MEDIA NOTES 2012
by Greg Sharko
|
14.03.2012
• The entire fourth round line-up of the BNP Paribas Open takes the courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday with the four players who have won the last 28 Grand Slam titles (since ’05 Roland Garros) all on Stadium 1.
• First on Stadium 1 is World No. 1 Novak Djokovic against unseeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar, who upset No. 18 seed Florian Mayer en route to the fourth round but the difficulty level rises in a big way today, as not only did the Spaniard his only previous encounter with a reigning World No. 1 in straight sets (against Rafael Nadal in the second round of last year’s Roland Garros) but he also lost his only previous meeting with Djokovic in straight sets – but he is relishing the opportunity to play the two-time BNP Paribas Open champion again: “I’m a better player right now, but he is also a better player than he was when I played him, so I’ll try to enjoy it,” he said. “He’s World No. 1, so I have nothing to lose.”
• Next up is No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal against No. 21 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov; Nadal has reached the semi-finals or better the last six times he has played at Indian Wells, his only pre-semi-final loss coming in his very first appearance at the event as a 17-year-old in 2004; Dolgopolov is trying to reach just his second overall Masters 1000 quarter-final (he made it that far at Shanghai last fall) and it will be tough today – he is 0-4 against Top 3 players, never winning a set in any of those matches (including losing both his previous meetings against Nadal in straight sets); the Ukrainian No. 1 has also played lengthy three-setters in his two rounds so far here, while Spanish No. 1 Nadal has won both of his rounds easily in two sets.
• Following Nadal-Dolgopolov is No. 3 seed Roger Federer against unseeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci; Bellucci has been showing some improved form as of late, including an early round upset here over No. 20 seed Jurgen Melzer, but will have to be at his best to beat Federer in what is the pair’s first meeting; Federer has not only won 35 of his last 37 matches (his only losses since the US Open coming to Nadal at the Australian Open and to John Isner in Davis Cup) but he has won 73 matches in a row against players ranked outside the Top 20, not a good omen for the No. 50-ranked Bellucci; also, while Bellucci has three Top 10 wins, they have all come on clay (he is 0-5 against Top 10 players on hard, and 0-12 in sets).
• Last up on Stadium 1 is No. 9 seed Juan Martin del Potro against unseeded Uzbek Denis Istomin; del Potro has reached the quarter-finals or better at every tournament he has played this year, and three of his four losses have come to Federer (he hasn’t lost to anyone but Federer since before the Australian Open); he also beat Istomin handily in their only previous meeting; but Istomin will be confident, having scored his first win in 11 career meetings against Top 10 players on Tuesday (against No. 5 David Ferrer).
• The other four fourth round matches on Stadium 2, pitting No. 6 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against David Nalbandian, No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych against No. 12 seed Nicolas Almagro, No. 11 seed John Isner against qualifier Matthew Ebden and No. 13 seed Gilles Simon against Ryan Harrison.
