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Later Starts, More Ease For Singles Players Among ATP Experimental Changes To Doubles For Madrid Open

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by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

The ATP Tour issued a press release announcing changes to its doubles program, in an effort to interject more interest in that discipline at ATP events. Doubles content makes about 40 percent of tennis matches at tournaments, but yet receives a fraction of the fan interest and media attention. The ideas presented below are very interesting and will definitely be interesting to watch. However, the star players (ie mostly singles players) and/or the human interest stories among the players (including the doubles specialists) is what will draw in the fans and the media attention. Delaying the start of the doubles until Tuesday of the second week of Madrid is certainly a great way to draw more attention to doubles, when it is competing against fewer singles matches later in the tournament. This makes it easier or singles players to actually commit to playing the doubles since most of the singles players are knocked out of the tournament by the second Tuesday of a two-week tournament. Thus, it would not conflict with singles and provide for more match play and more money-making opportunities for singles players. Also, this is good for fans who have tickets for late in the second week of Madrid (and presumably other events) as there is more content for fans to watch on the grounds and adds value to ticket holders.

I discussed this in the context of the U.S. Open in a video from 2022 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fGp1JzwEsM&t=121s and also wrote about it here: https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/21267

See below for the full ATP Press Release…

ATP has announced a trial of a new doubles format across the 2024 ATP Tour season, in a bid to enhance the product for fans, players and tournaments. The process begins this month with format changes at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.

The trial aims to increase the exposure and marketing appeal of the doubles game by creating new narratives and storylines for fans, a better on-site experience at tournaments and enhanced product for broadcast.

Ross Hutchins, ATP Chief Tour Officer, said: “As a Tour we believe there’s untapped potential in today’s doubles game. We know it can add huge entertainment value, but it requires fresh storytelling to connect with fans. The trialing of new formats and rules allows us to stay agile and explore ways to enhance the product. This has been a highly collaborative initiative already, and we would like to thank Madrid for stepping up to provide the first testing ground this season.”

Changes being trialed at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open include:

• More Singles vs. Doubles action. The 32-team draw will feature up to 16 slots reserved for teams entering via their singles ranking, creating an unprecedented number of matchups between the world’s top doubles and singles players, and compelling new narratives for fans.

• Streamlined schedule over five days (Tuesday to Saturday) during Week Two of the tournament, providing a simpler and sharper schedule for fans and players.

• Reduced shot clock to accelerate the pace of play and minimise downtime during matches. Time between points will be reduced to 15 seconds following rallies shorter than four shots (four or more shots = 25 seconds).

• Quicker changeovers with fewer sit-downs to accelerate the pace of play.

• Free fan movement in the arena during play, adding convenience to the on-site experience.

Matthew Ebden, World No.2 doubles player and President of the ATP Player Advisory Council, said: “Doubles has so much to offer fans and the atmosphere it can create when presented in the right way is phenomenal. That said, we as players recognise that more needs to be done to put our best foot forward. I’d like to commend my colleagues from across the ATP for taking this on and adding great new concepts into the mix. A lot of time, thought and care has gone into this process, and it’s been a privilege to play my part.”

The trial follows extensive review and consultation with fans, broadcasters and stakeholders within tennis. The process has been spearheaded by a dedicated doubles working group, established in 2023, featuring both player and tournament representatives and ATP staff.

Carlos Alcaraz Creates Excitement In Madrid Open Win

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BY JAMES BECK

Winning is the ultimate key for Carlos Alcaraz, or any tennis player.

Three sets in a non-major match just makes winning more exciting for everyone other than the loser, even though Jan-Lennard Struff can take solace this time. After all, he was just a lowly “Lucky Loser.”

Struff actually took Alcaraz out of his game all the way until the Spanish 20-year-old finally came up with back-to-back love service games to secure a long 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory on Sunday in Madrid.

BREATHING EASILY DIDN’T COME EARLY FOR ALCARAZ

It was only then that Alcaraz could breathe easily against Struff’s amazing power and ability to win key points at the net.

Struff  actually out-Alcarazed his foe until the end appeared to be in sight. The big German seemed to have an answer for everything Alcaraz could come up with until those last two service holds by the newest adult member of tennis greatness, not to mention new world’s No. 1.

Alcaraz simply showed the packed house his true greatness and will to win. The young man was the true gem in the Madrid ATP Masters 1000 event.

ALL THE WAY WITH A BROAD SMILE

Alcaraz appeared to do it all with a broad smile on his young face. Three sets just made it more exciting for everyone other than the loser.

Alcaraz seems to enjoy the extra practice time when he needs it. And he needed it to turn back a 33-year-old opponent who played his heart out until the end.

He was outhit and outplayed, but when it came time to end things, Alcaraz was ready for the challenge.

ALCARAZ DID WHAT HE DOES BEST

Struff didn’t do anything real wrong. Alcaraz just did what he does best. Win.

The usual one-sided wins by Alcaraz, of course, are supreme fun for his growing number of fans. But at times like Sunday, Alcaraz appears to need to keep the pressure on until clutch time comes. Otherwise, the fans might start celebrating too early.

After all, they already are in Rafa Heaven.

What are the fans supposed to do if their two greats, Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal, have a showdown in Paris?

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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

Carlos Alcaraz

The Beautiful Disaster of Davis Cup

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Davis Cup is my favorite competition in tennis, perhaps in all of sport. I’m not sure if it still is in this new format that just made its debut in Madrid, but the jury is still out on that.

I grew up watching this fascinating sporting event in the 1980s when ESPN would broadcast the matches involving the U.S. team. I loved players competing for their countries and also playing in exotic locations like Asunción in Paraguay, Bucharest in Romania and Goteborg in Sweden among others. What I also came to love about this storied competition was its quirkiness.

Strange things happened at Davis Cup. As they said “Anything can happen in Davis Cup” and this usually applied to the results in matches, where relative unknown players would rise to the occasion of playing for the country and upset much higher-ranked players, who would sometimes wilt under national pressure.

As I read more about the history of Davis Cup – and while fulfilling a dream of serving as the press officer for the U.S. team from 1997 to 2005 – I was enamored and entertained by the stories and anecdotes of many of the off-court Davis Cup unpredictabilities and the quirky disasters and controversies that you wouldn’t get at your normal ATP or WTA event. There are many stories about biased “homer” linespeople making calls in favor of the home team, crazed and passionate fans with their national chants, songs and sometimes threats thrown at opposing players, matches being played on crazy surfaces like indoor wood, cow dung and even a circumstance in Charlotte, North Carolina during the 1971 Davis Cup Final where a court had be to lit on fire with gasoline to dry it to be suitable to play on!

Some of the wackiness of Davis Cup I got to experience myself. In 2015 ten years after I stopped working for the USTA, I was contracted to work the USA vs. Uzbekistan tie in Tashkent. During the opening match between Stevie Johnson and Denis Istomin (one of the most dramatic matches I’ve ever seen in person as I wrote about here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/12490) the stands at the Uzbek National Tennis School were jam packed. However, it was filled almost exclusively with students, all wearing the same outfit, a white top and dark pants/skirt. It looked like an Uzbek day version of a “White Out” at a Penn State football game. And then, when the match was over, every single student left and the second match of the day between Jack Sock and Farrukh Dustov was played in front of only a few dozen fans. Talk about weird!

Then there was the time in Bratislava, Slovakia in 2003 when in an absolutely critical  moment in the tie, the entire lights went out in the arena of the brand new Slovakian National Tennis Center. Freshly-minted U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick, in his first event since becoming a Grand Slam tournament champ, had just been shockingly upset by Dominik Hrbaty to put the USA in the 0-1 hole and Mardy Fish, now the U.S. Davis Cup captain, was facing break point down a set and at 5-5 in the second set against Karol Kucera when the arena went pitch dark! Terrorism against the U.S. team was immediately what came to mind, but after everything settled and the lights went back on after a lengthy delay, Fish served three aces/service winners to hold serve, then broke Kucera to win the second set en route to saving the day for the USA in a four-set victory.

During the USA vs. Zimbabwe World Group first round tie in 2000, a heavy African rain storm during Andre Agassi’s match caused for the tin roof – yes TIN ROOF – of the arena to leak and cause for a slight delay in play. The phone lines in the arena weren’t of the highest standard and when the American media complained to the International Tennis Federation representative in attendance, he just shrugged. What was he to do? Re-wire the entire nation’s telephone grid? I remember waiting almost an hour before I could send a publicity photograph of U.S. captain John McEnroe at Victoria Falls through email. This was kind of a 20-years-ago problem with the modern-day Davis Cup app not being up to par. Also during that series, Grace Mugabe, the first lady of Zimbabwe, refused to sit next to USTA President Judy Levering after Americans in the audience held signs that made light of Zimbabwe’s petrol shortage at the moment. This was part of the Davis Cup’s kookiness and what made it, for me, something you had to watch because you kind of felt like there would be some sort of train wreck that you just had to watch.

Enter the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid.

In the first year of this new condensed one-site, one-week event, there were quite a few wrinkles in what was, in theory, a first-year start-up event. Let’s start with many of the early matches not involving the home country being played in front of sparse crowds. It certainly created another weird Davis Cup atmosphere, similar to what I experienced in Tashkent. However, this has happened on bigger stages as well, like the 1973 Davis Cup final in Cleveland featuring all-time greats Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and John Newcombe of Australia against Stan Smith and the United States that didn’t even feature 5,000 fans in attendance for any one of the three-day sessions, despite the event featuring so many all-time greats.

In the 1978 Davis Cup Final in Southern California desert, only 300 fans were in the stands at the end of Buster Mottram’s win over Brian Gottfried that evened Britain up at 1-1 over the John McEnroe-led American team after the first day of play, as you can read about here: https://www.si.com/vault/1978/12/18/823253/the-kid-didnt-kid-around-john-mcenroe-19-played-his-best-tennis-and-was-on-his-best-behavior-winning-two-matches-as-the-us-beat-britain-in-the-davis-cup After McEnroe and U.S. won that 1978 Davis Cup title, it was said that McEnroe was the player who saved Davis Cup as interest in the event rose with this charismatic champion showing so much passion for this storied competition that until then had started to grow a bit stale. Some could say that Rafael Nadal’s performance in leading Spain to the 2019 title in Madrid could have a similar effect.

I also remember a poorly attended USA vs. Italy Davis Cup semifinal in Milwaukee in 1998 that I worked at during my run as press officer for the U.S. team. The biggest cheer on the final day that featured two dead-rubber matches after Italy had already clinched the 3-0 upset came in the middle of a point when the local Green Bay Packers NFL football team scored a touchdown and fans in the stands, with the radio broadcast of that game in their ear, expressed their pleasure. There was also a match between Israel in Sweden in Sweden that was played in front of ZERO fans as threats of terrorism against the Israelis caused officials to have the event played in private!

