Andy Murray Continues Bid for Top Spot as Novak Djokovic Loses - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Andy Murray beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (1) 6-1 to win the Shanghai Rolex Masters in Shanghai, China

Peng Shuai beat Alison Riske 7-6 (3) 6-2 to win the Tianjin Open in Tianjin, China

Caroline Wozniacki beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-1 6-7 (4) 6-2 to win the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open in Hong Kong, China

Dominika Cibulkova beat Viktorija Golubic 6-3 7-5 to win the Generali Ladies Linz in Linz, Austria

Konstantin Kravchuk beat Denis Istomin 7-5 6-4 to win the Tashkent Challenger in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Ernesto Escobedo beat Denis Kudla 6-4 6-4 to win the Monterrey Open in Monterrey, Mexico

SAYING

“This is one of those days. Things go in an opposite direction than you want them, but again, it’s a lesson. Every day is a lesson.” – Novak Djokovic, after being upset by Roberto Bautista Agut in Shanghai.

“I can’t describe how I feel. I’m so happy.” – Robert Bautista Agut, after upsetting Novak Djokovic in Shanghai.

“It’s great winning trophies; it’s what we play for. I’m very pleased with my week this week. I played some good tennis. I’m proud of how I managed to win.” – Caroline Wozniacki, following her win in Hong Kong.

“I need to look after my body first. I’ve only got one, so I really have to make sure I make the right decisions for my health.” – Johanna Konta, after withdrawing from the Hong Kong Tennis Open with an abdominal strain.

“It’s the end of the season. I guess everyone is struggling with something.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, after pulling out of the Tianjin Open with a right thigh injury.

“For tennis in general, that Roger (Federer) will be back at the top with no injury. I think it’s always good for everybody when he’s playing. And for myself, I don’t have any. I’m working every day to try to make the best I can with my tennis career.” – Stan Wawrinka, when asked what his top two wishes were for 2017.

“I had to experience sooner or later this. I knew I could not go on playing the highest level for so many years all the time, but it’s good to experience this so I can hopefully get better in the period to come.” – Novak Djokovic, following his upset loss in Shanghai.

“I do think that after everything he’s achieved and the kind of dominance that he’s had, it takes so much effort and work to be making finals almost every single week for two years. It’s maybe normal if he’s mentally a little tired or trying to find the next thing for him to achieve after what he did at the French Open.” – Andy Murray, discussing Novak Djokovic.

“The first time I remember I played him I thought he was from another planet, and now I think I’m closer to him.” – Roberto Bautista Agut, talking about Novak Djokovic.

“Andy is doing everything to get Novak. I can sit it in his eyes. He’s really focused on getting number one.” – Roberto Bautista Agut, on Andy Murray’s bid to supplant Novak Djokovic as the world’s top player.

“It’s an incredible year, such a great season.” – Dominika Cibulkova, who won her third title of 2016, the Generali Ladies Linz.

“Proving to myself that I’m still one of the top players and that I’m tough to beat is definitely something that I could call a success.” – Caroline Wozniacki, the former world number one who has soared in the WTA rankings since the US Open.

“As you know, tennis is very tight. Sometimes you lose because of a couple of points. Now I’m winning those points more often. Everything might be similar, but at the end of the day I’m the one winning the key points. It’s not about changing something big as much as it’s about being very focused in important moments and believing in yourself, that you can do it.” – Agnieszka Radwanska.

SURGING ANDY

Andy Murray made another move to supplant Novak Djokovic as the world’s top-ranked player, winning his sixth title of the year, the Shanghai Masters. In the final, Murray defeated Roberto Bautista Agut, who had upset Djokovic in the semifinals. “Really, since the French Open (I’ve) played the best three months of tennis of my career,” Murray said. Capturing his second title in two weeks wasn’t easy at first. Bautista Agut broke Murray’s serve to level the match at 5-5. That’s when the Scot stepped up his game another notch. Murray won the tiebreak 7-1 before racing through the second set. He had 16 unforced errors in the opening set, but only three after that. “I will try to finish this year as strong as I can,” Murray said. “And next year if the opportunity is there to reach number one, then I want to tray and take it. It’s going to be a tough thing to achieve that. I’m aware of that. But I believe I can get there. … These last few months have proved that to me.”

SECURES FIRST TITLE

China’s Peng Shuai won her first WTA title, the Tianjin Open, by downing American Alison Riske in the final. It was the seventh final for the 30-year-old Peg, who save 10 of 12 break points she faced against Riske in wrapping up the crown. Peng’s trip to the final was made easier when defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew from their quarterfinal match with an injury to her right thigh. Because of rain, both finalists won their semifinals earlier in the day, Peng beating Danka Kovinic 3-6 7-5 6-3 and Riske stopping second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 5-7 6-4.

SLOVAKIAN VICTORY

The Generali Ladies title was the third of the season for Dominika Cibulkova and gave the Slovak a berth at the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time. Cibulkova beat Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic to capture her seventh career title. “It feels so great,” Cibulkova said after converting her first match point with a service winner. She also won at Katowice in April and Eastbourne in June, and appeared in three more finals this year. Cibulkova, an Australian Open finalist two years ago, led 3-1 in the second set before Golubic broke back with a backhand winner. She staved off four Golubic set points in the 10^th game, and then won three straight games to take the title.

