2013 Tennis Thread

[Lanceth]

Appearing in his first final four appearance in any ATP event since July2013,Roger Federer takes on Vasek Pospisil in the semifinal of the 2013 Swiss Indoors Basel in Basel, Switzerland.
Playing in his home country, the 32-year-old Federer is aiming for the title in Basel to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals set in November. Ranked 40th in the world, Pospisil looks to pull off the semis upset as a huge 5-to-1 underdog. The winner of the Federer-Pospisil match, Roger Federer will face either Argetina’s Juan Del Potro or France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin; both were playing their own semis match as of press time.

The Swiss legend has struggled for the better part of the 2013 season, but his performance at home has shown the brilliance of the former world number one.Federer defeated Adrian Mannarino in the opening round, 6-4, 6-2; beat Denis Istomin in the Round of 16, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and took care of Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-6 (2)

 

[Smallville22]

Robson loses to player more than double her age

Laura Robson lost to a woman 24 years her senior as she went out in the opening round of the Japan Open in Osaka to local favourite Kimiko Date-Krumm.
Date-Krumm, who was ranked in the world's top 10 when her opponent was born in 1994, was utterly ruthless in exploiting Robson's poor serving on her way to a 6-4 6-4 victory.
The British star, seeded seventh for the event, got just 58% of her first serves in, and with Date-Krumm winning 18 of the 27 points played on Robson's second serve she was able to earn 10 break points, of which she converted four.
Robson tried hard to cling on despite her serving problems, and earned seven break points of her own - but Date-Krumm held her nerve to save all but two of them, coming through the match to the delight of the crowd and earning a second round match against fellow Japanese Misaki Doi.
Italian fourth seed Flavia Pennetta also crashed out, losing 3-6 7-5 6-0 to American Vania King despite battling away to save 17 of the 23 break points King earned during the match.
Wimbledon finalist and second seed Sabine Lisicki came through her opening match against South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers 7-5 7-6(1), while sixth seed Madison Keys beat qualifier Anna Scmiedlova 6-3 6-2.

Japan Open, Osaka - First round results on Tuesday

2-Sabine Lisicki (Germany) beat Chanelle Scheepers (South Africa) 7-5 7-6(1)

Vania King (U.S.) beat 4-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 3-6 7-5 6-0

6-Madison Keys (U.S.) beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Slovakia) 6-3 6-2

Kimiko Date-Krumm (Japan) beat 7-Laura Robson (Great Britain) 6-4 6-4

9-Kristina Mladenovic (France) beat Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 7-6(4) 6-4

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) beat Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) 6-2 6-2

Polona Hercog (Slovenia) beat Petra Cetkovska (Czech Republic) 6-4 5-7 6-1

Zheng Jie (China) beat Sharon Fichman (Canada) 6-2 6-1

Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) beat Lauren Davis (U.S.) 6-3 7-5

Luksika Kumkhum (Thailand) beat Ayumi Morita (Japan) 6-2 6-1

Zhang Shuai (China) beat Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 6-0 6-3

 

[Smallville22]

Nadal 'sure' Federer will earn London spot

World number one Rafa Nadal is confident that arch-rival Roger Federer will be able to accumulate the points needed over the next few weeks to seal his spot for the season-ending ATP finale in London.
Federer went through the 2013 season without reaching a major final for the first time since 2002, which has left him in danger of missing the cut for the World Tour Finals for the first time since 2001.
The 17-times grand slam winner is currently seventh in the ATP Race for next month's tournament involving the top eight players of the world.
"He's going to go, he's going to qualify. I am sure of that," Nadal, who replaced Novak Djokovic as the men's top-ranked player this week, told reporters in Shanghai.
The Swiss has won the season ender a record six times but if he is to have any chance of turning that into a lucky seven, he only has three more tournaments - this week's Shanghai Masters, the Swiss Indoors and the Paris Masters - to make up the points in the ATP Race.
He has been left in such a precarious position following a year in which he perished in the Australian Open semi-finals to Andy Murray, fell at the last-eight stage to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the French Open, suffered a shock second-round defeat at Wimbledon to journeyman Sergiy Stakhovsky before losing to Tommy Robredo in the U.S. Open fourth round.
Federer's compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, Richard Gasquet and Milos Raonic are all breathing down his neck and could edge him in the race. Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Spain's David Ferrer have already sealed spots.
His job has also been made more difficult as he is drawn to meet Djokovic in the Shanghai quarter-finals with only 105 points separating him and ninth-placed Frenchman Gasquet.
"He (Federer) is not going to have a problem. Even if he doesn't have lots of points of advantage, I feel he always played well in this last part of the season," Nadal said.
"He likes to play in these tournaments. He always had the positive results. I really feel that he will do it. He's a great player and I am sure he will be there and fighting for the title."
Nadal, who boosted his grand slam singles tally to 13 this year by winning the French and U.S. Opens, reclaimed the top ranking for the first time since July 2011.
The 27-year-old Spaniard was sidelined for seven months with a left-knee injury before his return in February and he has never looked back since.
"I thought that I would never have the chance to be back there," Nadal added. "Being No. 1 again is special. I was confident that when I was back I would have the chance to keep competing well, keep having chances to play for important tournaments, but I never thought about being back to No. 1.
"I am today. But that means that I am having probably one of the best seasons of my career. It's great."

