World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

jack sock

Paris Masters Title & ATP Finals Berth Captured by Jack Sock – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Paris Masters Title & ATP Finals Berth Captured by Jack Sock – Mondays with Bob Greene

 

 

STARS

Jack Sock beat Filip Krajinovic 5-7 6-4 6-1 to win the Rolex Paris Masters in Paris, France

Julia Goerges beat CoCo Vandeweghe 7-5 6-1 to win the Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China

 

SAYING

“Incredible week.” – Jack Sock, after winning the Rolex Paris Masters and qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals.

“This was the best week in my life. I will never forget this moment in my life. Coming from qualifying to the final was a dream come true.” – Filip Krajinovic, a qualifier who reached the final of the Rolex Paris Masters.

“I can’t imagine a better ending to the season, two titles in two weeks.” – Julia Goerges, after capping her two-week winning by capturing the Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy.

“Pulling out from any event is tough, but especially from here, from Paris.” – Rafael Nadal.

“She said yes. So thrilled to be engaged to my soulmate.” – NBA player David Lee, writing on Instagram about his engagement to Caroline Wozniacki.

 

SWEET SOCK SUCCESS

Losing the first set, Jack Sock rallied to defeat qualifier Filip Krajinovic and win the Paris Masters title and a spot in the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in London. “Incredible week,” Sock said. “Hard to describe it honestly. I don’t think it’s really hit or soaked in yet.” The victory boosted the American into the Top 10 for the first time and a spot in the elite eight-player London field. “Coming in this week I had no idea I could even make London,” Sock said. “To come back from the deficit I was down in my first match here, and to have this trophy next to me now and talking to you guys (media) has been an incredible achievement.” The 25-year-old trailed Kyle Edmund 5-1 in the third set in his opener, only to come from behind. And in the final, Krajinovic took the opening set before Sock began the second by breaking serve. He closed out the victory with a five-game streak to end the match.

 

SECOND TITLE

German’s Julia Goerges won her second title of the year, the WTA Elite Trophy, by stopping American CoCo Vandeweghe in straight sets. By winning, Goerges will end the season with a career-high ranking of 14th in the world. It was the 29-year-old German’s ninth straight match win. The tournament’s 12-player singles field featured the top players on the women’s tour who did not qualify for last week’s WTA Finals in Singapore, plus one wild card given to China’s top-ranked player, Peng Shuai. Vandeweghe won the first three games to begin the match. But Goerges finally broke back in the ninth game and eventually took the opening set 7-5. The German then dominated the second set, winning seven games in a row at one point. “I’m looking forward to next year,” Goerges said.

 

STRUCK DOWN

A right knee injury forced Rafael Nadal to withdraw from the Rolex Paris Masters before his quarterfinal against qualifier Filip Krajinovic. “I have to pull out,” Nadal said. “Of course, it’s a very hard decision for me. Pulling out from any event is tough, but especially from here, from Paris. As I said a lot of times, it’s the most important city in my career, without a doubt.” Earlier in the week Nadal clinched the year-end number one ranking. “I feel like home here and for the relationship that I have with the French federation, with everybody, it’s a very tough day for me,” Nadal said. The Spaniard has never won the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Paris.

 

SINO WINNERS

Duan Ying-Ying and Han Xinyun won the Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy doubles in an all-Chinese final. The two stopped Lu Jing-Jing and Zhang Shuai with just the loss of three games. It is the first WTA doubles crown for Duan, who was playing in her first WTA doubles final. Han won her second career trophy in her sixth career final. Five of Han’s finals have come in China, but this was her first victory in her home country. She won her first doubles champions in Hobart, Australia, last year teaming with American Christina McHale.

 

SERBIAN DROP

Novak Djokovic has dropped out of the Top 10 rankings for the first time in more than a decade. The Serbian right-hander has not played since Wimbledon in July, ending his season because of an elbow injury. It is the first time since March 200 that Djokovic has been ranked lower than 10th in the world. The 30-year-old Serb is hoping to return to action at the exhibition World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi in December.

 

SECURES SPOT

David Goffin is the first Belgian to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals. Ranked 10th in the world, Goffin clinched his spot in the eight-player tournament when he beat Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the third round of the Paris Masters. Others who qualified for the elite event are Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov and Jack Sock.

 

SET FOR ACTION

Andy Murray, who hasn’t played since Wimbledon in July, will face off against Roger Federer in an exhibition match in Scotland. The event is to raise money for charity. “We’re going to have a good time,” Federer said, “and I think it’s wonderful what he (Murray) is doing in his philanthropic efforts.” Murray is expected to return to the ATP World Tour in Brisbane, Australia, at a tournament that begins on New Year’s Eve. “Tennis is a difficult sport for coming back from injuries,” said Michael Davison, a sports medicine specialist and managing director of Isokinetic London. “You can’t manage your minutes like you would in football by coming on for half-an-hour towards the end. No one knows how long a match will last or how far you might go in a tournament. So an exhibition like this is the nearest thing Murray will be able to get to playing competitive tennis in a controlled environment.”

 

SPECIAL COUPLE

The year keeps getting better for Caroline Wozniacki. Ranked third in the world, Wozniacki announced her engagement to American basketball player David Lee by posting a picture of her diamond engagement ring on Twitter alongside a caption which read: “Happiest day of my life yesterday saying yes to my soulmate.” A 34-year-old NBA free agent who spent most of his career with the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors, Lee also posted about the engagement.

 

SAYS SHE CAN

Former world number one Steffi Graf believes Serena Williams can surpass Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam tournament singles titles. The 36-year-old Williams has not played since winning her 23rd major at the Australian Open in January while pregnant. She gave birth to a girl in September and has talked about defending her Australian Open title in January. “Absolutely yes” Graf said when asked about Williams’ chances of breaking the record. “I think a lot of it is determined on her drive and if that is what she wants to do.” Graf won 22 Grand Slam tournament titles. “You know, everything that she has shown over her career just makes you believe that if she has that in her sights, then she will go after it and achieve it,” Graf said.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Paris: Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo beat Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers 7-6 (3) 3-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Zhuhai: Duan Ying-Ying and Han Xinyun beat Lu Jing-Jing and Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-1

 

SURFING

Milan: www.nextgenatpfinals.com/

Bratislava: www.tennisslovakopen.sk/uvod.html

Limoges: www.engieopendelimoges.fr/

Zhenzen: www.missionhillschina.com

Tokyo: http://ando-open.toyko

London: www.nittoatpfinals.com/

Taipei: www.oectennis.com/bin/home.php

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$1,275,000 Next Gen ATP Finals, Milan, Italy, hard

106,000 Peugeot Slovak Open, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, hard

 

WOMEN

$115,000 WTA EA Hua Hin Championship, Hua Hin, Thailand, hard

$115,000 Engie Open de Limoges, Limoges, Frances, hard

$100,000 Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen, China, hard

$100,000 Ando Securities Open, Tokyo, Japan, hard

 

FED CUP

Final

Belarus vs. United States at Minsk, Belarus

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$6,500,000 Nitto ATP Finals, London, Great Brittan, hard

 

WOMEN

$115,000 OEC Taipei WTA, Taipei, Taiwan, carpet

 

Jack Sock
Jack Sock

Next Up For Jack Sock, Jordan Thompson In Davis Cup

by

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

After his Miami Open quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, Jack Sock can next look forward to a match next Friday on the other side of the planet against Jordan Thompson of Australia.

That’s who Sock will likely play as the No. 1 player on the U.S. Davis Cup team, drawn to face Thompson, the Australian No. 2 on the opening day of the USA vs. Australia Davis Cup quarterfinal next week in Brisbane, Australia.

Questions for U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier is who will be his No. 2 singles player who would play Australian No. 1 Nick Kyrgios on the opening day and who his doubles team would be, theoretically to play against Aussies Sam Groth and John Peers?

By the rankings, that Courier has often gone strictly by in selecting his playing positions, John Isner is the U.S. No. 2 at No. 23 in the ATP World Tour rankings, six slots lower than Sock at No. 17. However, Courier is armed with four top 30 singles players on his squad also including Sam Querrey at No. 27, and Stevie Johnson at No. 28. Isner’s head to head with Kyrgios is 2-1, losing the last meeting 7-6, 7-6 in the Atlanta final last summer. Querrey is fresh off beating the hot-headed Australian 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 in the semifinals of the Acapulco, Mexico, also on a hard court at sea-level like Brisbane. Courier could then save a fresh Isner to potentially play the live fifth match, if necessary, against Thompson, Isner showing the fortitude to win under pressure, best exemplified in his famous 70-68 win over Nico Mahut at Wimbledon.

Johnson seems more likely to pair in the doubles, potentially with Sock with whom he won Olympic bronze in Rio last summer. Johnson also reached the U.S. Open semis with Querrey in 2015 and the two paired together as a Davis Cup doubles team in 2015 against Uzbekistan. Johnson has also recently paired with Isner on the ATP World Tour.

In short, Courier has lots of options.

The U.S. will be playing in Australia for a second straight year due to an agreement 18 years ago determined during the Davis Cup Centennial in 1999 when Australia was forced to play for a second straight year against the USA in the USA to give a home match at Boston’s Longwood Cricket Club, the site of the first-ever Davis Cup matches in 1900 as part of the celebration. You can read about this controversy at the time and what led up to it and how it was resolved in a special ebook I wrote and published called “U.S. Davis Cup Team Stories – The 1999 Davis Cup Centennial,” that you can download on kindle here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NB1FWU9/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_ylr3ybHHS051Y

Jack Sock
Jack Sock

High Platform For Jack Sock Playing At Madison Square Garden As New No. 1 American

by

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Jack Sock is on a high platform these days.

