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Home , 2009 Serbia Open, 2016 Kremlin Cup, Aslan Karatsev, Chris Guccione (tennis), Daniele Bracciali, Fabio Fognini

VTB : PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Monday, October 17, 2016

Olympic Stadium, , Russia | October 17-23, 2016 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $717,250 | Surface: Indoor Hard

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VTB KREMLIN CUP TALKING POINTS

 TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: The 27th-annual VTB Kremlin Cup returns to the ATP World Tour this week with seven bidding to become the first homegrown singles champion in Moscow since 2009. Leading the way is No. 8 seed Andrey Kuznetsov, who earlier this season reached a career-high No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Kuznetsov was 0-6 in Moscow before winning two matches at Olympic Stadium last October. He has yet to reach a semi-final on the ATP World Tour, going 0-5 in quarter-finals this season and 0-10 in his career.

Among the other Russians in the draw are wild cards and , as well as qualifiers , and . Khachanov defeated Feliciano Lopez to reach his first semi-final, to advance to his first final and Albert Ramos-Viñolas to capture his first title at the inaugural last month. Ramos-Viñolas is the No. 2 seed this week, while the 2010 VTB Kremlin Cup champion Troicki is seeded fourth. The Top 7 seeds overall have won at least one ATP World Tour singles title this season, including a pair for No. 1 seed and two-time Moscow finalist .

Last week in Shanghai, Bautista Agut defeated World No. 1 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final. Though he finished runner-up to No. 2 , Bautista Agut’s 37 hard-court wins this season are tied with Gael Monfils for second-most behind Djokovic (41). The Spaniard is ranked a career-high No. 13 this week, and he is also 13th in the Emirates ATP Race to London. Should he win the title on Sunday, Bautista Agut will move into a tie for 11th in the race with the man who beat him in the last two VTB Kremlin Cup finals, Marin Cilic.

 DAY 1 PREVIEW: Two singles and three doubles matches comprise the men’s schedule on opening day at the VTB Kremlin Cup. , the 2012 Moscow finalist, opens play on Centre Court against Turkish Cem Ilkel. Later, Lukas Rosol meets of , a four-time champion on the ATP Challenger Tour this season who is up to a career-high No. 71 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

An All-Russian wild card match highlights the doubles offerings: Daniil Medvedev and versus and . On Court 1, No. 1 seeds Pablo Carreño Busta and of face Los Cabos champion and of India. Carreño Busta has reached his first nine ATP World Tour finals this season (1-2 in singles, 2-4 in doubles). His six doubles finals have come with five different partners, including a US Open runner-up finish with countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and the Beijing title with fellow Spaniard .

VTB Kremlin Cup Day 1 – Monday, October 17, 2016 Page 2 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

EMIRATES ATP RACE TO LONDON (Updated Entering Monday’s Matches)

Position Player Points Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 1 Novak Djokovic* 10,600 27-10: 5 titles in 9 appearances (2008, 2012-15) 2 Andy Murray* 9,685 11-11: 3 SFs in 7 appearances (2008, 2010, 2012) 3 * 5,060 6-6: 2013-15 Semi-finalist 4 * 4,690 0-2: 2014 Round Robin 5 * 4,360 3-4: 2014 Semi-finalist, 2015 Round Robin 6 Gael Monfils 3,625 Never Qualified 7 Rafael Nadal 3,300 16-12: 2 finals in 7 appearances (2010, 2013) 8 3,205 Never Qualified _ 9 Tomas Berdych 2,880 6-13: 2011 Semi-finalist; 2010, 2012-15 Round Robin 10 2,645 Never Qualified 11 Marin Cilic 2,590 0-3: 2014 Round Robin 12 2,460 Never Qualified 13 Roberto Bautista Agut 2,340 Never Qualified 14 2,130 52-12: 6 titles in 14 apps. (2003-04, 2006-07, 2010-11) 15 2,106 Never Qualified 16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2,070 4-7: 2011 Runner-up; 2008, 2012 Round Robin

