Stan Wawrinka Upset By Alexander Zverev In St. Petersburg - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Alexander Zverev beat Stan Wawrinka 6-2 3-6 7-5 to win the St. Petersburg Open in St. Petersburg, Russia

Caroline Wozniacki beat Naomi Osaka 7-5 6-3 to win the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan

Lucas Pouille beat Dominic Thiem 7-6 (5) 6-2 to win the Moselle Open in Metz, France

Lesia Tsurenko beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4 3-6 6-4 to win the Guangzhou International Women’s Open in Guangzhou, China

Lara Arruabarrena beat Monica Niculescu 6-0 2-6 6-0 to win the Korea Open Tennis in Seoul, Korea

Natalia Vikhlyantseva beat Donna Vekic 6-1 6-2 to win the Neva Cup 2016 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Hyeon Chung beat Duckhee Lee 6-4 6-2 to win the OEC Kaohsiung Challenger in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

DAVIS CUP

Group II 3^rd Round

Americas Zone: Peru beat Venezuela 3-2 at Barcelona, Venezuela

SAYING

“You’re the future of the tennis, but you’re already at the top.” – Stan Wawrinka, congratulating his conqueror, Alexander Zverev, in St. Petersburg, Russia

“I have no doubt we’re going to see her in many, many more finals.” – Caroline Wozniacki, talking about Naomi Osaka, who see beat to win a Tokyo tournament.

“He’s had an amazing year, reaching the quarterfinals in the last two Grand Slams and semis in the Masters 1000 in Rome. I think we will see him in the Top 10 soon.” – Dominic Thiem, talking about Lucas Pouille, who beat Thiem in the Moselle Open final.

“I have been practicing and playing, but my shoulder is still not fit for tournament play.” – Serena Williams, announcing she was withdrawing from the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the China Open because of problems with her right shoulder.

“It was a tough match against a great player. We always have tough matches.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after beating Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6 7-5 6-4 in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open.

“I think it was one of the best matches we played together.” – Barbora Strycova, after she and Sania Mirza teamed to win the Toray Pan Pacific Open for their second doubles title of the year.

“Not many times when you play with someone for the first time you get to win the whole tournament. … Our games mesh really well, and I really mean it when I say this but it doesn’t feel like it’s the first time we’ve played together. That’s something very positive that we have.” – Asia Muhammad, after teaming with Peng Shuai to win the doubles title in Guangzhou.

“This year was not good enough. Only one Slam. For Serena, it’s not good enough, for sure.” – Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of Serena Williams.

SMASHING SUCCESS

Stan Wawrinka met the future – and the future won. Young German Alexander Zverev captured his first ATP World Tour title by beating the reigning US Open champion in the St. Petersburg Open final. “I’m full of emotions. I just couldn’t have chosen a better place to win my maiden title,” said Zverev, who has Russian origins. The 19-year-old trailed 3-0 in the third set before twice breaking his 31-year-old opponent. “It was really hard when I was trailing 3-0 in the deciding set, but I forced myself to keep on fighting,” Zverev said. And now I’m really happy with my win.” Zverev snapped an 11-mtch win streak in finals for Wawrinka, becoming the first man to beat the Swiss star in a tour final since 2013. He also snapped Wawrinka’s 10-match win streak. “We showed high-quality tennis,” Wawrinka said. “I was struggling in the third set. I had chances but I didn’t manage to convert them. He deserved the win.” Zverev is the first teenager to win an ATP World Tour title since 19-year-old Marin Cilic won New Haven in 2008.

STARRING IN TOKYO

Caroline Wozniacki is once again playing the winning game that took her to number one in the world. The Danish right-hander overcame an injury and a late rally by her opponent to beat Naomi Osaka for her first title of 2016, the Toray Pan Pacific Open. “It’s the last match of the tournament, and I just wanted to go out and enjoy it,” Wozniacki said. After grabbing the tight opening set, Wozniacki raced out to a 5-0 lead in the second, thanks in a large part to the inconsistent play of Osaka. However, the 18-year-old from Japan, playing in her first WTA final, won three straight games before Wozniacki finally closed out the win. “She’s going to be a great player, already rising in the rankings so fast,” Wozniacki said of Osaka. The Dane, who has seen her ranking tumble because of wrist and ankle injuries, took a medical timeout after the seventh game when she felt a twinge in her left thigh. She returned to the court with her leg heavily bandaged and won nine of the next 10 games. Osaka also needed a medical timeout after the first set for a sore right shoulder. “I’ve won a tournament every year since 2008,” Wozniacki said, “so I’m happy to keep that streak going.”

SACRE BLEU

Lucas Pouille made headlines when he upset Rafael Nadal at the US Open. Now he has his first career ATP World Tour title, beating top-seeded Dominic Thiem at the Moselle Open. “I’m really happy to win my first title here,” said the Frenchman. “I played well from the beginning.” It has been a breakthrough year for the 18^th-ranked Pouille, who has beaten five top 10-ranked players. Against Thiem, Pouille rallied from 0-4 down in the first-set tiebreak, winning seven of the next eight points, then cruised in the second set. Seeded third in the Metz, France, tournament, Pouille reached match point with a volley winner and closed out the victory with an ace, his 10^th of the day. He became the seventh Frenchman to win the Moselle Open in the past eight years.

