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ERSTE BANK OPEN: DAY 5 MEDIA NOTES Friday, October 23, 2015

Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria | October 19-25, 2015 Draw: S-32, D-16 | Prize Money: €1,745,040 | Surface: Indoor Hard

ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.erstebank-open.com Martin Dagahs: [email protected] @ATPWorldTour facebook.com/ErsteBankOpenVienna Fabienne Benoit: [email protected] facebook.com/ATPWorldTour Press Room: +43 1 98100578

ANDERSON NEARS 1,000 ACES; FOGNINI SEEKS 1ST WIN OVER FERRER

 QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEW: Storylines abound in Friday’s Erste Bank Open semi-finals. No. 2 seed , who has already clinched a career-high 44 wins in 2015, could surpass 1,000 aces on the season against unseeded American . The ATP World Tour’s ace leader, No. 7 seed Ivo Karlovic, meets a resurgent , who is seeking his first semi- final appearance of the season. Also playing for his first semi in over a year is Lukas Rosol, who looks to build off his upset of No. 4 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with another of No. 6 seed Gael Monfils. No. 1 seed takes an 8-0 FedEx 2 Head record (17-2 in sets) against No. 8 seed into their quarter-final match. The in-form Italian Fognini won the doubles title with countryman and has posted strong singles results late in the season, just as his fiancée is doing on the women’s tour. Fognini watched from Stadium as Pennetta captured the US Open title on Sept. 12, and earlier this week both Italians qualified for their respective year-end championships.

FABIO AND FLAVIA: A MATCH ON AND OFF THE COURT IN 2015

2015 Statistic Fabio Fognini Flavia Pennetta Singles W-L 32-23 (.582) 27-17 (.614) Singles W-L since Aug. 31 11-3 (.786) 10-2 (.833) Singles W-L vs. Top 10 3-5 (.375) 4-5 (.444) Doubles W-L 29-16 (.644) 23-15 (.605) Title Australian Open Doubles US Open Singles Career-High Ranking No. 7 in Doubles on July 20 No. 6 in Singles on Sept. 28 World Group Play-off Clinched ’s win Clinched Italy’s Fed Cup win Year-End Championships* Barclays ATP World Tour Finals BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore * Fognini qualified in doubles; Pennetta qualified in singles

 INFOSYS ATP SCORES & STATS: No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson, who meets Steve Johnson on Friday, is 20 aces shy of 1,000 for the season. No. 3 seed and No. 7 seed Ivo Karlovic have already eclipsed 1,000 aces in 2015. If and when Anderson joins them, they will become the first trio in ATP World Tour history to hit 1,000 or more aces during the same season (Infosys ATP Scores & Stats have been tracked since 1991). Please note that the statistics below include first- round and second-round matches from this week’s events, but do not include Davis Cup matches.

Rank Player Height Aces Matches Average 1 Ivo Karlovic 6’11” 1,321 58 23 2 John Isner 6’10” 1,162 63 18 3 Kevin Anderson 6’8” 980 65 15 4 Gilles Muller 6’4” 744 53 14 5 6’5” 743 47 16

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 EMIRATES ATP RACE TO LONDON UPDATE: With 17 days remaining in the Emirates ATP Race to London, two spots are up for grabs at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Nov. 15-22. The Top 8 players in the race on Nov. 9 will compete at the year-end championships. Six players have qualified so far: , , , , and Tomas Berdych. As of Friday, 990 race points separate No. 8 David Ferrer and No. 9 Jo- Wilfried Tsonga, and Ferrer can widen the gap with each win in Vienna. ATP World Tour 250 events in Moscow and Stockholm are also taking place this week. A maximum of 1,500 points are at stake after the Erste Bank Open at an ATP World Tour 250 event in (Oct. 26-Nov. 1); an ATP World Tour 500 event in Basel (Oct. 26-Nov. 1); and ATP Masters 1000 Paris (Nov. 2-8).

