ASB CLASSIC: DAY 5 MEDIA NOTES Friday, 12 January 2018 ASB Tennis Arena Auckland, New Zealand 8-13 January 2018 Draw: S-28, D-16 Prize Money: $501,345 Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP World Tour Info Tournament Info ATP PR & Marketing ATPWorldTour.com ASBclassic.co.nz Mark Epps: mepps@atpworldtour.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @ASB_Classic Press Room: +6492814811 Facebook: @ATPWorldTour @ASBClassic TV & Radio: TennisTV.com HAASE-BAUTISTA AGUT, FERRER-DEL POTRO MEET IN SEMI-FINALS The ASB Classic on Friday feature three former Auckland champions and an unseeded player in his first semi-final at the tournament. In the opening match of the day on Centre Court, No. 2 seeds Raven Klaasen and local favorite Michael Venus take on Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald in a doubles semi-final. In the first singles match, unseeded Robin Haase looks for his second win against No. 5 seed and 2016 champion Roberto Bautista Agut. The Dutchman won the previous meeting in three sets in the 1R of Casablanca in 2013. Haase was bageled in the opening set of his 1R match against Casper Ruud but he has won six straight sets since. He is trying to become the first Dutchman to reach the Auckland final/win title since Sjeng Schalken in 1999 (d. Haas). Bautista Agut has an 11-2 record in Auckland and he has broken opponents a tournament-best (along with Ferrer) 12 times this week, converting 12 of 16 break point chances (75%). In the next match, No. 2 seed and 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro takes on No. 7 seed and four-time winner David Ferrer, who owns a 6-4 head-to-head advantage. The Argentine has won the last two meetings. Del Potro, who is playing in Auckland for the first time since his title run in 2009, has not been broken in 20 service games this week. The 29-year-old Argentine will return to the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings next Monday for the first time since Aug. 4, 2014 (No. 10). Ferrer is making his eighth Auckland SF showing in 13 visits. He is 4-3 in SF matches. When Ferrer has won the semi-final, he has gone on to win the title each time. FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS: FRIDAY SEMI-FINALS MATCHES CENTRE COURT Robin Haase (NED) vs [5] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) Haase Leads 1-0 13 Casablanca (Morocco) Clay R32 Robin Haase 6-3 2-6 7-5 Haase 2017 Summary SF(3): Dubai (l Verdasco); Gstaad (l Hanfmann); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Montreal (l Federer); QF(2): Auckland (l Sousa); Halle (l Gasquet) 2017 W-L: 28-30 (17-17 on hard) 2017 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: April 6, 1987 (30) ATP Ranking: 43 / Auckland W-L (Best Result): 7-5 (2018 Semi-finalist) Tournament note: Top Dutchman is appearing in his first SF after wins over [Q] Ruud 06 76 63, [LL] Lacko 76 63 and Gojowczyk 64 64. Last year lost to eventual finalist Sousa in QF Opened last week with QF in Pune (l. to Paire) and finished last season a year-end best No. 42 in ATP Rankings Trying to reach sixth career ATP World Tour final (2-3 record), first since 2016 Gstaad (l. to Lopez). His last title came at 2012 Kitzbuehel (d. Kohlschreiber) Reached 1st ATP Masters 1000 SF at Montreal (l. to Federer) and ATP World Tour 500 SF at Dubai (l. to Verdasco) Also reached Gstaad SF (d. Goffin, l. to Hanfmann after holding 4 MPs) Advanced to QFs at Auckland (d. Ferrer 76 in 3rd, l. to Sousa) and Halle (d. Thiem, l. to Gasquet) Earned biggest win of career over No. 4 A. Zverev to reach ATP Masters 1000 Paris 3R (l. to del Potro Squandered 1 MP in ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati 1R vs Mannarino Marseille doubles finalist in team debut w/inglot (l. to Benneteau/Mahut) Rallied Dutch to 3-2 Davis Cup Play-off win over CZE (l. to Rosol, w/middelkoop d. Jebavy/Pavlasek, d. Vesely Led Dutch to 3-1 Davis Cup Group I win over BIH (d. Basic, w/rojer d. Basic/Brkic, d. Dzumhur in 5 sets)
Day 5 Friday, 12 January 2018 Page 2 of 3 Bautista Agut 2017 Summary W(2): Chennai (d Medvedev); Winston-Salem (d Dzumhur); SF(4): Sofia (l Goffin); Munich (l A Zverev); Gstaad (l Fognini); St. Petersburg (l Fognini); QF(4): Halle (l A Zverev); ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (l Federer); Beijing (l Dimitrov); Basel (l Del Potro) 2017 W-L: 48-21 (32-12 on hard) 2017 Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: April 14, 1988 (29) ATP Ranking: 21 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 11-2 (2016 Champion) Tournament note: The 2016 champion oened on Monday with a 62 61 win over [WC] Venus and followed with a 26 62 61 victory over Johnson and 76 62 over 2015 winner Vesely. Claimed first ATP hard court title here two years ago (d. Sock), after winning titles on grass ( s- Hertogenbosch) and clay (Stuttgart) in 2014 Last week opened season with 2R loss (after bye) to eventual champion Simon in Pune Trying to reach 13th career ATP World Tour final (6-6 record) Captured 5th and 6th ATP titles respectively at Chennai (d. Medvedev) and Winston-Salem (d. Dzumhur) Advanced to 4 other ATP World Tour 250 SFs, including St. Petersburg (l. to Fognini 76 in 3rd after holding 2 MPs) Fell in ATP World Tour 500 QFs at Halle (l. to A. Zverev), Beijing (l. to Dimitrov) and Basel (l. to Del Potro) Reached 4R at Australian Open (l. to Raonic), Roland Garros (l. to Nadal) and Wimbledon (d. Nishikori, l. to Cilic) Appeared in 3rd ATP Masters 1000 QF at Montreal (d. Monfils after saving 1 MP, l. to Federer) Held 4 MPs before falling to Karlovic 76 67 76 after 3 hours, 1 minute in ATP Masters 1000 Madrid 1R Conceded walkover vs Carreno Busta in ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R due to abdominal muscle injury Withdrew from Auckland due to stomach virus and Rotterdam due to right elbow injury [7] David Ferrer (ESP) vs [2] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) Ferrer Leads 6-4 08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 David Ferrer 6-3 6-4 ret 08 s-hertogenbosch (Netherlands) Grass SF David Ferrer 7-6(4) 6-1 08 Tokyo (Japan) Hard QF Juan Martin del Potro 6-1 7-5 09 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 6-2 11 ESP vs.arg DC Final (Spain) Clay RR David Ferrer 6-2 6-7(2) 3-6 6-4 6-3 12 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R16 David Ferrer 6-3 6-3 12 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R16 David Ferrer 6-3 6-2 6-3 12 Nitto ATP Finals (Great Britain) Hard RR David Ferrer 6-3 3-6 6-4 13 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass QF Juan Martin del Potro 6-2 6-4 7-6(5) 16 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Juan Martin del Potro 7-6(3) 6-2 6-3 Ferrer 2017 Summary W(1): Bastad (d Dolgopolov); SF(2): Estoril (l Carreno Busta); ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Kyrgios); QF(1): Antwerp (l Schwartzman) 2017 W-L: 24-21 (11-10 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 27 Date of Birth: April 2, 1982 (35) ATP Ranking: 38 / Auckland W-L (Best Result): 31-8 (2007, 2011-13 Champion) Tournament note: Four-time champion opened on Monday with a 76 64 win over [WC] Wu,then posted 62 62 victory over Sousa for 30th Auckland win. Then beat Chung 63 62 to reach 8th SF here in 13 appearances. Has a 4-3 SF record. When winning SF, has gone on to win title. Leads this week in return games won (44%, 12 of 27) and No. 2 in 2nd serve pts. won (62%). Had 14-match win streak from 2011-14 snapped by Lu in 2014 SF Trying to reach 53rd career ATP level final (27-25 record) Last season saved 2 MPs vs Laaksonen in QF en route to 1st title since 2015 at Bastad (d. Dolgopolov) Oldest ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati semi-finalist since Rosewall in 1970 (d. Thiem, l. to Kyrgios) Won 20+ matches for 15th straight season and beat Lopez in ATP Masters 1000 Rome 1R on May 16 for 700th win Upset 2-time semi-finalist Gasquet in Wimbledon 1R (l. to Berdych in 3R) Advanced to Antwerp QF (d. Travaglia after saving 1 MP in 1R, l. to Schwartzman) Suffered 5-match losing streak from January 21 to May 4 before reaching Estoril SF (l. to Carreno Busta) Dropped to No. 46 in ATP Rankings on July 17 -- lowest since No. 47 on March 14, 2005
Day 5 Friday, 12 January 2018 Page 3 of 3 Del Potro 2017 Summary W(1): Stockholm (d Dimitrov); F(1): Basel (l Federer); SF(3): Delray Beach (l Raonic); US Open (l Nadal); ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l Federer); QF(2): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l Isner) 2017 W-L: 38-16 (30-12 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 20 Date of Birth: September 23, 1988 (29) ATP Ranking: 12 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 6-1 (2009 Champion) Tournament History: Top Argentine opened with a 62 64 win over Shapovalov on Wednesday in first Auckland appearance since winning 2009 title (d. Querrey). Then followed with 76 63 win over Khachanov. Has held serve all 20 games this week and leads in 2nd serve pts. won (69%). Made debut in 2007 (l. to Calleri in 1R) Trying to reach 30th career ATP level final (20-9 record) Last season finished at No. 11 in ATP Rankings, his best year-end showing since No. 5 in 2013. Will return to the Top 10 on Monday for the first time since Aug. 4, 2014 (at No. 10) Successfully defended Stockholm title to win 20th ATP World Tour championship of career (d. Dimitrov) Saved 2 MPs and rallied from 2 sets down vs Thiem, then beat Federer to reach US Open SF (l. to No. 1 Nadal) Lost to Federer in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 3R, ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai SF and Basel final Fell one set shy of qualifying for Nitto ATP Finals, losing 3-setter to Isner in ATP Masters 1000 Paris QF Defeated by Djokovic in Acapulco 2R, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R and ATP Masters 1000 Rome QF Went 0-7 vs Top 2 and 38-9 against players ranked lower than No. 2. Finished season on 20-5 run overall. Withdrew from Auckland and Aus. Open (fitness), as well as s-hertogenbosch and London/Queen s Club (groin) POTENTIAL CHAMPIONSHIP FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS Robin Haase (NED) vs David Ferrer (ESP) Haase Leads 2-0 17 Auckland (New Zealand) Hard R16 Robin Haase 2-6 6-4 7-6(4) 17 Halle (Germany) Grass R32 Robin Haase 3-6 7-5 6-3 Robin Haase (NED) vs Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) Del Potro Leads 4-0 12 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 Juan Martin del Potro 6-4 3-6 7-6(3) 7-5 16 Basel (Switzerland) Hard R32 Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 6-4 17 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Juan Martin del Potro 6-2 6-4 17 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R16 Juan Martin del Potro 7-5 6-4 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs David Ferrer (ESP) Ferrer Leads 2-1 13 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 David Ferrer 6-3 3-6 7-6(4) 7-5 13 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 David Ferrer 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 6-2 17 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R32 Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5 6-7(6) 7-6(3) 6-4 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) Del Potro Leads 3-1 14 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 7-5 16 Rio de Janeiro Olympics (Brazil) Hard QF Juan Martin del Potro 7-5 7-6(4) 17 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 6-3 6-4 17 Basel (Switzerland) Hard QF Juan Martin del Potro 6-2 2-6 6-4
ASB CLASSIC: DAY 4 MEDIA NOTES Thursday, 11 January 2018 ASB Tennis Arena Auckland, New Zealand 8-13 January 2018 Draw: S-28, D-16 Prize Money: $501,345 Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP World Tour Info Tournament Info ATP PR & Marketing ATPWorldTour.com ASBclassic.co.nz Mark Epps: mepps@atpworldtour.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @ASB_Classic Press Room: +6492814811 Facebook: @ATPWorldTour @ASBClassic TV & Radio: TennisTV.com FORMER CHAMPIONS DEL POTRO, BAUTISTA AGUT, FERRER IN QUARTERS There are four ASB Classic champions in Thursday s quarter-finals, two in the top half and two in the bottom half of the draw. The three remaining seeds, No. 2 Juan Martin del Potro, No. 5 Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 7 David Ferrer along with unseeded Jiri Vesely are the former Auckland champions. In the opening match on Centre Court, 2015 winner Vesely takes on 2016 champion Bautista Agut, who has won all three previous meetings, including a first round contest in Auckland two years ago. Vesely is appearing in the quarter-finals here for the third time in the last four years after winning his first two matches this week in final set tie-breaks. Bautista Agut is trying to reach the Auckland semi-finals for the third time (SF in 2014, winner in 2016). Next on is Peter Gojowczyk of Germany and Dutch No. 1 Robin Haase in a first-time meeting on the ATP World Tour. Haase won their previous meeting in the 2014 Prostejov Challenger in Czech Republic. Gojowczyk beat top seed and reigning champion Jack Sock for his second career Top 10 win (2-7), the first since 2014 Halle (d. No. 9 Raonic), to reach the quarters here for the first time. Haase, who reached the quarter-finals last week in Pune (l. to Paire), is back in the quarter-finals in Auckland for the second straight year. In the third match on, four-time champion Ferrer takes on reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung for the first time. Ferrer posted his 30th Auckland win over last year s finalist Joao Sousa while Chung upset No. 4 seed and