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Home , 2008 ATP Tour, 2009 Australian Open, Ernests Gulbis, Gilles Simon, Julien Benneteau, Kenny de Schepper

: DAY 2 MEDIA NOTES Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Palais des Sports, , | February 15 – 21, 2016 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: €632,840 | Surface: Indoor Hard

ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.open13.fr Stephanie Natal: [email protected] @ATPWorldTour @Open13 Press Room: +33 (0)4 91 75 93 19 or 24 facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/Open13

FORMER CHAMPS SIMON, GULBIS BACK IN MARSEILLE; KYRGIOS RETURNS

DAY 2 PREVIEW: Reigning champion and No. 5 seed returns to Marseille hoping to become the third player to win back-to-back titles, joining (1993-94, ‘00) and (1997-98 and ‘02). The Frenchman comes in with a 21-7 career record. He won the title in 2007 (d. Baghdatis) and last year he captured his second title (d. Monfils). He also advanced to the semi-finals in 2009 and ’13. He opens in the 1R against top Russian , who won his first ATP World Tour QF (1-16 career) at (d Tomic, l Troicki in SF). Fellow former champion (2014, d. No. 10 Tsonga) returns to face Frenchman on Court 1.

Former semi-finalists Feliciano Lopez (2005) and (2015) open the day’s action on Court Central, the pair’s first meeting since 2012. Lopez is trying to win his 400th career match. The next match features Frenchman against Andrey Kuznetsov, fresh from a career-best 4R run in a at the .

Wild card returns to Marseille after losing in the 1R last year. The 18-year-old – the youngest player in the Top 100 on the ATP World Tour, is coming off a quarter-final in (l. to Monfils) and has jumped to a career-high No. 56 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Zverev faces qualifier , searching for his first ATP World Tour win since January 2015 (Sydney 2R, d Pospisil) after undergoing abductor surgery on June 9.

No. 2 Aussie returns to action after missing Rotterdam with an elbow injury. The 20-year- old opened the season last month by reaching the 3R at the Australian Open (l. to Berdych). He is making his Marseille debut against , his first meeting with the Canadian searching for his second match win of the season (reached 2R Auckland, l. to Sock).

TUESDAY FEDEX ATP 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

Court Central

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) Lopez Leads 2-1 10 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Feliciano Lopez 6-3 4-0 ret 12 () Clay R16 Feliciano Lopez 6-4 7-6(4) 12 () Hard R16 Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6(5) 7-5

Lopez FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: QF: Quito (l Ramos-Vinolas) YTD W-L: 3-3 (2-2 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: September 20, 1981 Emirates ATP Ranking: 25 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 5-5 (SF 2005)

 The 34-year-old reached Marseille QF for the second time in 2015 (l. to Tsonga) after reaching SF in 2005 (l. to Johansson)  Opened season with 1R exit at (l. to Munoz de la Nava) before 3R run at Australian Open (l. to Isner) and reaching QF in Quito (retired against Ramos-Vinolas)  Open 13 Day 2 – Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 Comes in with 399 career singles match wins on ATP World Tour  In 2015, Spaniard finished in Top 20 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 3rd time, as well as 9th straight finish in Top 50 and 14th straight in Top 100

Stakhovsky FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 0-3 (0-3 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: January 6, 1986 Emirates ATP Ranking: 81 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-5 (SF 2015)

 The 30-year-old is making his sixth appearance (6-5 record) in Marseille after reaching the SF last year (l. to eventual champion Simon)  Opened the year with 1R losses at Doha (l. to No. 6 Berdych), Australian Open (l. to Goffin) and Sofia (l. to Kohlschreiber)  Has not won an ATP World Tour match since October 2015 ( 1R d Struff, 2R l. to Karlovic)  In 2015, Ukrainian finished in Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 7th time in 8 years (all but No. 101 finish in 2012)  During 3-week stretch in February 2015, reached Rotterdam QF (l. to No. 6 Raonic), Marseille SF (d. No. 7 Wawrinka, l. to Simon) and QF (l. to No. 8 Berdych)  Only won back-to-back matches at 2 other tournaments, advancing to Nottingham 3R (l. to Istomin) and US Open 3R (l. to Tsonga)

Lucas Pouille (FRA) vs Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) First Meeting

