Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams Are ITF World Champions - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

SAYING

“I had an amazing week here. With every match I played pretty well, and thought, ‘How far can I take this?’ Pretty dang far, I guess. … I didn’t play my best tennis today, but I’ll have many more chances. So I’m not too bummed.” – Ingrid Neel, after losing the Orange Bowl Girls’ 18 International Tennis Championships final.

“That was the most grueling match I’ve ever played in my life. I’m just so happy to win it. I can’t move right now, but if I go to five sets in the Australian Open, hopefully I’ll be fitter than this.” – Jordan Thompson, who suffered cramps while winning a five-setter to earn a wild-card berth in the Australian Open men’s singles draw.

“I physically feel very fit. I’m very motivated to keep on playing on a very high level. I’m going to try to use these years in front of me to fight for number one in the world and the biggest titles in the sport.” – Novak Djokovic.

“We just felt we didn’t get good results because we didn’t know what we were doing on the court, especially in the big tournaments. We feel like we have that now and the focus automatically turns to getting results in the slams.” – Jean-Julien Rojer, saying he and his doubles partner Horia Tecau played their best tennis after Wimbledon.

STANDARD BEARORS

No surprise here. Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams finished the year ranked number one in the world. Now the International Tennis Federation (ITF) have proclaimed them to be world champions for 2014. It was the fourth time Djokovic has captured the ITF honor, one less than Williams. In 2014, Djokovic won Wimbledon, his seventh Grand Slam tournament title. When Williams won the US Open, it increased her Grand Slam tournament title total to 18.

The ITF doubles awards went to American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan and to Italy’s Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. It was the third time the Italian pair had won the honor. The Bryans captured the award for the 11^th time in 12 years.

Named junior world champions were CiCi Bellis of the United States and Andrey Rublev of Russia. Japan’s Yui Kamiji and Shingo Kunieda were named wheelchair champions.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

The eight Grand Slam tournament singles titles were won in 2014 by eight different players. That hadn’t happened since 1998. Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka and Croatia’s Marin Cilic were surprising men’s champions, Wawrinka at the Australian Open and Cilic at the US Open. Rafael Nadal won his ninth French Open crown, while Novak Djokovic was victorious at Wimbledon.

The women’s singles champions were China’s Li Na at the Australian Open, Russia’s Maria Sharapova at the French Open, Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon and American Serena Williams at the US Open.

When Japan’s Kei Nishikori became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam tournament singles final, losing the US Open title match to Cilic, is marked the first time since 2005 that a men’s major final did not feature a member of the men’s Fab Four: Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer of Switzerland or Great Britain’s Andy Murray.

Although all of the women’s champions had won Grand Slam titles before 2014, several young players showed they might be ready to take over the WTA mantle before long, including Romania’s Simona Halep, who reached the French Open final, and Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, who lost the Wimbledon title match.

STRAIGHT IN

Australians Jordan Thompson and Daria Gavrilova battled through heat and opponents to earn wild-card entries into the 2015 Australian Open. The 20-year-old Thompson outlasted second-seeded John-Patrick Smith 6-1 6-3 16 6-7 (2) 9-7 in a battle that lasted over four hours with both players cramping repeatedly in the fifth set. With temperatures hovering around 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), Thompson collapsed on the baseline late in the fifth set. He also cramped badly while Smith was in his chair receiving treatment for cramps. Although he was unable to jump into his serve after the incident, Thompson held serve to level the set at 4-all. The first two times he served for the match, Thompson was broken. But he broke right back each time and was successful when he served for the match a third time. Seeded fifth and ranked 274^th in the world, Thompson will be playing in the men’s singles main draw for the second straight year. He also won last year’s wild-card playoff, then pushed Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz to five sets before losing.

A native of Russia, Gavrilova earned the women’s singles main draw wild card by stopping Arina Rodionova 6-4 6-2. While it will be the second Australian Open appearance for Gavrilova, it will be her first time as an Australian citizen. The 20-year-old upset the top seed Olivia Rogowska in the semifinals and sailed through the wild-card tournament without dropping a set. “Last time I watched and really wished that I was playing,” said Gavrilova, who was recovering from a knee reconstruction operation last January. “I thought, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ I thought about that during the match and told myself to keep fighting.”

SYNCH IN CAREERS

Ana Ivanovic has dark hair and is from Serbia. Caroline Wozniacki is a blonde from Denmark. Other than that, they have a lot in common. Both have been ranked number one in the world. Both are among the most popular and glamorous players on the WTA tour. Both qualified for the elite eight at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global earlier this year. And as Dubai Duty Fee Ambassadors, both recently appeared at the Dubai International Film Festival, which presents films from the Arab world, Asia, Africa and beyond. Ivanovic attended the festival opening and screening of “The Theory of Everything,” which stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. Wozniacki was at the screening of “Escobar: Paradise Lost,” starring Josh Hutcherson and Benicio del Toro.

