Mondays with Bob Greene
STARS
BNP Paribas Open
(First Week)
Venus Williams beat third-seeded Petra Kvitova 4-6 7-5 6-4
Stefanie Vogele beat fourth-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-0
Felix Auger-Aliassime beat ninth-seeded Stephanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-2
Garbiñe Muguruza beat 10th-seeded Serena Williams 6-3 1-0 retired
SAYINGS
“We’ve played many times and it’s always super-tough, super-exciting. I wish I’m going to see her soon and feeling better.” – Garbiñe Muguruza, after Serena Williams retired from their match with a viral illness.
“Before the match, I did not feel great, and then it just got worse with every second; extreme dizziness and extreme fatigue.” – Serena Williams, in comments released by tournament organizers.
“I believe in myself. I thought I had my chances. I served really well today, so that was obviously a big key.” – Felix Auger-Aliassime, after upsetting ninth-seeded Stephanos Tsitsipas.
“He has kind of a strange tempo in his game, and you always feel like he’s going to hit very hard, but then you don’t really know what to expect, how hard he’s going to hit the ball. So, you’re always caught out of position.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas, after losing to Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“It was windy but it was windy for both of us. I just didn’t play a great match today.” – Sloane Stephens, after losing to Swiss qualifier Stefanie Vogele.
“Every day isn’t your best day out there. But your heart and desire are still there.” – Venus Williams, after edging Andrea Petkovic 6-4 0-6 6-3 in a first-round match at Indian Wells.
SICK SERENA OUSTED
A viral illness caused Serena Williams to retire from her third-round match at the BNP Paribas Open. Playing Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza, the 10th-seeded Williams won the first three games of the match. After Muguruza won the next six games to take the opening set, Williams had a long talk with the trainer. When she lost the first game of the second set – Muguruza’s seventh straight – Williams called it a day and walked off the court. Tournament officials later said Williams was suffering from a viral illness. “I felt that maybe she wasn’t feeling well,” Muguruza said. “It’s really a weird feeling, because I don’t feel like I won the match point and (got the) ‘well done … good match.’” The Indian Wells tournament was the first for Williams since the Australian Open in January, where she lost in the quarterfinals. After a first-round bye in Indian Wells, Williams beat Victoria Azarenka 7-5 6-3 in the second round. It was the second time in four years that Williams has withdrawn from the tournament. After boycotting the event for 15 years, Williams returned to the desert in 2015 where she reached the semifinals before withdrawing against Simona Halep.
SLOANE GONE
Sloane Stephens continues to have trouble when she’s not at a major event. Swiss qualifier Stefanie Vogele stunned the fourth-ranked American 6-3 6-0 in a second-round match. Vogele took just over an hour to increase her overall record to 4-1 against the 2017 US Open champion. Stephens committed her 32nd unforced error of the day on match point, sailing a forehand wide. “Obviously playing someone who you haven’t done that well against in the past is a little bit rough,” Stephens said.
SPIRITED COMEBACK
Despite her age, Venus Williams showed her class by upsetting third-seeded Petra Kvitova 4-6 7-5 6-4 in a second-round battle. In the final two sets, the 38-year-old American increased the speed of her serves and played a stout defense to down the left-handed Czech. On match point, Kvitova sent a ball long, her 56th unforced error of the day. “She has been playing so well and you never know what’s going to come off her racquet,” Williams told the crowd after her victory. “I was just happy to have your energy to get pumped up. I just love the battle.”
SHARP CANADIAN
A Canadian teenager continued his mastery of Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece to grab a spot in the third round at Indian Wells. Felix Auger-Aliassime, at 18 the youngest player in the ATP Tour’s top 100, knocked off the ninth-seeded Tsitsipas 6-4 6-2. “It’s unbelievable,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I never expected to play that well today, to get my first Top-10 win is special, against Stefanos who has been playing so well.” The Canadian has never lost to Tsitsipas in their four meetings, the first three coming in the juniors. “I didn’t know what to expect today because he’s completely different player (now), Auger-Aliassime said. At 20, the youngest player in the Top 10, Tsitsipas has been one of the hottest players on the ATP World Tour, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open where he upset Roger Federer, then losing to Federer in the final at Dubai. “My mind at the moment is not very fresh,” Tsitsipas said, then added that Auger-Aliassime “deserves every single piece of that victory.”
STEPING DOWN
Unable to get past the growing complaints from lower-ranked players about their pay and travel schedules, Chris Kermode is stepping down as ATP executive chairman and president at the end of this year. Under his tutelage, the men’s tour has seen record prize money. Kermode’s contract expires at the end of the season, but some members of the ATP Player Council, including its president, Novak Djokovic, said they wanted a change. “It was decided in our governing structure, such as it is, that it is time for us to look into new leadership on the tour. That’s all there is,” Djokovic told reporters. Under new ATP and International Tennis Federation (ITF) rules, it is much harder for players to get into higher-ranked tournaments.
