Chengu Archives - World Tennis Magazine

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Aryna Sabalenka beat Alison Riske 6-3 3-6 6-1 to win the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open in Wuhan, China

Pablo Carreno Busta beat Alexander Bublik 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-6 (3) to win the Chengdu Open in Chengdu, China

Alex de Minaur beat Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (4) 6-4 to win the Huajin Securities Zhuhai Championships in Zhuhai, China

Alison Van Uytvanck beat Sorana Cirstea 6-2 4-6 6-4 to win the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Mikael Ymer beat Gregoire Barrere 6-3 7-5 to win the Open d’Orleans in Orleans, France

Tommy Paul beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-5 6-7 (3) 6-4 to win the First Republic Tiburon Challenger in Tiburon, California, USA

SAYING

“I was really happy every time I’m making the ace. At the same time, it brings some double faults. But if it’s 18 aces, maybe it’s OK.” – Aryna Sabalenka, who had 18 aces as she successfully defended her Wuhan Open title.

“I wasn’t very forgiving of myself in the third. It kind of worked on my head a little bit. I really lost it.” – Alison Riske, who lost the first five games in the third set of the Wuhan Open as she fell to Aryna Sabalenka.

“Honestly, tennis is such a tough sport as it is, it’s only you out there on court so you’ve got to deal with a lot of different pressures and expectations and when things aren’t going well.” – Alex de Minaur, who won Zhuhai for his third title of the year.

“I’m happy to get through with a win. I have only two weeks left in the season, so I’m happy to bag this title.” – Alison Van Uytvanck, after capturing the Tashkent Open.

“My strategy is always basically to dominate. Basically, whoever does that usually wins.” – Venus Williams, after beating Barbora Strycova in the opening round of the Beijing Open.

“Tennis is my passion and I am so happy to be able to give back to the sport through this role as a Legend Ambassador for the first-ever Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen.” – Agnieszka Radwanska.

“Are you joking?” – Li Na, when told Kim Clijsters was unretiring for the second time and returning to the WTA Tour as a player.

SABALENKA REPEATS

Aryna Sabalenka raced to a 5-1 lead to begin the final, then held off American Alison Riske to become the first player to successfully defend her title at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. The ninth-seed from Belarus closed out the victory with her 18^th ace of the match. “I can’t believe that I defend this title,” a delighted Sabalenka said. “I couldn’t even imagine that I will be able to do this. … I can’t believe it’s happened.” It was the second time this year that Sabalenka has beaten Riske in three sets in a tournament final in China. The American won the first set before Sabalenka rallied to win the Shenzhen Open in January. Riske broke Sabalenka’s serve in the sixth game of the second set to force a decider. Again, it was all Sabalenka as the world’s 14^th-ranked player won the first five games of the final set to join Petra Kvitova as the only players to have won the Wuhan Open twice. “She’s playing amazing tennis and made it very difficult for me,” Riske said. “I think all in all, it was obviously an amazing week for me. It was a huge week in many regards. I’m super proud of the week I had.”

SEIZES TITLE

When Pablo Carreno Busta finally got to a final, he knew exactly what to do. The Spaniard snapped a six-match ATP Tour semifinal losing streak by gaining a berth in the title match at the Chengdu Open, the outlasted Alexander Bublik in three sets to take home his fourth career trophy. “This year was very tough for me because of the injuries at the beginning of the year,” Carreno Busta said. “I had (a lot of time) off the courts and it is really tough when you cannot play and enjoy this sport.” Bublik won the opening set in a tiebreak before Carreno Busta took charge. Neither player could break in the third set, sending it into a decisive tiebreak. Carreno Busta won the first four points, attacking short balls with his forehand to end points quickly. A crosscourt backhand clinched the verdict and the Spaniard dropped to his knees in celebration. “It was an incredible week here in Chengdu,” Carreno Busta said.

SUCCESS CONTINUED

Alex de Minaur outfought France’s Adrian Mannarino in straight sets to win the inaugural Zhuhai Championships, his third ATP title this year. The 20-year-old Australian eliminated former world number one Andy Murray in the second round, fourth-seeded Borna Coric in the quarterfinals, second-seeded Roberto Bautista-Agut in the semifinals as he battled his way through the tough draw. Ranked 31^st in the world, de Minaur broke Mannarino in the 10^th game of the second set to seal the victory. “I train my mind as much as I do on the tennis court or as much as I do fitness,” de Minaur explained. “I’ve got a psychologist which I talk to every day and it’s been a big help. So, to have someone like that to be on my team and be able to clear my mind and make me stronger mentally, I think it’s been the biggest change for me.”

