SWISS INDOORS BASEL: DAY 4 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, October 29, 2015
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SWISS INDOORS BASEL: DAY 4 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, October 29, 2015 St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland | October 26 – November 1, 2015 Draw: S-32, D-16 | Prize Money: €1,575,295 | Surface: Indoor Hard ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.swissindoorsbasel.ch Martin Dagahs: [email protected] Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @_Swiss_Indoors Fabienne Benoit: [email protected] Facebook: facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/swissindoorsbasel Press Room: +41 61 3196993 FEDERER BACK ON CENTRE COURT; GASQUET KEEPS EYE ON LONDON DAY 4 PREVIEW: Six-time champion Roger Federer meets Philipp Kohlschreiber as part of Thursday’s schedule at Swiss Indoors Basel, which features six second-round singles and three quarter-final doubles matches. Federer leads Kohlschreiber 10-0 in matches and 22-2 in sets during their FedEx Head 2 Head rivalry, and the German has also lost his last 14 matches against Top 10 opponents. Like Federer and Kohlschreiber, No. 5 seed Richard Gasquet and Dominic Thiem will both hit one-handed backhands during their match on Centre Court. Should Gasquet lose, David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori will secure the final two spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London Nov. 15-22. The Top 2 Americans will face off when No. 6 seed John Isner meets Jack Sock. An American man has not won a Grand Slam in over 12 years, but the Emirates ATP Rankings prove that 2015 has been a promising season for the States. Six Americans in the Top 250 are at a career-high ranking this week, and six others got there earlier this year. AMERICAN ACHIEVEMENTS: CAREER-HIGH RANKINGS IN 2015 Player Age Ranking Career-High Jack Sock 23 29 27 on Sept. 28 Steve Johnson 25 33 33 on Oct. 26 Denis Kudla 23 67 65 on Oct. 12 Austin Krajicek 25 94 94 on Oct. 26 Tim Smyczek 27 101 68 on Apr. 6 Bjorn Fratangelo 22 129 106 on Aug. 17 Jared Donaldson 19 135 135 on Oct. 26 Dennis Novikov 21 142 142 on Oct. 26 Alexander Sarkissian 25 195 184 on Sept. 28 Daniel Nguyen 25 208 189 on July 13 Frances Tiafoe 17 226 226 on Oct. 26 Taylor Fritz 18 228 228 on Oct. 26 INFOSYS ATP SCORES & STATS: No. 4 seed Kevin Anderson, No. 6 seed John Isner and Ivo Karlovic are all in action on Thursday. The three titans of the ATP World Tour arrived in Basel after eclipsing 1,000 aces in 2015. They are the first trio to ever hit more than 1,000 aces during the same season (Infosys ATP Scores & Stats have been tracked since 1991). Please note that the stats below include first-round matches this week, but do not include Davis Cup matches. Rank Player Height Aces Matches Average 1 Ivo Karlovic 6’11” 1,361 60 23 2 John Isner 6’10” 1,181 64 18 3 Kevin Anderson 6’8” 1,017 67 15 4 Gilles Muller 6’4” 765 55 14 5 Milos Raonic 6’5” 743 47 16 Swiss Indoors Basel Day 4 – Thursday, October 29, 2015 Page 2 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com EMIRATES ATP RACE TO LONDON UPDATE: With 11 days remaining in the Emirates ATP Race to London, two spots are still up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Nov. 15-22. The Top 8 players in the race on Nov. 9 will compete at the year-end championships. Six players have qualified so far: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych. David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori are next in line to qualify. Only No. 10 Richard Gasquet is capable of passing either player. Gasquet must win titles at Basel (Oct. 26- Nov. 1) and ATP Masters 1000 Paris (Nov. 2-8) for a shot at qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. If and when Gasquet loses another match, Ferrer and Nishikori will secure their spots. Race Player Points Event QF SF F W 1 Novak Djokovic* 14,285 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 2 Andy Murray* 7,870 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 3 Roger Federer* 6,795 Basel 6,840 6,930 7,050 7,250 4 Stan Wawrinka* 6,140 Basel ------- ------- ------- ------- 5 Tomas Berdych* 4,440 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 6 Rafael Nadal* 4,330 Basel 4,330 4,330 4,450 4,650 7T David Ferrer 3,945 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 7T Kei Nishikori 3,945 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2,545 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 10 Richard Gasquet 2,535 Basel 2,580 2,670 2,790 2,990 11 Marin Cilic 2,395 Basel 2,395 2,485 2,605 2,805 12 Kevin Anderson 2,385 Basel 2,385 2,475 2,595 2,795 13 John Isner 2,315 Basel 2,315 2,405 2,525 2,725 14 Milos Raonic 2,170 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 15 Gilles Simon 2,055 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 16 David Goffin 1,715 Basel 1,715 1,805 1,925 2,125 17 Feliciano Lopez 1,680 Valencia 1,680 1,725 1,785 1,885 18 Bernard Tomic 1,630 Valencia ------- ------- ------- ------- 19 Dominic