RIO OPEN PRESENTED BY CLARO: PREVIEW & DAY 1 MEDIA NOTES Monday, February 15, 2016 Jockey Club Brasileiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil February 15 21, 2016 Draw: S-32, D-16 Prize Money: $1,471,315 Surface: Clay ATP Info: Tournament Info: ATP PR & Marketing: www.rioopen.com Edward La Cava: elacava@atpworldtour.com @ATPWorldTour @RioOpenOficial Maria Garcia-Planas: mgarcia@atpworldtour.com facebook.com/atpworldtour facebook.com/rioopenoficial Press Room: +55 2131845384 RIO DE JANEIRO TALKING POINTS RIO OPEN presented by CLARO: The first of two Brazilian tournaments on the ATP World Tour takes place in Rio, with the venue the beautiful Jockey Club Brasileiro featuring eight clay courts, including a 6,200-seat stadium. This is the second (of 13) 500 level tournament of the season. Seven of the Top 25 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (as of Feb. 8) are entered. The top three seeds are Nadal, Ferrer and Jo- Wilfried Tsonga, who is making his tournament debut. The other seeds are: No. 4 John Isner, No. 5 Dominic Thiem, No. 6 Jack Sock, No. 7 Fabio Fognini and No. 8 Thomaz Bellucci. Four of the seeds Tsonga, Isner, Thiem and Sock are making their tournament debut. DAY 1 PREVIEW: Five matches are schedule on day one, with three on Quadra Guga Kuerten, at the Rio Open presented by Claro. The second match on Quadra Guga Kuerten is a first time meeting between Guido Pella of Argentina and the American No. 4 seed John Isner. Following Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov brings a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over the local hope and No. 8 seed Thomaz Bellucci. In the last match the Italian No. 7 seed Fabio Fognini has won all previous six meetings against the Brit Aljaz Bedene. RAFA IN BRAZIL: Nadal is making his fifth career Brazilian tournament appearance (17-1 record) on the ATP World Tour, winning titles in Costa do Sauipe in 2005 (d. A. Martin), Sao Paulo (d. Nalbandian) in 2013 and Rio in 2014 (d. Dolgopolov). Nadal s only loss came last year to Fognini in the semi-finals. The Spaniard will open against countryman Pablo Carreno Busta. FERRER REIGNING CHAMP: Ferrer enters with an 8-1 career record in Rio, reaching the semi-finals two years ago (l. to Dolgopolov) and winning the title last year (d. Fognini). The 33-year-old Spaniard is off to an 8-4 start this season, highlighted by a semi-final in Auckland (l. to Sock), quarter-final at the Australian Open (l. to Murray) and semi-final in Buenos Aires (l. to Almagro). BRAZILIAN TITLE HOPES: There are three Brazilians in the main draw No. 30 Thomaz Bellucci, No. 143 Joao Souza, and No. 338 Thiago Monteiro. Bellucci has four career ATP World Tour titles. He reached the quarter-finals two years ago. Souza is coming off a quarter-final showing in Rio last year and the 21-year-old Monteiro is making his ATP World Tour main draw debut. COUNTRYMEN REUNITE: Brazil s top two doubles players, No. 1 Marcelo Melo and No. 10 Bruno Soares are teaming together for the first time on the ATP World Tour since the ATP Masters 1000 Miami event last year when they advanced to the semi-finals. Both players are appearing in their first home country tournament since winning Grand Slam titles (Melo at Roland Garros in June last year and Soares at the Australian Open last month).they did play together in a World Group Davis Cup tie last September. They have a 78-53 career record together, including a 4-5 mark in finals. Their last title together came in Stockholm in October 2012. SINGLES HONOR ROLL (since 2014): BOLD - Players in singles draw YEAR WINNER FINALIST SCORE 2015 David Ferrer Fabio Fognini 62 63 2014 Rafael Nadal Alexandr Dolgopolov 63 76(3)
