Corona Slice: Ferrer Guns For Auckland Three-Peat

Tap into the essentials of the week ahead and re-live the highlights of the past week with Corona Slice, as we serve up an executive summary of what every fan should know, along with a look at the best in social media.

LOOKING AHEAD

Who’s Playing This Week?
There are two ATP World Tour 250 events in Auckland and Sydney.

Heineken Open: World No. 5 David Ferrer bids for a record-tying fourth Auckland title and is seeking his third straight triumph at the event. He is joined by second seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, the 2008 champion, third seed Tommy Haas, making his first appearance since 2000 and fourth seed Sam Querrey, the 2009 runner-up. Jerzy Janowicz, the fifth seed, also features.
Facebook | Twitter | Website

Apia International Sydney: John Isner is the top seed in Sydney and makes his season debut. He will be challenged by No. 2 seed Gilles Simon, who triumphed in 2011, No. 3 seed Andreas Seppi and No. 4 seed Fernando Verdasco. Defending champion Jarkko Nieminen and Australian Bernard Tomic are among the unseeded floaters in the draw.
Facebook | Twitter | Website

Potential Milestones (Career match wins as of 7 January 2013)
Auckland – Singles
Jurgen Melzer – 296 wins

Sydney – Singles
Feliciano Lopez – 296 wins
Kevin Anderson – 99 wins

Sydney – Doubles
Nenad Zimonjic – 546 wins

Rankings Movers
Milos Raonic 15 (-2 spots)
Grigor Dimitrov 41 (+7 spots) – Career High
Roberto Bautista Agut 55 (+25 spots) – Career High
Bernard Tomic 64 (-12 spots)
Horacio Zeballos 66 (+19 spots)
Go Soeda 73 (-13 spots)
Aljaz Bedene 77 (+9 spots) – Career High
Gael Monfils 99 (-22 spots)

Birthdays
10 January – Daniele Bracciali (35)
11 January – Michael Kohlmann (39)
12 January – Paul-Henri Mathieu (31)

Player To Watch: David Ferrer
The fifth-ranked Ferrer is the top seed at the Heineken Open, where he is the two-time reigining titlist. He has a 20-5 record in Auckland and joined Roy Emerson (1960, '65-67) and Onny Parun (1973, '75-76) as the only three-time champions with his final victory over Olivier Rochus in 2012. It was the start of a career-best season for Ferrer, who finished the year as the ATP World Tour leader in titles captured (7) and match wins (76). He began his 2013 campaign last week in Doha, reaching the semi-finals (l. to Davydenko).

How To Watch
Follow all of the action from Auckland (Not available in New Zealand, USA and Russia) beginning 7 January.
Watch Live Powered By TennisTV | TV Schedule

WEEK IN REVIEW

Top Tweets

‏@Petzsche (Philipp Petzschner)
Hey there i m Natami Aminah Petzschner! I m 54 cm tall and 3740g heavy!i ll try to be a proud member of my family pic.twitter.com/3xLPI5ai

‏@RoscoHutchins (Ross Hutchins)
I am doing well, very positive with excellent medical support,friends and family around me. Looking forward to being back on the court soon!

@RobKoenigTennis (Robbie Koenig)
Whatever Davydenko had for dinner last night, i want some of that!!! #jawdropping

‏@blaz_kavcic (Blaz Kavcic)
I have to thank my doubles partner today for hitting me full power with his forehand from 2m direct in my back. Well done Bedene...;)

@jesselevine7 (Jesse Levine)
Woke up to texts,tweets,Facebook messages...yes ladies and gentleman hockey is back!!!

Most Popular Facebook Post on Facebook.com/ATPWorldTour

Likes: 6,211
Comments: 214
Shares: 278

Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our YouTube account

Video Of The Week
Players talk about their favourite Sydney tourist hot spots during the official players' party.

In Case You Missed It…
Brisbane: World No. 3 Andy Murray retained his Brisbane International crown, defeating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(0), 6-4. Dimitrov made his ATP World Tour final debut. 
Murray: “I Feel More Relaxed”

Chennai: Top-seeded Janko Tipsarevic battled back to defeat first-time ATP World Tour finalist Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in one hour and 50 minutes at the Aircel Chennai Open.
Tipsarevic: “I Was Mentally Stable” 

Doha: Second seed  Richard Gasquet overcame a set and a break deficit to top Nikolay Davydenko 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final.
Gasquet: “I’m Really Happy With The Way I Won” 

Playing Defence
With his triumph over Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane, Andy Murray captured his 25th tour-level trophy. Six of those have been successful title defences, which are listed in the chart below...

Tidbits
• Mikhail Youzhny recorded his 400th match win in the first round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open to become the ninth active player to achieve the feat. More…
• Richard Gasquet also notched a milestone in Doha, registering his 300th match win in the second round. More…
• Juan Martin del Potro was honoured with a special mural in his hometown of Tandil, Argentina commemorating his bronze medal performance at the London 2012 Olympics. More…
• The Serbia Open tennis tournament in Belgrade will no longer feature on the ATP World Tour calendar, following the decision by the organisers to cease the tournament’s operations. More…
• Lorne Abony, a member of the ATP Competition Committee and arguably the best tennis playing CEO in America, was featured on CBS's hit show 'Undercover Boss' this past Friday. More…

Photo Galleries
Brisbane | Chennai | Doha | BEAT THIS Campaign

ATPWORLDTOUR.COM

Credential
Experience all the action on the ATP World Tour with your free fan credential, giving you access to newsletters, ticket alerts, results, and more.
Sign up here!