Rafael Nadal Back to Winning on Clay - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Rafael Nadal beat Alexander Zverev 6-1 1-6 6-3 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia men’s singles in Rome, Italy

Elina Svitolina beat Simona Halep 6-0 6-4 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia women’s singles in Rome, Italy

Matthew Ebden beat Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (4) 6-1 to win the Busan Open Challenger in Busan, South Korea

Reilly Opelka beat Gregoire Barrere 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-5 to win the BNP Paribas Primrose in Bordeaux, France

Rudolf Molleker beat Jiri Vesely 4-6 6-4 7-5 to win the Neckarcup in Heilbronn, Germany

Victoria Kuzmova beat Veronica Cepede Royg 6-4 1-6 6-1 to win the Empire Slovak Open in Trnava, Slovakia

SAYING

“It’s amazing to win eight titles in Rome. It’s a difficult event and to have the chance to win again here means a lot. This is the moment to enjoy winning here again.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the eighth time.

“Rafa is somebody that if you’re not in the match and if you’re not feeling the ball well, you have no chance.” – Alexander Zverev, who lost the Rome final to Rafael Nadal.

“It worked really good today. I was feeling good and I think it was a good match for me.” – Elina Svitolina, following the successful defense of her Internazionali BNL d’Italia title.

“She deserved to win for sure. She didn’t miss. I missed.” – Simona Halep, who lost to Elina Svitolina in the Italian Open final for the second straight year.

“I’m crying now but I’m happy, I’m happy for what I’ve accomplished. I would have liked to do better, but it doesn’t matter that I lost.” – Roberta Vinci, at an on-court ceremony in Rome announcing her retirement from tennis.

“I do not see that as pressure, but as possibility. Without this, I would not have received a wild card for the Neckarcup. I think I have justified the confidence placed in me by winning.” – Rudolf Molleker, a wildcard entry who won not only his first ATP Challenger match but his first title in Heilbronn, Germany.

“Playing against him is always a big challenge. He played well, and it’s always the same against him. When you go down a little bit in level, he’s always there and you are in big trouble.” – Rafael Nadal, after beating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (4) 6-3 in a semifinal in Rome.

“We are a family. I was honored to play with this group.” – Roberta Vinci, commenting on Italy’s Fed Cup team that included Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone and Sara Errani, each of whom also reached Grand Slam singles finals.

STRONG PERFORMANCE

Oh, what a little rain can do. Rafael Nadal roared back after a rain delay to defeat Alexander Zverev and win his eighth Internazionali BNL d’Italia, a victory that moved him back into the number one ranking. “It’s been an amazing week,” Nadal said, winning on the red clay of Rome for the first time since 2013. It was his 78^th career title, breaking his tie with John McEnroe. Zverev broke Nadal’s serve to begin the match. Nadal broke right back at love and dominated, winning six straight games and the opening set. The second set was a complete reversal. It was the 21-year-old German who won five straight games to level the final at one set apiece. That ended Nadal’s streak of 17 consecutive sets won in clay-court finals. Zverev had the momentum, breaking Nadal again in the third set. But rain began to fall and play was suspended twice for a combined 55 minutes with Zverev leading 3-2. When play resumed, it was all Nadal, who swept through the next four games for the victory. “When it happened, the rain delay, I didn’t feel in that moment that it would help me,” Nadal said. “That’s my feeling. It’s true that, if we analyze it now, of course, we can say that the rain delay helped me. But really, in my opinion, what helped me is that I came back with a clear idea in terms of tactical issues and in terms of decisions that I took after that break.” Zverev didn’t blame the weather for his loss. “There’s nothing I can do about it,” he said of the rain. “Next time I have to find a way to come out better after the rain and play better tennis. He came out way faster and played much more aggressive than I did.”

SVITOLINA SUCCESSFUL

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina had no problems defending her Internazionali BNL d’Italia title, blasting top-ranked Simona Halep in the final for the second straight year. “It’s like this court is now her home,” Halep said of the winner. “But I didn’t do so badly, reaching the final again.” The Ukrainian has now won the last eight finals she has been in. Svitolina had 18 winners to 14 unforced errors and never faced a break point in the 67-minute contest. “It was a really good match from my side. I think I dominated all the match,” Svitolina said. “I was trying to put lots of pressure on Simona with my game, tried to really take the ball early and to open the court.” Halep finally held serve to begin the second set, then began matching Svitolina’s game. But in the third game, the Ukrainian broke Halep to go up 2-1. From then on, Svitolina played tremendous defense, chasing down every shot Halep provided, and using her well-placed serves to hold the rest of the way. “I hope to be back next year,” Halep said. “Maybe third time is lucky for me.”

