• Rafael Nadal and James Blake are both looking to reach the Tennis Masters Cup final on their debut in the event. Sebastian Grosjean is the only player in Tennis Masters Cup history to reach the final on his debut, losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the 2001 final in Sydney.
• Defending champion David Nalbandian and Roger Federer remain on course for a repeat of the 2005 final at Shanghai. For the second successive year, the two players also met in their opening round-robin match, with Federer the winner on both occasions. Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker were the last two players to meet in successive finals at a season-ending championship, at the Masters in 1985-86.
• Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor bid to reach their first final at a year-end championship since 1998 when they take on the first-year partnership of Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, who won all three of their group matches. Knowles and Nestor are making their eighth appearance at a year-end event, but are still looking for their first title.
• Leander Paes, who is also looking for his first year-end doubles title having reached four previous finals, partners Martin Damm against Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, who were undefeated in the Gold Group. Paes was runner-up here last year with Nenad Zimonjic.
DAY SEVEN MATCH-UPS
NO. 1 ROGER FEDERER (SUI) v NO. 2 RAFAEL NADAL (ESP)
Head-to-head: Nadal leads 6-2
04 AMS Miami Hard (O) R32 Rafael Nadal 63 63
05 AMS Miami Hard (O) F Roger Federer 26 67(4) 76(5) 63 61
05 Roland Garros Clay (O) SF Rafael Nadal 63 46 64 63
06 Dubai Hard (O) F Rafael Nadal 26 64 64
06 AMS Monte Carlo Clay (O) F Rafael Nadal 62 67(2) 63 76(5)
06 AMS Rome Clay (O) F Rafael Nadal 67(0) 76(5) 64 26 76(5)
06 Roland Garros Clay (O) F Rafael Nadal 16 61 64 76(4)
06 Wimbledon Grass (O) F Roger Federer 60 76(5) 67(2) 63
Federer ended a five-match losing streak against Nadal with victory in the 2006 Wimbledon final. This is their first meeting before a final since the 2005 Roland Garros semifinals, their only previous semifinal meeting. This is also their first match-up indoors.
FEDERER
Birthdate: August 8, 1981
YTD W-L: 90-5
YTD Titles: 11
YTD Prize money (at start of event): $6,823,885
ATP Ranking: 1
Tournament History: Federer won all three group matches to extend his unbeaten Tennis Masters Cup round-robin record to 15-0. He defeated defending champion David Nalbandian 36 61 61 in his first match, the second successive year he had beaten the Argentine in his opening contest. He then saved three match points to beat Andy Roddick 46 76(8) 64. In his final match he overcame Ivan Ljubicic 76(2) 64.
Federer is making his fifth consecutive Tennis Masters Cup appearance. After reaching the semifinals at Shanghai in 2002, he won consecutive titles at Houston in 2003-04, before his 14-match Masters Cup winning streak was ended in last year’s Shanghai final by Nalbandian.
Federer was honoured on court on Monday evening for his record-setting season, and presented with the INDESIT ATP 2006 Race trophy for finishing the year at No. 1.
Federer’s victory over Roddick on Tuesday saw him become the first professional player to earn $7 million prize money in a season.
Federer’s victory over Ljubicic on Thursday saw him become the first player in over 20 years to win 90 matches in a season. Ivan Lendl went 106-9 in 1982.
