World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

Karolina Pliskova

Karolina Pliskova Withdraws From Australian Open and Rafa Nadal Returns

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It may be December, but that doesn’t mean that even the Tennis world is without a buzz. There are still plenty of big names making headlines. The good, the bad, and the downright embarrassing, so let’s take a look at some of the news from the past week or so!

Pliskova’s Hand Injury Woes

Karolina Pliskova has not only had to drop out of the Australian Open due to her hand injury, but she has also had to remove herself from two other warm-up tournaments. Karolina injured her right hand during training and has since said she will need to take some time off to recover. Pliskova has played against some of the great and has even made it to the Grand Slam finals twice in her career. While she was unable to win either of her appearances in the Grand Slam, she knows what it takes to play at the highest level and we wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her return.

Rafael Nadal Plays In Abu Dhabi

Rafael has had a hard few months. After injuring his foot, he has a number of major events which include the Olympics, Wimbledon, and even the US Open. Nadal made his comeback in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi. Despite losing to Andy Murray 6-3, 7-5. Nadal is also expected to play at the ATP 250 in Melbourne where his odds of winning are 17/1. This Tournament is in the first week of January. After a few months off, it is anyone’s guess if he will return with his full form or if it will take him a few matches to get back to his normal self.

Moroccan Players Banned For Match Fixing

Yes, you are reading that right! The Moroccan players have been banned due to a match-fixing investigation. It seems the players are being brought up on charges of fixing matches, receiving money, and just generally not reporting even being approached about similar discrepancies. The Players have all been named; Amine Ahouda, Anas Chakrouni, Ayoub Chakrouni, Mohamed Zakaria Khalil, Soufiane El Mesbahi and Yassir Kilani. The ITIA is not messing around and while it looks like most have received 9-year bans, Ayoub Chakrouni is reported to have received a lifetime ban!

While match-fixing is definitely not a joke, if you’re going to try and make money off of Tennis, or any sport really, maybe place some legal bets? There are plenty of betting forums that can even help give you odds and opinions on all things to do with sports betting. New York has even just approved licenses for mobile sports betting apps so expect to see those soon as well. These apps will allow you to place bets from anywhere your phone can connect to the internet in a bid to make things seamlessly easy.

Manuel Santana Passes Away

Sadly Manuel Santana has passed away at the age of 83. One of the best tennis players of his time, Manuel was at one point ranked No.1 and during his career, achieved a number of accolades. From winning the US Open and Wimbledon, Manuel also managed to be the first person from Spain to win a Grand Slam title. He won plenty more tournaments and even had an Olympic Gold Medal, making him one of the top athletes of all time from Spain. It is also a shame to lose someone, especially someone as accredited as Manuel! We would like to send our well-wishes and condolences to his family and friends at this time.

A Positive Test For Emma Raducanu

Unfortunately, Emma Raducanu has had to drop out of the Abu Dhabi event due to a positive test for Covid-19. Covid-19 has pretty much taken the world over for the past 2-years with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. According to an article on ESPN,  Emma has said “I was very much looking forward to playing in front of the fans here in Abu Dhabi, but unfortunately after testing positive for COVID-19, I will have to postpone until the next opportunity”. Emma has also stated that she is isolating and is hoping to be back on the court as soon as she can.

It is a shame to see the young superstar not in action at Abu Dhabi. Earlier this year, she made quite a few British people a fair bit of money when the odds were against her. England saw odds for her to win the US Open at only 18 years old were around 190-1 and even 200-1, making at least one bettor, £4,000 on just a £20 bet! After this, you can assure more people were hoping to place some bets on her for her upcoming matches but looks like they will have to wait a couple weeks now.

Closing Words

There is plenty going on in the Tennis world and there are plenty of matches to look forward to. One thing on the back of everyone’s mind is how will Covid Affect Tennis? Hopefully, it won’t affect things too much but as we have seen, it can change things worldwide with absolutely no notice. With events coming up in Abu Dhabi, Australia, and more, we will likely see more players having to isolate but hopefully, we won’t have any canceled events.

Kerber, Pliskova Win First Empty-Stadium Matches At “Weirdest U.S. Open Ever”

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

In the words of legendary ESPN TV commentator Chris Fowler, it is “the weirdest U.S. Open ever.”

The 2020 U.S. Open edition of the tournament, which won’t be forgotten for at least a generation, started at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, started Monday, August 31 with no fans. One year after over 700,000 fans walked through the turnstiles at America’s Grand Slam tennis tournament, the only people allowed on site are players, their support staff, USTA and tournament support staff and a select group of broadcasters and media.

As one who has documented a lot of things in tennis history, as the author of the book “On This Day In Tennis History” and as editor of “The Bud Collins History of Tennis,” it appropriate to document the first players to play matches in the monsterous – and empty – tennis stadiums on this opening day of the event.

It was 2016 U.S. Open champion Angelique Kerber who won the first U.S. Open match in an empty 14,000-seat Louis Armstrong Stadium defeating Alja Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-4 in a 11 am start match. Top-seed and No. 3-ranked Karolina Pliskova, the woman who Kerber beat in the 2016 U.S. Open final, who won the first empty-stadium match in the cavernous 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium beating Anhelina Kalinina 6-4, 6-0

“It’s a little bit weird to play without fans and without the support and the atmosphere on the center courts, but it’s kind of a little bit the feeling when you play  practice matches against the players, but of course you know it’s like a serious game,” said Kerber after her win. “For me today, it was more also mentally to prepare for the match that I know we play without fans and all the situation. it was not so easy at the beginning, but then you get used to it a little bit.”

Unlike Kerber, Pliskova has been in the “US Open Bubble” already for over a week as she chose to play in the pre-event Western & Southern Open last week and thus, was a bit more use to the barren and quiet conditions.

“I felt better than in my match previous, last week, when I played on Court 17,” said Pliskova of her first-round loss last week. “I think the center court is better place to play. It’s still without people, but I just felt somehow a little better and I had a lot of practices on this court, so I felt just quite used to it. And also, just to play without people, I think that even I just had one match without people, but I thought it helped me just to know how it feels. I still have my team and I felt like on the center court I think there is actually like a couple people. It’s super huge and it still feels super empty, but I feel like there is at least the player boxes where they stay, so I felt like there is at least couple people watching there.”

Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber

Is 2019 Wimbledon Finally Karolina Pliskova’s Time?

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Is 2019 Wimbledon finally Karolina Pliskova’s time?

The 27-year-old Czech has flirted with Grand Slam immortality the last few years but has not been able to make the big career breakthrough by winning a major singles title. Her career highlights to date are breaking through to become the No. 1 player on the WTA computer in 2017.

She also reached the final of the U.S. Open in 2016, losing a tight  final to Angelique Kerber. That final-round loss, although painful, will provide her valuable lessons and experience as she once again tries to win a Grand Slam final. In the semifinals of that year at the U.S. Open, she beat Serena Williams, which is about as tough as an obstacle as you can overcome in a major tournament.

Pliskova is seeded No. 3 and the second-highest ranked player left in the draw and the highest seed in the bottom half. Her powerful serve is her biggest weapon, which should her well on the grass. However, her best career result at the AELTC is only a fourth round finish, which happened last year. She is fresh off winning the pre-Wimbledon grass court event in Eastbourne, so she is certainly trending in the right direction for Wimbledon’s second week.

Another factor in Plikova’s favor is she is always away from the bright Wimbledon spotlight. Despite being the No. 2 favorite in the Wimbledon betting odds she has been hidden in the press behind 15-year-old sensation Coco Gauff of the United States, newly-minted Australian No. 1 and French Open champion Ash Barty and, of course, 23-time-major winner Serena Williams. In Pliskova’s coaching camp is Conchita Martinez of Spain, who was herself a Wimbledon champion at Wimbledon 25 years ago in 1994. As a coach, Martinez also guided another Spaniard Garbine Muguruza to the Wimbledon title as a temporary coach in 2017. Rennae Stubbs, a grass-loving attacking former Australian player and brilliant tennis mind, has also been mentoring Pliskova recently.

Karolina Pliskova
Karolina Pliskova

Rafael Nadal Dominates to Win Ninth Time in Rome – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-0 4-6 6-1 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia men’s singles in Rome, Italy

Karolina Pliskova beat Johanna Konta 6-3 6-4 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia women’s singles in Rome, Italy

Filip Krajinovic beat Arthur De Greef 63 6-1 to win the Neckercup in Heilbronn, Germany

Bernarda Pera beat Anna Blinkova 7-5 7-5 to win the Empire Slovak Open in Trnava, Slovakia

 

SAYINGS

“What means most to me is this trophy. Rome is one of the most important tournaments of the year. (It’s a big) part of the history of our sport. To be able to win here again is the main thing.” – Rafael Nadal, who won the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the ninth time.

“The shots that you can win the rally or a point against 99 per cent of players, with him it doesn’t work. It takes an extra shot more.” – Novak Djokovic, after losing to Rafael Nadal.

“Nobody really gave me chance for this tournament – even me.” – Karolina Pliskova, after winning the Italian Open women’s singles.

“There’s rarely really a rhythm to the match. She plays with big shots, quite flat, and big serves. It can feel sometimes you’re fighting an uphill battle. That was the case today.” – Johanna Konta, after losing to Karolina Pliskova.

“I feel like when you win tournaments, things go your way. That’s the way it is. I don’t know what it is, I don’t know how to explain it. … When it’s yours, it’s yours.” – Robert Farah, who teamed with Jean Sebastian Cabal to win the men’s doubles in Rome.

“The funny thing about playing tennis is you always raise the bar, and I think that would be sort of us reaching another team goal, doing something we haven’t done yet.” – Raven Klaasen, who with partner Michael Venus reached the men’s doubles final in Rome.

“I think we improve when we improve our singles, and then we come together and just have fun in doubles.” – Victoria Azarenka, who with teammate Ashleigh Barty won the women’s doubles in Rome.

“Grand Slams to me are like a playground, I have a lot of fun there.” – Naomi Osaka, who has won the last two Grand Slam tournaments.

“I think it’s better to not have a Plan B. … My mental coach says always the Plan B can ruin your Plan A. I think you have to trust in what you have. Right now, since I feel good, since I’m winning lots of matches, there is no doubt no Plan B.” – Karolina Pliskova.

