Novak Djokovic Rolls to Victory; Venus Williams Back in Top 10 - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-2 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Masters Paris in Paris, France

Venus Williams beat Karolina Pliskova 7-5 7-6 (6) to win the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China

Yuichi Sugita beat Stephane Robert 6-2 1-6 6-3 to win the World Tennis Thailand Championships in Hua Hin, Thailand

SAYING

“I’m still determined to improve, to get better. Nobody can be perfect, but, you know, if you are going for the perfection, you might reach excellence.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning the Paris Indoors.

“It’s tough going out of a tournament without losing your serve.” – Roger Federer, who did just that when he lost to John Isner in Paris.

“I’m not so young. I don’t want to play more, more, more. I had a lot of success, a lot of victories, but sometimes it’s time to change and stop.” – Roberta Vinci, announcing she will retire after the 2016 season.

“In sport there are days when you just lose your rhythm. You’re trying a bit too much and you lose a bit of confidence. It was frustrating … It hasn’t happened to me for a long time.” – Novak Djokovic, after beating Gilles Simon 6-3 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals in Paris.

“These days there are huge prizes at stake. Some may say that it isn’t such a good thing and perhaps there is a need for more respect in the game. But, just as I am proud of that Wimbledon final and playing for Britain in the Davis Cup, I am also proud of how much we have achieved with tennis, bringing the game to the public and getting exposure to make it that much more professional.” – Mike Davies, a tennis player/promoter who died at the age of 79.

STELLAR PERFORMANCE

There’s Novak Djokovic, then there is everyone else on the ATP World Tour. Djokovic continued his dominant season by crushing Andy Murray in straight sets to retain his Paris Masters title. Djokovic became the first man to win six Masters 1000 tournaments in a season and will enter the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with a 22-match winning streak. He has now won the indoor Paris event four times, breaking the mark of three held by his coach Boris Becker and Marat Safin. Murray had very few chances against Djokovic, the first player to reach 14 consecutive finals in the Open Era. Djokovic broke Murray in the third and fifth games to race through the opening set. Not letting up, Djokovic broke the second-ranked Murray once again en route to a 2-1 second-set advantage. Murray broke back at love in what proved to be his last hurrah. Djokovic broke his Scottish foe for the fourth time in the match, and then secured his third straight title in Paris on Murray’s 34^th unforced error of the match. “I’m a married man, and I’m a father as well,” Djokovic said. “I think I have a nice balance and serenity in my private life that reflects on the professional life, and vice versa. … I try to take nothing for granted. I try to work on it all the time, because I know that that is the only way I’m managing to stay successful, is to continue progressing. I’m not trying to keep the status quo, because for me then that’s a regression.”

SHE’S BACK IN TOP 10

Venus Williams climbed back into the Top Ten for the first time in four years by winning her third tournament of the year, stopping Karolina Pliskova in the final of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. It was her second title in China, having won in Wuhan last month. “Seven weeks here in Asia and now I feel like it’s my home,” Williams said. Top-seeded in Zhuhai, Williams had her hands full with Pliskova. The American raced out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set before her Czech opponent won the next thee games to level the score. Pliskova led 4-2 in the second set and by the same score in the tiebreak before Williams raised her game to capture the title. “It’s a great thing to be Top 10 now with the level of the game, but I’m still very hungry. I’m ready for more,” Williams said. “I’ve had so many experiences in tennis that I still expect a lot from myself. So I’m very happy to be moving forward, but I also want to continue and not stop here.”

SOME COMEBACK

Noah Rubin was match point down at 3-6 1-5 30-40 in the final of the Charlottesville Men’s Pro Challenger when his opponent, 18-year-old Tommy Paul, sailed a forehand return long. That apparently was the spark Rubin needed as he rallied to win the USD $50,000 event 3-6 7-6 (7) 6-3 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. Rubin ripped off five straight games to take a 6-5 lead in the second set. Paul finally held, forcing a tiebreak. Twice Paul reached match point in the tiebreak, only to have Rubin, a 19-year-old qualifier, battle back, finally winning 9-7. Playing his eighth match in nine days, Rubin ran out to a 4-1 lead in the decisive set, fought back Paul’s final charge and took home the title by breaking Paul at love in the final game.

