Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Pablo Andujar beat Kyle Edmund 6-2 6-2 to win the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Morocco
Steve Johnson beat Tennys Sandgren 7-6 (2) 2-6 6-4 to win the Fayes Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston, Texas, USA
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova beat Lara Arruabarrena 6-2 6-4 to win the Claro Open Colsanita in Bogota, Colombia
Elise Mertens beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 6-2 to win the Samsung Open presented by Corner in Lugano, Switzerland
Yuki Bhambri beat Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-3 6-4 to win the Santaizi Challenger in Taipei, Taiwan
Juan Ignacio Londero beat Roberto Quiroz 6-1 6-3 to win the CDMX Open in Mexico City, Mexico
SAYING
“I always believed that I could come back, otherwise I wouldn’t have tried.” – Pablo Andujar, after winning his 10th straight match and second consecutive tournament title.
“It’s a great week and I’m super excited to get to a final, and I’m happy the match was highly contested. It definitely could have been a lot easier for him.” – Tennys Sandgren, after falling to Steve Johnson in the US Men’s Clay Court Championship final.
“Both titles came as a surprise for me, but you come to a tournament and you try to win it. I had a couple of tough matches, especially the second third and fourth matches, it could go either way, but I’m happy that I pulled through.” – Elise Mertens, who won the singles and doubles in Lugano, Switzerland.
“Ten thousand aces is an incredible achievement. It is bittersweet to hit it in a loss tonight, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.” – John Isner, who became the fourth player in history to hit 10,000 aces.
“He has a little bit different serve than me, he stays back more after it so he’s able to hit his forehands. But it’s a pretty similar bounce, pretty similar angles. It’s also a really good serve.” – Ivo Karlovic, talking about John Isner’s serve.
“I love everything about tennis. I love everything it has given me, but I also can’t wait for the best of me away from the tennis court. I’m really excited about the next stage of my life.” – Casey Dellacqua, announcing her retirement from tennis.
STAR-SPANGLED STREAK
It was an all-American tournament for Steve Johnson. The 28-year-old successfully defended his Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship by defeating Tennys Sandgren in three sets, his fifth straight win over a fellow American. Before taking on Sandgren, Johnson beat Ernesto Escobedo, Frances Tiafoe, John Isner and Taylor Fritz on his way to his third ATP World Tour title. “It means a lot (to win) here,” Johnson said. “This is one of the best tournaments of the year.” Johnson is the first American to win the US Men’s Clay Courts back-to-back since Andy Roddick did it in 2001-02. The win was particularly emotional for Johnson, who father, Steve Johnson Sr., died 11 months ago. Johnson’s title in Houston a year ago was the last match his father saw him play. When he won the title on Sandgren’s long service return, Johnson walked to the net and buried his head in Sandgren’s shoulder. Playing in his fourth ATP World Tour final, Johnson rallied from 40-15 to break Sandgren and take a 5-4 lead. Serving for the match, he staved off a break point with a forehand winner, then clinched the title on his first match point. Johnson will marry Kendall Bateman on Saturday. He remembered his telephone conversation with his father after winning in Houston a year ago. “He was just so excited,” Johnson said of his father. “He’s somebody that I’d still like to call today. He’d tell me he was proud of me and be ready for the wedding next weekend.”
SPANISH CONQUEROR
Pablo Andujar seems to play his best tennis on the clay courts in Marrakech. The Spaniard won the Grand Prix Hassan II for a record third time, easily beating Kyle Edmund in straight sets. The victory made the 32-year-old Andujar the lowest-ranked ATP World Tour champion in 20 years. Entering the tournament ranked 355th in the world, Andujar has won three of his four ATP World Tour titles in Morocco. “I played very well during the whole match,” Andujar said. “Trying to make him move as much as I could. He attacks a lot and is a very strong player. I was very solid today, and I’m very happy about that.” The 26th-ranked Edmund struggled and lost his serve six times. Following three elbow surgeries, Andujar dropped to as low as 1,824th in the world in February. Now he is on a 10-match winning streak, becoming the first man since Ryan Harrison last year to win ATP Challenger Tour and ATP World Tour titles in consecutive weeks. Edmund was playing in his first ATP World Tour final. “For me it was a good tournament,” he said. “It was great experience for me. It’s been a good year so far, it’s not the result I wanted, but nevertheless a good week for me.”
SEIZES BOTH TITLES
Despite a week of rain, the Samsung Open finished on time and Belgium’s Elise Mertens took all the trophies. She won her second singles title of the year – and her first clay court crown – with a straight set victory over Belarusian teenager Aryna Sabalenka. Then she concluded the rainy week by teaming with fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens to stop Sabalenka and Vera Lapko for the doubles title. “At the beginning of the week it didn’t look that good,” Mertens said. “After the first round it started raining again and it was interrupted when we played our second match on Thursday. But I think the tournament managed well to put all the matches on court and I’m glad that we could finish on Sunday.” Her most difficult day came on Saturday, when she had to win consecutive back-to-back three-set matches to gain a spot in the final. “(Sabalenka is) very powerful and also has a great serve, so I tried to keep my balls deep and as aggressive as I could,” Mertens said. “I kept her moving and tried to play my game, always trying to keep one more ball in the court.” Mertens used her quickness and defensive skills to keep her young opponent at bay. She finished with just nine winners but committed only seven unforced errors and broke the 19-year-old Sabalenka four times.
