Kenin Archives - World Tennis Magazine

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Daniil Medvedev beat Borna Coric 6-3 6-1 to win the St. Petersburg Open in St. Petersburg, Russia

Naomi Osaka beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-3 to win the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Osaka, Japan

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga beat Aljaz Bedene 6-7 (4) 7-6 (4) 6-3 to win the Moselle Open in Metz, France

Sofia Kenin beat Samantha Stosur 6-78 (4) 6-4 6-2 to win the Guangzhou International Women’s Open in Guangzhou, China

Karolina Muchova beat Magda Linette 6-1 6-1 to win the KEB Hana Bank Korea Open in Seoul, Korea

John Millman beat Marc Polmans 6-4 6-2 to win the Kaohsiung Challenger in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Team Europe beat Team World to win the Laver Cup for the third consecutive year.

SAYING

“I came here to win and I did it.” – Daniil Medvedev, who became the first Russian to win the St. Petersburg Open since 2004.

“I just wanted to win this really bad.” – Naomi Osaka, after winning the Pan Pacific Open in her hometown, Osaka, Japan.

“Mentally, I was very strong. I served really well when I needed to.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who won the Moselle Open for a record fourth time.

“This has to be one of the biggest wins of my career. It means so much more when you’re playing for other people as well.” – Taylor Fritz, after beating Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the Laver Cup, giving Team World a temporary lead.

“Sometimes you have to win ugly.” – Danielle Collins, after beating Venus Williams in the first round in Wuhan, China.

“My goal next year is to be in the Top 10.” – Sofia Kenin, after winning Guangzhou, her third title of the year.

“I still made the final, so there’s lots to be proud of.” – Samantha Stosur, who lost to Sofia Kenin in the final at Guangzhou.

“Mentally, I was very strong. I served really well when I needed to.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, after winning the Moselle Open for a record fourth time.

“It’s always a goal of mine to qualify for the WTA Finals, and I’m proud to have done it for my fourth time.” – Karolina Pliskova, who joins Ashleigh Barty as the first two players to qualify for the season-ending tournament in Shenzhen, China.

STREAKING

Daniil Medvedev’s appearance in the US Open final wasn’t a fluke. Playing in his fifth consecutive final, the 23-year-old became the first Russian to capture the St. Petersburg Open crown since Mikhail Youzhny 15 years ago. And it wasn’t close as he broke Croatia’s Borna Coric four times, twice in each set, to dominate the match. It was Medvedev’s sixth career title and third of this year. “It’s an amazing feeling,” said Medvedev, who has won 24 of his last 27 matches. He has already qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals, where he will be making his debut about the top eight players. Medvedev is currently ranked fourth in the world behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. “After the match you could see how happy I was,” the winner said. “Especially beating Borna, who is an amazing player. I lost three times to him last year in a row.” Coric used slices off both sides to keep Medvedev off balance. But the Russian was too consistent. “I tried pretty much everything, all the tactics, all that I could think of,” Coric said. “It didn’t work. He had answers to every question of mine.”

SHE DID IT

Naomi Osaka was named for the city where she was born. It is probably proper, then, that her first tournament title that the world’s former top-ranked player should win would be in her hometown. The Pan Pacific Open is her first trophy since she captured her second consecutive Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open in January. “I have played finals here,” Osaka said. “This is my third time. So, I am really glad that I was able to win, and for it to be in the city where I was born makes it really special.” Osaka needed just over an hour to overwhelm Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, dropping just five games, and become the first Japanese player to win the Pan Pacific title since Kimiko Date in 1995. “I think my serves have been doing really well the last two matches,” Osaka said. “I think that definitely helped me out, especially today since she (Pavlyuchenkova) is such a great returner.” It appeared as if Osaka has closed out the victory with an ace. But a Pavlyuchenkova challenge showed the ball was out. It made no difference. Osaka’s wide-angled backhand when the point was replayed was unreturnable. “I think what I learned from this tournament is just to focus every point, and just to have really positive energy,” Osaka said.

