Stefanos Tsitsipas Tops Dominic Thiem To Win Season-Ending ATP Finals - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Dominic Thiem 6-7 (6) 6-2 7-6 (4) to win the Nitto ATP Finals in London, Great Britain

Kirsten Flipkens beat Coco Vandeweghe 7-6 (4) 6-4 to win the Oracle Challenger women’s singles in Houston, Texas, USA

Marcos Giron beat Ivo Karlovic 7-5 6-7 (5) 7-6 (9) to win the Oracle Challenger men’s singles in Houston, Texas, USA

Vitalia Diatchenko beat Timea Babos 6-3 6-2 to win the Taipei OEC Open in Taipei, Taiwan

Zhang Shuai beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3 7-5 to win the Ando Securities Open in Tokyo, Japan

SAYING

“The atmosphere was unbelievable.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas, after winning the ATP Finals.

“I missed some very close balls in the tiebreak. But I cannot do anything now about it. It was a great match from both of us.” – Dominic Thiem, after losing the ATP Finals title match to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“He’s been playing some unbelievable tennis, maybe the best tennis that we have ever seen from him. Actually, beating Roger (Federer) and Novak (Djokovic) on this court is very special. Doing it back to back is very, very difficult.” – Alexander Zverev, lauding Dominic Thiem’s performance at the ATP Finals.

“He’s great for tennis because he has a very attractive game style, one-handed backhand, comes in a lot. It’s great that he’s up on the top. It’s great that he’s going to fight for the big titles in the future. I’m 100 percent sure of that. I’m also very sure of the fact that I can challenge him in every single match we’re going to play.” – Dominic Thiem, on Stefanos Tsitsipas

“It has truly been a magical ride. However, we want to end this great ride while we’re healthy and we can still compete for titles.” – Bob Bryan, announcing he and his twin brother Mike will retire after the 2020 US Open.

“I was always chasing the top results and being in the top positions, and then you are almost really fighting for the first match to win, really like badly, fighting with yourself.” – Tomas Berdych, on why he has retired.

“That’s why (tennis is) probably mentally the most brutal sport existing, because you can play such a great match and end up losing in the championship match. From that point of view, it’s a very disappointing loss, very hard to digest. But on the same hand, I had some amazing wins also.” – Dominic Thiem, who lost the Nitto ATP Finals title match to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“The plan is actually not to have any plans, because the past 15, 20 years was so hectic and so demanding that I just need to just breathe out easily after all those years.” – Tomas Berdych, announcing his retirement.

“Both guys have had great years. I’m happy I was able to beat both this year, but they both deserve to be ranked higher than me this year.” – Roger Federer, complimenting Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“Thank you for sharing the court with me, for having so much enjoyable moments and giving me so much joy when I am with you on the court. You played an unbelievable final, so thank you for that.” – Pierre-Hugues Herbert, to his doubles partner, Nicolas Mahut.

SMASHING VICTORY

It was the battle of the future of tennis, a battle that Stefanos Tsitsipas won over giant-killer Dominic Thiem to capture the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. Of the top-ranked three players in the world, only Roger Federer made it to the semifinals. Neither top-ranked Rafael Nadal or second-ranked Novak Djokovic survived the round-robin portion of the eight-player tournament, thanks in a large part of Thiem, who defeated Federer and Djokovic in the round-robin section before ousting Alexander Zverev in the semis. Tsitsipas eliminated Federer in the semis before outlasting Thiem in a thrilling title match. “We played an unbelievable final,” Thiem said. “We are playing the most brutal sport which exists, it was so close. Both were fighting 100 percent to the end.” At 21, Tsitsipas became the youngest winner of the ATP Finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. Thiem took the opening set in a tiebreak before his Greek opponent raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second. Tsitsipas then held off the Austrian’s comeback in the third, winning the last three points of the tiebreak, clinching the title when Thiem sailed a return wide. “I missed some very close balls in the tiebreak,” said Thiem, who also has lost two French Open finals to Nadal. “But I cannot do anything now about it. It was a great match from both of us.” Tsitsipas agreed, but added the crowd to his support group. “Holding this trophy feels amazing,” he said. “This tournament was just unbelievable. You guys (the fans) made it so emotional. I have never received so much support in a stage like that. Never. Never. Honestly, I owe it all to you.” It is the fourth consecutive year that a first-time champion has won the ATP Finals, with Tsitsipas following Andy Murray in 2016, Grigor Dimitrov in 2017 and Alexander Zverev last year.

