Top 5 'points to defend' until the end of 2018:



1. Nadal 3550

2. Dimitrov - 3280

3. Federer - 3060

4. A. Zverev - 2240

5. Del Potro - 2215



Murray - 0

Djokovic - 0

For the first season since 1990, five ATP tournaments have been won by Italians (Fognini, Berrettini, Cecchinato), including 3 in the space of two weeks.

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Andy Murray on his hard court comeback this week in Washington:



“I’ve not played a hard court match for a very long time. A lot of anxiety about that. I’m sure after the first few games out there I’ll be fine."



“If I stay fit and healthy, I’m not worried so much about ranking. I want to be winning matches and competing against the best players and that will build my fitness up quicker than anything I could do in the gym."

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If none of the top 8 seeds in Toronto withdraw, Djokovic (currently sitting at 9th) won't get a Rd 1 bye:



1. Nadal

2. A. Zverev

3. Del Potro

4. Anderson

5. Dimitrov

6. Cilic

7. Thiem

8. Isner

9. Djokovic

10. Goffin



Federer has withdrawn. Expected to comeback for Cincinnati.

Luthi (Federer's team/coach) on the decision to skip Toronto:



"would it be an advantage for Roger if he‘d play two tournaments before the USO? I don‘t think so, most important Roger is fresh and motivated".

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Andy Murray has rightfully received wildcards for both upcoming Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati. Wawrinka will be playing Qualifying in Toronto.

Hamburg, the city of one hit wonders?





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Marian Vajda Interview:



"He (Stepanek) and Andre really tried and they even might be on the right place, but in a wrong time."



"Agassi´s American mentality is different than our Slavic mentality."



"Tennis can‘t be based on philosophy, it‘s a sport man vs. man. If you want to be the best, you do that by repetitions in practice, by matches and strong mentality. When you see an opponent, you have to focus on where to send the ball, not to think about Buddha."

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(Matt): The idea that Agassi/Stepanek had the right intentions, coaching wise, but couldn't get through to Novak is interesting. It also underlines the importance, and familiarity, of Vajda to Novak, who seems to have leveraged his long-term bond/trust to successfully clear some of the fog surrounding Djokovic (diet/practice-intensity/philosophy etc). The no-bullsh*t approach is clearly working.

After winning his first ATP title today, Basilashvili revealed he has been working with Jan De Witt for the past few months. Jan is the former coach of Monfils and Gilles Simon. Clearly the partnership is working well already.

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Rudolf Molleker, the 17 year old, world No. 272 from Ukraine, really impressed this week in Hamburg, beating Ferrer in three sets in the 1st Rd. He's a little small at 6ft but has weapons and few obvious weaknesses.

10 different players have won their first ATP title so far in 2018:



M Zverev, Tiafoe, Fucsovics, Medvedev, Daniel, Cecchinato, Berrettini, Basic, Basiliashvili, Carballes Baena.