Little Netherlands Stuns Russia in Fed Cup Play - Mondays with Bob Greene

Little Netherlands Stuns Russia in Fed Cup Play – Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Richard Gasquet beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5 6-4 to win the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, France

Roberto Bautista Agut beat Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-4 to win the Garanti Koza Sofia Open in Sofia, Bulgaria

Victor Estrella Burgos beat Thomaz Bellucci 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-2 to win the Ecuador Open in Quito, Ecuador

Kyle Edmund beat Daniel Evans 6-3 6-2 to win the Tennis Championships of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, USA

Naomi Broady beat Robin Anderson 6-7 (6) 6-0 6-2 to win the Dow Corning Tennis Classic in Midland, Michigan, USA

FED CUP

World Group (First Round)

Czech Republic beat Romania 3-2 at Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Switzerland beat Germany 3-2 at Leipzig, Germany

France beat Italy 4-1 at Marseille, France

Netherlands beat Russia 3-1 at Moscow, Russia

World Group II (First Round)

Austria beat Slovakia 3-2 at Bratislava, Slovakia

Belarus beat Canada 3-2 at Québec City, Québec, Canada

United States beat Poland 4-0 at Kailua Kona, Hawaii, USA

Spain beat Serbia 4-0 at Kraljevo, Serbia

Group I (Round Robin)

Europe/Africa Zone at Eilat, Israel: Belgium and Ukraine advance to World Group II playoffs on April 16-17; South Africa and Sweden relegated to Group II in 2017

Americas Zone at Santa Cruz, Bolivia: Argentina advances to World Group II playoffs on April 16-17; Peru and Ecuador relegated to Group II in 2017

Asia/Oceania Zone at Hua Hin, Thailand: Chinese Taipei advances to World Group II playoffs on April 16-17; Uzbekistan relegated to Group II in 2017

Group II (Round-Robin)

Americas Zone, at Bayamon, Puerto Rico: Venezuela and Chile promoted to Group I in 2017

SAYING

“This is unbelievable. I don’t think anyone expected that we could win this tie. Perhaps we even didn’t.” – Kiki Bertens, after leaving the Netherlands to a shocking Fed Cup victory over Russia.

“I can’t describe the feeling when I saw the last ball go out. It was an unbelievable moment, to win back-to-back in Quito. Last year I was very nervous. I could barely breathe serving on match point. This year I was much more relaxed closing out the match.” – Victor Estrella Burgos, after successfully defending his Ecuador Open title.

“Medically there was no reason not to play. Warming up was tough, but I held on until the end. I was hard to serve because of my abs. I had to dig deep to get through it.” – Richard Gasquet, who underwent an MRI scan before the Open Sud de France final and was cleared to play.

“Carrying the flag in Rio will be one of the highlights of my career and something I will never forget.” – Carolina Wozniacki, who will carry the Danish flag in the opening ceremonies at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics this summer.

“It was obviously phenomenal, but it all happened a little bit too quickly. I went from not being known anywhere in the world to winning junior Wimbledon and six months later playing the Australian Open. I was a victim of my own success, really.” – Ash Barty, who has decided at age 20 to return to tennis following a 17-month retirement.

“As you get older, you realize that life is short and so I’ve decided that it’s time for me to slow down.” – Judy Murray, who says she will reduce her coaching commitments in order to focus on her new grandchild.

STUNNER FOR RUSSIA

Kiki Bertens turns into a world-beater when she plays Fed Cup. Ranked only 106^th in the world, Bertens surprised both Ekaterina Makarova and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and led the Netherlands into the semifinals of the team competition for the first time since 1997. It probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Bertens has posted an incredible 13-1 singles record in Fed Cup play. “The girls did unbelievably well,” said Paul Haarhuis, the Dutch team captain. “They inspire me, they surprise me and every time it is a great thrill to be a part of it. It is quite astonishing, it is the Moscow miracle.” Under Haarhuis, the Netherlands has won eight consecutive Fed Cup ties despite currently having no player inside the world’s top 100. Russia, last year’s runners-up, could not call on the services of the injured Maria Sharapova in the tie, which was played in Moscow.

Kuznetsova may have still been feeling the effects of her opening-day loss to Richel Hogenkamp, a four-hour, Fed Cup record marathon. The 141^st-ranked Hogenkamp survived a match point to win 7-6 (4) 5-7 10-8. It was the longest singles match in Fed Cup history, beating the previous best set in 2005 when Vilmarie Castellvi of Puerto Rick beat Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in three hours, 49 minutes. “I’m very happy that I’m the one who could make it 2-0,” said Hogenkamp, who saved a match point at 6-7 in the final set. “And of course it feels great to win the longest match in Fed Cup history.”

Kuznetsova complained that Russia sacrificed the Fed Cup so that Sharapova could play in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics later this year. Sharapova was named to the team so that she could qualify under the rules to compete in the Olympic Games. “It all comes down to the Olympics and these stupid rules,” Kuznetsova said.

SICK BUT NOT DOWN

Richard Gasquet overcame abdominal pains and fellow Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu to successfully defending his Open Sud de France title. “I struggled to get into the match because I was still tired from Saturday,” Gasquet said of his three-set win over Germany’s Dustin Brown. “I could hardly serve and Paul was hitting the ball hard.” Gasquet underwent an MRI scan before the final and was cleared to play. “It is great for me to win another title,” Gasquet said. “I am very proud to win my third title here because it was a great match against a good friend. He had nothing to lose.”

SECOND STRAIGHT

Victor Estrella Burgos has a perfect record in Quito, Ecuador. Estrella Burgos improved his record to 10-0 as he won his second straight Ecuador Open title. This time he rallied to beat Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, who served for the match in the second set. Estrella Burgos fought back to send it into a tiebreak, which he won on his first set point, then ran away from the left-hander in the third set. The 35-year-old is the fifth player to successfully defend a title this year, following Stan Wawrinka (Chennai), Viktor Troiki (Sydney), Novak Djokovic (Australian Open) and Richard Gasquet (Montpellier).

SOFIA CHAMP

Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut is having the best start of his career. He stretched his match record to 12-2 by capturing the inaugural Sofia Open. He also won the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, last month. And he didn’t have to play much to come away with the crown. Bautista Agut had a first-round bye followed by a second-round walkover. His first on-court match was in the quarterfinals and his finished his shortened week without dropping a set. In the final, Bautista Agut lost only 16 points on his serve, breaking Victor Troicki twice early in the second set to grab a 3-1 lead. It was the fourth triumph in eight final appearances for the Spaniard.

SUMMER OLYMPIAN

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki will carry her country’s flag in the opening ceremony at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics this summer. It will be her third Olympics. “It’s an honor me,” she said. “The Olympics mean a lot to me, and I have some fantastic memories from my two previous appearances. I enjoy competing for the Danish team and feel the team spirit, which I do not get to experience in my everyday life.” Wozniacki, who at one time was ranked number one in the world, lost to eventual gold medalists Serena Williams at the 2012 Olympics in London and to Russia’s Elena Dementieva at the Beijing Games four years earlier. Wozniacki will be the fifth WTA player to carry their country’s flag at the Olympics, following Maria Sharapova of Russia, Agnieszka Radwanska or Poland, Stephanie Vogt of Liechtenstein and Claudine Schaul of Luxembourg.

SRI LANKA BOUND

Because of security concerns, Pakistan hasn’t played a home Davis Cup tie since 2005. The Asia/Oceania Zone Group I first-round battle between Pakistan and China will be played in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on March 4-6. The home-and-away rule dictates that this tie would normally be held in Pakistan, but ongoing security concerns in the region resulted in the Davis Cup Committee making the change after consulting with the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) independent security consultants. Officials said China had expressed concern about playing in Pakistan. This will be the first time Pakistan has played in Group I since 2006.

SURGERY FOR FED

Roger Federer is skipping the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in Switzerland to repair a torn meniscus. His agent, Tony Godsick, said Federer sustained the injury the day after his Australian Open semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic. “I am so disappointed to have to miss Rotterdam and Dubai as they are two of my favorite tournaments on the ATP World Tour,” Federer said. “While this is an unfortunate setback, I feel grateful that up until now I have remained mostly healthy throughout my career. My doctors have ensured me that the surgery was a success and with proper rehabilitation I will be able to return to the tour soon.”

SITE PICKED

Guess who’s back? Again? Juan Martin del Potro will return to the ATP World Tour at the Delray Beach Open in Florida, USA, next week. The 2009 US Open winner played just two tournaments last year before undergoing surgery on his left wrist. Ranked as high as fourth in the world, del Potro had comeback success at Delray Beach before. Coming off right wrist surgery, the Argentine won the Delray Beach title in 2011 without dropping a set. “We’ve been expecting this call,” said Mark Baron, Delray Beach Open tournament director. “Juan Martin has always had Delray Beach in his comeback plans, and we’re happy to know that it’s come to fruition. We are rooting for him to be able to overcome his injury and hope he will have a successful comeback.”

SHE’S BACK

Ash Barty has decided that tennis really is her sport. The Australian quit tennis 17 months ago when she was just 17 years old. Now she says her passion has been rekindled and she wants to return to the game she loves. In 2013, Barty teamed with fellow Australian Casey Dellacqua to reach the finals at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Two years after being ranked number two in the world in juniors, she had a career-high doubles ranking of 12. “Winning my first Fed Cup live rubber against Switzerland” is her favorite memory, Barty said. “There’s nothing quite like playing for Australia. That was a pretty phenomenal feeling. That’s close to the three finals with Casey or winning junior Wimbledon. But I think playing for Australia is the cream of the crop, and that was pretty special.” While retired from tennis, Barty signed on to play professional cricket with the Brisbane Heat in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League.

STAYING HOME

Judy Murray wants to focus her life on her new grandchild. Andy Murray’s mother will reduce her coaching commitments in order to make the yet-to-be-born baby a priority in her life. “When it happens I shall be an active granny,” Great Britain’s Fed Cup coach said. “My mum Shirley was very involved with Jamie and Andy when they were growing up and I hope to be the same with my grandchild.” Andy Murray and his wife Kim Sears are expected their first child this month. “I’ve been away so much that I’ve missed out on family occasions and children,” Judy Murray said. “I’m actually looking forward to cutting back on my work and spending more time with my parents and, yes, the new baby.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Dallas: Nicolas Meister and Eric Quigley beat Sekou Bangoura and Dean O’Brien 6-1 6-1

Midland: Catherine Bellis and Ingrid Neel beat Naomi Broadly and Shelby Rogers 3-6 6-3 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Montpellier Mate Pavic and Michael Venus beat Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev 7-5 7-6 (1)

Quito: Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Duran beat Thomaz Bellucci and Marcelo Demoliner 7-5 6-4

Sofia: Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop beat Philipp Oswald and Adil Shamasdin 5-7 7-6 (9) 10-6 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

St. Petersburg: http://wta.formulatx.com/en/

Kaosiung: www.taiwanopen.com.tw/EN/

Buenos Aires: http://argentinaopenatp.com/

Rotterdam: www.abnamrowtt.nl/

Memphis: www.memphisopen.com/