 

[Smallville22]

Lopez wins veterans' duel, French duo crash out in Shanghai

Feliciano Lopez came through a tough clash with fellow veteran Jarkko Nieminen to make it through the opening round of the Shanghai Masters.
The two 32-year-olds could barely be separated throughout, each earning plenty of chances and breaking the other three times during the course of the match, but it was the Spaniard who held his nerve better in the final set as he won 7-6(2) 4-6 6-3 to set up a clash against world number four Tomas Berdych.
There were no such problems for Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber as he won in straight sets against Chinese wildcard Mao-Xin Gong, who is ranked 695 places below him in the world.
An upset briefly seemed possible, however, with Gong delighting the home crowd by going toe-to-toe with the world number 23 throughout the first set before just failing to push it to a tie-break as he lost his serve at last in the 12th game of the set.
Kohlschreiber went on to win 7-5 6-2 and will face world number six Juan Martin del Potro in the next round.
The French duo of ninth seed Richard Gasquet and 13th seed Gilles Simon were the highest ranked players to get knocked out, with Gasquet losing 6-3 6-4 to Canda's Vasek Pospisil and Simon losing to another Frenchman, Benoit Paire, 6-4 6-3.

Latest results from the Shanghai Masters Men's Singles Round 1 matches on Tuesday

Vasek Pospisil (Canada) beat 9-Richard Gasquet (France) 6-3 6-4

10-Milos Raonic (Canada) beat Michal Przysiezny (Poland)

12-Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 6-3 6-4

Benoit Paire (France) beat 13-Gilles Simon (France) 6-4 6-3

15-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Go Soeda (Japan) 7-6(5) 6-2

16-Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-4 6-1

Jeremy Chardy (France) beat Bernard Tomic (Australia) 7-5 6-2

Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) beat Michael Russell (U.S.) 6-1 6-3

Daniel Brands (Germany) beat Alejandro Falla (Colombia) 7-6(3) 7-5

Fabio Fognini (Italy) beat Paolo Lorenzi (Italy) 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4

Kevin Anderson (South Africa) beat Victor Hanescu (Romania) 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(4)

Feliciano Lopez (Spain) beat Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) 7-6(2) 4-6 6-3

Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) beat Gong Maoxin (China) 7-5 6-2

Andreas Seppi (Italy) beat Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 6-4 6-2

Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat Zhang Ze (China) 7-5 6-2

Jurgen Melzer (Austria) beat Ivan Dodig (Croatia) 4-6 6-3 6-4

 

[Smallville22]

Ivanovic wins Linz opener

Number three seed Ana Ivanovic made a winning start to her Linz Open campaign with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium.
Meanwhile, Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova and Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens both survived scares as they came through the opening round.
Seventh seed Cibulkova lost the opening set against Germany's world number 57 Annika Beck, but upped the pace thereafter to force a string of break points as she ended up a 3-6 6-2 6-1 winner.
Fifth seed Flipkens also lost the opening set to a lower-ranked player, with world number 81 Donna Vekic racing through the opening set against the world number 19.
Flipkens turned things round thereafter, however, and having struggled on serve in the opening set she wasn't threatened again as she won 2-6 6-2 6-2.

