2008 Tennis Masters Cup
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis
tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the year-end singles championships
, the 34th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and part of the 2008 ATP Tour
. It took place at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai
, China
, from November 9 through November 16, 2008.
Association of Tennis Professionals
(ATP) No. 3 Novak Djokovic
of Serbia
won his first year-end championships title in the singles event, defeating ATP No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko
of Russia in the final 6–1, 7–5. Four-time winner, two-time defending champion
Roger Federer
was defeated in the round robin stage of the event for the first time in seven consecutive appearances. Daniel Nestor
of Canada and Nenad Zimonjić
of Serbia won the doubles event 7–6, 6–2 over Americans Bob
and Mike Bryan
in the final for their first year-end championships doubles title together. With the win, they clinched the year-end No. 1 spot for the first time together. Nestor successfully defended his 2007 Tennis Masters Cup
title with his new partner Zimonjić, while the other defending champion, Mark Knowles, lost in the round robin, with Mahesh Bhupathi
.
It was the last time that the singles and doubles year-end championships took place in Shanghai as the Tennis Masters Cup. Starting in 2009, the season-ending event will be moved to London, United Kingdom, at the O2 arena
, under the new name of ATP World Tour Finals. Shanghai will instead hold a new event in the 2009 season, the Shanghai Masters
, which will take place earlier in the year.
Spots are awarded to the top seven players and the top seven doubles teams in the 2008 ATP Race
, with one spot reserved for Grand Slam champions who finish within the Top 20 players or teams of the ATP Race rankings. Two more players and teams also go to Shanghai as alternates in case of withdrawals.
– the first three players to qualify for the 2008 year-end championships were selected: ATP
No. 2 Rafael Nadal
of Spain, World No. 1 Roger Federer
of Switzerland and third-ranked Novak Djokovic
of Serbia
. These players, who held the top three spots of the ATP rankings during the whole year, secured their fourth, seventh and second appearance respectively in the season's finale.
Rafael Nadal, who reached his first hard courts Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open (lost to Tsonga), qualified after winning the French Open
for a fourth consecutive time, matching Björn Borg
's record performance from 1978 to 1981. He broke Roger Federer's streak of five consecutive titles in Wimbledon
as he defeated the Swiss 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7, in a four-hour, forty-eight minute-long final – the longest championship match in Wimbledon's history – to become the first tennis player to complete the Roland-Garros/Wimbledon double since Borg. In addition to the two Grand Slam titles, Nadal had also, at the time of his qualification, reached two finals in Chennai
(lost to Youhzny
) and Miami
(lost to Davydenko
), won his fourth consecutive title in Monte Carlo
(def. Federer) and at Barcelona
(def. Ferrer
), and his first in Hamburg
(def. Federer) and at London's Queen's Club
(def. Djokovic), where he became, two weeks before his Wimbledon victory, the first Spaniard to win a grass court title since Andrés Gimeno
in 1972. After his qualification, Nadal clinched a second title at the Canada Masters
(def. Kiefer
), a gold medal
at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
(def. González
), and a semifinal run at the US Open (lost to Murray). On August 18, after 160 weeks at ATP No. 2, Rafael Nadal overtook Roger Federer, breaking his 237-week streak at the top spot, to become the 24th player to hold the No. 1 rank in the twenty-five years of computerised-rankings history. Nadal eventually withdrew in the run-up to the tournament, citing fatigue.
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Roger Federer started his 2008 campaign with his first exit before the final in a major event since a 2005 defeat by Rafael Nadal
at the French Open, when he lost in the Australian Open semifinals to Djokovic. After announcing he had contracted mononucleosis
in December 2007, Federer hired clay-court specialist José Higueras
to coach him, first during the clay court season, but eventually for the rest of the year. Federer qualified after he reached his third consecutive French Open
final (lost to Nadal), where he suffered a 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 defeat, and his sixth consecutive Wimbledon
final (lost to Nadal). After failing to beat the five-consecutive-title streak at the All England Club
record and losing his third Grand Slam tournament in a row for the first time since 2002, Federer described the Wimbledon final as his "hardest loss by far". When he qualified, Federer had lost two more finals to Nadal in Monte Carlo
and Hamburg
, and won only two ATP International Series
titles in Estoril
(def. Davydenko) and Halle
(def. Kohlschreiber
). Despite losing his number 1 spot to Nadal in August, the rest of Federer's season featured better results with a third consecutive title in Basel
(def. Nalbandian
), and a fifth straight victory at the US Open (def. Murray) which brought him one Grand Slam title short of Pete Sampras
's record of fourteen.
Novak Djokovic had the best start of the season, as the Serb reached his second straight Grand Slam final after the 2007 US Open, and won his first major title at the Australian Open
(def. Tsonga), becoming the first man other that Federer or Nadal to win a Grand Slam since Marat Safin in Melbourne three years before. Djokovic reached his fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open
(lost to Nadal), but suffered his earliest exit in a major since a first round loss at the 2006 Australian Open, in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Safin). In the first part of the year, Djokovic also reached the London's Queen's Club
final (lost to Nadal), and won two ATP Masters Series
titles in Indian Wells
(def. Fish
) and Rome
(def. Wawrinka
). After qualifying for the year-end event, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics tennis event
, but defeated James Blake
in the third place match to win a Bronze Medal
for Serbia. Despite this run, Djokovic failed to win another title in 2008 until the Tennis Masters Cup. He could not defend his 2007 final appearance at the US Open (lost to Federer), reaching only two tournaments finals in Cincinnati
(lost to Murray) and Bangkok
(lost to Tsonga).
The fourth qualifier, announced after the US Open on September 9, was Andy Murray of Great Britain, who secured his first Tennis Masters Cup ticket – the first for a Briton since Tim Henman
in the 2004 edition
.
Andy Murray, who started the year just outside the Top Ten, qualified after improving his Grand Slam performances throughout the season. After defeats in the first round of the Australian Open (lost to Tsonga), and in the third round of the French Open (lost to Almagro
), Murray reached his first quarterfinals in a major at the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Nadal), after coming back from a two-sets-to-love deficit to beat 2007 Wimbledon semifinalist Richard Gasquet
in the fourth round. Murray capped his season in majors with his first Grand Slam final – the first for a Briton since Greg Rusedski
's lost 1997 US Open final – at the US Open (lost to Federer), after defeating Nadal, in his first tournament as World No. 1, in the semifinals. By that time in the season, Murray had already won two International Series titles in Doha
(def. Wawrinka), Marseille
(def. Ančić
) and his first Masters Series shield in Cincinnati
(def. Djokovic). Murray consolidated his fourth place in the rankings after the US Open by winning two more titles at the Madrid Masters (def. Simon
) and in Saint Petersburg
(def. Golubev
), where he was the defending champion
.
The fifth player to be selected, on October 19, was Nikolay Davydenko
of Russia, who obtained his fourth consecutive qualification for the year-end championships.
Nikolay Davydenko, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in 2007, never went into second week at a major in 2008. He had early exits in the fourth round at the Australian Open (lost to Youzhny), in the third round at the French Open (lost to Ljubičić
), in the first round at the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Becker
), and in the fourth round at the US Open (lost to Müller
). Though he did not defend his 2007 title in Moscow
, Davydenko performed better in smaller events in 2008, reaching an International Series final in Estoril
(lost to Federer), and winning two International Series titles in Pörtschach
(def. Mónaco
) and Warsaw
(def. Robredo
), and his second career Masters shield in Miami
(def. Nadal).
The last three qualifiers, who locked their spots during the final event before the year-end championships, at the Paris Masters
, were Andy Roddick
of the United States, qualified for the sixth straight year (withdrew in 2005) on October 30, Juan Martín del Potro
of Argentina
, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who both qualified in the last two days of the event and ended in the Top Eight for the first time.
Andy Roddick did not perform as well as in previous seasons in Grand Slam tournaments, exiting in the third round of the Australian Open (lost to Kohlschreiber), withdrawing from the 2008 French Open
(due to a right shoulder injury contracted in the semifinals of the Rome Masters), crashing in a four-setter in the second round of Wimbledon (lost to Tipsarević
), and matching his 2007 US Open performance with a quarterfinal in New York (lost to Djokovic). During the rest of the season, Roddick lost one final in Los Angeles
(lost to del Potro), and captured three titles in San Jose
(def. Štěpánek
), Dubai
(def. López
), and Beijing
(def. Sela
), clinching the qualification when he reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.
Juan Martín del Potro lost in the second round of all first three majors; at the Australian Open (lost to Ferrer), the French Open (lost to Bolelli
), and Wimbledon (lost to Wawrinka). After Wimbledon, del Potro went on to win his first four titles in as many tournaments in Stuttgart (def. Gasquet), Kitzbühel
(def Melzer
), Los Angeles
(def. Roddick) and Washington
(def. Troicki
), becoming the first player ever to do so. In the rest of the year, del Potro extended his 23-match streak to the quarterfinals of the US Open (lost to Murray), and reached another final in Tokyo
(lost to Berdych
). Del Potro's qualification came during the Paris Masters, when Tsonga defeated other Masters Cup hopeful James Blake, the only other contender for del Potro's place, in the semifinals.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, ranked 38 on January 1, defeated Murray, Gasquet and Nadal en route to his first final in the ATP Tour at the Australian Open
(lost to Djokovic). Sidelined during three months of the season due to a right knee injury, Tsonga missed both the French Open
and Wimbledon
, coming back to competition at the US Open where he was defeated in the third round (lost to Robredo). Tsonga won his first career title in a rematch of the Australian Open final in the International Series event of Bangkok
(def. Djokovic), and earned his Tennis Masters Cup qualification with his second career title (his first Masters Series shield) at the Paris Masters (def. Nalbandian).
After Nadal's withdrawal on November 3, the ninth player of the ATP Race, Gilles Simon
of France, was elevated to the playing field, for his first career qualification.
Gilles Simon, one of fifteen Frenchmen of the ATP Top 100 at the beginning of the year, did not perform well in Grand Slam events, losing in the third round of the Australian Open (lost to Nadal), the first round of the French Open (lost to Štěpánek), the third round of Wimbledon (lost to Gasquet), and the third round of the US Open (lost to del Potro). His ninth place at the race resulted from three titles in Casablanca
(def. Benneteau
), Indianapolis
(def. Tursunov
), and Bucharest
(def. Moyá
), a semifinals run at the Canada Masters, and a final at the Madrid Masters (lost to Murray).
The first two teams to qualify for the year-end doubles tournament were selected on July 9. They were World No. 1 duo Bob Bryan
and Mike Bryan
from the United States, and then-ATP Race-leaders Daniel Nestor
of Canada and Nenad Zimonjić
of Serbia
. The Bryan brothers qualified for their sixth straight Tennis Masters Cup appearance (withdrew in 2007), while Nestor qualified for the tenth time, the first with another partner than Mark Knowles
, and Zimonjić qualified for the third time.
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan started their 2008 season with an unsuccessful defense of their 2007 Australian Open
title, where they were upset in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (lost to Bhupathi
/Knowles
). The Bryans matched their 2007 French Open performance with a quarterfinal appearance in Paris (lost to Cuevas
/Horna
), but were again upset before the final in Wimbledon (lost to Björkman
/Ullyett
), leaving the tournament without ever dropping serve. When they qualified, the Bryan brothers had already reached eight finals, losing five – in Sydney
(lost to Gasquet
/Tsonga), Delray Beach
(lost to Mirnyi
/Murray
), San Jose
(lost to Lipsky
/Martin
), Las Vegas
(lost to Benneteau
/Llodra
), and Hamburg
(lost to Nestor/Zimonjić) – and winning the other three in Miami
(def. Bhupathi/Knowles), Barcelona
(def. Fyrstenberg
/Matkowski
), and Rome
(def. Nestor/Zimonjić). After Wimbledon, the Bryans entered the US Open without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2005. They ended their title drought in majors by winning their second final in New York (def. Dlouhý
/Paes
), their sixth Grand Slam crown overall. The Bryans also won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
, defeating Clément
/Llodra, after they were upset in the semifinals by Federer
/Wawrinka
, and reached two more finals, losing in Toronto
(lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), and winning in Cincinnati
(def. Erlich
/Ram
).
Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić, who had previously partnered for four events in 2007, started their first full season together with an appearance in the Australian Open
quarterfinals (lost to Clément/Llodra), and the final of the French Open
, which Nestor had won the previous year with Knowles (lost to Cuevas/Horna). The pair qualified after winning their first Grand Slam title together at the Wimbledon Championships
(def. Björkman/Ullyett). The title was Zimonjić's first in a major after three lost finals, and completed Nestor's career Golden Slam, having previously won the three other majors and the Gold Medal
at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
. Nestor and Zimonjić's partnership also led them to three ATP Masters Series
finals in Indian Wells
(lost to Erlich/Ram), Rome
(lost to Bryan/Bryan), and Hamburg
(def. Bryan/Bryan), and a final at London's Queen's Club
(def. Melo
/Sá
). After clinching their first ticket as a team for the Tennis Masters Cup, Nestor and Zimonjić, who held the top spot of the ATP Race for several weeks, lost early in the third round of the US Open (lost to Nieminen
/Lindstedt
), and win one more title in Toronto
(def. Bryan/Bryan).
The third team to qualify, announced on September 9, was the pairing of Jonathan Erlich
and Andy Ram
from Israel
, who participated in the 2006
and 2007
editions of the event, losing each time in the round robin.
Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram kicked off their season with their first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open
(def. Clément/Llodra), becoming the first Israeli players to capture a major title in tennis history. Erlich and Ram did not match that performance in the remaining majors of the year, exiting in the third round at the French Open, in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon (lost to Dlouhý/Paes), and in the second round at the US Open (lost to Robredo
/Roitman
). Upset in the first round of the Olympic doubles event by Clément/Llodra, Erlich and Ram reached two other tournaments finals in the season, in Masters Series events of Indian Wells
(def. Nestor/Zimonjić) and Cincinnati
(lost to Bryan/Bryan). Sidelined by a recurring elbow injury since the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs
against Peru
, Erlich did not participate in any event after the US Open. Partnering with different other players in the rest of the season, Ram won two more titles; partnering with Max Mirnyi in Vienna
(def. Petzschner
/Peya
) and in Lyon
, and partnering with Michaël Llodra (def. Huss
/Hutchins
).
The fourth and fifth teams selected for the Tennis Masters Cup, on October 19, were the pairing of Mahesh Bhupathi
from India and Mark Knowles
– one of the two defending champions
– from The Bahamas
, who secured respectively their eighth and eleventh spots for the season championships, and the then-13th-ranked duo of Pablo Cuevas
from Uruguay
and Luis Horna
from Peru
, who qualified as Grand Slam champions certain to finish the year within the Top 20 of the ATP Race rankings, and reached the year-end event for the first time.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles started competing together in 2008 with a deep run at the Australian Open, in which they defeated defending champions Bryan/Bryan, before losing in the semifinals (lost to Erlich/Ram). Bhupathi and Knowles exited in the first round of the French Open, where Knowles was the defending champion
(lost to Huss/Hutchins), and in Wimbledon (lost to Petzschner/Peya). At the US Open, the pair did not get past the third round (lost to González
/Mónaco
). Despite the poor season in majors, Bhupathi and Knowles reached five finals in Vienna
(lost to Mirnyi/Ram), Madrid (lost to Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), Memphis
(def. Ratiwatana
/Ratiwatana
), Dubai
(def. Damm
/Vízner
), Basel
(def. Kas
/Kohlschreiber
).
Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna did not start their partnership until the French Open
, in which they upset four seeded teams (Clément/Llodra; Dlouhý/Paes; Bryan/Bryan; Nestor/Zimonjić) to win their first Grand Slam title, the first ever claimed by a South American team. Cuevas and Horna entered two more tournaments together in the rest of the season, losing in the second round of the US Open (lost to de Voest
/Fisher
), and the first in Washington
(lost to Gicquel
/Lindstedt). The pair had more success separately, as Cuevas reached the final in Houston
, partnering with Marcel Granollers
(lost to Gulbis
/Schüttler
), and Horna won two titles in Auckland
, partnering with Juan Mónaco (def. Malisse
/Melzer
), and Buenos Aires
, partnering with Agustín Calleri
(def. Eschauer
/Luczak
).
The sixth and seventh teams to enter the field on October 26 were the duo of Jonas Björkman
of Sweden and Kevin Ullyett
of Zimbabwe
, who qualified for their seventh and fifth year-end finale (their first together), and the pair of Lukáš Dlouhý
of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes
of India, who qualified for their second and ninth year-end finale (their first together).
Jonas Björkman and Kevin Ullyett reached the quarterfinals at the French Open (lost to Soares/Vemic), the first major of their season, and were defeated in the Wimbledon
final (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić). Set to retire at the end of 2008, Björkman entered the US Open and was knocked out in the second round (lost to Kas/Petzschner). Björkman and Ullyett had won one title together in Stockholm
(def. Brunström
/Ryderstedt
) by October, then clinched one more after they qualified, in Paris (def. Coetzee
/Moodie
). Björkman also won in Båstad
(def. Brunstrom/Rojer
), partnering with Robin Söderling
. Ullyett reached two finals with Bruno Soares in Nottingham
(def. Coetzee/Murray) and Washington
(lost to Gicquel/Lindstedt), and one with Jamie Murray in Estoril
(lost to Coetzee/Moodie).
Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes, who started the season with different partners, František Čermák
and Paul Hanley
respectively, debuted their partnership at the French Open, where they reached the third round (lost to Cuevas/Horna), and found success in Wimbledon, where they reached the semifinals (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), and the US Open, where they reached their first Grand Slam final together (lost to Bryan/Bryan). Aside from the majors, Dlouhý and Paes reached three other finals together: in Bangkok
(def. Lipsky/Martin), Halle
(lost to Youhzny
/Zverev
), and Tokyo
(lost to Youzhny/Zverev).
At the Paris Masters, several teams competed for the last spot of the Tennis Masters Cup doubles event. Jeff Coetzee
and Wesley Moodie
from South Africa eventually finished runners-up, gathering enough points to reach their first year-end event together – the first ever for Coetzee, the second for Moodie (after 2005
).
Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie climbed to the eighth place of the Race starting with a semifinal at the Australian Open (lost to Clément/Llodra), followed by early losses in the second round of the French Open (lost to Tipsarević
/Troicki
), and of Wimbledon (lost to López
/Verdasco
). Coetzee partnered with Rogier Wassen
at the US Open, where they were beaten in the first round (lost to González/Mónaco). Coetzee and Moodie reached three tournaments finals together during the season: in Doha
(lost to Kohlschreiber/Škoch
), Estoril
(def. Murray/Ullyett), and Paris (lost to Björkman/Ullyett). Individually, Coetzee also reached two finals in Marseille
, partnering with Yves Allegro
(lost to Damm/Vizner), and Nottingham
, partnering with Jamie Murray (lost to Soares/Ullyett).
After Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram's withdrawal on November 3, the eighth team of the ATP Doubles Race, Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Marcin Matkowski
of Poland, were selected as replacements.
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski never got further than the third round in majors in 2008, exiting in the third at the Australian Open (lost to Bhupathi/Knowles), the second at the French Open (lost to Mertiňák
/Scherrer
), and the first in Wimbledon (lost to Bopanna
/Qureshi
) and at the US Open (lost to Andreev
/Zverev). Despite the poor runs in majors, Fyrstenberg and Matkowski reached five finals in Barcelona
(lost to Bryan/Bryan), Warsaw
(def. Davydenko
/Schukin
), Bucharest
(lost to Devilder
/Mathieu
), Metz
(lost to Clément/Llodra), and Madrid (def. Bhupathi/Knowles).
Four days after forgoing his quarterfinal against Nikolay Davydenko
at the Paris Masters
due to a recurring right knee injury, ATP Race
-leader Rafael Nadal
announced on November 3 that he would withdraw from the year-end championships, for the second time in four qualifications. Nadal had already pulled out of the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup
due to a left foot injury before his opening match against Gastón Gaudio
, and was replaced by alternate Mariano Puerta
. Nadal's withdrawal in 2008 happened as the Spaniard was scheduled to lead his country's Davis Cup team
in the event
's final, to be played five days after the Tennis Masters Cup in Mar del Plata
, Argentina
, on indoor hard courts, against an Argentinian team
led by Stockholm
titlist, Basel
and Paris runner-up David Nalbandian
, and other year-end event qualifier Juan Martín del Potro
. Nadal cited the Davis Cup final necessary preparation as another reason to withdraw from the event, saying: "I want to recover and be ready for the important Davis Cup final with my country that will be played in Mar del Plata, Argentina". He eventually announced, on November 10, his withdrawal from the Davis Cup final (set to be played November 21–23), due to his knee injury.
Nadal's withdrawal elevated the first alternate, Gilles Simon
, into the draw, making him the second Frenchman of the eight-men field, alongside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and marking the first time that two Frenchmen participated in the year-end event since the Masters Grand Prix event of 1986, in which Yannick Noah
and Henri Leconte
competed. Simon was ranked eighth in the ATP Race entering the Paris Masters thanks to his final in Madrid and his semifinal at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
, where he lost to eventual champion Robin Söderling
, but was knocked out of the Top Eight when he lost to Andy Roddick
in the third round, and Tsonga qualified by winning the title. Simon, who flew to Shanghai with countryman and friend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on November 5, commented on Nadal's withdrawal and his first selection for the year-end event: "I was unhappy that he had to pull out. I would really have preferred to qualify directly by finishing eighth. It's not in my nature to wish that another player can't play. [...] I'm really happy to be going there and I really want to experience this."
On the same day, Israeli Jonathan Erlich
, who had been suffering from an elbow injury since September, also announced he was pulling out from the doubles field, alongside his partner Andy Ram
, with whom he had won the Australian Open
in January. Hoping that Erlich would be fit to play the year-end event, Ram had continued to compete with different players between September and the last ATP Tour
event before the Masters Cup. During that period, he won a Davis Cup World Group Play-off
match against Peru
with Harel Levy
, an ATP International Series Gold
title in Vienna
against Philipp Petzschner
and Alexander Peya
with Max Mirnyi
, lost to Pablo Andújar
and Marcel Granollers
in the first round of the Madrid Masters with Mikhail Youzhny
, won another title in Lyon
against Stephen Huss
and Ross Hutchins
with Michaël Llodra
, and eventually lost in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters to Arnaud Clément
and Michaël Llodra, with Bruno Soares
.
Erlich and Ram's exit allowed the first alternates, Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Marcin Matkowski
, to join the eight-team field days after they lost a chance to qualify regularly during the Paris Masters. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, who had boosted their chances to qualify by winning the Madrid Masters, met Jeff Coetzee
and Wesley Moodie
in the semifinals of Paris, as both teams were vying for the seventh spot of the Race. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski were then beaten in straight sets, and denied a guaranteed spot in Shanghai. Their qualification as alternates marked their second appearance at the Masters Cup after a previous run in 2006
, where they lost all of their round robin matches.
Rulebook states that the two players immediately ranked after the last qualifier at the Masters Cup should be selected as singles alternates, and be present at the event's location, only two players ranked in the Top 35 of the ATP Race, after Gilles Simon, accepted the invitation to come to Shanghai : 26th-ranked Radek Štěpánek
of the Czech Republic, and 35th-ranked Nicolas Kiefer
of Germany. Among the twenty-four players who declined to come – because they needed to prepare for the Davis Cup
final, for reasons of injury, or to preserve themselves for the next season – were James Blake
, David Nalbandian
, 2007 Tennis Masters Cup finalist
David Ferrer
, Stanislas Wawrinka
, 2007 qualifier
Fernando González
, Fernando Verdasco
, Gaël Monfils
, Robin Söderling
, Igor Andreev
, Nicolás Almagro
, Tomáš Berdych
, Tommy Robredo
, Marin Čilić
, Mardy Fish
, 2007 qualifier
Richard Gasquet
, Ivo Karlović
, Philipp Kohlschreiber
, Dmitry Tursunov
, Marat Safin
, Feliciano López
, Paul-Henri Mathieu
, Mikhail Youzhny
, Rainer Schüttler
and Mario Ančić
.
Czech Radek Štěpánek, who started the year as No. 30 and ranked as high as No. 12 on July 7, had his best Grand Slam
performance at the French Open, where he reached the fourth round, losing to David Ferrer in five sets on the score of 4–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. Štěpánek reached one final in the season in San Jose
(lost to Roddick
), and reached the semifinals at four events, in Sydney (lost to Guccione
), Memphis (lost to Söderling), Rome (retired due to illness against Djokovic
), and Metz (lost to Tursunov).
Former World No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer, who qualified once for the year-end event at the 1999 ATP Tour World Championships
, where he reached the semifinals (lost to Sampras
), did not get past the third round at a Grand Slam event in 2008 but reached his first tournament final since Saint Petersburg
in 2005, his first career ATP Masters Series
final – and his only final of the season – at the Toronto Masters
(lost to Nadal). His other best results included a semifinal in Halle (lost to Federer
), and a quarterfinal at the Hamburg Masters (lost to Seppi
).
The substitutes for the doubles event, ranked in the ninth position of the ATP Doubles Race, directly after Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, were Marcelo Melo
and André Sá
from Brazil
.
Partnering together since 2006, Marcelo Melo and André Sá advanced the third round in Grand Slam events in 2008, having been knocked out in the first round of the Australian Open (lost to Arnold Ker
/López
), the second at the French Open (lost to Ram
/Reynolds
), the third in Wimbledon (withdrew against Anderson
/Lindstedt), and the first at the US Open (lost to Robredo/Roitman). The pair lost one final at London's Queen's Club
(lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), but won three titles in Costa do Sauípe
(def. Montañés
/Ventura
), Pörtschach
(def. Knowle
/Melzer), and New Haven
(def. Bhupathi/Knowles).
The draw ceremony, which divided the eight competing players/teams in the two round robin groups
, took place on November 5, in Shanghai's Hilton hotel
, in attendance by ATP No. 4 Andy Murray. With Rafael Nadal withdrawn due to a knee injury, Roger Federer
took the top seed and the heading of the Red Group; Novak Djokovic
took the second seed, headlining the Gold Group. Federer was drawn alongside Murray, Andy Roddick
and Nadal's replacement Gilles Simon
, while Djokovic was joined in his group by Nikolay Davydenko
, Juan Martín del Potro
and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The Red Group's composition set several rematches of the year's encounters, confronting Federer with three players against which he lost their in last meeting – having been defeated by Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters, losing to him for the second time in their seventeen matches against each other; by Simon in their only meeting in the second round of the Toronto Masters; and by Murray in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters. Federer and Murray's match was their fourth encounter of the year, after a first round match in Dubai (won by Murray), the US Open final (won by Federer), and a Madrid semifinal (won by Murray), which brought their head-to-head record to 2–3 in Murray's favor. The announced meeting of Murray and Simon was also a rematch, that of Madrid Masters' final, which Murray won in straight sets, defeating the Frenchman for the second time in the year, after a second round at the Hamburg Masters, to lead their head-to-head 2–1. Roddick's encounter with Simon was to be their third career meeting, the second in 2008 after a Paris Masters third round (won by Roddick), which helped the American clinch his spot at the Tennis Masters Cup, and prevented Simon to gather enough points to qualify directly for the event. Finally, Roddick and Murray's meeting, their seventh overall, in a head-to-head led by Murray 4–2, was to be their first real match of the year, as Murray withdrew due to a thumb injury before what could have been their previous 2008 encounter, in the Queen's Club Championships quarterfinals.
Gold Group leader Novak Djokovic, who lost all three of his round robin matches at the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup
to Nadal, Richard Gasquet
and David Ferrer
, was set to meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the fourth time of the year, having lost their last two meetings in Bangkok
's final and Paris Masters' third round, after their first encounter in the Australian Open
's final (won by Djokovic). Djokovic's eventual meetings with Davydenko and del Potro were also uncertain for the Serb, as Djokovic had to retire in his only encounter with Davydenko, in a deciding match of the Davis Cup's first round, and had not met del Potro since a third round at the 2007 US Open, before the Argentinian elevated his level of play in the end of 2008 to enter the Top Ten. Del Potro's meeting with Davydenko was to be their third overall, their second that year, and give an advantage in their head-to-head record to either player, who had previously won one match against each other, with Davydenko defeating del Potro in the second round of the 2007 Paris Masters –when del Potro, a qualifier, had a ranking of only 51–, and the Argentinian avenging this loss by crushing the Russian in the Davis Cup semifinals 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. Tsonga entered the competition with a 0–1 record against both del Potro and Davydenko, but with each meeting (versus del Potro in New Haven, versus Davydenko in Moscow) coming in the 2007 season
, before the Frenchman's rise in the rankings.
The repartition of the doubles teams also took place, with Bob
and Mike Bryan
holding the top seed, and headlining the Red Group, and defending champion
Daniel Nestor
and new partner Nenad Zimonjić
taking upon the second seed and the head of the Gold Group. With the Bryans landed Mahesh Bhupathi
and Mark Knowles
, Jeff Coetzee
and Wesley Moodie
, and Pablo Cuevas
and Luis Horna
, while Nestor and Zimonjić were joined by Jonas Björkman
and Kevin Ullyett
, Lukáš Dlouhý
and Leander Paes
, and Erlich and Ram's replacements Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Marcin Matkowski
.
Red Group top duo Bob and Mike Bryan, who had withdrawn from the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup
due to an elbow injury for Mike Bryan, were set to face Mark Knowles, one of the two separated defending champions, and new partner Mahesh Bhupathi, for the fourth time in 2008, after meetings in the Australian Open quarterfinals (won by Bhupathi/Knowles), in the Miami Masters
final (won by Bryan/Bryan), and in the Cincinnati Masters semifinals (won by Bryan/Bryan). The Bryans had also defeated Knowles, partnering fellow Bahamian Devin Mullings
–then ranked 1017 in singles, not ranked in doubles– in the first round of the Beijing Olympics doubles tournament. The Bryan/Bryan-Coetzee/Moodie encounter was also a repeat of a matchup having already occurred three times in the season, at the Indian Wells Masters (won by Bryan/Bryan), the Miami Masters (won by Bryan/Bryan), and the Monte Carlo Masters (won by Coetzee/Moodie). Coetzee and Moodie, after defeating the Bryans in Monte Carlo Masters' quarterfinals, went on to lose in the semifinals to Bhupathi and Knowles, in their only meeting before the Masters Cup. Occasional doubles team of Cuevas and Horna, who competed in only three tournaments in the year, had a head-to-head record against only one of the three other teams, having upset the Bryan brothers in the French Open quarterfinals, en route to their Roland Garros title.
In the Gold Group were set rematches of the Wimbledon
final, between champions Nestor and Zimonjić and Björkman and Ullyett, whose encounter at Wimbledon (won by Nestor/Zimonjić) was the only one in their career, as well as of a Wimbledon semifinal between Nestor and Zimonjić, and Dlouhý and Paes (won by Nestor/Zimonjić). Nestor and Zimonjić, and Dlouhý and Paes had met three times in the year before the Masters Cup, in the Wimbledon semifinal first, then in a Toronto Masters semifinal (won by Nestor/Zimonjić), and a Cincinnati Masters quarterfinal (won by Nestor/Zimonjić). The second seeds' perfect record in 2008 against Dlouhý and Paes also included a victory of the pair over Paes and Tommy Robredo
in the Hamburg Masters semifinal, and of Nestor and Frédéric Niemeyer
over Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the first round of Indianapolis
, where both players were preparing for the Beijing Olympics
. Previous matchups between the group's teams also included a 2–2 head-to-head record between Nestor and Zimonjić, and Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, with three meetings in 2008 in Sydney
(won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), Rome (won by Nestor/Zimonjić), and Madrid (won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), and a second round in Monte Carlo between Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, and Björkman and Ullyett (won by Björkman/Ullyett). Finally, two encounters were to be first matchups in Shanghai, as neither Fyrstenberg and Matkowski nor Björkman and Ullyett entered the Tennis Masters Cup having played against the pairing of Dlouhý and Paes during the season.
and Mike Bryan
, and Pablo Cuevas
and Luis Horna
, since the South Americans upset the American duo at the French Open
. The top seeded pair, which entered the tournament in a race with Gold Group leaders Daniel Nestor
and Nenad Zimonjić
to clinch the year-end No. 1 spot, overwhelmed Cuevas and Horna, in their fourth career hard court match together (with previously one win and two losses), racing to a 6–1 win in the first set, before their opponents fought back in the second, breaking to eventually lead 5–2, when the Americans rallied back to serve for the match at 6–5. Cuevas and Horna took the Bryans' serve once more to reach a tie-break, in which the Americans eventually prevailed to win the match 6–1, 7–6. The other match taking place on the first day opposed Mahesh Bhupathi
and Mark Knowles
to Jeff Coetzee
and Wesley Moodie
, and left the Indian-Bahamian pair victorious for the second time in two career meetings. Bhupathi and Knowles faced little resistance, breaking their adversaries three times to score a 6–2, 6–3 victory.
The singles event kicked off later in the day, first opposing ATP No. 3 Novak Djokovic
to seventh seed Juan Martín del Potro
. No upset was produced, as Djokovic scored his first career victory at the year-end championships, after losing all his matches at the 2007 edition
, and increased his head-to-head against del Potro to 2–0, beating the Argentinian in straight sets. Djokovic had broken early in the first set, and was serving for the set at 5–3, when del Potro broke, and reached 5–5, before Djokovic took back the advantage, to win the set 7–5. In the second set, del Potro broke to lead 2–1, but Djokovic immediately levelled the score to 2–2, breaking again later in the set, and keeping his lead to a 7–5, 6–3 victory, in little less than two hours. In the second Gold Group match of the day, Nikolay Davydenko
faced recent Paris Masters champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in their second career meeting. Both players held their serve in the first set, to a tie-break the Russian eventually lost 6–8, on an unforced error, and the second set was just as tight, until Davydenko made one break at 5–4, levelling the match to one-set-all. The Russian broke early in the final set, and was serving for the match at 5–2, when Tsonga started a comeback, taking the match to a crucial tie-break. Davydenko then proved too solid for Tsonga, repeating his own performance from their only previous meeting, in Moscow
, where he had won 7–0 in a first set tie break, and scored again a perfect tie-break in Shanghai to win the match 6–7, 6–4, 7–6 after more than two hours and a half of play.
In the doubles event, on November 10, second-seeded Daniel Nestor
and Nenad Zimonjić
faced Erlich and Ram's replacements Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Marcin Matkowski
in the first doubles match of the day. The Canadian-Serbian pair edged a close win over the Poles to improve their head-to-head against them to 3–2 (2–2 in 2008). Nestor and Zimonjić faced strong competition in the first set, snatching a 7–4 victory in the tie-break, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski levelled the score to one-set-all winning the second set 7–5, forcing the encounter into a match tie-break, in which Nestor and Zimonjić proved stronger, eventually claiming a 7–6, 5–7, [10–4] victory, in little less than two hours. The second match of the day, a first career meeting between Jonas Björkman
, in his last appearance on the tour –his seventh at the year-end event, having won in 1994
and 2006
– and Kevin Ullyett
, and Lukáš Dlouhý
and Leander Paes
, turned out an easier task for the veteran Björkman and partner Ullyett, as they lost merely ten points on their serve, and converted all their break opportunities, to win 6–3, 7–5, in just more than one hour.