WEDNESDAY FOURTH ROUND FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court
Stadium 1
(1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Pablo Andujar (ESP) Djokovic Leads 1-0
07 Umag (Croatia) Clay R32 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-3
DJOKOVIC FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The 24-year-old Serb comes into the fourth round with a 24-4 match record, winning the title in 2008 (d. Fish) and last year (d. Nadal) while reaching the final in 2007 (l. to Nadal) and the quarter-finals in 2009 (l. to Roddick)
• He opened on Saturday with a 63 62 win over qualifier Andrey Golubev and on Monday followed with a 62 63 victory over No. 29 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa
2012 Highlights:
W: Australian Open (d Nadal); SF: Dubai (l Murray)
2012 in Review:
• The World No. 1 is 12-1 on the season and he’s looking to reach the quarter-finals in his third tournament…His best result was winning fifth career Grand Slam title (third in a row) at Australian Open (d. Murray and Nadal in back-to-back five-setters in SFs and final)
• In his last outing in Dubai, reached SFs to Murray) on March 2
• This is the 37th consecutive week the Serb has ranked No. 1 (since July 4, 2011) in the South African Airways ATP Ranking
ANDUJAR FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The 26-year-old Spaniard is appearing in the fourth round for the first time after posting wins over Robin Haase 62 36 76(2), No. 18 seed Florian Mayer 62 64 and countryman Albert Ramos 76(5) 64
• Last year made his debut and lost in the first round to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 75 63
2012 Highlights:
QF: Acapulco (l Ferrer)
2012 in Review:
• The Valencia resident is trying to reach his second straight ATP World Tour quarter-final after advancing to the quarters in Acapulco (d. No. 18 F. Mayer, l. to No. 6 Ferrer)…This is his best career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 result
• Began the season with an 1-5 match record, losing in the first round in Doha, Sydney, the second round at the Australian Open (d. Kunitsyn, l. to Chela) and opening round matches in Vina del Mar and Buenos
• Has a 6-6 match record on the season (4-3 on hard, 2-3 on clay) and 1-7 lifetime vs. Top 10 opponents with his lone win coming over No. 9 Fernando Verdasco last March in Miami
(21) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs (2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) Nadal Leads 2-0
10 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (Spain) Clay R32 Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-3
11 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-2
DOLGOPOLOV FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The 23-year-old Ukrainian is 3-1 lifetime in Indian Wells and appearing in the fourth round (after bye), defeating Belgian Steve Darcis 67(13) 63 75 and Marcos Baghdatis 64 57 64
• Last year reached the third round (after bye), defeating Victor Hanescu before falling in the third round to Juan Martin del Potro 76 63
2012 Highlights:
F: Brisbane (l Murray)
2012 in Review:
• The Kiev native is appearing in his sixth event of year and enters with a 9-5 match record with his best result a runner-up in Brisbane (l. to Murray) in the opening week of the season…Afterwards, reached a career-high No. 13 on Jan. 16
• Also reached the 3rd Rd. at Australian Open (l. to Tomic); 2nd Rd. in Marseille and 1st Rd. in Rotterdam and Dubai
• He is looking for his first Top 10 win of the year (0-2) and third in his career (2-15)…Last year posted wins over No. 4 Robin Soderling in 4R at Australian Open and over No. 7 David Ferrer in QF in Nice
NADAL FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The 25-year-old Mallorcan native is the only player in the past six years to reach the semi-finals or better each time…Last season he lost to Djokovic in the final 46 63 62…Has a 33-5 career record
• On Sunday, opened with a 61 63 win over Argentine Leonardo Mayer and followed on Tuesday with a 61 64 victory over countryman No. 26 seed Marcel Granollers…Still left in doubles QF (w/M. Lopez)
• Two years ago, lost in the semi-finals and won the doubles title (w/M. Lopez)
• In 2009, he defeated Andy Murray in the final and in ’07, he beat Djokovic in the title match…His other semi-final showings came in 2006 (l. to Blake) and in ’08 (l. to Djokovic)
2012 Highlights:
F: Australian Open (l Djokovic); SF: Doha (l Monfils)
2012 in Review:
• The World No. 2 is 11-2 on the season and he’s looking to reach the quarter-finals for the third time in as many tournaments
