DAY SIX PREVIEW
• James Blake’s victories over world No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko have already guaranteed him a place in the semifinals as group winner irrespective of the result of today’s final group match against Tommy Robredo, against whom he has a 3-1 head-to-head advantage. Blake will take on defending champion David Nalbandian in Saturday’s semifinals.
• Rafael Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko meet for the first time ever, with the winner earning a semifinal meeting against world No. 1 Roger Federer. Nadal is looking to join fellow Tennis Masters Cup debutant James Blake in Saturday’s semifinals.
• The final matches in the Doubles Gold Group see all four teams still in contention for a semifinal place. Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, with two victories behind them, are in the strongest position, needing to win only one set against Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic to be certain of qualifying.
• On Saturday, the Gold Group winners will face Red Group runners-up Martin Damm and Leander Paes, whose superior percentage of sets won saw them qualify for the semifinals. The Gold Group runners-up will face Red Group winners Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, who won all three of their matches.
DAY SIX MATCH-UPS
NO. 2 RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) v NO. 3 NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO (RUS)
Head-to-head: first meeting
NADAL
Birthdate: June 3, 1986
YTD W-L: 58-11
YTD Titles: 5
YTD Prize money (at start of event): $3,416,360
ATP Ranking: 2
Tournament History: Lost to James Blake 64 76(0) in his opening match, before defeating Tommy Robredo 76(2) 62.
Nadal is making his Tennis Masters Cup debut. He qualified for last year’s event at Shanghai, but withdrew with a left foot injury.
2006 Highlights:
W: Dubai (d Federer), AMS Monte-Carlo (d Federer), Barcelona (d Robredo), AMS Rome (d Federer), Roland Garros (d Federer) F: Wimbledon (l Federer) SF: Marseille (l Clement), AMS Indian Wells (l Blake) QF: AMS Cincinnati (l Ferrero), London/Queen's Club (l Hewitt), US Open (l Youzhny), AMS Madrid (l Berdych)
2006 Review:
The Spanish sensation compiled an outstanding 57-10 match record along with five titles (four over No. 1 Federer) in six finals... In position to finish No. 2 for second straight year and first player to do that since Agassi in 1994-95... Finished unbeaten on clay (26-0) and repeated his Roland Garros title (d. Federer) while reaching his first Wimbledon final (l. to Federer)... Compiled an Open Era record 62-match clay court winning streak, surpassing Guillermo Vilas' mark of 53 in 1977... The Spaniard's last loss on clay came in April 2005 when he lost to Igor Andreev in QF of Valencia... In March, won his first title in Dubai, defeating his rival Federer in three sets... The two would meet in four other finals before mid-July, including Grand Slams at Roland Garros and Wimbledon... He repeated clay court titles with wins over Federer at ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo in four sets, Rome (five sets) and Roland Garros (four sets)... As of beginning of August he was only player to beat Federer more than once since Swiss superstar took over No. 1 in February 2004... Captured his fifth career ATP Masters Series title with repeat effort in Monte-Carlo, defeating three straight Top 10 opponents -- Coria (QF), Gaudio (SF) and Federer (F)... Then followed with repeat title effort in Barcelona (d. Robredo)... Did not begin season until mid-February due to left foot injury going back to last November... Opened in Marseille and reached SF, losing to eventual champion Arnaud Clement... Two weeks later, captured title in Dubai... Then followed with SF showing in Indian Wells (l. to Blake) and an opening round loss in Miami to countryman Moya... Opened clay court circuit with successful title defenses in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Rome where he saved two match points in an epic five hour and five minute marathon against Federer... Tied Borg with his 16th career teenage title in Rome, most in Open Era... Then dropped only three sets en route to becoming youngest back-to-back champion at Roland Garros since Borg in 1974-75... Turned in his best career results on grass with a QF at Queen's, retiring with a sore back after two sets against eventual champion Hewitt... Then followed with a runner-up effort at Wimbledon where he lost for second time in eight career meetings to Federer... Became first Spaniard to reach championship at All England Club since Manuel Santana captured title in 1966... Entered final having held serve a personal-best 80 consecutive service games going back to 2nd RD (vs. Kendrick) before Federer broke in opening game of match and went on to win in four sets... The loss ended his unbeaten streak of 14 consecutive finals won going back to Miami where he lost a five-set battle to Federer on Apr. 3, 2005... Returned to action in August and lost in 3rd RD at ATP Masters Series Toronto (l. to Berdych) and QF in Cincinnati (l. to Ferrero)... Followed with QF at US Open (l. to Youzhny)... Won both of his matches vs. Italy in Davis Cup World Group tie then lost in 2nd RD in Stockholm and QF at AMS Madrid... Named 2005 ATP Most Improved Player of Year and European ATP Player of Year.
