Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Catherine Bellis beat Zhang Shuai 6-4 6-2 to win the Hawaii Open in Honolulu, Hawaii
DAVIS CUP
Final
Argentina beat Croatia 3-2 at Zagreb, Croatia
SAYING
“I was calm, I hoped all the time that I could win and I did it. I’m very happy to hand my team a chance of a victory.” – Juan Martin del Potro, after beating Marin Cilic to knot the Davis Cup final 2-2 and set the stage for Argentina’s first title in the international team competition.
“Maybe I’ll feel better tomorrow, but tonight it is awful.” – Ivo Karlovic, after losing the deciding fifth rubber as Argentina won the Davis Cup title by beating Croatia 3-2.
“It is very difficult to lose such an important match. I feel a lot of disappointment.” – Marin Cilic, after losing to Juan Martin del Potro in the first reverse singles, setting the stage for Argentina’s Davis Cup triumph over Croatia.
“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I’m continuing,’ and then in one week, I stop, or say, ‘No, I’m retired,’ and then after a week you see a video of me practicing. If it’s yes, then yes. If it’s no, then no.” – Roberta Vinci, saying she will play through the 2017 season.
“No more glasses, no more elegant shoes … I want to go back to my trainers. I need them. I love to feel alive, I love to play tennis and this is my present to you: I don’t know for how long, but my present to you in 2017 is for playing tennis and it is a present to myself too!” – Francesca Schiavone, announcing she will play the 2017 season.
SMASHING PERFORMANCE
Federico Delbonis gave Argentina its first Davis Cup title when he defeated big-serving Ivo Karlovic in straight sets. That gave Argentina a 3-2 comeback win over Croatia, set up with Juan Martin del Potro rallied to win the first reverse singles match to knot the best-of-5 tie at 2-2. It was the fifth time Argentina reached the Davis Cup final, but its first victory in the prestigious international team tennis competition. Marin Cilic was one set away from giving Croatia its first Davis Cup title since 2005 when del Potro rallied to win 6-7 (4) 2-6 7-5 6-4 6-3. “Delpo showed his huge heart after turning around the match that looked lost,” Argentina team captain Daniel Orsanic said. “Federico played a perfect match under huge pressure. I’m really proud to be part of this fantastic team.” With the title on the line, Delbonis defeated Karlovic 6-3 6-4 6-2. “This is fabulous,” Delbonis said. “We somewhat felt we could do it despite trailing after the doubles.” With the victory, Argentina became only the third team to rally from a 2-1 deficit in the final since the World Group Davis Cup format was introduced in 1981.
Karlovic was representing Croatia for the first time following a four-year absence. He also lost his opening singles match to del Potro.
Cilic and del Potro, both of whom have won the US Open – del Potro in 2009, Cilic in 2014 – battled from the baseline for nearly five hours. When Cilic broke del Potro in the fifth and seventh games of the second set, he appeared to be cruising to victory over the tired-looking Argentine. When del Potro won the third set, Cilic wasn’t worried. “After losing the third set I was still confident I could win as he looked tired,” Cilic said. “I started pushing a bit too hard, handing him a chance for a comeback.” And that’s exactly what del Potro did, breaking his opponent in the 10th game to level the match at two sets apiece. He dominated Cilic in the decisive fifth set to set the stage for Delbonis’ championship victory.
Cilic began the three-day competition by defeating Delbonis 6-3 7-5 3-6 1-6 6-2. Del Potro knotted the tie 1-1 when he beat Karlovic 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-5. Croatia then took the lead when Cilic teamed with Ivan Dodig to beat del Potro and Leonardo Mayer 7-6 (2) 7-6 (4) 6-3.
SURPRISE WINNER
Turning pro hasn’t hurt Catherine Bellis’ game at all. The 17-year-old American upset top-seeded Zhang Shuai to win the inaugural Hawaii Open, the biggest title of her young career. Bellis won two consecutive indoor International Tennis Federation (ITF) events, and she showed that same form as she won all five matches without dropping a set. “This is definitely the best support I’ve ever got at any tournament,” Bellis said. “I was a little nervous at first. Zhang’s done so well this year and had another great week. … This is the best day of my life.” A late wildcard entry into the tournament, Zhang is ranked 23rd in the world. The Chinese player broke Bellis to begin the match, but the young American ripped off four straight games. It took just over an hour for the youngest player ranked in the WTA’s Top 100 to come away with the title.