two-time Auckland champion John Isner to reach the quarter-finals. Ferrer is making his 11th Auckland QF showing in 13 visits. He is 7-3 in QF matches, winning the last six. Chung is appearing in his first Auckland QF. In the evening session, Del Potro, who is playing in Auckland for the first time since his title run in 2009, plays Russian Karen Khachanov for the first time. The 29-year-old Argentine will return to the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings next Monday for the first time since Aug. 4, 2014 (No. 10). The 21-year-old Khachanov, the youngest player remaining, is appearing in the quarter-finals here for the first time. He played in the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last season, going 1-2 in round robin play. FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS: THURSDAY QUARTER-FINALS MATCHES CENTRE COURT Jiri Vesely (CZE) vs [5] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) Bautista Agut Leads 3-0 16 Auckland (New Zealand) Hard R32 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 7-5 16 Rotterdam (Netherlands) Hard R16 Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6 6-2 6-4 17 Roland Garros (France) Clay R32 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-4 6-3 Bautista Agut 2017 Summary W(2): Chennai (d Medvedev); Winston-Salem (d Dzumhur); SF(4): Sofia (l Goffin); Munich (l A Zverev); Gstaad (l Fognini); St. Petersburg (l Fognini); QF(4): Halle (l A Zverev); ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (l Federer); Beijing (l Dimitrov); Basel (l Del Potro) 2017 W-L: 48-21 (32-12 on hard) 2017 Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: April 14, 1988 (29) ATP Ranking: 21 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 10-2 (2016 Champion)
Day 4 Thursday, 11 January 2018 Page 2 of 4 Tournament note: Opened on Monday with a 62 61 win over [WC] Venus and followed with a 26 62 61 victory over Johnson. Claimed first ATP hard court title here two years ago (d. Sock), after winning titles on grass ( s- Hertogenbosch) and clay (Stuttgart) in 2014 Last week opened season with 2R loss (after bye) to eventual champion Simon in Pune Captured 5th and 6th ATP titles respectively at Chennai (d. Medvedev) and Winston-Salem (d. Dzumhur) Advanced to 4 other ATP World Tour 250 SFs, including St. Petersburg (l. to Fognini 76 in 3rd after holding 2 MPs) Fell in ATP World Tour 500 QFs at Halle (l. to A. Zverev), Beijing (l. to Dimitrov) and Basel (l. to Del Potro) Reached 4R at Australian Open (l. to Raonic), Roland Garros (l. to Nadal) and Wimbledon (d. Nishikori, l. to Cilic) Appeared in 3rd ATP Masters 1000 QF at Montreal (d. Monfils after saving 1 MP, l. to Federer) Held 4 MPs before falling to Karlovic 76 67 76 after 3 hours, 1 minute in ATP Masters 1000 Madrid 1R Conceded walkover vs Carreno Busta in ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R due to abdominal muscle injury Withdrew from Auckland due to stomach virus and Rotterdam due to right elbow injury Vesely 2017 Summary SF(1): Marrakech (l Coric); QF(3): Auckland (l Baghdatis); Umag (l Lorenzi); Hamburg (l L. Mayer) 2017 W-L: 24-26 (8-14 on hard) 2017 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: July 10, 1993 (24) ATP Ranking: 64 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 9-2 (2015 Champion) Tournament note: Opened on Monday with a 62 61 win over [WC] Venus and followed with.64 67(10) 76(5) victory over [3] Querrey. Claimed first ATP hard court title here two years ago (d. Mannarino) as a qualifier Last week opened season with 2R loss (after bye) to eventual champion Simon in Pune Advanced to Marrakech SF (d. Lorenzi 76 in 3rd, l. to eventual champion Coric) Also advanced to Auckland QF (l. to Baghdatis), Umag QF (l. to Lorenzi) and Hamburg QF (l. to L. Mayer) Reached 3R at ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Sock) and Roland Garros (d. Sock in 1R, l. to Bautista Agut) Squandered 2 MPs in Budapest 2R against eventual champion Pouille, losing 76 in 3 rd Won 2nd doubles title at Istanbul w/jebavy (d. Altuna/Motti 60 60) -- 1st double-bagel in doubles final since 2010 Captured 3rd Prostejov, CZE Challenger title during 2nd week of Roland Garros (d. Delbonis) Withdrew from Rotterdam Q (ankle), Queen s Club Q (neck) and St. Petersburg (ill). Retired in Moscow 1R (left hip). Peter Gojowczyk (GER) vs Robin Haase (NED) First ATP Meeting Other meeting: 14 Prostejov CH (Czech Republic) Clay R32 Robin Haase 6-4 6-3 Gojowczyk 2017 Summary W(1): Metz (d Paire); SF(1): Newport (l Ebden) 2017 W-L: 14-9 (9-6 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: July 15, 1989 (28) ATP Ranking: 65 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2018 Quarter-finalist) Tournament note: Made Auckland debut on Tuesday with 63 46 63 win over [Q] Smyczek and followed with 63 63 victory over top seed Sock for his second career Top 10, first since 2014 Halle (d. Raonic) Opened season last week with QF in Doha (d. Krajinovic, Berrettini, to eventual champion Monfils) Earned 7 wins in 8 days at Metz to capture 1st ATP World Tour title in 1st final as a qualifier (d. Paire) Became 1st qualifier to win an ATP World Tour title since Mahut at 2015 s-hertogenbosch Achieved career-high No. 60 in ATP Rankings on November 6 Advanced to 2nd ATP World Tour SF at Newport (d. Karlovic after saving 1 MP, l. to Ebden) Reached 2R as Q at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Carreno Busta), Stuttgart (l. to Paire) and Wimbledon (l to Bautista Agut) and as LL at ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Thiem) Retired in Australian Open Q2 (abdomen) and Miami Q1 (right foot), then missed 2+ months of action Compiled 13-7 record on ATP Challenger Tour and did not drop a set en route 5th Challenger title at Happy Valley, AUS (d. Jasika). Also advanced to Quimper, FRA Challenger final (l. to Mannarino)