STAR AT HOME

Jean-Julien Rojer is a huge star at home in Curaçao, an island in the Caribbean just north of Venezuela. In a ceremony, the Number one court at the Racing Club Curaçao was named after the Dutchman, who in 2014 teamed with Horia Tecau to win eight ATP World Tour doubles titles. In his career, Rojer has won 17 doubles championships and has qualified for the last three season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Because of the lack of top-notch facilities in his home country, Rojer moved to Miami, Florida, USA, at the age of 13. “I had to leave when I was 13 because there was no-one else for me to play with,” Rojer said. “At the age of 12 I was the Senior Open champion. That was the toughest part, leaving on my own at 13. But when I was on the court, I didn’t think about anything else. I enjoyed tennis. So I ended up spending a lot of time on court to get away from all the thoughts.” Now 33 years old, Rojer wants to eventually help the sport in Curaçao. “At some point I would like to get involved with tennis at home,” he said. “I’d like to help these kids out and create more of a tennis culture, which we don’t have back home. Maybe working more hands on with the kids in a tennis school, trying to spot the ones that do have a bit of talent. We also have to improve our facilities and give the kids enough opportunity.”

SIGNS NEW COACH

Tomas Berdych has turned to Andy Murray’s former hitting partner Dani Vallverdu as his new coach. Making the announcement on his Facebook page, the Czech thanked his former coach, Tomas Krupa, who he had worked with since 2009. Vallverdu, a native of Venezuela, had worked with Murray for five years, often acting as an assistant coach. Berdych tried to get Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl to be his coach. But Lendl, who had coached Murray to two Grand Slam tournament titles, was reluctant to commit to a full-time coaching role again and suggested Vallverdu. “You guys don’t understand how much I relied on Dani,” Lendl said.

SUPER WEEK

Stefan Kozlov finally wound up a winner at the Metropolia Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships. And he did it twice. The American rallied from a set down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 2-6 6-3 6-2 to capture t4he Boys’ 18 title. He then teamed with Michael Mmoh to win the doubles. Kozlov in previous appearances had lost in the finals of the 12s, 14s and 18s. “It meant a lot,” Kozlov said. “Losing in the finals three times, losing in two Slam finals this year, I’m just really relived, to be honest, that I finally won this and hopefully I don’t have to come back the next year.” After leading 2-1 in the final set, Tsitsipas tired and didn’t win another game. “I was extremely exhausted after the third set started,” Tsitsipas said. “I didn’t have any power and I couldn’t continue playing as good as I did in the first set. … I hope next year I get back to the finals and do better.” Kozlov and Mmoh beat the Korean pair of Yunseong Chung and Seong Chan Kong 6-4 7-6 (5).

In an all-American Girls’ 18 final, Sofia Kenin defeated Ingrid Neel 6-3 6-3 to claim the title. Kenin had upset the world’s top-ranked junior player, CiCi Bellis, another American, in the semifinals. In the title match, Kenin won the first two games of the first set and grabbed a 4-0 lead in the second set. “It means a lot,” Kenin said of her Orange Bowl title. “This tournament is very prestigious. Everyone’s going to remember this one. This is my first Grade A win. It’s just incredible. I honestly didn’t even expect to get to the finals.”

CiCi Bellis didn’t leave the Plantation, Florida, USA, junior tournament without a title. She and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic teamed to win the Girls’ 18 doubles, beating Miriam Kolodziejova of the Czech Republic and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia 7-5 2-6 10-4 (match tiebreak).

SINGLE NO MORE

Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova and long-time partner Julia Lemigova are now just another married couple. While Lemigova admitted that she was a bit “overwhelmed,” Navratilova called being married “just really odd.” Navratilova had popped the question on camera during the US Open. “I’m 58 years old, I got married for the first time. It’s about time, right? Growing up as a gay woman you just don’t ever think about that, and then I thought about 10 years ago, ‘You know, I think within 10 years gay marriage will be legal.’ And here we are, 10 years later, making it legal.” Same-sex marriage is legal in New York, where gay couples have had the right to wed since 2011, and 34 other states. Navratilova and Lemigova, who has two daughters, have been together since 2006.

SWINGING FOR A CAUSE

Stanislas Wawrinka and Swiss countryman Roger Federer have teamed up for Africa. The two battled in The Match For Africa 2 presented by Rolex to support the Roger Federer Foundation. The foundation promotes access to quality education and supports projects operated by local nonprofit organizations primarily in six countries in southern Africa and Switzerland. Four years ago, Federer played Rafael Nadal in the first Match For Africa. Both matches were played at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland.

SENIOR WARRIORS

Sydney, Australia, will stage its first Legends event during the Apia International Sydney 2015 tournament. Australia’s Pat Cash will team with Frenchman Henri Leconte to face Iran’s Mansour Bahrami and Italy’s Fabrice Santoro. The event will conclude with Grand Slam tournament winners John McEnroe and Pat Rafter taking on each other.

SURFING

Brisbane: www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/

Doha: www.qatartennis.org/

Chennai: www.aircelchennaiopen.org/2015/

Shenzhen: www.shenzhenopentennis.com/2015/chs/

Auckland (women): www.festivaloftennis.co.nz/asbclassic/

Sydney: www.apiainternational.com.au/

Auckland (men): www.festivaloftennis.co.nz/heinekenopen/

Hobart: www.hobartinternational.com.au/

TOURNAMENTS WEEK OF JAN. 5, 2015

(All money in USD)

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