The point here is that Davis Cup matches without many fans happens sometimes and is just part of the peculiar ebb and flow in the history of the event sometimes. Of course, the biggest crowds to ever watch sanctioned (non-exhibition) matches have been in Davis Cup. The Davis Cup Finals in Lille, France in 2014 featuring France against Roger Federer and Switzerland featured a world record crowds daily of 27,432. The 2017 and 2018 Davis Cup finals in Lille against Belgium and Croatia, respectively, also were played in front of 26,000 daily fans. The Spain-Argentina and Spain-United States ties in Seville, Spain also featured then world record crowds of 27,200 fans daily. For years, the world-record standard for largest crowd to watch a Davis Cup final came in 1954 when Tony Trabert and Vic Seixas upset Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad in front of daily crowds of 25,578 fans at White City in Sydney, Australia. Many of the Davis Cup ties in the 1960s in Australia featured sell-out crowds of 20,000-plus fans. A massive interest in Davis Cup also necessitated the construction of Stade Roland Garros in Paris (now the home of the French Open) for the 1928 Davis Cup Final between Bill Tilden and the USA against Rene Lacoste and the “Musketeers” of France.

Other quirks from this year’s edition of the event was the flawed round-robin system where a team’s advancement in the quarterfinals hinged on percentage of sets and games won, which the players, captains, fans and media could not calculate without a mathematician nearby with a calculator. The tournament app was extremely flawed and U.S. television coverage was awful and not treated with the respect it deserves. Many matches also finished well after midnight, including the now famous and historic 4:04 am finish between the United States and Italy (As documented here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/17812), which is the second-latest finish on record in tennis history. Would this match be as remembered or as famous if it finished at 4 pm? No, and that is part of the unusual, dare I say “charm,” of these seemingly endless unusual circumstances that you find more often than not in Davis Cup.

Much was written and tweeted about Roger Federer’s absence from the Davis Cup in Madrid and him playing exhibition matches against Alexander Zverev in South and Central America in front of huge crowds, including a world record 42,000 in Mexico City. Top players not playing Davis Cup is also part of long history of Davis Cup dating back to the first series in 1900 when both Britain and the United States were without their top players, but not because of politics or scheduling but because they were recovering from injuries and sickness sustained in the Boer War and Spanish-American wars, respectively.

All those who have played in, worked at, attended or watched Davis Cup tennis have some quirky Davis Cup story of some glorious happening or some unusual misfortune. It’s all part of the beautiful disaster of Davis Cup. The 2019 version is just another chapter.

 

Rafael Nadal and his Spanish teammates celebrate winning the 2019 Davis Cup
Rafael Nadal and his Spanish teammates celebrate winning the 2019 Davis Cup

Records Set In Late-Night U.S. Davis Cup Victory

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

It was not a banner season for the U.S. Davis Cup team in 2019, but it was one for the record books.

U.S. team members Sam Querrey and Jack Sock defeated Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-4 to clinch a 2-1 round-robin victory over Italy in a match that ended at 4:04 am local time in Madrid, the latest finish in the history of Davis Cup and the second-latest finish on record ever in pro tennis.

The U.S.- Italy match spanned eight hours in total and was delayed by two hours based on the length of the Germany vs. Argentina match that ended with a match the ended with a doubles match with a scoreline of 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 7-6(18). The previous latest finish to a pro tennis match on record came at 4:34 a.m. when Lleyton Hewitt beat Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open.

Quipped U.S. Davis Cup Captain Mardy Fish in the early hours of the morning after the Querrey-Sock victory, “I don’t where we are we, what time it is, what day it is but that was pretty special from these guys.”

The previous latest for a U.S. Davis Cup tie was at 2:35 on March 16, 1987, as documented in my “On This Day in Tennis History” book below:

 

March 16, 1987 – In a match completed at 2:35 am, Victor Pecci of Paraguay defeats Aaron Krickstein 6-2, 8-6, 9-7 to give Paraguay a startling 3-2 upset of the United States in the Davis Cup first round in Asuncion, Paraguay. Pecci’s win comes after 285th-ranked Hugo Chapacu upsets Jimmy Arias 6-4, 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 9-7 – saving three match points – in 5 hours, 5 minutes to pull Paraguay even with the United States at 2-2. Pecci’s win creates a melee on court as fans envelop the court following match point and carry Pecci – along with teammates Chapacu and Francisco Gonzalez – around the court. Says U.S. Davis Cup Captain Tom Gorman, “I think the world of tennis must recognize that Paraguay is tough to beat playing in Asuncion. I don’t know what we could have done more than we did. Naturally, I have a tremendous feeling of disappointment.”

 

The doubles win capped an amazing comeback victory for the U.S. team, who were points from elimination after being down 0-1, American No. 1 Taylor Fritz was points from the U.S. being defeated by scraped out a win over world No. 8 Matteo Berrettini 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to tie the match at 1-1 after fellow Davis Cup rookie Reilly Opelka was defeated by No. 12-ranked Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 to put the U.S. in the early 0-1 hole in the first match.

Unfortunately for the United States, the epic U.S. victory over Italy was not enough for the team to advance into the Davis Cup quarterfinals with a 1-1 round robin record. The U.S. was not able to advance through a complicated tiebreaker system of percentage of sets and games won that is too difficult to easily explain with other nations with 1-1 round-robin records. In their opening round-robin match, the United States was defeated by Canada 2-1.

A comprehensive list of all of the latest finishing matches in tennis history can be found in the book “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” book here: https://www.amazon.com/Bud-Collins-History-Tennis/dp/1937559386/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Bud+Collins+History+of+Tennis&qid=1574347218&sr=8-1

 

 

Sam Querrey and Jack Sock
Sam Querrey and Jack Sock

Five Nations To Watch In The Upcoming Davis Cup Finals In Madrid

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In just under two months time the newly formatted Davis Cup will get underway in the Spanish capital of Madrid. Still, with a host of nations fancying their chances of glory who should you keep an eye out for? Here we look at five who could go all the way.

5 –SERBIA

One-time winners Serbia might have had to overcome a banana skin in the form of a valiant Uzbekistan to reach this year’sfinals, but they’ll be aiming high come November.

They have been pooled with France, which is a tough encounter but the fact Novak Djokovic has been confirmed as a member of their side is a huge boost and even if they fail to overcome the French then the side completing group A is Japan and that will provide an opportunity to rank as one of the best runners up.

4 – USA

The States might be better known for their sporting prowess in other areas such as their famed American football odds and basketball, but they measure up well on a tennis court too. Last year, they made it to the semi-final but fell at the hands of eventual winners Croatia.

The Champions were made to fight all the way for their progress though with Sam Querrey winning his singles tie against Marin Cilic and doubles duo Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison also grabbed victory – butit wasn’t enough.

This time round, they US are strong favourites to finish aboveItaly and Canada in group F but they’ll need to bring their absolute best Tennis if they are to win their first Davis Cup since 2007.

3 – SPAIN

Host nation Spain currently head the bookies betting and they have the potential to put in an impressive display on home turf. Like the USA, Spain were beaten semi-finalists in 2018 and although holders Croatia will carry a threat in the group it’s impossible not to take a teamwith Rafael Nadalin it seriously, especially when they’ll have the home crowd cheering them on as well.

2 – CROATIA

Croatia didn’t face the rigmarole of qualification after their title win last time and they’ll be hoping to become the first team to successfully defend the Davis Cup since Jaroslav Navratil’s Czech Republic in 2013. The capacity crowd in Lille were treated to a Cilic masterclass in 2018s final as he won six sets on route to collecting two of the three wins required for his team – BornaCoric won the other – and he’ll again be the star name on Croatia’s sheet.

A group phase face off with Spain will whet the appetite somewhat but regardless of the outcome of that match both sides will expect to see off Russia, who are arguably the weakest side in the competition, in the other game and therefore it’s highly likely both will go marching on.

1 –FRANCE

The French team have great recent pedigree in the Davis Cup having reached back to back finals in the last two years; they lost to Croatia in 2018 but emerged victorious in 2017 with a final win over Belgium. They’re currently ranked number one in the world and have a phenomenal chance of going deep into the tournament again.

As with Serbia, group A’s winner will likely be decided by that match up,but it would take a brave man to bet against France reaching a hat-trick of finales.

There you have it, five countries who will be in the mix for World Cup honours come mid-November. Any of those mentioned could conquer but one thing is guaranteed – the new format and the big-name players will serve up a delightful and intriguing watch.

Davis Cup
Davis Cup

Novak Djokovic Ties Rafael Nadal Record with Masters 1000 Win – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 to win the Mutua Madrid Open men’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Kiki Bertens beat Simona Halep 6-4 6-4 to win the Mutua Madrid Open women’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Ricardas Berankis beat Andrew Harris 7-6 (5) 6-2 to win the Busan Open Challenger in Busan, Korea

Pablo Cuevas beat Quentin Halys 7-5 3-6 6-2 to win the Open du Pays d’Aix in Aix En Provence, France

Lauren Davis beat Ann Li 7-5 7-5 to win the FineMark Women’s Pro Tennis Championship in Bonita Springs, Florida, USA

 

SAYINGS

“This is as important and as good as it gets.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning the Madrid Open.

“He deserved the victory, he played unbelievable. I couldn’t do much.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas, after losing to Novak Djokovic in the Madrid Open final.

“I think after every title you feel something, of course. Sometimes it’s a lot of emotions. Sometimes it is really happiness. Sometimes it’s just like not believing. But right now, I don’t know yet how I feel.” – Kiki Bertens, after winning the Madrid Open women’s singles title.

“I think I played wrong, and I’m upset about that. I played stupidly today. I did everything that she liked.” – Simona Halep, following her loss to Kiki Bertens.

“I think that it’s more normal what is happening right now than what happened in the past 14 years. I think I have tennis ahead of me. I have time ahead of me.” – Rafael Nadal, the “King of Clay” who has not won a clay-court tournament this year.

“I never complain about (reaching a Masters) 1000 semifinal. It’s a very good result. I beat three very good players and I lost 6 and 6 to Djokovic. I know that I won’t beat these players every day.” – Dominic Thiem, after losing to Novak Djokovic.

“Emotionally it was very tough; it was one of my toughest wins.” – Stefanos Tsitsipas, after upsetting Rafael Nadal.

“I have not played well enough. I’ve won a lot for many years on this surface, but this year it hasn’t been like that.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

“(It’s) frustrating, clearly. Losing with match points is the worst, so that’s how I feel. But nevertheless, if I take a step back, it’s all good.” – Roger Federer, following his loss to Dominic Thiem.

“You always left everything on the court, in every single match. It’s a privilege for me to be here playing against you in your last match.” – Alexander Zverev, applauding David Ferrer after ending the Spaniard’s 20-year career at the Madrid Open.

“People have been telling me if I get to the semis here, I can stay number one. I wanted to do that, but I was thinking about it while I was playing, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing.” Naomi Osaka, after losing to Belinda Bencic in the Madrid quarterfinals.

“Tennis is about winning or losing. I have been able to win a lot for a lot of years on this surface. And this year it seems that’s not the way and I am really close to it, but not managing to win. You just have to accept it and I have to accept it naturally. But to accept things does not mean to not try to change things. But during all my life, I think I have taken the victories very naturally and with a lot of normality. With the losses I’ll do the same. It will be normal and I’m going to accept it naturally.” – Rafael Nadal, who has yet to win a tournament in 2019.

“Andre Agassi. He is my idol; I grew up watching his matches. I was seeing him playing in the biggest stadiums, and that was my dream, competing in front of many people and winning big tournaments.” – Elina Svitolina, when asked who was her biggest childhood idol.