 

SUCCESS, FINALLY

Rafael Nadal finally won a title in 2019. Not surprisingly, it came on clay. The Spaniard known as the “King of Clay” beat Novak Djokovic in three sets to win a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title, the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. “To have the chance to come back and win this trophy after so many years means everything,” Nadal said. “It wasn’t an easy week for me.” It was the ninth time the Spaniard has captured the Rome title. And he did it be demolishing the world’s top-ranked player in the first and third sets. “I’m really glad that I managed to get into the third set, considering the first set where I was blown away from the court,” said Djokovic, who had been tied with Nadal with 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles. “Obviously the third set was not much different from the first. I was just running out of fuel a little bit.” Nadal was perfect in the first set, the first time there has been a 6-0 set in a meeting between the two rivals. And while the Serb was able to win the second set, he again was at Nadal’s mercy in the third. “Just kind of missed that half a step, especially on the backhand side,” Djokovic said. “He used it very well. He’s been playing some terrific tennis throughout the entire week. He was just too strong today.” It’s a perfect setup for Nadal, who will be seeking a record 13th French Open title when the clay-court major begins on May 26.

 

STRONG PERFORMANCE

After winning the biggest title of her career, Karolina Pliskova looked into the future and the French Open. “I just hope to take the tennis I was playing here to Paris,” Pliskova said. “For sure there’s going to be a chance for me if I play this way.” After beginning the year by winning the title in Brisbane, Pliskova reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the Miami Open final. But she came into Rome after losing in the second round of her last two tournaments. “Before the tournament, I was not super confident, not thinking about the final at all,” she said of Rome. “I was just happy with every match which I played. So, it’s a little like a miracle for me.” Pliskova had help from her opponent, Johanna Konta, who double faulted, then slammed a backhand into the net to drop serve to begin the match. Pliskova used a swinging forehand volley to break in the seventh game of the second set. When she converted her third championship point, Pliskova went over to slap hands with her coach, Conchita Martinez, a four-time Rome winner. “She loved clay so she knows exactly what I should do,” Pliskova said of Martinez. “I know she loved this tournament. I think she prayed so I could win today.”

 

SICK BAY

A right leg injury forced Roger Federer to withdraw from his Italian Open quarterfinal match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 37-year-old Swiss had won his first two matches against Joao Sousa and Borna Coric. “Unfortunately, King Roger had to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury to his right leg,” the tournament organizers wrote on Twitter. “We wish him a fast recovery. Thank you for the incredible emotions.” Federer blamed his injury on court conditions. “The lines are wet. Wet playing lines mean you slide. When I slid I hurt myself,” Federer said. The injury comes a little more than a week before the start of Roland Garros where Federer would be seeking his second French Open title. He will go into the year’s second Grand Slam tournament with having played only five matches on clay.

Top-ranked Naomi Osaka said she was “between sad and disappointed” when she had to pull out of the Italian Open before her quarterfinal match because of an injury. “I woke up this morning and I couldn’t really move my thumb,” the 21-year-old Japanese player said. “I can’t move my hand. I can’t move my thumb and I’m not sure I can play my match. I tried to practice and grip my racquet, and I just felt this pain every time I tried to move my hand in different directions.” Osaka, who has won the last two Grand Slam tournament women’s singles titles – the US Open and the Australian Open – did not rule out competing in Roland Garros.

The latest battle between the Williams sisters was wiped out when Serena Williams pulled out of the Italian Open with an injured left knee. It’s the third straight tournament the 37-year-old has had to withdraw due to physical problems. “I must withdraw from the Italian Open due to pain in my left knee,” Serena announced on the WTA website. “I’ll be concentrating on rehab and look forward to seeing you all at the French Open and next year in Rome.” Williams had won her opening match, beating Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson, and was scheduled to face her older sister, Venus, in a second-round match.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova retired from her third-round Italian Open match against Maria Sakkari of Greece with a left calf injury.” The 29-year-old Kvitova was trailing 7-5 5-7 4-0 when she called it quits. “It was a left calf injury, but she is hopeful that it’s nothing serious,” Kvitova’s spokeswoman told Reuters in an email. “(It) was a tough schedule with the rain and two matches on one day in Rome.” Kvitova had beaten Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 earlier in the day, then returned to play Sakkari. Before the Rome tournament, Kvitova had said she was recovering from a recent abdominal injury.

 

SIDELINED 

John Isner won’t be playing Roland Garros this year. The American ended his streak of 24 consecutive Grand Slam tournament appearances when he pulled out of the French Open with an injured left foot. The 34-year-old is, at 11th in the world, the top-ranked American man. But he has not competed since hurting his foot during the Miami Open final on March 31. Isner had his best Grand Slam tournament performance last year when he reached the Wimbledon semifinals. He has reached the fourth round at Roland Garros three times, including last year, and is one of only two men to push 11-time champion Rafael Nadal to a fifth set on the Paris clay. He is best known for winning the longest match in tennis history, 70-68 in the fifth set against Nicolas Mahut in a first-round match at Wimbledon in 2010. The match lasted more than 11 hours over three days.

 

SAID YES – PERHAPS

Rafael Nadal has somewhat confirmed rumors that he will marry his longtime girlfriend Maria Francisca Perello later this year. “Anybody handles his private life with different sensitivity, they are very personal moments,” Nadal told Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. The marriage reportedly will be either in June or in October.

 

SIR ANDY

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has been knighted by Prince Charles, more than two years after he was awarded the honor by Queen Elizabeth II. Murray’s knighthood was announced the year after he won his second Wimbledon title, won his second straight Olympics singles crown and finished t4he season ranked number one in the world. But recipients are allowed to choose when to collect their honor, and Murray passed it up because of his hectic schedule and the effect of the knighthood ceremony on his career-threating hip problem. Murray, who turned 32 last week, has since undergone hip surgery and it is still unclear whether he will be able to play Wimbledon this year.

 

SIGNED

Three rising stars – Christian Garin of Chile, Casper Ruud of Norway and Jaume Munar of Spain, along with veteran Fernando Verdasco of Spain have signed up to play the Swedish Open in Båstad this year. The 22-year-old Garin, who has won two titles this year, failed twice to qualify for Båstad, while Munar and Ruud played each other in the first round last year, with the Norwegian coming from a set down to win. The 35-year-old Verdasco will be making his 12th appearance in the clay-court tournament, reaching the final in both 2013 and 2016. The Swedish Open will be held July 15-21.

 

SALUTÉ

One of the newest graduates from Indiana University East is Anastasia Rodionova, who now has a Bachelor Science degree in Business Administration. While she is not the first WTA player to graduate from IU East, Rodionova is the first player to attend the commencement ceremony in person. There are 17 WTA players currently enrolled at the university through an educational agreement between the campus as the Women’s Tennis Benefits Association (WTBA). Other graduates from the school include Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Alla Kudryavtseva, Irina Falconi, Katalin Marosi, Sandra Zaniewska and Ivana Lisjak.

 

SURGERY FOR GIBBS

American Nicole Gibbs will miss Roland Garros while recovering from salivary gland cancer surgery. The 26-year-old wrote on Twitter that her goal is to return to the WTA tour in time for Wimbledon qualifying in late June. An NCAA singles champion while at Stanford, Gibbs is currently ranked 116th in the world. According to the player, her dentist noticed a growth on the roof of her mouth about a month ago. She said her surgeon is “confident that surgery alone will be sufficient treatment.”

 

SUSPENDED

Miguel Tobon, a former Davis Cup captain for Colombia, has been handed a one-year suspension and fined USD $20,000 for accepting payoffs in return for tournament wild-card entries. The Tennis Integrity Unit said Tobon was found guilty of “negotiating to sell, or attempting to sell, wild cards for singles and doubles events in Colombia to six individuals” in 2017. He also was ordered to pay USD $6,000 for the money he received from the sale of the wild cards. Tobon has coached some of Colombia’s best payers, including Alejandro Falla and Santiago Giraldo, as well as Nicolas Massu of Chile.

Nigerian Henry Atseye has been provisionally suspended from tennis because of alleged breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program. The 30-year-old is currently 1,928th in the International Tennis Federation World Tennis rankings. The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) said the provisional suspension relates to its investigation. No other details were announced.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Heilbronn: Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies beat Andre Begemann and Fabrice Martin 62 6-4

Rome (men): Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah beat Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 6-1 6-3

Rome (women): Victoria Azarenka and Ashleigh Barty beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Demi Schuurs 4-6 6-0 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Trnava: Anna Blinkova and Xenia Knoll beat Cornelia Lister and Renata Voracova 7-5 7-5

 

SURFING

Geneva: https://banqueericsturdzagenevaopen.com/

Lyon: https://openparc.com/

Nürnberg: http://www.nuernbergercup.de/

Strasbourg: https://www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/fr

Paris: https://www.rolandgarros.com/fr-fr/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$658,247 Banc Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, Geneva, Switzerland, clay

$658,247 Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon, Lyon, France, clay

 

WOMEN

$250,000 Nürnberger Versicherungscup, Nürnberg, Germany, clay

$250,000 Internationaux de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN and WOMEN

Roland Garros (French Open), Paris, France, clay (first week)

 

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer Captures Miami Open, His 101st Career Title – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Roger Federer beat John Isner 6-1 6-4 to win the Miami Open men’s singles in Miami, Florida, USA

Ashleigh Barty beat Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (1) 6-3 to win the Miami Open women’s singles in Miami, Florida, USA

 

SAYINGS

“This is a good phase, a good stretch for me right now. I really feel super healthy. That’s why I have been able to play every day for the last four weeks. That’s something that maybe hasn’t always been the case for the last few years. So, you appreciate these moments.” – Roger Federer, after winning his 101st ATP Tour title.

“You were entirely too good today, entirely too good this whole tournament. You are entirely too good your whole career. It’s absolutely incredible what you’re doing. We’re so lucky to have you in this game, and we all want you to keep playing and literally never retire. So, keep it up, man.” – John Isner, praising Roger Federer after losing to the Swiss great.

“Unbelievable for you to keep winning and playing this level of tennis. It makes me feel like such an underachiever. We’re all just in awe.” – Miami Open tournament director James Blake, a former top-five player, praising Federer at the trophy presentation.

“There were zero expectations coming into this tournament. I just saw it as an opportunity to get better every day, but I have grabbed my chance with both hands. I am proud of myself.” – Ashleigh Barty, after winning the Miami Open women’s singles.

“The first set was key for the match and one I should have won. It was tough to fight in the second.” – Karolina Pliskova, who lost to Ashleigh Barty in the Miami Open women’s final.

“A doctor was cutting me open eight months ago and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it back on court. To win this title is a dream and certainly wasn’t possible eight months ago. This is huge for us.” – Bob Bryan, after teaming with twin Mike to win the Miami Open, their 118th ATP Tour-level title.

“I’ve played so many matches. I guess it’s just my body’s way of telling me it has had enough.” – Bianca Andreescu, the Indian Wells champion who retired from her Miami Open match with a right shoulder injury.