SUCCESS CONTINUED

When Alexander Zverev beat Milos Raonic in a singles match, it sealed a Laver Cup victory for Europe over Team World in Geneva, Switzerland. It was the third straight time Team Europe has won the competition in the three years it has been held. Team World began the final day in the lead, but Roger Federer beat John Isner, setting the stage for Zverev’s 6-4 3-6 10-4 victory over Raonic for the title. “Team World came once again very close, but we won the right points and had maybe a little bit of luck,” said Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg. “I’m very proud of my team, they did a hell of a job. I’m a very happy captain.” Borg passed over Stefano Tsitsipas of Greece and Italy’s Fabio Fognini, instead selecting Zverev to play the final match. “It’s very special, especially playing in front of those guys and them trusting me to play the last singles game,” Zverev said. “This event is something I hope to play in every single year of my career.”

STRAIGHT-SETS WIN

Considering the outcome, Karolina Muchova didn’t mind waiting six hours for the rain to stop. When she finally took to the court, she crushed Magda Linette to capture the KEB Hana Bank Korea Open title, her first WTA tournament crown. The Czech used her forehand to dictate the pace and direction of the rallies, finishing by losing just six points on her serve in the match. She never faced a break point. The result was reversed from their only previous meeting, which Linette won in a tough three sets last month.

SIDELINED BY INJURY

Reigning US Open champion Rafael Nadal pulled out of the final day of the Laver Cup because of inflammation in his hand. “I’ve had an amazing time playing at the Laver Cup and I’m so disappointed I’m not able to play again today, but I have some inflammation in my hand and I need to rest,” Nadal said in a statement. He had been scheduled to play a singles match against Australian Nick Kyrgios and partner Roger Federer in a doubles match against Americans John Isner and Jack Sock. Austria’s Dominic Thiem replaced Nadal in the singles, but he was upset by American Taylor Fritz, who had replaced Kyrgios. “Nick’s shoulder has been bugging him. He was talking about it last night,” said Team World captain John McEnroe. “I don’t know what to tell you other than we wanted him to come out 100 percent and he didn’t feel like he could. So that means we’ve got to put somebody else in.” That somebody was Fritz. Federer played doubles with Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and they lost to the Americans.

SOFIA STOPS STOSUR

Sofia Kenin won her third WTA singles title of the year when she outlasted Australian Samantha Stosur in the final of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open. “Sam is such a tough player to play, and the match was not easy,” Kenin said. “I’m just really happy with the way I fought. I knew it was going to be a tough match and I needed to leave everything on the court.” Stosur, a former US Open women’s singles champion, came from behind to take the opening set. Kenin was just two game from defeat in the second set when she won seven straight games, then boosting her third-set advantage to 5-1. Kenin lost just six points in four service games in the final set, four of which came in the sixth game. “I feel proud of myself. It was a very tough match today,” Stosur said. “She played very, very well for the whole match, and really picked it up in that second and third sets.”

SOMETHING ABOUT METZ

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has this winning touch whenever he plays in Metz, France. The Frenchman lost the opening set before coming back to beat Aljaz Bedene and win the Moselle Open for a record fourth time. Playing in his fifth final in Metz, the 34-year-old fired 19 aces in the battle, that saw him trade tiebreak sets with Bedene. In the decisive third set, Tsonga raced out to a 3-0 lead and was never in trouble after that. Tsonga is the ninth Frenchman to win the Moselle Open in the last 11 editions of the tournament Ten of Tsonga’s 18 ATP Tour titles have come on French soil. “The match was not easy at all,” Tsonga said. Aljaz was playing really well and it was a long match. I am definitely happy to win here again.”

SNAPS TIE

Novak Djokovic has been number one in the ATP rankings for 269 weeks, which moved him into fourth place on the all-time list, snapping a tie with Jimmy Connors. In two weeks, the Serbian will break Ivan Lendl’s record of 270 weeks, making him trail only Pete Sampras (286 weeks) and Roger Federer (310 weeks). Djokovic is in his fourth stint atop the men’s professional tennis rankings.

