Tennis News

Following an entertaining week of matches, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych will cross paths in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Sunday. This marks their 16th meeting on the ATP World Tour, and Wawrinka will look to add to his 10-5 lead in the head-to-head series.

Follow the match live here: Berdych v Wawrinka Live Stream

In one of his better showings this week, Stan Wawrinka squeezed past Canadian no. 1 Milos Raonic in straight sets 7-6(3), 7-6(7) to reach the final in Rotterdam – a tournament he had not participated in in a decade. The Swiss No. 2 struck 25 winners, 10 aces and did not allow any of the six break points he faced to get past him. The contest lasted a total of 98 minutes.

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“In general, I’ve been playing really well,” said Wawrinka. “I’ve been really aggressive and moving well in the rallies. I served well when I was (against) a break point. It’s only one or two points that make the difference and I played a good tie-break.”

Wawrinka will come up against Tomas Berdych, who reached the final with a straightforward victory against Gilles Simon. He defeated the Frenchman 6-2, 6-1 in 58 minutes to put himself just one match away from retaining the indoor title. His service games were solid, and Berdych even converted 4 of 5 break points to add to his 14 winners.

“My game was good and the game plan was even better,” said Berdych. “It was a very good game. I need to keep going as there is still one more match to go. I want to go all the way.”

While Berdych has been a force on the tour so far this season, he will have his work cut out for him against Wawrinka, a player who has dominated their rivalry over the past while. Apart from a 10-5 lead in the head-to-head series, Wawrinka has won eight of their last nine meetings, including a thrashing at the World Tour Finals in London.

“I’ve been improving, but he’s been playing really well at the beginning of the year,” Wawrinka said of Berdych. “He won here last year so he will be very dangerous. I need to play my best game to have a chance to beat him.”

Prediction: Stan Wawrinka in Three Sets

Two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori needed to muster up some of his best tennis to overcome his American adversary and arrive at the final of the Memphis Open. He is now one match away from completing the ‘three peat’ at this tournament, and that final obstacle is world No. 15 Kevin Anderson. This is just the second time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Nishikori leading the series 1-0.

The Japanese No. 1 withstood some serious service power from Sam Querrey on Saturday to arrive at his third consecutive final in Memphis. Nishikori rallied from a set down to defeat the American 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in a match that lasted 2 hours and 41 minutes.

“I thought a couple times that I might lose today,” said Nishikori, who will bid for his eighth ATP World Tour crown. “I knew it was going to be tough because I didn’t break any of his serves and he was hitting a lot of aces… It was really tough to make any returns.

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“I’m very happy to come to the final again. I’m a little bit tired from playing three tough matches, but it’s just one more match.”

Nishikori will come up against Kevin Anderson in the final, who is seeded second at the event. The South African No. 1 rallied from a set down against Donald Young to defeat the American 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was an impressive showing that served to avenge his loss to Young last season, and put Anderson in the running for a third title on the ATP World Tour.

“I thought it was a really tough match,” said Anderson. “There were parts of the match where I didn’t feel like I maybe played my best tennis, but I was able to hang in there.

“I’ve got a shot at winning the title tomorrow and that’s what I came here to do. It feels good to be in the final. I’ve enjoyed this week… I’m going to treat it like any other match. Obviously it’s a final, but I’m just going to focus on what has worked well for me this week.”

This marks the first time that Nishikor and Anderson will meet on the professional tour since 2010, when they crossed paths at the Washington final. It is just their second meeting overall and could make for a riveting match-up. Nishikori is competing for his third title in Memphis, while Anderson is looking to notch his third overall title on the tour.

Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Three Sets

The top seeds at this week’s tennis tournaments continue to fall as Andy Murray was ousted from the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Friday by an unlikely adversary in Gilles Simon.

Simon, who previously held a 1-12 record against Murray, including 12 consecutive losses, defeated the world No. 4 in straight sets to advance to a semi-final contest against Tomas Berdych.

“It was a great match for me,” said Simon. “I lost 12 times against him, so it was almost an unexpected win. I had a better feeling against him the last two matches I had to play. I was twice one set and a break up, I really felt I was close to win, and I think it helped me to be more confident today.”

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It was a surprisingly straightforward affair, as Simon ousted Murray 6-4,6-2 in 86 minutes. The British No. 1 played far from his best tennis.

“I struggled with most of the shots, to be honest,” said Murray. “At the beginning of the match my backhand, at the end of the match my forehand. It was tough. I felt I was hitting the ball too early. I felt my timing was a bit off.”

Simon will go on to face Tomas Berdych, who stormed into the final four with a 6-1,6-4 victory in 1 hour and 12 minutes.