Page 2 of 6 DOUBLES WATCH: The top seeds are the Brazilian tandem of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares. The No. 2 seeds are the 2014 champions and Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. The No. seeds Pablo Cuevas of Argentina and Fabio Fognini of Italy along with the American No. 4 seeds of Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock are both making their tournament debuts. DOUBLES HONOR ROLL (since 2014): BOLD - Players in doubles draw YEAR WINNER FINALIST 2015 Martin Klizan / Philipp Oswald Pablo Andujar / Oliver Marach 2014 Juan Sebastian Cabal / Robert Farah David Marrero / Marcelo Melo SEEDS TO WATCH THIS WEEK SINGLES: SEED PLAYER RECORD BEST FINISH 1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8-1 Winner 2014 2. David Ferrer (ESP) 8-1 Winner 2015 3. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 0-0 Debut 4. John Isner (USA) 0-0 Debut 5. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 0-0 Debut 6. Jack Sock (USA) 0-0 Debut 7. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 6-2 RUP 2015 8. Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 2-2 QF 2014 WILDCARDS (3): Nicolas Jarry (CHI) Thiago Monteiro (BRA) Joao Souza (BRA) QUALIFIERS (4): Facundo Bagnis (ARG) Taro Daniel (JPN) Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) Gastao Elias (POR) YOUNGEST: Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 20 yrs, 4 months OLDEST: Daniel Munoz de la Nava (ESP) 34 yrs, 16 days TOP COUNTRY BREAKDOWN: Spain (10), Argentina (6), Brazil (3), Italy (3), United States (2), Countries in total: 16 DOUBLES: SEED PLAYER BEST FINISH 1. Marcelo Melo / Bruno Soares Debut 2. Juan Sebastian Cabal & Robert Farah Winner 2014 3. Pablo Cuevas / Fabio Fognini Debut 4. Nicholas Monroe / Jack Sock Debut
Page 3 of 6 EMIRATES ATP RANKING POINTS AND PRIZE MONEY W F SF QF R16 R32 SINGLES RANKING POINTS 500 300 180 90 45 0 SINGLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 303,300 142,450 70,735 35,365 17,920 9,430 DOUBLES RANKING POINTS 500 300 180 90 0 DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY ($) 89,400 42,240 20,390 10,600 5,550 MONDAY FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS Center Court Guido Pella (ARG) vs [4] John Isner (USA) - Pella FastFacts: YTD W-L: 1-3 (0-2 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: May 17, 1990 Emirates ATP Ranking: 71 (as of 2/8/16) Rio de Janeiro W-L (Best Result-Year): Debut The 25-year-old is making his main draw debut Best result of year was reaching the 2R for the first time at Australian Open (l. to Lopez in 5-sets). Fell in 1R at Buenos Aires (l. to Mayer) and Quito (l. to eventual champion Estrella Burgos) In 2015, Argentine climbed 82 spots to finish in Top 100 for 2nd time at a year-end high No. 74 Achieved career-high ranking of No. 73 on November 9 after reaching Guayaquil, ECU Challenger SF (l. to Elias) Won 4 of 10 career Challenger singles titles (tied for most on tour in 2015): San Luis Potosi, MEX (d. McGee); São Paulo, BRA (d. Lindell); Porto Alegre, BRA (d. Schwartzman); and Montevideo, URU (d. Cervantes) Returned to ATP Challenger Tour Finals (2012 champion), beating Albot and Clezar, then leading Cecchinato 61 10 when he suffered right leg muscle injury, retired from match, and withdrew from SF Isner FastFacts: QF: Auckland (l Bautista Agut) YTD W-L: 4-3 (0-1 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 10 Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 Emirates ATP Ranking: 12 (as of 2/8/16) Rio de Janeiro W-L (Best Result-Year): Debut The top ranked American is making tournament