kimiko date-krumm

Three Comeback Queens Of The WTA Tour

December 23, 2014 by Admin

There is nothing that gets the tennis world more intrigued than an unexpected comeback. Hence why fans are already questioning if recently unretired Nicole Vaidisova, who reached world number seven in May 2007, will be offered a wildcard into the 2015 Australian Open. Tennis betting fans cannot currently place money on Vaidisova winning the first Grand Slam of the year, on websites such as Bet365, as she is ranked outside the top 500 and therefore unable to qualify directly.

However, punters will be hoping for her entry, through a wildcard, as a miracle performance, reminiscence of other returning legends such as Monica Seles and Justine Henin, will prove very rewarding to crafty betters. Vaidisova, who announced her return in September, is just the latest in a series of WTA players who, having seemingly retired, have returned years later, keen to recapture or surpass their former glory. So, which comeback queens will Vaidisova be following in the footsteps of?

Kim Clijsters (Retired 2007, Returned 2009)

Throughout the first stage of her career Kim Clijsters struggled to compete against the physicality and power of the Williams sisters and the mental toughness of her fellow Belgian, Justine Henin. Clijsters lost a string of Grand Slam finals, often crumbling under the pressure of the situation, before finally succeeding at the US Open in 2005.

However, soon after this breakthrough, slowed by injuries and sidetracked by a desire to start a family, Clijsters retired in 2007. But less than two years later Clijsters announced her return to the game in 2009. Moreover, only three events into her comeback, Clijsters won her second Grand Slam title at the US Open, beating future number one Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

Sadly, Clijsters never seemed truly happy in the second stage of her career, burdened by injuries and seemingly torn between her ambition and desire to extend her family. The Belgian did win a further two majors, including a long-overdue victory at the Australian Open in 2011, but struggled to maintain consistent form and was regularly absent from the tour.

Whilst many see Clijsters adding to her Grand Slam haul as opportunistic, based upon Serena Williams’ health issues at the time, it cannot be denied that Clijsters’ return was immensely successful and saw, at least sporadically, the form many thought she was capable of.

Kimiko Date-Krumm (Retired 1997, Returned 2008)

Kimiko Date-Krumm retired after a semi-final loss to Steffi Graf at the 1997 WTA Tour Championships and did not return to professional play until the end of 2008. Whilst her return was initially met with scepticism by critics, Date-Krumm soon proved everyone wrong.

A former semi-finalist at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open, Date-Krumm has yet to reach these heights again. However, the Japanese player did manage to break the top 50 again in 2012, additionally reaching the third round at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2013.

Not to mention, beating five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova in 2011. Date-Krumm’s shortened, sharply angled and flat strokes are truly unique in the game today, with her old-school style befuddling and beating players who weren’t even born when she first retired.

Martina Navratilova (Retired 1994, Returned 2000)

Given that Martina Navratilova was an 18-time Grand Slam singles champion when she retired in 1994, many would have forgiven her for enjoying a leisurely and well-earned retirement. However, the former-Czech player was never known for taking things easy.

A mere six years after her retirement, and well past the age of 40, Navratilova embarked on the second stage of her career. Whilst mainly focussing on doubles, where she added numerous Grand Slam titles to her already impressive haul, Navratilova did also sporadically return to singles.

The highlight of this brief twilight career, as a singles player, was Navratilova 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of Catalina Castano of Colombia in the first round of Wimbledon in 2004, with Martina only being three years younger than her opponent’s mother.

Novak Djokovic Survives Upset Bid; Not So For Samantha Stosur & Other Seeds — Mondays with Bob Greene

January 21, 2013 by Bob Greene

By Bob Greene

STARS

Australian Open
(First Week)

Ekaterina Makarova beat fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-4

Jeremy Chardy beat sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 6-3 6-7 (3) 3-6 6-3

Carla Suarez Navarro beat seventh-seeded Sara Errani 6-4 6-4

Laura Robson beat eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova 2-6 6-3 11-9

Nicolas Almagro beat eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 6-2 5-1, retired

Zheng Jie beat ninth-seeded Samantha Stosur 6-4 1-6 7-5

SAYING

Novak Djokovic defeats Stan Wawrinka in 4th round of the Australian Open

“We are only halfway through the tournament but it felt like a final to me.” – Novak Djokovic, after he survived a tight five-hour, fourth-round battle with Stanislas Wawrinka.

