World Tennis Magazine

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marin cilic

A Look Back At Roger Federer’s Final Major Title At The Australian Open

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From the “On This Day In Roger Federer History” book, fans can look back at all the great moments in the career of all-time legend Roger Federer. Let”s look back at Federer’s final major tournament victory…

January 28, 2018: Roger Federer wins his 20th and ultimately his final major singles title defeating Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the final of the Australian Open. Federer joins Roy Emerson and Novak Djokovic as a six-time winner of the Australian championships and, at the age of 36, Federer becomes the second-oldest man to win a Grand Slam singles title, only behind Ken Rosewall, who won the Australian Open in 1972 at 37. On winning his 20th

major singles titles, Federer says, “I was not allowed to think of it going into the match, because that’s exactly when things go bad, when you think too far ahead…All day I was thinking, ‘How would I feel if I won it? How would I feel if I lost it? I’m so close, yet so far.’ I think I was going through the whole match like this. I’ve had these moments in the past, but maybe never as extreme as tonight. Getting to 20 is obviously very, very special, no doubt.”

Buy or download the “On This Day In Roger Federer History” book here: https://a.co/d/ej9SQLV #Amazon via Amazon

Roger Federer Clothing From Final Major Win Up For Auction

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Prestige Memorabilia, the global leader in tennis memorabilia, announced a tennis memorabilia auction highlighted by an exclusive piece of tennis history: Roger Federer’s match-worn outfit from his groundbreaking 20th Grand Slam tournament winning run at the 2018 Australian Open. The victory was the last major title of his legendary career, and the outfit is expected to achieve up to $35,000. The auction is open for bidding starting 20 September and will close on 8 October.

The auction represents a rare opportunity for tennis enthusiasts and collectors worldwide to own an authenticated piece of sporting history from Federer’s incredible career. As the emotional Swiss maestro himself said after the historic match, “It’s a dream come true, and the fairytale continues.” The ensemble, a personalized creation from Nike, is as unique as the champion himself. Featuring custom labeling and two certificates of authenticity from the Roger Federer Foundation, the lot is assured of authenticity and link to the monumental tournament.

Federer’s superb performances in Melbourne, culminating in a thrilling final against Croatian player Marin Cilic, cemented his place among the legends of tennis. It was not Federer and Cilic’s first Grand Slam final encounter; they had faced each other in the 2017 Wimbledon final where Federer claimed victory over an injured Cilic. However, this time Cilic was in imperious form, and the match reached a fifth set. Federer would raise his level to take the decisive set, becoming the first man to win 20 Grand Slam titles. Federer would join a small, elite group of players such as Serena Williams and Steffi Graf who have achieved this milestone. The tournament would mark the final Grand Slam victory in Federer’s illustrious career, spanning all the way to his first at Wimbledon 2003.

The win for Federer over Cilic is documented, along with all the other great victories – and defeats – in the new book “On This Day In Roger Federer History” by Randy Walker for sale and download here: https://a.co/d/c1TgkRv

The highlighted lot contains the autographed, match worn shirt as well as the autographed, match worn shorts. The items by Nike were custom tailored to Federer, and contain “custom athlete” labeling. Other incredible items from Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, and Serena Williams will also be available in the auction.

The auction commences September 20th, 2023. Please find the auction online at thetennisauction.com.

Contact: info@thetennisauction.com

Alcaraz Win Over Cilic Added To List of U.S. Open Matches To Finish After 2:00 AM

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

There is a saying that nothing good happens after 2:00 am.

That is, except at the U.S. Open.

The fourth-round epic where Carlos Alcaraz defeated Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 finished officially at 2:23 am early morning on Tuesday, September 6, making it the fourth latest finishing match in U.S. Open history.

The match was three minutes shy of tying the all-time record, which strangely is shared between three matches is outlined below from my “On This Day In Tennis History” compilation

Sept. 2, 2014 – Kei Nishikori defeats Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 in four hours, 19 minutes in a fourth-round match at the U.S. Open that ends at 2:26 am, tying the tournament’s record for the latest finish. Nishikori and Raonic’s finish at the exact time as the 2012 match when Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated John Isner and the 1993 match when Mats Wilander defeated Mikael Pernfors. When asked by reporters if he was impressed by the late finish record, Raonic responds, “Not in the slightest bit.”

Sept. 3, 2012 – Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany registers a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over John Isner in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, concluding at 2:26 am on Labor Day morning. The match is the second of three U.S. Open matches to conclude at this exact time, the latest ever finish in U.S. Open history. In 1993, Mats Wilander defeats Mikael Pernfors in five sets in the first U.S. Open match to finish at 2:26 and two years later, Kei Nishikori outlasts Milos Raonic also in five sets, concluding at 2:26.

Sept. 4, 1993 – Mats Wilander finally defeats Mikael Pernfors 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in a 4 hour, 1 minute match that concludes at 2:26 am – the latest ever conclusion of a U.S. Open match. In the post-match press conference, when asked if he had ever played this late in the evening, Wilander dead-pans, “Played what?” In amazing coincidences, the 2:26 am latest finish time is tied, exactly to the minute, two times in later years, in 2012 when Philipp Kohlschreiber beats John Isner 6-4, 3-6, 4-6,6-3, 6-4 and 2014 when Kei Nishikori beats Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4.

Interesting enough, Cilic played two matches that finished after 2 am, also defeating Alex DeMinaur in 2018 in a match that finished at 2:22 am, one minute earlier than his loss to Alcaraz. Rafael Nadal has also played two U.S. Open matches that finished after 2 am. The following is the list of matches to finish after 2 am in U.S. Open history.

Here are the latest finished of matches since night tennis began at the US Open.

2:26 a.m. – Kei Nishikori d. Milos Raonic / 4R in 2014

2:26 a.m. – Philipp Kohlschreiber d. John Isner / 3R in 2012

2:26 a.m. – Mats Wilander d. Mikael Pernfors / 2R in 1993

2:22 a.m. – Marin Cilic d. Alex de Minaur / 3R in 2018

2:14 a.m. – Frances Tiafoe d. Andrey Rublev / 3R in 2021

2:14 a.m. – Younes El Aynaoui d. Wayne Ferreira / 4R in 2002

2:13 a.m. – Maria Sakkari d. Bianca Andreescu / 4R in 2021

2:11 a.m. – Rafael Nadal d. Mardy Fish / QF in 2008

2:03 a.m. – Rafael Nadal d. Dominic Thiem / QF in 2018

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz

Is Marin Cilic Hall of Fame Worthy?

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

As a tennis historian and publisher, I always have my eye on if a player is worthy of induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

If a player wins two major singles titles, to me, they are pretty much an inductee. If a player wins one major, then an array of other factors come into play that would determine entry into this elite group of tennis players that are honored and revered in Newport, Rhode Island. The criteria for singles players and doubles players are certainly different and for a doubles player or specialist to be considered for induction, they would have to win many major doubles titles just for starters. For singles players, after winning at least one major, these criteria would be as follows:

  • Number of runner-up showings at majors
  • Number of doubles majors won
  • World No. 1 or highest career ranking
  • Number of singles titles and doubles titles
  • Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup (former Fed Cup) titles
  • Olympic medals
  • Longevity and consistency and popularity

So, with that in mind, let’s look at the case for Marin Cilic of Croatia.

While Cilic won only one major singles title to date (the 2014 U.S. Open, defeating Roger Federer in the semifinals and Kei Nishikori in the final), he has played in two other major finals, Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018, losing to Federer both times.

