julia cohen

STARS

Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships

(At Plantation, Florida, USA)

Boys 18s

Dominic Thiem, Austria, beat Patrick Ofner, Austria, 6-1 6-0

Girls 18s

Anett Kontaveit, Estonia, beat Yulia Putintseva, Russia, 6-2 6-2

Girls 16s

Erin Routliffe, Canada, beat Katie Boulter, Great Britain, 6-4 6-3

Boys 16s

Hyeon Chung, South Korea, beat Diego Pedraza, Colombia, 6-7 (6) 6-3 6-1

SAYING

“For some strange reason, I’ve been inducted into nine Hall of Fames.” – Gardnar Mulloy, who at age 93 has had a recreation center and tennis courts in Miami, Florida, USA, named after him. He is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

“I really did attack every ball, and I think that’s what brought me success today.  It’s so exciting to win this title, both for myself and forEstonia.” – Anett Kontaveit, the Girls 18 champion after becoming the first Estonian to win an Orange Bowl title.

“Everyone who plays tennis knows the Orange Bowl, and to win it is definitely big for my career.” – Dominic Thiem, after winning the Orange Bowl Boys 18 singles.

“My focus this week has been great. But this week I’ve been focusing on each and every point, and I think that’s made the biggest difference.  I knew that if I played my best I could win the whole thing, and I think I played pretty well.” – Erin Routliffe, who became the first Canadian to win the Girls 16s title at the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships.

“I’ll probably go out there and play some horrendous tennis and be nervous, but I’ll go and try to have fun. I’ll probably just keep to myself in the locker room, just stay in the corner and hide from everyone.” – Ashleigh Barty, on what might happen when she plays the Australian Open next month.

SPARKLING PLAY

Anett Kontaveit gave Estoniaits first Orange Bowl International Tennis Champions title when she defeated second-seeded Yulia Putintseva ofRussiato capture the girls’ 18 singles. “It’s so exciting to win this title, both for myself and forEstonia,” said the 15-year-old Kontaveit. The boys’ 18 title was won by Dominic Thiem in a battle of Austrians. Thiem beat countryman Patrick Ofner 6-1 6-0 to wrap up the rain-delayed finale in Plantation, Florida, USA.

STEADY TRAVELING

Julia Cohen has to have extra pages in her passport. The American right-hander has constantly circled the globe in 2011 seeking tournament titles. She began, like all the rest of the players, inAustraliain January, playing qualifying at Hobart and the Australian Open. Then it was on to Rancho Santa Fe, California, USA, in February before she went to Colombia and Mexico. March found Cohen in Hammond, Louisiana, USA, before heading to Irapuato, Mexico, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. She stayed in the United States in April and the early part of May before heading to Paris for the French Open qualifying. While others were playing the French Open, Cohen was runner-up at a tournament in Bangkok, Thailand. June found her in France, Swedenand the Netherlands– except for the quick trip to Londonwhere she played Wimbledonqualifying. It was back to Colombiain July before heading to the United States. Cohen only played seven matches in August, but they were in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Bronx, New York; Cincinnati, Ohio; the US Open qualifying in New York City; and Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovina. Italy, Croatia and Georgia – the former Soviet territory, not the United States – were her stops in September, with October finding her playing in Armenia, Spain and Puerto Rico. Cohen wasn’t through. In November she played tournaments in Toronto, Canada; Asuncion, Paraguay, and Rosaria, Argentina. She won her second title of the year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this month; her first tournament victory was in Yerevan, Armenia. And Cohen is top-seeded for this week’s tournament in Santiago, Chile.

STRAIGHT TO THE BANK

Novak Djokovic earned a record USD $12.6 million in prize money this year. The 24-year-old won 10 titles in 2011, including three Grand Slam tournaments, and easily bested the previous record of USD $10.1 million won by Roger Federer in 2007 and equaled by Rafael Nadal in 2010. His big year moved Djokovic ahead of Andre Agassi into fourth place on the career prize money list with USD $32.9 million. Federer is atop that list with USD $67.4 million.  By earning USD $7.7 million in 2011, Nadal moved past Pete Sampras into second place on the all-time career money list with USDS $45 million.