“I think it’s the best match I’ve ever played. At the end I was really close and I was really sad to lose. It was a great disappointment for sure.” – Stanislas Wawrinka, who lost the fifth set 12-10 as he fell to top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

“It was close to being a great day. And now, it’s not such a great day.” – Samantha Stosur, who was two points away from victory before Zheng Jie won five straight games to shock the ninth-seeded Australian 6-4 1-6 7-5.

“When you’re a young person, you just don’t think it’s ever going to end, and you’re on top of the world. Now I realize, all these opportunities, I try to make the best I can of them. I love the game, and while I’m here I’m going to go for it.” – Venus Williams, at the age of 32 in her 19th year on the WTA tour.

“Oh, I’ll be out there. I mean, unless something fatal happens to me, there’s no way I’m not going to be competing. I’m alive. My heart’s beating. I’ll be fine.” – Serena Williams, after injuring her ankle during her first-round victory.

“I’m very happy to win today, but I don’t play for the records. Even when I lose, I still enjoy it. Of course, every time I lose … it’s tough. But still I enjoy playing. I love tennis. I like practice. I like games. I like the tour. I’m enjoy it a lot.” – Kimiko Date Krumm, whose first-round victory over 12th-seeded Nadia Petrova made the 42-year-old the oldest winner of a women’s singles Grand Slam tournament match.

“It’s nothing. Just I eat a lot; I sleep a lot. Last night I was in the bed before 10. I finished the dinner already 7:30. Sleep before 10 like the kids. Because always after the match or after the practice I’m tired, so I need time to recover a lot. So I sleep a lot; I eat healthy foods; I drink a lot. It’s simple life. That’s it. Nothing special.” – Kimiko Date Krumm on her secret of playing so well at the age of 42.

“Whatever word you want to put on it. At 5-2 up in the third, double break probably is a bit of a choke, yeah.” – Samantha Stosur, who twice served for the match as she lost five straight games to fall to China’s Zheng Jie.

“He’s the last person that deserves anything like that, with his five or six surgeries already.” – Sam Querrey, commenting on his second-round opponent, injury-plagued Brian Baker, who retired from their match with a meniscus tear in his right knee.

“I wanted to finish with an ace so I wouldn’t have to play the point.” – Gael Monfils, who double-faulted on four match points before finally defeating Lu Yen-Hsun 7-6 (5) 4-6 0-6 6-1 8-6 in a second-round match.

“I did not expect to hit 207, I was shooting for 200.” – Serena Williams, after hitting a 207 kph (128 mph) serve, the fastest of her career.

“I feel so much emotion. It’s a great moment for me. Everyone dreams of this.” – Jeremy Chady, after upsetting sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro.

“It’s not my favorite part of the job, beating up on the hometown heroes.” – Roger Federer, following his straight-sets win over Australian Bernard Tomic.

“A lot of players, when you play these sort of players like Roger (Federer) or Novak (Djokovic), you lose belief before you get into the match. Eighty or 90 percent of players that play the top guys, like with Roger, you lose your belief. I got in there, I started to think after they mentioned all these grand slams leading up – Wimbledon champion six times, six times US Open champion. Then I was, ‘Oh crap, it’s Roger.’ I tried to block out who’s on the other side of the net, but couldn’t quite do it after that announcement.” – Bernard Tomic.