2006 Highlights:
W: Doha (d Monfils), Australian Open (d Baghdatis), AMS Indian Wells (d Blake), AMS Miami (d Ljubicic), Halle (d Berdych), Wimbledon (d Nadal), AMS Canada (d Gasquet), Tokyo (d Henman), US Open (d Roddick), AMS Madrid (d Gonzalez), Basel (d Gonzalez) F: Dubai (l Nadal), AMS Monte-Carlo (l Nadal), AMS Rome (l Nadal), Roland Garros (l Nadal)
2006 Review:
The Swiss superstar comes into the Tennis Masters Cup with an ATP-best 11 titles in a career-high 15 finals... Became first player in Open Era to win at least 10 titles three straight years... Advanced to finals in 15 of 16 tournaments played (21 of 22 back to June 2005) during year and only time he failed to reach a final was Cincinnati where he lost in 2nd RD... Finished No. 1 for third straight season and only fifth player since 1973 to end year at No. 1 at least three consecutive years... Became first player to reach all four Grand Slam finals in a year since Rod Laver in 1969 and going back to 2005 Wimbledon, advanced to six straight Slam finals, first player to accomplish that feat since Laver in 1961-62... Also joined Laver as only players to win at least three Grand Slam titles twice in a season (Laver won Grand Slam in 1962, '69)... Going back to June 2005, advanced to 17 consecutive finals, second-best behind Ivan Lendl's 18 straight final appearances in 1981-82... His five losses came to two players -- No. 2 Nadal in finals of Dubai in March, ATP Masters Series Monte-Carlo in April, ATP Masters Series Rome in May and Roland Garros in June and to Andy Murray in 2nd RD of Cincinnati in August... His loss to Murray ended a 55-match winning streak in North America... He also won a record 29 consecutive ATP Masters Series matches since Hamburg in May 2005 (along w/Cincinnati, ’06 Indian Wells, Miami) before Nadal ended streak with his four-set win in Monte-Carlo… Had also won nine consecutive Masters Series finals since 2004... Began year with a repeat title in Doha (d. Monfils) without dropping a set, followed with his third straight Grand Slam crown at Australian Open (d. Baghdatis) and became first player since Pete Sampras in 1993-94 to win three consecutive Slam titles… Returned to action in Dubai and reached final, only to lose to Nadal in three sets…The loss broke his Open Era record 56-match hard court winning streak going back to '05 Australian Open. (l. to Safin in SF)… Moved on to Indian Wells and became first player to win three straight tournament titles (d. Blake)… Then in Miami, defeated Ljubicic in three tie-breaks to repeat his title… Made clay court debut in Monte-Carlo and lost only one set en route to his first final (d. Ferrer in QF, Gonzalez in SF) before losing to Nadal in three hours and 50 minutes... In his next clay court showing in Rome, held two match points against Nadal before falling in a fifth set tie-break in a five hour and five minute marathon... Went into Roland Garros and dropped only two sets en route to his first final in Paris, only to fall in four sets to defending champion Nadal... Then in Halle won four of his five matches in three sets to capture Germany's grass court tournament for a fourth straight year and tie Bjorn Borg's grass court record of 41 consecutive matches won... Saved four match points in his QF victory over O. Rochus... At All England Club dropped his only set to Nadal in title match to capture his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title and join Sampras (7 overall) and Borg (5) as only players to win at least four straight crowns in Open Era... Went undefeated on grass (12-0) for fourth straight year and owns longest grass court winning streak (48)... Returned after Wimbledon and captured ATP Masters Series Toronto title (d. Gasquet)... At US Open, became first player to win three straight US Open titles since Lendl in 1985-87 with his four-set win over Roddick... Then helped his country to '07 Davis Cup World Group with three wins against Serbia... Returned to tour play in Tokyo and captured title (d. Henman) before heading into European indoor circuit... Captured his sixth different ATP Masters Series title in Madrid (d. Gonzalez) and followed with his first hometown title in Basel (d. Gonzalez)... Has ranked No. 1 every week since Feb. 2, 2004, the third-longest consecutive streak (146 as of Nov. 13) behind Jimmy Connors (160) and Ivan Lendl (157)… Will break Connors' mark if he remains No. 1 until Feb. 26, 2007... Stands fifth in Total Weeks at No. 1 behind Sampras (286), Lendl (270), Connors (268), John McEnroe (170), and Federer (146).