• This is the Spaniard’s first tournament since his runner-up showing at the Australian Open on Jan. 29 when he lost to Djokovic 57 64 62 67 75 in a record 5:53 marathon…Has reached the last four Grand Slam finals (1-3 mark) going back to Roland Garros (10-5 lifetime in finals)
• He reached semi-finals in opening week in Doha (l. to Monfils)
Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs (3) Roger Federer (SUI) First Meeting
BELLUCCI FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The 24-year-old Brazilian is appearing in the fourth round for the first time after posting wins over Lukas Rosol 62 76 and Jurgen Melzer 63 63 before receiving a walkover vs. Nikolay Davydenko on Tuesday
• Has a 4-3 career mark in Indian Wells and his previous best results were third round showings in 2010 (l. to Garcia-Lopez) and last year (l. to No. 7 Berdych)
• He is trying to become the first Brazilian to reach the quarter-finals here since Gustavo Kuerten was runner-up in 2003 (l. to Hewitt)
2012 Highlights:
SF: Sao Paulo (l Volandri)
2012 in Review:
• The top Brazilian is playing in his sixth tournament of the year (6-5 mark) with best result the semi-finals last month in Sao Paulo (l. to Volandri)
• Also reached 2nd Rd. three times (Auckland, Australian Open and Vina del Mar) and fell 1st Rd. once (Acapulco)
• He is playing his first Top 10 opponent of the season and is 3-11 lifetime with all three wins coming on clay last season – d. No. 9 Verdasco (Acapulco), No. 4 Murray and No. 7 Berdych (Madrid)…He is 0-5 on hard courts, 3-5 on clay and 0-1 on grass vs. Top 10 foes
FEDERER FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The World No. 3 has a 35-8 career record here and he won three straight titles in 2004 (d. Henman), ’05 (d. Hewitt) and ’06 (d. Blake)…Since then, has reached the semi-finals in three of the past four years (2008-09, ’11)
• Opened on Sunday night with a 64 61 win over American teenage wild card Denis Kudla and followed on Tuesday night with a 67(4) 62 64 victory over No. 27 seed and top Canadian Milos Raonic
2012 Highlights:
W: Rotterdam (d Del Potro); Dubai (d Murray); SF: Doha (W/O vs Tsonga); Australian Open (l Nadal)
2012 in Review:
• The 30-year-old Swiss superstar comes into the fourth round with an outstanding 18-2 match record on the season, having won his last 11 matches since a Davis Cup four-set loss to John Isner on Feb 10
• Won back-to-back ATP World Tour titles in Rotterdam (d. del Potro) on Feb. 19 and Dubai (d. Murray) on Mar. 3…During streak, has only dropped two sets, to Nikolay Davydenko in semi-finals of Rotterdam and to Milos Raonic here on Tuesday
• In Dubai, held serve 52 of 53 games, losing serve only time in final vs. Murray…Also led tournament with 39 aces…It was his fifth career Dubai crown and 72nd career title, which is No. 4 in Open Era
• Has won at least one ATP World Tour title for 12 straight years, best among active players (Roddick has 11)…Has won 35 of last 37 matches (losses since US Open: Nadal in Australian Open SFs, Isner in Davis Cup), capturing five titles in seven tournaments
Denis Istomin (UZB) vs (9) Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) del Potro Leads 1-0
11 London / Queen’s Club (London) Grass R64 Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4 6-2
ISTOMIN FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The 25-year-old Uzbekistani is appearing in the fourth round for the first time after posting wins over Yen-Hsun Lu 76(6) 63, No. 31 seed Juan Ignacio Chela 76(5) 67(7) 75 and No. 5 David Ferrer 64 63 for his first career Top 10 win (1-10)
• Last year made his main draw debut and lost to Jarkko Nieminen 26 75 75 in the first round
2012 Highlights:
F: San Jose (l Raonic); SF: Sydney (l Nieminen); QF: Brisbane (l Tomic)
2012 in Review:
• The top player from Uzbekistan is playing in his seventh ATP World Tour main draw of year with his best a runner-up last month in San Jose (d. Roddick in QF, l. to Raonic)
• Also SFs in Sydney (l. to Nieminen) and QFs in Brisbane (l. to Tomic), 2nd Rd. in Delray Beach and fell 1st Rd. twice at Australian Open and Memphis
• Has a 13-6 match record on the season and has already surpassed all of last year’s match wins total (12-22) and he finished No. 73
DEL POTRO FASTFACTS
Tournament Highlights:
• The 23-year-old Argentine has a 10-3 career mark here and last year turned in a career-best semi-final showing (ranked No. 90, l. to Nadal), posting wins over Radek Stepanek 64 60, No. 14 seed and defending champion Ivan Ljubicic 57 64 62, No. 20 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 76(3) 63, No. 32 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 76(3) 76(7) and walkover vs. No. 25 seed Tommy Robredo