Day 4 Thursday, 11 January 2018 Page 3 of 4 Haase 2017 Summary SF(3): Dubai (l Verdasco); Gstaad (l Hanfmann); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Montreal (l Federer); QF(2): Auckland (l Sousa); Halle (l Gasquet) 2017 W-L: 28-30 (17-17 on hard) 2017 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: April 6, 1987 (30) ATP Ranking: 43 / Auckland W-L (Best Result): 6-5 (2017-18 Quarter-finalist) Tournament note: Top Dutchman is appearing in his second straight QF after wins over [Q] Ruud 06 76 63 and [LL] Lacko 76 63. Last year lost to eventual finalist Sousa in QF Opened last week with QF in Pune (l. to Paire) and finished last season a year-end best No. 42 in ATP Rankings Reached 1st ATP Masters 1000 SF at Montreal (l. to Federer) and ATP World Tour 500 SF at Dubai (l. to Verdasco) Also reached Gstaad SF (d. Goffin, l. to Hanfmann after holding 4 MPs) Advanced to QFs at Auckland (d. Ferrer 76 in 3rd, l. to Sousa) and Halle (d. Thiem, l. to Gasquet) Earned biggest win of career over No. 4 A. Zverev to reach ATP Masters 1000 Paris 3R (l. to del Potro Squandered 1 MP in ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati 1R vs Mannarino Marseille doubles finalist in team debut w/inglot (l. to Benneteau/Mahut) Rallied Dutch to 3-2 Davis Cup Play-off win over CZE (l. to Rosol, w/middelkoop d. Jebavy/Pavlasek, d. Vesely Led Dutch to 3-1 Davis Cup Group I win over BIH (d. Basic, w/rojer d. Basic/Brkic, d. Dzumhur in 5 sets) [7] David Ferrer (ESP) vs Hyeon Chung (KOR) First Meeting Ferrer 2017 Summary W(1): Bastad (d Dolgopolov); SF(2): Estoril (l Carreno Busta); ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Kyrgios); QF(1): Antwerp (l Schwartzman) 2017 W-L: 24-21 (11-10 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 27 Date of Birth: April 2, 1982 (35) ATP Ranking: 38 / Auckland W-L (Best Result): 30-8 (2007, 2011-13 Champion) Tournament note: Four-time champion opened on Monday with a 76 64 win over [WC] Wu and followed with a 62 62 victory over Sousa for 30th Auckland win. Had a 14-match winning streak from 2011-14 snapped by Lu in 2014 SF. Appearing in 11th QF or better in 13 appearances Saved 2 MPs vs Laaksonen in QF en route to 1st title since 2015 at Bastad (d. Dolgopolov) Oldest ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati semi-finalist since Rosewall in 1970 (d. Thiem, l. to Kyrgios) Won 20+ matches for 15th straight season and beat Lopez in ATP Masters 1000 Rome 1R on May 16 for 700th win Upset 2-time semi-finalist Gasquet in Wimbledon 1R (l. to Berdych in 3R) Advanced to Antwerp QF (d. Travaglia after saving 1 MP in 1R, l. to Schwartzman) Suffered 5-match losing streak from January 21 to May 4 before reaching Estoril SF (l. to Carreno Busta) Dropped to No. 46 in ATP Rankings on July 17 -- lowest since No. 47 on March 14, 2005 Chung 2017 Summary W(1): Next Gen ATP Finals (d Rublev); SF(1): Munich (l Pella); QF(2): Barcelona (l Nadal); Winston-Salem l Dzumhur) 2017 W-L: 29-18 (19-13 on hard) Date of Birth: May 19, 1996 (21) ATP Ranking: 62 / Auckland W-L (Best Result): 2-0 (2018 Quarter-finalist) Tournament History: The 21-year-old South Korean made his tournament debut on Tuesday defeating [LL} Sandgren 63 57 63 and followed with 15 aces in 76 57 62 victory over [2] Isner Last week opened season in Brisbane and beat Muller before losing to Edmund in 2R Captured inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan title, earning career-high $390,000 (d. Rublev) Reached 1st ATP World Tour SF at Munich (d. Monfils in 2R, l. to Pella), 1st Grand Slam 3R at Roland Garros (d. Querrey in 1R, l. to Nishikori in 5 sets) and 1st ATP Masters 1000 3R at Montreal (d. Goffin, l. to Mannarino) Broke into Top 50 of ATP Rankings on August 14 and achieved career-high No. 44 on September 11 Qualified at Chennai (l. to Sela in 2R), Barcelona (d. A. Zverev, l. to Nadal in QF) and Lyon (l. to Berdych in 2R) Held 5 MPs before falling to Dzumhur in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 1R Did not drop a set en route to 8th ATP Challenger Tour title at Maui, USA (d. Daniel)
Day 4 Thursday, 11 January 2018 Page 4 of 4 Karen Khachanov (RUS) vs [2] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) First Meeting Khachanov 2017 Summary: SF (1): Halle (l Federer); QF (4): Barcelona (l Zeballos); Lyon (l Tsonga); Bastad (l Dolgopolov); Hamburg (l Delbonis) 2017 W-L: 26-31 (7-20 on hard) 2017 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: 21 May 1996 (21) ATP Ranking: 48 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 2-1 (2018 Quarter-finalist) Tournament note: No. 2 Russian is appearing in his first quarter-final after a 61 36 64 win over Sugita and 62 76 victory over [6] Cuevas. Last year, in only previous Auckland appearance, lost 1R to Lu 76 in 3rd Advanced to Grand Slam 3R and 4R for 1st time at Roland Garros (d. Berdych and Isner, l. to No. 1 Murray) Also advanced to Wimbledon 3R (d. Kuznetsov in 1R for 1st 5-set win, l. to Nadal) Reached Halle SF (d. Nishikori for biggest win of career, l. to eventual champion Federer) Earned 1st Top 10 win of career over Goffin to reach Barcelona QF (l. to Zeballos) Qualified for inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals (d. Donaldson, l. to Medvedev and Coric in RR) Achieved career-high 10 times in ATP Rankings, peaking at No. 29 on August 21 Snapped 6-match losing streak by reaching ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 2R (d. Robredo, l. to Goffin) Saved 2 MPs in Bastad 2R vs Gulbis before letting 2 MPs slip away in QF vs Dolgopolov Squandered 2 MPs in Auckland 1R (l. to Lu 76 in 3rd) and 1 MP in Davis Cup 1R (l. to Troicki 76 in 5th) Withdrew from Antalya (shoulder), Los Cabos (back) and Moscow (right shoulder) Del Potro 2017 Summary W(1): Stockholm (d Dimitrov); F(1): Basel (l Federer); SF(3): Delray Beach (l Raonic); US Open (l Nadal); ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l Federer); QF(2): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l Isner) 2017 W-L: 38-16 (30-12 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 20 Date of Birth: September 23, 1988 (29) ATP Ranking: 12 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 5-1 (2009 Champion) Tournament History: Top Argentine opened with a 62 64 win over Shapovalov on Wednesday in first Auckland appearance since winning 2009 title (d. Querrey). Made debut in 2007 (l. to Calleri in 1R) Last season finished at No. 11 in ATP Rankings, his best year-end showing since No. 5 in 2013. Will return to the Top 10 on Monday for the first time since Aug. 4, 2014 (at No. 10) Successfully defended Stockholm title to win 20th ATP World Tour championship of career (d. Dimitrov) Saved 2 MPs and rallied from 2 sets down vs Thiem, then beat Federer to reach US Open SF (l. to No. 1 Nadal) Lost to Federer in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 3R, ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai SF and Basel final Fell one set shy of qualifying for Nitto ATP Finals, losing 3-setter to Isner in ATP Masters 1000 Paris QF Defeated by Djokovic in Acapulco 2R, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R and ATP Masters 1000 Rome QF Went 0-7 vs Top 2 and 38-9 against players ranked lower than No. 2. Finished season on 20-5 run overall. Withdrew from Auckland and Aus. Open (fitness), as well as s-hertogenbosch and London/Queen s Club (groin)