SQUEAKER

It was the “other” player from Switzerland who nearly knocked defending champion Novak Djokovic out of Australian Open. But by the time the five-hour, two-minute marathon had ended, Djokovic has escaped the upset bid by Stanislas Wawrinka 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7 12-10. “He deserved equally to be a winner of this match,” Djokovic said of Wawrinka. “I give him a lot of credit. He showed his qualities. He was the aggressive player on the court. He was playing well, mixing it up, using the right tactics and serving really well. I was just trying to hang in there and fight and give every drop of energy.” Djokovic is seeking to become the first man in the Open Era to win three successive Australian Open titles. He came close to not making it to the second week of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. They both lost serve to begin the final set, then battled evenly until the 22nd game where Djokovic held three match points before finally winning. “He had a lot of chances to win this match,” Djokovic said of his Swiss opponent. “All the credit to him. I feel sorry that one of us had to lose.”

SCARE

Serena Williams had a painful start to the Australian Open. The American scared herself and fans when she turned her right ankle in her first-round match. Then she hit herself in the head with her racquet. “That’s it, I’m done, I’m done,” the tournament’s third seed joked when asked what other surprises she might have. “That was it. Just wanted to do two things. Now I got it out of the way.” Serena was leading Edina Gallovits-Hall 4-0 when her foot caught and she fell awkwardly to the court, clutching her right ankle. She was helped to her courtside chair and a WTA trainer assessed and re-taped her already heavily taped ankle. She returned to the court and won the next four points to break her opponent’s serve. When she held to close out the first set, she received additional treatment for the ankle. Then, in her second-round match against Garbine Muguruza, Williams hit herself in the face with her racquet, drawing blood. “I think it happens to everyone, but I have never busted it wide open like that,” Serena said. “So, yeah, I was like, ‘Oh, no. I can’t have a tooth fall out.’ That would be horrible.” Instead, it was her opponents she was putting out of the tournament. She beat Gallovits-Hall 6-0 6-0 and Muguruza 6-2 6-0.

STILL NOT THERE

David Ferrer will move up to number four in the world when the new rankings are published after the Australian Open. But just because he’s now passed the injured Rafael Nadal, Ferrer doesn’t believe he’s that close to the Big Four of men’s tennis – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Nadal. The four have won 33 of the last 34 Grand Slam tournament titles, with only Juan Martin del Potro grabbing the US Open crown in 2009. Although he has been ranked fifth in the world at the end of the last two years, Ferrer has never reached a Grand Slam tournament final, being a three-time semifinalists in the four majors, including twice last year. “Is very difficult to win a Grand slam because there are the top four,” said the Spaniard. “In this moment, the last three or four years, they are better than the other players. … You have to play your best or more than best to beat these guys. Hopefully I can beat them in the Grand Slams sometime.”

STUNNED

Everything seemed to be going right for Samantha Stosur. Then things changed dramatically – and quickly. Stosur was two points from winning her second-round match when China’s Zheng Jie won five straight games to stun the Australian. The final point came on Stosur’s ninth double-fault of the match. “Obviously it’s a hard one to take when you get yourself into a winning position and you lose five games straight,” Stosur said. “It just kept happening, point after point after point.” In 13 appearances at the Australian Open Stosur has never made it past the fourth round. She became the first Australian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in more than 30 years when she captured the US Open in 2011, a year after she reached the French Open final. “At 5-2 I felt great,” she said. “Then all of a sudden it obviously went away quite quickly. Crazy things start popping into your head. You make an error and you tighten up a little bit.” In her on-court interview, Zheng apologized to the crowd, which was heavily rooting for Stosur. “It’s amazing I could come back,” she said.

SAD NEWS

Brad Drewett is stepping down as head of the ATP after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The 54-year-old Australian was appointed ATP Executive Chairman and president just 12 months ago. He will continue in his role until a successor is found. As a player, Drewett reached a career-high singles ranking of 34th in the world in 1984 and was ranked in the top 20 in doubles. He has been a part of the ATP for more than 35 years, as a player, ATP Player Council member, ATP Player Board member, as CEO of the International Region and tournament director of the year-ending event before being named to the top spot. Roger Federer, president of the ATP Player Council, said in a statement that it was “sad news for all of us at the ATP and the entire tennis community. He is well liked and respected by everyone and has done a tremendous job in leading the ATP over the past 12 months, overseeing some major initiatives and a record-breaking year in 2012.”

