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Here’s How Andy Murray and Dan Evans Came From Quintuple Match Point Down To Keep Murray’s Career Alive At The Paris Olympics

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

It’s a match that will live in the lore of Olympic tennis history and in the history of the career of Andy Murray.

Playing the last tournament of his storied and Hall of Fame career, Andy Murray and partner Dan Evans saved five successive match points – and five successive career-ending points for Murray – while training 9-4 in the decisive first-to-10-points match tiebreaker to beat the Japanese pair of Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel 2-6, 7-6, (11-9) in the first round of the men’s doubles competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Murray, a two-time Olympic gold medal winner in singles and a winner of two Wimbledon titles and one U.S. Open singles title, had announced that he would end his career at the Olympic Games at Roland Garros. He originally wanted to play singles but a back cyst issue suffered at the Wimbledon tune-up event at Queens Club five weeks ago prevented him from having a singles farewell, settling for just doubles for Britain with Evans.

Here is how Murray and Evans were able to stage one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic tennis history, played on the Suzanne Lenglen Stadium at Roland Garros.

With the Japanese pair leading 8-4, Daniel rips a forehand swinging volley for a winner and he and Nishikori take a  9-4 lead in the match tiebreaker and give them quintuple match point.

It would be the last point they win in the match.

At 9-4, Murray hits an ace out wide past Daniel on the ad side to close the lead to 9-5. On the next point, Murray misses his first serve and Nishikori rips a backhand down the line that just lands long out of the reach of Murray, who moved to his left after Evans crossed at the net. “This could get very interesting,” says Jimmy Arias on the Peacock broadcast of the match in the United States at this point.

Nishikori then serves at 9-6, triple match point, to Murray on the ad side. He just misses an ace down the T, but incredibly, double faults. It is now 9-7 for Japan.

“You can see a little tightness in Taro Daniel’s fae after that double fault,” Arias then says on Peacock.

Evans hits a lob return off of Nishikori’s return and a short rally ensues that ends with Nishikori netting a forehand down the line. It is now 9-8 for Japan.

Evans serves to Daniel on the ad side and hits a swinging forehand volley winner down the alley off of Daniel’s lob return to tie the match tiebreaker at 9-9.

“He knows that Murray’s career hangs on that shot,” says Arias of the bravery of Evans to hit such a bold shot under the circumstance.

At 9-9, Evans hits a big serve that Nishikori lunges to and blocks back with a backhand that soars long. Evans and Murray now have their own match point after winning their sixth straight point.

Daniel, now serving to stay in the match, serves to Murray on the ad side. Murray moves in for the return off the toss and rips a forehand up-the-line, but Nishikori, at the net, has already crossed looking to poach a volley. Daniel, on the baseline, slides into Murray’s forceful shot and flails at it with a squash shot, but it stopped at the net and Murray and Evans stage the incredible comeback win by winning the last seven points of the match.

“Can you believe it,” says Jason Goodall on Peacock. “Incredible scenes in Paris for Dan Evans and Andy Murray.”

Arias then puts what he just saw in perspective.

“What we saw, there is almost a zero percent chance that was possible.”

Read about Andy Murray’s career rise, capped with his historic win at Wimbledon in 2013, where he became the first British man in 77 years to win the men’s singles title at the All England Club in the book “Andy Murray: Wimbledon Champion” for sale and download here: https://a.co/d/edIdtqQ

Surprise Winners in Beijing and Tokyo – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Caroline Wozniacki beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-3 6-3 to win the China Open women’s singles in Beijing, China

Nikoloz Basilashvili beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-4 6-4 to win the China Open men’s singles in Beijing, China

Daniil Medvedev beat Kei Nishikori 6-2 6-4 to win the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan

David Ferrer beat Ivo Karlovic 6-3 6-4 to win the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico

Lloyd Harris beat Marc Polmans 6-2 6-2 to win the Stockton Challenger in Stockton, California, USA

 

SAYINGS

“I’ve been having a really good season this year, especially (in the) past three or four months. I’m playing very good … I’m feeling really well on the court lately. A lot of respect to my coach Jan, he’s helping me a lot. With him, we can see a big difference.” – Nikoloz Basilashvili, after upsetting Juan Martin del Potro to win the China Open men’s singles.

“The serve is the most important thing in tennis right now.” – Daniil Medvedev, who rode his booming serve to the Japan Open title.

“He’s serving great. I didn’t have any chance on his first serve, even second serve.” – Kei Nishikori, after losing the Japan Open final to Daniil Medvedev.

“I believe at this stage when I’m relaxed I can do better. I do not want to focus on ranking or victories, I just want to be relaxed and enjoy the matches.” – Wang Qiang, after crushing Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-0 at the China Open.

“It was a very important tournament for us, especially right now with the ATP Doubles Race to London. It gives us a lot of confidence. We had four great matches here in Beijing.” – Lukasz Kubot, who teamed with Marcelo Melo to win the China Open men’s doubles.

“Winning a title and actually holding up a trophy is an amazing feeling.” – Ben McLachlan, who won the Japan Open doubles with partner Jan-Lennard Struff.

“It will be my first time back there (the WTA Finals) since I came back to tennis, so it means a lot to me and has always been one of my big goals for the season.” – Petra Kvitova, who has qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.

“They know I am a tennis player. I don’t think they know how good I am. Once I told them what my ranking was and they were like, ‘OK’” – Roger Federer, noting his twin nine-year-old daughters aren’t impressed by his tennis skills.

“The way I have been raised, the way I feel. Like is short and we just have to enjoy.” – Gael Monfils, when asked to explain his character.

 

STUNNER

With a stunning upset of Juan Martin del Potro, Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia captured his second title of the year and the second of his career. He broke del Potro in the third game of the opening set, then closed out the victory on his third match point. “Playing against Juan, he was sick today for sure, I could see that,” Basilashvili said. “But he put me in really tough situations. I needed to really work it, to work hard to win the points.” The winner dominated baseline rallies, saved all seven break points he faced and withstood 11 aces from del Potro. “I had my chances in the first set and then in the second,” del Potro said. “Nikoloz played smart points in the important moments. He didn’t miss any easy balls in that moment. I think he deserves to win because I couldn’t play at my best level.” Basilashvili became the first Georgian to reach the US Open fourth round last month. He won his first title earlier this year in Hamburg, Germany. Del Potro reached the final without playing when Italy’s Fabio Fognini pulled out of their semifinal with an ankle injury.

 

SHOCKER

Qualifier Daniil Medvedev surprised home favorite Kei Nishikori to win the Rakuten Japan Open in straight sets. “I was playing amazing and I am so happy to come out on top,” said Medvedev. “This is my biggest title, so I’m just really happy.” The winner took just 25 minutes to wrap up the opening set, combining his consistent serving with 11 unforced errors by Nishikori. In the second set, Nishikori could win just one point on the Russian’s serve. “His ball was skipping a lot on this surface, and he was hitting good enough flat shots and he was serving great, so it was tough to play again Daniil today,” said Nishikori, who was attempting to win his third Japan Open title. Nishikori has now lost eight ATP finals since his last victory at the Memphis Open in February 2016.

 

SHINES IN BEIJING

Caroline Wozniacki thoroughly dominated the China Open final to win her third title of the season. Against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, Wozniacki hit 12 winners and converted four of her eight break point chances to come away with her second Beijing title. “I feel great being here,” the Dane said. “Having won again … eight is my lucky number and it is eight years ago I won here, so I felt like it was my year.” After winning the first set, Wozniacki raced to a 4-1 lead in the second. Sevastova broke back, but Wozniacki saved three break points in her next service game to move in front 5-3. She then closed out the victory as Sevastova, who committed 35 unforced errors in the match, including 21 in the second set, lost her serve yet again. “It was one of my best tournaments ever,” Sevastova said. “Caroline played amazing today. It’s always tough playing against her and I have never won.”

Because of injuries, Sevastova retired from tennis in May 2013 and studied leisure management. She returned to the sport in January 2015 and is currently ranked in the Top 20.

 

STRESSED OUT

The expectations that come after winning the US Open has stressed out Japan’s Naomi Osaka. The 20-year-old admits she is not comfortable since her big win in September. “I think definitely as the weeks go by, I have this feeling of wanting to prove myself,” Osaka said. “I think that sort of takes a toll on me a little big because I stress myself out in a way. If you don’t win a tournament, then people will say, ‘Oh, she hasn’t won a tournament.’ If you haven’t won a Slam, they’ll say, ‘She hasn’t won a Slam.’ Then if you win one Grand Slam, they’re like, ‘Oh, she only won one Grand Slam.’ I know it’s bad, but I sort of read the comments. I’m just like, ‘Oh, I guess I have to do more, to be better.’”

 

SUFFERS BACK INJURY

There’s a question mark about Simona Halep’s year. The top-ranked woman underwent tests after being forced to retire from her first-round match at the China Open. “I had an MRI on my back and they found out I have a disk hernia,” Halep said on Twitter. “I will discuss with doctors in the next few days but hope to be back soon and will keep you updated.”  Halep, who won her first Grand Slam title, the French Open in June, was the first player to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, which will be held later this month.

 

SEES OLYMPICS IN FUTURE

There are exceptions to most rules, and one just might allow Roger Federer to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The rules stipulate that playing Davis Cup or Fed Cup is necessary to qualify for the Olympics. But ITF President David Haggerty said: “Within the rules are things about past champions, past Olympians and Grand Slam winners. I have been talking to Roger’s team and they’re aware of things. He may or may not play Davis Cup, it hasn’t been decided one way or another, but all that will be factored in. Certainly, someone like Roger would be great to have at the Olympics.”

 

SPORTSMANSHIP?

Two top players had to be restrained from going at each during a China Open match. With Sloane Stephens ready to serve for the second set, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova called for the trainer. When play resumed, Stephens lost her serve and, they the two approached each other, the American complained about her opponent’s tactics. “That’s the sport we play. Right? Sportsmanship. That’s really important,” Stephens told umpire Jenny Zhang. The umpire then stood between the two players as Pavlyuchenkova called Stephens disrespectful. “I’m disrespectful? What’s disrespectful? You called the physio at 5-2. You’re not even injured,” Stephens said. Pavlyuchenkova replied: “How do you know I’m not injured?” Midway through the third set, Pavlyuchenkova had an easy put away at the net. Instead, she hit the ball right at Stephens. The American managed to return the shot and eventually won the point. Returning to the baseline, Stephens was heard saying Pavlyuchenkova had tried to hit her.