ASB CLASSIC: DAY 3 MEDIA NOTES Wednesday, 10 January 2018 ASB Tennis Arena Auckland, New Zealand 8-13 January 2018 Draw: S-28, D-16 Prize Money: $501,345 Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP World Tour Info Tournament Info ATP PR & Marketing ATPWorldTour.com ASBclassic.co.nz Mark Epps: mepps@atpworldtour.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @ASB_Classic Press Room: +6492814811 Facebook: @ATPWorldTour @ASBClassic TV & Radio: TennisTV.com SIX FORMER CHAMPIONS FEATURED ON BLOCKBUSTER WEDNESDAY Second round action on Wednesday s schedule at the ASB Classic features all six former Auckland champions, leading off on Centre Court with 2016 winner Roberto Bautista Agut, the No. 5 seed, against Steve Johnson, who reached the semi-finals last year.bautista Agut has won all four previous meetings. Next on is reigning champion and top American Jack Sock against German Peter Gojowczyk in a first-time meeting. Sock finished last season with three ATP World Tour titles and at No. 8, the best year-end ranking by an American since Mardy Fish (No. 8) in 2011. Gojowczyk captured his first ATP World Tour title in Metz. In the third match on, four-time champion and No. 7 seed David Ferrer takes on last year s finalist Joao Sousa of Portugal. They have split their previous two meetings. Ferrer is looking for his 30th Auckland win (29-8). In the evening session, #NextGenATP Canadian No. 2 Denis Shapovalov meets No. 2 seed and 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro, who returns to Auckland for the first time since his title run nine years ago. Shapovalov won the only previous meeting 63 76 in the 2R at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal last August en route to the semi-finals. In the next match on, Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung meets No. 4 seed and two-time Auckland champion John Isner, who won both previous meetings in straight sets. FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS: WEDNESDAY SECOND ROUND MATCHES CENTRE COURT Steve Johnson (USA) vs [5] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) Bautista Agut Leads 4-0 14 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-3 14 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R128 Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6 6-3 6-1 14 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R128 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 15 Valencia (Spain) Hard SF Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6 6-3 7-6(8) Johnson 2017 Summary W(1): Houston (d Bellucci); SF(1): Auckland (l Sock); QF(7): Memphis (l Kukushkin); Delray Beach (l Sock); Acapulco (W/O vs Cilic); Geneva (l M Zverev); Eastbourne (l Medvedev); Winston-Salem (l Edmund); Tokyo (l Schwartzman) 2017 W-L: 30-22 (18-16 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: December 24, 1989 (28) ATP Ranking: 46 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 8-4 (2017 Semi-finalist) Tournament History: The 28-year-old American opened Tuesday with a 75 76 win over [LL] Caruana. He is making his fifth visit and last year reached the SFs (l. to Sock). Also QF in 2014 (l. to Lu) and 2015 (l. to Anderson) Last week opened season with 1R loss to #NextGenATP Aussie [WC] De Minaur in Brisbane Last season finished in Top 50 for fourth straight year at No. 44 (comes in No. 46) Defeated Olympic bronze medal partner Sock en route to 2nd ATP title at Houston (d. Bellucci 76 in 3rd) Traveled from Davis Cup QF in Australia to Houston, then overcame cramps and 4-2 deficit in final vs Bellucci Beat Isner 76 in 3rd before falling to Sock in Auckland SF. Also lost to Sock in Delray Beach QF. Advanced to 7 QFs, including Tokyo, where he earned biggest win of career over No. 7 Thiem (l. to Schwartzman) Reached 3R at Roland Garros (l. to Thiem) and Wimbledon (l. to Cilic) Did not drop a set en route to Memphis doubles final with 1st-time partner Harrison (l. to Baker/Mektic) Conceded walkover in Acapulco QF vs Cilic (right foot) and withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (lower back)
Day 3 Wednesday, 10 January 2018 Page 2 of 5 Bautista Agut 2017 Summary W(2): Chennai (d Medvedev); Winston-Salem (d Dzumhur); SF(4): Sofia (l Goffin); Munich (l A Zverev); Gstaad (l Fognini); St. Petersburg (l Fognini); QF(4): Halle (l A Zverev); ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (l Federer); Beijing (l Dimitrov); Basel (l Del Potro) 2017 W-L: 48-21 (32-12 on hard) 2017 Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: April 14, 1988 (29) ATP Ranking: 21 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 9-2 (2016 Champion) Tournament note: Opened on Monday with a 62 61 win over [WC] Venus. Claimed first ATP hard court title here two years ago (d. Sock), after winning titles on grass ( s-hertogenbosch) and clay (Stuttgart) in 2014 Last week opened season with 2R loss (after bye) to eventual champion Simon in Pune Captured 5th and 6th ATP titles respectively at Chennai (d. Medvedev) and Winston-Salem (d. Dzumhur) Advanced to 4 other ATP World Tour 250 SFs, including St. Petersburg (l. to Fognini 76 in 3rd after holding 2 MPs) Fell in ATP World Tour 500 QFs at Halle (l. to A. Zverev), Beijing (l. to Dimitrov) and Basel (l. to Del Potro) Reached 4R at Australian Open (l. to Raonic), Roland Garros (l. to Nadal) and Wimbledon (d. Nishikori, l. to Cilic) Appeared in 3rd ATP Masters 1000 QF at Montreal (d. Monfils after saving 1 MP, l. to Federer) Held 4 MPs before falling to Karlovic 76 67 76 after 3 hours, 1 minute in ATP Masters 1000 Madrid 1R Conceded walkover vs Carreno Busta in ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R due to abdominal muscle injury Withdrew from Auckland due to stomach virus and Rotterdam due to right elbow injury [1] Jack Sock (USA) vs Peter Gojowczyk (GER) First Meeting Sock 2017 Summary W(3): Auckland (d Sousa); Delray Beach (d Raonic); ATP Masters 1000 Paris (d Krajinovic); SF(4): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Federer); Houston (l Johnson); Washington (l Anderson); Nitto ATP Finals (l Dimitrov); QF(4): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal); Atlanta (l Edmund); Stockholm (l Fognini); Basel (l Goffin) 2017 W-L: 38-21 (33-16 on hard) 2017 Titles: 4 / Career Titles: 4 Date of Birth: September 24, 1992 (25) ATP Ranking: 8 (Career-high) Auckland W-L (Best Result): 10-2 (2017 Champion) Tournament note: Reigning champion (d. Sousa) is making his fourth appearance in five years (except 2015) and has never lost before QFs. Two years ago reached final (ret. vs. Bautista Agut) and in 2014 debut advanced to QF (l. to Bautista Agut) Finished last season career-best No. 8 and first American in year-end in Top 10 since Mardy Fish (No. 8) in 2011 Rose from No. 24 on October 30 to No. 9 on November 6 in Emirates ATP Race to London and qualified for 1st Nitto ATP Finals on last day of season by winning 1st ATP Masters 1000 title at Paris (d. Krajinovic). Became first non- European ATP Masters 1000, Nitto ATP Finals or Grand Slam champion since Roddick at 2010 Miami As World No. 22, lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion since No. 26 Ljubicic at 2010 Indian Wells Rallied from a set down against Edmund in 2R (trailed 5-1 in 3rd), Verdasco in QF and