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Home , Alexander Bublik, Alexander Kudryavtsev, Alexandre Sidorenko, Andrei Olhovskiy, Andrey Golubev, Brett Steven

ST. PETERSBURG OPEN: PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Monday, September 21, 2015

Sibur Arena, St. Petersburg, | September 21-27, 2015 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: $1,030,000 | Surface: Indoor Hard

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ST. PETERSBURG OPEN TALKING POINTS

 SPOTLIGHT ON ST. PETERSBURG: The St. Petersburg Open celebrates its 20th edition as it returns to the ATP World Tour Monday following a one-year hiatus. Now staged at the world-class Sibur Arena, the event was held from 1995 to 2013 at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex.

Australian Open semi-finalist Tomas Berdych, No. 2 seed and rising star lead a star-studded field back to St. Petersburg, which serves as an important event on the road to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. A maximum of 4,000 Emirates ATP Ranking points are on the line over the next seven weeks before the season finale in Nov. 15-22. Berdych, Raonic and Thiem are among those hoping to qualify by finishing the year among the Top 8.

Position Singles Player Points 1 (Qualified) 12,785 2 (Qualified) 7,510 3 (Qualified) 6,740 4 (Qualified) 5,505 5 Tomas Berdych 3,850 6 3,770 7 3,715 8 3,005 13 Milos Raonic 1,830 18 Dominic Thiem 1,465

 DAY 1 PREVIEW: Main draw singles and doubles action gets underway Monday at the St. Petersburg Open, along with four final-round qualifying matches. Newlywed Andreas Haider- Maurer, who tied the knot on Sept. 12, meets Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain in the only main draw singles match of the day. A pair of first-time teams meet in the lone doubles match on the schedule as Frantisek Cermak and challenge No. 1 seeds and . In qualifying, Russians , , Valery Rudney and Evgeny Tyurnev attempt to join four of their countrymen in the main draw.

St. Petersburg Open Day 1 – Monday, September 21, 2015 Page 2 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 BERDYCH’S ROAD TO LONDON: Headlining the St. Petersburg Open is top-seeded Tomas Berdych, who returned to the Top 5 of the Emirates ATP Rankings on September 14. Berdych is seeking his first title of the season and trying to qualify at London for the sixth straight year. The Czech, who turned 30 on September 17, has won at least two matches at 14 of his 15 tournaments in 2015. Berdych is on pace to post the best win percentage and year-end ranking of his career.

Year W-L Ranking* Titles 2015 45-15 (.750) 5 0 2014 55-22 (.714) 7 2 2013 54-25 (.684) 7 0 2012 61-23 (.726) 6 2 2011 53-23 (.697) 7 1 2010 45-26 (.634) 6 0 * Year-end rankings used for 2010-2014; Sept. 21 ranking used for 2015.

 RAONIC’S ROCKET : Canadian Milos Raonic owns one of the most effective serves that the ATP World Tour has ever seen according to Infosys ATP Scores and Stats. While aces are often the stat most associated with big servers, Raonic ranks second among all players in a category that leads more directly to match wins. He holds in 91% of his service games overall.

Player Service Holds Service Games Percentage Ivo Karlovic 6,606 7,200 91.75% Milos Raonic 3,409 3,744 91.05% 5,589 6,139 91.04% 8,836 9,807 90.10% 9,443 10,641 88.74% * Statistics date back to 1991 and do not include matches.

 RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME: For one player in particular, the return of the St. Petersburg Open is reason to rejoice. Russian is the winningest player in event history with 31 victories spread across 12 consecutive appearances (2002-13). Long among the most consistent players on the ATP World Tour, Youzhny is 9-20 this year and fell outside the Top 100 in July for the first time since 2001. Searching for wins, the 33-year-old Youzhny has come to the right place.

Player Tournament W-L Champion Runner-Up Mikhail Youzhny 31-11 (.738) 2004 2002, 2010 20-6 (.769) 2000, 2001 Never 18-5 (.783) 1997, 2005 2006 17-5 (.773) 1995 1996 13-5 (.722) 2013 Never

 PAST CHAMPIONS RETURN: Three former champions return to Russia this week: local favorite Mikhail Youzhny (2004), Mikhail Kukushkin (2010) and Ernests Gulbis (2013). Youzhny (9-20) and Gulbis (8-20) have struggled this season, though the Latvian may receive a confidence boost as the defending champion. Kukushkin, on the other hand, arrives in good form after upsetting No. 17 seed en route to the third round of the US Open (l. to Cilic in 5 sets).

St. Petersburg Open Day 1 – Monday, September 21, 2015 Page 3 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 RUSSIA’S RUBLEV RISING: At 17, is the youngest player in the Top 200 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. The World No. 178 has already won more tour-level matches before the age of 18 than every teenager ranked ahead of him, including 38th-ranked Borna Coric (7 wins as a 17-year-old). Rublev’s eight pre-18 wins are also more than each member of the Top 5 posted.

Rank Player 18th Birthday W-L Before 18 1 Novak Djokovic May 22, 2005 4-7 (.364) 2 Roger Federer August 8, 1999 7-14 (.333) 3 Andy Murray May 15, 2005 0-1 (.000) 4 Stan Wawrinka Mar. 28, 2003 0-0 5 Tomas Berdych Sept. 17, 2003 1-1 (.500) 178 Andrey Rublev Oct. 20, 2015 8-11 (.421)

 THIEM AMONG WORLD’S BEST: Entering the 2015 season, Dominic Thiem had yet to win an ATP World Tour singles championship. The 22-year-old Austrian makes his St. Petersburg Open debut this week with three titles to his name, putting him in elite company this year.

Player Age Titles 2015 Championships Novak Djokovic 28 7 Aus. Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Wimbledon, US Open Roger Federer 34 5 Brisbane, Dubai, , Halle, Cincinnati Andy Murray 28 4 Munich, Madrid, London/Queen’s Club, Montreal David Ferrer 33 3 , Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco Rafael Nadal 29 3 Buenos Aires, , Hamburg Kei Nishikori 25 3 Memphis, , Washington Dominic Thiem 22 3 Nice, Umag, Gstaad Stan Wawrinka 30 3 Chennai, Rotterdam, Roland Garros

 STORIED PAST IN ST. PETERSBURG: Seven champions have also won the St. Petersburg Open title, most recently 2014 US Open winner Marin Cilic, who reigned in Russia three years earlier. Looking for a breakout of their own this week are Spaniard , Australian teen and Frenchmen Benoit Paire and .

o Bautista Agut: Extended eventual champion Djokovic to four sets in US Open 4R o Kokkinakis: 19-year-old has qualified for six ATP World Tour events this season o Paire: Won first title at Bastad; defeated Nishikori en route to US Open 4R (l. to Tsonga) o Pouille: Reached first 2 SFs of career as at Auckland and qualifier at Hamburg

St. Petersburg Open Day 1 – Monday, September 21, 2015 Page 4 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com

 ARRIVING FROM DAVIS CUP: Eleven of the 28 players in the St. Petersburg Open singles draw are arriving after representing their respective nations in Davis Cup this past weekend, including , Andrey Rublev and of Russia. Gabashvili’s singles win over was Russia’s only point in its 4-1 loss to in a World Group Play-off tie.

