Tennis: Teenager Rune upsets Djokovic to win Paris Masters

PARIS, France -- Danish teenager Holger Rune shocked six-time champion Novak Djokovic to clinch his first Masters title in Paris on Sunday after coming from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. 

Rune, 19, became the youngest winner of the Paris tournament since an 18-year-old Boris Becker in 1986 after beating five top-10 players in as many days -- the first to do so in the same tournament.

He is the fifth first-time Masters winner this season and will be the first Danish man to break into the top 10 on Monday.

"It's probably the best feeling of my life, of my whole career," said Rune.

"It's kind of a small dream come true, even though I have bigger dreams."

After winning the title in Stockholm either side of runner-up finishes in Sofia and Basel, Rune began his run to a fourth straight final by saving three match points in the opening round to beat Stan Wawrinka.

He then took down Hubert Hurkacz followed by Andrey Rublev before seeing off Carlos Alcaraz as the world number one retired with injury while trailing by a set in the quarter-finals.

Rune snapped Felix Auger-Aliassime's 16-match winning streak to set up the clash with Djokovic, who had not lost at Bercy since his defeat to Karen Khachanov in the 2018 final.

"It was also very important for me to beat Felix and Alcaraz and these guys," said Rune.

"But still, to be able to beat Novak on such an occasion, and he's probably one of the greatest we have ever had in this sport -- it's a crazy feeling to be able to beat him in this final."

Serbia's Djokovic came into Sunday's final having won 21 of 22 matches since the start of Wimbledon, which he won for the seventh time in July to match Pete Sampras.

"For somebody who is so young to show this composure and maturity in the big match like this is very impressive. He's had a week of his life," said Djokovic.

He broke for a 3-1 lead as Rune served back-to-back double faults in the biggest final of his career to date.

Djokovic comfortably held out to pocket the opening set and looked to have Rune on the ropes when he surged 40-0 ahead on his opponent's serve in the first game of the second set.

- Turning point -

But Rune battled back superbly to thwart Djokovic and then swung the momentum in his favor by immediately breaking to go 2-0 up the following game, which proved enough to force a decider.

The 16-year age gap between the pair was the biggest in a Masters final since Rafael Nadal, then 19, defeated 35-year-old Andre Agassi in Montreal in 2005.

Rune's inexperience resurfaced when he double-faulted attempting a big second serve to hand Djokovic a 3-1 edge, but the Dane showed his remarkable character to break back straight away.

Instead it was Djokovic who cracked when the pressure was highest, spearing a forehand wide to present Rune with the chance to serve for the trophy.

Rune withstood six break points in a marathon final game before securing the title after two hours and 34 minutes to complete an incredible week in the French capital.

"It was the most stressful game of my life," said Rune of the gripping finale. "My heart was almost in my brain. I was already starting to think about the tie-break. I'm very proud I could finish it."

Rune is qualified for next week's Next Gen Finals in Milan, but with his victory over Djokovic he also becomes the first alternate for the ATP Finals in Turin from November 13-20.

Djokovic will turn his focus to winning the season-ending finals for a record-equalling sixth time, to draw level with Roger Federer. 

"Of course I'm disappointed with the loss today, but I was very close," said Djokovic.

"It was just very few points that decided a winner. But the level of tennis that I'm playing is high, and I like my chances (in Turin).

"Every match is like a final there. There are no easy matches."

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Medvedev wears down Zverev in Paris to claim third Masters title

PARIS -- Russian Daniil Medvedev outclassed German Alexander Zverev 5-7 6-4 6-1 in the Paris final on Sunday to claim his third Masters title.

The third seed, who also defeated Zverev in the Shanghai final last year, returned strongly throughout the match to take his first title of the year.

Medvedev, 24, had more energy in the deciding set and made the most of his opportunities against an inconsistent Zverev, who had won five of their six previous meetings.

A double fault earned the Russian his eighth ATP title after two hours and seven minutes.

