Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Simona Halep beat Karolina Pliskova 6-4 7-6 (4) to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
David Ferrer beat Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-3 to win the men’s singles at the Rio Open presented by Claro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Gilles Simon beat Gael Monfils 6-4 1-6 7-6 (4) to win the Open 13 in Marseille, France
Ivo Karlovic beat Donald Young 6-3 6-3 to win the Delray Beach Open by The Venetian @ Las Vegas in Delray Beach, Florida, USA
Sara Errani beat Anna Schmiedlova 7-6 (2) 6-1 to win the women’s singles at the Rio Open presented by Claro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Somdev Devvarman beat Yuki Bhambri 3-6 6-4 6-0 to win the Delhi Open 2015 in New Delhi, India
Farrukh Dustov beat Mirza Basic 6-3 6-4 to win the Wroclaw Open in Wroclaw, Poland
SAYING
“I really love this. I’m lost for words.” – Simona Halep, after winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“I’m happy I won here since I won my first tournament in Marseille. I hope it won’t be the last one.” – Gilles Simon, after winning the Open 13 in Marseille, France.
“I’m close, but that’s not my objective. The most important thing for me is to practice well, do things right and improve. And I think when you do things the right way, other things follow.” – Sara Errani, noting she is close to moving back into the Top 10 in the WTA Rankings.
“When you lose in a final, you’re always disappointed. It’s a big week for me. Yesterday I beat Rafa. It’s a big tournament and I’m happy because I put in a lot of work mentally and physically. To be 100 percent against David it is difficult.” – Fabio Fognini, who lost in the Rio Open final one day after upsetting Rafael Nadal.
“I played some very good tennis in the first set. The second set was worse, but I’m so happy I was in the final.” – Anna Schmiedlova, after losing to Sara Errani in the Rio Open final.
“Obviously it’s our first title together, but it was just a matter of time, I guess, as we already played many of the finals last year. We knew that at some point it would come, because we are such good friends and we play amazing tennis together.” – Kristina Mladenovic, when she and Timea Babos won the first doubles title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“She surprised me a lot. I didn’t know her game and she’s powerful, has an amazing serve and played a great match. It was hard to keep her close in the score and she had match points. In the third, she suffered from cramps because we were playing for so long. I feel sorry for her.” – Sara Errani, after staving off three match points in a 3-6 7-6 (2) 3-0 retired win over Brazilian teenager Beatriz Haddad Maia.
“It’s nice to win a title so close to home. Mike and I had great support all week from the South Florida tennis fans, and it made a difference during this run. – Bob Bryan, who teamed with brother Mike to win in Delray Beach, Florida, USA, for their first doubles title of 2015.
SIMONA CAPTURES DUBAI
For the 10th time in her brief career, Simona Halep wrapped up a week with the biggest trophy. This time she bested Karolina Pliskova to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Halep won nine straight points to take a 5-3 lead in the opening set, then struggled in the second where she was down an early break. The top seed also missed match points on her serve in both the 10th and 12th games. In the latter, she double-faulted twice in a row. But Halep won the last four points in the tiebreak to grab the win. “I didn’t serve very well, but I did other things OK,” Halep said. Pliskova, who has served the most aces on the WTA Tour this year – now 149 – will move to 12th in the world in the WTA Rankings. She needed treatment on her left hip in the second set. “It’s not serious I think, but it’s just too many matches for me,” Pliskova said.
STRONG FINISH
David Ferrer kept his string alive in the final of the Rio Open. The Spaniard beat Fabio Fognini for the eighth straight time in his career to capture his 23rd ATP World Tour singles title. “It was my best match of the tournament and I’m very happy having won two tournaments this season,” the 32-year-old Ferrer said. The winner took just one hour and 23 minutes to steam past Fognini for a record seventh title in Latin America’s “Golden Swing.” He is also a three-time titlist in both Acapulco, Mexico, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fognini also defeated his Italian opponent in the Argentina Open final last year.
SARA STARS IN RIO
Sara Errani beat back the future to win the Rio Open. The Italian star battled past WTA Rising Star Anna Schmiedlova in the final at Rio de Janeiro. Until Rio, Schmiedlova had never been to a WTA quarterfinal before. And she matched Errani almost shot for shot in the first set, holding set point on Errani’s serve at 5-4, and then pushing the set to a tiebreak. “The first set was tough,” Errani admitted. “We played more than an hour. We were both fighting hard in that set. She was playing very well and not giving me anything, really. It was also the first time I played her so I needed some time to find my tactics. I was happy I managed to win that set, and in the second set things started going much more my way. I think I was just physically stronger in the end.” Errani took a 4-0 lead in the second set on her way to the title. It was the first time Errani has come back from match point down to win a tournament. She saved three match points against Brazilian teenager Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarterfinals.
