Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (1) 6-3 to win the men’s singles at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Serena Williams beat Simona Halep 6-3 7-6 (5) to win the Western & Southern Open women’s singles in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Dudi Sela beat John-Patrick Smith 6-4 7-5 to win the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open men’s singles in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Johanna Konta beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-2 6-4 to win the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open women’s singles in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
SAYING
“I’ve got the confidence, I’ve got the matches, and I’m actually still feeling really fresh even after this week because the matches have been rather short. Because I didn’t play both tournaments (Montreal and Cincinnati), I can really pace myself next week and see how much practice I actually really need.” – Roger Federer, after winning his record seventh Western & Southern Open title.
“It’s now the fifth time I’ve been in this final. I guess I’ll have to wait until Roger retires.” – Novak Djokovic, after losing the Western & Southern Open final for the third time to Roger Federer.
“I prefer to have this pressure than the pressure of not winning. Not everyone can handle that pressure, but I’m OK with it. I would rather be in this position than another one.” – Serena Williams, saying she is looking forward to the start of the US Open where she will be going for the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.
“Doesn’t matter the way he played because I was playing so good today.” – Feliciano Lopez, after upsetting Rafael Nadal.
“I was there during the whole match with the right intensity, with the right attitude, doing the things that I have to do, trying to be more aggressive, trying to go to the net more often. That’s what I did. But today I played against an opponent that he played a fantastic match, I think. He played the best match ever against me, without a doubt.” – Rafael Nadal, following his loss to Feliciano Lopez.
“I let him know – I made it pretty clear that he can’t be doing that. If he’s got a problem, he’s got to say it in private. The way he went about it definitely wasn’t the right thing.” – Thanasi Kokkinakis, speaking about Nick Kyrgios’s on-court remarks to Stan Wawrinka.
“Clearly it was very disappointing and not great for the sport, one that I think many players have tried to build up and make it a good image. We want kids to be wanting to get into this sport, I guess, because it’s a nice sport, it’s clean, it’s fair, and all these things. I don’t think there should be any room for that kind of talk.” – Roger Federer, speaking about the Nick Kyrgios on-court statement.
“Our sport is a gentleman’s sport. It’s a sport about respect.” – Rafael Nadal, on the Nick Kyrgios affair.
“Obviously it’s the talk of the locker room, and everybody has their opinion. But I think that we all agree that he definitely crossed the line by a long shot. We’re not used to that kind of talk in tennis.” – Roger Federer.
“In a nutshell, my Dad created the ideal environment for me to compete. He gave me the space I needed and in his own quiet way brought out the best in me by not asking me to be more than myself. As great as he was as a coach, he was even greater as a father. He read to us and sang to us and took us swimming and … took us to church.” – Chris Evert, speaking about her father, Jimmy Evert, who died at the age of 91.
SEVENTH TITLE
Playing at the top of his game, Roger Federer knocked off top-ranked Novak Djokovic to win his second straight and record seventh Western & Southern Open title. “I knew coming into the match he was going to be aggressive,” said Djokovic, who has never won the Cincinnati tournament. “No question about it. So I tried to handle it. I did well until the tiebreak in the first set. After that, he was just the better player.” Federer lost only 13 points on his serve as he attacked through the match, winning 15 of 21 net points in the first set. “I tried to really mix it up on his second serve and I was hoping to serve good enough myself to keep me out of trouble.” He did both. Federer raced through the first-set tiebreak, then earned the only break of the match in the second game of the second set. “He had that one bad game at the beginning of the second set, which made the difference in the match,” the Swiss maestro said. The victory moved Federer back into the second spot in the world rankings, meaning he and Djokovic can’t meet in the US Open until the title match.
SERENA’S SECOND
Stumbling yet again to start a match, Serena Williams got her game in gear to beat Simona Halep and capture her second straight Western & Southern Open. Williams lost her serve to begin the match – something that has happened frequently in the last couple weeks – as Halep jumped out to 3-1 start. The deficit seemed to awaken the 33-year-old Williams, who ripped through the final five games of the opening set. And while she traded early service breaks with her opponent in the second set, Williams stepped her game up to another level in the tiebreak, wrapping up the victory in 69 minutes. “I think that playing Simona really tested me, and I felt like I was up for the challenge and up for the test,” Williams said. It was the fifth title of the year for the top-ranked American, including victories at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Williams will be seeking a calendar sweep of the four Grand Slam tournaments at the US Open, which begins August 31. The win also was the 69th career title for Williams, moving her ahead of Evonne Goolagong and into fifth place on the all-time list.
