Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Marin Cilic beat Andy Murray 6-4 7-5 to win the Western & Southern Open men’s singles in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Karolina Pliskova beat Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-1 to win the Western & Southern Open women’s singles in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
SAYING
“I felt that I played really good tennis today. The serve was a big factor in my game. I was hitting a lot of big serves in important points, and I was definitely in that second set very, very mentally strong.” – Marin Cilic, after beating Andy Murray to win the Western & Southern Open men’s singles.
“I’m very proud of this week. Obviously today it didn’t go how I would’ve wanted. But I certainly didn’t expect to get to the final when I arrived here.” – Andy Murray.
“I was expecting I’m going to play good, but I wasn’t expecting it that easy. I think she might be a little bit tired, or she felt a little bit of pressure on herself.” – Karolina Pliskova, following her upset win in the Cincinnati final over Angelique Kerber.
“I’m really tired. I played the 11th match in 13 or 14 days. I really enjoyed the week. I really tried my best today, but sometimes you have days when it’s not working so good.” – Angelique Kerber.
“As cliché as it sounds, a ranking is really just a number. At the end of the day you have to come out and you have to play your best tennis. That’s what we did, and we feel like that’s why we won the tournament.” – Sania Mirza, who took over the top doubles ranking alone after sharing the spot with former partner Martina Hingis.
“You have to change the rhythm. I didn’t hit as strong as I did first four games and I didn’t miss as I did at the beginning. She was playing really well at the beginning, those four games, but then I had just to change, to play more angles, and then I came back and I think I was the one that was dominating match.” – Simona Halep, following her 7-5 6-1 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska.
“I’ve practiced with him many times, so to some extent I have an understanding of his game, like he has of mine. But it’s different come match time, so I did a little bit of studying. I feel like I took that all in and adapted well.” – Milos Raonic, on Dominic Thiem after beating the Austrian 6-3 6-4.
STOPS KERBER
Karolina Pliskova made sure Serena Williams remains atop the women’s rankings by knocking off Germany’s Angelique Kerber. It was the sixth career title for the Czech, but by far her biggest. If Kerber had won, she would have moved past Williams and take over the number one spot in the rankings. “Of course I’m disappointed, but still she played a great match and a great tournament and deserved to win,” Kerber said of her conqueror. Pliskova came into the hard-court event ranked 15th in the world and leads the WTA Tour in aces. Against Kerber, Pliskova pounded seven aces, the last one on match point. Kerber committed 32 unforced errors, most coming from her forehand. “I know she was playing for the world number one,” Pliskova said. “I think you deserve to be number one. But maybe next time.” It was the second straight week that she came up short. Kerber fell to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig in the women’s final at the Rio Olympics. The result allowed Williams to continue her reign on top of the rankings to 184 consecutive weeks, two weeks away from tying the all-time mark held by Steffi Graf.
STUNNER BY CILIC
Marin Cilic found his serve, which was enough to power the Croat over Andy Murray and capture his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, the Western & Southern Open. “The serve was a big factor in my game,” said Cilic, who became only the second active player outside of the Big Four to win both a Grand Slam tournament and a Masters 1000 title. “I was hitting a lot of big serves in important points, and I was definitely in that second set very, very mentally strong.” Cilic, relentless in his baseline game, took the opening set in 41 players. He pulled off the only service break in the 11th game of the second set, then closed out the victory on his first match point. “I felt that I played really good tennis today,” Cilic said. “Andy was starting to play a bit better, but it’s definitely a huge win against him. He’s been on a great run the last couple of months.” Cilic’s victory is just the fifth title by a player outside of the Big Four of Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal since 2010.
SWIFT KICK
A swift kick almost caused Andy Murray to be penalized during his semifinal match at the Cincinnati Masters. When a ball came his way, Murray kicked it towards the crowd. But the ball narrowly missed the chair umpire’s head and drew a stern look from the umpire. The ATP rulebook states: “Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball while on the grounds of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match.” Murray escaped any penalty and went on to easily down Milos Raonic 6-3 6-3.
SOLE POSSESSION
No longer are India’s Sania Mirza and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis teammates. And no longer are they tied for the number one on the WTA doubles ranking. When Mirza and her new partner, Barbora Strycova, beat Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe 7-5 6-4 to win the women’s doubles crown in Cincinnati, the 29-year-old Mirza took over sole possession of the top of the rankings. Hingis and her American teammate won five of the first six games before Mirza and the Czech Republic’s Strycova won the next six games and wrapped up the victory in straight sets. Although Mirza and Hingis have split up, they will team up in October for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Singapore.
STRONG FINISH
Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo won five of the last six points in their match tiebreak to capture the Western & Southern Open men’s doubles over Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. It was their fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title together. The Croatian/Brazilian pair improved their 2016 record to 25-11. Neither team dropped serve in the match and both won 7-5 tiebreaks to send it into the match tiebreak.
