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Home , Andreas Seppi, Gilles Simon, Guido Pella

OPEN DE CÔTE D’AZUR: DAY 5 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, May 19, 2016

Nice Lawn Club, Nice, | May 15-21, 2016 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: €463,520 | Surface: Clay

ATP World Tour Info Tournament Info ATP PR & Marketing www.ATPWorldTour.com www.opennicecotedazur.com Nanette Duxin: [email protected] Twitter: @ATPWorldTour Twitter: @OpenNCA Press Room: TBD Facebook: ATP World Tour Facebook: Open de Nice Côte d’Azur

SIX OF TOP EIGHT SEEDS, LED BY THIEM, SIMON, ANDERSON IN QUARTERS

 DAY 5 PREVIEW: The quarter-finals at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur on Thursday feature six of the top eight seeds, led by the trio of , and . Leading off on Centre Court is a first-time meeting with No. 5 seed Joao Sousa against Anderson, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Wednesday. Anderson is the 40th player 30 & over in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings. Both players are attempting to reach their first ATP World Tour semi- final of the season. In the second match on, No. 8 seed and Next Generation star looks for his third win this season against Simon. The 19-year-old German, appearing in his fourth quarter-final this year, won both previous meetings on hard courts in Rotterdam and ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells. Simon is trying to reach his first semi-final of the year and third in Nice (2012, ’14). In the third match on, left-handers and Guido Pella square off for the first time. Both players are making their third ATP World Tour quarter-final showing this season. In the final match on, reigning champion Thiem and No. 7 seed also meet for the first time. Thiem is second on the ATP World Tour this season with 33 match wins (behind Djokovic-37). Thiem is also second in clay court match wins (17), only behind (19). Last year the 22-year-old Austrian won his 33rd match in late September in St. Petersburg. Seppi, who is appearing in his first quarter-final in Nice, is attempting to earn his 300th career ATP World Tour level match win (299-316).

THURSDAY FEDEX ATP 2 HEADS: In Order of Play

CENTRE COURT

[5] Joao Sousa (POR) vs [3-WC] Kevin Anderson (RSA) First Meeting

Sousa 2016 FastFacts: QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Nadal) YTD W-L: 11-15 (7-6 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: March 30, 1989 Emirates ATP Ranking: 28 (Career-high) Nice W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Portuguese No. 1, playing in Nice for first time, has reached quarter-finals with wins over WC Halys 57 64 64 and Estrella Burgos 36 64 64. Comes in a career-high No. 28 in Emirates ATP Rankings • Reached 1st ATP Masters 1000 QF at Madrid (d. Mahut, Granollers and Sock; l. to No. 5 Nadal) • Loss to Nadal was his 20th straight defeat vs. Top 10 opponents (1-22 overall) • Advanced to 3R for 2nd straight season (l. to eventual finalist Murray in 4 sets) • Contributed Portugal’s lone win in 4-1 Group I loss to Austria (d. G. Melzer) • Lost to Fognini in Auckland 1R after holding 2 MPs

Open de Nice Côte d’Azur Day 5 – Thursday, May 19, 2016 Page 2 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Anderson 2016 FastFacts: QF: Auckland (l Sock) YTD W-L: 3-5 (2-2 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: May 18, 1986 Emirates ATP Ranking: 20 Nice W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: The 30-year-old South African (celebrated birthday on Wednesday) made his main draw debut on Tuesday with a win over Schwartzaman 76 63. In 2010, lost in final round of qualifying (l. to Darcis) • Returned following 10-week injury absence and fell in 1R at Madrid (l. to Monfils) and 2R at Rome (l. to Monaco) • Retired from 2 matches and withdrew from 7 tournaments due to left knee and right shoulder injuries • Also underwent minor ankle surgery on March 15 • Prior to this week, lone wins of season came over Haase in Auckland 2R (l. to Sock in QF) and Lopez in ATP Masters 1000 Rome 1R

[8] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs [2] Gilles Simon (FRA) Zverev Leads 2-0 16 Rotterdam (Netherlands) Hard R16 Alexander Zverev 7-5 3-6 7-6(4) 16 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Alexander Zverev 6-2 6-2