The first of the two singles matches, both from the Red Group, saw Nadal's replacement Gilles Simon
take on top seed Roger Federer
, to record his second straight win against the Swiss in two career meetings. Federer took the first opportunity, breaking the Frenchman to lead 3–2 and win the set 6–4. The Swiss continued his domination early in the second set, breaking to 2–1, before Simon broke back to even the score. Both players held their serve until the last game, when the Frenchman, taking advantage of Federer's repeated forehand errors, broke to a 6–4 victory. Federer's errors kept on going, as Simon tightened his game, breaking the Swiss one more time, and clinching a 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 comeback victory, repeat of his first Toronto Masters win over Federer. The loss was Federer's fourth in his seven-year, thirty-matches Masters Cup history, and marked the second time he started the tournament with a round robin loss, after his defeat by Fernando González
in 2007. The second match was set to be the first complete encounter of Andy Murray and Andy Roddick
since a Memphis semifinal (won by Roddick), after a Miami Masters quarterfinal (Roddick retired) and a Queen's Club quarterfinal (Murray withdrew). In Shanghai, Murray converted his first break opportunities to win the first set 6–4. Roddick struck back in the second set, dominating the game to a 5–0 lead, closing on the set 6–1. The final set followed exactly the same pattern, with Murray taking the lead this time, to claim victory on the score of 6–4, 1–6, 6–1.
and Luis Horna
recorded their first Masters Cup win, and their second hard court win together, against South Africans Jeff Coetzee
and Wesley Moodie
, in the two teams' first ever meeting. Despite being broken once, the South American French Open
champions dominated the first set, breaking three times themselves to win it 6–2. Both pairs held their serve in the second set, with Coetzee and Moodie taking the tie-break 7–2. The eighth seeds eventually claimed victory after clinching a close match tie-break, on the final score of 6–2, 6–7, [11–9], eliminating Coetzee and Moodie from the tournament. In the other encounter of the day, Bob
and Mike Bryan
scored their second victory in the round robin, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi
and Mark Knowles
for the third straight time in four meetings in 2008. The Americans snatched the first set 7–5 with a late break, before their opponents took the second set, breaking the Bryans twice to a 6–3 victory. As they did in their first round robin match, Bob and Mike Bryan edged out in the match tie-break, to finally score a 5–7, 6–4, [10–4] victory, and qualify for the semifinals.
The second series of two Gold Group matches took place, with Juan Martín del Potro
coming out on top for the second time in two meetings with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7–6, 7–6. Both players broke their opponent's serve several times, despite the tie-breaks finishes, with del Potro taking the advantage in the first game, and Tsonga immediately breaking back to 2–2, to see the set end in a deciding tie-break the Argentinian took, on an unforced error by his adversary. The second set took the same start as the first, with a break by del Potro, this time held to a 5–4 advantage, when Tsonga once again broke back, forcing another tie-break. Del Potro was once more victorious in the set decider, to clinch his first Masters Cup victory. The match between the first day's winners, Nikolay Davydenko
and Novak Djokovic
, was their second meeting, after a Davis Cup first round encounter in which Djokovic retired, handing Russia
a decisive victory. Davydenko broke in the first service game, holding his advantage until serving at 5–3. Djokovic then broke back, and the set went into a tie-break, which he won, as Davydenko's error count went up during the set decider. The Russian started a comeback, lining up seven straight games to win the second set with a bagel, and lead 1–0 in the third. Djokovic then saved two breaks points, and converted one at 5–5, with Davydenko's unforced errors giving him the break, and eventually the match, on the score of 7–6, 0–6, 7–5. The win meant Tsonga's elimination, and Djokovic's qualification for the semifinals.
and Nenad Zimonjić
, vying for the year-end No. 1 spot, defeating in straight sets Jonas Björkman
and Kevin Ullyett
. The Canadian-Serbian team breezed by their opponents, saving all breaks points Björkman and Ullyett held against them, and breaking three times (twice in the first set and once in the second), to score a 6–1, 6–4 victory, the second career win over Björkman and Ullyett, following a close final at the Wimbledon Championships
. In the second match, Lukáš Dlouhý
and Leander Paes
faced Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Marcin Matkowski
for the first time, with the Poles taking the close match in straight sets 7–6, 6–3. Neither team converted their break opportunities in the first set, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski took the advantage in the tie-break, winning it 7–2. The second set was more competitive, as Dlouhý and Paes managed to score one break, but their opponents scored three, to eventually claim victory after less than two-hours-and-a-half. The results of the day assured Nestor and Zimonjić of a semifinal spot, and Dlouhý and Paes of the fourth place of the group.
The fourth day of the competition had started earlier with another withdrawal, as fifth seed and 2007 Masters Cup semifinalist Andy Roddick
announced he was pulling out of the event, after injuring his ankle during a practice session on the previous day. "Yesterday in the warm-up during practice I just went over on it. [...] We tried the best we could to get it better but I can't really stop and start on it very quickly." commented Roddick. The American's withdrawal allowed 26th-ranked Radek Štěpánek
, who accepted the invitation to Shanghai as first alternate, after sixteen players ranked above him, and below last qualifier Gilles Simon, refused to come to the Masters Cup. Roddick said he had called Štěpánek, before deciding not to play, to tell him he might enter the competition : "I called Štěpánek earlier today to let him know where my head was at, and then just told him when I came off the practice court. So he knew as early as anybody else." Štěpánek's unexpected appearance (Murray had commented "Štěpánek's turned up without his own racquets, he borrowed some socks off me earlier and he hasn't got his contact lenses either") marked the Czech's first career participation to the year-end championships.
The third match of the Red Group, in the singles event, was a repeat of the Madrid Masters final which Andy Murray had won over Gilles Simon
in straight sets less than a month earlier. The World No. 4 made the strongest start of the match, quickly racing to a 4–0 lead. The Frenchman then fought back to 4–3, but failed to break Murray a second time, letting the Scot use his advantage to win the set 6–4. The second set was a formality for Murray, who saved all three break points he had against him, and took Simon's serve twice to record his second round robin win, 6–4, 6–2, after one-hour-and-a-half of play. The unexpected line up of the second match of the day opposed top Roger Federer
to Roddick's replacement, ninth-seeded Radek Štěpánek
, for the fourth time in the year, after a Rome quarterfinal (won by Štěpánek), a US Open third round (won by Federer), and a Madrid second round (won by Federer). The Swiss broke in the opening game of the match, and led 2–1 when Štěpánek broke back to 2–2. Both players held their serve to a tie-break Federer eventually took 7–4, capitalizing on Štěpánek's unforced errors. Federer and Štěpánek continued to serve strongly in the second set, before the Swiss took the advantage at 4–3, to lead 5–3 and serve for the set. Štěpánek managed to break back one last time, but Federer took the Czech's serve again to close the match 7–6, 6–4, in less than two hours, already crushing Štěpánek's slim chances to leave the round robin, and allowing Murray to secure a semifinal berth.
and Mike Bryan
, already qualified for the semifinals, and Jeff Coetzee
and Wesley Moodie
, already assured of ending fourth of the group. The two first sets went on similarly, with the South Africans breaking twice in the first to win it 6–2, and the Americans doing the same in the second to level the score. Coetzee and Moodie managed to take the close deciding tie-break, improving their head-to-head against the Bryans to 2–2 by scoring a 6–2, 2–6, [12–10], victory over them. The second, crucial match, for a semifinal spot, saw Pablo Cuevas
and Luis Horna
face for the first time Mark Knowles
(defending champion
) and Mahesh Bhupathi
(three-time runner-up). Both teams served strongly, converting none of their breaks points in the first set, and providing none in the second. Bhupathi and Knowles took the first tie-break 7–3, Cuevas and Horna the second 7–4, before the latter extended their second set domination to a 6–7, 7–6, [10–5] victory, eliminating Bhupathi and Knowles, and setting a semifinal clash with Nestor and Zimonjić –which they had beaten in the French Open
final.
The last two matches of the singles' Gold Group took place, with the first, also a dead rubber, opposing Novak Djokovic
(already qualified) to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (already eliminated) for the third time since the Serb won their Australian Open
final. Djokovic easily raced through the first set, breaking Tsonga twice to a 6–1 win. The second set was closer, as both players were holding their service games until 5–6, when Djokovic, serving for a tie-break, found himself led, then broken by Tsonga, who levelled the match to one-set-all. In the final set, Tsonga increased his game level breaking Djokovic twice to win the last set, ending the match on the score of 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, to improve his head-to-head record against the Serb to 3–1, and score his first career Masters Cup win. The second match, set to decide of the third semifinalist after Djokovic and Murray, was the third career meeting of Nikolay Davydenko
and Juan Martín del Potro
. The Russian broke del Potro early in the first set, leading 4–1 at a point, when the Argentinian took back Davydenko's serve, seemingly getting back into the match. The fourth seed, though, did not let del Potro complete his comeback, and broke him again, eventually taking the set 6–4. Davydenko's momentum took him through the second set, where he converted each of the two break points obtained, to close the match 6–4, 6–2 after less than an-hour-and-a-half of play. The result eliminated del Potro, and allowed Davydenko to qualify for his second semifinal in four season-ending events appearances, after 2005.
In the first of the last two doubles round robin matches, within the Gold Group, on November 14, Daniel Nestor
and Nenad Zimonjić
, already qualified to meet Cuevas and Horna in the semifinals, faced already eliminated Lukáš Dlouhý
and Leander Paes
, in a dead rubber. The second seeds did not leave many opportunities to the US Open runners-up Dlouhý and Paes, breaking them twice in the first, and once in the second set, saving all break points against themselves, to cruise to a 6–1, 6–4 win, and leave the round robin stage as the only undefeated team. In the second match –to decide of the last doubles qualifiers–, Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Marcin Matkowski
defeated Jonas Björkman
and Kevin Ullyett
, to enter the last four, setting a semifinal meeting with Bob and Mike Bryan. The first two sets were each dominated by one of the teams, with the Poles breaking twice to win the first, and Björkman and Ullyett doing the same to win the second, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski eventually took the advantage in the deciding match tie-break, to score a 6–2, 1–6, [10–6] victory, and complete the semifinals line up.
Björkman and Ullyett's loss to Fyrstenberg and Matkowski marked the last career match of the Swede Jonas Björkman, who had announced his retirement at the end of the year, after a seventeen-year career, started in 1991, at the Swedish Open
in Båstad
. In singles, Björkman won six career titles, and went as high as the 4th place in the rankings, in 1997, reaching two Grand Slam
semifinals at the 1997 US Open (lost to Rusedski
), and at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships (lost to Federer). A former World No. 1 in doubles, Björkman won fifty-four career doubles titles, including nine Grand Slam crowns (runner-up at six more). He was one of four active doubles players at the time of the Masters Cup to have completed a career Grand Slam (with Bob and Mike Bryan, and Daniel Nestor), and two year-end championships titles, in 1994
and 2006
. Björkman, who mainly partnered during his career with Jan Apell
, Nicklas Kulti
, Todd Woodbridge
, Max Mirnyi
and Kevin Ullyett
, also finished runner-up at two mixed doubles Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon
, with Anna Kournikova
in 1999
, and Alicia Molik
in 2007
, and was part of the Sweden Davis Cup team
for their last three championships in 1994
, 1997
and 1998
. Upon retirement, as a ceremony was taking place for him, following his loss to Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, Björkman declared: "We were hoping to maybe get through [to the semifinals]. I still think it's great to end my career in the biggest event of the year. But you can't get everything. I've been mentally prepared for this because I'm mentally very ready to retire. [...] I've been very fortunate to be able to play for so long. It started as my hobby, and I've been able to do it for seventeen years, which is great. I'm really looking forward for the next step in life."
The final round robin matches first opposed, in singles, Gilles Simon
to Radek Štěpánek
. Despite them having nothing to gain from a win (Štěpánek was already eliminated, and only the last match would determine Simon's fate), the Frenchman took the opportunity to avenge a French Open first round loss to the Czech, breaking him twice in the first set, once in the second, to clinch a 6–1, 6–4 victory. Andy Murray then faced Roger Federer
in a match to decide of the Red Group's standings –a Murray win giving him the first place, Simon the second, a Federer win making him first, Murray second. Federer first took Murray's serve to lead 3–1, but the Briton broke back, and it took a second break by the Swiss at 5–4 to take the set. Murray was quick, with two breaks of serve, to race to a 5–2 second set lead, and was serving when Federer lined up four games to get back into the set, forcing a tie-break –which Murray eventually won, 7–3. Murray seemed to have grasp of the match at 3–0 in the third, with Federer, already diminished by an illness, calling the trainer for the back injury that had forced him out from the Paris Masters, but the Swiss fought back again, winning four straight games to lead 4–3. Unable to retain his advantage, Federer found himself led 4–5, saving seven match points on his ten-deuce-serve, before being broken, at 5–6, allowing Murray to reach the semis (vs. Davydenko) undefeated, with a 4–6, 7–6, 7–5 win, and giving Simon a semifinal spot (vs. Djokovic). Federer made his earliest exit to the tournament since 2002, when he went out in the semifinals (lost to Hewitt
).
The semifinals of the Masters Cup, now in a knockout stage
, took place on November 15, first opposing doubles Gold Group winners, ATP No. 2 Daniel Nestor
(2007 champion
, 1998
and 2006
runner-up) and Nenad Zimonjić
(2005 finalist
), undefeated in the event, to Red Group seconds Pablo Cuevas
and Luis Horna
(in their first year-end event appearance). The two teams had only met once before this match, in the French Open
final, where the South Americans had upset the Canadian-Serbian pair, defeating them 6–2, 6–3 in less than an hour to win their first Grand Slam
title. Nestor and Zimonjić eased through the Roland-Garros rematch, providing no break opportunities on their serve, but taking their opponents' four times, to score a 6–1, 6–3 victory in less than an hour-and-a-half, and qualify for their first final together. Red Group top pair and current World No. 1 Bob Bryan
and Mike Bryan
next faced Gold Group seconds, Erlich and Ram's substitutes Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Marcin Matkowski
. The semifinal was preceded by a five-match history, with the Bryans leading the head-to-head 4–1, having played in 2004 in Acapulco
(won by Bryan/Bryan), in 2007 in Madrid
(won by Bryan/Bryan), and in 2008 in Barcelona
(won by Bryan/Bryan), Cincinnati (won by Bryan/Bryan), and Paris (won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski). Bob and Mike Bryan dominated the encounter, serving strongly throughout the meeting, and breaking once in each set, to clinch, after little more than an hour, a 6–4, 6–4 victory, and reach their third final at the year-end event after winning their two previous ones in 2003
and 2004
. Qualifying for the final, Nestor and Zimonjić, and Bob and Mike Bryan, separated by a mere sixty-three points in the Race rankings, set a match to decide of the year-end No. 1 spot.
The singles semifinals saw first facing Novak Djokovic
and Gilles Simon
, both in their first semifinal appearances at the year-end event. The two's only previous meeting was then a second round in Marseille, in Djokovic's first tournament after his Australian Open
win, where the Frenchman had taken the advantage in three sets 6–2, 6–7, 6–3. Simon was once again the first to take the lead in their second encounter, in Shanghai, returning and serving slightly better than his opponent, to snatch the first set 6–4. After calling the trainer to nurse a neck pain at the start of the second set, Simon failed to hold his serve to be led 1–3 by the Serb, who then maintained his break to the end of the 6–3 set. Djokovic took the chance to break at 1–1 in the third, leading 5–4, when, after taking a time out for cramp, the Serb served for the match, and Simon managed to break back to 5–5. The fatigue of the nearly three hours match, though, proved too strong for the Frenchman, who lost his serve at 6–5, allowing Djokovic to finish the match on the score of 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, and reach his first year-end championships final. Andy Murray, victor of Federer in a three-hours match on the previous day, faced Nikolay Davydenko
, in his second semifinal showing at the Masters Cup, after 2005
, when he lost to David Nalbandian
in straight sets. The Murray-Davydenko match was preceded by six previous meetings, split between the two players, in 2006 in Indian Wells (won by Davydenko) and at the US Open (won by Davydenko), in 2007 in Doha (won by Murray) and Indian Wells (won by Murray), and in 2008 in Doha (won by Murray) and Dubai (won by Davydenko). Davydenko broke in the first game, only to be immediately broken back by Murray, but the Russian, who had not played since his last round robin match two days before, proved himself fresher in the course of the game, and was able to take Murray's serve a second time at 5–5, keeping his following service game to score a 7–5 win in the first set. Davydenko capitalized on his momentum to line up five straight games in the second set from 1–2 to 6–2, clinching his 7–5, 6–2 win over Murray in little more than an hour-and-a-half, to reach his fifth final of the season, and his first at the Masters Cup.
The first final to take place on November 16, was that of the doubles event, taking place between World No. 1s, US Open, Miami
, Rome
and Cincinnati
Masters, Barcelona
champion Bob Bryan
and Mike Bryan
, and World No. 2s, Wimbledon
, Hamburg
and Toronto
Masters, London Queen's Club
titlists Daniel Nestor
and Nenad Zimonjić
, in a match to decide of the year-end No. 1 ranking. It was the third year-end event final of the Bryans, after 2003
(def. Llodra
/Santoro
) and 2004
(def. Black
/Ullyett
), the fourth of Daniel Nestor, after three finals with Mark Knowles
, in 1998
(lost to Eltingh
/Haarhuis
), 2006
(lost to Björkman
/Mirnyi
), and 2007
(def. Aspelin
/Knowle
), and the second of Nenad Zimonjić after a previous final in 2005
with Leander Paes
(lost to Llodra/Santoro). The two teams also shared a four-match history before the final, having played together in four ATP Masters Series
finals, in 2007 in Paris
(won by Bryan/Bryan), and in 2008 in Rome
(won by Bryan/Bryan), Hamburg
(won by Nestor/Zimonjić), Toronto
(won by Nestor/Zimonjić). The Canadian-Serbian duo took the upper hand early in the match, breaking the Americans to lead in the first set, until the Bryans broke back to level the score –both teams then held their serve to a tie-break, in which Nestor and Zimonjić prevailed, 7–3. The second seeds raced through the next set, converting their two break points to notch a 7–6, 6–2 win –their fifth title of the year, and their first at the year-end championships. The win also meant a first year-end No. 1 spot together for the undefeated champions Nestor and Zimonjić (Zimonjić's first ever, Nestor's third, after ending No. 1 in 2002 and 2004 with Knowles) and, in the individual rankings for doubles players, the top spot for Zimonjić, and the second for Nestor.