He has reached at least the semifinals of all the majors with his “at least” semifinal finish at Roland Garros in 2022. Only ten men in the Open Era have reached all four major singles finals (Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – all Hall of Famers)

Cilic has won 20 ATP singles titles (which is nine more than Hall of Famer Patrick Rafter won, and one fewer than a one Slam Hall of Famer Goran Ivanisevic won and two more than another one-Slam Hall of Famer Michael Stich.)

Cilic has helped Croatia win the Davis Cup in 2018.

At the Olympics, Cilic won a silver medal in doubles with Ivan Dodig at the 2020 Games.

So, with that resume so far, does Cilic deserve to be in the International Tennis Hall of Fame?

Perhaps the most famous, predominantly singles players, who have won only won major title who are in the Hall of Fame are…

Michael Chang (1 major, 3 major runner-ups, 34 titles, one Davis Cup, No. 2 career high)

Goran Ivanisevic (1 major, 3 major runner-ups, 22 titles, one Davis Cup, Olympic bronze, No. 2 career high)

Conchita Martinez (1 major, 2 major runner-ups, 33 titles (13 doubles) 5 Fed Cups, 3 Olympic medals, No. 2 career high ranking)

Yannick Noah (1 major, (1 doubles major) 0 major runner-ups, 23 titles, (16 doubles), No. 3 career high in singles, No. 1 in doubles)

Manuel Orantes (1 major, 1 major runner-up, 36 titles (22 doubles), No. 2 career high in singles

Andy Roddick (1 major, 4 major finals, 32 titles, 1 Davis Cup, No. 1 career high in singles

Michael Stich (1 major, 2 major runner-up, 18 titles, Olympic gold in doubles, 1 Davis Cup, No. 2 career high ranking

Marin Cilic
Marin Cilic

Marin Cilic Leads Croatia to Davis Cup Title – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Croatia beat France 3-1 in Lille, France, to win the Davis Cup title

 

SAYINGS

“This is the one of the best teams we’ve ever had. It’s like a dream team. After seven years on the bench (as captain) it’s an honor for me to be here.” – Zeljko Krajan, captain of the Davis Cup champion Croatia team.

“We lost to a better team. We did everything we could to be at this level with the Croatian team. We just went to their locker-room to congratulate them. I think they’re beautiful winners and they deserve it.” – Yannick Noah, captain of the French Davis Cup team.

“It’s not every day that you become a world champion. For us, it’s a dream come true for this nation. We are so passionate, you can see the fans. And I feel that in Croatia it’s going to be incredible. too.” – Marin Cilic, after clinching the Davis Cup title over France with his second singles victory.

“I am extremely sad today about the decisions of the ITF. After, it may be a good competition, but it will never be what it has been, the Davis Cup.” – Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a member of the French Davis Cup team.

“When people tell us it’s still going to be the Davis Cup, they are lying. I will tell them ‘You are liars.’” – Yannick Noah, who is against the Davis Cup changes that will debut next year.

“Tennis tends to be traditional, and for some people change is difficult.” – David Haggerty, ITF president, acknowledging those who don’t like the new Davis Cup changes.

SECOND TITLE FOR CROATIA

Marin Cilic’s second straight-set singles triumph gave Croatia its second Davis Cup title as the Balkan nation beat France 3-1. Neither Cilic nor the Croatian number two, Borna Coric, lost a set as the champions matched their 2005 Davis Cup victory over Slovakia. “My singles players not only didn’t lose a set, they didn’t lose serve in three matches, which is an unbelievable achievement and shows you the quality that we produced,” Croatia captain Zeljko Krajan said. France captain Yannick Noah, who is stepping down after his third stint in charge, said his team had been outplayed in their bid to successfully defend their international team trophy title. “The guys did the maximum,” Noah said. “Sometimes the bar is too high.” France’s only point in the three-day competition came in the doubles when Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert captured the doubles. That only delayed Croatia’s victory for one day, until Cilic crushed France’s Lucas Pouille 7-6 (3) 6-3 6-3. On the opening day, Coric easily beat Jeremy Chardy before Cilic stopped Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The competition, which has been held since 1900, will be radically changed next year, a fact not lost on Cilic. “It’s historic,” he said. “I have been part of this team since 2006. I have seen a few generations of players, I have seen a lot of tennis, a lot of wins, a lot of matches lost, too. It’s amazing to finish a chapter of this kind with the way we played and the atmosphere that was in the team.”

 

SWITCH IN FORMAT

The Davis Cup will be changed dramatically beginning next year, and the French players have been vocal in their opposition. Beginning in 2019, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has changed the best-of-five sets format to best-of-three sets. Plus, the team competition will be decided with a season-ending 18-team tournament at a neutral site. “I’m extremely sorry because of the ITF decision,” French doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert said. “It was the last true Davis Cup.” The ITF believes the new format will be more attractive to the top players, who often pass on competing for their countries because of a crowded tennis schedule. The French tennis federation supports the reform. Lucas Pouille, who lost the final match in France’s 3-1 loss to Croatia, said he would no longer play Davis Cup. “Last year I was crying of joy, this year I was crying because I was sad,” said Pouille, who was on France winning Davis Cup team in 2017. “I’m not going to change my mind about the new format. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to play in the Davis Cup any more. That was the last time.” French Davis Cup captain Yannick Noah, who will be replaced as captain next by Amelie Mauresmo, also is against the changes. “It will never be the same, it’s going to be something else,” said Noah, who guided France to three Davis Cup titles. “I really hope this is not going to be called the Davis Cup. Playing two sets is not the Davis Cup.”

On Saturday, David Haggerty, ITF president, said the Davis Cup changes were made to appeal to a greater television audience. “We know that in France and Croatia this final is being followed by many consumers,” Haggerty said. “In the rest of the world, it’s not being followed to the same degree. This is where we see it turning into a proper World Cup of tennis with fans all around the world watching their 18 teams in one location and seeing it broadcast or streamed.” The Spanish investment firm Kosmos is backing the change with USD $3 billion spread over 25 years. Javier Alonso, Kosmos chief executive, told the news agency Reuters: “We are in 2018 and if we look at 100 years ago tennis was something very different. Tennis has to evolve into a new era.”

 

SEES ONE TEAM EVENT

International Tennis Federation (ITF) president David Haggerty believes the revamped Davis Cup and the newly-announced rival ATP Cup will eventually form one team tennis competition. The new Davis Cup format, which was approved at the ITF conference last August, has come under fire from traditionalists. Plus, the ATP Cup, a 24-nation event will start in January 2020 in Australia. The ATP Cup will boast (USD) $15 million in prize money along with ranking points. World number one Novak Djokovic, who helped launch the ATP Cup, said there was a danger of “two average events” if the two were held close together. Right now, the two will be played approximately six weeks apart. The new format will see a qualifying round using the existing home-and-away format in February, then 12 nations will joint this year’s semifinalists and two wildcards in Madrid, Spain, for the new week-long World Cup-style event in November. Haggerty also said the Fed Cup, the women’s version of the Davis Cup, could get a similar makeover with as many as 12 nations competing in a “finals week” as early as April 2020. “Preliminarily, we are looking at a first-round home and away in February, but expanding the World Group to 16 teams with between eight to 12 in the finals, possibly in April,” Haggerty said.

 

SUIT SETTLED

According to court records, Venus Williams has settled a wrongful death suit connected to a fatal traffic accident she was involved in near her Florida residence in June 2017. The terms of the agreement between Williams and the estate of Jerome Barson, who was fatally injured in the crash, were not disclosed in the court documents. At first, Williams was found at fault for the accident, police saying the tennis star had failed to yield the right-of-way. Video surveillance of the accident showed that Williams had entered the intersection lawfully and a third car had forced her to stop in the intersection, where she was struck by the Barsons.