Race Player Points This Week SF F W 1 Novak Djokovic* 14,285 ------2 Andy Murray* 7,870 ------3 Roger Federer* 6,750 ------4 Stan Wawrinka* 6,140 ------5 Rafael Nadal* 4,330 ------6 Tomas Berdych* 4,280 Stockholm 4,280 4,340 4,440 7 3,945 ------8 David Ferrer 3,535 Vienna 3,625 3,745 3,945 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2,545 Vienna ------10 2,490 Stockholm 2,535 2,595 2,695 11 Kevin Anderson 2,385 Vienna 2,475 2,595 2,795 12 John Isner 2,315 Vienna ------13 Marin Cilic 2,190 Moscow 2,235 2,295 2,395 14 Milos Raonic 2,170 ------15 2,055 Stockholm 2,055 2,115 2,215 16 Feliciano Lopez 1,680 ------17 1,670 ------18 1,630 Stockholm ------19 1,555 Vienna ------20 Fabio Fognini 1,505 Vienna 1,595 1,715 1,915 * Qualified

 EMIRATES ATP DOUBLES RACE TO LONDON UPDATE: The Top 8 teams in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race to London on Nov. 9 will qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Nov. 15-22. As is the case in singles, only two spots remain. In Vienna, the race within this race is between No. 1 / and No. 2 Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau. With Bob Bryan off this week, Wimbledon champions Rojer and Tecau can take over as No. 1 in the race by winning the Erste Bank Open title. In addition, has an opportunity to narrow the gap between him and the Bryans in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. Following titles at Tokyo and ATP Masters 1000 , World No. 3 Melo trails the Bryans by only 510 points in the rankings. He and Lukasz Kubot meet Rojer and Tecau in an important match for both teams in Vienna on Friday.

Race Team Points SF F W 1 Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan* 6,285 ------2 Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau* 6,040 6,130 6,250 6,450 3 /* 5,215 ------5,335 5,555 4 /Marcelo Melo* 5,140 ------5 Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini* 4,895 ------6 Pierre-Hugues Herbert/* 4,765 ------7 /Nenad Zimonjic 4,200 ------8 / 3,455 ------* Qualified Erste Bank Open Day 5 – Friday, October 23, 2015 Page 3 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

DAY 5 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play

CENTRE COURT

[7] Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs Ernests Gulbis (LAT) Gulbis Leads 1-0 10 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard F Ernests Gulbis 6-2 6-3

Karlovic 2015 FastFacts W: Delray Beach (d. Young); F: Newport (l. to Ram); SF (3): Doha (l. to Ferrer); Halle (l. to Federer); Bogota (l. to Mannarino); QF (4): Acapulco (l. to Harrison); Bucharest (l. to Vesely); ’s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Haase); Kuala Lumpur (l. to Kyrgios) YTD W-L: 36-22 (24-15 on hard) YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: February 28, 1979 Emirates ATP Ranking: 20 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 4-3 (2014-15 Quarter-finalist)

• No. 2 Croat defeated Seppi 76(5) 63 in 1R and Stakhovsky 64 75 in 2R • Set ATP ace record for a career on Oct. 8 by blasting 26 aces in 2R loss to Cuevas • His 10,316 career aces entering Vienna QF are 79 more than countryman Ivanisevic's 10,237 (statistics since 1991 and not including Davis Cup) • The 36-year-old is oldest player in Top 20 of Emirates ATP Rankings since Connors week of Feb. 19, 1990 • Captured 6th career title at Delray Beach (d. Young) to become oldest champion on ATP World Tour since 37-year-old Connors won 1989 Tel Aviv • 1 of only 4 players to defeat Djokovic in 2015 and only man to do it before a final (Doha QF) • Hit 45 aces in Halle QF win over No. 6 Berdych, most ever in best-of-3 sets (l. to No. 2 Federer in SF) • Posted best Grand Slam result of season by reaching Wimbledon 4R (l. to Murray in 4 sets)

Gulbis 2015 FastFacts QF (2): Nice (l. to Thiem); ATP Masters 1000 Montréal (l. to Djokovic) YTD W-L: 10-22 (6-12 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: August 30, 1988 Emirates ATP Ranking: 117 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 4-2 (2015 Quarter-finalist)