Pouille FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: QF: Brisbane (l. to Raonic) YTD W-L: 2-2 (2-2 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: February 23, 1994 Emirates ATP Ranking: 91 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1R 2013)

 The 21-year-old is making his second tournament appearance after 1R defeat on debut in 2013 (l. to Benneteau)  Opened season with QF appearance in Brisbane (l. to eventual champion Raonic) before 1R exit at Australian Open (l. to Raonic)  In 2015, Frenchman improved ranking for 4th straight season and finished in Top 100 for 1st time at No. 78  Reached 1st 2 career ATP World Tour SFs of career as a in Auckland (l. to Mannarino) and as a qualifier in (l. to Fognini)  Also advanced to QFs in St. Petersburg and (l. to Bautista Agut in both)  Broke into Top 100 on April 20 and achieved career-high ranking of No. 64 on August 3  One of 10 Frenchmen in year-end Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings

Kuznetsov FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: QF: Doha (l Nadal) YTD W-L: 5-3 (5-3 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: February 22, 1991 Emirates ATP Ranking: 54 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (2R 2015)

Open 13 Day 2 – Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 The 24-year-old is playing here for the second time after reaching 2R last year (l. to Monfils)  Opened season by reaching QF at Doha (l. to Nadal) and 4R at Australian Open, his career-best at a Grand Slam (l. to Monfils) before 1R exit at Rotterdam (l. to Troicki)  In 2015, Russian earned career-high 10 wins and finished in Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 3rd time  Reached Moscow QF (l. to Cilic), ending 0-6 start at event (2009-14), but falling to 0-5 lifetime in ATP World Tour QFs  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)

[5] Gilles Simon (FRA) vs Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) Simon Leads 4-1 06 ATP Masters 1000 Clay R64 Gilles Simon 6-4 6-2 07 () Clay R32 Gilles Simon 4-6 6-3 6-2 08 Rotterdam (Netherlands) Hard QF Gilles Simon 6-3 6-2 09 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R16 Gilles Simon 6-1 6-2 14 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R64 Teymuraz Gabashvili 4-6 6-4 6-4 Other meeting: 04 Portugal F2 (Portugal) Hard R32 Gilles Simon 7-6(7) 6-3

Simon FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 4-4 (4-4 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 12 Date of Birth: December 27, 1984 Emirates ATP Ranking: 15 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 21-7 (Winner 2015, ’07)

 The 31-year-old returns to Marseille as defending champion (d. Monfils). Also won the title in 2007 (d. Baghdatis) and reached the SF in 2013 (l .to No. 8 Tsonga)  Won All-French 2015 final at Marseille over Monfils 76 in 3rd for 12th career title. Tied with Tsonga for 3rd-most titles won by Frenchman in Open Era behind Noah’s 23 and Gasquet’s 13  Opened 2016 season with 1R defeat in Brisbane (l. to Dimitrov) then reached 4R at Australian Open (l. to champion Djokovic) for third time in career before 1R loss in Montpellier (l. to Brown) and reaching 2R in Rotterdam (l. to Alexander Zverev)  In 2015, Frenchman finished in Top 20 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 6th time and earned 35+ wins for 7th time  Reached Wimbledon QF (d. No. 6 Berdych, l. to No. 2 Federer), matching career-best Grand Slam finish (also )  Advanced to Roland Garros 4R (l. to eventual champ Wawrinka), matching career-best showing in (also 2011 & 2013 4R)  Lost All-French final at to Tsonga in 3 sets, snapping 12-match win streak at event

Gabashvili FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: SF: Sydney (l Troicki) YTD W-L: 4-4 (4-4 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 23, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 44 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-2 (2R 2008)

 The 30-year-old returns to Marseille for the first time since 2009 (l. 1R to Tursunov) after reaching 2R on only other appearance in 2008 (l. to Ancic)  Has 1-16 lifetime record in ATP World Tour singles QFs after run to Sydney SF (d Tomic, l Troicki) before 1R exits at Australian Open (l Seppi) and Rotterdam (l Mahut)  Opened year by reaching 2R in Doha (l Marchenko) Open 13 Day 2 – Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Page 4 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 In 2015, Russian finished as No. 1 player from his country and in Top 50 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 1st time  Earned 100th tour-level win in St. Petersburg 1R, squandered 3 MPs in 2R (l to Bautista Agut)  Captured 1st ATP World Tour doubles title at w/Berankis (d Bryan/Bryan in QF and Huey/Lipsky in F)

Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Vasek Pospisil (CAN) First Meeting

Kyrgios FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 2-1 (2-1 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: April 27, 1995 Emirates ATP Ranking: 41 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): Debut

 The 20-year-old is making his tournament debut  Playing for the first time since opening the season at Australian Open, where he reached 3R (l. to No. 6 Berdych)  Missed Rotterdam last week with an elbow injury  In 2015, Aussie rose in year-end rankings for 3rd straight season, finishing at No. 30 after peaking at No. 25 on June 8  Reached 2nd-career Grand Slam QF at Australian Open (also 2014 Wimbledon)  Advanced to 1st career final at Estoril (l. to Gasquet) and 2nd SF at Kuala Lumpur (l. to F. Lopez)  Saved 2 MPs to beat No. 2 Federer in ATP Masters 1000 2R (l. to Isner in 3R)

Pospisil FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 1-4 (1-4 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: June 23, 1990 Emirates ATP Ranking: 42 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (2R 2015)

 The 25-year-old reached 2R last year (l. to Bautusta Agut) in his tournament debut  Opened the year with a 1R loss at (l. to Bedene), reached 2R at Auckland (l. to Sock), fell in 1R at Australian Open (l. to Simon) and Rotterdam (l. to A. Zverev)  In 2015, Canadian finished 3rd straight season in Top 60 of singles, earned career-high 25 singles wins, and achieved career-high doubles ranking of No. 4 (on April 27)  Posted career-best Grand Slam singles result at Wimbledon, winning three 5-set matches en route to QF (l. to No. 3 Murray)  Advanced to Valencia SF (l. to Sousa), Kuala Lumpur QF (l. to Lopez) and Atlanta QF (l. to Baghdatis)  Only won back-to-back main draw matches at one other tournament (l. to Garcia-Lopez in Australian Open 3R)

[Q] Julien Benneteau (FRA) vs [WC] Alexander Zverev (GER) First Meeting

Benneteau FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 0-3 (0-3 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: December 20, 1981 Emirates ATP Ranking: 693 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 11-8 (F 2010)

 The 34-year-old has lost in Marseille 1R just twice in eight previous appearances (l. to Dent on debut in 2005, l. to Llodra 2011). Fell in 2R in 2014 (l. to Janowicz) and 2015 (l. to Struff) Open 13 Day 2 – Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Page 5 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 Opened the season with 1R losses at Australian Open (l. to Almagro), Montpellier (l. to Millman) and Rotterdam (l. to Kohlschreiber)  In 2015, Frenchman missed last 8 months of season and underwent abductor surgery on June 9  In limited action, posted 1-5 record in singles (d. Pospisil at Sydney)

Zverev FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: SF: Montpellier (l Mathieu); QF: Rotterdam (l Monfils) YTD W-L: 5-3 (5-3 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: April 20, 1997 Emirates ATP Ranking: 56 Marseille W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1R 2015)

 The 18-year-old fell in the 1R last year (l. to Monfils) after qualifying on his tournament debut  Opened the year with a 1R loss at Australian Open (l. to No. 2 Murray) before reaching 3rd career SF at Montpellier (l. to Mathieu; also Bastad 2015, Hamburg 2014) and QF at Rotterdam (l. to Monfils)  Reached career-high ranking of No. 56 this week (up from No. 70)  Youngest player and only 18-year-old in the ATP Top 100, one of four teenagers (with No. 36 Coric, No. 69 Chung and No. 100 Kokkinakis)  In 2015, German finished as youngest player in year-end Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings  Broke into Top 100 on May 18 following Heilbronn, GER Challenger title (d. Pella)  Reached Båstad SF (l. to Robredo) and Washington QF (d. Anderson, l. to No. 8 Cilic), becoming youngest D.C. quarter-finalist since Roddick in 2000

Court 1

[Q] (GER) vs [WC] (IND) First Meeting

[Q] Kenny De Schepper (FRA) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT) Tied 1-1 14 Queen’s Club (Great Britain) Grass R32 Kenny De Schepper 7-6(3) 7-5 14 U.S. Open Hard R128 Ernests Gulbis 6-1 6-4 6-2