 

STABBING SUSPECT CHARGED

A 33-year-old man has been charged with assault in a knife attack on December 20, 2016, in the town of Prostejov, Czech Republic. Although the Czech state prosecutor gave no names, the date and location match those of the attack on two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. If found guilty, the man could be sentenced to 5 to 12 years in prison. Kvitova had the tendons in her fingers and thumb of her left hand severely cut when the attacker stabbed her in her apartment. She underwent complex surgery and was sidelined for several months. Kvitova is scheduled to compete in the WTA Finals in Singapore the last week of October.

 

SET FOR MOTHERHOOD

Another WTA player is joining the mother club. Elena Vesnina announced she is expecting her first child. Vesnina, who has been married to Pavel Tabuntsov since 2015, revealed her pregnancy on social media. She has not played since the French Open when she and doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova secured the number one ranking. The 32-year-old did not say whether she plans to resume playing following the birth. Several players have returned to the tour after giving birth, including Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Mandy Minella and Olga Govortsova.

 

SINGAPORE-BOUND

All four 2018 Grand Slam tournament champions have qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals which will be held later this month in Singapore. US Open champion Naomi Osaka was the latest to secure a berth in the elite eight-player field, joining French Open winner Simona Halep and Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber and Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki, who won the WTA Finals last year. “Winning the WTA Finals last year was a huge accomplishment for me and helped my confidence leading into this season,” Wozniacki said. Two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova has qualified for the first time since a stabbing in 2015 severely injured her left playing hand. The top eight singles players will compete in a round-robin format with the winner taking home the Billie Jean King Trophy. The top eight doubles teams will compete for the Martina Navratilova Trophy.

 

SINGING FOR A PURPOSE

Performing in a video that took her out of her “comfort zone,” Serena Williams promoted breast cancer awareness month with a video in which the tennis star goes topless and sings “I Touch Myself.” The video is part of the I Touch Myself Project, which is dedicated to Divinyls singer Chrissy Amphlett, a 53-year-old Australian who died of breast cancer in 2013. Williams said she wanted to make the video because early detection saves so many lives. Williams said Amphlett “gave us her hit song to remind women to put their health first.”

 

SETTLES COMPLAINT

Iowa State University will pay tennis player Erin Freeman USD $100,000 to settle her civil rights complaint against the Big 12 school. Freeman’s attorney told the Des Moines Register newspaper the settlement “does not constitute any admission of wrong-doing or any admission of violations of applicable law, rule, regulation or policy by either party.” The settlement bars either party from commenting further on the case. The complaint, filed last May with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, said Freeman, one of two African-Americans on the Iowa State tennis team, had been “subjected to repeated acts of racial discrimination and sexual discrimination in violation of Title IX.” Freeman, who is from Downey, California, USA, charged that university representatives created a hostile educational environment and enlisted other student-athletes “in their efforts to drive me (and the only other African-American team member) out of the women’s tennis program and … deprive me of educational opportunities based on my race.” Now a senior, Freeman competed for Iowa State after transferring from Utah State. She was suspended from the Iowa State team on April 11 and was reinstated on May 8, the same day the school announced that it had not renewed the contract of Armando Espinosa as tennis coach.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Beijing (men): Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo beat Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 6-1 6-4

Beijing (women): Andrea Sestini Hlavackov and Barbora Strycova beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan 4-6 6-4 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Monterrey: Marcelo Arevalo and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan beat Leander Paes and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 6-1 6-4

Stockton: Darian King and Noah Rubin beat Sanchai Ratiwatana and Christopher Rungkat 6-3 6-4

Tokyo: Ben McLachlan and Jan-Lennard Struff beat Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 6-4 7-5

 

SURFING

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

Tianjin: www.tianjinopen.com/

Hong Kong: www.hktennisopen.hk/en/

Linz: www.ladieslinz.at/de/

Moscow: https://kremlincup.ru/tickets/scheme/

Antwerp: http://europeanopenatp250.com/

Stockholm: http://www.stockholmopen.se/

Luxembourg: http://www.bglbnpparibas-open.lu/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$9,219,970 Rolex Shanghai Masters, Shanghai, China, hard

 

WOMEN

$750,000 Tianjin Open, Tianjin, China, hard

$500,000 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, Hong Kong, China, hard

$250,000 Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$936,435 VTB Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia, hard

$789,775 European Open, Antwerp, Belgium, hard

$789,775 Intrum Stockholm Open, Stockholm, Sweden, hard

$150,000 Yinzhou International Men’s Tennis Challenger 2018, Ningbo, China, hard

 

WOMEN

$702,900 VTB Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia, hard

$250,000 BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, hard

$100,000 ITF Women’s Circuit Suzhou, Suzhou, China

 

Nikoloz Basilashvili and Juan Martin del Potro
Nikoloz Basilashvili and Juan Martin del Potro

$98 Million! Miami Open Win Places Novak Djokovic As All-Time Money Winner In Tennis

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

In the tennis history books, Novak Djokovic passed Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Boris Becker on Sunday.

Djokovic’s 6-3, 6-3 win over Kei Nishikori in the final of the Miami Open earned him $1.03 million in prize money, vaulting him to a career prize money amount of $98,199,548 surpassing Federer’s all-time record of $97,855,881. The win also marked Djokovic’s 28th career title in the tournament status classified as “Masters 1000” – which is just below the Grand Slam tournament level – surpassing Nadal as the all-time leader in that category in men’s tennis. Also, in a curious note, the win was the 714th of Djokovic’s career, one more than his coach, Hall of Famer Boris Becker. The win also was his sixth in Miami, which tied Andre Agassi for the men’s record in Key Biscayne.

“His rivals still have no answers for his sustained dominance” said Chris Fowler on ESPN2.

If not for an eye infection that caused him to retire from his quarterfinal match with Feliciano Lopez in Dubai and Djokovic would be undefeated on the year, but, instead, he has to settle for a 28-1 record for the season following his win over Nishikori.

“I’m obviously very proud of everything I have achieved and cherish every moment on the tennis court,” Djokovic told ESPN2’s Brad Gilbert of his record-breaking statistics achieved with his Miami Open win.

Miami was also the site of Djokovic’s first tournament win at a “Masters 1000” series event in 2007 at the age of 19, a moment that Djokovic said gives him goosebumps every time he steps foot at the Key Biscayne facility. “It opened a lot of doors for me,” Djokovic said to Gilbert of his 2007 win in Miami. “It gave me a lot of belief.”

 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Kei Nishikori Renews Clothing Deal with Uniqlo – This Week In Tennis Business with Kevin Craig

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by Kevin Craig

@KCraig_Tennis

 

 

Kei Nishikori Renews Clothing Deal with Uniqlo

Kei Nishikori, the 2014 US Open finalist has renewed his clothing contract with Uniqlo, according to Bloomberg Business. It is possible that the deal will exceed $10 million a year as Nishikori continues his rise through the ATP rankings. Nishikori’s agent did not comment on the exact specifics of the deal, but is focusing on the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo as a huge prospect for Japan’s No. 1 tennis player. Tadashi Yanai, the founder of Uniqlo, has also been able to bring in Novak Djokovic, Shingo Kunieda, the world No. 1 wheelchair tennis player, as well as the 2013 Masters winner, Adam Scott. Yanai hopes the exposure during the Olympics, along with opening stores in various cities around the world like Paris and New York, will allow his company to grow exponentially.

Andy Murray Raises £83,000 for Charity

Through the Andy’s Aces Initiative, the 2015 Davis Cup winner has been able to raise £83,000 for Unicef by donating £50 every time he hits an ace, in addition to contributions from various sponsors, according to BBC. The initiative began in September when Murray learned about the news of the events that had been going on in Syria. Murray decided to team up with Unicef due to their contributions to the Syrians, focusing on helping the children who had their lives changed forever. Standard Life, Under Armour, the Lawn Tennis Association, and the ATP all decided to match the £50 donation, joining in on the contributions to Unicef. In an interview with BBC, David Bull, UK’s Unicef Executive Director, stated his gratitude for Murray and everyone who helped with the contribution, citing that the children in Syria need help now more than ever.

Rio de Janeiro Cancels Contract for New Olympic Tennis Center

Reuters Sports announced that the city of Rio de Janeiro has been forced to cancel the construction contract of the Olympic Tennis Center. The cancellation comes exactly 200 days before the Olympic Games get underway, leaving the tennis world with many questions. Not only has the contract been cancelled, but the consortium has also been fined approximately $2.7 million, according to Rio’s Official Gazette. The complex is about 90 percent complete, according to Reuters, leaving the consortium perplexed and thinking of taking the issue to court seeking compensation for financial losses and damage to their reputations. The city of Rio de Janeiro will now have to look for a new tennis center to host the Olympics, but may not have to look far due to their already being an ATP and WTA combined event hosted in the city.

Maria Sharapova Becomes Brand Ambassador for NetJets

According to Business Wire, the five time grand slam champion has recently signed on with NetJets in the role of a brand ambassador. Sharapova’s main focus for the company will be a marketing campaign via social media. Along with this, Sharapova will be able to provide owners of NetJets with exclusive opportunities. Pat Gallagher, the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for NetJets, praised Sharapova as “a best in class athlete, business owner, and philanthropist,” in an interview with Business Wire. Sharapova is affiliated with a long list of other major brands, such as Nike, Evian, Porsche, and American Express.

IMG, Topnotch Management Reel in Clients while Lagardere Struggles

Lagardere Tennis, one of the leaders in the tennis management industry, has taken a hit in recent months as many of their clients have left for other companies like IMG and Topnotch. The many moves have come after Sam Duvall, former Vice President of Tennis at Lagardere, resigned from his position. Duvall went on to create Topnotch Management and has brought some of his clients with him, according to Sports Agent Blog. Americans John Isner, Steve Johnson, and Denis Kudla have joined the company, alongside French stars Jeremy Chardy and Caroline Garcia. IMG has been able to bring in recent Auckland champion Sloane Stephens, a former client of Lagardere, joining Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, and many others. Others to leave Largardere in recent weeks include Victoria Azarenka and Eugenie Bouchard, according to Tennis World USA.