SAYING GOODBYE

Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan will play one more year before retiring. The 41-year-old Americans said next year’s US Open will be their final event. The twins made their Grand Slam tournament debut at America’s premiere tennis event in 1995. Since then, the Bryans have won a record 118 tournaments, including 16 Grand Slam doubles titles. They won Olympic gold at the 2012 London Games. The Bryans took over the doubles number one ranking in 2003 and spent a record total of 438 weeks atop the rankings, ending 10 seasons as the number one team.

SECOND TITLE

Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko won the Taipei OEC Open for the second time, beating Timea Babos of Hungary in the final. Diatchenko also won the Taipei event in 2014, the only other time she has captured a title in her career. The Russian needed only 69 minutes to grab the crown this time, dropping just five games in her victory over Babos. She won two-thirds of the points on her second serve and faced only two break points in the match. The 29-year-old Diatchenko didn’t drop a set in her five matches during the week. Surprisingly, given the outcome, Babos began the final by breaking Diatchenko’s serve, then held at love for a 2-0 lead. After that it was all Diatchenko.

SAYONARA

Tomas Berdych, who was runner-up to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2010, is calling it quits. Berdych, who was ranked as high as fourth in the world, was part of the Czech Republic team that won consecutive Davis Cup titles in 2012 and 2013. The 34-year-old has not played since losing his first-round match at the US Open in August to qualifier Jenson Brooksby. “I don’t know exactly the day and date, but it was very soon or very quickly after the US Open this year, because, really, just the feeling that I went through on my last official match, it’s been just one that told me that’s it,” Berdych said. “You tried absolutely everything and the result is how it is.”

SHOWCASING COCO

Billie Jean King says 15-year-old Coco Gauff is a “special” talent. “She loves the big stage, is very well prepared on and off the court, and, most importantly, she knows there are so many more opportunities ahead for her life and her career,” King said. “But because she has proved she is exceptional at tennis, she now has a platform to inspire all of us, especially young people.” Gauff, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and won the title in Linz, Austria, has been named to the Time 100 Next 2019, a list that showcases the rising stars who will shape the future, not just in sport in the world in general. At Wimbledon she became the youngest player to reach the second round of a Grand Slam tournament since Jennifer Capriati in 1990.

SPIRIT CELEBRATED

French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the French team’s Fed Cup title by hosting the squad at the presidential palace. “You showed great spirit coming together, forming a team, easing tensions, strengthening ties for a collective victory,” Macron said. Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier were joined by captain Julien Benneteau and other members of the team who didn’t play in the 3-2 victory over Australia. Mladenovic and Garcia led France to its first Fed Cup title since 2003.

SAYS THANK YOU

The ATP Tour honored nine recently retired players at The O2, the London venue of the Nitto ATP Finals. Besides Tomas Berdych, others honored included David Ferrer, Mikhail Youzhny, Marcos Baghdatis, Nicolas Almagro, Radek Stepanek, Max Mirnyi, Victor Estrella Burgos and Marcin Matkowski. The nine took part in an on-court ceremony following Stefanos Tsitsipas’ semifinal victory over Roger Federer. Ross Hutchins, the ATP’s chief player officer, presented the retirees with frames highlighting standout moments of their careers.