Not only is he going to compete in Madison Square Garden – the world’s most famous arena – as part of the annual BNP Paribas Showdown Monday night, but Sock now has the platform as being the No. 1 ranked male tennis player in the United States.

Entering Monday night’s event – and the Indian Wells-Miami swing of important U.S. tournaments in the next month – Sock has an incredible 11-1 record for the year and sits at a career-high ranking of No. 18. His only loss this year came at the Australian Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round, after starting the year winning in Auckland, New Zealand and also winning in Delray Beach, Florida last month.

During last month’s U.S. Davis Cup victory over Switzerland, Sock first found himself as the No. 1 player on the U.S. team, a position held for much of the last few years by John Isner.

Sock made his Davis Cup debut in 2015 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where he won two live singles rubbers to join Cliff Richey as the only U.S. Davis Cup rookies to perform the feat. (Read more about that here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/12683)

He left the Rio Olympics last August as the only tennis player with two medals, winning gold in mixed doubles with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and bronze in men’s doubles with Stevie Johnson.

The big ask for Sock from American tennis fans is if he can become the first American man to win a major singles title since the 2003 U.S. Open, won by Andy Roddick, who is also on Monday’s card at Madison Square Garden. The 15-year drought for American men is the longest span that American men have gone without winning a singles major in the history of the sport. Sock and Roddick share the same birth state, Nebraska (Sock born in Lincoln, Roddick born in Omaha). American tennis fans will have to wait to see if the two can share the title of American Grand Slam tournament champion.

“He’s off to a great start,” said Roddick at Sunday’s BNP Paribas Showdown press conference of Sock. “I think he’s super talented. I think the best is still in front of him.”

 

Jack Sock poster for BNP Paribas Showdown
Jack Sock poster for BNP Paribas Showdown

Madison Square Garden’s Rich Tennis Exhibition History

by

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Madison Square Garden has the moniker as the world’s most famous arena and has been the home of some of the biggest ever sporting events. The NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Championships, world-famous boxing matches have been contested at the Midtown Manhattan arena.

Some of the greatest matches in tennis have also been staged at “The Garden” most recently the “Masters” championship, the year-end men’s tournament, now known as the ATP World Tour Finals played in London, as well as the year-end Virginia Slims Championships, now known as the year-end WTA Tour Championships held in Singapore. Now, MSG is the home of the annual BNP Paribas Showdown, an event that started in 2008 featuring Roger Federer against Pete Sampras.

This year, the event on Monday, March 6 has four matches (first to five, no-ad scoring) featuring Andy Roddick vs. Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Martin del Potro vs. Kei Nishikori, Jack Sock vs. Nick Kyrgios and Venus Williams vs. Garbine Muguruza.

An annual event is a celebration of tennis where are the biggest stars in the game to compete in front of the world’s best sports fans in New York City, giving them a “tennis fix” six months from and until the U.S. Open.

While not an official event, it goes along with Madison Square Garden’s rich tradition of high profile “exhibition” tennis matches that date back to 1926.

The following are is a list from my compilation “On This Day In Tennis History” (available as a book, ebook, audio book and mobile app where books are sold and at www.TennisHistoryApp.com) where I describe some of the great exhibition matches that have been held at Madison Square Garden through the years. Many times when I tweet these anniversaries from the @ThisDayInTennis and my @TennisPublisher Twitter profiles, Jerry Solomon, the promoter of the BNP Paribas Challenge, will retweet these historic anecdote to bring the historic past together with the history being made in the present.

 

October 9, 1926: French tennis sensation Suzanne Lenglen makes her pro debut in front of 13,000 fans at Madison Square Garden in New York. Lenglen, a winner of six Wimbledon singles titles, debuts against Mary Browne, who she dominates during the tour, winning all 38 matches.

February 18, 1931: Bill Tilden makes his much hyped and anticipated professional debut defeating Czech Karel Kozeluh 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in front of 13,000 fans at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tilden and Kozeluh continue on to compete in 32 other matches in a cross-country tour – Tilden winning the tour 27-6. Tilden serves with entrepreneur William O’Brien as the co-promoter of the tour that grosses $238,000.

January 10, 1934: With fans literally standing in the aisles, a crowd of 14,637 – the largest crowd to ever assemble to watch a tennis match at the time – packs New York’s Madison Square Garden as Ellsworth Vines makes his professional debut against Bill Tilden. The 41-year-old Tilden emerges victorious in the debut match of a 73-match barnstorming tour, beating the 23-year-old Vines 8-6, 6-3, 6-2. The match grosses $30,125 with courtside tickets being sold for $5. Vines wins the overall tour 47 matches to 26 with the overall tour grossing $243,000 – the most ever for a pro tour.

January 3, 1939: New York’s Madison Square Garden is the scene of the professional debut of Don Budge. Fresh off winning the first “Grand Slam” of tennis in 1938, Budge defeats Ellsworth Vines 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour, 2 minutes.

December 26, 1947: Jack Kramer makes his pro debut at Madison Square Garden against Bobby Riggs as a blizzard hits New York. With taxis, buses and commuter trains and private cars stalled and subways limping, 15,114 fans came to the arena on Eighth Avenue and 50th street. Riggs spoils the debut of Kramer, winning 6-2, 10-8, 4-6, 6-4. Writes Lincoln Werden of the New York Times, “The former amateur king pin piled up error after error throughout and indications that he lacked complete poise and control brought an occasional reassuring cry from the fans ‘Come On Jackie.’”

March 10, 2008: A sell-out crowd of 19,690 that includes golf legend Tiger Woods pack Madison Square Garden in New York City for the NetJets Showdown exhibition match between Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. Federer, an owner of 12 major singles titles, edges 14-time major singles titlist Sampras in a third-set tie-breaker 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6) in the sometimes competitive celebration of tennis. Says Sampras, “It was a great night for tennis.” Writes the Associated Press of the match, “There were moments when, if you squinted a bit, you would have sworn that was the Sampras of old, rather than an old Sampras. There were moments when, if you listened to the whip of the racket through the air, you would have been absolutely sure Federer was giving it his all. And then there were moments when, as you watched Sampras throw his racket to the ground in mock disgust or saw Federer raise an index finger to celebrate four aces in a single game, it didn’t really matter whether this match counted or not.” Says Federer after the match, “I don’t think winning or losing was really the issue tonight. I think we both tried to do our best and have a fun night, and that’s what it turned out to be.”

BNP Paribas Showdown 2017
BNP Paribas Showdown 2017

Elina Svitolina Beats Two Former Number Ones To Win In Dubai – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Elina Svitolina beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-2 to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dominic Thiem beat Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5 6-4 to win the Rio Open presented by Claro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Lucas Pouille 6-4 6-4 to win the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, France

Jack Sock won the Delray Beach Open in Delray Beach, Florida, USA, when Milos Raonic withdrew with a leg injury

Timea Babos beat Lucie Safarova 6-7 (4) 6-4 6-3 to win the Hungarian Ladies Open in Budapest, Hungary

 

SAYING

“I played some amazing tennis this week.” – Elina Svitolina, after winning the Dubai Open and moving into the WTA’s Top 10.

“I’d be a little more excited and full of energy if I had gone out and won it on court, but on the flip side, a title is a title.” – Jack Sock, who won in Delray Beach, Florida, when Milos Raonic pulled out of the final with a leg injury.

“I thought it might just be wear and tear, but I woke up this morning not really able to walk. We did about two hours of therapy (Sunday) morning trying to calm it down and saw it wasn’t making much progress, so we came to the conclusion it was a hamstring strain.” – Milos Raonic, who withdrew from the Delray Beach final with a leg injury.

“I’m really, really happy. It’s an unbelievable feeling and an incredible moment for my career … it’s unbelievable that I could come out with a win in front of my home crowd.” – Timea Babos, after winning the inaugural Hungarian Ladies Open.

“I tried my best. That is how I am, and I’m always trying my best until the end.” – Angelique Kerber, following her semifinal loss in Dubai to Elina Svitolina.

“Obviously, I’m very happy after a week like this. Winning the title in doubles and reaching the final in singles is great.” – Pablo Carreno Busta, after a successful week in Rio de Janeiro.

“I hope we’re going to get into the problem that I will have to play every day; that means I’m winning matches. – Roger Federer, who says he’s still “riding the wave” after his surprising Australian Open victory.

 

SVITOLINA SPARKLES

Elina Svitolina’s success isn’t a surprise to the top WTA players. The 22-year-old Ukrainian won the biggest title of her career, the Dubai Open, by beating two former world number ones, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki. With the win, Svitolina moves into the WTA Top 10 rankings for the first time. “I dreamed all my life to be in the Top 10, so it’s an amazing feeling to enter the Top 109 by winning the tournament,” Svitolina said. “I am very excited for the season.” She should be. She beat Kerber for the third straight time and second this year to gain a spot in the final. Then Svitolina, who has never lost to Wozniacki, beat the Dane 6-4 6-2 for the title. “When I’m playing well, I can play top tennis,” the winner said. “I try to always find this in myself. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but I try to accept it and work and work and work.” Although she has lost in the final for the second straight week, Wozniacki still felt confident. “It has been a good two weeks – two finals, lots of matches. I’m already excited to be back.”

Svitolina’s 6-3 7-6 (3) semifinal win over Kerber kept the German from regaining the top spot in the rankings. Kerber remains behind Serena Williams, who returned to the number one spot when she won the Australian Open in January.