NADAL
Birthdate: June 3, 1986
YTD W-L: 59-11
YTD Titles: 5
YTD Prize money (at start of event): $3,416,360
ATP Ranking: 2
Tournament History: Nadal qualified for the semifinals after finishing in second place in his group behind James Blake. He lost to Blake 64 76(0) in his opening match, before defeating Tommy Robredo 76(2) 62, and Nikolay Davydenko 57 64 64.
Nadal is making his Tennis Masters Cup debut. He qualified for last year’s event at Shanghai, but withdrew with a left foot injury.
This is Nadal’s first semifinal appearance in six tour events. He last reached the semifinal stage at 2006 Wimbledon, going on to lose to today’s opponent Federer in the final.
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.
NO. 7 DAVID NALBANDIAN (ARG) v NO. 8 JAMES BLAKE (USA)
Head-to-head: first meeting
NALBANDIAN
Birthdate: January 1, 1982
YTD W-L: 42-18
YTD Titles: 1
YTD Prize money (at start of event): $1,210,040
ATP Ranking: 7
Tournament History: Defending champion Nalbandian narrowly qualified for the semifinals despite losing his first two round-robin matches. He was defeated by Roger Federer 36 61 61 in his first match, the second successive year he has lost to Federer in his opening contest. He then lost to Ivan Ljubicic 57 76(7) 75, having led by a set and 5-3. In his final match he defeated Andy Roddick 62 76(4) to edge out Roddick and Ljubicic on percentage of sets won.
Nalbandian is making his third appearance at the Tennis Masters Cup. Last year he avenged his defeat in his opening match by coming from two sets down to defeat Federer in the final. He went out at the round robin stage in his other previous Masters Cup appearance at Houston in 2003.
2006 Highlights:
W: Estoril (d Davydenko) SF: Australian Open (l Baghdatis), AMS Miami (l Ljubicic), AMS Rome (l Federer), Roland Garros (l Federer), AMS Madrid (l Federer) QF: Vienna (l Gonzalez), Basel (l Wawrinka)
2006 Review:
The No. 1 Argentine and defending Tennis Masters Cup champion is in the process of finishing in the Top 10 for the fourth consecutive season... Jumped off to a 15-5 start in first four months of play and reached a career-high No. 3 INDESIT ATP Ranking on Mar. 20 with SF showings at Australian Open (l. to Baghdatis in five sets) and ATP Masters Series Miami... Became third active player at the time (Agassi, Federer) to reach SF or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments in his career... He and countryman Guillermo Vilas (No. 2 in 1975) are the highest-ranked Argentines in history of ATP Rankings (since 1973)... Helped his country to Davis Cup final with a four-sets win over Sweden's Robin Soderling in 1st RD tie in Buenos Aires and defeated Marin Cilic in QF tie in Croatia... In SF vs. Australia, defeated Philippoussis in straight sets in opening rubber to lift his country to its first Cup final since 1981 (l. to U.S.)... In first three ATP Masters Series tournaments, reached 4th RD in Indian Wells (l. to Srichaphan), SF in Miami (l. to Ljubicic) and 3rd RD in Monte-Carlo (l. to Robredo)... Captured his fifth career ATP title in Estoril (d. Davydenko), then advanced to SF at Rome, losing to Federer in a third set tie-break and at Roland Garros where he was tied one set all against Federer before retiring with a pulled stomach muscle at 2-5 in the third set... Only played four tournaments (4-4 mark) in next two months and advanced to 3rd RD at Wimbledon (l. to Verdasco) and 2nd RD at US Open (l. to Safin)... After helping Argentina to Davis Cup final, played in European indoor circuit and reached QF in Vienna (l. to Gonzalez), SF at ATP Masters Series Madrid (l. to Federer) and QF in Basel (l. to Wawrinka).