“Yeah, there is definitely a lot of talent coming in. It’s just that point in the ATP, you know, you still have kind of the legends, you know, Rog, Rafa, still there on top, but you have a lot of newcomers with talent kind of gunning for them.” – Denis Shapovalov, one of several young players who played deep into the second week of the Miami Open.

“We’re not robots. I like when players show emotion like Filip did in that instant. It was a weird, strange, ridiculous point that I got very lucky to win somehow.” – Roger Federer, after beating Filip Krajinovic, who, after ending a 17-stroke exchange with a half-volley into the net, grabbed the ball and flipped it to Federer’s side of the court as if continuing the rally.

“The venue is absolutely fantastic. To play in the stadium – the Super Bowl will be here next year – it’s pretty amazing.” – John Isner, a big football fan, on the Miami Open’s new home in the Miami Dolphins’ stadium.

“I have been dealing with this for the past couple of years, so I think in a way that’s why I am able now to have these kind of results, because this extra pressure, this attention that I gave maybe last year or the year before to the outcomes, to the media, that’s a bit behind me now where I’m able really to stay in the present and really focus on what I have to do in the court, finding ways to win. That just keeps me going and just keeps me happy.” – Felix Auger-Aliassime, noting he is experienced in feeling pressure.

“It helps me a lot to get my mind off tennis, off the tennis tournaments, off the stress of the tennis life. It helps me a lot to clear my mind, to enjoy with them, to get a little bit of peace after the tournaments.” – Roberto Bautista Agut, talking about the seven horses he has back home in Spain.

“They’ll carry the sport when we’re long gone, and we’ll be sitting on the couch watching those guys slug it out. They’ll be a joy to watch because not only are they great, great players, but they’re good people, too.” – Roger Federer, talking about young players Stefanos Tsitsipas, Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Frances Tiafoe, all of whom reached the fourth round or better at the Miami Open.

“Roger Federer once said that I take defeats too much to heart, and he was right. I don’t just play tennis, I live the sport. And my emotions have often carried me to victory. That’s just how I am.” – Sabine Lisicki, who returned to the WTA tour at this week’s Volvo Car Open.

 

SOARING TO VICTORY

Playing masterful tennis, Roger Federer won his 101st career title, crushing defending champion John Isner at the Miami Open. Federer needed only 64 minutes, breaking Isner four times, including the first game of the match. “It was a dream start (to break in the opening game), relaxing my nerves,” Federer said. “What a week it’s been for me. I’m just so happy right now. It’s unbelievable.” It was the fourth time Federer has won in Miami, putting him two behind Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic for most in tournament history. His 101 tour-level titles moves him just eight back of all-time leader Jimmy Connors. The Swiss master was on the attack in long rallies, pounced on every short ball and disrupted Isner’s rhythm with his superb backhand. Federer needed only 24 minutes to grab the opening set. A left foot injury didn’t help Isner’s cause as the American was unable to hold serve in the final game. “I played here in 1999 for the first time and here I am in 2019,” Federer said. “It means a lot to me.”

The 37-year-old Federer has reached the most Masters 1000 finals in history with 50, winning 28. Spain’s Rafael Nadal has won the most titles, 33, in 49 finals. Federer has an 18-2 record this year, best on the ATP Tour.

 

SHE’S A WINNER

Five years after quitting tennis, Ashleigh Barty has won the biggest singles title of her career, capturing the Miami Open by besting fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in straight sets. “It feels like it’s a long time ago now since I took the break and since I came back,” Barty said. “It’s been a few years now, but I certainly feel like I’m a very different person. I feel like I’m a more complete player, I’m a better player.” The 22-year-old Australian quit tennis to play professional cricket. “I was an average cricketer and I’m becoming a better tennis player,” she said. Barty’s victory means that for the first time there have been 14 different winners in the first 14 WTA tournaments this season.  Against an out-of-sorts Pliskova, Barty hit 15 aces and 41 winners compared to 22 by her opponent. “I had to keep it physical, make as many balls as possible and keep my running shoes on,” said Barty, who won junior Wimbledon at age 15. The 27-year-old Pliskova took the early lead, but it was Barty who moved ahead 5-1 in the first-set tiebreak. Barty then broke early in the second set and dominated the rest of the way. “She played well and I was super tired,” Pliskova said. “She served great.”

 

STILL WINNING

Eight months after having a hip replaced, Bob Bryan joined with his twin brother Mike to win their 118th ATP Tour-level doubles titles, capturing the Miami Open by beating Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 7-5 7-6 (6). “Bob’s been through a lot on the couch,” Mike Bryan said. “To have him back at full strength and winning here in Miami, (our) hometown, with all the friends and family support is unreal. This is a special event for us and to defend it is amazing.” The two won their first title since Bob’s surgery last month at the Delray Beach Open. Their latest was their 39th ATP Masters 1000 title as a team. The Americans struggled to reach the finals, needing a match tiebreak in their second-round win and saving four match points in their semifinal victory over the top-seeded team of Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.

 

SHOE-LESS WINNER

Elise Mertens of Belgium and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus are perfect for March. And that means they added the Miami Open title to the one they won at Indian Wells two weeks ago. Mertens and Sabalenka become the fifth team to capture the Indian Wells/Miami “Sunshine Double,” and the first since Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in 2015. The winners didn’t even team up until the Australian Open this past January, where they reached the round of 16. Since losing to the top-ranked duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in Melbourne, Mertens and Sabalenka has not lost a match. The winners began the Miami Open final by breaking the serve of Samantha Stosur. The Australian and her partner, China’s Zhang Shuai, battled back to force a tiebreak, which Mertens and Sabalenka won 7-5. They then won the final three games of the match to wrap up the “Sunshine Double” in one hour, 24 minutes.

SICK CALL

Bianca Andreescu, the surprise Indian Wells winner, has pulled out of this week’s Volvo Car Open because of a shoulder injury. Andreescu actually won 10 straight matches, capturing her maiden WTA title before reaching the fourth round of the Miami Open, where she retired while trailing Anett Kontaveit 6-1 2-0. “The physios and the doctor said that it’s nothing too serious, but the pain is there and I couldn’t continue today,” the 18-year-old Canadian said when she retired during the Kontaveit match.

Fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine announced she will be taking time off of the WTA tour in order to heal a persistent knee pain that has been bothering her recently. Svitolina lost her first match in Miami to Wang Qiang.

 

SHOCKS DJOKOVIC

It looked like an easy day as Novak Djokovic won the first five games and seven of the first eight against Roberto Bautista Agut. Looks were deceiving.  “I played more aggressive,” the Spaniard said after shocking the world’s top-ranked player 1-6 7-5 6-3. “I tried to miss fewer balls, to be really concentrated on the beginning of the point with my serve, with my return. At the end, it worked well.” Definitely. Bautista Agut broke Djokovic’s serve to level the second set at 1-1, then broke the Serb once again to level the match at a set apiece. The Spaniard jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the decisive set before closing out the victory in 2 hours, 32 minutes. “He’s a solid player. Congratulations to him definitely for a great comeback,” Djokovic said. “But this kind of match I should not have lost. So many opportunities. Just way too many wasted opportunities. This is what happens when you don’t capitalize on time.”

 

SHE’S BACK, PERHAPS

Sabine Lisicki is determined to return to the WTA Tour. “I have unfinished business at Wimbledon, and it would be great if I can be there this summer,” the German said. The 29-year-old reached the Wimbledon final in 2013, losing in straight sets to Marion Bartoli. Since then she has battled a string of injuries, lost in the opening round at Wimbledon in 2017 and failed to qualify for the grass court Grand Slam tournament last year. Her ranking plummeted to 298th in the world. Getting a wild card, Lisicki returns to the WTA tour this week at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. She will turn 30 this fall, but Lisicki insists that she is not too old to make a comeback. “There are plenty of good players who are older than 30 and are celebrating the biggest successes of their careers,” she said. “Giving up is not an option for me.”

 

SPECIAL COMPANY

When Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the Miami Open quarterfinals, he joined an elite group of youngsters. With the exception of the Canadian, they all are in the International Tennis Hall of Fame or, in Rafael Nadal’s case, sure to have a spot in the Newport, Rhode Island, USA, shrine. The youngest player to reach the Miami Open men’s quarterfinals was Andy Roddick, who was 18 years, 56 days old when he did it in 2001. Another American, Pete Sampras, was three days older than Roddick when he reached the quarters in 1990. Auger-Aliassime is four days older than Sampras, while Nadal was 18 years, 81 days in 2005 and Sweden’s Stefan Edberg 19 years, 6 days in 1985.

Last fall, a heart condition forced Auger-Aliassime to retire from his first-round match at the US Open. The same problem caused him to retire at the Guadeloupe Challenger in 2015. “It only happened twice when I was competing,” the young Canadian said. He underwent heart surgery during the off-season and is confident the problem is now fixed. “The cardio thing I have dealt with since I was eight, so I wasn’t scared for my health or anything,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It took a lot of years because they couldn’t find where it was coming from, the palpitations. I went on the table again and they were able to find it. It was really easy. I know a lot of people who have done that surgery and it’s pretty common. It’s not something that I even think about any more.”

 

SCOT BACK TRAINING

Andy Murray is back on a tennis court two months after undergoing hip surgery. While prospects of his making a full recovery remain unclear, those close to the Scottish star says he has progressed so well that he is feeling increasingly optimistic about his chances. A photo of Murray posted on Facebook showed the former world number one player hitting balls against a practice wall in his home village of Oxshott.

 

STARTER

Andy Murray will participate in this year’s London Marathon, but not as a runner. The tennis star will be the official starter for the race, following in the footsteps of the Queen, who started it in 2018, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who did the honors in 2017. “It’s such an amazing race that means so much to so many people,” said Murray, who attended the 2014 race when his wife, Kim, took part. “It raises millions each year for charity and helps inspire people to get active. I have nothing but admiration for everyone who runs. I may even run it myself one day.”

 

SENTENCED

The man who attacked Petra Kvitova in her home has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Radim Zondra, who is currently in prison for another crime was sentenced on charges of serious battery and illegal entry into Kvitova’s apartment in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov in December 2016. The tennis star suffered injuries to her playing left hand as she fought off the intruder. She has fully recovered and reached the Australian Open final in January. The 33-year-old Zondra pled not guilty and, under Czech law, had two weeks to appeal the verdict.

