Autumn Tournaments - Run up to Year-End Championship

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Still plenty of tennis to be played. Djoko's remarkable comeback means that he could end this year as number one again. Even if he doesn't reach the summit, he could do so in the first half of 2019.
Bit surprised Murray is not playing this week. I would have thought, with a couple of minor tournaments being played, that he could have got some much-needed match practice. Or is he saving himself for the China tournaments coming up?

So that's it then for Andy for 2018. I suppose he can take heart from the fact that he's got a few matches, and wins, under his belt, but it's all been a bit patchy.
I think at the beginning of 2019 he has got to really go for it and if it's all too much for him then so be it. He's not going to get match sharp sitting out lengthy periods of the season. My view was that he should have played Wimbledon and even chucked in some challengers to get some victories.

Twelve competitive matches and out.  I am sort of disappointed as I think on Andy Murray's return in June with a narrow loss to a then in form Kyrgios at Queens (2-6 7-6 7-5) the signs indicated he was capable of an elite level performance - but just needed to sort out his fitness and endurance.  I still go with my recommendation that Murray should have started off at a lower lever (doubles, challenger and ATP 250 level) to build himself back up.   Playing at such a high level has resulted in intense and long matches and picking up small possibly unrelated injuries - such as the ankle injury - that brings his season to an end.

Anyway the signs are promising, but I think AO 2019 is coming too early for Andy Murray to make a realistic challenge for the title.  It will be interesting to see how he does in the clay 2019 season - that will be a true test for him.

It's a bit of a concern that Murray cannot appear to put a number of back to back matches or tournaments together without needing a break. He will have a long period of building fitness and endurance between now and January. If the same pattern continues then it will be a serious concern.

Two tournament wins for qualifiers today - Tomic and Nishioka. Tomic saved four MPs including three when 6-3 down in final-set tiebreak.
Wonder if this could be a turning point for Tomic who has all the talent and none of the application.

Agree that Murray should have had a go at some Challengers to ease himself in on his return this year - I seem to recall Nishikori did this towards start of the year and he has had a pretty successful return from injury (admittedly different circumstances to Murray). Would like to be proven wrong but got a feeling Andy will call it a day in 2019.

Not sure about Tomic - I do feel he is capable of stringing some wins together but whilst I see him on his day being a giantkiller type player in the slams I don't really see him having enough consistency or the right temperament to make a concerted push up the rankings.

Onto the China Open this week - Edmund in action tomorrow - Kyle is a player who could really do with a win to give him some confidence. Last year's tournament winner was Nadal who beat Kyrgios in a one-sided final. This year I'm going for one of Del Potro, Cilic or Nishikori to win.

Good win by Kyle today after dropping the first set. What I didn't realise is that Edmund has suffered tonisillitis this season. Perhaps this explains rather patchy results of late.

Cilic beaten in Tokyo after twice being a break up in the final set. He does seem to lose a lot of matches from winning positions.

Dimi out and his conquerer Lajovic will now play Kyle Edmund who won in three today against Berrettini. Good chance for Kyle to go deep in Beijing.

For Brit tennis fans, worth noting that the 16 year old junior Wimbledon finalist, Jack Draper, is on a winning streak at Futures level. He won back to back Futures in the UK and is in the SF in Lagos this week. He’s the only 16 year old in the top 1,000, with a live ranking of 623. Faces the top seed (ranked c. 400) next.

Edmund thru in straight sets in his quarter final in Beijing and has a good chance of reaching the final now. Needs some big points as it's unlikely he'll reach the semi again at the Australian Open in January.
Elsewhere Gasquet has had two successive 7-6, 7-6 wins - yesterday over Kyrgios and today over Anderson.

So it’s Nishikori v Medvedev in Tokyo and DP through on a walkover in China to face the winner of Edmund v Basilashvili. Medvedev with an easy win over Shapovalov hasn’t dropped a set yet, so will be a tough test for Kei.

