Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Juan Martin del Potro beat Roger Federer 6-4 6-7 (8) 7-6 (2) to win the BNP Paribas Open men’s singles at Indian Wells, California, USA
Naomi Osaka beat Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Open women’s singles at Indian Wells, California, USA
Mikhail Kukushkin beat Matteo Burrettini 6-2 3-6 6-1 to win the Irving Tennis Classic in Irving, Texas, USA
SAYING
“I cannot believe I won this tournament, beating Roger in a great final and this level of tennis. We played great tennis today.” – Juan Martin del Potro, after beating Roger Federer to win in Indian Wells, California, USA.
“It was disappointing. Juan Martin was a bit better at the end. It was maybe a point here or there, maybe a shot, maybe a forehand, maybe a chip.” – Roger Federer, after losing the BNP Paribas Open final to Juan Martin del Potro.
“This is probably going to be like the worst acceptance speech of all-time.” – Naomi Osaka, after winning her first tournament title, then forgetting sponsors and supporters she wanted to thank.
“I beat very good players, and in the right moments I was doing the right decisions, so it means I’m growing as a player. This is the most important thing for me.” – Daria Kasatkina, after losing to Naomi Osaka in the Indian Wells final.
“It’s good that I don’t have to say that this is the best tennis I have ever played and I lost. My room for improvement is incredible.” – Serena Williams, after losing to her sister Venus in the third round of her first tournament back since having a baby and getting married.
“She was better. She was more prepared and she was ready to play and ready to win the match. I was not.” – Simona Halep, after losing her semifinal match to Naomi Osaka.
“The sport gave me cherished friendships, an ability to travel the world, and opportunities to create incredible memories. It also taught me a lot about what it means to face challenges, battle back, and overcome them.” – Tommy Haas, announcing his retirement as a player.
STUNNING WIN
In a brilliant display of power tennis, Juan Martin del Potro survived three match points before overcoming top-ranked Roger Federer in a three-set battle. “I’m still shaking,” the Argentine said after handing Federer his first match defeat of 2018. “It’s difficult to describe with words. It’s like a dream.” It was a nightmare for Federer, who survived a match point in the second set, then had three match points of his own in the third set. “It should sting,” Federer said, acknowledging that it will take longer to get over this loss than normal. “The question is how long? It is disappointing talking about a great match like this and losing.” The win extended del Potro’s winning streak to 11 matches as he captured his second title of the season, the first coming at Acapulco earlier this month. His first Indian Wells title kept Federer from winning his fifth at Indian Wells, including last year. “I just want to keep winning titles like this if I can,” del Potro. The Argentine won the first five points of the third-set tiebreaker, then closed it out when Federer smacked a forehand long. “I always play good against him,” said del Potro, who beat Federer to win the US Open in 2009. “I won a couple of finals and lost a couple of finals. In the end I was lucky to win. We played great tennis today.”
SEIZES FIRST TITLE
Japan’s Naomi Osaka completed a monster tournament by winning her first WTA title. At the age of 20, Osaka is the youngest champion at Indian Wells since Ana Ivanovic captured the crown in 2008. She finished with a flourish, winning nine of the final 11 games to dominate Daria Kasatkina of Russia in the championship match. Osaka dropped just one set in the tournament as she posted wins over Maria Sharapova, fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova and top-ranked Simona Halep on her way to the final. “I was extremely stressed and extremely nervous, but my plan was to fake that I’m very calm,” Osaka said after the victory. “I just knew that she was going to fight for every point, too, so I couldn’t afford to lose points based on nerves, and I had to keep making the right decisions.” Kasatkina broke in the opening game, but Osaka broke right back. A backhand winner, her 14th of the match compared with just three for Kasatkina, gave Osaka the first set. She then raced to a 5-1 lead in the second on her way to winning her first title at any level of tennis.
