STARS
DAVIS CUP
(Final)
Great Britain beat Belgium 3-1 at Ghent, Belgium
OTHERS
Inigo Cervantes beat Daniel Munoz-de la Nava 6-2 3-6 7-6 (4) to win the ATP Challenger Tour Finals in São Paulo, Brazil
Yanina Wickmayer beat Nicole Gibbs 6-3 7-6 (4) to win the Carlsbad Classic in Carlsbad, California, USA
Jana Fett beat Luksika Kumkhum 6-4 4-6 6-4 to win the 2015 Dunlop Srixon World Challenge in Toyota, Japan
SAYING
“We’ll all remember this year for the rest of our lives, regardless of what happens in the rest of any of our careers.” – Andy Murray, after leading Great Britain to the Davis Cup title.
“I gave everything. I have no regrets. I think after a match like this, and a tie, we can all be proud. Even if we lost the tie today, we played an unbelievable season in Davis Cup.” – David Goffin, who won Belgium’s lone point in the Davis Cup final.
“I was dominating the first two sets. He couldn’t get near me. He turned that (around), and that’s something I need to learn from.” – Kyle Edmund, who won the first two sets before losing the opening match in the Belgium-Great Britain Davis Cup final.
“This week has been huge for next year. It’s a very good start. I’ve been practicing next to my matches, so it’s very nice to see improvement and progress in my game.” – Yanina Wickmayer, after winning her fifth career WTA tour title.
“I think that’s kind of normal in Davis Cup, to be honest. I don’t feel like they crossed the line. I’m experienced enough now to not allow it to bother me, and try to use it to my advantage as much as I can.” – Andy Murray, refusing to criticize the noisy Belgian fans at the Davis Cup final.
“I don’t think people fully appreciate what Andy Murray has achieved. It’s fantastic how committed he is to the Davis Cup now, he has put his whole heart and soul into winning this.” – Mark Cox, former British Davis Cupper, talking about Murray.
“He keeps surprising me, his ability to produce the type of tennis he does under stress, fatigue and pain. He just gives everything every time he pulls on the shirt. He is the superstar, but his support for the team is phenomenal.” – Leon Smith, Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain, talking about Andy Murray.
SUPER JOB
With Andy Murray winning all three points, Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time in 79 years. The 28-year-old Murray captured both of his singles matches and joined his brother Jamie to win the doubles. It was the first time Britain has been Davis Cup champions since Hall of Famer Fred Perry led the way in 1936. Murray beat David Goffin 6-3 7-5 6-3 in the first reverse singles to give Britain an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Belgium. The two sides decided not to play the meaningless fifth match.
Murray is just the third player to win all eight singles in the same calendar year since the Davis Cup World Group started in 1981. The others were John McEnroe and Mats Wilander. And he became only the third player in the Open era – after Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi – to win Wimbledon, the Olympic singles gold medal and the Davis Cup.
Murray broke Goffin once in each of the first sets. Belgium’s top player had only once came back from a two-set deficit, and that was in the opening match against Kyle Edmund, making his Davis Cup debut for Britain. Murray, however, was a much different story. “Murray is a tremendous champion,” Goffin said. “I rocked him a bit and I did everything I could. But he was just too strong for me. He was monstrous.”
SPANISH TILT
In an all-Spanish battle, Inigo Cervantes edged Daniel Munoz-de la Nava to win the ATP Challenger Tour Finals. “I’m glad that I won such an important and special final,” the champion said. The Spaniard, who underwent to hip surgeries two years ago, is the first undefeated champion in the five-year history of the Challenger finale. He also became just the third player in ATP Challenger Tour history to win 50 matches in a season, finishing up 2015 with a 50-20 record. “These numbers show how excellent my year was,” Cervantes said. “Two years ago I was in a wheelchair without being able to play tennis or walk because of two hip surgeries. Now I have my best ranking. Next year I’ll have even bitter goals and I hope to get better and better.”
STRONG PERFORMANCE
In the same week Belgium’s men played in the Davis Cup final, the country’s top female player, Yanina Wickmayer, won her fifth WTA Tour title at the Carlsbad Classic. Ranked 49th in the world going into the final week of the WTA season, the 26-year-old Wickmayer broke her American foe three times before closing out the match in the second-set tiebreak. It was Wickmayer’s second title of 2015, having won the Japan Women’s Open in September. Gibbs was playing in her first WTA Tour final.
STOPPING SERENA
Even if it doesn’t count officially, Caroline Wozniacki finally posted a win over Serena Williams. The two close friends met in the Energi Denmark Champions Battle in Herning, Denmark, with Wozniacki coming out on top 6-3 6-4, the first time she has beaten Williams since 2012 in Miami, Florida, USA. “It was such a great thing to play in front of my home crowd here in Herning, and at the same time to play against a great champion and a good friend,” Wozniacki said. “I hope very much to be able to play in Denmark again in the future. It’s been a great pleasure to come and play here.” It was the second straight year Williams has played in Herning. Last year the world’s top-ranked player took on Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.