The Tennis Masters Cup singles final featured ATP No. 3, Australian Open
, Indian Wells
and Rome
champion Novak Djokovic
, and Miami Masters
, Pörtschach
and Warsaw
winner Nikolay Davydenko
, in both men's first year-end championships final. The encounter was a the third match of the two, after a Davis Cup rubber won by Davydenko after Djokovic retired, leading two sets to one, and their round robin meeting on day 3, in which Djokovic prevailed 7–6, 0–6, 7–5. Djokovic started the encounter on serve, and took the advantage of a weak Davydenko service game (the Russian went on to win only 42% of his service points in the set) to break and lead 2–0. A nervous Davydenko failed again to keep his serve at 3–0, and was broken again by the Serb. The Russian managed to save his service game at 5–0, forcing Djokovic to serve for the set. The Serb did not falter, and clinched the set 6–1. Despite holding his first service game, Davydenko was broken again at 1–1 in the second set. Davydenko avoided another break of serve when led 1–3, but was unable to gain the advantage on Djokovic's serve until the Serb served for the match at 5–4. Davydenko then increased his level of play, and came back to 5-all, but Djokovic, keeping his momentum of the match, broke once more, and held to serve to claim victory, after one hour and forty-two minutes, on the final score of 6–1, 7–5. The win marked Djokovic's fourth title of the year (after a six months title drought since Rome, won on May 11) and his eleventh overall, as well as his first year-end championships crown. Djokovic became the first Serbian player to win the singles championships (Nenad Zimonjić had become the first Serbian to win the doubles championships just hours before – and all three men, Djokovic, Zimonjić and Nestor were born in Belgrade
), succeeding to two-time defending champion Roger Federer
, and, thanks to the win, and Federer's early loss, finished the year only two points behind the Swiss in the ATP Race. Djokovic commented on his win : "I would put it in the same league as a Grand Slam because the best eight players in the world are participating here. [...] I feel very happy. End up the season the way I started it, with a win in a big event. So it's a great boost up for upcoming season." On the possibility of going up in the rankings in the 2009 ATP World Tour season
, Djokovic admitted again his goal to become World No. 1 : "Certainly, I believe that I have quality to reach the top spot in the upcoming year or, you know, whatever, next couple of years, 10 years [...] That is my lifetime goal that I’ve been always trying to achieve."
Novak Djokovic
def.
Nikolay Davydenko
6–1, 7–5
Daniel Nestor
/ Nenad Zimonjić
def.
Bob Bryan
/ Mike Bryan
7–6(7–3), 6–2
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the year-end singles championships
Tennis Masters Cup
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is a tennis tournament played at the end of each year, involving the top eight players in the men's tennis world rankings....
, the 34th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and part of the 2008 ATP Tour
2008 ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.-Schedule:This...
. It took place at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, from November 9 through November 16, 2008.
Association of Tennis Professionals
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) No. 3 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
won his first year-end championships title in the singles event, defeating ATP No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
of Russia in the final 6–1, 7–5. Four-time winner, two-time defending champion
Tennis Masters Cup
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is a tennis tournament played at the end of each year, involving the top eight players in the men's tennis world rankings....
Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
was defeated in the round robin stage of the event for the first time in seven consecutive appearances. Daniel Nestor
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
of Canada and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
of Serbia won the doubles event 7–6, 6–2 over Americans Bob
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
in the final for their first year-end championships doubles title together. With the win, they clinched the year-end No. 1 spot for the first time together. Nestor successfully defended his 2007 Tennis Masters Cup
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
title with his new partner Zimonjić, while the other defending champion, Mark Knowles, lost in the round robin, with Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
.
It was the last time that the singles and doubles year-end championships took place in Shanghai as the Tennis Masters Cup. Starting in 2009, the season-ending event will be moved to London, United Kingdom, at the O2 arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
, under the new name of ATP World Tour Finals. Shanghai will instead hold a new event in the 2009 season, the Shanghai Masters
Shanghai Masters (tennis)
The Shanghai Masters is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour. It is held annually in October at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People's...
, which will take place earlier in the year.
Qualification
ATP Race
The ATP defined the ATP Race as "an easy-to-understand, simple-to-follow annual race from season start to season end. Every player starts at zero at the beginning of the year and the player who accumulates the most points by season's end is the World Number 1" and claims that the Race "is the...
, with one spot reserved for Grand Slam champions who finish within the Top 20 players or teams of the ATP Race rankings. Two more players and teams also go to Shanghai as alternates in case of withdrawals.
Singles
On July 9 – after the 2008 Wimbledon Championships2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
– the first three players to qualify for the 2008 year-end championships were selected: ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
No. 2 Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
of Spain, World No. 1 Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
of Switzerland and third-ranked Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. These players, who held the top three spots of the ATP rankings during the whole year, secured their fourth, seventh and second appearance respectively in the season's finale.
Rafael Nadal, who reached his first hard courts Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open (lost to Tsonga), qualified after winning the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
for a fourth consecutive time, matching Björn Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
's record performance from 1978 to 1981. He broke Roger Federer's streak of five consecutive titles in Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
as he defeated the Swiss 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7, in a four-hour, forty-eight minute-long final – the longest championship match in Wimbledon's history – to become the first tennis player to complete the Roland-Garros/Wimbledon double since Borg. In addition to the two Grand Slam titles, Nadal had also, at the time of his qualification, reached two finals in Chennai
2008 Chennai Open
The 2008 Chennai Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the Chennai Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai, India, from December 31, 2007 through January 6, 2008.The...
(lost to Youhzny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
) and Miami
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
), won his fourth consecutive title in Monte Carlo
2008 Monte Carlo Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Monte-Carlo was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 102nd edition of the Monte Carlo Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Federer) and at Barcelona
2008 Torneo Godó
The 2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 56th edition of the Torneo Godó, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
), and his first in Hamburg
2008 Hamburg Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...
(def. Federer) and at London's Queen's Club
2008 Queen's Club Championships
The 2008 Artois Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 37th edition of the Artois Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Djokovic), where he became, two weeks before his Wimbledon victory, the first Spaniard to win a grass court title since Andrés Gimeno
Andrés Gimeno
Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera is a retired Spanish tennis player. He major achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open....
in 1972. After his qualification, Nadal clinched a second title at the Canada Masters
2008 Canada Masters
The 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer , is a former German professional tennis player. His mother, Nicole, is French. He won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
), a gold medal
Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....
at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
(def. González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
), and a semifinal run at the US Open (lost to Murray). On August 18, after 160 weeks at ATP No. 2, Rafael Nadal overtook Roger Federer, breaking his 237-week streak at the top spot, to become the 24th player to hold the No. 1 rank in the twenty-five years of computerised-rankings history. Nadal eventually withdrew in the run-up to the tournament, citing fatigue.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
at the French Open, when he lost in the Australian Open semifinals to Djokovic. After announcing he had contracted mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
in December 2007, Federer hired clay-court specialist José Higueras
José Higueras
José Higueras is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Spain.Between 1976 and 1984, Higueras won 16 top-level singles titles. A semi-finalist at the French Open in 1982 and 1983, he reached the World No. 6 singles ranking in 1983...
to coach him, first during the clay court season, but eventually for the rest of the year. Federer qualified after he reached his third consecutive French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
final (lost to Nadal), where he suffered a 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 defeat, and his sixth consecutive Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
final (lost to Nadal). After failing to beat the five-consecutive-title streak at the All England Club
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club , also known as the All-England Club, based at Aorangi Park, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass...
record and losing his third Grand Slam tournament in a row for the first time since 2002, Federer described the Wimbledon final as his "hardest loss by far". When he qualified, Federer had lost two more finals to Nadal in Monte Carlo
2008 Monte Carlo Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Monte-Carlo was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 102nd edition of the Monte Carlo Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
and Hamburg
2008 Hamburg Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...
, and won only two ATP International Series
ATP International Series
The International Series was a series of professional tennis tournaments held internationally as part of the ATP Tour until 2008....
titles in Estoril
2008 Estoril Open
The 2008 Estoril Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 19th edition of the Estoril Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Davydenko) and Halle
2008 Gerry Weber Open
The 2008 Gerry Weber Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 16th edition of the Gerry Weber Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Gerry Weber Stadion in Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, from June 7 through...
(def. Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22...
). Despite losing his number 1 spot to Nadal in August, the rest of Federer's season featured better results with a third consecutive title in Basel
2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
The 2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the event known that year as the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, from...
(def. Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
), and a fifth straight victory at the US Open (def. Murray) which brought him one Grand Slam title short of Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
's record of fourteen.
Novak Djokovic had the best start of the season, as the Serb reached his second straight Grand Slam final after the 2007 US Open, and won his first major title at the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
(def. Tsonga), becoming the first man other that Federer or Nadal to win a Grand Slam since Marat Safin in Melbourne three years before. Djokovic reached his fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
(lost to Nadal), but suffered his earliest exit in a major since a first round loss at the 2006 Australian Open, in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Safin). In the first part of the year, Djokovic also reached the London's Queen's Club
2008 Queen's Club Championships
The 2008 Artois Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 37th edition of the Artois Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
final (lost to Nadal), and won two ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
titles in Indian Wells
2008 Indian Wells Masters
The 2008 Indian Wells Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 32nd edition of the Indian Wells Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
) and Rome
2008 Rome Masters
The 2008 Rome Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
). After qualifying for the year-end event, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics tennis event
Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....
, but defeated James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
in the third place match to win a Bronze Medal
Serbia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Serbia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The country returned under the name Serbia after 96 years, previously competing under the names Yugoslavia , Independent Olympic Participants , Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro .The flag on the opening ceremony...
for Serbia. Despite this run, Djokovic failed to win another title in 2008 until the Tennis Masters Cup. He could not defend his 2007 final appearance at the US Open (lost to Federer), reaching only two tournaments finals in Cincinnati
2008 Cincinnati Masters
The 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
(lost to Murray) and Bangkok
2008 Thailand Open (tennis)
The 2008 Thailand Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the Thailand Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, from September 22 through September 28, 2008.The singles...
(lost to Tsonga).
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
in the 2004 edition
2004 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 6–2, against Lleyton Hewitt.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Andy Roddick # Lleyton Hewitt # Marat Safin Carlos Moyá ...
.
Andy Murray, who started the year just outside the Top Ten, qualified after improving his Grand Slam performances throughout the season. After defeats in the first round of the Australian Open (lost to Tsonga), and in the third round of the French Open (lost to Almagro
Nicolás Almagro
Nicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:...
), Murray reached his first quarterfinals in a major at the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Nadal), after coming back from a two-sets-to-love deficit to beat 2007 Wimbledon semifinalist Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
in the fourth round. Murray capped his season in majors with his first Grand Slam final – the first for a Briton since Greg Rusedski
Greg Rusedski
Gregory "Greg" Rusedski is a British Canadian former tennis player who turned professional in 1991 and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33...
's lost 1997 US Open final – at the US Open (lost to Federer), after defeating Nadal, in his first tournament as World No. 1, in the semifinals. By that time in the season, Murray had already won two International Series titles in Doha
2008 Qatar ExxonMobil Open
The 2008 Qatar Open, known as the 2008 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, for sponsorship reasons, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Wawrinka), Marseille
2008 Open 13
The 2008 Open 13 was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Open 13, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France, from February 11 through February 17, 2008.The field featured...
(def. Ančić
Mario Ancic
Mario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His highest international ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached no. 7 in singles...
) and his first Masters Series shield in Cincinnati
2008 Cincinnati Masters
The 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
(def. Djokovic). Murray consolidated his fourth place in the rankings after the US Open by winning two more titles at the Madrid Masters (def. Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
) and in Saint Petersburg
2008 St. Petersburg Open
The 2008 St. Petersburg Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 14th edition of the St. Petersburg Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from October...
(def. Golubev
Andrey Golubev
Andrey Golubev is a Kazakhstani professional tennis playercurrently living in Italy. His career high rank is #33, achieved on October 4, 2010. He has participated in all Grand Slam tournaments, the first being the 2008 US Open, as well in the main draw of ATP Masters Series and ATP International...
), where he was the defending champion
2007 St. Petersburg Open
The 2007 St. Petersburg Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 13th edition of the St. Petersburg Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from...
.
The fifth player to be selected, on October 19, was Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
of Russia, who obtained his fourth consecutive qualification for the year-end championships.
Nikolay Davydenko, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in 2007, never went into second week at a major in 2008. He had early exits in the fourth round at the Australian Open (lost to Youzhny), in the third round at the French Open (lost to Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubicic
----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37....
), in the first round at the Wimbledon Championships (lost to Becker
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....
), and in the fourth round at the US Open (lost to Müller
Gilles Müller
Gilles Müller is a Luxembourgish professional tennis player. He was a US Open junior champion and is the most successful male tennis player in the history of his country...
). Though he did not defend his 2007 title in Moscow
2007 Kremlin Cup
The 2007 Kremlin Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 18th edition of the Kremlin Cup, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from October 8...
, Davydenko performed better in smaller events in 2008, reaching an International Series final in Estoril
2008 Estoril Open
The 2008 Estoril Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 19th edition of the Estoril Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Federer), and winning two International Series titles in Pörtschach
2008 Hypo Group Tennis International
The 2008 Hypo Group Tennis International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 28th edition of the Hypo Group Tennis International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Werzer Arena in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, Austria, from...
(def. Mónaco
Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...
) and Warsaw
2008 Orange Warsaw Open
The 2008 Orange Warsaw Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 8th edition of the Orange Warsaw Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Warszawianka Courts in Warsaw, Poland, from June 9 through June 15, 2008.The...
(def. Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
), and his second career Masters shield in Miami
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Nadal).
The last three qualifiers, who locked their spots during the final event before the year-end championships, at the Paris Masters
Paris Masters
The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour...
, were Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
of the United States, qualified for the sixth straight year (withdrew in 2005) on October 30, Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who both qualified in the last two days of the event and ended in the Top Eight for the first time.
Andy Roddick did not perform as well as in previous seasons in Grand Slam tournaments, exiting in the third round of the Australian Open (lost to Kohlschreiber), withdrawing from the 2008 French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
(due to a right shoulder injury contracted in the semifinals of the Rome Masters), crashing in a four-setter in the second round of Wimbledon (lost to Tipsarević
Janko Tipsarevic
Janko Tipsarević is a Serbian tennis player. His career-high ranking is No. 9, achieved on 14 November 2011. He is the 117th player in history to crack the top 10....
), and matching his 2007 US Open performance with a quarterfinal in New York (lost to Djokovic). During the rest of the season, Roddick lost one final in Los Angeles
2008 Countrywide Classic
245px|thumb|[[Los Angeles Tennis Center]]'s Straus Stadium courtThe 2008 Countrywide Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 82nd edition of the Los Angeles Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(lost to del Potro), and captured three titles in San Jose
2008 SAP Open
The 2008 SAP Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the SAP Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States, from February 18 through February 24, 2008.The...
(def. Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
), Dubai
2008 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Dubai Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
), and Beijing
2008 China Open (tennis)
The 2008 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 10th edition of the China Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Sela
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela is an Israeli professional tennis player.Sela reached a career-high singles ranking of # 29 in July 2009. He is currently Israel's top men's singles player, ahead of Amir Weintraub.As a 17-year-old junior, he won the 2003 French Open boys' doubles championship with his doubles...
), clinching the qualification when he reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.
Juan Martín del Potro lost in the second round of all first three majors; at the Australian Open (lost to Ferrer), the French Open (lost to Bolelli
Simone Bolelli
Simone Bolelli is a professional Italian tennis player.- 2003 :In 2003, Bolelli reached his first ITF Futures tournament semifinal at Egypt F1, losing to 485th-ranked Jaroslav Pospíšil. He played entirely Futures events except for one Challenger tournament in Brindisi, losing to Galo Blanco in the...
), and Wimbledon (lost to Wawrinka). After Wimbledon, del Potro went on to win his first four titles in as many tournaments in Stuttgart (def. Gasquet), Kitzbühel
2008 Austrian Open (tennis)
The 2008 Austrian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 38th edition of the Austrian Open, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
), Los Angeles
2008 Countrywide Classic
245px|thumb|[[Los Angeles Tennis Center]]'s Straus Stadium courtThe 2008 Countrywide Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 82nd edition of the Los Angeles Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Roddick) and Washington
2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic
The 2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, D.C., United...
(def. Troicki
Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has Serb and Russian ethnic roots. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Tver and Rostov-on-Don to Serbia in 1917. His career-high ranking is no. 12, achieved on 6 June 2011. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup,...
), becoming the first player ever to do so. In the rest of the year, del Potro extended his 23-match streak to the quarterfinals of the US Open (lost to Murray), and reached another final in Tokyo
2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships
The 2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 36th edition of the event known that year as the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier III Series of the...
(lost to Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
). Del Potro's qualification came during the Paris Masters, when Tsonga defeated other Masters Cup hopeful James Blake, the only other contender for del Potro's place, in the semifinals.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, ranked 38 on January 1, defeated Murray, Gasquet and Nadal en route to his first final in the ATP Tour at the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
(lost to Djokovic). Sidelined during three months of the season due to a right knee injury, Tsonga missed both the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
and Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
, coming back to competition at the US Open where he was defeated in the third round (lost to Robredo). Tsonga won his first career title in a rematch of the Australian Open final in the International Series event of Bangkok
2008 Thailand Open (tennis)
The 2008 Thailand Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the Thailand Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, from September 22 through September 28, 2008.The singles...
(def. Djokovic), and earned his Tennis Masters Cup qualification with his second career title (his first Masters Series shield) at the Paris Masters (def. Nalbandian).
After Nadal's withdrawal on November 3, the ninth player of the ATP Race, Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
of France, was elevated to the playing field, for his first career qualification.
Gilles Simon, one of fifteen Frenchmen of the ATP Top 100 at the beginning of the year, did not perform well in Grand Slam events, losing in the third round of the Australian Open (lost to Nadal), the first round of the French Open (lost to Štěpánek), the third round of Wimbledon (lost to Gasquet), and the third round of the US Open (lost to del Potro). His ninth place at the race resulted from three titles in Casablanca
2008 Grand Prix Hassan II
The 2008 Grand Prix Hassan II was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 24th edition of the Grand Prix Hassan II, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Benneteau
Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva...
), Indianapolis
2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships
The 2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Indianapolis Tennis Center in Indianapolis,...
