Novak Djokovic Continues Domination In Shanghai - Mondays With Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

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Novak Djokovic beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 6-4 to the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai in Shanghai, China

Jelena Jankovic beat Angelique Kerber 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-1 to win the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open in Hong Kong, China

Agnieszka Radwanska beat Danka Kovinic 6-1 6-2 to win the Tianjin Open in Tianjin, China

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4 6-3 to win the Generali Ladies Linz in Linz, Austria

Denis Istomin beat Lukas Lacko 6-3 6-4 to win the Uzbekistan Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

SAYING

“I felt always in control of the match. I felt like I’ve done everything right.” – Novak Djokovic, winning the Shanghai Masters for the third time in four years.

“The first set went quick. It’s not easy to stop him.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after losing to Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters final.

“Angie, thank you so much for letting me win today. You’ve beaten me so many times, so I’m happy I could finally do it.” – Jelena Jankovic, who beat Angelique Kerber to win in Hong Kong.

“I knew if I won here, I would make it there. But the pressure didn’t feel too big. I could really play my best tennis in Tianjin this week.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, who by winning the Tianjin Open qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.

“She’s Top 10, she’s played a Grand Slam final, she’s a huge player. I’ve watched a lot of her matches on TV, but it’s completely different when you step on the court and play against her.” – Danka Kovinic, after losing to Agnieszka Radwanska in the Tianjin Open final.

“Before the match I thought I’m not going to win. But … when I saw that we were very, very similar during the first set, I thought, ‘OK, maybe I can do a good match.’ But after the second set, I thought was not possible because he was serving so good. But … at the end after the break, I thought, ‘OK, maybe I can do it. Let’s try to be concentrate.’ I won the match.” – Albert Ramos-Vinolas, after upsetting Roger Federer at the Shanghai Masters.

“I don’t underestimate or lack respect for anybody out there. These guys are all touring professionals, they know what they’re doing.” – Roger Federer, following his loss to Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

“It is a good problem to have. I will find a way to manage, and it’s better like this rather than to leave without trophies.” – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, joking with the media about fitting her Generali Ladies Linz trophy in her luggage.

“It is disappointing. I had an off day while she probably played one of her best matches this year.” – Venus Williams, after losing in the Hong Kong Open semifinals to Jelena Jankovic.

“I have been through some tough moments this season so I’m extra proud of myself for qualifying again and making it back to Singapore.” – Petra Kvitova, after becoming the fourth player to qualify for the WTA Finals.

SUPER SERBIAN

In another dominating performance, Novak Djokovic captured his ninth title of the year by crushing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Shanghai Masters final. Since being shocked by Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals at Qatar in January, Djokovic has reached the final of all 13 events he has played, winning three Grand Slam tournaments and finishing runner-up at Roland Garros. “Today the key was to get as many serves back into play to Jo because he has one of the biggest serves in the game,” Djokovic said. It didn’t seem to bother the top-ranked Serb, however, as he needed only 78 minutes to down the Frenchman. It was the third Shanghai title for Djokovic in four years and his 57^th career crown. It also was the second straight tournament Djokovic has won without dropping a set. The week before, Djokovic won his sixth China Open title in Beijing and now boasts a 38-1 win-loss record on hard courts in China. “It’s the best year of my life,” the Serb said. “No question about it. Everything is working great. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be able to play this well, to be successful.”

SERBIAN DOUBLE

Novak Djokovic wasn’t the only Serbian player to win a tournament last week. On the verge of defeat, Jelena Jankovic came from behind to capture her second title of the year. “This victory will do my confidence a world of good,” Jankovic said after beating Angelique Kerber in the Hong Kong final. “Beating Angelique and my win over Venus (Williams) in the semifinals proves I can still play at the top level and, if I work hard, maybe I can win a Grand Slam next year.” The top-seeded Kerber led 6-3 6-5, one game away from winning her fifth WTA title of the year, when Jankovic began her comeback by holding at love, then winning the tiebreak 7-4 before rolling 6-1 in the third set. It was the first time the former world number one has won two WTA titles in the same year since 2009. “I had an amazing week in Hong Kong,” the winner said. “It’s been unbelievable.”

