CITI OPEN: DAY 7 MEDIA NOTES Sunday, August 9, 2015
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CITI OPEN: DAY 7 MEDIA NOTES Sunday, August 9, 2015 William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, Washington D.C., USA | August 3 – 9, 2015 Draw: S-48, D-16 | Prize Money: $1,753,020| Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.citiopentennis.com Maria Garcia-Planas: [email protected] @ATPWorldTour @CitiOpen Robin Holtermann: [email protected] facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/CitiOpen Press Room: +1 202-250-8515 NISHIKORI, ISNER MEET WITH 500 LEVEL ATP WORLD TOUR TITLE AT STAKE Day 7: The Citi Open final on Sunday features No. 2 seed Kei Nishikori and No. 8 seed John Isner in a second time meeting. The No. 1 American won their previous encounter 64 63 in the quarter- finals at ATP Masters 1000 Miami on April 2. Isner won his 10th career ATP World Tour title in his 20th final last Sunday in Atlanta. Nishikori is trying to earn his 10th career ATP World Tour title in his 20th final. First and Last: o Nishikori is the first player from Japan to reach the final here o The last and only player from Asia to reach the final here was Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand in 2002 (l. to Blake) o The last American to win the title here was Andy Roddick in 2007 (d. Isner) 2015 Title Leaders: Nishikori, who defended titles in Memphis (d. Anderson) and Barcelona (d. Andujar), is attempting to become the eighth player to win three or more titles on the ATP World Tour this season. Players with three or more titles this season are: Novak Djokovic 6 Roger Federer 4 David Ferrer 3 Andy Murray 3 Rafael Nadal 3 Dominic Thiem 3 Stan Wawrinka 3 2015 Match Wins Leaders: On Saturday, Nishikori improved 42-9 on the year, third among match wins leaders on the ATP World Tour this season: W-L Titles 1) Novak Djokovic 48-3 6 Andy Murray 48-8 3 3) Kei Nishikori 42-9 2 4) Roger Federer 40-7 3 Tomas Berdych 40-12 0 2015 American Winners: Isner is one of three Americans to win on the ATP World Tour this year and is attempting to become the first to win two titles. Isner has won two ATP World Tour titles in each of the last four years (2011-14). He is trying to win the biggest title of his career, the first at the 500 level. All 10 of his titles have come at the 250 level.. Jack Sock at Houston (d. Querrey) Rajeev Ram at Newport (d. Karlovic) John Isner at Atlanta (d. Baghdatis) Citi Open Day 7 – Sunday, August 9, 2015 Page 2 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com Washington Isner’s Best Event: Isner’s best career win-loss record at an ATP World Tour event is here (23-7 record). He has reached the semi-finals or better here four times, including the final in 2007 (l. to Roddick) and 2013 (l. to del Potro). Here are Isner’s best ATP World Tour tournaments: Washington: 23-7 (2007 & 2013 Finalist) Atlanta: 20-3 (2013, 2014 & 2015 Champion) Indian Wells: 18-8 (2012 Finalist) US Open: 17-8 (2011 Quarterfinalist) Newport: 15-5 (2011 & 2012 Champion) Winston-Salem: 12-0 (2011 & 2012 Champion) Auckland: 12-2 (2010 & 2014 Champion) 30 & Over Success: Isner is attempting to become the 18th ATP World Tour winner 30 & over in 2015. German Philipp Kohlschreiber (31) added his name to the list on Saturday with his title in Kitzbuehel. In 1975, there were 19 winners 30 & over: Roger Federer, Brisbane 33 yrs, 4 months David Ferrer, Doha 32 yrs, 8 months Victor Estrella Burgos, Quito 34 yrs, 6 months Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Zagreb 31 yrs, 8 months Ivo Karlovic, Delray Beach 35 yrs, 11 months Gilles Simon, Marseille 30 yrs, 2 months Roger Federer, Dubai 33 yrs, 5 months David Ferrer, Rio de Janeiro 32 yrs. 10 months David Ferrer, Acapulco 32 yrs, 10 months Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Bucharest 31 yrs, 10 months Roger Federer, Istanbul 33 yrs., 8 months Stan Wawrinka, Roland Garros 30 yrs., 2 months Nicolas Mahut, ‘s-Hertogenbosch 33 yrs., 4 months Roger Federer, Halle 33 yrs., 10 months Rajeev Ram, Newport 31 yrs., 4 months John Isner, Atlanta 30 yrs., 3 months Philipp Kohlschreiber, Kitzbuehel 31 yrs., 9 months WHAT’S AT STAKE – Here is a breakdown of the points and prize money: Winner: $343,000 and 500 Emirates ATP Ranking points Runner-up: $154,620 and 300 Emirates ATP Ranking points FINALS HISTORY – Isner Appearing in his 20th career ATP World Tour level final…10-9 (7-7 on hard) in finals Nishikori Appearing in his 15th career ATP World Tour level