Tennis News

Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming survived the ultimate test on Sunday at the Shenzhen Open, winning their first team title amidst torrential rain and a move indoors.

A typhoon in southern China forced Erlich and Fleming to play both their semi-final and final matches on Sunday. The Israeli-British duo defeated Mao-Xin Gong and Michael Venus 6-2, 6-4 in 67 minutes, before downing Chris Guccione and Andre Sa 6-1, 6-7(3), 10-6 for the title.

The title match, which was moved indoors, lasted 81 minutes and saw Erlich and Fleming convert on three of five break chances. They split $33,600 in prize money as well as 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings Points.

“We had a lot of fun at a great event,” 38-year-old Erlich said. “The hotel and venue are great. I’m happy we could play very solid throughout the week and I’m very happy for the title. The last few years I made some finals but could never go all the way. I’m happy it finally came.”

Individually, Erlich captured his 18th ATP World Tour crown in his 35th final. Victory was sweet for the Israeli, who won his first title since the 2012 Serbia Open in Belgrade. Fleming staked claim to his eighth title, having finished runner-up in Marseille earlier this year with Jonathan Marray, as well as in Atlanta with Gilles Muller. It was his first title in two years.

“I’m delighted to win another title,” said Fleming. “I didn’t expect it, but Jonathan and I played great tennis this week and I’m so happy to get over the line after a tough two matches today. It’s been a great week here at a great tournament in Shenzhen.”

Guccione and Sa were bidding to hoist their second trophy together, following success in Nottingham in June. The Aussie fell to 4-4 in ATP World Tour finals, while the Brazilian dropped to 10-16. They take home $17,660 and 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings Points for their efforts.

Seventh seed Nick Kyrgios won the clutch points as he edged third seed Ivo Karlovic 7-6(4), 7-6(2) on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur.

Both players won 75 per cent of their service points and saved the three break points they created between them, but it was Kyrgios who won the decisive points in the tie-breaks to seal victory in 85 minutes.

“It feels really good to be in the semi-finals,” said Kyrgios. “I knew today was going to be tough. I thought he served really well, but I thought I also served really well and looked after my serve. It was a fun match as well; it was really good. I thought I stayed composed and today was a really good performance.”

Thirteen aces from Karlovic sees him close the gap to 35 on Goran Ivanisevic’s all-time record of 10,237 (stats kept since 1991). The 36-year-old Croat was contesting his ninth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and is the oldest player in the Top 20 since 37-year-old Jimmy Connors in February 1990.

The 20-year-old Kyrgios, whose mother is Malaysian, is bidding to reach his second final of the season after finishing runner-up to Richard Gasquet in his first ATP World Tour final in Estoril in April.

The Australian goes on to face second seed Feliciano Lopez, who battled past eighth seed Vasek Pospisil 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2 in two hours. The Spaniard won 73 per cent of his service points and broke Pospisil four times as he beat the Canadian for the second time.

“I think I played a great match,” said Lopez. “I think I improved my game from my first match yesterday. Even though I lost the first set, I was getting better and better as the match went on. I’m very happy.”

The 34-year-old Lopez is looking to reach his second ATP World Tour final of the year (l. to Estrella Burgos in Quito) and has a 1-0 lead over Kyrgios in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, beating the Canberra native in Rome earlier this year.

“Against Nick it’s going to be tough,” said Lopez. “He is an aggressive player. I have to be aware of that and try to be aggressive on the court and put some pressure on him. Hopefully I will have my chances. It’s an exciting match to play against one of the young guns on the tour.”

Top seed David Ferrer reached the semi-finals of this ATP World Tour 250 hard court tournament for the third time as he defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-4 in 70 minutes. The Spaniard broke serve once in each set and won 71 per cent of his service points to notch his 42^nd win of the season.

Currently eighth in the Emirates ATP Race To London, Ferrer is looking to step up his bid to claim one of the four remaining places at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The 33-year-old Ferrer is hoping to make his seventh appearance at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

Ferrer is attempting to win his fourth ATP World Tour title of the season this week, adding to victories in Doha, Rio de Janeiro and Acapulco, and goes on to face Benjamin Becker in the semi-finals.

“He’s had a very good week, winning against two of the top players — Chardy and Dimitrov,” said Ferrer of his semi-final opponent. “It’s going to be tough for sure. I will have to play consistent.”

The 34-year-old Becker is having his best week of the season, having come into Kuala Lumpur only having won back-to-back matches twice in 2015. He is now through to the semi-finals after upsetting fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-6(3). 

