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Post by Admin on Nov 11, 2014 20:53:27 GMT
Federer opens his tournament against Milos Raonic on Sunday. As the most experienced player at the tournament -- he's qualified 12 times -- he knows the first round-robin match is crucial. "You definitely don’t want to lose the first one," he said. "The pressure increases and you don't even know if it's in your hands anymore. From that standpoint you go out with the mentality of being in a knock-out system. If you do lose one, you feel like it is the end of the world but it is, to be honest. I have never felt good in losing but still being in the tournament. It feels very odd, because in tennis you lose, you leave. You go round by round clearly, but the first one is crucial. Murray is playing in London for the first time since his controversial tweet supporting Scottish independence. Is he prepared for a backlash from English fans? "The crowd has always given me very good support when I've played here and when I've played at Wimbledon and Queen's throughout my whole career," he said. "So I hope that will be the same this week. If not, I'll do my job. I'll give my best effort and hopefully win back some fans." U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic is still getting comfortable playing with a bullseye on his back. "I feel the other players respect my tennis more. I believe they respect me, too. I played some matches after the U.S. Open where the guys are swinging more, playing much more risky. Players are going to play, I feel, all-or-nothing in the matches. That's a positive part for me, that I know guys need to play their top level to beat me but it's not easy to confront match after match. The best guys are dealing with it really well and you can't really see from outside that it's anything different, but it is." Djokovic says he expected the surge of younger talent into the top 10 to come earlier. "I think this something to expect after many years of Federer-Nadal dominance and then Murray and myself got into the mix," he said. "It was expected to have younger players who are capable of fighting for major titles. I think that's what happened this year. I think we expected it a little bit earlier as well. I thought we were going to have some younger players who are talented and also able to challenge the best players. Now we have more interesting Grand Slams." Kei Nishikori may be the quiet "Gentleman Warrior," but never doubt his ambition. "If I can play good tennis for five matches, I will have a chance to win the whole thing," he said. "I just need to believe in myself. For next year the goal is a little bit higher than this year. Try to be top five all the time and maybe No. 3 or No. 2, you never know."
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Post by Admin on Nov 14, 2014 20:58:33 GMT
Japan's Nishikori saw off Ferrer - a late replacement for the injured Milos Raonic - 4-6 6-4 6-1 in Group B. The result means Roger Federer is through to the semi-finals ahead of his final round-robin match against Murray at 20:00 GMT. Murray must beat the six-time champion in straight sets to qualify, and with it top the group. Failure to do so will see the Swiss qualify first and Nishikori second, with the group winner likely to avoid world number one Novak Djokovic in the semis. Nishikori, 24, played his part with 41 winners in an impressive win over Ferrer, the first three-set match of the week at the O2 Arena. Ferrer, 33, might have only come to London as an alternate but he had been seen practising hard every day and, well-rested since his last competitive match, arguably offered a trickier opponent than the struggling Raonic. "The third set was almost perfect," said Nishikori. "I served well and everything worked well. We've played each other four times this year and always three sets. "It was really difficult to make this adjustment - they told me one hour before the match, it was tough to change tactics but I'd prepared well and I'm happy to win today." Asked if he would watch the late match to learn his fate, Nishikori added: "I don't think so. I'm just going to wait for the result because I want to eat a good dinner today." The match followed the pattern of their previous three meetings in 2014, with Nishikori's greater power helping him past the Spaniard in three sets. The Japanese player, making his debut at the season finale, reproduced the kind of form that saw him beat Murray on the opening day.