DAVYDENKO
Birthdate: June 2, 1981
YTD W-L: 68-27
YTD Titles: 5
YTD Prize money (at start of event): $1,816,845
ATP Ranking: 3
Tournament History: Defeated Tommy Robredo 76(8) 36 61 in his opening match, before losing to James Blake 26 64 75.
Davydenko is making his second successive appearance at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Last year he won all three round robin matches to top his group, before losing in the semifinals to eventual champion David Nalbandian 60 75.
2006 Highlights:
W: Poertschach (d Pavel), Sopot (d Mayer), New Haven (d Calleri), Moscow (d Safin), AMS Paris (d Hrbaty) F: Estoril (l Nalbandian), Bastad (l Robredo) SF: Sydney (l Blake), Rotterdam (l Stepanek), US Open (l Federer) QF: Doha (l Volandri), Australian Open (l Federer), AMS Hamburg (l Ancic), Roland
Garros (l Nalbandian), Beijing (l Srichaphan)
2006 Review:
The No. 1 Russian qualified for his second straight Tennis Masters Cup by winning a career-high five ATP titles in seven finals while advancing to quarterfinals or better in three Grand Slam tournaments... Enters a career-high No. 3 in INDESIT ATP Rankings after winning his first career ATP Masters Series title in Paris... Finished second on ATP circuit with five titles (along w/ Blake, Nadal) behind Federer (11)... Won a personal-best 67 matches en route to his second consecutive Top 10 finish and played most tournaments (31) in Top 10... Reached QF or better at 15 tournaments, including seven final appearances and three SF... Also helped his country to Davis Cup final (vs. Argentina) by posting a singles win against The Netherlands in 1st RD and France in QF ties... Jumped off to a quick start by reaching QF or better in four of his first five tournaments... Opened with QF in Doha (l. Volandri) and followed with SF in Sydney (l. to Blake) before repeating QF effort at Australian Open (l. to Federer in four sets)... During indoor play, reached 2nd RD in Marseille (l. to Korolev) and SF in Rotterdam (l. to Stepanek)... Then lost in back-to-back tournaments to countryman Safin in 1st RD in Dubai and 3rd RD at ATP Masters Series Indian Wells... Followed with 4th RD in Miami (l. to Ancic) and defeated Clement in four sets in Davis Cup QF tie in France... Opened clay court play with three consecutive opening round losses, then rebounded with an 18-4 record over next five events... Reached Estoril final (l. to Nalbandian), 3rd RD at AMS Rome (l. to Almagro) and QF at AMS Hamburg (l. to Ancic)... Followed with sixth ATP career title in Poertschach (d. Pavel) and the next week reached QF at Roland Garros (l. to Nalbandian)... Went 0-3 on grass, and returned to clay in Bastad to reach final (l. to Robredo)... Two weeks later, won Sopot title (d. Mayer) and in August claimed his third ATP title by winning New Haven (d. Calleri) without dropping a set... The title marked his first on U.S. soil... Continued to play well with SF at US Open (l. to Federer) and followed with QF in Beijing (ret. vs. Srichaphan), second title in three years in Moscow (d. Safin) and first ATP Masters Series title in Paris (d. Hrbaty)... Won titles on three different surfaces – carpet, clay and hard.