California Dream Forced to Fold

Back in the December 18th edition of This Week in Tennis Business, the financial struggles of Sacramento’s World Team Tennis organization were featured. Less than a month since then, the team has been forced to leave the league, the Sacramento Bee has announced. World Team Tennis spokeswoman Rosie Crews claimed the team was terminated “due to noncompliance with their obligation to the league.” The announcement comes after the period in which teams typically have to pay a fee to ensure their position in the league for the upcoming season. This news is just an addition to the long list of problems that Sacramento has witnessed during its time in World Team Tennis, which leaves many people doubting that a team will ever be able to return to the area. For more details about the demise of the California Dream, read the December 18th edition of This Week in Tennis Business here, http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/12484.

ASB Classic Succeeding Financially

The first major New Zealand sporting event of the calendar year has continued its growth again in 2016, seeing ticket sales doubled from four years ago. In the past few years, sponsorship revenue, prize money, and international broadcasting rights have increased contributing to the rise in ticket sales that saw 60 percent of the tickets for the event sold before the player fields were even announced. According to Ateed, one of the major sponsors of the event, stated that the tournament was able to outdo expectations in 2015 by bringing in just under $2 million for the Auckland region and seeing more than 60,000 spectators enter the grounds. Karl Budge, events director of the ASB Classic, has stated that the overall prestige of the event has risen significantly in recent years, in an interview with the New Zealand Herald. Budge believes that this spike in financial success over the past four years has set him and his tournament up for at least another five years of sustained success.

Milos Raonic to Participate in the NBA Celebrity Game

The NBA announced the list of participants in the 2016 NBA Celebrity Game that takes place during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, and Raonic was among those participants. With the game taking place in Toronto, Raonic was an easy choice for the game as he grew up in the suburbs of Toronto. Raonic will be playing for Team Canada, coached by Grammy Award winning artist Drake, teaming up with former NBA MVP Steve Nash, Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays, Drew and Jonathan Scott of the Property Brothers, and others. Team USA is coached by actor/comedian Kevin Hart who has won MVP of the NBA Celebrity Game four times, and sees the roster filled out by actors Jason Sudeikis, Michael B. Jordan, and Nick Cannon, plus former NBA stars Chauncey Billups and Muggsy Bogues. The game will take place on Friday, February 12th and will be televised on ESPN.

Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori, Angelique Kerber Win Clay Court Titles – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Kei Nishikori beat Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4 to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in Barcelona, Spain

Angelique Kerber beat Carolina Wozniacki 3-6 6-1 7-5 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez beat Jiri Vesely 7-6 (5) 7-6 (11) to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania

Rajeev Ram beat Jason Jung 6-1 6-2 to win the Zurich Jalisco Open in Guadalajara, Mexico

 

SAYING

“I knew that (Pablo) Andujar has a good backhand and my plan was to move the ball around a bit. It worked well in the last few games and then with the final shot I closed my eyes and it went in.” – Kei Nishikori, who successfully defending his Barcelona Open title.

“I think Nishikori deserved to win the first set, but not the second. But when you play against players of this caliber, that are capable of getting into a great rhythm, if you don’t take your chances you end up losing.” – Pablo Andujar, after losing to Kei Nishikori in the Barcelona Open final.

“A few days ago I said clay is actually not my favorite surface, but right now I think I will change my mind. I’ve played very well on clay the last few days and weeks. I feel good that I have had so many matches on clay, and now I’m looking forward to the next tournaments before Paris.” – Angelique Kerber, following her win over Caroline Wozniacki in Stuttgart, Germany, and her second straight tournament title.

“It was small things today that made the difference. I had 5-3 in the third set and 30-all, and it could have gone both ways, but she took her chances and it went her way.” – Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to Angelique Kerber in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final.

“I’m my own favorite player.” – Grigor Dimitrov, laughing when answering a question.

“It was complicated for me to close the match. I was feeling nervous, a lot of things crossing my mind, but in the end I was happy to win. It is the first time in my career that I’ve won two titles in a year.” – Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, after winning in Bucharest, Romania.

“I’m at the beginning of my career and a success here in Bucharest would have meant more for me, but that’s life. I will clearly be here next year and hopefully I will have better luck then.” – Jiri Vesely, following his loss to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.

“We managed to get out of trouble this week, maybe too many times,” admitted Draganja. “We were a little bit lucky, but the serve was always helpful in these moments and it worked this week.” – Marin Draganja, who teamed with Henri Kontinen to win the doubles in Barcelona.

 

SPARKLING PERFORMANCE

For the second straight year Kei Nishikori has come away from the Barcelona Open as champion. This time the top-seeded Japanese captured the crown by fighting off Spain’s Pablo Andujar. “I didn’t think about winning the tournament at the start of the week because of the strength of the players here, especially the Spanish, but now I am very happy,” Nishikori said of his ninth career title. It was a baseline battle from the start with the two trading service breaks. Time and again Nishikori found himself being dragged out of position by the hard-hitting Andujar, but Nishikori broke his opponent in the 10th game to win the first set. Andujar stepped up his game, won the first two games of the second set and survived a break point to go up 3-1. Nishikori wasn’t to be denied, however, and when the Spaniard double-faulted to give Nishikori match point, the top seed rifled a backhand down the line to finish the day. “I think the second set was extremely tough and I don’t really know how I won it to be honest,” Nishikori said. “Pablo was very aggressive, he kept moving the ball and made me run up and down all the time. I also tried to be aggressive and I think that’s why I won the important points, but I’d say he played better than me. … I think this victory on clay and in such a difficult tournament gives me a lot of confidence to face the upcoming competitions. It’s just an amazing feeling to win a title. I have to come back to Barcelona.”

 

STUTTGART TITLE

“I am mega-proud to have won here in front of a home crown,” Angelique Kerber gushed after she rallied to defeat Caroline Wozniacki and win in Stuttgart, Germany. The victory extended Kerber’s winning streak to 11 matches and two straight titles. “I fought hard until the end and drained all my reserves of energy,” Kerber said of her three-set triumph. On their way to the final, Kerber had upset top-seeded Maria Sharapova while Wozniacki knocked off second-seeded Simona Halep. The two then saved the drama for the decisive third set. Wozniacki took a 3-1 lead before Kerber won the next two games to pull even. Wozniacki again moved ahead and, at 5-3, 30-15, was two points from victory. Kerber then won the final four games and the Porsche sports car that goes to the champion. With her wins over second-ranked Sharapova and fifth-ranked Wozniacki, it was just the second time in her career that Kerber had beaten two Top 5 players in the same week. Sharapova’s loss was the first time the Russian had tasted defeat in Stuttgart in her fourth appearance.

 

SEEKS AND GET REWARD

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez has a philosophy about his tennis and life itself. “When you work hard there is always a reward, not only in tennis but in life in general.” The 31-year-old Spaniard became the first player over the age of 30 to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy since Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela did it in 2010 at the age of 30 years, 7 months. “I feel like I’m doing the right things to improve my game and my ranking,” Garcia-Lopez said after edging Jiri Vesely in two tiebreak sets. Vesely had set points in both sets before the Spaniard won the first tiebreak 7-5 and the second 13-11 on his sixth match point. Garcia-Lopez had victories in the week over Marcos Baghdatis, Lukas Rosol and Gael Monfils. The 21-year-old Vesely was playing in his first tour-level clay court final and seeking his second ATP World Tour title.

 

STRETCHING THE OUTCOME

Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen are finding that winning is a difficult thing. A very long and difficult thing. The Croatian-Finnish pair beat Jamie Murray and John Peers in an 11-9 match tiebreak to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell doubles title, the third team crown of the season. The final was their third straight contest in which they had to win a match tiebreak, edging second-seeded Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the semifinals. “We started very hot,” Kontinen said. “We didn’t miss a ball in the first three or four games. It was almost too good. We started feeling like we had it on our racquets, but they hung in there in the second set and had more chances to break us. It was a tough match tiebreak like a couple of the other matches, but I’m happy to pull through and lift my game at the most important times. … We’re improving as a team. It’s a short time we’ve played together and I feel we’re getting better and doing the right things.” Draganja and Kontinen are tied for the ATP World Tour lead with three titles in 2015. The other team to have won three times this year are the top-ranked tandem of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

 

STRIKING AGAIN

Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova are friends. That’s what also makes them champions. The teamed up to beat Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik and win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The Mattek-Sands/Safarova tandem captured the Australian Open doubles crown earlier this year. “I can’t give away all our secrets, because they’re working really well, but me and Lucie are really good friends, and that’s a big part of doubles success,” Mattek-Sands said. “The communication out there, having fun, getting through the ups and downs easier – that’s all I’m going to give you.” The champions broke serve three times and fought off the only break point they faced to get past the second-seeded Garcia and Srebotnik. “It feels awesome,” Mattek-Sands said. “Kata and Caroline had a great week. They were crushing teams until now, and they’re always tough opponents. But me and Lucie played well and had a great week, too.” With the victory, Mattek-Sands and Safarova have taken over the top spot in the Road To Singapore doubles leaderboard, the year-long journey to the doubles event at the USD $7 million BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, which takes place in October. “It’s amazing. It’s such a nice event,” Safarova said after the victory. “I’m just so happy to play again with Bethanie. We have a great time on the court and off the court, and it’s just a pleasure.”

 

STARRING AT HOME

They had to save five match points to do it, but Marius Copil and Adrian Ungur became the first Romanian pair to win the doubles title in Bucharest since 1998. Copil and Ungur outlasted Nicholas Monroe and Artem Sitak 17-15 in the match tiebreak after staving off four of the seven break points they faced. The two had entered the tournament with a wild card. “It’s our first ATP (World Tour) final and our first victory,” Ungur said. “I will never forget it. It was so hard with many ups and downs. At one point, I did not know who would win, us or them. The atmosphere was great, even better than Davis Cup. We are very happy and we hope that it won’t be our last trophy together. I dedicate this title to my mother, because today is her birthday.” It was their first final as a team. “I’m glad that my first ATP (World Tour) title was conquered at home,” Copil said. “The crowd was great. I never felt so much love on court. It was a special Sunday, with so many emotions.”