 

SOCK WINS ON WALKOVER

Jack Sock won the Delray Beach Open without taking the court. The American was awarded the when top seed Milos Raonic withdrew before the final with of a hamstring tear in his right leg. It was Sock’s second ATP World Tour title of 2017 and the third of his career. “It’s very unfortunate for him and I hope he has a speedy recovery,” Sock said of Raonic. “We’ve had a lot of good battles and I was looking forward to the challenge.” Sock sailed through the week without dropping a set and improved his record this season to 11-1. He said Raonic notified him personally about the withdrawal right before the American was about to warm up for the match. Sock said he was surprised because he had watched the Canadian beat Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals. “I’m sure Milos would have loved to play, but you’ve got to look ahead with some big tournaments coming up,” Sock said. “If you try to play with something that’s tweaked or a little hurt, it can only get worse.” Raonic said he first felt a sharp pain early in the second set of his match against del Potro, then his injury got worse overnight. “It’s been three tournaments in a row where I’ve sustained some sort of muscle damage,” Raonic said. “And it’s disappointing for the sole fact that you’re one match away from a title. It’s not easy to accept.”

 

SUCCESSFUL GOLDEN SWING

Austria’s Dominic Thiem may have found a home in Latin America. Thiem knocked off Pablo Carreno Busta to capture the Rio Open in Brazil, his eighth ATP World Tour title and third on the Latin American Golden Swing. He won in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Acapulco, Mexico, last year. “I am feeling really great,” Thiem said. “This is the best feeling you can have, winning a title. I’s all you practice for. I played five very good matches, especially in the semis and final against amazing players.” Carreno Busta took the early lead, breaking his opponent in the fifth game of the match. But Thiem broke right back and eventually converted his third set point. The Austrian lost his serve again in the second set, but wound up breaking Carreno Busta in the final game of the match.

Carreno Busta wound up with a title on the Brazilian clay courts. He teamed with Pablo Cuevas to beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the doubles final.

 

SWEET HOME VICTORY

Timea Babos picked the perfect time to begin winning matches. The Hungarian had failed to win a match all year until she went home to play the inaugural Hungarian Ladies Open. That’s when she won five straight matches and her second WTA title, besting Lucie Safarova in the final. “It’s not easy being the number one seed in your home country without winning a match this year,” Babos said. “This is its own kind of pressure, but I just tried to stay focused and calm to do my bet and give everything I had. Match by match I started to play better, but it’s still incredible what happened.” Safarova took the opening set before Babos began her winning run. She converted the only break point of the second set. Then, serving for the match, Babos lost her serve. Undaunted she broke right back to grab the title. “It was just about a few points the whole time,” Safarova said. “It was a very close match.”

 

SWITCH

Francesca Schiavone could play her final Fed Cup tie at home now that Chinese Taipei has given up its right to stage its World Group II playoff tie against Italy. The 36-year-old Schiavone, Italy’s most successful Fed Cup player in terms of overall wins and singles wins, earlier this year announced she would retire at the end of 2017. Chinese Taipei had been granted hosting rights for the tie, but requested to forfeit the choice of ground. The best-of-5 tie will be held April 22-23.

 

SHOCK MOUTH

Nick Kyrgios just can’t help himself. During his semifinal loss to eventual winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Marseille, France, Kyrgios was not allowed to challenge a line call by the umpire, who said he made the request too late. The 21-year-old Australian, who was leading 5-4 in the first set at the time, argued with the umpire. “I’ve seen referees wait 5, 6 seconds even when the ball’s gone out,” Kyrgios said. “And for them it’s OK, but when I do it once it’s not OK. So don’t talk to me saying it’s one time, because I’ve seen it. You guys are biased as s—t.” Although Kyrgios dropped the first set, he won the second before Tsonga took the third 6-4 to advance to the final. At last year’s French Open, Kyrgios cursed during his rant towards umpire Carlos Ramos, accusing him of “unbelievable bias.”

 

STEPPING DOWN

When Jo-Wilfried Tsonga gets on a roll, others can get trampled. Ask fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille. Tsonga’s ninth straight match win gave him his third Open 13 Marseille title as he whipped past Pouille in 69 minutes. It was Tsonga’s 14th career title and his second in 2017. “It’s my 14th title and I hope it won’t be the last,” said, who never faced a break point in the match. “It’s amazing to win two titles in a row.” He also won the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam a week earlier. This was his third victory in Marseille, the others coming in 2009 and 2013. With the win, Tsonga returns to the Top 10 rankings.

 

SAD NEWS

John Patrick McEnroe Sr. is dead at the age of 81. Cause of death was not announced. The father of tennis legend John McEnroe Jr., doubles star Patrick and Mark, John Sr. was a partner at the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP law firm where he practiced corporate law, including acquisitions, mergers and public and private financings. Later, he represented John Jr. and Patrick in their contract negotiations and endorsement deals. After their playing days ended, both John and Patrick became tennis commentators.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Budapest: Hsieh Su-Wei and Oksana Kalashnikova beat Galina Voskoboeva and Arina Rodionova 6-3 4-6 10-4 (match tiebreak)

Delray Beach: Raven KIaasen and Rajeev Ram beat Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi 7-5 -7-5

Dubai: Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai 6-2 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Marseille: Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut beat Robin Haase and Dominic Inglot 6-4 6-7 (9) 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Rio de Janeiro: Pablo Carreno Busta and Pablo Cuevas beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4 5-7 10-8 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

Dubai: www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/

Acapulco: www.abiertomexicanodetenis.com/en/

Sao Paulo: www.brasilopen.com.br/

Wroclaw: http://wroclawopen.com/

Kuala Lumpur: www.alyawtamalaysianopen.com/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$2,858,530 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard

$1,633, 690 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico, hard

$520,285 Basil Open, Sao Paulo, Brazil, clay

$100,000 Wroclaw Open 2017, Wroclaw, Poland, hard

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico, hard

$226,750 Alya WTA Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$7,913,405 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard, first week

WOMEN

$6,99,450 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, California, USA, hard, first week

Elena Svitolina
Elena Svitolina

Great Britain Advances in Davis Cup on Disqualification – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Kristina Mladenovic beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2 6-7 (3) 6-4 to win the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy in St. Petersburg, Russia

Elina Svitolina beat Peng Shuai 6-3 6-2 to win the Taiwan Open in Taipei, Taiwan

Ryan Harrison beat Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-3 to win the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, USA

Tatjana Maria beat Naomi Broady 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-4 to win the Dow Tennis Classic in Midland, Michigan, USA

 

DAVIS CUP

World Group

First Round

Argentina and Italy tied 2-2 at Buenos Aires, Argentina

Belgium beat Germany 4-1 at Frankfurt, Germany

Australia beat Czech Republic 3-1 at Melbourne, Australia

United States beat Switzerland 5-0 at Birmingham, Alabama, USA

France beat Japan 4-1 at Tokyo, Japan

Great Britain beat Canada 3-2 at Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Serbia bear Russia 4-0 at Nis, Serbia

Spain beat Croatia 3-2 at Osijek, Croatia

 

Group I – First Round

Americas Zone: Ecuador beat Peru 5-0 at Guayaquil, Ecuador; Chile beat Dominican Republic 5-0 at Santo Domino, Dominican Republic

Asia/Oceania Zone: Uzbekistan beat Korea 3-1 at Gimcheon, Korea; India beat New Zealand 4-1 at Pune, India

Europe/Africa Zone: Bosnia/Herzegovina beat Poland 5-0 at Zenica, Bosnia/Herzegovina; Belarus beat Romania 3-2 at Minsk, Belarus; Portugal beat Israel 5-0 at Lisbon, Portugal

 

Group I – Second Round

Europe/Africa Zone: Hungary beat Slovakia 3-1 at Bratislava, Slovakia

 

Group 2 – First Round

Americas Zone: Barbados beat Paraguay 3-2 at Asuncion, Paraguay; Guatemala beat Mexico 3-1 at Guatemala, Guatemala; El Salvador beat Bolivia 3-2 at San Salvador, El Salvador; Venezuela beat Bahamas 5-0 at Doral, Florida, USA

Asia/Oceania Zone: Pakistan beat Iran 3-2 at Islamabad, Pakistan; Hong Kong beat Vietnam 3-2 at Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Philippines beat Indonesia 4-1 at Manila, Philippines; Thailand beat Kuwait 3-1 at Meshref, Kuwait

Europe/Africa Zone: Sweden beat Tunisia 3-2 in Tunis, Tunisia; Turkey beat Cyprus 4-1 in Nicosia, Cyprus; Lithuania beat Madagascar 3-2 in Siauliai, Lithuania; Georgia beat Finland 3-2 in Tbilisi, Georgia; Norway beat Latvia 5-0 at Jelgava, Latvia; Denmark beat Morocco 4-1 in Aarhus, Denmark; South Africa beat Estonia 4-1 in Centurion, South Africa; Slovenia beat Monaco 3-2 in Maribor, Slovenia

 

SAYING

“You never know in Davis Cup.” – Steve Darcis, who led Belgium to a 4-1 victory over favored Germany.

“This is the last time I’m going to do anything like that. I’m going to learn from it.” – Denis Shapovalov of Canada, who was disqualified in the fifth rubber for hitting the umpire with the ball, giving Great Britain the 3-2 Davis Cup victory.

“I believe everyone is limitless, and it’s just about moving forward with the mentality.” – Kristina Mladenovic, after winning her first WTA singles title.

“It was the end of the tournament, and the nerves are always there. Finals come down to who can handle nerves better.” — Elina Svitolina, after winning in Taipei.