Krajinovic in final Defeated No. 3 A. Zverev for biggest win of career to reach Nitto ATP Finals SF (l. to eventual champion Dimitrov) Achieved career-high in Emirates ATP Rankings 8 times this season, peaking at No. 8 on November 20 Won ATP World Tour 250 titles at Auckland (d. Sousa) and Delray Beach (w/o vs Raonic) Beat Olympic bronze medal partner Johnson in Auckland SF and Delray Beach QF, but lost to him in Houston SF Saved 4 MPs vs. Dimitrov en route to 1st ATP Masters 1000 SF at Indian Wells (l. to eventual champion Federer) Followed with run to 4th consecutive ATP Masters 1000 QF-or-better at Miami (l. to Nadal in QF) Snapped 5-match losing streak at Stockholm (d. Chardy, l. to Fognini in QF after holding 2 MPs) Lost doubles finals at Miami w/monroe (d. Bryan/Bryan, l. to Kubot/Melo) and Beijing w/isner (l. to Kontinen/Peers) Teamed with older brother Eric at Atlanta as WC (l. to Chung/Nedunchezhiyan in 1R) Withdrew from London/Queen s Club (knee) and retired in ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai 1R (dehydration)
Day 3 Wednesday, 10 January 2018 Page 3 of 5 Gojowczyk 2017 Summary W(1): Metz (d Paire); SF(1): Newport (l Ebden) 2017 W-L: 14-9 (9-6 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: July 15, 1989 (28) ATP Ranking: 65 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2018 2nd Round) Tournament note: Made Auckland debut on Tuesday with 63 46 63 win over [Q] Smyczek Opened season last week with QF in Doha (d. Krajinovic, Berrettini, to eventual champion Monfils) Earned 7 wins in 8 days at Metz to capture 1st ATP World Tour title in 1st final as a qualifier (d. Paire) Became 1st qualifier to win an ATP World Tour title since Mahut at 2015 s-hertogenbosch Achieved career-high No. 60 in Emirates ATP Rankings on November 6 Advanced to 2nd ATP World Tour SF at Newport (d. Karlovic after saving 1 MP, l. to Ebden) Reached 2R as Q at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Carreno Busta), Stuttgart (l. to Paire) and Wimbledon (l to Bautista Agut) and as LL at ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Thiem) Retired in Australian Open Q2 (abdomen) and Miami Q1 (right foot), then missed 2+ months of action Compiled 13-7 record on ATP Challenger Tour and did not drop a set en route 5th Challenger title at Happy Valley, AUS (d. Jasika). Also advanced to Quimper, FRA Challenger final (l. to Mannarino) [7] David Ferrer (ESP) vs Joao Sousa (POR) Series Tied 1-1 13 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hard QF Joao Sousa 6-2 7-6(6) 16 Vienna (Austria) Hard R16 David Ferrer 6-2 7-6(4) Ferrer 2017 Summary W(1): Bastad (d Dolgopolov); SF(2): Estoril (l Carreno Busta); ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Kyrgios); QF(1): Antwerp (l Schwartzman) 2017 W-L: 24-21 (11-10 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 27 Date of Birth: April 2, 1982 (35) ATP Ranking: 38 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 29-8 (2007, 2011-13 Champion) Tournament note: Four-time champion opened on Monday with a 76 64 win over [WC] Wu. Had 14-match winning streak from 2011-14 snapped by Lu in 2014 SF. Looking to reach QFs or better for 11 1th time in 13 appearances Saved 2 MPs vs Laaksonen in QF en route to 1st title since 2015 at Bastad (d. Dolgopolov) Oldest ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati semi-finalist since Rosewall in 1970 (d. Thiem, l. to Kyrgios) Won 20+ matches for 15th straight season and beat Lopez in ATP Masters 1000 Rome 1R on May 16 for 700th win Upset 2-time semi-finalist Gasquet in Wimbledon 1R (l. to Berdych in 3R) Advanced to Antwerp QF (d. Travaglia after saving 1 MP in 1R, l. to Schwartzman) Suffered 5-match losing streak from January 21 to May 4 before reaching Estoril SF (l. to Carreno Busta) Dropped to No. 46 in ATP Rankings on July 17 -- lowest since No. 47 on March 14, 2005 Withdrew from Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo and Kitzbuehel (Achilles tendon), then Beijing and Shanghai (right foot) Sousa 2017 Summary F(2): Auckland (l Sock); Kitzbühel (l Kohlschreiber); SF(1): Sao Paulo (l Ramos-Vinolas); QF(3): Buenos Aires (l Nishikori); Gstaad (l Hanfmann); Antwerp (l Bemelmans) 2017 W-L: 25-32 (10-14 on hard) 2017 Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: March 30, 1989 (28) ATP Ranking: 59 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 5-3 (2017 Finalist) Tournament note: Opened on Monday with a 67 64 62 win over Young. Last year did not drop a set en route to final before losing to Sock in three sets in title match Fell to 2-7 in ATP finals with runner-up finishes at Auckland (l. to Sock) and Kitzbuehel (l. to Kohlschreiber) Advanced to Sao Paulo SF (l. to Ramos-Vinolas after holding 1 MP) Also advanced to QFs at Buenos Aires (l. to Nishikori), Gstaad (l. to Hanfmann) and Antwerp (l. to Bemelmans) Qualified at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l. to Sugita in 2R)
Day 3 Wednesday, 10 January 2018 Page 4 of 5 Suffered 6-match losing streak from April 18 to May 29 and 5-match losing streak from August 16 to September 19 Dropped to No. 63 in ATP Rankings on July 17 -- lowest since No. 77 on September 23, 2013 Went 0-3 in Davis Cup Play-off tie vs Germany, including 5-set loss to Struff after holding 1 MP (GER d. POR 3-2) Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs [2] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) Shapovalov Leads 1-0 17 ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (Canada) Hard R32 Denis Shapovalov 6-3 7-6(4) Shapovalov 2017 Summary SF(1): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Montreal (l A Zverev) 2017 W-L: 12-13 (11-11 on hard) Date of Birth: April 15, 1999 (18) ATP Ranking: 50 (Career-high) Auckland W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2018 2nd Round) Tournament History: The 18-year-old Canadian is youngest in the draw and he made his debut on Monday with a 63 62 win over [Q] Dutra Silva No. 2 Canadian last season finished a year-end best No. 51 in ATP Rankings and earned ATP Star of Tomorrow award for being youngest in year-end Top 100 along with ATP Most Improved Player of Year (voted by fellow peers) Saved 4 MPs vs Dutra Silva, beat del Potro and upset No. 2 Nadal en route to Montreal SF as WC (l. to A. Zverev) Youngest player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 QF and SF since series started in 1990 Youngest player to beat a Top 2 opponent in non-ret finish since Nadal beat No. 1 Federer in 2004 Miami 3R Then-No. 143 became lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 semi-finalist since No. 191 Pavel was 2003 Paris finalist Qualified and defeated Tsonga en route to US Open 4R (l. to Carreno Busta 76 76 76), becoming youngest player to reach US Open 4R since Chang in 1989 and to reach Grand Slam 4R since Safin at 1998 Roland Garros Youngest Top 50 player