Roger Federer Shaken When Fan Runs on Court for Selfie - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Thomaz Bellucci beat Joao Sousa 7-6 (4) 6-4 to win the Geneva Open in Geneva, Switzerland

Dominic Thiem beat Leonardo Mayer 6-7 (8) 7-5 7-6 (2) to win the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur in Nice, France

Samantha Stosur beat Kristina Mladenovic 3-6 6-2 6-3 to win the Internationaux de Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France

Karin Knapp beat Roberta Vinci 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-1 to win the Nürnberger Versicherungscup in Nürnberg, Germany

SAYING

“I am not happy about it. It happened yesterday in the practice, too. It’s just a kid, but then three more kids came. And today on centre court where you would think this is a place where nobody can come on, just wanders on and nothing happens. Something needs to happen quickly. Normally I only speak on behalf of myself, but in this situation I think I can speak on behalf of all the players, that that’s where you do your job, that’s where you want to feel safe. And so clearly I’m not happy about it. It wasn’t a nice situation to be in.” – Roger Federer, complaining after a fan walked onto the main stadium court at Roland Garros in a bid to take a cellphone selfie with the second-ranked player.

“Honestly, at this stage there is no reason for us to change the security procedures.” – Gilbert Ysern, French Open tournament director, calling Roger Federer’s on-court encounter with a fan a “lack of judgment” by the security staff.

“The conditions in Geneva are good for me. The ball bounces high and I like the clay courts here. It’s similar to where I practice in Sao Paulo. I’m feeling very relaxed and happy to win my third title in Switzerland.” – Thomaz Bellucci, following his win over Joao Sousa in the Geneva Open final.

“I’m not happy today but I think that it’s still a good week for me. I’m leaving for Paris with good rhythm and confidence. That’s very important before the start of Roland Garros.” – Joao Sousa, after losing to Thomaz Bellucci in Geneva, Switzerland.

“The first title, I will remember it forever, so I will also remember forever Nice.” – Dominic Thiem, who won the Nice Open.

“Who knows? It’s a tournament I’ve done very well in, it’s a tournament I’ve lost very early in. I’ve had some really good moments and some really disappointing moments. Grand Slams can throw anything at you. It’s always challenging to play a Grand Slam, so I can’t take anything for granted.” – Samantha Stosur, when asked if winning Strasbourg portends her doing well at Roland Garros.

“I love tennis. I love to travel. I love to wake up in the morning and train. This is my life for 33 years. From becoming Top 100 for the first time at 27 to playing in big tournaments, I love it.” – Paolo Lorenzi, who became the third player to record 300 match wins on the ATP Challenger Tour.

SHAKEN BY SELFIE

Roger Federer was shaken after his first-round victory Sunday at Roland Garros when a fan stopped him on the court and attempted to take a selfie of the two. As Federer was walking towards the player’s exit on Court Philippe Chatrier, the young man tapped the player on his left shoulder, then put his arm around Federer’s back. With his left hand he prepared to take a cellphone selfie. Federer looked in the direction of security, and a guard apprehended the fan and escorted him off the court. But the fan was with Federer for 10 seconds before security arrived. “He didn’t say anything,” Federer said. “Just all of a sudden he was next to me. I didn’t know who he was, and he tried to take a picture. … Nothing happened, so I’m relieved. But clearly it wasn’t a nice situation to be in.” Roland Garros has been the stage for other breaches of security. In the second set of the 2009 final, where Federer beat Robin Soderling, a spectator ran onto the court wearing a Swiss shirt and carrying a Barcelona flag. He tried to place a hat on Federer’s head. Two years ago, when Rafael Nadal beat David Ferrer for the title, a protestor leapt from the stands carrying a flare and protesting against France’s same-sex marriage law. “We need to make sure that it’s safe out there and people don’t just wander on the court like a free pass,” Federer said.

STARRING IN SWITZERLAND

The last time an ATP tournament was played in Geneva, Thomaz Bellucci was just an infant. But Geneva is in Switzerland, and that’s all Bellucci needed. The Brazilian’s fourth career ATP World Tour title was his third in Switzerland. He also won on clay at the Swiss Open in Gstaad in 2009 and 2012. “It was very windy,” Bellucci said after beating sixth-seeded Joao Sousa of Portugal to capture the Geneva Open. “I was more solid at the baseline. Mentally I was strong all week, so maybe that was the key today.” A left-hander ranked 60^th in the world, Bellucci claimed the opening set on his fourth set point. Sousa took the early break in the second set before Bellucci reeled off four straight games to complete the victory. “This week gave me a lot of confidence, so I hope to keep playing like that and I hope to be ready for the next week,” the 24-year-old Bellucci said, referring to Roland Garros, where his first-round opponent is Marinko Matosevic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Geneva Open returned to the ATP Tour after a 24-year gap, replacing an event in Düsseldorf, Germany. Bellucci is the second South American to win on the ATP World Tour this year. “I won four matches here and I’m feeling well,” said Sousa, who saved four match points in beating Pablo Andujar in the quarterfinals. “It’s great that I reached the final here. I had a great week here and enjoyed this tournament a lot.”