BLAKE
Birthdate: December 28, 1979
YTD W-L: 58-24
YTD Titles: 5
YTD Prize money (at start of event): $1,194,295
ATP Ranking: 8
Tournament History: Blake won the Gold Group despite losing his final round-robin match on Friday to Tommy Robredo 62 36 75. He defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal 64 76(0) in his opening match, before beating No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko 26 64 75. He 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. 4 PAUL HANLEY (AUS)/KEVIN ULLYETT (ZIM)
Head-to-head: Hanley/Ullyett lead 2-0
06 Dubai Hard (O) F Hanley/Ullyett 16 62 [10-1]
06 AMS Hamburg Clay (O) F Hanley/Ullyett 62 76(8)
KNOWLES/NESTOR
Qualified from the Gold Group in second place with two group wins… Defeated Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic 63 62, then lost to Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi 46 64 76(2), before defeating Marius Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 63 63… 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... Lost all three round-robin matches at the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup… 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.
HANLEY/ULLYETT
Won the Red Group with three group wins… Defeated Martin Damm and Leander Paes 76(6) 46 63, then Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 64 64, then Bob and Mike Bryan 36 76(4) 64… The Aussie-Zimbabwean duo enter the Tennis Masters Cup as one of the most successful first-year partnerships of 2006... In their first tournament together, the duo reached the Adelaide final... Followed with a run to the SF of the Australian Open in their Grand Slam debut... In February, claimed their first team title in Rotterdam and the next week won in Dubai... Early hard court success translated over to clay – in the form of the ATP Masters Series title in Hamburg – and then to grass, with the duo capturing the Stella Artois crown... Excelled during the summer swing taking on the top-seeded Bryans in back-to-back finals in Washington and Canada... Capped their summer success with a run to the US Open SF... Returned in October to capture fifth team title in Stockholm and reach the SF at ATP Masters Series Madrid... Both players are making their third appearance in the season-ending championship... Hanley paired with countryman Wayne Arthurs in 1999 and 2005, while 2004 doubles runner-up Ullyett partnered compatriot Wayne Black the last two years.
NO. 2 JONAS BJORKMAN (SWE)/MAX MIRNYI (BLR) v NO. 6 MARTIN DAMM (CZE)/LEANDER PAES (IND)
Head-to-head: Damm/Paes lead 3-1
06 Australian Open Hard (O) QF Damm/Paes 36 63 64
06 AMS Toronto Hard (O) QF Damm/Paes 76(4) 75
06 AMS Cincinnati Hard (O) SF Bjorkman/Mirnyi 76(3) 62
06 US Open Hard (O) F Damm/Paes 67(5) 64 63
BJORKMAN/MIRNYI
Won the Gold Group with three group wins… Defeated Marius Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 63 64, then Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor 46 64 76(2), then Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic 63 76(7)… Both players make their fourth straight Tennis Masters Cup appearance, and their second as a team... Lost all three round-robin matches at the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup… 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.
DAMM/PAES
Narrowly qualified from the Red Group in second place despite losing their first two round-robin matches… Lost to Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett 76(6) 46 63, then Bob and Mike Bryan 62 67(4) 76(5), before defeating Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 64 76(6)… After a combined 29 years and 65 career doubles titles on the ATP circuit, the doubles veterans joined forces for the first time this year... Secured their spot in Tennis Masters Cup by winning their first Grand Slam title at the US Open, the one Grand Slam title eluding former doubles No. 1 Paes and the first career Slam title for Damm... Started 2006 with run to the Australian Open final in their Grand Slam debut (l. to Bryan-Bryan)... Did not advance to another final until June in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where they captured their first team title (d. Clement-Haggard)... Maintained momentum by achieving SF finishes at Wimbledon and the ATP Masters Series events in Toronto and Cincinnati before going on hoist the US Open trophy (d. Bjorkman-Mirnyi)... Both players have made previous appearances at the season-ending championship... Paes is a two-time event finalist, in 2000 with countryman Mahesh Bhupathi and in 2005 with Nenad Zimonjic... Damm made Tennis Masters Cup appearances in 2003 and 2004 with compatriot Cyril Suk.