 

SUCCESSFUL STRUGGLE

Neither Kristina Mladenovic nor Yulia Putintseva were supposed to still be playing when it came time for the final. Tell that to the pair as Mladenovic grabbed her first WTA singles title by beating Putintseva in a thrilling conclusion to the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. “It was my fourth final, and I’d lost three before that,” Mladenovic said. “The wait was definitely worth it.” Mladenovic beat Venus Williams and defending champion Roberta Vinci on her way to the final. Putintseva, who was also unseeded, knocked off third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova during the week. In the final, Mladenovic was sailing along with a 6-2 5-2 lead before her nerves got the best of her and a persistent Putintseva finally began showing the game that got her to the title match. “We were both tight and there were ups and downs from both sides, but I never gave up,” Putintseva said. Mladenovic failed to serve out the match three times before finally prevailing. “Physically, I felt great, through sometimes the nerves made my legs feel heavy,” Mladenovic said. “But it came down to fighting spirit.”

 

SWIFT END

Great Britain won its first-round Davis Cup tie when Canada’s Denis Shapovalov was defaulted for hitting the umpire in the face with the ball. Kyle Edmund was in control of the deciding fifth match when the reigning Wimbledon junior champion angrily smashed the ball from mid court. The ball struck Arnaud Gabas of France flush in the left eye. Shapovalov rushed to the chair and apologized before the umpire was taken to a hospital for observation. An International Tennis Federation spokesperson said Gabas had swelling and bruising around his left eye. Great Britain and Canada were tied 2-2 going into the decisive rubber. With the victory, Great Britain will face France in the quarterfinal round. “I feel incredibly embarrassed and ashamed and feel awful for letting my team and my country down,” Shapovalov said. “I want to apologize to the umpire and referee; it was unacceptable from me.”

 

SUPERB DARCIS

Steve Darcis won both of his singles to give Belgium a surprising first-round Davis Cup win over Germany. The 32-year-old Darcis beat Philipp Kohlschreiber on the first day, then upset Alexander Zverev in the reverse singles 2-6 6-4 6-4 7-6 (8) to clinch Belgium’s spot in the quarterfinals. “They said it would be an easy match for Germany,” said Darcis, who has a 21-8 Davis Cup record in singles. “That’s why we love the Davis Cup. There are surprises and we had one today. The difference between us and them is that we are really a team. They have so many great players but we play with heart, for our country and for the people here.” Belgium’s chances were considered slim since it’s top player, David Goffin, didn’t play. Instead, Darcis was the clutch performer. Although Zverev had more winners, 28-20, and more aces, 21-7, than his Belgian foe, Zverev had 73 unforced errors.

 

SVITOLINA STARS

Elina Svitolina credits her mental approach to her winning tennis these days. That and an improved physical game gave Svitolina her fifth career WTA title, the Taiwan Open. “Today I was playing very well and stayed solid mentally and physically. That’s a positive,” Svitolina said after beating Peng Shuai. “I came here to Taipei trying to improve my game, to push myself and see what I could do. This week, then, was very positive.” Her Chinese opponent had won their only previous career meeting, that in 2014 at the Connecticut Open. “She’s always been really aggressive from the baseline,” Svitolina said of Peng. “The change was in myself because when I played her in 2014 I physically was much worse, which is why she had the opportunity to get on top of my game. I changed a lot. I improved my serve, return and baseline game. The difference came down more to me than her, because I played more solid today.”

 

SIMONA INJURED

An injury to her left knee forced Simona Halep to withdraw from her quarterfinal match at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. “I’m really disappointed that I had to withdraw …, but my knee is not OK,” the Romanian said. “After the last match I felt pain, and I feel it’s risky to continue here.” The tournament’s top seed, Halep said she has been suffering from tendinitis in the same knee since the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore in October and when she lost her first-round Australian Open match to Shelby Rogers last month. The 25-year-old Halep had beaten Ana Konjuh is straight sets in her first match before she started feeling pain in her knee.

 

STOPPED

Camila Giorgi has been banned for nine months and fined by the Italian Tennis Federation for refusing to play Fed Cup. The ban prevents Giorgi from training at federation facilities and from receiving a wild card for the Italian Open in May. Her father and coach, Sergio Giorgi, said she asked the federation for a break from national team play so she could compete in qualifying for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Giorgi missed the Italian Open last year for the same reason. She has played five Fed Cup ties and won the only point in Italy’s quarterfinal loss to France last year.

 

SHOCKER

A thrilling comeback is becoming a habit for Yulia Putintseva. She reached her first WTA final by shocking second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova 3-6 6-4 6-4 at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. “It’s unbelievable,” the 22-year-old from Kazakhstan said. “I’m very happy that the crowd was behind me this time around.” The crowd was pulling for her opponent in the quarterfinals when Putintseva upset third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. “I never give up and always try to dictate my game, no matter what,” she said. Against Cibulkova, Putintseva won the final four games to grab a spot in the final.

 

STRAIGHT THROUGH

Ryan Harrison didn’t drop a set the entire week as he became the first top-seeded player to win the RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas in the 20 years the tournament has been on the ATP Challenger Tour. And he did it by defeating Taylor Fritz in an all-American battle. Fritz was looking for his first title since January 2016. It was Harrison’s fourth ATP Challenger Tour crown, but first since January 2015.

 

SWEEP

Jack Sock and Steve Johnson led the way as the United States swept its first-round Davis Cup tie against a Switzerland team that didn’t include either Roger Federer or Stan Wawrinka. Sock won his opening singles match against Marco Chiudinelli, then teamed with Steve Johnson to capture the doubles, giving the USA a clinching 3-0 lead. Johnson won the fifth rubber to complete the sweep. John Isner won his singles match on the opening day and Sam Querry won a reverse singles battle in straight set. The Swiss won only one set over the weekend, Henri Laaksonen and Adrien Bossel capturing the first set of the doubles before losing the next three.

Viktor Troiki won his singles match and partnered player-coach Nenad Zimonjic to victory in the doubles as Serbia blanked Russia 4-0, the only other World Group tie that had one team win every match played. The fifth rubber was not played. Novak Djokovic and Dusan Lajovic won Serbia’s other singles.

Argentina and Italy played a decisive fifth rubber on Monday after darkness halted play Sunday night in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the two teams tied 2-2.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

 

MEN

Dallas: David O’Hare and Joe Salisbury beat Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Christopher Rungkat 6-7 (6) 6-3 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Midland: Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey beat Kayla Day and Caroline Dolehide 7-6 (1) 6-3

St. Petersburg: Jelena Ostapenko and Alicja Rosolska beat Darija Jurak and Xenia Knoll 3-6 6-2 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Taipei: Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan beat Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-2

 

SURFING

Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com

Quito: www.ecuadoropen.com.ec/

Sofia: http://www.eventim.bg/bg/tursi/

Montpellier: www.opensuddefrance.com/fr/home

Doha: www.qatartennis.org

Rotterdam: www.abnamrowtt.nl/en

Memphis: http://memphisopen.com

Buenos Aires: http://argentinaopenatp.com/atp/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$540,310 Ecuador Open, Quito, Ecuador, clay

$577,748 Garanti Koza Sofia Open, Sofia, Bulgaria, hard

$577,748 Open Sud de France, Montpellier, France, hard

$100,000 Kunal Patel San Francisco Open, San Francisco, California, USA, hard

 

FED CUP

Group I

Americas Zone in Metepec, Mexico, Round-robin, hard: Pool A: Canada, Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela; Pool B: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Mexico

Asia/Oceania Zone in Astana, Kazakhstan, Round-robin, hard: Pool A: Thailand, Kazakhstan, Korea; Pool B: China, India, Japan, Philippines

Europe/Africa Zone in Tallinn, Estonia, Round-robin; hard: Pool A: Poland, Austria, Georgia; Pool B: Croatia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Hungary; Pool C: Great Britain, Latvia, Portugal, Turkey; Pool D: Bulgaria, Estonia, Israel, Serbia

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$1,999,120 ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, Rotterdam, Netherlands, hard

$720,410 Memphis Open, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, hard

$624,340 Argentina Open, Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay

 

WOMEN

$710,900 Qatar Total Open, Doha, Qatar, hard

 

DAVIS CUP

World Group

Group I – First Round

Asia/Oceania Zone: Chinese Taipei vs. China at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, hard

 

Denis Shapovalov
Denis Shapovalov

Gilles Muller, Elise Mertens Win First Titles – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Johanna Konta beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-2 to win the Apia International women’s singles in Sydney, Australia

Jack Sock beat Joao Sousa 6-3 5-7 6-3 to win the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand

Gilles Muller beat Daniel Evans 7-6 (5) 6-2 to win the Apia International men’s singles in Sydney, Australia

Elise Mertens beat Monic Niculescu 6-3 6-1 to win the Hobart International in Hobart, Australia

 

SAYING

“Obviously how I have done here, I take it as a really positive thing, as a nice reward along the way for the hard work that myself and my team have put in every day. But it’s not a reflection of how next week will go, how the rest of the year will go.” – Johanna Konta, after winning the women’s title in Sydney, Australia.

“I was very scared and worried that I was going to be one of those players who never win a title. Now I have it, and it just feels great.” – Gilles Muller, following his victory in Sydney.

“Anytime you can take a title, it feels really good. I’ve had it once before. I’ve had chances. I’ve lost in a few finals. Winning the whole tournament is definitely a massive confidence booster.” – Jack Sock, after winning the ASB Classic.

“He was very confident and he serves very well, and I think that was the key of the match.” – Joao Sousa, who lost the ASB Classic final to Jack Sock.

“We fall and then we get back up and keep going. Then there comes a time, no matter what you do, say or feel, nothing is ever enough. Your body lets you know it’s had enough.” – Nadia Petrova, announcing her retirement from tennis.

