Western & Southern Open: Day 2 Media Notes
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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN: DAY 2 MEDIA NOTES Monday, August 17, 2015 Lindner Family Tennis Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA | August 16 – 23, 2015 Draw: S-56, D-24 | Prize Money: $4,457,065 ($3,826,655 on-site) | Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.ATPWorldTour.com www.cincytennis.com Martin Dagahs: [email protected] Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @CincyTennis #CincyTennis Maria Garcia-Planas: [email protected] Facebook: ATP World Tour facebook.com/cincytennis Richard Evans: [email protected] Press Room: +1 5136510303 (x2250) Edward La Cava: [email protected] FISH FAREWELL TAKES CENTER STAGE; SIMON, MONFILS, GOFFIN IN ACTION DAY 2 PREVIEW: Wild card Mardy Fish opens Monday’s Center Court line-up as he plays his final ATP World Tour event before retiring at the U.S. Open. The two-time former finalist (2003, ‘10) faces world No. 20 Viktor Troicki at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event where he enjoyed his greatest success (17-10 career). There are three seeds in action on Day Two in Cincinnati – No. 10 seed Gilles Simon faces Ivo Karlovic, who last week in Montreal surpassed 10,000 career aces (not including Davis Cup), No. 13 seed David Goffin meets qualifier Yen-Hsun Lu, and No. 14 seed Gael Monfils takes on Jerzy Janowicz. There’s also plenty of U.S. interest, including the all- American affair between Jack Sock, back in the Top 30 after his 3R run in Montreal (l. to Djokovic), and ATP World Tour debutant Bjorn Fratangelo, one of three wild cards in action on Monday as Jared Donaldson faces qualifier Nicolas Mahut. Fish returns to play doubles with world No. 6 Tomas Berdych (vs. Klaasen/Ram), while world No. 5 Stan Wawrinka joins Leander Paes in the day’s other doubles match (vs. Anderson/Chardy). ONE LAST TIME, MARDY: Fish’s last ATP World Tour singles win came almost two years ago to the day – he beat Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the first round in Winston-Salem on Aug 18, 2013 (l. 2R to Nieminen two days later). Today Fish plays in the penultimate tournament of his career in Cincinnati after returning, having taken an 18-month hiatus following Winston-Salem 2013, in Indian Wells in March. On July 22, he announced his intention to retire from professional tennis after the U.S. Open. The former world No. 7 (Aug. 15, 2011) is 0-2 in singles play since his return. He could not convert two match points against Ryan Harrison in a three-set 1R defeat at Indian Wells. Playing both singles and doubles in Atlanta, he lost 1R to Dudi Sela before partnering close friend Andy Roddick, nearly three years after the former world No. 1’s won retirement, for a 1R doubles win over Lu/Marray (l. QF to Butorac/Sitak). In Washington, Fish partnered Dimitrov to beat Pospisil/Sock in the first round before losing to Bopanna/Mergea. Fish reached two finals in Cincinnati (2003, l. to Roddick, 2010, l. to Federer) and has a 17-10 record at the event, his best among the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. A six-time ATP World Tour title winner, he also reached ATP Masters 1000 finals in Indian Wells (2008, l. to Djokovic) and Montreal (2011, l. to Djokovic). The 33-year-old wild card faces world No. 20 Viktor Troicki today. YOUNG GUNS: Of the eight players aged 21 and under in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings, five are in the main draw. The three direct entries into the main draw are: Borna Coric (18), Nick Kyrgios (20) and Dominic Thiem (21), who lost his first-round match to Martin Klizan on Sunday. Two teenagers Thanasi Kokkinakis (19), who faces Fabio Fognini today, and Alexander Zverev (18), came through the qualifying draw. Western & Southern Open Day 2 – Monday, August 17, 2015 Page 2 of 11 www.ATPWorldTour.com WILD CARDS: Three of the four wild cards, all handed to U.S. players, are in action today: Jared Donaldson, 2003 and 2010 finalist Mardy Fish and Bjorn Fratangelo (fourth: Rajeev Ram). Donaldson (18) and Fratangelo (22) both making their Cincinnati debuts, have improved their Emirates ATP Ranking with success in Challengers, both winning a title. Donaldson is ranked No. 153 and Fratangelo No. 106. Fish is playing in his second-to-last tournament before retiring at the U.S. Open. Last month Ram captured his second career ATP World Tour title in Newport. He lost in the 1R in 2008 in his previous main draw showing. KARLOVIC GUNNING FOR GORAN: After hitting 58 aces in his three matches in Montreal (l. 3R to Chardy) Ivo Karlovic now has 10,023 career aces to his name (not including Davis Cup). He is just the second player since ATP records began in 1991 to reach 10,000 aces. Fellow Croatian Goran Ivanisevic currently holds the record for career aces at 10,183 in 895 matches; Karlovic is now 160 aces behind his countryman having played 528 matches, averaging 19 aces per match. Only Roger Federer (9,279 aces in 1224 matches) and Andy Roddick (9,074 aces in 780 matches) have also passed the 9,000-ace mark. Earlier this season in Halle 36-year-old Karlovic set a new record for the most aces in a three-set match, hitting 45 past Tomas Berdych in the QFs to reach the semi-finals (l. to Federer). Karlovic, who has hit an ATP World Tour-leading 1,028 aces in 44 matches in 2015 (avg. 23 per match) has now hit 1,000 aces in a single season for the third time (1,318 in 2007, 1,185 in 2014). He claimed the sixth title of his career in Delray Beach (d. Young) in February. The oldest player in the draw faces France’s Gilles Simon today. DOUBLES DELIGHT: With the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London just three months away, this week’s tournament could be an early preview of the year-end finale. All of the Top 12 squads in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings (as of Aug. 17) are in the draw: 1. Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan 7. Marcin Matkowski & Nenad Zimonjic 2. Jean-Julien Roger & Horia Tecau 8. Alexander Peya & Bruno Soares 3. Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo 9. Vasek Pospisil & Jack Sock 4. Simone Bolelli & Fabio Fognini 10. Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut 5. Jamie Murray & John Peers 11. Juan Sebastian Cabal & Robert Farah 6. Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea 12. Pablo Cuevas & David Marrero There are two Top 10 singles players entered in the doubles draw, both in action today – No. 5 Stan Wawrinka partners Leander Paes (vs. Anderson/Chardy), while No. 6 Tomas Berdych is playing alongside Mardy Fish (vs. Klaasen/Ram). Western & Southern Open Day 2 – Monday, August 17, 2015 Page 3 of 11 www.ATPWorldTour.com DAY 2 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court CENTER COURT Viktor Troicki (SRB) vs [WC] Mardy Fish (USA) FedEx Head 2 Head: Fish leads 1-0 2010 Washington (USA) Hard R32 Mardy Fish 6-4 6-3 2015 Highlights W: Sydney (d. Kukushkin) F: Stuttgart (l. to Nadal) SF: London/Queen’s Club (l. to Murray) QF (2): Zagreb (l. to Garcia-Lopez) Acapulco (l. to Anderson) Troicki vs Fish 29 (Feb 10, 1986) Age (DOB) 33 (Dec 9, 1981) 20 (12 – Jun 6, 2011) Emirates ATP Rankings (high) 1034 (7 – Aug 15, 2011) 3-4 Cincinnati W-L 17-10 29-19 (15-8) 2015 W-L (on hard) 0-2 (0-2) 218-184 (133-108) Career W-L (on hard) 300-217 (221-149) 2 (1) Career titles (2015) 6 (0) Jack Reader Coach Troicki is making his fifth appearance in Cincinnati and first since 2012, when he reached the 3R (l. to del Potro), his best result to date. Troicki is 0-3 since reaching the 4R at Wimbledon last month (l. to Pospisil), suffering defeats on Davis Cup duty in Buenos Aires (l. to Delbonis) and opening-match exits in Washington (1R bye, l. 2R to Groth) and Montreal (l. to qualifier Youzhny). Troicki claimed the second ATP World Tour title of his career, and first since Moscow 2010 (d. Baghdatis), in Sydney in January (d. Kukushkin). It was the first Tour final to feature two qualifiers. Troicki reached his seventh ATP World Tour final in Stuttgart in June (l. to Nadal, now 2-5 in finals) and the SF at Queen’s Club (l. to champion Murray). Troicki finished 2014 just outside Top 100 at No. 102 after climbing more than 700 places during season. th Fish is playing in Cincinnati for the 11 and final time before retiring at the U.S. Open in September. The two-time former finalist (2003, l. to Roddick; 2010, l. to Federer) has a 17-10 record since his 2000 debut (l. 1R to Slava Dosedel), and reached a further SF (2011, l. to Murray) and QF (2012, l. to Federer). Fish returned to singles action on the ATP World Tour for the first time in 18 months in Indian Wells in March (l. 1R to Harrison). He has played singles once since, a 1R defeat to Dudi Sela in Atlanta. Fish’s last ATP World Tour win came against Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy (Winston-Salem 1R, Aug. 18, 2013). Fish enjoyed his greatest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 success in Cincinnati, with two final appearances (2003, 2010) and a 17-10 win-loss record, beating his records in Miami (16-11) and Indian Wells (15-13), where he reached the 2008 final (l.