DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAY 3 MEDIA NOTES Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Dubai Duty Free Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | February 22 – February 27, 2016 Draw: S-32, D-16 | Prize Money: $2,674,445 | Surface: Outdoor Hard
ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com Nicola Arzani: [email protected] @ATPWorldTour @DDFTennis Richard Evans: [email protected] facebook.com/ATPWorldTour facebook.com/Dubai-Duty-Free-Tennis-Championships-146132218775533
SIX SEEDS IN SECOND ROUND ACTION ON WEDNESDAY
DAY 3 PREVIEW: Six seeds are in action as the second round takes place on Wednesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. All together there a 13 matches scheduled (8 singles, 5 doubles).
Leading off play on Centre Court is a first time meeting between the Spanish No. 4 seed Roberto Bautista Agut and the Korean teenager Hyeon Chung. The No. 3 Spaniard is off to a career best start, 15-3 record and is looking to reach his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the year. At No. 66, the 19- year-old Chung, is one of three teenagers in Top 100 Emirates ATP Ranking (joined by: No. 38 Coric, and No. 56 Zverev). He is looking to reach his second career quarter-final.
Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano looks to reach his second career ATP World Tour quarter-final in a first time meeting with the Czech No. 3 seed Tomas Berdych. The 26-year-old Fabbiano opened the year by reaching his maiden quarter-final at Chennai (l. to Paire) as a qualifier. He is looking for just his third career win over a Top 100 opponent (2-6 record). The World No. 7 Berdych is a two-time finalist (2013-14), has reached the semi-finals or better in four of the last five years, owns a 21-9 career record in Dubai.
Following Top seed and four-time champion Novak Djokovic looks to record his 700th career tour-level win in a first time meeting with the Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri. The World No. 1 enters with a 699- 146 match record. He is also trying to become the third active player to accomplish the feat, joining Roger Federer (1,067) and Rafael Nadal (775). Coach Boris Becker is also a member of the 700 wins club (713). The 32-year-old Jaziri has a career 0-3 record against top 10 opponents and is looking to reach his fifth career ATP World Tour quarter-final.
In the last match on Centre Court Croatian qualifier Franco Skugor looks to reach his second career ATP World Tour quarter-final in a first time meeting with the No. 2 seed Stan Wawrinka. Other seeds in action are No. 8 Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Borna Coric in the first match on Court 1. On Court 3 Lukas Rosol faces No. 6 Feliciano Lopez, who on Monday recorded his 400th tour-level win of his career as he defeated countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 61 46 64.
DAY 3 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court
Centre Court
[4] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs Hyeon Chung (KOR) First Meeting
Bautista Agut FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: W (2): Auckland (d Sock); Sofia (d Troicki); QF (2): Chennai (l Coric); Rotterdam (l Klizan) YTD W-L: 15-3 (15-3 on hard) YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: April 14, 1988 Emirates ATP Ranking: 18 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 4-3 (2R 2013-16) Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 3 – Wednesday, February 24, 2016 Page 2 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
The 27-year-old opened with a 62 64 win over Simone Bolelli on Tuesday. He is playing here for the fourth straight year (4-3 record) and has fallen in the 2R on three previous – 2013 (l. to eventual champion Djokovic), 2014 (l. to Djokovic) and 2015 (l. to Gasquet) The No. 3 Spaniard (behind No. 5 Nadal, No. 8 Ferrer) captured his second title of the year and fourth overall at Sofia (d. Troicki). Has a 15-3 match record, his best career start. Reached QF two weeks ago at Rotterdam (l. to eventual champion Klizan) In opening month of season, lost in QFs in Chennai (after bye) to Borna Coric in third set TB and followed with third career ATP World Tour title in Auckland (d. No. 10 Tsonga in SF, Sock in F). Then reached personal-best 4R at Australian Open (l. to No. 6 Berdych in five sets) In 2015, Spaniard finished in Top 25 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 2nd straight season and Top 100 for 4th straight
Chung FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 3-5 (3-5 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 19, 1996 Emirates ATP Ranking: 66 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 1-0 (2R 2016)