“I think for a system that maybe everyone would say has not really worked for quite a long time, for change to happen, you need someone or a team in there that’s going to be in it for the long haul and not just a few years.” – Andy Murray, expressing displeasure of Michael Downey’s announcement to step down as Lawn Tennis Association chief after just three years in the job.

 

SYDNEY TOPPER

Playing aggressively but controlled tennis, Johanna Konta handed Agnieszka Radwanska a straight-set defeat to capture the Apia International Sydney women’s singles, her second career WTA title. Radwanska made only nine unforced errors, but she couldn’t keep up with Konta’s strong game. “She was just playing unbelievable tennis from the beginning till the end,” Radwanska said. “And normally you’re thinking that she can’t play like this whole match and it’s gonna be even game or two that, you know, you can go forward because she’s gonna have some worse couple of games. But she didn’t.” Konta pulled off the only break in the opening set. Then she ripped off the first four games in the second set before staving off Radwanska’s comeback bid. “She was just playing whole match so aggressive with pretty much everything in,” Radwanska said, “and I couldn’t do much.”

 

SECOND TITLE

Fourth-seeded Jack Sock also won his second career crown, capturing the ASB Classic by beating Joao Sousa. After the two traded sets, Sousa taking the second to knot the match, the two traded service breaks early in the third set before Sock finally took control. Sock credited his off-season work with helping him survive the three-setter. “I was able to put in a lot of work in the off-season and I think it paid off,” Sock said. “I was able to make lots of gains and lots of strides forward. I think it really showed this week.” Sock was in the final for the second straight year. Last year, the American was forced to retire with an injury.

 

SUCCESS, FINALLY

Playing in his 17th year as a professional, Gilles Muller finally won his first ATP World Tour title, beating Great Britain’s Dan Evans in the Apia International men’s final. The 33-year-old left-hander had lost all five of his previous tour finals. After converting his third championship point, Muller raised his arm high in triumph. “Wow, what a night,” he said. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” Then, fighting back tears, he said, I’m sorry. It just means so much to me to win the first time on the ATP in front of my boys and my wife.” Muller was always in control with his serve-and-volley game but a tiebreak to take the first set. The second set was more one-sided, and in the final game Evans grabbed a 40-0 lead, triple match point. His nerves caught up with him and he double-faulted his first championship point and went long on his second. He hit another fault on his third match point, but his angled second serve forced Evans to hit an error. “I was hoping it was going to be six losses in finals, but it wasn’t to be,” Evans said with a grin during the post-match ceremonies. Then it became even better. Muller received his trophy from legend Rod Laver. “I wasn’t expecting that,” Muller said. “It was a great honor. Just unbelievable. Everything that happened tonight was like in a movie. Rod Laver there, standing on center court with the trophy, my kinds in the stands. Can’t ask for more.”

 

STAYING PAYS OFF

Elise Mertens had a decision to make. She could withdraw from the Hobart International and head for Melbourne to try to qualify for the women’s singles main draw, or she could remain in the field at the Tasmanian state capital and continue play as a qualifier. Her decision to stay paid off. The 21-year-old Belgian beat Monica Niculescu in straight sets to win the Hobart tournament. The victory boosts Mertens in the 80s in the rankings, meaning she probably won’t have to qualify for the next Grand Slam tournament, the French Open. Mertens trained at the Kim Clijsters academy and says she took her inspiration from the fellow Belgian, who won Hobart in 2000. “She’s really a role model for me. What she achieved was amazing,” Mertens said of the former world number one. “I hope I can be a little bit like her … I still have some years to go, so I’ll see where it ends.” Mertens was playing in her first final in just her fourth WTA event.

 

SHOOTOUT

It was “David vs. Goliath” at the Kooyong Classic, and David won again. David Goffin retained his Kooyong Classic title by beating Ivo Karlovic 7-2 in the tiebreak of a one-set shootout. The 5-foot-11 Goffin (1.80m) and 6-11 (2.11m) Karlovic battled to a 6-6 standoff in the final of the exhibition competition. After a brief negotiation, the two played the tiebreak, with the Belgian racing out to a 5-0 lead. Karlovic, who usually in dominant in tiebreaks because of his huge serve, won two of the next three points before the Belgian closed out the victory. Play had been curtailed by wet weather.

 

SUSPENDED

Several players have received suspensions or fines or both, according to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). Australian Calum Puttergill was suspended for six months and fined USD $10,000 for placing 291 bets on matches between May 2012 and November 2014. The TIU said none of Puttergill’s bets involved matches he was playing. The final three months of the suspension and USD $5,000 of the fine were suspended on the condition the 23-year-old does not commit any further offenses prior to July 11, 2017.

Alexandru-Daniel Carpen of Romania was banned for life after he admitted that in 2013 he had tried to get another player to be involved in match-fixing for payment. Carpen has not played professionally since a 2015 ITF Futures tournament in Romania.

The TIU handed Nick Lindahl of Australia a seven-year band for match fixing. Lindahl also was fined USD $35,000.

Two other Australians – Brandon Walkin and Isaac Frost – were implicated in the match-fixing incident with Lindahl, which took place in 2013 at a Futures tournament in Australia. Walkin was suspended for six months. Frost was found to have failed to cooperate with the TIU by refusing a request to supply his phone for analysis.

An annual report issued by the TIU showed an increase in the number of investigations and prosecutions last year.


SAYING GOODBYE

Nadia Petrova, who was ranked as high as third in the world in both singles and doubles, has called it quits. “Tennis has given me so much,” the 34-year-old Russian said. “It’s given me a career, shaped me as a person, allowed me the opportunity to travel the world, make friends internationally and learn about many cultures. My opportunities have become endless, and for that I’m forever grateful.” Petrova won 13 WTA singles titles and 24 doubles championships.

 

STUTTGART RETURN

Maria Sharapova will return to competitive tennis at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. The former world number one has accepted a wildcard entry into the WTA tournament and won’t play her opening match until April 27, the day her suspension ends. It will be her first WTA event since she tested positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open last year. Sharapova has won the Stuttgart tournament three times. Although she no longer has a ranking, as a past Grand Slam singles champion and WTA Finals singles champion, Sharapova can receive an unlimited number of wildcard nominations.

 

SICK BAY

Defending champion Roberto Bautista-Agut, citing a stomach virus, withdrew from the ASB Tennis Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. The top-seeded Spaniard had a first-round bye, but informed organizers before his second-round match that he was unable to play.

 

STAYING HOME

Switzerland’s top two players – Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka – are skipping the nation’s first-round Davis Cup tie against the United States next month. Instead, the Swiss will go with Marco Chiudinelli, who is ranked 128th in the world, Henri Laaaksonen (135), Adrien Bossel (489) and Antoine Bellier (611).

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Auckland: Marci Matkowski and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi beat Jonathan Erlich and Scott Lipsky 1-6 6-2 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Hobart: Raluca Olaru and Olga Savchuk beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Yang Zhaoxuan 0-6 6-4 105 (match tiebreak)

Sydney (men): Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop beat Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3 7-5

Sydney (women): Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova 6-4 6-4

 

SURFING

Sydney: www.apiainternational.com.au/

Hobart: www.hobartinternational.com.au/

Perth: http://hopmancup.com/

Melbourne: www.ausopen.com/index.html

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN and WOMEN

Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia, hard (first week)

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia, hard (second week)

$100,000 Open de Rennes, Rennes, France, hard

 

WOMEN

Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia, hard (second week)

Gilles Muller
Gilles Muller

Andy Murray Continues Bid for Top Spot as Novak Djokovic Loses – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Andy Murray beat Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (1) 6-1 to win the Shanghai Rolex Masters in Shanghai, China

Peng Shuai beat Alison Riske 7-6 (3) 6-2 to win the Tianjin Open in Tianjin, China

Caroline Wozniacki beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-1 6-7 (4) 6-2 to win the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open in Hong Kong, China

Dominika Cibulkova beat Viktorija Golubic 6-3 7-5 to win the Generali Ladies Linz in Linz, Austria

Konstantin Kravchuk beat Denis Istomin 7-5 6-4 to win the Tashkent Challenger in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Ernesto Escobedo beat Denis Kudla 6-4 6-4 to win the Monterrey Open in Monterrey, Mexico

 

SAYING

“This is one of those days. Things go in an opposite direction than you want them, but again, it’s a lesson. Every day is a lesson.” – Novak Djokovic, after being upset by Roberto Bautista Agut in Shanghai.

“I can’t describe how I feel. I’m so happy.” – Robert Bautista Agut, after upsetting Novak Djokovic in Shanghai.

“It’s great winning trophies; it’s what we play for. I’m very pleased with my week this week. I played some good tennis. I’m proud of how I managed to win.” – Caroline Wozniacki, following her win in Hong Kong.

“I need to look after my body first. I’ve only got one, so I really have to make sure I make the right decisions for my health.” – Johanna Konta, after withdrawing from the Hong Kong Tennis Open with an abdominal strain.

“It’s the end of the season. I guess everyone is struggling with something.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, after pulling out of the Tianjin Open with a right thigh injury.

“For tennis in general, that Roger (Federer) will be back at the top with no injury. I think it’s always good for everybody when he’s playing. And for myself, I don’t have any. I’m working every day to try to make the best I can with my tennis career.” – Stan Wawrinka, when asked what his top two wishes were for 2017.

“I had to experience sooner or later this. I knew I could not go on playing the highest level for so many years all the time, but it’s good to experience this so I can hopefully get better in the period to come.” – Novak Djokovic, following his upset loss in Shanghai.

“I do think that after everything he’s achieved and the kind of dominance that he’s had, it takes so much effort and work to be making finals almost every single week for two years. It’s maybe normal if he’s mentally a little tired or trying to find the next thing for him to achieve after what he did at the French Open.” – Andy Murray, discussing Novak Djokovic.

