The Asian swing is in full flight and so is the race to the World Tour Finals. Tomas Berdych has to especially thrilled with the latter fact.
Seemingly on his way out of contention when he missed the U.S. Open because of appendicitis, Berdych is back in business after two productive weeks to begin his fall season. The ninth-ranked Czech reached the semifinals last week in St. Petersburg and captured the Shenzhen Open title on Sunday afternoon by outlasting Richard Gasquet 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3 in two hours and 40 minutes.
Adding 250 points to his count, Berdych remains in the No. 9 spot but now stands only 330 points south of Rafael Nadal for all-important eighth place. With two 500-point events next week and still two more Masters 1000 tournaments on the schedule, 330 points is hardly a significant lead. Even Marin Cilic (10th, 800 points behind Nadal) and David Goffin (11th, 990 points behind Nadal) can surge into the discussion with either a 500-point title or a big run at a Masters 1000.
Nine of the top 11 players in the race will take the court this week, with only Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka on the sideline. The two U.S. Open finalists had been scheduled to join the party, but they pulled out of their respective events due to injuries.
Djokovic, Wawrinka, and Murray–the three Grand Slam winners this year–have already clinched places in London. No. 4 Milos Raonic and No. 5 Kei Nishikori appear to be locks. Like Nadal, No. 6 Gael Monfils and No. 7 Dominic Thiem need to put more points on the board in order to feel safe.
Berdych will try to make additional headway at the upcoming Japan Open, where is joined in the field by Nishikori, Monfils, Cilic, and Goffin. The China Open, meanwhile, features Murray and Nadal as the top two seeds ahead of Raonic and Thiem.
Top 8
1. Novak Djokovic – 10,240 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Not playing.
2. Andy Murray – 8,185 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Beijing Open.
3. Stan Wawrinka – 4,970 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Not playing.
4. Milos Raonic – 4,420 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Beijing Open.
5. Kei Nishikori – 4,315 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Japan Open.
6. Gael Monfils – 3,355 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Japan Open.
7. Dominic Thiem – 3,205 points. Last week: Chengdu quarterfinals. This week: Beijing Open.
8. Rafael Nadal – 3,200 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Beijing Open.
Next 3
9. Tomas Berdych – 2,870 points. Last week: Shenzhen Open title. This week: Japan Open.
10. Marin Cilic – 2,400 points. Last week: Did not play. This week: Japan Open.
11. David Goffin – 2,210 points. Last week: Shenzhen second round. This week: Japan Open.
Goffin’s form definitely means he isn’t qualifying unless he can somehow get back to the form he showcased earlier this season. That loss to Jaziri was a step further back though. Could’ve been as high as 7 in the rankings if he had beaten Thiem at RG which he was so close to doing. Instead his career high is still 11 and he’s like 15 in the actual rankings. I’m surprised he’s still 11th in the race though. Also that fed is still at 12. And he’s at 7 in the rankings but will continue to fall?
As a Goffin believer, my guess is he needs another week for his recuperative powers to recharge. I picked Anderson to beat him this week in Tokyo after much indecision. He’s going to step it up a little in Shanghai, he’ll be chill for the new tournament in Antwerp and chill in Basel, go for more in Paris. 😀 I hope. Go Goffin.