SPANISH TWIST
Roger Federer was expected to play Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open. Instead, he faced another Spanish left-hander, Feliciano Lopez, who beat his more famous countryman for only the fourth time in 13 meetings. It was the first time the 33-year-old Lopez had beaten Nadal twice in a row, having prevailed on the hard courts in Shanghai last year in their last meeting. “It means a lot when you beat such a good player like him,” Lopez said. “It’s not a normal match. It’s something different and the atmosphere there when you play against Rafa, it’s always something special.” Nadal needed six set points before capturing the opening set. Lopez broke Nadal early, then held to level the match at one set apiece. Neither waivered on serve in the deciding set or on the first two points of the tiebreak. After that it was all Lopez, who completed the victory with his 14th ace of the match.
SWISS MISS-ING
Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic retired from her Western & Southern Open match against Lucie Safarova after dropping the first set 6-2. “I wasn’t 100 percent, and to beat Lucie or even compete against her you have to be 100 percent,” said Bencic, who shocked top-ranked Serena Williams in her remarkable run to the Rogers Cup title the previous week. “I didn’t want to retire. This was the first I’ve ever had to retire.” Bencic said she stopped playing because of her right forearm, which had bothered the 18-year-old for some time. “I hope it gets better,” Bencic said. “Every match it was getting tighter and tighter. I was hoping that a lot of (therapy) would help, but I couldn’t do it.” The Swiss miss is scheduled to play this week at New Haven, Connecticut.
SHARAPOVA SITS
Citing a leg injury, Maria Sharapova pulled out of the Western & Southern Open. “It’s not ideal preparation for New York, but that’s the circumstance and I obviously want to give myself the best chance to be healthy there,” the second-ranked Russian said. “That’s the wisest move right now.” Sharapova has not played since losing in the semifinals at Wimbledon in early July.
STREAKS
The Western & Southern Open remains the only one of the nine ATP Masters 1000 championships that Novak Djokovic has not won. But another streak was broken. In the previous six tournaments where Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka have met, the winner of their battle has gone on to win the title. Not so this time. For the fifth time in his career Djokovic has finished runner-up in Cincinnati, losing to Federer in 2009 and 2012 as well as this year, and to Andy Murray in 2008 and 2011.
STOPPED BY ILLNESS
After finally winning a match, Venus Williams had to withdraw from the Western & Southern Open because of an illness. The older Williams sister had lost her previous two first-round matches – at the WTA Istanbul Cup and the Rogers Cup in Canada – before prevailing in her opener against Zarina Diyas in straight sets. But the 35-year-old fell ill later that evening and withdrew before her scheduled match against another former world number one, Ana Ivanovic. So far this year Venus Williams has posted a 23-10 record with one singles title, that coming back in January at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
SHE’S BACK
Returning to competition following a year-long recovery from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, American Vicky Duval was given a wild-card entry into the US Open qualifying. Two years ago, Duval knocked the 2011 champion, Samantha Stosur, out of America’s premier tennis event. Then, after reaching the second round of Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2014, she announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer and went home to treat the disease. She recently won two singles matches at a USD $25,000 event in Landisville, Pennsylvania, USA, her first tournament back.
Also awarded wild-card entries into the women’s qualifying are Americans Robin Anderson, Usue Arconada, Tornado Alicia Black, Raveena Kingsley, 15-year-old Claire Liu, Jessica Pegula and Bernarda Pera.
STRAIGHT IN
Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who has won three Grand Slam tournament doubles titles this year, has received a wild-card entry into the women’s singles main draw at the US Open. The 30-year-old American won the women’s doubles with Lucie Safarova at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. She also teamed with fellow American Mike Bryan to win the mixed doubles in Paris.
Others receiving wild-card entries into the women’s singles main draw were Louisa Chirico; Samantha Crawford, the 2012 US Open girls’ champion; two-time NCAA singles champion Nicole Gibbs; 2015 USTA Girls’ 18s winner Sofia Kenin; 2015 NCAA singles champion Jamie Loeb; and 2013 USTA Girls’ 18s winner Sachia Vickery; along with Oceane Dodin of France.
STAYING HOME
Ken Nishikori will apparently be heading into the US Open without a warmup tournament. The Japanese star withdrew from the Western & Southern Open in an attempt to overcome a hip injury. While he hasn’t advanced past the quarterfinals at the first three Grand Slam tournaments this year, Nishikori would be one of the favorites at the US Open, where he reached the title match a year ago. Nishikori has posted a 34-8 record this year, winning two titles and rising in the rankings to fourth in the world.