SEVEN ACES IN VICTORY

Considered one of the rising stars on the ATP World Tour, Dominic Thiem put on display his talent as he captured his first ATP career title in Nice, France, stopping Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer in the final. It was a battle the entire way with Thiem taking the only service break of the match in the 12^th game of the second set. He then won the third-set tiebreak 7-2. The 21-year-old Austrian fired seven aces and saved all six break points he faced as he became the fourth first-time ATP World Tour winner this year, joining Jiri Vesely (Auckland), Estrella Burgos (Quito) and Jack Sock (Houston). Thiem also became the eighth player born in the 1990s to win an ATP title, joining Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, David Goffin, Bernard Tomic, Federico Delbonis, Vesely and Sock. “It’s not only this, the match today was a really, really good level,” Thiem said. “Leonardo played outstanding and I was fighting until the end. I think it was one of the best matches I’ve ever played.”

STOSUR WINS STRASBOURG

Veteran Sam Stosur fought off four WTA Rising Stars in her run to her first WTA title of the year at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. The win gave Stosur a boost before Roland Garros in a year that has seen the 2011 US Open champion struggling. Until Strasbourg, Stosur had won consecutive matches only once in 10 tournaments this year. She entered the French clay court event as a wild card, and ended up being first-time finalist Kristina Mladenovic in the title match. “It was good tennis,” Stosur said. “She was playing exceptionally well in that first set. I didn’t have too many chances to do anything early on, but I started getting some chances in the second set. I started playing a little bit differently, getting in control of the rallies early on, which wasn’t the case in the first set.” The Australian has won seven career titles, including two on clay.

SECOND TITLE

It was a strange match in Nürnberg, Germany, with both players dominating for stretches at a time. And when it was over, it was Karin Knapp defeating fellow Italian Roberta Vinci in the topsy-turvy battle. It was Vinci who jumped out front 5-2 in the opening set, even reaching set point in the eighth game. But then Knapp took over with a rally that ended with her winning it 7-6 (5). Vinci fought back, leveling the title match by winning the second set 6-4. She then held serve for a 1-0 lead in the third. After that, it was all Knapp, who ripped through the final six games to earn her second career WTA title. “It’s never easy against Roberta, and as you saw it was a close match,” Knapp said. “But it’s great to get the win and gain some good confidence for the French Open. Despite the loss, Vinci felt it was a positive week for her. “I tried my hardest today, but I’m pleased to have reached the final,” she said. “Karin played very well today. It was a tough match.”

STOPS FAVORITE

Mate Pavic of Croatia and Michael Venus of New Zealand upset the top seeded team to win the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur doubles title. “For us to win our first title together, we’re really excited,” said Venus after the two knocked off Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Horia Tecau of Romania 7-6 (4) 2-6 10-8 (match tiebreak). “It’s a great build-up for next week going into the French Open. Hopefully we can continue playing well.” Not only is it the first team title for the pairing, it was the first doubles title for either player. Pavic had lost his first three doubles finals, while Venus played in his first ATP World Tour final of any kind. “We started a few months ago playing together,” Pavic said. “We’ve had some good results, so we’re going to try to keep playing together and hopefully do better in the future.”

STORMIN’ STAN

An article on the French Open website that mentioned his private life angered Stan Wawrinka. “Completely stupid article,” the eighth-seeded Swiss star said. “It’s the official website of a Grand Slam, so I hope the guy who did that article is not a journalist. I also hope the guy who is supposed to check all the articles on the website is not working any more for the tournament. Because for me, for a Grand Slam website, it should be an article about the tennis and that’s it.” The former Australian Open winner announced last month that he and his wife Ilham were separating. But he was furious to discover that his personal problems were the focus of the website’s preview of his opening round match. The article was no longer visible on the tournament’s website when the year’s second Grand Slam tournament got underway on Sunday.

SWEEPS TO TITLE

The “Columbian Power” – Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah – captured the inaugural Geneva Open doubles for their fourth ATP World Tour team title. In a close battle, the two South Americans prevailed over Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan 7-5 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak). “I think we both played a great level,” Farah said. “It came down to the match tiebreak and we were feeling pretty comfortable returning. We had a bunch of chances in the second set that we couldn’t convert, so we knew we had a little edge coming down to it. “We played at a great level in tough conditions,” Cabal said. “We kept fighting and did things right. In the end, it gave us the title.” Cabal and Farah went overtime to earn a victory match during their march to the title. They beat Carlos Berlocq and Joao Souza in a 10-8 match tiebreak in their opener, Rajeev Ram and Donald Young 13-11 in the quarterfinals, and Alexander Bury and Denis Istomin 10-8 in the semifinals.