SEASON STARTER
Serena and Venus Williams will begin their 2017 WTA season together at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s the first time the sisters have played an International-level WTA tournament together since 1998. Others planning on starting their season in Auckland are two other former world number ones – Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic – along with defending champion Sloane Stephens and Lucie Safarova.
Top-ranked Angelique Kerber will kick off her season at the Brisbane International along with Dominika Cibulkova, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Carlo Suárez Navarro, Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina, Roberta Vinci, Samantha Stosur, Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, Zhang Shuai and Eugenie Bouchard.
The Zhenzhen Open in China will feature defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Johanna Konta and Timea Bacsinszky.
STICKING AROUND
Francesca Schiavone, who won the French Open in 2010, and 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinc1 say they will play the 2017 season. “I still feel like I have the desire an enthusiasm to try and do something in what is perhaps the thing I’m best at, playing tennis,” Vinci said. “Now don’t start asking me if this will be my last year!!! See you in Australia.” Vinci had said 2016 would be her final season, but she began changing her mind after she won the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, the biggest singles title of her career. She also became the oldest woman in WTA history make her Top 10 debut.
SWITCHING COACHES
David Goffin and Madison Keys are the latest players to make changes in their coaching team. Goffin, Belgium’s top player, said he will stop working with coaching consultant Thomas Johansson, who joined his team last February after the Australian Open. “I would like to thank him for the good work we have done together this year,” the 11th-ranked Goffin said. “It’s been a great experience.” Goffin will continue working with his regular coach, Thierry Van Cleemput.
Keys has stopped working with Thomas Hogstedt, who joined her team during the clay-court season. Although Keys admitted Hogstedt had “helped her game a lot,” there were reports that there was “too big a personality conflict off the court” between the two. The 21-year-old American finished the year ranked eighth in the world.
SERBIAN WEDDING
Serbian Viktor Troicki married model Aleksandra Djordjevic in an Orthodox wedding at the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky in Belgrade. At the ceremony the bride wore a dress created by Biljana Tipsarevic, the wife of tennis player Janko Tipsarevic. Among those attending the wedding were Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena. Djokovic, Troicki and Tipsarevic were members of Serbia’s victorious Davis Cup team in 2010.
SHORTENED SCHEDULE
Four teams will compete in three cities as the International Premier Tennis League (ITPL) has reduced its schedule this its third season. Roger Federer, who has not played since Wimbledon, is scheduled to take to the court for Indian Aces team. The league will hold matches in Hyderabad, India; Tokyo, Japan, and Singapore before playing the finals in Hyderabad. A team representing the United Arab Emirates will play only road games. Citing political unrest in the country, IPTL owner Mahesh Bhupathi said the Philippines will not participate in the league this season. Besides Federer, other top players scheduled to compete in the league are Serena Williams, Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych. Also participating will be Nick Kyrgios, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Jelena Jankovic, Martina Hingis, Sania Mirza, Daniel Nestor and Rohan Bopanna. Teams consists of six men’s and women’s players, along with a retired player as captain.
SET TO PLAY
Doubles specialist Michael Venus won the New Zealand Championships last year. Now he’s set to defend his title in a tournament that gives the singles and doubles winners wild card entries into the main draw of the ASB Classic. The New Zealand Championships will be held December 16-17. There also will be a women’s event with the singles champion receiving a wild card into the ASB Classic qualifying.
SEASON ENDING
The top players return to action on January 2, and so will this column. There are plenty of tournaments being played around the world through the end of December, including some of the top junior events. But there are no tournaments being played that match or exceed the USD $100,000 prize money floor this column reports on.
So enjoy the holiday. See you next year.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Honolulu: Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato beat Nicole Gibbs and Asia Muhammad 6-7 (3) 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Dubai: www.habtoortennis.com
TOURNAMENT WEEK OF DECEMBER 12
WOMEN
$100,000 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard
