Malaysia Archives - World Tennis Magazine

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Venus Williams beat Garbiñe Muguruza 6-3 3-0 retired to win the Dongfeng Motors Wuhan Open in Wuhan, China

David Ferrer beat Feliciano Lopez 7-5 7-5 to win the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Nao Hibino beat Donna Vekic 6-2 6-2 to win the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Jan-Lennard Struff beat Jerzy Janowicz 5-7 6-4 6-3 to win the Open Orléans in Orléans, France

Tim Smyczek beat Denis Kudla 1-6 6-1 7-6 (7) to win the Tiburon Challenger in Tiburon, California, USA

SAYING

“It’s no secret I’ve played injured most of the year – whether it was my elbow, my knee or, in the final moments after a certain match in Flushing, my heart.” – Serena Williams, announcing she was ending her season by withdrawing from the China Open and the WTA Finals.

“I feel very happy, because I have never played so well at this tournament. I played my best match of the week in the final.” – David Ferrer, after winning the Malaysian Open.

“I’m glad nobody told me before. I would have been a little bit nervous.” – Venus Williams, after she beat Julia Goerges to become only the ninth woman in the Open Era to win 700 matches.

“All players have small injuries during the year because we play a lot. It’s just here it (Achilles tendon) was getting worse. That’s why I stopped today. I didn’t think it would become like this. I just don’t feel well with my tendon right now.” – Simona Halep, after retiring in her opening match at the China Open.

“It was a great week. To win the tournament and have the 700^th … some great moments this week.” – Venus Williams, who won her 47^th career WTA title at Wuhan, China.

“This is a sad day today. I’m very sorry I had to retire today, but I had a really amazing week here in Wuhan.” – Garbiñe Muguruza, after retiring from the Wuhan Open final while trailing Venus Williams 6-3 3-0.

“We get along off the court, we get along on the court, we complement each other’s games. I think that’s really it. We have good chemistry. We’re good friends. I think on the court it shows as well. We trust each other in tough moments.” – Sania Mirza, on why she and Martina Hingis make such a good doubles team.

“Every week is a new week. You really have to start from zero each time.” – Martina Hingis.

“If I could, I’d give my win to Serena at the US Open. Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that.” – Venus Williams, after beating Roberta Vinci in Wuhan, the player who upset Serena Williams at the US Open.

“I didn’t expect this result at the beginning of the week. I can’t believe it. I was just focusing on my service games against all of my opponents and trying not to get broken, playing aggressive and not changing my game from the first round to here. So I’m just really happy with the result.” – Nao Hibino, who won the Tashkent Open in only her second WTA tournament.

“At some point we will lose a match, but it’d be pretty cool to go undefeated forever.” – Treat Huey, on how he and Henri Kontinen have won eight straight matches and two tournaments since teaming up.

STAR CALLED VENUS

Just like old times, Venus Williams is back on top. The 35-year-old American won her 47^th WTA career title – her biggest in five years – by beating Wimbledon runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza in the Wuhan Open. It came when Muguruza retired after losing her serve for the second time in the second set. “It’s not easy when you don’t play your best,” Williams told Muguruza at the trophy celebration, “and I probably didn’t have a chance if you felt well.” It was Williams who appeared to be the most severely injured as she began the match with both thighs heavily taped and had a slight limp. The two traded service breaks before Williams won the last five games the two played, wrapping up the first set, then taking a 3-0 lead in the second. That’s when Muguruza, wearing braces on both ankles, called it quits. Williams posted her 700^th career match victory when she stopped Germany’s Julia Goerges in the second round, then increased the total to 704. It wasn’t easy, however. She needed three sets to outlast British qualifier Johanna Konta in the quarterfinals, then saved a match point in her semifinal victory over Italy’s Roberta Vinci.

Williams is only the ninth player to reach 700 match wins on the WTA tour in the Open Era. Martina Navratilova leads with 1,442, followed by Chris Evert 1,309, Steffi Graf 902, Virginia Wade 839, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 759, Lindsay Davenport 753, Serena Williams 737 and Conchita Martinez 738.

SEASON OVER

Serena Williams has had enough. The world’s top-ranked woman withdrew from this week’s China Open in Beijing and the WTA Finals in Singapore, the last two tournaments on her schedule. “I am taking a proactive step and withdrawing from tournaments in Beijing and Singapore to properly address my health and take the time to heal,” Serena said in a statement. The 34-year-old has not played since her upset loss in the semifinals of the US Open in September. Despite her staying home, Williams will still end the year as the top-ranked player. “I’m really sorry for Serena, but Serena is Serena,” said Roberta Vinci, the Italian who shocked Williams in the US Open. “(She is) still a great player also if she doesn’t play.” Winner of 21 Grand Slam tournament singles titles, Serena said she has been playing the entire season with injuries. “My journey in tennis this year has been at times exhilarating, at times disappoint,” Williams said in a statement carried by organizers of the China Open. “I’m a fierce competitor and I want to compete as well as I can for as long as I can. This is a very difficult decision, but one ultimately made because of the love of the game.”

