THURSDAY PREVIEW - NADAL & TSONGA BATTLE IT OUT FOR SEMI-FINAL SPOT
The last two Group B round robin matches take place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday, with one former World No. 1 against America’s No. 1, then another former World No. 1 against France’s No. 1.

First up is Switzerland’s Roger Federer and American Mardy Fish in a match-up of the oldest players in the field. Federer leads the series 6-1. Federer is 2-0 in the group while Fish is 0-2, and no matter what happens in this match, Federer is through to the semi-finals as winner of the group. Fish is hoping to get a win under his belt in his first appearance at this event - and although Federer won their first five meetings fairly routinely (losing just one set total), Fish has given Federer lots of trouble in their last two meetings, beating him in the semi-finals of Indian Wells in 2008, 63 62, and falling in the final of ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati in August 2010, 67(5) 76(1) 64 (Fish had break point in the second set). The soon-to-be 30-year-old Fish (next month) is looking to break a three-match losing streak while the 30-year-old Federer enters with a 14-match winning streak (two Davis Cup rubbers and now 12 straight matches on indoor hard courts, winning titles in Basel and Paris). This is Federer’s longest winning streak since a 15-match streak that spanned 2010-11  (winning here last year, then winning Doha and reaching the semi-finals of the Aust. Open this year).

Buy Federer vs. Fish Tickets | Watch Live Online

In the evening session, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic takes on No. 5 David Ferrer. The only player to overcome one of the ‘Big Four’ in the first wave of round robin matches was Ferrer, who had the aforementioned victory over Murray, and it defied a very striking stat as well: he was 0-5 against Murray on hard courts going in. Now Ferrer will try to pull off a similar surprise: although he is a strong 3-1 against him on clay courts, the Spaniard is 1-5 against Djokovic on hard courts, but perhaps more encouraging is the only win came at the year-end championship  in Shanghai in 2007 (never losing serve en route to a 64 64 win).

Ferrer has two career wins against reigning No. 1s, first on the clay courts of Rome back in 2003 (beating Andre Agassi) and second on the hardcourts of the Australian Open earlier this year (beating Rafael Nadal). He is 2-12 overall against No. 1s (1-0 against Agassi, 0-9 against Roger Federer and 1-3 against Nadal).

Federer is looking for his 37th career match win at this tournament, which would make him the No. 2 player alone on the all-time list of match wins (he is currently tied with Boris Becker at 36. Ivan Lendl is the all-time leader with 39). Federer is in a tie for most titles at this event with five (also Lendl and Pete Sampras).

The night match will determine who will join Federer as one of the semi-finalists coming out of Group B, as Spain’s Rafael Nadal takes on France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Both players are 1-1 so far, both beating Fish but losing to Federer. Both players have struggled to find their best form here in the past, Nadal now 9-9 lifetime here (his best result in four previous appearances was reaching the final last year) and Tsonga now 2-3 here (he fell in the round robin stage in his only previous appearance here in 2008). Nadal leads their overall head-to-head, 6-2, which includes a 5-1 advantage on hard courts - but while the Spaniard hasn’t won a hard court title in more than a year, Tsonga won two  this fall (at indoor events in Metz and Vienna) and is coming off the finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Paris.

Buy Nadal vs. Tsonga Tickets

Tsonga has three wins over Top 2 players, two against Nadal (he beat then-No. 2 Nadal at the Australian Open in 2008 and then-No. 1 Nadal at Queen’s Club this year - the other win was then-No. 1 Federer at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal in 2009). He is 3-10 overall against Top 2 players.

Group B doubles wraps up, first with No. 5 seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi facing  the Polish No. 8 seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. Bopanna and Qureshi are 0-2 so far . They have an even 2-2 head-to-head with Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, although the Polish duo did win their only 2011 meeting (in straight sets in the semi-finals of the US Open).

In the night match, No. 2 seeds Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic face No. 3 seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor, a duel featuring four of the greatest doubles players of the last decade. The two teams have played each other five times before, all this year, with Mirnyi and Nestor up 3-2 in the series, including winning the last two meetings.

THURSDAY SEMI-FINAL SCENARIOS – Here are the Group B qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event's group stage:
1) Win or lose, R. FEDERER wins the group                                                                                         
2) Winner of R. NADAL vs J-W TSONGA qualifies 2nd

Doubles Group B qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event's group stage:

1) Regardless of score, if M. LLODRA / N. ZIMONJIC defeat M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR and R. BOPANNA / A. QURESHI defeat M. FYRSTENBERG / M. MATKOWSKI, then M. LLODRA / N. ZIMONJIC win the group and M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR qualify 2nd.