SOME LIKENESS
Japan’s Naomi Osaka has two Grand Slam tournament singles titles and the world number one ranking. Now she also has a newly unveiled Barbie in her likeness. The 21-year-old said she was proud to be part of Mattel’s 60th anniversary campaign that includes a more racially diverse set of figurines. “Having that chance to represent people that might not think that they could be represented, that’s a really important goal of mine,” said Osaka, the daughter of a Haitian father and a Japanese mother. Osaka said the doll was a reminder of how much her life has changed since she won the BNP Paribas Open last year, her first title on the WTA Tour. She has since followed by winning the US Open last September and the Australian Open in January.
SICK CALL
Kevin Anderson pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open, saying he’s still not ready to return to the ATP Tour. The South Africa, who is ranked sixth in the world, hasn’t played since losing in the second round of the Australian Open in January. He has since withdrawn from several tournaments because of a right elbow issue.
SENIOR STAR
At the age of 40, Ivo Karlovic is acting like a kid again. “Obviously 40s are the new 30s so I’m young again. I like it,” the Croatian said. The 6-foot-11 right-hander became the oldest player to win a Masters 1000 match when he beat countryman Borna Coric, who was seeded 11th. “Every week I am the oldest at something, so I don’t know,” Karlovic said. “Next week it will be the oldest ever to walk without implants in his hip. Obviously, it is nice that I’m still doing this, which I love, so hopefully I can continue much longer. But if not, it’s also good.” Last year, Karlovic fell to 138th in the ranking, but finished the year at number 100. He started 2019 by reaching the Tata Open Maharashtra final in Pune, India. “Now everything is better,” he said. “When you begin to win more, everything’s good. I know that I will not continue forever, so I’m trying to squeeze as much as I can.”
SELES A BIG HELP
A meeting with former world number one Monica Seles helped Petra Kvitova in her return to the WTA Tour. Kvitova, a left-hander, was cut on her left hand while defending herself during a home invasion in December 2016. Seles was stabbed in the back during a match in Hamburg, Germany, in 1993 and didn’t play for more than two years. “We met each other (at Wimbledon) and decided that we were looking to talk about what we’d been through,” said Kvitova, who is a two-time Wimbledon champion and reached the Australian Open final in January. “It was nice to meet someone who has been through something very similar. It was a big surprise that she wanted to talk with me and say nice words. It was one of the biggest things I’ve ever heard and from such a legend, to hear what happened to her.” After returning to tennis after being attacked, Seles won the 1996 Australian Open. “With my experience, I am not sure if I am going to be 100 percent one day and I’m not sure if she is either,” Kvitova said. “But hopefully she is happy and can enjoy her life as much as she can.”
SPLITSVILLE
Canadian Milos Raonic has split with his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, and is now working with Fabrice Santoro on a trial basis. Santoro is also still working with Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. “It was a year since Goran and me did some good things and I felt like it was the right move,” said Raonic, who is ranked 14th in the world.
SHE’S A MOM
Former world number one Martina Hingis has joined the tennis mom group. The 38-year-old Hall of Famer said on Twitter that she and husband Harald Leemann, the Switzerland Fed Cup doctor, were now parents. “And then we were three! Harry and I are excited to welcome our baby girl Lia to the world,” said Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam tournament winner.
SUCCESSORS
The new US Open tournament referee will be Soeren Friemel, who is taking over for Brian Earley. Friemel’s old spot as chief umpire for the year’s final Grand Slam tournament is being taken by Jake Garner. The appointments were announced by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Friemel will retain his job as head of officiating for the International Tennis Federation (ITF), a post he has had since 2014. He was chief umpire at the US Open from 2016-18. Garner, who has been in the chair for 18 Grand Slam tournament finals, will oversee selection, training and scheduling of US Open officials.
Ian Hewitt will succeed Philip Brook as chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) in December. Brook had been chairman of the AELTC, which stages the annual Wimbledon Championships, for nine years. Hewitt, who joined the club’s committee in 2002, was appointed vice chairman this month. The oldest tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon two-week run this year will begin on July 1.
SURFING
Indian Wells: https://bnpparibasopen.com
Phoenix: http://arizonatennisclassic.com/
Guadalajara: http://abiertozapopan.com/en/home_en/
Miami: https://www.miamiopen.com/
TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK
MEN
$9,314,875 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)
$162,480 Arizona Tennis Classic, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, hard
WOMEN
$9,035,428 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard (second week)
$125,000 Abierto Zapopan, Guadalajara, Mexico, hard
TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK
MEN
$9,314,875 Miami Open presented by Itau, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)
WOMEN
$9,038,428 Miami Open presented by Itau, Miami, Florida, USA, hard (first week)