Linz Open Women's Singles Round 1 matches on Tuesday

2-Sloane Stephens (U.S.) beat Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) 6-3 6-1

3-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) 6-2 6-4

4-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Kristyna Pliskova (Czech Republic) 6-2 6-3

5-Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) beat Donna Vekic (Croatia) 2-6 6-2 6-2

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (Austria) beat 6-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 1-6 6-3 6-4

7-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) beat Annika Beck (Germany) 3-6 6-2 6-1

Andrea Petkovic (Germany) beat Yvonne Meusburger (Austria) 6-3 7-5

Katarzyna Piter (Poland) beat Irina Begu (Romania) 6-2 4-6 6-3

Camila Giorgi (Italy) beat Julia Goerges (Germany) 6-2 6-3

Maryna Zanevska (Ukraine) beat Aleksandra Krunic (Serbia) 7-5 2-6 6-2

 

[Smallville22]

Lisicki pulls out, Puig loses in Osaka

Eighth seed Monica Puig crashed out of the Japan Open in Osaka as she lost 7-5 7-6(4) against local favourite Kurumi Nara.
Nara, ranked 87th in the world, consistently held her nerve better on the big points as she saved all but two of the nine break points against her, while taking three of her five chances against Puig.
Puerto Rican Puig, who beat defending champion Heather Watson in the opening round, looked the more comfortable of the two during the second set, but in the tie-break it was again Nara who held her nerve better to earn a victory.
Nara will face Polona Hercog in the third round, with Hercog enjoying the luxury of a walkover after Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki pulled out.
Liscki, who has not made the quarter-finals of any tournament since Wimbledon, had taken a medical time out in her opening match of the tournament against Chaneelle Scheepers, and she was unable to play on Wednesday.
Third seed Sam Stosur came through a straightforward match against Swiss qualifier Belinda Bencic, winning 6-4 6-2.
"I feel good," Stosur, the Osaka champion in 2009, said. "I'm excited to be in the quarter-finals again here and overall I'm very happy with the way I played today."
Stosur will face the winner of the all-Japanese battle between Kimiki Date-Krumm and Misaki Doi, who play on Thursday.

Japan Open Women's Singles Round 2 matches on Wednesday

Kurumi Nara (Japan) beat 8-Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) 7-5 7-6(4)

3-Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 6-4 6-2

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) beat Vania King (U.S.) 2-6 6-3 6-1

5-Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) beat Luksika Kumkhum (Thailand) 6-2 6-2

 

[Smallville22]

Murray out of ATP World Tour Finals

Andy Murray has pulled out of the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
The Wimbledon champion underwent back surgery last month, and has now confirmed that he will not be sufficiently recovered in time to play in the season-ending tournament at the O2 in November.
"I'm really disappointed not to be playing this year, I love playing in front of my home crowd, it's a great atmosphere,” said Murray.
“All the players look forward to competing in London and I'll be doing my best to qualify again for the tournament next year."
The world number three has been a semi-finalist in the eight-man tournament three times in the last five years, and had already qualified for this year's even alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer.
Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet currently sit in the five available spots in the Race to London standings.
Tournament director Andre Silva said: "It’s unfortunate that Andy will be unable to play in this year’s tournament. He’s had a historic year on the Tour and of course he’ll be missed. We wish him all the best as he continues his recovery from surgery, and we hope to see him back stronger than ever for the 2014 season.”

 

[Smallville22]

Spain expected to name Moya captain

Spain's tennis federation (RFET) will announce Alex Corretja's replacement as Davis Cup captain on Thursday, with local media reporting former world number one Carlos Moya had already agreed a one-year contract to the end of 2014.
The new captain will be presented at a news conference in Madrid at midday local time on Thursday, a federation spokesman said on Wednesday. He declined to confirm Moya was taking over.
The 37-year-old Moya retired from the ATP Tour at the end of 2010 and his first task would be to prepare Spain for their opening World Group tie at home to Germany at the end of January.
A close friend of Mallorcan compatriot and current world number one Rafa Nadal, in March 1999 Moya became the first Spaniard to rise to the top of the ATP rankings since they were created in 1973 and held the spot for two weeks.
One of the finest moments of his Davis Cup career came in Seville in 2004 when he beat Andy Roddick to clinch the title against the United States.
Corretja succeeded Albert Costa, now RFET sporting director, as Davis Cup captain after Spain's triumph against Argentina in the 2011 final.
They were runners-up to Czech Republic last year before a depleted team missing injured talisman Nadal, who was also absent from the 2012 final, suffered a surprise defeat away to Canada in the 2013 first round.
Nadal returned to help Spain retain their elite World Group status in a 5-0 playoff success against Ukraine last month.
Corretja said after the victory in Madrid he wanted to continue but the federation decided a fresh start was needed.