STAYING THE COURSE
David Goffin waited out the British whirlwind before giving host Belgium a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Davis Cup final. Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund, making his Davis Cup debut, raced through the first two sets against Belgium’s top player, 6-3 6-1. “I started very well,” Edmund said. “Obviously not playing a Davis Cup match before, I was nervous, (but) it couldn’t have gone any better.” Unfortunately for Edmund, Davis Cup play is best-of-five sets, and Goffin found his game in time. “I was a little bit worried because Kyle was playing unbelievable,” said Goffin, who is ranked 16th in the world. “He just had nothing to lose. He played a wonderful match. But, like I said, I knew I had a chance and I had to take it. I know it’s always tough when you are young, when you’re playing your first match in Davis Cup, to play three sets like this. It’s always tough. That’s why I tried to stay calm and wait for a chance.” Edmund said tiredness and cramps caused his form to dip dramatically as Goffin began his winning charge. “In the third set he started to get on top of me,” the 20-year-old Edmund said. “Then things started to fall away. In the fourth set I was struggling physically, and in the fifth set it was just disappointing that my body couldn’t hold up the way I would have liked it to.” Goffin won the opener 3-6 1-6 6-2 6-1 6-0.
SPECIAL PARTNER
Caroline Wozniacki had a pretty high-profile partner when she participated in an event designed to inspire children to participate in daily exercise. Joining the former world number one for Children’s Aid Day in Copenhagen was Princess Mary of Denmark. The Princess wore a chunky grey wool scarf with a tailored navy trench coat over her slim-leg navy pants. She finished the look with charcoal suede stiletto boats and her hair was worn loosely over her shoulders. Wozniacki was dressed in active wear and trainers. Children’s Aid Day is held to support youth who live with foster families. The special day has received royal support since 1904. Princess Mary is known for her work with organizations that support women and children and is patron of the Children’s Aid Foundation.
SECOND SEASON
The International Premier Tennis League Presented by Qatar Airways (IPTL) will begin its second season in Kobe, Japan, with the first of five round-robin tournaments. Other stops will be in Manila, New Delhi, Dubai and Singapore. The brief tour has expanded to five franchises in Asia, an increase of one over the teams that participated in last year’s inaugural tour. Joining the four original teams – Indian Aces, manila Mavericks, Singapore Slammers and UAF Royals – are the Japan Warriors, who will host the opening series. The Warriors’ roster includes Maria Sharapova, Kei Nishikori and 2000 US Open champion Marat Safin.
Other players participating in the IPTL include Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych, Ana Ivanovic, Marin Cilic, Treat Huey, Richard Gasquet, Sabine Lisicki, Rohan Bopanna, Sania Mirza, Nick Kyrgios, Carlos Moya and Belinda Bencic.
STILL IN CHARGE
India’s Anil Khanna has won re-election as president of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF). Khanna recently was also elected vice president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and also is head of the All India Tennis Federation (AITA). Randy Villanueva was appointed treasurer of the ATF, while Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah of Kuwait was made an honorary life president of the organization. Nasser Al Ghanim Al Khelaifi of Qatar was appointed as the new chairman.
SKIPPING DECEMBER
Both the ATP World Tour and the WTA tour have ended their regular seasons for 2015, and so will this column. The next Mondays with Bob Greene will be available on Jan. 4, 2016
Although the “big guns” are vacationing – or participating in lucrative exhibitions – there is still plenty of tennis being played around the world. This week, for example, the men are playing tournaments in Bangkok, Thailand; Opava, Czech Republic; Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Antalya, Turkey; Doha, Qatar; El Kantaoui, Tunisia; Jassowal, India; Larnaca, Cyprus; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; Tel Aviv, Israel; Temuco, Chili, and Trujillo, Peru.
Meanwhile, there are women’s tournaments in Santiago, Chile; Antalya, Turkey; Cairo, Egypt; El Kantaoui, Tunisia, and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Most of the events each have total prize money of USD $10,000, although some are USD $15,000 events. The women’s tournament in Santiago has a total purse of USD $25,000. In comparison, the ATP tournament in Chennai, India, beginning Jan. 4 has prize money of USD $459,140, while the WTA event in Auckland, New Zealand, the same week is paying out USD $250,000.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Carlsbad: Gabriela Ce and Veronica Cepede Royg beat Oksana Kalashnikova and Tatjana Maria 1-6 6-4 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Toyota: Akiko Omae and Peangtarn beat Luksika Kumkhum and Yuuki Tanaka 3-6 6-0 11-9 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
International Tennis Federation: www.itftennis.com/home.aspx
ATP World Tour: www.atpworldtour.com/
WTA Tour: www.wtatennis.com/
