worlds. And now, he is stepping back onto the tennis court to compete in Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall in London, an ATP Champions Tour event taking place from 29 November through 3 December.

As a former world number one, and a winner of two Grand Slam singles titles, Safin could have spent his retirement “making commercials left and right and pretending that I’m a celebrity”, and perhaps competing on the ATP Champions Tour.

But that wouldn’t have been the life for him, and instead he sought and won a seat in the Duma. From 2011 until earlier this year, he sat in the Russian parliament as a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. In Safin’s analysis, there are a number of similarities between tennis and the Duma, where he represented the Nizhny Novgorod region, with his success as an athlete helping him in his second career as a politician (and not just because it meant he already had a public profile).

“As a tennis player and also as a politician, you have to be in the moment and you have to be very sure of what you’re doing,” said the 37-year-old Safin, who retired from tennis in 2009. “There are lots of moving parts, so you have to know what your goal is and what your strategy is to achieve that goal. I’ve taken what I learned from tennis and implemented that into a life after sport.”

Safin once suggested he “could be the best looking guy in the Duma, but that’s only because all the other guys are over 60.” Known during his playing days for his destructive tendencies — he has estimated he broke around 700 racqets during his career — Safin has appreciated creating something, and “getting things done”, as “part of a big machine.”

“Being in the Duma has been a really important ride for me. I was in the Duma for six years and I learned a lot. I learned how the system works and there were lots of things to discover that the normal person, outside the Duma, perhaps wouldn’t understand,” Safin said. “It was a pleasure to experience this for myself to see how everything works in the world, and you start to have a lot of respect for a lot of people because you see how they get things to happen.”

According to the Muscovite, working in politics takes a massive effort.

“Things don’t happen on their own; they happen because of the work that people put in, because of the system,” Safin said. “It’s a big machine and being a part of it was a great thing. Anybody who gets the opportunity to work for any government at a federal level, that’s going to be a huge thing in their life. It’s probably going to be difficult but you can take pride in the work that you do.”

Feeling as though “it was time to move on”, Safin stepped down from the Duma to begin “a new life”, which includes making his first appearance in the ATP Champions Tour event at the Royal Albert Hall. The power in Safin’s game is sure to captivate the fans in London.

It was at the 2000 US Open that Safin, with his muscular, aggressive tennis, hit Pete Sampras off the court to win his first major, and five years later he defeated Lleyton Hewitt in the 2005 Australian Open final to score his second. Among other highlights, he twice won the Davis Cup for Russia, in 2002 and 2006, and in 2008 reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon, his deepest ever run at the All England Club.

“There used to be lots of stresses on the tour, but playing tennis now, there’s a lot more pleasure. You have to think about it this way, because too much stress is really unpleasant. I’m enjoying tennis a lot more than I used to when I was on the regular tour,” says Safin, whose fitness regime has included playing ice hockey. “The players say the Champions tennis tournament is a great event, and I’ve been looking forward to playing in London. For sure, it’s going to be a great tournament, and I think I’ll enjoy the experience.”

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Andy Murray 'clearly uncomfortable' with hip problem – Andrew Castle

  • Posted: Nov 08, 2017

Andy Murray may struggle to rediscover his best form due to troubles with his hip, says Andrew Castle.

The Briton played a charity event against Roger Federer in Glasgow on Tuesday, his first public match since exiting Wimbledon in July.

After the event, Murray said: “I felt pretty good – not perfect but I felt like I’m going in the right direction.”

But TV commentator Castle said: “From the evidence of my eyes, it doesn’t look like his hip is good at all.”

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Castle, 53, is a former British number one, and had a hip replacement in December 2013.

“The way he’s moving, changing direction, he’s clearly uncomfortable,” he told BBC Scotland after watching Murray take on Roger Federer and play a doubles contest with brother Jamie.

“I was disheartened to see that he hadn’t made much progress in terms of the way he was walking between points – more than four months on.

“I’m not trying to be negative and I was delighted to see Andy back out on the court, he’s given us so much joy over the years.

“To be quite honest, I’m just not liking what I’m seeing.”

Murray, 30, is a three-time Grand Slam champion and double Olympic singles gold medallist.

The Scot finished last season by winning the ATP World Tour finals and taking over at the top of the rankings for the first time.

However, his enforced inactivity has led to him dropping to 16th in the end-of-season standings.

“I’ll come back when I’m ready and 100% fit,” said Murray, whose wife Kim gave birth to their second child in recent days. “I believe I will get back to that.”

Castle, a mixed doubles finalist at the 1987 Australian Open, added: “I know he’s training hard and doing all the physical work.

“The fluidity of movement is certainly not there at the moment. Perhaps it won’t keep him off the court for ever. I’m not a medical person.

“He’s always kind of loped around, then burst into life during points. The physical element of his game has been extraordinary.

“He’s 30, he’s a father of two. He’s done so much. None of this will lessen his desire to get back but I didn’t feel positive watching him last night.

“If you can’t sprint or change direction, then it’s going to be very difficult.

“If that hip issue wasn’t there, he’d have another five or six years because he is such a thorough professional.

“If we’ve seen the last of him at the top level, then that’s a real shame.”