SECOND TITLE

It took nearly 2½ hours for Alison Van Uytvanck to win her second tournament title of the year. The Belgian saved six break points in the second game of the final set to level at 1-1, then broke Sorana Cirstea of Romania in the next game to finally prevail at the Tashkent Open. It is the first time Van Uytvanck has won two titles in the same year and gives her four in her career. “It was an unbelievable match. I’m still shaking,” Van Uytvanck said. Cirstea was seeking her first WTA title since winning Tashkent 11 years ago. And the 29-year-old had won both of her previous meetings with Van Uytvanck, never dropping a set. This time, however, it was the Belgian who prevailed. “Sorana started playing well in the second set,” Van Uytvanck said. “I had to serve well as she was crushing my second serves. This will give me a lot of confidence.”

SHENZHEN BOUND

Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic are the third doubles team to qualify for the season-ending Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, which will begin its week-long run on October 27. Earlier pairings to qualify for Shenzhen are Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova as well as Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka. Babos and Mladenovic won last year’s WTA Finals, then began 2019 by finishing runner-up at the Australian Open. They won their second career Grand Slam tournament doubles title as a team at Roland Garros. Babos will be going after her third straight season-ending doubles title in her fifth consecutive trip to the elite field. She won in 2017 with Andrea Sestini Hlavackova. Mladenovic will be making her fourth WTA Finals appearance in doubles, having reached the semifinals in 2016 when she teamed with Caroline Garcia.

SPANISH STANDING

He did it in style this year, winning his 12^th Roland Garros crown and his fourth US Open title. And Rafael Nadal now has become only the third player since 1973 to spend 700 weeks ranked in the Top 5 in the world. Roger Federer leads the elite field with 806 weeks ranked in the Top 5, followed by Jimmy Connors at 704 weeks. Novak Djokovic, who currently is ranked number one, is a distant fourth on this list at 592 weeks, followed by Ivan Lend (563), Pete Sampras (511) and Boris Becker (475). Nadal has spent 520 weeks as the world’s second-ranked player and could, within a month, pass Federer in that category. The 33-year-old Spaniard made his Top-5 debut in May 2005 after winning in Rome, becoming the first after Michael Chang in 1989 to achieve that goal before turning 19.

SUSPENDED, SOMEWHAT

Following a six-week investigation, the ATP Tour fined Nick Kyrgios USD $25,000 and handed him a 16-week suspension for his antics in Cincinnati. However, both the fine and suspension were deferred as long as Kyrgios behaves himself over the next six months. At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, the Australian insulted a chair umpire and smashed two racquets during a second-round loss. He was fined USD $113,000 by the ATP for a total of eight separate offenses. In announcing the provisional fine and suspension, the ATP concluded that Kyrgios “committed aggravated behavior under the Player Major Offense” provision.

STILL CAN’T WIN

Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard has lost her last 13 matches as her career continues to nosedive. Her Wimbledon success in 2014 boosted her ranking to fifth in the world. This year, Bouchard reached the quarterfinal in Auckland, New Zealand, and lost to Serena Williams in the second round of the Australian Open. At a USD $125,000 event in Newport Beach, California, USA, the Canadian was a quarterfinalist. She beat Vera Lapko in the opening round in Dubai in February before losing to Simona Halep, the start of her losing streak. Dealing with injuries, Bouchard lost her opening match at Indian Wells, Miami, Roland Garros, Eastbourne, Wimbledon, Lausanne, Washington, Toronto, Vancouver, the Bronx and the US Open. Seeking a victory, she played a USD $60,000 ITF Tour event, losing in the first round to Romania’s Gabriela Talaba – her 13^th straight defeat.