SOON TO RETURN

Rafael Nadal is expected to return to tennis at the Brazil Open next month. The Spaniard has not played since Wimbledon, mainly because of tendinitis in his left knee. A stomach virus forced him to withdraw from an exhibition event last month in Abu Dhabi and also skip the Australian Open. Nadal is also entered in the Mexican Open in Acapulco, which begins on Feb. 25. He won both tournaments the only other time he entered them, which was in 2005.

SURVIVED

It wasn’t easy, but Frenchman Gael Monfils finally got past Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun in a second-round match. Monfils double-faulted on four successive match points before finally clinching the five-set victory. “It was a bit crazy,” Monfils admitted in a courtside interview. “It was like, “I need to hit an ace because I know it’s going to be a double-fault for sure. It was weird. I think I got a big lucky in the end.” Ranked as high as seventh in the world in 2011, Monfils missed a lot of last year with a right knee injury and has fallen to 86th in the rankings.

SIGNED

Two-time defending champion John Isner and rising star Ryan Harrison have agreed to play in this year’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. Their commitments to the tournament were announced at the same time the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, revealed that a consortium of global companies have signed multi-year deals to sponsor the only grass-court tournament in the Americas. The 2013 tournament, which will be held July 8-14, will be sponsored by Rolex, Chubb Personal Insurance, EMC Corporation, Alex and Ani, and Corona.

SWEETER WITH AGE

Kimiko Date-Krumm players for just one reason: she loves the game. But she’ll also take the wins and the records that come along with her on-court successes. The 42-year-old became the oldest woman to win a Australian Open singles match in the Open Era when she upset 12th-seeded Nadia Petrova in the opening round 6-2 6-0. “Of course I’m very happy to win today, but I don’t play for the record,” said Date-Krumm, who retired and was out of tennis for 11 years before she returned to the WTA tour in 2008. “I don’t have a target or a dream. I already had big success in my first career, so I’m just enjoying the traveling and talking to the young players. It is fun.” It was her first Australian Open win since 1996, the year she retired. And she had more fun in the second round, downing Israel’s Shahar Peer, who is 12 years her junior, 6-2 7-5. The run ended in the third round when she lost to Bojana Jovanovski 6-2 7-6 (3). “Some people, the player’s mother is younger than me – so it’s like my daughter,” Date-Krumm laughed. “Everyone is almost half age as me, so it’s not easy, but I’ve got nothing to lose so I just try to keep going.” She said she retired at the age of 26 because of the pressure of winning. She had been ranked as high as fourth in the world. “(There was) always too much attention to me. And I was young, so I don’t have not so many space for myself,” she said. “It’s very tough that time, so I don’t like so much tennis, and tour also. … (There was a time when) I don’t like so much tennis. But now I like tennis. I like practice. I like game. I like tour.”

STRONG PERFORMANCE

Great Britain’s Laura Robson is making her mark in Grand Slam tournaments. She knocked off eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova at the Australian Open, taking the third set 11-9. At last year’s US Open, the 18-year-old beat both Kim Clijsters and Li Na. “I knew it was going to be very, very tough and trying to return her serve in the first set was very, very hard,” Robson said after her win over Kvitova. “But I knew once I got my returns firing and a bit more confidence on my serve I could get myself back into the match and that’s what I did.” The winner was helped by Kvitova, a former Wimbledon champion, who committed 18 double faults.

