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Kubot/Roger-Vasselin Claim Metz Title

Posted: Sep 27, 2015

Lukasz Kubot and Edouard Roger-Vasselin rallied from a set down to capture the Moselle Open title on Sunday.

The Polish-French pair earned a 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 victory over US Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in one hour and 16 minutes, halting the French duo’s win streak at nine. Competing in their first tournament together, the second seeds stormed back from an early 4-1 deficit in the Match Tie-break. They later trailed 7-5 before reeling off five straight points for the victory.

“Thank you to Edouard for signing up with me at the last minute,” said Kubot. “It was a great final. The atmosphere and the organisation of the tournament was perfect. The most important thing was that we tried our best and while it was our first time together, I hope it’s not the last. I’m looking forward to coming back next year and playing with Edouard again.”

Both players have enjoyed considerable success with different partners throughout the 2015 season. For Kubot, it was the Pole’s 12th ATP World Tour crown and third of the year, with three different partners on three different surfaces. He previously hoisted the ‘s-Hertogenbosch trophy with Ivo Karlovic and prevailed on the clay of Bastad with Jeremy Chardy. Roger-Vasselin won his 11th ATP World Tour crown, capturing his third title of the year with different partners as well. He also won in Bogota with Radek Stepanek and at the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati with Daniel Nestor. They split €24,280 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points.

Herbert and Mahut, meanwhile, dropped their first match since being crowned US Open champions. Herbert fell to 3-3 in tour-level doubles finals, while Mahut dropped to 10-10. Currently at No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, they bring home €12,760 and 150 points.

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Huey/Kontinen Triumph In St. Petersburg

Posted: Sep 27, 2015

Top seeds Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen capped a dream debut together on Sunday as they defeated second seeds Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya 7-5, 6-3 in the St. Petersburg Open final.

The Filipino/Finn duo were clutch on the big points, saving the 10 break points they faced while breaking their opponents twice for victory in 88 minutes.

“We played well,” said Huey. “It was our first time together, so we had some fun and we played pretty well together. We enjoyed playing together and that’s always a good thing. Coming away with the title is always a lot of fun.”

“We’re going to play the next couple of weeks, so this was perfect for us to get such a good start,” said Kontinen. “It’s never easy with a new partner, but from the first match I felt like we matched up well on the court.”

The 30-year-old Huey captured his fifth ATP World Tour title and second of the season, adding to victory in Estoril with Scott Lipsky. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Kontinen lifted his fourth trophy of the season, having previously triumphed with Marin Draganja in Barcelona, Marseille and Zagreb. He has a 5-3 finals record.

After winning three ATP Challenger Tour titles, the Austrian duo of Knowle and Peya were looking to capture their first ATP World Tour crown together. World No. 51 Knowle dropped to an 18-24 finals record, while Peya, who is challenging for a spot at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with Bruno Soares, fell to a 13-20 mark.

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Asian Swing Begins

Posted: Sep 26, 2015

Asian Circuit Kicks Off – The three week, five-tournament Asian circuit on the ATP World Tour, begins with the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur and Shenzhen Open. This is the second year in a row that China will host tournaments across all three ATP World Tour tournament categories (250, 500, Masters 1000). The swing continues with a pair of 500 events, the China Open in Beijing and Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, before culminating with the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Oct. 11.

Emirates ATP Race to London – There are two players competing this week in contention for the four remaining spots to the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nov. 15-22. No. 5 Tomas Berdych is the top seed in Shenzhen and No. 8 David Ferrer is the top seed in Kuala Lumpur. Here is a look at the Race standings:

Position	Singles Player	Points
1	Novak Djokovic (Qualified)	12,785
2	Andy Murray (Qualified)	7,370
3	Roger Federer (Qualified)	6,725
4	Stan Wawrinka (Qualified)	5,500
5	Tomas Berdych-Shenzhen	3,850
6	Kei Nishikori	3,765
7	Rafael Nadal	3,715
8	David Ferrer-Kuala Lumpur	3,005
9	Richard Gasquet	2,355
10	Kevin Anderson	2,205

Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur) –The Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, a seventh-year tournament on the ATP World Tour, features an outstanding field led by top seed David Ferrer, who is No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Race to London. Other seeds with first-round byes are: No. 2 Feliciano Lopez, No. 3/wild card Ivo Karlovic, No. 4 Grigor Dimitrov. The other remaining seeds are: No. 5 Viktor Troicki, No. 6 Jeremy Chardy, No. 7 Nick Kyrgios and No. 8 Vasek Pospisil. The lone former winner in the draw is unseeded Portuguese native Joao Sousa (2013).