(def. Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
), and Bucharest
2008 BCR Open Romania
The 2008 BCR Open Romania was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 16th edition of the event known that year as the BCR Open Romania, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Arenele BNR in Bucharest, Romania, from September 8...
(def. Moyá
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
), a semifinals run at the Canada Masters, and a final at the Madrid Masters (lost to Murray).
Doubles
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
from the United States, and then-ATP Race-leaders Daniel Nestor
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
of Canada and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. The Bryan brothers qualified for their sixth straight Tennis Masters Cup appearance (withdrew in 2007), while Nestor qualified for the tenth time, the first with another partner than Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
, and Zimonjić qualified for the third time.
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan started their 2008 season with an unsuccessful defense of their 2007 Australian Open
2007 Australian Open
The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000. Over 500 players...
title, where they were upset in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (lost to Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
/Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
). The Bryans matched their 2007 French Open performance with a quarterfinal appearance in Paris (lost to Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
/Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
), but were again upset before the final in Wimbledon (lost to Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
/Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
), leaving the tournament without ever dropping serve. When they qualified, the Bryan brothers had already reached eight finals, losing five – in Sydney
2008 Medibank International
The 2008 Medibank International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the event known that year as the Medibank International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
/Tsonga), Delray Beach
2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The 2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(lost to Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
/Murray
Jamie Murray
Jamie Robert Murray is a British tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles and is Britain's number 1 doubles player. He is the older brother of Andy Murray. He won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2007 with Jelena Janković. Murray had an early career partnership with Eric Butorac,...
), San Jose
2008 SAP Open
The 2008 SAP Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the SAP Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States, from February 18 through February 24, 2008.The...
(lost to Lipsky
Scott Lipsky
Scott Lipsky is a professional tennis player from the United States. He is primarily a doubles specialist....
/Martin
David Martin (tennis)
David Martin is a professional American tennis player.He teamed with Scott Lipsky to win his first ATP doubles title in February 2008 at the SAP Open in San Jose, California, defeating the number one ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan.-Tennis career:Before attending Stanford, David was a US...
), Las Vegas
2008 Tennis Channel Open
The 2008 Tennis Channel Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Tennis Channel Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(lost to Benneteau
Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva...
/Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
), and Hamburg
2008 Hamburg Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...
(lost to Nestor/Zimonjić) – and winning the other three in Miami
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Bhupathi/Knowles), Barcelona
2008 Torneo Godó
The 2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 56th edition of the Torneo Godó, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
/Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
), and Rome
2008 Rome Masters
The 2008 Rome Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Nestor/Zimonjić). After Wimbledon, the Bryans entered the US Open without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2005. They ended their title drought in majors by winning their second final in New York (def. Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý is a professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World Number 5 on June 22, 2009.-2006-2008:...
/Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
), their sixth Grand Slam crown overall. The Bryans also won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, defeating Clément
Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
/Llodra, after they were upset in the semifinals by Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
/Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
, and reached two more finals, losing in Toronto
2008 Canada Masters
The 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), and winning in Cincinnati
2008 Cincinnati Masters
The 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
(def. Erlich
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player...
/Ram
Andy Ram
Andy Ram is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event . He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches...
).
2008 Australian Open - Men's Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the defending champions, but lost in the quarterfinals to Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles.Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram won in the final 7–5, 7–6, against Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra.-Seeds:...
quarterfinals (lost to Clément/Llodra), and the final of the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
, which Nestor had won the previous year with Knowles (lost to Cuevas/Horna). The pair qualified after winning their first Grand Slam title together at the Wimbledon Championships
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
(def. Björkman/Ullyett). The title was Zimonjić's first in a major after three lost finals, and completed Nestor's career Golden Slam, having previously won the three other majors and the Gold Medal
Tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics
The tennis competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia consisted of singles and doubles events for both men and women.-Medal table:-Events:-References:*...
at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
. Nestor and Zimonjić's partnership also led them to three ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
finals in Indian Wells
2008 Indian Wells Masters
The 2008 Indian Wells Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 32nd edition of the Indian Wells Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Erlich/Ram), Rome
2008 Rome Masters
The 2008 Rome Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Bryan/Bryan), and Hamburg
2008 Hamburg Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...
(def. Bryan/Bryan), and a final at London's Queen's Club
2008 Queen's Club Championships
The 2008 Artois Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 37th edition of the Artois Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Melo
Marcelo Melo
Marcelo Melo is a Brazilian tennis player, currently ranked 22nd in the world in doubles. Alongside regular teammate André Sá, he has reached the Mens Doubles semifinal at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships and the quarterfinal at the 2007 US Open...
/Sá
André Sá
André Rezende Sá is a professional Brazilian tennis player. He is number 29 for doubles, and 467 for singles.-Personal:...
). After clinching their first ticket as a team for the Tennis Masters Cup, Nestor and Zimonjić, who held the top spot of the ATP Race for several weeks, lost early in the third round of the US Open (lost to Nieminen
Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a professional tennis player from Finland.His highest ranking is 13th, which was achieved on July 10, 2006. He has won one ATP singles title and two doubles titles in his career so far. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarter-finals...
/Lindstedt
Robert Lindstedt
Robert Lindstedt is a Swedish professional tennis player, who turned pro in 1998, and is a doubles specialist...
), and win one more title in Toronto
2008 Canada Masters
The 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Bryan/Bryan).
The third team to qualify, announced on September 9, was the pairing of Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player...
and Andy Ram
Andy Ram
Andy Ram is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event . He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches...
from Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, who participated in the 2006
2006 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2006 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 37th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 32nd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2006 ATP Tour...
and 2007
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
editions of the event, losing each time in the round robin.
Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram kicked off their season with their first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
(def. Clément/Llodra), becoming the first Israeli players to capture a major title in tennis history. Erlich and Ram did not match that performance in the remaining majors of the year, exiting in the third round at the French Open, in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon (lost to Dlouhý/Paes), and in the second round at the US Open (lost to Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
/Roitman
Sergio Roitman
Sergio Andres Roitman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, nicknamed Escopeta is a retired professional tennis player from Argentina....
). Upset in the first round of the Olympic doubles event by Clément/Llodra, Erlich and Ram reached two other tournaments finals in the season, in Masters Series events of Indian Wells
2008 Indian Wells Masters
The 2008 Indian Wells Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 32nd edition of the Indian Wells Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Nestor/Zimonjić) and Cincinnati
2008 Cincinnati Masters
The 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
(lost to Bryan/Bryan). Sidelined by a recurring elbow injury since the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs
2008 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs
This article gives details on the 2008 Davis Cup World Group play-offs. The ties were played on the weekend of 19 to 21 September 2008 and the winners would return to the World Group for 2009. The eight losing teams from the 2008 Davis Cup World Group first round ties and the eight Group 1 winners...
against Peru
Peru Davis Cup team
The Peru Davis Cup Team is the Davis Cup team that represents the nation of Peru. The team is governed by the Federación de Tenis de Peru. They currently compete in the Americas Zone Group I, and their best result was reaching the World Group in 2008....
, Erlich did not participate in any event after the US Open. Partnering with different other players in the rest of the season, Ram won two more titles; partnering with Max Mirnyi in Vienna
2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy
The 2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 34th edition of the event known that year as the Bank Austria-TennisTrophy, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna,...
(def. Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. He is known for his hard-hitting and incredible bursts of speed around the court, and now for controversy in the US Open Men's Doubles Final which he won partnered with Jurgen Melzer against the Polish team of Fystenberg/Matkowski...
/Peya
Alexander Peya
Alexander Peya is an Austrian male tennis player. He reached a career high singles ranking of No. 92 on April 30, 2007. His career high doubles ranking was No. 48 on January 15, 2007. He was born in Vienna, Austria, and currently resides there.In September 2008 Peya helped Austria to a Davis Cup...
) and in Lyon
2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The 2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, from October...
, and partnering with Michaël Llodra (def. Huss
Stephen Huss (tennis)
Stephen Huss , is a professional tennis player from Australia. He is also citizen of Sweden....
/Hutchins
Ross Hutchins
Ross Dan Hutchins is a British professional tennis player, known best as a doubles player. Hutchins was born in Wimbledon, a location synonymous with tennis. Having turned professional in 2002, he enjoyed success on the Challenger circuit and broke through to the ATP Tour in late 2007...
).
The fourth and fifth teams selected for the Tennis Masters Cup, on October 19, were the pairing of Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
from India and Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
– one of the two defending champions
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
– from The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, who secured respectively their eighth and eleventh spots for the season championships, and the then-13th-ranked duo of Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
from Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
from Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, who qualified as Grand Slam champions certain to finish the year within the Top 20 of the ATP Race rankings, and reached the year-end event for the first time.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles started competing together in 2008 with a deep run at the Australian Open, in which they defeated defending champions Bryan/Bryan, before losing in the semifinals (lost to Erlich/Ram). Bhupathi and Knowles exited in the first round of the French Open, where Knowles was the defending champion
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
(lost to Huss/Hutchins), and in Wimbledon (lost to Petzschner/Peya). At the US Open, the pair did not get past the third round (lost to González
Máximo González
Máximo González Mereira is a professional tennis player from Argentina. His career high ranking is #58, achieved on July 6, 2009.- Early career through 2006 :...
/Mónaco
Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...
). Despite the poor season in majors, Bhupathi and Knowles reached five finals in Vienna
2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy
The 2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 34th edition of the event known that year as the Bank Austria-TennisTrophy, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna,...
(lost to Mirnyi/Ram), Madrid (lost to Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), Memphis
2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The 2008 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup were tennis tournaments played on indoor hard courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, the 22nd edition of the Cellular South Cup, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP...
(def. Ratiwatana
Sanchai Ratiwatana
Sanchai Ratiwatana is a professional tennis player from Thailand. He turned professional in 2004....
/Ratiwatana
Sonchat Ratiwatana
Sonchat Ratiwatana is a professional tennis player from Thailand. In 2007, Sonchat and his twin brother Sanchai Ratiwatana won their first ATP doubles title in Bangkok in their home country...
), Dubai
2008 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Dubai Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Damm
Martin Damm
Martin Damm was a professional tennis player from Czechia. He is 6'2" 195 lb and is best known as a doubles player . ,his highest singles ranking 42 as of August 1997...
/Vízner
Pavel Vízner
Pavel Vízner is a professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. Vízner has reached the French Open final twice, having had turned professional in 1990 and achieved a career high doubles ranking of World Number 5 on September 10, 2007.- Career :While Vízner had played tournaments in 1988...
), Basel
2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
The 2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the event known that year as the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, from...
(def. Kas
Christopher Kas
Christopher Kas is a professional German tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking is No. 224, which he reached on 4 November 2002. His career high in doubles is No. 23 set at 3 November 2008.-Doubles: 15 :...
/Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22...
).
Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna did not start their partnership until the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
, in which they upset four seeded teams (Clément/Llodra; Dlouhý/Paes; Bryan/Bryan; Nestor/Zimonjić) to win their first Grand Slam title, the first ever claimed by a South American team. Cuevas and Horna entered two more tournaments together in the rest of the season, losing in the second round of the US Open (lost to de Voest
Rik de Voest
Rik de Voest is a professional South African tennis player. As of September 6, 2007, de Voest's career-high ranking was World Number 110, which he achieved on August 21, 2006....
/Fisher
Ashley Fisher
Ashley Fisher is a professional tennis player who comes from New South Wales in Australia. Fisher turned professional in 1998. Fisher has never played a major singles match on the ATP Tour, but has won four notable doubles titles on tour. The doubles specialist reached his highest doubles ranking...
), and the first in Washington
2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic - Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.Marc Gicquel and Robert Lindstedt won in the final 7–6, 6–3, against Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett.-Seeds:# Bruno Soares / Kevin Ullyett ...
(lost to Gicquel
Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel is a professional male tennis player from France. He turned pro in 1999.-Tennis career:...
/Lindstedt). The pair had more success separately, as Cuevas reached the final in Houston
2008 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The 2008 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 40th edition of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, United...
, partnering with Marcel Granollers
Marcel Granollers
Marcel Granollers i Pujol is a professional tennis player from Spain who turned professional in 2003. He reached his highest singles ranking of World Number 33 on August 1, 2011, and his highest doubles ranking of World Number 5.-2006:Granollers made the first round of the Wimbledon tournament in...
(lost to Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schüttler, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final...
/Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
), and Horna won two titles in Auckland
2008 Heineken Open
The 2008 Heineken Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 33rd edition of the event known that year as the Heineken Open, and was part of the ATP International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
, partnering with Juan Mónaco (def. Malisse
Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse is a Belgian tennis player. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, he is the only men's player from his country to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP tour. He is sponsored by Prince and Lotto. His nickname is "The X-Man"....
/Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
), and Buenos Aires
2008 ATP Buenos Aires
The 2008 Copa Telmex was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 11th edition of the event known that year as Copa Telmex, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from...
, partnering with Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri Shaal is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay....
(def. Eschauer
Werner Eschauer
Werner Eschauer is a now inactive Austrian professional tennis player.In his first 12 years as a pro, Eschauer found little success, winning just 7 ATP-level matches and cracking the top-100 for just a few weeks in late 2003, peaking at #96....
/Luczak
Peter Luczak
Peter Luczak is a professional tennis player for Australia. His career-high ATP Entry ranking was No. 64 on 12 October 2009.At the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, Luczak won the gold in the doubles....
).
The sixth and seventh teams to enter the field on October 26 were the duo of Jonas Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
of Sweden and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, who qualified for their seventh and fifth year-end finale (their first together), and the pair of Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý is a professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World Number 5 on June 22, 2009.-2006-2008:...
of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
of India, who qualified for their second and ninth year-end finale (their first together).
Jonas Björkman and Kevin Ullyett reached the quarterfinals at the French Open (lost to Soares/Vemic), the first major of their season, and were defeated in the Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
final (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić). Set to retire at the end of 2008, Björkman entered the US Open and was knocked out in the second round (lost to Kas/Petzschner). Björkman and Ullyett had won one title together in Stockholm
2008 If Stockholm Open
The 2008 If Stockholm Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the event known that year as the If Stockholm Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden, from...
(def. Brunström
Johan Brunström
Johan Brunström is a professional Swedish tennis player. His highest ATP doubles ranking is 31st, which he reached on March 22, 2010. His career high in singles is 377th, which he reached on September 24, 2007.-Doubles: 10 :...
/Ryderstedt
Michael Ryderstedt
Michael Ryderstedt is a professional tennis player from Sweden.In August 2001, at the Fischer Junior Open he captured the doubles title with Dudi Sela of Israel....
) by October, then clinched one more after they qualified, in Paris (def. Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist....
/Moodie
Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:...
). Björkman also won in Båstad
2008 Swedish Open
The 2008 Swedish Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 61st edition of the Swedish Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Brunstrom/Rojer
Jean-Julien Rojer
Jean-Julien Rojer is a professional Curaçao tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking is 218th, which he reached on August 15, 2005. A doubles specialist, his career high in doubles is 18th, which he reached on July 4, 2011. His current doubles partner is Eric Butorac.-Doubles: 13...
), partnering with Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
. Ullyett reached two finals with Bruno Soares in Nottingham
2008 Nottingham Open
The 2008 Nottingham Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 20th edition of the Nottingham Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(def. Coetzee/Murray) and Washington
2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic
The 2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington, D.C., United...
(lost to Gicquel/Lindstedt), and one with Jamie Murray in Estoril
2008 Estoril Open
The 2008 Estoril Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 19th edition of the Estoril Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Coetzee/Moodie).
Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes, who started the season with different partners, František Čermák
František Cermák
----František Čermák is a Czech professional tennis player. Čermák turned pro in 1998. He has won 26 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, and has been a finalist 19 times. He reached his career high doubles ranking of World No. 14 on February 1, 2010...
and Paul Hanley
Paul Hanley (tennis)
Paul Jason Hanley is a professional male tennis player from Australia, specialising in doubles. His parents, Jay and Judy, co-own a tennis centre, one of the main reasons Hanley pursued a career in the sport.He lost the 2005 Wimbledon finals in mixed doubles, playing with Tatiana Perebiynis...
respectively, debuted their partnership at the French Open, where they reached the third round (lost to Cuevas/Horna), and found success in Wimbledon, where they reached the semifinals (lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), and the US Open, where they reached their first Grand Slam final together (lost to Bryan/Bryan). Aside from the majors, Dlouhý and Paes reached three other finals together: in Bangkok
2008 Thailand Open (tennis)
The 2008 Thailand Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the Thailand Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, from September 22 through September 28, 2008.The singles...
(def. Lipsky/Martin), Halle
2008 Gerry Weber Open
The 2008 Gerry Weber Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 16th edition of the Gerry Weber Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Gerry Weber Stadion in Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, from June 7 through...
(lost to Youhzny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
/Zverev
Mischa Zverev
Mikhail "Mischa" Zverev is a German professional tennis player. He is the son of former Russian tennis player Alexander Zverev, who is also his coach. He now resides in Monte-Carlo, Monaco and represents Germany internationally...
), and Tokyo
2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships
The 2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 36th edition of the event known that year as the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier III Series of the...
(lost to Youzhny/Zverev).
At the Paris Masters, several teams competed for the last spot of the Tennis Masters Cup doubles event. Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist....
and Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:...
from South Africa eventually finished runners-up, gathering enough points to reach their first year-end event together – the first ever for Coetzee, the second for Moodie (after 2005
2005 Tennis Masters Cup - Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were the defending champions, but lost in the semifinals to Michaël Llodra and Fabrice Santoro.Michaël Llodra and Fabrice Santoro won in the final 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, against Leander Paes and Nenad Zimonjić.-Seeds:...
).
Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie climbed to the eighth place of the Race starting with a semifinal at the Australian Open (lost to Clément/Llodra), followed by early losses in the second round of the French Open (lost to Tipsarević
Janko Tipsarevic
Janko Tipsarević is a Serbian tennis player. His career-high ranking is No. 9, achieved on 14 November 2011. He is the 117th player in history to crack the top 10....
/Troicki
Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has Serb and Russian ethnic roots. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Tver and Rostov-on-Don to Serbia in 1917. His career-high ranking is no. 12, achieved on 6 June 2011. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup,...
