ROGER FEDERER has admitted he has just one regret from his battle with Rafael Nadal in 2017.
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Pablo Carreno Busta will have a tense wait to see if he is going to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals after falling to Nicolas Mahut in his opener at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday evening.
The Spaniard currently occupies the final qualifying spot in the Emirates ATP Race To London, as he looks to make his debut at the year-end championships, but now must wait and see how Kevin Anderson, Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Lucas Pouille perform at the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season.
Home favourite Mahut, who battled past Vasek Pospisil in the first round, defeated the eighth-seeded Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-1 in just 86 minutes. The 35-year-old Mahut, a wild card entrant, saved eight of the nine break points he faced as he avenged his US Open loss to Carreno Busta.
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Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic recorded just his second tour-level match win of 2017 — and his first victory at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in two-and-a-half years — to end American Sam Querrey’s quest for a place at next month’s Nitto ATP Finals. Krajinovic will now face Mahut for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Krajinovic, whose sole victory at Masters 1000-level had come against compatriot Dusan Lajovic at Miami in March 2015, knocked out No. 10 seed Querrey 6-4, 6-4 in 79 minutes. Querrey, who had led 2-0 in the second set and struck 11 aces, ends his 2017 campaign with a 36-21 match record, including two ATP World Tour titles.
Querrey started the week in the French capital at No. 11 in the Emirates ATP Race To London on 2,525 points – only 80 points behind Carreno Busta (2,605).
Diego Schwartzman has had the best year of his career in 2017. Pick and choose your milestones to celebrate: career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 25; his first Grand Slam quarter-final, at the US Open; and his third ATP World Tour final (Antwerp, l. to Tsonga).
In the midst of another possible run, this week at the Rolex Paris Masters, the 5'7” Argentine took time to talk with ATPWorldTour.com about what he bought to celebrate a big win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the time he asked his good friend Rafael Nadal literally for the shirt off his back.
First pinch-me moment on the ATP World Tour
I think when I won my first [ATP] Challenger. It was in Buenos Aires. That moment was amazing for me, with my family. I didn't expect that moment at that time. I was playing the Challengers but I had never made it past the quarter-finals. In Buenos Aires, it was my first Challenger final, and I won the Challenger. It was amazing for me. That moment I started to think, 'OK, I am doing well and I can do it better'.
First time I was recognised
The first time was in Buenos Aires... But then I think the past two years around the world, I have improved my tennis a lot, I have improved my ranking and I think people know more about me... This year people recognise me a little bit more... Maybe one year and a half ago or two years ago now, I'd go to the tournament entrances and there would be one more person there. Now it's a little bit different... I like, I like. I think it's good it's because you are doing well.
First thing I bought with prize money
I don't remember what was the first thing, but I remember in 2015 Indian Wells, after I beat Jerzy Janowicz, 7-6 in the third set (in the first round). Before the match I said to my coach, 'If I win this match I am going to buy a computer and headphones'. And I won 7-6 in the third and the next day I went to the store and bought the computer and headphones... Beats headphones, black, the big ones and a Macbook Air.
Read More: Schwartzman Wins ATP Challenger Tour Finals
First autograph/photo I got
Football players, always. Ha, ha. I ask football players to take a picture with me. I love football. I watch football every day... Here in tennis, I am a little bit scared to ask for a photo... If I have confidence, I ask Sock, Ferrer, Nadal, Federer. I am always trying to take a picture with them but it's not easy to ask... Ferrer I took photos with this year and I put on my Instagram. Rafa after Monte-Carlo in the quarter-finals this year I asked for the shirt he wore during the match and for him to sign the shirt, and I have it in my room, his shirt on the wall... He was playing with a pink shirt and I asked after our match, I have confidence with him... We have a good relationship, same language, friends in common... [I asked] in the locker rooms.
First pet
Lole, she was black and white, a Cocker Spaniel. That was a few years ago. Now we have one from the street. We were in the street with Lole, and this new one, a small one, came to us and we took it and it's in our home now... The new one is Peque. It's like me. My nickname, it's Peque. In Argentina, everyone calls me Peque. It's like little or small one, and I named the dog Peque.