Medvedev said he pulled off the win by making his "opponent crazy".

Both players had a high first serve percentage early on, holding comfortably. Zverev went 40-0 up on the Russian's serve at 6-5 to earn the first break points of the match.

Medvedev saved the first two by dictating the rallies, but he whacked a forehand long on the third and conceded his second set of the tournament.

Zverev faced his first break points in a fiercely contested third game in the second set, which he won, but he dropped serve in the ninth game when he sent a crosscourt backhand long.

Medvedev won his service game to love to level the match and send it into a decider.

He broke to love, held serve after saving four break points and broke again thanks to a booming service return as he moved 4-0 up.

With his confidence shattered, Zverev never looked capable of mounting a comeback as Medvedev added to his 2019 Shanghai and Cincinnati Masters titles.

Both players will take part in the season-ending ATP Tour Finals at the O2 in London from Nov. 15-22.

Medvedev, the fourth Russian player to win at Bercy after three-time champion Marat Safin, Nikolay Davydenko and Karen Khachanov, said he would go into the tournament full of confidence.

"I'm coming in better shape than last year. Last year I was real exhausted, I had lost in the first round in Paris. That's when you lose your confidence," he said.

"When you lose the first round, you always lose your confidence." 

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond and Pritha Sarkar)

-reuters-

Tennis: Djokovic sends warning to rivals with Paris Masters title

PARIS - World number one Novak Djokovic saw off Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 to win a record-extending fifth Paris Masters title on Sunday in a warning to his rivals ahead of the ATP Finals.

The Serbian faced only one break point in another impressive display to claim a 34th career Masters title against world number 28 Shapovalov, who was playing his first final at that level.

"I served very well, there were not many rallies in the match. A break in each set was enough, it was the best serving performance in this tournament," said Djokovic, who did not drop a set this week as he won his 77th ATP title.

"It was his first Masters final so in a way experience prevailed. But I played very solidly today. Maybe he lost his focus a bit."

Shapovalov, who will reach a career-high 15th in the ATP rankings on Monday, ended the tournament with a sense of pride, knowing that there was little he could do against an almost unplayable Djokovic.

"Credit to Novak," he said. "Of course it's a tough ending but he was the better player," added the Canadian, who has now lost all four of his matches against 16-times grand slam winner Djokovic.

Djokovic, who started the week with a cold, is now one Masters title shy of Rafael Nadal's all-time record and on Sunday, the 32-year-old was untouchable at the Bercy arena.

Djokovic, who will be supplanted by Nadal at top of the ATP rankings on Monday, made a fine start, stealing Shapovalov's first service game as he opened a 3-0 lead.

The Serb was never threatened in the opening set, dropping only four points on serve as Shapovalov looked tight having not played on Saturday following Nadal's withdrawal.

The 20-year-old faced a break point in the first game of the second set, saving it with a powerful first serve but a forehand error on Djokovic's second opportunity gave his opponent a decisive 4-3 lead.

Djokovic then held serve throughout to snatch a morale-boosting victory ahead of the Nov. 10-17 ATP Finals in London, where he will be looking to secure the year-end world number one spot.

"I'm in a better position (to finish the season as world number one) than I was before this tournament but the only thing I can do is to focus on my game," said Djokovic.

Nadal's participation in the Finals is in doubt after the Spaniard sustained an abdominal injury in the warm-up to Saturday's semi-final in Paris.

Twenty-times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer skipped the event to be fresh for the season-ender at the O2. 

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Ill Djokovic survives scare in Paris opener, Nadal also through

PARIS, France -- Novak Djokovic defied illness to survive a scare against French lucky loser Corentin Moutet and reach the third round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday, while Rafael Nadal saw off a plucky challenge from Adrian Mannarino.

Top seed Djokovic, locked in a battle with Nadal for the year-end world number one spot, had to save two set points in the first set before beating the 97th-ranked Moutet 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.

The 32-year-old will play Britain's Kyle Edmund on Thursday in the last 16 as he continues his bid for a record-extending fifth Bercy title.

