Fire On The Court In Casablanca

Posted: Oct 15, 2016

Fire On The Court In Casablanca

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The unique drying method took place during a Friday rain delay at the Challenger

Move over, squeegees: The ATP Challenger Tour event in Casablanca took a more extreme approach in drying Court Central on Friday by setting part of the court on fire.

The blaze took place during a delay in the semi-final match between sixth seed Arthur De Greef of Belgium and qualifier Maxime Janvier of France, with Janvier leading 6-4 4-2. But while lighting a court on fire to address standing water might be an uncommon practice, it isn’t unheard of.

“We had a long rain break and the side of the court was still holding a lot of water in the surface. To solve this, you pour gas on it and set it alight,” said ATP Challenger Tour supervisor Carl Baldwin. “This isn’t commonly done, but I have seen it before.”

Janvier returned to the court and found that his groundstrokes were still on fire, allowing him to hold onto the lead and move into his first ATP Challenger Tour final. The 19-year-old Frenchman will square off for the championship on Saturday against fellow teenager and World No. 1 junior Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who is also seeking his first Challenger title.

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Court Set Ablaze At Casablanca Challenger 2016

Posted: Oct 15, 2016

Court Set Ablaze At Casablanca Challenger 2016

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Djokovic Survives Zverev Shanghai QF Highlights 2016

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

Djokovic Survives Zverev Shanghai QF Highlights 2016

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Johanna Konta: British number one relying on other results for WTA Finals place

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

British number one Johanna Konta will have to rely on other players’ results if she is to qualify for the WTA Finals for the first time.

Konta will not play on the tour next week having pulled out of this week’s Hong Kong Open through injury.

The world number nine is in the eighth and final qualifying place for the event in Singapore from 23 October.

Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova will overtake her if she beats Carla Suarez Navarro on Saturday.

The pair are competing in the last four of the WTA event in Linz, Austria.

If Cibulkova loses, she, along with her Spanish opponent Navarro and Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, would still have a chance to pass Konta next week.

The WTA events next week include the Kremlin Cup in Moscow and the Luxembourg Open, which both start on Monday.

An additional place could become available for the end-of-season event if Serena Williams, who is currently second in the race to qualify, withdraws having not played since the US Open.

Konta withdrew from the Hong Kong Open with an abdominal strain shortly before her second-round match against Wang Qiang.

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Bryan Brothers Gallery

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

Bryan Brothers Gallery

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Alerts, social media and more with BBC Sport

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

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Andy Murray & Novak Djokovic through to Shanghai Masters semis

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

Britain’s Andy Murray continued his fine form in China as he beat David Goffin in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

The second seed maintained his 100% record against the Belgian with a 6-2 6-2 win in one hour 35 minutes.

The Scot will play either American Jock Sock or France’s Gilles Simon next.

“It was a tough match. I struck the ball really well and created a lot of chances on my return game,” said the world number two.

The 29-year-old Wimbledon champion squandered six break points in the second game of the second set, a battle that lasted over 15 minutes, and with the score at 2-2 had to save two break points on his own serve.

But Goffin failed to convert any of his opportunities in that crucial period and Murray went on to break his opponent in the fifth game.

Djokovic made to battle

World number one Novak Djokovic suffered a major scare against world number 110 Mischa Zverev before fighting back to reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

The Serbian top seed came back from a set and a break down to win 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in two hours 20 minutes, setting up a last-four tie against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.

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Djokovic, 29, made a number of uncharacteristic errors against Germany’s Zverev – including two double faults and 14 unforced errors in a nervy 62-minute second set – but was far more comfortable in the decider, breaking early as the qualifier ran out of steam.

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Bautista Agut Forehand Hot Shot At Shanghai 2016

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

Bautista Agut Forehand Hot Shot At Shanghai 2016

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Angelique Kerber loses to Daria Gavrilova in Hong Kong quarter-finals

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

World number one Angelique Kerber has been knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open by Australia’s Daria Gavrilova.

The German – who went out of last week’s China Open at the last-16 stage – lost 6-3 6-1 in an hour and 14 minutes against the world number 38.

Kerber, 28, struggled with her serve and hit six double faults in the match.

Gavrilova, 22, will face Kristina Mladenovic of France or American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the last four.

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Murray, Djokovic Lead Shanghai QF Line-up Friday

Posted: Oct 14, 2016

Murray, Djokovic Lead Shanghai QF Line-up Friday

Oct142016

Djokovic to face Mischa Zverev, Murray to play David Goffin

The quarter-finals at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Friday are led by the top two players in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They have combined to win five of the previous seven tournament titles with Murray winning in 2010-11 and Djokovic in 2012-13, 2015.

In the opening match on Stadium, No. 16 seed Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 9 seed/last year’s finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga meet for the fifth time (tied 2-2). Tsonga won both of last year’s meetings and Bautista Agut has claimed both of this year’s contests, from a set down in the Auckland semi-finals (saving match point) and in the 3R at ATP Masters 1000 Miami (in a third set tie-break). The Spaniard is appearing in his second career ATP Masters 1000 QF, the first since 2014 Madrid where he reached the SFs. Tsonga, who is making his fifth QF showing in Shanghai, is trying to reach his first SF since ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo in April.

Golden Moment Shanghai

In the next match on, Djokovic takes on qualifier Mischa Zverev for the second time. Djokovic won the previous encounter 63 63 in the QFs at 2009 Marseille. The World No. 1 is attempting to reach his seventh SF here in as many attempts. He has a 20-1 record in Shanghai since 2012 with his lone loss to Federer in the semi-finals two years ago. Djokovic is also eyeing his 30th ATP Masters 1000 match win of the season (29-2). The 29-year-old Serb leads the ATP World Tour with seven titles this year, including four coming at ATP Masters 1000 events. Zverev is making his second career QF showing in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament (2009 Rome). He is the first qualifier to advance to the quarter-finals in Shanghai since Matthew Ebden in 2011. Next Monday, the 29-year-old German will return to the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time since June 6, 2011. He will jump from No. 110 to around No. 72. Zverev is facing a World No. 1 for the first time in his career. He is 4-10 against Top 10 opponents and his last win came over No. 6 Davydenko in the 2R of 2010 Shanghai.

In the evening session, unseeded Jack Sock and Gilles Simon square off for the third time (tied 1-1). Their previous meetings came last year with Simon winning in three sets in the 1R at ATP Masters 1000 Rome and Sock coming back to win 75 76 in the QFs in Stockholm. Sock, who is also left in the doubles semi-finals (w/Isner), is appearing in his first career ATP Masters 1000 singles QF. He saved two match points in his 3R win over No. 6-ranked Raonic. Simon, who reached the Shanghai final two years ago, is coming off his first Top 3 win since 2008 after defeating No. 3 Wawrinka on Thursday. He is trying to reach his second SF of the year (Metz).

In the final match on, No. 11 seed David Goffin, who moved to No. 10 in the Emirates ATP Race to London, takes on Murray for the fifth time. Murray is 4-0 in their head-to-head, winning all 10 sets. Goffin is trying to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 SF of the season (Indian Wells, Miami) and post his second straight Top 10 win. Murray leads the ATP World Tour with 62 match wins and is second with five titles this season.

In doubles, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares will pass Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the No. 1 team in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London, by winning their quarter-final match. They take on unseeded Kontinen/Peers. A win in the quarter-finals will also make Soares the 50th World No. 1 in the 40-year history of the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. Soares would pass current No. 1 Mahut. Marcelo Melo is the other Brazilian to rank No. 1 in doubles. He held the top spot for 24 weeks, first accomplished on Nov. 2, 2015.

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