 

SPLITTSVILLE

Martina Navratilova and Agnieszka Radwanska are no longer working together. Navratilova said it was because she has been unable to dedicate enough time to the job. “I am stepping down as Agnieszka’s part-time coach,” the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion said. “I think I underestimated the time it would take to make this a good and proper situation for both Agnieszka and me.” The ninth-ranked Radwanska hired the 58-year-old Hall of Famer last December with the aid of reaching the latter stages of more big tournaments. Radwanska lost in the 2012 Wimbledon final, the only time she has reached the title match in a Grand Slam tournament. “I just wanted to thank Martina for her time and efforts over these last few months,” Radwanska said on her Twitter account. “It was a great experience, but we both agreed that as Martina could not commit 100 percent to the project then it was not going to work as a long-term partnership.” Navratilova won a total of 59 Grand Slam tournament singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles.

SURPRISE

When John Isner arrived home in Tampa, Florida, USA, following a day of practice, he was in for a surprise. His house was packed with friends and family wishing him a happy 30th birthday. The group included tennis players Mike Bryan and Tomas Blake, ice hockey star Brenden Morrow of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Isner’s parents, who drove from North Carolina for the occasion with his dog Magill. Also in attendance was former ATP pro Agustin Moreno, who was an assistant coach at the University of Georgia when Isner played there. Isner becomes the eighth player in the Top 20 who is 30 years old or older.

 

SELECTED

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the winner of the Jugador 10 APT-Segura Viudas prize at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899. The award is presented annually during the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell by the APT (Association of Tennis Journalists) to the player who not only shows good personal qualities on the court, but also away from the court. “When I was growing up I was taught that it’s more important to behave properly than to win,” Tsonga said as he accepted the award from Manuel Serras, president of the APT. “Children that are following tennis can be influenced by our behavior.” The award presented to Tsonga was designed and created by artist and former journalist Duaita Prats.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Barcelona: Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen beat Jamie Murray and John Peers 6-3 6-7 (6) 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Bucharest: Mariuz Copil and Adrian Ungur beat Nicholas Monroe and Artem Sitak 3-6 7-5 17-15 (match tiebreak)

Guadalajara: Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat Marcelo Demoliner and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 7-5 4-6 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Stuttgart: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova beat Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik 6-4 6-3

 

SURFING

Stuttgart: www.porsche-tennis.de/prod/pag/tennis.nsf/web/english-home

Barcelona: www.barcelonaopenbancsabadell.com/es

Bucharest: http://brd-nastase-tiriac-trophy.ro/2015/

Munich: http://bmwopen.de/

Estoril: www.millenniumestorilopen.com/

Istanbul: www.istanbulopen.org/

Marrakech: www.lallameryemtennis.com/

Prague: www.jtbopen.cz/

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$465,655 BMW Open by FWU AG, Munich, Germany, clay

$465,655 Millennium Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal, clay

$465,655 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, Istanbul, Turkey, clay

 

DAVIS CUP

Group IV Asia/Oceania Zone, round-robin, at Isa Town, Bahrain, hard: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Pacific Oceania, Singapore, United Arab Emirates

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Grand Prix de SWAR LA Princesse Lalla, Marrakech, Morocco, clay

$226,750 J&T Banka Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

 $4,550,540 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$100,000 Busan, South Korea, hard

 

WOMEN

 $4,414,030 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$100,000 Empire Slovak Open 2015, Trnava, Slovakia, clay

 

Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori

Stan Wawrinka Captures His First Indoor Title – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Stan Wawrinka beat Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-3 6-4 to win the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Andrea Petkovic won the BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium, when Carla Suarez Navarro withdrew with a neck injury

Kei Nishikori beat Kevin Anderson 6-4 6-4 to win the Memphis Open in Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Pablo Cuevas beat Luca Vanni 6-4 3-6 7-6 (4) to win the Brasil Open 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Daniela Hantuchova beat Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6 6-3 6-4 to win the Thailand Open in Pattaya City, Thailand

 

SAYING

“The important thing for this year is to focus on the day-by-day. I need to keep working and try to improve. When I do that, I know the results will come. Hopefully I can play well all the year, not have any big ups and downs.” – Stan Wawrinka, after winning the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

“I was in control in the beginning and the small differences decided it.” – Tomas Berdych, following his loss to Stan Wawrinka.

“Anytime you make it to the weekend, you are playing well. It hasn’t happened too often in my career, so when it happens I am very excited.’” – Donald Young, after beating Bernard Tomic to advance to the semifinals of the Memphis Open.

“I woke up in the morning and I felt this pain in my neck. I went to the physio to great treatment and tried to play at 11:30, then had physio again and tried to play again at 2:15, and I just couldn’t serve. I couldn’t play like I wanted. So I had to pull out of this final.” – Carla Suarez Navarro, after withdrawing from the final of the BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games.

“I hope you don’t take any offense Kim, but I’m glad you are done playing on tour.” – Andrea Petkovic, after losing a 5-3 exhibition match against Kim Clijsters.

“It means so much to me to win this tournament three times. I’ve never done that in my career and never thought I’d be able to. It’s always a special feeling playing in Pattaya. I’ve felt great here since the first match, and I’m very proud I kept it up all week.” – Daniela Hantuchova, who captured her third Thailand Open title.

“At the end I couldn’t believe it was over because I thought in my head it was over so many times before it actually was. So to be honest, when I finally won the match I was so over celebrating.” – Aja Tomljanovic, after outlasting Monica Puig 7-6 (4) 5-7 7-6 (7) to reach the PTT Thailand Open final.

“We were both very nervous. I think it was the first time I played a final as the favorite. I thought that I couldn’t lose when that happens, but the matches become more difficult. In front of me I had someone that was playing with a lot of confidence and with a great serve. I think we both failed at some moments: a double fault, a volley. There were many mistakes at the end and the winner was the one who fails less than the other.” – Pablo Cuevas, following his victory in Sao Paulo.

 

STAN THE MAN

By continuing his domination of Tomas Berdych, Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka has captured his first indoor tournament trophy and first 500 series ATP title. “I’m very happy in winning my first 500 title, especially indoors. It’s always amazing to win trophies, it’s the best feeling,” Wawrinka said. The 29-year-old beat Berdych, the defending champion, for the sixth straight time. “I’m disappointed with how it finished today, but there can only be one winner,” Berdych said. “I can still see some positive things. The last time I played him it was completely different. I could not deal with him,” said the Czech, referring to the World Tour Finals in London last November when Wawrinka triumphed 6-1 6-1. After dropping the first set, Wawrinka took a 5-3 lead en route to leveling the match at a set each. The led 4-1 in the third set before Berdych broke back and held for 4-3, Berdych saved one match point when serving at 5-3 down before Wawrinka clinched the victory on his next serve.

 

SLOVAKIAN WINNER

It’s becoming a habit for Daniela Hantuchova. The Slovak won her third WTA Pattaya Open by edging her 21-year-old Croatian rival, Ajla Tomljanovic, in three sets. Ten years older than her opponent, Hantuchova dropped the opening set before winning the next two 6-3 6-4. She had previously won the title in 2011 and 2012. “Today was very tough because Ajla was playing some great tennis,” Hantuchova said. “I had to really fight for it. At the end I felt maybe I was a little fresher and sharper, and that decided the match.” Hantuchova barely made it back to the final. She saved two match points to beat Marina Erakovic in the semifinals. In the title match, she won eight of nine games to close out the second set and take a 3-0 in the third. Tomljanovic battled back, knotting the set at 3-all and 4-all before Hantuchova captured the last two games for the crown. Tomljanovic had never reached a WTA semifinal before Pattaya, let alone a final. “There are too many positives from the week,” Tomljanovic said. “There are things I can learn from this match and the week. Overall I think this was a really big step forward for me in Pattaya.”

 

SAO PAULO CHAMPION

Once Pablo Cuevas gets to the final, he’s unbeatable. The Uruguayan bested a qualifier, Luca Vanni, to win the Brazil Open in Sao Paulo. It was the third time Cuevas has reached an ATP title match – and his third ATP title. All three victories have come on clay. It wasn’t that easy, however, as Vanni served for the match at 5-4 after breaking his foe. Cuevas broke right back and sent the match into a tiebreak, where he won 7 of the last 10 points. Vanni had never won an ATP World Tour match prior to his run to the title match. “I’m so happy,” said Vanni, who was the first qualifier to reach the Brazil Open final in the tournament’s 15-year history. “It was a close match. I fought hard against Cuevas. … I’m so proud of myself.”

 

SLIPS INTO TITLE

Andrea Petkovic has never won a final so easily. The third-seeded German won the Diamond Games without stepping onto the court as fifth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain pulled out of the title match with a neck injury. “You can never really enjoy the win when you don’t fight for it,” Petkovic said. “I had a great week and I’m leaving as the champion, but definitely mixed emotions.” Suarez Navarro said she woke up with severe neck pains. After twice undergoing therapy, she decided she was unable to play. “I just couldn’t serve,” the Spaniard said. “I couldn’t play like I wanted.” Also she didn’t have to step onto the court to win the title, Petkovic had to struggle to reach the final. She staved off eight match p0ooints in a second-round win over Belgian wildcard Alison Van Uytvaqnck, and she took well over two hours to beat unseeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the semifinals. With her sixth career title, the 27-year-old Petkovic moves back into the top 10 in the WTA rankings.

 

SUCCESS IN MEMPHIS

Kei Nishikori winning in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, is becoming habit-forming. Nishikori became the first player to win the Memphis title in three consecutive years since the tournament’s inception in 1975. “It feels great, of course,” Nishikori said of the win. “Today’s match was much different than (the past) couple of matches. I played really solid from the baseline and returned really well.”  Anderson slammed 12 aces, but it wasn’t enough as Nishikori broke his South African opponent once in each set. Nishikori clinched his first title of 2015 on his fourth match point. While he sailed to victory in the final, Nishikori struggled earlier in the tournament. He squeezed past Sam Querrey 5-7 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5) in the semifinals after also being forced to go three sets in his first two matches against qualifiers Ryan Harrison and Austin Krajicek.

 

SWISS STARS MISSING

Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka led Switzerland to its first Davis Cup title last year. The Swiss will play their first-round tie against Belgium in March without either star. A Swiss Tennis Federation statement confirmed the pair “have decided to not make themselves available” for the March 6-8 competition. “I’m the first to understand that priorities change in the year after a Davis Cup victory and that it isn’t that easy to get back into the fray,” Federation president Rene Stammbach said. Wawrinka has been a mainstay of the squad. “I have been a part of this Davis Cup squad for 11 years and this is the first time I have decided not to play,” said Wawrinka, who explained that 2014 had been “a very long year, rich in emotion and with some incredible moments.” While deciding to skip the first-round tie, Wawrinka said he may be available for later in the tournament if Switzerland qualifies.