2) Regardless of score, if M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR defeat M. LLODRA / N. ZIMONJIC and M. FYRSTENBERG / M. MATKOWSKI defeat R. BOPANNA / A. QURESHI, then M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR win the group and M. FYRSTENBERG / M. MATKOWSKI qualify 2nd.

3) Regardless of score, if M. LLODRA / N. ZIMONJIC defeat M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR and M. FYRSTENBERG / M. MATKOWSKI defeat R. BOPANNA / A. QURESHI, then M. LLODRA / N. ZIMONJIC win the group and M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR qualify 2nd.

4) Regardless of score, if M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR defeat M. LLODRA / N. ZIMONJIC and R. BOPANNA / A. QURESHI defeat M. FYRSTENBERG / M. MATKOWSKI, then M. MIRNYI / D. NESTOR win the group and M. LLODRA / N. ZIMONJIC qualify 2nd.

FRIDAY SEMI-FINAL SCENARIOS – Here are the Group A qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event's group stage:
1) Regardless of score, if N. DJOKOVIC defeats J. TIPSAREVIC and D. FERRER defeats T. BERDYCH, then D. FERRER wins the group and N. DJOKOVIC qualifies 2nd.
2) Regardless of score, if J. TIPSAREVIC defeats N. DJOKOVIC and D. FERRER defeats T. BERDYCH, then D. FERRER wins the group and N. DJOKOVIC qualifies 2nd.
3) Regardless of score, if J. TIPSAREVIC defeats N. DJOKOVIC and T. BERDYCH defeats D. FERRER, then T. BERDYCH wins the group and D. FERRER qualifies 2nd.

4) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats J. TIPSAREVIC in 2 sets and T. BERDYCH defeats D. FERRER in 2 sets, then D. FERRER wins the group and T. BERDYCH qualifies 2nd.
5) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats J. TIPSAREVIC in 2 sets and T. BERDYCH defeats D. FERRER in 3 sets, then D. FERRER wins the group and N. DJOKOVIC qualifies 2nd.
6) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats J. TIPSAREVIC in 3 sets and T. BERDYCH defeats D. FERRER in 2 sets, then D. FERRER wins the group and T. BERDYCH qualifies 2nd.
7) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats J. TIPSAREVIC in 3 sets and T. BERDYCH defeats D. FERRER in 3 sets, then D. FERRER wins the group and T. BERDYCH qualifies 2nd.

Doubles Group A qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event's group stage:

1) Regardless of score, if B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN defeat M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU defeat J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER, then B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN win the group and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU qualify 2nd.
2) Regardless of score, if M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES defeat B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN and J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER defeat R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU, then M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES win the group and B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN qualify 2nd.
3) If B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN defeat M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES in 2 sets and J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER defeat R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU in 2 sets, then B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN win the group and J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER qualify 2nd.
4) If B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN defeat M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES in 2 sets and J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER defeat R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU in 3 sets, then B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN win the group and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU qualify 2nd.
5) If B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN defeat M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES in 3 sets and J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER defeat R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU in 2 sets, then B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN win the group and M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES qualify 2nd.
6) If B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN defeat M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES in 3 sets and J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER defeat R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU in 3 sets, then B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN win the group and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU qualify 2nd.
7) If M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES defeat B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN in 2 sets and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU defeat J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER in 2 sets, then R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU win the group and M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES qualify 2nd.
8) If M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES defeat B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN in 2 sets and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU defeat J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER in 3 sets, then M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES win the group and B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN qualify 2nd.
9) If M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES defeat B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN in 3 sets and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU defeat J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER in 2 sets, then R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU win the group and B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN qualify 2nd.
10) If M. BHUPATHI / L. PAES defeat B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN in 3 sets and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU defeat J. MELZER / P. PETZSCHNER in 3 sets, then B. BRYAN / M. BRYAN win the group and R. LINDSTEDT / H. TECAU qualify 2nd.

