J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad: Preview & Day 1
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J. SAFRA SARASIN SWISS OPEN GSTAAD: PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Monday, July 18, 2016 Roy Emerson Arena, Gstaad, Switzerland | July 18 – 24, 2016 Draw: S-28, D-16 | Prize Money: €463,520 | Surface: Clay ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com http://www.jsafrasarasinswissopengstaad.ch Fabienne Benoit: [email protected] @ATPWorldTour @swissopengstaad Press Room: + 41335665219 facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/SwissOpenGstaad J. SAFRA SARASIN SWISS OPEN GSTAAD TALKING POINTS J. SAFRA SARASIN SWISS OPEN GSTAAD: This is the 101st anniversary of the event in the Bernese Oberland. Leading the field is top seed Feliciano Lopez, who reached the final in 2006. The other seeds are: Gilles Simon, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, two-time winner Thomaz Bellucci, Guido Pella, Fernando Verdasco, Mikhail Youzhny and Paul-Henri Mathieu. DAY 1 PREVIEW: There are five matches (4 singles, 1 doubles) scheduled on opening day at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad. Swedish No. 1 Elias Ymer makes his tournament debut in the first match on Center Court, looking for his first ATP World Tour match win of 2016 when he takes on Germany’s Daniel Brands, a 2013 quarter-finalist. Fellow qualifiers Yann Marti of Switzerland and Jan Mertl of the Czech Republic follow in the day’s second match, a landmark occasion for 34-year-old Mertl, who is playing his first ATP World Tour main-draw match. The first of two Swiss 19-year-old wild cards making their ATP World Tour debuts today features in the third match – Johan Nikles faces an ominous opponent in the form of No. 7 seed and 2013 champion Mikhail Youzhny. Antoine Bellier is the other Swiss teen debutant, taking on Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in a battle of left-handers. LOPEZ TOP SEED: Feliciano Lopez is the top seed in Gstaad for the first time in 10 tournament appearances. The 34-year-old Spaniard comes in with a 16-9 career record in Gstaad, reaching the final in 2006 (l. to Gasquet) and the semi-finals in 2013 (l. to Haase) and last year (l. to Thiem). Lopez has a 16-16 record on the season (7-7 on clay) with his best results the semi-finals in Dubai and Houston. Lopez celebrates his one-year wedding anniversary on Sunday (July 17). He married Alba Carrillo in his hometown of Toledo, Spain. Lopez is ranked No. 21 this week. RAMOS-VINOLAS ONTO A WINNER: No. 3 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas is on pace to win his most matches on the ATP World Tour in a season. In 2012, he won a personal-best 25 matches. The 28-year- old Spaniard captured his first career ATP World Tour title on Sunday in Bastad (d. Fernando Verdasco). He now has a 24-19 match record on the season (18-12 on clay). His best results have come on clay with a semi-final in Quito and quarter-finals at Istanbul and Roland Garros. He comes in a career-high No. 31 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after his maiden ATP World Tour title. VERDASCO EYES EIGHTH TITLE: No. 6 seed Fernando Verdasco, who reached the final in Gstaad five years ago (l. to Granollers), had been targeting his eighth career ATP World Tour title in Bastad. Victory this week would be the second time in his career he has earned two titles in a season (also 2010). In April, the 32-year-old Madrid native won the Bucharest title (d. Pouille). SWISS TITLE HOPES: The three wild cards in the main draw went to Swiss players Henri Laaksonen (No. 165), Antoine Bellier (No. 538) and Johan Nikles (No. 874). Laaksonen, who is making his fifth straight main draw appearance, reached the 2R in 2014 while Bellier and Nikles are making their first main draw appearances in Gstaad. Swiss No. 3 Marco Chiudinelli (No. 136) and qualifier Yann Marti (No. 362) are the other local players in the draw. Chiudinelli has a 2-6 career record in Gstaad, reaching the second round in 2006 and 2010. Marti is making his fourth main draw appearance and third as a qualifier, and has a 1-3 record, reaching the second round in 2014. The last Swiss to win the Gstaad title was Roger Federer in 2004. BELLUCCI’S SWISS ROLL: In May 2015, Brazilian No. 4 seed and two-time Gstaad champion (2009, 2012) Thomaz Bellucci captured his third (of four) career ATP World Tour title in Switzerland by winning in Geneva (d. Sousa). The Brazilian is making his seventh Gstaad appearance in the past eight years (except ’11) and has a 15-4 career record. In 2009, Bellucci qualified into the main draw and captured his first ATP World Tour title (d. A. Beck). In 2012, he won the title again (d. Tipsarevic). J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad Day 1 – Monday, July 18, 2016 Page 2 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com TITLE WATCH: There are three former champions in the field: Mikhail Youhzny (2013), Thomaz Bellucci (2009, 2012) and Paul-Henri Mathieu (2007). There are also four former finalists: Juan Monaco (2014), Robin