Carreno Busta Defeats Fognini In Moscow 2016 Final
Carreno Busta Defeats Fognini In Moscow 2016 Final
Oct242016
Andy Murray loses his second consecutive Tie Break Tens final to miss out on $250,000 (£205,000) after being beaten by Austrian Dominic Thiem in Vienna.
READ MORE: How Andy Murray could become number one
Juan Martin del Potro has moved back into the world’s top 50 after his first ATP title win in almost three years.
The Argentinian beat American Jack Sock to win the Stockholm Open on Sunday and climbs to 42 in the world.
Del Potro, 28, missed much of 2014 and 2015 with wrist injuries and was 1,045 in the rankings in February.
“I’ve been trying to fix my problems for the past two years and I didn’t expect to win a title at this moment in my career,” he said.
The 2009 US Open champion added: “I am so happy to get the trophy here. It’s motivation for looking forward to the future.
“I don’t really mind the rankings or the numbers. I just want to play better. When I’m 100% I know I can be dangerous.”
Del Potro’s 7-5 6-1 win over Sock, the world number 22, ensured he won the tournament without dropping a set.
It is his first ATP Tour title since winning in Sydney in January 2014.
Del Potro played in his first Grand Slam tournament since the 2014 Australian Open at Wimbledon this year, having recovered from the latest of three wrist surgeries.
He then won silver at August’s Olympic Games in Rio, losing a four-hour final to Andy Murray but beat the Scot a month later in an epic five-set Davis Cup semi-final encounter.
Brit could take No. 1 ranking from Djokovic before Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
Andy Murray continues his quest to take the World No. 1 spot from Novak Djokovic at this week’s Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna.
If Murray wins in Vienna and next week’s BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic would have to reach the Paris final in order to maintain his No. 1 standing. Djokovic currently has 10,600 points in the Emirates ATP Race to London, while Murray has 9,685 points. Should Murray win in Vienna, the 500 points he would gain would cut Djokovic’s lead over him to 415 points. The BNP Paribas Masters has 1,000 points on offer for the winner, enough for Murray to make a move for World No. 1.
After Paris, the Emirates ATP Race to London and the Emirates ATP Rankings will mirror each other. Murray must win in either Vienna or Paris if he is to have any chance of holding the top spot in the Emirates ATP Rankings before the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. But even if he prevails in both events, it’s not a guarantee Murray would unseat Djokovic.
Below are the scenarios in which Murray would move into the No. 1 position on Nov. 7.
· If Murray loses in the first-round of Vienna, he must win in Paris and Djokovic must lose beore the third round.
· If Murray loses in the second-round or quarter-finals of Vienna, he must win in Paris and Djokovic must lose before the quarter-finals.
· If Murray loses in the semi-finals of Vienna, he must win Paris and Djokovic must lose before the semi-finals
· If Murray finishes runner-up in Vienna, he must win in Paris and Djokovic must lose before the final
· If Murray wins Vienna, he must win in Paris and Djokovic must lose before the final, or he must reach the Paris final and Djokovic must lose before the semi-finals.
The battle for World No. 1 could be decided at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic is a five-time winner and four-time defending champion at the season-ending event, while Murray has never reached the final and moved past the round-robin stage in just three of seven previous appearances.
Murray starts his Vienna campaign with an opening round clash against Martin Klizan.
Scot looking to gain on Djokovic in battle for No. 1
Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Dominic Thiem and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga helped kick off the Erste Bank Open 500 on Sunday with a game of mini-tennis in front of Vienna’s world-famous St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
The four top ATP World Tour players, all seeded at this week’s Vienna tournament, also interacted with fans and shared their expectations for one of the season’s final tournaments.
Murray, who’s chasing Novak Djokovic for the No. 1 spot in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is the top seed this week. Two years ago, during his only prior appearance at the tournament, the Scot won the title, defeating David Ferrer in the final. If Murray lifts the trophy on Sunday, he’d celebrate his seventh title of the season, which would mark a career high.
“I played well here last time. I was in the position of trying to qualify for the [Barclays ATP] World Tour Finals at the end of the year, so I was very motivated and managed to win the event,” Murray said. “The centre court is a really, really nice stadium and a great atmosphere. There’s a lot of history at the tournament as well, a lot of great players have played here over the years and won. So it’s a nice event to be part of.”
Murray also has been impressed with Vienna as a city. “When you’re driving around the city, the views are amazing,” he said. “There are great buildings and amazing architecture, and it’s a nice place to visit for sure.”
Berdych, the second seed, wants to finish his season strong. He repeated as champion at the Shenzhen Open earlier this month but fell in his opening matches in Tokyo and Shanghai.
“I’m feeling good. The second half of the year has been a little bit tough, but overall I think I’m ready. I had a good few days of preparation and rest,” Berdych said. “A few interesting things are happening, so I’m really looking forward to the last few weeks of the season.”
The 31 year old is currently in ninth place in the Emirates ATP Race To London, 325 points behind eighth-placed Thiem. This week’s titlist will receive 500 Emirates ATP Rankings points, and next week’s BNP Paribas Masters champion will earn 1,000 points.
“These two weeks are going to be very important. It’s going to be decided by playing good tennis. That’s what will get me through and get me in into the [Barclays ATP] World Tour Finals,” Berdych said. “I’m really just trying to go one by one. I’m here in Vienna. I just want to play some good tennis, starting well in the first match and build it up. Then whatever happens, happens.”
Dominic Thiem, who’s from just outside Vienna, is also hoping to boost his status in the Emirates ATP Race To London standings this week. The 23 year old is 95 points behind seventh-placed Rafael Nadal. Thiem will make his sixth consecutive main draw appearance in Vienna. He has a 4-5 record at his home tournament, with his best result the quarter-finals in 2013.