 

SUCH DOMINATION

Novak Djokovic came away from the Madrid Open with the one that that everyone else feared: his confidence. “I feel like this tournament win was very important for my level of confidence because after the Australian Open I wasn’t playing my best, I wasn’t finding the right game and the consistency on the court in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo,” Djokovic said. “I felt like I was close and needed a little bit of a push, so to say.” He got the push and more by winning the his 74th career title and 33rd Masters 1000 win, tying Rafael Nadal’s record. He gained his latest title with a convincing win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached the final by upsetting Nadal. On this day, Djokovic was dominating, winning the first three games of the match and never allowing Tsitsipas an opportunity to get back in the battle. “I was just dictating the play,” Djokovic said. “I didn’t really give him too much time to set himself up for a ball or try to come into the net. I tried to play fast. I tried to play deep. I tried to change the pace and direction of the ball, and it has worked well.”

 

STRONG PERFORMANCE

With a little bit of luck, Kiki Bertens won the biggest title of her career, the Madrid Open, by stopping Simona Halep. Bertens became the first woman to win Madrid without dropping a set. In the eighth game of the second set, Bertens hit a ball that was going way out. But Halep was unable to get out of the way and the ball hit her, giving Bertens the point. “Sometimes you need a little luck,” said Bertens, who beat four Grand Slam tournament winners during the week: Jelena Ostapenko, Petra Kvitova, Sloane Stephens and Halep. “I am really proud of this week,” Bertens said. “I played some good tennis and will be number four in the world on Monday. It is just all amazing things.” At number four, Bertens has become the highest-ranked Dutchwoman in history. The defeat was extra painful for Halep, who would have regained the number one ranking had she won the title. “She deserved to win the title because she played really good tennis throughout the whole week,” Halep said of her conqueror.

 

SHOCKING RAFA

The list still might be short, but Stefanos Tsitsipas has joined the growing list of players who have beaten Rafael Nadal, the “King of Clay,” on the slow red surface. Tsitsipas controlled play against the Spaniard, beating Nadal for the first time in four meetings. Until his Madrid Open victory, Tsitsipas had never won a set off the veteran left-hander. “Today’s victory is just an unbelievable feeling,” the winner said. “I can’t really explain it further.” The eighth seed won the first set before Nadal leveled the match at a set apiece. But Tsitsipas regained control and, despite Nadal’s valiant fight to remain in the match in the final game, the Spaniard made two errors that sabotaged his attempt. “I didn’t have a good feeling today to do the things I wanted to do, and that’s all,” Nadal said. “I was clear what I had to do to today, but tonight I wasn’t capable of doing it.”

 

SWISS BEATER

Twice Roger Federer had match point. He could cash in neither as Austria’s Dominic Thiem ended Federer’s first clay-court tournament in three year in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open. At first, it was all Federer. The Swiss star sped out to a 4-1 lead within the first 15 minutes of the match. The steady Thiem won the second-set tiebreak 13-11, saving two match points to force a decider. The Austrian got the first break, going up 2-1 in the third, but Federer broke back to pull even at 4-4. Thiem broke right back, then served out the victory. Even though he came out on top, Thiem was impressed with Federer’s game. “Roger is playing really well on clay, so I am really happy,” Thiem said. “He’s so special, maybe the best player ever in tennis. It’s so tough every single time you play against him, it’s pure beauty how he plays the game, every point against him is a challenge.”

Right after losing to Thiem, the 37-year-old Federer announced he was going to play this week in Rome, where he has finished runner-up four times and never won the tournament.

 

SAYONARA

David Ferrer ended his 20-year career when he lost to Alexander Zverev in the second round of the Madrid Open. The 37-year-old Spaniard had announced earlier that Madrid would be his final event. “I’ll never forget this day,” Ferrer, with his wife and son by his side, told the cheering crowd. “I’ve been very lucky. I’ve always wanted to end my career like this. I couldn’t keep playing at the level that I wanted, but I’m very happy and very proud of my career.” Ferrer finished with 27 singles titles, fifth-best among active players behind Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Ferrer’s 733 match wins is fourth-best among active players. During the post-match ceremony, messages from other players were shown on the large screens with most praising Ferrer’s toughness and “never-give-up” on-court attitude. Ferrer lost to Nadal in the French Open final in 2013, his only appearance in a Grand Slam tournament title match. He was ranked as high as third in the world and was among the top 10 for seven seasons. Ferrer also was a member of three Spanish Davis Cup championship teams,

 

STILL SCORING

Just because Roger Federer didn’t get past the quarterfinals in Madrid doesn’t mean he didn’t add another item to the record books. Federer became only the second player in the Open Era to win 1,200 matches when he beat Frenchman Gael Monfils in the third round. The Swiss star trails only American Jimmy Connors, who holds the record with 1,274 match wins. Connors also is the all-time titles leader with 109 crowns. Federer has won 101 tournaments. The only other man to win 1,000 or more matches was Ivan Lendl, who finished his career with 1,068. The closest active player is Rafael Nadal, who goes into this week with 938 match wins. The only other active player in the top 10 Open Era match wins leaders is Novak Djokovic, who is eighth with 856.

 

SWITCHING COACHES

After losing his first-round match at the Madrid Masters, Grigor Dimitrov split with his coach Dani Vallverdu. “After three great years, we will be going our separate ways,” Dimitrov said. “We had some career highlights and amazing moments on court.” The two began working together in 2016, with the Bulgarian reaching a career-high ranking of third in the world in 2017. He currently is just barely in the Top 50. Vallverdu previously coached Tomas Berdych and was a longtime member of Andy Murray’s team.

 

SWEETS

Former WTA player Jill Craybas has joined Maria Sharapova in peddling sweets. Craybas, who retired from the sport in 2013, has founded her own gourmet chocolate line. After her retirement from tennis, the American studied under a top pastry chef/chocolatier in France. She has since developed a recipe for a ganache in which honey is the sweetener, Part of the proceeds from each sale goes to Project Apis m, which funds and directs honey bee research to enhance honey bee health and vitality. Her chocolates come in four flavors: pure dark, coffee, clove and chili.

 

SELECTED

Great Britain’s Jamie Delgado has been appointed player relations consultant by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Delgado, who replaces Andre Sa, will have an on-site representative role to strengthen the ITF’s communication with players, coaches, agents, the tours and tournaments. Other ITF players representatives are Rennae Stubbs and ITF board members Mark Woodforde and Mary Pierce.

 

STARTS NEW GROUP

Lower-ranked players have started a group in order to take legal action against the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and that organization’s World Tennis Tour. United Tennis has been grated official legal status in Geneva, Switzerland, and will operate as a non-profit organization to defend tennis players. While not a formal union – that would require acceptance from the WTA, ATP and ITF – United Tennis will try to protect athletes in the sport. Lower-ranked players sent a letter, signed by about 670 players, to the ITF protesting its new World Tennis Tour. Under the new rules, lower-ranked players lost all ATP points earned at ITF events, thus losing the opportunity to enter and play ATP tournaments.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Aix En Provence: Kevin Krawietz and Jurgen Melzer beat Frederik Nielsen and Tim Puetz 7-6 (5) 6-2

Bonita Springs: Alexa Guarachi and Erin Routliffe beat Usue Maitane Arconada and Caroline Dolehide 6-3 7-6 (5)

Busan: Hsieh Cheng-Peng and Christopher Rungat beat Toshihide Matsui and Vishnu Vardhan 7-6 (7) 6-1

Madrid (men): Jean-Julien Roger and Horia Tecau beat Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem 6-2 6-3

Madrid (women): Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan 6-3 6-1

 

SURFING

Rome: https://www.internazionalibnlditalia.com/

Heilbronn: https://www.neckarcup.de/de/home.html

Trnava: www.tcempire.sk

Geneva: https://banqueericsturdzagenevaopen.com/

Lyon: https://openparc.com/

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

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

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$6,484,260 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$103,054 Neckarcup, Heilbronn, Germany, clay

 

WOMEN

$3,452,538 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

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

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

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

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

 

WOMEN

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

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

 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Alexander Zverev, Petra Kvitova Win Madrid Titles – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Alexander Zverev beat Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-4 to win the Mutua Madrid Open men’s singles at Madrid, Spain

Petra Kvitova beat Kiki Bertens 7-6 (6) 4-6 6-3 to Mutua Madrid Open women’s singles at Madrid, Spain

John Millman beat Bernard Tomic 6-1 6-2 to win the Open Du Pays D’Aix in Aix En Provence, France

Rebecca Peterson beat Dayana Yastremska 6-4 7-5 to win the Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France

 

SAYING

“All in all, I’m just really happy with how I played, that I could win my third Masters. So far it’s been pretty good for me on clay this year.” – Alexander Zverev, after winning the Madrid Open for his second straight title.

“I love to play finals because of the trophy. That’s what we are fighting all week, for the trophy.” – Petra Kvitova, following her Madrid Open victory over Kiki Bertens.

“Of course, it really hurts right now. I think you can see that. Maybe already tomorrow or next week or in a few weeks I can really look back on a great week and know I’m on the right way.” – Kiki Bertens, after losing the Madrid Open final to Petra Kvitova.

“I won 50 straight sets on this surface. Today I lost the match. It was not my day. But that’s part of this sport.” – Rafael Nadal, when his clay-court winning streak was broken by Dominic Thiem.

“It is a win, we deserved it. But it is not as sweet as it could have been if we had played the whole match.” – Nikola Mektic, after he and Alexander Peya won the Madrid men’s doubles when Bob Bryan injured his hip, forcing the Bryan brother to retire.

“Look, there are obvious things that are not working well for me. But I have to keep working on them and pray that – and hope that my game will get stronger, get better as definitely as the matches … go the distance.” – Novak Djokovic, after losing his second-round Madrid Open match to Kyle Edmund.

 

STRONG PERFORMANCE

At the age of 21, Germany’s Alexander Zverev has joined the ranks of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. They are the only five players to win at least three Masters 1000 titles. Zverev joined the elite group by crushing Austria’s Dominic Thiem in straight sets to win the Madrid Open. He did not face a single break point and led from the opening game when he beat Thiem, who earlier in the week had upset top-ranked Rafael Nadal. Zverev broke Thiem to open both sets, then closed out the victory on his first match point when the Austrian’s forehand sailed long. “The last 10 days have been pretty good, winning two titles in this time. One in Germany and this one here is massive,” Zverev said. “It’s been unbelievable. I’m not going to lie.” Zverev refused to allow Thiem to move forward and attack inside the court, the tactic the Austrian used so successfully against Nadal. The German kept Thiem on his back foot, crowded the baseline and imposed his authority off the ground. Zverev now has won a tour-leading 26 matches this year. “Hopefully I can continue this kind of streak in Rome,” Zverev said. “Obviously the altitude fits me a little bit with my serve, with how I play, with me playing a little bit more aggressive than maybe others. That definitely fits me. But I just feel confident and comfortable right now.”

 

STILL TRIUMPHANT

Continuing her best season yet, Petra Kvitova became the first woman to win the Madrid Open three times while capturing her fourth title of 2018. “You meet the best players in the final, so it’s always putting lots of effort to win,” Kvitova said. “It’s always a big fight, which is nice. … That’s why I love to play tennis. It’s extra motivation.” She had to be extra motivated against Kiki Bertens, who had beaten Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova on her way to her first Premier Mandatory final. Five of the opening eight games went to deuce and, fittingly, the first set was decided by a tiebreaker. After Bertens leveled the match at one set apiece, the pair split three straight breaks of serve with Kvitova leading 4-2 and again at 5-3. She then held serve for the victory. “She played great tennis,” Kvitova said of Bertens. “It was a big fight. We both should be very proud of this beautiful final we played today.” A tearful Bertens agreed. “It was a great final,” the Belgian said. “I had some chances in the beginning of the third but didn’t take it. Petra was playing some unbelievable shots there. So, year, credit to her today.” By winning a third Madrid title, Kvitova surpassed the two each won by Serena Williams and Simona Halep.