“It was a very good game,” said Berdych. “I was able to add something extra from the last match I played yesterday, which was a goal. I was able to keep up with the game plan, which was rightly chosen. I was able to execute it all the way to the last point. As we all know, it’s Gael, who’s not an easy opponent. I’m really happy the way I handled it in those two sets.”

Thursday afternoon brought with it some surprising results in Belgium, as three of the top seeds at the Diamond Games were ousted from the tournament, including top seed Eugenie Bouchard.

The slew of upsets began with second seed Angelique Kerber, who was downed at the hands of 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone. The Italian needed just 57-minutes to defeat Kerber 6-1, 6-1. She even won nine consecutive games at one given time during the lopsided encounter.

“For me it was a great match because I was able to play the tactics I wanted to play,” Schiavone said. “I knew it would be a good opportunity for me today, and I’m happy with the way I played.”

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The second upset of the day was the untimely exit of Eugenie Bouchard, who lost to Germany’s Mona Barthel in three sets. The Canadian stormed to a 3-0 lead in the match but quickly fizzled away and allowed herself to be broken back. While she eventually won the opening set, she watched her lead evaporate over the coming two sets, where she won a mere three games overall to lose the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

“It’s always tough to play against Genie. She plays so well, you really have to play your best,” Barthel said afterwards. “But today I was able to play my game, play aggressive and come into the net. At the end I had some nerves, but I’m happy I could play well to finish it. It’s a great win for me.”

And to cap the day off, French No. 1 and seventh seed Alize Cornet lost to Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 6-2.

The remaining seeds now are Lucie Safarova, Carla Suárez Navarro, Dominika Cibulkova, and Karolina Pliskova.

Following an impressive start to his 2015 season – one that saw him end a 17-match losing sreak to Rafael Nadal en route to the semi-final round of the Australian Open – Tomas Berdych is looking to build on that momentum with strong showings in Rotterdam. His next match-up is against Gael Monfils, whom he holds a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head series.

Follow the match live here: Berdych v Monfils Live Stream

The third seed at the tournament took part in a surprisingly turbulent second round encounter against Andreas Seppi at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. He eventually downed his Italian adversary 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the quarter-final stage of the event. As the defending champion at the event, Berdych is satisfied with his performance – one that included 10 aces and four breaks of serve in 1 hour and 28 minutes.

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“I think it was a very solid game today,” said Berdych. “The opponent was not easy at all. I had my game plan, which worked perfectly from the beginning. He just started to play much better and took his chance, the only one he had in the second set. But in the third set, I was able to finish it, get my chances and execute.”

In typical swashbuckling fashion, Gael Monfils ousted seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets to move into his second quarter-final of the season following a strong showing in Montpellier last week. The Frenchman struck nine aces to close out the match 7-5, 7-6(5) in one-hour and 41-minute match.

This marks the fifth time that Berdych and Monfils will cross paths on the ATP World Tour, with Berdych leading the series 3-1. Monfils won their most recent encounter in the 2013 French Open, but remains 0-2 against the Czech No. 1 on hard courts. It will be interesting to see if he can overturn that record this time around in Rotterdam.

Prediction: Tomas Berdych in Three Sets

Following an entertaining contest in the second round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, 2009 champion Andy Murray is through to the quarter-final stage of the tournament, where he will next meet France’s Gilles Simon to determine who will advance to the final eight on Friday. This marks the 14th time that Murray and Simon cross paths on the professional tour, with Murray leading the head to head series 12-1.

Follow the match live here: Murray v Simon Live Stream

British No. 1 Andy Murray earned his second straight set victory this week in Rotterdam, even though his contest against Vasek Pospisil was far more entertaining and competitive that the scoreline suggested. Murray struck 64% of his first service points and saved 5 of 7 break points to finish the match 6-3, 7-5. However, the second set was a turbulent affair, as Pospisil was on set point up 5-4 when he was handed a time violation that allowed Murray to break back, and eventually crushed his spirit.

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In a second round match that featured two Frenchmen, Gilles Simon overcame Jeremy Chardy with relative ease to close out the match 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and eight minutes of court time. Simon hit 1 ace, won 83% of his first service points and didn’t face a single break point en route to the victory.

“Today I played well from the beginning till the end,” said Simon. “That was a big improvement compared to my first-round match.”

Murray and Simon had met on 13 separate occasions on the ATP World Tour, with Murray leading the series 12-1, including an 12-match win streak dating back to 2007. He has defeated his French adversary on every surface and should have little trouble maintaining that streak come Friday.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Straight Sets