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Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2014 21:19:45 GMT
Novak Djokovic is on course to become an undefeated champion for a third straight year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Ivan Lendl, the five-time former titlist, was the last player to clinch three straight season finale crowns (1985-87). The two-time defending champion, who also lifted the 2008 trophy, defeated fourth seed Kei Nishikori, the first Asian singles player to compete at the event, 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in their semi-final at The O2 in London on Saturday afternoon. "He's one of the quickest, most talented players in the world right now. He won many titles, many matches this year. That's why he's very dangerous on any surface. He plays very fast. If you start to hesitate with your shots, he puts a lot of pressure on your serve. It wasn't an easy match. "I was fortunate because in the beginning of the third set, he had break points. If he broke me, the match could have gone either way. I managed to find that little bit of strength and get a win today. Tomorrow is the last match of the season. Of course it's one of the biggest tournaments in the world. This is already the biggest possible motivation. I will try to give everything I have. Five games rolled by in Djokovic's favour and it took until the first game of the second set for Nishikori to win a point behind his second serve. It made little difference as he was broken for the third time moments later, but the match then took an unexpected turn when the Serb became rattled by the crowd. Facing break point for the first time in the match, Djokovic double-faulted, prompting a huge cheer among the 17,000 spectators keen to see an extended contest. Djokovic won his seventh straight game, breaking Nishikori to 30 at the start of the second set, but then lost his serve by hitting a double fault. Greater weight of shot paid dividends in the eighth game, as Nishikori drew Djokovic to the net before striking a forehand pass for a 5-3 lead. Nishikori, who beat Andy Murray and alternate David Ferrer in Group B play, dictated with his forehand to level the score at a set apiece.
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Post by Admin on Nov 17, 2014 20:50:12 GMT
Novak Djokovic admitted his season had come to an "awkward end" after Roger Federer withdrew from Sunday's ATP World Tour final in London. Federer, 33, pulled out with a back problem after a lengthy semi-final against Stan Wawrinka on Saturday. That left world number one Djokovic to collect the trophy before playing an exhibition set against Andy Murray. "You cannot blame Roger. I'm sure he would play the World Tour finals if he could," said Djokovic, 27. "This is probably the first time in history that this happens. It's a very awkward situation to talk about, to be honest. "You never like to win, especially these big matches against big rivals, with the retirement, but that's the way it is." Djokovic only learned that Federer was withdrawing during the preceding doubles final, and the Serb paid tribute to Murray for stepping in as cover. ATP executive chairman Chris Kermode said he called Murray at 14:00 GMT, and the Scot "instantly" agreed to travel to the O2 to play a set of singles, followed by doubles with John McEnroe, Tim Henman and Pat Cash. The British number one, who suffered a crushing 6-0 6-1 defeat by Federer on Thursday, was back on the centre court in front of 17,000 spectators by 18:00 GMT. "I want to thank him for coming out and making an effort," said Djokovic. "It really is an effort. I know how it feels when you finish the season, as he did on Thursday. "Probably the last thing he's thinking about is tennis now. He wants to rest after a long season. It's very genuine from him." Djokovic's immediate priority is returning to wife Jelena and their son Stefan, who was born last month. "I'm very hands on," he said. "My wife told me what to expect. I've seen it before I came to Paris and London. "I'm glad during the stay in London for these 10 days I got a lot of sleep, because that will not be the case from now."
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Post by Admin on Nov 23, 2014 21:04:36 GMT
The World No.1 Novak Djokovic has set his sights on winning the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and it is one of his biggest dreams. The 7-time Grand Slam champion had a great 2014, in which he won Wimbledon and the World Tour Finals. In addition to that, Djokovic also won the ATP Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Rome and Paris. He won the ATP 500 titles in Beijing, which took his total to 7. The Serb said that he loves playing in Brazil, as he had once played an exhibition match there against the former world No.1 Gustavo Kuerton. Djokovic said it was one of the best experiences and he loves Brazil and its people. The 27-year-old said he is looking forward to the Olympic Games, as Brazilians love the sports, they hosted a great Football World Cup and now they are looking to host the Olympics. Djokovic had won the Bronze Medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after losing to Rafael Nadal (eventual champion) in the semifinals. In 2012 London games, he again lost the semifinals to the eventual champion Andy Murray, but this time he failed to win the Bronze Medal after losing to Juan Martin Del Potro.
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