Thiem 1,555 Basel 1,600 1,690 1,810 2,010 20 Benoit Paire 1,508 Valencia 1,533 1,578 1,638 1,738 * Qualified EMIRATES ATP DOUBLES RACE TO LONDON UPDATE: The Top 8 teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London on Nov. 9 will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Nov. 15-22. Five teams are vying for one vacant spot, with the eighth and final qualifiers to be determined during ATP Masters 1000 Paris next week. In the meantime, No. 2 Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau are two Basel wins away from overtaking No. 1 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the race. Daniel Nestor is also nearing a career milestone. The 43-year-old Canadian enters the Basel quarter-finals two wins shy of becoming the first player to record 1,000 doubles wins (998-410). Race Team Points Event SF F W 1 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan* 6,285 ------- ------- ------- ------- 2 Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau* 6,130 Basel 6,220 6,340 6,540 3 Jamie Murray/John Peers* 5,425 Basel 5,515 5,635 5,835 4 Ivan Dodig/Marcelo Melo* 5,140 ------- ------- ------- ------- 5 Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini* 4,895 ------- ------- ------- ------- 6 Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut* 4,765 ------- ------- ------- ------- 7 Marcin Matkowski/Nenad Zimonjic* 4,290 Basel 4,380 4,500 4,700 8 Rohan Bopanna/Florin Mergea 3,455 Basel ------- ------- ------- 9 Alexander Peya/Bruno Soares 2,920 Basel 3,010 3,130 3,330 10 Vasek Pospisil/Jack Sock 2,820 ------- ------- ------- ------- 11 Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah 2,735 Basel 2,825 2,945 3,145 12 Daniel Nestor/Edouard Roger-Vasselin 2,530 Basel 2,620 2,740 2,940 * Qualified Swiss Indoors Basel Day 4 – Thursday, October 29, 2015 Page 3 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com DAY 4 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court CENTRE COURT [7] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) Cilic Leads 1-0 14 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard QF Marin Cilic 6-2 6-3 Cilic 2015 FastFacts W: Moscow (d. Bautista Agut); SF (4): Stuttgart (l. to Troicki); Washington (l. to Nishikori); US Open (l. to Djokovic); Shenzhen (l. to Garcia-Lopez); QF (4): ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (l. to Djokovic); Geneva (l. to Giraldo); Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic); Tokyo (l. to Nishikori) YTD W-L: 34-17 (20-8 on hard) YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 14 Date of Birth: September 28, 1988 Emirates ATP Ranking: 13 Basel W-L (Best Result): 4-2 (2009 Quarter-finalist) • No. 1 Croat defeated wild card Chiudinelli 63 76(3) in 1R on Wednesday • Won 1st title of 2015 in 1st final on Oct. 25, repeating as champion at Moscow (d. Bautista Agut) • Advanced to US Open SF as defending champion (d. Tsonga, l. to No. 1 Djokovic) • Reached Roland Garros 4R (l. to No. 8 Ferrer) and Wimbledon QF (d. Isner 12-10 in 5th, l. to No. 1 Djokovic) • Has posted 30-11 record since starting season 4-6 • On a 10-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents since winning 2014 US Open title • Lost 2014 US Open final rematches to Nishikori in 3-set Washington SF and 3-set Tokyo QF • Played only 1 tournament in 1st 3 months due to right shoulder injury (ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells) Gabashvili 2015 FastFacts QF (2): Houston (l. to Verdasco); Moscow (l. to Donskoy) YTD W-L: 17-20 (10-14 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 23, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 52 Basel W-L (Best Result): 1-1 (2015 2nd Round) • No. 1 Russian defeated L. Mayer 75 46 64 in 1R on Wednesday • Fell to 0-16 lifetime in ATP World Tour singles QFs with losses in Houston (d. Isner, l. to Verdasco) and Moscow (l. to Donskoy) • Reached Roland Garros 4R (l. to No. 5 Nishikori), matching best Grand Slam finish of career (also 2010 Roland Garros 4R) • In Washington 2R, upset No. 3 Murray 76 in 3rd for 4th Top 10 win of career • Earned 100th tour-level win in St. Petersburg 1R (d. Shyla), squandered 3 MPs in 2R (l. to Bautista Agut) • Fell in Australian Open 1R (l. to Baghdatis), Wimbledon 1R (l. to A. Zverev) and US Open 2R (l. to Seppi) • Won 1st ATP World Tour doubles title at Houston (w/Berankis d. Bryan/Bryan in QF and Huey/Lipsky in F) • Won 22 of 25 matches on ATP Challenger Tour, including 3 titles in UZB (Karshi, Samarkand and Fergana) • Played 1st season of Mylan World TeamTennis for Austin Aces and was named league's Male MVP Swiss Indoors Basel Day 4 – Thursday, October 29, 2015 Page 4 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com Jack Sock (USA) vs [6] John Isner (USA) Isner Leads 4-1 12 Atlanta (U.S.A.) Hard QF John Isner 7-6(7) 6-4 13 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay R16 John Isner 7-5 6-7(3) 7-6(3) 14 Nice (France) Clay R16 John Isner 6-4 6-3 14 Newport (U.S.A.) Grass QF Jack Sock 6-4 7-6(4) 14 Atlanta (U.S.A.) Hard SF John Isner 7-5 6-4 Sock 2015 FastFacts W: Houston (d.