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Break Points: Catching up with the Asian Swing

By Lindsay on October 7, 2014

Notable Results:

  • Beijing F: (4) Maria Sharapova d. (3) Petra Kvitova 6-4 2-6 6-4
  • Beijing F: (1) Novak Djokovic d. (3) Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-2
  • Tokyo F: (4) Kei Nishikori d. (3) Milos Raonic 7-6 4-6 6-4
  • Shanghai R1: Ivo Karlovic d. (9) Marin Cilic 7-5 2-6 7-6
  • Shanghai R1: Jack Sock d. Bernard Tomic 7-6 6-7 6-4
  • Shanghai R1: Chuhan Wang d. (15) Fabio Fognini 7-6 6-4
  • Linz R1: Camila Giorgi d. (4) Andrea Petkovic 6-1 6-2
  • Tianjin R1: (1) Jelena Jankovic d. Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2 0-6 6-0

News & Analysis:

Sorry for the mini hiatus, you guys. The Asian Swing is tough! I’ll do my best to get caught up on all of the action from the last 10 days or so, and be sure to mention anything I missed in the comments. I promise to do better going forward…at least for Singapore.

So, let’s talk about Rafael Nadal, shall we? Last week in Beijing he lost to Martin Klizan. Here’s what the Slovak had to say about it:

‘As I said, Rafa was the better player on the court. He was a set up, 4-2, with break,’ said Klizan, who won 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3. ‘I was just fighting. I just didn’t want to lose the match and give to Rafa for free. So I was just fighting. I think it helped me that I was very concentrate on that match.

‘I just thought that I could play with Rafa, with anyone else. Doesn’t matter who is on the opposite side. I think my tennis is now great. I think I can beat anyone on tour. I’m just very happy that I beat Rafa. He’s a legend. I’m just very happy that I beat a legend.’

Now, this week, Nadal is going to play in Shanghai despite having appendicitis. Alrighty then.

Before we continue, I’d be remiss not to mention a fantastic new tennis site, The Tennis Island, launched by friends of The Changeover. Be sure to check it out.

Marin Cilic isn’t back in GOAT mode, but he’s not worried about it. The tennis is good and he’s enjoying the photo shooting:

Q.  You have a Chinese sponsor, Li Ning.  How has that been after winning the Open?  Have there been a lot of activities, more so than you might have had to do a couple years ago?
MARIN CILIC:  I did a lot in Beijing, getting big support from Chinese fans.  Obviously it’s a big plus having a Chinese sponsor over here.  The market is so big, I mean, if you are doing well, they are exposing me here in China.  I did a lot of interviews, a lot of photo shootings and things like that.
I feel normal.  As I was mentioning, I was in Beijing a little bit drained out from all the things I did.  But now I’m feeling fresh.  Tennis is in a good spot.

 

Well, Fabio Fognini went 0-2 in Asia, and he handled it with typical class, flicking off the crowd in Shanghai yesterday after crashing out to hometown hero Chuhan Wang, ranked No. 553. I can’t wait to see what the fine is for that. Ridiculous.

I’m late to this (SURPRISE), but I love reading about SI.com’s Courtney Nguyen’s travel adventures in China. Lots of humor and lots of insight into Asian culture.

Serena pulled out of Beijing with a knee problem. Fingers crossed that she’ll be healthy enough to compete in Singapore, because, OHMYGOD I AM SO EXCITED FOR SINGAPORE. The top eight is AMAZING, and it wouldn’t be the same without Serena.

There are just a lot of things going on in Linz.

If you dare: Sergiy Stakhovsky pulled out of Mons to defend Ukraine’s honor, and Pete Bodo has a take on it.

If you missed the finals of Beijing and Tokyo, the great Steve Tignor has you covered. Why must I sleep??? WHHYYYY????

The Race to London is mighty exciting, you guys. Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, and Wawrinka are in. Nishikori is looking good after Tokyo, though far from a lock. Cilic, Berdych, Raonic, Murray, Ferrer, and Dimitrov are all within 500 points of each other, and everyone except for Cilic is still alive in Shanghai. Bookmark this page for live Race updates.

Tennis on Twitter:


Lindsay is an author, a filmmaker, a long-winded blogger, and a huge tennis fan.

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3 Responses

  1. kwando
    kwando October 8, 2014 at 2:51 am |

    Isn’t Cilic basically assured a WTF spot because of that weird rule where a Grand Slam champion who ends in the Top 20 gets a spot?

    1. Master Ace
      Master Ace October 8, 2014 at 8:46 am |

      That is what I thought also.

  2. Boys sweating, the Race to London ongoing « NOT ON COURT
    Boys sweating, the Race to London ongoing « NOT ON COURT October 8, 2014 at 2:56 am |

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