 

SAYONARA

The Hopman Cup could be over after a 31-year run. Instead of the international mixed team event, Perth will stage the inaugural ATP Cup next January along with Sydney and Brisbane. “The ATP Cup will launch the global tennis season for the men,” Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said it was “committed” to the Hopman Cup. “We are in discussions with potential partners to decide where and when this tournament will be next hosted,” ITF President David Haggerty said. “We will keep the Hopman Cup alive.” This past January’s Hopman Cup saw Roger Federer face Serena Williams as Switzerland beat the United States. “If there was a sign off … to way, well, bye bye Hopman Cup, it was the fact that probably the two greatest players in the history of the sport, Roger Federer and Serena Williams, went on court at the Perth Arena and went head-to-head,” said Paul McNamee, founder of the Hopman Cup and a four-time Grand Slam doubles champion.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Miami (men): Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Wesley Koolhof and Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 7-6 (8)

Miami (women): Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka beat Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai 7-6 (5) 6-2

 

SURFING

Charleston: http://www.volvocaropen.com/

Monterrey: http://abiertognpseguros.com/

Davis Cup: https://www.daviscup.com/

Lugano: https://samsungopen.ch/

Houston: https://www.mensclaycourt.com/

Morocco: https://www.frmt.ma/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$162,480 Abierto GNP Seguros, Monterrey, Mexico, hard

 

WOMEN

$823,000 Volvo Car Open, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, clay

$250,000 Abierto GNP Seguros, Monterrey, Mexico, hard

 

DAVIS CUP

Group II, First Round

Americas: El Salvador vs. Peru at Santa Tecia, El Salvador, hard

Asia/Oceania: Thailand vs. Philippines at Nonthaburi, Thailand, hard

Europe/Africa: Romania vs. Zimbabwe at Piatra Neamt, Romania, hard; Morocco vs. Lithuania at Marrakech, Morocco, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$662,173 Grand Prix Hassan II, Marrakech, Morocco, clay

$652,245 Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship, Houston, Texas, USA, clay

$162,480 Taiwan Santaizi Challenger, Taipei, Taiwan, hard

 

WOMEN

$250,000 Claro Open Colsanitas, Bogota, Colombia, clay

$250,000 Samsung Open presented by Corner, Lugano, Switzerland, clay

Roger Federer win ATP title 101
Roger Federer win ATP title 101

16 Years To The Day After Saving Match Points, Coming Back From 1-5 Third-Set Aussie Open Deficit, Serena Williams Suffers The Same

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Very often when I open up the pages of my book “On This Day In Tennis History” or click on the mobile app each morning to read of the significant anniversaries in tennis history, I come across an item that becomes interesting in the current context.

Wednesday, January 23 was another one of those days.

Earlier in the day in Australia, Serena Williams suffered one of the biggest collapses in her storied career by blowing four match points and a 5-1 final-set lead to lose to Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 4-6, 7-5  in the quarterfinals. Williams turned her ankle while up 5-1, which hampered her play while losing six games in a row to lose the match.

That made it all the more interesting to read the following entry in the “On This Day In Tennis” compilation about a Serena Williams match from 16 years earlier at the Australian Open.

January 23, 2003
Serena Williams fights off two match points and a 1-5 third-set deficit to beat Kim Clijsters 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 to dramatically advance into the final of the Australian Open. Williams advances into the final to meet sister Venus Williams, whom she defeats to clinch her “Serena Slam” run of fourth consecutive major tournament titles. ”It was just an unbelievable battle out there,” says Serena of comeback win. ‘’I thought, ‘I don’t want to lose, 6-1.’ Then I said, ‘I don’t want to lose, 6-2.’ So I just kept fighting. Next thing I know, I came back.”

 

As they say, what comes around goes around.

“On This Day In Tennis History” is a fun and fact-filled compilation that offers anniversaries, summaries, and anecdotes of events from the world of tennis for every day in the calendar year. Presented in a day-by-day format, the entries into this mini-encyclopedia include major tournament victory dates, summaries of the greatest matches ever played, trivia, and statistics as well as little-known and quirky happenings. Easy-to-use and packed with fascinating details, the book is the perfect companion for tennis and general sports fans alike.

Said Hall of Famer Jim Courier of the book, “On This Day In Tennis History is a fun read that chronicles some of the most important—and unusual—moments in the annals of tennis. Randy Walker is an excellent narrator of tennis history and has done an incredible job of researching and compiling this entertaining volume.” Said tennis historian Joel Drucker, author of Jimmy Connors Saved My Life, “An addictive feast that you can enjoy every possible way—dipping in for various morsels, devouring it day-by-day, or selectively finding essential ingredients. As a tennis writer, I will always keep this book at the head of my table.”

Serena Williams at the 2003 Australian Open
Serena Williams at the 2003 Australian Open

The No. 181-Ranked Player Is The Women’s Favorite To Win Wimbledon (It’s Serena Williams)

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A player ranked No. 181 in the WTA rankings is the favorite to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon.

This seems completely ridiculous until you realize that this player is 23-time major winner Serena Williams.

Entering the second week of The Championships, the seven-time Wimbledon singles champion is the Wimbledon betting odds favorite to win once again at the All England Club in a women’s tournament highlighted by the massive departure of top seeds. In an unprecedented carnage among the women’s seeds, only one of the top 10 seeds advanced out of the third round.

Williams is only competing in her fourth singles event since returning to the pro circuit after giving birth last fall. Her results have only warranted a WTA Tour singles ranking of No. 181, but the All England Club awarded Williams a special seeding of No. 25 to better reflect her amazing run of success on the grass courts as well as her improved form, as showcased in Paris. She has also won her last 14 matches at Wimbledon, dating back to 2015.

En route to reaching the fourth round, Williams has seen her average serve speed and ace total increase in each match. Williams would not have to play a seeded player until at least the semifinals and that could be No. 7 seed Karolina Pliskova, who, ironically, is the last player to defeat Williams at a Grand Slam tournament in the 2016 US Open semifinals. Since that loss, Williams won the 2017 Australian Open before skipping the next four majors during her pregnancy. In her major tournament comeback event at the 2018 French Open, Williams advanced to the fourth round before she was forced to withdraw from the event (not counting as a match loss) due to a shoulder injury.

Ranked No. 181, Williams would be the lowest-ranked woman to win a Wimbledon singles title and would also become the seventh mother win a major singles title in the history of the sport.

Pliskova, the former world No. 1 who has one of the best serves in the women’s game, has not embraced the grass as a favorite surface, despite her game being a good fit in the faster conditions. Prior to this year, she had not advanced past the second round at the All England Club.

No. 11 seed Angelique Kerber is the second-highest remaining seed left after the first week. The German is again finding her form that guided her to the No. 1 ranking in 2016, buoyed by titles at the Australian and US Opens and runner-up finishes at Wimbledon and the Olympics that year. She and No. 12 seed and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia are the favorites to reach the final on the top of the draw. Former Australian Open finalist and world No. 4 Dominka Cibulkova may also be worth watching. She was knocked off of her No. 32 seeding from the tournament when the All England Club  opted to award Serena Williams her special No. 25 seeding. Not happy about this decision, Cibulkova is playing with a bit of a chip on her shoulder and, as her past results have proven, she is capable of big wins late in Grand Slam tournaments.

Serena Williams
Serena Williams

A Look Back At Wimbledon’s First Week – Monday’s With Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Wimbledon – First Week

Magdalena Rybarikova beat third-seeded Karolina Pliskova 3-6 7-5 6-2

Daniil Medvedev beat sixth-seeded Stan Wawrinka 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-1

Ana Konjuh beat eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-4

Roberto Bautista Agut beat ninth-seeded Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-3

 

SAYING

“It’s tough to describe. I beat someone who is number three in the world right now, who she’s playing amazing tennis, on the Centre Court at Wimbledon. Nothing could be better. I’m very pleased and very happy.” – Magdalena Rybarikova, after upsetting third-seeded Karolina Pliskova.

“I played one bad game overall, in second set at 5-6. Otherwise I don’t think I did something wrong. She just played a little bit better today.” – Karolina Pliskova, after losing to Magdalena Rybarikova.

“I have no words to describe this. I guess this memory will be with me forever.” – Daniil Medvedev, following his first-round upset of third-ranked Stan Wawrinka.

“Who knows what could have happened in the fifth (set). I would have loved to have played one.” – Tommy Haas, who lost his first-round match in four sets to Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans.

“I have had lots of injuries in my career but this is definitely the worst. … I will be out for a while, but I will get through this.” – Bethanie Mattek-Sands, after suffering a serious injury to her right knee during a match.

“That’s just tennis.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after dropping his serve in the only eight points played on Saturday to lose a five-setter to Sam Querrey in a match that had been halted by darkness the night before.

 

SHOCKER

With Serena Williams taking a hiatus from tennis to have a baby, Karolina Pliskova was one of many favorites to capture Wimbledon’s women’s singles. Magdalena Rybarikova had other ideas. “It’s obviously an amazing feeling for me and I’m so happy,” Rybarikova said after knocking the third-seeded Pliskova out of the year’s third Grand Slam tournament. After being off the WTA tour for much of last year following wrist and knee surgeries, Rybarikova wasn’t expected to make much of a splash on the Wimbledon grass. But she had posted some impressive results on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit, winning four titles, including two on grass, and had reached the semifinals of a grass-court event in Nottingham two weeks before Wimbledon. Pliskova, on the other hand, had a chance to take over the world number one ranking by winning the Grand Slam tournament. Instead, it was Rybarikova in three sets. “Once I was in the third set with her, I just kept fighting.” Rybarikova said. “I was surprised that I wasn’t nervous; I thought I’d be shaky at the end. But I was so tired that I didn’t have time to think about how nervous I was.”

 

STAN STUNNED

Stan Wawrinka was going for a career Grand Slam. He didn’t make it to the second round. Daniil Medvedev made his Wimbledon debut by stunning the fifth-seeded Wawrinka in four sets. “First of all, it’s my first Grand Slam win,” the 21-year-old Russian said. “So even if I didn’t beat Stan, it would be one of the biggest wins in my life.” Medvedev had showed his grass-court skills before Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals at the Ricoh Open and the semis at Eastbourne. “It’s a very strange feeling to go out there,” Medvedev said. “It’s like you have a fear, you’re tight, but you want to show your best. You want to (beat) Stan Wawrinka on Centre Court so that people can know more about you. It was just something special.” Wawrinka is ranked third in the world, but Wimbledon officials seeded him fifth, moving up two former champions, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to third and fourth seeds, respectively. Medvedev was aggressive throughout the match, keeping his 32-year-old opponent behind the baseline. He hit four of his 10 aces in the final set, then, after the final point, bent down and kissed the court.

 

SETS YOUNGEST/OLDEST CLASH

Croatia’s Ana Konjuh, the youngest player left in the women’s singles draw, reached the second week at Wimbledon by knocking off eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in three sets. The 19-year-old pounded out 54 winners while Cibulkova, runner-up at the 2014 Australian Open, only had 22. Cibulkova won nine consecutive points in the final set, breaking Konjuh when she was serving for the match. But it just postponed the inevitable. Konjuh hit a few more unreturnable serves to gain a spot in the second week at Wimbledon for the first time where she faced the oldest player left in the singles draw, Venus Williams.