Kyrgios Homecoming – Aussie Nick Kyrgios, whose mother, Norlaila, is from Malaysia, returns to the tournament for the second straight year (l. to Matosevic in 1R). The 20-year-old Aussie comes in as the No. 7 seed with an 18-15 match record on the season after reaching a career-high ranking of No. 25 in June. He advanced to his first ATP World Tour final in Estoril in May (l. to Gasquet).

Ferrer Top Seed – This is the second time this season that Ferrer is the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament. In June in Nottingham, he lost in his opening round match (l. to Baghdatis) as the top seed. The 33-year-old Spaniard is putting together another outstanding Top 10 campaign, winning three titles (Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco). He has compiled a 40-10 match record (19-5 on clay, 21-4 on hard) and has reached the quarter-finals or better in nine of 13 tournaments. He missed the North American summer hard court circuit with a right elbow injury before returning at the US Open where he reached the third round (l. to Chardy). Last weekend, he won both Davis Cup matches in Denmark. Ferrer has a 6-4 career record in Kuala Lumpur, reaching the semi-finals in 2010 and ’12, and the quarter-finals in his last appearance two years ago (l. to eventual champ Sousa).

Ivo Nears Aces Record – Ivo Karlovic, who is making his tournament debut in Kuala Lumpur, is closing in on the all-time ATP World Tour aces record (since 1991), currently held by countryman Goran Ivanisevic, who hit 10,237 aces in his career. Karlovic comes into Kuala Lumpur trailing by 66 with 10,171. These figures don’t include Davis Cup matches. Karlovic leads the ATP World Tour this season with 1,176 aces, the fourth year he’s surpassed 1,000 in a campaign. The 36-year-old Croat enters No. 18 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and he is the oldest in the Top 20 since 37-year-old Jimmy Connors was No. 20 during the week of Feb. 19, 1990. Karlovic, who went from No. 21 to No. 18 after the US Open on Sept. 14, last ranked in the Top 20 the week of Oct. 20, 2008.

Grigor Working With Davin – Grigor Dimitrov is working this week with former Juan Martin del Potro coach Franco Davin, who helped the Argentine to a career-high ranking No. 4 in January 2010 and the US Open title in 2009, on a trial basis. Dimitrov parted ways with Aussie Roger Rasheed after Wimbledon and traveled this summer with Johan Ortegren on a trial basis. Dimitrov is ranked No. 19 with a 27-17 match record and his best results are semi-finals in Brisbane and Istanbul. Last year he won three ATP World Tour titles and reached a career-high No. 8 in August before finishing No. 11.

Teenage Match Wins Leaders – Borna Coric (22) and Alexander Zverev (13) have the most match wins among teenagers on the ATP World Tour this year.

Jarkko Begins Final Asian Swing – Veteran Finnish native Jarkko Nieminen is retiring at next month’s Stockholm Open. Nieminen has been a fixture in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings for the last 14 years. He’s reached 13 ATP World Tour finals (2-11), with his lone Asian final in Bangkok in 2010 (l. to Garcia-Lopez).

Shenzhen Open (Shenzhen) –The second edition of the Shenzhen Open is led by top seed and World No. 5 Tomas Berdych, who looks to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the sixth consecutive year. Other seeds are: No. 2 Marin Cilic, No. 3 Tommy Robredo, No. 4 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, No. 5 Adrian Mannarino, No. 6 Jiri Vesely, No. 7 Aljaz Bedene and No. 8 Victor Estrella Burgos. Last year Andy Murray won the inaugural title, saving five match points over Robredo 57 76(9) 61 in the final. Garcia-Lopez (2), Vesely and Estrella Burgos have all won at least one ATP World Tour title this season.