 

SIMON TRIUMPHANT

It had been nearly eight years between Gilles Simon’s victories over Andy Murray. The Frenchman last beat Murray on clay at the Rome Masters. Then Murray won 12 straight matches before Simon surprised Murray again in the quarterfinals of the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Simon saved four of the six break points he faced and capitalized on Murray’s flurry of unforced errors to win 6-4 6-2 on his third match point.

 

SICK BAY

Two of the world’s top players – Australian Open champion Serena Williams and Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard – have pulled out of this week’s Dubai Tennis Championships. Tournament organizers said Williams is still trying to get over a persistent, nagging cough. The American didn’t play the reserve singles match in Fed Cup play last week because of the cough. No reason was given for Bouchard’s withdrawal after she was given a wild card into the event. However, she was upset in Antwerp, Belgium, when she double-faulted nine times in a 4-6 6-1 6-2 loss to Germany’s Mona Barthel.

 

SUSPENDED

Italy’s Potito Starace and Daniele Bracciali have been provisionally suspended for 40 days pending a corruption inquiry. In a statement, the Italian Tennis Federation (FIT) said, “Bracciali and Starace are suspected of having distorted the result of certain matches in order to make illicit gains through betting.” Both players have already served shorts suspensions – six week for Starace and three months for Bracciali – in 2008 in another better scandal. Starace is suspected of having thrown his ATP Casablanca final in 2011 when he lost 6-1 6-2 to Spain’s Mariano Andujar. Italian media reports the FIT decided to act because of the “repetition of illicit behavior by the two players.”

 

SURFACE SURPRISE

The King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, was surprised when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics decided to play the tennis competition on hard court and not clay. “I am surprised that in a country which has clay specialists the Olympics are going to be on hard court,” Nadal said. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said the choice was based on the fact the tournament, which will be held August 6-15, will be just two weeks before the US Open, which is also played on hard court. “Brazil was able to pull off successfully something as complicated as a World Cup and I am sure the Olympics are going to be a success,” said Nadal, who won the singles competition at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

 

SET AS CAPTAIN

Former doubles player Michael Kohlmann has been named the new captain of the German Davis Cup team. The German Tennis Federation also announced that veteran Niki Pilic will return to the squad as adviser. Kohlmann replaces Carsten Arriens, who stepped down last week. Germany plays France in a first round tie March 6-8 in Frankfurt, Germany. The 75-year-old Pilic was captain when Germany won three Davis Cup titles with Wimbledon champions Boris Becker and Michael Stich on the team. Pilic also helped his native Croatia and Serbia win Davis Cup titles, in 2005 and 2010, respectively.

 

SEEKING HONORS

Four players, including Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, along with the Swiss Davis Cup team are in the running for the Laureus World Sports Academy honors. Compiled from a ballot of the world’s sporting media, selected six nominees in each of seven categories, the winners are voted for by the Academy, a jury made up of 50 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen headed by chairman Edwin Moses. Djokovic is in the sportsman of the year category with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rory McIlroy. The Serb won the award in 2012 after winning three Grand Slam tournaments and five Masters in 2011. Williams and Li Na are both in the sportswoman of the year competition. Williams is seeking her fourth Laureus Award, having won this competition in 2003 and 2010 and the Comeback Award in 2007. Li Na won her second Grand Slam tournament women’s singles title in 2014 before retiring later in the year. Marin Cilic is seeking to win the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year category, an award captured by Andy Murray in 2013 and Rafael Nadal in 2006. Switzerland’s Davis Cup team, starring Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, is shortlisted in two categories: Team of the Year and Breakthrough of the Year. The winners will be revealed at the Awards Ceremony in Shanghai, China, on April 15.

 

SPONSORSHIP

Godiva Chocolatier, a Belgian luxury chocolate manufacturer, has signed Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki to an endorsement deal. “So excited to announce that my dream partnership is here,” Wozniacki wrote on a popular phot-sharing social networking application. “@Godiva is now officially feeding my sweet tooth.” She is Godiva’s first sports personality as an endorser. The deal’s cost was not revealed.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Antwerp: Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja beat An-Sophie Mestach and Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4 3-6 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Memphis: Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Santiago Gonzalez beat Artem Stak and Donald Young 5-7 7-6 (1) 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Pattaya City: Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan beat Shuko Aoyama and Tamarine Tanasugarn 2-6 6-4 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Rotterdam: Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau beat Jamie Murray and John Peers 3-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Sao Paulo: Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah beat Paolo Lorenzi and Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-2

 

SURFING

Dubai: www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/

Rio de Janeiro: http://rioopen.com/

Delray Beach: www.yellowtennisball.com/

Marseille: www.open13.fr/

Acapulco: www.abiertomexicanodetenis.com/

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

Doha: www.qatartennis.org/tournaments/index/64

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$1,549,230 Rio Open presented by Claro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, clay

$549,230 Delray Beach Open by The Venetian @ Las Vegas, Delray Beach, Florida, USA, hard

632,840 Open 13, Marseille, France, hard

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

$100,000 Delhi Open 2015, New Delhi, India, hard

 

WOMEN

$2,212,250 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard

$226,750 Rio Open presented by Claro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$2,503, 810 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard

$1,548,755 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico, hard

$573,750 Argentina Open presentado por Buenos Aires Ciudad, Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay

 

WOMEN

$665,900 Qatar Total Open 2015, Doha, Qatar, hard

$226,750 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, Acapulco, Mexico, hard

 

Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka

Novak Celebrates Birth of Son by Winning Paris – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Milos Raonic 6-2 6-3 to win the BNP Paribas Paris Masters in Paris, France

Andrea Petkovic beat Flavia Pennetta 1-6 6-4 6-3 to win the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria

 

SAYING

“This week has been incredible and my first tournament since becoming a father 10 days ago, so I dedicate this victory to my wife and son.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning the Paris Masters.

“It’s been an incredible week for me.” – Milos Raonic, after reaching the Paris Masters final, only to lose to Novak Djokovic.

“I think you need to be a little crazy, but in a good way.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after running the New York City Marathon.

“It’s going to be a lot of tension and I might get nervous first match, but I will try to enjoy the moment.” – Kei Nishikori, on qualifying for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

“Monica Seles. I played her in Indian Wells in 2002 and she beat me 6-0 6-2. I was only 14 at the time, but I learned a lot from that match. It really showed me how big the difference is between playing as a junior and a pro. She had such a positive attitude about her. She was really inspiring.” – Maria Sharapova, in a Sport Magazine interview when asked who is the most talented player she has faced.

 

SON SPURS NOVAK

With one victory Novak Djokovic reached a lot of milestones. His 6-2 6-3 win over Milos Raonic gave the world’s number one player his second straight Paris Masters victory. It also was his 600th ATP career match win. And it was his first tournament title since his wife Jelena gave birth to their son Stefan. “I dedicate this victory to my wife and son,” Djokovic said. The victory also extended his indoor winning streak to 27 match – his last defeat coming in Paris two years ago. And the 27-year-old Serb also increased his lead over Roger Federer in the race for the year-ending number one spot. “It’s not easy against a player with such a big serve but I played an exceptional match and I’m very happy to win this trophy,” Djokovic said. “Like I said, it’s my first tournament since becoming a dad and it’s been a great pleasure to play here.” Djokovic won the opening three games of the match and never appeared to be in trouble after that. He also took a 3-0 lead in the second set. Djokovic is now fifth on the all-time list of active players with match wins. Federer leads with 991, Rafael Nadal has 706, Lleyton Hewitt has 611 and David Ferrer 602.

Even in defeat, Raonic was pleased with his week, having knocked off Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. “It’s been an incredible week for me,” the Canadian said. “Congratulations to Novak for his win and also the new addition to his family. … He didn’t really give me too many looks. Even on the break chances I had, he played them well and he just made life difficult for me today.”

 

STARRING IN SOFIA

Although Andrea Petkovic won the season-ending Tournament of Champions, her season is far from over. She is on Germany’s team that will take on the Czech Republic in the Fed Cup final this week. In Sofia, Bulgaria, Petkovic lost her serve three times in the opening set before rallying to defeat Italy’s Flavia Pennetta and win her third WTA title of the year. “I am very happy to win the title at the end of this long season,” Petkovic said. “I dedicate my victory to my dad (and coach Zoran Petkovic).” The 27-year-old is the fifth player to win three or more tournaments in 2014 after Serena Williams (7), Maria Sharapova (4), Ana Ivanovic (4) and Petra Kvitova (3). Petkovic broke Pennetta in the opening game of the second set, then held on to level the match. After splitting the first six games in the deciding set, Petkovic won the final three for the victory. “I’m happy I met Flavia in the final because we’ve both been coming back from injury this year,” Petkovic said. “I was so happy when she won Indian Wells because I know what she went through, and so it’s even nicer to play her for this title today. I hope next season is even better for her.”

 

SIX 1000 CROWNS

The Bryan twins keep on rewriting the record books. Brothers Bob and Mike became the first players in singles or doubles to win six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in the same season when they captured the BNP Paribas Masters final in Paris by defeating Marcin Matkowski and Jurgen Melzer in a match tiebreak. The Americans also won ATP World Tour Masters 1000s in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Cincinnati and Shanghai. They also captured the doubles at the US Open, in Delray Beach, Florida, USA, and Houston, Texas, USA. It was their 32nd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in their 50th final and their 102nd tour-level title. “We’re very happy to win Paris again, especially since we had to beat four quality teams along the way,” Mike Bryan said. “We hope to keep our level high going into the last tournament of the season.” The 36-year-old twins have clinched the year-end number one spot in the doubles rankings and have qualified for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals next week.

 

SERVING BIG

Until the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, big-serving Milos Raonic had only won one set against Roger Federer. He changed that in a hurry in Paris. Raonic beat Federer 7-6 (4) 7-5 in a quarterfinal matchup and eventually reached the title match, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. The victory for the Canadian was his first over Federer in seven meetings and also snapped the Swiss maestro’s 14-match winning streak. There was only one service break in the match, that coming at 5-5 in the second set. Raonic finished with 21 aces. “I played well throughout the match and served really well, so it’s a great victory,” the Canadian said. “Considering all the circumstances around it, I think this was the biggest win for me.”