The future of the Austrian indoor tournament is uncertain. The Generali Ladies has been part of the WTA tour since 1991, but the main sponsor has not signed on for next year.

SWEPT AWAY

Novak Djokovic was upset on stadium court at the Shanghai Masters. Then he was upset. The world’s top-ranked player smashed a racquet and tore his shirt in frustration before he fell to Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4. He smashed his racquet after losing the first set, then grabbed a towel from a ball girl to sweep up the pieces. Later he ripped his shirt open in anger during another point. Djokovic also repeatedly argued with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes over line calls and a time violation he received while he was changing his ripped shirt. “(Bernardes) was the star of the show,” Djokovic said after his match, still upset with the way things went on court. “That’s what he wanted to be today.” What Bautista Agut wanted and got was a rare win over Djokovic. The 28-year-old Spaniard controlled play with his big forehand as he beat Djokovic for the first time in six meetings and posted his first win in six tries over players ranked number one in the world. As Djokovic struggled to gain momentum, Bautista Agut matched him shot for shot, eventually converting on his fourth match point.

STRONG FINISH

Caroline Wozniacki is showing the form that once took her to the number one ranking. Injuries forced her to skip the French Open and her ranking fell to 74^th in the world. That was then. The Dane captured the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, her 25^th career title, besting Kristina Mladenovic. Last month, Wozniacki won the Toray Pan Pacific Ocean. She struggled to a 13-14 match record this year before the US Open, skipping the French Open because of an injury. However, since the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, Wozniacki is 19-3 with two titles. “I never doubted that I could come back and make it here because I’ve worked too hard my whole life on fitness to keep my body in shape,” she said. “I was like, ‘It’s going to be OK, where it’s going to be a month, two months, four months.’ I knew eventually I would be back.” Wozniacki began the Hong Kong final by breaking Mladenovic and streaking to a 5-0 lead. After Mladenovic held to avoid a bagel, Wozniacki wrapped up the opening set. Mladenovic took a long medical timeout between sets, then won the second-set tiebreak 7-4 to level the match. That seemed to ignite Wozniacki again, and the Dane took a commanding lead in the third set, closing out the victory on her second match point.

SHOCKED AGAIN

Angelique Kerber is finding that being number one is the world has made her a target. Australia’s Daria Gavrilova is the latest to upset the two-time Grand Slam tournament champion, knocking her out of the Hong Kong Open 6-3 6-1. “I’ve played Angie six times and now I’ve finally won,” Gavrilova said. “It’s really exciting.” Kerber won the Australian and US Open titles this year as well as reaching the final at Wimbledon, replacing Serena Williams atop the WTA rankings. “I think Angie has had a long season,” said the 22-year-old Gavrilova. “I didn’t expect to win that easily, but I was ready to turn it around and get a win against her.” Since her US Open victory, Kerber is 5-3, losing in the third round at Beijing to Elina Svitolina and in the second round at Wuhan to Petra Kvitova before falling to Gavrilova.

SEASON ENDED?

Rafael Nadal is considering joining his long-time rival Roger Federer on the sideline for the rest of this season. The 30-year-old Nadal said he might halt his season early in a bid to regain the form that took him to 14 Grand Slam tournament titles. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple week,” the Spaniard said. “I cannot say now what I’m going to do during the next month. I’m not sure about my calendar. I’m not sure about the things that I need to do to try to be 100 percent ready for next year. Sometimes keeping competing is not the solution. Sometimes the solution is to practice and stop and have a process of training.” Federer ended his season early so he could fully recover from his injuries. The Swiss star has said he will play again beginning in January.

STOPPED BY SPRAIN

Agnieszka Radwanska’s bid to defend her title at the Tianjin Open was halted by a thigh strain. The top seed crushed Evgeniya Rodina of Russia 6-1 6-1 in the second round before pulling out of the tournament with the injury. Still, Radwanska has qualified for her eighth WTA Finals, including the last six, the longest streak among active players. She will also finish the season in the Top 10 for the sixth consecutive year.

STALLED

The singles final of the Francis Ford Coppola Winery Fairfield Men’s Challenger, a $100,000 men’s tournament in Fairfield, California, USA, was halted by rain Sunday. Second-seeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia and unseeded Quentin Halys of France both won twice on Saturday to advance to the final of the rain-plagued event. The title match of the hard court tournament was moved to Monday morning.

SINGLES QUALIFIER

Kei Nishikori is the fifth player to qualify for the singles competition at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Japanese star joins Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Ranoic in the elite eight-player field. “I am very excited to come back to London this year,” said Nishikori, who is making his third consecutive appearance at the season-ending event. “It’s been a very consistent year so far and I am excited to be part of this elite group again.”