since Nadal on November 1, 2004, achieving career-high No. 49 on October 23 Qualified for inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan (d. Quinzi, l. to Chung and Rublev in RR) Won 1st 5-setter over Bhambri, then beat Ramanathan to clinch Canada s 3-2 win over India in Davis Cup Play-off Had 19-10 record on ATP Challenger Tour and defeated countryman Auger-Aliassime, 16, en route to 1st Challenger title at Drummondville, CAN (d. Bemelmans). Added 2nd title on home soil at Gatineau, CAN (d. Polansky) Also reached Guadalajara, MEX Challenger final (d. Pospisil in 2R, l. to Basic) Went 8-0 on ITF Futures Circuit with 4th title at Canada F1 in Gatineau (d. Sakharov) Del Potro 2017 Summary W(1): Stockholm (d Dimitrov); F(1): Basel (l Federer); SF(3): Delray Beach (l Raonic); US Open (l Nadal); ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l Federer); QF(2): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l Isner) 2017 W-L: 38-16 (30-12 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 20 Date of Birth: September 23, 1988 (29) ATP Ranking: 12 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 4-1 (2009 Champion) Tournament History: Top Argentine is making his first Auckland appearance since winning 2009 title (d. Querrey). Made debut in 2007 (l. to Calleri in 1R) Last season finished at No. 11 in ATP Rankings, his best year-end showing since No. 5 in 2013 Successfully defended Stockholm title to win 20th ATP World Tour championship of career (d. Dimitrov) Saved 2 MPs and rallied from 2 sets down vs Thiem, then beat Federer to reach US Open SF (l. to No. 1 Nadal) Lost to Federer in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 3R, ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai SF and Basel final Fell one set shy of qualifying for Nitto ATP Finals, losing 3-setter to Isner in ATP Masters 1000 Paris QF Defeated by Djokovic in Acapulco 2R, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells 3R and ATP Masters 1000 Rome QF Went 0-7 vs Top 2 and 38-9 against players ranked lower than No. 2. Finished season on 20-5 run overall. Withdrew from Auckland and Aus. Open (fitness), as well as s-hertogenbosch and London/Queen s Club (groin)
Day 3 Wednesday, 10 January 2018 Page 5 of 5 Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs [4] John Isner (USA) Isner Leads 2-0 16 Houston (U.S.A.) Clay QF John Isner 7-6(5) 6-4 17 US Open (U.S.A.) Hard R64 John Isner 6-3 6-4 7-5 Chung 2017 Summary W(1): Next Gen ATP Finals (d Rublev); SF(1): Munich (l Pella); QF(2): Barcelona (l Nadal); Winston-Salem l Dzumhur) 2017 W-L: 29-18 (19-13 on hard) Date of Birth: May 19, 1996 (21) ATP Ranking: 62 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 1-0 (2018 2nd Round) Tournament History: The 21-year-old South Korean made his tournament debut on Tuesday defeating [LL} Sandgren 63 57 63 Last week opened season in Brisbane and beat Muller before losing to Edmund in 2R Captured inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan title, earning career-high $390,000 (d. Rublev) Reached 1st ATP World Tour SF at Munich (d. Monfils in 2R, l. to Pella), 1st Grand Slam 3R at Roland Garros (d. Querrey in 1R, l. to Nishikori in 5 sets) and 1st ATP Masters 1000 3R at Montreal (d. Goffin, l. to Mannarino) Broke into Top 50 of ATP Rankings on August 14 and achieved career-high No. 44 on September 11 Qualified at Chennai (l. to Sela in 2R), Barcelona (d. A. Zverev, l. to Nadal in QF) and Lyon (l. to Berdych in 2R) Held 5 MPs before falling to Dzumhur in ATP Masters 1000 Miami 1R Did not drop a set en route to 8th ATP Challenger Tour title at Maui, USA (d. Daniel) Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (heel), as well as s-hertogenbosch, London/Queen s Club, Antalya Isner 2017 Summary W(2): Newport (d Ebden); Atlanta (d Harrison); SF(3): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l A Zverev); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Dimitrov); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris (l Krajinovic); QF(5): Auckland (l Johnson); Memphis (l Young); Houston (l Escobedo); Eastbourne (l Gasquet); Beijing (l Nadal) 2017 W-L: 38-22 (25-15 on hard) 2017 Titles: 2 / Career Titles: 12 Date of Birth: April 26, 1985 (32) ATP Ranking: 16 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 14-4 (2010, 2014 Champion) Tournament History: Two-time champion (2010, 2014) is playing his first tournament as a newlywed after marrying Madison McKinley on Dec. 2. Has never lost before QFs with two titles and four QF results (2009, 2011, 2016-17) Finished last season at No. 17, his eighth straight Top 20 campaign and first time not top American since 2011 Did not drop a set en route to back-to-back titles at Newport (d. Ebden) and Atlanta (d. Harrison) In Newport, became 2nd ATP champion to not face break point since at least 1991 (Haas: 2007 Memphis) Held in 146 of 149 service games from July 19 through August 19 (98%) Advanced to ATP Masters 1000 SFs at Rome (d. Wawrinka and Cilic, l. to A. Zverev), Cincinnati (l. to Dimitrov) and Paris (d. Dimitrov in 3R after saving 1 MP, l. to Krajinovic) Let 2-set lead and 2 MPs slip away vs M. Zverev in Australian Open 2R -- 5th loss of career from 2 sets up Saved 1 MP in Auckland 2R vs Jaziri and Shanghai 1R vs Lajovic; squandered 3 MPs in Miami 3R vs A. Zverev Advanced to doubles finals at Acapulco w/f. Lopez (l. to J. Murray/Soares) and Beijing w/sock (l. to Kontinen/Peers) Grandstand [3] Sam Querrey (USA) vs Jiri Vesely (CZE) First Meeting [6] Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Karen Khachanov (RUS) Series Tied 1-1 17 Barcelona (Spain) Clay R32 Karen Khachanov 7-6(5) 7-6(5) 17 ATP Masters 1000 Paris (France) Hard R64 Pablo Cuevas 6-4 6-2 Robin Haase (NED) vs [Q] Lukas Lacko (SVK) Lacko Leads 1-0 12 Zagreb (Croatia) Hard QF Lukas Lacko 6-4 6-4 Other meetings: 07 Noumea CH (New Caledonia) Hard R32 Lukas Lacko 7-6(2) 6-4 15 ATP Masters 1000 Miami Q (U.S.A.) Hard -- Robin Haase 7-5 6-4