SPLASH IN WUHAN

Playing together for the first time, China’s Duan Ying-ying and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova snapped the winning streak of US Open champions Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka to capture the doubles title at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. Duan’s regular partner, Zheng Saisai, was forced to withdraw before the tournament. “I found Ying-ying,” Kudermetova said. “I (did) not know her well. I knew in the draw she plays with Saisai. I text her. I say, ‘If you want to, we try to play together.’ She say, ‘Yeah, yeah, try.’” The newly-minted team lost their first set to the Dutch pair of Kiki Bertens and Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove. They got a walkover in the second round, then didn’t lose another set as Duan and Kudermetova both won their first title of the year. “I think we did a great job during the whole week,” Kudermetova said. “I was very happy to play with her this week. Maybe we play next time also together. It’s an unbelievable week.”

START AT THE TOP

When David Ferrer retired in May, she said he wanted to stay involved in tennis. And he is. Pending the approval of the ATP Board of Directors, Ferrer will be named tournament director of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, succeeding Albert Costa in the role. Costa has been in that post for the past 11 years and is taking a position with Davis Cup. Ranked as high as third in the world, Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour-level titles, including the 2012 Rolex Paris Masters. He was ranked in the Top 20 for 11 consecutive seasons. “Taking over the sports direction of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell is an unimaginable achievement and a great exciting challenge in my life as an athlete and tennis lover,” said Ferrer, who lost to Nadal in four Barcelona finals.

SET FOR HOUSTON

Australian Open quarterfinalist Francis Tiafoe will play in the Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championships. The Houston, Texas, USA, event will be held April 4-12, 2020. Last January the 21-year-old Tiafoe became the youngest American man to advance to any Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal since Andy Roddick did so at Wimbledon in 2003. When Tiafoe won the Delray Beach, Florida, USA, tournament in 2018, he became the youngest champion on the ATP Tour since Roddick, then 19, captured the US Men’s Clay Court Championships in 2003.

SHENZHEN AMBASSADOR

Agnieszka Radwanska, a former winner of the WTA Finals, has been named a Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen Legend Ambassador. “The WTA Finals will always be super special to me because it is the biggest title of my career,” said Radwanska, who was the first player from Poland to reach a Grand Slam tournament singles final in the Open Era. She won the season-ending tournament in Singapore four years ago. Radwanska retired at the end of last year after 13 years on the WTA tour. She joints former world number one and Hall of Famer Martina Hingis as a Legends Ambassador.

SPANISH KNOT

Feliciano Lopez gave himself an unforgettable birthday present – he got married. On his 38^th birthday, Lopez married Sandra Gago. He is scheduled to compete again next month at the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium.

STAYS ITF PRESIDENT

American David Haggerty is keeping his post atop the International Tennis Federation. Haggerty won more than 60 percent of the votes to be re-elected president of the ITF, beating out David Miley, Anil Khanna and Ivo Kaderka for the post. Elected to the Board of Directors at the organization’s annual meeting, held in Lisbon, Portugal, were Katrina Adams, United States; Carlos Bravo, Costa Rico; Martin Corrie, Great Britain; Bernard Giudicelli, France; Jack Graham, Canada; Nao Kawatei, Japan; Anil Khanna, India; Ulrich Klaus, Germany; Salma Mouelhi Guizani, Tunisia; Camilo Pérez Lopez Moreira, Paraguay; Alexey Selivanenko, Russia; Stefan Tzvetkov, Bulgaria, and Bulat Utemuratov, Kazakhstan,

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Chengdu: Nikola Cacic and Dusan Lajovic beat Jonathan Erlich and Fabrice Martin 7-6 (9) 3-6 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Orleans: Romain Ameodo and Hugo Nys beat Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Tristan-Samuel Weissborn 6-7 (5) 6-3 10-1 (match tiebreak)

Tashkent: Hayley Carter and Luisa Stefani beat Dalila Jakupovic and Sabrina Santamaria 6-3 7-6 (4)

Tiburon: Robert Galloway and Roberto Maytin beat JC Aragone and Darian King 6-2 7-5

Wuhan: Duan Ying-ying and Veronika Kudermetova beat Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (3) 6-2

Zhuhai: Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen beat Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop 7-6 (2) 7-6 (4)

SURFING

Beijing: http://www.chinaopen.com/

Tokyo: https://rakutenopen.com/index.php

Shanghai: http://en.shanghairolexmasters.com/

Fairfield: https://www.fairfieldprotennis.com/