After winning in Madrid, Kvitova withdrew from this week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia, citing a right hamstring injury. “I’m so disappointed to withdraw from Rome, especially after missing it last year,” Kvitova said in a statement. “After this incredible two weeks of tennis my body is in need of rest and recuperation.”

 

SENIORS STOPPED

When Bob Bryan injured his hip while appearing to land awkwardly, it ended the bid by he and his brother Mike to become the oldest doubles pair to be ranked number one in the world. The American twins were trailing Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya 5-3 when the Bryans were forced to retire. “Very mixed emotions right now,” Peya said. “We are very happy that we won the tournament, but it is not the way you want it to end. I think we played a great match until that moment.” The Croatian-Austrian duo began the championship match by breaking the Bryans in the opening game. After Bob Bryan had treatment on his leg, they played one more point before retiring. Had the Bryans won their 39th Masters 1000 title, they would have moved ahead of Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo at the top of the rankings. The Bryans have reached the final in all four Masters 1000 events this year, finishing runner-up at Indian Wells and Madrid, while winning in Miami and Monte-Carlo.

 

STREAK HALTED

Rafael Nadal’s record-breaking winning streak on clay has come to an end. After winning 50 consecutive sets on clay, Nadal fell to Austria’s Dominic Thiem 7-5 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters. “He played well and I didn’t play well,” Nadal said. “We’re not playing a game where the differences are big or massive. The differences are very small.” Nadal’s run surpassed John McEnroe’s 1984 record of 49 consecutive sets won on the same surface. Thiem had been the last player to defeat Nadal on clay, at the Italian Open in Rome last year. “Whenever he plays really well, it’s very difficult to stop him,” Nadal said of Thiem. The upset came a fortnight after Thiem was crushed by Nadal. “Two weeks ago in Monte Carlo, he killed me love and two,” the Austrian said. “It was very important I went in with a positive attitude, with an attitude to win. I should go into every match like this against him.”

Nadal’s loss drops him to number two in the world in the rankings, trading places with Roger Federer.

 

STUMBLING

Former world number one Novak Djokovic has stumbled in third sets this year. Britain’s Kyle Edmund pulled off the biggest win of his career when he beat Djokovic 6-3 2-6 6-3 in the second round of the Madrid Open. Twice a champion in Madrid, Djokovic has not won a third set this year, suffering final-set losses to Martin Klizan, Dominic Thiem and Taro Daniel besides Edmund. Edmund broke his Serbian foe in the eighth game of the decider before closing it out with a love service game. “It was a great experience to beat Novak, he is a legend of the game,” Edmund said. “It’s time to try and beat these guys and I was pleased how I managed my game.” Hampered by an elbow injury, Djokovic has not reached the last eight of a tournament since last year’s Wimbledon.

 

SAYING GOODBYE

After one more tournament, Roberta Vinci is saying goodbye to her career. “It’s true I’m retiring, no second thoughts,” the former US Open finalist said. “There is no particular reason – physical tiredness, mental fatigue, the desire to do something else It was time to look inside and make a decision.” Currently ranked 191st in the world, the 35-year-old is stepping down after this week’s Rome tournament. “The result matters little,” she said of her final event. “I’m curious to know what I’ll feel immediately after the last game. I imagine a mix of happiness and sadness. But it was right to finish here at the Foro Italico; it is the best way for me to greet and thank my fans and all the Italians.” Vinci won 10 WTA singles titles over a career that spanned two decades. But her biggest win was in 2015 when she upset Serena Williams in the US Open semifinals to end the American’s hopes of a calendar Grand Slam. Vinci went on to lose the final to fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta. Vinci reached a high singles ranking of seventh in the world in May 2016. She was ranked number one in the world in doubles, winning all four Grand Slam tournament titles with partner Sara Errani.

 

STANDS DOWN

Eugenie Bouchard withdrew from an International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in France before it began. Once ranked as high as fifth in the world, the Canadian withdrew from the Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer with an abdominal pain, an old injury that resurfaced just hours before her first-round match against Germany’s Andrea Petkovic. The competition would have been her first in more than a year on the minor-league ITF circuit and only her second in the last five years. According to journalist Stephanie Myles of Tennis.Life, Bouchard injured her abdominal muscles during a fourth-round match at Indian Wells, California, USA, in 2015 and has bothered her since. Going into the French tournament, Bouchard was ranked 118th in the world.

 

SIGNED UP

Serena Williams will play in the Bay Area this summer at a new event. The former Stanford WTA tournament is being moved to San Jose State University for the first time. Williams plans to open her hard-court season in the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic running from July 30 to Aug. 5. The event was formerly known as the Bank of the West Classic. Besides Williams, others who have committed to the event include Maria Sharapova, Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe.

 

SHOPPING AROUND

Chris Evert has put her home up for sale. The tennis legend is asking nearly USD $5 million for her Boca Raton, Florida, USA, estate. The main house has six bedrooms, while there are two guest houses on the 5-acre property. It also includes putting greens, a nine-car garage and lighted tennis courts, of course. The gated 12,000-square-foot estate includes a maid quarters, library, office, home theater, formal living room, dining room with butler’s pantry and high-end gourmet kitchen. She bought the home in 2003.

 

SCOTT SUSPENDED

Dylan Scott, a 24-year-old American, has been suspended for four years after testing positive for a banned substance. He had been provisionally suspended on Aug. 19, 2017, for violation of the anti-doping rules, and his four-year ban will be backdated to start then. The suspension will end on Aug. 18, 2021.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Aix En Provence: Philipp Petzschner and Tim Puetz beat Guido Andreozzi and Kenny De Schepper 6-7 (3) 6-2 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria beat Vera Lapko and Galina Voskoboeva 2-6 7-5 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Madrid (men): Nikola Mektic and Alexander Peya beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 5-3 retired 

Madrid (women): Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 2-6 6-4 10-8 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

Rome: https://ticketing.internazionalibnlditalia.com/

Bordeaux: https://tournoi-primrosebordeaux.com/

Heilbronn: www.neckarcup.de/de/home.html

Tmava: www.empireslovakopen.sk

Geneva: https://banqueericsturdzagenevaopen.com/

Lyon: http://openparc.com

Loughborough: www.lta.org.uk/loughboroughtrophy

Strasbourg: www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/fr

Nürnberg: www.nuernbergercup.de/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$5,783,340 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$150,000 Busan Open Challenger, Busan, South Korea, hard

$106,000 BNP Paribas Primrose, Bordeaux, France, clay

$101,652 Neckarcup, Heilbronn, Germany, clay

 

WOMEN

$2,513,000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 Empire Slovak Open, Tmava, Slovakia, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$645,033 Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, clay

$645,033 Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon, Lyon, France, clay

$101,475 Loughborough Trophy, Loughborough, Great Britain, hard

 

WOMEN

$250,000 Nürnberger Versicherungscup 2018, Nürnberg, Germany, clay

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

 

 

Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev

Can Anyone Stop Rafael Nadal In Paris?

by

When Rafael Nadal finally calls it a day, he will rightly be remembered as one of the greatest players to ever pick up a racquet. With 16 Grand Slam titles to his name, the Spaniard has proved that he has both the ability and versatility to win on any surface. However, with Nadal currently cutting through the field of the Madrid Open like a hot knife through butter, we are once again reminded that he is undoubtedly the best clay court tennis player of all time. Rafa’s latest victim in the tournament was former number six Gael Monfils, who can count himself unlucky after only returning from a lengthy back injury a week prior to the tournament.

After recently picking up titles at both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Nadal looks primed and ready to pick up his sixth career title in Madrid and his fifth since the tournament switched to clay some nine years ago. The win against Monfils meant that Nadal is now on a 20-match clay court winning streak and has won a record-breaking 48 consecutive sets on the clay courts. If Nadal was to win his next round game in straight sets, he would equal the record set by U.S. tennis legend John McEnroe, who managed to put together a streak of 49 consecutive sets on carpet all the way back in 1984.

With the French Open just around the corner, we’re back to the same question that we seem to be asking ourselves at this time every year – can anyone stop Rafael Nadal from claiming another clay court Grand Slam? Nadal is around 4/9 with most tennis betting to pick up his 11th French Open and on this basis alone, it would appear that the rest of the players may as well not bother searching for a Parisian hotel. With Andy Murray absent from the competition, Roger Federer out of the clay court equation for the foreseeable future and all manner of questions over the form of Stan Warwinka and Novak Djokovic, it’s difficult to see anyone putting up any sort of meaningful resistance.

Despite the fact that it would take a brave punter to back against Nadal, rising Austrian star Dominic Thiem believes he has the know-how and the tools at his disposal to stop the Spaniard in his tracks on the clay courts. Thiem is one of only four players to have beaten Nadal twice on the surface since 2014 and was the last man to do so, knocking him out in the quarter-final stages in Rome just last year – the fact that Thiem is second favourite with most bookmakers to win at Roland Garros does indeed suggest that he could be the player to end Nadal’s clay court dominance. At 8/1, the Austrian looks good value for money and after making the semi-finals in his last two French Open appearances, the shrewd punters will no doubt be having a little flutter on the 24-year-old. With that being said, Nadal looks hungrier than ever and with some of the game’s top stars either missing or convalescing, the field looks wide open for Nadal to land his 11th Roland Garros crown.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic, Simona Halep Reign Supreme In Madrid – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Andy Murray 6-2 3-6 6-3 to win the Mutua Madrid Open men’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Simona Halep beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-2 6-4 to win the Mutua Madrid Open women’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Zhang Kai-Lin beat Peng Shuai 6-1 0-6 4-2 retired to win the Anning Tennis Tournament in Anning, China

Konstantin Kravchuk beat Daniel Evans 6-4 6-4 to win the Busan Open Challenger in Busan, South Korea

Thiago Monteiro beat Carlos Berlocq 4-6 6-4 6-1 to win the Open Du Pays D’Aix in Aix En Provence, France

Magda Linette beat Carina Witthoeft 6-3 7-5 to win the Engie Open de Cagnes-Sur-Mer Alpes Maritimes in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France

 

SAYING

“I don’t know how I dug my way out, but that’s how it happens when you play against one of the best in the world. I’m just happy to have overcome this challenge.” – Novak Djokovic, after beating Andy Murray to win the Mutua Madrid Open.

“It’s a shame I could not come back and defend the title. It wasn’t to be today. But Novak showed that he is doing great things.” – Andy Murray, following his loss to Novak Djokovic in Madrid.

“It was amazing on court. I just want to keep that feeling for long time.” – Simona Halep, following her victory over Dominika Cibulkova to win the women’s title in Madrid.

“I don’t want this loss to get into the great feelings of this week.” – Dominika Cibulkova, after losing to Simona Halep in the Madrid Open women’s final.

“To beat him in Spain on a clay court is obviously a big, big challenge for any player.” – Andy Murray, following his Madrid Masters victory over Rafael Nadal for the second straight year.