 

SEASON-ENDER

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and second-ranked Roger Federer will continue their battle for the year-end number one ranking when they battle in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. But by winning in Paris, Djokovic almost has wrapped up that battle. “I see it better now than one week ago, that’s for sure,” Djokovic said. “It helps that I won the title in Bercy, that I’m playing well, and that I’m feeling good about myself on the court playing indoors.” Federer agrees. “Whether I am number one at the end of this year or one or two weeks later next year, it doesn’t really matter,” the Swiss maestro said. “Novak seems to be fit, anyway.” Djokovic extended his points advantage over Federer to 1,310 points with 1,500 available to a player who makes an unbeaten run to the World Tour Finals title. Federer also can pick up points when he plays the Davis Cup final for Switzerland against France beginning November 21.

Other qualifiers for the London tournament are Australian Open winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, Great Britain’s Andy Murray, Japan’s Kei Nishikori, Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, US Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia, and Canada’s Milos Raonic. Nishikori said he’s “excited but nervous” about becoming the first Asian-born player to qualify for the season-ending finale. “It’s going to be a lot of tension and I might get nervous first match, but I will try to enjoy the moment,” said Nishikori, who reached the US Open final in September where he lost to Cilic. “I have been playing really well this year, so I think I have a chance to do well.”

Spain’s Rafael Nadal also qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals, but withdrew to undergo appendix surgery.

 

STEPPIN’ OUT

A camera crew’s presence helped Caroline Wozniacki finish the New York City Marathon in an impressive time of 3:26:33 and raise more than USD $81,000 for Team For Kids. “I’ve never tried anything this hard,” Wozniacki said after running the 26.2-mile distance for the first time. “This was the toughest physical test I’ve ever (had). It’s so hard. You have to keep going, keep going. Once I got onto First Avenue, I had a camera crew following me the whole day, so I couldn’t walk. I had to keep running.” Ranked eighth in the world on the WTA tour, Wozniacki had never run more than 13 miles during her training due to her exhaustive tennis schedule. After the marathon, the Dane said 13 miles had felt “really easy,” but admitted she hit the proverbial wall around mile 20 before pushing through it to the finish line in Central Park. There, she was greeted by her close friend and rival tennis player Serena Williams. “I didn’t feel nerves at all last night, and I didn’t feel them at all when I woke up this morning,” Wozniacki said. “The only time I felt them was when we were going onto the bridge to start. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, what did I get myself into? Ready or not, there’s no way back. As long as I finished and didn’t get injured, that’s an achievement in itself.” Her time qualified her for the Boston Marathon, although she has said she did not plan on running another marathon. Another women’s tennis player – Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm – ran the 2004 London marathon in 3:27:47, but that was when she was in the midst of a 12-year retirement from tennis.

 

SET FOR PRAGUE

Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic will lead Germany into the Fed Cup final November 8-9 in Prague, Czech Republic. The Czech squad will be spearheaded by Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Kerber is ranked 10th in the world and Petkovic 14th. Also named to the German team are Sabine Lisicki and Julia Goerges. Playing their third Fed Cup final in four years, the Czechs will team the fourth-ranked Kvitova with Lucie Safarova, Karolina Pliskova and Lucie Hradecka. The 22-year-old Pliskova has rocketed up the rankings this year and is at a career-high 24th in the world after winning her second and third career titles in the last two months. The Czechs have won the international team tittle seven times, and have beaten Germany six times in their seven encounters. Germany is seeking to capture its third Fed Cup crown and first since 1992.

 

SCENE IS LONDON

Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan will be the top seeds in the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals doubles competition November 9-16. The Bryans have already clinched the year-end number one Emirates ATP Doubles Team Ranking for a record 10th time and will be out to capture their fourth season finale title. Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic won the season-ending crown twice, in 2008 and 2010, while Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin reigned supreme at the French Open this year. Australian Open champions Lukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt are in the hunt, as are the teams of Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares, and Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo.

 

SPARKLING TEEN

Xu Shi Lin has made Chinese tennis history by getting to the top of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) world junior tennis rankings for girls’ aged 18 and under. She is the first Chinese player ever to be ranked number one in the world in the juniors. The 16-year-old moved to the top of the heap by winning the singles and doubles titles at the Osaka Mayor’s Cup in Japan. Like Hall of Famer Monica Seles, Xu hits with two hands from both sides. She dropped only one set in winning six matches to win the titles. “I am very proud to become the first Chinese player to earn the number one world junior ranking,” said Xu, who has been Asia’s top-ranked junior for the past two years. “The 2014 season is not over yet, so I need to stay focused and continue to play like I did in Japan.” Xu will be defending her Asian titles in singles and doubles in Korea during next week, and then finish the season during the first two weeks of December playing two world-class events in Florida, USA: the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl tournaments.

 

SLAMS RACQUET, DISQUALIFIED

Darian King of Barbados let his anger get the best of him. It also got him disqualified from a challenger tournament in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. In his first-round match against Edward Corrie of Great Britain, King became very upset and slammed his racquet into the wall behind him. Unfortunately, a lineswoman was standing close to the wall, and while the racquet didn’t hit her, she collapsed to the ground and had to be attended to. King had lost the first set 6-4 and the second set was knotted at 6 and going into a tiebreak when he angrily threw his racquet into the wall.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Paris: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Marcin Matkowski and Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (5) 5-7 10-6 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

Bratislava: www.stz.sk/

 

Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com

London: www.barclaysatpworldtourfinals.com/en/

Dubai: www.dubaitennis.com

Toyota: www.dunlop-tennis.jp

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$107,675 Ritro Slovak Open, Bratislava, Slovakia, hard

 

FED CUP

Final

Czech Republic vs. Germany in Prague, Czech Republic, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$6,500,000 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, London, England, hard

 

WOMEN

$75,000 Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard

 

 

TOURNAMENTS Week of November 17

 

MEN

$220,000 Challenger Tour Finals at Sao Paulo, Brazil, clay

 

WOMEN

$75,000 Dunlop World Challenge Tennis Tournament, Toyota, Japan, carpet

 

DAVIS CUP

World Group Final

France vs. Switzerland at Lille, France, clay

 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Shanghai Rolex Masters – A Preview

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The ATP Tour heads to China this week for the 2014 renewal of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the tennis calendar outside of the four Grand Slams. World number one Novak Djokovic arrives in Shanghai as the defending champion following his straight sets victory over Juan Martin Del Potro last year and he’s been put in as the 11/8 favorite to successfully retain the Shanghai Masters crown. The Serb comes into this event off the back of an impressive win at the China Open where he completely blew away Tomas Berdych in the final, 6-0, 6-2. Djokovic is sure to be a popular choice with tennis punters this week and it would be no surprise to see him retain the title he won in 2013. Although Tomas Berdych could not live with Novak in last week’s final, he had played well to reach that stage of the China Open and may well be able to make it to the latter stages in Shanghai also. Berdych can be backed at odds of 18/1 to win the Shanghai Rolex Masters at betfair.com.

One player who will be absolutely desperate to win the 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters is Scotland’s Andy Murray. The former world number two has been unable to recapture the form which saw him win the 2013 Wimbledon title since return to the ATP tour following a back injury. Murray now sits outside the top eight in the rankings and he needs a number of points to reclaim a position in the elite group and make it to the tour finals in London at the end of the year. Andy won the Shenzhen Open two weeks ago, which was his first success for fourteen months, but he was unable to make it back to back wins, and was knocked out of the China Open last week at the semi final stage by Novak Djokovic. Andy Murray has been put in at odds of 9/1 for the Shanghai Rolex Masters by the odds compilers at Betfair, and a victory for Murray in China this week would certainly blow the race for the world tour finals wide open.

Rafael Nadal made his return from injury at last week’s China Open and managed to make it to the quarter final stage before suffering a slightly surprising defeat at the hands of Slovakian Martin Klizan. Nadal actually took the first set, but was unable to close out the match, losing 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. When you consider the fact that Nadal has been unable to play since Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, it was always likely that the Spaniard would need a few matches under his belt before reaching the top of his game. The world number two has now won a total of 64 career title and with a few matches now behind him, it wouldn’t be a huge shock if Rafael Nadal were to be very competitive in Shanghai this week. You can get odds of 5/1 on Nadal winning the 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters at betfair.com.

US Open finalist Kei Nishikori took his second Japan Open in three years last week and enters this tournament as one of the most in form players in the field. Taking this into consideration, the odds of 18/1 on offer at Betfair look very much on the generous side and this exciting young Japanese star could well make those odds look way off the mark come next weekend. Nishikori is now up into the top seven in the ATP rankings and will be keen to cement that position with the tour finals on the horizon.

Shanghai Rolex Masters
Shanghai Rolex Masters

Novak Djokovic Is Still Perfect in Beijing – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Maria Sharapova beat Petra Kvitova 6-4 2-6 6-3 to win the China Open women’s singles in Beijing, China

Novak Djokovic beat Tomas Berdych 6-0 6-2 to win the China Open men’s singles in Beijing, China

Kei Nishikori beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-4 to win the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan

David Goffin beat Steve Darcis 6-3 6-3 to win the Ethias Trophy in Mons, Belgium

Sam Querrey beat Stefan Kozlov 6-3 6-4 to win the Sacramento Challenger in Sacramento, California, USA

 

SAYING

“It was incredible. Incredible. Especially against Tomas, w3ho has a big game and is already an experienced player. It was 6-0 560 in under an hour. Everything I tried worked. To be proud of the performance is the least I can say of how I played tonight.” – Novak Djokovic, following his rout of Tomas Berdych to win his fifth China Open title.

“I met somebody in the final who I’ve never seen before. The way that he performed today was really outstanding. There is really not much I can add to that because, really, I was just swept off the court.” – Tomas Berdych, after losing to Novak Djokovic in the China Open men’s final.

“It’s never easy playing against Petra. You don’t always quite get a good rhythm. She goes for a lot of shots, very deep, and she’s a very good, confident player. … It’s probably the toughest opponent you can face in a final, that’s had that success, yet you just want to focus on your side, what you do best.” – Maria Sharapova, after beating Petra Kvitova to win the China Open.

“Yeah, I was tired, but it was a final, and every time I’m playing a final I’m giving everything I have inside.” – Petra Kvitova, following her China Open final loss to Maria Sharapova.

“If I had lost the tiebreak, I might have screwed up the whole match. He started aggressively and I think it was one of my toughest games against Milos.” – Kei Nishikori, after beating Milos Raonic in the Japan Open final for the second time in three years.

