Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Belinda Bencic beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-1 to win the VTP Kremlin Cup women’s singles in Moscow, Russia
Andrey Rublev beat Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-0 to win the VTB Kremlin Cup men’s singles in Moscow, Russia
Denis Shapovalov beat Filip Krajinovic 6-4 6-4 to win the Intrum Stockholm Open in Stockholm, Sweden
Andy Murray beats Stan Wawrinka 3-6 6-4 6-4 to win the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium
Jelena Ostapenko beat Julia Goerges 6-4 6-1 to win the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open in Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Yasutaka Uchiyama beat Steven Diez 6-1 6-3 to win the Yinzhou International Men’s Tennis Challenger in Ningo, China
Peng Shuai beat Zhu Lin 6-2 3-6 6-2 to win the ITF W100 Shuzhou in Shuzhou, China
SAYING
“I just want to try and be competitive. I want to feel like when I’m on the court I’m not getting smashed, that I’m making it difficult for them and competing as best I could.” – Andy Murray, after winning the European Open title.
“He’s an amazing champion, he’s part of the Big Four, he’s one of the top players to ever play this sport. He’s won everything possible on the tennis court. He’s a big champion, always a fighter. He’s coming back already from hip surgery. (To play) at that level, it’s something amazing.” – Stan Wawrinka, who lost to Andy Murray.
“It makes it even more special that I booked my ticket at the last possible minute. This match had so much pressure and I was so nervous. Now I’m over the moon to win today and achieve this dream.” – Belinda Bencic, who won the Kremlin Cup after clinching the final spot in the season-ending WTA Finals Shenzhen.
“I am definitely super happy and just really proud.” – Denis Shapovalov, who won the Stockholm Open for his first ATP Tour title.
“Dealing with different emotions is what I will miss the most. Those butterflies in your stomach before and after the match, there’s nothing like it.” – Janko Tipsarevic, in a video highlighting his career which was played following his last match in Stockholm, Sweden.
“The Belgians were really loud, actually. We had a great atmosphere. It really helps for the doubles when you have Stan Wawrinka against Andy Murray in the final coming up after our match. It was pretty packed and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. It was unbelievable, and we played one of our best matches this year.” – Andres Mies, who teamed with Kevin Krawietz to win the European Open doubles.
“Obviously the Big Three, they’re still playing really well. But I think sooner or later we’re going to dethrone them. So, we’ve just got to stay patient.” – Denis Shapovalov.
“All the eight players deserve to be there because it shows we had the most consistent seasons. This was also a big goal after all my injuries to have a really consistent goal and to reach Shenzhen is a huge bonus and a reward for an amazing season.” – Belinda Bencic, after becoming the last players to qualify for the elite eight-player, season-ending Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen.
“(Marion Bartoli is) supporting me so much and bring so many positive things, and just trying to keep me as positive as possible. Sometimes I can go negative if things don’t go my way, but these two weeks she’s been helping me so much and I’m glad to have her by my side.” – Jelena Ostapenko, who has posted a 9-1 win-loss record, including the Luxembourg Open title, while being coached the last two weeks by the former Wimbledon champion.
“We are going to have a third baby, which makes it three kids under the age of four. While I’ve been off tennis for the last couple of years, my family has got bigger. So maybe I need to get back on the road.” – Andy Murray.
SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY
When Andy Murray won the European Open, he cried. “I wasn’t thinking, ‘I am going to win tournaments’ or ‘I am going to beat guys like Stan (Wawrinka) and (world number 13 Matteo) Berrettini (whom he overcame in Beijing three weeks ago).’ So, this has come as a surprise to me and my team.” And what a surprise. It has been less than seven months since Murray returned to a tennis court after having his right hip replaced. Less than two months ago, Murray was beaten by Matteo Viola, who was ranked 240th in the world at the time. As Joe Salisbury, a British doubles specialist, said Sunday, “Everyone thought he was gonna be retired at the start of the year.” This time, though, Murray beat Wawrinka for his 46th career ATP title. And it wasn’t easy. Wawrinka, who has won three Grand Slam tournament titles, the same as Murray, took the opening set and was five points away from a straight-set win. In the sixth game of the second set, Wawrinka’s level dipped and Murray pulled even to send it into the decisive set. Wawrinka was up a break twice in the third set, but Murray immediately broke back both times. And when Murray slammed a forehand well-off target on the first match point, it was the former top-ranked Murray who cried tears of joy. Murray will take a break until the Davis Cup finals next month while he waits for the birth of his third child.