"I don't feel health-wise 100 percent in the last couple of days, but it is what it is," said Djokovic, who was struggling with a sore throat.

"It affects your energy, your vitality on the court. Obviously it's not ideal, but in these kind of circumstances you just have to accept it and do everything that you can to recover."

Nadal, who is guaranteed to usurp Djokovic at the rankings summit next week ahead of the ATP Tour Finals in London, beat home wildcard Mannarino 7-5, 6-4 to set up a clash with three-time Grand Slam title-winner Stan Wawrinka.

Djokovic, who was beaten by Karen Khachanov in last year's final, found himself in a spot of bother when Moutet broke his serve in the seventh game before saving four break points to seize a 5-3 lead.

But the home hope saw two set points come and go in the following game, with Djokovic quickly taking advantage to break back and level the set.

The Serbian took control as the opener entered a tie-break and Moutet smashed a ball into the crowd in anger as his opportunity for an upset looked to have disappeared, with his opponent cruising through the breaker.

Moutet delighted the crowd with an outrageous 'hotdog' lob over Djokovic early in the second set, but the 16-time Grand Slam champion belatedly found his form.

Djokovic did let one break slip after leading 4-1, but closed out victory on his first match point with a forehand winner.

- Nadal does enough -

Nadal was not at his imperious best against world number 43 Mannarino, but did enough to win with relative comfort.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion, who has never won the tournament but does hold a record 35 Masters titles, will hope to improve in the third round against Wawrinka after the Swiss beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5).

Nadal, playing his first event since getting married earlier this month, can secure the year-end top ranking for a fifth time by winning the trophy on Sunday.

"(It's) not easy to come back after a while without being on the tour," he said. "Tomorrow is another day, another tough match against Stan. Every day on this tournament is so difficult."

Mannarino kept Nadal at arm's length for almost an hour in the first set, but the Spaniard took his fourth set point in the 12th game to forge ahead.

There was a similar pattern to the second set, but again the second seed went through the gears when necessary and a sloppy service game from Mannarino sealed his fate.

Earlier in the day, fifth seed Dominic Thiem booked his spot in the last 16 by edging out Milos Raonic in a marathon encounter.

Thiem, who has lost the last two French Open finals to Nadal across Paris at Roland Garros, had to dig deep to get past Raonic 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 6-4 as the Canadian powered down 30 aces in a thunderous serving display.

"It was unbelievable today, his serve," admitted the Austrian.

Thiem will face Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16 after the Bulgarian's 7-5, 6-3 win over 12th seed David Goffin.

World number seven Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his return to form with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory over American Taylor Fritz.

He will take on Alex de Minaur in round three after the Australian's 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/1) victory over ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Khachanov shocks Djokovic to win Paris crown

PARIS -- Karen Khachanov caused one of the shocks of the tennis year by overpowering Novak Djokovic, 7-5 6-4, in the Paris Masters final to end the Serbian's remarkable spell of dominance in the men's game on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Russian has for some time been seen as one of the rising young talents of the sport but few could have envisaged his demolition of the Serbian superstar, who was on a three-month, 22-match winning streak.

Djokovic was expected to celebrate his return to world number one on Monday with a record-extending fifth Paris title but he went down in one hour AND 37 minutes amid a hail of 31 crushing winners from the Muscovite's racket.

Khachanov, a strapping 6-foot-6 huge hitter with surprisingly fleet movement around the court, took advantage of Djokovic appearing to be a little under-the-weather after a week struggling with flu-like symptoms.

Yet even though the Serb may also have been suffering from the after-effects of his epic three-hour win over Roger Federer in the semi-final on Saturday, nothing could be taken away from the outstanding quality of Khachanov's attacking game.

