Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Australian Open
Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-3
Women’s Singles: Naomi Osaka beat Petra Kvitova 7-6 (2) 5-7 6-4
Men’s Doubles: Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut beat Henri Kontinen and John Peers 6-4 7-6 (1)
Women’s Doubles: Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai beat Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 6-3 6-4
Mixed Doubles: Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram beat Astra Sharma and John-Patrick Smith 7-6 (3) 6-1
Junior Boys’ Singles: Lorenzo Musetti beat Emilio Nava 4-6 6-2 7-6 (12)
Junior Girls’ Singles: Clara Tauson beat Leylah Annie Fernandez 6-4 6-3
Junior Boys’ Doubles: Jonas Forejtek and Dalibor Svrcina beat Emilio Nava and Cannon Kingsley 7-6 (5) 6-4
Junior Girls’ Doubles: Natsumi Kawaguichi and Adrienn Nagy beat Chloe Beck and Emma Navarro 6-4 6-4
Men’s Wheelchair Singles: Gustavo Fernandez beat Stefan Olsson 7-5 6-3
Women’s Wheelchair Singles: Diede De Groot beat Yui Kamiji 6-0 6-2
Men’s Wheelchair Doubles: Joachim Gerard and Stefan Olsson beat Stephane Houdet and Ben Weekes 6-3 6-2
Women’s Wheelchair Doubles: Diede De Groot and Aniek Van Koot beat Marjolein Buis and Sabine Ellerbrock 5-7 7-6 (4) 10-8 (match tiebreak)
Quad Wheelchair Singles: Dylan Alcott beat David Wagner 6-4 7-6 (2)
Quad Wheelchair Doubles: Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson beat Andy Lapthorne and David Wagner 6-3 6-7 (6) 12-10 (match tiebreak)
OTHER
Taylor Fritz beat Brayden Schnur 7-6 (7) 6-4 to win the Oracle Challenger Series men’s singles in Newport Beach, California, USA
Bianca Andreescu beat Jessica Pegular 0-6 6-4 6-2 to win the Oracle Challenger Series women’s singles in Newport Beach, California, USA
SAYINGS
“When I contemplate the journey I have had the last 12 months, the surgery exactly 12 months ago, to be standing here managing to win this title and three of the four majors is amazing. I’m speechless.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning his record seventh Australian Open and third straight Grand Slam tournament victory.
“Of course, he played, I think, fantastic. At the same time it’s true that when he’s playing that way, I think I needed something else. I was not able to have that extra thing tonight, being honest.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic.
“I mean, for me, I feel like it hasn’t really sunk in. Maybe in the next tournament I play, if I see the number one next to my name, I’ll feel something. But for now, I’m more happy that I won this trophy.” – Naomi Osaka, who’s Australian Open victory boosted her ranking to number one in the world.
“Amazing achievement. Definitely she is a great one. We’ll see what the future will bring.” – Petra Kvitova, on her conqueror, Naomi Osaka.
“Congratulations on winning the Australian Open, Naomi Osaka. I am very proud of the emergence of a new queen.” – Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, on Twitter.
“The strategy was to be aggressive, try to be the one who’s leading the point. But when he’s playing that far from the baseline, 10 centimeters from the baseline, all the time, it’s tough to do it.” – Lucas Pouille, after losing his semifinal to Novak Djokovic 6-0 6-2 6-2.
“It felt like a different dimension of tennis completely. He gives you no rhythm. He plays just a different game style than the rest of the players. He has this, I don’t know, talent that no other player has. I’ve never seen a player have this. He makes you play bad.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas, after losing his semifinal to Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-4 6-0.
“I felt like I had been hit by the train. Everything was so fast.” – Simona Halep, on how she felt losing the first set in 20 minutes to Serena Williams.
SEVENTH CROWN
In a surprisingly easy victory, Novak Djokovic crushed Rafael Nadal to win a record seventh Australian Open title and his third straight Grand Slam tournament crown. It ranks right at the top,” Djokovic said of his domination of his Spanish opponent. “Under the circumstances, playing against Nadal, such an important match, it’s amazing.” His win moved him past Federer and Australian great Roy Emerson’s six Aussie Open titles. Djokovic broke Nadal five times while conceding only a single break point. And the Serb committed only four unforced errors in the first two sets. Nadal was unable to win a point off Djokovic’s serve until the ninth game, when the Serb was serving for the first set. “It has been very emotional two weeks,” said Nadal, who didn’t lose a set until the final. “Even if tonight was not my best, I had somebody that played much better.”