“The first time I remember I played him I thought he was from another planet, and now I think I’m closer to him.” – Roberto Bautista Agut, talking about Novak Djokovic.

“Andy is doing everything to get Novak. I can sit it in his eyes. He’s really focused on getting number one.” – Roberto Bautista Agut, on Andy Murray’s bid to supplant Novak Djokovic as the world’s top player.

“It’s an incredible year, such a great season.” – Dominika Cibulkova, who won her third title of 2016, the Generali Ladies Linz.

“Proving to myself that I’m still one of the top players and that I’m tough to beat is definitely something that I could call a success.” – Caroline Wozniacki, the former world number one who has soared in the WTA rankings since the US Open.

“As you know, tennis is very tight. Sometimes you lose because of a couple of points. Now I’m winning those points more often. Everything might be similar, but at the end of the day I’m the one winning the key points. It’s not about changing something big as much as it’s about being very focused in important moments and believing in yourself, that you can do it.” – Agnieszka Radwanska.

 

SURGING ANDY

Andy Murray made another move to supplant Novak Djokovic as the world’s top-ranked player, winning his sixth title of the year, the Shanghai Masters. In the final, Murray defeated Roberto Bautista Agut, who had upset Djokovic in the semifinals. “Really, since the French Open (I’ve) played the best three months of tennis of my career,” Murray said. Capturing his second title in two weeks wasn’t easy at first. Bautista Agut broke Murray’s serve to level the match at 5-5. That’s when the Scot stepped up his game another notch. Murray won the tiebreak 7-1 before racing through the second set. He had 16 unforced errors in the opening set, but only three after that. “I will try to finish this year as strong as I can,” Murray said. “And next year if the opportunity is there to reach number one, then I want to tray and take it. It’s going to be a tough thing to achieve that. I’m aware of that. But I believe I can get there. … These last few months have proved that to me.”

 

SECURES FIRST TITLE

China’s Peng Shuai won her first WTA title, the Tianjin Open, by downing American Alison Riske in the final. It was the seventh final for the 30-year-old Peg, who save 10 of 12 break points she faced against Riske in wrapping up the crown. Peng’s trip to the final was made easier when defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew from their quarterfinal match with an injury to her right thigh. Because of rain, both finalists won their semifinals earlier in the day, Peng beating Danka Kovinic 3-6 7-5 6-3 and Riske stopping second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 5-7 6-4.

 

SLOVAKIAN VICTORY

The Generali Ladies title was the third of the season for Dominika Cibulkova and gave the Slovak a berth at the season-ending WTA Finals for the first time. Cibulkova beat Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic to capture her seventh career title. “It feels so great,” Cibulkova said after converting her first match point with a service winner. She also won at Katowice in April and Eastbourne in June, and appeared in three more finals this year. Cibulkova, an Australian Open finalist two years ago, led 3-1 in the second set before Golubic broke back with a backhand winner. She staved off four Golubic set points in the 10th game, and then won three straight games to take the title.

The future of the Austrian indoor tournament is uncertain. The Generali Ladies has been part of the WTA tour since 1991, but the main sponsor has not signed on for next year.

 

SWEPT AWAY

Novak Djokovic was upset on stadium court at the Shanghai Masters. Then he was upset. The world’s top-ranked player smashed a racquet and tore his shirt in frustration before he fell to Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4. He smashed his racquet after losing the first set, then grabbed a towel from a ball girl to sweep up the pieces. Later he ripped his shirt open in anger during another point. Djokovic also repeatedly argued with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes over line calls and a time violation he received while he was changing his ripped shirt. “(Bernardes) was the star of the show,” Djokovic said after his match, still upset with the way things went on court. “That’s what he wanted to be today.” What Bautista Agut wanted and got was a rare win over Djokovic. The 28-year-old Spaniard controlled play with his big forehand as he beat Djokovic for the first time in six meetings and posted his first win in six tries over players ranked number one in the world. As Djokovic struggled to gain momentum, Bautista Agut matched him shot for shot, eventually converting on his fourth match point.

 

STRONG FINISH

Caroline Wozniacki is showing the form that once took her to the number one ranking. Injuries forced her to skip the French Open and her ranking fell to 74th in the world. That was then. The Dane captured the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, her 25th career title, besting Kristina Mladenovic. Last month, Wozniacki won the Toray Pan Pacific Ocean. She struggled to a 13-14 match record this year before the US Open, skipping the French Open because of an injury. However, since the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, Wozniacki is 19-3 with two titles. “I never doubted that I could come back and make it here because I’ve worked too hard my whole life on fitness to keep my body in shape,” she said. “I was like, ‘It’s going to be OK, where it’s going to be a month, two months, four months.’ I knew eventually I would be back.” Wozniacki began the Hong Kong final by breaking Mladenovic and streaking to a 5-0 lead. After Mladenovic held to avoid a bagel, Wozniacki wrapped up the opening set. Mladenovic took a long medical timeout between sets, then won the second-set tiebreak 7-4 to level the match. That seemed to ignite Wozniacki again, and the Dane took a commanding lead in the third set, closing out the victory on her second match point.

 

SHOCKED AGAIN

Angelique Kerber is finding that being number one is the world has made her a target. Australia’s Daria Gavrilova is the latest to upset the two-time Grand Slam tournament champion, knocking her out of the Hong Kong Open 6-3 6-1. “I’ve played Angie six times and now I’ve finally won,” Gavrilova said. “It’s really exciting.” Kerber won the Australian and US Open titles this year as well as reaching the final at Wimbledon, replacing Serena Williams atop the WTA rankings. “I think Angie has had a long season,” said the 22-year-old Gavrilova. “I didn’t expect to win that easily, but I was ready to turn it around and get a win against her.” Since her US Open victory, Kerber is 5-3, losing in the third round at Beijing to Elina Svitolina and in the second round at Wuhan to Petra Kvitova before falling to Gavrilova.

 

SEASON ENDED?

Rafael Nadal is considering joining his long-time rival Roger Federer on the sideline for the rest of this season. The 30-year-old Nadal said he might halt his season early in a bid to regain the form that took him to 14 Grand Slam tournament titles. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple week,” the Spaniard said. “I cannot say now what I’m going to do during the next month. I’m not sure about my calendar. I’m not sure about the things that I need to do to try to be 100 percent ready for next year. Sometimes keeping competing is not the solution. Sometimes the solution is to practice and stop and have a process of training.” Federer ended his season early so he could fully recover from his injuries. The Swiss star has said he will play again beginning in January.

 

STOPPED BY SPRAIN

Agnieszka Radwanska’s bid to defend her title at the Tianjin Open was halted by a thigh strain. The top seed crushed Evgeniya Rodina of Russia 6-1 6-1 in the second round before pulling out of the tournament with the injury. Still, Radwanska has qualified for her eighth WTA Finals, including the last six, the longest streak among active players. She will also finish the season in the Top 10 for the sixth consecutive year.

 

STALLED

The singles final of the Francis Ford Coppola Winery Fairfield Men’s Challenger, a $100,000 men’s tournament in Fairfield, California, USA, was halted by rain Sunday. Second-seeded Santiago Giraldo of Colombia and unseeded Quentin Halys of France both won twice on Saturday to advance to the final of the rain-plagued event. The title match of the hard court tournament was moved to Monday morning.

 

SINGLES QUALIFIER

Kei Nishikori is the fifth player to qualify for the singles competition at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Japanese star joins Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Ranoic in the elite eight-player field. “I am very excited to come back to London this year,” said Nishikori, who is making his third consecutive appearance at the season-ending event. “It’s been a very consistent year so far and I am excited to be part of this elite group again.”

 

SIDELINED

Garbiñe Muguruza was leading 7-5 3-6 4-2 when she sprained her left ankle during her quarterfinal match against Viktorija Golubic in Linz, Austria. Despite retiring from the match two games later, the reigning French Open champion became the sixth player to clinch a berth in the season-ending WTA Finals. Last year the Spaniard reached the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska. Others already qualified for the 12-player field at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global are Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Radwanska, Simona Halep and Karoline Pliskova.

 

SIGN OF THE TIMES

For the first time in 13 years, neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal are ranked among the top four players in the world. The two have combined to win 31 Grand Slam tournaments, but injuries have hampered both this year. Federer has not won an ATP World Tour title in 2016 and missed both the French Open and the US Open because of injuries. Nadal won twice this year – in Monte Carlo and Barcelona – as well as teaming with Marc Lopez to capture the Rio de Janeiro Olympic doubles gold medal. However, the Spaniard has not reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament since winning the French Open in 2014, and he failed to go beyond the fourth round in a major this year.

 

SECURES SPOT

Madison Keys will make her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “I’ve worked harder than ever this year both on and off the court and I am happy that the hard work is paying off,” said Keys, the seventh player to qualify for the elite eight-player singles field. “I look forward to finishing my seasons strong in Singapore.” Keys broke into the WTA Top 10 in June, becoming the first American to enter the Top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999. She has won her second career title this year, the Aegon Classic Birmingham on grass in Great Britain, as well as finishing runner-up on clay at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and on hard court at the Rogers Cup. She was one of just four players to reach the round of 16 at all four Grand Slam tournaments this year.

The Singapore singles field was completed when Dominika Cibulkova won in Linz, Austria. The victory over Viktorija Golubic confirmed Cibulkova will join Keys, Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karoline Pliskova and Garbiñe Muguruza in the WTA Finals. “After such a tough year last year, this year has been amazing,” Cibulkova said. “So reaching the WTA Finals is a dream come true.”