STAYING HOME
Ninth-ranked Madison Keys is skipping this week’s Connecticut Open because of a neck injury. Announcing her withdrawal from the final hard-court warmup event before the US Open, Keys said she felt pain on the right side of her neck while she was hitting a forehand return during a practice session. “I probably hit it late,” she said. “As soon as I finished the stroke, I knew that I did something.” Keys has had trouble with her neck in the past. She has sought medical treatment and hopes to be ready in time for the US Open, which begins its two-week run next Monday.
Two other players withdrew from the New Haven, Connecticut, USA, tournament, although both won titles at Cincinnati. Karolina Pliskova, who upset Angelique Kerber to win the Western & Open women’s singles, withdrew from New Haven with a lower back injury. Barbora Strycova, who teamed with Sania Mirza to win the doubles, pulled out of the Connecticut Open with an illness.
STRAIGHT IN – MEN
Juan Martin del Potro, the Olympic silver medalist, was given a wild card entry into the men’s singles draw at the US Open. The 27-year-old del Potro returned to competitive play in February following his third surgery on his left wrist. He was ranked as high as fourth in the world in 2010, but has missed quite a bit of time since then because of surgeries, including on to his right wrist.
Others receiving wild card entries into the main men’s singles draw include Rajeev Ram, Bjorn Fratangelo, Frances Tiafoe, 2016 NCAA singles champion Mackenzie McDonald, 2016 USTA Boys’ 18s national champion Michael Mmoh and USTA Pro Circuit US Open Wild Card Challenge winner Ernesto Escobedo. As part of a reciprocal agreement with the USTA, Tennis Australia will award one additional main draw wild card.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) also awarded wild card entries into the US Open qualifying tournament, which will be played this week. Players receiving those wild cards are Sekou Bangoura, Christian Harrison, Vasil Kirkov, Mitchell Krueger, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Reilly Opelka, Tennyus Sandgren and Ryan Shane.
STRAIGHT IN – WOMEN
Two-time NCAA singles champion Danielle Collins and mixed doubles Olympic gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands head the list of direct wild card entries into the US Open women’s singles main draw. A senior at the University of Virginia, Collins won her second NCAA singles title this year. She also won in 2014, after which she received a wild card and played second-ranked Simona Halep in the opening round, winning the first set in a tiebreak. Mattek-Sands, 31, won the mixed doubles gold medal at the Rio Olympics with Jack Sock. Last year, she teamed with Lucie Safarova to win the women’s doubles at both the Australian Open and the French Open, and also won the French Open mixed doubles title with Mike Bryan. Mattek-Sands will be competing in her 15th US Open main draw.
Others receiving wild card entries into the women’s singles main draw are Lauren Davis, 2016 USTA Girls’ 18s national champion Kayla Day, USTA Pro Circuit US Open Wild Card Challenge winner Sofia Kenin, Vania King and Virginie Razzano of France. As part of a reciprocal agreement with the USTA, Tennis Australia will award one additional main draw wild card.
Awarded wild card entries into the US Open qualifying tournament are 14-year-old Amanda Anisimova, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Nicole Frenkel, Ellie Halbauer, Jamie Loeb, Raveena Kingsley, Melanie Oudin and Great Britain’s Laura Robson.
SICK BAY
After receiving a wild card into the Western & Southern Open women’s singles draw, top-ranked Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament citing a right shoulder injury. That’s the same injury that forced her to withdraw from the Rogers Cup in Montreal last month. “My shoulder inflammation continues to be a challenge,” Williams said, “but I am anxious to return to the court as soon as possible.” She did play in the Rio Olympics, but appeared to be bothered by her shoulder in her third-round loss to Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine.
SUFFERING APPENDICITIS
The US Open has already lost one of its top players. Eighth-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic pulled out of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament after suffering appendicitis. “I am very disappointed to announce I will not be able to compete at the US Open this year,” Berdych wrote on Twitter. “I was just diagnosed with appendicitis in Cincinnati so I will be flying back to Europe for additional checks and treatment. I will need to take some time off to recover fully, but I know I will get back as strong as ever.” Berdych reached the semifinals at Wimbledon this year where he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Cincinnati (men): Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo beat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6 (5) 6-7 (5) 10-6 (match tiebreak)
Cincinnati (women): Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova beat Martina Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe 7-5 6-4
SURFING
New Haven: www.ctopen.org
Winston-Salem: www.winstonsalemopen.com/
New York: www.usopen.org
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
MEN
$720,940 Winston-Salem Open, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, hard
WOMEN
$695,900 Connecticut Open, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN and WOMEN
US Open, New York, New York, USA, hard