Zverev 2016 FastFacts: SF(2): Montpellier (l Mathieu); (l Thiem); QF: Rotterdam (l Monfils) YTD W-L: 19-12 (9-4 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: April 20, 1997 Emirates ATP Ranking: 48 Nice W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: The No. 2 German (behind No. 26 Kohlschreiber) made his Nice debut on Monday, defeating fellow Next Gen star 57 75 ret. (left ankle) and followed on Wednesday with a 75 67 62 victory over\ Granollers. Appearing in fourth QF of season and trying to reach third semi-final • Reached SFs at Montpellier (d. Vanni in 1R after saving 1 MP, l. to Mathieu) and Munich (l. to Thiem) • Set career-highs this season in wins (17) and ranking (No. 43 on May 2) • Beat Dimitrov and Simon en route to ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 4R (l. to No. 5 Nadal after holding 1 MP) • Advanced to Rotterdam QF (d. Simon 76 in 3rd, l. to Monfils) and Barcelona 3R (d. Bellucci, l. to Jaziri) • Appeared in 2nd ATP doubles final with older brother Mischa at Montpellier (l. to Pavic/Venus) • In Davis Cup debut, fell to No. 7 Berdych in 4h, 20m and Rosol in deciding rubber (CZE d. GER 3-2)

Simon 2016 FastFacts: QF(2): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Goffin); Estoril (l Carreno Busta) YTD W-L: 15-10 (7-3 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 12 Date of Birth: December 27, 1984 Emirates ATP Ranking: 18 Nice W-L (Best Result): 6-3 (2012, 2014 Semi-finalist)

• Tournament Note: The 31-year-old Frenchman is making his fourth tournament appearance (6-3 record) and opened on Wednesday with a 64 64 win over Fritz. Trying to advance to his third semi-final: in 2012 (l. to eventual champion Almagro) and in 2014 (l. to Delbonis). Also quarter-finalist in 2013 (l. to Andujar). Appearing in third quarter-final of season and trying to reach first semi-final since getting to final in last September (l. to Tsonga) • Advanced to Australian Open 4R for 3rd time (d. Donskoy in 5 sets, l. to No. 1 Djokovic in 5 sets). Pushed Djokovic to 100 unforced errors over 4 hours, 32 minutes in loss • Reached QFs at ATP Masters 1000 Miami (d. Cilic in 3R, l. to Goffin) and Estoril (l. to Carreño Busta) • Beat Baghdatis and Carreño Busta en route to ATP Masters 1000 Madrid 3R (l. to No. 2 Murray) • Helped France to 5-0 sweep of Canada in Davis Cup 1R with straight-set win over Pospisil • As defending champion, held 3 MPs vs. Gabashvili in 1R before losing 76 in 3rd

Open de Nice Côte d’Azur Day 5 – Thursday, May 19, 2016 Page 3 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs Guido Pella (ARG) First Meeting

Mannarino 2016 FastFacts QF (2): Sofia (l. to Bautista Agut); Delray Beach (l. to Dimitrov) YTD W-L: 11-10 (2-3 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: June 29, 1988 Emirates ATP Ranking: 63 Nice W-L (Best Result): 3-2 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Qualified in 2010 (l. to O. Rochus in 1R) and reached 2R in 2011 (l. to No. 6 Berdych). On Sunday, opened with 67 63 64 win over Haase and followed on Tuesday with a 63 60 victory over No. 4 Paire • This is his third QF of season, first since February in Sofia (l. to Bautista Agut) and Delray Beach (l. to Dimitrov) • Reached 3R at ATP Masters 1000s in Indian Wells (d. Paire, l. to Isner) and Miami (d. Querrey, l. to Kuznetsov) • Also reached Australian Open doubles SF w/Pouille (d. Bolelli/Fognini and Rojer/Tecau, l. to J. Murray/Soares) • Entered Melbourne with 1-9 doubles record and 0-1 record overall w/Pouille • Captured 11th ATP Challenger Tour title to start season at Noumea, CAL (d. Falla)