Key Bold: Player competing at VTB Kremlin Cup * Qualified for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (3 spots remain)

EMIRATES ATP DOUBLES RACE TO LONDON (Updated Entering Monday’s Matches)

Position Team Points Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert/* 7,075 1-2: 2015 Round Robin 2 /* 7,070 Never Qualified as a Team 3 /* 6,070 35-20: 4 titles in 13 apps. (2003-04, 2009, 2014) 4 Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez* 4,170 Never Qualified as a Team 5 /* 4,130 8-5: 2014 Finalists; 2013, 2015 Semi-finalists 6 / 3,600 Never Qualified as a Team 7 / 3,310 Never Qualified as a Team 8 / 3,065 Never Qualified as a Team _ 9 Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau 2,680 5-3: 2015 Champions, 2014 Round Robin 10 Juan Sebastian Cabal/ 2,320 Never Qualified as a Team 11 /Marcel Granollers 2,190 Never Qualified as a Team 12 /Edouard Roger-Vasselin 2,190 2-2: 2014 Semi-finalists 13 / 2,105 Never Qualified as a Team 14 / 2,100 3-2: 2015 Finalists 15 / 2,010 Never Qualified as a Team 16 Mate Pavic/ 1,990 Never Qualified as a Team

Key Bold: Team competing at VTB Kremlin Cup * Qualified for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (3 spots remain) VTB Kremlin Cup Day 1 – Monday, October 17, 2016 Page 3 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

EMIRATES ATP RANKING POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY

VTB Kremlin Cup W F SF QF R16 R32 Singles Ranking Points 250 150 90 45 20* 0 Singles Prize Money ($) 126,850 66,815 36,190 20,620 12,150 7,200 Doubles Ranking Points 250 150 90 45 0 --- Doubles Prize Money ($) 38,540 20,260 10,980 6,280 3,680 * Singles players who receive first-round byes and lose in the second round earn 0 points.

WHO TO WATCH THIS WEEK

SINGLES

SEED PLAYER W-L BEST FINISH 1 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 7-3 2014-15 Finalist 2 Albert Ramos-Viñolas (ESP) 0-2 2011, 2013 1st Round 3 (GER) 8-5 2015 Semi-finalist 4 Viktor Troicki (SRB) 10-5 2010 Champion 5 Martin Klizan (SVK) 0-0 Withdrew 6 Pablo Carreño Busta (ESP) 0-0 Debuting 7 (ITA) 1-2 2013 2nd Round 8 Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) 2-7 2015 Quarter-finalist

QUALIFIERS (4) OLDEST PLAYER YOUNGEST PLAYER Alexander Bublik (RUS) Stephane Robert (FRA) Alexander Bublik (RUS) Aslan Karatsev (RUS) 36 years, 5 months 19 years, 4 months Daniil Medvedev (RUS) Jurgen Melzer (AUT)

WILD CARDS (3) TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN Cem Ilkel (TUR) Russia 7, Spain 4, 3, 3, Austria 2 Karen Khachanov (RUS) Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS)

DOUBLES

SEED TEAM W-L BEST FINISH Carreño Busta: 0-0 Carreño Busta: Debuting 1 Pablo Carreño Busta/Marcel Granollers Granollers: 4-0 Granollers: 2009 Champion Cabal: 0-0 Cabal: Debuting 2 Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah Farah: 0-0 Farah: Debuting Duran: 0-0 Duran: Debuting 3 Guillermo Duran/ Fyrstenberg: 2-2 Fyrstenberg: 2004-05 Quarter-finalist Koolhof: 0-0 Koolhof: Debuting 4 /Matwe Middelkoop Middelkoop: 0-0 Middelkoop: Debuting

VTB Kremlin Cup Day 1 – Monday, October 17, 2016 Page 4 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

PAST FINALISTS (since 2009)