When I am at home, Peque comes to me at night in the bed, sleeps with me. We are always joking at home with the dog. My parents had a dog at home and I also like to have that company. It's nice.
Diminutive Argentine Diego Schwartzman recorded his 39th match win of a career-best season with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Viktor Troicki of Serbia on Tuesday to book his place in the Rolex Paris Masters second round. Currently No. 26 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, Schwartzman has a mathematical chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November, but his participation would also depend on other results.
Spain’s Feliciano Lopez saved three of four break points to earn a gritty 7-6(4), 6-3 win over wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a second-round encounter against another Frenchman, No. 17 seed Lucas Pouille, who won his fourth ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the Erste Bank Open 500 (d. Tsonga).
There were mixed results in the French capital for two players — Karen Khachanov and Borna Coric — who will compete at next month’s inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, from 7-11 November. Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas got the better of Khachanov 6-4, 6-2, but Coric hit 10 aces to defeat fellow qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-3, 6-4.
Christopher Eubanks burst onto the ATP World Tour in July when he advanced to the quarter-finals of the BB&T Atlanta Open, claiming his first two tour-level victories. He then qualified for the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, beating World No. 69 Janko Tipsarevic — a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year in the 2017 ATP World Tour Awards Presented by Moët & Chandon — to earn a spot in the main draw, where he lost in three sets. Thanks to his efforts, he received a wild card into the US Open.
The thing is, Eubanks was still a college tennis player, having recently completed his junior year at Georgia Tech. There, he became the fifth player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to garner ACC Player of the Year honours two years in a row. But after already taking what would have been the first semester of his senior year off, Eubanks announced on 23 October that he would forego his final year of college eligibility and begin his journey as a professional tennis player. The 21-year-old is playing his first event since the decision this week at the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger in Virginia, and will play the U.S. indoor swing that also includes Knoxville and Champaign, where he reached the semi-finals last year in just his second Challenger event.
“It was extremely difficult. It was a long process. It involved me kind of looking at myself and asking myself mentally, 'Do I think I’m mature enough? Do I think I’m ready to tackle this as a job?'” Eubanks said. “I think I made the right decision for me and look forward to seeing what happens because of it.”
Eubanks consulted fellow Americans in the pro ranks — including Donald Young, former Georgia Tech student-athlete Kevin King, Steve Johnson and Ryan Harrison — for advice. Their words boiled down into similar advice.
“You have to do what you think is best for you. You can’t make a decision for other people. You can’t make a decision to please other people. You have to do what you think is going to make you happy and do what you think is the best for you and your career,” Eubanks said of what he was told. “If I felt like I was ready and I’m ready to tackle this as a job then make the jump. If there’s any type of hesitation, there’s nothing wrong with going back to college for another year.”
Now, tennis is Eubanks’ job. But he says that he doesn’t have to change much.
“I just try to continue the mindset that I’ve had all summer and continue the progression I’ve been on,” Eubanks said of consistently improving. “I think I’m on a pretty good progression and I think it would be foolish to change something that I’ve been doing when it’s been working pretty well.”
To continue trending upward, Eubanks has been taking different weeks to go to train at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida, with USTA coach Troy Hahn. Other players practising there include Bjorn Fratangelo, Tommy Paul, Reilly Opelka and Mackenzie McDonald. Currently No. 308 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Eubanks will have to work his way through the ATP Challenger Tour to climb up the professional ladder. And while he has only played four Challengers, the level of event does not phase him.
“I still try look at it as it’s still tennis. It’s still a tennis match. It’s still the same thing I’ve been doing since I was two years old,” Eubanks said. “So I don’t think that having a different mindset going into a Challenger, going into a 250 or a 500 or a Grand Slam, I don’t think it should change. It’s important to keep the same mindset I’ve had, which is treating every match like it’s the last one. Treating every match like it’s a tournament final.”