 

SCREAMING END

There will be no fourth consecutive Grand Slam women’s doubles title for Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The veteran suffered an agonizing on-court injury to her knee and will undergo surgery. On her way to the net for a volley against Romanian Sorana Cirstea, Mattek-Sands crumpled to the court in pain. “I ruptured my patella tendon, and I’m going to need surgery, so I’ll be out for a while,” the 32-year-old American said. She had suffered a serious ligament injury to the same knee four years ago. Mattek-Sands and partner Lucie Safarova had won five Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, including the last three. Safarova, who was getting ready for the start of her singles match, rushed to the court and began crying once she saw Mattek-Sands’ right knee. “I remember I heard a pop in my leg and everything went slow after that,” Mattek-Sands said from her hospital room. “My knee felt really tight and I knew it was either dislocated or broken. I freaked out. It’s the most painful injury I have ever had.”

 

SHORT DAY

It took Sam Querrey just eight points to grab a spot in the second week at Wimbledon. But that was only because he couldn’t complete the five-set win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga the day before. Their match was halted by darkness with Querrey leading 6-5 in the fifth set. When they returned to the court on Saturday, the 12th-seeded Tsonga dropped serve to give Querrey the win 6-2 3-6 7-6 (5) 1-6 7-5. The Frenchman slammed a ball high over the Court Two stands in frustration.  Querrey sympathized with his opponent. “I’ve been in that situation before (coming out to serve to stay in a match), and it’s tough,” Querrey said. “After such a great match it was a bit of an anti-climax in the end, a bit of a bummer.”

 

SENDS NISHIKORI PACKING

In four previous meetings, Roberto Bautista Agut was able to win only a combined two sets against Kei Nishikori. In their third-round meeting this year, the Spaniard won three of the four sets, ending the ninth-seeded Nishikori’s Wimbledon adventure 6-4 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-3. “I couldn’t maintain my level high enough to beat Bautista today,” Nishikori said. “I think he served well in every set … I had many chances, but I think he played well on the important points.” Seeded 18th, the victorious Spaniard gained a berth in the fourth round at Wimbledon for the second time in three years.

 

SECOND-ROUND LOSER

An emotional return to Wimbledon ended for Petra Kvitova when she was beaten 6-3 1-6 6-2 in the second round by American Madison Brengle. Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion who was severely cut on her dominant left hand during a home invasion by an intruder in December. She felt her loss was caused by her emotions as well as the play of Brengle. “My body didn’t feel the best,” Kvitova said. “I’m not sure what happened. I could not breathe and was feeling a bit sick as well. Sometimes that happens. Unfortunately, it happened at Wimbledon. I’m glad it’s over. It was really tough and I feel really empty right now. I know my body is not great, but mentally I’m glad that it’s over.”

 

SAY WHAT???

Simona Halep has been in the women’s Top 10 ranking longer than any other active player. The Romanian has been in the Top 10 for 182 consecutive weeks. She attained the longest ranking status when Serena Williams dropped out of the Top 10 while awaiting the birth of her first child. Halep first entered the Top 10 on Jan. 27, 2014, and currently is ranked second in the world. She could take over the number one ranking by winning Wimbledon. Williams, the reigning Australian Open champion, has not played since the year’s first Grand Slam tournament in January, when she won her 23rd major title, most of any woman in the Open Era. Williams won Wimbledon a year ago, and all those points fall off of the 52-week ranking cycle.

 

SUING VENUS

Police say Venus Williams was not at fault in a fatal car accident. Originally police had said the tennis star was at fault although she was not given a ticket at the time. Police in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA, said after viewing a video of the accident investigators they have rescinded their original conclusion and that no blame has yet been determined. When the light turned green, Williams headed straight, but was forced to stop when a dark colored sedan turned left in front of her. She then continued straight where her SUV was struck in the passenger’s side by a sedan driven by Linda Barson. Police said Barson’s light had turned green just before Williams moved in front of her. Barson’s 78-year-old husband, Jerome, suffered fatal injuries in the crash. Jerome Barson’s estate has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Williams, seeking unspecified damages. Williams’ attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, said the tennis star “’had the right to proceed through the intersection and other vehicles, including those with a red light changing to green, were obligated to yield the right-of-way.”

 

SAD NEWS

Nancy Jeffett, one of the first female tennis promoters, is dead at the age of 88. She staged the Maureen Connolly Brinker Memorial Tournament in 1969. Three years later, it was the first televised women’s tournament and the first to award prize money. The event eventually became the Virginia Slims of Dallas. She also was the longtime chair of both the United States Wightman Cup and Federation (now Fed) Cup. She was the only American woman who wasn’t a Wimbledon champion to be named an honorary member of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. A memorial service will be held July 14 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

 

SURFING

Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/index.html

Sparkassen: www.sparkassen-open.de/

Budapest: www.hungarianprocircuit.com

Contrexeville: www.lorraine-open88.fr

Astana: www.ktf.kz

Gstaad: www.ladieschampionshipgstaad.ch/

Newport: www.halloffameopen.com/

Båstad: www.swedishopen.org/

Umag: www.croatiaopen.hr/hr/naslovnica/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (second week)

$144,898 Sparkassen Open, Braunschweig, Germany, clay

 

WOMEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (second week)

$100,000 Hungarian Pro Circuit Ladies Open, Budapest, Hungary, clay

$100,000 Grand Est Open 88, Contrexeville, France, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$615,689 Skystar Swedish Open, Båstad, Sweden, clay

$615,689 Plava Laguna Croatia Open, Umag, Croatia, clay

$600,345 Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, grass

$125,000 Presidents Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Bucharest Open, Bucharest, Romania, clay

$226,750 Ladies Championship Gstaad by iXion Services, Gstaad, Switzerland, clay

$100,000 Presidents Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard

 

Wimbledon Court One
Wimbledon Court One

The Aegon International In Eastbourne Provides Late Wimbledon Testing Ground For Top WTA Stars

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The Aegon International at Eastbourne is one of the most historic events on the WTA Tour.

It is the premier women’s Wimbledon grass-court preparatory event held at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club since 1974. The great Martina Navratilova, arguably the greatest grass-court tennis player of all time, won the event an amazing 11 times.

The 2017 tournament, that starts June 26 and leads into the start of Wimbledon, will provide a late testing ground for the world’s top players as they prepare for the world’s premier tennis tournament while attempting to secure a prestigious WTA Tour title. Seven of the world’s top 10 are competing at Eastbourne which will provide for fierce competition and high quality play.

Leading entries include world No. 1 and 2016 Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber of Germany and world No. 2 and 2016 U.S. Open finalist Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Kerber is in, perhaps, the poorest of form of any world No. 1, struggling with her confidence having not won a tournament since last year’s U.S. Open. Now, to boot, she is suffering with a hamstring problem that forced her to withdraw from the grass-court prep event in Birmingham, which will not help her chances at Eastbourne, or at Wimbledon.

Pliskova is a trendy pick to excel on the British grass with her booming serve and groundstrokes being well-suited for the fast grass-court surface. She was not expecting great results on the clay at the French Championships but reached the semifinals, where she was one match away from securing the No. 1 ranking from Kerber. Grass courts may be what lift her to the WTA Tour world No. 1 ranking in a few weeks time.

Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia is the defending champion at Eastbourne, having beaten Pliskova last year’s final. Her confidence is still riding quite high after winning the year-end WTA Tour Championships in Singapore, but she is yet to break-through and win a major championship. No player has repeated as champion in Eastbourne since Justine Henin in 2006 and 2007.

Many eyes are on Johanna Konta, the top British player, who is enjoying a break-out season, having won earlier this year in a Miami, one of the top events in tennis outside of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Playing on her familiar grass courts – and buoyed by local fan support – she could not only go deep at Eastbourne, but also at Wimbledon as well.

Curiously, the 38th and final direct entry into the tournament is Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, who shocked the tennis world with her triumph at Roland Garros. What is surprising about Ostapenko is clay is not even her favorite surface and she adores grass, where she won the Wimbledon junior title in 2014. 

Other top contenders in the star-studded field include 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2015, Svetlanta Kuznetsova of Russia, the 2004 champ who will turn 32 during the event and still playing great tennis, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the former world No. 1 and 2009 champ who is solidly back in the Top 10, and Aga Radwanska, who won the Eastbourne title in 2008 and reached the final again in 2015.

Eastbourne
Eastbourne

 

Karolina Pliskova, Lucas Pouille Wins Give Reason To Celebrate US Open’s Ultimate-Set Tiebreakers

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by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Ultimate-set tiebreakers have been the talk of the U.S. Open with Lucas Pouille defeating Rafael Nadal 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the fourth round of men’s singles and Karolina Pliskova beating Venus Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the fourth round of women’s singles. I have been tweeting that the ultimate set-tiebreaker is the most exciting 10 minutes in tennis.

Pliskova’s win came on the 20-year anniversary of one of the all-time great ultimate-set tiebreakers, Pete Sampras defeating Alex Corretja in the quarterfinals of the 1996 U.S. Open.

The U.S. Open is, of course, the only of the four major championships to have a fifth-set tiebreaker, the other three majors electing to play out ultimate sets. This can lead to all sorts of insanity, as witnessed by John Isner’s 70-68 fifth-set win over Nicolas Mahut in 2012. I’ve ranted about ultimate-set tiebreakers and how they are needed across the board in tennis, as you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtVQNUWoXxs

Olympic tennis has caught on as the International Tennis Federation has dictated that ultimate sets will now feature tiebreakers, as witnessed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

So, in celebration of ultimate-set tiebreakers at the U.S. Open, here are a list of some of the best of all-time, mostly picked from my book, ebook, audio book and mobile app “This Day In Tennis History” (available at www.TennisHistoryApp.com)

 

1991 Women’s Semifinals – Monica Seles over Jennifer Capriati: Seventeen-year-old Monica Seles and 15-year-old Jennifer Capriati slug it out in the dramatic women’s semifinal at the U.S. Open with Seles hanging on to advance into the U.S. Open final for the first time with a nail-biting 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4) victory. Capriati serves for the match on two occasions – at 5-4 and 6-5 in the final set, but is unable to convert. Says Capriati, “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.” Says Seles, “We both didn’t want to give up unitl the last ball…There was a lot of pressure on me because she was running every ball down.”

2003 Women’s Semifinals – Justin Henin-Hardenne over Jennifer Capriati: In the wee-hours of the morning the night before, Justine Henin-Hardenne finally defeats Jennifer Capriati 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4) in the women’s semifinal in a match that concludes at 12:27 a.m. The Capriati-Henin-Hardenne match lasts 3 hours, 3 minutes with Capriati serving for the match in both in the second and third sets. She is two points from winning the match 11 times, but is unable to break through. Curiously, both Capriati and Henin-Hardenne win 127 points in the match.