THURSDAY GROUP B MATCH-UPS - FEDEX ATP Head 2 Head

(4) Roger Federer (SUI) vs (8) Mardy Fish (USA) Federer Leads 6-1
03 Wimbledon (England)  Grass R32 Roger Federer 6-3 6-1     4-6   6-1
03 ATP Masters Series Madrid  Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-3 7-6(4)
04 ATP Masters 1000  Indian Wells  Hard R16 Roger Federer 6-4 6-1
04 Halle (Germany)  Grass F Roger Federer 6-0 6-3
05 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard R64 Roger Federer 6-3 6-3
08 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard SF Mardy Fish 6-3 6-2
10 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati  Hard F Roger Federer      6-7(5)  7-6(1)  6-4

FEDERER FASTFACTS
2011 Highlights:
W (3): Doha (d Davydenko); Basel (d Nishikori); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris (d Tsona); F (2): Dubai (l Djokovic); Roland Garros (l Nadal); SF (5): Aust. Open (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Nadal); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Nadal); US Open (l Djokovic); QF (3): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l Melzer); Wimbledon (l Tsonga); ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Berdych)
YTD W-L: 61-12 (43-7 on hard, 13-0 indoor, 20-8 in Tie-breaks, 7-9 vs. Top 10)
YTD Titles: 3/Career Titles: 69
Date of Birth: August 8, 1981
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 4

Tournament History:
•  The 30-year-old Swiss native has clinched his ninth semi-final in 10 appearances after winning his first two Group B matches…On Tuesday he defeated rival Nadal 63 60 in 61 minutes (only lost eight points on serve)…He began title defense on Sunday with a 62 26 64 win over Tsonga (lost six points in five service games in third set)…Has lost 14 points on serve in past three sets
•  He is making his 10th straight appearance in the year-end finale (36-7 tournament record); five-time champion, in 2003 (d. Agassi in final), 2004 (d. Hewitt in final), 2006 (d. Blake in final), 2007 (d. Ferrer in final) and 2010 (d. Nadal in final); also runner-up in 2005 (l. to Nalbandian in final); SF in 2002 (l. to Hewitt) and ‘09 (l. to Davydenko); fell in RR stage once, in 2008 (went 1-2 in RR stage)
• One of only three players ever to win this tournament five times (also Lendl and Sampras)

2011 in Review:
• The Swiss superstar enters with a season-high 14-match winning streak after a pair of Davis Cup wins in September and back-to-back titles in his hometown of Basel and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris (losing only one set in titles run) in his past two events…Became seventh player in Open Era to win 800 matches and 69-30 in finals (No. 4 on titles list)
• Enters ranked No. 4, first time out of Top 3 in year-end championship since his debut in 2002 when he was No. 6 in Shanghai…Fell to No. 4 on Oct. 17 for first time since June 2003 when he was No. 5…If he reaches the final here, will pass Murray and finish the season No. 3
• Opened season with title in Doha (d. Davydenko) and it extended his streak to 11 years with at least one ATP World Tour title, tied with Roddick for longest streak among active players
• Has reached SFs or better in 11 of 15 tournaments, including this week…Has advanced to QFs or better in a record 30 consecutive Slams going back to ‘04 Wimbledon…His streak of at least one Slam title for eight consecutive years came to an end
• Compiled a 20-4 mark in Slams and his best result was final at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal in four sets)…In SF, he snapped Djokovic’s 43-match winning streak with four-set victory…Then followed with QF at Wimbledon (l. to Tsonga in five sets after holding two-set lead)…It was first time in a Slam he lost 2-0 set lead…At US Open, lost to Djokovic in SFs for second year in a row (held two M.Ps.)
• Following US Open, travelled to Sydney for Davis Cup World Group playoff tie and posted four-set wins over Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic as Switzerland prevailed 3-2 with Wawrinka winning fifth and decisive match (d. Hewitt)...Then took six weeks off before returning in his hometown of Basel

YEAR-END CHAMPIONSHIP WINS LEADERS – Federer is tied for second on the all-time year-end championship match wins leaders list:

                       W-L   Titles
1) Ivan Lendl  39-10   5
2) Roger Federer 36-7   5
    Boris Becker  36-13   3
 4) Pete Sampras 35-14   5
5) Ilie Nastase  23-3   4
   
FISH FASTFACTS
2011 Highlights:
W: Atlanta (d Isner); F (2): Los Angeles (l Gulbis); ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (l Djokovic); SF (5): Memphis (l Raonic); Delray Beach (l Del Potro); ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Murray); Tokyo (l Nadal); QF (2): Houston (l Nishikori); Wimbledon (l Nadal)
YTD W-L: 43-24 (33-18 on hard, 4-7 indoor, 15-15 in Tie-breaks, 3-8 vs. Top 10)
YTD Titles: 1/Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: December 9, 1981
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 8