 

SPOT CLINCHED

A 16-year-old from Florida also has a spot in next year’s Australian Open. Whitney Osuigwe earned the wild-card berth from the United State Tennis Association (USTA) by posting the best record in recent low-level tournaments, including winning the USTA Pro Circuit event in Tyler, Texas, USA. Osuigwe won the USTA 18s national title last year, earning her a wild-card entry into the US Open where she lost her first-round match to Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-4 6-1.

Jack Sock earned the USTA wild card for men at the Australian Open, but he could gain direct entry because of his ranking, which currently is 106th in the world. The next two men in the USTA standings – 98th-ranked Reilly Opelka and 77th-ranked Bradley Klahn – are also expected to automatically qualify for next year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The USTA said that if all three qualify by their rankings, the men’s wild card could end up going to Tommy Paul, who is ranked 205th in the world.

 

SHARAPOVA SET

Former world number one Maria Sharapova, who has not competed since losing in the US Open fourth round in September, is set to play in the Shenzhen Open, which begins December 30 in Shenzhen, China. The Russian skipped Being and Tianjin, as well as her hometown tournament in Moscow, to recover from several physical issues. She played in Shenzhen last year, where she lost to Katerina Siniakova. Others scheduled to play the Shenzhen Open include Siniakova, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Aryna Sabalenka, Caroline Garcia and Zarina Diyas.

 

STARRING IN AUCKLAND

Karl Budge, tournament director of the WTA event in Auckland, New Zealand, announced Venus Williams will play his tournament in January. “It’s great to have Venus back,” Budge said. “She has been a special part of this tournament for a number of years and we missed her this year. She is still at the top of the game and how good would it be if she could capture career title number 50 here in Auckland.”

 

STOPPING – AGAIN

Patty Schnyder is retiring from tennis – for the second time. The native of Basel, Switzerland, confirmed on her Twitter account that she is stepping aside again. She previously retired in 2011, but returned to the tour four years later. Currently ranked 282nd in the world, Schnyder won 11 singles titles and five doubles titles in her 20-year career. Her best Grand Slam tournament result came at the 2004 Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals. At the US Open, Schnyder lost her first-round match against another veteran, Maria Sharapova. “She still has incredible hands, moves incredibly well for being out of the game for so long, still very competitive,” Sharapova said of Schnyder. “I was just saying it too me, like, 15 years to dropshot Patty Schnyder and win a point. Doesn’t happen that often against Patty.”

 

SEES WEDDING BELLS?

BT Planet reports that defending Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki and former NBA star David Lee will get married next summer. When asked by the Danish media at the US Open in September, Wozniacki refused to answer. Wozniacki and Lee got engaged while on vacation.

 

SHE’S A MOTHER

Elena Vesnina has given birth to a daughter, Elizabeth Tabuntsova. “When you took your first breath, you took ours away,” Vesnina wrote. “It’s the happiest day of our lives.” In September, Vesnina revealed she was pregnant. She has not said whether she plans on returning to the women’s tour or not. Several players, including Serena Williams and Mandy Minella, have returned to playing after giving birth. “I hope people remember me for being a good athlete, but also as a human being,” Vesnina wrote. “It’s important to me that I’m remembered this way on the court, off the court, in the locker room. Many girls will understand this when they get more mature. As they get closer to the end of their career, they’ll realize it more.”

 

STATUS NOTED

World number one Simona Halep has received an honorary doctorate degree from West University, Timisoara, in her homeland of Romania. Halep said she was “proud and honored” to receive the degree of doctor honoris causa, who was given in recognition of her achievements in tennis as well a representative and unofficial ambassador of her country. Halep won her first Grand Slam tournament in 2018, the French Open, and finished the year ranked number one in the world for the second straight year. In voting, she was named WTA Player of the Year.

 

SURRENDERED

Justin Gimelstob was arrested after allegedly attacking a former friend on Halloween night. According to the Los Angeles Times, Gimelstob attack Randall Kaplan as he was walking on a Los Angeles street with his wife and daughter. Kaplan was “visibly bruised and scratched” after being struck by Gimelstob a reported 50 times. The former player, who now coaches the sport, is a television commentator and ATP board member, won the mixed doubles title in 1998 at both the Australian and French Opens. The Times newspaper said Gimelstob surrendered to police and paid a (USD) $50,000 bond. In 2016, Gimelstob was accused of assaulting his former wife, Cary, who filed a “domestic violence restraining order” against him. On Twitter, former world number one Lleyton Hewitt suggest the ATP should remove Gimelstob from the board. A spokesman for the ATP said, “We are aware of the situation regarding Justin Gimelstob and understand that this is an ongoing police matter. It would therefore not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.” A spokesman for Tennis Channel said Gimelstob asked the cable network “for a leave of absence while he works through this issue.”

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

An Italian player has been banned for life while his doubles partner has received a 10-year ban for match fixing. The Tennis Integrity Unit said it has banned Daniele Bracciali for life and fined him (USD) $250,000, matching the heaviest penalty ever handed down by the TIU. Potito Starace was banned from playing for 10 years and fined (USD) $100,000. The two players, who reached the 2012 French Open doubles semifinals, were originally fined nearly (USD) $41,000 and handed a 4.5-month ban for making bets in 2005. In 2015, law-enforcement officials in the Italian city of Cremona bought further charges based on intercepted phone and internet conversations. Bracciali, who returned to the court this year and won an ATP title in Kitzbühel, Austria, in August, supposedly offered to lose sets for money. Starace was alleged to have accepted illicit payments for losing to Pablo Andujar in Casablanca. Both Bracciali and Starace were banned for life by the Italian Tennis Federation in 2015, only to have the bans rescinded on appeal two months later. Starace was ranked 27th in the world shortly before he was originally banned in 2007. Bracciali’s best ranking was 49th in the world in singles in 2006.

 

SO LONG

Just because this part of the year is listed as the off-season for tennis, don’t believe it. The men are playing for money in two American cities – Orlando, Florida, and Waco, Texas – as well as Antalya, Turkey; Antofagasta, Chile; Monastir, Tunisia; Prague, Czech Republic; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and Stellenbosch, Germany. The women are almost as active. There even is a (USD) $15,000 men’s event scheduled to begin on Christmas Day. But like the top players, the editor of this column is taking time off. See you when.

 

SURFING

Doha: http://www.qatartennis.org/tournaments/qatar-exxonmobil-open-2019/

Pune: www.maharashtraopen.com

Brisbane: https://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/

Auckland: https://www.asbclassic.co.nz/

 

TOURNAMENTS WEEK of DECEMBER 30

 

MEN

$1,386,665 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Doha, Qatar, hard

$482,085 Tata Open Maharashtra, Pune, India, hard

$461,330 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard

 

WOMEN

$1,000,000 Brisbane International, Brisbane, Australia, hard

$750,000 Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen, Chin, hard

$250,000 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand, hard

 

Marin Cilic
Marin Cilic

Cilic Comeback Win Over de Minaur Nearly Breaks U.S. Open Record

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

Marin Cilic was victorious in one of the most exciting matches at the 2018 U.S. Open early Monday morning, coming back from two-sets-to-love down to defeat 19-year-old Alex de Minaur of Australia 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.

The match concluded at 2:22 am, just four minutes shy of equaling the latest finishing matches in U.S. Open history.

After losing his two-set lead, de Minaur trailed 2-5 in the final set but saved six match points to square the match at 5-5. He saved a sixth match point in the 12th game of the final set before Cilic converted on his seventh opportunity to advance into the fourth round.

