****** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ******
* Federer makes progress toward London without striking a ball: Gasquet upset by Pospisil
* Bad day for Frenchmen: Simon only other seed to lose
* Dimitrov still below Top 25 after loss to Nishikori
* Almagro likely to replace Janowicz in Top Fifteen after win
* Raonic, Robredo also advance
* Anderson scores first win since U. S. Open
* Dodig may lose Top Thirty spot after loss to Melzer
* No Top Forty spot for Nieminen after loss to Lopez
* Tomic out to Chardy, loses chance to clinch Top Fifty spot
****** TODAY'S MEN'S NEWS ******
Shanghai
Canadians doubled up for a pair of wins, with Vasek Pospisil dealing a blow to Richard Gasquet's qualifying chances for the season-ending ATP event with a 6-3, 6-4 upset of the French ninth seed. Milos Raonic, seeded tenth and tenth in the race to London, then earned an opening victory as he beat Michel Przysiezny 6-4, 6-4.
Pospisil fired 10 aces and broke twice in his 69-minute demolition of Gasquet. "The key was to stay aggressive the whole the time, even in the big moments, going for my shots,” said the 23-year-old, Pospisil, ranked 43rd. “I was really proud of myself that when the tight situations came up I was going for my shots. It worked out today and I'm very happy. It's a huge win for me."
With weather from a typhoon still buffeting the city, matches were played under the roof for a second straight day.
A second French seed lost as Benoit Paire beat number 13 Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3. Simon withdrew last week from Tokyo with a groin strain. Japan's 12th seed Kei Nishikori beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4 and Spanish seeds Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo both earned wins.
Roger Federer will take a 9-0 record against Andreas Seppi into his opening match after the Italian booked his spot against the four-time champion with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Lleyton Hewitt.
The 54th-ranked Hewitt dropped the first set and trailed 4-0 in the second before getting in a winning game. Seppi took victory with four breaks of serve against the 32-year-old Australian. Seppi has so far been easy prey for Federer, who beat last him twice in 2012 and has lost just one set over nine matches.
But nothing is taken for granted. “It’s a difficult first match for me. Seppi will be tough, he's a very good player,” said Federer, currently fighting to claim a place in the eight-man season-ending championships next month in London, standing provisional seventh with four spots still open.
Feliciano Lopez defeated Tokyo quarter-finalist Jarkko Nieminen, 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3 while German Philipp Kohlschreiber beat China's Gong Mao-Xin, 7-5, 6-2. Kevin Anderson staged a comeback over Victor Hanescu, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4). Fabio Fognini won an all-Italian battle with Paolo Lorenzi, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 and Jeremy Chardy defeated Bernard Tomic 7-5, 6-2.
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Shanghai (1000/Hard). Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic
NEXT WEEK ON THE ATP WORLD TOUR:
Moscow (250/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Andreas Seppi
Stockholm (250/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Tomas Berdych
Vienna (250/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Juan Martin del Potro
******** STATS AND FACTS ********
RANKINGS
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of October 8, 2013
Rank &
Prior...Player...........Points
1..(1) Nadal.............11170
2..(2) Djokovic..........10130
3..(4) Ferrer.............6720
4..(3) Murray.............6295
5..(5) Del Potro..........4935
6..(6) Berdych............4260
7..(7) Federer............4165
8..(8) Wawrinka...........3070
9.(10) Gasquet............3060
10..(9) Tsonga.............2945
11.(11) Raonic.............2815
12.(12) Haas...............2220
13.(13) Isner..............2070
14.(16) Almagro............2065
15.(14) Simon..............2060
16.(15) Janowicz...........2060
17.(17) Fognini............1920
18.(18) Nishikori..........1840
19.(19) Robredo............1830