“It is disappointing to lose in my third straight final. To be honest with you, other than the first year (2012), I felt I created my opportunities.” – Milos Raonic, after losing in the Japan Open final for the third straight years.

“Always when you are outside for a few months, as I said the other day, is not the same as if you are coming back the next season that everybody starts from zero. You are coming back now, and the other players are on the road, are in rhythm. Physically you feel more tired.” – Rafael Nadal, after being upset in the China Open quarterfinals.

“It’s really frustrating, especially from here. This is a really big tournament for me. I’m defending champ.” – Serena Williams, after pulling out of the China Open quarterfinals because of a left knee injury.

 

SERBIAN MASTER

Novak Djokovic continues to be perfect in Beijing. The Serb raced through the entire week without dropping a set, then completely outclassed Tomas Berdych in the final to win his fifth consecutive Beijing title. The 6-0 6-2 score doesn’t reflect how one-sided it was. Djokovic led 6-0 5-0 before Berdych regained a little pride to go along with his awe. “I just said to my coach now that I probably played over 700 matches in my career, and I met guys like Andre, Roger, all those probably in their best times. But I have never ever experienced anything like that,” Berdych said. Djokovic added this year’s trophy to his previous Beijing titles in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Even Djokovic was impressed with his latest victory, saying it was “probably the best performance of any final in my career.” It was Djokovic’s ATP World Tour-best fifth tour-level title of the year and 46th of his career. And the 27-year-old has never been in finer form. “It was incredible,” he said. “I have played some great finals, had some convincing wins, some straight-set wins against top rivals. But with this kind of performance and with this domination result-wise, I mean it’s never happened.” Less than an hour after they began playing, Djokovic served for the match at 6-0 5-0. Berdych, who had already offered his racquet to a ball boy in desperation, captured the next two games before succumbing. Even in losing to the top-ranked Djokovic, Berdych moved up to seventh in the world rankings.

 

SINO SUCCESS

For the second time in three years, Kei Nishikori has captured the Japan Open, proving to his home fans that his US Open runner-up finish was no fluke. On the other hand, Milos Raonic is still seeking his first Japan Open crown after being in his third straight Tokyo final. “After the US Open it was hard to maintain the motivation,” Nishikori admitted. “Being the first final of a Grand Slam was my dream, so it was tough to change mentally. Since the 24-year-old became the first Asian-born man to reach a Grand Slam singles final, he has now won two titles, capturing the Malaysian Open the week before his Japan Open success. “It has been incredible and I think this is the first time I have won two weeks in a row,” said Nishikori, who played through hip and lower back problems to win in Tokyo. With rain from Typhoon Phanfone lashing the area, the final was played under the closed roof of the Ariake Coliseum. Nishikori has now beaten Raonic in three of their four meetings this year, including the US Open semifinals.

 

SHARAPOVA PREVAILS

Maria Sharapova prevailed in a battle of 2014 Grand Slam tournament champions to win the China Open women’s singles and move up to number two in the WTA world rankings. The reigning French Open winner lost her serve to begin the match, but finally prevailed in the 2-hour, 28-minute battle. “It was a bit of an up-and-down match, I’d say, maybe not the best out of the tournament,” Sharapova said of the three-set win. The Russian right-hander broke Kvitova twice to claim the first set, before the Wimbledon winner captured the second, forcing the decisive third set. “She became the more aggressive player in the second set,” Sharapova said of her Czech opponent. “I think I took a few too many steps back and let her play that way.” Sharapova raised her game to take a 5-3 lead before capturing her fourth title this year when Kvitova buried a return into the net. The four WTA titles this year ties Sharapova with Ana Ivanovic for second-most, behind US Open champion Serena William, who leads the tour with six. “What I did today was a great battle,” Kvitova said. “It was small things and small points that made the difference in the end. I had some chances, but Maria just didn’t let them go.”

 

SHOCKED

True, it was Rafael Nadal’s first tournament since missing three months with an injury. But the left-handed Spaniard wasn’t supposed to lose to qualifier Martin Klizan in the China Open quarterfinals. Showing signs of tiredness, Nadal won just two points in the last four games of his 6-7 (7) 6-4 6-3 loss to the world’s 56th-ranked player. Seeded second, Nadal had won the tiebreak and was leading 4-3 in the second set before Klizan won took the next three games to force a decider. Again it was Nadal who broke serve in the third set to lead 3-2. That was when Klizan won nine consecutive points and the final four games to close out the victory. “It will not be easy after what happened,” Nadal said when asked when he felt his game would be back to the form that had taken him to number one in the world. Before Beijing, Nadal had not played competitively since he was beaten at Wimbledon by 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios of Australia. He then hurt his right wrist during training, missed the US Open and didn’t return to the ATP World Tour until Beijing, where he won his first two matches in straight sets.

 

SINGAPORE BOUND

The final four spots in the WTA Finals in Singapore have been set by results at the China Open. The year-ending event featuring the world’s top eight players was filled by Eugenie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic. They join a field that includes Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova. “It’s been my big goal since the beginning of the year,” Ivanovic said of qualifying for Singapore. “Everyone really earns a spot there, and I feel like I’ve been playing so well the whole year. I was working really hard towards this.” Bouchard will be making her debut in the elite tournament. “I’m excited to compete in my first WTA Finals,” said Bouchard, who was a finalist at Wimbledon where she lost to Kvitova. “I have worked hard all year on and off the court to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore.” Williams won last year’s WTA Finals, beating Li Na in the title match. Li recently retired from the sport and Williams pulled out of the China Open with a left knee injury.

 

SISTERS HURTING

Both top-ranked Serena Williams and her sister, Venus, ran into problems at the China Open. Serena, the defending champion of the Beijing event, withdrew before her quarterfinal match with a left knee injury. Venus pulled out of the tournament shortly before her third-round match against Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. China Open officials, in announcing her withdrawal, said the elder Williams sister was suffering from a viral illness.

For the second straight week Serena Williams pulled out of a tournament. The world’s top-ranked woman withdrew from a tournament in Wuhan, China, because of a virus. She pulled out of the China Open in Beijing because of a left knee injury. “I started to feel pain this week. It didn’t feel really well last night at all.” Serena said. “I almost didn’t go on the court – I did at the last minute. I think it made it a little worse, to be honest. It throbs just sitting, standing. I felt it mostly serving because I’m landing on my left knee. That was really killer for me.” Her withdrawal sent Australia’s Samantha Stosur to the semifinals, where she lost to Petra Kvitova. “I’ve done well here,” Serena said of the Beijing tournament. “This is my title. So more than anything, it’s just extremely frustrating. To come all this way and not take the title, it’s just a waste.”

Simona Halep, who was seeded second in Beijing, also withdrew from the tournament, suffering from a hip injury. Kvitova, ranked third in the world, said many of the players are tired after a long season. “I think it’s a lot of injuries,” Kvitova said. “It’s a long season. It’s the end of the season. Still Singapore is one to go. It’s really difficult. I mean, I’m not feeling … full of energy. I’m tired.”

 

SURGE

Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler-Espinosa was close to handing top-ranked Serena Williams a bagel in their first-round match at the China Open. Then Williams woke up. Looking lethargic and flat-footed, Williams fell behind 5-0 just 15 minutes after the match had started, losing her serve three times. “I didn’t want to lose 6-love,” Williams said of her turnaround. “I just started fighting. I was like, just let me at least try to break here.” In the sixth game, Williams staved off a set point. After that, the tournament’s top seed was in full control. Soler-Espinosa had another set point on Williams’ serve in the seventh game, but the American saved it with a cross-court backhand winner at the net and cruised the rest of the way to win 7-5 6-2.

 

SPANISH IRE

Rafael Nadal had a problem with the tennis balls used at the China Open. “The ball is so bad here,” Nadal said following a victory over German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk. “If you throw the ball on the floor, the bounce goes everywhere. It is not a question of winning or losing. I won in Rio (earlier this year) with this ball. It’s just that we’re competing at the top level of our sport, tennis and the ball is an important thing.” Nadal also complained about having to play with different balls from tournament to tournament, saying it could result in injuries. “This week we are playing with one ball. Next week we are playing with a different ball,” he said. “That’s dangerous for the shoulder, dangerous for the elbow.” Andy Murray agreed with Nadal about the difficult of adjusting to a new ball each week. “If you want to see consistently high level tennis, it’s very difficult when you’re changing balls from week to week – because they all react differently,” Murray said. “I’m sure if you gave golfers a different ball to play with each week, it would take them time to adjust to that, as well.”

 

SET FOR LEAGUES

What off-season! Two leagues will play during the time players said they needed to rest. Instead, some of the top stars have signed to play in two inter-city tennis leagues, the International Tennis Premier League (IPTL), which will be played in four Asian cities, and the Champions Tennis League (CTL), which will be played in six cities in India. The CTL was developed by former ATP player Vijay Amritraj with cooperation from the All Indian Tennis Association. Matches will be played over a 10-day period in November. The ITPL will hold matches over a two-week period.

Cities where CTL matches will be played, along with their top players, include: Mumbai – Tommy Robredo, Alizé Cornet and Sergi Bruguera; Pune: Agnieszka Radwanska, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Pat Cash; Bangalore: Venus Williams, Feliciano Lopez, Thomas Enqvist; Delhi: Jelena Jankovic, Kevin Anderson, Juan Carlos Ferrero; Chennai: Mikhail Youzhny, Martina Hingis, Mark Philippoussis; and Chandigarh: David Ferrer, Garbiñe Muguruza, Greg Rusedski and Somdev Devverman. Each team must have one Indian player and one local junior boy and girl, bringing the rosters to six players each. The retired “legend” on each team will also serve as captain. The winning team will receive about USD $150,000 with matches to be televised nationally.

The ITPL will feature several big names, including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams.