SOUTH AMERICAN WINNERS

Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah became the first all-South American team to win a Masters 1000 title when the captured the Internazionali BNL d’Italia crown by stopping Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa. “This is the title we have been looking for for a long time,” Cabal said. “We’ve been working hard for it. Hard work pays off in the end and we’re really happy about it. This keeps us motivated.” Three of the team’s four wins at Rome came on match tiebreaks, including the final. Carreno Busta and Sousa gained a spot in the doubles draw when American twins Bob and Mike Bryan withdrew because of Bob’s hip injury.

STRONG PAIRING

Playing as a team for the first time, Ashleigh Barty of Australia and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands wound up as champions. The duo won the women’s doubles at Rome, defeating Czechs Andrea Sestini Hlavackova and Barbora Strycova in the final. “This was a last-minute decision to play together,” Barty said. “I’m very happy that Demi sent me a message and asked me to play. It’s a bonus to get matches, and to come away with a title is a cherry on top.” Despite winning, the two will return to their regular partners at Roland Garros. Barty will play with American CoCo Vandeweghe, while Schuurs will play with Belgium’s Kiki Bertens.

SURPRISE CHAMPION

Germany’s Rudolf Molleker had never won a match on the ATP Challenger before last week. Now the 17-year-old is a champion, defeating Czech Jiri Vesely in the Neckarcup final. “This is not expected,” Molleker admitted. “But I think that at the moment I’m playing very good tennis. … I know I can beat the top players. We’ve seen that. I just need to be more consistent.” Neckarcup was the third main draw at the Challenger level for Molleker.

SHARAPOVA WINS

Maria Sharapova made the most of a chance to trade strokes with Rafael Nadal while practicing in Rome. “I saw he was practicing on the court right before me,” Sharapova said, so the Russian went to Nadal and said, “Would you hit a couple balls with me?” The two engaged in a two-minute rally before Nadal missed a shot. Sharapova said, “That’s it. I’m done,” and raised her arms in triumph. “He probably thought I was really weird,” Sharapova said. “I think he still thinks I’m really weird.”

SERENA SET TO PLAY

Serena Williams will play Roland Garros later this month “to win it,” her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou said. “Can she do it? Serena can achieve anything. After being her coach for six years, I’m even more sure of that statement.” Mouratoglou said. After winning the Australian Open in 2017, Williams left the tour to give birth to a daughter and get married. She returned in March, losing to her sister, Venus, at Indian Wells, then suffering a first-round loss to Naomi Osaka in Miami. “Serena clearly came back too early,” Mouratoglou said. “She was not ready yet, but needed to feel the competition, so she decided to play even though she was far from being at 100 percent. It was a good experience as she realized all the work that needed to be done in order for her to be really ready.” Williams, who has won the clay-court Grand Slam tournament three times – in 2002, 2013 and 2015 – will be seeking a record 24^th major title.

SAYS GOODBYE

Now that her career is over, Roberta Vinci wants to be known for more than her stunning win over Serena Williams at the 2015 US Open. “It’s not only Serena,” Vinci said after retiring following her first-round loss at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. “I would appreciate it if I were remembered for a bit more of my entire career.” Now 35, Vinci was ranked number one in the world in doubles, won all four Grand Slam tournament doubles titles with her partner Sara Errani, and helped Italy win four Fed Cup titles. Yet even Vinci looks back at that US Open semifinal win with delight. “It was an incredible victory,” she said. “The best victory, of course, of my life and probably also the (fans) can remember me with Serena, the crowd and everything. It was an incredible day.” She then lost the all-Italian US Open final to Flavia Pennetta. Vinci had a playing style all her own, changing pace and spins, using the entire court, sneaking to the net. “I had a difficult and different style of tennis,” Vinci said. “It’s old style. But sometimes it’s tough when you have to stay in good form, you have to run a lot, and you have to think about every single shot. But now I can relax and I don’t think about the slice and drop shots and everything. Next is ice cream, coffee, shopping. No rackets, no tennis.”

SICK BAY

Because he has not fully recovered from knee surgery, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has withdrawn from this week’s Lyon Open as well as Roland Garros later this month. Tsonga was the defending champion in Lyon. He underwent surgery in April. “I’m obviously very disappoint, but I still want to come to Lyon as an ambassador and to Roland Garros as a spectator,” the 33-year-old Frenchman said. Tsonga has not played since reaching the semifinals of the Montpellier International in February.

Also pulling out of the French Open was Canada’s Milos Raonic. “It is with a heavy heart that I am withdrawing from @rolandgarros,” Raonic wrote on Twitter. “I have many great memories there, but I know I need to continue working hard to put myself in the best position when I step out on the court.” Currently ranked 22^nd in the world, Raonic said a knee injury caused his withdrawal. The knee had also caused Raonic to withdraw before his third-round match at Monte Carlo last month.