Berdych Top Seed – Berdych comes in as the top seed in an ATP World Tour tournament for the second week in a row. Last week in St. Petersburg, Berdych after an opening round bye, lost to Italian Simone Bolelli 76(5) 64. The recently turned 30-year-old Czech Republic native has a 45-16 match record on the season and he’s reached three finals (Doha, Rotterdam, ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo). He has won at least two matches at 14 of his 16 tournaments with only two opening round losses (Montreal, St. Petersburg). Berdych is on pace to post the best winning percentage and year-end ranking of his career:

Year	W-L	Ranking*	Titles
2015	45-16 (.738)	5	0
2014	55-22 (.714)	7	2
2013	54-25 (.684)	7	0
2012	61-23 (.726)	6	2
2011	53-23 (.697)	7	1
2010	45-26 (.634)	6	0

* Year-end rankings used for 2010-2014

Cilic Looks to Finish Strong – Last year’s US Open champion Marin Cilic made a solid attempt to defend his title, falling in the semi-finals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The 27-year-old Croat enters with a 23-14 match record on the season and No. 14 ranking. He was sidelined until early March with a right shoulder injury and after a 4-6 start, he has compiled a 19-8 match record from the beginning of Roland Garros. His best results are semi-finals in Stuttgart, Washington and the US Open along with quarter-finals for second year in a row at Wimbledon.

Chung on the Rise – Hyeon Chung is one of four teenagers in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings. The 19-year-old Korean won his fourth title of the season at the Kaohsiung City Challenger in Taiwan (d. Bhambri). Chung has a 34-7 match record and has climbed 100 spots to No. 73 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (from No. 173 last year). He will be making his tournament debut.

Local Wild Cards — The main draw wild cards are the top three Chinese players in the Emirates ATP Rankings: No. 215 Ze Zhang, No. 223 Di Wu and No. 266 Yan Bai, who won his first ATP World Tour main draw match at the Shanghai Rolex Masters in 2010. Zhang was a quarter-finalist in ’12 Beijing. Wu is 0-9 in ATP play.

Birthdays

28 September – Marin Cilic (27)

In Case You Missed It

At the Moselle Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Gilles Simon for his 12th ATP World Tour title and third in Metz. Read

Lukasz Kubot and Edouard Roger-Vasselin rallied from a set down to capture the Moselle Open doubles title. Read

Milos Raonic ended a 14-month title drought on Sunday in St. Petersburg as he defeated Joao Sousa 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to capture his seventh ATP World Tour title. Read

Top seeds Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen capped a dream debut together on Sunday in the St. Petersburg Open final. Read

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Top Seeds Into Doubles Final

Posted: Sep 26, 2015

Austrians Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya downed Russian wild cards Andrey Rublev and Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday to move into the final of the St. Petersburg Open. The second seeds converted on all four break opportunities and only dropped serve once in the 63-minute victory.

On Sunday, Knowle/Peya will attempt to win their first team title against top seeds Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen, who defeated Aliaksandr Bury and Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-5 in 69 minutes.

French Contingent Stars In Metz

Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut edged No. 4 seeds Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky 6-4, 4-6, 10-3 to move into the Metz final on Saturday. The US Open champions were broken in the final game of the second set, but raced to an 8-0 lead in the Match Tie-break and booked a spot in the final after 76 minutes.

On Sunday, the Frenchmen will face compatriot Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who teamed up with Poland’s Lukasz Kubot to defeat Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram 7-5, 7-6(5) in 95 minutes. The second seeds put 82 per cent of first serves in play and saved two of three break points faced against the third seeds.

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Tsonga Sets Simon Final Rematch

Posted: Sep 26, 2015

For the second time in three years, home hopes Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will square off in the Moselle Open final.

Second seed Simon will seek a third Metz crown after holding off Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday. The Frenchman converted on four of six break chances during the one hour and 37 minute affair, but came under heavy pressure in both sets. Klizan earned a break lead at 4-2 in the first and again for 3-0 in the second, but Simon was too strong, breaking back twice and eventually taking his first match point.

“It’s great to be in the final in Metz,” said Simon. “I have a lot of memories. It’s one of my most successful tournaments. Every time I won it, I had a child in the month before. My wife and my son being here in 2013 and lifting the trophy in front of them was a nice memory.”