Edmund apparently had his chances against Basilashvili before going down in straight sets.
Medvedev could play Fed in Shanghai next week but finalists from the week before often crash out early in the next tournament. Delpo is in Fed's half of the draw.

Neither Nishi nor delpo took titles today, with Medvedev (a qualifier, although ranked as high as 32) and Basilashvili winning in straight sets. Caroline W was the women's champion in Beijing.

Edmund thru today in Shanghai and will not have to meet Cilic who lost AGAIN from a winning position. How many times?
Thiem already out while Fed faces tough one today in the shape of in-form Medvedev.

Edmund now up to #14 in the ATP world rankings. Cameron Norrie stabilised in the top 100 at #89 while Jay Clarke is at #177. Daniel Evans is at #208 after his time out while Andy Murray is at #262 having hardly played at all. 16 year old Jack Draper is at #623.

Fed thru after tough three setter with Medvedev. May have easier match against RBA next. Zverev ended basilashvili's run.

Almost an action replay with Fed again winning after being taken to three sets by RBA.
Djokovic, Nishi, Edmund and Zverev all won.

Zverev saw off Edmund in straight sets, while Djoko and Coric both thru in straights, too. Fed and Nishi just about to start.

Federer beats Nishikori 6-4 7-6

Semifinal:
Zverev vs Djokovic
Coric vs Federer

Oldies (all time greats) versus Next Generation, with no-one from the in-between generation. This is yet another example of how weak the generation were following the "fab four".

A one hour 50 mins match for Fed today, which could have been extended had Rog not come back from 4-1 down in the second-set tiebreak.
  Looking like a Fed-Djoko final, although Coric has already upset the Swiss this season.

Just watched some highlights of the Fed-Nishi match. Looked a fair old match, with some good shotmaking and fine movement from both players.
Some have remarked that Fed got far fewer cheap points on serve than usual. But this may have been down to Nishi's fine returning.

@sfp - I too watched (extended) highlights of Fed v Nishi.

It looked to be pretty fast & furious stuff. Some great play by them both, with a fair few vintage showreel shots from the Fed who certainly needed a high level to come through.

At this age, we will, I feel sure, be seeing this pattern from Federer more & more : by which I mean, the ability to produce a top quality performance  against top players such as Nishi now & then .....BUT, for the most part, becoming increasingly vulnerable to defeat - and often, by players of a calibre who would have little hope of troubling him in his prime (as has been happening over the last few years)

Always a pleasure to see Federer turning back the clock (and in style   )..... but I don’t expect him to retain his title here.

Djokovic just gave zverev a fair old pummeling. Surprised how one sided it was as zverev was in good form coming in

I didn't see the match - just saw the result.  SF1 Djokovic beats Zverev 6-2 6-1.  Presumably Zverev doesn't have the endurance for tournament level tennis (6 rounders / 7 rounders) - at least when facing a potent opponent such as Djokovic in the latter rounds.

Zverev’s fitness is incredible. It is never a factor in him losing matches.

Coric knows how to beat Federer and is currently 6-4 4-2 up with a break in the second set. Federer to serve.

Born Slippy wrote:Zverev’s fitness is incredible. It is never a factor in him losing matches.

Hmmm that means I need another reason for Zverev's failures in progressing in slams.   Tournament stamina seemed to be an easy possible answer.

But I guess he is still young and learning.

Coric wins 6-4 6-4 against Federer.  His head to head count against Federer is now 2-2 with Coric winning the two most recent encounters.  Coric is one of those I strongly felt could go on to become a multi-slam winner.

I would imagine that Djokovic will prove too strong for Coric in the final, but Coric continues to progress.

Checking Coric's other head to heads:
Coric - Federer  2 - 2
Coric - Nadal  2 - 2
Coric - Djokovic 0 - 2
Coric - A Murray 2 - 2
Coric - A Zverev 3 - 1
Coric - Del Potro 1 - 1
Coric - K Anderson 1 - 3
Coric - Cilic 0 - 7
Coric - Isner 1 - 1
Coric - Querrey 1 - 0

Djoko wins title with straight-sets triumph. Seems utterly dominant again. Is this 2011 or what? He now has great chance to be number one at the year end. Even if he somehow doesn't make the summit, he'll have more chances at the beginning of next year.
Djoko is about 80 weeks behind Fed's all-time weeks-at-number-one record. Ok, he still has a way to go. But it's possible.