Said de Minaur after the loss, “I am not going to lie. I am pretty devastated. But at the same time, it is the beauty of this sport. I was two-sets-to-love up against a quality opponent today and didn’t manage to finish it off, but I left it all out there. I have to be proud of my efforts. I gave it every single inch of energy I had left and it just wasn’t good enough today.”

The match concluded almost exactly four years to the minute of the last of three times a match has finished as late at 2:26 am when on September 2, 2014, when Kei Nishikori defeated Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 in four hours, 19 minutes in the fourth-round. In 2012, Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated John Isner in a five-set third-round match that ended at 2:26 am and in 1993, Mats Wilander defeated Mikael Pernfors in a third-round match that ended at 2:26.

Tennis fans can read all of the latest finishing matches in tennis history, compiled in the book “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” here:

“The Bud Collins History of Tennis” by Bud Collins for sale and download here https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559386/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_Fr9IBbC1HSW5J 

Marin Cilic

Marin Cilic

Borna Coric Shocks Roger Federer in Gerry Weber Open Final – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Borna Coric beat Roger Federer 7-6 (6) 3-6 6-2 to win the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany

Marin Cilic beat Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6 (4) 6-3 to win the Fever-Tree Championships in London, Great Britain

Petra Kvitova beat Magdalena Rybarikova 4-6 6-1 6-2 to win the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham, Great Britain

Tatjana Maria beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-4 7-5 to win the Mallorca Open in Mallorca, Spain

Sergiy Stakhovsky beat Oscar Otte 6-4 6-4 to win the Fuzion 100 Ilkley Trophy men’s singles in Ilkley, Great Britain

Tereza Smitkova beat Dayana Yastremska 7-6 (2) 3-6 7-6 (4) to win the Ilkley Trophy women’s singles in Ilkley, Great Britain

 

SAYING

“(I am) just really surprised. … I had not even dreamed of this.” – Borna Coric, after beating Roger Federer to win the Gerry Webber Open.

“I actually thought I played maybe my best match of the week today. It just didn’t go my way.” – Roger Federer, after losing the Gerry Weber Open final to Borna Coric.

“It was an extremely tough match. No breaks for me until that last (return) game. I definitely feel relieved that I won it and what a great week.” – Marin Cilic, following his win over Novak Djokovic in the Fever-Tree Championships final.

“It’s a tough loss for me today, obviously. But I have to see it from a positive side. I haven’t played a final at any event in almost a year, so this felt great.” – Novak Djokovic, after losing to Marin Cilic in London.

“Can I win Wimbledon? Well, why not?” – Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, after winning a Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham, Great Britain.

“I was impressed with him. He was always a tick better in the end and he took his chances.” – Roger Federer, complimenting Borna Coric.

“I think Roger’s motivational level is just slightly better and higher on Grand Slams, and you can see that throughout so many years that he’s been showing the best tennis at Grand Slam levels.” – Marin Cilic, about Roger Federer.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a contender, you know, for a (Wimbledon) trophy or anything like that. I have to keep my expectations very low considering my results in the last 12 months.” – Novak Djokovic.

“No, it’s not fair. That’s what we like about it.” – Venus Williams, when asked if it was fair to the other players for her and her sister, Serena, to play doubles together.

 

SHOCKER IN HALLE

Borna Coric’s surprising triumph in Halle, Germany, snapped Roger Federer’s 20-match winning streak on grass, ended the Swiss star’s reign as number one in the world and denied Federer a 10th Gerry Webber Open title. “In the tiebreak I think I was just a little bit lucky, to be honest,” Coric said. “I saved two set points, and one of them I was actually just really, really lucky. I needed some luck today – but that’s tennis.” It was the first loss for the 36-year-old Federer since he returned to tour after skipping the clay-court season and winning last week at Stuttgart, Germany. The defeat also meant Rafael Nadal will return to the top of the world rankings. Coric was playing in his first grass-court final and won just his second career ATP World Tour title. “I think I was serving the best I have in my whole life,” Coric said. “I was feeling very confident and hitting the spots I wanted to hit, which isn’t very usual for me. Hopefully I can continue to serve like that now.” After the two traded sets, the 21-year-old broke Federer in the sixth game of the decider when the Swiss sliced a backhand long. It was all Coric, who also beat second-seeded Alexander Zverev in the opening round, needed. He finished with 11 aces. It was the Croatian’s first win over Federer in three career meetings.

 

STOPS NOVAK

Top-seeded Marin Cilic staved off a match point before downing Novak Djokovic in three sets and winning at Queen’s Club for the second time. Djokovic took the opening set and had a match point in the second-set tiebreak before the 29-year-old Croatian won in two hours, 56 minutes, the longest final in the tournament’s history. “It was a special win for me because last year I had match point and didn’t convert it,” Cilic said. “It was a tough match. No breaks for me until the final set.” Djokovic won the hour-long first set, then losing just one point on his first serve in the second set, appeared ready to wrap up the title in the ninth game. But Cilic hit a huge serve out wide to save match point, then rallied from 1-4 down in the tiebreak, winning the last six points, to level the match. Two years younger than Djokovic, Cilic grabbed the only break in the final set to win his first title of the year. “Overall, I had a great time here this week,” Cilic said. “I have waited six years to get my hands on this trophy.” The last time Djokovic was in the final at Queen’s Club, he lost to Rafael Nadal.

When Novak Djokovic beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-5 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen’s Club, it was the Serb’s 800th match win. It also was his first ATP World Tour 500 series event since 2010. Djokovic is only the 10th man in the Open Era, since 1968, to reach 800 match wins. Jimmy Connors leads with 1,256 match victories. “I will play as long as I feel like playing,” Djokovic said. “Hopefully I can have many more years because I truly enjoy playing this sport.”

 

STELLAR SEASON CONTINUES

It’s easy to figure out why Petra Kvitova is so happy these days. “I couldn’t imagine to have five titles this time of the year, so I’m pretty happy already,” the Czech left-hander said. She got her fifth when she successfully defending her title at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham. “I didn’t really expect to win here,” she said. “I just played match by match, being very happy to be on the grass and the tennis court.” Grass fits her big game perfectly, but Magdalena Rybarikova made Kvitova work for the big trophy. The Czech finished with 34 winners to just 18 for Rybarikova. Kvitova also won 70 percent of the points on Rybarikova’s second serve. “I think today was a great final to kind of fight,” said Kvitova, who raced out to a 5-1 lead in the final set. “We played over two hours, so it was a great final to watch, I think, I hope.”

 

STUNNER

Tatjana Maria made her first trip to a WTA singles final pay off. The German rallied from 0-4 down in the second set to sweep past third-seeded Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets and became a champion for the first time. “It was amazing, the support from the first day,” Maria said in the presentation ceremony. “All the German fans, also everybody, it was really amazing, and I felt it a lot, also today for me.” The title victory was only her second win over a player ranked in the Top 20. She broke Sevastova four times and won 61 percent of the points off of the Latvian’s second serve. “It’s a great event, it’s a really nice place,” Maria said. “You really enjoy every day, so I’m really happy I could win it here.”

 

SEEDING AT US OPEN

The US Open is changing the way it seeds the players, taking into consideration mothers who returning after giving birth. It doesn’t hurt that Serena Williams will be playing the US Open for the first time since becoming a mother. “It’s the right thing to do for these mothers that are coming back,” said Katrina Adams, president and chairwoman of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) does not protect player’s rankings when they take time off because of pregnancy as they do when the player is injured. Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam tournament singles titles, has seen her ranking slide from number one in the world to 183rd since she took off to give birth to daughter Alexis Olympia. The four Grand Slam tournaments are able to change seedings, although they usually stick to the rankings.