SIZZLING ISNER

Victories over Roger Federer are rare if you are not a member of the Big Four. But John Isner found a way to surprise the Swiss maestro in the third round of the Paris Masters. The American slammed 27 aces in his 7-6 (3) 3-6 7-6 (5) win over Federer. “He’s an incredible player, obviously,” Isner said of his opponent. “My favorite player and the greatest of all time. It was a huge win for me. I’m very proud.” Federer never lost his serve in the match and looked as he might make a tremendous comeback when he won three straight points after being 6-2 down in the decisive tiebreaker. But the Swiss star’s bid for victory ended when Isner hit a looping serve to his backhand. Isner, who called it one of the “top five” wins of his career, saved a break point in the fifth game of the third set with a backhand volley. “That arguably saved the match for me,” the 30-year-old said.

SEASON STOPPED

Caroline Wozniacki cut her finger with a bread knife, bringing an abrupt end to her season. According to the WTA, the Danish player cut her finger badly in her hotel and was unable to hold her racquet properly, prompting a wrist injury. Wozniacki tied to play with the injury, but wound up retiring from her match while trailing Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5 2-2 at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China. Wozniacki later withdrew from the tournament, the final event on the WTA tour. “It’s been a really, really frustrating second half of the year,” the one-time world number one said. “Basically just been falling apart physically.”

SUPER SERENA

San Francisco police want Serena Williams to file a police report after she told how someone tried to steal her cell phone at a restaurant. Writing about the event on her Facebook page, Serena said she was having dinner at a Chinese restaurant when a man grabbed her cell phone and took off. Surveillance footage shows Williams leaving the restaurant and confronting the man on the sidewalk. She said she asked the man if he had accidentally taken the wrong phone, and he said he had before giving it back. Serena’s Facebook post shows her in a “Supergirl” costume. “Always keep your things close,” she wrote. “Fight for what’s right. Stand for what you believe in! Be a superhero!”

SEES THE END

Roberta Vinci, who reached the US Open final in September, says 2016 will be her final season on the WTA tour. The Italian pulled off the biggest upset of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament when she beat top-ranked Serena Williams in the semifinals. After losing to Serena’s older sister, Venus Williams, in the semifinals of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China, Vinci announced her decision. “For me next year is the last,” she said. “Probably I don’t change my mind. Of course, you never know, but it’s tough.” Vinci said she will take some time off before beginning her regular preparation for the start of the season in Australia, but knowing it likely will be her farewell tour. “I want to change my life,” she said, “so probably next year and then I’m finished.”

Vinci lost the US Open final to fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta, who immediately announced after her victory that she was retiring from the sport. Pennetta later said she may hold off her retirement until after the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

SORRY

Andy Murray was at first startled and then annoyed when a tennis ball hit his water bottle while he was taking a water break at the Paris Masters. But that changed when a young ball-girl named Lorenza wrote a charming apology note that was tweeted at Murray. The British star responded by saying there were no hard feelings and he was looking forward to see her the next day.

SAD NEWS

Mike Davies, a player, sports administrator and promoter, is dead at the age of 79. The only native of Wales to play in a Wimbledon final, Davies was instrumental in changing the game and making it one of the most watched sports on the planet. In 1969 he became executive director of World Championship Tennis (WCT), and over the next 13 years spearheaded a series of innovations, including changing the color of the balls from white to yellow so they would be more easily seen on television, introducing colorful tennis clothes, and signing the sport’s first contract with a major television network, NBC. In January 2014, Davies returned to Wales to become the first recipient of the President’s Award from Tennis Wales. After reaching the Wimbledon men’s doubles final with Bobby William in 1960, where they lost to Rafael Osuna and Dennis Ralston, Davies became the first British player to turn professional, signing with Jack Kramer. He left the WCT in 1981 to become marketing director and later executive director of the ATP. In 1987, he joined the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as general manager and marketing director, creating the Grand Slam Cup, a tournament held annually in Munich, Germany, from 1990 to 1999. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012, Davies is survived by his wife Mina and four children.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Hua Hin: Lee Hsin-Han and Lu en-Hsun beat Andre Begemann and Purav Raja, walk-over

Paris: Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo beat Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock 2-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Zhuhai: Liang Chen and Wang Yafan beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-4 6-3

SURFING

Bratislava: www.stz.sk/

Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com

Limoges: www.engieopendelimoges.fr/

Hua Hin: http://worldtennisthailand.com/

London: www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/

Taipei: www.oectennis.com/bin/home.php

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