Haase (2013), Fernando Verdasco (2011) and Feliciano Lopez (2006). The court is named after Australian five-time champion Roy Emerson (1960, 1961, 1966, 1967, 1969), but Spaniards have dominated in Gstaad for the past 25 years, winning 13 Swiss Open titles since 1991 and three of the last six (Nicolas Almagro 2010, Marcel Granollers 2011, Pablo Andujar 2014). SINGLES HONOR ROLL (since 2006): BOLD - Players in singles draw YEAR WINNER FINALIST SCORE 2015 Dominic Thiem David Goffin 7-5, 6-2 2014 Pablo Andujar Juan Monaco 6-3, 7-5 2013 Mikhail Youzhny Robin Haase 6-3, 6-4 2012 Thomaz Bellucci Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2 2011 Marcel Granollers Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 2010 Nicolas Almagro Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-1 2009 Thomaz Bellucci Andreas Beck 6-4, 7-6(2) 2008 Victor Hanescu Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-4 2007 Paul-Henri Mathieu Andreas Seppi 6-7(1), 6-3, 7-5 2006 Richard Gasquet Feliciano Lopez 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-3 DOUBLES WATCH: Two of last year’s finalists return with new partners to form a 2016 field that features five former champions. Defending champion Denis Istomin (2015 w/Bury) returns as the No. 3 seed with Dominic Inglot, while finalist Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (2015 w/Marach) is partnering Andre Sa as the No. 2 seeds. All four seeds are first-time partnerships at Gstaad, but Andre Begemann and Robin Haase, the 2014 champions, have been given a wild card, while there’s also the return of former champions Johan Brunstrom (2010 w/Niemenen, 2016 w/Andreas Siljestrom) and Marco Chiudinelli (2009 w/Lammer, 2016 w/Dustin Brown). Croatian-Kiwi duo Mate Pavic and Michael Venus are the top seeds. DOUBLES HONOR ROLL (since 2006): BOLD - Players in doubles draw YEAR CHAMPION RUNNER-UP 2015 Aliaksandr Bury / Denis Istomin Olivier Marach / Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 2014 Andre Begemann / Robin Haase Rameez Junaid / Michal Mertinak 2013 Jamie Murray / John Peers Pablo Andujar / Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 2012 Marcel Granollers / Marc Lopez Robert Farah / Santiago Giraldo 2011 Frantisek Cermak / Filip Polasek Christopher Kas / Alexander Peya 2010 Johan Brunstrom / Jarkko Niemenen Marcelo Melo / Bruno Soares 2009 Marco Chiudinelli / Michael Lammer Jaroslav Levinsky / Filip Polasek 2008 Jaroslav Levinsky / Filip Polasek Stephane Bohli / Stan Wawrinka 2007 Frantisek Cermak / Pavel Vizner Marc Gicquel / Florent Serra 2006 Jiri Novak / Andrei Pavel Marco Chiudinelli / Jean-Claude Scherrer J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad Day 1 – Monday, July 18, 2016 Page 3 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com WHO TO WATCH THIS WEEK SINGLES: SEED PLAYER RECORD BEST FINISH 1. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 16-9 F 2006 2. Gilles Simon (FRA) 0-1 R32 2014 3. Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 0-0 DEBUT 4. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 15-4 Winner 2009, 2012 5. Guido Pella (ARG) 0-0 DEBUT 6. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 8-4 F 2011 7. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 13-9 Winner 2013 8. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 10-8 Winner 2007 WILDCARDS (3): YOUNGEST: Antoine Bellier (SUI) Johan Nikles (SUI) – 19 years, 4 months Henri Laaksonen (SUI) Johan Nikles (SUI) OLDEST: Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) – 34 years, 10 months QUALIFIERS (4): Tristane Lamasine (FRA) TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN: Yann Marti (SUI) Switzerland (5), Argentina, France, Spain (3) Jan Mertl (CZE) Countries in total: 14 Thiago Monteiro (BRA) DOUBLES: SEED PLAYERS BEST FINISH 1. Mate Pavic / Michael Venus DEBUT 2. Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi / Andre Sa DEBUT 3. Dominic Inglot / Denis Istomin DEBUT 4. Julio Peralta / Horacio Zeballos DEBUT EMIRATES ATP RANKING POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY W F SF QF R16 R28 SINGLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 20 0 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY (€) 82,450 43,430 23,525 13,400 7,900 4,680 DOUBLES RANKING POINTS 250 150 90 45 0 — DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY (€) 25,070 13,170 7,140 4,080 2,390 — DAY 1 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play CENTER COURT Elias Ymer (SWE) vs Daniel Brands (GER) First Meeting J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad Day 1 – Monday, July 18, 2016 Page 4 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com Ymer 2016 FastFacts: YTD W-L: 0-4 (0-2 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: April 10, 1996 Emirates ATP Ranking: 157 Gstaad W-L (Best Result-Year): DEBUT Tournament Note: The 20-year-old is making his tournament debut. Qualified at Montpellier (l. to Mathieu in 1R) and Estoril (l. to Lorenzi in 1R) Fell in qualifying at Australian Open and Roland Garros after qualifying at all 4 Grand Slams in 2015 Achieved career-high No.