Novak Djokovic Perfect in China; Juan Martin del Potro Hurt - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Borna Coric 6-3 6-4 to win the Rolex Shanghai Masters in Shanghai, China

Caroline Garcia beat Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (7) 6-3 to win the Tianjin Open in Tianjin, China

Dayana Yastremska beat Wang Qiang 6-2 6-1 to win the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open in Hong, Kong, China

Camila Giorgi beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-1 to win the Upper Austria Ladies Linz in Linz, Austria

Christian Garin beat Federico Delbonis 6-4 5-7 6-4 to win the Santo Domingo Open in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Bjorn Fratangelo beat Alex Bolt 6-4 6-3 to win the North Bay Heathcare Men’s Pro Championships in Fairfield, California, USA

SAYINGS

“Maybe I was Chinese in the past life. I wouldn’t be surprised, to be honest, with the way I feel here and the way I communicate and have relationship with the people.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning his record fourth Shanghai Masters to raise his record in finals in China to 11-0.

“The last game, I don’t even remember. It was the most tough game during all the tournament, because in your mind you’re visualizing the way you’re winning, you have this picture in your mind that you want.” – Dayana Yastremska, who won in Hong Kong.

“The score looks easy, but it wasn’t easy.” – Camila Giorgi, after dropping just four games in winning the Linz title.

“It’s one of the best matches I have ever played. … I think I served the best in my life, for sure. I was going for the angles. I was going for the body. Everything was going in.” – Borna Coric, after upsetting Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 in the semifinals at Shanghai.

SUPER IN CHINA

Novak Djokovic is a winner all around the world. But in China he’s perfect. The Serb won his fourth Shanghai Masters in his fourth trip to the final in China’s largest city. In his career he has reached six finals in Beijing and the 2008 year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. Djokovic has won them all – an 11-0 record in finals played in China. “It’s all very, very positive, for more than ten years that I have been coming to China,” Djokovic said after posting his latest title with a straight-set win over Borna Coric. “There is something special about this place that makes me feel like at home.” The winner also moved up in the rankings to number two in the world, swapping places with Roger Federer. Snapping the record of three Shanghai Masters titles he shared with Andy Murray, Djokovic sailed through the week without dropping his serve. “I’m not sure whether it has happened ever, you know, that I go through a tournament without dropping one service game,” he said. “I’m sure that it hasn’t happened too many times if it did.” It was the fourth title of the year for Djokovic and extended his winning streak to 18 matches, the longest of the season by a male player. Federer and Rafael Nadal both won 17-straight matches this year. “It was really tough,” said Coric, who upset Federer in the semifinals. “I didn’t know what to do exactly. I thought I thought I was playing actually really well.”

SEVERE KNEE INJURY

Once again Juan Martin del Potro’s season may have been ended by an injury. The Argentine is expected to miss the rest of the year after fracturing his right knee at the Shanghai Masters. “It’s a very difficult moment,” the 30-year-old said. “I feel very sad.” Doctors confirmed that del Potro had fractured the patella bone in his right knee. “It’s a hard blow which leaves me without any strength,” del Potro said. “It’s very difficult for me to think about recovery again. I did not expect this to happen.” He hurt his knee when he lost his footing and fell awkwardly his third-round match against Borna Coric. Del Potro won the US Open in 2009 at the age of 20. Then followed a series of wrist injuries that required four surgeries. By the end of 2015, his ranking had dropped to 581 in the world. On the verge of quitting after missing 10 Grand Slam tournament, del Potro reached a career-high ranking of third in the world in August and reached the US Open final last month, losing to Novak Djokovic.

SINO WINNER

Caroline Garcia of France also plays some of her best tennis in China. Garcia rallied to defeat top-seeded Karolina Pliskova and capture the Tianjin Open. Garcia trailed 5-1 in the first-set tiebreak before Pliskova made a series of backhand errors. “I was a little bit more aggressive than her, and I think that’s what made the difference in the first set,” Garcia said. The French woman broke Pliskova twice in the second set, then served an ace on her first match point to grab her first WTA title since winning in Wuhan and Beijing last year. “I’ve won three titles in China, so it’s bringing me luck,” Garcia said. “China is doing a lot for women’s tennis.”

SHINES IN HONG KONG

Dayana Yastremska, an 18-year-old from Ukraine, won her first WTA title by easily stopping sixth-seeded Wang Qiang, China’s top-ranked player. “Yesterday I felt very confident that I could win the title, but in the morning I woke up and I felt a bit too nervous,” Yastremska said. “I trusted myself that I can win, but I didn’t really get deep into those thoughts because I knew that when I go on court I would forget about everything and just play point by point.” It worked exactly that way as Yastremska hit 33 winners against just 21 unforced errors. She became the sixth teenager to reach a WTA final this year and the second to win a title, following in the footsteps of Olga Danilovic. “The last game, I don’t even remember,” Yastremska said. “It was the most tough game during all the tournament, because in your mind you’re visualizing the way you’re winning, you have this picture in your mind that you want. But at the same time you have to stay right now, right here, playing this point, trying to be without any thoughts which can break your mind and your focus for the match point. That was the most difficult for me.”