SENT PACKING

New Zealand has been banned from Fed Cup competition until 2013. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) assessed the penalty becauseNew Zealandpulled out of this past February’s competition at the last minute when its top two players were supposedly injured. Both Marina Erakovic and Sacha Jones were unavailable because of wrist injuries, so Tennis NZ withdrew from the competition because it didn’t want to pay the USD $50,000 fee to send an inexperienced team. However, Erakovic played at a tournament in theUnited Statesjust two days after the Fed Cup competition ended. New Zealand thought the only consequence they would suffer would be an automatic relegation to Asia/Oceania Group Two. Instead, the ITF has ruled that New Zealandis ineligible to participate in January’s Fed Cup in Shenzen,China. “It is disappointing, but we stand by the decision we made at the start of the year,” said Tennis NZ CEO Steve Johns. “It has focused our attention on the fact that we need to have some real depth in our women’s program and build up a strong team for 2013 and onwards.”

SWINGING FOR CHARITY

With Andy Roddick headlining the field, the 11^th annual Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational raised USD $150,000 for charities in theBahamas. Besides Roddick, other players participating included Amer Delic, Jesse Levine, Xavier Malisse, Nicholas Monroe, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Vania King, Olga Savchuk, Yasmin Schnack and four-time Grand Slam doubles champion Mark Knowles, who was recognized at the Welcome Dinner for his contributions. Knowles was singled out as the largest single donor to the Bahamas Special Olympics. Other organizations that will benefit from the fund-raiser include The Bahamas Association For The Physically Disabled, Bahamas Environmental Steward Association, Blairwood Academy Disability Scholarships, The Chance Foundation, The Cancer Society For Pediatric Care, The Lyford Cay Foundation, The Sassoon Heart Foundation and The Scout Association Of The Bahamas. Scholarships will also be awarded to promising Bahamian junior tennis players.

SAFIN ELECTED

Marat Safin, a two-time Grand Slam tournament champion, is now a member of the Russian Federal Parliament, the Duma. A former world number one-ranked tennis star, Safin was elected into the Duma’s lower house as a representative for the Nyzhny Novgorod region, which is approximately 500 kilometers (305 miles) fromMoscow. “My life has been changing for the last two years,” Safin told the ATP Champions Tour. “All of a sudden I found myself in a situation where I had to make really serious decisions. It started with one small thing and it grew up to something big. I could go and make commercials left and right and pretend like I am a celebrity, but that is not me. I never did this, I never liked it. I had a few months of thinking ‘should I do this or should I not’ but now I am pretty sure of what I’m doing and I want to do it.” Now 31, Safin beat Pete Sampras to win the US Open in 2000 and won the 2005 Australian Open, beating Lleyton Hewitt in the final. He had been playing on the senior tour.

SHE’S BACK

Kim Clijsters came off a four-month layoff by beating top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in an exhibition match 6-2 7-6 (5). Playing at the Antwerp, Belgium, SportsPalace, Clijsters showed she has fully recovered from the stomach injury that forced her off the WTA Tour in August. She is the reigning Australian Open women’s champ and will be heading Down Under by Christmas. Clijsters regained the number one ranking in February, but hurt her shoulder and wrist in April. She then sprained an ankle when she suffered an early exit from the French Open. While playing a warm-up tournament prior to the US Open, Clijsters hurt her stomach muscles and is just now rounding back into playing form. “It’s been a year of many more downs than ups,” she said.

STRAIGHT IN

Fifteen-year-old Ashleigh Barty, the reigning Wimbledon junior girls champion, and Marinko Matosevic have clinched spots in the main draw of the 2012 Australian Open. Both won wild cards in a playoff among Australian players. Barty rallied to beat Olivia Rogowska 7-6 (6) 6-2, while Matosevic captured the men’s tournament by beating James Duckworth 6-4 6-1 6-2 in the final. “I was just hoping to win a set,” said Barty, who sailed through the tournament without dropping a set. “I’m pleased with what I’ve done. I played some really good tennis.” In her first-round match, Barty beat top-seeded Casey Dellacqua. Matosevic won the wild-card tournament for the second straight year.

STRONG GENES

Everyone was looking up at one of the parents at the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships. Bob McAdoo, a 6-foot-9 (206m) former National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player, was on hand in Plantation, Florida, USA, to watch his daughter play. Rasheeda McAdoo, a junior at American Heritage High School in Delray Beach, Florida, reached the semifinals of the Girls 16s where she lost to eventual winner Erin Routliffe of Canada 6-2 6-3. The 16-year-old Rasheeda, who is 5-10½  (179m), wants to play college tennis at her father’s alma mater, North Carolina. This is the first time Bob McAdoo has seen her daughter play the Orange Bowl. He got the chance because of the recently settled NBA lockout. The father is an assistant coach with the NBA’s Miami Heat.