SINGLES

YEAR CHAMPION FINALIST SCORE 2015 Marin Cilic (CRO) Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6-4 6-4 2014 Marin Cilic (CRO) Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 6-4 6-4 2013 (FRA) (KAZ) 4-6 6-4 6-4 2012 (ITA) Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-3 2011 Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-4 6-2 2010 Viktor Troicki (SRB) (CYP) 3-6 6-4 6-3 2009 (RUS) Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-7(5) 6-0 6-4

BOLD: Player in 2016 singles draw

DOUBLES

YEAR CHAMPION FINALIST SCORE 2015 Andrey Rublev/ /Frantisek Cermak 2-6 6-1 [10-6] 2014 Frantisek Cermak/Jiri Vesely / 7-6(2) 7-5 2013 / / 6-2 1-6 [14-12] 2012 Frantisek Cermak/Michal Mertinak / 7-5 6-3 2011 Frantisek Cermak/Filip Polasek / 6-3 6-1 2010 /Dmitry Tursunov Janko Tipsarevic/Viktor Troicki 7-6(8) 6-3 2009 Pablo Cuevas/Marcel Granollers Frantisek Cermak/Michal Mertinak 4-6 7-5 [10-8]

BOLD: Player in 2016 doubles draw

FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS: DAY 1 FIRST-ROUND MATCHES

CENTRE COURT

[WC] Cem Ilkel (TUR) vs Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) First Meeting

Ilkel 2016 Summary YTD W-L: 1-2 (1-0 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: August 21, 1995 Emirates ATP Ranking: 325 Moscow W-L (Best Result): 0-1 (2015 1st Round)

• Tournament Note: As 2015 Moscow WC, lost to Gabashvili 62 61 in 1R • Received WC at hometown event in Istanbul (l. to Granollers in 1R) • Fell in qualifying 1R at (l. to Sugita) and Dubai (l. to Fabbiano) • Advanced to 1st ATP Challenger Tour final at Izmir, TUR (l. to Ilhan) • Reached 3 ITF Futures Circuit finals in Antalya, TUR, finishing runner-up to Perez Sanz, Sieber and Heyman • Also Futures runner-up at Marmaris, TUR, falling to 1-10 lifetime in Futures singles finals (l. to Bellotti) • Teamed w/Altuna to capture Marmaris, TUR Futures doubles title (d. Dellien/F. Zeballos) • Futures doubles runner-up w/Marijan at Antalya, TUR (l. to Agamenone/Arreche)

VTB Kremlin Cup Day 1 – Monday, October 17, 2016 Page 5 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Bellucci 2016 Summary F: Quito (l. to Estrella Burgos); SF: Shenzhen (l. to Berdych); QF: Rio Olympics (l. to Nadal) YTD W-L: 17-23 (9-10 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: December 30, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 62 Moscow W-L (Best Result): 3-1 (2012 Finalist)

• Tournament Note: Returns to Moscow for 1st time since reaching 2012 final (d. Karlovic in SF, l. to Seppi in 3 sets) • Reached Rio Olympics QF (d. Goffin, l. to No. 5 Nadal) and doubles 2R w/Sa (d. Murray/Murray, l. to Fognini/Seppi) • Advanced to Quito final in singles (l. to Estrella Burgos) and doubles w/Demoliner (l. to Carreño Busta/Duran) • Also reached 1st hard-court SF since 2012 Moscow at Shenzhen (l. to No. 9 Berdych) • On a 22-match losing streak vs Top 10 opponents, including 06 63 62 loss to No. 1 Djokovic in Rome 3R • Became 1st player to win a 60 set vs Djokovic since Federer in 2012 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati final • Held 2 MPs in Gstaad 2R vs Brown before falling 26 76(4) 61 • Captured 9th Challenger title at Braunschweig, GER (d. Cervantes) and reached final at Biella, ITA (l. to Gaio) • Retired after splitting sets in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 2R vs Kukushkin due to dehydration

Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs Gerald Melzer (AUT) First Tour-Level Meeting Other Meeting: 13 Bratislava CH () Hard R32 Lukas Rosol 6-0 6-1

