Novak Djokovic, Garbiñe Muguruza Are Roland Garros Champions - Monday Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

French Open

Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4

Women’s Singles: Garbiñe Muguruza beat Serena Williams 7-5 6-4

Men’s Doubles: Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez beat Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3

Women’s Doubles: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-3 2-6 6-4

Mixed Doubles: Martina Hingis and Leander Paes beat Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig 4-6 6-4 10-8

Boys’ Singles: Geoffrey Blancaneaux beat Felix Auger Alissime 1-6 6-3 8-6

Girls’ Singles: Rebeka Masarova beat Amanda Anisimova 7-5 7-5

Boys’ Doubles: Yshai Oliel and Patrik Rikl beat Yunseong Chung and Orlando Luz 6-3 6-4

Girls’ Doubles: Paula Arias Manjon and Olga Danilovic beat Olesya Pervushina and Anastasia Potapova 3-6 6-3 10-8

Men’s Wheelchair Singles: Gustavo Fernandez beat Gordon Reid 7-6 (4) 6-1

Women’s Wheelchair Singles: Marjolein Buis beat Sabine Ellerbrock 6-3 6-4

Men’s Wheelchair Doubles: Shingo Kunieda and Gordon Reid beat Michael Jeremiasz and Stefan Olsson 6-3 6-2

Women’s Wheelchair Doubles: Yui Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley beat Jiske Griffioen and Aniek Van Koot 6-3 4-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)

OTHERS

Mikhail Kukushkin beat Marton Fucsovics 6-1 6-2 to win the UniCredit Czech Open in Prostejov, Czech Republic

Mandy Minella beat Polona Hercog 6-2 6-3 to win the Bol Open in Bol, Croatia

Danka Kovinic beat Hsieh Su-Wei 6-2 6-3 to win the Open Feminin de Marseille in Marseille, France

SAYING

“It’s really a very special moment. Perhaps the greatest moment of my career.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning his first French Open title.

“What Novak’s achieved in the last 12 months is phenomenal, winning all the Grand Slams in one year is an amazing achievement. It’s so rare in tennis, and for me personally, it sucks to lose the match.” – Andy Murray.

“He’s there, for sure – one of the best now. Hard to say who’s the greatest.” – Marian Vajda, Novak Djokovic’s co-coach with Boris Becker, when asked to compare Djokovic with Roger Federer.

“Of course I’m very happy, but I’d like to have more. My dream is to continue and win more tournaments, similar tournaments, and to dominate. When I am on the court I want to dictate my game and bring more of these cups back home.” – Garbiñe Muguruza, after winning the women’s singles at Roland Garros.

“I’m not one to ever make excuses … I think at the end of the day I didn’t play the game I needed to play to win and she did.” – Serena Williams.

“The only thing I can do is keep trying.” – Serena Williams, when asked if she felt she could win a 22^nd Grand Slam tournament singles title and tie Steffi Graf.

“We have never experienced these moments. Winning a Grand Slam is something amazing.” – Marc Lopez, who teamed with fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez to capture the men’s doubles.

“It’s quite unexpected. It’s a great reward … I think that our level was quite high. This is what I told my partner. The Bryan brothers are the best doubles team in the world, but we managed to win and that’s great.” – Feliciano Lopez.

“All of you have written about Martina Hingis the tennis player, but if you actually look at Martina Hingis the person, she’s a greater champion even off the court than she is on the court.” – Leander Paes, who teamed with Hingis to complete their career mixed doubles Grand Slam.

“The former players that are celebrated there are incredible. To be a part of this group is incredible. I never thought I would achieve this.” – Amélie Mauresmo, after receiving her Hall of Fame ring in on-court ceremonies at Roland Garros.

“It sounds crazy to say I’m a Grand Slam champion. I’m so happy I won this slam. And, I don’t know, I still have to like realize it.” – Rebeka Masarova, after winning the girls singles at Roland Garros.

SERBIAN SLAM

There were no mistakes this time. Novak Djokovic dominated Andy Murray to win his fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament – a Serbian Slam – and become just the third man in history to hold all four major titles at the same time. The others were Don Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969. “It was a very special moment, the biggest of my career,” Djokovic said. “I felt today something that I never felt before at Roland Garros; I felt the love of the crowd.” Playing in his 20^th final at the majors, the Serb superstar became the first man since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the Australian and French Opens back-to-back. The first British man to reach the final in Paris since Bunny Austin in 1937, Murray rushed out a 4-1 lead and took the opening set. He really didn’t threaten the world’s top player again until Djokovic was serving for the match. “When I broke him the second time and I got to 5-2 in the fourth, I just started laughing,” Djokovic said. “I had that kind of emotion. I didn’t feel too much pressure, honestly. Maybe I took things a bit too lightly and just played a loose game at 5-2.” He didn’t make the same mistake a second time. “In the last point I don’t even remember what happened,” he said. “It was really one of those things – moments where you just try to be there. It’s like my spirit has left my body and I was just observing my body fight the last three, four exchanges, going left to right and hoping that Andy will make a mistake, which happened.” The 29-year-old Djokovic is halfway to a calendar Grand Slam, which was last achieved by Laver 47 years ago.

