QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN: DAY 4 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, January 7, 2016
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QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN: DAY 4 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, January 7, 2016 Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar | January 4-9, 2016 Draw: S-32, D-16 | Prize Money: $1,189,605 | Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.qatartennis.org Martin Dagahs: [email protected] Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @QatarTennis Facebook: facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/qatartennis Press Room: +974 44409620 DJOKOVIC, NADAL JOINED IN QFS BY NO. 94 MARCHENKO, NO. 102 EDMUND QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEW: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is right where he was exactly one season ago, playing in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-finals. On that day in 2015, the top seed was upset by 6-foot-11 Ivo Karlovic. Undeterred, Djokovic has reached the final in all 15 tournaments that he has played thereafter, the longest finals streak since Roger Federer appeared in 17 straight from to June 2005 to August 2006. Djokovic would inch within one of Federer’s mark with a win over No. 8 seed Leonardo Mayer on Thursday and another in the semi-finals on Friday. Like Djokovic, Rafael Nadal was eliminated early at the 2015 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, suffering a first-round loss to qualifier Michael Berrer. Unlike Djokovic, Nadal is looking to end – not extend – a streak this week. The No. 2 seed has gone 18 hard-court tournaments since winning his last title on the surface, which came at Doha in 2014. In Thursday’s quarter-finals, Nadal faces 79th-ranked Andrey Kuznetsov, whom he defeated in straight sets at Roland Garros last May. Djokovic and Nadal make a living in the quarter-finals of ATP World Tour events. Fellow quarter- finalists Illya Marchenko and Kyle Edmund, on the other hand, were happy making it into the Doha main draw. Marchenko was the last direct acceptance at No. 94 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, and he capitalized by defeating defending champion David Ferrer – his first win over a Top 10 player. The 28-year-old Ukrainian meets No. 7 seed Jeremy Chardy on Thursday. At No. 102, Edmund was required to qualify with two wins over the weekend. The Davis Cup champion added two more in the main draw to reach his very first ATP World Tour quarter-final. Edmund, who turns 21 on Friday, entered Doha with a 2-13 career record. His quarter-final against No. 3 seed Tomas Berdych will be the first match of his career against a Top 10 player. ATP MEDIA INFO ON TWITTER: New in 2016, the ATP World Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest information, facts and figures about players and events. Follow @ATPMediaInfo at twitter.com/ATPMediaInfo for timely updates to complement daily media notes. Qatar ExxonMobil Open Day 4 – Thursday, January 7, 2016 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com DAY 4 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play [7] Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs Illya Marchenko (UKR) First ATP Meeting Other Meeting: 07 Marseille Q (France) Hard 1R Jeremy Chardy 6-1 6-3 Chardy 2015 FastFacts SF: ATP Masters 1000 Montréal (l. to Djokovic); QF (3): Marseille (l. to Simon); Houston (l. to Anderson); Stockholm (l. to Gasquet) 2015 W-L: 27-27 (20-17 on hard) 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: February 12, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 31 Doha W-L (Best Result): 2-2 (2016 Quarter-finalist) • Frenchman started season with 61 61 win over Zayid (Monday) and 62 64 win over Mathieu (Wednesday) • Owns 7-2 record against Ukrainians in tour-level matches • In 2015, finished in Top 35 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 4th straight season • Played in 1st career ATP Masters 1000 SF at Montréal after saving 9 MPs (2 vs. L. Mayer in 2R, 7 vs. Isner in QF). Lost to No. 1 Djokovic in SF • Advanced to US Open 4R for 1st time with win over No. 7 Ferrer, snapping 12-match losing streak to Top 10 opponents (l. to No. 9 Cilic) • Reached Roland Garros 4R with Top 20 wins over Isner and Goffin (l. to No. 3 Murray), matching career- best showing in Paris (also 2008 4R) • Other Grand Slam results: Australian Open 2R (l. to Seppi) and Wimbledon 1R (l. to No. 6 Berdych) • Won 3rd career doubles title at Båstad w/Kubot (d. Cabal/Farah) • Fell to countryman Gasquet in Stockholm QF 76 in 3rd • Teamed w/Anderson to beat Bryan/Bryan en route to ATP Masters 1000 Rome SF (l. to Cuevas/Marrero) Marchenko 2015 FastFacts QF: ’s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Goffin) 2015 