Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Roger Federer beat Andreas Seppi 7-6 (1) 6-4 to win the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany
Andy Murray beat Kevin Anderson 6-3 6-4 to win the Aegon Championships in London, Great Britain
Angelique Kerber beat Karolina Pliskova 6-7 (5) 6-3 7-6 (4) to win the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, Great Britain
SAYING
“You want to go into Wimbledon with grass matches under your belt. I’m playing better than I did in 2013, but it’s extremely difficult to win these events.” – Andy Murray, the 2013 Wimbledon champion, after capturing Queen’s Club.
“It was an amazing match, and for a final it was perfect. It sounds good to have my name on the trophy next to Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, and I am proud of what I have achieved this week.” – Angelique Kerber, following her winning the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, Great Britain.
“I did everything I could. So I am not really disappointed to play a match like this in a final.” – Karolina Pliskova, after losing the Aegon Classic final to Angelique Kerber.
“I don’t want to take a big risk for Wimbledon, so I just retired from the match.” – Kei Nishikori, explaining why he stopped play in his semifinal against Andreas Seppi.
“He’s so loved. He gives of himself. It would be 100 percent correct to call Roger the pre-eminent worldwide athlete of the past decade. (Basketball star) LeBron (James) is huge. but internationally not as popular as Roger.” – Chris Evert, speaking about Roger Federer.
“Sometimes you can’t do anything. You have to hope for a bit of luck or that you don’t make a mistake at an important moment. The whole match can change in a moment. Thankfully it went well, though I had a bit of luck in the tiebreak.” – Roger Federer, talking about Ivo Karlovic’s serve.
“I still went out there with the intention of winning. You never go out there just hoping to get through a match. But it was a lot closer than the score suggested. That’s the way I thought anyway. – Laura Robson, whose first match back after an 18-month layoff resulted in a 6-0 6-1 defeat.
SWISS MASTERS HALLE
For a record eighth time, Roger Federer captured the Gerry Weber Open grass court tournament. The Swiss great has not won Halle more times than any other tournament. It also was his fourth title of the year, bringing his career total to 86. “It is a special moment for me, to win this tournament an eighth time,” Federer told the crowd. “I have always enjoyed amazing support here all these year. I always enjoy it here and it is one of my favorite events.” The top-seeded Swiss right-hander saved two set points on his serve when he trailed 5-4 in the opening set. He captured the tiebreak 7-1, and then fought off a break point in the fifth game of the second set. Federer missed a chance to break his Italian opponent in the eighth game, but did everything right two games later to close out the victory with a spectacular overhead smash. “2013 was difficult, 2014 was better and now 2015 after this week is even better and I hope I can keep it up,” Federer said. He has won Wimbledon and Dubai seven times each.
SIZZLING SCOT
Winning Queen’s Club is becoming a habit for Andy Murray. The Scot swept to a record-equaling fourth Queen’s Club title by stopping South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the title match. Murray joins a select group who have won the grass-court Wimbledon warm-up event four times, including John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. It also is Murray’s first grass-court triumph since he won Wimbledon in 2013. “I played better as the week went on,” Murray said. “I came up with some great shots today, and I had to play that way if I wanted to win.” Murray has now won 34 career ATP titles, pulling even with Arthur Ashe, Michael Chang and John Newcombe. Because of rain during the week, Murray had to play two matches on final day. He beat Serbia’s Viktor Troicki 6-3 7-6 (4) before taking a two-hour and coming back on court to capture the crown.
SERVING TO WIN
Delighted to be listed with a couple of tennis greats, Angelique Kerber believes she has gained confidence as she prepares for the year’s third Grand Slam tournament. The German outlasted Karolina Pliskova to remain in the WTA Top 10, a spot Pliskova would have assumed if she had won. “I just tried to fight point by point and being able to win this will give me great confidence in my preparation (for Wimbledon), Kerber said. Pliskova, who has served more aces than any other woman this year, powered 11 more in the final, but to no avail. Kerber rallied from a set and a break down, then from 5-6 down in the decider to pull off the victory. It was Kerber’s first grass court title. “I had the feeling Angelique was everywhere, and every lefty is tough on grass,” Pliskova said. “She moves so well and plays flat shots, which is important on this surface. I will go away happy.”
STRUGGLING SIMONA
Simona Halep can’t win for losing. The top seeded Romanian was upset at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, Great Britain, by Kristina Mladenovic 2-6 6-0 7-6 (4). “It was an amazing match and a big win for me today,” Mladenovic said. “I don’t know if it’s the best one – I’ve had a few matches where I’ve beaten Top 10 players – but it’s an amazing feeling to beat Simona in this way because she’s such a good player.” An upset didn’t appear to be in the works in the opening set, which Halep dominated. But the Frenchwoman bounced back to post her fifth win over a player ranked in the Top 10. Mladenovic led 5-3 in the final set before Halep fought back to send it into a tiebreak. “I think she was very solid in the first set and I was struggling with my rhythm and the sun,” Mladenovic said. “In the second I just tried to start over again and be aggressive and she perhaps gave me a couple of unforced errors that got me back in the match. But I think it was a great quality match, especially because it’s on grass and it’s always tough to find a rhythm.”