SKIPPING PARIS

Milos Raonic won’t be playing Roland Garros this year. Ranked sixth in the world, the Canadian withdrew from the year’s second Grand Slam tournament because he hasn’t fully recovered from foot surgery. “I tried my best to be back and healthy in time after surgery,” Raonic said. “I will continue my rehab and proceed with preparations for a 100 percent strong Wimbledon and Queens run.” Raonic, who also missed the Italian Open because of the injury, reached the semifinal at Wimbledon last year. He reached a career-high ranking of fourth in the world earlier this month before suffering the injury.

SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT

Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi may not be one of the favorites at Roland Garros this year, but he is only the third player to record 300 match wins on the ATP Challenger Tour. Since its inception in 1978, the Challenger Tour has served as a breeding ground for young players and has given others a platform to continue pursuing their dreams in professional tennis. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain became the first 300-match winner on the circuit, the only one to do so for more than three years. But in a two-week period two others have joined Ramirez Hidalgo. Lu Yen-Hsum won his 300^th Challenger match two weeks ago and Lorenzo joined the exclusive club when he beat Matthew Ebden in a tournament in Eskisehir, Turkey. “It’s not in ATP-level events, but still in the Challengers to do 300 wins is a lot and it’s not so easy,” Lorenzi told ATPWorldTour.com. “I’m only 33, so maybe I will get to 400 next.”

SETS RECORD

Andrea Arnaboldi of Italy and Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France carved out a spot in the French Open record books before the tournament’s main draw even began. Arnaboldi and Herbert set a record for most number of games played in a qualifying match at Roland Garros. Battling for four hours and 26 minutes over two days, Arnaboldi finally won 6-4 3-6 27-25 to reach the final round of qualifying. The 27-year-old went on to successfully qualify for the clay court Grand Slam tournament for the second straight year. Last year he lost in the first round to compatriot Simone Bolelli. This year Arnaboldi’s first-round opponent was James Duckworth.

STRAIGHT IN

Great Britain’s James Ward and Kyle Edmund have spots in the main draw at the Aegon Championships, which will be played at The Queen’s Club in mid-June. Ward was a semifinalist at the tournament in 2011 and is currently ranked 106^th in the world. His surprising victories help lead Great Britain over the United States in Davis Cup play earlier this year. Edmund, at age 20 eight years younger than Ward, won a challenger tournament in Hong Kong and successfully qualified for the Australian Open main draw in January. Ward and Edmund received the final two wild cards into the Aegon Championships.

SIGNED UP

The top two American men players – John Isner and Jack Sock – have committed to play in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in July. “Newport is a great place to start my US summer season,” Isner said. “It’s a great tournament. The fans, the venue and the field always make for a good week.” Isner won the grass court tournament in 2011 and 2012 and was a semifinalist in 2013. This will be his seventh appearance in Newport. Sock was a Newport semifinalist last year.

SHE’S A WINNER

American broadcaster Mary Carillo will receive the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) highest accolade, the Philippe Chatrier Award, at the 2015 ITF World Champions Dinner on June 2 in Paris. Named after the former ITF president, the Philippe Chatrier Award was introduced in 1996 and is awarded each year for outstanding contributions to the game of tennis. Among other recipients have been Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, the All England Club and Australian doubles team Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde. While Carillo has enjoyed her greater success as a broadcaster, she was a player, teaming with McEnroe to win the French Open mixed doubles in 1977. In making the announcement, the ITF said Carillo “is being honored for her very special contribution to the sport that she continues to care passionately about.”

STEPPING DOWN

Jean Gachassin, French Tennis Federation chairman, says he will not seek re-election when his second term ends in February 2017. “This will be my last term,” Gachassin told the Depeche du Midi newspaper. “In February 2017, when the election for president will be held, I will be close to being 76 years old. That can’t be serious. There is always a right time to hand over the reins. That is the only reason for which I am standing down.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Geneva: Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah beat Raven Klaasen and Yen-Hsun Lu 7-5 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Nice: Mate Pavic and Michael Venus beat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6 (4) 2-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Nürnberg: Chan Hao-Ching and Anabel Medina Garrigues beat Lara Arruabarrena and Raluca Olaru 6-4 7-6 (5)

Strasbourg: Chuang Chia-Jung and Liang Chen beat Nadia Kichenok and Zheng Saisai 4-6 6-4 12-10 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

Paris: www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/index.html

Prostejov: http://czech-open.cz/

Marseille: http://openfeminindemarseille.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

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