“I didn’t play my best, but I also didn’t play badly. I was at a middling level, which wasn’t enough to beat (Andy) Murray.” – Rafael Nadal.

“The biggest reward was the first dessert of the week. Here at buffet it’s amazing, and we are very proud – (we didn’t) touch any sweet things, which is very, very good. But we did now.” – Caroline Garcia, after she and Kristina Mladenovic won the Madrid Open women’s doubles.

“Although I only played on match in Madrid, I am satisfied with the week and how things are going. This is a tournament I like, where I did very well in the past, and is on clay.” – Sara Errani, who lost her first-round match 7-5 7-5 to fellow Italian Camila Giorgi.

“I don’t care about that match point. Would you care if you were 23 and worth over $10 million?” – Bernard Tomic, responding to a journalist who questioned the 23-year-old Tomic using his racquet handle to hit a serve on match point.

“Every year I only play one tournament before Australia. Don OK there. So I’d like to think positive. I don’t play anything thinking I’m going to lose. I always just play thinking I’m going to do the best I can. For me, that’s winning.” – Serena Williams, when questioned about playing only one clay court tournament – the Italian Open – before the French Open.

 

SETS RECORD

Novak Djokovic is going where no man has gone before. The world’s top-ranked player won a record 29th Masters title by defeating Andy Murray in three sets. It was Djokovic’s fifth title of the year and his 12th victory over Murray in their last 13 matches. “It was such an intense match,” Djokovic said. “I started well, but had a slow start in the second. Andy also changed his game to take advantage. The third set was very even. I just managed to stay tough.” Murray was the defending champion on the clay courts in Madrid. And he knocked off Rafael Nadal to reach the title match. But Djokovic proved to be just a little bit better. “It was a fantastic win for Novak, congratulations to him,” Murray said. “I’ve had a lot of success here the last two years.” Djokovic has now beaten Murray in all four of their clay-court meetings. The 28-year-old has now won 33 of the past 35 sets against Top 10 opponents in a stretch of 15 matches. He’s also won five of the past six and 10 of the last 14 Masters tournaments. “It was a great match to be part of,” Djokovic said. “Congratulations to Andy for a big fight. I was all decided by just a few points at the end.

 

SIMONA FINALLY WINS

For the first time in 14 months, Simona Halep has won a tournament. The Romanian captured the Madrid Open women’s singles for her first title since Indian Wells, California, USA, last year. “The most important thing is that I played good tennis here,” Halep said. “My best actually, my best level.” She only needed two sets to stop Dominika Cibulkova, showing off the form that took her to the world number two ranking last year. And, as upsets spread throughout the field, Halep didn’t have to face a Top 10 player on her way to the title. “Day by day I played better tennis,” she said. “That helped me a lot of improve mentally and to be more confident. That’s why maybe I could win almost in two sets all the matches.” The winner grabbed a 5-1 lead to start the match before Cibulkova found the range with her ground strokes. After closing out the opening set 6-2, Halep broke her opponent to begin the second. Cibulkova had a chance to break back in a marathon 16-point fourth game, by Halep held, then completed her 12th career title with a match-ending ace. “I just want to get some rest and prepare for Roland Garros because my game on clay really came together,” said Cibulkova, who at 38th in the world was the lowest-ranked player to reach a premier mandatory WTA tournament in seven years. “I didn’t get into Rome because there was my old ranking – 56 before I won Katowice – so I stayed last out and I withdraw from qualifying.” Roland Garros is just two weeks ago.

 

STELLAR PERFORMANCE

Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau are beginning to fill in the blanks. The two already have won a Grand Slam tournament – Wimbledon last year – and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, also in 2015. Now they have their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, stopping Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea in the Mutua Madrid Open final. The winning pair didn’t drop a set on their way to their first title of the season. They have never lost to Bopanna and Mergea in five career meetings. “I want to thank my partner for having another great week,” Tecau said. “We were struggling for a few weeks, couldn’t win a lot of matches. … It feels great to play well together and get another title.”

The four finalists know each other well. Last month, Tecau and Mergea partnered together in their native Romania to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest. The same week, Rojer and Bopanna teamed to lose in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open. “They are a great team and also friends,” Rojer said of the losing duo. “It’s never easy to play these matches, difficult for all four guys.”

 

STANDING TALL 

Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are emerging as a doubles duo to be reckoned with. The French women defeated the world’s top-ranked team, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, to capture the doubles title at the Mutua Madrid Open. Since joining forces, the winners have reached five finals in the eight tournaments they have played, winning their last three. “It’s definitely a great period for us,” Garcia said. “Three finals, three titles, and two times against number one in the world, Martina and Sania, and once against Bethanie (Mattek-Sands) and Lucie (Safarova). So it’s only great matches every single time.” Garcia and Mladenovic won all their matches in straight sets. The winners didn’t have time to celebrate, however. “We basically have 12 more minutes before catching our car to get to the airport,” Mladenovic said. It’s on to Rome and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

 

SECOND WIN

Andy Murray will long remember his semifinal win at the Madrid Masters. That’s because he beat Rafael Nadal on clay for just the second time. The Scottish star also beat Nadal on the same court a year ago to win his first clay-court Masters title. “I think it was a better win for me this year than last year,” Murray said. “Not loads of players have won against Rafa on clay throughout his career.” The defeat ended Nadal’s 13-match winning streak on European clay this season, a stretch that saw the Spaniard win titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. After converting only two of 13 break points, Nadal said Murray was the better player on the big points. “It was an open, competitive match which in the end was decided by a few points,” Nadal said. “The one that played the big points better won.”

 

STRAIGHTEN UP OR ELSE

Two young stars – Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios – have been told to straighten up or be left off Australia’s Olympic team for this summer’s Games in Rio de Janeiro. Tomic was heavily criticized after he held his racquet by the strings and attempting to hit Fabio Fognini’s serve with the handle on match point at the Madrid Open. “I think it was appalling behavior,” Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller said. “It goes against every value that all the Olympians live by, it goes against everything that we’ve been trying to build in this team.” Kyrgios has a history of abusing opponents, umpires and fans. “I would not want to see any of our Olympic team members behave in that way,” Chiller said. “Every athlete is under the microscope now.” Kyrgios was ranked 21st in the world, one spot ahead of Tomic.

When he heard of the edict, Kyrgios replied with humor. “Someone tell that Kitty Chiller to watch that tweener lob, then she will understand why I’m on watch for the Olympics lol,” Kyrgios posted on Twitter.

According to an Australian newspaper, Tomic has signed up to play in a tournament in Los Cabos, Mexico, the same time at the Olympic competition.

 

SHORT STAY

Bernard Tomic can’t seem to get started. His stay at the Rome Masters lasted just eight minutes. The Australian was leading Frenchman Bernoit Paire 2-1 when Tomic called for a medical timeout. He then ended the match, citing an unspecified illness. Tomic has won just one match on clay this season with French Open, the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay, just two weeks away.

 

STRAIGHT IN

Taylor Townsend has a spot in the French Open women’s singles main draw. That’s because she compiled the top results in a series of United States Tennis Association Pro Circuit clay-court tournaments. The 20-year-old won in Charlottesville, Virginia, and reached the finals at Dothan, Alabama, and Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. She will be making her third consecutive appearance in the main draw at Roland Garros, which starts May 22. In 2014, she reached the third round, beating 20th-seeded Alize Cornet of France.

 

SISTER, SISTER

The Williams sisters must be getting ready for Rio. Serena and Venus Williams are playing doubles this week at the Italian Open, the first time they’ve played together since the US Open two years ago. They already have won three Olympic gold medals in doubles – in 2000, 2008 and 2012, the winningest team in Olympic tennis history. “Obviously we would love to play in the Olympics,” Serena said. “I love playing with Venus. She’s the best partner, and hopefully she feels the same about me. We make a great team.” When questioned, Serena said she had not been asked by any of the American men to play mixed doubles in Rio de Janeiro, and said she really isn’t focusing on that possibility. “It’s just one at a time,” she said. “Hopefully I can be chosen for the doubles. That would be the best opportunity. And then after that we’ll see.”

 

SHARED PEFORMANCES

Aix En Provence: Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald beat Guillermo Duran and Maximo Gonzalez 6-1 4-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Anning: Wang Yafan and Zhang Kai-Lin beat Varatchaya Wongteanchai and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-7 (3) 7-6 (2) 10-1 (match tiebreak)

Busan: Sam Groth and Leander Paes beat Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana 4-6 6-1 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: Andreea Mitu and Demi Schuurs beat Xenia Knoll and Aleksandra Krunic 6-4 7-5

Madrid (men): Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau beat Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea 6-4 7-6 (5)

Madrid (women): Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic beat Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza 6-4 6-4

 

SURFING

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.com/

Bordeaux: www.atp-primrosebordeaux.com/

Trnava: www.empireslovakopen.sk

Geneva: http://banqueericsturdzagenevaopen.com/

Nice: www.opennicecotedazur.com/

Nürnberger: www.nuernberger-versicherungscup.de/en/news/index_eng.html

Strasbourg: www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/en

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$4,921,700 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 BNP Paribas Primrose, Bordeaux, France, clay

$100,000 Seoul Challenger, Seoul, South Korea, hard

 

WOMEN

$2,513,000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 Empire Slovak Open 2016, Trnava, Slovakia, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$564,072 Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open, Geneva, Switzerland, clay

$564,072 Open de Nice Cote d’Azur, Nice, France, clay

 

WOMEN

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

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

 

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic

Racquets Go As Grigor Dimitrov Self-Destructs – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Racquets Go As Grigor Dimitrov Self-Destructs – Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Nicolas Almagro beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7 (6) 7-6 (5) 6-3 to win the Millennium Estoril Open in Estoril, Portugal

Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Dominic Thiem 7-6 (7) 4-6 7-6 (4) to win the BMW Open by FWU AG in Munich, Germany

Diego Schwartzman beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-7 (5) 7-6 (4) 6-0 to win the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open in Istanbul, Turkey

Lucie Safarova beat Samantha Stosur 3-6 6-1 6-4 to win the J&T Banka Prague Open in Prague, Czech Republic

Timea Bacsinszky beat Marina Erakovic 6-2 6-1 to win the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Rabat, Morocco

Jordan Thompson beat Mathias Bourgue 6-3 6-2 to win the Kunming Open in Anning, China

Fernando Verdasco beat Lucas Pouille 6-3 6-2 to win the rain-delayed BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania

Jonas Luetjen beat Martinz Podzus 7-6 (4), 6-3 to win the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships in Vero Beach, Fla.

 

SAYING

“Every event is tough. With Roland Garros coming up, things are really tight. Everyone wants to be ready for the French Open.” – Nicolas Almagro, who won his first title in four years.

“I’m very happy because I won this trophy. It was a long time since I was in this position, to win a tournament or to play in a final.” –Fernando Verdasco, after winning in Bucharest.

“Despite the loss, it was a positive week and I hope to keep on improving in the coming weeks.” – Lucas Pouille, who reached his first ATP World Tour final before falling to Fernando Verdasco.

“I went into this match thinking I had nothing to lose. I mean, it can’t be worse than Miami.” – Barbora Strycova, after upsetting Angelique Kerber in the first round at Madrid.

“There’s little to complain about. I myself am a little surprised by the convincing results this week.” – Philipp Kohlschreiber, after winning the Munich title for the third time.

“It was an exciting and for me a painful final.” – Dominic Thiem, who lost the Munich final to Philipp Kohlschreiber in a third-set tiebreak.

 

SMASHING LOSS

Besides the Istanbul Open title, Grigor Dimitrov lost three racquets. After he smashed his third racquet of the day, Dimitrov was given a game penalty, closing out his 6-7 (5) 7-6 (4) 6-0 loss to Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman. “I let myself down, I let my team down, I let my family down with that behavior,” Dimitrov said. The 29th-ranked Bulgarian took the opening set tiebreak and appeared to have complete control of the match with a 5-2 lead in the second set. But Schwartzman battled back while Dimitrov lost 11 of the last 12 games. “I started cramping at 5-2 in the second set,” Dimitrov said. “It was very unfortunate that I couldn’t close out the match. I have to give credit to Diego.” The 23-year-old Schwartzman capped his strong week by winning his first career title. Despite Dimitrov’s antics, Schwartzman earned the crown. He upset top-seeded Bernard Tomic in the second round and saved one match point before edging Damir Dzumhur in the quarterfinals. He failed to win two titles, however, as Flavio Cipolla and Dudi Sela beat Schwartzman and Andres Molteni to capture the doubles.

 

SAME STAGE, SAME RESULT

Philipp Kohlschreiber loves home cooking. The 32-year-old German won his third BMW Open title by edging Austrian Dominic Thiem in a tight three-setter. “It was an exciting and for me a painful final,” Thiem said after losing 7-6 (7) 4-6 7-6 (4). Thiem trailed 5-2 in the final set before pulling even at 5-5, staving off two match points. The fourth-seeded Kohlschreiber, who had not lost a set before he ran into Thiem in the title match, finally closed out the win on his third match point. The German also won the Munich tournament in 2007 and 2012, and was runner-up last year. “Dominic, you will still win this tournament,” Kohlschreiber told his 22-year-old opponent. Thiem has won more matches this year – 29 – than anyone else on the ATP World Tour.

 

SPANISH TRIUMPH

Nicolas Almagro hadn’t won a tournament since May 2012. That drought has ended. The veteran Spanish clay-courter defeated Pablo Carreno Busta to win the Estoril Open. Almagro has spent much of the last few seasons coming back from injury. The Portuguese title was the 13th of his career. “It’s great to win a title after so long,” Almagro said. “It was a battle today with Pablo, who was playing really well. I’ve improved during the week. I’ve been losing a lot of matches that I should have won. I’m looking for my tennis again. But I’m gaining more confidence with my game.” Almagro lost the opening set after leading the tiebreak 6-2. He closed out the victory on his third match point.

 

SWISS WIN

Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky gained her first title of 2016 by crushing Marina Erakovic in the final of the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem tournament. The top seed, Bacsinszky lost just one set in her five match at the Moroccan clay-court event. It was Bacsinszky’s first title on red clay, and that should help her confidence going into the French Open, where she was a semifinalist last year. Her three previous tournament victories have come on hardcourts.

 

SERENA’S OUT

The flu has forced Serena Williams to pull out of the Madrid Open. Since losing to Angelique Kerber in the final of the Australian Open in January, the world’s top-ranked WTA player has competed in just two events, losing in the final at Indian Wells, California, USA, and to Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Miami Open. “Unfortunately I have to withdraw from Madrid because I’ve been battling the flu and I’m not at 100 percent,” Williams said. “I look forward to returning soon.”

 

SWISS STAR IN

To prepare for the French Open later this month, Roger Federer decided to participate in this week’s Madrid Masters. “The Madrid Open can count upon the presence of Roger Federer,” tournament director Manolo Santana said in a statement. “Federer is one of the best tennis players in history and Madrid is a special place for him.” The 34-year-old Swiss star won the Madrid title three times, in 2006, 2009 and 2012. Federer originally planned to skip the clay court tournament to reserve his energy, but his plans changed after he missed nearly three months of the season because of knee surgery. He also plans on playing the three remaining Grand Slam tournaments as well as the Rio Olympics later in the year.

 

SWEEPING WIN

It had been two years since Fernando Verdasco had won an ATP World Tour title. He had to wait an extra day by ending that streak when the experienced Spaniard outclassed Lucas Pouille in straight sets at the Nastase Tiriac Trophy. Until the Bucharest, Romania, tournament, Verdasco’s last win was in April 2014. It was the winner’s seventh ATP title, while Pouille was playing in his first tour-level final. Verdasco converted three of his six break-point opportunities, while Pouille failed to convert any of his five break-point chances, four of them coming in the first set. The winner surged into a 4-1 lead in the second set and never was threatened. The final was played on Monday after rain washed out Sunday’s schedule.

 

STRYCOVA SURPRISE

Until this week’s Mutua Madrid Open, Barbora Strycova had never won a set off Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in five career meetings. Things were completely different in Madrid, where Strycova upset the world’s third-ranked player 6-4 6-2 in a first round match. The last time the two had played – in the second round of the Miami Open – Kerber had won 6-1 6-1. “Oh, my god, it’s been difficult,” Strycova said of her rivalry with the German. “I’d win four games in the matches we played before.” While she hadn’t been successful against Kerber, Strycova has put together a decent 2016. She reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and the final of the Dubai Duty Free Championships. Her win over Kerber was her second over a Top 3 players this season, having upset Garbiñe Muguruza in Melbourne. “We have similar games,” Strycova said when asked about playing Kerber. “She’s a very patient player with good defense. It’s tough to win a point against her because she puts every ball back. It’s difficult for me because I’m a smaller player and I have a similar game to her, so it’s difficult for me to be patient because I’m not a patient person. But I tried to be patient today and it worked.”

 

SICK CALL

There’s something strange about Frenchman Gael Monfils and the clay-court tournament in Munich, Germany. The 29-year-old Monfils suffered a groin injury while practicing in Munich and withdrew from the event. It was the third straight year Monfils has missed the German tournament because of an injury. “Apparently I have bad luck here,” Monfils said. “I hope it’s not a tear, or it will be a close thing for the French Open.” In 2014, Monfils pulled out of Munich with an ankle injury. Last year he retired with an injured knee.

 

SAYS GO PUBLIC

Rafael Nadal wants the results of his drug tests made public. “It is necessary that our sport becomes a flagship in a world where transparency and honesty are two pillars of our conduct and way of living,” the Spanish wrote in a letter addressed to International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty. “I know how many times I am tested, on and off competition. Please make all my information public. Please make public my biological passport, my complete history of Anti-Doping controls and tests.”

Nadal filed a lawsuit against former French sports minister Roselyne Bachelot, who accused the tennis star of covering up a failed drugs test. Bachelot alleged that Nadal faked an injury in 2012, when he missed the final six months of the season due to knee problems, in order to hide a positive drug test. Nadal has vehemently denied ever using a banned substance and said he has never failed a drug test in his many years on the ATP World Tour. In his letter to the ITF, Nadal urged the organization to “start filing lawsuits if there is any misinformation spread by anyone. It can’t be free anymore in our tennis world to speak and to accuse without evidence.”

 

SKIPS PUNISHMENT

Sergey Betov won’t be severely punished, even though he tested positive for meldonium, the same drug that has halted the career of Maria Sharapova. The 28-year-old Betov failed a drug test at the Australian Open where he played doubles. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said that since the amount of meldonium discovered in the Belarusian’s sample was below that set by the agency earlier this month, Betov will be allowed to resume playing immediately. He has been serving a provisional suspension since March 12. “The International Tennis Federation (ITF) accepted that it is more likely than not that the meldonium found in Mr. Betov’s sample came from a course of Mildronate tablets that he took for six weeks ending in late October 2015,” the ITF said in a statement. “Mr. Betov did not know, and could not have known or suspected, even with the exercise of utmost caution, that the meldonium would still be in his system as of January 21, 2016,” the date of his failed test. “Accordingly, it was determined that Mr. Betov bore no fault or negligence for the violation … and so he is free to start competing again with immediate effect.”

Sharapova, a former world number one and five-time Grand Slam tournament winner, admitted in March that she had tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open. She maintains she took the drug for health reasons and not as a performance enhancer. She currently is serving a provisional suspension as a doping tribunal has yet to decide her fate.

 

SANS WILD CARDS

There will be no wild-card entries for the tennis events at this year’s Rio Olympics. “We have received several enquiries regarding applications for ‘wild cards’ for the Olympic tennis event, and I wanted to take this opportunity to once more clarify that ‘wild cards’ do not exist in the Olympic tennis event,” International Tennis Federation (ITF) Chief Operating Officer Juan Margets said. “In previous Olympic Games the ITF had a degree of discretionary oversight on the allocation of Final Qualification Places, which might have been considered similar to the concept of wild cards in other events. Now, in line with International Olympic Committee requirements, this has changed for Rio 2016.” In a 64-player draw in both men’s and women’s singles, 56 are direct entries, six are final qualification places and two are tripartite commission invitation places. In doubles, 24 teams have direct entry and eight are final qualification places. Any doubles player ranked 10th or better will gain direct entry and have a choice of partner.

 

SPAIN’S FLAG BEARER

For the second time, Rafael Nadal has been selected to carry the Spanish flag for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The tennis star was scheduled to be the flag bearer at the London Games in 2012, but when tendinitis forced him to skip the Games, the ceremonial duties went to basketball star Pau Gasol. Nadal won the men’s singles at the 2008 Games in Beijing, China.

 

STRAIGHT IN

Bjorn Fratangelo, who won the French Open junior boys title in 2011, has earned a wild-card entry into this year’s men’s main draw at Roland Garros. The 22-year-old Fratangelo clinched the French Open spot by accumulating the most points based on results at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit clay-court tournaments. Named after tennis great Bjorn Borg, Fratangelo became the first American since John McEnroe in 1977 to win the boys’ singles title at Roland Garros.

 

STASH OF POUNDS

The singles champions at Wimbledon this year will each pocket nearly USD $3 million as the Grand Slam tournament increases overall prize money by 5 percent. Last year, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams each collected USD $2.74 million for winning the titles. The US Open continues to pay the most money. Last year, the singles champions each won USD $3.3 million.

 

SETS RECORD

There’s a new Guinness World Record for the most people bouncing tennis balls on racquets at the same time for 10 seconds. According to the official count from the assistant judges and the official Guinness World Record judge Anna Orford, 1,474 people participated at the Mutual Madrid Open, breaking the old record of 767 people set at the China Open last year. Among those participating in the record-smashing event were ATP World Tour players Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga along with tournament director Manolo Santana and tournament owner Ion Tiriac. WTA players participating included Alla Kudryavtseva, Vania King, Arantxa Parra Santonja, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Olga Savchuk.

