Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Kei Nishikori beat Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4 to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in Barcelona, Spain
Angelique Kerber beat Carolina Wozniacki 3-6 6-1 7-5 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat Jiri Vesely 7-6 (5) 7-6 (11) to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania
Rajeev Ram beat Jason Jung 6-1 6-2 to win the Zurich Jalisco Open in Guadalajara, Mexico
SAYING
“I knew that (Pablo) Andujar has a good backhand and my plan was to move the ball around a bit. It worked well in the last few games and then with the final shot I closed my eyes and it went in.” – Kei Nishikori, who successfully defending his Barcelona Open title.
“I think Nishikori deserved to win the first set, but not the second. But when you play against players of this caliber, that are capable of getting into a great rhythm, if you don’t take your chances you end up losing.” – Pablo Andujar, after losing to Kei Nishikori in the Barcelona Open final.
“A few days ago I said clay is actually not my favorite surface, but right now I think I will change my mind. I’ve played very well on clay the last few days and weeks. I feel good that I have had so many matches on clay, and now I’m looking forward to the next tournaments before Paris.” – Angelique Kerber, following her win over Caroline Wozniacki in Stuttgart, Germany, and her second straight tournament title.
“It was small things today that made the difference. I had 5-3 in the third set and 30-all, and it could have gone both ways, but she took her chances and it went her way.” – Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to Angelique Kerber in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final.
“I’m my own favorite player.” – Grigor Dimitrov, laughing when answering a question.
“It was complicated for me to close the match. I was feeling nervous, a lot of things crossing my mind, but in the end I was happy to win. It is the first time in my career that I’ve won two titles in a year.” – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, after winning in Bucharest, Romania.
“I’m at the beginning of my career and a success here in Bucharest would have meant more for me, but that’s life. I will clearly be here next year and hopefully I will have better luck then.” – Jiri Vesely, following his loss to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
“We managed to get out of trouble this week, maybe too many times,” admitted Draganja. “We were a little bit lucky, but the serve was always helpful in these moments and it worked this week.” – Marin Draganja, who teamed with Henri Kontinen to win the doubles in Barcelona.
SPARKLING PERFORMANCE
For the second straight year Kei Nishikori has come away from the Barcelona Open as champion. This time the top-seeded Japanese captured the crown by fighting off Spain’s Pablo Andujar. “I didn’t think about winning the tournament at the start of the week because of the strength of the players here, especially the Spanish, but now I am very happy,” Nishikori said of his ninth career title. It was a baseline battle from the start with the two trading service breaks. Time and again Nishikori found himself being dragged out of position by the hard-hitting Andujar, but Nishikori broke his opponent in the 10th game to win the first set. Andujar stepped up his game, won the first two games of the second set and survived a break point to go up 3-1. Nishikori wasn’t to be denied, however, and when the Spaniard double-faulted to give Nishikori match point, the top seed rifled a backhand down the line to finish the day. “I think the second set was extremely tough and I don’t really know how I won it to be honest,” Nishikori said. “Pablo was very aggressive, he kept moving the ball and made me run up and down all the time. I also tried to be aggressive and I think that’s why I won the important points, but I’d say he played better than me. … I think this victory on clay and in such a difficult tournament gives me a lot of confidence to face the upcoming competitions. It’s just an amazing feeling to win a title. I have to come back to Barcelona.”
STUTTGART TITLE
“I am mega-proud to have won here in front of a home crown,” Angelique Kerber gushed after she rallied to defeat Caroline Wozniacki and win in Stuttgart, Germany. The victory extended Kerber’s winning streak to 11 matches and two straight titles. “I fought hard until the end and drained all my reserves of energy,” Kerber said of her three-set triumph. On their way to the final, Kerber had upset top-seeded Maria Sharapova while Wozniacki knocked off second-seeded Simona Halep. The two then saved the drama for the decisive third set. Wozniacki took a 3-1 lead before Kerber won the next two games to pull even. Wozniacki again moved ahead and, at 5-3, 30-15, was two points from victory. Kerber then won the final four games and the Porsche sports car that goes to the champion. With her wins over second-ranked Sharapova and fifth-ranked Wozniacki, it was just the second time in her career that Kerber had beaten two Top 5 players in the same week. Sharapova’s loss was the first time the Russian had tasted defeat in Stuttgart in her fourth appearance.
SEEKS AND GET REWARD
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez has a philosophy about his tennis and life itself. “When you work hard there is always a reward, not only in tennis but in life in general.” The 31-year-old Spaniard became the first player over the age of 30 to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy since Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela did it in 2010 at the age of 30 years, 7 months. “I feel like I’m doing the right things to improve my game and my ranking,” Garcia-Lopez said after edging Jiri Vesely in two tiebreak sets. Vesely had set points in both sets before the Spaniard won the first tiebreak 7-5 and the second 13-11 on his sixth match point. Garcia-Lopez had victories in the week over Marcos Baghdatis, Lukas Rosol and Gael Monfils. The 21-year-old Vesely was playing in his first tour-level clay court final and seeking his second ATP World Tour title.
STRETCHING THE OUTCOME
Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen are finding that winning is a difficult thing. A very long and difficult thing. The Croatian-Finnish pair beat Jamie Murray and John Peers in an 11-9 match tiebreak to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell doubles title, the third team crown of the season. The final was their third straight contest in which they had to win a match tiebreak, edging second-seeded Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the semifinals. “We started very hot,” Kontinen said. “We didn’t miss a ball in the first three or four games. It was almost too good. We started feeling like we had it on our racquets, but they hung in there in the second set and had more chances to break us. It was a tough match tiebreak like a couple of the other matches, but I’m happy to pull through and lift my game at the most important times. … We’re improving as a team. It’s a short time we’ve played together and I feel we’re getting better and doing the right things.” Draganja and Kontinen are tied for the ATP World Tour lead with three titles in 2015. The other team to have won three times this year are the top-ranked tandem of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.
