Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
Rafael Nadal beat Viktor Troicki 7-6 (3) 6-3 to win the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany
Nicolas Mahut beat David Goffin 7-6 (1) 6-1 to win the Topshelf Open men’s singles at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Camila Giorgi beat Belinda Bencic 7-5 6-3 to win the Topshelf Open women’s singles at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Elias Ymer beat Bjorn Fratangelo 6-3 6-2 to win the Caltanissetta ATP Challenger 2015 in Caltanissetta, Italy
SAYING
“It’s been a tough couple of years playing on grass, with problems in my knees. Today I’m ready to play again on grass, my knees are well and so is my tennis, so I’m very happy.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning a grass-court tournament in Stuttgart, Germany.
“In important moments my focus was not 100 percent. He served very well the whole match. Even though it was a great week in reaching the final, I’m disappointed to lose this match. I had my chances and didn’t use them. I lost to a great champion.” – Viktor Troicki, after losing the Mercedes Cup final to Rafael Nadal.
“I’m not bothered by the expectations of others. I’m only motivated by my own goals. There is no pressure on me.” – Rafael Nadal.
“She’s already an amazing player, but that girl’s got some big game. I was very impressed. People will be hearing a lot about her in the future.” – Alison Riske, after losing to 17-year-old Ana Konjuh in the semifinals of the rain-delayed Aegon Nottingham Open.
“The goal is always to win, but she was just playing very good tennis – very solid with no mistakes. She was playing with very good touch and very good timing. She was doing it great.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, following her semifinal loss to Monica Niculescu in the Aegon Nottingham Open.
“I’m thankful to Ivo that he said yes and he didn’t refuse me when I asked him to play. It was a lot of fun. I think we played good from the first match on. I hope it’s not our last tournament together.” – Lukasz Kubot, after teaming with Ivo Karlovic to win the
“Amelie will be at Wimbledon. It’s good. I like having her around the tournaments and it’s been a very good start to the year for me.” – Andy Murray, announcing Amelie Mauresmo will be coaching him at Wimbledon before she goes on maternity leave.
“It’s unusual, and a little bit uncomfortable for us. Sometimes I think about how I’d play from the other side so I can maybe predict what kinds of shots are going to come to my side.” – Ekaterina Makarova, one of a record four left-handers ranked in the Top 10, on playing other left-handers.
“The goal is to stay healthy, to get the shoulder better and better to a point where I feel like I am comfortable to play and can focus on trying to win matches, instead of worrying about getting enough speed on my first serve, or how it feels after a set or two.” – Tommy Haas, who returned to the ATP World Tour after a year off following shoulder surgery.
STUTTGART CHAMPION
With his “King of Clay” title slightly tarnished this year, Rafael Nadal has picked up the pace on grass as he prepares for Wimbledon. While the Mercedes Cup was his fourth grass-court trophy, it was his first since he captured Wimbledon in 2010, five years ago. The top-seeded Spaniard also became the first player to win on both grass and clay at Stuttgart, Germany. The tournament switched to grass this year as part of the new run-up to Wimbledon. “It’s fantastic to win here on grass after winning on clay,” Nadal said. “Viktor is a tough opponent. But I’ve been gaining confidence over the past month and a half after a very poor first three-and-a-half months of this season.” It was Nadal’s 66th career title, but only his second of 2015. His only clay-court title this year came in a small South American tournament in February. “My level has always been there, I’ve not forgotten how to play tennis,” Nadal said. “But now things are coming together for me.” The winner of 14 Grand Slam tournament titles, Nadal is currently ranked 10th in the world. He was playing in his 95th career final.
been feeling my game better since after my first match in Monte Carlo (in mid-April),” the left-hander said. “It was mentally tiring for me to play tennis in the first part of the year. I was not feeling comfortable on court. I was not able to play the way that I wanted. I didn’t feel confidence. But that has been changing and my focus now is to prepare as best as I can for Wimbledon.”