 

[Smallville22]

Djokovic, Federer and Nadal into Shanghai last 16

Top seed Novak Djokovic launched his Shanghai Open title defence in fine style, breezing past Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-2 6-0 as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer also won on Wednesday.
Roger Federer, playing his first singles match since a fourth-round exit at the U.S. Open over a month ago, made a brisk return to winning ways, beating Andreas Seppi 6-4 6-3.
The Swiss's long-time rival Rafa Nadal was among those who were eager to see the 17-times Grand Slam champion in full flight and after observing a few games courtside, the Spaniard showed his own class in a 6-3 6-2 thumping of Alexandr Dolgopolov.
"The court is fast, faster than the previous years," said Nadal, who narrowly missed out on winning his 11th title of 2013 by falling to Djokovic in the Beijing final.
"The serve worked great. Something that didn't happen last week. That's a very important thing."
Djokovic, who lost his world number one ranking to Nadal on Monday, needed treatment on his right foot during the second set of his match but it did not stop him from breaking his opponent three times to win at a canter.
"There's several tournaments left for me, this included, where I will try to go as far as I can... eventually have an opportunity to get back to No. 1 (but) it doesn't depend only (on) me, it depends (on) Nadal," said the Serb, who beat Nadal on Sunday in the China Open for his fourth title of the year.
"Now to build that confidence, try to (be more) aggressive on the court and get my game back to where it should be, that's the primary focus."
Federer, who is drawn to meet Djokovic in the quarter-finals, looked rusty at the start conceding a break in the fifth game against Seppi, who not beaten him in nine meetings.
But the Swiss, who is trying to garner enough points to book his place for next month's ATP World finale in London, got the break back in the next game to level the match at 3-3 and broke the Italian's serve once more to take out the first set.
The second set was far more comfortable for the 17-times grand slam winner, who teamed up with little-known Chinese Zhang Ze for doubles action on Monday, as he held on to an early break without facing any problems on his serve.
Sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro overcame a slow start to beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 3-6 6-3 7-6(4).
Kohlschreiber, ranked number 23 in the world, served 22 aces and hit 50 winners against a sluggish del Potro. But the Argentine, who said he had been feeling ill, fought back to get an early break in the second set and get a grip on the match.
"It was really tough for me," del Potro, who later withdrew from doubles, told reporters. "I couldn't run a lot. I think my serve helped me a lot to keep playing for the three sets because I made many aces.
"With my serve I didn't run too much. I was lucky in the tie-break because he made a few mistakes. I won a really tough match."
France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had a much easier start to his campaign as he brushed aside Pablo Andujar 6-3 6-2 in 65 minutes.
Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, currently sixth in the race for London, also took a positive step towards sealing his berth by defeating Spain's Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5) 6-2.

 

[Smallville22]

Ivanovic marches on in Linz

Ana Ivanovic moved into the quarter-finals in Linz with a 6-3 7-5 win over Francesca Schiavone.
The Serbian former world number one, now ranked 16th, needed just over an hour and a half to oust the Italian.
Third seed Ivanovic won the WTA Linz tournament in 2008 and 2010 and will face the winner of Katarzyna Piter and Dominika Cibulkova’s second-round match.
Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, the fourth seed, beat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-1 6-4 while fifth-seeded Wimbledon semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens ousted Camila Giorgi 6-2 6-1.
"The score doesn't say everything today," Flipkens said. "It was 6-2 61-, but it was more of a battle than the score said. She's a good player. She came out of qualies, so you know you have to watch out for those players.
"She's an up-and-coming talent. She plays so aggressively. I was really lucky that I served well today and that my slice was doing its job."
Suarez Navarro and Belgian Flipkens will face each other in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Delayed first-round matches saw Karin Knapp of Italy beat eighth-seeded 2007 winner Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-2 7-6(6), while Romanian Alexandra Cadantu knocked out Austrian wildcard Melanie Klaffner 7-6(4) 6-2.
"I had some problems with my foot in Beijing and had to rest for quite some time afterward, so I didn't expect much today," Hantuchova said. "But I tried my best and she was playing too well.
"I felt like I was starting to play much better in the second set, but unfortunately I didn't take advantage of my chances."
Knapp will face Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele in the last 16, while Cadantu plays Angelique Kerber after she beat Romania's Monica Nicolescu 0-6 6-1 6-2.