SECOND TITLE

Italy’s Camila Giorgi won her second career title when she beat Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova in Linz, Austria. Giorgi ripped off seven straight games to break away from a 3-3 tie in the first set and take a 4-0 lead in the second. It was Giorgi’s first title since capturing the Ricoh Open in 2015. It was her first WTA final appearance in more than two years. “I think it’s very important for the future, of course, this title,” the Italian said. “I’m very happy.”

SQUALID CONDITIONS

Despite torrential rain from Hurricane Michael and oppressive heat and humidity, late matches and scheduling chaos, Christian Garin of Chile won the Santo Domingo Open, defeating Argentine Federico Delbonis. “You have to be fresh mentally, because the weather is heavy here and nothing has come easy,” Delbonis said. “The courts and the balls have been a little slower than usual. … You have to be fresh in your head and in the tough moments stay clear with your thoughts.” On Tuesday, heavy rain, thunder and lightning caused a seven-hour delay of 11 first-round matches at the Challenger tournament. Play finally began at 7 p.m. and the last match finished at 3:24 a.m. Tuesday. Rain continues, however, and play was completely washed out on Wednesday. A total of 21 matches – 12 singles and nine doubles – were contested on Thursday, play beginning at 10 a.m. and finishing at midnight. The top-seeded doubles team of Leander Paes and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela had a 15-minute break between their two matches. “We’ve had heat and humidity, a lot of rain and long days,” Delbonis said. “And then on Thursday I had two tough matches. But even with the tough conditions, I was able to finish quickly. That was important. And I had time to rest and recover before my semifinal. Every match is different, so I had to focus all my energy.”

SERB IS LEADER

Novak Djokovic of Serbia has been re-elected ATP Player’s Council president. He first was elected to lead the group in 2016. Kevin Anderson of South Africa was re-elected vice president.

SINGAPORE-BOUND

Miami Open champion Sloane Stephens will make her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The 25-year-old American was the sixth singles player to qualify for the elite season-ending tournament. Sloane, the 2017 US Open winner, joins the eight-player field that includes top-ranked Simona Halep, Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber, US Open champion Naomi Osaka, Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki and Madrid champion Petra Kvitova. The final two spots will go to either Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova or Kiki Bertens. Two alternates will be selected from a group that includes Aryna Sabalenka, Elise Mertens, Anastasia Sevastova and Daria Kasatkina.

“SUPER-INSPIRING”

Roger Federer said old rival Rafael Nadal was “super-inspiring” after the world’s top-ranked player joined in the clean-up operation following flash floods that killed 12 people on the Spanish island of Majorca. The 32-year-old Nadal was pictured wearing boots and white gloves while mopping up the floor of a warehouse on the island where he lives. Nadal, a 17-time Grand Slam tournament champion, also offered to open up his sports center and tennis academy to house people made homeless by the flooding. “I know how important Majorca is to Rafa and I have been in touch with him to see if I can help with anything,” Federer said in a video message. “I have seen him helping in the village where he comes from, and to see that is super-inspiring. Rafa, you have our support.”

SACKS COACH

Britain’s Johanna Konta has switched coaches for the third time in as many years. As soon as she sacked Michael Joyce as her coach, he signed with Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard. Konta started the year ranked ninth in the world, but has slipped to 45^th.

SISTERS DOING IT

The Kansas Class 6A high school tennis championships were somewhat of a family affair. Blue Valley North High School senior Chloe Kuckelman upset her twin sister Ellie to win the girl’s single title 6-4 6-4. It was the second straight year the sisters played for the title. Last year, Ellie won 6-4 6-4. The Kukelmans entered the 2018 state tournament ranked number one and number two. Since Chloe was seeded number two, her win is technically considered an upset. It was only the second loss of the season for Ellie Kukelmans. Together, the sisters lost only five games in eight combined matches leading up to the final. Both sisters have verbally committed to attend the University of Nebraska.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Fairfield: Sanchai Ratiwatana and Christopher Rungkat beat Harri Heliovaara and Henri Laaksonen 6-0 7-6 (9)

Hong Kong: Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai beat Shuko Aoyama and Lidziya Marozava 6-4 6-4

Linz: Kirsten Flipkens and Johanna Larsson beat Raquel Atawo and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 4-6 6-4 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Santo Domingo: Leander Paes and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela beat Ariel Behar and Roberto Quiroz 4-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Shanghai: Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo beat Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-4 6-2

Tianjin: Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke beat Monique Adamczak and Jessica Moore 6-4 6-2

SURFING

Moscow: https://kremlincup.ru/tickets/scheme/

Antwerp: http://europeanopenatp250.com/

Stockholm: http://www.stockholmopen.se/

Luxembourg: http://www.bglbnpparibas-open.lu/