SPARKLING SWISS
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic celebrated after her semifinal victory because for the first time she had clinched a spot in the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen. Yet she still showed off her power game in the Kremlin Cup final where, after dropping the first set, Bencic lost just two more games to batter Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and post her fourth career title. “I had no pressure going into this match,” Bencic said. “We were so happy yesterday, celebrating (Shenzhen) and this is the cherry on the top.” The Swiss star got into the tournament with a wildcard, then beat three former Top 20 players to win in the crown in Pavlyuchenkova, Kristina Mladenovic and Kirsten Flipkens, as well as Polona Hercog. “I was actually prepared to play qualifiers. It was so good to be handed a wildcard, because if I didn’t, I would have played three matches in qualies,” Bencic said. Pavlyuchenkova started strongly, striking nearly half of her 24 winners for the match in the first nine games. Then it was Bencic’s turn. She broke Pavlyuchenkova in the first game of the second set and later won nine straight games. At Shenzhen, the 22-year-old Swiss star will join Ashleigh Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina in the USD $14 million event.
SECOND CROWN
Andrey Rublev celebrated his 22nd birthday in style. The Russian made the Kremlin Cup his second career title, clobbering Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. “I grew up with this tournament. I spent my whole childhood at the Kremlin Cup. I will remember this tournament and this win for many years, and I’ll hopefully be playing this tournament for many years down the road,” Rublev said. He had never won a match at his hometown tournament before this week. Against Mannarino, Rublev was able to keep play to extended baseline rallies where he could then pick the perfect time for a winner. The Russian broke his opponent in the opening game and eventually took the opening set. Trying to get back in the contest, Mannarino made a number of unforced errors and Rublev closed out the victory in 63 minutes. It was the second straight year Mannarino has lost the Kremlin Cup final to a Russian. Last year’s champion was Karen Khachanov.
SNARES FIRST TITLE
At the age of 20, Denis Shapovalov of Canada has been considered a star of the future. The future arrived for Shapovalov at the Intrum Stockholm Open when the left-hander won his maiden title by stopping Filip Krajinovic in straight sets. “This tournament started the year my mom was born, so it has got a great history and it is amazing to be the first Canadian to win it,” Shapovalov said. “I have seen all the amazing names up on the board, so it will be nice to see my name up there as well.” The champion fired 16 aces and lost just two points on his first serve while saving the only breakpoint he faced in the 84-minute contest. “I told myself as long as I keep taking care of my serve, I will be OK,” Shapovalov said. “I had a lot of deuce games on his serve and I wasn’t able to convert. I just kept fighting and stayed patient. Sooner or later I was able to get the break.”
SHE’S BACK
After a two-year hiatus, Jelena Ostapenko is back in the winner’s circle. The Latvian claimed her third career WTA singles title when she defeated defending champion Julia Goerges in the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open final. “Of course, it’s great to finish the season with winning a title, especially in the last tournament,” said Ostapenka, who won Roland Garros in 2017. “I enjoyed this week so much, and I think I played really well today. I just like to finish the year this way.” Ostapenka hadn’t won a title since Seoul, Korea, in September 2017. But this wasn’t a one-shot deal. She reached t4he final the week before Luxembourg. “Especially after making the final last week, I was much more confident in coming to this tournament,” the winner said. Ostapenko has been working with former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli during the last two weeks as she compiled a 9-1 win-loss record.