Simon has not relinquished a set all week in defeating Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Gilles Muller and Klizan, and is poised to renew his rivalry against countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday. The Nice native notched a straight sets victory in the Moselle Open final in 2013, adding to his title run in 2010 (d. M Zverev). The World No. 10 will be looking to build on a 12-5 record in ATP World Tour finals.

Tsonga, meanwhile, fired 13 aces en route to a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber. The Frenchman needed just 69 minutes to prevail, rifling 34 total winners to Kohlschreiber’s eight. Tsonga carries a 17-3 win-loss record in Metz into his fourth final in five years. The champion in 2011 (d. Ljubicic) and 2012 (d. Seppi), he is hoping to add a 12th ATP World Tour title in his 21st final.

“I’m very happy to be in the final,” said Tsonga. “I already played in three finals here and won two. In French, we always say ‘never two without three’ so I hope I will do it.”

Both players are also seeking to improve their standing in the Emirates ATP Race To London, with Simon currently sitting in 14th position with 1,815 points entering the week and Tsonga one spot behind with 1,650 points. Six weeks remain in the quest to punch tickets to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Tsonga owns a 6-3 edge in the FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Simon, having most recently prevailed at the 2014 Australian Open. Victory would move him into a tie for second place among Frenchmen on the Open Era titles list, joining Simon and Richard Gasquet. Only Yannick Noah owns more trophies (23).

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Raonic To Face Sousa In St. Petersburg Final

Posted: Sep 26, 2015

Second seed Milos Raonic will face seventh seed Joao Sousa in the St. Petersburg Open final after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6(2) in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Raonic is chasing his seventh ATP World Tour trophy and takes a 2-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead over Sousa into Sunday’s title match, beating the Portuguese most recently in Monte-Carlo earlier this year.

In his second meeting with Bautista Agut, Raonic fired 19 aces and broke serve twice as he claimed victory in 88 minutes.

The Canadian will contest his first ATP World Tour final since finishing runner-up to Roger Federer in Brisbane at the start of the year. He has a 6-8 record in ATP World Tour finals.

The 24-year-old Raonic is still in with an outside chance of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, having started the week 1,175 points behind eighth-placed David Ferrer in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

Seventh seed Sousa found the winning formula against Dominic Thiem as he beat the Austrian for the first time in four attempts to reach the final with a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory.

Sousa, who most recently lost to Thiem in the Umag final in July, made a fast start to the semi-final, racing into a 4-0 lead. Thiem recouped one of the breaks and had the chance to level as Sousa served for the first set at 5-4, but the Portuguese held on to take the opener.

Thiem earned a 4-2 lead in the second set as he nailed a backhand drive down the line, but his break advantage was immediately cancelled out as Sousa hit back. The 26-year-old Sousa then prevailed in the subsequent tie-break after one hour and 39 minutes.

“It’s good to be in another final,” said Sousa. “That’s what we work for, and for victories like this against a good player. I’ve played him three times before and lost all of them. So this was a good win for me and I’m really happy to be in another final.

“It definitely was a good match mentally and I’m really happy with that. I changed my tactics a bit against him. We learned a lot from my other matches against him. Today it was good.”

Sousa will contest his third ATP World Tour final of the year. In addition to finishing runner-up to Thiem in Umag, Sousa was also a finalist in Geneva, losing to Thomaz Bellucci. His lone ATP World Tour title came two years ago in Kuala Lumpur (d. Benneteau).

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Simon Sets Klizan Metz SF Clash

Posted: Sep 25, 2015

Second seed and two-time former champion Gilles Simon reached the Moselle Open semi-finals on Friday in Metz as he defeated Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4.

The Frenchman, who has an 11-4 tournament record in Metz, withstood 12 aces to break Muller twice in the 88-minute match. Simon is looking for a Metz hat-trick, having lifted the trophy in 2010 (d. M. Zverev) and 2013 (d. Tsonga).

“It was a good match especially against a player like Gilles Muller,” said Simon. “I feel good, I’m moving well and I’m happy with the way I’m playing from the baseline.”