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Nadal to start ATP Finals against Goffin, Federer faces Sock

  • Posted: Nov 08, 2017
ATP World Tour Finals
Venue: The 02 Arena, London Dates: 12-19 November
Coverage: Watch live on BBC Two, Red Button, BBC Sport website and mobile app, listen on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and follow text updates online.

World number one Rafael Nadal will play David Goffin in his opening ATP Finals match on Monday.

Spaniard Nadal has been grouped with Belgium’s Goffin, Dominic Thiem of Austria and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

The first group begins on Sunday, with six-time Swiss winner Roger Federer playing Jack Sock of the USA, and Germany’s Alexander Zverev against Czech Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic.

The event will be broadcast live on BBC television, radio and online.

  • BBC & ATP extend World Tour Finals deal
ATP World Tour Finals singles draw
Pete Sampras group Boris Becker group
Rafael Nadal [1] Roger Federer [2]
Dominic Thiem [4] Alexander Zverev [3]
Grigor Dimitrov [6] Marin Cilic [5]
David Goffin [7] Jack Sock [8]

The best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams from the tour go head-to-head for the prestigious end-of-season titles.

Each player competes in three group matches, playing for a spot in the semi-finals.

Britain’s defending champion Andy Murray misses out after ending his season early through injury.

Nadal, who has won six titles this year including the French and US Open, has already guaranteed top spot in the world rankings this season.

He pulled out of the Paris Masters earlier this month with a knee injury and said he would “do his best” to return for the Finals.

In the doubles draw, Britain’s Jamie Murray and his partner Bruno Soares will start their quest for the trophy against the American Bryan brothers.

Schedule

Sunday (All times GMT)

  • 12:00: Kontinen/Peers v Harrison/Venus
  • Not before 14:00: Federer v Sock
  • Not before 18:00: Rojer/Tecau v Herbert/Mahut
  • Not before 20:00: Zverev v Cilic

Monday

  • 12:00: Murray/Soares v Bryan/Bryan
  • Not before 14:00: Thiem v Dimitrov
  • Not before 18:00: Kubot/Melo v Dodig/Granollers
  • Not before 20:00: Nadal v Goffin
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Draw Announced For 2017 Nitto ATP Finals

  • Posted: Nov 08, 2017

Draw Announced For 2017 Nitto ATP Finals

Year-end Doubles team No. 1 comes down to the wire at The O2

The draw ceremony for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November, has been made on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, live on BBC Radio 2 with Boris Becker, on Wednesday morning.

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Singles – Group Pete Sampras
[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
[4] Dominic Thiem (AUT)
[6] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)
[7] David Goffin (BEL)

Singles – Group Boris Becker
[2] Roger Federer (SUI)
[3] Alexander Zverev (GER)
[5] Marin Cilic (CRO)
[8] Jack Sock (USA)

Nadal, who has won six titles in an exceptional year — including his 10th Roland Garros and third US Open crown — leads Group Pete Sampras alongside Dominic Thiem (5-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record), Grigor Dimitrov (10-1) and David Goffin (2-0). Nadal, who has a 67-10 match record in 2017, has qualified for the season finale for the 13th successive year, highlighted by a run to the 2010 (l. to Federer) and 2013 (l. to Djokovic) finals.

Federer, who has a 52-12 career record at the Nitto ATP Finals, is looking to capture a seventh year-end title (2003-04, 2006-07, 2010-11). The Swiss has been drawn in Group Boris Becker with Alexander Zverev (2-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head), Marin Cilic (7-1) and Jack Sock (3-0). Federer has a 49-4 mark and an ATP World Tour-best seven titles in 2017.

Eight different countries are represented in the elite eight-man singles field for the second successive year, with Group Pete Sampras matches scheduled to begin on Sunday, 12 November. Group Boris Becker matches will begin on Monday, 13 November. Pete Sampras won the 1991, 1994, 1996-97, 1999 season finale crowns, while Boris Becker won the 1988, 1992, 1995 titles.

Doubles – Group Woodbridge/Woodforde
[1] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA)
[4] Jamie Murray (GBR) / Bruno Soares (BRA)
[5] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA)
[7] Ivan Dodig (CRO) / Marcel Granollers (ESP)

Doubles – Group Eltingh/Haarhuis
[2] Henri Kontinen (FIN) / John Peers (AUS)

[3] Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) / Horia Tecau (ROU)
[6] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) / Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
[8] Ryan Harrison (USA) / Michael Venus (NZL)

The quest to be crowned year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings will reach fever pitch as Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo and Henri Kontinen and John Peers square-off for the title.

Kubot and Melo have won an ATP World Tour-best six doubles titles this season — including Wimbledon and three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crowns (Miami, Madrid and Paris). The Polish-Brazilian team have 8,600 points in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings, 1,270 points ahead of second-placed Kontinen and Peers, winner of four trophies — including the Australian Open. With 1,500 points up for grabs at the Nitto ATP Finals, Kubot and Melo require two round-robin match wins to become the year-end No. 1 team.

Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won the 1992 and 1996 year-end doubles titles, while Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis, picked up the 1993 and 1998 trophies.

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