SNAPPED

Jerzy Janowicz admits he went a little “nuts” when the chair umpire didn’t agree with him. With Janowicz leading 9-8 in a tiebreak, India’s Somdev Devvarman hit a forehand down the line. Janowicz thought the ball was out. The chair umpire, Marija Cicak, ruled otherwise. Evidently believing Cicak had wronged him previously, Janowicz began screaming, “How many times? How many times?” before he dropped to his knees on the court, screaming to the umpire, “I’m begging you.” Devvarman said he was worried about his opponent’s voice. “I mean, the guy was yelling at the top of his lungs and I was like, ‘Dude, just calm down.’” After losing the tiebreak 12-10, Janowicz hit the umpire’s chair and tossed a water bottle across the court, earning him a code violation. Seeded 24th, Janowicz won the four-hour match, 6-7 (10) 3-6 6-1 6-0 7-5. “You can’t control your emotions all the time,” he said after the match. “Actually, I went nuts. I calmed down little bit later on. Sometimes I have problem to control by emotions, but I’m trying to work on this.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Sisters Venus and Serena Williams are arguably the best women’s doubles team in the world. It’s just that they don’t play often. Consequently the sisters were seeded 12th at this year’s Australian Open, even though they have won 13 major doubles titles in their careers, including four at the Australian open and three Olympic gold medals in doubles. They have reached the final in seven of the last 10 Grand Slam tournaments that they’ve played and have never lost a doubles match once they get to the final. “They mean a lot to me,” Serena said about doubles titles. “I mean, people that are winning a lot of singles titles nowadays in the past decade or two decades usually don’t win as many in doubles. So I’m almost even with my singles and doubles.” Serena has 15 Grand Slam singles titles, while Venus has seven. Venus has joked that they have so many trophies they use some as fruit bowls.

STEPPING UP

Tennis is stepping up to help one of its own. Tennis greats are helping to raise money for retired player Andrew Florent, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Fans can bid on a private tennis lesson by Jim Courier or play a doubles match against Pat Rafter and Goran Ivanisevic. Then there are two seats at the so-called Legends Lunch on the day of the women’s final, where the attendees will include Rod Laver and Andre Agassi. Among other items to be auctioned are a pair of tickets to both the men’s sand women’s finals, as well as a photo opportunity with the men’s winner. Now 42 years old, Florent was runner-up at the Australian Open juniors boys singles in 1988. He turned pro in 1990 and became a doubles specialist, reaching a career high ranking of 13th in 2001.

SURFING

Australian Open: www.australianopen.com

Heilbronn: www.heilbronn-open.de/

Paris: www.opengdfsuez.com/

Pattaya: www.pentanglepromotions.com

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

ITF: www.itftennis.com

ATP World Tour: www.atpworldtour.com/

WTA: www.wtatennis.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia, hard (second week)
$113,662 Heilbronn Open, Heilbronn, Germany, hard

WOMEN

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

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

WOMEN

$690,000 Open GDF Suez, Paris, France, hard
$235,000 PTT Pattaya Open, Pattaya, Thailand, hard

DAVIS CUP
First Round

World Group

Canada vs. Spain at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, hard
Italy vs. Croatia at Turin, Italy, clay
Belgium vs. Serbia at Charleroi, Belgium, clay
United States vs. Brazil at Jacksonville, Florida, USA, hard
France vs. Israel at Rouen, France, hard
Argentina vs. Germany at Buenos Aires, Argentina, clay
Kazakhstan vs. Austria at Astana, Kazakhstan, clay
Switzerland vs. Austria at Geneva, Switzerland, hard

Group I

Americas Zone: Uruguay vs. Dominican Republic at Montevideo, Uruguay, clay

Asia/Oceania Zone: Chinese Taipei vs. Australia at Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Uzbekistan vs. China at Namangan, Uzbekistan, clay; India vs. South Korea at New Delhi, India, hard; Japan vs. Indonesia at Tokyo, Japan, hard

Europe/Africa Zone: Poland vs. Slovenia at Wroclaw, Poland, hard; Romania vs. Denmark at Cluj Napoca, Romania, hard; Ukraine vs. Slovak Republic at Kremenchug, Ukraine, hard

Group II

Americas Zone: Puerto Rico vs. Mexico at Humacao, Puerto Rico, hard; El Salvador vs. Barbados at Santa Tecla, El Salvador, clay; Venezuela vs. Guatemala at Caracas, Venezuela, hard; Peru vs. Haiti at Lima, Peru, clay

Asia/Oceania Zone: New Zealand vs. Lebanon at Auckland, New Zealand, hard; Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan at Colombo, Sri Lanka, clay; Kuwait vs. Thailand at Meshref, Kuwait, hard; Philippines vs. Syria at Lapu-Lapu, Philippines, clay

