Murray Returns To Action In Paris

Posted: Nov 02, 2015

Last Stop Before #FinalShowdown – The final tournament of the regular season on the ATP World Tour takes place in Bercy as the BNP Paribas Masters features 19 of the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Race to London (except Raonic). The 48-player draw includes five former winners: Novak Djokovic (2014-13, ’09), David Ferrer (2012), Roger Federer (2011) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008), and Tomas Berdych (2005). Djokovic is one of three players to win the title three times winner in Paris-Bercy was Marat Safin (2000, ’02, ’04). There are eight of the Top 10 leading the way in the field.

London Field Set – The last two spots were filled on Saturday for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with the additions of David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori. They joined: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych in the prestigious year-end tournament. Nadal moved to No. 5 in the Race after his semi-final win in Basel.

Djokovic Passes McEnroe – Djokovic is appearing in his 171^st week at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He surpassed John McEnroe for No. 5 on the all-time list in the history of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since Aug. 23, 1973).

Finals Streak – Djokovic comes into Paris having reached the final in 13 consecutive tournaments, the most in a season since Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

Reigning Champion – One year ago Djokovic came into Paris playing his first tournament as a father. Djokovic’s wife, Jelena, gave birth to a son, Stefan, on Oct. 21, 2014. Djokovic won his third Bercy title and he closed out the season by winning his fourth Barclays ATP World Tour Finals crown. Since becoming a father, Djokovic is 82-5 with 11 titles in 15 finals. He has a 21-6 career record in Bercy, having won the title in 2009 and in 2013-14. He began with a 3-4 record in his first four appearances before going 18-2 the last six years (W/O in ’11). He enters Paris on a 17-match winning streak, winning three of his season-high nine titles at the US Open, Beijing and ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai. He has won 22 consecutive sets going back to the final two sets of the Open final. Djokovic is also trying to become the first player to win six ATP Masters 1000 titles in a season. He also won five in 2011. He shares the season record with Nadal (2013).

Big Four Dominance – The ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal have won 47 of the last 51 ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, which dates back to Nadal’s triumph at Monte-Carlo in 2010. The only other players to emerge with an ATP Masters 1000 title are Robin Soderling (2010 Paris), David Ferrer (2012 Paris), Stan Wawrinka (2014 Monte-Carlo) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2014 Toronto).

Ivo Aces Record Within Reach – Ivo Karlovic comes into Bercy with 1,418 aces on the ATP World Tour this season. He is 60 aces away from passing countryman Goran Ivanisevic, who fired a season-record 1,477 aces in 1996. Ivo hit 78 in his three matches in Basel, including 32 in his quarter-final loss. On Saturday, Karlovic tweeted: “On a train to Paris. The city of love. I need some love and support in Paris to hit those 60 aces. #herewego #teamkarlo” Karlovic is 2-4 lifetime in Bercy, never winning back-to-back matches in four previous appearances.

French Title Hopes – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the last French player to win the Bercy title in 2008. He is one of 10 Frenchmen in the main draw (not including possible qualifiers). Since then, Gael Monfils was runner-up in 2009-10 and Tsonga in ’11.

Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London Update: The Top 8 teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London on Nov. 9 will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Nov. 15-22. Five teams are vying for one vacant spot, with the eighth and final qualifiers to be determined during ATP Masters 1000 Paris next week.

Melo New Doubles No. 1 – Brazilian Marcelo Melo became the new No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, ending a run of 173 consecutive weeks that Bob and/or Mike Bryan were ranked No. 1. The 32-year-old from Belo Horizonte will be the first Brazilian to rank No. 1 and 47^th player overall in the history of the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings (since 1976). Countryman Gustavo Kuerten became No. 1 in singles on Dec. 4, 2000 and held the top spot for 43 weeks. The last players to be No. 1 before the Bryans were Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor during the week of September 3, 2012. Melo will be the only first-time No. 1 since Nenad Zimonjic became No. 1 on November 17, 2008 and the second since the Bryans rose to No. 1 on September 8, 2003.

Nestor Eyes 1,000 Wins – Daniel Nestor is closing in on a historic doubles milestone. The 43-year-old Canadian is two match wins away from becoming the first player in the Open Era to register 1,000 career doubles match wins. Nestor is playing with Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Since teaming up with the Frenchman in Montreal for the first time, they have compiled a 17-5 match record together. Nestor is playing in Bercy for the 21^st consecutive year (since 1995) and he has a 33-19 match record. He won the title in 2009 (w/Zimonjic) and reached the final in 2000 (w/Haarhuis), 2005 (w/Knowles) and 2007 (w/Zimonjic).

Bryans Lead Doubles Field – Two-time defending doubles champions Bob and Mike Bryan headline the outstanding doubles field. The Bryans have not teamed together since Shanghai. Bob’s wife, Michelle, gave birth, to the couple’s third child, son, Richard on Oct. 27. The Bryans are battling with Rojer/Tecau and J. Murray/Peers to finish No. 1 for the 11^th time in the last 13 years. The Bryans are looking to break a three-match opening round losing streak (four overall). They haven’t won back-to-back matches since capturing their 109^th career title together at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal in August.

Rankings Movers

Victor Estrella Burgos 52 (+13 spots)

Joao Sousa 34 (+12 spots)

Jack Sock 25 (+4 spots)

Jerzy Janowicz 57 (+3 spots)

Potential Milestones

Paris – Singles

Ivo Karlovic: 299 wins

Feliciano Lopez: 396 wins

Gael Monfils: 347 wins

Benoit Paire: 98 wins

Paris – Doubles