 

SHE’S BACK

Maria Sharapova is back. The Russian returned to the tennis court for two exhibition matches, her first appearance since testing positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January. The former world number one partnered American Taylor Johnson at the World Team Tennis “Smash Hits” event in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, which raises money for the Elton John Aids Foundation. Sharapova lost her first match to Martina Navratilova and Liezel Huber. She then teamed up with John McEnroe to beat Navratilova and Andy Roddick.

 

SET FOR LONDON

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo are heading to their fourth Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. The Croatian/Brazilian duo are the fifth doubles team to qualify for the season-ending event, where they were runners-up in 2014. The pair won consecutive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.

 

SWEDISH DELIGHT

Talk about typecasting. Leo Borg will play his father in the movie “Borg/McEnroe,” which will chronicle the rivalry between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Borg’s son is one of three actors to play the International Tennis Hall of Famer in the film. Leo will pay his father as a child, while Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason will portray the tennis ace in his heyday and another first-time actor, Markus Mossberg, will play a slightly older version of Borg. Shia LaBeouf is playing McEnroe. “Leo Borg auditioned for the part and the fact that he already is playing tennis was pure fluke,” said Danish director Janus Metz. “He is also interested in filmmaking and is somewhat of a natural talent in front of the camera.”

 

STRIKE A MATCH

Tennis was really a hot sport in Casablanca. The tournament used fire to dry part of the clay court during the semifinals. “We had a long rain break and the side of the court was still holding a lot of water in the surface,” ATP Challenger Tour supervisor Carl Baldwin said. “To solve this, you pour gas on it and set it alight. This isn’t commonly done, but I have seen it before.” With the court dry, Frenchman Maxime Janvier completed his 6-4 6-3 win over Belgium’s Arthur De Greef. Janvier went on to win the tournament, stopping Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the final, 6-4 6-0.

 

SIGNALED FOR AWARD

Caroline Garcia has won the final Fed Cup Heart Award of 2016 for her performance in the World Group semifinals. She is the first French player to receive a Heart Award. The 22-year-old helped France edge Netherlands 3-2 in April’s World Group semifinal, defeating Arantxa Rus on day two before pairing with Kristina Mladenovic to win the doubles. Garcia will receive a check for USD $10,000, which will be donated to Sourire à la Vie, a charity dedicated to children with cancer.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Fairfield: Brian Baker and Mackenzie McDonald beat Sekou Bangoura and Eric Quigley 6-3 6-4

Hong Kong: Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan beat Naomi Broady and Heather Watson 6-3 6-1

Linz: Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke 4-6 6-2 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Monterrey: Evan King and Denis Kudla beat Jarryd Chaplin and Ben Mclachlan 6-7 (4) 6-4 10-2 (match tiebreak)

Shanghai: John Isner and Jack Sock beat Henri Kontinen and John Peers 6-4 6-4

Tashkent: Mikhail Elgin and Denis Istomin beat Andre Begemann and Leander Paes 6-4 6-2

Tianjin: Christina McHale and Peng Shuai beat Magda Linette and Xu Yifan 7-6 (8) 6-0

 

SURFING

Stockholm: www.stockholmopen.se/

Antwerp: www.teleticketservice.com/en/tickets/2016-2017/european-open

Moscow: www.kremlincup.ru/

Brest: www.openbrestarena.fr/

Luxembourg: www.bglbnpparibas-open.lu/main_en.html

Basel: www.swissindoorsbasel.ch/de-de/

Vienna: www.erstebank-open.com/de/

Singapore: www.wtafinals.com/

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$792,645 VTB Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia, hard

$711,776 If Stockholm Open, Stockholm, Sweden, hard

$711,776 European Open, Antwerp, Belgium, hard

$125,000 2016 International Challenger Ningbo, Ningbo, China, hard

$119,256 Open Brest Arena Credit Agricole, Brest, France, hard

 

WOMEN

$758,788 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia, hard

$226,750 BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, hard

$100,000 Soho Square Egypt Women’s, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$ 2,706,340 Erste Bank Open, Vienna, Austria, hard

$2,360,470 Swiss Indoors Basel, Basel, Switzerland, hard

 

WOMEN

$7,000,000 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, Singapore, hard

 

DAVIS CUP

Group 1, Americas Zone, Relegation Playoffs

Dominican Republic vs. Barbados at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, hard

Andy Murray
Andy Murray

Five Reasons Why U.S. Tennis Was The Biggest Winner At Olympic Tennis In Rio

by

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

BEST MOST MEDALS: The United States won three total tennis medals in Rio, which is tied with the Czech Republic for the most medals won by a nation at the 2016 Olympic tennis event. The USA won gold in mixed doubles – Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands – silver in mixed doubles (Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram) and bronze in men’s doubles (Jack Sock and Stevie Johnson). The Czech Republic won three bronze medals – in women’s singles (Petra Kvitova), in women’s doubles (Lucie Safarova and Barbora Styrcova) and in mixed doubles (Radek Stepanek and Lucie Hradecka). A gold, silver and bronze is better than three bronze.

ONLY MULTI-MEDAL WINNING PLAYER: Jack Sock is the only tennis player at the Rio Olympics to win more than one medal winning mixed doubles gold and men’s doubles bronze. Rafael Nadal had a chance to equal Sock but lost to Kei Nishikori in the bronze medal match after winning gold in men’s doubles.

MOST ENTRANTS: The USA had more players in the Olympic tennis event than any other country with 11. They were – Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens in women’s singles, Stevie Johnson, Jack Sock, Brian Baker and Denis Kudla in men’s singles, Serena Williams / Venus Williams and Coco Vandeweghe / Bethanie Mattek-Sands in women’s doubles, Brian Baker / Rajeev Ram and Steve Johnson / Jack Sock in men’s doubles and Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Jack Sock and Rajeev Ram / Venus Williams in mixed doubles.

MOST MATCH WINS: The United States had the most match victories of any other country with 22 in Rio. This is one better than Spain’s 21 match wins.

RECORD-BREAKER – Venus Williams tied the all-time record for most Olympic medals won by a tennis player with her silver medal in mixed doubles. It was her fifth career Olympic medal and ties her with Kitty McKane who won five tennis medals at the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games.

 

 

Steve Johnson and Jack Sock
Steve Johnson and Jack Sock

Jack Sock Leads USA To Mythical “Team Olympic Gold” In Rio

by

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

With two medal-producing performances in doubles and mixed doubles, Jack Sock led the United States to a team gold medal in tennis at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero.

Sock was the only player to win multiple medals in the tennis competition, winning mixed doubles gold with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and men’s doubles bronze with Steve Johnson. Sock’s efforts squeezed out the first-ever team gold medal for the United States, beating out Spain by one point, Rafael Nadal not able to win the bronze medal match against Kei Nishikori that would have tied the USA for the gold medal. The Spaniards, whose best performance was winning gold in men’s doubles with Nadal and Marc Lopez, finished with 21 points, one shy of Team USA’s 22 points. Russia and the Czech Republic each garnered 17 points to share team bronze.

Are you reading this and thinking that something is amiss here?

There is always chatter every four years during the staging of the Olympic tennis event on how a team event could be organized. Only men’s and women’s singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles are contested. However, if you gave each team a point for every individual match victory they get in each competition, you could determine a team champion.

I wrote about this four years ago when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga led France to the men’s team title and Maria Sharapova led Russia to the women’s team title at the London Games in 2012. Read more here http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/7752

If you wanted to calculate just a women’s team and men’s team medal standings from Rio (not taking in consideration mixed doubles), then Spain would be your men’s team gold medal winner in Rio with 15 points, followed by Argentina, Japan and the United States in a three-way tie for silver. In a women’s team event, Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova’s win in the gold medal match edged Russia to women’s team gold, one point better 15-14 over the Czech Republic. Germany, led by Olympic singles silver medalist Angelique Kerber, also collected team bronze with 8 points.

Prior to the creation of the NCAA Team Tournament in college tennis in the United States, team champions were determined in this manner, awarding each team a point for each individual match victory.

Jack Sock hugs Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Jack Sock hugs Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Citi Open Observation: Can Doubles Be Played Before Singles To Help Tournament, Player and American Tennis Promotion?

by

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

An interesting question came up today while I was reviewing the Friday quarterfinal order of play at the CitiOpen in Washington D.C.

I looked at the schedule of play and thought that if I was the event’s tournament director, how could I make the schedule more appealing and promotable?

What stood out to me first was the fact that all of the women’s matches, including an attractive match between former U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur against upstart American Jessica Pegula (whose father owns the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres) were not scheduled for the Stadium Court. However, that is not what this column is about.

What also stood out to me was that match between John Isner and Stevie Johnson, the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked American tennis players, was scheduled for not-before-3 pm start in the sweltering summer sun and heat and not the showcase night match in prime time. The other men’s quarterfinals were Ivo Karlovic, the 37-year-old, 6-foot-10 big-serving Croat, vs. U.S. Davis Cupper and No. 3-ranked American Jack Sock, which kicked off play at 1 pm, the prime time night match at 7 pm with Sam Querrey, the No. 4 American fresh off an seismic upset over Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, against the entertaining Gael Monfils of France, and the not-before 9-pm match featuring Alexander Zverev of Germany against Benoit Paire of France.