“Obviously I really love the city,” Thiem said. “I’m really happy that I can play at home.”
The sixth-seeded Tsonga will hope to rekindle old memories this week. He won the tournament in 2011, beating Juan Martin del Potro in three sets.
“I’m feeling good and just happy to be here. It’s a nice city, a nice tournament. I’ve had good matches at this tournament in the past, and I won one time,” Tsonga said. “For me it’s always great to be back. It’s an amazing city, to be honest. I’ve been coming here for a long time now, and it looks like the city has improved every year.”
Main draw play begins on Monday in Vienna, highlighted with Berdych facing off against Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Revisit the week that was on the ATP Challenger Tour as we applaud the achievements of those on the rise and look ahead to who’s in action in the week to come
A LOOK BACK
International Challenger Ningbo (Ningbo, China): Second seed Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei won his 25th ATP Challenger Tour title with a dominant victory over Hiroki Moriya of Japan, 6-3, 6-1. Lu saved four match points in his semi-final win over sixth seed and #NextGen star Hyeon Chung of Korea. The veteran has been a dominant force at this event, winning three of the four editions of the Ningbo Challenger. He is also the third player to successfully defend a Challenger title this year.
Lu has recorded an outstanding 29-5 record on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2016, winning three titles (Ningbo, Surbiton, Ilkley) and finishing runner-up at two other events (Seoul, Bangkok)
Open Brest Arena Credit Agricole (Brest, France): Lucky loser Norbert Gombos of Slovakia completed an improbable week by sneaking into the main draw due to the withdrawal of French #NextGen star Quentin Halys, then capturing his first title of the year with a win over Yannik Reuter of Belgium, 7-5, 6-2. He is the first Lucky Loser to win a Challenger since 2013, when Jesse Huta Galung won in Cherbourg, France.
Lucky Loser Winners (since 1990)
|
Player |
Year | Tournament |
| Norbert Gombos | 2016 | Brest (FRA) |
| Jesse Huta Galung | 2013 | Cherbourg (FRA) |
| Evgeny Korolev | 2005 | Aachen (GER) |
| Alexander Peya | 2003 | Aachen (GER) |
| Hyung-Taik Lee | 2000 | Bronx (USA) |
| Michal Tabara | 1998 | Prague (CZE) |
| Takao Suzuki | 1997 | Bombay (IND) |
| Attila Savolt | 1996 | Tampere (FIN) |
| Leander Paes | 1992 | Guangzhou (CHN) |
Gombos has turned his season around over the past month, reaching the final of another French Challenger in Orleans and recording semi-final finishes in two other Challenger events. The win will also propel Gombos back inside the Top 200 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.
Reuter was competing in his first Challenger final since Meknes in September 2013. He is still looking for his first title at this level. However, he did score the biggest win of his career by upsetting top seed Jeremy Chardy of France in the semi-finals.
MOVISTAR Open by Cachantun (Santiago, Chile): Argentine veteran Maximo Gonzalez turned back the clock with an upset win over second seed and defending champion Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil, 6-2, 7-6(5). The 33-year-old Gonzalez won his first Challenger title of the year and first since prevailing 12 months ago at home in Corrientes. He now has 16 career Challenger singles titles, all of which have come on clay.
Dutra Silva was competing in his fourth Challenger final of the year (1-3), which also included a runner-up showing in Santiago this March.
Watch Gonzalez Interview
Las Vegas Tennis Open (Las Vegas,Nevada): Australian Sam Groth fired a staggering 30 aces on his way to taking the title over fourth seed Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5. Groth served 95 aces throughout the week and wasn’t broken once in his 62 service games, saving all four break points against him. Giraldo was riding a nine-match win streak, having prevailed in last week’s Challenger in Fairfield, California.
A LOOK AHEAD
There are five Challengers on the calendar this week, with the $75,000 tournament in Suzhou, China, taking top billing. The event returns for the second year. Lu looks for another title as the top seed, while Taro Daniel of Japan is the second seed. Two #NextGen stars are also in the draw, with Chung as the fourth seed and American Stefan Kozlov as the fifth seed.
The Hungarian city of Budapest hosts a Challenger for the first time since 2005 with this week’s $75,000 tournament. Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France is the top seed and Andrej Martin of Slovakia is the second seed. A slew of #NextGen stars are also in the draw including Halys, fifth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia and fellow Russian Andrey Rublev. Gombos looks to back up his run in Brest, while former Top 5 player Tommy Robredo continues his comeback from injury.
The $50,000 event in Lima, Peru, celebrates its 10th year. Defending champion Gastao Elias of Portugal is the top seed and Facundo Bagnis of Argentina in the second seed. 2013 champion Horacio Zeballos of Argentina is the third seed, while seventh seed Dutra Silva and Gonzalez look for another deep run in South America. Rising Norwegian teenager Casper Ruud is also in the draw.
The fifth edition of the $50,000 Challenger in Traralgon, Australia, is another popular event on the calendar. Aussie Jordan Thompson is the top seed, while #NextGen star Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan is the second seed. Reigning Australian Open boys’ singles champion and local favourite Oliver Anderson will be sure to draw plenty of interest as well.
Lastly, the $50,000 Challenger in Pune, India, is back for the third consecutive year. Evgeny Donskoy of Russia, last year’s runner-up, is the top seed, while #NextGen star Duckhee Lee of Korea is the second seed. Loval favourite Saketh Myneni is the third seed.
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ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallengerTour at twitter.com/ATPChallengerTour.