WORLD NEWS Federer Has A Busy Three Weeks Roger Federer insists that finishing atop the ATP ranking heap is not his major priority for 2014. There is this weeks season-ending World Tour Finals as well as a Davis Cup starting a week from Friday against France in Lille to occupy the mind of the No. 2. The 33-year-old with six season-wrap-up titles to his name, began his quest for a seventh with a group win over Milos Raonic and next takes on Kei Nishikori. Federer owns five titles this season but is not bothering to learn the mathematical permutations which would take the 17-time grand slam winner back to the top. But if Djokovic fails to emerge from the group stage, Federer is in with a chance to close a gap of 1,310 points with the Davis Cup final - and more potential points - still to play. I didnt put any target I think on the rankings, I was putting more rather a target on trying to win an amount of titles, because last year I only won one, he said. I have five now and made another five finals. Were also in the Davis Cup final, so its been a very successful year - better than I thought it was going to be. Federer, whose last London trophy came in 2011, is of course aware of his chances of overhauling Djokovic. All of a sudden, I have a small shot at world number one after winning Shanghai (last month). Im happy its this way. But I think its highly unlikely its going to happen. If it does, obviously its great. With all of the honors he keeps collecting in his one-of-a-kind career, Federer will not insert too much drama into the current ranking chase. But then again. . . I think that would be very special because Ive been there and I know how much it would mean, because winning a tournament is a one week thing or a two week thing, but getting back to number one is an entirely different animal. Ill try to get there, but obviously Novak is going to dictate as well whats going to happen. Murray Has A Slow Start In London After a stunning, concerted and potentially exhausting run that saw Andy Murray win 20 of 23 matches in six straight weeks of tournaments that produced three titles, the Scot was made to realize form can disappear in just a few days as his Barclays ATP World Tour Finals opener ended in massive disappointment. Not even a committed and capacity 15,000 attendance in the London 02 Arena could motivate Murray out of his funk as he produced his worst performance in months to lose 6-4, 6-4 to tournament debutant Kei Nishikori. Murray has no explanation for the disintegration of his game which had taken him to titles in Shenzhen, Vienna and Valencia and revealed he only took two days off from any form of tennis between losing to Novak Djokovic in the BNP Paribas Masters quarterfinals in Paris and the start of the calendar-ending tournament. I finished in Bercy on Friday night, then I flew Saturday morning back to London, explained Murray. Then I took Saturday and Sunday off. I started hitting balls again on Monday and was practicing all last week. The Scot did not shy away from the sub-standard display and held his hands up admitting the basis of his defeat was poor serving. Kei was able to dictate a lot of points, especially behind my second serve, said Murray who managed to get only 58% of his first serves into play. Statistically, that was the part of the match where he had the upper hand: that was the difference. Murray required on-court treatment to his left calf muscle during the second set but maintained injury played no part in his defeat. I felt okay on the court today, I dont think that was the reason I lost the match, he said. If this was anywhere else I would be out of the tournament. Im definitely going to have to play better if I am going to get through. Wawrinka Trying To Keep Up In London While Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic jockey for the top ranking position and title honors at the World Tour Finals began on Sunday, Stan Wawrinka will be leading the charge from the back of the elite ATP pack. The 29-year-old Swiss, Davis Cup teammate of Federer in the upcoming final in France, has certainly lifted his profile after winning the Australian Open in January with a defeat of Nadal. But even with a title win over Federer in the final of Monte Carlo in April, Wawrinkas form has been unacceptably patchy, with too many highs and lows. That is something the Swiss aims to try and change as year-end group play takes place at the O2 arena. Im not happy with the past few months, said the No. 4 whose last truly decent result was a US Open quarter-final in September. The autumn disappointments have included first-round losses in Tokyo, Shanghai and in Basel, with the Swiss winning just one round last week in Paris. I need to understand what were the problems and how to fix them. I dont just concentrate on the big events, every tournament is important, said Wawrinka, playing the year-ender for the second consecutive year. I hope next year can be a year without all these ups and downs. I need to be able to adapt to play well in all situations. I want better results - not so many ups and downs. Cilic Trying To Stop His After-New York Slide US Open winner Marin Cilic will try to bury a minor post-New York slide in form as he plays the World Tour Finals for the first time, The Croatian lost in the October Shanghai first round and skipped the Paris Masters with a shoulder injury which is still not at 100 per cent - though playable. But the quiet Croatian also reached the Beijing quarter-finals and won the Moscow title little more than a month after his New York trophy success. Cilic, Milos Raonic and New York runner-up Kei Nishikori are the three new players in the field at this edition. Its a great honor to be here the first time, said Cilic. This has been the best year of my career. I hope my success in New York opens the door for guys from the second line. Tennis is expanding a bit, were seeing more new faces on the tour; its making the game interesting, There will be a bigger intensity for next season. Its a huge motivation for me to be pushed forward. I hope to be able to play the tennis I played at the US Open; it will be interesting to see how I deal with it. Sukova Honored By Hall Of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Tennis Federation (ITF) honored Helena Sukova of the Czech Republic with the 2014 Fed Cup Award of Excellence. Sukova received the award on court during the 2014 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Final in Prague, which was being contested between Czech Republic and Germany. The award was presented by ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti and Jane Brown Grimes, 2014 Hall of Famer and president emerita of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Czech Republic has a rich and successful Fed Cup history, and Helena played an integral role in building that history. As a dedicated competitor for her home country for 13 years, Helena personifies the spirit of international competition. In appreciation of her contributions to the sport of tennis and to the Fed Cup, we are proud to present her with the Fed Cup Award of Excellence, said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. The ITF and the Hall of Fame annually present the Fed Cup Award of Excellence to an individual who represents the ideals and spirit of the Fed Cup competition. Sukovas 13 years as a member of the Czechoslovakia Fed Cup team stands as a record among the teams members. She helped her nation win four Fed Cup championships (1983, 1984, 1985, 1988), and compiled an impressive personal win-loss record of 57-16, which also makes her the team record holder for Most Total Wins. Sukova has a Fed Cup record of 45-11 in singles and 12-5 in doubles, resulting from 54 ties played. In addition to her Fed Cup success, Sukova was a strong representative for her home country in all areas of international team competition. She won two womens doubles Silver Medals at the Olympic Games (1988 and 1996
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 17:24:22 +0000
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