SEIZING THE MOMENT
The Topshelf Open fits Nicolas Mahut’s game perfectly. The Frenchman won his second Topshelf Open title in three years by defeating second-seeded David Goffin in the final. He also won the Dutch tournament in 2013. “I think I played better here this year than two years ago,” Mahut said. “From the first round I was hitting the ball really well.” Neither player could break serve in the opening set, which ended with Mahut capturing the tiebreak 7-1. A relaxed Mahut broke Goffin to grab a 2-1 lead in the second set when the Belgian made a baseline error. The Frenchman extended his lead with another service break and coasted to victory. “It was really tough to lose the first set,” Goffin admitted. “I had trouble with my neck today, so it was tough to serve and to return the ball when the pace was fast.” Mahut, who reached the doubles final, only to lose, agreed with his opponent. “It was a very tense first set, but after one-all (Goffin) was missing some shots and I felt more and more confident (in the second set),” the winner said.
Mahut has now won three career titles, all of them coming on grass. His other win was at Newport, Rhode Island, USA, two years ago.
SERVING TO WIN
Camila Giorgi never faced a break point in 11 service games as she captured the first WTA title of her career by stopping Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in the Topshelf Open final. Giorgi lost only 19 points in those 11 service games and she converted both break points she got to earn the title. “It’s been a great week for me and I’m so happy to bring this trophy home,” the Italian said. “It was my first time here and it went so well. Every match was great for me this week and I felt like I was playing more and more consistently every match.” Giorgi broke Bencic in 12th game to grab the opening set. Her second service break gave her a 5-3 advantage in the second set, then she held to earn her first career tournament title. Both players may have felt lucky just to get to the final. Giorgi saved three match points in her quarterfinal win over Yaroslava Shvedova to be the fourth player this year to save match points en route to winning a WTA title. Bencic also saved three match points in her quarterfinal win over Kristina Mladenovic.
STERLING PLAY
India’s Rohan Bopanna and Romania’s Florin Mergea teamed up to win the Mercedes Cup doubles title, beating Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the final. “It is my first title on grass, the first time I actually had four wins on grass since I started playing again,” Mergea said. “I’m really happy to come and win a second title with Rohan.” The two also won the Mutua Madrid Open last month. It was Bopanna’s fourth title of 2015, having won the other two with Canada’s Daniel Nestor.
SECOND TITLE FOR IVO
The first time was a charm for Ivo Karlovic and Lukasz Kubot. Competing as a team for the first time, Karlovic and Kubot lost just one set in their run to the doubles title at the Topshelf Open. The Croatian-Polish duo toppled Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-2 7-6 (9) in the title match. It was Karlovic’s second ATP World Tour doubles crown, but his first in more than nine years. Kubot won his 10th doubles title in 17 finals. “I needed someone, so I asked Ivo to help me out and get me into this tournament,” Kubot said. “His best surface is grass … I think overall we played really well and it was great quality tennis.” The winners lost their only set in the semifinals when they needed a match tiebreak to overcome the top-seeded team of Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.
SKIPS BIRMINGHAM
Apparently Lucie Safarova is still feeling the effects on her effort to reach the French Open final. She has withdrawn from this week’s grass-court tournament in Birmingham, possibly as a consequence of her exertions at Roland Garros. Safarova is ranked in the WTA’s Top 10 after upsetting former French Open champion Maria Sharapova and taking the opening set from Serena Williams before losing to the American star in the final.
SET BACK A DAY
Monica Niculescu of Romania and 17-year-old Ana Konjuh of Croatia faced off in the rain-delayed final of the Aegon Open Nottingham on Monday, one day after the grass-court tournament was scheduled to end. And both finalists were a surprise. Niculescu pulled off the biggest surprise in the semifinals by winning the final eight games to shock top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 5-7 6-4 6-0. Radwanska was six points from winning the match, serving at 7-5 4-4 30-15. But she wouldn’t win another game. Konjuh had to win twice on Sunday, knocking off American qualifier Sachia Vickery 6-2 6-2 in the quarterfinal match before stopping fifth-seeded Alison Riske 6-4 6-3 in the semifinals.