 

[Smallville22]

New Spain captain Moya counting on Nadal

Spain's chances of winning a sixth Davis Cup crown next year will likely hinge on world number one Rafa Nadal and new captain Carlos Moya said on Thursday he will do his best to persuade his Mallorcan compatriot and close friend to commit.
"My main mission will be to get everyone to lend a hand," Moya, who is taking over from Alex Corretja at the end of the year and is a former number one, said at his presentation in Madrid on Thursday.
"I know that history has shown the top 10 players tend to miss the opening rounds," he added.
"There's still time to talk (with Rafa). He's immersed in a fight for the top spot in the rankings now but later we'll talk and see what he has in mind."
Currently competing at the Masters event in Shanghai after taking over at the top of the rankings from Novak Djokovic on Monday, Nadal has welcomed Moya's appointment.
Once he takes the reins, the 37-year-old Moya, who retired from professional tennis at the end of 2010, will begin preparing Spain for their opening World Group tie at home to Germany at the end of January.
Corretja succeeded Albert Costa, now RFET sporting director, as Davis Cup captain after Spain's triumph against Argentina in the 2011 final.
They were runners-up to Czech Republic last year before a depleted team without the injured Nadal, who was also absent from the 2012 final, suffered a surprise defeat away to Canada in the 2013 first round.
Despite his hectic schedule, Nadal returned from winning the U.S. Open in New York to help Spain retain their elite World Group status in a 5-0 playoff success against Ukraine in Madrid last month.
Corretja said after the victory he wanted to continue but the federation decided a fresh start was needed.
"Our main challenge is to win the sixth title and any decision we take is based on that," RFET president Jose Luis Escanuela told reporters on Thursday.
"And we believe that in the hands of Carlos Moya we can achieve it," he added.

 

[Smallville22]

Second-set blitz puts Keys into quarters

Madison Keys only lost three points in the second set as she beat Zhang Shuai 6-4 6-0 to move into the quarter-finals of the Japan Open in Osaka.
The American sixth seed won nine games in a row as she came back from 4-3 down in the first set to oust the Chinese in just 51 minutes.
Keys, only 18, felt her serve helped her into a fourth career WTA quarter-final.
"I started off a little bit slow, especially returning - I was making a lot of mistakes," Keys told the WTA website. "But I felt like once I really got going and got a good feeling on the court, I played really well.
"My serve got me out of some tough positions in the first set and really helped in the second set.
"I've really enjoyed being in Japan. I don't mind the heat and I like the surface - it's really fast - so it works for my game."
Zheng Jie won the last eight games as she came from a set down to beat ninth seed Kristina Mladenovic 6-7(5) 6-2 6-0.
"The first set was really close - I think in the most important points I didn't play so well," Zheng said. "She was serving so big. I had never played against her in singles before and she was so tough.
"Early in the second set I started to play more aggressively against her, and I broke her early in both sets, and that helped me because she started thinking about it more. It was very good to break early."
Zheng will face Keys - 12 years her junior - in the quarters.
Japan's Misaki Doi beat 43-year-old compatriot Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-6(3) 6-4 to make it into the quarter-finals.
There was nothing to separate the two players in the opening set, with both enjoying several chances to clinch it.
Doi improved her game in the second set, however, not giving up a single break point while being ruthless about taking advantage of the Japanese number one's weak second serve to earn the break that gave her victory.
Next up for Doi is Australian Sam Stosur.