Pella 2016 FastFacts: F: Rio de Janeiro (l Cuevas); QF: Bucharest (l Garcia-Lopez) YTD W-L: 12-10 (8-7 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 17, 1990 Emirates ATP Ranking: 54 Nice W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: The 26-year-old Argentine (celebrated birthday Tuesday) has posted wins over qualifier Medvedev 61 67 76 and Young 63 60 to reach his third ATP World Tour quarter-final of season • Broke through to 1st ATP World Tour final at Rio de Janeiro (d. Thiem, l. to Cuevas in 3 sets) • Saved 3 MPs in Rio de Janeiro 1R to beat No. 11 Isner 76(5) 57 76(8) • Achieved career-high No. 39 in Emirates ATP Rankings on March 21 • Reached Bucharest QF (l. to Garcia-Lopez after holding 1 MP) and Indian Wells 3R (l. to Goffin in 3 sets) • Made winning Davis Cup debut to open ’s 3-2 victory over Poland in 1R (d. Przysiezny) • Earned 1st Australian Open win and 2nd overall at a Grand Slam (d. Darcis in 5 sets, l. to Lopez in 5 sets)

[1] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs [7] Andreas Seppi (ITA) First Meeting

Thiem 2016 FastFacts: W(2): (d Almagro); Acapulco (d Tomic); F: Munich (l Kohlschreiber); SF(2): Brisbane (l Federer); Rio de Janeiro (l Pella); QF: ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Nishikori) YTD W-L: 33-10 (17-5 on clay) YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 5 Date of Birth: September 3, 1993 Emirates ATP Ranking: 15 Nice W-L (Best Result): 7-1 (2015 Champion)

• Tournament Note: The 22-year-old reigning champion, making his third straight appearance in Nice, improved to 7-1 with a 63 60 win over on Wednesday. Last year came in ranked No. 42 and only set he lost came in final where he rallied from a set down to beat Mayer 67 75 76 for maiden ATP World Tour title. Made debut two years ago and reached 2R (d. Johnson, l. to Simon) • Appearing in seventh quarter-final or better this season on ATP World Tour. Has 5-1 record in QF matches • Captured 5th career title -- 1st ATP World Tour 500 – by beating Tomic in Acapulco final • Saved 1 MP in Buenos Aires 2R (d. Elias) and SF (d. No. 5 Nadal 76 in 3rd) en route to title (d. Almagro 76 in 3rd) • Runner-up at Munich (l. to Kohlschreiber 76 in 3rd), snapping 5-match win streak in finals • Rose to career-high No. 13 in Emirates ATP Rankings on March 7 • Reached Australian Open 3R (l. to Goffin) and Indian Wells 4R (l. to No. 9 Tsonga) for 1st time in career • Converted 3 of 39 BPs in losses to No. 1 Djokovic at Miami, No. 5 Nadal at Monte-Carlo and del Potro at Madrid • Earned 1st 3 Davis Cup victories of career to lead Austria to 4-1 win over Portugal in Europe/Africa Zone Group I, beating Elias 76 in 5th, rallying from 2 sets down w/Peya to defeat Elias/Sousa, and clinching tie over Sousa • Retired down 76(2) 22 in Sydney 2R against Muller due to blisters Open de Nice Côte d’Azur Day 5 – Thursday, May 19, 2016 Page 4 of 4 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Seppi 2016 FastFacts: QF: Sofia (l Klizan) YTD W-L: 10-9 (3-2 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: February 21, 1984 Emirates ATP Ranking: 41 Nice W-L (Best Result): 4-3 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: The 32-year-old Italian is appearing in his first QF after posting wins over Munoz de la Nava 67 75 64 (saved 1 MP) and Mathieu 46 62 64 to improve his career record to 4-3 in Nice. Also reached 2R in 2010-11. Appearing in second quarter-final this season on ATP World Tour (Sofia in February) and trying to advance to first semi-final since last August (l. to Nadal) • Looking to earn his 300th career match win on ATP World Tour (299-316) • Advanced to Australian Open 3R for 3rd time in career (l. to eventual champion Djokovic) • Made 43rd consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam main draw • Reached 2R at ATP Masters 1000s in Indian Wells (l. to Isner), Miami (l. to Dolgopolov) and Rome (l. to Gasquet) • Helped to 5-0 sweep of Switzerland in Davis Cup 1R (d. Laaksonen, w/Bolelli d. Chiudinelli/Laaksonen) • Captured 1st ATP World Tour doubles title in 7th final at Dubai w/Bolelli (d. Lopez/Lopez after saving 2 MPs) • Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 Madrid due to hip injury