In his opening match, top seed David Ferrer bested Radek Stepanek 7-5, 6-3 on Thursday to move into the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur. Ferrer, who received a first-round bye, went 5-for-8 on break chances and closed out the win in 93 minutes.

The World No. 8 improved to 41-10 on the season with the win, and is well-positioned to book his seventh trip to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. With 3,005 Emirates ATP Race To London points, Ferrer is 710 points behind No. 7 Rafael Nadal and 650 points ahead of No. 9 Richard Gasquet, neither of whom are playing this week.

In the quarter-finals, the 33 year old will face Mikhail Kukushkin. The Spaniard holds a 5-0 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

“This first match wasn’t easy,” said Ferrer. “I was feeling the jet lag a little bit, but it was the same for Radek. Now I will try to improve my game for tomorrow. Every match is different, and Kukushkin is a good player. He is having a very good year.”

Eighth seed Vasek Pospisil reached his third tour-level quarter-final of the season as he battled past Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3.

The Canadian struck 11 aces and won one point more than Baghdatis as he claimed his 20th win of the season in two hours and 28 minutes. Baghdatis was bidding to reach the Kuala Lumpur final for the second time this week, having finished runner-up in 2011 (l. to Tipsarevic).

“I didn’t really have a strategy,” said Pospisil, who struggled with cramp towards the end of the match. “I was just trying to stand on the court, be able to play the points and try to win. When I saw the ball I just tried to hit it hard and keep the points short. I played well, but I was just trying to get through my service games somehow. I was fortunate for sure to have won that.”

The 25-year-old Pospisil, who reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon earlier this year (l. to Murray), goes on to face second seed Feliciano Lopez.

The Spaniard survived a late fightback from qualifier Mischa Zverev to prevail 6-3, 7-6(4) in 90 minutes. Lopez was broken as he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but regrouped to win the subsequent tie-break.

Lopez leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Pospisil 1-0, having beaten the Canadian in their one previous meeting at the 2011 US Open. The left-hander has a 28-21 match record on the season, and is playing his first tournament since reaching the US Open quarter-finals (l. to Djokovic). 

Grigor Dimitrov rallied to defeat Joao Sousa 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and seven minutes to advance to the quarter-finals. The No. 4 seed was down 2-4 in the final set before sweeping the next four games to set up a meeting with Benjamin Becker. With the win, Dimitrov improved his 2015 tour-level record to 28-17 and evened the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series at 1-1.

Marin Cilic, seeded second, needed nearly two hours to defeat John Millman 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 and advance to the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open on Thursday. The 2014 US Open champion improved to 24-14 in 2015 and remains in contention for a first ATP World Tour title since winning in Moscow a year ago (d. Bautista Agut).

Cilic controlled the first set, sweeping all 13 first-serve points and breaking his Australian opponent twice in as many opportunities. Millman improved his first serve percentage from 57 per cent to 67 per cent in the second set and converted on his lone break point to push the match to a decider. 

“I was generally happy with my performance in the first set,” said Cilic. “In the first game of the second set, he hit good returns. Then he served really well after that. It was not easy to get back in the match. The conditions are really humid, so you have to be prepared. It’s more demanding physically, but I served well and that helped me get some free points at critical moments.”

The Croat, No. 14 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, struck six of his 12 total aces in the final set, and converted on his first match point to take the pair’s initial FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

Next up for Cilic is Korean Hyeon Chung, who needed just 56 minutes to down Aljaz Bedene, 6-2, 6-0 to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final. The 19 year old went 6-for-8 on break points and earned his 10^th tour-level win of the season (10-9). Currently World No. 58, Chung is aiming to reach No. 35 and become the highest-ranked male player in history from South Korea.

Cilic leads the rivalry 1-0, having defeated Chung 7-6(2), 6-3 in Washington two months ago.

In what has been the best season of his career, fifth seed Adrian Mannarino reached his sixth ATP World Tour quarter-final as he defeated Chinese wild card Yan Bai 7-5, 7-6(7).

The 27-year-old Frenchman reached a career-high No. 27 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in July, in a year that has seen him reach his first ATP World Tour finals in Auckland (l. to Vesely) and Bogota (l. to Tomic).

Mannarino notched his 27th win of 2015 as he edged the No. 266-ranked Bai in one hour and 50 minutes. The left-hander converted three of his seven break points as he denied Bai a place in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final.

Mannarino goes on to face fourth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who dismissed Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-3 in 76 minutes. The Spaniard, who improved to a 27-19 match record on the season, is chasing his third ATP World Tour title of the season this week to add to triumphs in Zagreb (d. Seppi) and Bucharest (d. Vesely).