 

[Smallville22]

Federer crashes out in Shanghai

Roger Federer went out of the Shanghai Masters at the last-16 stage as he lost to France's world number 42 Gael Monfils.
After dropping the first set, the 17-time Grand Slam title winner was on the brink of going out in straight sets at 3-5 down in the second, and later 3-5 down in the tie-break before winning four straight points.
Monfils then broke the Swiss former world number one in the fourth game of the decider.
"[It was] one of those matches that could have gone either way," Federer told the ATP tour website. "I think I was a little lucky in the second set to get back, to be quite honest. I played a solid tie-break.
"I had chances early on in the third set I think to make something happen. He kind of recovered, then started to serve a bit better again towards the end of the third set, which made it difficult for me. It's a bit of an up and down performance for me."
"I knew that I choked on this forehand at 5-4 (in the tie-break)," Frenchman Monfils - a former top-10 player whose career has been derailed by injury - said.
"Then I changed my ideas because I was maybe nervous, too. Even (though) I was tired, I tried to play more aggressively sometimes, going more for my shots and it worked.
"It's a good win for me. I feel a bit sorry for him because I know he's running for London. But it's tennis. He's going to have more opportunity (in) those weeks coming up."
It was Monfils's second victory over Federer in eight meetings, and leaves the Swiss battling to reach the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals for the 12th consecutive year.
"I'm just going to focus on trying to play well. I'm just going to try to have a good tournament in Basel and Paris. In the end, if I get the invite (to London), I'll be there," Federer added.
Monfils will play top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals after the Serb brushed aside Fabio Fognini.
Other matches saw wins for Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga go through, while David Ferrer was shocked by Florian Mayer, and Tomas Berdych lost out to Nicolas Almagro.

Shanghai Masters Men's Singles Round 3 matches on Thursday

1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-3 6-3

2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Carlos Berlocq (Argentina) 6-1 7-6(5)

Florian Mayer (Germany) beat 3-David Ferrer (Spain) 6-4 6-3

15-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat 4-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 6-7(6) 6-3 7-6(4)

Gael Monfils (France) beat 5-Roger Federer (Switzerland) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3

6-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) beat 11-Tommy Haas (Germany)WO

7-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat 12-Kei Nishikori (Japan) 7-6(5) 6-0

8-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat 10-Milos Raonic (Canada) 7-6(2) 6-4

 

[Smallville22]

Nadal and Djokovic reach quarters, Ferrer and Berdych dumped out

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were in superb form to advance to the last eight of the Shanghai Masters.
Nadal, who returned to the top of the world rankings this month, won his 67th match of 71 this season with a 6-1 7-6(5) victory over Carlos Berlocq.
Nadal hit 19 winners and only made four errors in a sublime first set, and while the second was more even Berlocq double-faulted at 5-5 in the tie-break, gifting Nadal a quarter-final spot.
Nadal will face Stanislas Wawrinka after the Swiss beat Milos Raonic in straight sets.
World number two Djokovic comfortably defeated Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-3 to advance to the last eight.
Dominating on his own serve from the off, Djokovic earned a break point on the Italian's service in game four and took it at the first time of asking before seeing out the opening set.
And though he had to save a break point at the very start of set two, the Serb broke Fognini again in the sixth game of the second before once again defending his serve well to secure a symmetrical straight-sets success.
"I needed to play a lot of long rallies and work for my points because Fognini is a player in form over the past three or four months," Djokovic told the ATP website.
"He's somebody that has a lot of talent, moves around the court quite fast [and] makes you work. It was a good win. In the important moments I served well. I played the right shots at the right time. A straight sets win is something that I was looking forward to."
Up next in the last eight for Djokovic is Gael Monfils, who upset Roger Federer earlier in the day.
"Monfils, from I watched, was the better player on the court and he deserved to win," added Djokovic. "He's always tricky when he serves big, as big as he served today.
"I think, he's one of the most interesting tennis players to watch because he's so athletic, he's so fast, he moves around the court well. He's somebody that feeds off the energy of the crowd. He loves to play big matches on a big stage."
The big shock of the day came as third seed and 2011 runner-up David Ferrer was beaten 6-4 6-3 by Germany's Florian Mayer.
Ferrer, who has already qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals in London, gave up a steady stream of break points against the world number 50 as Mayer took advantage of his superior serving to beat a top 10 opponent for the first time this year.
Juan Martin del Potro was gifted a spot in the quarter-finals as German veteran Tommy Haas was forced to retire injured.
The 35-year-old had beaten Daniel Brands and Sam Querrey to make the last 16, but his long-standing back problem flared up before the clash with the sixth-seeded Argentine.
Del Potro will face Nicolas Almagro in the quarter finals after the Spaniard landed a mini-upset on Czech world number six Tomas Berdych.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga also made the quarter-finals with a win over Japan's Kei Nishikori.
Tsonga was pushed hard by his 23-year-old opponent in a nip-and-tuck opening set that was decided in a tie-break, but hit his stride in the second set as he dropped not a single point on his own serve while tearing Nishikori to bits on his way to a 7-6(4) 6-0 victory.