Earning his fourth straight win over a top-10 player this week, Khachanov, whose muscular game resembles that of his childhood hero Marat Safin, the last Russian winner in Paris, picked up the biggest title of his burgeoning career.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'One of my best': Djokovic edges Federer in Paris Masters thriller

PARIS, France -- Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer on Saturday in a Paris Masters semi-final that he described as "one of the best matches" between the long-time rivals to extend his winning run to 22 outings.

The Serb, who will replace Rafael Nadal as world number one on Monday, outlasted Federer in just over three hours to prevail 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 7-6 (7/3). 

He will meet Russia's Karen Khachanov in Sunday's final as he looks to pull level with Nadal on 33 career Masters titles.

Djokovic has won his last four meetings with Federer and now leads the Swiss 25-22 overall, having not lost to the 20-time Grand Slam champion since 2015.

"We had epic matches throughout our rivalry but this one definitely ranks as one of the best matches we played," said Djokovic, who is aiming to clinch a fourth title in a row after wins at Cincinnati, the US Open and Shanghai.

"High quality tennis. Next to the match I played against Nadal in the semis of Wimbledon, this was definitely the most exciting match I was playing this year, and probably the best quality tennis match that I was part of.

"When I get to play Roger, I know I have to get the best out of myself in order to win. And that's why our rivalries and matches are so special."

Djokovic will go in search of a fifth Paris trophy after denying Federer a shot at a historic 100th title, although the Wimbledon and US Open champion was pushed all the way by his 37-year-old rival.

Djokovic watched four break points, one of which Federer saved with a magnificent reflex volley, go by as he led 4-3 in the opening set, before saving a set point on his serve in the tie-break.

A Federer backhand drifted wide to hand Djokovic the lead, although two more break points passed the Serb by in the first game of the second set with the Swiss on the ropes.

The missed opportunity proved costly when Federer conjured up just a second break point of the contest at 6-5, converting in style as he gambled on Djokovic going cross-court before batting a winner down the line to force a decider.

Federer fended off two more break points to open the third set as Djokovic hit the deck when his ankle appeared to catch in the surface.

The Serb threw his racket down in frustration as Federer again escaped from 15-40 down to move 5-4 ahead, but the Swiss star's magic fizzled out as the final set headed to a tie-break. 

- 'Novak on a roll' -

Djokovic rattled off six successive points to bring up five match points, clinching victory at the third attempt when Federer picked out the net to end a tense concluding rally.

"Novak is obviously on a roll. You can feel it. At the end it came down to a few things here and there," said Federer.

"But overall I'm happy with my game. It's better than last week in Basel. There I won the tournament and here I played in the semis and it needed somebody of Novak's calibre to beat me. 

"So that's all right. And I'm looking forward to a rest now and a good preparation for London (ATP Finals)."

Earlier, the 22-year-old Khachanov advanced to his first Masters final after beating Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1.

"I'm really happy to achieve this, to make it to the finals. But the tournament is not over. I mean, I'm looking forward to play finals tomorrow," said the 18th-ranked Russian.

The 1.98m Khachanov dominated from the baseline and attacked the Thiem service, breaking the Austrian in his final five service games of the match.

Khachanov has won two ATP World Tour titles in 2018 with triumphs in Marseille and at the Kremlin Cup.

"I am very happy with the way I have been playing," said the Russian who is assured of climbing at least to 12th in the ATP rankings when they are published on Monday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Sock snatches last ATP Finals spot with Paris title

PARIS - American Jack Sock snatched the last spot in the eight-man field for the season-ending ATP Finals when he beat Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic 5-7 6-4 6-1 to win the Paris Masters title on Sunday.

The 16th-seeded Sock became the first American to win the singles title at the tournament since Andre Agassi in 1999.

Sock, who started the week in 24th position in the Race to London, needed to win the title to leapfrog Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta to ensure he will play in the Nov. 12-19 event in London.

He did just that with a solid performance, wearing down the defence of world number 77 Krajinovic.

"I obviously snuck into ... London unexpectedly so zero pressure on me to go there," said Sock, the first American man to make it into the singles draw of the season-finale since Mardy Fish in 2011.