), and of Wimbledon (lost to López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
/Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
). Coetzee partnered with Rogier Wassen
Rogier Wassen
Rogier Wassen is a Dutch tennis player who competes regularly on the ATP Tour as a doubles player.Wassen reached his highest doubles ranking on the ATP Tour on 10 September 2007 when he became world no. 24. The right-hander has won three ATP doubles titles...
at the US Open, where they were beaten in the first round (lost to González/Mónaco). Coetzee and Moodie reached three tournaments finals together during the season: in Doha
2008 Qatar ExxonMobil Open
The 2008 Qatar Open, known as the 2008 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, for sponsorship reasons, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(lost to Kohlschreiber/Škoch
David Škoch
David Škoch is a professional doubles tennis player from the Czech Republic. , he has a good doubles rank and his usual doubles partner is his countryman Jaroslav Levinský.-Wins :...
), Estoril
2008 Estoril Open
The 2008 Estoril Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 19th edition of the Estoril Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Murray/Ullyett), and Paris (lost to Björkman/Ullyett). Individually, Coetzee also reached two finals in Marseille
2008 Open 13
The 2008 Open 13 was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Open 13, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France, from February 11 through February 17, 2008.The field featured...
, partnering with Yves Allegro
Yves Allegro
Yves Allegro is a professional male tennis player from Switzerland. He is a doubles specialist and is well known as Roger Federer's doubles partner and good friend.-Doubles: 9 :-External links:...
(lost to Damm/Vizner), and Nottingham
2008 Nottingham Open
The 2008 Nottingham Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 20th edition of the Nottingham Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
, partnering with Jamie Murray (lost to Soares/Ullyett).
After Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram's withdrawal on November 3, the eighth team of the ATP Doubles Race, Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
of Poland, were selected as replacements.
Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski never got further than the third round in majors in 2008, exiting in the third at the Australian Open (lost to Bhupathi/Knowles), the second at the French Open (lost to Mertiňák
Michal Mertinák
Michal Mertiňák is a professional tennis player from Slovakia. He turned professional in 1999, and has won six doubles titles in his career on the ATP Tour. He reached his career high doubles ranking of No. 35 on June 12, 2006. Mertiňák played in the 2005 Davis Cup for Slovakia, who finished...
/Scherrer
Jean-Claude Scherrer
Jean-Claude Scherrer is a professional tennis player from Switzerland who entered professional play in 1998.-Runners-up :-External links:*...
), and the first in Wimbledon (lost to Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna is an Indian professional tennis player. His singles career high ranking was 213th in 2007. Recently, most of his appearances in professional tournaments has been in doubles matches. He is a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2002...
/Qureshi
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is a professional tennis player from Pakistan. He is currently Pakistan's top player. A top 10 doubles player, his highest Singles Race ranking is 103rd and is the former Asian No. 3...
) and at the US Open (lost to Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
/Zverev). Despite the poor runs in majors, Fyrstenberg and Matkowski reached five finals in Barcelona
2008 Torneo Godó
The 2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 56th edition of the Torneo Godó, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(lost to Bryan/Bryan), Warsaw
2008 Orange Warsaw Open
The 2008 Orange Warsaw Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 8th edition of the Orange Warsaw Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Warszawianka Courts in Warsaw, Poland, from June 9 through June 15, 2008.The...
(def. Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
/Schukin
Yuri Schukin
-2008:The 6 ft 2 inch 181 pound Russian began the 2008 tour season by losing in the first round to Rajeev Ram at the Chennai Open 6–7 , 6–7 .-References:...
), Bucharest
2008 BCR Open Romania
The 2008 BCR Open Romania was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 16th edition of the event known that year as the BCR Open Romania, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Arenele BNR in Bucharest, Romania, from September 8...
(lost to Devilder
Nicolas Devilder
Nicolas Devilder is a French male tennis player. He reached a career high singles ranking of 60 in the world on September 8, 2008, after reaching the semifinals of the Montevideo Challenger, where he lost to former top ten player, Guillermo Cañas...
/Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu is a French tennis player.-Tennis career:Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida...
), Metz
2008 Open de Moselle
The 2008 Open de Moselle was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 11th edition of the Open de Moselle, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Arènes de Metz in Metz, France, from September 29 through October 5, 2008.The announced...
(lost to Clément/Llodra), and Madrid (def. Bhupathi/Knowles).
Withdrawals
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
at the Paris Masters
Paris Masters
The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour...
due to a recurring right knee injury, ATP Race
ATP Race
The ATP defined the ATP Race as "an easy-to-understand, simple-to-follow annual race from season start to season end. Every player starts at zero at the beginning of the year and the player who accumulates the most points by season's end is the World Number 1" and claims that the Race "is the...
-leader Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
announced on November 3 that he would withdraw from the year-end championships, for the second time in four qualifications. Nadal had already pulled out of the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup
2005 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2005 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 36th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 31st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2005 ATP Tour...
due to a left foot injury before his opening match against Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Norberto Gaudio is a former tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP ranking was World No. 5 in 2005...
, and was replaced by alternate Mariano Puerta
Mariano Puerta
Mariano Ruben Puerta is a former Argentine professional male tennis player best known for making the final of the French Open in 2005, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets.-Career:...
. Nadal's withdrawal in 2008 happened as the Spaniard was scheduled to lead his country's Davis Cup team
Spain Davis Cup team
The Spain Davis Cup team represents Spain in the Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Real Federación Española de Tenis, presided over by José Luis Escañuela....
in the event
2008 Davis Cup
The 2008 Davis Cup was the 97th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Sixteen teams participated in the World Group and more than one hundred others took part in different regional groups. The first matches were played on February 8–10...
's final, to be played five days after the Tennis Masters Cup in Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, on indoor hard courts, against an Argentinian team
Argentina Davis Cup team
The Argentina Davis Cup team represents Argentina in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Asociación Argentina de Tenis.Argentina has never won the tournament, but have finished as the runner-up three times, in 1981, 2006 and 2008....
led by Stockholm
2008 If Stockholm Open
The 2008 If Stockholm Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the event known that year as the If Stockholm Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden, from...
titlist, Basel
2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
The 2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the event known that year as the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, from...
and Paris runner-up David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
, and other year-end event qualifier Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
. Nadal cited the Davis Cup final necessary preparation as another reason to withdraw from the event, saying: "I want to recover and be ready for the important Davis Cup final with my country that will be played in Mar del Plata, Argentina". He eventually announced, on November 10, his withdrawal from the Davis Cup final (set to be played November 21–23), due to his knee injury.
Nadal's withdrawal elevated the first alternate, Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
, into the draw, making him the second Frenchman of the eight-men field, alongside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and marking the first time that two Frenchmen participated in the year-end event since the Masters Grand Prix event of 1986, in which Yannick Noah
Yannick Noah
Yannick Noah is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for being the last French man to win the French Open in 1983, and as a highly-successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams...
and Henri Leconte
Henri Leconte
Henri Leconte is a former French professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991.-Biography and career:...
competed. Simon was ranked eighth in the ATP Race entering the Paris Masters thanks to his final in Madrid and his semifinal at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The Open Sud de France is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It was held annually at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, in October, from 1987 through to 2009, before being relocated to...
, where he lost to eventual champion Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
, but was knocked out of the Top Eight when he lost to Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
in the third round, and Tsonga qualified by winning the title. Simon, who flew to Shanghai with countryman and friend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on November 5, commented on Nadal's withdrawal and his first selection for the year-end event: "I was unhappy that he had to pull out. I would really have preferred to qualify directly by finishing eighth. It's not in my nature to wish that another player can't play. [...] I'm really happy to be going there and I really want to experience this."
On the same day, Israeli Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player...
, who had been suffering from an elbow injury since September, also announced he was pulling out from the doubles field, alongside his partner Andy Ram
Andy Ram
Andy Ram is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event . He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches...
, with whom he had won the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
in January. Hoping that Erlich would be fit to play the year-end event, Ram had continued to compete with different players between September and the last ATP Tour
2008 ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.-Schedule:This...
event before the Masters Cup. During that period, he won a Davis Cup World Group Play-off
2008 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs
This article gives details on the 2008 Davis Cup World Group play-offs. The ties were played on the weekend of 19 to 21 September 2008 and the winners would return to the World Group for 2009. The eight losing teams from the 2008 Davis Cup World Group first round ties and the eight Group 1 winners...
match against Peru
Peru Davis Cup team
The Peru Davis Cup Team is the Davis Cup team that represents the nation of Peru. The team is governed by the Federación de Tenis de Peru. They currently compete in the Americas Zone Group I, and their best result was reaching the World Group in 2008....
with Harel Levy
Harel Levy
Har'el Levy is an Israeli professional male tennis player. Levy's best singles ranking was # 30 in the world in 2001, and his best doubles ranking was # 76 in 2007....
, an ATP International Series Gold
ATP International Series Gold
International Series Gold was a series of professional tennis tournaments held internationally that were part of the ATP Tour. International Series Gold offered players cash prizes and the ability to earn ATP ranking points...
title in Vienna
2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy
The 2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 34th edition of the event known that year as the Bank Austria-TennisTrophy, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna,...
against Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. He is known for his hard-hitting and incredible bursts of speed around the court, and now for controversy in the US Open Men's Doubles Final which he won partnered with Jurgen Melzer against the Polish team of Fystenberg/Matkowski...
and Alexander Peya
Alexander Peya
Alexander Peya is an Austrian male tennis player. He reached a career high singles ranking of No. 92 on April 30, 2007. His career high doubles ranking was No. 48 on January 15, 2007. He was born in Vienna, Austria, and currently resides there.In September 2008 Peya helped Austria to a Davis Cup...
with Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
, lost to Pablo Andújar
Pablo Andújar
Pablo Andújar Alba is a professional male tennis player from Spain. Andújar has played since he was 6 years old and has won 4 Challengers and several futures. He trained in Valencia, Spain in the Tennis Club El Collao. He has been in the 2010 Australian Open, but he lost to Gilles Simon 6–4, 6–1,...
and Marcel Granollers
Marcel Granollers
Marcel Granollers i Pujol is a professional tennis player from Spain who turned professional in 2003. He reached his highest singles ranking of World Number 33 on August 1, 2011, and his highest doubles ranking of World Number 5.-2006:Granollers made the first round of the Wimbledon tournament in...
in the first round of the Madrid Masters with Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
, won another title in Lyon
2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The 2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, from October...
against Stephen Huss
Stephen Huss (tennis)
Stephen Huss , is a professional tennis player from Australia. He is also citizen of Sweden....
and Ross Hutchins
Ross Hutchins
Ross Dan Hutchins is a British professional tennis player, known best as a doubles player. Hutchins was born in Wimbledon, a location synonymous with tennis. Having turned professional in 2002, he enjoyed success on the Challenger circuit and broke through to the ATP Tour in late 2007...
with Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
, and eventually lost in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters to Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
and Michaël Llodra, with Bruno Soares
Bruno Soares
Bruno Soares is a professional tennis player from Brazil.Soares's highest singles ranking on the ATP Tour is World No. 221, which he reached in March 2004. Primarily a doubles specialist, his career-high doubles ranking is World No. 14, reached on May 4, 2009...
.
Erlich and Ram's exit allowed the first alternates, Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
, to join the eight-team field days after they lost a chance to qualify regularly during the Paris Masters. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, who had boosted their chances to qualify by winning the Madrid Masters, met Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist....
and Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:...
in the semifinals of Paris, as both teams were vying for the seventh spot of the Race. Fyrstenberg and Matkowski were then beaten in straight sets, and denied a guaranteed spot in Shanghai. Their qualification as alternates marked their second appearance at the Masters Cup after a previous run in 2006
2006 Tennis Masters Cup - Doubles
Michaël Llodra and Fabrice Santoro were the defending champions, but failed to qualify as a team that year, as they did not compete together in 2006....
, where they lost all of their round robin matches.
Alternates
Although the ATPAssociation of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
Rulebook states that the two players immediately ranked after the last qualifier at the Masters Cup should be selected as singles alternates, and be present at the event's location, only two players ranked in the Top 35 of the ATP Race, after Gilles Simon, accepted the invitation to come to Shanghai : 26th-ranked Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
of the Czech Republic, and 35th-ranked Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer , is a former German professional tennis player. His mother, Nicole, is French. He won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
of Germany. Among the twenty-four players who declined to come – because they needed to prepare for the Davis Cup
2008 Davis Cup
The 2008 Davis Cup was the 97th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Sixteen teams participated in the World Group and more than one hundred others took part in different regional groups. The first matches were played on February 8–10...
final, for reasons of injury, or to preserve themselves for the next season – were James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
, David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
, 2007 Tennis Masters Cup finalist
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
, Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
, 2007 qualifier
2007 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–2, 6–3, 6–2, against David Ferrer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic # Nikolay Davydenko ...
Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
, Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
, Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
, Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
, Nicolás Almagro
Nicolás Almagro
Nicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:...
, Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
, Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
, Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...
, Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
, 2007 qualifier
2007 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–2, 6–3, 6–2, against David Ferrer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic # Nikolay Davydenko ...
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
, Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
, Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22...
, Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
, Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
, Feliciano López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
, Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu is a French tennis player.-Tennis career:Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida...
, Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
, Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
and Mario Ančić
Mario Ancic
Mario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His highest international ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached no. 7 in singles...
.
Czech Radek Štěpánek, who started the year as No. 30 and ranked as high as No. 12 on July 7, had his best Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
performance at the French Open, where he reached the fourth round, losing to David Ferrer in five sets on the score of 4–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. Štěpánek reached one final in the season in San Jose
2008 SAP Open
The 2008 SAP Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the SAP Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States, from February 18 through February 24, 2008.The...
(lost to Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
), and reached the semifinals at four events, in Sydney (lost to Guccione
Chris Guccione
Christopher "Chris" Luke Guccione , is an Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian....
), Memphis (lost to Söderling), Rome (retired due to illness against Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
), and Metz (lost to Tursunov).
Former World No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer, who qualified once for the year-end event at the 1999 ATP Tour World Championships
1999 ATP Tour World Championships
The 1999 ATP Tour World Championships was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. The surface was called "GreenSet On Wood" which had a wood base coated in synthetic material and provided a medium-pace surface...
, where he reached the semifinals (lost to Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
), did not get past the third round at a Grand Slam event in 2008 but reached his first tournament final since Saint Petersburg
2005 St. Petersburg Open
The 2005 St. Petersburg Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 11th edition of the St. Petersburg Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2005 ATP Tour. It took place at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from October...
in 2005, his first career ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
final – and his only final of the season – at the Toronto Masters
2008 Canada Masters
The 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(lost to Nadal). His other best results included a semifinal in Halle (lost to Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
), and a quarterfinal at the Hamburg Masters (lost to Seppi
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori....
).
The substitutes for the doubles event, ranked in the ninth position of the ATP Doubles Race, directly after Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, were Marcelo Melo
Marcelo Melo
Marcelo Melo is a Brazilian tennis player, currently ranked 22nd in the world in doubles. Alongside regular teammate André Sá, he has reached the Mens Doubles semifinal at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships and the quarterfinal at the 2007 US Open...
and André Sá
André Sá
André Rezende Sá is a professional Brazilian tennis player. He is number 29 for doubles, and 467 for singles.-Personal:...
from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
Partnering together since 2006, Marcelo Melo and André Sá advanced the third round in Grand Slam events in 2008, having been knocked out in the first round of the Australian Open (lost to Arnold Ker
Lucas Arnold Ker
Lucas Arnold Ker is a professional tennis player from Argentina.Arnold Ker started playing tennis in the Olivos Tenis Club of Buenos Aires, under coach Malcolm Campbell....
/López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
), the second at the French Open (lost to Ram
Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram is an American professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. Rajeev is a tall, lanky player with a serve-and-volley style who is known best as a doubles specialist. He has advanced as far as the quarter-finals in doubles at three Grand Slams, most recently with Scott Lipsky at the 2011...
/Reynolds
Bobby Reynolds
----Robert "Bobby" Thomas Reynolds in Cape Cod, Massachusetts) is an American professional tennis player who resides in Acworth, Georgia.-Professional career:...
), the third in Wimbledon (withdrew against Anderson
Kevin Anderson (tennis)
Kevin Anderson is a male South African tennis player.He became the top-ranked South African player on 10 March 2008 after making the final at the 2008 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas...
/Lindstedt), and the first at the US Open (lost to Robredo/Roitman). The pair lost one final at London's Queen's Club
2008 Queen's Club Championships
The 2008 Artois Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 37th edition of the Artois Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(lost to Nestor/Zimonjić), but won three titles in Costa do Sauípe
2008 Brasil Open
The 2008 Brasil Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 8th edition of the Brasil Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place in Costa do Sauípe, Brazil, from February 11 through February 17, 2008.The singles draw featured former...
(def. Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
/Ventura
Santiago Ventura Bertomeu
Santiago Ventura is a retired tennis player from Spain. He was born in Castellón, Spain and lives in Burriana, Spain. He is a clay court specialist and is known for the considerable use of drop-shots during his matches.-Singles :...
), Pörtschach
2008 Hypo Group Tennis International
The 2008 Hypo Group Tennis International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 28th edition of the Hypo Group Tennis International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Werzer Arena in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, Austria, from...
(def. Knowle
Julian Knowle
----Julian Knowle is an Austrian male professional tennis player. Being a born left-hander Knowle is one of now only few on the ATP Tour who plays his forehand, backhand and even volleys double-handed. He is Austria's most successful doubles player in history by reaching no...
/Melzer), and New Haven
2008 Pilot Pen Tennis
The 2008 Pilot Pen Tennis was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the Pilot Pen Tennis, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(def. Bhupathi/Knowles).