SECOND STRAIGHT
There was a big hiccup before Naomi Osaka won her second straight Grand Slam tournament title. With Petra Kvitova serving, Osaka had three championship points at 5-3, 0-40. Then everything went Kvitova’s way. Everything. Osaka lost 23 of the next 27 points – five straight games – before she regained her powerful game and beat her Czech opponent in three sets. “I felt like I didn’t want to have any regrets,” the Japanese right-hander said. “I think if I didn’t regroup after the second set then I would have looked back on this match and probably cried or something.” Osaka broke Kvitova to level the third set at 1-all. Then, she served for title at 5-4. This time, she wound up with her second straight major title, the first woman to win consecutive Grand Slam tournaments since Serena Williams won four straight in 2014-15. Kvitova played in her first Grand Slam final since winning Wimbledon in 2014, and the first since she was stabbed in the hand by an intruder in her Czech Republic home a little more than two years ago.
With the victory, Osaka became the first player from Japan, man or woman, to be ranked number one in the world.
STRONG TEAM
Playing together proved to be a huge success for American Rajeev Ram and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic. Ram and Krejcikova beat Australian wildcards John-Patrick Smith and Astra Sharma to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title. Krejcikova, who is ranked number one in the world in doubles, earned her third Grand Slam tournament title. She teamed with compatriot Katerina Siniakova to capture the women’s doubles at both the French Open and Wimbledon in 2018. It was Ram’s first major crown, having lost the 2016 US Open mixed doubles final. The only other time Ram and Krejcikova were partners was at the Australian Open two years ago.
SHOW PROOF
Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut completed a career Grand Slam when they won their first Australian Open men’s doubles, besting Henri Kontinen of Finland and Australian John Peers in the final. Herbert and Mahut added the Melbourne Park title to their US Open, Wimbledon and French Open titles. “We knew when we won Roland Garros that it was the one missing, so for sure it added maybe a special motivation when entering this tournament,” Herbert said. “I think we wanted it, but we also wanted to be good on court in each match and we focused on the game, and that’s why maybe today we could achieve what we achieved here at the Australian Open.” The Frenchmen became the first time to complete a career Grand Slam since brothers Bob and Mike Bryan did it at Wimbledon in 2006.
SUCCESSFUL PAIRING
Samantha Stosur and China’s Zhang Shuai teamed up for their first Grand Slam doubles title, defeating defending champions Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in the final. Stosur is the first Australian to win the Australian Open women’s doubles since Alicia Molik teamed with Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in 2005. Stosur won the 2005 US Open and the 2006 French Open with Lisa Raymond. It was Zhang’s first major title.
STARRING JUNIORS
Cara Tauson of Denmark continued her victorious streak by capturing the Junior Girls title, defeating Leylah Annie Fernandez in straight sets in the final. The 16-year-old Tauson, third in the world in the International Tennis Federation junior rankings, has won her fifth title in her last seven tournaments.
Top-seeded Lorenzo Musetti took the boys’ title, edging American Emilio Nava in two hours, seven minutes. Musetti saved a match point at 11-12 before winning the third-set tiebreak 14-12 to become the first Italian winner in Melbourne. He won just three more points than Nava in the match.
SKIPPING FED CUP
Australian Open finalist Petra Kvitova will not play for the Czech Republic in it’s first-round Fed Cup tie against Romania. “She defends her titles in St. Petersburg the week before that and in Doha the week after,” Kvitova’s manager, Miroslav Cernosek, announced. “Neither I nor captain Petr Pala expect her to take part.” Cernosek said he expects Kvitova will play Fed Cup later in the year.
SIGNED UP
Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka and Juan Martin del Potro will defend their BNP Paribas Open titles in Indian Wells, California, USA, in March. They led the top 75 ranked men’s and women’s players to sign up for the hard-court tournament. Del Potro missed the Australian Open while recovering from a knee injury. Other former champions in the March 4-17 event include Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka.