SIDELINED

Garbiñe Muguruza was leading 7-5 3-6 4-2 when she sprained her left ankle during her quarterfinal match against Viktorija Golubic in Linz, Austria. Despite retiring from the match two games later, the reigning French Open champion became the sixth player to clinch a berth in the season-ending WTA Finals. Last year the Spaniard reached the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska. Others already qualified for the 12-player field at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global are Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Radwanska, Simona Halep and Karoline Pliskova.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

For the first time in 13 years, neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal are ranked among the top four players in the world. The two have combined to win 31 Grand Slam tournaments, but injuries have hampered both this year. Federer has not won an ATP World Tour title in 2016 and missed both the French Open and the US Open because of injuries. Nadal won twice this year – in Monte Carlo and Barcelona – as well as teaming with Marc Lopez to capture the Rio de Janeiro Olympic doubles gold medal. However, the Spaniard has not reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament since winning the French Open in 2014, and he failed to go beyond the fourth round in a major this year.

SECURES SPOT

Madison Keys will make her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “I’ve worked harder than ever this year both on and off the court and I am happy that the hard work is paying off,” said Keys, the seventh player to qualify for the elite eight-player singles field. “I look forward to finishing my seasons strong in Singapore.” Keys broke into the WTA Top 10 in June, becoming the first American to enter the Top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999. She has won her second career title this year, the Aegon Classic Birmingham on grass in Great Britain, as well as finishing runner-up on clay at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and on hard court at the Rogers Cup. She was one of just four players to reach the round of 16 at all four Grand Slam tournaments this year.

The Singapore singles field was completed when Dominika Cibulkova won in Linz, Austria. The victory over Viktorija Golubic confirmed Cibulkova will join Keys, Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karoline Pliskova and Garbiñe Muguruza in the WTA Finals. “After such a tough year last year, this year has been amazing,” Cibulkova said. “So reaching the WTA Finals is a dream come true.”

SHE’S BACK

Maria Sharapova is back. The Russian returned to the tennis court for two exhibition matches, her first appearance since testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January. The former world number one partnered American Taylor Johnson at the World Team Tennis “Smash Hits” event in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, which raises money for the Elton John Aids Foundation. Sharapova lost her first match to Martina Navratilova and Liezel Huber. She then teamed up with John McEnroe to beat Navratilova and Andy Roddick.

SET FOR LONDON

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo are heading to their fourth Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. The Croatian/Brazilian duo are the fifth doubles team to qualify for the season-ending event, where they were runners-up in 2014. The pair won consecutive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.

SWEDISH DELIGHT

Talk about typecasting. Leo Borg will play his father in the movie “Borg/McEnroe,” which will chronicle the rivalry between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Borg’s son is one of three actors to play the International Tennis Hall of Famer in the film. Leo will pay his father as a child, while Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason will portray the tennis ace in his heyday and another first-time actor, Markus Mossberg, will play a slightly older version of Borg. Shia LaBeouf is playing McEnroe. “Leo Borg auditioned for the part and the fact that he already is playing tennis was pure fluke,” said Danish director Janus Metz. “He is also interested in filmmaking and is somewhat of a natural talent in front of the camera.”

STRIKE A MATCH

Tennis was really a hot sport in Casablanca. The tournament used fire to dry part of the clay court during the semifinals. “We had a long rain break and the side of the court was still holding a lot of water in the surface,” ATP Challenger Tour supervisor Carl Baldwin said. “To solve this, you pour gas on it and set it alight. This isn’t commonly done, but I have seen it before.” With the court dry, Frenchman Maxime Janvier completed his 6-4 6-3 win over Belgium’s Arthur De Greef. Janvier went on to win the tournament, stopping Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the final, 6-4 6-0.

SIGNALED FOR AWARD

Caroline Garcia has won the final Fed Cup Heart Award of 2016 for her performance in the World Group semifinals. She is the first French player to receive a Heart Award. The 22-year-old helped France edge Netherlands 3-2 in April’s World Group semifinal, defeating Arantxa Rus on day two before pairing with Kristina Mladenovic to win the doubles. Garcia will receive a check for USD $10,000, which will be donated to Sourire à la Vie, a charity dedicated to children with cancer.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Fairfield: Brian Baker and Mackenzie McDonald beat Sekou Bangoura and Eric Quigley 6-3 6-4

Hong Kong: Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan beat Naomi Broady and Heather Watson 6-3 6-1

Linz: Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke 4-6 6-2 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Monterrey: Evan King and Denis Kudla beat Jarryd Chaplin and Ben Mclachlan 6-7 (4) 6-4 10-2 (match tiebreak)

Shanghai: John Isner and Jack Sock beat Henri Kontinen and John Peers 6-4 6-4

Tashkent: Mikhail Elgin and Denis Istomin beat Andre Begemann and Leander Paes 6-4 6-2

Tianjin: Christina McHale and Peng Shuai beat Magda Linette and Xu Yifan 7-6 (8) 6-0

SURFING

Stockholm: www.stockholmopen.se/

Antwerp: www.teleticketservice.com/en/tickets/2016-2017/european-open

Moscow: www.kremlincup.ru/