final....9-5 (7-3 on hard) in finals SUNDAY CHAMPIONSHIP FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS (8) John Isner (USA) vs (2) Kei Nishikori (JPN) Isner Leads 1-0 15 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard QF John Isner 6-4 6-3 In their previous meeting on April 2 in the QFs at ATP Masters 1000 Miami, Isner fired 13 aces and won 81% of 2nd serve points against one of the ATP World Tour top returners. Isner never faced a break point and he broke an 11-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents. Citi Open Day 7 – Sunday, August 9, 2015 Page 3 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com Isner FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: W: Atlanta (d Baghdatis); SF (2): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); Nice (l Thiem); QF (3): Memphis (l Querrey); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l Berdych); London / Queen's Club (l Troicki) YTD W-L: 31-16 (17-7 on hard) YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 10 Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 18 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): 23-7 (RUP 2007, 13) The 30-year-old American saved three MPs and hit 30 aces in his 63 36 76(9) win over countryman Steve Johnson on Saturday. He hit 20 aces and won four of his 11 break point chances in his 63 57 63 win over Ricardas Berankis to reach the SF here for the fifth time. He advanced to the QF with a 64 76(6) win over No. 12 seed Vasek Pospisil on Thursday. He opened with a 63 76(5) win over Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos on Wednesday. He is a two-time finalist here – 2007 (l. to Roddick) and 2013 (l. to del Potro), also reach the SFs in 2009 (l. to Roddick) and 2011 (l. to Monfils). He is making his 8th appearance here and has a 23-7 tournament record This week No. 1 in aces (77), No. 2 in 1st serve points won (88%), No. 4 in service games won (49 of 52, 94%) Appearing in his 20th career ATP World Tour final (10-9 record, 7-7 on hard) Will move from No. 18 to No. 12 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (regardless of final outcome) Last week captured his 10th career ATP World Tour title and third in a row at Atlanta (d. Baghdatis). With the win he became the 8th active player to achieve a three-peat on the ATP World Tour. He also became the 16th 30 and over winner on the ATP World Tour this year The No. 1 American has a 31-16 record this year (17-7 on hard). Reached SF at ATP Masters 1000 SF at Miami (l. to eventual champion Djokovic). Also reached SF at Nice (l. to eventual champion Thiem) Reached QF at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Berdych). He became first American to reach a clay court ATP Masters 1000 QF since Roddick at 2008 Madrid In Grand Slam play (5-3 record), reached 3R at Australian Open (l. to Muller) and Wimbledon (l.to Cilic), fell in 2R at Roland Garros (l. to Seppi) Has a 16-40 career record vs. Top 10 opponents (2-7 in 2015). Has lost last five since last win over No. 5 Nishikori in QF at ATP Masters 1000 Miami and also at Miami defeated No. 6 Milos Raonic in 4R. Prior to win over Raonic had lost 11 straight since defeating No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro in the SF at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati. Has 1-5 career mark vs. Top 10 foes in ATP World Tour finals with lone win over No. 7 Berdych in ’12 Winston-Salem final (saved 3 MPs) Nishikori FastFacts: 2015 Highlights: W (2): Memphis (d Anderson); Barcelona (d Andujar); F: Acapulco (l Ferrer); SF(3): Brisbane (l Raonic); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l Murray); Halle (l Seppi); QF(4): Australian Open (l Wawrinka); ATP Masters1000 Miami (l Isner); ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); Roland Garros (l Tsonga) YTD W-L: 42-9 (25-5) YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 9 Date of Birth: December 29, 1989 Emirates ATP Ranking: 5 Washington W-L (Best Result-Year): 8-4 (F 2015) The 25-year-old from Japan converted four of his seven break pt. chances and saved six of eight break pts. faced in his 36 61 64 win over No. 3 seed Marin Cilic on Saturday. He advanced to the semi-finals here for the first time with a 64 64 win over Sam Groth on Friday. He advanced to quarter-finals with a 64 64 win over No. 16 seed Leonardo Mayer on Thursday. He opened with a 67(8) 61 64 win over Aussie James Duckworth on Tuesday. He is making his 5th appearance here and last year reached QF (l. to Gasquet).