W-L: 5-7 (3-4 on hard) 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: September 8, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 94 Doha W-L (Best Result): 3-1 (2016 Quarter-finalist) • Ukrainian started season with 67(8) 63 62 win over Ferrer (Tuesday) and 64 62 win over Gabashvili (Wednesday). Earned 1st win of career vs. Top 10 opponent by beating No. 7 Ferrer • Attempting to reach 3rd ATP World Tour SF of career and 1st since 2010 St. Petersburg (l. to Kukushkin) • Winner of 6 straight matches against Frenchmen and 10 of last 11 (includes qualifying and Challengers) • In 2015, Ukrainian returned to year-end Top 100 for 1st time since 2010, finishing season at No. 94 • Qualified at Australian Open (l. to No. 8 Raonic in 1R), Roland Garros (l. to Berlocq in 1R after leading by 2 sets) and US Open (d. Monfils in 1R, l. to Stakhovsky in 2R). Did not attempt to qualify at Wimbledon • Best ATP World Tour result was QF at 's-Hertogenbosch in June (l. to Goffin) • Posted 30-16 record on ATP Challenger Tour with 4th career title at Mons, BEL (d. Becker) Qatar ExxonMobil Open Day 4 – Thursday, January 7, 2016 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) Nadal Leads 1-0 15 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-3 6-2 Kuznetsov 2015 FastFacts QF: Moscow (l. to Cilic) 2015 W-L: 10-12 (6-5 on hard) 2015 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: February 22, 1991 Emirates ATP Ranking: 79 Doha W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2016 Quarter-finalist) • Russian started season with 62 64 win over Ilhan (Monday) and 76(6) 61 win over Berankis (Wednesday) • Owns 1-6 record vs. Top 10 (7 different players), posting 5-set win over No. 7 Ferrer in 2014 Wimbledon 2R • In 2015, Russian earned career-high 10 wins and finished in Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 3rd time • Reached 2015 Moscow QF (l. to Cilic), ending 0-6 start at event (2009-14), but falling to 0-5 lifetime in ATP World Tour QFs • Lost to No. 7 Nadal in Roland Garros 3R, matching career-best showing at a Grand Slam (also 2014 Wimbledon and 2014 US Open 3R) • Reached 2R at Australian Open (l. to No. 1 Djokovic), Marseille (l. to Monfils), Barcelona (l. to Kohlschreiber) and Geneva (l. Delbonis) • Qualified at Rotterdam, Geneva and ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo and Shanghai • Posted 24-6 record on ATP Challenger Tour with back-to-back titles at Manerbio, ITA (d. Muñoz de la Nava) and Como, ITA (d. Brands) • Improved to 5-0 lifetime in Davis Cup with 2 wins over DEN (d. Pedersen and Nielsen) Nadal 2015 FastFacts W (3): Buenos Aires (d. Monaco); Stuttgart (d. Troicki); Hamburg (d. Fognini); F (3): ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Murray); Beijing (l. to Djokovic); Basel (l. to Federer); SF (4): Rio de Janeiro (l. to Fognini); ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (l. to Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l. to Tsonga); Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (l. to Djokovic); QF (6): Australian Open (l. to Berdych); ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Raonic); ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l. to Wawrinka); Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Montréal (l. to Nishikori); ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Wawrinka) 2015 W-L: 61-20 (30-12 on hard) 2015 Titles: 3 / Career Titles: 67 Date of Birth: June 3, 1986 Emirates ATP Ranking: 5 Doha W-L (Best Result): 21-6 (2014 Champion) • Spaniard started season with 67(5) 63 61 win over Carreño Busta (Tuesday) and 63 62 win over Haase (Wednesday) • Owns 8-0 record against Russians since falling to Davydenko in 2011 Doha SF • In 2015, finished in Top 5 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 11th straight season • Captured titles at Buenos Aires (d. Monaco), Stuttgart (d. Troicki) and Hamburg (d. Fognini), while also reaching finals at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to No. 3 Murray), Beijing (l. to No. 1 Djokovic) and Basel (l. to No. 3 Federer) • Qualified for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, going 3-0 in RR before falling to No. 1 Djokovic in SF (d. No. 4 Wawrinka, No. 2 Murray and No. 7 Ferrer) • Denied a 10th Roland Garros title by No. 1 Djokovic in QF, falling to 70-2 lifetime on Parisian clay • Reached Australian Open QF (l. to No. 7 Berdych), Wimbledon 2R (l. to No. 102 Brown) and US Open 3R (l. to Fognini after leading 2 sets to 0) • Earned 300th career ATP Masters 1000 win over No. 4 Wawrinka in Shanghai QF (l. to Tsonga in SF) • Failed to win at least 1 Grand Slam title and 1 ATP Masters 1000 title for 1st time since 2004 • Extended Davis Cup singles win streak to 22 matches with victory over Torpegaard of DEN in Sept. • Captured 9th ATP World Tour doubles title at Doha w/Monaco (d.