Snakes n’ Ladders: Janko doubles up
Originally published on: 24/10/11 10:21
You wait nine years for a bus and then, you guessed it, two come along at once.
That’s the state of play for Janko Tipsarevic, who picked up his second ATP title in Moscow, three weeks after winning his first in Kualar Lumpur and nine years after turning professional.
The 27 year old defeated countryman Viktor Troicki 6-4 6-2 in the first ever all-Serb final to climb one spot in the ladder to 13 and three spots to No.10 in the race for a place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
Tipsarevic joins Gael Monfils in boosting his hopes of snatching a place in the eight-man field at the O2 Arena after the Frenchman defeated Jarkko Nieminen in Stockholm to move up to No.14 in the race.
Eighth-placed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga still holds a healthy advantage in the race for London, with the Frenchman on 2,790 points for the season, ahead of Tipsarevic’s 2,245 and Monfils’ 1,925, but the possibility of a place at the prestigious event is enticing to both challengers.
“Even if I say I don’t want to think about London, I knew it was a big opportunity for me,” Tipsarevic admitted after his win in a surprise joint press conference with Troicki.
“Every single point counts for London now. It is going to be really hard but not impossible. If I don’t qualify for London, then my next goal would be to finish in the Top 10.”
Monfils, meanwhile, had to rally hard to defeat Nieminen on his debut at the If Stockholm Open, eventually beating the Finnish three-time finalist 7-5 3-6 6-2.
“My concentration was the key for me today,” said Monfils. “I just believed I could win this match.
“Jarkko was playing good when he was in front. Some spots in the match were high level tennis and he was moving well. At the end I think he got a bit fatigued. I played him three weeks ago [in Bangkok] but I was more impressed with him today.”
Despite losing the title decider in Stockholm for a third time, having lost in the 2001 and 2006 title matches, the 30-year-old was delighted to see a good turnout in support of his efforts to win his second of 11 ATP World Tour finals.
“It was great to see so many Finnish people,” he said.
“They’re always coming here, especially towards the end of the week. It’s always really nice when they come to support me, but the way the Swedish people support me is also amazing, as it feels almost like a home court for me.”
In the WTA ladder, Petra Kvitova climbed one spot to a career high No.3 in the world a week after winning her fifth title of the season – and sixth of her career – while Victoria Azarenka dropped back to No.4 despite winning her eighth career title in Luxembourg on Sunday.
Tomorrow, the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships begins, with the top eight women bringing the curtain down on the WTA season in Turkey, where Caroline Wozniacki will look to win at least two round robin matches to secure the year-end world No.1 spot.
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