Europe/Africa Zone: Bulgaria vs. Finland at Sofia, Bulgaria, hard; Ireland vs. Estonia at Dublin, Ireland, hard; Tunisia vs. Latvia at El Menzah, Tunisia, hard; Monaco vs. Belarus at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Monaco, clay; Moldova vs. Hungary at Chisinau, Moldova, hard; Bosnia/Herzegovina vs. Luxembourg at Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovina, hard; Lithuania vs. Cyprus at Siauliai, Lithuania, hard; Portugal vs. Benin at Lisbon, Portugal, clay

Kimiko Date-Krumm proves age no barrier to winning — Mondays with Bob Greene

December 3, 2012 by Bob Greene

By Bob Greene

STARS

Guido Pella beat Adrian Ungur 6-3 6-7 (4) 7-6 (4) to win the ATP Challenger Tour Finals in São Paulo, Brazil

Kimiko Date-Krumm beat Yulia Putintseva 6-1 3-6 6-4 to win the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

SAYING

“Beating (Thomaz) Bellucci gave me a lot of confidence. It was one of the hardest matches I’ve ever played. Everyone was rooting against me.” – Guido Pella, who upset Brazil’s Bellucci in his first match of the ATP Challenger Tour Finals in São Paulo, Brazil.

“The circumstances leading to the fall were all so unlucky, but since the accident I feel I have been really lucky. I was lucky to be alive and not have damaged anything major. I was lucky my friends found me and took me to a great hospital where they took great care of me.” – Sergei Bubka, who is recovering from a three-story fall.

“There’s no comeback (to tennis for me).” – Andy Roddick, after beating Andy Murray in an exhibition match.

“I looked at the list of past winners and it’s certainly a very impressive line-up that includes many of my idols growing up.” – Laura Robson, after being named WTA Newcomer of the Year.

“I just felt like it was time for a different voice. CB and I will remain great friends and he will always be someone I can go to for help or advice.” – John Isner, after dropping Boynton as his coach.

SEASON-ENDER

By winning his second marathon battle against Adrian Ungur, Argentina’s Guido Pella captured the season-ending ATP Challenger Tour Finals in São Paul, Brazil. And that victory moved Pella into the Top 100 in the South African ATP Rankings for the first time. “The match was really special because if I lost I would be out of the Top 100 and I would have to wait until 2013 to see if I could get in,” Pella said. “My goal this year was getting closer to this group. I was able to get through that and everything will be different next year. I expect to stay in the Top 100 for a long time” Ungur won their round-robin meeting 4-6 7-6 (6) 7-6 (5). But in the final, it was Pella who came out on top 6-3 6-7 (4) 7-6 (4). The Argentine said the key to his victory was winning his first round-robin match against highly favored Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil. “Beating Bellucci gave me a lot of confidence,” Pella sad. “At the start I was a little bit nervous, but I managed to win the match. … I won the title in the toughest match of my career.”

SENIOR SUCCESS

Age seems to be no barrier for Kimiko Date-Krumm. The veteran Japanese star became the oldest woman to win a singles title in the Open Era when she bested Yulia Putintseva 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the final of the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At 42 years, two months old, Date-Krumm, ranked as high as fourth in the world in 1995, obliterated the old record set in 1983 by Hall of Famer Billie Jean King, who was 39 years, seven months when she won her last singles crown. Date-Krumm’s latest title comes 20 years after the WTA named her the “Most Improved Player of the Year.” Rain forced the 18-year-old Putintseva to complete her 3-6 6-4 7-6 (3) semifinal win over Kristyna Pliskova before facing Date-Krumm for the title. Martina Hingis, the former world number one, is coaching Putintseva.

While Kristyna Pliskova failed to reach the title match in singles, her twin sister Karolina played for the doubles championship. But Karolina Pliskova and Eva Hrdinova lost to Maria-Elena Camerin and Vera Dushevina 7-5 6-3.