SQUEAKER
Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears won seven of the final nine points in the match tiebreak to beat Great Britain’s Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith and win the Aegon Open Nottingham doubles title 3-6 6-3 11-9. “It was tough conditions for everybody with the rain delays, but we wanted to go out there and have fun,” Spears said. “Our goal is to enjoy our tennis and making good shots, and that’s what we did.” The Americans were the tournament’s top seeded team.
STILL ON THE TEAM
Despite her pregnancy, Amelie Mauresmo will be part of Andy Murray’s team at Wimbledon. The Scottish star was afraid his coach would miss the entire grass-court campaign after she announced she was expecting her first child in August. Murray got Jonas Bjorkman to work with him during the Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen’s Club this week. But the world’s third-ranked player said Mauresmo has agreed to rejoin his coaching team at the All England Club before taking maternity leave. “It’s good that her and Jonas can spend some time together,” Murray said. “I imagine Amelie will take the lead and Jonas can see how we operate. We know each other a lot better than this time last year, so I’m sure she will be able to help a lot more.” Mauresmo won Wimbledon in 2006 when she ranked number one in the world.
SQUIRMISH
Rafael Nadal was happy to get his second tournament title of the year and his first on grass since 2010. But the Spanish left-hander was not so eager to get one of the prizes that goes to the winner – a new Mercedes sports car. That’s because Nadal is a well-paid ambassador for a rival automobile manufacturer. “It’s not a Kia, but it’s still good,” Nadal said diplomatically after a brief inspection inside the car he had just won. Asked, “Will you drive it at home?” Nadal responded, “Without the cameras around, perhaps yes.” It wasn’t just the make of car that made Nadal hesitate. The Mercedes was painted a garish yellow. “I don’t know if I can change the color because the color is a little bit too much for me,” Nadal said.
SEA Star
Once ranked as the world’s top junior female tennis player, Noppawan Lertcheewakarn has found gold at the Southeast Asian Games. The 23-year-old from Thailand captured the singles, doubles and women’s team event at the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore. She won the Wimbledon junior singles title in 2009, but her highest ranking on the WTA tour was 149th in singles. She currently is ranked 412th. “I’m coming back from the injury, and I’m getting a little bit more match play,” Lertcheewakarn told the Bangkok Post. “The SEA Games experience will help my progress as I’ve had a lot of good matches in singles and doubles, and I’ve learned to focus on myself instead of thinking too much about my opponent.”
SOUTHPAWS
For the first time in WTA Rankings history, four left-handed players are in the Top 10. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is ranked second in the world behind Serena Williams, a right-hander, with fellow port-siders Lucie Safarova at number 7, Ekaterina Makarova at number 8 and Angelique Kerber at number 10. When Kvitova, Kerber and Makarova were in the Top 10 in January, it marked the first time in 32 years since three lefties were in the Top 10 at the same time. The last time it happened was in January 1983 with Martina Navratilova, Sylvia Hanika and Barbara Potter.
Only two left-handers have been ranked number one in the world on the WTA tour: Navratilova and Monica Seles. And only four left-handers have won a Grand Slam tournament singles title: Navratilova, Seles, Kvitova and Great Britain’s Ann Jones. Kvitova is the only one of the four who is currently playing. The other three have been inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
SWITCH IN SITES
The women’s tour is heading back to Taiwan. The WTA announced Kaohsiung, Taiwan, will be the site of a tournament in 2016. The event is being moved from Pattaya City, Thailand, to Kaohsiung and will be held the week of February 8, 2016. The WTA International event will feature a 32-player draw and offer a purse of $500,000. A WTA $125,000 tournament has been held for the last three years in Taipei, Taiwan. With Kaohsiung, the WTA will stage a record nine Premier and International tournaments in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2016.
SWEDE VICTORY
Swedish teenager Elias Ymer won his first career title in an ATP Challenger tournament in Caltanissetta, Italy, when he defeated American Bjorn Fratangelo 6-3 6-2. The 19-year-old Ymer staved off all four break points he faced in the clay-court finale. He is the first Swedish player to win a tournament since Robin Soderling captured an event in Sunrise, California, USA, in 2009. Ymer is the fifth teenager to win a tournament this year, joining Jared Donaldson, Hyeon Chung, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alexander Zverev.