Rosol 2016 Summary SF: Geneva (l. to Wawrinka); QF: Auckland (l. to Ferrer) YTD W-L: 15-23 (11-15 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: July 24, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 93 Moscow W-L (Best Result): 2-2 (2012 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Defeated Gimeno-Traver and Istomin en route to 2012 Moscow QF (l. to Jaziri) • Lost to No. 4 Wawrinka in 3-set Geneva SF on May 20 and 5-set Roland Garros 1R on May 23 • Reached 3R for 1st time (d. Sock, l. to No. 4 Wawrinka) • Qualified at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l. to Troicki in 1R) • Led Querrey by 2 sets in Wimbledon 1R before falling 12-10 in 5th • In , fell to Kohlschreiber in 5 sets before clinching 1R tie over A. Zverev (CZE d. GER 3-2). In QF, saved 2 MPs to beat No. 10 Tsonga in 5 sets, then fell w/Stepanek to Herbert/Mahut in 5 sets (FRA d. CZE 3-1) • Advanced to Challenger QFs at Irving, USA (d. Istomin, l. to Granollers); Aix en Provence, FRA (l. to E. Ymer); Prostejov, CZE (d. E. Ymer, l. to Khachanov) and Prague, CZE (l. to Pavlasek)

G. Melzer 2016 Summary SF: Kitzbühel (l. to Lorenzi) YTD W-L: 3-6 (0-2 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 13, 1990 Emirates ATP Ranking: 71 (Career-High) Moscow W-L (Best Result): 0-0 (Debuting)

• Defeated older brother Jurgen at Kitzbühel to reach 2nd ATP SF of career (l. to eventual champion Lorenzi 76 76) • Qualified and made debut at Roland Garros (l. to Bedene in 1R) • Achieved career-high No. 71 in Emirates ATP Rankings on October 17 • Won Challenger titles at Mendoza, ARG (d. Michon); Bucaramanga, COL (d. Lorenzi); Morelos, MEX (d. A. Gonzalez) and Mohammedia, MAR (d. Tsitsipas) • Challenger runner-up at Sarasota, USA (l. to M. Zverev) and Poprad, SVK (d. Klizan, l. to Zeballos) • Reached Como, ITA Challenger doubles final w/Langer (l. to Jebavy/An. Martin)

VTB Kremlin Cup Day 1 – Monday, October 17, 2016 Page 6 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS: REMAINING FIRST-ROUND MATCHES

[Q] Alexander Bublik (RUS) vs [WC] Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS) First Tour-Level Meeting Other Meeting: 14 F4 (Belarus) Hard R16 Konstantin Kravchuk 6-1 7-6(5)

[WC] Karen Khachanov (RUS) vs Damir Dzumhur (BIH) First Meeting

[Q] Jurgen Melzer (AUT) vs [6] Pablo Carreño Busta (ESP) Melzer Leads 1-0 14 Düsseldorf () Clay R32 Jurgen Melzer 6-4 6-1

[Q] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) First Meeting

Stephane Robert (FRA) vs Marcel Granollers (ESP) Granollers Leads 1-0 15 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Marcel Granollers 6-3 6-4 6-4

[8] Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) vs (ARG) First Meeting

Dusan Lajovic (SRB) vs [PR] Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) First Meeting

[7] Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) vs [LL] (ITA) First Tour-Level Meeting Other Meeting: 11 Recanati CH (Italy) Hard R32 Federico Gaio 5-7 6-4 6-4

Ricardas Berankis (LTU) vs (ITA) Fognini Leads 1-0 08 Umag () Clay R32 Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-2

[Q] Aslan Karatsev (RUS) vs Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) First Tour-Level Meeting Other Meetings: 12 Penza CH (Russia) Hard R32 Evgeny Donskoy 6-3 6-4 14 Tashkent CH () Hard R16 Evgeny Donskoy 7-6(5) 6-2 15 CH (Russia) Hard QF Aslan Karatsev 6-4 6-1