Tournament History: 
• The 29-year-old American enters his final round robin match with an 0-2 mark…He made his debut on Sunday falling to No. 2 Nadal 62 36 76(3) in a 2:55 hour battle…Converted three of 11 break points…On Tuesday, he lost to No. 6 Tsonga 76(4) 61
• The lone player making his debut this year is the second-oldest player in field at 29 yrs., 11 mons. behind Federer, 30)
• This marks 25th consecutive year (since 1987) an American is in the year-end finale

2011 in Review:
• The top American enters with a career-best 43-24 match record (33-18 on hard), winning his sixth career ATP World Tour title and reaching two other finals…This is the first time he’s finished in Top 10 and as year-end No. 1 American
• During North American summer circuit, he reached three straight finals for first time in his career…On July 24, he repeated his Atlanta title (d. Isner, saving two match pts.) and followed with runner-up efforts in his hometown of Los Angeles (l. to Gulbis) and at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal, falling to No. 1 Djokovic…Afterwards, reached a career-high No. 7 on Aug. 15
• He is trying to avoid his first four-match losing streak of the season…In July lost in QFs at Wimbledon (l. to Nadal) and then lost Davis Cup matches vs. Spain’s Lopez and Ferrer
• He broke into Top 10 for first time on Apr. 18 then slipped out for next three weeks before returning on May 16 (has been there since – 28 weeks)
• In first five months of season, went 18-11 with best results SFs  in February in Memphis (l. to Raonic) and Delray Beach (l. to del Potro) and at ATP Masters 1000 Miami in April (l. to Djokovic)
• From June-on, compiled a 25-13 mark, starting with career-best QF at Wimbledon (d. No. 7 Berdych, l. to No. 1 Nadal in four sets)…Then followed in U.S.-Spain Davis Cup QF tie in Austin, Texas and lost opening match to Lopez 8-6 in fifth set and then to No. 6 Ferrer in four
• Won 14 of 17 matches going into last Grand Slam tournament at US Open and reached 4th Rd. (l. to Tsonga in five sets) and finished with a 10-4 mark in Grand Slam action, winning a round in each Slam event for the first time in a season
•  In October, reached SF in Tokyo (l. to Nadal) and followed with opening round loss at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai…Returned three weeks later in Basel and retired in first round after one game (vs. Blake) due to left hamstring injury...In Paris, retired in 3rd Rd. (vs. Monaco)
• One of four Americans to win an ATP World Tour title this season, joining Andy Roddick (Memphis), Ryan Sweeting (Houston) and John Isner (Newport, Winston-Salem)

TOP AMERICANS SINCE 2000 – Fish is the fifth different top American since 2000:
  
                   Year
Mardy Fish 2011
Roddick  2007-10
James Blake 2006
Andy Roddick 2003-05
Andre Agassi 2001-02
Pete Sampras 2000

(2) Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs (6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) Nadal Leads 6-2
07 US Open (U.S.A.)  Hard R32 Rafael Nadal 7-6(3)   6-2  6-1
08 Australian Open (Australia) Hard SF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 6-3   6-2
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells Hard R16 Rafael Nadal        6-7(4)  7-6(3)   7-5
09 Rotterdam (The Netherlands)  Hard QF Rafael Nadal        6-4 6-7(5)  6-4
09 ATP Masters 1000 Paris  Hard QF Rafael Nadal 7-5 7-5
10 ATP Masters 1000 Miami  Hard QF Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2
11 London / Queen's Club (England)Grass QF Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-7(3)   6-4  6-1
11 ESP vs. FRA WG SF (Spain) Clay RR Rafael Nadal 6-0 6-2   6-4

NADAL FASTFACTS
2011 Highlights:
W (3): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (d Ferrer); Barcelona (d Ferrer); Roland Garros (d Federer); F (7): ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid (l Djokovic); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (l Djokovic); Wimbledon (l Djokovic); US Open (l Djokovic); Tokyo (l Murray); SF (1): Doha (l Davydenko); QF (3): Australian Open (l Ferrer); London / Queen's Club (l Tsonga); ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l Fish)
YTD W-L: 67-14 (33-10 on hard, 3-1 indoor,19-8 in Tie-breaks, 16-10 vs. Top 10)
YTD Titles: 3/Career Titles: 46
Date of Birth: June 3, 1986
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 2