STRAIGHT TO THE BANK
Roger Federer is still the highest-paid athlete when talking only endorsement money. The Swiss great is fifth on Forbes’ list of The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes. In 2014, Federer earned USD $67 million, while top-ranked Floyd Mayweather earned USD $300 million. However, Federer earned USD $58 million in endorsements last year, while Tiger Woods was second with USD $50 million in endorsement money. Woods finished ninth on the list with a total pay of USD $50.6 million. Novak Djokovic is the second-highest paid tennis player at 13th on the list, having earned USD $48.2 million, with USD $17.2 million coming in winnings. Rafael Nadal is 22nd on the list, having earned USD $32.5 million overall, with USD $28 million coming in endorsements. Maria Sharapova is the highest paid female tennis player in the Top 100, ranked 29th with USD $23 million of her USD $29.7 million coming in endorsements. Serena Williams is ranked 47th with USD $24.6 million overall, with USD $13 million in endorsements. The only other tennis player in the Top 100 was Andy Murray, earning USD $16 million of his USD $22.6 million in endorsements.
Boxer Manny Pacquiao was second, earning USD $160 million, while soccer stars Cristiano Ronald earned USD $79.6 million and Lionel Messi earned USD $73.9 million in 2014.
STYLISH COMEBACK
He’s back – again. Tommy Haas has returned to the ATP World Tour after missing a year following shoulder surgery. The 37-year-old German came back in style, too, beating Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4 7-5 in his first match back. “It was a very special feeling, especially when I didn’t know what it would feel like or how you might perform walking out onto court,” said Haas, who received a wild card entry into the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, where he was given a standing ovation by the spectators. “There were emotions before and after the match, but it was a great start to get a win.” Ranked as high as second in the world during his career, Haas has broken both ankles, missed all of 2003 following right shoulder surgery, and missed most of the 2010 season after hip surgery.
SIGNS UP
An insurance company, Aviva Canada Inc., has become involved in tennis in a big way, agreeing to a multi-year partnership with Eugenie Bouchard as well as a long-term relationship with Tennis Canada. “We’re proud to have a brand that is recognized by Canadians as caring for what’s important to them and their communities,” said Sharon Ludlow, president of Aviva Insurance Co. of Canada. “And now for us to be associated with a phenomenal athlete and personality such as Genie, a world-class national organization like Tennis Canada, and a globally recognized event like Rogers Cup, this is a great day and an honor for Aviva Canada.” Under the agreement, Aviva will have naming rights to the tennis center at York University through 2025 and platinum sponsorship of Rogers Cup in both Toronto and Montreal.
SHARED PERFORMANCES
Caltanissetta: Guido Andreozzi and Guillermo Duran beat Hsin-Han Lee and Alessandro Motti 6-3 6-2
Nottingham: Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears beat Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith 3-6 6-3 11-9 (match tiebreak)
s’-Hertogenbosch (men): Ivo Karlovic and Lukasz Kubot beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-2 7-6 (9)
s’-Hertogenbosch (women): Asia Muhammad and Laura Siegemund beat Jelena Jankovic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 7-5
Stuttgart: Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea beat Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 5-7 6-2 10-7 (match tiebreak)
SURFING
Nottingham: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-open-nottingham/
Halle: http://www.gerryweber-open.de/
London: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-championships/
Birmingham: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-classic-birmingham/
Eastbourne: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/Aegon-International-Eastbourne/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
(All money in USD)
MEN
$1,749,300 Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany, grass
$1,749,300 Aegon Championships, London, Great Britain, grass
WOMEN
$665,900 Aegon Championships, Birmingham, Great Britain, grass
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$562,340 Aegon Open Nottingham, Nottingham, Great Britain, grass
WOMEN
$665,900 Aegon International Eastbourne, Eastbourne, Great Britain, grass