Shanghai Masters Men's Singles Round 3 matches on Thursday

1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-3 6-3

2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat Carlos Berlocq (Argentina) 6-1 7-6(5)

Florian Mayer (Germany) beat 3-David Ferrer (Spain) 6-4 6-3

15-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat 4-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 6-7(6) 6-3 7-6(4)

Gael Monfils (France) beat 5-Roger Federer (Switzerland) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3

6-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) beat 11-Tommy Haas (Germany)WO

7-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat 12-Kei Nishikori (Japan) 7-6(5) 6-0

8-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat 10-Milos Raonic (Canada) 7-6(2) 6-4

 

[Smallville22]

Stephens reaches Linz quarters to close on top 10

Sloane Stephens moved a step closer to the top 10 with an epic 7-6 4-6 6-3 win over Andrea Petkovic in Linz.
The American second seed, 20, has so far risen to 12th in the world in her breakout season and battled past Germany's Petkovic in over two and a half hours.
"It was definitely tough for a second round match," Stephens told the WTA website. "I thought I played well. Whenever I play Andrea, we always have good matches, so it was good to get through that."
"I was excited this week when I moved from 13 to 12. Just trying to take it slow and keep working on my game and improving.
"Obviously there's a long way to go, but I'm excited to keep going."
Stephens will face Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland in the last eight after she beat Karin Knapp of Italy 4-6 6-2 7-5. Stephens beat Voegele in Tokyo last month.
Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova thrashed Katarzyna Piter 6-0 6-1 in 52 minutes to reach the quarter-finals in Austria.
Poland’s Piter, playing in her first WTA event of the year, broke the seventh seed in the second set for her only game.
Former Linz finalist Cibulkova will face twice champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia for a place in the semis.
Local hope Patricia Mayr-Achleitner dropped two match points at 5-3 in the second set before defeating Maryna Zanevska of Ukraine 6-1 6-7 (1) 6-4.
She will face number one seed Angelique Kerber of Germany after she beat Romania’s Alexandra Cadantu 6-1 6-0.
If Kerber wins her next match, she will be confirmed at the WTA Championships in Istanbul. Should she lose, Roberta Vinci, Caroline Wozniacki and Stephens are all in with a chance.

 

[Smallville22]

Djokovic and Nadal reach Shanghai semis

Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic rallied to see off Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-7(4) 6-2 6-4 in the Shanghai Open quarter-finals on Friday and world number one Rafa Nadal also booked his place in the last four.
The Serb, who was replaced by Nadal at the top of the rankings on Monday, defeated Monfils, conqueror of Roger Federer in the previous round, in a match lasting two hours and 23 minutes.
After twice exchanging breaks during the first set, the Frenchman bagged the tiebreak 7-4 to go ahead. But Djokovic fought back, twice breaking Monfils, who had to receive treatment on a stomach muscle.
Djokovic got the crucial break in the seventh game of the third set and closed out the match to set up a semi-final clash with another Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Nadal was made to work hard in the first set of his quarter-final against Stanislas Wawrinka, triumphing 7-6(10) 6-1 to progress to set up a clash with Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.
Wawrinka, who is hoping to qualify for the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals, saved three break points on his way to a 6-5 lead in the opening set before Nadal saved two set points in the 12th game to take it to a tiebreak which he won.
The Spaniard, who last week lost to Djokovic in the China Open final, then raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set before the Swiss held serve to merely prolong the inevitable as Nadal served out the match.
Del Potro kept his errors to a minimum, breezing past Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-3 6-3.
Del Potro, seeded sixth, had also defeated Almagro in last week's Japan Open semi-finals and now needs one more victory to seal his spot for next month's Tour Finals in London.
The Argentine, who was suffering from fever during the earlier stages of the hard-court tournament, committed just eight unforced errors during his win and faced a single break point, which he went on to save.
"I played very well today, very solid," Del Potro told reporters. "I played aggressive. I hit my forehand very well.
"I like the way I played today. I just want to keep improving (and) keep going far in this tournament."
Tsonga also took a positive step towards confirming his spot for London with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 win over German Florian Mayer.
World number three Andy Murray's withdrawal from the Tour Finals due to injury has meant anyone finishing ninth or better in the race to London will qualify for the prestigious season-ending tournament.

