Seventh seeds Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram are making the most of their debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The pairing advanced to the semi-finals with a tight 6-3, 7-6(8) win over fourth seeds Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez. With the win, Klaasen/Ram clinched second place in Group Fleming/McEnroe. Joining Klaasen/Ram in the final four are fifth seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers, who finished first in Group Fleming/McEnroe with a 3-0 record. Klaasen/Ram will face second seeds Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares in the semi-finals, who clinched the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Ranking on Friday. Kontinen/Peers take on third seeds Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan in the other semi-final. The importance of the occasion produced some understandably tense moments for both Klaasen/Ram and Lopez/Lopez...
Watch a preview of the straight shoot out between Lopez / Lopez and Klaasen / Ram for a place in the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
Throughout my 16-year career, I've played in hundreds of tennis stadiums. I've slid on the grass on Centre Court at the All-England Club. I've gazed at the Mediterranean Sea from the red clay of the Monte-Carlo Country Club. In Indian Wells, I've lost track of time staring at the Palm Desert mountains while in town for the BNP Paribas Open. But nowhere, including the many indoor tournaments we play annually, prepared me for playing at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. To put it simply, everything is different at The O2. Let's start with the lights. For about 10 months of the year, we play our matches outside. Sometimes the sun blocks your vision of your ball toss. Other days,...
Fourth seeds Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez produced an inspired performance on Wednesday at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, scoring their first win in Group Fleming/McEnroe in a marathon match over top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut, 7-5, 5-7, 10-8. The victory by Lopez/Lopez means that fifth seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers have qualified for the semi-finals. The Finnish-Australian pair were winners earlier in the day over seventh seeds Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram. Herbert/Mahut have also been eliminated from contention to qualify for the semi-finals. This means that second seeds Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares are in total control over whether they can finish 2016 as the year-end No. 1 doubles team. Herbert/Mahut and Lopez/Lopez traded comfortable service holds throughout most of the opening set. The...