ASB CLASSIC: DAY 2 MEDIA NOTES Tuesday, 9 January 2018 ASB Tennis Arena Auckland, New Zealand 8-13 January 2018 Draw: S-28, D-16 Prize Money: $501,345 Surface: Outdoor Hard ATP World Tour Info Tournament Info ATP PR & Marketing ATPWorldTour.com ASBclassic.co.nz Mark Epps: mepps@atpworldtour.com Twitter: @ATPWorldTour @ASB_Classic Press Room: +6492814811 Facebook: @ATPWorldTour @ASBClassic TV & Radio: TennisTV.com NO. 6 SEED CUEVAS, FORMER CHAMP VESELY, #NEXT GEN STARS DEBUT The remaining seven first round matches are on Tuesday s schedule at the ASB Classic with No. 6 seed Pablo Cuevas, 2015 champion Jiri Vesely along with #NextGenATP stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and qualifier Casper Ruud making their Auckland debut. Last year s Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung is also making his tournament debut against American Tennys Sandgren in the final singles match on Centre Court. In the opening match on, South Americans Cuevas of Uruguay and Guido Pella of Argentina meet for the third time on the ATP World Tour (tied 1-1). Cuevas is making his first Auckland appearance since 2011 while Pella, a semi-finalist in Doha last week, is making his tourney debut. Next on is Americans Steve Johnson and Ryan Harrison, who reached the final in Brisbane on Sunday (l. to Kyrgios). Johnson won the only previous ATP meeting in Washington in 2016. Johnson advanced to the semi-finals in Auckland last year. In the third match on, Tsitsipas and Slovakian lucky loser Lukas Lacko square off for the first time. The 19-year-old Tsitsipas is ranked a career-high No. 80 this week after reaching the quarter-finals in Doha. FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS: TUESDAY FIRST ROUND MATCHES CENTRE COURT [6] Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Guido Pella (ARG) Series Tied 1-1 16 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Clay F Pablo Cuevas 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4 16 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Guido Pella 6-1 4-6 6-4 Other meetings: 14 Guayaquil CH (Ecuador) Clay SF Pablo Cuevas 6-4 6-4 15 Montevideo CH (Uruguay) Clay SF Guido Pella 6-3 6-2 Cuevas 2017 Summary W(1): Sao Paulo (d Ramos-Vinolas); SF(1): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Thiem); QF(3): Sydney (l Muller); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Carreno Busta); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Pouille) 2017 W-L: 20-21 (6-11 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 6 Date of Birth: January 1, 1986 (32) ATP Ranking: 33 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 0-1 (2011 1st Round) Tournament note: In most recent Auckland appearance, lost to eventual champion Bautista Agut in 2R in 2016 Became 1st player in tournament history to win 3 straight Sao Paulo titles (d. Carreno Busta and Ramos-Vinolas) Beat 4 unseeded players in 3 sets to reach 1st ATP Masters 1000 SF at Madrid (d. A. Zverev, l. to Thiem) Earned biggest win of career over No. 3 Wawrinka to reach ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo QF (l. to Pouille) Advanced to 1st ATP Masters 1000 QF at Indian Wells (d. Goffin, l. to Carreno Busta after holding 2 MPs) Snapped 10-match singles losing streak at ATP Masters 1000 Paris (d. Khachanov in 1R, l. to No. 1 Nadal in 3R) Won doubles titles at Rio de Janeiro w/carreno Busta (d. Cabal/Farah), ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo w/bopanna d. Lopez/Lopez), Kitzbuehel w/duran (d. Podlipnik-Castillo/Vasilevski) and Vienna w/bopanna (d. Demoliner/Querrey) Fell in doubles final at Hamburg in team debut w/m. Lopez (l. to Dodig/Pavic) Ended season with 3rd Montevideo, URU Challenger title and 12th Challenger title overall (d. Elias) Withdrew from Wimbledon due to right knee injury
Day 2 Tuesday, 9 January 2018 Page 2 of 4 Pella 2017 Summary F (1): Munich (l A. Zverev); SF (1): Chengdu (l Baghdatis); QF (1): Sao Paulo (l Ramos-Vinolas) 2017 W-L: 16-18 (10-11 on hard) Date of Birth: 17 May 1990 (27) ATP Ranking: 56 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 0-0 (Main Draw Debut) Tournament Note: Argentine is making his tournament debut and last week opened season with SF in Doha (l. to Rublev in third set TB) Last season won 6 matches and advanced to 2nd ATP World Tour final at Munich as Q (l. to A. Zverev) Earned biggest win of career over No. 7 Thiem en route to Chengdu SF (l. to Baghdatis) Snapped 7-match losing streak by reaching Sao Paulo QF (d. Clezar and Berlocq, l. to Ramos-Vinolas) Advanced to 3R at ATP Masters 1000 Miami (d. Dimitrov, l. to Mahut) and Washington (l. to Bhambri) Qualified for Roland Garros (l. to Del Potro in 1R) and Vienna (l. to Carreno Busta in 1R) Squandered 1 MP vs Ramos-Vinolas in Buenos Aires 1R and 3 MPs vs Karlovic in Antwerp 1R Improved to 12-2 in ATP Challenger Tour finals at Milan, ITA (d. Delbonis) and Floridablanca, COL (d. Arguello) Dropped to No. 166 in ATP Rankings on February 27 -- lowest since No. 199 on March 30, 2015 Steve Johnson (USA) vs Ryan Harrison (USA) Johnson Leads 1-0 16 Washington (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Steve Johnson 6-4 6-4 Other Meeting 14 Dallas CH (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Steve Johnson 6-2 6-4 Johnson 2017 Summary W(1): Houston (d Bellucci); SF(1): Auckland (l Sock); QF(7): Memphis (l Kukushkin); Delray Beach (l Sock); Acapulco (W/O vs Cilic); Geneva (l M Zverev); Eastbourne (l Medvedev); Winston-Salem (l Edmund); Tokyo (l Schwartzman) 2017 W-L: 30-22 (18-16 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 2 Date of Birth: December 24, 1989 (28) 2017 ATP Ranking: 46 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 7-4 (2017 Semi-finalist) Tournament History: The 28-year-old American is making his fifth appearance and last year reached the SFs (l. to Sock). Also QF in 2014 (l. to Lu) and 2015 (l. to Anderson) Last season finished in Top 50 for fourth straight year at No. 44 (comes in No. 46) Defeated Olympic bronze medal partner Sock en route to 2nd ATP title at Houston (d. Bellucci 76 in 3rd) Traveled from Davis Cup QF in Australia to Houston, then overcame cramps and 4-2 deficit in final vs Bellucci Beat Isner 76 in 3rd before falling to Sock in Auckland SF. Also lost to Sock in Delray Beach QF. Advanced to 7 QFs, including Tokyo, where he earned biggest win of career over No. 7 Thiem (l. to Schwartzman) Reached 3R at Roland Garros (l. to Thiem) and Wimbledon (l. to Cilic) Did not drop a set en route to Memphis doubles final with 1st-time partner Harrison (l. to Baker/Mektic) Conceded walkover in Acapulco QF vs Cilic (right foot) and withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (lower back) Harrison 2017 Summary W(1): Memphis (d Basilashvili); F(1): Atlanta (l Isner); QF(2): Estoril (l Ferrer); Tokyo (l Cilic) 2017 W-L: 19-23 (15-13 on hard) 2017 Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 1 Date of Birth: May 7, 1992 (25) ATP Ranking: 44 Auckland W-L (Best Result): 2-2 (2012, 2017 2nd Round) Tournament History: The 25-year-old American reached the 2R in 2012 (l. to Kohlschreiber) and last year as a qualifier ranked No. 89 (l. to eventual champion Sock) Opened season last week by reaching his third career ATP World Tour singles final in Brisbane (l. to Kyrgios) Finished a year-end best No. 47 last season and comes in No. 44 after Brisbane final showing Achieved career-high rankings of No. 40 in singles on July 17 and No. 16 in doubles on November 20 Earned all 6 wins in 3 sets for 1st Grand Slam doubles title at Roland Garros w/venus (d. S. Gonzalez/Young) Did not drop a set en route to 1st ATP singles final and title at Memphis (d. Basilashvili after saving 12/12 BPs)