NO. 6 TOMMY ROBREDO (ESP) v NO. 8 JAMES BLAKE (USA)
Head-to-head: Blake leads 3-1
06 Long Island Hard (O) R16 James Blake 63 64
05 US Open Hard (O) R16 James Blake 46 75 62 63
06 Australian Open Hard (O) R32 Tommy Robredo 63 64 64
06 AMS Indian Wells Hard (O) R32 James Blake 62 75
ROBREDO
Birthdate: May 1, 1982
YTD W-L: 48-29
YTD Titles: 2
YTD Prize money: $1,244,675
ATP Ranking: 6
Tournament History: Eliminated from the event after losing his first two round-robin matches. Was defeated by Nikolay Davydenko 76(8) 36 61 in his opening match, before losing to Rafael Nadal 76(2) 62. Is making his Tennis Masters Cup debut.
2006 Highlights:
W: AMS Hamburg (d Stepanek), Bastad (d Davydenko) F: Barcelona (l Nadal) SF: AMS Cincinnati (l Ferrero), Mumbai (l Tursunov), AMS Paris (l Davydenko) QF: Las Vegas (l Karlovic), AMS Monte-Carlo (l Gaudio), Tokyo (l Lee)
2006 Review:
The Barcelona resident has compiled his best season, finishing in the Top 10 for first time with two ATP titles in three finals (all on clay)... His biggest career title came in May at ATP Masters Series Hamburg where he lost only one set in six matches, defeating Stepanek in the final... Broke into the Top 10 at No. 10 on May 8 after reaching the Barcelona final (l. to Nadal) and Monte-Carlo QF, then moved up to No. 7 by capturing Hamburg title with impressive wins over Ferrer (QF), Ancic (SF) and Stepanek (F) in straight sets... In next event, lost to Ancic in five sets in 4th RD at Roland Garros... After going 2-2 on grass, returned on clay in July to win Bastad title (d. No. 5 Davydenko)... Posted his third win over a Top 10 player this season at ATP Masters Series Cincinnati, defeating No. 3 Ljubicic in the QF before losing to Ferrero in semis... Then went into US Open ranked a career-high No. 5 and lost to Youzhny in 4th RD... Played well rest of way with SF in Mumbai (l. to Tursunov), QF in Tokyo (l. to Lee), 3rd RD at ATP Masters Series Madrid (l. to Ginepri) and SF at AMS Paris (l. to Davydenko)... After a 7-10 start, turned around his season on clay in April... Reached final for second time in three years in his hometown... Posted wins over Verdasco, Stepanek and Wawrinka before losing to defending champion Nadal in straight sets... The previous week at Masters Series Monte-Carlo, he defeated Horna, O. Rochus and No. 3 Nalbandian before falling to Gaudio in QF... In January, turned in a career-best 4th RD showing at Australian Open (d. Tursunov, Blake, l. to Nalbandian)... Played in 1st RD Davis Cup tie vs. Belarus and lost to Mirnyi and Voltchkov (in dead rubber)... In March, advanced to QF in Las Vegas (d. Murray, Fish, l. to Karlovic) and followed with a 3rd RD showing in Indian Wells (l. to Blake)... One of two Spaniards (Nadal) competing in Tennis Masters Cup.
BLAKE
Birthdate: December 28, 1979
YTD W-L: 58-23
YTD Titles: 5
YTD Prize money (at start of event): $1,194,295
ATP Ranking: 8
Tournament History: Qualified for the semifinals after winning his first two round-robin matches, guaranteeing that he will finish the group in first place. Defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal 64 76(0) in his opening match, before beating No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko 26 64 75. Is making his Tennis Masters Cup debut.