1981 Women’s Final – Tracy Austin over Martina Navratilova: A tie-breaker determines the winner of a major singles title for the first time as 18-year-old Tracy Austin wins her second U.S. Open singles title edging first-time finalist and newly-minted American citizen Martina Navratilova in the final 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1). “This means more to me than the last one,” says Austin. “At 16, it all came so fast. It was kind of like the stepping stone. I had come onto the women’s tour and gradually had gotten better and better. I was too young to realize how important it was.”

1984 Men’s Semifinal – Ivan Lendl over Pat Cash: Perhaps the single greatest day in tennis history, as Ivan Lendl defeats Pat Cash 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4) in the first men’s semifinal, winning the final-set tie-breaker 7-4. Lendl famously saving a match point at 5-6, ad in with a forehand top-spin lob over Cash’s head.

2005 Men’s Quarterfinal – Andre Agassi over James Blake: Andre Agassi and James Blake compete in one of the most exciting U.S. Open matches of all time, Agassi finishing off a two-sets-to-love comeback win at 1:15 am winning an 8-6 fifth-set tiebreaker to advance into the men’s semifinals with a 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory. “It couldn’t have been more fun to lose,” Blake tells Agassi as the two Americans embrace at the net after the two-hour, 51-minute match. “At 1:15 in the morning for 20,000 people to still be here, I wasn’t the winner, tennis was,” Agassi tells the crowd. “I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this good here before.” Blake serves for the match at 5-4 in the fifth but is denied by Agassi. Blake also leads by 5-4, serving, in the fifth-set tiebreaker but Agassi rallies to win four of the last five points.

1991 Men’s Fourth Round – Jimmy Connors over Aaron Krickstein: In one of the most famous matches in the history of the U.S. Open, Jimmy Connors turns 39-years-old and comes back from a two-sets-to-one and a 2-5 fifth-set deficit to defeat 27-year-old Aaron Krickstein 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 in a rousing fourth round match in the late afternoon of Labor Day Monday, “This is what I live for, to win a match 7-6 in the fifth,” says Connors, who pulls a similar escape in the first round against Patrick McEnroe, trailing two sets to love and 3-0 in the third set. “For me to pull out another stunt like this, how can you not laugh about it? What the hell is going on here?” Connors struts, fist-pumps and grinds around the court in the 4 hour, 42-minute encounter, calling chair umpire David Littlefield “an abortion” after questioning a call and telling TV viewers before the fifth-set tie-break, “This is what they paid for. This is what they want.” Writes Tommy Bonk in the Los Angeles Times, “Connors came from a break down in the fifth set, got it back even as Krickstein served for the match at 5-3, climbed into the deciding tiebreaker with a windmill overhead on which his feet cleared the court by a good two inches and knocked a backhand volley into the open court to end it on the first match point. Along the way, Connors carried on in what has become his time-honored tradition, alternating somewhere between reform school and charm school.”

1985 Women’s Final – Hana Mandlikova over Martina Navratilova: Hana Mandlikova wins her only U.S. Open singles crown defeating Martina Navratilova in the final 7-6 (3), 1-6, 7-6 (2). The 23-year-old Czech becomes the first non-American woman to win the U.S. singles title since Margaret Court of Australia in 1970. Mandlikova, who beat Chris Evert in the semifinals, bursts out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and hangs on to win the first set in a tie-breaker. Mandlikova, seeded No. 3, wins the last six points of the decisive, third-set tie-breaker. Says Mandlikova, “I just think that finally everything fell into place and I showed I can play.”

1986 Women’s Semifinal – Martina Navratilova over Steffi Graf: Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf complete one of the greatest U.S. Open women’s semifinal matches ever as Navratilova comes back from three match points down to claim a 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (10-8) semifinal victory over the 17-year-old West German. Navratilova, who displays fist-shaking and finger-waving emotion, leads 4-1 in the first set before the match is delayed a day due to rain and completes the inspired victory in a total match-playing time of 2 hours, 19 minutes. Writes Roy Johnson of the New York Times, “It took more than 24 hours to complete, with emotions that ranged from exultation to disappointment. In between, two players tested and stretched one another and provided a sellout crowd at the National Tennis Center with the most dramatic match of the tournament.”

1996 Men’s Quarterfinal – Pete Sampras over Alex Corretja: Defending champion and No. 1 seeded Pete Sampras, fighting off fatigue and becoming ill on court, outlasts Alex Corretja 7-6 (5), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7) in the quarterfinals in one of the most dramatic matches ever at the U.S. Open. Sampras vomits on the court after the second point of the final-set tie-break and fights off a match point at 6-7 in the tiebreaker with a stab volley. At 7-7, Sampras, struggling with his strength, serves a second-serve ace to take an 8-7 lead. Sampras appears barely able to play another point – and doesn’t need to – as Corretja double-faults the match away on the next point. Says Corretja following the match, “It was probably the best match of my career – the best one and the worst one.”

1985 Women’s Quarterfinal – Steffi Graf over Pam Shriver: In the first U.S. Open match where every set is determined by tiebreakers, sixteen-year-old advances into the semifinals at major championship for the first time in her career by upsetting No. 4 seed Pam Shriver 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) on the Grandstand court at the USTA National Tennis Center. Shriver leads 4-1 in the final set, serves for the match at 5-3, and leads 4-3 in the final-set tiebreaker, losing the last four points in the match. “It was one of the most unbelievable matches that I’ve been a part of,” Shriver says following the two-hour, 46-minute match. “My effort couldn’t have been more–and it was just about two points too less.” Said Graf, “I don’t think I’ve ever played such a close match.”

1980 Men’s Semifinal – John McEnroe over Jimmy Connors: In a struggle between the last two men to win the U.S. Open men’s singles titles, defending champion John McEnroe beats 1978 champion Jimmy Connors 6-4, 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3). The tie-breaker was mostly bereft of drama as McEnroe won six of the first seven points, before holding on for the win.

1987 Men’s First Round – Ken Flach over Darren Cahill: Ken Flach defeats qualifier Darren Cahill 1-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (15), in 3 hours 18 minutes in the xx round. The 17-15 tie-breaker score is the longest at the U.S. Open in men’s singles competition since the tiebreaker is introduced in 1970.

1998 Men’s Quarterfinal – Mark Philippoussis over Thomas Johansson: Mark Philippoussis advances to his first major semifinal with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 7-6 (12-10) win over Thomas Johansson, saving three match points in the final-set tiebreaker.

2013 Men’s First Round – Rogerio Dutra Da Silva over Vasek Pospisil: Rogerio Dutra of Brazil saves seven match points and beats Vasek Pospisil 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-2, 7-6 (10) in the first round.

1985 Men’s First Round – John McEnroe over Shlomo Glickstein: Top-seed and world No. 1 John McEnroe survives a monumental first-round scare and defeats world No. 137 Shlomo Glickstein of Israel 6-1, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7). McEnroe trails by a service break twice in the fifth set, but rallies to force the final-set tiebreaker. He leads 6-3 in the ultimate tie-breaker, but is wrecked with nerves and finally converts on his fifth match point of the match. “It was an amazing struggle,” says McEnroe after the win. “I was in shock. By the time I realized I was in for a tough match, I had to fight my bleep off to win it. I’ve never been so happy to win a first-round match.”

1990 Women’s Third Round – Linda Ferrando over Monica Seles: Unheralded and No. 82-ranked Linda Ferrando of Italy upsets No. 3 seed and 16-year-old Monica Seles 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3) in the third round of the US Open. Says Seles, “I’ve never seen play before so I didn’t know what to expect from her. After the first set, I knew she was going to be a bigger problem to finish off.”

 

Do you have any other U.S. Open ultimate set-tiebreakers that you would like to share? Share with me on Twitter at @TennisPublisher or email me at Rwalker@NewChapterMedia.com

 

Pete Sampras during 1996 Fifth-Set Tiebreaker with Alex Corretja
Pete Sampras during 1996 Fifth-Set Tiebreaker with Alex Corretja

Angelique Kerber, Andy Murray Both Stumble In Cincinnati – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

 

STARS

Marin Cilic beat Andy Murray 6-4 7-5 to win the Western & Southern Open men’s singles in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Karolina Pliskova beat Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-1 to win the Western & Southern Open women’s singles in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

 

SAYING

“I felt that I played really good tennis today. The serve was a big factor in my game. I was hitting a lot of big serves in important points, and I was definitely in that second set very, very mentally strong.” – Marin Cilic, after beating Andy Murray to win the Western & Southern Open men’s singles.

“I’m very proud of this week. Obviously today it didn’t go how I would’ve wanted. But I certainly didn’t expect to get to the final when I arrived here.” – Andy Murray.

“I was expecting I’m going to play good, but I wasn’t expecting it that easy. I think she might be a little bit tired, or she felt a little bit of pressure on herself.” – Karolina Pliskova, following her upset win in the Cincinnati final over Angelique Kerber.

“I’m really tired. I played the 11th match in 13 or 14 days. I really enjoyed the week. I really tried my best today, but sometimes you have days when it’s not working so good.” – Angelique Kerber.

“As cliché as it sounds, a ranking is really just a number. At the end of the day you have to come out and you have to play your best tennis. That’s what we did, and we feel like that’s why we won the tournament.” – Sania Mirza, who took over the top doubles ranking alone after sharing the spot with former partner Martina Hingis.

“You have to change the rhythm. I didn’t hit as strong as I did first four games and I didn’t miss as I did at the beginning. She was playing really well at the beginning, those four games, but then I had just to change, to play more angles, and then I came back and I think I was the one that was dominating match.” – Simona Halep, following her 7-5 6-1 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska.

“I’ve practiced with him many times, so to some extent I have an understanding of his game, like he has of mine. But it’s different come match time, so I did a little bit of studying. I feel like I took that all in and adapted well.” – Milos Raonic, on Dominic Thiem after beating the Austrian 6-3 6-4.

 

STOPS KERBER

Karolina Pliskova made sure Serena Williams remains atop the women’s rankings by knocking off Germany’s Angelique Kerber. It was the sixth career title for the Czech, but by far her biggest. If Kerber had won, she would have moved past Williams and take over the number one spot in the rankings. “Of course I’m disappointed, but still she played a great match and a great tournament and deserved to win,” Kerber said of her conqueror. Pliskova came into the hard-court event ranked 15th in the world and leads the WTA Tour in aces. Against Kerber, Pliskova pounded seven aces, the last one on match point. Kerber committed 32 unforced errors, most coming from her forehand. “I know she was playing for the world number one,” Pliskova said. “I think you deserve to be number one. But maybe next time.” It was the second straight week that she came up short. Kerber fell to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig in the women’s final at the Rio Olympics. The result allowed Williams to continue her reign on top of the rankings to 184 consecutive weeks, two weeks away from tying the all-time mark held by Steffi Graf.

