Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Madison Keys beat Caroline Wozniacki 7-6 (5) 6-3 to win the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Garbiñe Muguruza beat Victoria Azarenka 6-1 3-1 retired to win the Abierto GNP Seguros women’s singles in Monterrey, Mexico
Alexander Bublik beat Emilio Gomez 6-3 6-2 to win the Abierto GNP Seguros men’s singles in Monterrey, Mexico
DAVIS CUP
Group II, First Round
Americas: Peru beat El Salvador 3-2 at Santa Tecia, El Salvador
Asia/Oceania: Thailand beat Philippines 3-1 at Nonthaburi, Thailand
Europe/Africa: Romania beat Zimbabwe 4-1 at Piatra Neamt, Romania; Lithuania beat Morocco 3-2 at Marrakech, Morocco
SAYINGS
“More than anything I really trusted my game and went for my shots.” – Madison Keys, after winning the Volvo Car Open.
“It’s all those feelings I missed so much: the adrenaline, the nerves, the excitement, everything. You can’t recreate that outside of the arena.” – Shelby Rogers, playing in her first tournament since undergoing knee surgery in March 2018.
“I’m on the right track, but there are a lot of young players playing well. The ultimate dream is to win a Grand Slam and be number one.” – Felix Auger-Aliassime, after being complemented by Roger Federer.
“When you get an award for the career you spent your whole life in, it’s such a big honor. It’s especially nice because I’ll be getting the award in Paris. It’s a place that is special and I always loved playing there.” – Gabriela Sabatini, after being named the 2019 Philippe Chatrier Award recipient.
STRONG PERFORMANCE
Trusting in her own game, Madison Keys wrapped up a winning week by overpowering Caroline Wozniacki and winning a WTA title for the first time in nearly two years. “I just knew the games I was losing in the first set I was just being too tentative and not really trusting my shot,” said the 24-year-old American. “I just knew I had to go for it. I think that’s how I have to play … 100 percent believing in my game.” It was Keys’ first clay court title and her fourth career crown. The triumph also completed an excellent week in which Keys defeated three Grand Slam tournament champions – Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens and Wozniacki. In a match that had just three breaks of serve, Keys fired 45 winners to 38 unforced errors. Wozniacki had just seven winner and 15 unforced errors. “I think I served really well today, and I definitely think I kept a lot of pressure on (Wozniacki),” Keys said. “I think I returned well. So that a combination of still going for my shots and trying to be aggressive and really make her play her best tennis, I think, was the difference.” Keys broke her Danish opponent to go up 4-2 in the second set, and when she held for a 5-2 lead, she was just one game away from the title.
SPANISH GOLD
Garbiñe Muguruza had a commanding 6-1 3-1 lead in Monterrey, Mexico, when Victoria Azarenka retired with a leg injury, giving the Spaniard her second straight Abierto GNP Seguros title. While Muguruza had a lopsided score, Azarenka made her work for every point and every game. In both the fourth and sixth games of the match, Muguruza saved three break points before holding. The Spaniard converted four of 10 break points while hitting 16 winners to 11 unforced errors. Azarenka was unable to convert any of her six break points, while committing 22 unforced errors against 13 winners. The Belarusian received treatment on her leg during a medical timeout between sets. Her movement was significantly hampered in the second set, but was able to save break points to hold for 1-1 in the second set. Two games later, Azarenka retired. It was Azarenka’s first final since she won the Miami Open in 2016. It was the first time Muguruza had defending a WTA singles title as she gathered her seventh career title.
SICK CALL
An injured foot has caused top-seeded John Isner to withdraw from this week’s US Men’s Clay Court Championship. “It is very disappointing to not compete there this year,” said Isner, who was hurt in the final of the Miami Open where he lost to Roger Federer. “I am hopeful that I will be back on the court in a few weeks.” With Isner on the sidelines, Steve Johnson becomes the top seed in the tournament. Johnson is attempting to become the first player to win the tournament three consecutive times since Bobby Riggs did it from 1936-38.
SHE’S A WINNER
Now that Naomi Osaka has the spoils – the US Open and Australian Open titles – she is reaping the rewards. The world’s top-ranked player has signed a deal with Nike and will first wear Nike gear at the Stuttgart Grand Prix later this month. The first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam tournament, Osaka said: “Nike has a legendary track record of writing history and I look forward to being a part of those moments for many years to come.” Osaka also has deals with Japanese airline All Nippon Airways, car manufacturer Nissan and watch company Citizen.
STRAIGHT IN
Teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada has received a wildcard entry into the Madrid Masters. That came as a result of the 18-year-old reaching the Miami Open semifinals where he lost to John Isner. Because of his play in Miami, Auger-Aliassime rose 24 places to a career-high ranking of 33rd in the world and is the youngest player in the world’s top 50. “I have great memories from my junior career at the Caja Magica, where I hope to produce some magic again,” the young Canadian said. The Madrid Masters starts on May 5.