 

SHE’S THE CAPTAIN

Amélie Mauresmo is the new captain of France’s Davis Cup team, replacing Yannick Noah. Mauresmo becomes the first woman to take the role in France and just the sixth woman to coach a Davis Cup team. The French tennis federation also announced that Julien Benneteau will captain the French Fed Cup team after his retirement later this year. He also replaces Noah. A former world number one and winner of Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2006, Mauresmo coached the Fed Cup team for three years, winning six of nine ties and leading the team to the final in 2016. She became the first woman to coach a leading male when she was hired by Andy Murray in 2014. She has also coached Michael Llodra, Victoria Azarenka and Marion Bartoli. As a player, Mauresmo won the Fed Cup in 2003 and a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She retired as a player in 2009.

 

SUGGESTIVE GESTURES

Nick Kyrgios was fined almost USD $17,500 after BBC cameras caught the Australian making suggestive gestures with his water bottle during his semifinal loss to Marin Cilic at Queen’s Club. Tournament supervisor Lars Graff said the fine was for “inappropriate behavior.”

 

SICK CALL

Tomas Berdych, who was a finalist at Wimbledon in 2010, will miss this year’s tournament because of a back injury. “I am disappointed to inform you that I was forced to pull out of the Wimbledon championship,” Berdych wrote on Twitter. “I have been struggling with back pain for a couple of months now and I have tried every possible treatment and medical solution in order to be able to keep on competing. Unfortunately, things have not got better and my attempts to be ready and healthy for the grass season were not successful.” Berdych lost in 2010 to Rafael Nadal.

 

SKIPPING EASTBOURNE

Spain’s Feliciano Lopez has withdrawn from this week’s Nature Valley International in Eastbourne, Great Britain. He won consecutive titles at Eastbourne in 2013 and 2014. The 36-year-old Lopez reached the quarterfinals at Stuttgart and the quarterfinals at Queen’s Club before deciding to rest this week to prepare for Wimbledon.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Birmingham: Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic beat Elise Mertens and Demi Schuurs 4-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Halle: Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo beat Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev 7-6 (1) 6-4

Ilkley (men): Austin Krajicek and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan beat Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 6-3 6-3

Ilkley (women): Asia Muhammad and Maria Sanchez beat Natela Dzalamidze and Galina Voskoboeva 4-6 6-3 10-1 (match tiebreak)

London: Henri Kontinen and John Peers beat Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-4 6-3

Mallorca: Andreja Klepac and Maria José Martinez Sanchez beat Lucie Safarova and Barbora Sfefkova 6-1 3-6 10-3 (match tiebreak)

 

SURFING

Eastbourne: www.lta.org.uk/major-events/nature-valley-international/

Antalya: www.antalyaopen.com/

Southsea: www.lta.org.uk

Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/index.html

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$721,000 Valley International, Eastbourne, Great Britain, grass

$497,255 Turkish Airlines Open, Antalya, Turkey, grass

 

WOMEN

$731,000 Nature Valley International, Eastbourne, Great Britain, grass

$100,000 Fuzion 100 Southsea Trophy, Southsea, Great Britain, grass

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN and WOMEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (first week)

 

Borna Coric and Roger Federer
Borna Coric and Roger Federer

Donald Trump Is More Popular Than Proposed New Davis Cup Format

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The new proposed Davis Cup format is so unpopular that even controversial  U.S. President Donald Trump enjoys better popularity ratings in polls.

Two online Twitter polls place the popularity of the new proposed one-site, one-week Davis Cup format at a 22 and 34 percent approval rating. Christopher Clarey, the long-time and respected tennis writer for the New York Times, posted a poll on his Twitter feed asking his followers “Who approves of the ITF’s plan to change Davis Cup?” Only 34 percent of Clarey’s respondents said they approved of the new one-site, one-week Davis Cup format, with 66 percent disapproving. In another poll conducted by our @WorldTennisMag Twitter feed, only 22 percent said they approved of the new format, 78 percent disapproving.

By comparison, the popularity of Trump among Americans has ranged from a low of 34 percent to a high of 46 percent, per Gallup, in the 14 months he has been the President of the United States.

The new format, as outlined here https://www.daviscup.com/en/news/281841.aspx scraps the traditional “home and away” scenarios for the World Group and has the competition played over one week in one location, with round-robin matches featuring two best-of-three singles matches and one best-of-three doubles match. The World Group matches are now stretched over four weeks of the year and are a best-of-five-match series with best-of-five matches.

Marin Cilic of Croatia made an assumption of percentages of players who would approve of the new proposed format at 99.9 percent. However, Frenchmen Lucas Pouille and Nicolas Mahut of the 2017 winning French team are fervently against the changes. Mahut said “they just killed the Davis Cup” when he learned of the format while Pouille called it a “death sentence” for the competition.

Yannick Noah, one of the most iconic Davis Cup figures in the history of the competition, said on Twitter “The end of the Davis Cup. How sad. They sold the soul of a historical ordeal. Sorry, Mr. Davis.”

The French, who perhaps have embraced the competition like no other nation, built the current Roland Garros stadium, now the site of the French championships, specifically for Davis Cup in the 1920s. Arnaud Clement, another Davis Cup warrior for France, was also against the changes as seen here: http://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Davis_Cup/52455/arnaud-clement-strongly-against-davis-cup-revamp/

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have said they see merits in the competition while Roger Federer he was “surprised” at the announcement but remained neutral as seen here: http://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Roger_Federer/52401/roger-federer-about-new-davis-cup-i-am-surprising-this-is-happening-/

Australians, who like the French, the British and the Americans comprise of the four anchor Grand Slam – and Davis Cup nations – also seem mostly against the new format. Said young Australian Davis Cupper Alex DeMinaur, “I’m completely against it. I think it is a way to ruin a competition with an amazing amount of history. I’m not for it.”
Australian captain and team legend Lleyton Hewitt retweeted an article from The Australian newspaper where author Will Swanton said the new format was  “A one-week, mickey mouse, soulless, made-for-TV World Cup of Tennis Finals — with the winner to be named the Davis Cup champion as an afterthought.” Said former Australian Davis Cupper John Fitzgerald of Davis Cup, “It is such an important, iconic event. It is certainly something you do not want to get wrong…You just want to be very confident that it’s going to work before making a move that would change forever a competition that is more than 100 years old” Another Australian Davis Cup legend Todd Woodbridge called it a “bomb” on the tennis landscape here: https://thesydney.news/2018/02/27/davis-cup-planned-format-change-a-bomb-thrown-into-tennis-landscape-warns-australias-todd-woodbridge/

Peter Bodo of ESPN wrote a deep analysis of the format here: http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/22606083/tennis-proposed-davis-cup-reform-very-much-work-progress He wrote, “A close look at the alternative format makes many wonder if the cure isn’t worse than the disease.”  Bodo quoted two-time U.S. Davis Cup winner Andre Agassi of the USA of the new format “I will have to see it to believe it,” and five-time Davis Cup winner Stan Smith saying, “It’s hard to see this going through.”