STAY THE COURSE
If it wasn’t for bad luck, Mardy Fish would have no luck at all. The 33-year-old American missed 18 months of tennis because of a heart condition. Then, by winning his first match since 2013 – a 6-2 6-2 victory over Viktor Troicki after losing his first three matches of the season – Fish “earned” a meeting against the world’s second-ranked player, Andy Murray. “He’s pretty fantastic so far,” Fish said before playing the Scot. “He’s won a ton of matches. He’s won more matches than anyone this year, so he’ll be tough.” Murray was just that, winning 6-4 7-6 (1), but not without being pushed. Fish left it all on court – as he no doubt will in his farewell appearance at the US Open, which beings its two-week stint on August 31.
SLIPPING DANE
It wasn’t that Caroline Wozniacki lost to Victoria Azarenka at the Western & Southern Open. After all, it was the fifth consecutive win for Azarenka over her Danish opponent. What was most distressing for Wozniacki was that it was her third consecutive opening round loss against three different opponents in three weeks. After taking a wild card into the Bank of the West Classic, Wozniacki lost her opening round to Varvara Lepchenko. She then played a mandatory event in Toronto, Canada, losing in the first round of eventual champion Belinda Bencic. That was when Wozniacki questioned the WTA rules she believed “pushed” her to play although injured. Azarenka played almost flawless tennis in the first set in beating the former world number one 6-0 6-4. “I felt like the first set I was playing really, really well, and executing my game,” Azarenka said. “She’s the type of player you just can’t beat 6-0, 6-0 though. You know she’s going to turn it up. She started playing more aggressively in the second set and it was definitely getting tougher and tougher out there. But I stayed strong and stayed aggressive, and I was able to turn it around in the end.”
SERVING UP ACES
Sisters Venus and Serena Williams have sold their New York City apartment to a lawyer for USD $2.1 million. Ted Wells, co-chair of the litigation department at the New York-based Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison firm, and his wife Nina, a former secretary of state of New Jersey, bought the one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 1,800-square foot apartment in the city’s Garment District. The Williams sisters purchased the apartment in 2005 and reportedly will net USD $750,000 on the sale. The NFL hired Wells to investigate the Miami Dolphins bullying scandal in 2013 and the recent Deflategate incident involving the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady.
SENIOR MOMENT
Two former world number ones, Mats Wilander and John McEnroe, will be joined by Mansour Bahrami, Henri Leconte and Tim Henman at the ATP Champions Tour season finale in London’s Royal Albert Hall in December. Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall concludes the ATP Champions Tour season and is played over five days.
SAD NEWS
Jimmy Evert, the father of Hall of Famer Chris Evert and a tennis coaching legend in his own right, is dead at the age of 91. The tennis director at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for nearly 50 years, he taught all five of his children to play the sport. The tennis facility was renamed the Jimmy Evert Tennis Complex in 1997. A fine player himself, Jimmy Evert was an All-American at Notre Dame in the 1940s and reached as high as 11th in the United States rankings. He took over as coach at Holiday Park in 1948. Among his students were Jennifer Capriati, Harold Solomon and Brian Gottfried. But his best student was his daughter Chris, who won 18 Grand Slam tournament singles titles. Besides Chris, Jimmy Evert is survived by his wife of 62 years, Colette; brother Jerry and his wife Audra; sister-in-law Ruth; son Drew and his wife Penny; daughter Jeanne Dubin of Delray Beach, Florida, USA; son John and his wife Mary of Boca Raton, Florida, USA; daughter Clare Evert-Shane and husband Steven; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Cincinnati (men): Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic 6-2 6-2
Cincinnati (women): Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan beat Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5 6-4
Vancouver (men): Treat Huey and Frederik Nielsen beat Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus 7-6 (4) 6-7 (3) 10-5 (match tiebreak)
Vancouver (women): Johanna Konta and Maria Sanchez beat Raluca Olaru and Anna Tatishvili 7-6 (5) 6-4
SURFING
Winston-Salem: www.winstonsalemopen.com/
New Haven: www.ctopen.org/
New York: www.usopen.org/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$683,705 Winston-Salem Open, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, hard
WOMEN
$731,000 Connecticut Open, New Haven, Connecticut, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN and WOMEN
US Open, New York, New York, hard (first week)