The 19-year-old knocked off Andreas Seppi 63 64 in his tournament debut on Monday At No. 66 one of three teenagers in Top 100 Emirates ATP Ranking (joined by: No. 38 Coric, and No. 56 Zverev) Looking to reach 2nd career ATP World Tour QF Also reached 2R at Brisbane (l. to Cilic) and Rotterdam (l. to Troicki), fell in 1R at Australian Open (l.. to eventual champion Djokovic), Sofia (l. to Copil) and Marseille (l. to Goffin) In 2015, South Korean rose in year-end rankings for 3rd straight season, ending at a career- high No. 51 Earned 55 total wins during season with records of 12-10 on tour, 9-6 in ATP qualifying, and 34- 7 at Challengers Became 1st Asian player to earn ATP Most Improved Player of the Year honors since Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand in 2002 Reached 1st ATP World Tour QF at Shenzhen (l. to No. 14 Cilic)
[Q] Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) vs [3] Tomas Berdych (CZE) First Meeting
Fabbiano FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: QF: Chennai (l Paire) YTD W-L: 3-2 (3-2 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 26, 1989 Emirates ATP Ranking: 144 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 1-0 (2R 2016)
The 26-year-old defeated Leonardo Mayer 63 64 to reach the 2R in his tournament debut on Tuesday Looking to reach 2nd career ATP World Tour QF. Opened year by reaching maiden QF at Chennai (l. to Paire) as a qualifier. Fell in 1R at Sofia (l. to Brands) as a qualifier Fell in qualifying at Australian Open (l. to Wu in Q2), Rotterdam (l. to Darcis in Q1) and Marseille (l. to Benneteau) Career 2-6 record vs Top 100 opponents. Prior to defeating No. 40 Mayer on Tuesday only win was over No. 38 Gilles Muller at Chennai earlier this year Career 3-8 record in tour-level matches, career 98-112 record in Challengers with one title and a career 152-58 record in Futures with 12 titles
Berdych FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: SF (2): Doha (l Djokovic); Marseille (l Kyrgios); QF: Australian Open (l Federer) Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 3 – Wednesday, February 24, 2016 Page 3 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
YTD W-L: 10-3 (10-3 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 12 Date of Birth: September 17, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 7 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 21-9 (RUP 2013-14)
The 30-year-old advanced to the 2R with a 61 64 win over Joao Sousa on Tuesday. He is making his 10th appearance here and has a 201-9 tournament record. The two-time finalist – 2013 (d. Federer in SF, l. to Djokovic) and 2014 (l. to Federer), also reached the SF twice – 2011 (l. to eventual champion Djokovic) and 2015 (l. to Djokovic) Looking to reach 4th ATP World Tour QF of the year (2-1 record) Last week reached 2nd ATP World Tour SF of the year at Marseille (l. to eventual champion Kyrgios) Opened season with SF appearance at Doha (l. to eventual champion Djokovic) before QF appearance at Australian Open (l. to No. 3 Federer) In 2015, Czech finished at No. 6 or No. 7 in Emirates ATP Rankings for 6th straight season Achieved career-high of No. 4 on May 18 after reaching ATP Masters 1000 Rome QF (l. to No. 2 Federer) Captured 11th and 12th titles of career at Shenzhen (d. Garcia-Lopez) and Stockholm (d. Sock) Reached QF or better at 15 of 22 events in 2015 and won 2 or more matches at 18 of 22
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [WC] Malek Jaziri (TUN) First Meeting
Djokovic FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: W (2): Doha (d Nadal); Australian Open (d Murray) YTD W-L: 13-0 (13-0 on hard) YTD Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 61 Date of Birth: May 22, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 1 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 35-5 (Winner 2009-11, ’13)
The 28-year-old, World No 1, needed just 66 minutes to sweep aside Tommy Robredo 61 62 in the opening round on Monday. He is making his 10th consecutive appearance here and has 35-5 tournament record. The four-time champion - 2009 (d. Ferrer), 2010 (d. Youzhny), 2011 (d. Federer) and 2013 (d. Berdych) has only fallen once before the SF here and that was in reaching the QF in his tournament debut in 2007 (l. to eventual champion Federer) Looking to capture his 700th ATP World Tour win (699-146 record). He is also trying to become the third active player to accomplish the feat, joining Roger Federer (1,067) and Rafael Nadal (775). Coach Boris Becker is also a member of the 700 wins club (713). Appearing in first event since capturing 11th career Grand Slam title and 6th at Australian Open (d. Simon in 4R in 5-sets, d. Nishikori in QF, Federer in SF and Murray) Opened year by capturing 60th career title at Doha (d. Berdych in SF, d. Nadal) In 2015, Serb ended year as World No. 1 in Emirates ATP Rankings for 4th time in 5 years. Enters 2016 having been ranked No. 1 for 78 straight weeks, longest stretch since Federer's 237 straight weeks in 2004-08 Qualified for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for 9th consecutive year, winning 4th title in a row and 5th overall. Became 1st player to win title in 4 consecutive years Captured career-high 11 titles and reached single-season record 15 straight finals to end year, most since Federer's 17 straight finals in 2005-06 Won 8th, 9th and 10th Grand Slam singles titles at Australian Open (d. Murray), Wimbledon (d. Federer) and US Open (d. Federer) respectively. Fell short of calendar Grand Slam in Roland Garros final (l. to Wawrinka) Became 3rd man to play in all 4 major finals in a single year during Open Era (also Laver in 1969 and Federer in 2006, 2007 and 2009) Enjoyed career-high 29-set win streak during fall, highlighted by titles at Beijing and ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai Also captured titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome and Paris, setting a single-season record with 6 ATP Masters 1000 championships and passing Federer for 2nd all-time with 26 (Nadal 27) Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 3 – Wednesday, February 24, 2016 Page 4 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