 

SHARED PEFORMANCES

Anning: Bai Yan and Riccardo Ghedin beat Denys Molchanov and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 4-6 6-3 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Estoril: Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky beat Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski 6-4 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Istanbul: Flavio Cipolla and Dudi Sela beat Andres Molteni and Diego Schwartzman 6-3 5-7 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Munich: Henri Kontinen and John Peers beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-3 3-6 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Prague: Margarita Gasparyan and Andrea Hlavackova beat Maria Irigoyen and Paula Kania 6-4 6-2

Rabat: Xenia Knoll and Aleksandra Krunic beat Tatjana Maria and Raluca Olaru 6-3 6-0

 

SURFING

Madrid: www.madrid-open.com/

Busan: www.busanopen.org/new/main.html

Aix En Provence: http://opendupaysdaix.com/

Anning: www.wqbd.com.cn

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: www.opendecagnes.com

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.com/

Bordeaux: www.atp-primrosebordeaux.com/

Trnava: www.empireslovakopen.sk

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$6,417,170 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$100,000 Busan Open Challenger Tour Tennis, Busan, South Korea, hard

$100,000 Open Du Pays D’Aix, Aix En Provence, France, clay

 

WOMEN

$5,353,230 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$100,000 Anning Tennis Tournament, Anning, China, clay

$100,000 Engie Open de Cagnes-Sur Mer Alpes Maritimes, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

 

MEN

$4,921,700 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 BNP Paribas Primrose, Bordeaux, France, clay

$100,000 Seoul Challenger, Seoul, South Korea, hard

 

WOMEN

$2,513,000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 Empire Slovak Open 2016, Trnava, Slovakia, clay

Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov

Rafael Nadal Wins Madrid Open with Lots of Help – Mondays with Bob Greene

by

Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Rafael Nadal beat Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-4 3-0 retired to win the Mutua Madrid Open men’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep 1-6 6-2 6-3 to win the Mutua Madrid Open women’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Sharon Fichman beat Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-2 to win the Open de Cagnes-Sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France

 

SAYING

“Winning at home is always more special than winning anywhere. Having the chance to play in front of your home crowd … is unforgettable for me. This city gives me a lot. This is a very important victory for me.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning the Madrid Open.

“It was very sad, especially as I was winning, playing almost the best tennis in my life. But there is some, you know, good side, too. There is a lot of confidence I get from this tournament.” – Kei Nishikori, who retired with an injury in the third set of the Madrid Open final.

“I was just fighting because if I had the chance I was going to be there to take it.” – Rafael Nadal, admitting Kei Nishikori dominated play through the first 15 games of their title match.

“I didn’t have a great first set today, but I knew it wasn’t over until the last point was played.” – Maria Sharapova, who rallied to win the Madrid Open women’s singles by defeating Simona Halep in three sets.

“I played really well all week and I beat top players and I had a very high level of my tennis. Maria is a great player and a great champion. She played really well, and I think she deserved to win this title. The difference I think is the experience. She has more experience than me.” – Simona Halep, after following her loss to Maria Sharapova.

“This is not the way I wanted this week to end.” – Serena Williams, after pulling out of the Madrid Open because of an injured left thigh.

“Now I’m hurting because I’ve lost a really tough match. … Tomorrow I’ll see it another way. I’ll be more positive. .. It hurts me not being able to be in the final tomorrow.” – David Ferrer, after losing his semifinal to Kei Nishikori.

“I was thinking ‘OK, I’m going to play until I’m 30 and then I’m going to quit.’ But then comes the moment when you’re 25 and you wake up one day and it’s like. ‘OK, I cannot go anymore. I cannot suffer.’” – Dinara Safina, announcing she has officially retired from the WTA tour.

 

SLIM WIN WITH HELP

Two games from victory, Kei Nishikori’s back injury resurfaced and Rafael Nadal ended up winning his second straight Mutua Madrid Open. After taking the first set 6-2, Nishikori was up a break in the second and serving at 4-3 when he pulled up clutching his back. Nadal broke Nishikori to pull even as the Japanese 10th seed failed to win another game. At 3-0 in the final set, Nishikori could barely walk to the net to shake hands with the Spanish champion.  “It was my hip and actually everywhere after the second set, my legs were hurting too much, Nishikori said. Nadal took advantage of the injury, capturing his 63rd career title and 44th on clay, just two short of the all-time record of 46 held by Guillermo Vilas. The win also increased Nadal’s record to 27 Masters titles. Even Nadal admitted Nishikori was dominant through the first 15 games of the match. “There was some moments where, I don’t know, I couldn’t find myself,” Nadal said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play or I was missing intensity, I was just mentally blocked. When you’re blocked, you just need a spark to go out there and compete again.” The spark came when Nishikori suffered the injury. “I’m very sorry for Nishikori,” Nadal said. “He’s an unbelievable player that will fight to be in London (at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals). I am sure of that. I really hope that the injury is not too bad and he will be able to compete in Roland Garros.” Nadal was presented with the winner’s trophy by Queen Sofía of Spain. “Even though I think that today I did a not so good first set, I think I did a great tournament,” Nadal said. “This is the reality of the situation.”

With his 63 career titles, Nadal is now sixth on the Open Era list, one behind Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg.

 

SOARING

Japan’s Kei Nishikori has put the tennis world on notice: Consider him a strong contender for a Grand Slam tournament title. While a back injury cost him the victory at the Madrid Open, the clay court tournament showed that Nishikori is ready to make the next step to the top of the rankings. By reaching his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final, Nishikori is the first Japanese man ever to rank in the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and the first Asian male since Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan in March 2004. Nishikori secured the ranking with a marathon win over David Ferrer in the semifinals, needing just under three hours and 10 match points to edge his Spanish opponent 7-6 (5) 5-7 6-3. That was Nishikori’s 14th straight win, including a semifinal in Miami where he was forced to pull out prior to the match. The 24-year-old right-hander won his first ATP World Tour clay-court title two weeks ago at the Barcelona Open. The back injury that caused Nishikori to retire in the final also had troubled him in both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches. Still, he came away from the week feeling confident. “It’s going to be very exciting at (Roland Garros) because I’ve never felt like this on clay,” he said. “I’m very confident of whatever I hit going for winners. I can hit from either side – forehand or backhand – so it’s a very good feeling that I have on clay right now.”

 

SHARAPOVA VICTORIOUS

Shaking off a slow start, Maria Sharapova overpowered Simona Halep to win the Madrid Open women’s singles. Sharapova has now posted a 47-3 record on clay since the 2011 French Open, with all three losses administered by Serena Williams. Sharapova held her serve just once in the opening set as she hit four double-faults. But the Russian’s ground strokes began finding the corners and lines, keeping her opponent running from side to side. Sharapova converted both of her break points in the second set to level the match, then was never really challenged in the decisive set. “I don’t know how I pulled it off,” Sharapova said of capturing her 32nd career title and second of 2014. “In the first set I wasn’t doing much to hurt her, and that’s the tennis she’s capable of playing. I knew I had to do some different things after the first set to win this match.” That, she did. Sharapova is a perfect 11-0 on clay courts this year and will rise to seventh in the world on the new WTA Rankings. “I don’t take these moments for granted because I know what it’s like to be out and injured and trying to find your way back just to play tennis,” said Sharapova, who has had her career disrupted several times by injury.

 

SWISS PAIR – AGAIN

Apparently having twins was a winning move for Roger Federer the first time. The Swiss master, who has won numerous titles more than once in his career, had twins again, this time two boys to go with the two girls his wife Mirka gave birth to four years ago. “Twins again … miracle, Federer wrote on his Facebook page when he announced the new additions to his family. Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick, confirmed to The Associated Press that the baby boys – named Leo and Lenny – were born in Zurich, Switzerland. Earlier in the week Federer withdrew from the Madrid Open in order to be with Mirka when she gave birth. Godsick said the 17-time Grand Slam tournament champion intends to enter the French Open, which begins May 25, and could possibly play this week’s ATP World Tour event in Rome, Italy. “Roger has plans to play the French Open, and he’ll take it step-by-step as to what he plays before that,” Godsick said.

 

STOPPING THE BRYANS

Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan ran into a familiar foe – and this time the foe won. Daniel Nester and Nenad Zimonjic beat the American twins to capture the Mutua Madrid Open doubles, their second title since reuniting at the start of the 2014 season. It was the winning pair’s 26th ATP World Tour team title and snapped the Bryans’ 24-match win streak. Nestor, a 41-year-old Canadian, has now won 84 tour-level titles, third best in the Open Era behind Mike Bryan, who has captured 100 titles, and Bob Bryan, who has 98. Zimonjic, a 37-year-old Serbian, won his 51st tour-level title.

 

SERENA OUT

Serena Williams halted her bid for a third straight Madrid Open title when she withdrew from the quarterfinals of the clay court tournament because of a left thigh injury. The American had her thigh heavily bandaged in her earlier matches. Williams was injured during her first-round victory over Belinda Bencic. And while she showed signs of improvement during her following two matches, she announced her withdrawal before she was to take on Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals. “I have a left thigh injury and, unfortunately, have to withdraw from this year’s Mutua Madrid Open,” Williams said. “It happened during my first round match. It started to get better, but most importantly right now, I just need some time to rest and recover. It’s beyond words. It’s so frustrating. We couldn’t ask for a better tournament and I love it here in Madrid. I love being a champion here.”

Serena continues to pile up the numbers in her career. When she beat Carla Suárez Navarro, Williams became the 11th player in WTA history to reach 650 career match wins – just one behind her older sister, Venus Williams. And Serena continued her brilliant history against Spaniards. She has won her last 29 matches against Spanish players and hasn’t lost since she retired with an arm injury in Berlin against Hall of Famer Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1999 – 15 years ago.

 

SPANIARDS STOPPED

Two Spanish players parlayed their wild card entry into the Mutua Madrid Open into a run to the doubles final. That’s when they ran into an unstoppable Italian pair. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci ended the surprising run of Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro 6-4 6-3 to take their third WTA doubles title of the year. “Tonight was a very tough match,” Vinci admitted. “Garbiñe and Carla are tough opponents and they had a great week. This is the second time we have won the title here in Madrid and are glad we could finish the week with another trophy.” The Italians now have 19 WTA doubles titles, including four Grand Slam tournament crowns. Muguruza and Suárez Navarro beat a slew of seeded teams to reach the final, including the top-seeded pair of Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai.

 

SU-WEI SOARS

In the WTA’s new doubles rankings, Hsieh Su-Wei has joined her partner Peng Shuai as co-world number ones. Earlier this year Peng became the first player from China ever to hold a world number-one ranking in tennis, male or female, singles or doubles. Now Hsieh achieves the same feat for Chinese Taipei. “Reaching number one in the world is a great feeling,” Hsieh said. “We have been working really hard as a team. I was very proud of Peng reached number one earlier this year and now I am happy we can share it.” They are the 10th team ever to become co-world number ones in doubles in the WTA rankings.

 

SOUND WRIST?

Novak Djokovic says he’s ready to return to work. The Serbian right-hander said his right wrist has been pain-free for 10 days and he plans on playing in this week’s Italian Open. “Right now I feel much more confident at the state of my wrist and I know that I’m ready much more to play a match than I was one week ago,” Djokovic said while practicing in Rome with Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka.  When Djokovic lost to Roger Federer in the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals last month, his wrist was heavily taped. “It’s a wiser decision if you try to heal it 100 percent than 50 percent and compromise the next weeks,” Djokovic said. “The second time that it comes back it becomes a chronic injury, which you definitely don’t want to have.  From now on I will be extra careful about my wrist.”