SLOW START
Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro got off to a slow start, falling behind 0-3 15-30. After that, though, the Spaniards were unstoppable as they won the Aegon Class doubles crown 6-4 6-4, defeating Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. It was their third final of the year, and their first title. “It means a lot because we’ve only played a few tournaments the whole year, so we kind of feel nervous every time we play together,” Muguruza said. “We’re really happy, and it’s even more special because it’s on grass, where we didn’t expect a title.” Suarez Navarro said there’s a reason they are winners. “I think we are both the boss,” she said. “We match up really well together and it worked really well here.”
SICK CALL
Kei Nishikori has come up a problem just before he begin play at Wimbledon. The Japanese star suffered a calf injury that forced him to retire during his Gerry Weber Open semifinal match against Andreas Seppi. The 25-year-old was trailing Seppi 4-1 when he retired, hoping that he might recover before the grass court Grand Slam tournament begins its fortnight run. “I felt it yesterday during the quarterfinal (against Jerzsy Janowicz) and I fought through it, Nishikori said. “But there was a little pain this morning and I tried in the match, but couldn’t really move.” Nishikori reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, his best result at the All England Club. He said he was hopeful the injury is not serious. “I’m sure it’s going to be OK. It’s no big deal,” he said.
STYLE-SETTER
The cover of Newsweek Europe features Roger Federer, while a story inside ponders whether the Swiss star is the greatest active athlete. Written by tennis journalist Richard Evans, the feature story says Federer has set “a standard no other athlete in any sport has been able to emulate over the past dozen years. For skill and professionalism; for popularity and longevity, this Swiss genius with a South African mother and a broad, inquisitive view of the world has captured the imagination and the loyalty of people all over the globe.”
SMASH-A-LOT
Croatian Ivo Karlovic slammed a record 45 aces as he upset third-seeded Tomas Berdych in a Gerry Weber Open quarterfinal match. That broke the old mark of 44 aces hit in a three-set match. “Berdych returns quite well really,” Karlovic said. “That’s why lots of aces are so important.” The 36-year-old Karlovic ended the match with an ace. “I didn’t really know how many aces I’d done,” he said. “But when I heard it was 45 I knew that’s a new record. Hitting aces helps a lot. You can avoid the volleys. I was surprised when I was told on court after the match how many aces I hit.”
SHARING THE SPOILS
Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut won the Aegon Championships doubles by stopping Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic. The Frenchmen together had seven aces and saved all three break points they faced. Because rain had delayed play earlier in the week, Matkowski and Zimonjic had to play two matches on the final day. They defeated Daniel Nestor and Leander Paes 6-3 7-6 (8) in a semifinal before falling to the Frenchmen in the title match. It was the first ATP World Tour title for Herbert and Mahut, who lost in the final at the Australian Open in January. “It was a dream,” Herbert said. “Everything we did was working. We know that if we play well, it will be difficult for our opponents, so we just focused on what we could do.”
SECOND TIME A CHARM
Playing together for just the second time, Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram finished up the week by winning the Gerry Weber Open doubles. Klaasen and Ram created 11 break point chances while facing just one as they beat Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea in the title match. “We started the match a little bit slowly,” Ram said. “But after that we played very clean. We communicated well and we were ready for our opportunities.”
SICK BAY
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pulled out of the Nottingham Open with an abdominal injury. The 12th-ranked Tsonga has not played since losing to Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals of the French Open. He was injured in Paris and has withdrawn from tournaments scheduled in the last two weeks. Missing Nottingham casts doubts on his participation as Wimbledon.
STAYING HOME
Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from Wimbledon because of a recent operation on his left wrist. The Argentine has played only four matches this year. He underwent surgery in the United States last week. Marinko Matosevic of Australia replaces del Potro in the men’s singles draw.
STEPPING INTO THE FIRE
It had been almost a year and half since Laura Robson had played professional tennis. After finally recovering from a left wrist injury, Robson finally returned to the women’s tour at the Aegon International Eastbourne, gaining a wild card spot in the qualifying. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on her side. Her first-round opponent just happened to be Daria Gavrilova, the top seed in qualifying. Gavrilova crushed Robson 6-0 6-1, but it wasn’t quite as bad as the score indicates. In five of the 12 games she lost, Robson had game points or pulled to deuce. Before her injury-induced layoff, the Englishwoman had been ranked as high as 27th in the world. “I’ve definitely felt worse, but I’ve also felt better,” Robson said. “To be honest, I think in a way it was a victory to just finish a match and be back on court, back playing tournaments, and I’m very happy.”
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Birmingham: Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro beat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6-4 6-4.
Halle: Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram beat Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea 7-6 (5) 6-2
London: Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut beat Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2 6-2
SURFING
Nottingham:www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-open-nottingham/
Eastbourne:www.lta.org.uk/major-events/Aegon-International-Eastbourne/
Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/index.html
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$562,340 Aegon Open Nottingham, Nottingham, Great Britain, grass
WOMEN
$665,900 Aegon International Eastbourne, Eastbourne, Great Britain, grass
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN and WOMEN
Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (first week)