 

SENTENCE UPHELD

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has agreed that Guillermo Olaso of Spain should serve a five-year ban for match-fixing. CAS said the punishment was “proportionate and appropriate in the circumstances.” Last year the Tennis Integrity Unit found Olaso guilty of three corruption offenses dating back to 2010, including directly or indirectly seeking to “contrive the outcome or any other aspect of any event.” Olaso was also found guilty of two counts of failing to report approaches to provide inside information or influence the outcome of any aspect of a match.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Beijing (men): Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau beat Julien Benneteau and Vasek Pospisil 6-7 (6) 7-5 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Beijing (women): Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai beat Cara Black and Sania Mirza 6-4 6-4

Mons: Marc Gicquel and Nicolas Mahut beat Andrew Begemann and Julian Knowle 6-3 6-4

Sacramento: Adam Hubble and John-Patrick Smith beat Peter Polansky and Adil Shamasdin 6-3 6-2

Tokyo: Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Michal Przysiezny beat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-3 6-7 (3) 10-5 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

Shanghai: www.shanghairolexmasters.com

 

Rennes: www.openderennes.org

Tashkent: www.tennis.uz/

Tiburon: http://tiburonchallenger.com

Linz: www.generali-ladiefs.at

Osaka: www.jw-open.jp

Tianjin: www.tianjinopen.com

Moscow: www.kremlincup.ru/

Stockholm: www.stockholmopen.se/

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

Luxembourg: www.bglbnpparibas-open.lu/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$3,849,445 Shanghai Rolex Masters, Shanghai, China, hard

$125,000 Tashkent Open, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, hard

$107,793 Open de Rennes, Rennes, France, hard

$100,000 First Republic Bank Tiburon Challenger, Tiburon, California, USA, hard

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Generali Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria, hard

$226,750 Japan Women’s Open Tennis, Osaka, Japan, hard

$226,750 Tianjin Open, Tianjin, China, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$776,620 Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow, Moscow, Russia, hard

521405 If Stockholm Open, Stockholm, Sweden, hard

521405 Erste Bank Open, Vienna, Austria, hard

 

WOMEN

$644,900 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia, hard

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

 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Brand Slam: A Look Back at the US Open Brand Winners

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By Rob Penner

 

Welcome to our new monthly column “Brand Slam” featuring all things tennis brands: new products, reviews, interviews and more. The world’s biggest sports brands have made all four Grand Slam tournaments a highlight of their seasonal calendars to launch new products and feature custom designs for several years now – and continue to do so. So we’ll take a look back four times each year at the brand winners and losers at each Grand Slam.

It was at the US Open where Jennifer Capriati first came out with the blue stars and stripes dress by Fila, Serena Williams unveiled the PUMA cat suit and Tommy Haas first donned his sleeveless shirt at a major. The 2014 US Open didn’t have quite that sort of fashion statement this year, but there were plenty of other highlights.

The Winners:

Li-Ning – Li-Ning was an ATP World Tour partner from 2006-2012 and has Dwayne Wade among its basketball endorsers, but until Marin Cilic captured the US Open title last week, it had never previously received this kind of brand visibility in any sport across global newspapers and television – except perhaps during the Olympics. Ivan Ljubicic wore Li-Ning for a time and won Indian Wells but that’s not quite the Open. Putting Li Ning’s logo on the sleeve lead to some nice logo placements in photos and it will be interesting to see if Cilic stays with the lesser-known brand in the years ahead. But this is still a major coup for a brand still trying to make a mark in other markets beyond China.

Grade: A-

Uniqlo – Uniqlo’s sponsorship of Novak Djokovic is old news. He’s been wearing their square red logo since summer 2012, but it still seems a bit of an odd combination and not quite at the core of the Uniqlo brand. But who would have expected the first ever all-Uniqlo semifinal with Djokovic facing Kei Nishikori, also outfitted in Uniqlo? It was quite the brand exposure and makes you wonder if another Japanese brand like Mizuno might want to dive back into the tennis mix some time soon.

Grade: B+

Asics – Asics doesn’t go big with the sponsorship dollars in tennis – Gael Monfils and Sam Stosur are their headliners – but more and more players who might not have formal shoe deals are using the Gel-Resolution 5 or Gel-Solution Speed. You see them all over the backcourts. The average tennis fan notices this and – in parallel – you’re seeing a huge gain in popularity of Asics on tennis courts across the country.  Gael Monfils’ bright yellow shirt and shoes and all-Asics outfit during his quarterfinal against Federer definitely stuck out.

Grade: B

Noteworthy:

New Balance – New Balance gets a mention for its NYC subway ad campaign during the Open featuring Milos Raonic. His yellow Charlie Brown top gets mixed reviews, but the New Balance MC996 has been one of the best tennis shoes the venerable brand has put out in years and the yellow colorway Raonic wears is clearly a hot color across the courts this year.

Grade: B-

Nike – Nike unveiled several looks for the Open for all of its top players: Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Rafa Nadal. Only two of them made the semis. Nike gets credit for its design of Sharapova’s “Day Tunic” which hits high on the waist and gives a flattering silhouette. It was arguably the most stylish outfit of the entire tournament and had nice color blocking. Unfortunately, Maria’s outfit was juxtaposed by Serena’s hot mess of a dress which featured a leopard print look that was in style about 10 years ago. And the hot pink version was particularly bad.

Grade: C+

Lacoste – For several years over the past decade, Lacoste was prevalent out there in every tournament with Andy Roddick and a host of Frenchmen sporting the crocodile, but lately they have been almost non-existent on the court. They’ve seemed to fall off the radar on the competitive tennis side – much like the American men at this year’s Open.  It’s a bit curious considering that they are only on the second generation of their performance Repel shoe.

Grade: D

Rob Penner is a former PR Manager with the ATP and former head of sports PR for global sportswear brand PUMA. 

Serena Williams 2014 US Open
Serena Williams 2014 US Open

A Laundry List of Firsts For 2014 U.S. Open Champion Marin Cilic

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Marin Cilic did a few thing he had never done before at the 2014 U.S. Open.

It started in a sparsely-attended round of 16 match on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Tuesday, September 2 when Cilic broke through to beat Gilles Simon of France for the first time in four previous meetings in the round of 16 in five sets in four hours, 13 minutes. In the quarterfinals, he then won consecutive matches against Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals for the first time. In the semifinals came his first career win over Roger Federer – a straight-set throttling to move him into his first career Grand Slam tournament final. He then capped his miraculous run to his first major title with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Kei Nishikori to become the first man from Croatia to win the U.S. Open singles title.

He won his quarterfinal, semifinal and final-round matches in straight sets – becoming to the first man since Stefan Edberg in 1991 to sweep their last three U.S. Open matches.

Cilic, at 6 foot 6, is the tallest man to win the U.S. Open – equaling Juan Martin del Potro, also at 6 foot 6, who won the title in 2009.

The eight-inch height discrepancy between Cilic and Nishikori, 5 foot 10, was the biggest height difference among Grand Slam men’s singles finalists in the Open Era, the previous being at the 1999 U.S Open – 6’6” Todd Martin was 7 inches taller than the 5’11” Andre Agassi – and at the 1971 U.S. Open – Stan Smith (6’4”) was 7 inches taller than the 5’9” Jan Kodes.

Cilic played the U.S. Open one year after missing the event in a drug-suspension when the tested positive for a banned stimulant that he claimed when he accidently indigested a glucose tablet.

In his last U.S. Open appearance, he blew at 6-2, 5-1 lead in the 2012 quarterfinals against Andy Murray, who went on to win the title.

It marked the first straight-set US Open men’s final since 2008 when Federer defeated Murray 62 75 62.

Cilic becomes the first Croatian to win a major title since Goran Ivanisevic, his coach, won Wimbledon in 2001. Seeded No. 14, Cilic is the lowest seeded man to win the U.S. Open since No. 17 seed Pete Sampras won the 2002 U.S. Open in his career finale.

The No. 10 seeded Nishikori, who defeated No. 5 seed Milos Raonic and No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka in five sets in the fourth round and quarterfinals respectively, and No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic in four sets on a 90-degree afternoon in the semifinals, was the first Asian man to play in a Grand Slam singles final.

The final was the first US Open final between two players making their Grand Slam final debut since 1997 when Patrick Rafter defeated Greg Rusedski in what was also the last US Open final that did not feature a Top 10 player. Rafter was ranked No. 14 and Rusedski No. 20.

Marin Cilic
Marin Cilic

Kei Nishikori Still Has Work To Do To Become Japan’s Greatest

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

After reaching the final of the 2014 Madrid Open, Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese player to rank in the top 10 of the ATP Tour computer rankings. Nishikori, however, still has work to do to make the claim of being the greatest – and the actual highest-ranked – Japanese male tennis player ever.

The distinction of being the highest-ranked Japanese man goes to a player from the 1930s named Jiro Satoh. London’s Daily Telegraph provided the authoritative year-end rankings prior the advent of the ATP computer rankings in 1973 and it’s correspondent Wallis Myers accorded Satoh with a ranking of No. 3 in 1933.

Bud Collins, in his famous soon-to-be updated and re-released tome “The Bud Collins History of Tennis,” described Satoh as an “all-rounder” with “nifty touch.” He made the semifinals of the Australian Championships in 1932, the French in 1931 and 1933, and Wimbledon in 1933.  Satoh had wins over Hall of Famers Jack Crawford of Australia (who was won match from winning the Grand Slam in 1933), Fred Perry of Britain and Ellsworth Vines of the USA.

Tragically, he was so despondent over a 3-2 loss to Australia in Davis Cup in 1933 – and feeling the immense pressure of leading the team and representing his country –  he killed himself by leaping from his ship into Strait of Malacca on April 5, 1934 on the way to the Davis Cup opener in England. “I would have been unable to help…” said his suicide note, according to Collins.

Preceding Satoh on the global tennis scene, also as documented by Collins in his book, was Zenzo “Shimmy” Shimidzu, who was the first Japanese player of note. He also was a top-ten player who attained the No. 4 ranking by Myers for 1921 and is the only Japanese man to play in a Grand Slam singles final. In addition, he led Japan to the Davis Cup final – or “Challenge Round” as it was known at the time.

Collins described Shimidzu as “clever tactician” and a “weird stroker” hitting heavy topspin and hitting his forehand and backhand on the same face of racket.  In 1920, he reached the Wimbledon final losing to all-time great Bill Tilden 6-4, 6-4, 13-11 and the next year, losing in the all-comers semifinal to Spain’s Manuel Alonso 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 8-6. In Davis Cup, he lead Japan to an upset of powerhouse Australia en route to the 1921 “Challenge Round” where they lost to the Tilden-led USA. Shimidzu came within two points in the third set of beating Tilden on the first day, losing, 5-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1. If not for cramping, he may have pulled on the greatest upsets in tennis history.

For more information on the “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” click here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559386/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_F4gOtb0N2F10AQBH

Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori