Big Servers Karlovic, Mahut, Muller, Querrey in Semi-Finals
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RICOH OPEN: DAY 6 MEDIA NOTES Saturday, June 11, 2016 Autotron Rosmalen, 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands | June 6-12, 2016 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: €566,525 | Surface: Grass ATP Info Tournament Info ATP PR & Marketing www.ATPWorldTour.com www.ricoh-open.nl Mark Epps: [email protected] @ATPWorldTour @RicohOpen Press Room: +31 653 19 79 00 facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/RicohOpen BIG SERVERS KARLOVIC, MAHUT, MULLER, QUERREY IN SEMI-FINALS SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: The four players with the most aces at the Ricoh Open will contest the tournament’s singles semi-finals on Saturday. No. 7 seed Gilles Muller (54 aces) meets No. 3 seed Ivo Karlovic (42 aces) for the first time on the ATP World Tour, then No. 5 seed Sam Querrey (30 aces) challenges two-time champion and No. 8 seed Nicolas Mahut (24 aces). Karlovic and Querrey have not been broken this week, while Muller has won 36 of 37 service games and Mahut 36 of 38. At 32, Muller is the oldest player in the Emirates ATP Rankings Top 50 who has never won an ATP title. The left-hander from Luxembourg has lost his last seven semi-final matches. In his most recent finals appearances, Muller fell to Andre Agassi at 2005 Los Angeles and Andy Roddick at 2012 Atlanta. Those were the final championships of Agassi’s and Roddick’s respective careers. Karlovic is seeking his first final since falling to Rajeev Ram in a third-set tiebreaker on the grass courts of Newport last summer. In the second semi-final, Mahut and Querrey meet in a 2015 US Open rematch. Mahut defeated Querrey in straight sets to snap a nine-match losing streak on hard courts. The Frenchman is back in his element on the lawns of Autotron Rosmalen, where he has won 21 of his last 22 main draw and qualifying matches. All five of Mahut’s singles finals have come on grass, including Ricoh Open titles in 2013 and 2015. Querrey has reached three grass-court finals, highlighted by the 2010 Queen’s Club title. The doubles final is also scheduled for Saturday, pitting the first-time team of Dominic Inglot and Raven Klaasen against the experienced pair of Mate Pavic and Michael Venus. Already in 2016, Pavic and Venus have collected titles at Auckland, Montpellier and Marseille. If they defeat Inglot and Klaasen, Pavic and Venus will stand alone with the most doubles titles this season. Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Bob and Mike Bryan, and Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah have also won three titles. MOST GRASS-COURT WINS (ACTIVE PLAYERS) 1 Roger Federer 144 2 Andy Murray 90 3 Novak Djokovic 67 4T Ivo Karlovic 61 4T Feliciano Lopez 61 6T Nicolas Mahut 58 6T Rafael Nadal 58 Ricoh Open Day 6 – Saturday, June 11, 2016 Page 2 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – Singles Semi-finals and Doubles Final Centre Court [7] Gilles Muller (LUX) vs [3] Ivo Karlovic (CRO) First ATP Meeting Other Meeting: 03 Binghamton CH (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Ivo Karlovic 6-1 6-1 Muller 2016 FastFacts SF (2): Sydney (l. to Dimitrov); Sofia (l. to Bautista Agut) YTD W-L: 13-10 (21-24 career on grass) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 9, 1983 Emirates ATP Ranking: 44 ’s-Hertogenbosch W-L (Best Result): 8-6 (2015-16 Semi-finalist) • Tournament Note: Leads all players this week with 54 aces. Saved 11/12 BPs and held 36/37 service games • Advanced to SFs at Sydney (d. Thiem in 2R, l. to Dimitrov) and Sofia (d. Garcia-Lopez, l. to Bautista Agut) • Oldest player without a title in Top 50 has lost last 7 SF matches since 2012 Atlanta final (d. Soeda, l. to Roddick) • Fell in 5 sets to Millman in Australian Open 2R and in 3 sets to Baghdatis in Roland Garros 1R • Withdrew from Estoril due to wrist injury Karlovic 2016 FastFacts SF: Istanbul (l. to Dimitrov) YTD W-L: 6-10 (61-31 career on grass) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: February 28, 1979 Emirates ATP Ranking: 28 ’s-Hertogenbosch W-L (Best Result): 3-2 (2016 Semi-finalist) • Tournament Note: Tied for 1st with Querrey this week with 100% of service games won (22/22) and break points saved (4/4). Seeks 1st final since 2015 Newport (l. to Ram) and 1st title since 2015 Delray Beach (d. Young) • At Roland Garros, beat Thompson 12-10 in 5th to become oldest player to reach Grand Slam 3R since Connors at 1991 US Open (l. to No. 2 Murray in 3R) • Ended 