Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Rafael Nadal beat David Goffin 7-4 7-6 (5) to win the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
SAYING
“I’m very happy to return to competition again. These three days have been good for me. These three days, playing at this level, are going to stand me in good stead for the rest of the season.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for the fourth time.
“He put a lot of pressure on me.” – David Goffin, after losing to Rafael Nadal in the title match at Abu Dhabi.
“All I can say is that I have lived my dreams and really hope to have helped others do so as well.” – Ana Ivanovic, announcing she is retiring from the tennis tour.
“It was a random criminal act.” – Karel Tejkal, Petra Kvitova’s spokesman, on how the player suffered a left hand injury during a burglary in her home.
“Starting 2017 on a new note, retiring from pro tennis.” – Somdev Devvarman, announcing on his Twitter page.
SPANISH STAR SHINING
Rafael Nadal is back in winning form. The 30-year-old Spaniard returned to the tennis wars by capturing the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. In the title match, the left-hander stopped Belgium’s David Goffin 6-4 7-6 (5), wrapping up his injury-plagued 2016 on the year’s final day. It was the fourth time Nadal has won the Abu Dhabi tournament. Nadal, who missed most of last year after injuring his left wrist, beat Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic on his way to the final. “You can feel how strong he is when he is in front of you,” Goffin said of Nadal. “Mentally he is very impressive and he looks really strong to start the new season.”
SHOCKER
At the age of 29, Ana Ivanovic has called it quits. The former world number one and 2008 French Open champion has retired from the sport. “There is no other way to say this. I have decided to retire from professional tennis,” the Serbian star announced on her Facebook page. “It was a difficult decision, but there is so much to celebrate. Don’t be said, be optimistic alongside me. My love and my greatest hank you to all of you.” In July, Ivanovic married Bastian Schweinsteiger, a professional soccer player, in Venice, Italy. Since then she has not won a match and lost her last four matches. “I can only play if I perform up to my own high standards,” Ivanovic said. “I can no longer do that, so it’s time to move on.”
SLASHED
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova’s career could be in jeopardy after her left hand was slashed by a knife-wielding attacker in her home. Doctors spent almost four hours repairing tendons and nerves in the hand of 26-year-old left-hander. While she is expected to be sidelined for at least three months, her spokesman, Karel Tejkal, said “the surgery went well” considering the damage. Tejkal said the incident occurred during a burglary in her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov. Kvitova had withdrawn from the Czech Republic team playing this week at the Hopman Cup because of a foot injury. “The injury is serious, but the surgeon says Petra is young and healthy and there’s no reason why she can’t resume tennis,” Tejkal said. However, she will have to wear a cast on her hand for six to eight weeks and will be unable to bear weight on it for three months, meaning she will miss this month’s Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2017.
SERENA ENGAGED
Serena Williams and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian are engaged. Last week’s announcement was made on the popular social networking and news aggregation website Reddit, which Ohanian co-founded in 2005. The pair first met at a luncheon in Rome following the Italian Open in 2015. Ohanian reportedly proposed while the two were at the same restaurant and same table where they first met. Reddit boasts to be the seventh largest website in the United States.
SOMDEV’S SARONARA
Somdev Devvarman is calling it quits. India’s top singles player announced he is through with the sport at the age of 31. Devvarman’s career was hampered by a recurring shoulder injury in 2012. Although he has played since then, he has recently been missing in action without any specified reason. Devvarman reached the finals of two ATP World Tour events, in 2009 Chennai Open as a wild card and the 2011 South Africa Open. He won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and his 44-1 win-loss record in 2008 at the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships while he was at the University of Virginia is still unmatched. In 2011, he was conferred the Arjuna award, India’s second highest sporting honor.
SPANISH HELP
Rafael Nadal turned to a friend to complete his coaching staff. The left-hander added Carlos Moya to his team. “To have someone like Carlos who is not only a friend but also a very important person in my career is something special,” said Nadal, who at age 30 is 10 years younger than Moya. Moya had coached Milos Raonic until November.
STYLISH
GQ magazine has named Roger Federer as 2016’s most stylish man. The 35-year-old Swiss star beat out Thor actor Tom Hiddleston in the final after besting, in order, One Direction singer Zayn Malik, actor Ryan Gosling, actor Steven Yeun, rapper Kanye West and actor Jared Leto. Federer won more than 60 percent of the vote.
SIR ANDY
Andy Murray began 2017 be being knighted. “I still feel like Andy Murray – that feels more normal – but I am happy with the knighthood and it is a nice way to start the new year,” the Scottish star said. Besides winning his second Wimbledon and his second Olympic singles gold medal in 2016, Murray overtook Novak Djokovic to become ranked number one in the world. The 29-year-old won 24 consecutive matches, including titles in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna and Paris before beating Djokovic in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals in London to clinch the year-end number one spot.
SAMOAN STAR
A 16-year-old Samoan has already grabbed a spot in the main draw of the women’s singles at the Australian Open later this month. And this week she has been showing off her powerful baseline game in qualifying at the Brisbane International. Destanee Aiava lost just eight games in her three qualifying matches in Brisbane to join fellow Australians Samantha Stosur and Ashleigh Barty in the main draw of the year’s first tournament. Aiava locked up her Australian Open spot by winning the Australian national under-18 girls title. Her father Mark is a powerlifter and coaches mixed martial arts. But it was mother, Rosie, a former rugby player and kickboxer, who taught Destanee how to play tennis. That all came about as a result of watching Serena Williams win the 2005 Australian Open when Destanee was 5 years old. “I was like, ‘I want to become number one in the world,’” Destanee said. “It was just her (Williams’) vibe. Like, I couldn’t feel it from the other side of the TV, but it was just her energy, and that kind of drew me to the sport.”
SURFING
Doha: www.qatartennis.org/tournaments/index/106/qatar-exxonmobil-open-2017.html
Chennai: www.aircelchennaiopen.org/2017/
Brisbane: www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/
Shenzhen: www.shenzhenopentennis.com/2017/chs/
Auckland: www.asbclassic.co.nz/
Sydney: www.apiainternational.com.au/
Hobart: www.hobartinternational.com.au/
Perth: http://hopmancup.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
MEN
$1,237,190 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Doha, Qatar, hard
$447,480 Aircel Chennai Open, Chennai, India, hard
$437,380 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard
WOMEN
$890,100 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard
$626,750 Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen, China, hard
$226,750 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand, hard
OTHER
Mastercard Hopman Cup, Perth, Australia, hard
R
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$450,110 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand, hard
$437,380 Apia International, Sydney, Australia, hard
WOMEN
$710,900 Apia International, Sydney, Australia, hard
$226,750 Hobart International, Hobart, Australia, hard
