Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Angelique Kerber beat Madison Keys 6-2 4-6 7-5 to win the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina
Jack Sock beat Sam Querrey 7-6 () 7-6 (2) to win the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay court Championship in Houston, Texas, USA
Martin Klizan beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2 6-2 to win the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova beat Camila Giorgi 6-4 6-3 to win the Katowice Open in Katowice, Poland
SAYING
“It feels incredible. Clay is my favorite surface. It feels surreal. It feels incredible, and to have friends and family here to share it with me feels even better.” – Jack Sock, after winning the US Men’s Clay Court Championship, his first ATP World Tour title.
“I feel great. Madison is a great player and she played very well today. so I think both of us are champions.” – Angelique Kerber, after beating Madison Keys in the final of the Family Circle Cup.
“If you can’t be first, I guess it’s OK to be second.” – Madison Keys.
“It’s something special. I still can’t believe it. It will take a long time for me to believe it.” – Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, after winning her first WTA title at the Katowice Open.
“To come through all that after all these years, for my family and the sacrifices we put in, it all seems worth it today. And no one can take it away from me. I’m going to be number one in the world. Even 50 years from now, I’ll go down as the former World Number One, and that’s something very, very special.” – Sania Mirza, who this week became the first woman from India to be ranked number one in the world in doubles.
“I knew to beat her I’d have to be fearless. I saw this as a great opportunity.” – Lauren Davis, after upsetting Eugenie Bouchard at the Family Circle Cup.
“She never changed. Whatever her ranking and whatever her game was, she was always the same. For me, humble is just when somebody I guess stays the same throughout their whole career no matter how much she achieves. If they are down, injured, if they are on top of world, if they always are nice, always the same, always approaching people the same way and very respectful, for me, that is the part of being humble. She’s always been that way, and I really appreciate that and respect that. Not only in players, just in human beings in general. Yeah, it’s really, really nice to see that you can be successful with this attitude as well.” – Andrea Petkovic, congratulating Carla Suárez Navarro on becoming the 111th player to be ranked in the WTA Top 10.
SLUGFEST
In an all-American baseline battle of hard-hitters, 22-year-old Jack Sock came away with his first ATP World Tour title, besting Sam Querrey to win the Fayez Sarofim & CO. US Men’s Clay Court Championship. Sock is the sixth American to win the Houston event, which he did in one hour and 45 minutes. “Jack’s tough,” Querrey said. “He has a big forehand and on heavy clay like that, he’s a tough guy to beat.” Until now, Sock has made his mark in doubles, teaming with fellow American Melanie Oudin to win the US Open mixed doubles in 2011 and with Canadian Vasek Pospisil to capture Wimbledon last year. Sock beat four seeded players on the road to victory, including second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round, fifth-seeded Santiago Giraldo in the quarterfinals, third-seeded Kevin Anderson in the semifinals and Querrey, who was seeded eighth. “I feel I competed well and took care of my serve very well,” Sock said. “On this surface against these players and the tough field that it was, to only get broken a handful of times is not easy.” Houston was his third final in his last three tournaments. He and Pospisil won the doubles at Indian Wells and were runners-up to Bob and Mike Bryan in Miami. It was the first time in Houston since 2003 and the third time overall that two Americans faced each other in the final. It also was the first all-American final in any tournament since 2011, when Mardy Fish beat John Isner in Atlanta.
SPARKLING PLAY
Playing a sparkling defensive game, Germany’s Angelique Kerber defeated Madison Keys to capture the Family Circle Cup. It was Kerber’s fourth career WTA title. Racing from side to side, Kerber retrieved nearly every blistering shot that Keys produced, patient to wait for the American to make a mistake. She broke Keys three times in the opening set, before the 20-year-old American battled took the second to level the match, then grabbed a 4-1 lead in the third set. But Kerber won six of the next seven games, serving out the final game at love to secure her fourth career title. “You know, it was never my favorite surface,” Kerber said of the green clay. “But it’s changed in the last year. I knew that I can play also on clay and it’s good also for my (overall) game because I’m playing defensive and being aggressive.” In their only other meeting, Keys squeezed past Kerber in a three-setter on grass at Eastbourne, Great Britain.
SHE’S NUMBER ONE
After teaming with Martina Hingis to win the Family Circle Cup doubles, Sania Mirza became the first woman from India to be ranked number one in doubles. It was the third title for Hingis and Mirza in as many tournaments, winning also at Indian Wells and Miami. In the past 12 months, Mirza has won seven WTA doubles titles. She partnered with Cara Black to win in Oeiras, Tokyo and the WTA Finals this year. She and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands teamed to win Sydney, Australia, earlier this year before she formed her partnership with Hingis. Mirza also won her third Grand Slam mixed doubles title last September at the US Open with Brazil’s Bruno Soares.