8-match losing streak with 1st wins of season to reach Istanbul SF (d. Lajovic and Granollers, l. to Dimitrov) • Win over Lajovic in Istanbul 2R on April 28 served as 300th victory of career • From Istanbul 2R through ATP Masters 1000 Rome 1R, played 10 tiebreaks in 11 sets • Suffered 11th straight loss in a final-set tiebreak, squandering 2 MPs vs. Kudla in ATP Masters 1000 Madrid 1R • Retired in 2 matches and withdrew from 3 events between January and March due to left knee injury Ricoh Open Day 6 – Saturday, June 11, 2016 Page 3 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com [5] Sam Querrey (USA) vs [8/WC] Nicolas Mahut (FRA) Mahut Leads 1-0 15 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Nicolas Mahut 7-5 7-6(6) 7-5 Querrey 2016 FastFacts W: Delray Beach (d. Ram); SF (2): Memphis (l. to Nishikori); Acapulco (l. to Thiem); QF: Houston (l. to Monaco) YTD W-L: 19-11 (44-27 career on grass) YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 8 Date of Birth: October 7, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 37 ’s-Hertogenbosch W-L (Best Result): 3-0 (2016 Semi-finalist) • Tournament Note: Leads all players this week with 89% of 1st serve points won (90/101). Tied for 1st with Karlovic this week with 100% of service games won (30/30) and break points saved (3/3) • Captured 1st singles title since 2012 and 8th overall at Delray Beach (d. del Potro and Ram) • Also won 5th doubles title and 1st w/Johnson at Geneva (d. Klaasen/Ram) • Beat No. 6 Nishikori en route to Acapulco SF, snapping 9-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents (l. to Thiem) • Reached Memphis singles SF (l. to No. 7 Nishikori) and doubles final w/Johnson (l. to Fyrstenberg/S. Gonzalez) • Defeated French qualifiers Herbert and Pouille to reach ATP Masters 1000 Madrid 3R (l. to No. 5 Nadal) • Saved 5 MPs to beat Bedene in Auckland 1R (l. to Isner in 2R) • Retired at 2 sets all in Australian Open 1R vs. Lajovic (cramping) and withdrew from Brisbane (right knee) Mahut 2016 FastFacts SF: Rotterdam (l. to Klizan); QF: Sydney (l. to Troicki) YTD W-L: 12-12 (58-33 career on grass) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: January 21, 1982 Emirates ATP Ranking: 49 ’s-Hertogenbosch W-L (Best Result): 16-2 (2013, 2015 Champion) • Tournament Note: Doubles loss on Thursday means he will fall from No. 1 to No. 2 in June 13 rankings. Seeks 1st final and title since 2015 ’s-Hertogenbosch (d. Goffin) • Won 10 straight sets to qualify and reach Rotterdam SF (d. Troicki, l. to Klizan after holding 3 MPs) • Also qualified and reached QFs at Sydney (d. Seppi, l. to Troicki) • Became World No. 1 in doubles on June 6 – 2nd Frenchman to top rankings in doubles or singles (also Noah) • Swept ATP Masters 1000 doubles titles w/Herbert at Indian Wells (d. Pospisil/Sock), Miami (d. Klaasen/Ram) and Monte-Carlo (d. J. Murray/Soares). Saved 1 MP in Monte-Carlo QF win over Inglot/A. Murray • Frenchmen became 2nd team ever to win 1st 3 ATP Masters 1000 titles of season (Bryan/Bryan in 2014) • Enjoyed 19-match win streak in doubles, including Rotterdam title w/Pospisil (d. Petzschner/Peya) • Retired vs. Granollers in Roland Garros 2R due to left knee injury Ricoh Open Day 6 – Saturday, June 11, 2016 Page 4 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com Court 1 [3] Dominic Inglot (GBR)/Raven Klaasen (RSA) vs First Meeting Mate Pavic (CRO)/Michael Venus (NZL) • Inglot/Klassen defeated Koolhof/Middelkoop 36 63 10-8 in 1R, Brunstrom/Siljestrom 64 61 in QF and Muller/Nielsen 76(6) 16 10-8 in SF • Brit and South African are playing 1st tournament as a team • Inglot is appearing in 1st final of season and 12th of career (4-7). Won 1 title each year 2012-15 • Only previous SF of 2016 came during opening week w/Lindstedt at Brisbane (l. to Kontinen/Peers) • Klaasen is playing in 3rd final of season (0-2) and 18th of career (9-8). Won 2+ titles each 2013-15 • Runner-up w/Ram at ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Herbert/Mahut) and Geneva (l. to Johnson/Querrey) • Pavic/Venus defeated Erlich/Fleming 67(5) 63 14-12 in 1R (saved 2 MPs), received w/o from [2] Dodig/Ram in QF (Dodig-Illness) and beat S. Gonzalez/Lipsky 64 64 in SF • Croat and Kiwi are 19-6 this season and 34-17 lifetime • Own 4-3 record in finals and tied for lead with 3 titles in 2016 (also Bryan/Bryan, Cabal/Farah and Herbert/Mahut) • Captured titles at Auckland (d. Butorac/Lipsky), Montpellier (d. Zverev/Zverev) and Marseille (d. Erlich/Fleming) • Runners-up at Nice (l. to Cabal/Farah) and semi-finalists at Marrakech (l.