Zverev Brothers, Top 3 Seeds Seek Shanghai Qf Spots
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SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS: DAY 5 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, October 13, 2016 Qizhong Tennis Center, Shanghai, China | October 9-16, 2016 Draw: S-56, D-24 | Prize Money: $5,452,985 | Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP World Tour Info Tournament Info ATP PR & Marketing www.ATPWorldTour.com www.ShanghaiRolexMasters.com Richard Evans: [email protected] Twitter: @ATPWorldTour Twitter: @SHRolexMasters Mark Epps: [email protected] Facebook: @ATPWorldTour Facebook: Shanghai Rolex Masters Karina Duckitt: [email protected] Instagram: @ATPWorldTour Instagram: @ShanghaiRolexMasters Press Room: +86 13764352249 ZVEREV BROTHERS, TOP 3 SEEDS SEEK SHANGHAI QF SPOTS DAY 5 PREVIEW: A banner year for Alexander and Mischa Zverev has only gotten better at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, where both brothers will be in third-round action on Thursday. The Zverevs are the first siblings in the Round of 16 of an ATP Masters 1000 event since Olivier and Christophe Rochus at 2006 Miami. Mischa, 29, qualified for his ninth tour-level event of 2016, tying seven other players for the most in a single season since 1990. The German is scheduled to play Stockholm qualifying this weekend should he not beat Marcel Granollers and reach the semi-finals. Alexander, 19, upset Stan Wawrinka in St. Petersburg last month to become the youngest player and first teenager to win an ATP World Tour title since 2008. With a victory over 2015 Shanghai finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday, the #NextGen star would reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. Another player seeking his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final is American Jack Sock, who faces No. 5 seed Milos Raonic on Union Pay 3. Raonic has won eight straight FedEx ATP Head 2 Head matches against Sock. If he makes it nine, the Canadian will have reached the quarter-finals of all nine ATP Masters 1000s in his career. Three other men still in the Shanghai draw have already accomplished that feat: No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic, No. 2 seed Andy Murray and No. 6 seed Gael Monfils. On Thursday, the defending champion Djokovic clashes with Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil, who has won back-to-back main draw matches this week for the first time all season. Murray meets Metz champion Lucas Pouille, who would rise to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race to London with his sixth Top 10 win of the season. Next in line to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is Monfils, will face fellow London hopeful David Goffin. The 11th-seeded Goffin would break into the Top 10 of the race by beating Monfils, and could rise as high as No. 7 by winning the championship on Sunday. However, the Belgian won his only two ATP World Tour titles more than two years ago at Kitzbühel and Metz in 2014. Seven of the 16 seeds were upset in the first or second round, leaving seven players who’ve reached no more than one ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final respectively: A. Zverev (0 QFs), M. Zverev (2009 Rome QF), Sock (0 QFs), Pospisil (2013 Montréal SF), Pouille (2016 Rome SF), Viktor Troicki (2011 Monte-Carlo QF) and Roberto Bautista Agut (2014 Madrid SF). Troicki and Bautista Agut will play a rematch of their Winston-Salem semi-final, which the Spaniard led by a set and 5-0 before surviving 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2. Play concludes on Stadium with the third-seeded Wawrinka meeting Gilles Simon, who like Pospisil, has lost his last 10 matches against Top 10 opponents. Simon defeated Wawrinka en route to the 2014 Shanghai final, but lost to the Swiss here in 2010. The doubles quarter-finals begin on Thursday and include 2014 Shanghai champions Bob and Mike Bryan. Shanghai is the lone ATP Masters 1000 event that the Bryans have won only once. Should they capture the title without a walkover this week, the American twins will become the first doubles team to reach 1,000 victories. Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares would pass Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the No. 1 team in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London, by winning their Shanghai quarter-final on Friday. Murray and Soares have yet to play a point after receiving a first-round bye and a second-round walkover. A win in the quarter-finals would also make Soares the 50th World No. 1 in the 40-year history of the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. Yesterday’s media notes incorrectly stated that Murray, not Soares, could become World No. 1 this week. Shanghai Rolex Masters Day 5 – Thursday, October 13, 2016 Page 2 of 9 www.ATPWorldTour.com EMIRATES ATP RACE TO LONDON (Updated Entering Thursday’s Matches) Position Player Points Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 