Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Australian Open (First Week)
Andreas Seppi beat second-seeded Roger Federer 6-4 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-6 (5)
Madison Keys beat fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-4 7-5
Lucie Hradecka beat fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic 1-6 6-3 6-2
Victoria Azarenka beat eighth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-2
Irina-Camelia Begu beat ninth-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-4 0-6 6-1
SAYING
“Just a bad day.” – Roger Federer, after losing to Andreas Seppi.
“To beat Roger first time, especially in a Grand Slam, best-of-five, is a special moment for me.” – Andreas Seppi, who had taken only one set off Roger Federer in their previous 10 matches.
“I really struggled to find my rhythm today, I was just a little bit lost.” – Ana Ivanovic, the women’s fifth seed after being upset by Lucie Hradecka in the opening round.
“As always, I had the jitters going out in the first match of a Grand Slam. It’s never super easy to be the one that everyone wants to beat.” – Serena Williams, after her first-round victory over Alison Van Uytvanck 6-0 6-4.
“Well, this old cat has a few tricks left.” – Venus Williams, following her win over Camila Giorgi.
“I think Dennis is doing a good job. He just made one ace.” – Li Na, telling the Australian Open crowd that she and her husband Dennis (Jiang) are expecting their first child in the summer.
“I’m not going to hide my excitement of winning the match because it meant a lot to me.” – Grigor Dimitrov, after outlasting Marcos Baghdatis 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-3.
“I’m not going to hide my disappointment.” – Grigor Dimitrov, after losing to Andy Murray.
STUNNER
It was Roger Federer’s worst Australian Open finish since 2001 as the world’s second-ranked player was surprised by Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-4 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-6 (5). “I wish I could have played better, but clearly it was tough losing the first two sets,” Federer said after the third-round shocker. “I had chances to get back into it, but let it slip. It’s a disappointing loss.” It was Federer’s earliest exit in Melbourne in 14 years and his second-worst performance at a major in more than a decade, just behind his second-round loss at Wimbledon in 2013. A four-time Australian Open champion, Federer has now not won a Grand Slam tournament title since Wimbledon in 2012. It was the first time in 11 career meetings that Seppi had bested the Swiss master. In fact, Seppi had won just set off Federer until this time. And, in a weird statistic, Federer finished the match with one more point than Seppi – 145 to 144. But his 55 unforced errors, two fewer than his winners, didn’t help. “You don’t play every day on a center court in front of a full stadium against Roger Federer,” Seppi said. “But I was very calm. It’s a special moment for me.”
SAYS SHE’S PREGNANT
Li Na always has had a special rapport with the crowd at the Australian Open. Even though she’s not defending her women’s singles title, she delivered another winning speech at the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Appearing on the tournament’s opening day in front of 15,000 cheering fans, Li Na announced she was pregnant. “Dennis and I are so excited,” she said. “Our first child will arrive in the summer.” Known as the Asian and Pacific Grand Slam, the Australian Open has always been a special place for the Chinese star. She reached the final in both 2011 and 2013 before winning the title last year. Then she unexpectedly retired in September. A guest of honor at this year’s event, Li Na in a statement said: “A mere 12 months ago, I stood on this court clutching the Australian Open trophy tightly in my hands, a huge grin on my face, overwhelmed with joy and a sense of accomplishment that I had shared with everyone who had helped me along the road to this incredible achievement. Today, all of those emotions came back to me, yet I had extra butterflies in my stomach because I wanted to share a very special secret with the Australian Open fans. Over the years they have supported me and truly helped my success, so it felt just right to let them in on a little secret I’ve been holding on to for a few months now. This summer, Dennis and I are expecting our first child. We are overjoyed! And it really feels like this baby is going to enter the world already having about 15,000 friends.”
SURGERY AGAIN
Just days after pulling out of this year’s Australian Open, Juan Martin del Potro underwent surgery on his left wrist. The 2009 US Open champion said the surgery was recommended by his doctor. The surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Berger, who operated on Del Potro’s same wrist 10 months ago. He also performed surgery on the Argentine’s right wrist in 2010. The right-hander is expected to resume training in two weeks, but it is unknown when he might play again.
SAYONARA
Austria’s Yvonne Meusburger called it a career after suffering a straight-set first-round defeat to Casey Dellacqua of Australia. “It was a great feeling to play on Margaret Court Arena, a big, new court,” the 31-year-old Meusburger said. “I love Australia. This is my favorite Grand Slam. I started here. I finished here. I’m really happy.” She said she made her decision after earning a spot in the main draw. “I decided to take the opportunity to take my family with me and enjoy this great trip to Australia,” Meusburger said. A long-time member of Austria’s Fed Cup team, Meusburger reached a career-high ranking of 37th in the world last year. “I’ll stay in sports,” she said. “I want to stay in tennis and work with kids.” Her best WTA showing was in her home country, where she won at Bad Gastein in 2013. She was also runner-up there in 2007 and was runner-up at Budapest in 2013. “I’ll come back to Bad Gastein and the other Austrian tournaments,” she said. “And I’ll be watching some of the tournaments around the world.”
SAD NEWS
Once hailed as the next Anna Kournikova, a 23-year-old Russian tennis player dropped dead of heart failure during a training session. Violetta Degtiareva, born in the city of Rostov in southwestern Russia close to the border with Ukraine, was known for her beauty. She played mostly on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit. Her death was not immediately announced and only became public when her close friend and tennis player Anastasia Vdovenco posted the news on her Facebook page.
Steve Wilkinson, a longtime men’s tennis coach at Gustavus Adolphus College, is dead at the age of 73. Wilkinson coached at Gustavus Adolphus for 39 years, compiling a record 929 wins, the most victories in the history of collegiate men’s tennis. He teams won two NCAA Division II titles and he was named NAIA National Coach of the Year twice, in 1974 and 1984, and Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Coach of the Year three times, in 1982, 2001 and 2003. He had been fighting cancer for nearly seven years. Wilkinson was inducted into the US Professional Tennis Association’s Hall of Fame, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Hall of Fame, the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame, the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame, the Northern Tennis Association Hall of Fame, and the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame. He received the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Tennis Educational Merit Award and The Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Iowa. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; two daughters, Stephanie and Deborah; sons-in-law Scott and Jon, and four grandchildren.
SURFING
Melbourne: www.ausopen.com
Quito: www.ecuadoropenquito.com
Midland: www.dowcorningtennisclassic.com
Montpelier: www.opensuddefrance.com/
Zagreb: www.zagrebindoors.com/
Dallas: www.tennischampionshipsofdallas.com
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN and WOMEN
Australian Open (second week), Melbourne, Australia, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$493,310 Ecuador Open Quito, Quito, Ecuador, clay
$494,310 Open Sud de France, Montpelier, France, hard
$494,310 PBZ Zagreb Indoors, Zagreb, Croatia, hard
$100,000 Challenger of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA, hard
WOMEN
$100,000 Dow Corning Tennis Classic, Midland, Michigan, USA, hard