SPANISH FLING

Two Spaniards meeting on the final Sunday for the title isn’t all that unusual. And David Ferrer winning is also no surprise. The 33-year-old Ferrer won the Malaysian Open, the 25^th title of his career and fourth this year, by beating Feliciano Lopez. It was Ferrer’s 50^th ATP career final. He won earlier this year in Doha, Rio de Janeiro and Acapulco. Ferrer had not lost to Lopez since 2009, but it was Lopez who started strong and grabbed an early break. Ferrer quickly broke back, then broke his fellow Spaniard again in the 12^th game to close out the set. Ferrer again broke in the 12^th game in the second set. “Feliciano is a good tennis player, but an even better person,” Ferrer said. “I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”

SINGAPORE PROBLEM

With top-ranked Serena Williams on the list, injuries and illnesses are depleting the field for the season-ending BNP Paribas WTA Finals, scheduled to be played in Singapore later this month. Going into the first week in October, only three players had qualified for the elite eight-player singles field: Serena, second-ranked Simona Halep of Romania and Maria Sharapova. The third-ranked Russian pulled out of the China Open after injuring her forearm in Wuhan. Halep retired in her opening China Open match with a left ankle injury. “I have pain in my Achilles. It’s getting worse,” Halep said. “I thought that it was getting better and I could play, but, no, I don’t want to force it.”

They aren’t the only walking wounded.

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki complained of dizzy spells in her second-round Wuhan Open loss to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. “I started feeling dizzy already in the second set and I just tried to push through it,” Wozniacki said. Also retiring from second-round matches at Wuhan were Victoria Azarenka, another former world number one, and Swiss star Belinda Bencic. Azarenka was a set and a game down when she retired with a thigh injury she said she picked up in training. Bencic, who upset Serena Williams in Toronto, also retired with an injured left thigh.

Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard hasn’t played since suffering a concussion when she fell in the dressing room at the US Open. Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon winner, was diagnosed with glandular fever this year. Germany’s Sabine Lisicki will miss the rest of the year with a knee injury. On a bright note, Venus Williams is winning, but she suffers from the immune system disorder Sjogren’s Syndrome.

SWITCH IN LEADERS

The winning continues for Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. The captured their seventh WTA doubles title of the year by besting Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. The victors weren’t perfect, dropping serve three times. But they took just 69 minutes to annex their latest trophy. Hingis and Mirza have won their last three tournaments, stretching their streak to 13 consecutive matches – all in straight sets. “We give our best every match, that’s why we’re winning in straight sets,” Mirza said. “If we slack a little bit, you end up in a super tiebreak, and it’s a toss-up. Every team is as good as the other.” Hingis has won 48 career WTA doubles titles, while Mirza has won 30.

SUCCESSFUL

Japan’s Nao Hibino came out on top when two young players battled for the title at the Tashkent Open. The 20-year-old Hibino did not drop a set the entire tournament and handily beat Croatian teenager Donna Vekic in the Tashkent final. Hibino is just the 10^th Japanese woman to win a WTA tournament. Playing in only her second WTA main draw, Hibino’s on-court speed caused problems for Vekic, who also appeared to be frustrated by the noisy crowd which frequently held up play in the Uzbekistan capital. “I couldn’t do anything, she was just playing really well,” the 19-year-old Vekic said. “She was very solid and getting all the balls back. I tried to break her rhythm, but I couldn’t.”

Hibino was named for one of the other nine Japanese players to win WTA events, Naoko Sawamatsu. Other Japanese winners were Kazuko Sawamatsu, Etsuko Inoue, Kumiko Okamoto, Mana Endo, Ai Sugiyama, Akiko Morigami, Kurumi Nara and Kimiko Date-Krumm, who has the most WTA titles of them all: eight.

SETTLING SCORE?

Venus Williams may have been settling a score on behalf of her younger sister when she took on Roberta Vinci in the semifinals of the Wuhan Open. It was Vinci who upset Serena Williams in the semifinals of the US Open last month, ending Serena’s bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam, capturing all four major titles. If Venus was trying to settle a score, it didn’t come easily. Vinci rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the third set to actually have match point against the seven-time Grand Slam tournament champion. “I mean (there were) a lot of ups and downs,” Venus said. “I hope that on a day when I’m playing how I’d like it’s a more straightforward match. She’s definitely tricky. She finds a way to hang in there.” Williams finally prevailed 5-7 6-2 7-6 (4).

SHARAPOVA HURT AGAIN

Maria Sharapova is having a hard time playing, let alone winning. The Russian retired with an arm injury in the third set of her opening match at the Wuhan Open. It was the first time Sharapova had played in nearly three months. Ranked third in the world, Sharapova missed the entire hard-court season, including the US Open, with a leg injury.