SAYS I DO
Rafael Nadal has now joined the other members of the Big Four. He’s married. The Spanish star married his partner of 14 years, 31-year-old Xisca Perello, at a castle in Mallorca. Juan Carlos I, the king of Spain from 1975 to 2014, was believed to be among the reported 350 guests at the private ceremony. The 33-year-old tennis star met his wife through his younger sister Maribel, a childhood friend of Perello. The other Big Four members, all married and with children, are Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
SEEKING GOLD
Bidding to claim the only major prize he has not won, Roger Federer announced that he will compete for Switzerland at next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games. “I’ve been debating with my team for a few weeks now, months actually, what I should do in the summer time (of 2020) after Wimbledon and before the US Open,” Federer said. He won the doubles gold medal along with Stan Wawrinka at the Beijing Games in 2008, but the only time he has reached an Olympic singles final, at London in 2012, he lost to Great Britain’s Andy Murray 6-2 6-1 6-4. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Spain’s Rafael Nadal, ranked first and second in the world respectively, have both already said they will compete at Tokyo.
SHOWS HEART
If nothing else, Janko Tipsarevic’s heart was on display at the Intrum Stockholm Open. The Serb staved off nine match points, most of them with clean winners, before falling to Yuichi Sugita of Japan in their dramatic quarterfinal. Sugita have few problems capturing the first set 6-2. At 4-4 in the second set, Tipsarevic saved four match points on his serve at 4-5, the crowd rising in applause when he whipped a forehand winner to even the score at a set apiece. He wasn’t done. Tipsarevic saved four more match points at 5-6 with three forehand winners and a smash. A ninth match point came and went when Sugita sailed a backhand long. Cramping in his left leg, Sugita struggled to bend his knees as Tipsarevic forced a tiebreak with yet another forehand winner. The Serb won the first two points in the tiebreak before Sugita went on a five-point run. After Tipsarevic netted a forehand, Sugita finally converted to close out the 6-2 4-6 7-6 (4) victory on yet another error by the Serb. Tipsarevic, who will retire after next month’s Davis Cup Finals in Madrid, received a standing ovation from the Stockholm crowd. A video tribute then played on Centre Court that highlighted the greatest moments of his career. “If I were to choose one of the ways to finish my career, it would be like this, leaving everything on the court,” Tipsarevic told the crowd. “I will remember this moment for the rest of my life.
SIGNED FOR PARIS
Roger Federer says he will play Roland Garros next year. “I will play the French Open. I probably won’t play much before that because I need some time away from it (tennis) and I need some time with the family,” the 38-year-old Swiss great said. A 20-time Grand Slam tournament champion, Federer returned to Roland Garros this year after a three-year absence, falling to eventual winner Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.
STEPS UP
The United States Tennis Association has announced Michael Dowse as its new CEO and executive director, replacing Gordon Smith, who is retiring. Dowse has been president of Wilson Sporting Goods since 2013 and also has worked at Nike. He will start his new post on January 1.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Antwerp: Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies beat Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6 (1) 6-3
Luxembourg: Coco Gauff and Catherine Mcnally beat Kaitlyn Christian and Alexa Guarachi 6-2 6-2
Moscow (men): Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop bet Simone Bolelli and Andres Molteni 6-1 6-2
Moscow (women): Shuko Aoyana and Ena Shibahara beat Kristen Flipkens and Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-2 6-1
Ningbo: Andrew Harris and Marc Polmans beat Alex Bolt and Matt Reid 6-0 6-1
Stockholm: Henri Kontinen and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares 6-4 6-2
Suzhou: Jiang Xinyu and Tang Qianhui beat Ankita Raina and Rosalie Van Der Hoek 3-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Vienna: https://www.erstebank-open.com/
Basel: https://www.swissindoorsbasel.ch/de/index.php
Brest: http://www.openbrestarena.fr/
Zhuhai: https://www.wtaelitetrophy.com/
Paris: https://www.rolexparismasters.com/
Shenzhen: http://www.shiseidowtafinalsshenzhen.com/home
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
MEN
$2,696,460 Erste Bank Open, Vienna, Austria, hard
$2,449,490 Swiss Indoors, Basel, Switzerland, hard
$101,556 Open Brest Credit Agricole, Brest, France, hard
WOMEN
$2,419,844 Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy, Zhuhai, China, hard
$100,000 ITF W100, Suzhou, China, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$8,344,520 Rolex Paris Masters, Paris, France, hard
$135,400 Shenzhen Longhua Open, Shenzhen, China, hard
WOMEN
$14,000,000 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China, hard
