Great Britain and Belgium Advance To Davis Cup Finale - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Yanina Wickmayer beat Magda Linette 4-6 6-3 6-3 to win the Japan Women’s Open in Tokyo, Japan

Annika Beck beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-2 to win the Coupe Banque Nationale in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Jan-Leonard Struff beat Artem Smirinov 6-4 6-3 to win the Pekao Szczecin Open in Szezecin, Poland

Nicolas Almagro beat Marco Cecchinato 6-7 (1) 6-1 6-4 to win the rain-delayed AON Open Challenger in Genova, Italy

DAVIS CUP

World Group Semifinals

Great Britain beat Australia 3-2 in Glasgow, Scotland, Great Britain

Belgium beat Argentina 3-2 in Brussels, Belgium

World Group Playoffs

(Winners in World Group in 2016)

Czech Republic beat India 3-1 at New Delhi, India

Switzerland beat Netherlands 4-1 at Geneva, Switzerland

Italy beat Russia 4-1 at Irkutsk, Russia

United States beat Uzbekistan 3-1 at Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Japan beat Colombia 3-2 at Pereira, Colombia

Germany beat Dominican Republic 4-1 at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Croatia beat Brazil 3-1 at Florianopolis, Brazil

Poland beat Slovakia 3-2 at Gdynia, Poland

Group I

Americas Zone, 1^st round playoffs: Ecuador beat Barbados 3-2 at St. Michael, Barbados

Asia/Oceania Zone, 2^nd round playoffs: China beat Thailand 5-0 at Nonthaburi, Thailand

Europe/Africa Zone, 1^st round playoff: Spain beat Denmark 5-0 at Odense Idraetshal, Denmark; Ukraine beat Lithuania 4-1 at Vilnius, Lithuania

Group II

Americas Zone, 3^rd round playoffs: Chile beat Venezuela 5-0 at Santiago, Chile

Asia/Oceania Zone, 3^rd round playoffs: Pakistan beat Chinese Taipei 3-2 at Izmir, Turkey

Europe/Asia Zone, 3^rd round playoffs: Portugal beat Belarus 3-2 at Viana do Castelo, Portugal; Hungary beat Bulgaria 3-2 at Sofia, Bulgaria

SAYING

“Winning for your country and your teammates means a lot.” – Andy Murray, after Great Britain advanced to the Davis Cup final for the first time in 37 years.

“He’s quite good, isn’t he? It’s pretty amazing watching Andy’s work over the whole weekend, he fights so hard and he’s got the quality. He executed it perfectly today.” – Leon Smith, Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain, about his star player Andy Murray.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable. You know, this stadium is so famous in Belgium. For our small country, it’s pretty big.” – Steve Darcis, who won the decisive fifth rubber to lead Belgium over Argentina and into the Davis Cup final.

“It was the perfect match.” – David Goffin, about his reverse singles Davis Cup win over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman,

“I think I was trying to play too nicely, too pretty. Winning doesn’t always have to be pretty.” – Yanina Wickmayer, after winning the Japan Women’s Open.

“We had a realistic chance of winning the tie after Somdev (Devverman) won the second singles. Unfortunately, the doubles went south after that. It wasn’t even a contest really, against a team which is good, but certainly not one of the best in the world.” – Anand Amritraj, India’s Davis Cup captain, after his team lost to the Czech Republic in the World Group playoffs.

“At the moment I feel both happy and tired. It was an amazing weekend. I was feeling really good on court and my mind was pushing me forward to play every single point. I am just really happy at the moment.” – Fabio Fognini, who led Italy to a 4-1 World Group playoff victory over Russia.

“For a rookie to win two singles points in his debut is a very, very good effort. It was a great effort by all the guys. – Jim Courier, USA Davis Cup captain, after Jack Sock led the Americans over Uzbekistan 3-1 in the World Group playoffs.

“Our goal in the beginning was to go back to Germany having won three points. We did that. Our mission is accomplished.” – Michael Kohlmann, German Davis Cup captain whose team beat the Dominican Republic 4-1.

SUPER ANDY

Riding a super three-day performance by Andy Murray, Great Britain is back in the Davis Cup final for the first time in 37 years where it will face Belgium. The world’s third-ranked player completed his weekend with a tie-clinching 7-5 6-3 6-2 victory over Bernard Tomic, giving his country an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Australia. Britain has won the Davis Cup nine times, but the last time was in 1936 behind Fred Perry and Bunny Austin. In 2010, Great Britain was on the brink of relegation to Europe/Africa Zone Group III. It was Murray who was the catalyst for the change. “When Andy is here it has just made a huge difference to us,” said captain Leon Smith. And it was true against Australia as Murray began the weekend by beating Thanasi Kokkinakis, then teamed with his brother Jamie Murray for a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-4 win over Sam Groth and Lleyton Hewitt. Kokkinakis won the dead rubber to make the final score 3-2. Murray led Great Britain despite a bad back. “I didn’t feel great the whole weekend to be honest,” Murray said. “I’ve been struggling with my back, but I just tried to disguise it.” It was Australia that really felt the pain.

SUPRISING BELGIUM

David Goffin and Steve Darcis won the reverse singles to give Belgium a spot in the Davis Cup final for the first time in 101 years. In 1905, Belgium lost to Great Britain in its battle for the prestigious international tennis trophy. With its come-from-behind 3-2 win over Argentina, Belgium will have home advantage when it meets Great Britain on November 27-29. “It’s one of the biggest moments of my career, that’s for sure,” said Darcis, who capped the comeback with a 6-4 2-6 7-5 7-6 (3) win over Argentina’s Federico Delbonis. “If you told me 10 years ago we would play a final in Davis Cup I would not believe (you).” Goffin began the final day by stopping Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-2 6-1. “Maybe it looks easy, but it is not,” Goffin said. Darcis had two match points at 5-4 but failed to convert. “I was so tight,” he said. “Then I said, ‘Come on now, you have to do it, this is your time.’” Darcis won five of the first six points in the tiebreak. On his third match point, Darcis closed out the victory with an overhead.