SHOCKER IN RIO
Italy’s Fabio Fognini shocked Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the Rio Open, topping the Spaniard 1-6 6-2 7-5 on clay. “Everybody knows he (Nadal) is the best on this surface,” Fognini said. “I don’t have words to describe this moment. I am super happy. It’s the best match I have won so far in my career.” Nadal, on the other hand, didn’t appear to be worried about the rare clay court defeat. The defending Rio Open champion missed much of last year with illness and injury. He has yet to reach a final in three tournaments this year. “I feel my tennis is close, closer than a month ago to the level I want to arrive again,” Nadal said. The Spaniard may have been too tired to play at his best. He played until 3:18 a.m. Saturday morning and was back on court just 17 hours later. “I have to be happy the way I played that first set,” Nadal said. “But I got tired too early today. … But these kinds of things can happen.” Fognini also played a late match the night before the semifinal, but not quite as late as Nadal. The win snapped Nadal’s 52-match win streak in tour-level semifinals on clay, and was just the 25th defeat overall for the Spaniard on the surface. Fognini became the fourth player to beat Nadal on clay in the past year, joining David Ferrer, Novak Djokovic and Nicolas Almagro.
SENIOR STAR
When Ivo Karlovic captured the Delray Beach Open, he became the oldest winner on the ATP World Tour since 1989. The 35-year-old Croatian never dropped serve and broke Donald Young three times to take the title in straight sets. That made Karlovic, who turns 36 on February 28, the oldest winner since Jimmy Connors won in Tel Aviv at the age of 37. Karlovic fired 13 aces past the American left-hander and now has six career titles. The champion held all 55 of his service games during the week, saving all 19 break points he faced, including seven from Young.
SIMON SUCCESSFUL
Gilles Simon came out on top in the fifth all-French final in Open 13 history. Simon stopped Gael Monfils for the fifth time in their six career meetings to capture his 12th ATP World Tour title. “It was a great week, but a tough one physically,” Simon said. Monfils committed 54 unforced errors, spoiling any chances he had for victory. Still, Monfils came within two points of winning when Simon was serving in the 12th game of the third set. But Simon was the more consistent player in the deciding tiebreak. “I’m disappointed,” said Monfils, who finished with 11 aces and five breaks of serve. “It was a great match and we both played really well.” The 30-year-old Simon now has won more titles than any other French player in the Open Era with the exception of Yannick Noah, who amassed 23 titles during his career.
SURPRISE
It was the biggest win of his career as Simone Bolelli of Italy broke the longest losing streak against Top 10 opponents in the Open Era when he shocked sixth-ranked Milos Raonic 6-4 3-6 7-6 (3) at the Open 13 in Marseille, France. Bolelli is now 1-35 lifetime against Top 10 opponents. The second longest losing streak versus Top 10 opponents in the Open Era was 26 straight losses, a mark shared by Nicolas Almagro and Andreas Seppi. It was Raonic’s first opening round loss since October 2014. “There were many close games, but I couldn’t make the most of my chances,” Raonic said. “I served better as the match went on, but he made it through when it mattered the most.”
SUSPECTED CHEATER
In 2006, Nick Lindahl reached the junior boys final at the Australian Open. Now he has been charged with corrupt betting offenses after police charged he intentionally lost a tennis match on which friends had placed bets. In making the arrest, New South Wales police said the 26-year-old Australian had purposely lost a match at a 2013 futures tournament at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. A betting agency detected unusual gambling patterns and reported it to police. Lindahl reached a career-high ATP World Tour ranking of 187 in 2010 when he lost in the first round of US Open qualifying as well as in the first round of main draws of tournaments in Sydney and Brisbane. Lindahl retired in December.
STAN BEING HONORED
Stan Smith, president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum (ITHoF) and a former Wimbledon champion, will be honored at one of America’s oldest tournaments in April. A former world number one and an All-American while at the University of Southern California, Smith competed at the tournament in Ojai, California, USA, more than 50 years ago. “The highlight of play at The Ojai was getting to play on a private court,” Smith remembered. “the main goal of course was to play on the main Libbey Park courts. That was really special. And the orange juice stand was the other highlight. It’s funny how certain things stand out in your mind.” Smith won Ojai collegiate titles in 1966, ’67 and ’68. He also won Ojai titles in the junior and open divisions as well. He was inducted into the ITHoF in 1987 and became president of the Hall of Fame in 2011.