SPECIAL HONOR
Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini has been awarded the International Tennis Federation’s highest honor, the Philippe Chatrier Award. The 1990 US Open winner, Sabatini was ranked as high as third in the world and was in the top 10 for almost 10 years. She also won the Wimbledon doubles in 1988, the same year she won the silver medal at the Seoul Olympics. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006, Sabatini retired in 1996 at the age of 26 with 27 singles titles and 14 doubles titles. She has spent the last two decades promoting tennis with UNICEF, UNESCO and at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games last summer. The Philippe Chatrier Award is given to individuals and organizations that gave tribute to tennis on and off the court. “The ITF Board of Directors are delighted to award the ITF’s highest accolade to Gabriela, a great champion and inspirational role model who has given so much to the sport through her contributions to many organizations for the benefit of young people and aspiring tennis players around the world,” ITF President David Haggerty said. She will receive the award at the ITF’s annual dinner in Paris on June 4.
SO HAPPY SHE CRIED
She cried because it was such a special moment. “I don’t remember the last time I cried after winning a first set,” Shelby Rogers said after beating Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina 6-4 6-2 in the first round of the Volvo Car Open. “It’s kind of embarrassing, to be honest. It was a great moment. I enjoyed every second of it – even when I got broken. That’s part of it.” What made it so special was that it was Rogers’ first match since knee surgery in March 2018. And it came in her home city of Charleston, South Carolina, USA. It made no difference to Rogers that she lost in the second round to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
STADIUM NAME
St. Jakobshalle arena in Roger Federer’s hometown of Basel, Switzerland, will be renamed Roger Federer Arena. The only question is when. The arena is the site of the Swiss Indoors, a tournament Federer has won nine times. Basel city counselor Martina Bernasconi has launched a petition to change the name, saying Federer’s importance to his countrymen should be all that really matters. “He is the most popular ambassador of Switzerland,” she said. “Because he speaks the Basel dialect, people have a high identification with him. He was born in Basel and lived 16 years in this town, visited the school and his first tennis club was Old Boys Basel. He married (his wife Mirka) here and his parents live in Basel. All over the world, he is well known, so he is really popular, not only as a sportsman.” Bernasconi, however, concedes there are problems. The first is that Switzerland only honors someone after they have died. Then there’s that Federer gets paid for the use of his name. Asked if he was against the petition, Federer said: “No, I would be glad if it happened. But I also understand if it does not work. That’s what other people should decide, not me. That’s why I have not commented yet.
SWITCH
The men’s final at the Tokyo Olympics next year will be a best-of-tree tiebreak sets instead of best-of-five. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said the change will bring the men’s gold medal match into line with other Olympic singles matches, which are all played as best-of-three sets. The ITF said the men’s and women’s doubles matches would feature a match tiebreak to 10 points when tied at one-set all, as is the case in mixed doubles. “These amendments reduce concerns of overplay for players who reach the latter stages of all three events – singles, doubles and mixed doubles,” the ITF said in a statement.
SENTENCED
Roger Federer owns his own initials again. The Swiss star will reclaim his famous “RF” logo from Nike after the company stopped selling merchandise featuring the mark, according to Tennis Now. When Federer switched from Nike to Japanese label Uniqlo last year, he was unable to immediately use the “RF” logo since Nike had registered its trademark and owned the rights to it. According to the report, now that Nike has stopped selling “RF” branded merchandise, Federer will regain control of his initials and logo.
SON FOR VERDASCO
Fernando Verdasco and his wife Ana Boyer are the parents of a boy. They named their first child Miguel in honor of Boyer’s father, who died in 2014. In order to stay in Madrid with his wife awaiting the birth, Verdasco missed both Indian Wells and the Miami Open. The pair married in 2017. She is the daughter of Filipino socialite and television host Isabel Preysler.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Charleston: Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Alicja Rosolska beat Irina Khromacheva and Veronika Kudermetova 7-5 6-2
Monterrey (men): Evan King and Nathan Pasha beat Santiago Gonzalez and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 7-5 6-2
Monterrey (women): Asia Muhammad and Maria Sanchez beat Monique Adamczak and Jessica Moore 7-6 (2) 6-4
SURFING
Lugano: https://samsungopen.ch/
Houston: https://www.mensclaycourt.com/
Marrakech: https://www.frmt.ma/
Taipei: https://www.sportsv.net/tennis/santaizi
Lugano: https://samsungopen.ch/
Fed Cup: https://www.fedcup.com/
Monte Carlo: http://montecarlotennismasters.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
MEN
$662,173 Grand Prix Hassan II, Marrakech, Morocco, clay
$652,245 Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship, Houston, Texas, USA, clay
$162,480 Taiwan Santaizi Challenger, Taipei, Taiwan, hard
WOMEN
$250,000 Claro Open Colsanitas, Bogota, Colombia, clay
$250,000 Samsung Open presented by Corner, Lugano, Switzerland, clay
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$6,261,660 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Monte Carlo, clay
$162,480 Kunming Open, Anning, China, clay
$108,320 Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open, Sarasota, Florida, USA, clay
FED CUP
World Group Semifinals
France vs. Romania at Rouen, France, clay
Australia vs. Belarus at Brisbane, Australia, hard
World Group Playoffs
Czech Republic vs. Canada at Prostejov, Czech Republic, clay; United States vs. Switzerland at San Antonio, Texas, USA, hard; Latvia vs. Germany at Riga, Latvia, hard; Belgium vs. Spain at Kortrijk, Belgium, hard
World Group II Playoffs
Russia vs. Italy at Moscow, Russia, clay; Japan vs. Netherlands at Osaka, Japan, hard; Great Britain vs. Kazakhstan at London, Great Britain, hard; Slovakia vs. Brazil at Bratislava, Slovakia, clay