SABINE STOPPED

A knee injury has forced Germany’s Sabine Lisicki to call it a year. “We have tried everything, but my knee isn’t ready,” the 2013 Wimbledon finalist wrote on her Facebook page. “The current state of play is that I won’t play any more tournaments this season.” Lisicki complained of knee pain during the US Open where she lost to Simona Halep. Lisicki has been treated by Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, the Munich-based doctor who has treated many athletes, including sprinter Usain Bolt. “The doctors, my team and I have all worked hard to get me back fit as soon as possible and I will be back by the start of the new season at the latest,” she said.

STREAKIN’

Treat Huey and Henri Kontinen continued their winning ways. The Filipino-Finnish partnership posted their eighth consecutive win and second title in as many weeks, capturing the Malaysian Open. The winners topped Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram in the final 7-6 (4) 6-2. “It’s definitely not what we expected when we teamed up two weeks ago,” Kontinen said of the tandem’s immediate success. “We have been playing well and it’s very important to get along on and off the court.” It was Huey’s third title of the year, while Kontinen won his fifth title of the season.

SENT INDOORS

It took a move indoors for Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming to win their first team title. Because of torrential rain at the Shenzhen Open, they had to play two matches, beating Gong Mao-Xin and Michael Venus 6-2 6-4 before being sent to an indoor court where they stopped Chris Guccione and Andre Sa 6-1 6-7 (3) 10-6 for the title.

The singles final between top-seeded Tomas Berdych and fourth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez was delayed until Monday. “It is what it is,” Berdych said of the conditions. “We can’t do anything about the weather. Many years ago I played a final on a Monday and it was very similar to today. Otherwise, we’d have to call it off and there would be no winner.”

STILL WINNING

It was an exhibition tennis match, but with a lot of politics on the side. Novak Djokovic and Rafael had a big payday in Bangkok, Thailand, meeting before a sold-out crowd in a match dubbed “Back to Thailand.” The event was organized by the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand to boost confidence in the country’s safety after a bombing left 20 people dead and more than 120 injured. After the two were photographed in colorful Thai silk jackets, Djokovic beat Nadal 6-4 6-2 and the two split USD $4.1 million. In their formal attire, the players visited the ornate Grand Palace and met with the junta leader, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a May 2014 coup and installed himself as prime minister. “I’m glad that two of the world’s best tennis players are here in Thailand,” Prayuth said. “This will get more people to come to Thailand.” Both Djokovic and Nadal were last in Thailand in 2008 for the Thailand Open. Nadal lost in the semifinals and Djokovic to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final.

SET FOR ABU DHABI

Police in Miami have dropped charges of trespassing and resisting arrest against Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic. The 22-year-old was arrested in July and charged after police were called to his Miami hotel room where he was having a party. Tomic’s lawyer said the charges were dropped because of inconsistencies in reports lodged by hotel security and police.

SAYS PAY UP

A court has ordered convicted child molester Bob Hewitt to pay USD $1.2 million to a former player who accused Hewitt of repeatedly sexually abuse in the 1970s. US District Judge Denise J. Casper gave Hewitt until November 2 to show why he should not pay the default judgment to Heather Crowe Conner. “The damage and loss he inflicted on me isn’t about money,” said Conner, who lives in Massachusetts, USA. “But I’m thankful the judge recognized the harm and is holding him responsible.” The judge said the assaults began in 1975 when Connor was 14 and lasted until about 1979. Connor was a high school star when Hewitt offered to coach her for free in 1975. She went on to become a national collegiate tennis champion in 1982 and later played on the WTA tour. The 75-year-old Hewitt is currently confined to his home in South Africa while appealing a six-year prison sentence for raping two South African girls and indecently assaulting another he coached in the 1980s and ‘90s. Connor currently is a high school teacher.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Kuala Lumpur: Treat Hey and Henri Kontinen beat Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram 7-6 (4) 6-2

Orléans: Triston Lamasine and Fabrice Martin beat Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski 6-4 7-6 (2)

Shenzhen: Jonathan Erlich and Colin Fleming beat Chris Guccione and Andre Sa 6-1 6-7 (3) 10-6 (match tiebreak)

Tashkent: Margarita Gasparyan and Alexandra Panova beat Vera Dushevina and Katerina Siniakova 6-1 3-6 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Tiburon: Johan Brunstrom and Frederik Nielson beat Carsten Ball and Matt Reid 7-6 (2) 6-1

Wuhan: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza beat Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-3

SURFING

Beijing: www.chinaopen.com.cn/

Tokyo: www.rakutenopen.com/

Sacramento:www.sacchallenger.com/

Mons:www.ethiastrophy.be/fr/accueil