The 30-year-old Simon has a 36-19 record in 2015 and is through to his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final. The right-hander captured his 12^th ATP World Tour crown earlier this year on home soil in Marseille (d. Monfils).

Sixth seed Martin Klizan reached his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season as he rallied from a set down to beat fourth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). The Slovakian captured his third ATP World Tour title earlier in the season on clay in Casablanca (d. Gimeno-Traver) and will play for a place in his fourth final when he faces Simon on Saturday.

Fifth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber was granted a semi-final berth when top seed Stan Wawrinka was forced to withdraw from the tournament. The Swiss had twisted his right ankle at the end of the first set of his second-round contest with Dustin Brown on Thursday evening.

“Unfortunately, I have to pull out because yesterday I twisted my ankle at 5-4 in the first set,” said Wawrinka. “It was painful in the match, but still OK with tape on it. But after a lot of treatment last night and some tests this morning, it’s dangerous for me to play because the pain is still there. So I will have to see a doctor to see if I will be OK in the next few weeks.”

Kohlschreiber is looking to reach the final of this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard court tournament for the second time after finishing runner-up to Gael Monfils in the 2009 title match. He will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals.

Tsonga survived fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 25 minutes. The third seed held a set point in the first set tie-break, but saw his opponent win three points in a row from 5/6. The World No. 17 righted the ship in the first game of the second set, breaking Mahut for the first time of the match. Tsonga, who struck 12 aces to Mahut’s four, clinched the win by converting on his 14^th break point (4-for-14) at 6-5 in the deciding set.

“It was a good fight,” said Tsonga. “It’s always good to have a match like this against a good friend. I took a lot of pleasure from this match. I like this kind of atmosphere.”

Roger-Vasselin And Kubot Into Doubles Semi-finals

Second seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Lukasz Kubot prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 against Pablo Carreno-Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to advance to the semi-finals. They will face third seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram.

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Raonic, Thiem Surge Into St. Petersburg Semis

Posted: Sep 25, 2015

Second seed Milos Raonic made short work of fifth seed Tommy Robredo as he powered into the St. Petersburg Open semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Friday.

Raonic, who is making his debut at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard court tournament, is looking to mount a late charge for one of the four remaining spots at the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after his season was hampered by a foot injury.

The Canadian surged into the semi-finals in St. Petersburg in just 53 minutes, firing 11 aces and converting all four of his break points. “It was a difficult match,” said Raonic. “I’m really happy with how I played. I played better than yesterday, obviously, and that’s all I can ask from myself.”

As he looks to reach his second ATP World Tour final of the season, Raonic will face Roberto Bautista Agut, whom he beat in their one previous meeting in Paris-Bercy last year.

“Bautista Agut will present problems tomorrow,” said Raonic. “The question is, can I deal with those problems? Hopefully I can find the solutions in my match tomorrow and I can play as well as I did today and continue to improve.”

Fourth seed Bautista Agut dismissed Lucas Pouille 6-2, 6-3 in 70 minutes. The Spaniard won the pair’s first meeting as he broke serve three times and saved the four break points he faced.

The 27-year-old Bautista Agut, who saved three match points to beat Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round, improved to a 32-23 match record on the season. The right-hander has a 0-4 record in ATP World Tour semi-finals this year.

Third seed Dominic Thiem reached his fifth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season as he defeated Denis Istomin 6-2, 7-5.

“I played a very, very good first set,” said Thiem, who claimed his 33rd win of the season. “The second set was very close. I’m happy that I didn’t have to play a tie-break because it would have been tough against Denis. But I made a good break of his serve at 5-5 and I’m pretty happy with my game.”

The 22-year-old Austrian is looking to win his fourth title of the year, adding to the trophies he lifted in Nice (d. Mayer), Umag (d. Sousa) and Gstaad (d. Goffin). He goes on to face seventh seed Joao Sousa, who edged Tomas Berdych’s conqueror, Simone Bolelli, 7-6(7), 7-6(1).

“I think it was a close match today,” said Sousa, who prevailed in one hour and 44 minutes. “Simone was hitting the ball very hard and he beat a great player in Tomas yesterday. I think I played very good in both tie-breaks and I was also a little bit lucky.”

