Tennis World Pays Homage To Bud Collins - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Elina Svitolina beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-5 to BMW Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Heather Watson beat Kirsten Flipkens 3-6 6-2 6-3 to win the Abierrto Monterrey Afirrme in Monterrey, Mexico

DAVIS CUP

(First Round)

World Group

Great Britain beat Japan 3-1 in Birmingham, Great Britain

Serbia beat Kazakhstan 3-2 in Belgrade, Serbia

Italy beat Switzerland 5-0 at Pesaro, Italy

Argentina beat Poland 3-2 Argentina at Gdansk, Poland

France beat Canada 5-0 at Guadeloupe

Czech Republic beat Germany 3-2 at Hannover, Germany

United States beat Australia 3-1 at Kooyong, Australia

Croatia beat Belgium 3-2 at Liège, Belgium

Group I

Americas Zone: Ecuador beat Barbados 5-0 at Portoviejo, Ecuador; Chile beat Dominican Republic 5-0 at Santiago, Chile

Asia/Oceania Zone: South Korea beat New Zealand 3-1 at Seoul, South Korea; China beat Pakistan 5-0 at Colombo, Sri Lanka

Europe/Africa Zone: Romania beat Slovenia 4-1 at Arad, Romania; Austria beat Portugal 4-1 at Guimaräes, Portugal; Russia beat Sweden 5-0 at Kazan, Russia; Hungary beat Israel 3-2 at Budapest, Hungary

Group II

Americas Zone: Peru beat Uruguay 3-2 at Lima, Peru; Mexico beat Guatemala 3-2 at San Francisco de Campeche, Mexico; El Salvador beat Puerto Rico 3-2 at Santa Tecla, El Salvador; Venezuela beat Paraguay 5-0 at Caracas, Venezuela

Asia/Oceania Zone: Chinese Taipei beat Malaysia 4-1 at Kaohsuing, Taiwan; Philippines beat Kuwait 5-0 at Manila, Philippines; Vietnam beat Indonesia 3-2 at Surakarta, Indonesia; Thailand bear Sri Lanka 3-2 at Nonthaburi, Thailand

Europe/Africa Zone: Lithuania beat Norway 3-2 at Siauliai, Lithuania; South Africa beat Luxembourg 5-0 at Centurion, South Africa; Turkey beat Bulgaria 3-2 at Ankara, Turkey; Bosnia/Herzegovina beat Tunisia 3-1 in Zenica, Bosnia/Herzegovina; Latvia beat Monaco 3-2 at Daugavpils, Latvia; Belarus beat Egypt 3-1 at Cairo, Egypt; Finland beat Zimbabwe 4-1 at Kittila, Finland; Denmark beat Georgia 5-0 Denmark at Tbilisi, Georgia

Group III

Europe Zone at Tallinn, Estonia: Estonia and Cyprus promoted to Group II in 2017

SAYING

“No media figure in history in my mind has ever been as important to one sport as Bud Collins was to the sport of tennis.” – Mike Lupica, the New York Daily News sports columnist and ESPN commentator, on the death of Bud Collins.

“Bud was truly one-of-a-kind and his good humor and great grace, coupled with his unmatched knowledge of our sport and his love of it, helped to make tennis more popular and more fun for fans throughout the world.” – Katrina Adams, United States Tennis Association (USTA) president,

“He had a passion for the game and the players that was unmatched. He brought a bright light and an oasis to the often pressure-filled and ego-oriented world of professional tennis. I would relax around his warmth and wit. He was family.” – Chris Evert.

“Bud was larger than life and his countless contributions to the sport helped to make it the global success that it is today.” – The USTA, in a statement.

“During the match, I tried to change something in my game plan; I tried to adapt. When I’m not winning, why should I do the same thing?” – Elina Svitolina, who rallied to beat Eugenie Bouchard and win in Kuala Lumpur.

“Mexico, thank you; te amo! I’m a big fan of Mexico. When I was six years old, we used to come to Mexico for Christmas for six years. I’m just so glad to be able to win a title here. I need to learn some more Spanish.” – Heather Watson, after winning a tournament in Monterrey, Mexico.

SONG BIRD SILENCED

Bud Collins, who brought tennis to the masses with his encyclopedic knowledge and loved of the sport is dead at the age of 86. Collins died at his home in the Boston suburb of Brookline. He made one of his final appearances at the US Open last September where the media center was named in his honor. “Few people have had the historical significance, lasting impact and the unqualified love of tennis as Bud Collins,” tennis legend Billie Jean King said. “He was an outstanding journalist, an entertaining broadcaster and as our historian he never let us forget or take for granted the rich history of our sport.” Collins was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994. He covered Wimbledon 44 times, the first in 1968, and was a colorful part of the broadcasting team for “Breakfast at Wimbledon.” He was also known sartorially for his bowties and collection of colorful pants featuring bright, vivid colors and often wild designs which he had made from cloth he collected from around the globe. He had his first byline in the Boston Globe from Australia in 1963 when he was covering the Davis Cup. His last Globe story was in 2011, a story about Serena Williams from the US Open. Among the several books he wrote is one titled “Bud Collins’ Encyclopedia of Tennis.” He also wrote travel stories for the Globe from, among other places, Cambodia, China, India, Italy, Nepal, Tanzania and Tibet.