• In 2009, reached the quarter-finals wins with wins over Ryan Sweeting and Jurgen Melzer and John Isner in two tie-breaks before losing to No. 1 Nadal 62 64
• Opened the tournament on Sunday with a 75 62 win over Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic and followed on Tuesday (first match on) with a 62 76(6) victory over No. 19 seed Fernando Verdasco
2012 Highlights:
W: Marseille (d Llodra); F: Rotterdam (l Federer); SF: Dubai (l Federer); QF: Sydney (l Baghdatis); Australian Open (l Federer)
2012 in Review:
• The Tandil native enters the fourth round with an 18-4 match record on the season and he’s reached the quarter-finals or better in all five tournaments
• His best result was his 10th career title in Marseille (d. Llodra in final); three of four losses have come to Federer (Australian Open QFs, Rotterdam final, Dubai SFs); in other event, reached QFs at Sydney (l. to Baghdatis)
• Returned to Top 10 after Australian Open, his first time in the elite since returning from wrist injury lay-off in 2010; moved up to No. 9 coming in here after SF finish in Dubai (career-high is No. 4)
Stadium 2
(12) Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs (7) Tomas Berdych (CZE) Berdych Leads 5-2
05 Bastad (Sweden) Clay R16 Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-3 6-4
06 Bastad (Sweden) Clay R32 Nicolas Almagro 6-2 7-6(7)
07 ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Clay R64 Tomas Berdych 5-0 ret
10 World Team Championship (Düsseldorf)Clay RR Tomas Berdych 6-7(4) 6-4 6-3
11 Nice (France) Clay SF Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-4
11 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (USA) Hard R16 Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-2
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Tomas Berdych 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) 7-6(2)
Almagro FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Sao Paulo (d Volandri); F: Buenos Aires (l Ferrer); SF: Chennai (l Raonic); QF: Auckland (l Kohlschreiber); Acapulco (l Verdasco)
YTD W-L: 19-5 (7-3 on hard, 12-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: August 21, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 12
Berdych FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Montpellier (d Monfils); SF: Rotterdam (l Del Potro); QF: Australian Open (l Nadal); Dubai (l Murray)
YTD W-L: 16-3 (16-3 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 7
Date of Birth: September 17, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 7
(11) John Isner (USA) vs (Q) Matthew Ebden (AUS) First Meeting
Isner FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Delray Beach (l Anderson); QF: Memphis (l Melzer)
YTD W-L: 11-4 (9-4 on hard, 2-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: April 26, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 11
Ebden FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
YTD W-L: 7-5 (6-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 26, 1987
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 91
(6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs David Nalbandian (ARG) Tsonga Leads 1-0
08 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard F Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 4-6 6-4
Tsonga FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Monfils); SF: Marseille (l Del Potro); QF: Dubai (l Del Potro)
YTD W-L: 15-3 (15-3 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1
Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: April 17, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 6
Nalbandian FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Buenos Aires (l Ferrer); QF: Sao Paulo (l Volandri)
YTD W-L: 10-4 (4-1 on hard, 6-3 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 11
Date of Birth: January 1, 1982
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 74
Ryan Harrison (USA) vs (13) Gilles Simon (FRA) First Meeting
Harrison FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: San Jose (l Raonic)
YTD W-L: 9-5 (8-5 on hard, 1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 7, 1992
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 72
Simon FastFacts:
2012 Highlights:
SF: Brisbane (l Dolgopolov); Montpellier (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 9-6 (8-3 on hard, 1-3 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0
Career Titles: 9
Date of Birth: December 27, 1984
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 13
Article source: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/03/11/Indian-Wells-Wednesday-Briefing.aspx
March 14, 2012
Uncategorized