SKIPPING STRASBOURG

Alize Cornet has pulled out of this week’s Strasbourg International tournament because of a groin injury. She won the event in 2013. “I am very disappointed that I cannot take part in the Strasbourg tournament but unfortunately I have not fully recovered from an adductor muscle injury,” said Cornet, who is ranked 32^nd in the world. “I am going to do everything to be ready for the French Open.”

SWITCHING PARTNERS?

Just a few wins away from being ranked number one in the world, Russians Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova have apparently ended their doubles partnership. Vesnina and Makarova, who first teamed up in 2012, won Madrid and were poised to take over the top spot in the doubles rankings at Rome last week. But they withdrew from Rome and have changed their entries for the French Open women’s doubles. Jelena Ostapenko confirmed she is will be playing with Vesnina at Roland Garros. “I was a little bit surprised when she asked me, but I was surprised in a good way because if she asked me then she thinks I can play good doubles,” Ostapenko said. Vesnina and Makarova won three Grand Slam tournament titles together.

STARTS LE MANS

Tennis isn’t the only sport that enjoys the presence of Rafael Nadal. Organizers say the Spanish star will give the official start to next month’s 86^th edition of the 24-hours of Le Mans endurance auto race. ACO president Pierre Fillon said Nadal’s status as “an exceptional figure in his discipline,” aligned with his characteristics of “talent, fair-play, pugnacity, competitiveness and strategic intelligence” show he exhibits “the fundamental traits” of endurance racing.

SEEKING CARE

The oft-injured Juan Martin del Potro hopes to be ready to play at Roland Garros. The Argentine retired from his third-round Internazionali BNL d-Italia match against David Goffin with a left groin injury. Del Potro said he felt something wrong with his left leg during the first set. After receiving treatment in the second game of the second set, del Potro eventually retired while trailing 6-2 4-5. “I was worried about that so I decided to stop the game at the end of the second set to see the doctor and see what they say,” del Potro said. “I will do all of the exams now and then I will try to make a good decision for the future.”

STRIKING OUT

Karolina Pliskova couldn’t believe that both the umpire and linesperson had missed her shot. Standing at the net, the Czech hit an overhead cross-court that was called out by the linesperson. When Pliskova complained, the umpire got down from her chair, but neither the umpire nor the linesperson could find the ball mark in the clay, although replays later showed the ball was clearly in. Because the ball had been called out and no mark could be found, the original call stood. Pliskova lost the next point to drop her serve. Maria Sakkari then held the next game to close out the 3-6 6-3 7-5 victory. Pliskova approached the chair, faked a handshake, then began smashing the legs of the umpire’s chair with her racquet. Later it was revealed that Pliskova had been fined. The fine was not published by the WTA, but Pliskova’s spokesperson, Michal Hrdlicka of the Czech tennis federation, said the amount was in four figures and that Pliskova would also donate the same amount to charity.

SKIPS SUSPENSION

Despite missing three out-of-competition drug tests in a 12-month span, French player Alize Cornet was cleared of the doping charge by an independent tribunal. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said the decision was made because a doping control officer “did not satisfy all of the requirements” in trying to located the 28-year-old player for what originally was considered a third missed out-of-competition drug test. Missing three tests in a year is considered a doping offense. Currently ranked 32^nd in the world, Alize has been ranked as high as 11^th in 2009. She has won five WTA titles.

SEATED AT WEDDING

Tennis star Serena Williams was among the invitees attending to the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. A long-time friend of the bride, Serena and her husband Alexis Ohanian were at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor for the ceremony. They were joined by her agent, Jill Smoller. Williams later revealed on Instagram that she switched from heels to tennis shoes for the evening reception.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bordeaux: Bradley Klan and Peter Polansky beat Guillermo Duran and Maximo Gonzalez 6-3 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Busan: Hsieh Cheng-Peng and Christopher Rungkat beat Ruan Roelofse and John-Patrick Smith 6-4 6-3

Heilbronn: Rameez Junaid and David Pel beat Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 6-2 2-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Rome (men): Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah beat Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa 3-6 6-4 10-4 (match tiebreak)

Rome (women): Ashleigh Barty and Demi Schuurs beat Andrea Sestini Hlavackov and Barbora Strycova 6-3 6-4

Trnava: Jessica Moore and Galina Voskoboeva beat Xenia Knoll and Anna Smith 6-3 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

Geneva: https://banqueericsturdzagenevaopen.com/

Lyon: http://openparc.com

Loughborough: www.lta.org.uk/loughboroughtrophy

Strasbourg: www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/fr