Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Croatia beat France 3-1 in Lille, France, to win the Davis Cup title
SAYINGS
“This is the one of the best teams we’ve ever had. It’s like a dream team. After seven years on the bench (as captain) it’s an honor for me to be here.” – Zeljko Krajan, captain of the Davis Cup champion Croatia team.
“We lost to a better team. We did everything we could to be at this level with the Croatian team. We just went to their locker-room to congratulate them. I think they’re beautiful winners and they deserve it.” – Yannick Noah, captain of the French Davis Cup team.
“It’s not every day that you become a world champion. For us, it’s a dream come true for this nation. We are so passionate, you can see the fans. And I feel that in Croatia it’s going to be incredible. too.” – Marin Cilic, after clinching the Davis Cup title over France with his second singles victory.
“I am extremely sad today about the decisions of the ITF. After, it may be a good competition, but it will never be what it has been, the Davis Cup.” – Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a member of the French Davis Cup team.
“When people tell us it’s still going to be the Davis Cup, they are lying. I will tell them ‘You are liars.’” – Yannick Noah, who is against the Davis Cup changes that will debut next year.
“Tennis tends to be traditional, and for some people change is difficult.” – David Haggerty, ITF president, acknowledging those who don’t like the new Davis Cup changes.
SECOND TITLE FOR CROATIA
Marin Cilic’s second straight-set singles triumph gave Croatia its second Davis Cup title as the Balkan nation beat France 3-1. Neither Cilic nor the Croatian number two, Borna Coric, lost a set as the champions matched their 2005 Davis Cup victory over Slovakia. “My singles players not only didn’t lose a set, they didn’t lose serve in three matches, which is an unbelievable achievement and shows you the quality that we produced,” Croatia captain Zeljko Krajan said. France captain Yannick Noah, who is stepping down after his third stint in charge, said his team had been outplayed in their bid to successfully defend their international team trophy title. “The guys did the maximum,” Noah said. “Sometimes the bar is too high.” France’s only point in the three-day competition came in the doubles when Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert captured the doubles. That only delayed Croatia’s victory for one day, until Cilic crushed France’s Lucas Pouille 7-6 (3) 6-3 6-3. On the opening day, Coric easily beat Jeremy Chardy before Cilic stopped Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The competition, which has been held since 1900, will be radically changed next year, a fact not lost on Cilic. “It’s historic,” he said. “I have been part of this team since 2006. I have seen a few generations of players, I have seen a lot of tennis, a lot of wins, a lot of matches lost, too. It’s amazing to finish a chapter of this kind with the way we played and the atmosphere that was in the team.”
SWITCH IN FORMAT
The Davis Cup will be changed dramatically beginning next year, and the French players have been vocal in their opposition. Beginning in 2019, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has changed the best-of-five sets format to best-of-three sets. Plus, the team competition will be decided with a season-ending 18-team tournament at a neutral site. “I’m extremely sorry because of the ITF decision,” French doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert said. “It was the last true Davis Cup.” The ITF believes the new format will be more attractive to the top players, who often pass on competing for their countries because of a crowded tennis schedule. The French tennis federation supports the reform. Lucas Pouille, who lost the final match in France’s 3-1 loss to Croatia, said he would no longer play Davis Cup. “Last year I was crying of joy, this year I was crying because I was sad,” said Pouille, who was on France winning Davis Cup team in 2017. “I’m not going to change my mind about the new format. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to play in the Davis Cup any more. That was the last time.” French Davis Cup captain Yannick Noah, who will be replaced as captain next by Amelie Mauresmo, also is against the changes. “It will never be the same, it’s going to be something else,” said Noah, who guided France to three Davis Cup titles. “I really hope this is not going to be called the Davis Cup. Playing two sets is not the Davis Cup.”
On Saturday, David Haggerty, ITF president, said the Davis Cup changes were made to appeal to a greater television audience. “We know that in France and Croatia this final is being followed by many consumers,” Haggerty said. “In the rest of the world, it’s not being followed to the same degree. This is where we see it turning into a proper World Cup of tennis with fans all around the world watching their 18 teams in one location and seeing it broadcast or streamed.” The Spanish investment firm Kosmos is backing the change with USD $3 billion spread over 25 years. Javier Alonso, Kosmos chief executive, told the news agency Reuters: “We are in 2018 and if we look at 100 years ago tennis was something very different. Tennis has to evolve into a new era.”