Tournament History: 
• The Spaniard is making his fifth appearance (9-9 tournament record); best previous result was runner-up finish in 2010 (went 3-0 in RR then d. Murray in SF; l. to Federer in final); SF twice, in 2006 and 2007 (went 2-1 in RR stage both times, then l. to Federer in SF both times); fell in RR stage in 2009 (went 0-3 in RR stage);
• He is 1-1 so far and he’s trying to reach the semi-finals for the fourth time…He is coming off a 63 60 loss in 61 minutes to No. 4 Federer on Tuesday, the most lopsided match (in games) in their 26-match rivalry…Opened with a 62 36 76(3) win in 2:55 over No. 8 Fish on Sunday… Saved eight of 11 break points
• Qualified two other times but withdrew in 2005 (left foot injury) and 2008 (right knee tendinitis)

2011 in Review:
• The World No. 2 has the second-most match wins (67) on season (behind Djokovic’s 70) and he’s trying to reach his 12th semi-final or better
• He is 3-7 in finals and all three titles came on clay while six of his runner-up showings were to Djokovic...Went 3-2 in clay finals, 0-4 on hard…His last hard court title came in Toyko in Oct. 2010 and the last year he went without a hard court title was 2004 (has 11 in career)
• Has finished in Top 2 for seven straight years (No. 1 in 2008, ‘10; No. 2 in 2005-07, ‘09, ’11)
• In Davis Cup, led his native country to final (vs Argentina) by going 4-0 in singles with a pair of wins in 1st Rd. over Belgium and over France in SFs
• Opened year with a SF in Doha and followed with QF at Aust. Open where he injured his left adductor early in match vs. Ferrer...Returned in March and reached back-to-back finals at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami (l. to Djokovic in three sets both times)…From March to Roland Garros put together a stretch of reaching career-best seven straight finals (3-4 mark)…Overall advanced to QFs or better 14 times in 16 events
• Compiled 26-2 mark on clay, capturing seventh straight crown at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and followed with sixth title in Barcelona (d. Ferrer in both)...His 37-match clay court winning streak ended with a final loss to Djokovic at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid…It was his third streak of 30 or more clay wins (81, 33)…Then lost to Djokovic again in ATP Masters 1000 Rome final
• In June, captured a record-tying (w/Borg) sixth Roland Garros title (d. Federer) and 10th overall Grand Slam triumph...(has 45-1 mark in Paris)…Has won at least one Slam title for seven straight years
• On grass reached QFs at Queen’s Club (l. to Tsonga) and followed with runner-up at Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic)...It was his fifth final (2-3) at All England  Club...Afterwards, his No. 1 reign for 102 total weeks came to an end on July 4 as Djokovic took over
• In August, lost opening round to Ivan Dodig at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal and followed with QF at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (l. to Fish)…Fell short of repeat title effort at US Open (l. to Djokovic in four sets)
• After US Open, defeated France’s No. 15 Gasquet and No. 10 Tsonga without losing serve in Davis Cup SF, went to Asia and lost in Tokyo final (l. to Murray) and 3rd Rd. at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (l. to F. Mayer) on Oct. 13, his last match

TSONGA FASTFACTS
2011 Highlights:
W (2): Metz (d Ljubicic); Vienna (d Del Potro); F (3): Rotterdam (l Soderling); Queen's Club (l Murray); ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l Federer); SF (4): Doha (l Federer); Wimbledon (l Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (l Djokovic); Beijing (l Berdych); QF (2): Marseille (l Youzhny); US Open (l Federer)
YTD W-L: 53-23 (36-14 on hard, 18-5 indoor, 25-17 in Tie-breaks, 8-12 vs. Top 10)
YTD Titles: 2/Career Titles: 7
Date of Birth: April 17, 1985
South African Airways ATP Ranking: 6

Tournament History:
• The Frenchman is 1-1 in Group B round robin play thus far…On Tuesday he defeated No. 8 Fish 76(4) 61 …He opened with a 62 26 64 loss to Federer on Sunday in one hour, 29 minutes
• The last Frenchman to reach the semi-finals was Gilles Simon in 2008 (l. to Djokovic)
• He  is making his second appearance in the year-end championship and three years ago he went 1-2 in round robin play in his debut in Shanghai…Lost first two matches vs. Nikolay Davydenko (in third set tie-break) and Juan Martin del Potro in two tie-breaks before defeating Novak Djokovic 16 75 61 in final round robin match