"I'm going to swing big and play my game, like I always do, and just honestly enjoy the moment."

Sock won his first two service games to love but ran into a spot of bother in the sixth game. He served and volleyed to save a break point but a double fault handed Krajinovic a break and a 4-2 lead.

The American broke straight back but a fine forehand earned the Serb a set point and Sock made a mess of another forehand as his opponent, who defended well, took the lead.

Krajinovic, however, lost his focus and a forehand error gave Sock an early break in the second set. The Serb fell 4-1 behind and could only break back once, Sock levelling for one-set all.

The momentum had shifted and Sock, who will finish the year as the American number one for the first time, raced through the deciding set to claim his maiden Masters title.

Despite the defeat, Krajinovic will climb to a career-high 33 in the rankings on Monday and the 25-year-old is aiming higher.

"I know that I will work even more right now. That's for sure. Pressure is part of the sport," he said.

"Everybody has pressure in life. Of course, I am going to have more. People will expect more from me right now. They see I can do it.

"But if I want to be better, I have to handle that. So I will work on that also. So I hope next year will be better."

(Reporting by Julien Pretot,; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Murray begins Tour Finals with Cilic showdown

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Andy Murray will face Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic in the ATP Tour Finals group stage as the newly crowned world number one looks to win the prestigious tournament for the first time.

Murray has never been past the semi-finals at the season-ending event, but the Scot arrives at London's O2 Arena with a huge incentive to take the title.

The 29-year-old shattered Novak Djokovic's 122-week reign at top of the world rankings over the weekend by reaching the final of the Paris Masters.

To ensure his first taste of the number one position lasts more than two weeks, Murray must match or better Djokovic's performance at the Tour Finals, a tournament the Serb has won for the last four years.

After toasting his success while flying back to London on a private jet after winning the Paris Masters on Sunday, Murray was back to business on Monday as he learned his initial opponents in the Tour Finals.

Murray has had mixed results against his group rivals this year, losing to Japan's Nishikori in the US Open quarter-finals after beating him at the Rio Olympics and in the Davis Cup.

He has lost three of his last four matches against world number three Wawrinka, including in last year's group stage, although he did beat the Swiss in their only meeting this year in the French Open semi-finals.

Murray was also beaten by former US Open champion Cilic in their last meeting, in the Cincinnati final, but he defeated the Croatian in the Queen's Club semi-finals in June.

After winning Wimbledon for a second time and then taking the second Olympic singles gold of his career, Murray can cap a dream year by lifting the Tour Finals trophy.

"Yesterday was a great day, today has just been a normal day at home with the family," said Murray, whose first match of the Tour Finals will be against Cilic next Monday.

"Once you're out on the court you don't think about your ranking. You're playing against the top eight players in the world. I look forward to getting out there and playing at the O2.

"I'll try and take a few days rest now, start hitting again on Thursday. I need a few days' break.

"It will be one big push for all the guys. Everyone has played a lot of tennis and hopefully everyone can play well."

After looking invincible in the first half of the year, Djokovic, who faces Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem in the other group, suddenly finds himself playing second fiddle to Murray.

The reigning Australian and French Open champion will play in the first match of the Tour Finals on Sunday against rising Austrian star Thiem.

Draw for the ATP World Tour finals group stage made in London on Monday (x denotes seeding):

Group McEnroe

Andy Murray (GBR x1)

Stan Wawrinka (SUI x3)

Kei Nishikori (JPN x5)

Marin Cilic (CRO x7)


Group Lendl

Novak Djokovic (SRB x2)

Milos Raonic (CAN x4)

Gael Monfils (FRA x 6)

Dominic Thiem (AUT x8)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Murray caps rise to number one with Paris title

PARIS, France -- Andy Murray celebrated his new world number one ranking with a first Paris Masters title on Sunday after defeating American John Isner 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 in the final.

Murray, 29, replaces Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings on Monday and claimed his eighth title of a remarkable season after extending his winning run to 19 matches.