STOPS VENUS

American Danielle Collins has joined the ever-growing list of players who have beaten seven-time Grand Slam tournament champion Venus Williams. Collins joined the group in the opening round of the Wuhan Open, stopping Williams 7-5 7-6 (5). Williams led 5-3 in the opening set before losing nine straight games. The veteran failed to convert two set points while leading 5-4 in the first set. Collins took a 5-0 lead in the second set before Venus rallied to send it into a tiebreak, which Collins won 7-5. “I didn’t really play great the entire way through, so I wasn’t too happy with my performance even though I got the win,” Collins said.

SURGERY

French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic underwent surgery on her left wrist and is through for the rest of this season. “Surgery done,” Vondrousova said in an Instagram post. “All went really good so I need to rest now. So, season 2019 is over for me but can’t wait to be back.” The left-hander reached the final in Budapest, then the quarterfinals at both Indian Wells and Miami. She got to the final in Istanbul and the quarterfinals in Rome before fighting her way to the title match at Roland Garros, where she lost to champion Ashleigh Barty. Vondrousova injured her left wrist while practicing at Wimbledon and has not played since losing in the first round of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

SECOND QUALIFIER

The Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova is the second player to qualify for the year-ending 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen. The elite eight-player event will take place October 27-November 3. Pliskova secured her spot after winning her tour-leading fourth WTA title of the year at the ICBC Credit Card Zhengzhou Open. The first player to qualify for Shenzhen was French Open champion Ashleigh Barty of Australia. Pliskova will be playing in her fourth WTA Finals, having reached the semifinals in the last two years. In 2016, Pliskova qualified in both singles and doubles.

SPANISH STOP

Beginning next year, the ATP Tour will stage a grass-court tournament in Mallorca, Spain. replacing the event previously held in Antalya, Turkey. The Mallorca Championships will be held at Santa Ponca June 20-27, 2020. “Spain remains a key market for the ATP Tour and we are delighted to see the return of an ATP 250 tournament to Mallorca,” said Chris Kermode, executive chairman and president of the ATP. “The Spanish island has contributed so highly to the history of tennis, notably producing two ATP world number one players, Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal.” Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni, will be the tournament director of the Mallorca Championships. “We expect to offer the fans a strong line-up in the final week before Wimbledon,” Toni Nadal said. “After four successful women’s tournaments, we are now starting a new, exciting tennis era in Mallorca with this men’s event.”

SWISS STAR

Former world number one Martina Hingis will be a Legend Ambassador to the WTA’s season-ending tournament, the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen. In that role, Hingis will participate in community and fan engagement activities, host tennis clinics and interact with fans and guests. Her 1997 Australian Open triumph made her, at age 16 years 3 months, the youngest Grand slam tournament winner in the Open Era. She soon became the youngest to be ranked number one in the world, tallying 209 weeks at the top. She won 43 singles titles, including five Grand Slam tournament crowns, at a teenager. She also won 64 doubles titles, including 13 majors, as well as five mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. She spent 89 weeks as doubles number one and is one of just six women to reign on top of the rankings in both singles and doubles at the same time.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Guangzhou: Peng Shuai and Laura Siegemund beat Alexi Guarachi and Giuliana Olmos 6-2 6-1

Kaohsiung: Hsieh Cheng-Peng and Yang Tsung-Hua beat Evan King and Hunter Reese 6-4 7-6 (4)

Metz: Robert Lindstedt and Jan-Lennard Struff beat Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 2-6 7-6 (1) 10-4 (match tiebreak)

Osaka: Chan Hao-Ching and Latisha Chan beat Hsieh Su-Wei and Hsieh Yu-Chieh 7-5 7-5

Seoul: Lara Arruabarrena and Tatjana Maria beat Hayley Carter and Luisa Stefani 7-6 (7) 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

St. Petersburg: Divij Sharan and Igor Zelenay beat Matteo Berrettini and Simone Boleti 6-3 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

Zhuhai: http://www.zhuhaichampionships.cn/

Orleans: https://www.opendorleans.com/

Tiburon: http://tiburonchallenger.com/

Wuhan: https://www.wuhanopen.org/en/