• No. 1 Latvian ended 5-match losing streak by defeating [Q] Miedler 63 26 63, then [3] Isner 64 46 64 • Had not beaten a player ranked as high as No. 13 Isner since run to 2014 Roland Garros SF (d. No. 4 Federer in 4R and No. 6 Berdych in QF) • Seeking 1st SF appearance since Oct. 18, 2014 at Moscow (l. to Bautista Agut) • Enjoyed best week of season as a qualifier at ATP Masters 1000 Montréal • In Montréal, saved 2 MPs to beat Thiem in 1R en route to QF (l. to No. 1 Djokovic in 3 sets) • Also reached Nice QF (bye, d. Dolgopolov, l. to Thiem) • Started 1-11 and has suffered 3 losing streaks of 5-or-more matches this season • Lone Grand Slam win of season came at Roland Garros (d. Sijsling, l. to Mahut in 2R)

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Steve Johnson (USA) vs [2] Kevin Anderson (RSA) Anderson Leads 4-1 14 (New Zealand) Hard R16 Steve Johnson 7-5 6-4 14 Delray Beach (U.S.A.) Hard SF Kevin Anderson 6-2 6-4 15 Auckland (New Zealand) Hard QF Kevin Anderson 6-4 7-6(8) 15 Memphis (U.S.A.) Hard QF Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4 15 Acapulco (Mexico) Hard R16 Kevin Anderson 3-6 7-5 6-3

Johnson 2015 FastFacts SF (2): Washington (l. to Isner); Winston-Salem (l. to Herbert); QF (3): Auckland (l. to Anderson); Memphis (l. to Anderson); Delray Beach (l. to Karlovic) YTD W-L: 31-26 (23-15 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: December 24, 1989 Emirates ATP Ranking: 47 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2015 Quarter-finalist)

• No. 3 American defeated Dolgopolov 63 46 62 in 1R and Janowicz 64 67(7) 64 in 2R • Reached 2nd and 3rd ATP World Tour SFs of career respectively at Washington (d. No. 16 Dimitrov, l. to Isner after holding 3 MPs) and Winston-Salem (d. No. 19 Tsonga, l. to Herbert) • Has won more tour-level matches in 2015 (31) than 1st 3 years as a pro combined (26 in 2012-14) • Matched best major finish with 3R at and Roland Garros (also 2012 US Open) • Reached US Open doubles SF with Querrey (d. Bryan/Bryan in 1R, l. to J. Murray/Peers after holding 1 MP) • Made Davis Cup debut in World Group Play-off vs. UZB, falling in 5 sets to Istomin, then teaming with Querrey for doubles win over Dustov/Istomin (USA d. UZB 3-1) • Owns 0-9 record vs. Top 10 opponents (2-20 in sets)

Anderson 2015 FastFacts W: Winston-Salem (d. Herbert); F (2): Memphis (l. to Nishikori); London/Queen's Club (l. to Murray); SF (3): Auckland (l. to Vesely); Acapulco (l. to Nishikori); Houston (l. to Sock); QF (2): US Open (l. to Wawrinka); ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l. to Tsonga) YTD W-L: 44-21 (31-14 on hard) YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: May 18, 1986 Emirates ATP Ranking: 11 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 5-1 (2011 Semi-finalist)

• No. 1 South African defeated Haider-Maurer 64 75 in 1R and Vesely 67(4) 63 75 in 2R • Enters Vienna QF with 980 aces in 250 -- attempting to join Karlovic and Isner 1st trio with 1,000+ aces in a season since Infosys ATP Scores & Stats started being recorded in 1991 • Reached career-high No. 10 in Emirates ATP Rankings on Oct. 12 • Became 1st South African in Top 10 since Ferreira during week of May 5, 1997 • Started 0-7 in Grand Slam 4R before reaching 1st QF at US Open (d. No. 3 Murray, l. to No. 5 Wawrinka) • Captured 3rd career title and snapped 7-match losing streak in finals by winning Winston-Salem (d. Herbert) • Has set a new career-high with 44 wins this season (previous-best 42 in 2011) • Finalist at London/Queen's Club (d. No. 4 Wawrinka, l. to No. 3 Murray) and Memphis (l. to No. 5 Nishikori) • Advanced to 4R at Australian Open (l. to No. 3 Nadal) and Wimbledon (l. to No. 1 Djokovic after leading by 2 sets), matching career-best showings at both events • Fell to 0-6 lifetime in ATP Masters 1000 QFs with 3-set loss to Tsonga at Shanghai

