Novak Djokovic, Simona Halep Are Rogers Cup Winners - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Kei Nishikori 6-3 7-5 to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Simona Halep beat Madison Keys 7-6 (2) 6-3 to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Evgeny Donskoy beat Konstantin Kravchuk 6-3 6-3 to win the Presidents Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan

Federico Gaio beat Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (5) 6-2 to win the Thindown Challenger in Biella, Italy

SAYING

“I don’t need to explain that every athlete dreams of being a part of the Olympic Games. I’m competing in singles and doubles. Hopefully I’ll get at least one medal.” – Novak Djokovic, saying he will be playing in the Rio Olympics.

“I tried just to keep the ball away from her and to make her run. I think I did it pretty well, and she missed shots.” – Simona Halep, after beating Madison Keys to win the Rogers Cup women’s singles.

“The love I have for tennis, the competition, tournaments and of course you, the fans, remains intact. I am as motivated as ever and plan to put all my energy towards coming back strong, healthy and in shape to play attacking tennis in 2017.” – Roger Federer, announcing he will not play the rest of this year in order to completely recover from knee surgery.

“Her first serve was definitely slower than normal. But it was funny. Her second serve was a lot slower, but because of the court it was bouncing a lot higher than normal. So while her first serve was a little easier to return, her second serve was really tough.” – Madison Keys, following her 6-1 6-7 (2) 6-3 third-round Rogers Cup win over Venus Williams.

“Every time I play against Agnieszka it’s 7-6 in the third, or something.” – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, after upsetting Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-7 (4) 6-1 in Montreal.

“In tennis, unless you’re the guy winning the tournaments most of the weeks, which there’s very few guys that are doing that, you’re losing quite a bit. So it’s very important to make the most of those, try to learn, try to be better from those situations. That’s my next objective.” – Milos Raonic, after losing to Gael Monfils in Toronto.

“Jeez, that’s pretty bad. I need to practice a little more.” – Nick Kyrgios, after double-faulting 18 times in a three-set loss to 17-year-old Canadian wild card Denis Shapovalov at the Rogers Cup.

STARRING IN TORONTO

Novak Djokovic is back, and it’s like he never left. Playing for the first time since being upset in the third round at Wimbledon, the top-ranked Serb had no problems knocking off Japan’s Kei Nishikori to win the Rogers Cup for the fourth time. He also won the Canadian tournament in 2012, 2011 and 2007. Ivan Lendl holds the tournament record with six titles. “I raised the level of my game as the tournament progressed and today was the best performance of the tournament at the right time, so hopefully I can carry this win and this confidence into Rio as well,” Djokovic said, noting he will be seeking Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro. The victory was Djokovic’s 30^th ATP Masters title. The world’s top-ranked player raced through the opening set in just over 30 minutes. Nishikori, ranked sixth in the world, refused to cave in and forced Djokovic to raise his game. “I really enjoy playing tennis and I was looking forward to competing again because I needed that break and that early loss at Wimbledon has allowed me to have an extra week where I can recuperate, spend time with the family and think about something else,” Djokovic said. “As soon as I recharged my batteries I was up and running and I’m really glad to start off the hard court season with a win.”

SIMONA HAS HELP

Simona Halep probably didn’t need it, but she had help winning the Rogers Cup women’s singles. Her opponent in the title match, American Madison Keys, produced a bundle of errors as Halep claimed her 14^th career singles crown. “It was not my best tennis because I couldn’t play my best tennis,” Halep said. “I cannot hit stronger than her because she’s very strong. I tried just to keep the ball away from her and to make her run.” The tactic worked as Keys repeatedly plowed balls into the net or long. In fact, Halep only had four winners in the match while Keys, playing in her first career hard-court tournament final, finished with 45 unforced errors and had her serve broken five times. “I wish today went a little bit differently,” Keys said. “Sometimes it happens. Just take the positives from that and move on.” It was the second straight year Halep has reached the Rogers Cup final. Last year the Romanian became ill in the third set and was forced to retire, giving the title to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic.

SEASON ENDED

Roger Federer has called it quits on 2016. That means no Rio Olympics and no US Open as the Swiss star opted to fully recover from the knee surgery he underwent earlier this year. “The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover,” Federer said. “It is tough to miss the rest of the year. However, the silver lining is that this experience has made me realize how lucky I have been throughout my career with very few injuries.” In February, Federer underwent surgery for the first time in his career after tearing the meniscus in his left knee. He skipped the French Open with a back problem before reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon he lost to Milos Raonic in a thrilling five-setter. “I’m extremely disappointed to announced that I will not be able to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Rio and that I will also miss the remainder of the season,” Federer announced on his Facebook page. The 17-time Grand Slam tournament singles champion won the doubles gold medal in Beijing in 2008 alongside Stand Wawrinka. He captured the silver medal by finishing runner-up to Andy Murray at London in 2012.

STAYING HOME

Bob and Mike Bryan will not be defending their men’s doubles gold medal at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Saying as “husband and fathers our family’s health is now our top priority,” the American twins announced their withdrawal from the Olympics. The 38-year-old brothers won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London and a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games. In announcing their withdrawal from the Games, the Bryans did not mention the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and been cited by several athletes who have opted to skip the Summer Games in Brazil. The Bryans have won 16 Grand Slam tournament titles, a record in men’s doubles.