Jaziri FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 1-5 (1-5 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: January 20, 1984 Emirates ATP Ranking: 121 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 3-3 (QF 2014)
The 32-year-old earned his first tour-level win of the year and advanced to the 2R here for the second time with a 64 61 win over qualifier Mikhail Youzhny on Monday. He is playing in the main draw for the fourth straight year and has a 3-3 tournament record. Best result was QF in 2014 (l. to Kohlschreiber) Looking to reached 5th career ATP World Tour QF (2-2 record) and first since reaching the SF last August at Winston-Salem (l. to eventual champion Anderson) Fell in 1R at Doha (l. to Verdasco), Australian Open (l. to Robredo), Sofia (l. to Muller), Memphis (l. to Granollers) and Delray Beach (l. to Mannarino) In 2015, Tunisian finished in Top 200 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 5th straight season Enjoyed career-high 12 tour-level wins, including 4 en route to 2nd career ATP SF at Winston- Salem (l. to eventual champion Anderson) Posted 17-10 record on ATP Challenger Tour with title at Rennes, FRA (d. Sijsling) Career 0-3 record vs Top 10 opponents. Lost to – No. 8 Mardy Fish at 2011 US Open, No. 6 Jo- Wilfried Tsonga at 2012 Doha and No. 2 Roger Federer at 2013 Dubai
[Q] Franko Skugor (CRO) vs [2] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) First Meeting
Skugor FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: YTD W-L: 1-0 (1-0 on hard) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: September 20, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 188 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 1-0 (2R 2016)
The 28-year-old Croat earned his third career tour-level win over Teymuraz Gabashvili on Tuesday in his tournament debut The Croat is looking to reach 2nd career ATP World Tour QF (2010 Bastad), has a career 4-8 record in tour-level matches Fell in qualifying at Australian Open (l. to Karatsev in Q1) and Sofia (l. to Kovalik in Q1) Career 64-69 (2-2 in 2016) Challenger record with two titles Career 2-8 record vs Top 100 opponents. Win over No. 47 Gabashvili on Tuesday was just his second career win over a Top 100 opponent. Also defeated No. 60 Denis Istomin at 2010 Bastad.
Wawrinka FastFacts: 2016 Highlights: W: Chennai (d Coric); QF: Marseille (l Paire) YTD W-L: 9-2 (9-2 on hard) YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 12 Date of Birth: March 28, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 4 Dubai (Best Result-Year): 1-2 (2R 2016)
The 30-year-old was two points defeat as he trailed 4-5, 0/30 on serve in the deciding. But he reeled off four straight points to hold serve and went on to win 57 63 75 over Sergiy Stakhovsky on Tuesday. He is playing here for the first time since falling in the 1R in 2008 (l. to Hernych). Also fell in 1R in 2006 (l. to Federer) Last week fell in QF at Marseille (l. to Paire) Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 3 – Wednesday, February 24, 2016 Page 5 of 5 www.ATPWorldTour.com
Opened season with fourth title in Chennai and third in succession (2011 d. Malisse, 2014 d. Roger- Vasselin, 2015 d. Bedene, 2016 d. Coric) Claimed 400th match win en route to 4R showing at Australian Open (d. Rosol in 3R, l. to Raonic) In 2015, Swiss finished at No. 4 in Emirates ATP Rankings for 2nd straight season and in Top 10 for 3rd straight season Captured his 2nd Grand Slam title as 30-year-old at Roland Garros to become oldest champion of event since Gomez in 1990 (d. No. 2 Federer in QF, No. 1 Djokovic in final) Winner of 12 career titles, and owns 8-0 finals record in 2014-16
Court 1
Vasek Pospisil (CAN) vs Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) Series Tied 1-1 15 Atlanta (U.S.A.) Hard QF Marcos Baghdatis 6-4 7-6(5) 15 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard R16 Vasek Pospisil 7-6(2) 3-6 6-3
[8] Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs Borna Coric (CRO) First Meeting
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) Kyrgios Leads 1-0 15 Nice (France) Clay R32 Nick Kyrgios 7-6(5) 6-2
Court 3
Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs [6] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) Rosol Leads 1-0 14 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay QF Lukas Rosol 4-6 6-3 7-6(4)