Erste Bank Open Day 5 – Friday, October 23, 2015 Page 5 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

[1] David Ferrer (ESP) vs [8] Fabio Fognini (ITA) Ferrer Leads 8-0 09 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 David Ferrer 6-2 6-2 6-3 10 Båstad (Sweden) Clay R16 David Ferrer 6-3 7-5 10 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R32 David Ferrer 3-6 6-4 7-6(4) 13 Buenos Aires () Clay QF David Ferrer 6-2 6-1 13 Acapulco (Mexico) Clay SF David Ferrer 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 13 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R32 David Ferrer 6-1 7-5 14 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Clay F David Ferrer 6-4 6-3 15 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Clay F David Ferrer 6-2 6-3

Ferrer 2015 FastFacts W (4): Doha (d. Berdych); Rio de Janeiro (d. Fognini); Acapulco (d. Nishikori); Kuala Lumpur (d. Lopez); SF (3): (l. to Andujar); ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l. to Djokovic); Beijing (l. to Djokovic); QF (4): ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (l. to Nadal); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Nishikori); Roland Garros (l. to Murray) YTD W-L: 49-12 (30-6 on hard) YTD Titles: 4 / Career Titles: 25 Date of Birth: April 2, 1982 Emirates ATP Ranking: 8 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 5-3 (2014 Runner-up)

• No. 2 Spaniard and 2014 finalist beat countrymen Ramos-Viñolas 16 63 64 and Garcia-Lopez 61 61 • Win on Friday will allow him to reach 50 wins for 6th straight season and 7th time overall • Captured 4th ATP World Tour title of 2015 and 25th of career in 50th final at Kuala Lumpur (d. Lopez) • Started season 19-1 with titles at Doha (d. No. 7 Berdych), Rio de Janeiro (d. Fognini) and Acapulco (d. No. 5 Nishikori) • Reached Australian Open 4R (l. to No. 5 Nishikori), Roland Garros QF (d. No. 10 Cilic, l. to No. 3 Murray) and US Open 3R (l. to Chardy) • In ATP Masters 1000 play, advanced to SF at Rome (l. to No. 1 Djokovic) and QFs at Miami (l. to No. 1 Djokovic), Monte-Carlo (l. to No. 5 Nadal) and Madrid (l. to No. 5 Nishikori) • Missed Wimbledon and ATP Masters 1000 events at Montréal and Cincinnati with a right elbow injury (13-3 since returning) • Absence from Wimbledon snapped streak of 50 straight Grand Slam main draw appearances • Extended 12-match Davis Cup win streak by beating Nielsen and Torpegaard (ESP d. DEN 5-0 in Sept.) • Owns 25-5 record vs. Spaniards since falling to No. 4 Nadal in 2013 Roland Garros final (8 straight wins)

Fognini 2015 FastFacts F (2): Rio de Janeiro (l. to Ferrer); Hamburg (l. to Nadal); SF: Beijing (l. to Nadal); QF (4): São Paulo (l. to Giraldo); Barcelona (l. to Andujar); Umag (l. to Sousa); Kitzbühel (l. to Kohlschreiber) YTD W-L: 32-23 (11-10 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: May 24, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 22 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 4-3 (2013, ’15 Quarter-finalist)