Rajeev Ram has been named by the United States Tennis Association to replace the Bryans on the American Olympic team. Ram, 32, is ranked 25^th in the world in doubles and will team with Brian Baker, who is already set to compete in men’s singles.

STAYING HOME

Belinda Bencic is the fourth female tennis player ranked in the Top 20 and the second Swiss player to pull out of the Rio Olympics. The 19-year-old Bencic, ranked 16^th in the world, said she withdrew from the Games because she is behind in training following a wrist injury suffered at Wimbledon last month. Her withdrawal came one day after Roger Federer withdrew, citing a knee injury. The withdrawals have left Martina Hingis in somewhat of a quandary. She had been scheduled to play doubles with Bencic and mixed doubles with Federer. Hingis is not playing singles in Rio.

Alexander Zverev has withdrawn from Germany’s Olympic team due to fitness concerns. “During my last two ATP matches in Washington and Toronto I did not feel 100 percent, and after several consultations with doctors and my team we have decided that I must withdraw from the Olympics,” the 19-year-old said. Zverev upset Roger Federer at Halle, Germany, before losing to fellow countryman Florian Mayer in the final. “I hope to be back in full form for the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati and wish my German teammates all the best in Rio,” said Zverev, who is ranked 25^th in the world.

STOPS ALL PLAY

All professional tennis tournaments in Turkey have been cancelled until mid-September following the attempted coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) decision affects a total of 15 tournaments on the men’s and women’s Futures circuits in Antalya, Buca Izmir, Erzurum and Malatya. “The Turkish Tennis Federation has been a really strong partner of ours, so this is not a decision we have taken lightly,” said Jackie Nesbitt, executive director of ITF Circuits. “But player safely has to be our priority.” The ITF said it will review the eight-week suspension decision in mid-August.

SURPRISE

Nick Kyrgios came up with another problem at the Rogers Cup. This problem was Denis Shapovalov, a 17-year-old Canadian wild-card who upset the 11^th-seeded Australian 7-6 (2) 3-6 6-3 in a first-round match. It was just the latest let-down for Krygios, who committed 18 double-faults in the match. At one point during the match Krygios was caught by the court microphones telling a member of the crowd that he did not want to be on court, adding: “I’m going straight home after this.” Shapovalov won the junior boys’ singles at this year’s Wimbledon. “I think the atmosphere really carried me forward today,” Shapovalov said. “It’s tough playing the first time on center court, but by the end of the match I felt like the crowd really liked it when I was getting pumped up.”

SHOULDER PROBLEMS

Minutes before she was to take to the court for her opening match against Britain’s Naomi Broady, French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza withdrew from the Rogers Cup, citing a gastrointestinal illness. “I’m pretty disappointed, I practiced a lot for this tournament,” the world’s third-ranked player said. “Since yesterday I have kind of been feeling weird and I spoke with the doctor and everything. I thought today I was going to feel better, but in the last moment I didn’t feel good enough to go on court and give my best.”

SALE

For a mere USD $8.9 million you can purchase the gated-community home of Pete Sampras and his wife, actress-singer Bridgette Wilson-Sampras. After buying the house in 2009 for USD $5.9 million, the two renovated and expanded the home, customizing the interiors and adding a swimming pool to the estate. The home is surrounded by mature redwood trees and lawns, while running streams and gardens fill the acre of park-like grounds. The 6,900-square-foot house has a library, theater room and wine cellar. There are a total of six bedrooms and 6½ bathrooms.

STOPS SCHOOL’S PLANIS

St. Cloud University’s plan to eliminate the women’s tennis program has been put on hold, thanks to a preliminary injunction issued by US District Court Chief Judge John R. Tunheim. The judge said that the tennis players would suffer irreparable harm if the program is eliminated while the players’ Title IX lawsuit against the university is pending. Five tennis players sued the university and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, alleging Title IX violations and saying the university for years has offered more athletic opportunities for men than for women. In his decision, Tunheim wrote: The Court finds that the status quo should remain the status quo for the duration of this case, or until the Court decides otherwise.” He stressed that his order didn’t mean that the tennis players will win or have won their lawsuit or that St. Cloud State is, or will be, out of compliance with Title IX. In assessing another factor – the balance of harms – Tunheim wrote that the players face more harm than the university. The judge said that continuing the status quo wouldn’t cost St. Cloud State that much because the tennis team brings in more revenue than its operating costs.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Astana: Yaraslav Shyla and Andrei Vasilevski beat Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev 6-4 6-4

Biella: Andre Begemann and Leander Paes beat Andrej Martin and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo 6-4 6-4

Montreal: Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu 6-3 7-6 (5)

Toronto: Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo beat Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-4 6-4

SURFING

Rio de Janeiro: www.itftennis.com/olympics/home.aspx

Atlanta: www.bbtatlantaopen.com/

Granby: www.challengerbanquenationale.com/

Florianopolis: www.brasiltenniscup.com.br/

Los Cabos: www.abiertoloscabos.com/es/

Aptos: www.seascapesportsclub.com/