1 Novak Djokovic* 10,330 27-10: 5 titles in 9 appearances (2008, 2012-15) 2 Andy Murray* 8,775 11-11: 3 SFs in 7 appearances (2008, 2010, 2012) 3 Stan Wawrinka* 5,060 6-6: 2013-15 Semi-finalist 4 Milos Raonic* 4,690 0-2: 2014 Round Robin 5 Kei Nishikori* 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 Dominic Thiem 3,205 Never Qualified _ 9 Tomas Berdych 2,880 6-13: 2011 Semi-finalist; 2010, 2012-15 Round Robin 10 Marin Cilic 2,590 0-3: 2014 Round Robin 11 David Goffin 2,555 Never Qualified 12 Nick Kyrgios 2,460 Never Qualified 13 Roger Federer 2,130 52-12: 6 titles in 14 apps. (2003-04, 2006-07, 2010-11) 14 Lucas Pouille 2,106 Never Qualified 15 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1,980 4-7: 2011 Runner-up; 2008, 2012 Round Robin 16 Grigor Dimitrov 1,945 Never Qualified Key Bold: Player adds 90 points with win on Thursday * Qualified for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (3 spots remain) EMIRATES ATP DOUBLES RACE TO LONDON (Updated Entering Thursday’s Matches) Position Team Points Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut* 7,075 1-2: 2015 Round Robin 2 Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares* 7,070 Never Qualified as a Team 3 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan* 5,890+ 35-20: 4 titles in 13 apps. (2003-04, 2009, 2014) 4 Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez* 4,170+ Never Qualified as a Team 5 Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo 4,130 8-5: 2014 Finalists; 2013, 2015 Semi-finalists 6 Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram 3,600 Never Qualified as a Team 7 Treat Huey/Max Mirnyi 3,065 Never Qualified as a Team 8 Henri Kontinen/John Peers 2,800^ Never Qualified as a Team 9 Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau 2,680 5-3: 2015 Champions, 2014 Round Robin 10 Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah 2,320 Never Qualified as a Team 11 Julien Benneteau/Edouard Roger-Vasselin 2,190 2-2: 2014 Semi-finalists 12 Oliver Marach/Fabrice Martin 2,105 Never Qualified as a Team 13 Pablo Cuevas/Marcel Granollers 2,100^ Never Qualified as a Team 14 Rohan Bopanna/Florin Mergea 2,100 3-2: 2015 Finalists 15 Vasek Pospisil/Jack Sock 2,010 Never Qualified as a Team 16 Mate Pavic/Michael Venus 1,990 Never Qualified as a Team Key Bold: Team still in Shanghai Rolex Masters draw * Qualified for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (4 spots remain) + Team adds 180 points with win on Thursday ^ Team adds 90 points with win on Thursday Shanghai Rolex Masters Day 5 – Thursday, October 13, 2016 Page 3 of 9 www.ATPWorldTour.com FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS: DAY 5 THIRD-ROUND SINGLES MATCHES STADIUM [9] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Alexander Zverev (GER) First Meeting Tsonga 2016 Summary SF (2): Auckland (l. to Bautista Agut); ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (l. to Monfils); QF (4): Buenos Aires (l. to Almagro); ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic); Wimbledon (l. to Murray); US Open (l. to Djokovic) YTD W-L: 30-14 (18-8 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 12 Date of Birth: April 17, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 13 Shanghai W-L (Best Result): 16-6 (2015 Runner-up) • Tournament Note: Reached 30 wins for 9th straight season by beating [PR] F. Mayer and [PR] Tipsarevic • Joined Monfils and Pouille in US Open QF, becoming 1st French trio to reach Grand Slam QF in Open Era • Saved 1 MP to beat Isner 19-17 in 5th after 4h24m en route to Wimbledon QF (l. to No. 2 Murray in 5 sets) • Earned 7th career win over No. 3 Federer to reach ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo SF (l. to Monfils) • Defeated Thiem to advance to ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells QF (l. to No. 1 Djokovic) • Reached Aus. Open 4R (l. to No. 7 Nishikori) and Roland Garros 3R (d. Baghdatis in 2R after trailing by 2 sets) • Clinched France’s Davis Cup wins in 1R vs CAN w/Gasquet (d. Bester/Pospisil) and QF vs CZE (d. Vesely) • Squandered 1 MP in Auckland SF loss to Bautista Agut and 2 MPs in Davis Cup QF loss to Rosol • Retired in Roland Garros 3R (adductor) and US Open QF (left knee) • Withdrew from Rome and London/Queen’s Club (adductor), as well as Metz, Chengdu and Beijing (left knee) A. Zverev 2016 Summary W: St. Petersburg (d. Wawrinka); F (2): Nice (l. to Thiem); Halle (l. to F. Mayer); SF (3): Montpellier (l. to Mathieu); Munich (l. to Thiem); Washington (l. to Monfils); QF (2): Rotterdam (l. to Monfils); Beijing (l. to Ferrer) YTD W-L: 42-22 (23-13 on hard) YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: April 20, 1997 Emirates ATP Ranking: 21 (Career-High) Shanghai W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2016 3rd Round) • Tournament Note: Defeated [8] Cilic 36 63 62 in 2R on Tuesday for 7th win vs Top 15 opponents this season • Snapped Wawrinka’s 11-match win streak in finals to capture 1st ATP World Tour title at St.