debut Last week in South American debut fell in 2R at Buenos Aires (l. to Lajovic, 1R bye) Reached 4R at Australian Open (l. to Ferrer) Opened season by reaching QF at Auckland (l. to Batista Agut in 3-sets) Has career 49-45 record on clay with one title 2013 Houston (d. Monaco in SF, d. Almagro) In 2015, American finished at year-end best No. 11, as No. 1 American for 4th straight season, and in Top 20 for 6th year in a row Owns a 10-10 record in ATP World Tour finals after winning 3rd straight Atlanta title (d. Baghdatis) and finishing as Washington runner-up (l. to No. 5 Nishikori). All 10 titles have been at ATP World Tour 250 events Matched career-high with 45 wins (also in 2012) and surpassed 35 wins for 6th straight season
Page 4 of 6 Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs [8] Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) Dolgopolov Leads 2-0 15 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-5 6-4 16 Sydney (Australia) Hard R32 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1 6-4 Dolgopolov FastFacts: QF: Sydney (l Dimitrov) YTD W-L: 4-3 (1-1 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: November 7, 1988 Emirates ATP Ranking: 31 (as of 2/8/16) Rio de Janeiro W-L (Best Result-Year): 4-1 (RUP 2014) The 27-year-old is making his second tournament appearance (4-1 record). Reached finals in 2014 (d. Almagro in 1R, Fognini in QF, Ferrer in SF, l. to Nadal) Last week fell in 1R at Buenos Aires (l. to Schwartzman) Reached 2R at Australian Open (l. to Federer) Opened season by reaching QF at Sydney (l. to Dimitrov) In 2015, Ukrainian finished in Top 50 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 5th time in 6 years (all but 2013) Earned 20+ wins in each of last 6 seasons (2010-15) Bellucci FastFacts: F: Quito (l Estrella Burgos) YTD W-L: 4-4 (3-1 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: December 30, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 30 (as of 2/8/16) Rio de Janeiro W-L (Best Result-Year): 2-2 (QF 2014) The 28-year-old left-hander is the only Brazilian in the Top 100 Emirates ATP Rankings is playing here for the third time (2-2 record). Best result was QF in 2014 (l. to Ferrer) Playing in first event since reaching 7 th career ATP World Tour final (4-3 mark) at Quito (l. to Estrella Burgos) In opening month, reached 2R at Australian Open (l. to Johnson) and fell in 1R at Brisbane (l. to Goffin) and Sydney (l. to Dolgopolov) In 2015, Brazilian finished in Top 50 of Emirates ATP Rankings for 5th time in last 7 seasons. Posted 30+ wins for 2nd time in career, including 21-14 record on clay highlighted by 4th ATP title at Geneva (d. Souza), SFs at Quito (l. to Estrella Burgos) and Gstaad (l. to Goffin), and Båstad QF (l. to A. Zverev) [7] Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Aljaz Bedene (GBR) Fognini Leads 6-0 11 ITA vs. SLO EAG 1 2nd RD (Italy) Clay RR Fabio Fognini 6-2 2-2 ret 13 Acapulco (Mexico) Clay R16 Fabio Fognini 2-6 6-4 7-6(4) 13 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-3 14 Vina del Mar (Chile) Clay R16 Fabio Fognini 6-4 7-6 14 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Clay R32 Fabio Fognini 7-6(5) 0-6 6-1 15 Hamburg (Germany) Clay QF Fabio Fognini 6-4 7-5 Fognini FastFacts: QF: Auckland (l Tsonga) YTD W-L: 2-3 (0-1 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3 Date of Birth: May 24, 1987 Emirates ATP Ranking: 24 (as of 2/8/16) Rio de Janeiro W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-2 (RUP 2015)