SWISS COMMITMENT

Roger Federer has committed to play for Switzerland when it takes on the United States in a first-round 2012 Davis Cup tie. The 16-time Grand Slam tournament singles champion has not played a first-round tie since 2004. But the Swiss tennis federation said Federer has confirmed he intends to play in the February 10-12 tie in Fribourg, Switzerland. Federer traveled to Australia right after the US Open in September to help Switzerland win a playoff.

SODERLING OUT

Robin Soderling will miss the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open. The 27-year-old Swede has not played since mid-July because of mononucleosis. He won his last tournament, the SkiStar Swedish Open in Båstad. Twice a French Open runner-up, Soderling has been ranked as high as fourth in the world. He currently is ranked 13^th. “I am feeling better with each day, but it will still take some time before I can start practicing in full speed,” Soderling said. “My goal is to start with practice in January and I hope for a tournament comeback in February, but at this stage it is hard to know when and where. I hope my body will allow me to do that.” The Australian Open gets underway in Melbourne on January 16.

SIGNAGE

The recreation center and tennis courts at Henderson Park near downtown Miami, Florida, USA, have been named for Gardnar Mulloy. The 98-year-old Mulloy was on hand for the ceremony, although he now needs a walker to get around. He played tennis until a year ago when he broke his hip. “I never fall down playing tennis,” Mulloy said. “This was just stumbling around my home like a fool.” Mulloy won theWimbledondoubles in 1957 at the age of 43. He was ranked number one in singles in 1952 and captured the US men’s doubles championships in 1942, ’45, ’46 and ’48. Mulloy also founded the University of Miami tennis team and served as its organizer, coach and top player in 1936.

SWITCHING CAPTAINS

Andy Murray’s mother, Judy, has been named non-playing captain of Great Britain’s Fed Cup tennis team. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) said Judy Murray will lead the team in Europe/Africa Zone Group I competition in Eilat, Israel, the week of January 30, 2012. “It is a huge honor for me to represent my country in this way, and the role presents a very exciting challenge, given the mix of talent, experience and determination we have in our top female players right now,” said Murray, who replaces Nigel Sears, the father of Andy Murray’s long-term girlfriend. Sears left to coach Ana Ivanovic. Great Britain’s women have shown improvement in recent years with Elena Baltacha, Anne Keothavong and Heather Watson all ranked in the top 100. Murray was Scotland’s national coach for nine years. She also trained three-time Grand Slam tournament finalist Andy Murray early in his career as well as her other son, Jamie, who won the Wimbledon mixed doubles in 2007. Great Britain is one of only four nations to compete in every Fed Cup but has never won the competition.

SIGNED UP

Juan Martin del Potro will join the Sydney International field next month. Returning to the Australian city for the second straight year, del Potro will join former top 10 players Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis in the men’s draw. “In Sydney they gave me one of the first wild cards after my injury and I appreciated this very much from them,” said del Potro, who began this year ranked 258^th in the world after missing most of 2010 with a wrist injury. He finished 2011 ranked 11^th in the world. The Sydney International runs from January 8-14.

Two of the top three women in the world have already signed up for the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Quebec,Canada, next August. Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and number three Victoria Azarenka of Belarus have confirmed they will play the Premier WTA tournament. The last time the women played in Montreal, in 2010, Wozniacki beat Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in the final. Zvonareva and Marion Bartoli of France previously announced they will play the Montreal tournament.

STRESS FRACTURE

Great Britain’s Laura Robson has been sidelined by a stress fracture of the left shin. The injury caused the 17-year-old to cancel a training trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where she was to spend three weeks with Darren Cahill, Andy Murray’s occasional coach, and Gil Reyes, the former trainer of Andre Agassi. Writing on Twitter, Robson said she would be back in time for next month’s Australian Open.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships

Boys 18:

Liam Broady and Joshua Ward-Hibbert beat Robin Kern and Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-3

Girls 18:

Victoria Kan and Ganna Poznikhirenko beat Jennifer Brady and Kendal Woodard 6-3 7-6 (3)

Boys 16:

Lucas Guitarrari and Marcelo Tebet Filho beat Alexander Sendegeya and Franz Sydow 7-5 7-5

Girls 16:

Charlotte Petrick and Erin Routliffe beat Mary Closs and Hadley Berg 6-3 6-4

SURFING

Ankara:

www.atk.org.tr

Tyumen:

www.tyumentennistour.ru

ITF:

www.itftennis.com

TOURNAMENTS WEEK OF DECEMBER 19

(All money in USD)

WOMEN

$50,000 Ankara Cup, Ankara, Turkey, hard

WEEK OF DECEMBER 26

WOMEN

$50,000 Siberia Cup, Tyumen, Russia, hard