SPANISH SHOCK

In a bruising battle of baseline power, Garbiñe Muguruza came away the winner, once again stopping the bid by Serena Williams to tie Steffi Graf with 22 Grand Slam tournament singles titles. “I didn’t play the game I needed to win,” Williams said after failing to defend her title on the red clay at Roland Garros. “Garbiñe played unbelievable.” The Spaniard matched the intensity and heavy hitting of the world’s top-ranked player, dictating play. And when Williams double-faulted on game point in the fifth game, Muguruza had a lead she never would relinquish. Muguruza swept out to a 3-1 margin in the second set and built the lead to 5-3. That’s when Williams staved off four match points to finally hold, but Muguruza held at love, finishing the victory with a perfectly placed lob. “It was really weird,” Muguruza said of the final point. “Serena was in front of the ball, so I didn’t know if it was in or out. I looked at the umpire and he doesn’t want to say anything. I was like, ‘Did I win Roland Garros?’ When he said, ‘game, set and match’ … it was like … no way. I won. It was amazing.” It was the second time Muguruza has beaten Williams in Paris, knocking the American out of the tournament in the second round in 2014, and it was the first clay court title of any kind for the newest Grand Slam tournament champion. Muguruza became the first Spanish woman to win the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in 1998. It was the third consecutive major that Williams has failed her bid to win a 22^nd Grand Slam tournament singles title. She lost to Italy’s Roberta Vinci in the semifinals of the US Open last September and fell to Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open final in January. “The only thing I can do is just keep trying, Williams said.

SURPRISE

Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez may not be related, but they will be joined forever as French Open doubles champions. The Spaniards stopped American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the title match at Roland Garros. They became the first all-Spanish team to win the clay-court major since Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez did it in 1990. And it was their first Grand Slam tournament title. The Bryans were going for their record 17^th major crown. “There is no doubt that this is one of the most beautiful wins in my career,” Feliciano Lopez said. “For the past 18 months I have been playing doubles and I didn’t think that I would be in a position to win a Grand Slam so quickly.” Seeded 15^th in the field, the Spaniards upset the top-seeded team of Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the third round, saved six match points in stopping Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin the quarterfinals, and knocked off defending champions Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the semifinals. The Bryans dropped only one set before the title match.

SO UNIQUE

Amélie Mauresmo is still quite unique. She received her Hall of Fame ring before she has traveled to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, where she was enshrined last year. The Frenchwoman was unable to attend her induction last year because she was pregnant with her child. She will be at this year’s ceremonies when her long-time rival Justine Henin as well as Marat Safin will be inducted. She received her ring in ceremonies on Court Philippe Chatrier before the women’s singles final at Roland Garros. Mauresmo finished her career with 25 WTA singles titles, was ranked number one in the world for 39 weeks and in the top five for 191 weeks. She is the winningest player for France in Fed Cup competition, compiling a 30-9 record, won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics and won the singles title at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006. “When I was 20 or 22, I thought maybe I could achieve number one and win these big trophies,” Mauresmo said. “But as a little girl I never really expected that. It was a passion. I was lucky to have a gift in that sport. It really brought me everything in my life. But I never really expected that. You can’t, really.”

SOME HOME COOKING

It may have been rainy and cold, but the French crowd had a lot to cheer for at Roland Garros. Frenchwomen Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic captured the women’s doubles by beating Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. The French pair won the first five games of the match before their opponents battled back and knotted the score at one set apiece. But the winners broke Vesnina’s serve in the ninth game and Garcia held to end the battle.

The women’s doubles wasn’t the only French victory. Geoffrey Blancaneaux won the junior boys singles, saving three match points before beating 15-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the title battle.