SEES ONE TEAM EVENT
International Tennis Federation (ITF) president David Haggerty believes the revamped Davis Cup and the newly-announced rival ATP Cup will eventually form one team tennis competition. The new Davis Cup format, which was approved at the ITF conference last August, has come under fire from traditionalists. Plus, the ATP Cup, a 24-nation event will start in January 2020 in Australia. The ATP Cup will boast (USD) $15 million in prize money along with ranking points. World number one Novak Djokovic, who helped launch the ATP Cup, said there was a danger of “two average events” if the two were held close together. Right now, the two will be played approximately six weeks apart. The new format will see a qualifying round using the existing home-and-away format in February, then 12 nations will joint this year’s semifinalists and two wildcards in Madrid, Spain, for the new week-long World Cup-style event in November. Haggerty also said the Fed Cup, the women’s version of the Davis Cup, could get a similar makeover with as many as 12 nations competing in a “finals week” as early as April 2020. “Preliminarily, we are looking at a first-round home and away in February, but expanding the World Group to 16 teams with between eight to 12 in the finals, possibly in April,” Haggerty said.
SUIT SETTLED
According to court records, Venus Williams has settled a wrongful death suit connected to a fatal traffic accident she was involved in near her Florida residence in June 2017. The terms of the agreement between Williams and the estate of Jerome Barson, who was fatally injured in the crash, were not disclosed in the court documents. At first, Williams was found at fault for the accident, police saying the tennis star had failed to yield the right-of-way. Video surveillance of the accident showed that Williams had entered the intersection lawfully and a third car had forced her to stop in the intersection, where she was struck by the Barsons.
SPOT CLINCHED
A 16-year-old from Florida also has a spot in next year’s Australian Open. Whitney Osuigwe earned the wild-card berth from the United State Tennis Association (USTA) by posting the best record in recent low-level tournaments, including winning the USTA Pro Circuit event in Tyler, Texas, USA. Osuigwe won the USTA 18s national title last year, earning her a wild-card entry into the US Open where she lost her first-round match to Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-4 6-1.
Jack Sock earned the USTA wild card for men at the Australian Open, but he could gain direct entry because of his ranking, which currently is 106th in the world. The next two men in the USTA standings – 98th-ranked Reilly Opelka and 77th-ranked Bradley Klahn – are also expected to automatically qualify for next year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The USTA said that if all three qualify by their rankings, the men’s wild card could end up going to Tommy Paul, who is ranked 205th in the world.
SHARAPOVA SET
Former world number one Maria Sharapova, who has not competed since losing in the US Open fourth round in September, is set to play in the Shenzhen Open, which begins December 30 in Shenzhen, China. The Russian skipped Being and Tianjin, as well as her hometown tournament in Moscow, to recover from several physical issues. She played in Shenzhen last year, where she lost to Katerina Siniakova. Others scheduled to play the Shenzhen Open include Siniakova, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Aryna Sabalenka, Caroline Garcia and Zarina Diyas.
STARRING IN AUCKLAND
Karl Budge, tournament director of the WTA event in Auckland, New Zealand, announced Venus Williams will play his tournament in January. “It’s great to have Venus back,” Budge said. “She has been a special part of this tournament for a number of years and we missed her this year. She is still at the top of the game and how good would it be if she could capture career title number 50 here in Auckland.”
STOPPING – AGAIN
Patty Schnyder is retiring from tennis – for the second time. The native of Basel, Switzerland, confirmed on her Twitter account that she is stepping aside again. She previously retired in 2011, but returned to the tour four years later. Currently ranked 282nd in the world, Schnyder won 11 singles titles and five doubles titles in her 20-year career. Her best Grand Slam tournament result came at the 2004 Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals. At the US Open, Schnyder lost her first-round match against another veteran, Maria Sharapova. “She still has incredible hands, moves incredibly well for being out of the game for so long, still very competitive,” Sharapova said of Schnyder. “I was just saying it too me, like, 15 years to dropshot Patty Schnyder and win a point. Doesn’t happen that often against Patty.”
SEES WEDDING BELLS?
BT Planet reports that defending Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki and former NBA star David Lee will get married next summer. When asked by the Danish media at the US Open in September, Wozniacki refused to answer. Wozniacki and Lee got engaged while on vacation.