ITF President Dave Haggerty, who put forth the proposal, had an interesting question and answer session with Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim making his case for the new format here: https://www.si.com/tennis/2018/03/08/david-haggerty-itf-president-davis-cup-changes-proposal

 

Davis Cup Draw being conducted by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
Davis Cup Draw being conducted by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge

Roger Federer. Caroline Wozniacki Australian Open Champions – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS                       

Australian Open

Men’s Singles: Roger Federer beat Marin Cilic 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-3 3-6 6-1

Women’s Singles: Caroline Wozniacki beat Simona Halep 7-6 (2) 3-6 6-4

Men’s Doubles: Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4 6-4

Women’s Doubles: Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-3

Mixed Doubles: Gabriela Dabrowski and Mate Pavic beat Timea Babos and Rohan Bopanna 2-6 6-4 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Boys’ Singles: Sebastian Korda beat Tseng Chun Hsin 7-6 (6) 6-4

Girls’ Single: Liang En Shuo beat Clara Burel 6-3 6-4

Boys’ Doubles: Hugo Gaston and Clement Tabur beat Rudolf Molleker and Henri Squire 6-2 6-2

Girls’ Doubles: Liang En Shuo and Wang Xinyu beat Violet Apisah and Lulu Sun 7-6 (4) 4-6 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Men’s Wheelchair Singles: Shingo Kunieda beat Stephane Houdet 4-6 6-1 7-6 (3)

Women’s Wheelchair Singles: Diede De Groot beat Yui Kamiji 7-6 (6) 6-4

Men’s Wheelchair Doubles: Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer beat Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid 6-4 6-2

Women’s Wheelchair Doubles: Marjolein Buis and Yui Kamiji beat Diede De Groot and Aniek Van Koot 6-0 6-4

Quad Wheelchair Singles: Dylan Alcott beat David Wagner 7-6 (1) 6-1

 

OTHER:

Newport Beach (men): Taylor Fritz beat Bradley Klahn 3-6 7-5 6-0

Newport Beach (women): Danielle Collins beat Sofya Zhuk 2-6 6-4 6-3

 

SAYING

“Winning is an absolute dream come true. The fairytale continues for us, for me, it’s incredible.” – Roger Federer, after winning his sixth Australian Open and 20th Grand Slam tournament title.

“It’s a dream come true, and my voice is shaking. It’s a very emotional moment.” – Caroline Wozniacki, after winning her first Grand Slam tournament title.

“I was close again, but the gas was over in the end.” – Simona Halep, after losing the final to Caroline Wozniacki.

“I got too nervous to watch but woke up to @CaroWozniacki new number one and aussie open champ. So awesome. So happy. Are those tears? Yup they are. From a year ago to today I’m so proud my friend so proud. Literally can’t even sleep now.” – Serena Williams, in a Tweet congratulating Caroline Wozniacki’s victory.

“I want to congratulate Simona. I know today is a tough day and I’m sorry I had to win.” – Caroline Wozniacki, who won her first Grand Slam tournament title after losing her first two finals, to Simone Halep, who now has lost three Grand Slam tournament finals.

“I’m still losing and I’m still waiting. Maybe the fourth one will be with luck.” – Simona Halep, after her third Grand Slam tournament final disappointment.

“To be honest with you, regardless, I think I’ve had an incredible career. The end of the day, I think a lot of people would like to be in my position. Obviously adding a Grand Slam to my CV is what caps it off.” – Caroline Wozniacki.

“(I feel) like I’m still in a dream. I cannot believe it. It’s like a dream (that’s) real.” – Liang En Shuo

“After I was fortunate enough to achieve my dreams on the court, I have done my best to, in turn, help young people achieve theirs.” – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, after being made a Companion in the Order of Australia, the country’s highest honor.

“Honestly, I think that’s one of the most positive things about all of this. I’m never going to get that question again.” – Caroline Wozniacki, noting she will no longer be asked when she will win a Grand Slam tournament title.

 

SWISS MASTER

After winning a record-tying sixth Australian Open and his 20th Grand Slam tournament title, Roger Federer showed his human side. The Swiss master broke down in tears. “During the match I constantly thought about the fact that I could reach 20,” Federer told the Swiss TV station SRF. “I was nervous the whole day, I thought about what would happen if I lose, if I win. That’s why I broke down during the (post-match) speech.” And despite Federer’s strong start, winning the opening four games in just 13 minutes, the 36-year-old found himself in a battle with big-serving Marin Cilic. The Croat over-powered Federer in the fourth set, winning five consecutive games, and appeared to be dominating the match as the two began the fifth. “I got off to a flyer, but I froze in the tiebreak and lost that second set and lost control of the match,” Federer said. “I got a bit lucky tonight, I think.” He also found his serve again in the final set and won five of the last six games to once again walk away with the big trophy. “It was an amazing journey for me. It could have been the best two weeks of my life,” Cilic said. “I had the chance at the beginning of the fifth, but he played a great match.”

 

SWEET CAROLINE

Caroline Wozniacki turned her third Grand Slam tournament final into her first major title. “I’m sorry I’m just taking a second to hug Daphne,” Wozniacki said of the women’s singles champion trophy. “I dreamt of this moment so many years, to be here now it’s a dream come true.” Along with the biggest title of her career, Wozniacki also regains the number one ranking for the first time in six years, a record between stints at the top in the Open era. It was the first time in the Open era that players ranked one and two in the world faced each other in a major final without either having won a Grand Slam title. “I know that today is a tough day,” Wozniacki said to the runner-up, Simona Halep, who has now lost in three Grand Slam finals. “I’m sorry I had to win today, but I’m sure we’ll have many matches in the future. Incredible match, incredible fight. And again, I’m sorry.” Halep became dizzy and called a medical timeout in the second set to have her blood pressure taken. She then began grabbing at her left thigh between points, but won the set to level the match. Then it was the Dane’s turn. After losing her serve for a second straight time to fall behind 3-4, Wozniacki had her left leg taped by the trainer. She then won the next three games to capture her first Grand Slam title. Wozniacki is the third first-time major winner of the women’s singles in the last four Grand Slam tournaments.

Following the match, Halep was hospitalized and treated for dehydration.

 

SLAM TWICE

The Australian Open proved to be a financial windfall for Mate Pavic. The Croatian pocketed USD $325,000 in the fortnight after he teamed with Oliver Marach of Austria to win the men’s doubles, then with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski to capture the mixed doubles title. “I have to say I did not imagine that I’m able to do that,” Pavic said of his double doubles success.  The Australian Open was the first tournament Pavic and Dabrowski had played as a team. And they didn’t drop a set until the final, where they rallied to win the title in a match tiebreak when Dabrowski hit a return winner on match point.

 

SIDELINED?

Pain in his shoulder has slowed Grigor Dimitrov’s preparation to defend his title at next week’s Sofia Open. “I underwent a medical examination,” the Bulgarian said. “I didn’t feel well, I felt pain in my shoulder.” Dimitrov was upset in the Australian Open quarterfinals by Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund. Dimitrov blamed the loss on his fatigue. “I played some tough matches in Australia and I got tired,” the 26-year-old said.

 

STRONG SHOWING

Although blisters along with Roger Federer ended his run in the Australian Open semifinals, Hyeon Chung is heading home to South Korea as a hero. “I think he’s going to achieve next level excellence, Top 10 for sure,” Federer said of Chung. The 21-year-old Korean backed up his Next Gen ATP Finals title last November by eliminating Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev en route to the penultimate round of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. “I think (I took) a lot of confidence,” Chung said. “I played a lot of good players in the last two weeks. I can play more comfortable on the court with the great players like Roger. I think I can play better next time.” Chung became the first player from Korea – male or female – to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

 

STAR FROM TAIWAN

South Korea’s Hyeon Chung wasn’t the only young Asian to blossom at the Australian Open. Liang En Shuo became the first player from Chinese Taipei to become a Grand Slam girls’ singles champion when she stopped Clara Burel of France in straight sets. And she wasn’t finished. Liang teamed with China’s Wang Xinyu to win the junior girls doubles, downing Violet Apisah of Papua New Guinea and Lulu Sun of Switzerland. Liang joins Wang Shi-ting, the current Chinese Taipei Fed Cup captain, and Latisha Chan, currently the top-ranked doubles player, as players from their country to win a junior girls’ Grand Slam title. Wang partnered Nicole Pratt to win the French Open girls’ doubles in 1989, while Chan and China’s Sun Sheng-nan won the Australian Open girls’ title in 2004.

 

SENDS REGARDS

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer may be one and two in the rankings and big competitors on a tennis court. But that doesn’t affect their friendship when they aren’t facing each other, usually with a tournament title on the line. Because a right leg injury, Nadal was forced to retire in his fifth-set Australian Open quarterfinal against Marin Cilic. “I wrote to Rafa late last night before I went to bed,” Federer said in an on-court interview. “It was the last thing I did, to make sure he was OK. It was not nice to see a rival and friend go out.” Nadal said the injury was “not so serious. In the next few days I will be in sports rest and perform anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. The doctors tell me that in two weeks I will be able to get back on court, progressively resuming my workouts. … I will play in Acapulco, Indian Wells and Miami.”

 

SPLITSVILLE AGAIN

Twenty years to the day after Petr Korda won the Australian Open men’s singles title, his son, Sebastian, won the Australian Open junior singles boys crown. In keeping with family tradition, Sebastian celebrated with the same scissor-kick routine his dad performed in 1998 after beating Marcelo Rios of Chile. Sebastian Korda beat Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin to win his title. “It feels pretty good,” young Korda said. “It’s definitely special, including being here in Australia. My sister won her first title here, as well. My dad won his only Grand Slam title here, so it’s very special.” Korda’s sister, Jessica, is a golfer and won her first professional title, the Women’s Australian Open, in Melbourne in 2012. “I would love to be there, especially 20 years later, it’s very special for me,” Petr Korda said. “But I decided to stay home to let him enjoy the Australian Open the way he needs to enjoy it. If I would be there, I believe I would be a distraction because that trip would not be about him, it would all be about dad’s 20th (anniversary).”

 

SPOTLIGHT

Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who won the Australian Open women’s singles four time, has been made a Companion in the Order of Australia, the country’s highest honor. Now 66, Goolagong Cawley won the Australian Open women’s singles in four consecutive years, 1974 thr4ough 1977, along with five Australian Open doubles titles. She also won Wimbledon twice and the French Open once, as well as the Wimbledon doubles in 1974. Her latest honor is in recognition to her services to tennis and her work as a role model and advocate for young Indigenous Australians.

 

STAYING AWAY

Citing problems between Israel and the Palestinians, Thulas Nxesi, South Africa’s Sports and Recreation minister, says he will boycott the Davis Cup tie between Israel and South Africa this weekend. “International solidarity and the boycott against Apartheid South Africa played a big role in our liberation,” Nxesi wrote in a letter. “Indeed, one of the most well-known slogans came out of that contest – ‘no normal sport with an abnormal regime!’” While Nxesi says he’s staying away, Tennis South Africa (TSA) said that while the event has “evoke a variety of views from different groups within our society,” the competition will go on as planned.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Newport Beach (men): James Cerretani and Leander Paes beat Treat Huey and Denis Kudla 6-4 7-5

Newport Beach (women): Misaki Doi and Jil Teichmann beat Jamie Loeb and Rebecca Peterson 7-6 (4) 1-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

 

lavackov

SURFING

Dallas: www.tennischampionshipsofdallas.com/

Midland: www.dowtennisclassic.com

St. Petersburg: http://wta.formulatx.com/en/

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

Sofia: https://sofiaopen.bg/en

Quito: www.ecuadoropen.com.ec/

Montpellier: www.opensuddefrance.com/

Fed Cup: www.fedcup.com

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

 

MEN

$125,000 The RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA, hard

 

WOMEN

$799,000 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, St. Petersburg, Russia, hard

$250,000 Taiwan Open, Taipei, Taiwan, hard

$100,000 Dow Tennis Classic, Midland, Michigan, USA, hard

 

DAVIS CUP

(First Round)

 

WORLD GROUP

France vs. Netherlands at Albertville, France, hard

Japan vs. Italy at Morioka, Japan, carpet

Spain vs. Great Britain at Marbella, Spain, clay

Australia vs. Germany at Brisbane, Australia, hard

Kazakhstan vs. Switzerland at Astana, Kazakhstan, carpet

Croatia vs. Canada at Ostjek, Croatia, clay

Serbia vs. United States at Nis, Serbia, clay

Belgium vs. Hungary at Liege, Belgium, hard

 

GROUP I

Americans Zone: Chile vs. Ecuador at Santiago, Chile, clay; Barbados vs. Colombia at St. Michael, Barbados, hard; Dominican Republic vs. Brazil at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, hard

Asia/Oceania Zone: China vs. New Zealand at Tianjin, China, hard; Pakistan vs. Korea at Islamabad, Pakistan, grass

Europe/Africa Zone: South Africa vs. Israel at Centurion, South Africa, hard; Ukraine vs. Sweden at Dnipro, Ukraine, hard; Austria vs. Belarus at St. Polten, Austria, clay

 

GROUP II

Americas Zone: Guatemala vs. Venezuela at Guatemala, Guatemala, hard; El Salvador vs. Uruguay at San Salvador, El Salvador, hard; Mexico vs. Puerto Rico at Tijuana, Mexico, hard; Bolivia vs. Peru at La Paz, Bolivia

Asia/Oceania Zone: Sri Lanka vs. Thailand at Colombo, Sri Lanka, clay; Indonesia vs. Philippines at Jakarta, Indonesia, hard; Hong Kong vs. Iran at Hong Kong, hard; Lebanon vs. Chinese Taipei at Beirut, Lebanon, hard

Europe/Africa Zone: Romania vs. Luxembourg at Piatra Neamt, Romania, hard; Morocco vs. Georgia at Marrakech, Morocco, clay; Slovenia vs. Poland at Maribor, Slovenia, hard; Zimbabwe vs. Turkey at Harare, Zimbabwe, hard; Egypt vs. Norway at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, hard; Denmark vs. Ireland at Birkerod, Denmark, hard; Tunisia vs. Finland at Tunis, Tunisia, hard; Lithuania vs. Estonia at Siauliai, Lithuania, hard

 

GROUP IV

Asia/Oceania Zone at Muscat Oman, hard: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Guam, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$697,930 Diema Xtra Sofia Open, Sofia, Bulgaria, hard

$697,930 Open Sud de France, Montpellier, France, hard

$561,345 Ecuador Open, Quito, Ecuador, clay

$100,000 Kunel Patel San Francisco Open, San Francisco, California, USA, hard

 

FED CUP

First Round

World Group

Belarus vs. Germany at Minsk, Belarus, hard

Czech Republic vs. Switzerland at Prague, Czech Republic, hard

France vs. Belgium at La Roche-sur-Yon, France, hard

United States vs. Netherlands at Asheville, Tennessee, USA, hard

 

WORLD GROUP II

Slovakia vs. Russia at Bratislava, Slovakia, hard; Australia vs. Ukraine at Canberra, Australia, grass; Romania vs. Canada at Cluj-Napoca, Romania, hard; Italy vs. Spain at Chieti, Italy, clay

 

GROUP I

Americas Zone at Asuncion, Paraguay, clay: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela

Asia/Oceania Zone at New Delhi, India, hard: China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Thailand

Europe/Africa Zone at Tallinn, Estonia, hard: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey

 

GROUP II

Asia/Oceania Group at Isa Town, Bahrain, hard: Bahrain, Indonesia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Oman, Pacific Oceania, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan

 

Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki

“The Fairy Tale Continues” As Roger Federer Wins His 20th Major Title In Australia

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

“The fairy tale continues,” said a teary Roger Federer in his post-match speech after once again making history at the 2018 Australian Open.