SWINGING TOGETHER

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis completed the mixed doubles Grand Slam by stopping Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig in the French Open final. Paes, two weeks away from his 43^rd birthday, won his first major title at Roland Garros in 1999, teaming with fellow Indian Mahesh Bhupathi to win the men’s doubles. He also has a career Slam in men’s doubles. In all, Paes has eight mixed doubles and 10 men’s doubles titles. Hingis won her first doubles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1996 with Helena Sukova. She and Paes won three of the four mixed doubles majors last year. “She handles adversity amazingly with a lot of grace,” Paes said of his partner. “She handles tough situations very easily. When we get on the court, the way that we communicate, she’s one of the world’s best communicators, and that’s why I love playing with her.” The 35-year-old Hingis returned the praise. “I think it’s also that we’re not the youngest ones to have like 20 more chances to come back to Roland Garros and make it happen,” she said. “He’s always there when it matters, big points.”

STUTTGART SIGNEES

Now that tennis has moved to grass, Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro will see if their injuries are healed enough to play. Both are scheduled to begin their Wimbledon preparations at the Stuttgart Open this week. Federer skipped the wettest and coldest French Open in decades to give his back further rest. Stuttgart tournament organizers said he has been training in Switzerland. Del Potro, who has been dealing with a wrist injury, has played only 13 matches so far this year.

SWISS CHAMPION

Switzerland is continuing to produce champions. The latest is 16-year-old Rebeka Masarova, who won the junior girls’ title at Roland Garros when she upset second-seeded Amanda Anisimova 7-5 7-5. Masarova, who reached the girls semifinals at the Australian Open in January, saw her 5-2 second-set lead disappear when the 14-year-old Anisimova ripped off three straight games to knot the set at 5. Undaunted, Masarova broke back once more to clinch the title. “I was really nervous,” Masarova said. “I knew I had to do break. But I held my serve and then I broke her in the end.” Other Swiss players who won the French Open junior girls title were Martina Hingis and Belinda Bencic.

SUCCESS

Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella finally got the big trophy at the end of the week. The 30-year-old broke seventh-seeded Polona Hercog six times to win her first WTA singles title with an easy 6-2 6-3 victory. It was Minella’s third victory over a seeded player at the inaugural event. She began the week with a dramatic win over second-seeded Varvara Lepchenko, then posted wins over Marina Erankovic and fifth-seeded Ana Konjuh before beating Hercog.

SET TO TAKE OVER

Tommy Haas, once ranked as high as second in the world, will take over as tournament director at Indian Wells, California, USA. The appointment must still be confirmed by both the ATP and WTA tours, but that is considered only a formality. The 38-year-old Haas will replace Raymond Moore, who resigned in March after saying women players “ride on the coattails of the men.” Moore retained his position as chief executive of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the venue that stages the ATP Masters and WTA premier mandatory event.

STARS ON ESPN

The tennis stars who weren’t around at the end of Roland Garros are the ones ranked highest on ESPN’s World Fame 100 list. Roger Federer, who missed the latest Grand Slam tournament with a bad back, is ranked fifth on the list behind Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of the French Open with a wrist injury, is also in the Top 10. Maria Sharapova, who has missed most of the year because she failed a drug test, is 18^th on the list, a few spots ahead of 25^th-ranked Serena Williams. Other tennis stars named were 16^th-ranked Novak Djokovic; Andy Murray, 31; Sania Mirza, 41; Kei Nishikori, 47; and Venus Williams, 74. The findings were based on a formula developed by ESPN’s director of sports analytics. It incorporated such metrics as social-media following, prize money and endorsements.

SAD NEWS

Tennis players, like so many others, paid tribute to Muhammad Ali, whose death sent shockwaves throughout the world. A few of the comments. “The true GOAT. What a sad day for everyone to lose someone so great and kind and someone who really stood up for what they believed in. He was my hero. He always will be,” Serena Williams wrote. “Remembering a man who was not afraid to take a stand and who was committed to being his authentic self,” Billie Jean King said. “We will miss your spirit and humanity. You were shunned, excoriated and jailed for the same reason that made you a hero.” – Martina Navratilova. “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” – Milos Raonic. “Thanks for giving every kid a chance to dream. I believe because of you.” – Leander Paes.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bol: Petra Martec and Xenia Knoll beat Raluca Olaru and Ipek Soylu 6-3 6-2

Marseille: Hsieh Su-Wei and Nicole Melichar beat Jana Cepelova and Lourdes Dominguez Lino 1-6 6-3 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Prostejov: Aliaksandr Bury and Igor Zelenay beat Julio Peralta and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo 6-4 6-4

SURFING

Stuttgart: http://tennis-weissenhof.de/

‘s-Hertogenbosch: http://ricoh-open.nl/

Caltanissetta: www.atpcaltanissetta.com/

Nottingham: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-open-nottingham/

London: https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-championships/

Halle: www.gerryweber-open.de/

Birmingham: https://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-classic-birmingham/