Marat Safin called it a day on November 11, 2009. After falling to Juan Martin del Potro in the second round of the BNP Paribas Masters, the Russian decided to retire from the ATP World Tour and put an end to a brilliant career. Safin reached the top of the Emirates ATP Rankings in November 2000, won the 2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open, and lifted another 13 ATP World Tour titles during his career. He also placed a pivotal role in helping Russia win the Davis Cup in 2002 and 2006. Although some tennis experts believe he could have achieved even more, Safin still believes he gave the sport everything he could. “I don’t regret anything,” said Safin....
Andy Murray has clinched year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, the 17th different player to do so in history (since 1973). The milestone was achieved in dramatic fashion on Sunday when he beat his rival for top spot, Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4 in the title match of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 in London. It was the first time in history that the year-end No. 1 ranking was on the line for both players in the final ATP World Tour match of the season. It was also the first time since Lisbon in 2000 that the year-end No. 1 ranking was decided in the final. That year, Brazil’s Gustavo Kuerten defeated Andre Agassi of...
Ivan Lendl had held the upperhand, but his rivalry with a young Boris Becker was beginning to turn by 5 December 1988, the occasion of the year-end Nabisco Masters final, at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City. The route to the final wasn’t easy for either player, but their 12th meeting (Lendl led 7-4) was to hit new heights. It remains one of the greatest matches in the 47-year history of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. “I hadn’t played much for a few months, since the US Open, due to shoulder surgery, and played at the Masters against my doctor’s advice,” Lendl told ATPWorldTour.com, 28 years on. “But, having played a few exhibitions, and knowing how...
We celebrate arguably the greatest final in the 47-year history of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals: the 1988 title match between Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl at Madison Square Garden that ended on a let-cord in a fifth-set tie-break.
The first-year pairing of Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares has clinched the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Ranking. Murray and Soares join Grant Connell and Patrick Galbraith (1993), and Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge (2001) to claim the honour in their first season together. Great Britain’s Murray and Brazil’s Soares, who completed Group Edberg/Jarryd play this week with a 3-0 record to advance to the semi-finals at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, are guaranteed the year-end No. 1 honour after French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut lost their final round-robin match at The O2 in London, venue of the season finale. Additionally, as a result of Mahut’s loss, if Soares goes on to win the season...