2011 in Review:
• The 26-year-old Frenchman is trying to reach his 10th semi-final of the season…Has played well from June to rest of season with a 36-12 match record after 17-11 start in first five months…In early part of year, advanced to final in Rotterdam (l. to No. 4 Soderling), SF in Doha (l. to Federer) and QF in Marseille (l. to Youzhny)
• En route to third Top 10 finish in four years, won a pair of ATP World Tour indoor titles and runner-up in three other tournaments, including at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Federer) in his last tournament
• In June, reached first career grass court final at Queen’s Club in London (l. to Murray) and followed with SF at Wimbledon where he defeated No. 6 Ferrer and No. 3 Federer in five sets (from two sets down) before losing to eventual winner Djokovic in four sets
• Continued consistent play in summer with SF at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal with wins over No. 3 Federer and No. 10 Almagro before retiring vs. Djokovic due to arm injury
• Then at US Open advanced to QFs for first time (d. No. 8 Fish in five sets), losing to Federer…Afterwards, moved back into the Top 10 on Sept. 12
• In September, played in Davis Cup SF vs. Spain and lost to Nadal in fourth rubber (won doubles)…Followed with first title of season in Metz, defeating Ivan Ljubicic in three-set final
• In final three weeks of European indoor circuit, became first Frenchman to win Vienna title (d. del Potro), lost in 2nd Rd.  in Valencia and runner-upat ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Federer)

 
DOUBLES GROUP B MATCH-UPS

(5) Rohan BOPANNA / Aisam QURESHI v (8) Mariusz FYRSTENBERG / Marcin MATKOWSKI TIED 2 : 2
2008 Wimbledon Grass(O) R64 BOPANNA / QURESHI 6-3 7-5 6-4
2010 Cincinnati Hard (O)  R16 FYRSTENBERG / MATKOWSKI 7-5 7-6(3)
2010 New Haven Hard (O)  R16 BOPANNA / QURESHI 6-3 2-6 [10-5]
2011 US Open Hard (O)  SF FYRSTENBERG / MATKOWSKI 6-2 7-6(4)

BOPANNA / QURESHI

Tournament History:
• The Indo-Pak Express are 0-2 in their Barclays ATP World Tour Finals debut…On Tuesday they lost 76(6) 63 to No. 2 Lllodra-Zimonjic…On Sunday, they fell to Mirnyi-Nestor 76(2) 46 11-9…Last year they served as alternates
2011 Review
• They have compiled a 38-25 match record, winning a career-high three ATP World Tour titles…Also a SF in five other tournaments, including US Open (l. to Fyrstenberg-Matkowski) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Monte Carlo
• In first five months of season, went 17-12, with best results four SFs (two on hard and clay courts)…At Roland Garros, reached QFs (l. to Bryans in third set TB)
• In June, captured first career grass court title in Halle (d. Haase-Raonic) and were upset in 1st Rd. at Wimbledon, falling 21-19 in third set to Colombians Cabal-Farah
• Struggled during North American summer hard court circuit (2-4 mark) until turning things around in Flushing Meadows where they were one match away from returning to final
• In lead-up to London, won titles in Stockholm (d. Melo-Soares) and ATP Masters 1000 Paris, defeating No. 2 seeds Llodra-Zimonjic in quarter-finals and No. 3 Mirnyi-Nestor in semi-finals before a 6-2, 6-4 win over French wild cards Benneteau-Mahut in final

FYRSTENBERG / MATKOWSKI

Tournament History:
• The Polish duo are 1-1 so far…They lost 64 63 to No. 3 Mirnyi-Nestor on Tuesday after opening with a 64 57 11-9 win over No. 2 Llodra-Zimonjic on Sunday…They qualified for their fifth season-ending championship in the past six years (except ’07)
• They have a 7-9 match record with best results the semi-finals last year (l. to Bhupathi-Mirnyi) and in ’08 (l. to Bryan-Bryan)