Sousa lost to Thiem in the Umag final in July and trails the Austrian 0-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “You learn from other matches,” said Sousa. “For sure, he’s a very good player. It’s going to be a tough fight tomorrow. I’ll give it my best to try to win.”

Istomin Into Doubles Semi-Finals

Denis Istomin, who had been eliminated from singles earlier in the day, tasted victory in his second match on Friday. He and partner Alexander Bury overcame the loss of the first set to edge Philipp Oswald and Adil Shamasdin in a match tie-break, 3-6, 6-3, 13-11.

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Raonic, Berdych Go Green In St. Petersburg

Posted: Sep 24, 2015

St. Petersburg Open (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic participated in the Russian tradition of planting a tree as part of a green initiative on behalf of the tournament.

All the players attended the gala dinner, held at the Monferran Halla of the Four Seasons Hotel. Model Natalia Vodianova was in attendance as the players enjoyed electric violin duo Vibration, a haircut show by Dmitri Vinokurov and learned a Russian song, “Kalika”.

The players were treated to another swanky event, the player party, a Great Gatsby-themed black tie soiree held at the Olympia Palace. Entertainment included singer Johnny Kelvin and a live band.

Marcos Baghdatis took a canal boat through a series of St. Petersburg’s scenic waterways as he was interviewed for Tennis Channel’s “Tour Guide” show.

Mariusz Frystenberg, Santiago Gonzalez, Marcel Granollers and Mikhail Youzhny hosted 30 youngsters in the Masterclass Kids’ Clinic, packed with drills and tennis tips.

Dominic Thiem, Ernests Gulbis and Roberto Bautista-Agut met with fans for autographs and photos.

Moselle Open (Metz, France)

Second seed Gilles Simon visited the nearby Zoo d’Amneville. Read More

“It was a great experience. I enjoyed it,” Simon said about his visit with sea lions, eagles, gorillas, lions and more. “The thing I liked the most was meeting Watson [the sea lion]. I thought he was a great animal, very soft and gentle, but at the same time very strong and powerful. The most impressive were the eagles. Having one on your arms didn’t make me feel very secure.”

Steve Darcis, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Adrian Mannarino, Paolo Lorenzi and Edouard Roger-Vasselin participated in autograph sessions around the grounds.

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Top Seed Wawrinka Into Metz QFs

Posted: Sep 24, 2015

Playing on French soil for the first time since defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the Roland Garros title, Stan Wawrinka needed three sets to outlast upset-minded Dustin Brown at the Moselle Open in Metz, where he advanced to the quarter-finals via a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win.

“Dustin is a tough player,” said Wawrinka, who improved to 43-13 on the year. “He’s really aggressive. Especially in the first round, it’s never easy. But I was happy with my game.”

Serving at 4-4 in the telltale third-set tiebreak, Brown approached the net with a down-the-line forehand, but the German didn’t put the ball deep enough. The top-seeded Wawrinka responded with a crosscourt backhand winner to clinch a pivotal mini break and went on to close out the match in one hour, 57 minutes.

Brown saved 10 of 11 break-point opportunities in all, winning 68 percent (72 of 105) of his service points. Wawrinka finished with eight aces.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez rallied from a set down to beat wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Spaniard notched his 26th win of the season in one hour and 35 minutes, withstanding 13 aces and converting three of his six break points. Garcia-Lopez is a two-time champion on the ATP World Tour this season, lifting the trophies in Zagreb (d. Seppi) and Bucharest (d.Vesely).

Garcia-Lopez advances to a quarter-final clash with sixth seed Martin Klizan, who defeated Wimbledon quarter-finalist Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6(7) in one hour and 52 minutes.

“It was a tough match against Vasek, because he is a great player,” said Klizan. “He has one of the best serves in the world. I tried to focus on the return and in the tie-break I was a bit lucky.”

Also advancing to the quarter-finals was 33-year-old Nicolas Mahut, who registered 24 aces in upsetting seventh seed Adrian Mannarino in three sets 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. He will next face another fellow Frenchman in No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber improved to 3-0 against Paolo Lorenzi with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the unseeded Italian in one hour and seven minutes.

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