SHE’S A MOTHER
Elena Vesnina has given birth to a daughter, Elizabeth Tabuntsova. “When you took your first breath, you took ours away,” Vesnina wrote. “It’s the happiest day of our lives.” In September, Vesnina revealed she was pregnant. She has not said whether she plans on returning to the women’s tour or not. Several players, including Serena Williams and Mandy Minella, have returned to playing after giving birth. “I hope people remember me for being a good athlete, but also as a human being,” Vesnina wrote. “It’s important to me that I’m remembered this way on the court, off the court, in the locker room. Many girls will understand this when they get more mature. As they get closer to the end of their career, they’ll realize it more.”
STATUS NOTED
World number one Simona Halep has received an honorary doctorate degree from West University, Timisoara, in her homeland of Romania. Halep said she was “proud and honored” to receive the degree of doctor honoris causa, who was given in recognition of her achievements in tennis as well a representative and unofficial ambassador of her country. Halep won her first Grand Slam tournament in 2018, the French Open, and finished the year ranked number one in the world for the second straight year. In voting, she was named WTA Player of the Year.
SURRENDERED
Justin Gimelstob was arrested after allegedly attacking a former friend on Halloween night. According to the Los Angeles Times, Gimelstob attack Randall Kaplan as he was walking on a Los Angeles street with his wife and daughter. Kaplan was “visibly bruised and scratched” after being struck by Gimelstob a reported 50 times. The former player, who now coaches the sport, is a television commentator and ATP board member, won the mixed doubles title in 1998 at both the Australian and French Opens. The Times newspaper said Gimelstob surrendered to police and paid a (USD) $50,000 bond. In 2016, Gimelstob was accused of assaulting his former wife, Cary, who filed a “domestic violence restraining order” against him. On Twitter, former world number one Lleyton Hewitt suggest the ATP should remove Gimelstob from the board. A spokesman for the ATP said, “We are aware of the situation regarding Justin Gimelstob and understand that this is an ongoing police matter. It would therefore not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.” A spokesman for Tennis Channel said Gimelstob asked the cable network “for a leave of absence while he works through this issue.”
SHARED PERFORMANCES
An Italian player has been banned for life while his doubles partner has received a 10-year ban for match fixing. The Tennis Integrity Unit said it has banned Daniele Bracciali for life and fined him (USD) $250,000, matching the heaviest penalty ever handed down by the TIU. Potito Starace was banned from playing for 10 years and fined (USD) $100,000. The two players, who reached the 2012 French Open doubles semifinals, were originally fined nearly (USD) $41,000 and handed a 4.5-month ban for making bets in 2005. In 2015, law-enforcement officials in the Italian city of Cremona bought further charges based on intercepted phone and internet conversations. Bracciali, who returned to the court this year and won an ATP title in Kitzbühel, Austria, in August, supposedly offered to lose sets for money. Starace was alleged to have accepted illicit payments for losing to Pablo Andujar in Casablanca. Both Bracciali and Starace were banned for life by the Italian Tennis Federation in 2015, only to have the bans rescinded on appeal two months later. Starace was ranked 27th in the world shortly before he was originally banned in 2007. Bracciali’s best ranking was 49th in the world in singles in 2006.
SO LONG
Just because this part of the year is listed as the off-season for tennis, don’t believe it. The men are playing for money in two American cities – Orlando, Florida, and Waco, Texas – as well as Antalya, Turkey; Antofagasta, Chile; Monastir, Tunisia; Prague, Czech Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and Stellenbosch, Germany. The women are almost as active. There even is a (USD) $15,000 men’s event scheduled to begin on Christmas Day. But like the top players, the editor of this column is taking time off. See you when.
SURFING
Doha: http://www.qatartennis.org/tournaments/qatar-exxonmobil-open-2019/
Pune: www.maharashtraopen.com
Brisbane: https://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/
Auckland: https://www.asbclassic.co.nz/
TOURNAMENTS WEEK of DECEMBER 30
MEN
$1,386,665 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Doha, Qatar, hard
$482,085 Tata Open Maharashtra, Pune, India, hard
$461,330 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard
WOMEN
$1,000,000 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard
$750,000 Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen, Chin, hard
$250,000 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand, hard