 

[Smallville22]

Keys reaches first semi in Osaka

American prospect Madison Keys moved into her first tour-level semifinal with a straight sets victory over China’s Zheng Jie at the WTA Japan Open in Osaka.
The 18-year-old broke her opponent in the opening game of the match and never looked back as she comfortably progressed 6-3 6-1 to set up a last four clash with 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur.
"I think I just played a pretty solid match overall," Keys told the official WTA website.
"It was definitely windy and I wasn't able to hit as many big serves as I was yesterday as I was trying to play the percentages a bit more. The conditions are just something you have to learn to deal with, I just tried to keep moving my feet and judge when to go for it."
Stosur survived a second set blip to win 6-1 3-6 6-3 against home favourite Misaki Doi.
"I know her a little bit - we played in Indian Wells this year - she's tall, very strong, has a very big serve and hits the ball hard," said Stosur.
The other semifinal sees Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard face Kurami Nara after the pair came through three set matches against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova and Polona Hercog respectively.

 

[Smallville22]

Voegele shocks Stephens in Austria

World number 58 Stefanie Voegele recovered from losing a first set tiebreak to shock American Sloane Stephens in three sets at the Linz Open in Austria.
The Swiss player sailed through the second set without facing a break point and dug in as Stephens attacked in the decider before clinching a 6-7 6-4 7-5 win to move into the semifinals.
Top seed Angelique Kerber sealed her passage into the last four with a 6-3 6-1 win over home player Patricia Mayr-Achleitner to secure her spot at the WTA Championships in Istanbul.
The German was never threatened on serve as she broke her opponent four times to earn a comfortable win.
Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro also advanced with a 6-1 6-3 win over Wimbledon semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens.

 

[Smallville22]

Kerber seals final spot at WTA tour year-ender

Germany's Angelique Kerber has clinched the eighth and final spot at the WTA's season-ending championships in Istanbul later this month after reaching the semi-finals of the Linz Open.
The 25-year-old beat Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in the quarter-finals in Austria on Friday to join Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska, Li Na, Petra Kvitova, Sara Errani and Jelena Jankovic in the field.
Kerber, who featured in the WTA Championships for the first time last year, ensured the October 22-27 event would have eight players from different countries for the first time.
"I am so excited to be returning to Istanbul for the WTA Championships," the world number 10 said in a media release. "The fans last year were amazing and I look forward for the chance to play against the best players in the world."
World number three Maria Sharapova will miss the championships because of a shoulder injury.

 

[Smallville22]

Bouchard reaches first WTA final, Stosur awaits

Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard reached her first WTA final on Saturday after she ended the surprise run of home favourite Kurumi Nara at the Japan Open.
The 19-year-old beat the Japanese wildcard 6-2 6-2 to set up a showdown with former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, who downed American teenager Madison Keys 6-1 6-2 in the other semi at the $250,000 event on the hard courts in Osaka.
Bouchard and Nara, competing in her first WTA semi-final, traded breaks early on before the Canadian found her rhythm to reel off seven games in a row and open up a 6-2 3-0 lead.
The fifth seed then swiftly wrapped up the win over her 21-year-old opponent, who is certain to improve her world ranking of 87 when the list is updated on Monday.
Bouchard will face a tough task to claim a first WTA title against the experienced Stosur, who is enjoying another strong showing in Osaka.
The Australian, seeded three, was a losing finalist here two years ago after she won her first career title at the event in 2009.
Her serve provided too much of a test for the promising Keys on Saturday, with the 29-year-old losing only 12 points in her eight service games.
"I thought I did everything very well today," Stosur told the WTA Tour after reaching her second final of the year.
"I always play well and enjoy my time here. And it's no trouble coming here either - at the end of the year there are a lot of tournaments in Asia, so of course I wanted to come back to this event too.
"I'm very motivated," the world number 20 said as she goes in search of her fifth career title.
"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow now. It's going to be great to be in the final again. Hopefully, I can repeat what I did four years ago instead of two years ago."