SERENA SIDELINED

Serena Williams has decided to give her injured shoulder time to heal. The shoulder problem forced her to withdraw from tournament in Montreal and Cincinnati, and then appeared to hamper her at the Rio Olympics. But it was a sore left knee that caused her problems at the US Open. She also lost her long-held number one ranking at the US Open to the winner, Germany’s Angelique Kerber. In an interview on CNN, Williams said she was “tired of playing tournaments unhealthy and taking losses I would never lose.” She has pulled out of the Wuhan Open and China Open, the two biggest events on the WTA schedule before the WTA Finals in late October. By her standards, 2016 has been a disappointing year, although she did reach three Grand Slam tournament finals, losing both the Australian and French Opens before winning Wimbledon. Because of injuries, Williams played only eight tournaments this year, winning just two. She still has the season-ending championships in Singapore, an event she has won five times in nine appearances. “I am focused on getting ready to compete at the WTA Finals in Singapore,” she said.

STRASBOURG BOUND

Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia will be able to play doubles for France in the Fed Cup final against the Czech Republic. The French tennis federation (FTT) lifted its ban on the two players. They had been provisionally suspended for “damaging” the federation’s image at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics when they criticized the FTT over a clothing mix-up. Mladenovic and Garcia said they had not been informed that as doubles partners they had to wear the same colors. The players were told just before going on court that they could be defaulted if they did not change their clothing. Mladenovic lent Garcia some of her clothes, but they then were upset in the first round. The FFT said the players “expressed regrets for remarks they made following a terrible disappointment and frustration.” In its statement, the FFT accepted “its share of responsibility in the problems that occurred at the Rio Olympics.” France will host the two-time defending champion Czech Republic in the Fed Cup final Nov. 12-13 in Strasbourg. The Czechs are seeking their fifth title in six years. It is France’s first final since 2005.

STRANGE SCORE

Lara Arruabarrena won her second WTA singles title by beating Monica Niculescu to grab the Korea Open final with a strange score. The Spaniard bageled her opponent in the two sets she won, but lost the middle set 6-2, double faulting twice to surrender her serve in the fourth game. Arruabarrena’s last tournament win came on clay in Bogotá four years ago.

SECOND TITLE

The team of Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan did not stand a chance. “We were playing great from the beginning to the end,” Barbora Strycova said of the performance of her and her teammate Sania Mirza. “We actually didn’t make any errors in the first set and we felt great on the court.” Mirza is the WTA’s top-ranked doubles player, and she and Strycova were seeded second at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. Their opponents were an unseeded duo from China. Mirza and Strycova won the title 6-1 6-1. But Liang and Yang didn’t get to the final by chance. They beat the top-seeded team of Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan in the first round, then took out the third-seeded team of Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears to reach the title match. “It’s great to play your best tennis in the final, we were happy to do that,” Mirza agreed.

STRONG SHOWING

Caroline Wozniacki, fighting her way back up the rankings, pulled off a winning rally against a top player to reach the final of the Pan Pacific Open. Agnieszka Radwanska was up a set and 5-3 when the former world number one fought back to win four straight games and level the match at a set apiece. Wozniacki also trialed 3-1 in the third set before capturing the last four games for the victory. “We practice together all the time so I knew what to expect,” Wozniacki said. “It was a good game, a good match. Nothing really surprised me.” It was Wozniacki’s ninth win over Radwanska against four losses.

STOPS JELENA

Lesia Tsurenko halted Jelena Jankovic’s bid for a second straight title at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open. She capped off the week by winning her second career title after battling for nearly 2½ hours before downing her Serbian opponent. “I think today I played really good tennis, except maybe in the second set when I felt a little bit tired,” Tsurenko said. “But I said to myself that I have to give it all in the final set, and I was fighting for each point. I had to give 100 percent to win this title.” Jankovic also reached the semifinals in doubles, playing with Martina Hingis. “It’s tough, because this tournament took a lot of energy out of me,” said the former world number one who has been struggling with shoulder issues throughout the season. “It’s so hot and humid here, and also when you take into consideration that it’s only my second tournament on hardcourt because I’m coming back from an injury.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Guangzhou: Asia Muhammad and Peng Shuai beat Olga Govortsova and Vera Lapko 6-2 7-6 (3)

Kaohsiung: Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana beat Hsieh Cheng-Peng and Yi Chu-Huan 6-4 7-6 (4)

Metz: Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos beat Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 6-3 7-6 (4)

St. Petersburg (men): Dominic Inglot and Henri Kontinen beat Andre Begemann and Leander Paes 4-6 6-3 12-10 (match tiebreak)

St. Petersburg (women): Maria Marfutina and Anna Morgina beat Raluca Olaru and Alena Tarasova 6-2 6-3

Seoul: Kristen Flipkens and Johanna Larsson beat Akiko Omae and Peangtarn Plipuech 6-2 6-3

Tokyo: Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova beat Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-1 6-1

SURFING

Shenzhen: www.shenzhenopen.com/

Orleans: www.opendorleans.com/

Tiburon: http://tiburonchallenger.com/