Player Davis Cup Location Team Result Player Results Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) Odense, DEN ESP d. DEN 5-0 d. Nielsen 63 64 (GER) Santo Domingo, DOM GER d. DOM 4-1 d. Cid 64 76(4) d. Manafov 64 62 62 Ricardas Berankis (LTU) Vilnius, LTU UKR d. LTU 4-1 l. to Marchenko/Molchanov (w/Grigelis) l. to Marchenko 75 62 62 l. to Gabashvili 76(2) 61 63 Simone Bolelli (ITA) Irkutsk, RUS ITA d. RUS 4-1 d. Donskoy/Kravchuk (w/Fognini) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) Irkutsk, RUS ITA d. RUS 4-1 l. to Bolelli/Fognini (w/Kravchuk) d. Bolelli 76(2) 61 63 Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) Irkutsk, RUS ITA d. RUS 4-1 l. to Fognini 76(4) 63 76(5) d. Johnson 61 36 76(5) 67(3) 75 (UZB) Tashkent, UZB USA d. UZB 3-1 l. to Johnson/Querrey (w/Dustov) l. to Sock 62 26 64 64 d. Gombos 76(1) 64 67(5) 62 (POL) Gdynia, POL POL d. SVK 3-2 l. to Klizan 63 76(4) 63 l. to A. Murray 63 60 63 Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) Glasgow, GBR GBR d. AUS 3-2 d. Evans 75 64 Andrey Rublev (RUS) Irkutsk, RUS ITA d. RUS 4-1 l. to Fognini 76(8) 62 62 l. to Gerasimov 06 16 62 62 64 Joao Sousa (POR) Viana do Castelo, POR POR d. BLR 3-2 d. Betov/Mirnyi (w/Elias) d. Ignatik 61 61 64 NOTE: Doubles players (BLR), (RUS) and (SVK) also played Davis Cup Sept. 18-20.

FORMER ST. PETERSBURG CHAMPIONS AND FINALISTS

YEAR CHAMPION FINALIST Bold = Denotes those in this year’s main draw 2013 Ernests Gulbis Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or qualifying 2012 Martin Klizan 2011 Marin Cilic Janko Tipsarevic

2010 Mikhail Kukushkin Mikhail Youzhny 2009 2008 Andy Murray 2007 Andy Murray 2006 Mario Ancic Thomas Johansson 2005 Thomas Johansson

2004 Mikhail Youzhny 2003 2002 Sebastien Grosjean Mikhail Youzhny 2001 Marat Safin Rainer Schuettler 2000 Marat Safin Dominik Hrbaty 1999

1998 Marc Rosset 1997 Thomas Johansson 1996 Yevgeny Kafelnikov 1995 Yevgeny Kafelnikov Guillaume Raoux

St. Petersburg Open Day 1 – Monday, September 21, 2015 Page 5 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com

FORMER ST. PETERSBURG DOUBLES CHAMPIONS

YEAR CHAMPIONS YEAR CHAMPIONS 2013 & Fernando Verdasco 2003 & Nenad Zimonjic 2012 & Nenad Zimonjic 2002 & 2011 & 2001 Denis Golovanov & Yevgeny Kafelnikov 2010 & 2000 & 2009 Colin Fleming & 1999 & 2008 Travis Parrott & Filip Polasek 1998 & Mikael Tillstrom 2007 Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjic 1997 & 2006 & 1996 Yevgeny Kafelnikov & Andrei Olhovskiy 2005 Julian Knowle & Jurgen Melzer 1995 & Anders Jarryd 2004 Arnaud Clement & Michael Llodra

WHO TO WATCH THIS WEEK

SINGLES

SEED PLAYER RECORD BEST FINISH 1. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 0-0 Debut in 2015 2. Milos Raonic (CAN) 0-0 Debut in 2015 3. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 0-0 Debut in 2015 4. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 4-2 2012 & 2013 Quarter-finalist 5. (ESP) 0-1 2006 Round of 32 6. Benoit Paire (FRA) 0-0 Debut in 2015 7. Joao Sousa (POR) 3-1 2013 Semi-finalist 8. Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-4 2010 Champion

 WILDCARDS (3)  YOUNGEST Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) Andrey Rublev (RUS) – 17 years, 11 months Andrey Rublev (RUS) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)  OLDEST Benjamin Becker (GER) – 34 years, 3 months  QUALIFIERS (4) TBD on Monday  TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN Russia (4), Spain (4), Austria (2), (2)

St. Petersburg Open Day 1 – Monday, September 21, 2015 Page 6 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DOUBLES

SEED PLAYER BEST FINISH 1. Treat Huey (PHI) & Henri Kontinen (FIN) Debut in 2015 2. Julian Knowle (AUT) & (AUT) Debut in 2015 3. (POL) & Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) Debut in 2015 4. (AUT) & (CAN) Debut in 2015

