Raonic Looking For Breakthrough Against Djokovic

FINAL PREVIEW: World No. 1 and four-time BNP Paribas Open champion Novak Djokovic takes on No. 12 seed Milos Raonic on Sunday in the championship. Djokovic has won all five previous meetings (13-1 in sets). This will be the second final between the two. In Paris-Bercy in 2014, Djokovic won 62 63. Their last meeting came in the QF at the Australian Open last year with Djokovic winning 76 64 62. Both players have dropped one set in five matches en route to the final.

Djokovic is attempting to capture a record fifth BNP Paribas Open title and record-tying 27^th career ATP Masters 1000 crown (w/Nadal). Djokovic has won his last 16 matches in Indian Wells and 15 in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments since his last loss in the 2015 Cincinnati final to Federer. The 28-year-old Serb is appearing in his 10^th straight ATP Masters 1000 tournament final he’s competed in (DNP ’15 Madrid) going back to 2014 Paris-Bercy. He’s 7-2 in Masters 1000 finals during that stretch. Djokovic comes into the final with a 21-1 match record on the season.

Raonic is appearing in his third career ATP Masters 1000 final (0-2) and 17^th overall (8-8) in his career. The 25-year-old Canadian is trying to become the first player born in the 1990s to capture an ATP Masters 1000 title. He was runner-up in Montreal in 2013 (l. to Nadal) and in Paris-Bercy in 2014 (l. to Djokovic). Raonic enters the final off to a career-best 14-1 start this season. He opened the year by winning the Brisbane title (d. Federer) and following with SF at Australian Open (l. to Murray in five sets).

WHAT’S AT STAKE:      

Winner                   $1,028,300 and 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points

Runner-up             $501,815 and 600 Emirates ATP Rankings points  

FINALS HISTORY:

Djokovic is bidding for a 27^th ATP Masters 1000 title (26-12) and 62^nd career title (61-26)
Raonic is bidding for a 1^st ATP Masters 1000 title (0-2) and 9^th career title (8-8)

DJOKOVIC EYES 5^TH TITLE: Djokovic is seeking a record fifth Indian Wells crown, having won here in 2008 (d. Fish), 2011 (d. Nadal) and 2014-15 (d. Federer).

TOP FIVE CHAMPIONS: In 14 of the past 15 years, a Top 5 player has emerged victorious at the BNP Paribas Open with 2010 champion Ivan Ljubicic the only exception. He was ranked No. 26. Djokovic is looking to extend the Top 5 streak with a title on Sunday. Djokovic is one of three active players (Federer-4, Nadal-3) who have won the Indian Wells title.

BIG FOUR DOMINANCE: The ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal have won 48 of the last 52 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).

FINAL FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS:

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [12] Milos Raonic (CAN)

Djokovic Leads 5-0

Djokovic 2016 FastFacts

W (2): Doha (d. Nadal); Australian Open (d. Murray); QF: Dubai (l. to Lopez)

YTD W-L: 20-1 (20-1 on hard)

YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 61

Date of Birth: May 22, 1987

Emirates ATP Ranking: 1 (Career-High)

Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 45-6 (2008, 2011, 2014-2015 Champion)

• 2016 Indian Wells: Since losing 1^st set in opening match vs. Fratangelo, has won 10 sets. Avenged only loss of

season and did not face a BP in 63 63 win over [18] Lopez in 4R. Then beat [7] Tsonga 76(2) 76(2) in QFs and [4]

Nadal 76(5) 62 in SFs. Has won 16 matches in a row in IW since loss to del Potro in 2013 SFs

• Tournament Note: No. 1 or No. 2 in Emirates ATP Rankings each week since winning 2011 title and 190^th week at

No. 1 in career (89 straight weeks since July 7, 2014). Appearing in 6^th career final (4-1) and trying to become first

5-time winner in event history

• Enters with a 21-1 match record on season and looking to become first three-time winner in 2016

• In January, tied Emerson’s all-time record with 6th Australian Open title (d. No. 2 Murray)

• Moved into tie with Laver and Borg for 5th all-time with 11 Grand Slam men’s singles titles

• Won a 5-set match en route to title for 7th time at a major, overcoming 100 unforced errors in 4R (d. Simon)

• Captured 60th career title to start season at Doha, not dropping a set all week (d. No. 5 Nadal)

• Became 3rd active player to reach 700 wins by beating Jaziri in Dubai 2R on Feb. 24 (also Federer, Nadal)

• Fell 1 shy of Lendl’s Open-Era record 18 straight finals when eye problem forced ret in Dubai QF (l. to Lopez)

• Had not retired since 2011 Davis Cup SF vs. del Potro, a stretch of 350 matches (318-32)

• Defeated Nedovyesov in 3 sets and Kukushkin in 5 sets to help Serbia beat Kazakhstan 3-2 in Davis Cup 1R