Groupings
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
, took place on November 5, in Shanghai's Hilton hotel
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
, in attendance by ATP No. 4 Andy Murray. With Rafael Nadal withdrawn due to a knee injury, Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
took the top seed and the heading of the Red Group; Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
took the second seed, headlining the Gold Group. Federer was drawn alongside Murray, Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
and Nadal's replacement Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
, while Djokovic was joined in his group by Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The Red Group's composition set several rematches of the year's encounters, confronting Federer with three players against which he lost their in last meeting – having been defeated by Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters, losing to him for the second time in their seventeen matches against each other; by Simon in their only meeting in the second round of the Toronto Masters; and by Murray in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters. Federer and Murray's match was their fourth encounter of the year, after a first round match in Dubai (won by Murray), the US Open final (won by Federer), and a Madrid semifinal (won by Murray), which brought their head-to-head record to 2–3 in Murray's favor. The announced meeting of Murray and Simon was also a rematch, that of Madrid Masters' final, which Murray won in straight sets, defeating the Frenchman for the second time in the year, after a second round at the Hamburg Masters, to lead their head-to-head 2–1. Roddick's encounter with Simon was to be their third career meeting, the second in 2008 after a Paris Masters third round (won by Roddick), which helped the American clinch his spot at the Tennis Masters Cup, and prevented Simon to gather enough points to qualify directly for the event. Finally, Roddick and Murray's meeting, their seventh overall, in a head-to-head led by Murray 4–2, was to be their first real match of the year, as Murray withdrew due to a thumb injury before what could have been their previous 2008 encounter, in the Queen's Club Championships quarterfinals.
Gold Group leader Novak Djokovic, who lost all three of his round robin matches at the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup
2007 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–2, 6–3, 6–2, against David Ferrer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic # Nikolay Davydenko ...
to Nadal, Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
and David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
, was set to meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the fourth time of the year, having lost their last two meetings in Bangkok
2008 Thailand Open (tennis)
The 2008 Thailand Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the Thailand Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, from September 22 through September 28, 2008.The singles...
's final and Paris Masters' third round, after their first encounter in the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
's final (won by Djokovic). Djokovic's eventual meetings with Davydenko and del Potro were also uncertain for the Serb, as Djokovic had to retire in his only encounter with Davydenko, in a deciding match of the Davis Cup's first round, and had not met del Potro since a third round at the 2007 US Open, before the Argentinian elevated his level of play in the end of 2008 to enter the Top Ten. Del Potro's meeting with Davydenko was to be their third overall, their second that year, and give an advantage in their head-to-head record to either player, who had previously won one match against each other, with Davydenko defeating del Potro in the second round of the 2007 Paris Masters –when del Potro, a qualifier, had a ranking of only 51–, and the Argentinian avenging this loss by crushing the Russian in the Davis Cup semifinals 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. Tsonga entered the competition with a 0–1 record against both del Potro and Davydenko, but with each meeting (versus del Potro in New Haven, versus Davydenko in Moscow) coming in the 2007 season
2007 ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organised by the ATP. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.-January:...
, before the Frenchman's rise in the rankings.
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
holding the top seed, and headlining the Red Group, and defending champion
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
and new partner Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
taking upon the second seed and the head of the Gold Group. With the Bryans landed Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
and Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
, Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist....
and Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:...
, and Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
and Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
, while Nestor and Zimonjić were joined by Jonas Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
, Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý is a professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World Number 5 on June 22, 2009.-2006-2008:...
and Leander Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
, and Erlich and Ram's replacements Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
.
Red Group top duo Bob and Mike Bryan, who had withdrawn from the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
due to an elbow injury for Mike Bryan, were set to face Mark Knowles, one of the two separated defending champions, and new partner Mahesh Bhupathi, for the fourth time in 2008, after meetings in the Australian Open quarterfinals (won by Bhupathi/Knowles), in the Miami Masters
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
final (won by Bryan/Bryan), and in the Cincinnati Masters semifinals (won by Bryan/Bryan). The Bryans had also defeated Knowles, partnering fellow Bahamian Devin Mullings
Devin Mullings
Devin Mullins is a professional tennis player.Mullins represents the Bahamas and has appeared in 17 Davis Cup ties for his country since 2002. He has an ATP tour win–loss record of 6–8 primarily through his Davis Cup exploits...
–then ranked 1017 in singles, not ranked in doubles– in the first round of the Beijing Olympics doubles tournament. The Bryan/Bryan-Coetzee/Moodie encounter was also a repeat of a matchup having already occurred three times in the season, at the Indian Wells Masters (won by Bryan/Bryan), the Miami Masters (won by Bryan/Bryan), and the Monte Carlo Masters (won by Coetzee/Moodie). Coetzee and Moodie, after defeating the Bryans in Monte Carlo Masters' quarterfinals, went on to lose in the semifinals to Bhupathi and Knowles, in their only meeting before the Masters Cup. Occasional doubles team of Cuevas and Horna, who competed in only three tournaments in the year, had a head-to-head record against only one of the three other teams, having upset the Bryan brothers in the French Open quarterfinals, en route to their Roland Garros title.
In the Gold Group were set rematches of the Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
final, between champions Nestor and Zimonjić and Björkman and Ullyett, whose encounter at Wimbledon (won by Nestor/Zimonjić) was the only one in their career, as well as of a Wimbledon semifinal between Nestor and Zimonjić, and Dlouhý and Paes (won by Nestor/Zimonjić). Nestor and Zimonjić, and Dlouhý and Paes had met three times in the year before the Masters Cup, in the Wimbledon semifinal first, then in a Toronto Masters semifinal (won by Nestor/Zimonjić), and a Cincinnati Masters quarterfinal (won by Nestor/Zimonjić). The second seeds' perfect record in 2008 against Dlouhý and Paes also included a victory of the pair over Paes and Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
in the Hamburg Masters semifinal, and of Nestor and Frédéric Niemeyer
Frederic Niemeyer
Frédéric Niemeyer is a retired, veteran minor tour and Canadian Davis Cup tennis player who now is a Tennis Canada coach. Born in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Niemeyer hails from Deauville, Sherbrooke, Quebec...
over Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the first round of Indianapolis
2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships - Doubles
Juan Martín del Potro and Travis Parrott were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips won in the final 3–6, 6–3, 10–5, against Scott Lipsky and David Martin.-Seeds:...
, where both players were preparing for the Beijing Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. Previous matchups between the group's teams also included a 2–2 head-to-head record between Nestor and Zimonjić, and Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, with three meetings in 2008 in Sydney
2008 Medibank International - Men's Doubles
Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together.Hanley partnered with Leander Paes, but lost in the first round to Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner....
(won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), Rome (won by Nestor/Zimonjić), and Madrid (won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski), and a second round in Monte Carlo between Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, and Björkman and Ullyett (won by Björkman/Ullyett). Finally, two encounters were to be first matchups in Shanghai, as neither Fyrstenberg and Matkowski nor Björkman and Ullyett entered the Tennis Masters Cup having played against the pairing of Dlouhý and Paes during the season.
Day 1
The first match of the competition to take place, on November 9, was the second career confrontation, in the doubles' Red Group, of BobBob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
, and Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
and Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
, since the South Americans upset the American duo at the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
. The top seeded pair, which entered the tournament in a race with Gold Group leaders Daniel Nestor
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
to clinch the year-end No. 1 spot, overwhelmed Cuevas and Horna, in their fourth career hard court match together (with previously one win and two losses), racing to a 6–1 win in the first set, before their opponents fought back in the second, breaking to eventually lead 5–2, when the Americans rallied back to serve for the match at 6–5. Cuevas and Horna took the Bryans' serve once more to reach a tie-break, in which the Americans eventually prevailed to win the match 6–1, 7–6. The other match taking place on the first day opposed Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
and Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
to Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist....
and Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:...
, and left the Indian-Bahamian pair victorious for the second time in two career meetings. Bhupathi and Knowles faced little resistance, breaking their adversaries three times to score a 6–2, 6–3 victory.
The singles event kicked off later in the day, first opposing ATP No. 3 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
to seventh seed Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
. No upset was produced, as Djokovic scored his first career victory at the year-end championships, after losing all his matches at the 2007 edition
2007 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–2, 6–3, 6–2, against David Ferrer.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic # Nikolay Davydenko ...
, and increased his head-to-head against del Potro to 2–0, beating the Argentinian in straight sets. Djokovic had broken early in the first set, and was serving for the set at 5–3, when del Potro broke, and reached 5–5, before Djokovic took back the advantage, to win the set 7–5. In the second set, del Potro broke to lead 2–1, but Djokovic immediately levelled the score to 2–2, breaking again later in the set, and keeping his lead to a 7–5, 6–3 victory, in little less than two hours. In the second Gold Group match of the day, Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
faced recent Paris Masters champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in their second career meeting. Both players held their serve in the first set, to a tie-break the Russian eventually lost 6–8, on an unforced error, and the second set was just as tight, until Davydenko made one break at 5–4, levelling the match to one-set-all. The Russian broke early in the final set, and was serving for the match at 5–2, when Tsonga started a comeback, taking the match to a crucial tie-break. Davydenko then proved too solid for Tsonga, repeating his own performance from their only previous meeting, in Moscow
2007 Kremlin Cup
The 2007 Kremlin Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 18th edition of the Kremlin Cup, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from October 8...
, where he had won 7–0 in a first set tie break, and scored again a perfect tie-break in Shanghai to win the match 6–7, 6–4, 7–6 after more than two hours and a half of play.
Day 2
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
faced Erlich and Ram's replacements Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
in the first doubles match of the day. The Canadian-Serbian pair edged a close win over the Poles to improve their head-to-head against them to 3–2 (2–2 in 2008). Nestor and Zimonjić faced strong competition in the first set, snatching a 7–4 victory in the tie-break, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski levelled the score to one-set-all winning the second set 7–5, forcing the encounter into a match tie-break, in which Nestor and Zimonjić proved stronger, eventually claiming a 7–6, 5–7, [10–4] victory, in little less than two hours. The second match of the day, a first career meeting between Jonas Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
, in his last appearance on the tour –his seventh at the year-end event, having won in 1994
1994 ATP Tour World Championships
The 1994 ATP Tour World Championships were tennis tournaments played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 25th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 21st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and both were part of the 1994 ATP Tour...
and 2006
2006 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2006 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 37th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 32nd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2006 ATP Tour...
– and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
, and Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý is a professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World Number 5 on June 22, 2009.-2006-2008:...
and Leander Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
, turned out an easier task for the veteran Björkman and partner Ullyett, as they lost merely ten points on their serve, and converted all their break opportunities, to win 6–3, 7–5, in just more than one hour.
The first of the two singles matches, both from the Red Group, saw Nadal's replacement Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
take on top seed Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, to record his second straight win against the Swiss in two career meetings. Federer took the first opportunity, breaking the Frenchman to lead 3–2 and win the set 6–4. The Swiss continued his domination early in the second set, breaking to 2–1, before Simon broke back to even the score. Both players held their serve until the last game, when the Frenchman, taking advantage of Federer's repeated forehand errors, broke to a 6–4 victory. Federer's errors kept on going, as Simon tightened his game, breaking the Swiss one more time, and clinching a 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 comeback victory, repeat of his first Toronto Masters win over Federer. The loss was Federer's fourth in his seven-year, thirty-matches Masters Cup history, and marked the second time he started the tournament with a round robin loss, after his defeat by Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
in 2007. The second match was set to be the first complete encounter of Andy Murray and Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
since a Memphis semifinal (won by Roddick), after a Miami Masters quarterfinal (Roddick retired) and a Queen's Club quarterfinal (Murray withdrew). In Shanghai, Murray converted his first break opportunities to win the first set 6–4. Roddick struck back in the second set, dominating the game to a 5–0 lead, closing on the set 6–1. The final set followed exactly the same pattern, with Murray taking the lead this time, to claim victory on the score of 6–4, 1–6, 6–1.
Day 3
In the doubles' Red Group matches, on November 11, Pablo CuevasPablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
and Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
recorded their first Masters Cup win, and their second hard court win together, against South Africans Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist....
and Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:...
, in the two teams' first ever meeting. Despite being broken once, the South American French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
champions dominated the first set, breaking three times themselves to win it 6–2. Both pairs held their serve in the second set, with Coetzee and Moodie taking the tie-break 7–2. The eighth seeds eventually claimed victory after clinching a close match tie-break, on the final score of 6–2, 6–7, [11–9], eliminating Coetzee and Moodie from the tournament. In the other encounter of the day, Bob
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
scored their second victory in the round robin, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
and Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
for the third straight time in four meetings in 2008. The Americans snatched the first set 7–5 with a late break, before their opponents took the second set, breaking the Bryans twice to a 6–3 victory. As they did in their first round robin match, Bob and Mike Bryan edged out in the match tie-break, to finally score a 5–7, 6–4, [10–4] victory, and qualify for the semifinals.
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
coming out on top for the second time in two meetings with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7–6, 7–6. Both players broke their opponent's serve several times, despite the tie-breaks finishes, with del Potro taking the advantage in the first game, and Tsonga immediately breaking back to 2–2, to see the set end in a deciding tie-break the Argentinian took, on an unforced error by his adversary. The second set took the same start as the first, with a break by del Potro, this time held to a 5–4 advantage, when Tsonga once again broke back, forcing another tie-break. Del Potro was once more victorious in the set decider, to clinch his first Masters Cup victory. The match between the first day's winners, Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
and Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, was their second meeting, after a Davis Cup first round encounter in which Djokovic retired, handing Russia
Russia Davis Cup team
The Russia Davis Cup team represents Russia in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. The team started playing in 1993....
a decisive victory. Davydenko broke in the first service game, holding his advantage until serving at 5–3. Djokovic then broke back, and the set went into a tie-break, which he won, as Davydenko's error count went up during the set decider. The Russian started a comeback, lining up seven straight games to win the second set with a bagel, and lead 1–0 in the third. Djokovic then saved two breaks points, and converted one at 5–5, with Davydenko's unforced errors giving him the break, and eventually the match, on the score of 7–6, 0–6, 7–5. The win meant Tsonga's elimination, and Djokovic's qualification for the semifinals.
Day 4
Two more matches of the doubles' Gold Group took place on November 12, with second-seeded Daniel NestorDaniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
, vying for the year-end No. 1 spot, defeating in straight sets Jonas Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
. The Canadian-Serbian team breezed by their opponents, saving all breaks points Björkman and Ullyett held against them, and breaking three times (twice in the first set and once in the second), to score a 6–1, 6–4 victory, the second career win over Björkman and Ullyett, following a close final at the Wimbledon Championships
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
. In the second match, Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý is a professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World Number 5 on June 22, 2009.-2006-2008:...
and Leander Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
faced Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
for the first time, with the Poles taking the close match in straight sets 7–6, 6–3. Neither team converted their break opportunities in the first set, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski took the advantage in the tie-break, winning it 7–2. The second set was more competitive, as Dlouhý and Paes managed to score one break, but their opponents scored three, to eventually claim victory after less than two-hours-and-a-half. The results of the day assured Nestor and Zimonjić of a semifinal spot, and Dlouhý and Paes of the fourth place of the group.
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
announced he was pulling out of the event, after injuring his ankle during a practice session on the previous day. "Yesterday in the warm-up during practice I just went over on it. [...] We tried the best we could to get it better but I can't really stop and start on it very quickly." commented Roddick. The American's withdrawal allowed 26th-ranked Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
, who accepted the invitation to Shanghai as first alternate, after sixteen players ranked above him, and below last qualifier Gilles Simon, refused to come to the Masters Cup. Roddick said he had called Štěpánek, before deciding not to play, to tell him he might enter the competition : "I called Štěpánek earlier today to let him know where my head was at, and then just told him when I came off the practice court. So he knew as early as anybody else." Štěpánek's unexpected appearance (Murray had commented "Štěpánek's turned up without his own racquets, he borrowed some socks off me earlier and he hasn't got his contact lenses either") marked the Czech's first career participation to the year-end championships.
The third match of the Red Group, in the singles event, was a repeat of the Madrid Masters final which Andy Murray had won over Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
in straight sets less than a month earlier. The World No. 4 made the strongest start of the match, quickly racing to a 4–0 lead. The Frenchman then fought back to 4–3, but failed to break Murray a second time, letting the Scot use his advantage to win the set 6–4. The second set was a formality for Murray, who saved all three break points he had against him, and took Simon's serve twice to record his second round robin win, 6–4, 6–2, after one-hour-and-a-half of play. The unexpected line up of the second match of the day opposed top Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
to Roddick's replacement, ninth-seeded Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
, for the fourth time in the year, after a Rome quarterfinal (won by Štěpánek), a US Open third round (won by Federer), and a Madrid second round (won by Federer). The Swiss broke in the opening game of the match, and led 2–1 when Štěpánek broke back to 2–2. Both players held their serve to a tie-break Federer eventually took 7–4, capitalizing on Štěpánek's unforced errors. Federer and Štěpánek continued to serve strongly in the second set, before the Swiss took the advantage at 4–3, to lead 5–3 and serve for the set. Štěpánek managed to break back one last time, but Federer took the Czech's serve again to close the match 7–6, 6–4, in less than two hours, already crushing Štěpánek's slim chances to leave the round robin, and allowing Murray to secure a semifinal berth.
Day 5
The final matches of the doubles' Red Group, on November 13, opposed, in a dead rubber, top-seeded BobBob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
, already qualified for the semifinals, and Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee
Jeff Coetzee is a South African professional tennis player and competes regularly on the ATP tour, as a doubles specialist....
and Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie
Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:...
, already assured of ending fourth of the group. The two first sets went on similarly, with the South Africans breaking twice in the first to win it 6–2, and the Americans doing the same in the second to level the score. Coetzee and Moodie managed to take the close deciding tie-break, improving their head-to-head against the Bryans to 2–2 by scoring a 6–2, 2–6, [12–10], victory over them. The second, crucial match, for a semifinal spot, saw Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
and Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
face for the first time Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
(defending champion
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
) and Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
(three-time runner-up). Both teams served strongly, converting none of their breaks points in the first set, and providing none in the second. Bhupathi and Knowles took the first tie-break 7–3, Cuevas and Horna the second 7–4, before the latter extended their second set domination to a 6–7, 7–6, [10–5] victory, eliminating Bhupathi and Knowles, and setting a semifinal clash with Nestor and Zimonjić –which they had beaten in the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
final.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
(already qualified) to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (already eliminated) for the third time since the Serb won their Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
final. Djokovic easily raced through the first set, breaking Tsonga twice to a 6–1 win. The second set was closer, as both players were holding their service games until 5–6, when Djokovic, serving for a tie-break, found himself led, then broken by Tsonga, who levelled the match to one-set-all. In the final set, Tsonga increased his game level breaking Djokovic twice to win the last set, ending the match on the score of 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, to improve his head-to-head record against the Serb to 3–1, and score his first career Masters Cup win. The second match, set to decide of the third semifinalist after Djokovic and Murray, was the third career meeting of Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
and Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
. The Russian broke del Potro early in the first set, leading 4–1 at a point, when the Argentinian took back Davydenko's serve, seemingly getting back into the match. The fourth seed, though, did not let del Potro complete his comeback, and broke him again, eventually taking the set 6–4. Davydenko's momentum took him through the second set, where he converted each of the two break points obtained, to close the match 6–4, 6–2 after less than an-hour-and-a-half of play. The result eliminated del Potro, and allowed Davydenko to qualify for his second semifinal in four season-ending events appearances, after 2005.