20.(20) Anderson...........1775
21.(21) Youzhny............1735
22.(22) Seppi..............1555
23.(25) Melzer.............1460
24.(23) Kohlschreiber......1445
25.(26) Paire..............1380
26.(24) Tipsarevic.........1355
27.(28) Gulbis.............1341
28.(27) Dimitrov...........1340
29.(29) Dodig..............1300
30.(30) Lopez..............1275
**DRAWS
Shanghai -- Week of October 7
1 Djokovic
--bye
Granollers
Tipsarevic
Lorenzi (Q)
Fognini
Montanes
16 Robredo
9 Gasquet
Pospisil
Ito (Q)
Monfils
Hewitt (WC)
Seppi
--bye
5 Federer
3 Ferrer
--bye
Benneteau
Rosol
Wu (WC)
F Mayer
Paire
13 Simon
12 Nishikori
Dimitrov
Melzer
Dodig
Youzhny
Andujar
--bye
7 Tsonga
6 del Potro
--bye
Kohlschreiber
Gong (WC)
Falla (Q)
Brands
Querrey
11 Haas
15 Almagro
Soeda (Q)
Chardy
Tomic
Lopez
Nieminen
--bye
4 Berdych
8 Wawrinka
--bye
Hanescu
Anderson
Zhang (WC)
Verdasco
Przysiezny (Q)
10 Raonic
14 Isner
Giraldo (Q)
Tursunov
Berlocq
Dolgopolov
Russell (Q)
--bye
2 Nadal
******** SCORES ********
TUESDAY
Shanghai
Singles - First Round
V Pospisil (CAN) d [9] R Gasquet (FRA) 63 64
[10] M Raonic (CAN) d [Q] M Przysiezny (POL) 64 64
[12] K Nishikori (JPN) d G Dimitrov (BUL) 63 64
B Paire (FRA) d [13] G Simon (FRA) 64 63
[15] N Almagro (ESP) d [Q] G Soeda (JPN) 76(5) 62
[16] T Robredo (ESP) d A Montanes (ESP) 64 61
F Fognini (ITA) d [Q] P Lorenzi (ITA) 46 76(5) 64
A Seppi (ITA) d [WC] L Hewitt (AUS) 64 62
J Melzer (AUT) d I Dodig (CRO) 46 63 64
P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [WC] M Gong (CHN) 75 62
D Brands (GER) d [Q] A Falla (COL) 76(3) 75
J Chardy (FRA) d B Tomic (AUS) 75 62
F Lopez (ESP) d J Nieminen (FIN) 76(2) 46 63
K Anderson (RSA) d V Hanescu (ROU) 46 76(5) 76(4)
F Verdasco (ESP) d [WC] Z Zhang (CHN) 75 62
A Dolgopolov (UKR) d [Q] M Russell (USA) 61 63
****** EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ******
* King upsets Pennetta, who loses Top Thirty chance
* Robson also upset in Osaka
* Lisicki struggles past Scheepers; Keys cruises
* Medina Garrigues crushed by Zhang, will probably end year outside Top Hundred
* Giorgi upsets Goerges in Linz; German will fall to around #75
* Ivanovic, Flipkens, Cibulkova, Suarez Navarro win
* Cirstea upset by Mayr-Achleitner after breezing through first set
* Stephens beats Rybarikova to keep faint Istanbul hopes alive
****** TODAY'S WOMEN'S NEWS ******
Linz
Fourth seed Carla Suarez Navarro led seeds to first-round wins as she beat Czech Kristyna Pliskova 6-2, 6-3. Slovak No. 7 Dominika Cibulkova followed suit as she put out German Annika Beck 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Belgian fifth seed Kirsten Flipkens defeated British-based Croatian Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Italian Camila Giorgi defeated near-namesake Julia Goerges of Germany 6-2, 6-3 to move into the second round at what for many players is their last event of the WTA season.
Osaka
Wimbledon finalist and second seed Sabine Lisicki made a winning start as she beat South African Chanelle Scheepers 7-5, 7-6(1) and remains the tournament high seed after the pullout of Jelena Jankovic. The winner hit five aces and was helped by eight double-faults from her nervous opponent. She next plays Polona Hercog of Slovenia, who defeated Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.
Italian fourth seed Flavia Pennetta lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 to American Vania King. There was a place in the second round for US sixth seed Madison Keys, a winner over Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3, 6-2.
Brit Laura Robson, aged 19 and seeded seventh, joined compatriot and 2012 champion Heather Watson as a victim, going out to 43-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-4, 6-4. French ninth seed Kristina Mladenovic beat Aleksandra Wozniak 7-6(4), 6-4 as the Canadian makes a tough comeback from a shoulder injury suffered 13 months ago. Canada went 0-2 on the day when China's Zheng Jie beat Sharon Fichman 6-2, 6-1.
Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova defeated Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan 6-2 6-2 while teenaged Swiss qualifier Belinda Bencic put out American Lauren Davis 6-3, 7-5 and Thai Luksika Kumkhum defeated Japan's Ayumi Morita 6-2, 6-1.