2011 Review
• They are only team in field without an ATP World Tour title this season and their lone final came at US Open (l. to Melzer-Petzschner)
• In first half of season, struggled with 7-13 match record with best results SF at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and QF in three other events, including Australian Open ion opening month
• Entered Flushing Meadows with a 9-19 mark and posted impressive wins over veteran duos Bhupathi-Paes in QFs and Bopanna-Qureshi in SFs, both in straight sets, before falling to Melzer-Petzschner 62 62
• Continued consistent play in final month with SF at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (d. Bryan brothers, l. to Llodra-Zimonjic) and in Vienna (l. to Bryans)…Finished with QF at ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Benneteau-Mahut) and 120 points ahead of Butorac-Rojer 

(2) Michael LLODRA / Nenad ZIMONJIC v (3) Max MIRNYI / Daniel NESTOR MIRNYI / NESTOR LEADS 3 : 2
2011 Madrid  Clay (O) QF LLODRA / ZIMONJIC 6-4 4-6 [10-6]
2011 Roland Garros Clay (O) SF MIRNYI / NESTOR 7-6(4) 7-6(5)
2011 Montreal  Hard (O) SF LLODRA / ZIMONJIC 6-3 6-4
2011 Shanghai Hard (O) FR MIRNYI / NESTOR 3-6 6-1 [12-10]
2011 Basel  Hard (I) FR MIRNYI / NESTOR 6-4 7-5

LLODRA / ZIMONJIC

Tournament History:
• The No. 2 squad are 1-1 this week in their first appearance together in the year-end championship…On Tuesday, they defeated No. 5 Bopanna-Qureshi 76(6) 63 after opening on Sunday with a  64 57 11-9 loss to the No. 8 Polish duo of Fyrstenberg-Matkowski
• Llodra is making his fourth appearance (8-7 record) and he won the title in 2005 (w/Santoro)
• Zimonjic is making his sixth showing (15-8 mark) and he won the title in two of the past three years, in 2008 and 2010 (w/Nestor)

2011 Review
• The first-year duo compiled a 4-4 mark in finals during season, with their best results coming from August-on…Through Wimbledon they had a 21-10 mark but in last nine tournaments from August-on (including here), they put together an outstanding 25-5 record, winning four titles and reaching two other finals
• They played well in big tournaments with a 13-4 mark in Grand Slam events and 17-8 in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 outings…They reached QFs at Australian Open and SFs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon…Lost in 3rd Rd. at US Open
• They were 1-3 in ATP Masters 1000 finals, winning title in Montreal (d. Bryans) and reaching finals in Madrid (l. to Bryans), Cincinnati (l. to Bhupathi-Paes) and Shanghai (l. to Mirnyi-Nestor)
• After a 3rd Rd. exit at US Open, on Asian circuit, won title in Beijing (d. Lindstedt-Tecau) and reached final in Shanghai…In last two European events leading into London, won title in Basel (d. Mirnyi-Nestor) and reached QFs at ATP Masters 1000 Paris (l. to Bopanna-Qureshi)
• They are only team in field without an ATP World Tour title this season and their lone final came at US Open (l. to Melzer-Petzschner)
• In first half of season, struggled with 7-13 match record with best results SF at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and QF in three other events, including Australian Open in opening month

MIRNYI / NESTOR

Tournament History:
• They tandem are 2-0 thus far…On Tuesday, they defeated  No. 8 seeds Fyrstenberg-Matkowski 64 63 and on Sunday made their team debut with a 76(2) 46 11-9 win over Bopanna-Qureshi… Overall, Mirnyi is 16-13 in his eighth appearance, including a title run in 2006 (w/Bjorkman)… Nestor is a former three-time champion, winning in 2007 (w/Knowles) and 2008, ’10  (w/Zimonjic)…Overall the Canadian is 29-19 in his 13th year-end showing

2011 Review
• The veteran duo reunited full-time, after a brief partnership in 2000, capturing three titles in seven finals, including Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros (d. Cabal-Schwank) and ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai title (d. Llodra-Zimonjic)…In February, they won their first title together in Memphis (d. Butorac-Rojer)
• Of their four runner-up showings, two came in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, in Miami (l. to Bryans) in April, and Cincinnati (l. to Bhupathi-Paes) in August
• In  Grand Slam play, compiled a 12-3 mark with SF at Australian Open (l. to Bhupathi-Paes), title at Roland Garros, second round at Wimbledon and US Open
• Finished the season in strong fashion, with title in Shanghai and back-to-back runner-up results in  Vienna (l. to Bryans) and Basel (l. to Llodra-Zimonjic)
• Prior to this year, they played twice in 2000, going 2-2
• The Canadian has 74 career doubles titles, which is tied for No. 6 on the Open Era career list