SWIFT WIN

Agnieszka Radwanska wasted no time clinching a spot in the WTA Finals in Singapore. The second-seeded Pole captured the Tianjin Open to become the fifth player to qualify for the year-ending Championships. Radwanska crushed Danka Kovinic in 58 minutes, breaking her opponent five times and saving all five break points she faced. It was Radwanska’s 16^th career title as she advances to the WTA Finals for the fifth consecutive year. “I wanted to play better today, but everything was so tough,” said Kovinic, the first player from Montenegro to reach a WTA final. “I was very tired after a long week and Aga was playing really well. But it’s been a great week for me, of course.” Radwanska didn’t lose a set in five matches as she joined Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Garbiñe Muguruza in the Singapore field. Serena Williams is skipping the tournament to rest and recover from injuries.

SUCCESSFUL SEED

Only one seeded player made it past the first round of the Generali Ladies tournament. And seventh-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova went all the way to win her first title of the season, stopping Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany in the final. It was Pavlyuchenkova’s eighth career WTA title. “I don’t want to focus on the numbers because after a while you’d just go crazy,” Pavlyuchenkova said, “but I’m really proud to get another title.” The 24-year-old Russian increased her indoor match win streak to 15, having won two indoor titles in 2014 in Paris and Moscow. The winner began the match with her left thigh bandaged. She also needed treatment on her right thigh and lost the first the first two games in the second set. But she bounced back by winning four straight games, then closed out the match by breaking Friedsam’s serve for a fourth time. Friedsam was playing in her first WTA final. “I’m really proud that I could make my first final,” Friedsam said. “It gives me so much confidence for upcoming tournaments.”

SINGAPORE SLIP

If Venus Williams winds up in Singapore at the season-ending WTA Finals, it will be as an alternate. Williams saw her chance of qualifying for the elite eight-player field slip away when she lost to Jelena Jankovic in straight sets in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open. “I have had a good season and I wanted to make it to Singapore,” Williams said. “But that hadn’t anything to do with what happened today. I wasn’t nervous or anything like that going into the match knowing I needed (to) win to boost my chances of qualifying. She just played well today.” While she can’t finish among the top eight on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard, Williams could be one of the two alternates – unless Carla Suárez Navarro reaches the semifinals in Moscow or Karolina Pliskova advances to the final in the Russian capital. The last time Williams played in the WTA Finals was in 2009.

SUIT FILED

Sidelined after slipping and falling in a locker room during the US Open, Eugenie Bouchard has filed a lawsuit against the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The Canadian said in the federal lawsuit filed in US District Court in Brooklyn, New York, USA, that she has suffered severe pain and economic loss since the incident on September 4. Bouchard fell on the tile floor of a physiotherapy room inside the locker room, slamming her head against the floor. The fall left Bouchard with a concussion and “serious head injury,” forcing her to withdraw from the US Open and tournaments in China and Japan. Once ranked fifth in the world, the 21-year-old Canadian contends her injuries “were caused solely by the reason of carelessness, negligence, wanton and willful disregard on the part of Defendant USTA.” In her lawsuit, she claims the USTA didn’t keep the locker room in a “safe and suitable condition,” leading to her fall. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

SHOCKING FED

Albert Ramos-Vinolas is one of those players in the lower echelon of pro tennis that no one outside of immediate family friends has ever heard about. A native of Barcelona, Spain, the 27-year-old has never won a tournament on the men’s tour and has won only three Grand Slam tournament matches in his career. Then comes the Shanghai Masters and a match against the defending champion and world number three Roger Federer. “My father was working,” Ramos-Vinolas said. “He stopped working because he was very nervous. My mother was also at home running around the home alone.” On television, they watched their son upset Federer 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-3. The 34-year-old Federer slammed 15 aces and won more points than Ramos-Vinolas, but the Spaniard won the crucial points. Playing his first match after a month off, Federer looked rusty against the 70^th-ranked left-handed qualifier. “I’m really happy to beat Roger Federer,” Ramos-Vinolas said.