Page 5 of 6 The 28-year-old is playing here for the third straight year and has a 6-2 tournament record. Best result was reaching the finals last year (d. Nadal in SF, l. to Ferrer), also reach QF in 2014 (l. to Dolgopolov) Last week fell in 1R at Buenos Aires (l. to Delbonis) The top ranked Italian opened the year by reaching the QF at Auckland (l. to Tsonga) and fell in 1R at Australian Open (l. to Muller) In 2015, Italian finished as top-ranked singles player from his country and ended in Top 25 for 3rd straight season. Also peaked at No. 7 in doubles on July 20 Posted best Grand Slam singles result at US Open, snapping 9-match hard-court losing streak en route to 4R (d. No. 8 Nadal from 2 sets down, l. to F. Lopez) Along with Djokovic, Federer and del Potro, 1 of 4 players to defeat Nadal 3+ times in a season (Rio de Janeiro SF, Barcelona 3R and US Open 3R) Bedene FastFacts: SF: Chennai (l Coric) YTD W-L: 3-3 (0-0 on clay) YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0 Date of Birth: July 18, 1989 Emirates ATP Ranking: 50 (as of 2/8/16) Rio de Janeiro W-L (Best Result-Year): Debut The 26-year-old is making his tournament debut Playing first event since falling in 1R at Australian Open (l. to Johnson) Opened year by reaching 3 rd career ATP World Tour SF and all at Chennai (l. to Coric) In 2015, Brit ended season at a career-high No. 45 in Emirates ATP Rankings after winning personal-best 17 matches Qualified and reached 1st ATP World Tour final at Chennai, saving 4 MPs in SF win over No. 15 Bautista Agut (l. to No. 4 Wawrinka) On ATP Challenger Tour, went 16-1 with 3 titles to improve to 11-1 lifetime in Challenger finals. Won Irving, USA (d. Smyczek); Rome, ITA (d. Pavlasek); and Todi, ITA (d. Kicker) QUADRA 1 [Q] Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) vs Juan Monaco (ARG) Series Tied 2-2 09 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R32 Juan Monaco 7-5 6-4 10 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R64 Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2 3-6 6-2 13 Roland Garros (France) Clay R128 Daniel Gimeno-Traver 4-6 4-6 7-6(4) 6-4 6-4 13 Kitzbühel (Austria) Clay QF Juan Monaco 6-2 3-6 6-4 QUADRA 2 Dusan Lajovic (SRB) vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) Ramos-Vinolas Leads 1-0 16 Quito (Ecuador) Clay R32 Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 7-6(7) OTHER FIRST ROUND FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS In Draw Order [1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) Nadal Leads 2-0 15 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Clay R16 Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-3 16 Doha (Qatar) Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 6-7(5) 6-3 6-1 Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs Daniel Munoz de la Nava (ESP) First ATP Meeting 03 Spain F13 (Spain) Clay R16 Nicolas Almagro 6-3 6-4 [Q] Taro Daniel (JPN) vs Inigo Cervantes (ESP) First ATP Meeting
Page 6 of 6 12 Seville CH (Spain) Clay R16 Inigo Cervantes 6-0 6-3 [3] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs [WC] Thiago Monteiro (BRA) Carlos Cuevas (CHI) vs [Q] Facundo Bagnis (ARG) Marco Cecchinato (ITA) vs Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) First ATP Meeting 12 Cordenons CH (Italy) Clay R16 Paolo Lorenzi 6-1 6-2 Federico Delbonis (ARG) vs [6] Jack Sock (USA) Santiago Giraldo (COL) vs [Q] Gastao Elias (POR) [5] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Pablo Andujar (ESP) Diego Schwartzman (ARG) vs [WC] Joao Souza (BRA) First ATP Meeting 12 Sao Leopoldo CH (Brazil) Clay R32 Diego Schwartzman 7-6(3) 6-3 14 San Juan CH (Argentina) Clay F Diego Schwartzman 7-6(5) 6-3 14 ATP Challenger Tour Finals CH (Brazil) Clay RR Diego Schwartzman 3-6 7-6(2) 6-2 [WC] Nicolas Jarry (CHI) vs [2] David Ferrer (ESP)