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After beating the likes of Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Jared Donaldson and #NextGenATP Taylor Fritz in Atlanta, as well as Tipsarevic in Cincinnati, there was no change in what Eubanks thought he can do. His mind is only set on doing one thing every day.
“Just continue to get better,” said Eubanks, who added he is committed to doing whatever he can to maximize his potential. “[Just] trying to be a better player as time goes on than I was previously. That’s probably the biggest goal I have and if I can continue that, I think some pretty cool things can happen.”
Eubanks kicks off his professional career on Tuesday against Christian Harrison in his Charlottesville opener. The pair teamed up to beat veterans Mikhail Youzhny and Mischa Zverev at the US Open.
With two spots remaining at the Nitto ATP Finals, Pablo Carreno Busta and Sam Querrey begin their final campaign for qualification on Tuesday in Paris. Carreno Busta, who currently occupies the last London spot, faces French wild card Nicolas Mahut in one of three second-round matches. The Spaniard broke into the Top 8 of the Emirates ATP Race to London after defeating a record four qualifiers en route to the US Open semi-finals, one of whom was the 35-year-old Mahut.
Also in second-round action, Querrey meets Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic. If Querrey and Carreno Busta both win on Tuesday, they will meet in the third round with the Spaniard’s Race position on the line. If Querrey wins and Carreno Busta loses on Tuesday, they will be tied with 2,615 points. Carreno Busta owns the tiebreaker because he has earned more points than Querrey at Grand Slams and mandatory ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events (Rule 9.03.E.1 in ATP Official Rulebook).
View FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups for Day 2 and vote for who you think will win!
Mahut vs. Carreno Busta | Cuevas vs. Khachanov | Verdasco vs. Rublev
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Nitto ATP Finals qualifier Dominic Thiem plays in the other second-round match against German lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk. Thiem is ranked a career-high No. 6, but he has yet to reach a semi-final off of clay courts this season. The Austrian has struggled throughout his career during the fall. Thiem is 12-20 lifetime in October and November with one quarter-final and no semi-final finishes.
The last eight matches of the first round are also on Tuesday’s schedule, including a pair of France vs. Spain showdowns. French wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert faces Feliciano Lopez, who beat him 7-6(3), 6-4 in the 2016 Rolex Paris Masters first round. Then, Adrian Mannarino looks to end his sensational season on a high note against David Ferrer. Mannarino has earned 24 of his career-high 32 wins this year since June 25, when he began his run to the inaugural Antalya final.
Richard Gasquet won an all-French battle on Monday evening at the Rolex Paris Masters, prevailing against Benoit Paire 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to set up a second-round clash with sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Gasquet looked on course for a straight-sets victory when Paire mounted his challenge late in the second, winning four straight games to send the match to a decisive set. He was unable to maintain the momentum in the third, however, as Gasquet broke in the seventh game and served out the win to love after one hour and 46 minutes. The former World No. 7 improved to a perfect 5-0 mark against his countryman.
The 31-year-old Gasquet, a three-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finalist, will take a 5-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record into his next match against Dimitrov, who last week became the fifth qualifier for the Nitto ATP Finals. Dimitrov has won their past two meetings, including earlier this year at the Australian Open.
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Wild card Julien Benneteau capped off the day’s proceedings in Paris with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fast-rising #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov. The 35-year-old Benneteau also defeated the Canadian teenager on home soil in February, at the Open 13 Marseille.
Shapovalov will finish his season next week at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, while Benneteau goes on to face top Frenchman and 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for an 11th time overall and second time at this tournament. Tsonga still holds a chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, but would need to reclaim the title at this Masters 1000 tournament.
A total of four Frenchmen won in first-round action on the first day of main draw action at the Masters 1000 tournament, with Nicolas Mahut and Jeremy Chardy advancing earlier in the day.
In doubles, Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez kept alive their hopes of clinching the eighth and final doubles spot at the Nitto ATP Finals with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 comeback win over #NextGenATP duo Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.