Day 6
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
, already qualified to meet Cuevas and Horna in the semifinals, faced already eliminated Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý is a professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World Number 5 on June 22, 2009.-2006-2008:...
and Leander Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
, in a dead rubber. The second seeds did not leave many opportunities to the US Open runners-up Dlouhý and Paes, breaking them twice in the first, and once in the second set, saving all break points against themselves, to cruise to a 6–1, 6–4 win, and leave the round robin stage as the only undefeated team. In the second match –to decide of the last doubles qualifiers–, Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
defeated Jonas Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
, to enter the last four, setting a semifinal meeting with Bob and Mike Bryan. The first two sets were each dominated by one of the teams, with the Poles breaking twice to win the first, and Björkman and Ullyett doing the same to win the second, before Fyrstenberg and Matkowski eventually took the advantage in the deciding match tie-break, to score a 6–2, 1–6, [10–6] victory, and complete the semifinals line up.
Björkman and Ullyett's loss to Fyrstenberg and Matkowski marked the last career match of the Swede Jonas Björkman, who had announced his retirement at the end of the year, after a seventeen-year career, started in 1991, at the Swedish Open
Swedish Open
The SkiStar Swedish Open is an ATP World Tour 250 series tennis tournament on the ATP Tour held in Båstad, Sweden in July each year.The Collector Swedish Open Women is a tennis tournament held in Båstad, Sweden...
in Båstad
Båstad
Båstad is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 4,793 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:The town of Båstad is located in a sheltered bay with the Hallandian ridge stretching behind it...
. In singles, Björkman won six career titles, and went as high as the 4th place in the rankings, in 1997, reaching two Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
semifinals at the 1997 US Open (lost to Rusedski
Greg Rusedski
Gregory "Greg" Rusedski is a British Canadian former tennis player who turned professional in 1991 and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33...
), and at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships (lost to Federer). A former World No. 1 in doubles, Björkman won fifty-four career doubles titles, including nine Grand Slam crowns (runner-up at six more). He was one of four active doubles players at the time of the Masters Cup to have completed a career Grand Slam (with Bob and Mike Bryan, and Daniel Nestor), and two year-end championships titles, in 1994
1994 ATP Tour World Championships
The 1994 ATP Tour World Championships were tennis tournaments played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 25th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 21st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and both were part of the 1994 ATP Tour...
and 2006
2006 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2006 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 37th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 32nd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2006 ATP Tour...
. Björkman, who mainly partnered during his career with Jan Apell
Jan Apell
Jan Apell is a former tennis player from Sweden, who won the Davis Cup in 1994 in doubles. The left-hander has retired from tennis unbeaten in Davis cup after five matches, and played most of his career with Jonas Björkman....
, Nicklas Kulti
Nicklas Kulti
Nicklas Kulti is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.Kulti was ranked the World No. 1 junior tennis player in 1989 after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon junior titles, and finishing runner-up at the US Open.In 1990, Kulti won his first top-level singles title at Adelaide...
, Todd Woodbridge
Todd Woodbridge
Todd Andrew Woodbridge is an Australian former tennis player. He was born in Sydney and turned professional in 1988. He is best known for his successful Doubles partnerships with Mark Woodforde and later Jonas Björkman...
, Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
, also finished runner-up at two mixed doubles Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, with Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name...
in 1999
1999 Wimbledon Championships
The 1999 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London in England...
, and Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
in 2007
2007 Wimbledon Championships
The 2007 Wimbledon Championships were held between 25 June and 8 July 2007. For the first time there was equal prize money for the men's and women's singles champions. Reconstruction work on Centre Court was in progress and thus it had no roof....
, and was part of the Sweden Davis Cup team
Sweden Davis Cup team
The Sweden Davis Cup team represents Sweden in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Svenska Tennisförbundet.Sweden is the 5th most successful nation, winning the title 7 times...
for their last three championships in 1994
1994 Davis Cup
The 1994 Davis Cup was the 83rd edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. A total of 109 nations participated in the tournament...
, 1997
1997 Davis Cup
The 1997 Davis Cup was the 86th edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. Group IV was added to the regional Zones, with promotion and relegation between it and Group III. A total of 127 nations participated in the tournament...
and 1998
1998 Davis Cup
The 1998 Davis Cup was the 87th edition of the most important tournament between nations in men's tennis. A total of 131 nations participated in the tournament...
. Upon retirement, as a ceremony was taking place for him, following his loss to Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, Björkman declared: "We were hoping to maybe get through [to the semifinals]. I still think it's great to end my career in the biggest event of the year. But you can't get everything. I've been mentally prepared for this because I'm mentally very ready to retire. [...] I've been very fortunate to be able to play for so long. It started as my hobby, and I've been able to do it for seventeen years, which is great. I'm really looking forward for the next step in life."
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
to Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
. Despite them having nothing to gain from a win (Štěpánek was already eliminated, and only the last match would determine Simon's fate), the Frenchman took the opportunity to avenge a French Open first round loss to the Czech, breaking him twice in the first set, once in the second, to clinch a 6–1, 6–4 victory. Andy Murray then faced Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in a match to decide of the Red Group's standings –a Murray win giving him the first place, Simon the second, a Federer win making him first, Murray second. Federer first took Murray's serve to lead 3–1, but the Briton broke back, and it took a second break by the Swiss at 5–4 to take the set. Murray was quick, with two breaks of serve, to race to a 5–2 second set lead, and was serving when Federer lined up four games to get back into the set, forcing a tie-break –which Murray eventually won, 7–3. Murray seemed to have grasp of the match at 3–0 in the third, with Federer, already diminished by an illness, calling the trainer for the back injury that had forced him out from the Paris Masters, but the Swiss fought back again, winning four straight games to lead 4–3. Unable to retain his advantage, Federer found himself led 4–5, saving seven match points on his ten-deuce-serve, before being broken, at 5–6, allowing Murray to reach the semis (vs. Davydenko) undefeated, with a 4–6, 7–6, 7–5 win, and giving Simon a semifinal spot (vs. Djokovic). Federer made his earliest exit to the tournament since 2002, when he went out in the semifinals (lost to Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
).
Day 7
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
, took place on November 15, first opposing doubles Gold Group winners, ATP No. 2 Daniel Nestor
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
(2007 champion
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
, 1998
1998 ATP Tour World Championships
The 1998 ATP Tour World Championships was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. The surface was called "GreenSet On Wood" which had a wood base coated in synthetic material and provided a medium-pace surface...
and 2006
2006 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2006 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 37th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 32nd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2006 ATP Tour...
runner-up) and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
(2005 finalist
2005 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2005 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 36th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 31st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2005 ATP Tour...
), undefeated in the event, to Red Group seconds Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
and Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
(in their first year-end event appearance). The two teams had only met once before this match, in the French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
final, where the South Americans had upset the Canadian-Serbian pair, defeating them 6–2, 6–3 in less than an hour to win their first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
title. Nestor and Zimonjić eased through the Roland-Garros rematch, providing no break opportunities on their serve, but taking their opponents' four times, to score a 6–1, 6–3 victory in less than an hour-and-a-half, and qualify for their first final together. Red Group top pair and current World No. 1 Bob Bryan
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
next faced Gold Group seconds, Erlich and Ram's substitutes Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth...
. The semifinal was preceded by a five-match history, with the Bryans leading the head-to-head 4–1, having played in 2004 in Acapulco
2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar
The 2004 Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 11th edition of the event known that year as the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Telefonica Movistar, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2004 ATP Tour, and of the...
(won by Bryan/Bryan), in 2007 in Madrid
2007 Madrid Masters
The 2007 Madrid Masters was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the Madrid Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2007 ATP Tour...
(won by Bryan/Bryan), and in 2008 in Barcelona
2008 Torneo Godó
The 2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 56th edition of the Torneo Godó, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour...
(won by Bryan/Bryan), Cincinnati (won by Bryan/Bryan), and Paris (won by Fyrstenberg/Matkowski). Bob and Mike Bryan dominated the encounter, serving strongly throughout the meeting, and breaking once in each set, to clinch, after little more than an hour, a 6–4, 6–4 victory, and reach their third final at the year-end event after winning their two previous ones in 2003
2003 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2003 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 34th edition of the year-end singles championships and the 29th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2003 ATP Tour...
and 2004
2004 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2004 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 35th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 30th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2004 ATP Tour...
. Qualifying for the final, Nestor and Zimonjić, and Bob and Mike Bryan, separated by a mere sixty-three points in the Race rankings, set a match to decide of the year-end No. 1 spot.
The singles semifinals saw first facing Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
and Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
, both in their first semifinal appearances at the year-end event. The two's only previous meeting was then a second round in Marseille, in Djokovic's first tournament after his Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
win, where the Frenchman had taken the advantage in three sets 6–2, 6–7, 6–3. Simon was once again the first to take the lead in their second encounter, in Shanghai, returning and serving slightly better than his opponent, to snatch the first set 6–4. After calling the trainer to nurse a neck pain at the start of the second set, Simon failed to hold his serve to be led 1–3 by the Serb, who then maintained his break to the end of the 6–3 set. Djokovic took the chance to break at 1–1 in the third, leading 5–4, when, after taking a time out for cramp, the Serb served for the match, and Simon managed to break back to 5–5. The fatigue of the nearly three hours match, though, proved too strong for the Frenchman, who lost his serve at 6–5, allowing Djokovic to finish the match on the score of 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, and reach his first year-end championships final. Andy Murray, victor of Federer in a three-hours match on the previous day, faced Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, in his second semifinal showing at the Masters Cup, after 2005
2005 Tennis Masters Cup - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but David Nalbandian defeated him 6–7, 6–7, 6–2, 6–1, 7–6, in the final.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal ...
, when he lost to David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
in straight sets. The Murray-Davydenko match was preceded by six previous meetings, split between the two players, in 2006 in Indian Wells (won by Davydenko) and at the US Open (won by Davydenko), in 2007 in Doha (won by Murray) and Indian Wells (won by Murray), and in 2008 in Doha (won by Murray) and Dubai (won by Davydenko). Davydenko broke in the first game, only to be immediately broken back by Murray, but the Russian, who had not played since his last round robin match two days before, proved himself fresher in the course of the game, and was able to take Murray's serve a second time at 5–5, keeping his following service game to score a 7–5 win in the first set. Davydenko capitalized on his momentum to line up five straight games in the second set from 1–2 to 6–2, clinching his 7–5, 6–2 win over Murray in little more than an hour-and-a-half, to reach his fifth final of the season, and his first at the Masters Cup.
Day 8
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
, Rome
2008 Rome Masters
The 2008 Rome Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
and Cincinnati
2008 Cincinnati Masters
The 2008 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
Masters, Barcelona
2008 Torneo Godó
The 2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 56th edition of the Torneo Godó, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour...
champion Bob Bryan
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
and Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
, and World No. 2s, Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
, Hamburg
2008 Hamburg Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...
and Toronto
2008 Canada Masters
The 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
Masters, London Queen's Club
2008 Queen's Club Championships
The 2008 Artois Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 37th edition of the Artois Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
titlists Daniel Nestor
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
and Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
, in a match to decide of the year-end No. 1 ranking. It was the third year-end event final of the Bryans, after 2003
2003 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2003 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 34th edition of the year-end singles championships and the 29th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2003 ATP Tour...
(def. Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
/Santoro
Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti. Though not counted among the top ranked players, he had an unusually long professional career – with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career – and he is popular among spectators and other...
) and 2004
2004 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2004 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 35th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 30th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2004 ATP Tour...
(def. Black
Wayne Black
Wayne Hamilton Black is a former professional male tennis player from Zimbabwe.Black is the son of Don and Velia Black and the brother of Cara Black and Byron Black, also professional tennis players. He attended the University of Southern California and was an All-American in singles and doubles...
/Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
), the fourth of Daniel Nestor, after three finals with Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
, in 1998
1998 ATP Tour World Championships
The 1998 ATP Tour World Championships was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. The surface was called "GreenSet On Wood" which had a wood base coated in synthetic material and provided a medium-pace surface...
(lost to Eltingh
Jacco Eltingh
Jacco Folkert Eltingh is a former professional male tennis player and former World No. 1 doubles player from the Netherlands.He is best remembered for his success in doubles with fellow countryman Paul Haarhuis...
/Haarhuis
Paul Haarhuis
Paul Vincent Nicholas Haarhuis is a Dutch former professional tennis player. He is a former World No. 1 doubles player. He won six Grand Slam men's doubles titles, five with Jacco Eltingh and one with Yevgeny Kafelnikov.-Personal life:...
), 2006
2006 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2006 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 37th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 32nd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2006 ATP Tour...
(lost to Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
/Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
), and 2007
2007 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2007 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2007 ATP Tour...
(def. Aspelin
Simon Aspelin
Simon Aspelin is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998...
/Knowle
Julian Knowle
----Julian Knowle is an Austrian male professional tennis player. Being a born left-hander Knowle is one of now only few on the ATP Tour who plays his forehand, backhand and even volleys double-handed. He is Austria's most successful doubles player in history by reaching no...
), and the second of Nenad Zimonjić after a previous final in 2005
2005 Tennis Masters Cup
The 2005 Tennis Masters Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 36th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 31st edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2005 ATP Tour...
with Leander Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
(lost to Llodra/Santoro). The two teams also shared a four-match history before the final, having played together in four ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
finals, in 2007 in Paris
2007 Paris Masters
The 2007 Paris Masters was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Paris Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2007 ATP Tour...
(won by Bryan/Bryan), and in 2008 in Rome
2008 Rome Masters
The 2008 Rome Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(won by Bryan/Bryan), Hamburg
2008 Hamburg Masters
The 2008 Masters Series Hamburg was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Masters Series Hamburg, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 10 through May 18,...
(won by Nestor/Zimonjić), Toronto
2008 Canada Masters
The 2008 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
(won by Nestor/Zimonjić). The Canadian-Serbian duo took the upper hand early in the match, breaking the Americans to lead in the first set, until the Bryans broke back to level the score –both teams then held their serve to a tie-break, in which Nestor and Zimonjić prevailed, 7–3. The second seeds raced through the next set, converting their two break points to notch a 7–6, 6–2 win –their fifth title of the year, and their first at the year-end championships. The win also meant a first year-end No. 1 spot together for the undefeated champions Nestor and Zimonjić (Zimonjić's first ever, Nestor's third, after ending No. 1 in 2002 and 2004 with Knowles) and, in the individual rankings for doubles players, the top spot for Zimonjić, and the second for Nestor.
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
, Indian Wells
2008 Indian Wells Masters
The 2008 Indian Wells Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 32nd edition of the Indian Wells Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
and Rome
2008 Rome Masters
The 2008 Rome Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
champion Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, and Miami Masters
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
, Pörtschach
2008 Hypo Group Tennis International
The 2008 Hypo Group Tennis International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 28th edition of the Hypo Group Tennis International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Werzer Arena in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, Austria, from...
and Warsaw
2008 Orange Warsaw Open
The 2008 Orange Warsaw Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 8th edition of the Orange Warsaw Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Warszawianka Courts in Warsaw, Poland, from June 9 through June 15, 2008.The...
winner Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, in both men's first year-end championships final. The encounter was a the third match of the two, after a Davis Cup rubber won by Davydenko after Djokovic retired, leading two sets to one, and their round robin meeting on day 3, in which Djokovic prevailed 7–6, 0–6, 7–5. Djokovic started the encounter on serve, and took the advantage of a weak Davydenko service game (the Russian went on to win only 42% of his service points in the set) to break and lead 2–0. A nervous Davydenko failed again to keep his serve at 3–0, and was broken again by the Serb. The Russian managed to save his service game at 5–0, forcing Djokovic to serve for the set. The Serb did not falter, and clinched the set 6–1. Despite holding his first service game, Davydenko was broken again at 1–1 in the second set. Davydenko avoided another break of serve when led 1–3, but was unable to gain the advantage on Djokovic's serve until the Serb served for the match at 5–4. Davydenko then increased his level of play, and came back to 5-all, but Djokovic, keeping his momentum of the match, broke once more, and held to serve to claim victory, after one hour and forty-two minutes, on the final score of 6–1, 7–5. The win marked Djokovic's fourth title of the year (after a six months title drought since Rome, won on May 11) and his eleventh overall, as well as his first year-end championships crown. Djokovic became the first Serbian player to win the singles championships (Nenad Zimonjić had become the first Serbian to win the doubles championships just hours before – and all three men, Djokovic, Zimonjić and Nestor were born in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
), succeeding to two-time defending champion Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, and, thanks to the win, and Federer's early loss, finished the year only two points behind the Swiss in the ATP Race. Djokovic commented on his win : "I would put it in the same league as a Grand Slam because the best eight players in the world are participating here. [...] I feel very happy. End up the season the way I started it, with a win in a big event. So it's a great boost up for upcoming season." On the possibility of going up in the rankings in the 2009 ATP World Tour season
2009 ATP World Tour
The Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World...
, Djokovic admitted again his goal to become World No. 1 : "Certainly, I believe that I have quality to reach the top spot in the upcoming year or, you know, whatever, next couple of years, 10 years [...] That is my lifetime goal that I’ve been always trying to achieve."
Singles
Novak DjokovicNovak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
def.
Nikolay DavydenkoNikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
6–1, 7–5
Doubles
Daniel NestorDaniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
/
Nenad ZimonjićNenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
def.
Bob BryanBob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
/
Mike BryanMike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
7–6(7–3), 6–2
External links
- Official Tennis Masters Cup website
- Official 2008 Tennis Masters Cup YouTube Playlist
- Singles Draw
- Doubles Draw