 

STUNNER BY CILIC

Marin Cilic found his serve, which was enough to power the Croat over Andy Murray and capture his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, the Western & Southern Open. “The serve was a big factor in my game,” said Cilic, who became only the second active player outside of the Big Four to win both a Grand Slam tournament and a Masters 1000 title. “I was hitting a lot of big serves in important points, and I was definitely in that second set very, very mentally strong.” Cilic, relentless in his baseline game, took the opening set in 41 players. He pulled off the only service break in the 11th game of the second set, then closed out the victory on his first match point. “I felt that I played really good tennis today,” Cilic said. “Andy was starting to play a bit better, but it’s definitely a huge win against him. He’s been on a great run the last couple of months.” Cilic’s victory is just the fifth title by a player outside of the Big Four of Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal since 2010.

 

SWIFT KICK

A swift kick almost caused Andy Murray to be penalized during his semifinal match at the Cincinnati Masters. When a ball came his way, Murray kicked it towards the crowd. But the ball narrowly missed the chair umpire’s head and drew a stern look from the umpire. The ATP rulebook states: “Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball while on the grounds of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match.” Murray escaped any penalty and went on to easily down Milos Raonic 6-3 6-3.

 

SOLE POSSESSION

No longer are India’s Sania Mirza and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis teammates. And no longer are they tied for the number one on the WTA doubles ranking. When Mirza and her new partner, Barbora Strycova, beat Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe 7-5 6-4 to win the women’s doubles crown in Cincinnati, the 29-year-old Mirza took over sole possession of the top of the rankings. Hingis and her American teammate won five of the first six games before Mirza and the Czech Republic’s Strycova won the next six games and wrapped up the victory in straight sets. Although Mirza and Hingis have split up, they will team up in October for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Singapore.

 

STRONG FINISH

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo won five of the last six points in their match tiebreak to capture the Western & Southern Open men’s doubles over Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. It was their fourth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title together. The Croatian/Brazilian pair improved their 2016 record to 25-11. Neither team dropped serve in the match and both won 7-5 tiebreaks to send it into the match tiebreak.

 

STAYING HOME

Ninth-ranked Madison Keys is skipping this week’s Connecticut Open because of a neck injury. Announcing her withdrawal from the final hard-court warmup event before the US Open, Keys said she felt pain on the right side of her neck while she was hitting a forehand return during a practice session. “I probably hit it late,” she said. “As soon as I finished the stroke, I knew that I did something.” Keys has had trouble with her neck in the past. She has sought medical treatment and hopes to be ready in time for the US Open, which begins its two-week run next Monday.

Two other players withdrew from the New Haven, Connecticut, USA, tournament, although both won titles at Cincinnati. Karolina Pliskova, who upset Angelique Kerber to win the Western & Open women’s singles, withdrew from New Haven with a lower back injury. Barbora Strycova, who teamed with Sania Mirza to win the doubles, pulled out of the Connecticut Open with an illness.

 

STRAIGHT IN – MEN

Juan Martin del Potro, the Olympic silver medalist, was given a wild card entry into the men’s singles draw at the US Open. The 27-year-old del Potro returned to competitive play in February following his third surgery on his left wrist. He was ranked as high as fourth in the world in 2010, but has missed quite a bit of time since then because of surgeries, including on to his right wrist.

Others receiving wild card entries into the main men’s singles draw include Rajeev Ram, Bjorn Fratangelo, Frances Tiafoe, 2016 NCAA singles champion Mackenzie McDonald, 2016 USTA Boys’ 18s national champion Michael Mmoh and USTA Pro Circuit US Open Wild Card Challenge winner Ernesto Escobedo. As part of a reciprocal agreement with the USTA, Tennis Australia will award one additional main draw wild card.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) also awarded wild card entries into the US Open qualifying tournament, which will be played this week. Players receiving those wild cards are Sekou Bangoura, Christian Harrison, Vasil Kirkov, Mitchell Krueger, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Reilly Opelka, Tennyus Sandgren and Ryan Shane.

 

STRAIGHT IN – WOMEN

Two-time NCAA singles champion Danielle Collins and mixed doubles Olympic gold medalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands head the list of direct wild card entries into the US Open women’s singles main draw. A senior at the University of Virginia, Collins won her second NCAA singles title this year. She also won in 2014, after which she received a wild card and played second-ranked Simona Halep in the opening round, winning the first set in a tiebreak. Mattek-Sands, 31, won the mixed doubles gold medal at the Rio Olympics with Jack Sock. Last year, she teamed with Lucie Safarova to win the women’s doubles at both the Australian Open and the French Open, and also won the French Open mixed doubles title with Mike Bryan. Mattek-Sands will be competing in her 15th US Open main draw.

Others receiving wild card entries into the women’s singles main draw are Lauren Davis, 2016 USTA Girls’ 18s national champion Kayla Day, USTA Pro Circuit US Open Wild Card Challenge winner Sofia Kenin, Vania King and Virginie Razzano of France. As part of a reciprocal agreement with the USTA, Tennis Australia will award one additional main draw wild card.

Awarded wild card entries into the US Open qualifying tournament are 14-year-old Amanda Anisimova, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Nicole Frenkel, Ellie Halbauer, Jamie Loeb, Raveena Kingsley, Melanie Oudin and Great Britain’s Laura Robson.

 

SICK BAY

After receiving a wild card into the Western & Southern Open women’s singles draw, top-ranked Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament citing a right shoulder injury. That’s the same injury that forced her to withdraw from the Rogers Cup in Montreal last month. “My shoulder inflammation continues to be a challenge,” Williams said, “but I am anxious to return to the court as soon as possible.” She did play in the Rio Olympics, but appeared to be bothered by her shoulder in her third-round loss to Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine.

 

SUFFERING APPENDICITIS

The US Open has already lost one of its top players. Eighth-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic pulled out of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament after suffering appendicitis. “I am very disappointed to announce I will not be able to compete at the US Open this year,” Berdych wrote on Twitter. “I was just diagnosed with appendicitis in Cincinnati so I will be flying back to Europe for additional checks and treatment. I will need to take some time off to recover fully, but I know I will get back as strong as ever.” Berdych reached the semifinals at Wimbledon this year where he lost to eventual champion Andy Murray.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Cincinnati (men): Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo beat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6 (5) 6-7 (5) 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Cincinnati (women): Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova beat Martina Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe 7-5 6-4

 

SURFING

New Haven: www.ctopen.org

Winston-Salem: www.winstonsalemopen.com/

New York: www.usopen.org

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$720,940 Winston-Salem Open, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, hard

 

WOMEN

$695,900 Connecticut Open, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN and WOMEN

US Open, New York, New York, USA, hard

 

 

Angelique Kerber

 

Karolina Pliskova and CoCo Vandeweghe Beat Rain and Opponents – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Karolina Pliskova beat Alison Riske 7-6 (8) 7-5 to win the Aegon Open in Nottingham, Great Britain

CoCo Vandeweghe beat Kristina Mladenovic 7-5 7-5 to win the Ricoh Open women’s singles in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Paolo Lorenzi beat Matteo Donati 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7) to win the Citta Di Caltanissetta in Caltanissetta, Italy

 

SAYING

“I got myself in a bit of a pickle in the second set, but I battled my way out of it, and sometimes the name of the game is just battling through adversity and problems you cause for yourself.” – CoCo Vandeweghe, after beating Kristina Mladenovic to win the Ricoh Open women’s singles.

“I really needed my serve today and some aces got me out of some important moments. She has a great game on grass, so I needed to be at my best today to get the win.” – Karolina Pliskova, after winning the Aegon Open.

“I can’t believe it. To beat Federer on grass is a dream. You need a little bit of luck to beat him on his best surface. I’m the happiest person on the earth now.” – Dominic Thiem, after beating Roger Federer in the semifinals in Stuttgart, Germany.

“I want to be in a position to talk more about my matches, rather than the way that I am training coming back from injury. I’m happy that it is in the past, and I am looking forward to the second half of the season.” – Roger Federer.

“I’m sad to announce that after talking to my doctors and receiving the results of my last medical revision, I won’t be able to play at Wimbledon this year.” – Rafael Nadal.

“The way I played and felt on court was one of the best feelings I’ve had in tennis. For sure this was one of my best matches. I didn’t know I could play so well on grass.” – Dominic Thiem, after his win over Roger Federer.

“After Paris, the final, which is great, you know, for everyone on this planet with the exception of me – I don’t do what everyone else does – I was really pissed, I have to admit. I thought I could’ve played better, I thought I could’ve competed better, I thought I could’ve really done everything five times better. And I didn’t, and I was so pissed that I actually abandoned my racquets in France after maybe a few smashes of the racket bag. I felt like if I was going to play that awful and that crappy, that maybe I don’t need rackets. Maybe I can just show up to a tournament, and maybe I can get to a final without playing great, and without practice. But obviously that doesn’t work and sometimes you have to work extra hard. So I’m out here by myself because sometimes by yourself is when the great things really happen.” – Serena Williams, looking back at her French Open final loss to Garbiñe Muguruza.

 

SECOND TIME

There’s a special bond between CoCo Vandeweghe and the Ricoh Open. For the second time in her career, the American came away the winner of the Wimbledon warm-up event – her only two WTA titles –joining Justine Henin and Tamarine Tanasugarn as the only players in the tournament’s 21-year history to win it twice. This time Vandeweghe overcame a rainy week and Kristina Mladenovic in the final. Downpours halted play after the first five games and again as soon as she won the opening set. “It was actually really difficult – we had three rain delay stops – so it was really difficult to get yourself back into the match and make sure you’re fresh and light and ready to go,” Vandeweghe said. “Especially the last rain delay in the first set. I was really trying to get myself moving.” When play resumed, Mladenovic broke the American, but Vandeweghe ripped through the final four games of the match to come away with her second career title.

 

SHE’S JUST GOOD ENOUGH

Karolina Pliskova was just good enough when she had to be. The top seed outlasted American Alison Riske to win the rain-affected Aegon Open for her fifth WTA title. “Today there were parts of the match when I was better and parts when she was,” Pliskova said. The start of the match was delayed by rain. And when they did play, Pliskova triumphed in just under two hours. The champion had to come from set points down in the first-set tiebreak. “It feels good to win, especially after all those tiebreaks this week,” Pliskova said. “All of those I was set point down, so I’m really happy that I made it and that I have the trophy in my hands” Riske, who won an ITF Circuit event on grass in Eastbourne, Great Britain, last week, had three set points at 4-5 in the first-set tiebreaker, then served for the second set at 5-4, only to be broken. “I really didn’t count on having such early success on the grass, so I am feeling good ahead of Wimbledon,” Pliskova said.