On Twitter, I suggested that the Stadium schedule should be Karlovic vs. Sock at 1 pm, followed by Stosur vs. Pegula starting at not-before-3 pm and Isner vs. Johnson at not-before-7 pm and then Querrey vs. Monfils as the night-cap. Those were the four best match-ups and most intriguing storylines to me and for an American audience in Washington, D.C. (Sorry to Mr. Zverev and Mr. Paire, but you are not household names yet in the USA, although Zverev has been tagged as a potential future No. 1 player). Isner vs. Johnson is a match you can – and should – really hype – the top two American players playing in prime time in the nation’s capital – Washington, DC! It was also a rematch of an amazing semifinal at this same event a year ago, Isner winning 11-9 in the third-set tiebreaker 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (11-9). These guys deserve to play in front of the biggest American audience possible – more fans in the stands enjoying the night session on site after work and more TV viewers in prime time on The Tennis Channel. If we want to promote tennis in America, we have to promote and give the best possible visibility to American players, especially our top two players.

I quickly deduced that the reason for the original order of play was because of a not-really-official but practiced rule in tennis that says singles matches need to be played before doubles matches. Sock and Johnson, in prepping to play Olympic doubles in Rio next month, were scheduled to play a doubles quarterfinal on Friday as was Querrey, partnering Chris Guccione of Australia. Therefore, their matches had to be played earlier so they could also play in doubles after their singles, Querrey playing his doubles match in the late-night slot after his prime-time singles.

So the question I ask is ‘Why is it such a big deal not to play doubles before singles?’

While serving as tournament director of the 2016 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation tennis championships in Vero Beach, Florida, a $10,000 USTA Futures tournament, I worked diligently with USTA Supervisor David Littlefield daily to figure out the most appetizing order of play. This ritual turned into kind of a jigsaw puzzle, figuring out what was fair for the players and what was appealing to the fans to help us get the best possible audience in attendance to sell more tickets and promote the sport. One of the elements that came up in this process was a player having to play a singles match before a doubles match. At times, this “rule” hurt us when we wanted to put the most attractive match of the day as our feature night match. It even affected our “finals” day when we had been promoting our doubles final to start at 11 am to lead into the crescendo of the tournament with the singles final at a not-before-1 pm start time. However, when Jonas Ljuetjen of Germany reached the singles and doubles final at our event, we had to play the singles final first at 11 am and the doubles to follow. As a result, some fans missed the singles final due to the early start time, which had been significantly pre-promoted.

Another situation where getting rid of this singles before doubles “rule” is that it may prevent a player – particularly a star player – from not putting forth the best physical or mental effort in a doubles match played after they are eliminated from the singles competition. A player might lose in the second or third round in the singles tournament and then later that afternoon or night, so distraught over losing in singles and eager to get home or to the next tournament, will not put forth their best effort in the doubles in order to move on out of town. If you can keep that marquee player around for another round of doubles, that can also help with selling tickets and promoting the sport. If you put the doubles on court first before the singles, the player will be all-in for his doubles match, theoretically, and may win that and then play singles later which the player, theoretically, could lose but would still be in the tournament based on the doubles win earlier.

Is playing singles before doubles discrimination against doubles? Sure, doubles has less prize money, less attention from fans and media, but if you’re only playing a two-set match – covering half the court with shorter points – with a 10-point tiebreaker played in lieu of the third set and with no ad scoring, it’s not that much of a relative effort, right? A men’s pro doubles match, two-sets with no-ad scoring and 10-point tiebreaker played in the third lasts, on average, only about an hour. So what’s the big deal about having that done before a singles match? It can be, more or less, a warm-up or practice for a singles match. John McEnroe has always said that the reason he played so much doubles was because he didn’t like to practice and playing doubles matches served him in that “practice” role.

While this scenario is not going to happen all the much, it would be advantageous for players, tour supervisors and promoters to have a bit more flexibility with this rule. In the big picture of promoting the sport of tennis as a spectator sport to an audience that is increasingly having more and more entertainment options, every little move can help.

 

Citi Open in Washington, DC
Citi Open in Washington, DC

Sponsors Shuffle Amidst Sharapova’s Failed Drug Test – This Week In Tennis Business with Kevin Craig

by

by Kevin Craig

@KCraig_Tennis

 

Sponsors Shuffle Amidst Sharpova’s Failed Drug Test

Just days after Maria Sharapova’s announcement of her failed drug test, her sponsors have begun making their voices heard in regards to the event. Long-time clothing sponsor Nike has suspended its partnership with the Russian tennis star, while Tag Heuer has decided to not renew its contract with Sharapova and Porsche will be suspending future activities with her as well. On the other end of the spectrum, racquet manufacturer Head has decided to extend their contract with Sharapova, stating that she “made an honest mistake, it was with no intent,” according to BBC. In a press release, Head praised Sharapova for the “honesty and courage she displayed in announcing and acknowledging her mistake,” while also describing her as “a role model and woman of integrity who has inspired millions of fans around the world to play and watch tennis.” The failed drug test has attracted attention from many players who decided to let their opinions on the matter known. Andy Murray, another player who is sponsored by Head, claims that Sharapova deserved the potential ban that is coming while also criticizing Head for making their decision without more information being released that could help make a better decision, according to The Guardian. “I personally wouldn’t have responded like that,” stated Murray in a press conference at the BNP Paribas Open.

Jack Sock Signs with Nike, Helps Debut New Shoe

American tennis star Jack Sock has switched clothing sponsorships from Adidas to Nike and will be helping debut the NikeCourt Air Zoom Ultrafly at the BNP Paribas Open. Sock, along with Eugenie Bouchard, will be debuting the shoe that was designed by Nike with the insight of professional athletes over the course of the last three years, according to Sports Illustrated. Michael Hui, Nike’s tennis footwear senior designer, claims the shoe is a combination of a tennis shoe and a track shoe, made with the intention to increase on court speed for the players who wear the shoe. Sock claims that when he “got in the shoe, [he] felt like [his] quickness improved, which was a big confidence booster for” him, in an interview with Sports Illustrated. The show has an asymmetrical design that allows players to easily move quickly from side to side as it provides “maximum contact when you’re on the corners” of the shoe. Sock, who states that he likes to be a trendsetter, enjoys wearing the Ultrafly as it is a new look for tennis shoes. “It’s definitely something we’ve never seen before in tennis…People are definitely going to look at it and be doing double takes,” says the American in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

McEnroe Challenge Fundraises $80K

The first event of this year’s BNP Paribas Open, the McEnroe Challenge for Charity, raised $80,000. The event has become an annual fixture for the tournament in Indian Wells, attracting stars of the tennis world to play in front of packed crowds on Stadium 2. This year’s event saw Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Tracy Austin, Pat Cash, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario joined by current players Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe. The players were assigned to teams and played four sets, with each player and doubles team representing a local charity, according to The Desert Sun. The winners of each set earned $15,000 for their charity while the losers earned $5,000. This was the first time that Sampras had played an exhibition event at Indian Wells since 2010 when he played in the “Hit for Haiti” that helped raise over $1 million for the relief efforts in Haiti.

Great Britain Gives Leon Smith Extension as Davis Cup Captain

Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith has been rewarded with a contract extension after his recent success in the international competition. According to Telegraph, the contract will extend through the 2018 season. Smith’s impressive record of 13-2 in his first 15 ties has secured his position in charge of the current Davis Cup holders. Andy and Jamie Murray, the two stars of British tennis, have been working with Smith since they were children and have been a vital part to Smith’s success. In a press release, Smith claimed “it is a huge honor and privilege to continue captaining our Davis Cup team” and acknowledged the Davis Cup title as the highlight of his career. Smith and Great Britain are set to face Serbia in the quarterfinals of the World Group in July, with the Murray brothers already committed to play. They will be eagerly awaiting Novak Djokovic’s decision of whether or not he will participate in the tie.

Chris Kermode Appointed for Second Term

ATP President and Executive Chairman Chris Kermode has been appointed to a second term by the ATP Board of Directors that will see him in the position until 2019, according to the ATP. Kermode took the job in January of 2014 and has seen significant progress made by the ATP, including an all-time record of attendance at ATP events and having over one billion television viewers in 2015. Other successes for Kermode in his first term include his capturing long-term prize money agreements, stabilizing the ATP schedule, and commercial sponsorship. Prize money on the ATP will reach a record of $135 million by 2018, while the ATP was able to garner $160 million in sponsorship revenue over the course of the next five years. Kermode hopes to see similar success on the ATP Challenger Tour, as he sets to increase prize money on that level and improve investments, tournament scheduling, player services, and marketing, according to the ATP. Roger Federer and Justin Gimelstob have praised Kermode for the work that he has been able to do over the span of his first term, both citing the current great state that the tour is in. In a press release, Kermode stated “I’ve taken great pleasure in leading the ATP since 2014, and I’m delighted to continue in my role as Executive Chairman and President.”

Tiriac to Sell Tournament

Ion Tiriac has announced that he will be selling his ATP event in Bucharest. According to local media in Romania, Tiriac claimed he “can’t make a fool out of [his] name.” Tiriac has been struggling with the Romanian government while he has been searching for either a new stadium to host his tournament or funding to help renovate the current stadium. The main court at the complex in which the tournament has been held in the past is not allowed to host matches anymore “because it doesn’t have a permit from the Emergency Situations Inspectorate,” according to Romania Insider. Because of this, all of the matches will be played in front of limited crowds on the side courts of the complex.

Citi to be Presenting Sponsor for New York Empire

The newest team in World Team Tennis, the New York Empire, announced that Citi will be the presenting sponsor for the Empire’s home matches, which will be taking place at the historic West Side Tennis Club. In a press release, Empire General Manager Colleen Hopkins stated “we are proud to have the power of Citi join us to bring back professional tennis for our inaugural season in Forest Hills.” Hopkins went on to praise Citi as one of the most influential brands in New York and having “their participation speaks volumes about where we all think the Empire will be going.” Jennifer Breithaupt, Managing Director of Media and Advertising for Citi, claims Citi will be “able to provide additional opportunities for fans to get closer to their favorite athletes.”

Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova