W
orld class tennis once again
reigned supreme in Hua Hin as
top competitors from around the
world battled it out in Centennial
Park. Six players, all from different countries
and all ranked in the ATP (Association of Tennis
Professionals) top 20 competed in the World
Tennis Thailand Championship 2015.
The format was a little different
than in years past with a 3 day
tournament, best of 3 sets with a
tie break for each set. To qualify
for the tournament players had
to have been in the TPA top 20 or
won an ATP tournament in 2014.
Those competing for the title were;
Tomas Berdych ATP #7
29 year old Tomas Berdych, a
Czech national, began playing
tennis at 5 and soon became a top
junior. In 2013 he was The No. 1
player from the Czech Republic
and finished in the ATP Top 10
four years in a row reaching
Quarter Finals or better in 15 of
23 international tournaments.
His most notable achievement
was reaching the final of the 2010
Wimbledon Championships,
causing consecutive upsets by
defeating top seed and six-time
champion Roger Federer in the
quarterfinals, and World No. 3
Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
In the final, he lost to Rafael Nadal
in straight sets. Berdych ended the
2014 season with a 55-22 match
record, including two titles and
$3,899,534 in prize money.
David Ferrer ATP #5
32 year old David Ferrer from
Spain turned pro in 2000. In the
first years of his career he was
20
Dec 15 - Jan 15 , 2015
known as a clay-court specialist,
having won half of his titles on the
surface. In 2013 he was the No.
2 Spaniard, behind Rafael Nadal
and finished a year-end best No.
3, his 3rd year in a row in the Top
5. It was also his 4th straight year
where he won at least 55 matches.
Ferrer reached a career-high 9
finals, winning his 3rd straight
year in Auckland. On February
16th 2014 he became the first
player to win 3 straight Buenos
Aires titles, marking his 3rd threepeat on the ATP World Tour.
Ferrer ended his 2014 season with
a 54-24 match record, including
one title and $2,809, 026 in prize
money.
Richard Gasquet ATP #14
28 year old Richard Gasquet is
French and began playing tennis
at age four with his father, Francis,
who ran tennis club in Serignan.
In 2013 he finished in the Top
10 for his 2nd year in a row, 3rd
overall, and as top Frenchman for
1st time since 2007. The year also
saw him winning 3 titles for 1st
time since ‘06 and a personal-best
50 matches. Gasquet ended the
2014 season with a 31-19 singles
match record and $847,265 in prize
money.