 

SUSPENDED

Because of heavy rain, the Mercedes Cup final between Dominic Thiem and Philipp Kohlschreiber was suspended until Monday with the two tied 6-6. The match started an hour late because of rain, then was stopped for about five hours. After another delay, tournament organizers suspended completion of the match with Kohlschreiber leading 3-2 in the first-set tiebreak.

 

STOPPED BY RAIN

Rain also halted Nicolas Mahut’s bid for a third title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The Frenchman won the opening set 6-4 when play was suspended by rain. Officials later postponed the match until Monday morning. Mahut won the grass court event last year and in 2013. His opponent, 33-year-old Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, is still seeking his first ATP World Tour title, having lost his three prior finals. Muller is ranked 44th in the world, five spots higher than Mahut.

 

SIDELINED

The left wrist injury that forced Rafael Nadal out of the French Open will also keep him out of Wimbledon. “As you can all imagine, it’s a very tough decision, but the injury I suffered at Roland Garros needs time to heal,” the Spaniard said on his Facebook page. Nadal won The Championships twice, in 2008 and 2010. But he also pulled out of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament in 2009 with a knee injury, calling it “one of the toughest decisions of my career.” Nadal was forced to withdraw from the French Open following his second-round win over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis. That was his 200th Grand Slam tournament match win. But when he announced his withdrawal, he said he had needed an injection in the wrist before the match. At the time he explained that he risked a likely tear of his wrist tendons if he continued to play. Now 30, Nadal has suffered numerous injuries during his career. He missed the US Open in 2014 with a right wrist problem and has suffered from back and hamstring problems as well as appendicitis.

 

STUNNED

Twice Roger Federer reached match point in his semifinal battle with Dominic Thiem. Twice the young Austrian fought them off and Thiem eventually pulled off the shocker, stopping Federer 3-6 7-6 (7) 6-4 in Stuttgart, Germany. “You’re always a little disappointed when you lose with match points,” Federer said. “But losing any match is not that great.” The grass-court battle was halted twice by rain, but Federer, who turns 35 in August, made no excuses. “It was a good match from both sides in tough conditions,” the Swiss star said. After losing the opener, Thiem raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, only to have Federer rally and force a tiebreaker, where he had his match point chances. But Thiem held on, then went up a break after Federer missed a volley at the net. “We both had our chances throughout,” Federer said. “Coming back in the second set was good, but it was tough to lose in the breaker. I can play better, but he came up with some good shots when he needed them.” It was Federer’s first tournament since he pulled out of the French Open because of his back.

 

SETS ANOTHER MARK

Although he was beaten in the semifinals by Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer set a record when he won his Mercedes Cup quarterfinal match in Stuttgart, Germany. Federer’s 7-6 (2) 7-6 (1) win over Florian Mayer was his 1,072nd match win of his career, moving him ahead of Ivan Lendl and into second place in the Open Era match-win list. Only Jimmy Connors, with 1,256, has won more career matches.

 

SEVENTH OLYPICS

Leander Paes will compete in his seventh Olympic Games this summer. The All India Tennis Association (AITA) named Paes as Rohan Bopanna’s partner for the men’s doubles in Rio de Janeiro. Because he is ranked 10th in the world in doubles, Bopanna had a direct entry into the Summer Games. He picked Saketh Myneni, who is ranked 125th in the world, as his preferred partner, saying that while he admired Paes, he believed their styles of play were not complementary. The AITA thought otherwise. “The committee decided that the best bet for Indian tennis to win a medal at the Olympics would be Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna,” AITA chief Anil Khanna said. Paes, who has won 18 Grand Slam tournament titles, including the mixed doubles earlier this month at the French Open, won a singles bronze medal at the Atlanta Games in 1996. “The AITA Selection Committee has now made its decision after due consideration of my representation,” Bopanna said. “I respect this decision and look forward to participating in Rio.” Bopanna will team up with Sania Mirza, who is co-ranked number one in the world in women’s doubles, in the mixed doubles in Rio.

 

SELECTED TOGETHER

Brothers Andy and Jamie Murray will lead Great Britain’s Olympic tennis team to Rio de Janeiro. Andy won gold four years ago when he beat Roger Federer in the Olympic final at Wimbledon. He also will play doubles with his brother. The 29-year-old Andy also earned a silver medal in the 2012 Games when he reached the mixed doubles final with Laura Robson. Also named to the British Olympic squad were Johanna Konta and Heather Watson.

 

SICK CALL

A left Achilles injury has caused Simona Halep to pull out of this week’s Aegon Classic in Birmingham, Great Britain. Ranked fifth in the world, Halep said she has “some fluid inside the tendon so the doctor says that I have to rest for a few days,” but added, “It’s nothing serious.”

 

SEEKING RIO

The Denmark Tennis Federation is backing Caroline Wozniacki’s bid to go to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics this summer. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has decided the Danish star is ineligible because she failed to play in the two required Fed Cup ties. Wozniacki was set to play for Denmark against Bosnia and Herzegovina in April, but she hurt her right ankle so badly before the tie that she missed 10 weeks, finally returning to the WTA tour this past week. In February, Wozniacki was chosen to carry the Danish flag in the opening ceremonies in Rio. The ITF will hold a hearing on her appeal on June 30.

 

SERVICE HONOR

Doubles specialist Jamie Murray has been awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s Birthday Honors for services to tennis and charity. The 30-year-old Murray teamed with his brother Andy to lead Britain to the Davis Cup title last year. In January, Murray and partner Bruno Soares won the Australian Open men’s doubles. The elder Murray is currently ranked second in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings.

 

STRAIGHT TO THE BANK

Serena Williams may be having trouble winning her 22nd Grand Slam tournament title, but she’s winning big-time in her march to the bank. Williams has not won a major title since Wimbledon last year, losing in the semifinals of the US Open last fall and in the finals of both the Australian Open and French Open this year. But the American is now the highest paid female athlete, passing another tennis star, Maria Sharapova, for the top spot. Sharapova was the top money-earner for 11 straight years. According to Forbes, Williams earned almost USD $29 million in the past year. That includes on-court winnings as well as endorsements and incentives. Sharapova, who was recently handed a two-year suspension for drug use, is second with USD $21.9 million.

 

SEEKS HELP

Stan Wawrinka has turned to former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek in a bid to improve his grass-court game. A two-time Grand Slam tournament champion and a semifinalist earlier this month at the French Open, Wawrinka has never been beyond the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. He is adding the 1996 Wimbledon champion to his coaching team, which includes Magnus Norman and Yannick Fattebert. “I have added Richard Krajicek to my existing coaching staff to help during the grass-court season for the next four weeks,” Wawrinka announced on his Facebook page. “Adding a former Wimbledon champion can only further my knowledge and understanding of the grass.”

Andy Murray has reunited with the coach that led him to two Grand Slam tournament titles and an Olympic gold medal. The Scot said his former coach Ivan Lendl will rejoin his team. “Ivan’s single-minded and knows what it takes to win the big events,” Murray said. “I had two very successful years working with him. I’m looking forward to Ivan joining the team again and helping me try and reach my goals.” Lendl won eight Grand Slam tournament singles titles – three French Opens, three US Opens and two Australian Opens. Following Lendl’s first stint as coach, Murray hired former Wimbledon women’s champion Amelie Mauresmo as his coach. Their tenure ended last month. Lend

Canada’s Milos Raonic will have former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe in his corner for the grass-court season. “He’s one of five or six guys that can win Wimbledon,” McEnroe said. “I’m excited to be part of his team. … I’m going to be a consultant on the grass.”

 

SHARAPOVA SUSPENDED

After an independent tribunal four that Maria Sharapova committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) suspended the world’s former number one player for two years. “It is important at all times for players to be aware of the rules and to follow them,” WTA CEO Steve Simon said. “In this case Maria has taken responsibility for her mistake from the outset. … The ITF has made its ruling and, under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, the decision may be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The WTA will continue to follow this closely and we hope it will be resolved as soon as possible.” Sharapova said the ITF tribunal rejected a four-year suspension for an intentional violation. “The tribunal … agreed that I did not do anything intentionally wrong, yet they seek to keep me from playing tennis for two years,” Sharapova said. “I will immediately appeal the suspension portion of this ruling to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

 

SIX-YEAR SENTENCE

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by Bob Hewitt and ruled the former Grand Slam tennis champion must serve a six-year jail sentence for the rapes and sexual assaults of young girls he coached decades ago. The three-judge panel said in a written judgment that the prison sentence given to Hewitt was appropriate and fits “the criminal and the crime.” The 76-year-old Hewitt was convicted and sentenced last year. In its statement, the judges said he “showed no remorse for his vile deeds.” Hewitt, who won 15 Grand Slam titles in doubles and mixed doubles, was found guilty of raping two girls and sexually assaulting a third in the 1980s and 1990s. The victims were minors at the time of the assaults. At his trial, Hewitt argued that the rapes were not “brutal” and that he stopped assaulting one victim when she completed. After he was found guilty, the International Tennis Hall of Fame expelled Hewitt as a member.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Caltanissetta: Guido Andreozzi and Andres Molteni beat Marcelo Arevalo and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 6-1 6-2

Nottingham: Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Yang Zhaoxuan 7-5 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

‘s-Hertogenbosch (men): Mate Pavic and Michael Venus beat Dominic Inglot and Raven Klaasen 3-6 6-3 11-9 (match tiebreak)

‘s-Hertogenbosch (women): Oksana Kalashnikova and Yaroslava Shvedova beat Xenia Knoll and Aleksandra Krunic 6-1 6-1

Stuttgart: Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak beat Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin 6-7 (4) 6-4 10-8 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

 

London:

Halle: www.gerryweber-open.de/

Birmingham: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-classic-birmingham/

Mallorca: www.mallorcaopen.org/

Eastbourne: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/Aegon-International-Eastbourne/

Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$2,191,880 Aegon Championships, London, Great Britain, grass

$2,075,580 Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Germany, grass

 

WOMEN

$731,000 Aegon Classic, Birmingham, Great Britain, grass

$226,750 Mallorca Open, Mallorca, Spain, grass

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$724,528 Aegon Open Nottingham, Nottingham, Great Britain, grass

 

WOMEN

$731,000 Aegon International Eastbourne, Eastbourne, Great Britain, grass

Coco Vandeweghe
Coco Vandeweghe