SITE CHANGES, EVENT RETURNS
The St. Petersburg Open is back on the ATP World Tour schedule. Tournament organizers announced the event will be played September 21-27, 2015, at a new venue, the Sibur Arena, which was opened as a world-class basketball arena in 2013. The tournament was originally held at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex from 1995 to 2013. Among the St. Petersburg Open champions are Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny, Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Delray Beach: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Raven Klaasen and Leander Paes 6-3 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Dubai: Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic beat Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro 6-3 6-2
Marseille: Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen beat Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray 6-4 3k-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)
New Delhi: Egor Gerasimov and Alexander Kudryavtsev beat Riccardo Ghedin and Toshihide Matsui 6-7 (5) 6-4 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Rio (men): Martin Klizan and Philipp Oswald beat Pablo Andujar and Oliver Marach 7-6 (3) 6-4
Rio (women): Ysaline Bonaventure and Rebecca Peterson beat Irina-Camelia Begu and Maria Irigoyen 3-0 retired
Wroclaw: Philipp Petzschner and Tim Puetz beat Frank Dancevic and Andriej Kapas 7-6 (4) 6-3
SURFING
Acapulco: www.abiertomexicanodetenis.com/
Buenos Aires: http://argentinaopenatp.com/atp/
Doha: www.qatartennis.org/tournaments/index/64
Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com
Monterrey: http://abiertomonterrey.com/2015/
Kuala Lumpur: www.bmwmalaysianopen.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$2,503, 810 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard
$1,548,755 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico, hard
$573,750 Argentina Open presentado por Buenos Aires Ciudad, Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay
WOMEN
$665,900 Qatar Total Open 2015, Doha, Qatar, hard
$226,750 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, Acapulco, Mexico, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
WOMEN
$426,750 Abierto Monterrey Afirme, Monterrey, Mexico, hard
$226,750 BMW Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, hard
DAVIS CUP
First Round
World Group
Germany vs. France at Frankfurt, Germany, hard
Great Britain vs. United States at Glasgow, Scotland, hard
Czech Republic vs. Australia at Ostrava, Czech Republic, hard
Kazakhstan vs. Italy at Astana, Kazakhstan, hard
Argentina vs. Brazil at Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay
Serbia vs. Croatia at Kraljevo, Serbia, hard
Canada vs. Japan at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard
Belgium vs. Switzerland at Liége, Belgium, hard
Group I
Americas Zone: Barbados vs. Dominican Republic at St. Michael Barbados, hard
Asia/Oceania Zone: Thailand vs. Korea at Nonthaburi, Thailand, hard; New Zealand vs. China at Auckland, New Zealand, hard
Europe/Africa Zone: Russia vs. Denmark at Urengoy, Russia, hard; Sweden vs. Austria at Örebro, Sweden, hard; Slovakia vs. Slovenia at Bratislava, Slovakia, hard; Romania vs. Israel at Sibui, Romania, hard; Poland vs. Lithuania at Plock, Poland, hard
Group II
Americas Zone: Venezuela vs. Costa Rica at Caracas, Venezuela; Puerto Rico vs. El Salvador at Humacao, Puerto Rico, hard; Mexico vs. Bolivia at Merida, Mexico, hard; Chile vs. Peru at Santiago, Chile, clay
Asia/Oceania Zone: Chinese Taipei vs. Lebanon at Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, hard; Philippines vs. Sri Lanka at Pasig, Philippines, clay; Indonesia vs. Iran at Palembang, Indonesia, hard; Pakistan vs. Kuwait at Colombo, Sri Lanka, clay
Europe/Africa Zone: Turkey vs. South Africa at Mersin, Turkey, hard; Ireland vs. Belarus at Dublin, Ireland, hard; Portugal vs. Morocco at Cruz Quebrada, Portugal, hard; Monaco vs. Finland at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Monaco, clay; Zimbabw2e vs. Bosnia/Herzegovina at Harare, Zimbabwe, hard; Hungary vs. Moldova at Gyor, Hungary, hard; Luxembourg vs. Madagascar at Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, hard; Latvia vs. Bulgaria at Jurmala, Latvia, hard