If (big if) Novak can have a dominant 2019, he will be right in the GOAT running.

Sad news about JM delpo who has fractured a kneecap bone. Not yet known how long he will be out but there must be a chance he won't be fit again before the end of the season.

Well done to Novak. The run he has been on since Wimbledon has been amazing considering where he was earlier in the year.

sirfredperry wrote:Sad news about JM delpo who has fractured a kneecap bone. Not yet known how long he will be out but there must be a chance he won't be fit again before the end of the season.
 

That's just horrible news. Seems like every time he climbs the mountain and gets near the summit some injury knock him back down again. Would have thought there would be virtually no chance he will play again this year and the AO will probably be very doubtful as well.

Kyle Edmund smashed Ramos-V in Antwerp but Cameron Norrie was edged out in a long three-setter.
Having got rid of yet another coach, Konta has had three good wins and is thru to the semis in Moscow. You may have seen that Halep is out of the year-end championship thru injury.

Edmund, having had a w/o in the quarters, has beaten Gasquet in straight sets to set up a final against Monfils.
Gulbis - remember him? - has reached the final in Stockholm having had to qualify from his lowly ranking of 146. It wasn't that long ago that Ernests was beating Fed in a GS.

Edmund takes the title in Antwerp. He beats Monfils 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. Tsitsipas beats Gulbis in straight sets while Khachanov is the champion in Moscow.
In the women's end-of-season finals there are wins for Pliskova and Svitolina.

Surprised there's not been anyone else apart from SFP congratulating Edmund on a career landmark, winning his 1st ATP title. Great for him to get that monkey off his back, and beating Ramos-Vinola, Gasquet and Monfils in same tournament is a decent run. Also, after his mid-season slump its v encouraging he's ending the season so strongly. He is likely to fall down the rankings after Aus Open (matching last year's semis will be a colossal achievement) but picking up these useful ranking points here and there will cushion the fall, so hopefully he will remain in top 25-30, even if he loses in 3rd or 4th round in Melbourne.

Great win for Kyle Edmund - he had to work very hard for that.

MrInvisible wrote:Surprised there's not been anyone else apart from SFP congratulating Edmund on a career landmark, winning his 1st ATP title ...

It is clear that this forum is on a slow wind down.  People getting older, no new commentators, end of the competitive 'big four' era, alternative chat sites.

Good for Kyle to finally take a title at ATP level - of course he was quite a prolific winner on the Challenger circuit, so the psychology of winning isn't the issue.

Live ranking he's up to 14th with 2330 points. Knock off the bonus points from the exceptional Aussie Open, and he's probably around 1750-1800 points, which puts him in the low to mid 20s, but in a cluster where 1850 is Sock in 18th and 1750 is PCB in 25th (and then oddly there's 100 points down to the next guy).

On a broader point, this week's winners were Edmund, Tsitsipas and Khachanov, so all relatively young players - I know the real top guys were absent, but it does feel like there is the start of a changing of the guard behind them.

MrI. Yes, it was important for Edmund to have a strong finish to the season given he's likely to lose points at the AO in January.
Just been watching some extended highlights of the Monfils final. Monfils was wonderful in defence, forcing Kyle to continue to come up with big shots.
Can't help thinking that the Frenchman should have a much more stellar career. Seven titles is a meagre reward for such a talented, athletic player. To me, Gael has wanted more to be a performer, a showman, rather than a winner. Should really have been looking at around 20 titles and a constant presence in the top 10.

Cracking win for Kyle. It is a title (his first) that will serve multiple purposes. Firstly, it releases the pressure of winning that first title and he is now officially a winner. Secondly, it is an injection of self-belief where he now knows he can win tournaments. Thirdly, it is a further boost to his ranking and status in the sport. Well done Kyle on your first title and I am sure not your last.