 

SURLY SCENE

It was not the best of days for Fabio Fognini. The Italian’s frustration boiled over after he blew a 4-2 lead in the first set of a three-set loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov in the opening round of the Madrid Open. When he was given a code violation for ball abuse after he slammed a ball out of the stadium, Fognini argued that he should have only received a warning because it was his first offense. But chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani said he gave the player a code violation because he hit the ball out of the stadium. That prompted Fognini to tell Lahyani, “You have to think (with) your mind sometimes. I know that’s difficult for you.” After losing the first set, Fognini smashed his racquet and called for the trainer for a hip injury. But the ATP trainer refused to treat the playing because it was a pre-existing injury. Fognini then turned his ire toward some fans and asked Lahyani to summon security. Later he expressed his displeasure when the umpire agreed with an out call. When the match ended, Fognini had words with Lahyani during the handshake.

 

SAFINA STOPS

Remember Dinara Safina? Well, once ranked number one in the world, Safina has officially announced her retirement from professional tennis. The Russian hasn’t played since nagging back injuries forced her away from the WTA tour three years ago. She won 12 WTA titles, but no Grand Slam tournaments, although she reached the title match at the 2008 French Open, the 2009 Australian Open and the 2009 French Open. Her biggest title came at the inaugural Mutua Madrid Open in 2009. Ironically, her last match was also in Madrid, when she lost in an early round in 2011. Dinara and her brother, Marat Safin, are the only brother-sister to both reach the number-one world ranking.

 

SET FOR PARIS

A former world number one junior, Taylor Townsend will make her Grand Slam tournament main draw debut at Roland Garros in May. The American won the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge when she reached the final of the USTA Pro Circuit event in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida, USA. Townsend, a four-time junior Grand Slam tournament champion, won the Florida tournament. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the French Tennis Federation have a reciprocal agreement in which wild cards into the 2014 French and US Opens are exchanged. Robby Ginepri, who last competed in the French Open in 2010, won the men’s wild card into the clay-court event.

 

SIGNED UP

Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002, Marin Cilic and Ernests Gulbis have signed to play at this year’s AEGON Championships, a Wimbledon warm-up event. They join reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the strong field, which also includes Grigor Dimitrov and Alex Dolgopolov. Also entered in the The Queen’s Club tournament are 2010 champion Sam Querrey, 2007 runner-up Nicolas Mahut and Australian Bernard Tomic. Murray is seeking to join Andy Roddick, Hewitt, John McEnroe and Boris Becker as the only four-time winners of the grass-court event.

 

SHOOTING DEATHS

A man fatally shot his wife and two teenage children before setting their house and fire and then shooting himself, according to police in Tampa, Florida, USA. The house where the family lived was owned by former tennis star James Blake. The family was found dead in the burning home. Blake was not believed to be in Florida at the time. Authorities identified the dead as Darrin Campbell, his wife Kimberly Campbell and their teenage children, Megan and Colin. Hillsborough County sheriff’s Col. Donna Lusczynski said investigators don’t know Darrin Campbell’s motive. Blake starred at Harvard before breaking into professional tennis. Ranked as high as fourth in the world in November 2006, Blake retired from the ATP World Tour last year.

 

STEPPING DOWN?

Caroline Wozniacki is hinting that she may soon retire from the WTA tour and begin to have children. Once ranked number one in the world, Wozniacki was quoted by a London magazine as saying she wants to start a family with fiancée Rory McIlroy, one of the world’s top golfers. “I want to be a relatively young mother, and I don’t see it as being too far in the future,” the Danish player was quoted as saying by Lime magazine. “Therefore I have no dream to make my mark. Instead, I enjoy economic freedom my hard work has given me.” The right-hander, who will turn 24 in July and is currently ranked 14th in the world, and McIlroy announced their engagement on January 1 this year.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson beat Tatiana Bua and Daniela Seguel 7-6 (4) 6-4

Madrid (men): Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-4 6-2

Madrid (women): Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro 6-4 6-3

 

SURFING

Bordeaux: www.atp-primrosebordeaux.com/

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.com/

Prague: www.expoprag.cz

Nice: www.opennicecotedazur.com/

Düsseldorf: www.world-team-cup.com/

Nürnberg: www.nuernberger-versicherungscup.de/

Strasbourg: www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$4,000,610 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$117,882 BNP Paribas Primrose, Bordeaux, France, clay

 

WOMEN

$2,328,050 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 Sparta Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic, clay

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$668,279 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur, Nice, France, clay

$643,571 Düsseldorf Open, Düsseldorf, Germany, clay

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Nürnberger Vesicherungscup, Nürnberg, Germany, clay

$226,750 Internationaux de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, clay

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal

Federer’s First Season-Ending Championship

by

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Roger Federer is playing in the ATP World Tour’s season-ending championship for an eighth time in 2009 at the O2 Arena in London. It was in 2002 when Federer first qualified for the ATP World Tour finale as a xx-year-old. Rene Stauffer, the respected Swiss tennis writer, chronicles Federer’s first appearance at the ATP World Tour Finals in this excerpt from his book THE ROGER FEDERER STORY, QUEST FOR PERFECTION ($24.95, New Chapter Press, www.RogerFedererBook.com). This chapter, chapter No. 14, is called “Red Dawn In China.”

Roger Federer’s title in Vienna represented a big step towards qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup in China. Federer passed Albert Costa, Andy Roddick and Tommy Haas in Champions Race to rank No. 7 after his victory along the banks of the Danube. His ATP ranking, based on the 52-week results, also rose to a career-high No. 7—the career-high ranking that his countryman Jakob Hlasek achieved in 1989. After a quarterfinal finish at the Tennis Masters Series event in Madrid, Federer moved to No. 6 in the rankings—marking the highest ATP ranking ever achieved by a Swiss player. His trip to China was well within reach, but now he wanted to finally win “his” tournament—the Swiss Indoors in Basel. After finishing runner-up the last two years, Federer seemed poised to finally capture his hometown tournament. In the quar­terfinals, Federer faced Roddick for the first time in his career and defeated the 19-year-old American 7-6 (5), 6-1 in an exciting match that lasted until midnight. In the semifinals, the brawny David Nalbandian, Federer’s rival from junior days, spoiled Roger’s hometown title dreams, winning a 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-3 decision after trailing 7-6, 3-1.

The final ATP event of the year is the Tennis Masters Series in Paris, played at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, a majestic entertainment arena located on the north bank of the Seine featuring manicured grass-covered sides on its outside walls. The event usually decides the final qualifiers for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup and 2002 was no different. Federer of­ficially booked his ticket for Shanghai when Tim Henman lost in the third round to Nicolas Escude and Federer straight-setted Tommy Haas to reach the quarterfinals. With his goal achieved, Federer’s quarterfinal with Hewitt lacked the tension of his previous matches, and he lost to the world No. 1 in straight sets.

Federer traveled to Shanghai in November of 2002 as the No. 6 ranked player in the world. At age 21, he was the youngest player in the Tennis Masters Cup field, had nothing to lose as a first-time qualifier and there­fore, he was duly relaxed during the event. “Everything after this will be an encore,” he said. The Tennis Masters Cup took place in one of five gigantic exhibition halls that were reminiscent of airplane hangars in the Pudong district of Shanghai, a faceless area between the airport and downtown.

For Federer, his trip to the Tennis Masters Cup in China was unique. “This is no ordinary tournament; it’s an adventure,” he said juggling tennis balls in front of his hotel and parading up and down along the edge of a four-lane main road in a publicity photo shoot for photographers. He was playing in the Far East for the first time and immediately felt comfortable in his new surroundings. He enjoyed the unique atmosphere of the 11,500 square meter Expo-Hall, whose 10,000 spectators turned the place into an electric atmosphere.

The Tennis Masters Cup was the biggest, the most expensive and the most widely-covered professional sports event in China at the time. For most Chinese, tennis was relatively unknown. It was an undiscovered sport that they didn’t yet really understand. Whenever players double-faulted, the specta­tors would scream. Enthusiastic Chinese journalists would pose the strangest questions in press conferences. “Why are you always smiling, Mistel Fedelel? Because you are in such good shape?” a Chinese reporter asked Federer in broken English. Following another match, French Open Champion Albert Costa was asked by a Chinese scribe, “You always used to eat bananas when chang­ing sides. Why not today? Perhaps because you don’t like Chinese bananas?”

Federer, the Masters rookie who came to China with his mother Lynette and girlfriend Mirka, basked in the preferential treatment accorded to each of the eight participants. “I feel special here with the entire hullabaloo and the many body guards,” he said. “They read your every desire from your lips. It’s fortunate that there are so few players here.” At Shanghai, it became even more clear that Federer possessed a certain star quality and that he wasn’t blinded by the limelight. He loved the attention and flourished in it.

The Tennis Masters Cup is a round-robin event with the eight qualifying players paired in two round-robin groups of four. In his group, Federer ranked Andre Agassi as the favorite and himself and Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain as the leading contenders for the No. 2 position. Federer’s assessment quickly proved to be wrong. Federer beat Ferrero in his opening round-robin match and then defeated Jiri Novak for a 2-0 round robin record. Federer then clinched his round-robin flight when Agassi lost to both Novak and Ferrero. No longer with a chance of making the semifinals, Agassi hastily left China in disappointment, using a hip injury as the reason for his withdrawal.

In the semifinals, Federer faced Hewitt, who already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for a second year in a row. The Australian barely qualified for the semifinals and benefited from Carlos Moya winning a three-hour mean­ingless match over fellow Spaniard Costa, where a Costa victory would have him reach the semifinals rather than Hewitt. Although Federer lost five of the last seven matches with Hewitt, he reasoned his chances of beating him and winning the first big championship of his career were very attainable.

Federer started his semifinal with Hewitt in furious fashion, taking a 3-0 and a 5-2 first-set lead, but Hewitt ran and fought as if his life were at stake. Hewitt fought off five set points and rallied for a 6-5 lead. Serving for the set, Hewitt staved off another five break points, before capturing the first set 7-5. Federer, however, was not ready to surrender. The second set turned into a wild back-and-forth struggle. Hewitt served for the match at 5-4 and held match point, but Federer broke back for 5-5. After holding serve for 6-5, Federer evened the match by breaking Hewitt’s serve, connecting on his fourth set point of the game.

The Chinese fans went wild—out of their seats, screaming and cheering. In the commentary booth high above the stadium, Heinz Günthardt and Stefan Bürer, the Swiss TV commentary team, described the tension and fast-paced action to the audience back in Switzerland, where it was Saturday morning and many people postponed their weekend shopping to watch the dramatic match with their new sports hero.

As the match extended into a third hour, the breaks seemed to fall in favor of Federer. Leading 4-3 in the final set, Federer held two break points to put him in the position to serve for the match. Both opportunities, however, were lost and Hewitt held for 4-4. Hewitt then subsequently broke Federer’s serve the next game to serve for the match at 5-4. The Australian reached his second match point—and shockingly double-faulted. Federer then broke Hewitt’s serve to square the match at 5-5. Serving with new balls in the next game, Federer committed two consecutive double-faults to allow Hewitt to break him back and gained another opportunity to serve for the match. It took Hewitt another four match points before he finally corralled Federer and advanced to the final with an epic 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 victory. Following the match, Hall of Fame journalist Bud Collins walked into the press room and asked his fellow scribes, “Have you ever seen a better match?”

In the craziest match of his career to date, Federer was aware that he let victory escape from his grasp. “I have no one to blame but myself,” he said to a small group of Swiss journalists who traveled to China. “Luck wasn’t on my side. I blew a big opportunity. That hurts.” A vacation in Phuket, Thailand helped heal the wounds.