SWISS HELP

In a strange twist of fate, Rafael Nadal owes his year-end number one ranking to Roger Federer. Nadal recently took over the top spot in the rankings from Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard was assured on finishing the season on top only when Federer beat Djokovic, ending the Serb’s bid for the Nitto ATP Finals title. If Djokovic had won the season-ending tournament, he would have jumped back into the number one spot. It is the fifth time Nadal has finished the year with the number one ranking.

SETTLE DOWN LATER

Caroline Wozniacki says right now tennis comes before having babies. “I want to play as long as I feel like it, and then one day start a family and settle down and kind of do our own thing,” Wozniacki told the Daily Mail. “I definitely want to have just a bit of time just the two of us, because once you have a child, things change.” The Dane recently married NBA star David Lee. “I think in my head I would like a big family, but I think it’s always tough to say before you have any kids, right? You don’t really know.”

SPECIAL TITLE

One year after Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut almost captured the Nitto ATP Finals doubles trophy, they won the season-ending event. “It is pretty special (to win this trophy,” Herbert said. “Maybe, for doubles, it is one of the toughest tournaments to win. After our story in London – we had three really tough years and last year we had a match point in the final – being able to win here is an amazing feeling. The Frenchmen won all 18 sets they played in the elite eight-team field. They are the first to win the trophy without dropping a set since Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau did it in 2015. It took 70 minutes for Herbert and Mahut to defeat Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus, becoming the first French team to capture the season-ending crown since Michael Llorda and Fabrice Santoro triumphed in 2005. When they won the Australian Open doubles last January, they became only the eight men’s doubles team to complete the career Grand Slam.

SETBACK FOR DEL POTRO

Apparently suffering a setback in his rehabilitation, Juan Martin del Potro won’t be playing Roger Federer in an exhibition match in Argentina next week. Instead, Federer will play Alexander Zverev for a third time. Del Potro hasn’t played since he fractured his right patella at the Fever Tree Championships in London two weeks before Wimbledon. “I wanted to tell you that, unfortunately, I will not be able to play the game with Roger Federer,” del Potro said in a video posted on social media. “Despite having been training hard all these days … I felt that the knee was not ready yet for such a high-level match against the best in history. You deserve a game of a very good level, of high quality, and I am not in a position to move freely today.” Zverev already was scheduled to play exhibitions against Federer in Chile and Mexico.

STUDY GROUP

Fourteen players were graduated from ATP University during the Nitto ATP Finals in London. The three-day educational course is held twice each year and is designed to teach players skills to succeed on the tour, including presentations on savings and investments, media training, social media and anti-doping. Over 1,000 past and present ATP Tour players have graduated from the program. The London 2019 graduates included Lloyd Harris, South Africa; Hubert Hurkacz, Poland; Kamil Majchrzak, Poland; Rudolph Molleker, Germany; Pedro Sousa, Portugal; Andrej Martin, Slovakia; Liam Broady, Great Britain; Roberto Quiroz, Ecuador; Jurij Rodionov, Austria; Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, United States; Constant Lestienne, France; Lorenzo Giustino, Italy; Soonwoo Kwon, Korea; and Cheng-Peng Hsieh, Taiwan.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Houston (men): Jonathan Erlich and Santiago Gonzalez beat Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-3 7-6 (4)

Houston (women): Ellen Perez and Luisa Stefani beat Sharon Fichman and Ena Shibahara 1-6 6-4 1-0 (5)

London: Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut beat Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 6-3 6-4

Taipei: Lee Ya-Hsuan and Wu Fang-Hsien beat Dalila Jakupovic and Danka Kovinic 4-6 6-4 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Tokyo: Ji-Hee Choi and Na-Lae Han beat Haruka Kaji and Junri Namigata 6-3 6-3

SURFING

Madrid: https://www.daviscup.com/

Limoges: https://www.openblslimoges.fr/

Dubai: www.habtoortennis.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

Davis Cup Finals