SLOVAKIAN CHAMPION
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova won her first WTA title by beating Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the Katowice Open final. Giorgi had upset home favorite Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals and was favored in the title match. Giorgi also was runner-up last year when she squandered a match point against France’s Alize Cornet. Schmiedlova, ranked 67th in the world going into the tournament, recovered from an early break of serve to win four straight games to close out the first set in 47 minutes. She also rallied from 3-1 down in the second set. “This tournament is very special to me,” Schmiedlova said. “Last year I won my first WTA main draw match here, and this year I won my first WTA title here, so I definitely want to come back.”
SO HAPPY
Amelie Mauresmo won two Grand Slam titles, was ranked number one in the world and is currently the coach of Andy Murray. Now she’s about to become a mother. “Baby will be here in August! #pregnant So happy,” Mauresmo announced on Twitter. The announcement came two days before Murray married his girlfriend Kim Sears. Also captain of the French Fed Cup squad, Mauresmo did not identify the father. In 1999 she announced she was gay. The Twitter message was accompanied by a photo of a baby’s pair of blue trainers next to an identical pair of adult shoes.
STARS IN CASABLANCA
Slovakia’s Martin Klizan thought of his grandfather, who died last week, and the victims of a road accident in Morocco when he accepted the winner’s trophy at the Grand Prix Hassan II tournament. Klizan defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver to win his third ATP World Tour title. “I would like to dedicate the trophy to my grandfather, who passed away last week, and also to those who died in an autobus crash in southern Morocco (on Friday),” Klizan told the crowd in the post-match ceremonies. He broke Gimeno-Traver’s serve to begin the match, then saved four break points in the fourth game as he built a 5-1 advantage. Klizan broke his opponent’s serve in the third game of the second set and went up 5-2. He fended off three break points as he served out the match. Gimeno-Traver was playing in his first final, and until this year had never won a match in Casablanca in his two previous appearances in 2011 and 2013. “It’s an amazing feeling right now,” Klizan said. “Every time I am in Morocco, I have played a lot on Centre Court and seen the list of all the names. I wished to be a champion and today I am. I am very proud and excited now.” Klizan’s previous titles came in St. Petersburg in 2012 and Munich last year.
SHOCK
Eugenie Bouchard’s 2015 season is getting worse. This time it was American Lauren Davis who shocked the Canadian at the Family Circle Cup. A semifinalist last year, Bouchard was the top seed on the green clay courts at Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Instead, it was Davis who was the aggressor, hitting 18 winners to just five unforced errors. Bouchard, on the other hand, had 12 winners and 33 unforced errors. “I’d never beaten her before, so I came out knowing I had nothing to lose,” Davis said after the 6-3 6-1 win. And she loved the slow surface. “I think clay really works for me, because I’m pretty fast,” the American said. “I can slide really well and I can make a lot of balls, so it really works for me.” Bouchard, on the other hand, was philosophical about the loss. “I obviously hate losing but I’m not going to be too hard on myself,” she said. “I know I’ve not been feeling like myself on the court, so it’s just a matter of taking some time now, not playing a tournament, and just taking some time to train and get back to feeling like myself on the court. I definitely felt a little bit slow today, overpowered, which is never usually the case. Usually I’m the one who’s dominating. So it was definitely just not good. Whatever happened was just not good.”
SURPRISING WINNERS
Ricardas Berankis and Teymuraz Gabashvili weren’t even in the draw when the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship began. The wound up the week as champions, and that makes Berankis the first player from Lithuania to win any type of tennis title. Berankis and Gabashvili entered the Houston main draw when Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock withdrew. They outlasted their first-round opponents Federico Delbonis and Dusan Lajovic in a marathon match tiebreak 19-17. After that they didn’t drop a set, including an upset over five-time champions Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarterfinals. In the title match they beat Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky 6-4 6-4. “We decided to team up for doubles and got in as alternates,” Berankis said. “This week I was so happy the way I was playing. And thanks to Teymuraz for all his help on court because he did an unbelievable job. The teams we beat we are proud of: the Bryans, Lindstedt/Melzer and today Lipsky/Huey. For me, it’s a great feeling and to have a trophy for the first time ever on the ATP World Tour means a lot to me.”
SICK CALL?
Ekaterina Makarova won her first Family Circle Cup match, then pulled out of the tournament. Shortly after beating Zhang Shuai 5-7 6-3 6-2, Makarova withdrew from the WTA event, claiming GI illness. In last week’s rankings, Makarova rose to eighth in the world, a career high.
SWISS MISS
Martina Hingis will play on the Swiss Fed Cup squad for the first time since 1998 as she tries to qualify for the Rio Olympics where she could team up with Roger Federer. The 34-year-old Hingis will play against Poland this week in the World Group playoffs. Hingis won five Grand Slam tournament singles titles and was ranked number one in the world before she retired in 2003. She returned to the WTA tour, but hasn’t played singles since 2007. When she made her second comeback in 2013 and has since risen to fourth in the world in doubles. She won the Australian Open mixed doubles title with India’s Leander Paes in January and has won the women’s doubles in her last three tournaments, teaming with India’s Sania Mirza. Last month, Federer said Hingis had approached him about playing mixed doubles in Rio and that he had given it “some thought.” In order to be eligible for the Olympics, a player must be available to compete in Fed Cup or Davis Cup.