SERENA HONORED

After dominating the second half of the season, Serena Williams has been named WTA Player of the Year. The 31-year-old American won Wimbledon and the US Open, increasing her Grand Slam tournament singles total to 15, while also capturing Olympic gold in both singles and doubles along with the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. From April to October Williams won 48 of her 50 matches. While she is ranked third in the world, William is considered the best player. She has now won the WTA award four times, having earlier captured the honor in 2002, 2008 and 2009. The award is voted for by international tennis media.

SERGEI RECOVERING

Making a remarkable recovery, Sergei Bubka is already standing and almost walking. The 25-year-old Ukrainian is undergoing six hours of physical therapy a day after he suffered a three-story fall and sustained multiple fractures. After being locked inside the bathroom of a friend’s apartment, Bubka fell when he leaned to look outside the window. While he doesn’t remember the fall, he does remember yelling for help. He underwent nine hours of surgery at the Georges Pompidou hospital in Paris.

SKIPPING AUSTRALIA

Because of health issues relating to his heart surgery, American Mardy Fish will miss the Australian Open next month. The 30-year-old underwent an operation in May to correct a form of arrhythmia. He is listed as “improving” and plans to return to the ATP Tour in February at the SAP Open in San Jose, California, USA. “The good news is that Mardy’s health is improving and he is back on the court slowing getting back into his regular workouts,” Fish’s agent, John Tobias, told the news agency Reuters. Fish has not played since the US Open in September when he had to pull out of his fourth-round match against Roger Federer because of heart palpitations. Fish began the year ranked eighth in the world but has since fallen to 27th. He first noticed the problem with his heartbeat before a Davis Cup match in February and the condition worsened in the following weeks. When he was at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, USA, in March, he woke up with his heart beating three times faster than normal. He later said that he had feared then that he would die. Despite the slide in the world rankings, Fish is still the third-highest ranked American.

SPLITS WITH COACH

John Isner has switched coaches. The top American player ended his relationship with Craig Boynton, who has coached the 14th-ranked Isner since March 2009. His ranking peaked at a career-high ninth in the world in April, but he fell back after suffered first-week losses at the final three Grand Slam tournaments: the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. This year he won titles in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. “I had a great run with Craig, learned a lot and felt like I improved every year,” Isner said. “I just felt like it was time for a different voice.” Isner has hired Michael Sell as his coach for 2013. When Boynton became his coach, the big-serving 6-foot-9 Isner was ranked well outside the top 100, dropping as low as 147th. But he finished 2009 at number 34 after reaching the fourth round of the US Open. He is perhaps best remembered for his 11-hour, five-minute marathon victory against Nicolas Mahut of France in the first round at Wimbledon. Isner won 70-68 in the fifth set.

SELECTED

Britain’s Laura Robson has been named WTA Newcomer of the Year for 2012. The 18-year-old became the first Brit to reach a WTA final in 22 years when she lost in Guangzhou, China, in September. At the London Olympics, Robson teamed with Andy Murray to win the mixed doubles silver medal, and reached the US Open fourth round in singles with upset victories over Kim Clijsters and Li Na. “It’s a huge honor to have won the award,” said Robson, who became the first Briton to win a WTA award since Virginia Wade was named Player of the Year in 1977. Former winners of the newcomer award include Clijsters, Maria Sharapova, Venus and Serena Williams, Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati. “I hope that I can go on to achieve close to what many of the past winners have achieved in their careers,” Robson said.

SIGNED

The Delray Beach International Tennis Championships already has five former champions in its field for 2013. The latest to sign up for the Florida event were former champions Tommy Haas, who won the title in 2006, and Kei Nishikori, the 2008 winner. Other former winners in the field include Mardy Fish (2009) and the world’s top-ranked brother team of Mike and Bob Bryan, who captured the doubles in both 2009 and 2010. Also in the field is John Isner, the top-ranked American player. “We will see more Top 20 players on the courts in Delray Beach in 2013 than any other year in our history,” said tournament director Mark Baron.