******** THIS WEEK IN TENNIS ********
THIS WEEK ON THE WTA:
Linz (International/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Victoria Azarenka
Osaka (International/Hard). Defending Champion: Heather Watson
NEXT WEEK ON THE WTA:
Moscow (Premier/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Caroline Wozniacki
Luxembourg (International/Indoor Hard). Defending Champion: Venus Williams
************ STATS AND FACTS ************
**RANKINGS
Estimated WTA Rankings As of October 8, 2013
Rank &
Prior
Rank....Name..............Points
1 (1) SWilliams 13260
2 (2) Azarenka 8206
3 (3) Sharapova 6941
4 (4) ARadwanska 6195
5 (5) Li 5365
6 (6) Errani 4435
7 (7) Kvitova 4315
8 (8) Jankovic 3860
9 (9) Wozniacki 3845
10 (10) KERBER 3645*
11 (11) Vinci 3195
12 (12) STEPHENS 3185*
13 (13) Bartoli 3172
14 (14) LISICKI 2830*
15 (15) Kirilenko 2755
16 (17) Halep 2685
17 (16) IVANOVIC 2675*
18 (18) SUAREZ NAVARRO 2665*
19 (19) FLIPKENS 2455*
20 (20) STOSUR 2440*
21 (21) CIRSTEA 2170
22 (23) CIBULKOVA 2155*
23 (22) Kuznetsova 2142
24 (24) Makarova 2066
25 (25) Vesnina 1960
26 (27) Cornet 1790
27 (26) Hampton 1781
28 (28) Safarova 1775
29 (29) Kanepi 1751
30 (30) Pavlyuchenkova 1750
**DRAWS
Linz -- Week of October 7
1 Stephens
Rybarikova
Petkovic
Meusburger
Moser (WC)
Voegele
Knapp
7 Hantuchova
4 Flipkens
Wickmayer
Ka. Pliskova
Schiavone
Begu
Qualifier
Beck
6 Cibulkova
8 Zakopalova
Vekic
Goerges
Qualifier
Svitolina
Barthel
Qualifier
3 Suarez Navarro
5 Cirstea
Mayr-Achleitner (WC)
Qualifier
Qualifier
Cadantu
Klaffner (WC)
Niculescu
2 Ivanovic
Osaka -- Week of October 7
1 Jankovic (WC)
Wozniak
Fichman
Zheng
Zhang
Medina Garrigues
Qualifier
6 Keys
3 Stosur
Larsson
Davis
Qualifier
Doi
Soler-Espinosa
Date-Krumm
7 Robson (WC)
5 Bouchard
Lepchenko
Mladenovic
Morita
Hsieh
Qualifier
Qualifier
4 Pennetta
8 Puig
Watson
Nara (WC)
Garcia
Hercog
Cetkovska
Scheepers
2 Lisicki
******** SCORES ********
TUESDAY
Linz
Singles - First Round
(2) Sloane Stephens (USA) d. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 63 61
(3) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) d. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 62 64
(4) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. (Q) Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 62 63
(5) Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) d. Donna Vekic (CRO) 26 62 62
(WC) Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (AUT) d. (6) Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 16 63 64
(7) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Annika Beck (GER) 36 62 61
Andrea Petkovic (GER) d. Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) 63 75
(Q) Camila Giorgi (ITA) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 62 63
(Q) Katarzyna Piter (POL) d. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) 62 46 63
(LL) Maryna Zanevska (UKR) d. (Q) Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) 75 26 62
Doubles - First Round
Murray/Windley (GBR/GBR) d. Slater/South (GBR/GBR) 76(4) 67(5) 104 (Match TB)
Pliskova/Pliskova (CZE/CZE) d. Niculescu/Zakopalova (ROU/CZE) 63 36 103 (Match TB)
Osaka
Singles - First Round
(3) Samantha Stosur (AUS) d. Johanna Larsson (SWE) 64 62
(5) Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) d. Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 63 60
(8) Monica Puig (PUR) d. Heather Watson (GBR) 64 64
Misaki Doi (JPN) d. Sílvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) 61 62
(WC) Kurumi Nara (JPN) d. Caroline Garcia (FRA) 63 62
Doubles - First Round
(1) Kops-Jones/Spears (USA/USA) d. Date-Krumm/Scheepers (JPN/RSA) 63 64
(2) Mladenovic/Pennetta (FRA/ITA) d. Cetkovska/Zheng (CZE/CHN) 64 62
Hsieh/Hsieh (TPE/TPE) d. Aoyama/Chang (JPNTPE) 62 63
Singles Qualifying - Final Round
(1) Anna Schmiedlova (SVK) d. Eri Hozumi (JPN) 62 61
(5) Luksika Kumkhum (THA) d. (2) Vania King (USA) 63 75
(3) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d. Zarina Diyas (KAZ) 63 62
Belinda Bencic (SUI) d. Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 57 62 50 ret. (heat illness)