• No. 1 Italian defeated Mathieu 64 36 63 in 1R and [PR] Stepanek 61 64 in 2R. Also in doubles SF (w/Mirnyi) • Posted best Grand Slam singles result at US Open, snapping 9-match hard-court losing streak en route to 4R (d. No. 8 Nadal from 2 sets down, l. to F. Lopez) • Along with Djokovic, Federer and del Potro, 1 of 4 players to defeat Nadal 3+ times in a season (Rio de Janeiro SF, Barcelona 3R and US Open 3R) • Reached 2 ATP World Tour 500 clay-court singles finals: Rio de Janeiro (d. No. 3 Nadal, l. to No. 9 Ferrer) and Hamburg (l. to Nadal) • Advanced to Beijing SF (l. to No. 8 Nadal), his 1st hard-court SF since reaching 2012 St. Petersburg final • Started season 0-7 in hard-court singles matches (11-3 since) • Teamed with countryman Bolelli to win Australian Open doubles title (d. Herbert/Mahut) • Italians also reached finals at ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells (l. to Pospisil/Sock) and Monte-Carlo (l. to Bryan/Bryan), as well as SF at Roland Garros (l. to Bryan/Bryan) • In Davis Cup, accounted for 3 wins in ITA’s 4-1 World Group Play-off victory over RUS

Erste Bank Open Day 5 – Friday, October 23, 2015 Page 6 of 6 www.ATPWorldTour.com

Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs [6] Gael Monfils (FRA) Monfils Leads 2-0 14 FRA vs. CZE WG SF (France) Clay RR Gael Monfils 5-7 6-4 7-5 15 Halle (Germany) Grass R32 Gael Monfils 6-3 6-4

Rosol 2015 FastFacts QF (2): Bucharest (l. to Garcia-Lopez); Munich (l. to Murray) YTD W-L: 19-27 (12-15 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: July 24, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 78 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 6-3 (2013 Semi-finalist)

• No. 3 Czech beat [Q] Sugita 64 76(2) in 1R and snapped 14-match losing streak vs. Top 10 with 64 36 61 win over [4] Tsonga in 2R • Seeks 1st SF appearance since winning 2014 Winston-Salem title (d. Janowicz in final) • Reached 3R at Roland Garros (d. Bautista Agut, l. to Gabashvili), matching career-best showing at a Grand Slam (also 2011 Roland Garros and 2012 Wimbledon 3R) • Advanced to 4R at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to No. 9 Berdych) and QF at Munich (l. to No. 3 Murray in 3 sets) • Failed to win back-to-back main draw matches at 22 other ATP World Tour events, including 2R losses at Australian Open (l. to Sela), Wimbledon (l. to Andujar in 5 sets) and US Open (l. to Kohlschreiber) • Qualified and reached 2R at Geneva (l. to No. 9 Wawrinka in 3 sets) • Defeated Bhambri en route to CZE’s 4-1 win over IND in Davis Cup World Group Play-off

Monfils 2015 FastFacts F: Marseille (l. to Simon); SF (5): Montpellier (l. to Gasquet); ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (l. to Berdych); Bucharest (l. to Garcia-Lopez); Stuttgart (l. to Nadal); Umag (l. to Thiem); QF (2): Rotterdam (l. to Berdych); Halle (l. to Seppi) YTD W-L: 33-16 (15-8 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 5 Date of Birth: September 1, 1986 Emirates ATP Ranking: 21 Vienna W-L (Best Result): 7-3 (2008 Runner-up)

• No. 4 Frenchman and 2008 finalist is playing 1st event since US Open and beat Bellucci 67(5) 63 64 in 1R and Lorenzi 64 64 in 2R • Lost All-French final at Marseille to Simon 76 in 3rd, falling to 5-17 lifetime in championship matches • Won at least 2 matches in 11 of 1st 13 tournaments before ATP Masters 1000 events at Montréal (l. to Muller in 2R) and Cincinnati (l. to Janowicz in 1R) • Went 1-5 in SFs, including loss to No. 8 Berdych at ATP Masters-1000 Monte-Carlo (d. No. 2 Federer in 3R) • Reached Australian Open 2R (l. to Janowicz), Roland Garros 4R (l. to Federer) and Wimbledon 3R (l. to Simon) • Retired in US Open 1R with lower back injury (l. to Marchenko)