STILL HURTING
Frenchman Richard Gasquet pulled out of this weeks’ Monte Carlo Masters because of ongoing back pain. Gasquet has been suffering from Maigne’s syndrome, a lower back pain that can radiate between the ribs and groin, since last season’s Miami tournament. After sitting out most of last year, the 28-year-old exacerbated the injury in his March comeback at Indian Wells, California, USA. He is expected to return to the ATP World Tour at the Barcelona Open later this month.
SO CLOSE
Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt is so close to becoming the seventh player in the Open Era to win at least 100 matches each on hard courts, grass and clay. He served for his 100th clay court win at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship, but ended up losing to Japan’s Go Soeda 4-6 7-6 (3) 6-3. The match ended on a Hewitt double-fault. The 34-year-old Australian had received a wild card entry from the tournament. It’s assumed he will try to get into one of the European clay-court events this spring in pursuit of his century trifecta.
SWINGING AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Caroline Wozniacki got to trade volleys with US President Barack Obama during the 2015 White House Easter Egg Roll festivities. Besides Wozniacki, other tennis players and officials who joined the First Family for the White House Easter Egg Roll were CoCo Vandeweghe, Vicky Duval, Frances Tiafoe and United States Tennis Association president Katrina Adams.
STARTS PRO CAREER
Frances Tiafoe has turned pro and changed his name. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” the 17-year-old said. “I’ve always wanted to be a professional tennis player. Tiafoe became the first tennis player to sign with Jay-Z’s Rock Nation agency. A native of Riverdale, Maryland, USWA, Tiafoe beat France’s Maxime Tabatruong 6-1 6-2 to win a USD $15,000 Futures tournament in Bakersfield, California, USA, last month. After he signed, Tiafoe’s agent corrected the spelling of his first name. For years it had been spelled “Francis.” Apparently his name was misspelled on an entry form early in his career and no one had bothered to correct the mistake.
SAFINA RETURNS
Once upon a time Dinara Safina was ranked number one in the world. The Russian will now be the link between the Mutua Madrid Open organization and the female players. Safina won the Madrid Open in 2009. Now she will draw on her experience to listen to and serve the needs of the female players taking part in the event. Safina officially announced her retirement at the tournament last year. She played in three Grand Slam tournament finals and won the women’s singles silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. In all, she won 21 singles titles and nine doubles crowns before ending her career due to a series of back problems.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Casablanca: Rameez Junaid and Adil Shamasdin beat Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea 3-6 6-2 10-7 (match tiebreak)
Charleston: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza beat Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak 6-0 6-4
Houston: Ricardas Berankis and Teymuraz Gabashvili beat Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky 6-4 6-4
Katowice: Ysaline Bonaventure and Demi Schuurs beat Gioia Barbieri and Karin Knapp 7-5 4-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com
Monte Carlo: http://montecarlotennismasters.com/
Bogota: www.copaclarocolsanitas.com/
Napoli: www.atpnapoli.com/
Sarasota: www.sarasotaopen.org/
Stuttgart: www.porsche-tennis.de/prod/pag/tennis.nsf/web/english-home
Barcelona: www.barcelonaopenbancsabadell.com/es
Bucharest: http://brd-nastase-tiriac-trophy.ro/2015/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$3,605,210 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Monte Carlo, Monaco, clay
$116, 791 Capri Watch Cup, Napoli, Italy, clay
$100,000 Sarasota Open, Sarasota, Florida, USA, clay
WOMEN
$226,750 Claro Open Colsanitas, Bogota, Colombia, clay
FED CUP
World Group
Semifinals
Czech Republic vs. France at Ostrava, Czech Republic, hard
Russia vs. Germany at Sochi, Russia, clay
World Group Playoffs
Italy vs. United States at Brindisi, Italy, clay
Australia vs. Netherlands at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, clay
Poland vs. Switzerland at Zielona Gora, Poland, hard
Canada vs. Romania at Montreal, Quebec, Canada, hard
World Group II Playoffs
Serbia vs. Paraguay at Novi Sad, Serbia, hard; Slovakia vs. Sweden at Bratislava, Slovakia, clay; Japan vs. Belarus at Tokyo, Japan, hard; Argentina vs. Spain at Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay
Group II
Asia/Oceania Zone at Hyderabad, India, hard: India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Pacific Oceania, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$2,112,310 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain, clay
$465,655 BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy, Bucharest, Romania, clay
$100,000 Jalisco Open, Guadalajara, Mexico, hard
WOMEN
$665,900 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany, clay