SUES WTA AND ITF
American Madison Brengle has filed a lawsuit against the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) seeking damages for injuries she says were caused by the repeated drawing of blood for anti-doping tests. The 28-year-old player said she had told officials that she suffered from a rare medical condition that reacts to needle injections. “Tennis authorities ignored evidence of her professionally diagnosed condition and refused to provide alternative testing or a medical accommodation, instead subjecting Brengle to testing that caused her to withdraw from tournaments and has not resulted in permanent swelling and weakness in her serving arm and hand,” Peter Ginsberg, Brengle’s lawyer, said in a statement. Ranked 83rd in the world, Brengle had never failed or missed a doping test in her 10 years as a professional, according to the statement. The lawsuit said the exact amount Brengle would seek from a jury had not yet been determined but would likely be in excess of USD $10 million. The lawsuit comes less than two months afte3r Eugenie Bouchard of Canada reached a settlement in her lawsuit with the US Tennis Association (USTA) over a fall at the 2015 US Open that resulted in a concussion and her withdrawal from the tournament.
SETS HIGH MARK
John Isner is in rare company. The American slammed his 10-thousand ace of his career, only the fourth person to reach that mark. Ivo Karlovic leads the ace parade with 12,622, followed by Roger Federer with 10,463 and Goran Ivanisevic with 10,131. Isner finished the night with a career total of 10,009 aces, but lost the match. “I’m joining a pretty small club,” Isner said. “It’s very cool. It shows how fortunate I’ve been to be able to stay on the court for this long.” Only Ivanisevic is no longer playing.
STOPPED BY INJURY
Kristina Mladenovic of France was losing her first-round match at the Samsung Open when she was forced to retire because of a back injury. The tournament top seeded player, Mladenovic was trailing a German qualifier, Tamara Korpatsch, 7-6 (5) 3-2 when she withdrew.
SAYONARA
Australian Casey Dellacqua says she wants to spend more time with her family. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now,” the 33-year-old said when announcing her retirement from the tennis tour. “I definitely feel it’s the right time for me to hang up the racquets. It’s time for me to be a mum and it’s time for me to spend time with my family – particularly while my kids are young.” Dellacqua has two children, a son Blake and a daughter Andie, with her partner Amanda. “If there’s one thing I’m going to miss, it’s playing tennis for Australia. It was always a highlight of my career and it’s something I will always cherish.” She said a big reason in her decision was the traveling. “The long trips through Europe, the US, Asia. I felt that doing it for 15 years on tour had caught up with me. Especially now with two kids. A big part of me just didn’t want to be out there traveling and playing any more, and that was a sign that it was time to spend more time with my family. I always said I was never going to keep going if I didn’t want to or have the passion. This wasn’t about being injured or not loving the sport. It’s a matter of family.”
SHE’S AN AMBASSADOR
Tennis Australia has named Ashleigh Barty as National Indigenous Tennis Ambassador. It’s a move by the sport’s governing body in Australia to get more Indigenous youth to play tennis. “I’m a very proud Indigenous woman and I think that for me taking on this role is something very close to my heart,” Barty said. “I’m very excited.” It is estimated that the Indigenous Tennis Program will introduce the sport to more than 1,000 remote children throughout the Northern Territories each year.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Bogota: Dalila Jakupovic and Irina Khromacheva beat Mariana Duque-Mariño and Nadia Podoroska 6-3 6-4
Houston: Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald beat Andre Begemann and Antonio Sancic 6-7 (2) 6-4 11-9 (match tiebreak)
Lugano: Kirsten Flipkens and Elise Mertens beat Vera Lapko and Aryna Sabalenka 6-1 6-3
Marrakech: Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya beat Benoit Paire and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)
Mexico City: Yannick Hanfmann and Kevin Krawietz beat Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara 6-2 7-6 (3)
Taipei: Matthew Ebden and Andrew Whittington beat Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Saketh Myneni 6-4 5-7 1-6 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Monte Carlo: https://store.montecarlotennismasters.com
Sarasota: www.sarasotaopen.com
Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com
Barcelona: https://www.barcelonaopenbancsabadell.com/en/
Istanbul: http://istopen.net/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
MEN
5,238,735 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Monte Carlo, Monaco, clay
$100,000 2018 Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open, Sarasota, Florida, USA, clay
WOMEN
$125,000 Zhengzhou Women’s Tennis Open, Zhengzhou, China, hard
FED CUP
World Group
Semifinals
Germany vs. Czech Republic at Stuttgart, Germany, clay
France vs. United States at Aix-en-Provence, France, clay
Playoffs
Belarus vs. Slovakia at Minsk, Belarus, hard
Romania vs. Switzerland at Cluj-Napoca, Romania, clay
Australia vs. Netherlands at Wollongong, Australia, hard
Italy vs. Belgium at Italy, clay
WORLD GROUP II, Playoff
Russia vs. Latvia at Khanty-Manslysk, Russia, clay; Spain vs. Paraguay at Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, clay; Canada vs. Ukraine at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, hard; Japan vs. Great Britain at Miki, Japan, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
2,794,220 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain, clay
$150,000 Kunming Open, Anning, China, clay
WOMEN
$816,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany, clay
$250,000 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup, Istanbul, Turkey, clay