2006 Highlights:
W: Sydney (d Andreev), Las Vegas (d Hewitt), Indianapolis (d Roddick), Bangkok (d Ljubicic), Stockholm
(d Nieminen) F: AMS Indian Wells (l Federer), London/Queen’s Club (l Hewitt) QF: AMS Miami (l Federer); US Open (l Federer)
2006 Review:
The American compiled his best season by finishing in Top 10 for first time and capturing five ATP titles (on three continents) in seven finals... Finished second on ATP circuit with five titles (along w/ Davydenko, Nadal) behind Federer (11)... Also helped his country to Davis Cup SF before losing to Russia in Moscow... In January, won title in Sydney with wins over Russians Davydenko in SF and Andreev in final in a third set tie-break... Followed with a 3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Robredo)... Helped U.S. to a 4-1 first round Davis Cup victory over Romania by winning both of his singles matches... After back-to-back first round indoor losses in San Jose and Memphis, rebounded back with his fifth career ATP title in Las Vegas in March, defeating No. 10 Hewitt in a three-set final... It was his first career Top 10 win in an ATP final... Broke into Top 10 on Mar. 20 after reaching his first ATP Masters Series final in Indian Wells (l. to Federer)... Became first African-American to rank in Top 10 since Arthur Ashe on Jan. 21, 1980... Then followed with a QF in Miami (l. to Federer)... In March, named 2005 ATP Comeback Player of Year... From August 2005 to October 2006, captured seven ATP titles in ten finals... Prior to that had a career winning mark of .534 with one title and three runner-up showings... Began April by losing both singles rubbers in U.S. 3-2 victory over Chile in Davis Cup QF, including 10-8 in fifth set loss to Gonzalez... In May, advanced to 3rd RD at AMS Hamburg (d. Moya, Murray, l. to Ancic)... Fell to another Croat, No. 4 Ljubicic, in third-set tie-break the following week in Dusseldorf... Turned in best showing at Roland Garros with 3rd RD showing (l. to Monfils in five sets)... At Queen’s, defeated Gimelstob, Ginepri, Monfils and Roddick before falling to in final to Hewitt... Reached 3rd RD at Wimbledon (l. to Mirnyi) and fell to 0-9 in career in five sets... Claimed third title of season by defeating Roddick in Indianapolis... Struggled with a 3-4 record over next four US Open Series appearances, including opening round exit as defending champion in New Haven... Failed to convert five match points in loss to Ramirez-Hidalgo... Played well at US Open with repeat QF result (l. to Federer in four sets), went 1-1 in Davis Cup SF and then won first Asian title in Bangkok (d. Ljubicic)... Followed with repeat title in Stockholm (d. Nieminen).
NO. 3 MARK KNOWLES (BAH)/DANIEL NESTOR (CAN) v NO. 8 MARIUSZ FYRSTENBERG/MARCIN MATKOWSKI (POL)
Head-to-head: Knowles/Nestor lead 2-1
06 Sydney Hard (O) R16 Fyrstenberg/Matkowski 26 63 [13-11]
06 Barcelona Clay (O) F Knowles/Nestor 62 67(4) [10-5]
06 Basel Carpet (I) F Knowles/Nestor 46 64 [10-8]
KNOWLES/NESTOR
Defeated Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic 63 62 in their opening match, before losing to Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi 46 64 76(2)… This marks the eighth appearance for this long-time duo at the season-ending championship... The pair were semifinalists in 2002 and 2003 at the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston and were finalists at the 1998 World Championship... In their first 13 tournament appearances of 2006, either lost in their opener or reached the title match, amassing a finals win-loss record of 4-3 during the span... Reached four consecutive finals beginning with the Delray Beach title in February, followed by runner-up finishes in Marseille and Dubai, and then collected their 15th career ATP Masters Series shield by winning in Indian Wells... In consecutive tournament appearances, captured clay court titles in Barcelona and at ATP Masters Series Rome and reached the final at ATP Masters Series Hamburg... Did not reach another title match until October, when they advanced to the ATP Masters Series Madrid final for the fourth time in five years... Reached the final the following week, winning the title in Basel... Canadian Nestor owns 46 career titles and Bahamian Knowles has 44 titles, ranking them second and third among active players... The two have won an ATP title together in 12 of the last 13 years... They finished as the No. 1 doubles team in 2002 and 2004.
FYRSTENBERG/MATKOWSKI
Lost their first two group matches to Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi 63 64, followed by Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic 63 67(4) 63… This Polish tandem makes their first Tennis Masters Cup appearance after turning in a strong performance to close out the season... The pair amassed 20 match wins before Roland Garros backed by their continued excellence during the Latin American clay court swing and their best career Grand Slam outing, in Melbourne... Started the season by making a run to the Australian Open SF (l. to Damm-Paes)... Reached their first final of the season on clay in Costa do Sauipe and, in April, finished as runners-up in Barcelona... Ramped up their performance in August and September to overtake the No. 8 position in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race... In a four-tournament stretch, took home the Bucharest title, reached the title matches in New Haven and Palermo, and turned in a team-best 3rd RD finish at the US Open... During the European indoor circuit, reached final in Basel (l. to Knowles-Nestor).
NO. 2 JONAS BJORKMAN (SWE)/MAX MIRNYI (BLR) v NO. 5 FABRICE SANTORO (FRA)/NENAD ZIMONJIC (SRB)
Head-to-head: Bjorkman/Mirnyi lead 4-2
06 AMS Indian Wells Hard (O) QF Bjorkman/Mirnyi 46 76(5) [10-5]
06 AMS Monte Carlo Clay (O) F Bjorkman/Mirnyi 62 76(2)
06 AMS Rome Clay (O) QF Bjorkman/Mirnyi 62 76(7)
06 AMS Hamburg Clay (O) QF Santoro/Zimonjic 64 75
06 Wimbledon Grass (O) QF Santoro/Zimonjic 64 64 64
06 AMS Cincinnati Hard (O) QF Bjorkman/Mirnyi 63 64
BJORKMAN/MIRNYI
Won their first two round-robin matches, defeating Marius Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 63 64, and Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor 46 64 76(2)… This was their first-ever victory at Shanghai after losing all three round-robin matches in 2005… Both players make their fourth straight Tennis Masters Cup appearance, and their second as a team... The two-time Roland Garros champions and US Open runners-up gave the Bryans a close contest for No. 1 in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race throughout the season... Won Doha in first tournament of 2006 to assume the top position and regained the No. 1 spot for a couple weeks following successful title defense at Roland Garros, defeating the Bryans in a repeat of the 2005 final... Excelled at ATP Masters Series events, claiming back-to-back titles in Miami and Monte-Carlo and picked up their third AMS shield of the season by defending Cincinnati... Also advanced to the SF in Indian Wells, Rome and Madrid, falling to Knowles and Nestor on each occasion, and at ATP Masters Series Paris... Both players picked up titles outside of the partnership: Bjorkman in San Jose (w/ John McEnroe) and Bastad (w/ Thomas Johansson), Mirnyi in Stuttgart (w/ Gaston Gaudio)... Bjorkman owns 49 career doubles titles, the most among active players... The only top tandem with both players ranked in the Top 100 of the singles rankings... Individually, Bjorkman reached Nottingham final (l. to Gasquet) and made a remarkable run to Wimbledon SF (l. to Federer), his best career singles showing at a Grand Slam event.
SANTORO/ZIMONJIC
Lost their opening match to Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor 63 62, before defeating Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 63 67(4) 63… Reigning Tennis Masters Cup doubles champion Fabrice Santoro joins 2005 runner-up Nenad Zimonjic for this year’s circuit finale... Santoro and compatriot Michael Llodra defeated Zimonjic and Leander Paes 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-6(4) in last year’s title match... Prior to 2006, the Frenchman and Serb had previously collaborated for a QF run in the 2003 Dubai tournament... Enjoyed success early on in their full-time partnership, winning the Sydney doubles title in only their second tournament of 2006... In April, reached the ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo final on clay... Followed by collecting their second team trophy on grass in Halle and by advancing to their first Grand Slam title match at Wimbledon... In October, claimed third team title in Moscow to clinch their Tennis Masters Cup berth... Defeated three Tennis Masters Cup doubles qualifiers (Hanley-Ullyett, Fyrstenberg-Matkowski, Bryan-Bryan) en route to runner-up finish at ATP Masters Series Paris.... Also reached the SF in Dubai and ATP Masters Series Hamburg.
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