• Appearing in 10^th straight ATP Masters 1000 final (DNP ’15 Madrid) going back to ’14 Paris-Bercy and has a 7-2

finals record during that stretch. Last year won a record six Masters 1000 titles. Overall is 61-26 in career finals and

26-12 in ATP Masters 1000 finals

Raonic 2016 FastFacts

W: Brisbane (d. Federer); SF: Australian Open (l. to Murray)

YTD W-L: 14-1 (14-1 on hard)

YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 8

Date of Birth: December 27, 1990

Emirates ATP Ranking: 14

Indian Wells W-L (Best Result): 16-5 (2016 Finalist)

• 2016 Indian Wells: The 25-year-old Canadian is into first final and has won 10 of 11 sets, dropping only set in SF

vs. [15] Goffin 63 36 63. Saved 2 set points in 2nd set en route to 64 76(7) win over [6] Berdych in 4R and followed

with 75 63 victory over [13] Monfils on Thursday night. Last year (d. No. 3 Nadal in QF, l. to Federer in SF)

• Infosys ATP Scores & Stats: No. 2 in tournament with 41 aces (behind Isner 60) and No. 3 with 92% of service

games won (45 of 49), saving 5 of 9 break pts. Has 8.2 aces avg. compared to 15.5 on season. Has won 33% of

return games (16 of 48) and coming into IW had 15% career avg. (17% this year)

• Tournament Note: Saved 3 MPs to beat No. 3 Nadal 46 76(10) 75 en route to 2015 SF (l. to No. 2 Federer). His 16

match wins is most at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament

• Won 1st 9 matches of 2016 season, highlighted by 8th career ATP World Tour title at Brisbane (d. No. 3 Federer). Victory over Federer avenged loss to Swiss in 2015 Brisbane final

• Upset No. 4 Wawrinka in 5 sets en route to 2nd Grand Slam SF at Australian Open (l. to No. 2 Murray in 5 sets)

• Withdrew from Delray Beach, Acapulco and Davis Cup 1R due to adductor tear sustained in Australian Open SF

• Appearing in 17^th career ATP World Tour final (8-8), 3^rd ATP Masters 1000 final (’13 Montreal, l. to Nadal; ’14 Paris-Bercy, l. to Djokovic)

• Has a 20-42 career record vs. Top 10 opponents (3-1 this year) and 0-5 vs. No. 1s (3 vs. Djokovic, 2 vs. Nadal)

• Will improve from No. 14 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to No.12 by reaching the final (No. 10 if wins title)

 

OUTSIDE TOP 10 TO REACH FINAL: Raonic is the first player outside the Top 10 to reach the Indian Wells final since No. 11 Isner in 2012. He is trying to become the first player outside the Top 10 to win the title since No. 26 Ivan Ljubicic in 2010. Here are the players outside the Top 10 to reach the final since 2000 when the Indian Wells Tennis Garden was first introduced:

Year – Emirates ATP Ranking

2012 – No. 11 John Isner lost to Roger Federer

2010 – No. 26 Ivan Ljubicic defeated Andy Roddick

2008 – No. 98 Mardy Fish (u) lost to Novak Djokovic

2007 – No. 13 Novak Djokovic lost to Rafael Nadal

2006 – No. 14 James Blake lost to Roger Federer

2003 – No. 24 Gustavo Kuerten (u) lost to Lleyton Hewitt

2000 – No. 26 Alex Corretja (u) defeated Thomas Enqvist

Note: (u) Unseeded

 

YOUNG STARS ON ATP WORLD TOUR: Raonic leads a group of nine players born in the 1990s to win an ATP World Tour singles title. He’s trying to become the first player born in the 1990s to win an ATP Masters 1000 title.

Player	Birthdate	Current Age	Titles	Ranking
Milos Raonic (CAN)	Dec. 27, 1990	25	8: San Jose 2011-13 Chennai 2012 Bangkok 2013 Washington 2014 St. Petersburg 2015 Brisbane 2016	14
Dominic Thiem (AUT)	Sept. 3, 1993	22	5: Nice 2015 Umag 2015 Gstaad 2015      Acapulco 2016  Buenos Aires 2016	13
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)	May 16, 1991	24	4: Stockholm 2013 Acapulco 2014 Bucharest 2014 Queen’s Club 2014	26
Bernard Tomic (AUS)	Oct. 21, 1992	23	3: Sydney 2013 Bogotá 2014-15	20
David Goffin (BEL)	Dec. 7, 1990	25	2: Metz 2014 Kitzbühel 2014	18
Jack Sock (USA)	Sept. 24, 1992	23	1: Houston 2015	24
Federico Delbonis (ARG)	Oct. 5, 1990	25	1: São Paulo 2014	53
Jiri Vesely (CZE)	July 10, 1993	22	1: Auckland 2015	56
Nick Kyrgios (AUS)	April 27, 1995	20	1: Marseille 2016	27