World No. 1 and 2012-13 winner Novak Djokovic and 2010-11 titleholder Andy Murray are the former champions. A historic occasion will take place with the trio of Federer (17), Rafael Nadal (14) and Djokovic (10) playing together for the first time as Grand Slam champions with more than 10 titles. No other trio to have won 10 or more Grand Slam titles in the history of men’s tennis have ever played in a tournament together.
Emirates ATP Race to London – There are valuable Emirates ATP Race to London points at stake and players will add to their total for each round reached. Players with a bye and lose in opening match (2R) will receive 10 pts. Here is the breakdown: first round (10), second round (45), third round (90), quarter-finals (180), semi-finals (360), final (600), winner (1000). Here is the updated Top 25 Emirates ATP Race to London going into play Saturday in Beijing and Tokyo:
Race
Player
Points
Event
Update
1
Novak Djokovic*
13,385
Beijing
Winner
2
Andy Murray*
7,510
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3
Roger Federer*
6,740
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4
Stan Wawrinka*
6,060
Tokyo
Winner
5
Tomas Berdych
4,100
Beijing
Lost in 1R
6
Rafael Nadal
3,970
Beijing
Finalist
7
Kei Nishikori
3,855
Tokyo
Lost in SF
8
David Ferrer
3,435
Beijing
Lost in SF
9
Richard Gasquet
2,355
Tokyo
Lost in 1R
10
John Isner
2,225
Beijing
Lost in QF
11
Kevin Anderson
2,205
Tokyo
Lost in 1R
12
Marin Cilic
2,100
Tokyo
Lost in QF
13
Milos Raonic
2,080
Beijing
Lost in 1R
14
Gilles Simon
1,965
Tokyo
Lost in QF
15
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
1,900
Beijing
Lost in 1R
16
David Goffin
1,625
Beijing
Lost in 2R
17
Feliciano Lopez
1,590
Tokyo
Lost in 1R
18
Dominic Thiem
1,510
Beijing
Lost in 1R
19
Benoit Paire
1,453
Tokyo
Finalist
20
Bernard Tomic
1,450
Tokyo
Lost in 1R
Big Four Dominance – The ‘Big Four’ of Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal have won 46 of the last 50 ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, which dates back to Nadal’s triumph at Monte-Carlo in 2010. The only other players to emerge with an ATP Masters 1000 title are Robin Soderling (2010 Paris), David Ferrer (2011 Paris), Stan Wawrinka (2014 Monte-Carlo) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2014 Toronto).
World No. 1/Top Seed – World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is making his sixth Shanghai appearance in seven years (except 2011) and he comes in with a 19-3 career record. This is the third straight year he is the top seed. The 2012-13 champion had his 13-match winning streak in Shanghai snapped with his SF loss to Federer last year.
Going into the Beijing semi-finals, Djokovic has compiled a 66-5 match record (43-4 on hard) on the season with seven titles: Australian Open, ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Wimbledon and US Open where he captured his 10th career Grand Slam title. On Monday, it marks the 168th week overall he has ranked No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, which is sixth-most. He will surpass No. 5 John McEnroe’s total of 170 on Nov. 2. He will finish No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the 4th time in 5 years (except 2013).
Novak Dominates in China - Djokovic comes into Shanghai having won 31 of his last 32 matches in China (going into Beijing SF), winning consecutive titles in Beijing and Shanghai in 2012-13 and Beijing last year.
His 28-match winning streak in China ended last year when he lost to Federer in the semi-finals in Shanghai. Overall, he has won eight career titles in China (five in Beijing, three in Shanghai). He has never lost in the Beijing Open (27-0, entering SF) and is 19-3 at the Shanghai ROLEX Masters (since 2009). He also went 4-4 at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2007-08, winning the title in 2008. The only country in which he’s won more titles is the U.S. (11). He has never lost in a final in China (8-0).
Roger Reigning Champion – World No. 2 and reigning champion Roger Federer is making his fifth tournament appearance (13-3 record). This is also his first tournament back since reaching the US Open final on Sept. 13 (l. to Djokovic).
The following weekend he played in a Davis Cup World Group playoff tie vs. the Netherlands, winning both singles matches. Prior to last year, Federer reached the final in 2010, the semi-finals in 2012 (l. to Murray both times) and the third round in 2013 (l. to Monfils). He won back-to-back titles in 2006-07 here at the Tennis Masters Cup and was runner-up in 2005. The 34-year-old Swiss superstar enters with a 53-8 record on the year (29-3 on hard courts). He is second with five ATP World Tour titles this year. His last title came in August in Cincinnati where he captured his 24th career ATP Masters 1000 crown (d. Djokovic).
Murray Returns to Action – What a difference a year makes for Andy Murray, who came into Shanghai last year ninth in the Emirates ATP Race to London. The 28-year-old Scot, who is second in the Race, has already earned a spot in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. He led Great Britain to the Davis Cup final with an undefeated record this year (6-0 in singles, 2-0 in doubles).
He is playing in his first tournament since a fourth-round exit at the US Open (l. to Anderson). The following weekend, he led Great Britain to a semi-final win over Australia. Murray has a 14-2 record in the tournament, winning titles in 2010-11 and reaching the final in 2013 (l. to Djokovic after holding 5 MPs). Last year he lost in the third round to Ferrer.
Ferrer Holding Final Spot – Since returning from an elbow injury this summer, David Ferrer has won 11 of 12 matches (going into Beijing SF). His only loss came in his first tournament back at the US Open to Jeremy Chardy in the third round. Since then, he has won two Davis Cup matches, his 25th career ATP World Tour title in Kuala Lumpur and advanced to semi-finals in Beijing. The 33-year-old Spaniard is holding down the eighth and final position for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. He has widened his lead to more than 1,000 points (1,080) over Richard Gasquet, who is in ninth place.
Race Movers
Rafael Nadal 6 (+1 spot)
John Isner 10 (+1 spot)
Marin Cilic 12 (+1 spot)
Benoit Paire 19 (+9 spots)
Fabio Fognini 21 (+4 spots)
Nick Kyrgios 29 (+1 spot)
Jack Sock 31T (+5 spots)
Potential Milestones
Shanghai - Singles
Roger Federer - 1049 wins
David Ferrer - 649 wins
Feliciano Lopez - 394 wins
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 344 wins
Ivo Karlovic - 294 wins
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez - 245 wins
Yen-Hsun Lu - 145 wins
Lukasz Kubot - 95 wins
Shanghai - Doubles
Marcin Matkowski - 395 wins
Birthdays
16 October – Philipp Kohlschreiber (32)
In Case You Missed It
Novak Djokovic won his 29th consecutive match in Beijing and picked up his sixth China Open title against Rafael Nadal. Read
Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock rediscovered their mojo and took home the China Open doubles title. Read
Stan Wawarinka defeated good friend Benoit Paire in the Tokyo final. Read
Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo kicked off their partnership with a title run in Tokyo. Read
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