SISTERS BATTLE
In her first tournament since giving birth to a daughter and getting married, Serena Williams found her path blocked by older sister Venus Williams in the third round. In the 29th career meeting between the two, Venus finished the victory on her second match point when Serena sailed a forehand long. It was the first meeting between the sisters since the final of the 2017 Australian Open, Serena’s last event before this year’s Indian Wells tournament. It is rare for the Williams sister to meet so early in a tournament, and this was the earliest they have faced each other since their first encounter at the Australian Open in 1998. “It wasn’t very easy, obviously,” Serena said. “It was good to play and try to get in the rhythm and get into the swing again. I can’ really replicate the situation no matter how much I do in practice. … It’s just the nerves, the anticipation you feel naturally. It’s a little bit of everything that comes in a match that just doesn’t normally happen.”
SICK BAY
Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the Miami Open with a left forearm injury. The five-time Grand Slam tournament winner and former world number one has failed to rediscover the winning touch since she returned to the women’s tour following a 15-month ban for taking the banned drug meldonium. “I am really sorry that I have to withdraw from one of my favorite tournaments with my left forearm injury,” Sharapova said in a statement. “I am doing everything possible to return to the tour as soon as possible.”
Austria’s Dominic Thiem also withdrew from the Miami Open, citing an ankle injury. Ranked sixth in the world, the 24-year-old Austrian retired from his third-round match at Indian Wells because of the injury. “Unfortunately, I have to pull out from Miami,” Thiem said. “Hopefully I will be 100 percent again on the clay in Europe.”
SAYONARA
Tommy Haas, once ranked as high as number two in the world, will only have one job from now on. The tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, the 39-year-old Haas announced he was ending a playing career that spanned more than two decades. “I consider myself extremely fortunate that I was able to play profession tennis for a living for more than two decades, Haas said. The German won 15 titles on the ATP Tour, the last two coming in 2013. He reached a career-high ranking of second in the world in 2002. He was an Australian Open semifinalist three times and reached the final four at Wimbledon in 2009. Haas also won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. But injuries interrupted his career several times and he underwent a total of nine surgeries. In both 2004 and 2012, he was named ATP Comeback Player of the Year. His last ATP Tour victory was at Stuttgart, Germany, last year when he beat Roger Federer.
SON FOR ANA
Former world number one Ana Ivanovic has given birth to a son. “Welcome to the world our little boy,” Ivanovic wrote in posts on Twitter and Instagram. “Words can not describe the joy and the happiness we feel in our hearts.” It’s the first child for Ivanovic and her husband, international soccer star Bastian Schweinsteiger. Ivanovic retired from tennis in December 2016. She was ranked number one in the world for 12 weeks in 2008, winning the French Open that year.
SIGNS EXTENSION
French bank BNP Paribas extended its title sponsorship of the Indian Wells tournament through 2023. The company also announced it will increase its commitment to tennis and education in the Coachella Valley by increasing its number of annual scholarship recipients from two to three. BNP Paribas is also the official sponsor of the French Open, title sponsor of Davis Cup and Fed Cup, and sponsor of three ATP Masters 100 tournaments (BNP Paribas Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, and the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters).
SAD NEWS
Ken Flach, who teamed with Robert Seguso to win the Wimbledon doubles in 1987 and 1988 as well as the Seoul Olympics in 1988, has died at the age of 54. According to the ATP, Flach became ill with bronchitis after playing 36 holes of golf. It progressed to pneumonia and then sepsis. Flach also won two US Opens, with Seguso in 1985 and with Rick Leach in 1993, and he partnered Kathy Jordan to mixed doubles titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 1986. In 1985, Flach was ranked number one in the world in doubles.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Indian Wells (men): John Isner and Jack Sock beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 7-6 (4) 7-6 (2)
Indian Wells (women): Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-
Irving: Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya beat Radu Albot and Matthew Edben 6-2 6-4
SURFING
Miami: www.miamiopen.com/
Gosier: www.open-guadeloupe.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
MEN
$7,913,465 Miami Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)
WOMEN
$7,037,535 Miami Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$7,913,465 Miami Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (second week)
$106,000 Open Region Guadeloupe, Le Gosier, Guadeloupe, hard
WOMEN
$7,037,535 Miami Open, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (second week)