SHARAPOVA ANNOUNCEMENT

Amid rumors of retirement, Maria Sharapova scheduled a “major announcement” to be made in Los Angeles on Monday. IMG, refusing to shed light on the news conference, said, “It will be very big news.” The announcement comes just four days after Sharapova said she was withdrawing from this week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, because of a persistent left forearm injury. The Russian has not played in a tournament since she lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January. Injuries have caused her to miss huge chunks of her 2008 and 2013 campaigns. She is currently ranked seventh in the world and has won 35 career titles on the WTA tour. Her most recent Grand Slam tournament victory came at the French Open in 2014. “I am extremely disappointed that I am unable to compete in this year’s BNP Paribas Open,” Sharapova said when she announced she was skipping the tournament. “I have been focused on healing my left forearm injury and tried to get my body to be 100 percent ready to play this event as it is one of my favorite events on the WTA and so close to my home in LA.” The Indian Wells tournament is the third she has withdrawn from because of the forearm injury. She also missed Brisbane and Doha.

SICK OR NOT SICK

Losing a first-round tie to the United States isn’t the only problem Australia’s Davis Cup team is facing. During his loss to America’s John Isner, Bernard Tomic was overheard attacking his Davis Cup teammate Nick Kyrgios, who withdrew from the tie, saying he had a virus. Tomic accused his countryman of faking his illness. “Two times he’s done it,” the 23-year-old Tomic said. “Two times he’s faked it.” Tomic apparently was referring to Kyrgio’s withdrawal from Australia’s World Group opener against the Czech Republic last year. “He didn’t come to Czech (Republic) and had stress fractures and somehow played Indian Wells and felt good,” Tomic told reporters after his loss to Isner. “Now it’s going to be funny for me to see whether he plays Indian Wells, then he’s definitely lost a little bit of my respect.” Kyrgios hit back on social media. At first he said Tomic’s criticisms had been in the “heat of the moment, not gonna take it personally. Indian Wells a week away, plenty of time.” Then Kyrgios said, “Just don’t expect med to have your back anytime soon. … Let’s not forget who holds the quickest loss on the ATP tour lol #how many minutes again.” Tomic lost to Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen in a record 28 minutes at the Miami Open in 2014 following his premature return from surgery on both hips. Lleyton Hewitt, in his first Davis Cup tie as Australia’s captain, said Kyrgios was ill and unavailable to play against the Americans.

SVITOLINA SURVIVES

It was a battle, but one that Elina Svitolina survived to win her fourth career title at the BMW Malaysia Open. “Emotionally, I’m really exhausted now,” Svitolina said after outlasting Eugenie Bouchard in the hard-court tournament finale. Bouchard won the opening set in a tiebreak as she continued her resurgence from a disappointing 2015 season. The first set was really tough and she was playing well, but I was 5-3 up, so I was disappointed to lose the first set after such a tough fight,” Svitolina said. “After we stopped a couple of times because of the rain, it was up and down.” It was Svitolina who was mostly up, however. The eventual winner has never lost to her Canadian opponent in four career meetings. But after losing the first set, she dropped her serve as fell behind 4-2 in the second. “Honestly, I don’t remember much of the second set now because my emotions are over the moon,” Svitolina said. “I just remember that it was so tough and I was 2-4 down and came back to win that set.” That’s because she won the last four games of the set to level the match before rain halted play once again. Bouchard served for the match in the 10^th game, but was broken at love. Svitolina then closed out the victory.

SIZZLING STRETCH

Heather Watson overcame her nerves and Kirsten Flipkens to win her third career title, the Abierto Monterrey Afirme in Monterrey, Mexico. After losing the opening set, Watson looked to be well in control of the match as she beat Flipkens for the first time. “I was nervous coming into the match and I’ve never beaten Kristen before,” Watson said. After Watson took the first three games in the decider, Flipkens rallied to level the set and set the stage for a tense ending. But Watkins broke her opponent to take 5-3 lead, then held to capture the title. “I was getting frustrated with myself,” Watson said. “I just had to stay calm and try my best. I never looked past the next point.”

SUCCESS FOR BRITS

Andy Murray outlasted Kei Nishikori in an epic five-set clash to give defending champion Great Britain a first-round Davis Cup win over Japan. Murray had beat Nishikori in five of their six previous meetings. So when he took the first two sets, it appeared as if it would be a comfortable afternoon for Murray, who took part in all three points won by Great Britain. But Nishikori took the next two sets to level the match, then was a break up in the deciding set before Murray rallied once again. “I was struggling a little at the end of the third and a little bit throughout the fourth,” Murray said. “There were long rallies, he was pushing me quite far off the baseline. I was trying to keep the points short but in the fifth I had to grit my teeth, fight hard and I managed to get the win.”

SET AS DIRECTOR

Davis Cup Commitment Awards have been presented to several former players, including Yevgeny Kafelnikov, John Fitzgerald, Todd Woodbridge and Jaime Yzaga. The award is presented to Davis Cup players who have shown long-standing dedication to representing their country in the prestigious international team competition. Each award recipient will have competed in a minimum of 20 home-and-away ties or 50 ties at any level of the competition, including week-long zone group events, over their career. A total of 334 players have already qualified to receive the award.

SUIT FILED

Tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award. The ceremony will be held in Berlin, Germany, on April 18. Besides Djokovic, others on the short list for Sportsman award include Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi, Stephen Curry, Lewis Hamilton and Jordan Spieth. On the women’s shortlist are Williams, Katie Ledecky, Carli Lloyd, Genzebe Dibaba, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Anna Fenninger.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Kuala Lumpur: Varatchaya Wongteanchai and Yang Zhaoxuan beat Liang Cheng and Wang Yafan 4-6 6-4 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Monterrey: Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja beat Petra Martic and Maria Sanchez 4-6 7-5 10-7 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

Indian Wells: www.bnpparibasopen.com/

Guadalajara: www.jalisco-open.com/

Irving: http://irvingtennisclassic.com/

San Antonio: www.sanantonioopen.tennis/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$7,037,595 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (first week)

WOMEN