@SFP: Agree that Monfils' career has not lived up to its initial promise. If you cast your mind back to juniors, Monfils was a world no. 1 junior and won 3 out of the 4 junior slam titles 1 year (2004?), the same year that Murray won junior US Open. He's had too many injuries, sometimes self-inflicted due to the showboating, and I do think that a player of his talent ought to have reached a couple of slam finals at least and been a more constant presence in the top 10-20. Ah well, he should fit right into the seniors tour with the likes of Bahrami when the time comes I guess.

I do think considering the talent at their disposal that the French players of Monfils, Gasquet and to a lesser extent Tsonga have underachieved in their careers, last year's redemptive Davis Cup aside. Tsonga after his initial early career injury troubles came to prominence on his run to Aus Open final (in 2008?), but thereafter whilst he was a solid top 10 player and had some big wins in his career he tended to underperform in the really big slam quarter/semi-finals and seemed to lack that final ingredient to go all the way. Gasquet basically failed to develop as a player after his teens, stuck way behind the baseline, relying on a few flashy backhands but lacking the fitness, defensive skills or strategic nous to tackle the best. Monfils, despite his natural shotmaking ability meanwhile, has played way too passively for much of his career, only finding the big shots he's capable of sporadically.

The Frenchman from that generation who's probably bucked the trend and 'over-achieved' is Gilles Simon, reached the top 10 despite the lack of an obvious killer shot, winner of an impressive 13 titles and still going strong. Far from flashy but gets the job gone with a v hardworking ethic.

Back to Edmund, if he can secure a top 16 seeding for Aus Open that will help him avoid the most dangerous opponents early on (unless he's really unlucky!), and based on seedings and rankings reaching the 4th round should on paper be an achievable target.

Finally, on the end of year ATP Masters in London, I presume Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Zverev have already qualified, and poor old Del Potro would also have done so had he not got injured again. Cilic, Anderson and Thiem ought to make it too unless they perform particularly badly in forthcoming tournaments (a possibility for the latter!). It'll probably be Isner and Nishikori fighting out the last place, though Coric may have an outside chance if he carries on with his recent form.

Cilic, who has had a poor run of late, saw off Shapovalov in straight sets in Basel, while Coric bt Ram-V in Vienna where Anderson just edged the in-form Basilashvili.
Fed plays in Basel tonight having announced that he's had a hand injury since the start of the grass-court season. He says it's not been a major problem and has now cleared up, although it might account for his form being only OK-ish in the latter half of the season.

Federer scraped thru in first match at Basel tonight. Far from impressive by all accounts but at least he's still in it. Stan the Man had to pull out after hurting his back in practice with....Fed!
Cameron Norrie, an LL in Vienna, had two MPs in the final-set tiebreak with Isner before succumbing.

Kyle Edmund has just beaten Schwartzman in the first round at Vienna and now faces Verdasco. Awful draw for Kyle getting a guy who was as highly ranked as 17 and yet unseeded. So a straight-set win today was a good effort.

Jesus, what has happened to Dimitrov’s hair? Guy looks about 40 now. Kukushkin puts him out of his misery in three sets

Dimi's new haircut pretty awful, as is his form of late. Gulbis had another good win today. He could yet meet Fed in Basel.

Cilic loses again and Edmund's run is ended by Verdasco. Caroline W, beaten and knocked out of the year-end champs today by Svitolina, has revealed she's suffering from rheumatoid arthritis which can be fairly debilitating. She says it tends to come and go and that she is taking stuff to help cope with it.

Fed thru, just, to the semi in Basel after Simon took him to three sets and two-and-a-half hours. He's winning ugly at the moment and can't see him taking the title here.
That wasn't the longest match of the day by far. That was Kukushkin who bt Fucsovics in three hours 18 in Vienna! Nishi smashed Thiem while Coric had to retire against Anderson.