STRIKING AGAIN
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova are friends. That’s what also makes them champions. The teamed up to beat Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik and win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The Mattek-Sands/Safarova tandem captured the Australian Open doubles crown earlier this year. “I can’t give away all our secrets, because they’re working really well, but me and Lucie are really good friends, and that’s a big part of doubles success,” Mattek-Sands said. “The communication out there, having fun, getting through the ups and downs easier – that’s all I’m going to give you.” The champions broke serve three times and fought off the only break point they faced to get past the second-seeded Garcia and Srebotnik. “It feels awesome,” Mattek-Sands said. “Kata and Caroline had a great week. They were crushing teams until now, and they’re always tough opponents. But me and Lucie played well and had a great week, too.” With the victory, Mattek-Sands and Safarova have taken over the top spot in the Road To Singapore doubles leaderboard, the year-long journey to the doubles event at the USD $7 million BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, which takes place in October. “It’s amazing. It’s such a nice event,” Safarova said after the victory. “I’m just so happy to play again with Bethanie. We have a great time on the court and off the court, and it’s just a pleasure.”
STARRING AT HOME
They had to save five match points to do it, but Marius Copil and Adrian Ungur became the first Romanian pair to win the doubles title in Bucharest since 1998. Copil and Ungur outlasted Nicholas Monroe and Artem Sitak 17-15 in the match tiebreak after staving off four of the seven break points they faced. The two had entered the tournament with a wild card. “It’s our first ATP (World Tour) final and our first victory,” Ungur said. “I will never forget it. It was so hard with many ups and downs. At one point, I did not know who would win, us or them. The atmosphere was great, even better than Davis Cup. We are very happy and we hope that it won’t be our last trophy together. I dedicate this title to my mother, because today is her birthday.” It was their first final as a team. “I’m glad that my first ATP (World Tour) title was conquered at home,” Copil said. “The crowd was great. I never felt so much love on court. It was a special Sunday, with so many emotions.”
SPLITTSVILLE
Martina Navratilova and Agnieszka Radwanska are no longer working together. Navratilova said it was because she has been unable to dedicate enough time to the job. “I am stepping down as Agnieszka’s part-time coach,” the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion said. “I think I underestimated the time it would take to make this a good and proper situation for both Agnieszka and me.” The ninth-ranked Radwanska hired the 58-year-old Hall of Famer last December with the aid of reaching the latter stages of more big tournaments. Radwanska lost in the 2012 Wimbledon final, the only time she has reached the title match in a Grand Slam tournament. “I just wanted to thank Martina for her time and efforts over these last few months,” Radwanska said on her Twitter account. “It was a great experience, but we both agreed that as Martina could not commit 100 percent to the project then it was not going to work as a long-term partnership.” Navratilova won a total of 59 Grand Slam tournament singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles.
SURPRISE
When John Isner arrived home in Tampa, Florida, USA, following a day of practice, he was in for a surprise. His house was packed with friends and family wishing him a happy 30th birthday. The group included tennis players Mike Bryan and Tomas Blake, ice hockey star Brenden Morrow of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Isner’s parents, who drove from North Carolina for the occasion with his dog Magill. Also in attendance was former ATP pro Agustin Moreno, who was an assistant coach at the University of Georgia when Isner played there. Isner becomes the eighth player in the Top 20 who is 30 years old or older.
SELECTED
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the winner of the Jugador 10 APT-Segura Viudas prize at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899. The award is presented annually during the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell by the APT (Association of Tennis Journalists) to the player who not only shows good personal qualities on the court, but also away from the court. “When I was growing up I was taught that it’s more important to behave properly than to win,” Tsonga said as he accepted the award from Manuel Serras, president of the APT. “Children that are following tennis can be influenced by our behavior.” The award presented to Tsonga was designed and created by artist and former journalist Duaita Prats.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Barcelona: Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen beat Jamie Murray and John Peers 6-3 6-7 (6) 11-9 (match tiebreak)
Bucharest: Mariuz Copil and Adrian Ungur beat Nicholas Monroe and Artem Sitak 3-6 7-5 17-15 (match tiebreak)
Guadalajara: Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat Marcelo Demoliner and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 7-5 4-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Stuttgart: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova beat Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik 6-4 6-3
SURFING
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/
Munich: http://bmwopen.de/
Estoril: www.millenniumestorilopen.com/
Istanbul: www.istanbulopen.org/
Marrakech: www.lallameryemtennis.com/
Prague: www.jtbopen.cz/
Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$465,655 BMW Open by FWU AG, Munich, Germany, clay
$465,655 Millennium Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal, clay
$465,655 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, Istanbul, Turkey, clay
DAVIS CUP
Group IV Asia/Oceania Zone, round-robin, at Isa Town, Bahrain, hard: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Pacific Oceania, Singapore, United Arab Emirates
WOMEN
$226,750 Grand Prix de SWAR LA Princesse Lalla, Marrakech, Morocco, clay
$226,750 J&T Banka Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic, clay
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$4,550,540 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay
$100,000 Busan, South Korea, hard
WOMEN
$4,414,030 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay
$100,000 Empire Slovak Open 2015, Trnava, Slovakia, clay