SUCCESS, FINALLY

It was that kind of week for Belgium. While the men were capturing their Davis Cup semifinal, Yanina Wickmayer won her first WTA title in five years, the Japan Women’s Open Tennis in Tokyo. Wickmayer did it by coming from behind to stop Magda Linette 4-6 6-3 6-3. Linette appeared to be in the driver’s seat, building a 6-4 2-0 lead. “The first set wasn’t great for me,” said Wickmayer. “I was making too many unforced errors and going for too much. And I also really wanted to win today, so maybe I was a little bit nervous there in the beginning.” Wickmayer won 12 of the final 16 games to prevail. “From the second set I was trying to rally and make her play, make her win the points,” the winner said. “It wasn’t my best match of the tournament, but it was efficient, and that’s what matters. It feels great. It’s amazing to win my fourth WTA title. It’s been a while since my third one, so it feels very good to lift a trophy up again after a few years. I’m very happy and very excited about it.”

SECOND TITLE

By f finally solving the problems presented by Jelena Ostapenko, Annika Beck has her second career title. The 21-year-old German had lost both previous meetings with Ostapenko, including a three-setter in the first round at this year’s US Open. Not so this time. Beck beat her 18-year-old Latvian opponent in the final of the Coupe Banque Nationale in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. “I think there’s all the time place for some improvement, but especially to have it under pressure in the final and to be able to keep that kind of level makes me really happy,” Beck said. The eventual winner upset defending champion Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the semifinals.

SWISS WINNERS

Roger Federer won both of his singles matches to ensure that Switzerland stays in the World Group next year, then suggested he might not play Davis Cup in 2016. “My idea was never to win it twice, the idea was always to win it once and we did that in front of a record crowd, which was a great moment for us all,” Federer said after Switzerland defeated the Netherlands in a World Group playoff tie. “I see this tie in isolation. Next year is an Olympic year. The summer will be very long and packed with highlights. It’s all a question of priorities. I can’t play everything, and of course if I do play Davis Cup other things have to drop out.” Federer played all three days against the Netherlands, but he and Marco Chiudinelli lost the doubles. His easy 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory over Thiemo de Bakker in the reverse singles gave Switzerland a decisive 3-1 lead.

STEPPING UP

Poland will play next year in the Davis Cup World Group for the first time. The World Group is the top 16 nations who actually compete for the prestigious international tennis trophy. Poland gained admittance to the elite by edging Slovakia 3-2 in their World Group playoff in Gdynia, Poland, when 31-year-old Michal Przysiezny beat Norbert Gombos 6-3 6-4 6-4. “I was expecting a very tough match, but today I was playing unbelievable and I was not making mistakes, serving very good, so I am very happy with my performance today,” Przysiezny said.

SECURES TOP SPOT

By capturing seven titles, including three Grand Slam championships, Novak Djokovic has clinched the year-end number one ranking for a fourth time. The 28-year-old Djokovic previously ended the year in the top spot in 2011, 2012 and 2014. He is the sixth player to finish the year ranked number one four or more times. The others were Pete Sampras (6), Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer (5), and Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe (4). “It’s a fantastic feeling to know I will end the year at number one again,” Djokovic said. “This is what we fight for since January 1^st. We still have a few tournaments left though and I look forward to competing in Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and London.” This year Djokovic became only the third man in the Open Era to reach all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same season. Rod Laver did it in 1969 and Federer in 2006-07 and 2009. The Serb beat Andy Murray to win the Australian Open and Federer in the final at both Wimbledon and US Open. He lost to Stan Wawrinka in the title match at Roland Garros.

SAYS I DO

After nine years of dating, Andreas Haider-Maurer has married his fiancée Iris in Tirol, a small village near Innsbruck, Austria. Haider-Maurer is ranked 56^th in the world and posted a 20-21 ATP World Tour-level record this year.

STANDING TALL

UNICEF will be enriched every time Andy Murray hits an ace. The world’s third-ranked player announced he will donate £50 (USD $56) for every ace he hits until the end of the year. Actually the world’s leading children’s organization will get much more than that. Standard Life, one of Murray’s partners, the ATP World Tour and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have all announced they will match Murray’s donations, meaning every ace will result in a donation of £200 (USD $226) to children affected by conflict and disaster, such as those caught up in the current refugee and migrant crisis. “Having seen the images broadcast on the news in recent weeks I felt I had to do something to help the millions of children and their families who have been forced to flee their homes and had their lives turned upside down,” Murray said. “I’ll get that little bit more satisfaction from each ace I hit knowing that it will be helping UNICEF keep children safe. I’m also asking my fans across the world to join with me to and support UNICEF’s vital work. Together we can help make a safer world for every child.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Quebec City: Barbora Krejcikova and An-Sophie Mestach beat Maria Irigoyen and Paula Kania 4-6 6-3 12-10 (match tiebreak)

Szczecin: Tristan Lama Sine and Fabrice Martin beat Federico Gaio and Alessandro Giannessi 6-3 7-6 (4)

Tokyo: Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan beat Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara 6-1 6-2

SURFING

Metz: www.moselle-open.com/

St. Petersburg: www.spbopen.ru/

Kaohsiung: www.oectennis.com/

Guangzhou: www.guangzhouopen.org/

Tokyo: www.toray-ppo.com/

Seoul: http://koreaopentennis.com/

Kuala Lumpur: www.malaysianopentennis.com/2015/