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

EMIRATES ATP RANKINGS POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY

W F SF QF R16 R32 SINGLES RANKINGS POINTS 250 150 90 45 20 0 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 187,350 98,670 53,450 30,450 17,945 10,630 DOUBLES RANKINGS POINTS 250 150 90 45 0 — DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 56,920 29,920 16,210 9,280 5,430 —

DAY 1 FEDEX ATP 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

CENTRE COURT

Qualifying Alexander Bublik (RUS) vs [6] Yaraslav Shyla (BLR)

FedEx Head 2 Head: Never played an ATP World Tour main draw match

Other meeting: 15 CH Qualifying (Russia) Hard 1R Alexander Bublik 2-6 6-4 6-3

Qualifying [3] Alexander Kuznetsov (RUS) vs Alexandre Sidorenko (FRA)

FedEx Head 2 Head: Never played an ATP World Tour main draw match

Main Draw Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT)

FedEx Head 2 Head: First Meeting

Gimeno-Traver 2015 FastFacts F: Casablanca (l. to Klizan); SF: (l. to Vesely); QF: Istanbul (l. to Federer) YTD W-L: 12-16 (1-3 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: August 7, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 78 St. Petersburg W-L (Best Result): 3-2 (2012 SF)

St. Petersburg Open Day 1 – Monday, September 21, 2015 Page 7 of 7 www.ATPWorldTour.com

• 30-year-old Spaniard posted best results on clay this spring, reaching 1st career final at Casablanca (d. Vesely, l. to Klizan), SF at Bucharest (l. to Vesely) and QF at Istanbul (l. to No. 2 Federer) • Enters St. Petersburg on a 9-match ATP World Tour main draw losing streak since Roland Garros • Qualified at Rio de Janeiro, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells and ATP Masters 1000 Madrid • Won 14th career ATP Challenger title in February at Bucaramanga, Colombia (d. Elias) • Grand Slam results: DNP, Roland Garros 2R (l. to No. 8 Ferrer), Wimbledon 1R (l. to No. 8 Raonic) and US Open 1R (l. to Thiem) • Comes into St. Petersburg with tour-level records of 1-3 on hard, 11-10 on clay, 0-3 on grass and 0-4 vs. Top 10 opponents

Haider-Maurer 2015 FastFacts SF: Rio de Janeiro (l. to Ferrer); QF (3): Chennai (l. to Goffin); Casablanca (l. to Dzumhur); Umag (l. to Thiem) YTD W-L: 20-21 (7-6 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: March 22, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 61 St. Petersburg W-L (Best Result): Debut in 2015

• 28-year-old Austrian reached 2nd ATP World Tour SF of career at Rio de Janeiro (d. Robredo in 2R, l. to No. 9 Ferrer) • Has won 20 tour-level matches this season after posting only 17 total victories from 2011 to 2014 • Achieved career-high ranking of No. 47 on April 20 • Posted 3-0 Davis Cup record for Austria against in March and Netherlands in July • Won 9th career ATP Challenger title in August at Meerbusch, (d. Berlocq) • Grand Slam results: Australian Open 2R (l. to Isner), Roland Garros 1R (l. to Schwartzman), Wimbledon 1R (l. to Berankis) and US Open 2R (d. Pospisil in 5 sets, l. to No. 1 Djokovic) • Comes into St. Petersburg with tour-level records of 7-6 on hard, 12-11 on clay, 1-4 on grass and 0-3 vs. Top 10 opponents

COURT 1

Qualifying [1] (MDA) vs Valery Rudnev (RUS)

FedEx Head 2 Head: Never played an ATP World Tour main draw match

Other meeting 12 Tyumen CH (Russia) Hard R16 Valery Rudnev 6-3 7-6(1)

Qualifying [2] Andrey Golubev (KAZ) vs Evgeny Tyurnev (RUS)

FedEx Head 2 Head: Never played an ATP World Tour main draw match