The 2017 ATP World Tour season should start much like the 2016 season finished – with blockbuster match-ups. At the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, the first tournament of 2017, top seed Milos Raonic will try to repeat as champion Down Under. The right-hander won his lone title of 2016 in Brisbane. But the World No. 3 could face a fellow Top 10 player before he even makes the semi-finals. Rafael Nadal, No. 9 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will await Raonic if the two progress to the quarter-finals. Raonic has a first-round bye and a potential second-round match-up with Argentine Diego Schwartzman or American Sam Querrey. The Canadian will be making his debut with new coach Richard Krajicek. The...
The 2017 season kicks off on Sunday 1 January in Brisbane and the following day in Doha and Chennai, with all Top 5 players in action in the opening week. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic waste no time continuing their battle for the No. 1 position in the Emirates ATP Rankings at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where they are the Top 2 seeds. Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka, and Kei Nishikori, ranked No. 3 through 5, are the top seeds at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. • Streaking into 2017: Murray enters 2017 with a career-best 24-match winning streak. It’s the fourth time since 1975 (since complete records were kept) that a player closed out the season with a 20+...
CROATIA vs. ARGENTINA Arena Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia DAVIS CUP FINAL Croatia attempts to clinch its second Davis Cup trophy this week on home soil against Argentina, finalists on four previous occasions. Argentina has secured wins in 2002, 2006 and 2013 quarter-final ties. Marin Cilic, who competed at last week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and finished at a career-high year-end No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, leads the Croatian team. Ivo Karlovic, at 37 years of age, is set to become the oldest player to feature in a singles rubber in a final tie for 96 years (43-year-old Australian Norman Brookes in 1920). Cilic takes on Argentina’s Federico Delbonis in Friday’s opening singles rubber, while Karlovic returns to the...
Andy Murray's desire to win the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the first time will tonight collide with Novak Djokovic's ambitions of scoring a fifth successive title, and a record-equalling sixth overall. Whoever wins this evening will also be the year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Murray has never been afraid to stand apart. In an age of instant gratification, when some people barely have the attention span to finish reading a tweet, Murray is embracing long-form content. So prepare for the possibility of another Murray match exceeding three hours, which would be the third of its kind this week. Who knows, he and Djokovic might even push on tonight and break four hours. Murray has only...