SCORCHING HEAT
A heat wave that affected play at the Australian Open was just what American Danielle Collins wanted. But it was not to be. With her semifinal match against Petra Kvitova knotted at 4-all after 35 minutes, play was halted because of the heat and, following the tournament’s rules, the retractable roof on Rod Laver Arena was closed. With the roof closed, play was resumed and Kvitova won 7-6 (2) 6-0. “They need to start the match the way it’s going to finish, I think,” a disappointed Collins said, “I think they do that in football, and I think it certainly changed a little bit of the rhythm in the match.” Under the closed roof, Kvitova’s level of play rose substantially. “Honestly, I like playing in the heat,” said Collins, who won two NCAA titles while a student at the University of Virginia. “Don’t get me wrong. It certainly has its challenges. I grew up in Florida and am used to it being really hot all the time. So, I kind of embrace that very well. Indoor tennis is a different game.” Collins had an 0-5 record in Grand Slam play until this Australian Open, where she upset second-seeded Angelique Kerber, 14th-seeded Julia Goerges and 19th-seeded Carolina Garcia.
SIDELINED
Vasek Pospisil has undergone successful back surgery and will be sidelined for the next three months. A former Wimbledon doubles champion, the 28-year-old Canadian underwent the operation in New York City. “By removing the abnormal disk material that was pressing on a nerve root, combined with proper post-operative rehabilitation, he is expected to make a full recovery,” spinal physician Frank Cammisa said.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Newport Beach (Men): Robert Galloway and Nathaniel Lammons beat Romain Arneodo and Andrei Vasilevski 7-5 7-6 (1)
Newport Beach (Women): Hayley Carter and Ena Shibahara beat Taylor Townsend and Yanina Wickmayer 6-3 7-6 (1)
SURFING
St. Petersburg: http://lt.formulatx.com/en/
Hua Hin: http://www.thailandopenhuahin.com/
Davis Cup: https://www.daviscup.com/en/
Cordoba: https://portal.autoentrada.com/
Montpellier: https://www.opensuddefrance.com/fr/home
Sofia: https://www.eventim.bg/bg/bileti/sofia-open-2019-sports-hall-arena-armeec-507868/event.html
Dallas: http://www.tennischampionshipsofdallas.com/
Fed Cup: https://www.fedcup.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
WOMEN
$823,000 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, St. Petersburg, Russia, hard
$250,000 Toyota Thailand Open presented by E@, Hua Hin, Thailand, hard
DAVIS CUP
Qualifiers
First Round
Brazil vs. Belgium at Uberlândia, Brazil, clay
Germany vs. Hungary at Frankfurt, Germany, hard
Colombia vs. Sweden at Bogotá, Colombia, clay
Uzbekistan vs. Serbia at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, hard
Switzerland vs. Russia at Biel, Switzerland, hard
Austria vs. Chile at Salzburg, Austria, clay
Australia vs. Bosnia/Herzegovina at Adelaide, Australia, hard
Kazakhstan vs. Portugal at Astana, Kazakhstan, hard
Slovakia vs. Canada at Bratislava, Slovakia, clay
India vs. Italy at Kolkata, India, grass
Czech Republic vs. Netherlands at Ostrava, Czech Republic, hard
China vs. Japan at Guangzhou, China, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$589,680 Cordoba Open, Cordoba, Argentina, clay
540,310 Open Sud de France, Montpellier, France, had
540,310 Sofia Open, Sofia, Bulgaria, hard
$135,400 The RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA, hard
FED CUP
First Round
World Group
Czech Republic vs. Romania at Ostrava, Czech Republic, hard
Belgium vs. France at Liège, Belgium, hard
Germany vs. Belarus at Braunschweig, Germany, hard
USA vs. Australia at Asheville, North Carolina, USA, hard
World Group II
Switzerland vs. Italy at Biel, Switzerland, hard
Latvia vs. Slovakia at Riga, Latvia, hard
Japan vs. Spain at Kita-kyushu, Japan, hard
Netherlands vs. Canada at ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, clay
Group I
(Round Robin)
Americas Zone at Medellin, Colombia, clay: Group A: Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador; Group B: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, Chile
Asia/Oceania Zone at Astana, Kazakhstan, hard: Group A: Kazakhstan, India, Thailand; Group B: China, South Korea, Indonesia, Pacific Oceania
Europe/Africa Zone at Zielona Góra, Poland, hard: Zone A, Group A: Russia, Poland, Denmark; Group B: Ukraine, Estonia, Bulgaria, Sweden
Europe/Africa Zone at Bath, Great Britain, hard: Zone B, Group A: Great Britain, Hungary, Greece, Slovenia; Group B: Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Georgia, Croatia, Turkey