"This has been an incredible journey for me to get to the top of the rankings," said Murray, who will move 405 points above long-time rival Djokovic.

"Sometimes after you achieve something big or something that you maybe didn't expect, it can be quite easy to have a letdown and feel a little bit flat.

"I felt really nervous before the match today, and I was happy about that."

He added: "It would be nice to finish the year number one, but I'm happy that I managed to get there."

It is the Briton's fourth title in succession after wins in Beijing, Shanghai and Vienna and his 14th career Masters 1000 triumph.

Murray will next look to end Djokovic's four-year dominance at the November 13-20 Tour Finals in London.

For Isner, who finishes the season without a title for the first time since 2009, it was his third appearance in a Masters final after finishing runner-up at Indian Wells in 2012 and Cincinnati in 2013.

"I have to congratulate Andy, first for the title, and then for getting to number one in the world. That's an incredible achievement, you absolutely deserve it," said Isner.

"It's a good week for me. It's definitely disappointing. I certainly wasn't happy to be there today, getting to the finals, I wasn't happy about that.

"I wanted to win, and I expected to win. I just fell a little bit short."

- Eight in a row -

Murray entered his Tour-leading 12th final of the year having won all seven previous meetings with Isner, including straight-sets wins at Roland Garros in May and last week in Vienna.

The towering American had dropped serve just three times en route to the final but netted a routine volley to hand Murray break point in the fifth game.

His backhand then sailed long the following rally as Murray forged ahead, saving two break points on his ensuing service game before claiming the opening set.

Murray fought off four break points after rebounding from 0-40 at 3-4 in the second set, but Isner prevailed in the tie-break after a costly double fault from the second seed.

The Scot was then frustrated as he twice failed to convert break points during Isner's first two service games in the deciding set.

But Murray held firm and was rewarded when Isner faltered as he tried to stay in the match serving at 4-5 down.

The world number 27 dug himself out of a hole after trailing 0-30, but a backhand volley into the net presented Murray with match point.

Isner approached the net once more and Murray's return was again too hot to handle, leaving the new number one to hoist aloft the trophy.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Djokovic close to sealing number one status after Paris title

PARIS - Novak Djokovic bolstered his hopes of holding on to his world number status until the end of the season with a 6-2 6-3 defeat of big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic to retain the Paris Masters title on Sunday.

The top seeded Serb, who did not drop a set in Bercy on his way to a third title there, tamed seventh seed Raonic's serve throughout a one-sided encounter.

"I played the best match of the entire week today when it was most needed," Djokovic, who has yet to win the French Open at nearby Roland Garros, told a news conference.

His 600th career win extended Djokovic's unbeaten indoors run to 27 and gave him his 20th Masters title while Raonic, who will have to do more than serve big if he wants to climb higher up the ladder, lost his second Masters.

Both players will be taking part in the ATP World Tour Finals from Nov. 9-16 in London, where Djokovic will be favourite to secure the world number one spot for 2014 after he more than doubled his points lead over Roger Federer.

"I see it better now than one week ago, that's for sure. It helps that I won the title in Bercy, that I'm playing well, and that I'm feeling good about myself on the court playing indoors," said Djokovic.

If he performs at the o2 Arena like he did in Paris there appears little doubt he will top the year-end standings for the third time in his career.

Djokovic stole his opponent's first service game as he raced to a 3-0 lead against a nervy Raonic.

The Canadian, who lost in the Montreal Masters final last year, saved three more break points in the sixth game, two of them with aces.

In the following game, Djokovic fell 0-40 down on his serve but Raonic lacked the authority to convert the break points.

Seven-times grand slam champion Djokovic called for a trainer to massage his right leg at the change of ends but the problem did not seem to bother him as he returned to the court to wrap the opening set on Raonic's serve after two awful unforced errors by the Canadian.

Things went from bad to worse for Raonic, who was limited to nine aces after bombing down 21 against Federer in the quarter-finals, as he produced a double fault to go 2-0 down.

"He neutralized my serve well. Even when I was able to open him on the backhand side, he was moving really well. He was always getting two hands on it," Raonic explained.

"It just elevated a certain pressure or demand of having to serve close to the lines, which weighs on your shoulders when the guy is playing as well as he did today."

"The key points of the match today was to get as many returns back in play. It's easier said than done when somebody serves regularly around 220 kilometres an hour," Djokovic said.

"He uses that as his big weapon. Throughout the week that was his best shot. He relies on the serve very much in his game."

The Serb comfortably held serve and set up two match points in the eighth game, only for Raonic to save them with a service winner and a forehand passing shot.

Djokovic, however, bagged his sixth title of the season with a forehand down the line winner on his third match point in the following game.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Martyn Herman)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Murray books London place, Federer eases through

PARIS - Andy Murray guaranteed his place at the World Tour Finals on Thursday while Roger Federer joined him in the Paris Masters quarter-finals to keep his quest for the number one spot alive.

Murray played almost flawless tennis as he breezed to a 6-3, 6-3 third-round victory over Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

The 27-year-old Scot, who also stays on course for a fourth tournament victory in just six weeks, will now play either world number one Novak Djokovic or French showman Gael Monfils on Friday for a semi-final place.

Murray joins Djokovic, Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic in reaching the season-ending showpiece in London with David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori in possession of the other three spots but not yet assured places.

Canada's Milos Raonic is now the only player who can gatecrash the top eight but needs to win the Paris tournament to guarantee his place.

Federer kept the pressure on Djokovic in the race for the year-ending number one spot with a gritty 6-4, 6-4 victory over French world number 176 Lucas Pouille.

A crucial break for the 17-time Grand Slam winner in the seventh game of the second set, the longest of the match, paved the way for victory over Pouille, who came through as a qualifier and had only recorded one Tour-level win before Paris this week.

It was Federer's 14th straight victory and sets up a quarter-final matchup against Raonic.

"It was a difficult match against an opponent who had nothing to lose but I played well even if he put me under pressure and I'm very satisfied," said Federer.

"I feel pretty good and fresh in my head despite a lot of matches lately so now looking forward to tomorrow (Friday)."

Murray aimed a humourous retort at critics who have accused him of having had a poor season by writing "Bad Year!" on the courtside camera lens after his match.

"No, it wasn't a jibe, it's a bit of fun," Murray said.

"I mean, if people are going to ask me all the time why I've had such a poor year by my standards, then, yeah, you're allowed sometimes to say something in response to that.

"It's been a hard year, a tough year, but it hasn't been a bad year and it could have been a lot worse. Coming back from a surgery (on his back) is not easy at all, and I learned that.

"I had to dig deep at the end of this year in some ways to salvage the year, if you like.

"I would've signed up for being in this position when I had the surgery last year, I think."

- Berdych closes on London -

Berdych is one win from also sealing his place in London after easing into the last eight with a comfortable win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.

Following a first-round defeat at the Valencia Open last week, the 29-year-old Czech evened his record against Lopez at six wins apiece with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

Chasing an 11th ATP title, and third of the year, the Australian Open semi-finalist now plays South African 14th seed Kevin Anderson for a place in the semi-finals.

Anderson won a three-hour thriller over Swiss third seed Wawrinka 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 7-6 (7/3).

The two-time ATP winner, who had never been past the third round in Paris, converted a third match point to set up the meeting with Berdych.

"It was a great match and some of my best matches have been against Stan," said a delighted Anderson.

"I'm going to enjoy this win and later tonight I'll start thinking about tomorrow (Friday)."

Former champion Ferrer kept his quest on track to reach a second straight Paris final as he swept aside Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2.

He needs to reach the semi-finals to guarantee his spot in London and will now face Japanese star Nishikori.

Nishikori is firmly on track to become the first Japanese player to qualify for the World Finals after defeating French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Raonic kept his slender London chances alive with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-6 (9/7) victory over Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com