SCULPTURE

A great Argentine tennis player, Guillermo Vilas, has been honored with a sculpture. Presented by Peugeot, the sculpture has been erected at the Club Náutico Mar del Plata, where Vilas first began to play tennis. It is the first monument in Argentina dedicated to Vilas and comes 35 years after he won his first Grand Slam tournament title, the 1977 French Open. The iron sculpture depicts Vilas hitting a one-handed backhand and is named, “Vilas, el revés argentino” (Vilas, the Argentine backhand). Artist Daniel Masi designed the sculpture, with Eduardo Puppo responsible for the initial idea and development. Puppo is an Argentine tennis journalist who authored A History of Argentine Tennis and is a tennis analyst for the Spanish language CNN. The left-handed Vilas also won the US Open in 1977 and the Australian Open in both 1978 and 1979. In 1977, he won 17 of 33 tournaments and compiled a match record of 145-14, including an Open Era winning streak of 46 matches.

SET FREE

Murder charges have been dropped against a 70-year-old tennis lineswoman who had been accused of beating her husband to death with a coffee mug. Lois Goodman had been arrested in August as she prepared to officiate at the US Open. Prosecutors requested the dismissal, although they gave little indication why they were dropping the case. A spokeswoman Los Angeles Count, California, USA, District Attorney’s office said only that “additional information” had come forward. “Based upon this information, we announced that we are unable to proceed with the case at this time,” spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. “The court granted our request to dismiss the case without prejudice.” Goodman had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison if she had been convicted of murder. By dismissing the case without prejudice means that charges can be re-filed against Goodman in the future. “I’m so happy,” Goodman said. “I feel wonderful. I’ve always maintained my innocence. It was just a tragic accident.” According to police, Goodman reported on April 17 that she found her 80-year-old husband, Alan Goodman, dead in their home and surmised that he had suffered a heart attack and fallen down a flight of stairs. But the death was ruled a homicide in August and Lois Goodman was charged with murder and arrested in New York City. Defense lawyers contend that Alan Goodman’s death was an accident, a conclusion they say was also originally reached by Los Angeles police.

SALESMAN

Now that he is a brand ambassador for Moët & Chandon, Roger Federer will take center stage in the company’s upcoming advertising campaign. “Roger Federer personifies the glamour of achievement, great generosity and tremendous style values that have been key to our House throughout its long history,” said Stéphane Baschiera, president and CEO of Moët & Chandon. “As the champagne of victory and an enthusiastic supporter of major tennis tournaments around the world, we are extremely proud to welcome Roger Federer with Moët & Chandon’s hallmark hospitality.”

STARS FOR STARS

Novak Djokovic and his coach, Marian Vajda, participated in an exhibition event in Vajda’s hometown of Bratislava, Slovak Republic, which benefited the Novak Djokovic Foundation and the Stars for Stars Foundation. Besides Djokovic and Vajda, also participating in the Tennis Classic were ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year Martin Klizan and retired Slovakian player Dominik Hrbaty. Djokovic and Klizan played a singles match before Djokovic paired with Vajda against the Slovakian pair in doubles. The four also held a clinic for young Slovakian players.

SABBATICAL

Because there are no tennis tournaments with purses of USD $75,000 or more scheduled for this year, the Mondays with Bob Greene column will be suspended until January 7, 2013. Enjoy the holidays.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Dubai: Maria-Elena Camerin and Vera Dushevina beat Eva Hrdinova and Karolina Pliskova 7-5 6-3

SURFING

ITF: www.itftennis.com

Brisbane: www.brisbaneinternational.com.au

Doha: www.qatartennis.org/

Chennai: www.aircelchennaiopen.org

Auckland: www.asbclassic.co.nz/

TOURNAMENTS WEEK OF DEC 31

MEN

$1,110,250 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Doha, Qatar, hard
$486,000 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard
$486,000 Aircel Chennai Open, Chennai, India, hard

WOMEN

$1,000,000 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard
$500,000 Shenzhen Gendale Open, Shenzhen, China, hard
$235,000 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand, hard