SINGAPORE-BOUND

The doubles field is filled for the year-ending tournament in Singapore. Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears snapped up the final spot in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by winning their semifinal on their way to winning the Generali Ladies in Linz, Austria. “We’re beyond happy to have made the WTA Finals for the second year in a row and can’t wait to take to the court at the Singapore Sports Hub,” Kops-Jones said. “There’s no greater finish to the season than having qualified.”

Others teams that qualified are: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik, and Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan.

The WTA Finals Singapore will be held October 25 through November 1.

SET FOR LONDON

Two more players have clinched spots in the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals. Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych have secured their places in the eight-player field, leaving just two spots open. Nadal and Berdych join Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in the season finale in London from November 15-22. Nadal has qualified for the year-ending tournament for the 11^th consecutive season. Berdych will be making his sixth straight appearance at the event.

SPECIAL PERSON

Australian Open organizers are planning special celebrations next January to mark the final tournament of former champion Lleyton Hewitt. The 34-year-old Australian has already been granted a wildcard entry into the main men’s draw for the 2016 event, which will be his record 20^th consecutive Australian Open. “We want to celebrate the great career Lleyton’s had, but we need to sit down and talk with him because he will also want to focus on doing the best he can at the Open,” said tournament director Craig Tiley. Hewitt’s best result at his home Grand Slam tournament was runner-up to Marat Safin in 2005. Hewitt won the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon the following year.

Tiley also announced that prize money for next year’s Australian Open will rise 10 percent to USD $32 million.

SHANGHAI OUTBURST

A first-round verbal outburst at the Shanghai Masters by Nick Kyrgios has resulted in a fine for the Australian. The 20-year-old was fined USD $1,500 for an “audible obscenity” during his 6-3 6-2 victory over Andreas Haider-Maurer. Kyrgios received a suspended 28-day ban and was fined USD $25,000 in August for vulgar comments directed toward Swiss player Stan Wawrinka at the Roger Cup tournament in Montreal, Canada. At that time, the ATP World Tour said both the fine and suspension would be withheld on the condition that Kyrgios does not incur any fines for verbal or physical abuse at any ATP event for six months. The latest outburst was apparently aimed at a courtside photographer.

SWITCH COMING?

Could the Italian Open be moving from the historic Foro Italico in Rome to Milan? Italian tennis federation president Angelo Binaghi threatened such a move because the Rome site has become too small for the combined men’s and women’s event. The Foro Italico, near the center of Rome has been the site of the tournament since 1935. “The tournament is here merely due to its history and tradition,” Binaghi said. “I hope it doesn’t happen and that we can find a solution to expand here. But in Milan it would be much easier to expand rapidly.” The clay court tournament is held each May. Ticket sales for the tournament have increased by 375 percent over the last decade. “We’re bursting at the seams here,” Binaghi said. “We don’t have any more room.”

SUING

A former maintenance worker at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy has sued the Kings Park, New York, USA, facility charging that he hasn’t been paid. In court papers, Jose Magalhaes said he routinely worked more than 10 hours a day at the training academy co-owned by the Hall of Famer, but was never paid for it. In addition to the tennis great, the suit names as plaintiffs McEnroe’s brother and business partner Mark McEnroe as well as Claude Okin, another collaborator and owner of the Sportime recreational centers. The suit was filed as a class action, but Magalhaes is the only plaintiff currently named in court papers.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Linz: Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears beat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6-3 7-5

Hong Kong: Alize Cornet and Yaroslava Shvedova beat Lara Arruabarrena and Andreja Klepac 7-5 6-4

Shanghai: Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo beat Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-3

Tashkent: Sergey Betov and Mikhail Elgin beat Andre Begemann and Artem Sitak 6-4 6-4

Tianjin: Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai beat Darija Jurak and Nicole Melichar 6-2 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

Vienna: www.erstebank-open.com/

Stockholm: www.stockholmopen.se/

Moscow: www.kremlincup.ru/

Luxembourg: www.bglbnpparibas-open.lu/main_en.html

Valencia: www.valenciaopen.tennis/