Federer’s 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 final-round victory over Marin Cilic marked his men’s record-extending 20th major singles title and his record-tying sixth singles title in Melbourne.

Federer also becomes the only men’s player to win three different major titles at least five times (Wimbledon, Australian, U.S. Open) and two different major titles at least six times (Wimbledon, Australian Open). His win concluded a successful defense of the dramatic Australian Open final he won last year as a perceived washed-up No. 17-seed recovering from a knee injury who was down 1-3 in the fifth set against chief rival Rafael Nadal. It marked the first time he successfully defended a major title since the 2008 U.S. Open – a decade ago!

All of these accomplishments for Federer come at the age of 36. (Although Ken Rosewall still holds the record as the oldest Australian Open champion at the age of 37 in 1972.)

Against Cilic, Federer jumped out of the gate in the final like a Swiss Olympic downhill skier, winning 15 of the first 18 points of the match to cruise in the first set. On ESPN, John McEnroe called Cilic “a ghost” in the first set while younger brother Patrick called Federer, “the greatest starter” in tennis, “especially in big matches.” It appeared as though Federer would replicate his straight-set win over Cilic from the Wimbledon final the previous July. However, Cilic started to find his range – and got his nerve – in the second set and gutted out the second- set tiebreaker 7-5, marking the first dropped set for Federer during the fortnight.

Federer rebounded in the third set to take a two-sets-to-one lead and in the fourth set, he appeared to be close to finishing off the match, breaking Cilic to take a 2-0 lead. However, Cilic broke Federer at love to square the match at 3-3, en route to winning five straight games to force a fifth set as Federer’s serve deserted him.

Federer nearly lost control of the match in the first game of the final set. After a non-challenged out shot from Cilic that was missed by the linesman – that would have given him an easy service hold – Federer faced a break point. Cilic missed an easy forehand off a Federer second serve that he may remember for a while. He had another break point a point later, but again missed a forehand return, but off of a strong Federer first serve.

With Cilic serving at 30-30 in the next game after Federer held serve, Cilic hit a second serve that Federer missed but Federer almost simultaneously challenged the serve call. It was revealed to be out, and a Cilic double fault, that gave Federer the break point. Federer took full advantage and jammed Cilic with his return of serve and broke to take the 2-0 lead in the fifth set. Cilic then began to misfire off the ground and began to tire as Federer held for 3-0 and 4-1. He broke Cilic again for a 5-1 lead in the final set before serving out another championship.

Federer’s fairy tale tennis career certainly started with uncertainty as he struggled to get over the hump and win his first major title in 2001 and 2002 when he was anointed to be the next great player. After finally winning his first major title at Wimbledon in 2003, Federer also cried tears of joy and satisfaction.

As documented in my “Days of Roger Federer” book, Sunday’s final against Cilic came exactly 11 years to the day when Federer broke into the double-digits in his Grand Slam tournament title haul with his 10th major title with a straight-set win over Fernando Gonzalez in Melbourne. It took Federer three-and-a-half years to win his first 10 majors and 11 years to win his second 10 majors.

Federer’s sixth Australian Open ties him with Novak Djokovic and Roy Emerson for the most men’s singles titles Down Under.

Federer joins Margaret Court (24), Serena Williams (23) and Steffi Graf (22) as the only players to win 20 or more major singles titles.

Federer moves again farther away from his major rival Nadal, who won his 16th major singles title at the U.S. Open last September, in the men’s major haul

“It continues to exhaust superlatives,” said Chris Fowler on ESPN of Federer and his greatness.

Randy Walker is the author of three published books, On This Day In Tennis History, The Days of Roger Federer and On This Day In Golf History.

Roger Federer
Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal Loss Places Roger Federer As Even Stronger Australian Open Favorite

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John McEnroe called it a “high probability.”

The 2018 Australian Open seemed to be on a collision course for another Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal men’s singles final.

However, Nadal failed to firm up his end of the bargain as a hip injury forced the No. 1 seed to shockingly retire after two games of the fifth set in the quarterfinals against No. 6 Marin Cilic of Croatia.

The upset loss sets up an unpredictable men’s singles semifinal between Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion and last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, against unheralded Kyle Edmund of Great Britain. Edmund, ranked No. 49, upset No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets in the quarterfinals.

“No one in the history of making draws had Marin Cilic and Kyle Edmund in the semifinals” said Brad Gilbert on ESPN2,

Defending champion Federer sits as the strong favorite to win his 20th major title as he faces No. 20-ranked Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, a player who he has beaten 19 out of 25 career meetings. In the other quarterfinal, to play the Federer-Berdych winner in the semifinal, is No. 58 Hyeon Chung of South Korea against No. 97 Tennys Sandgren of the United States.

A Wimbledon final repeat between Federer and Cilic from last summer seems inevitable. Federer won that confrontation 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, Cilic not able to handle the pressure of the situation and also not being in the best of health. Federer leads the head-to-head with Cilic 6-1, Federer’s only loss coming at the 2014 US Open semifinals 63 64 64 after Federer was hampered after a five-set win over Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals, coming from two-sets-to-love down.

Last year, Federer and Nadal clashed in an epic final where Federer came back from 1-3 down in the fifth set to win his 18th major singles title by a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 scoreline.

Speaking on ESPN2 on American television, McEnroe went as far as guaranteeing that Federer and Nadal would play Sunday in a

Grand Slam final for a 10th time. All of Federer and Nadal’s biggest challengers have mostly fallen with six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic losing to the up-and-coming and impressive Chung of Korea in the fourth round and two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray not even posting in Australia due to his continued hip problems. Other young gun challengers like Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Jack Sock have all tripped up before the quarterfinals.

“They can’t seem to get close to the real greats,” said McEnroe of the young challengers to Nadal and Federer.

Fans will have to closely monitor the Australian Open odds from CrownBet, the fastest growing online sports and racing wagering business in Australia, for the latest on the men’s singles competition.

The courts at Melbourne Court are also playing especially fast this year – “As quick as I have ever seen it down here” said McEnroe – gives Federer, the eight-time Wimbledon champion, a great advantage with his effective serve and more attacking style.

“It plays right into Federer’s hands,” said McEnroe of the fast court-conditions in Melbourne.

Nadal has struggled with knee problems since winning the U.S. Open last September that forced him to withdraw from the 2017 year-end ATP World Tour Finals as well as preventing him from playing any warm-up events leading into the Australian Open. He showed some vulnerability in a tough four-set win over Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round.

Federer has not dropped a set in reaching the quarterfinals, which helps his 36-year-old body during the wear and tear of the two weeks of major tournament tennis. Federer’s biggest threat to winning a 20th major title could be his fitness as his older body doesn’t recover as it once did and could suddenly hamper him in the later rounds of the event. Just ask Nadal!

Marin Cilic
Marin Cilic

Roger Federer Wins His 8th Wimbledon, Garbiñe Muguruza Her First – Mondays with Bob Greene

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Mondays with Bob Greene

 

STARS

Wimbledon

 

Men’s singles: Roger Federer beat Marin Cilic 6-3 6-1 6-4

Women’s’ singles: Garbiñe Muguruza beat Venus Williams 7-5 6-0

Men’s doubles: Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo beat Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 5-7 7-5 7-6 (2) 3-6 13-11

Women’s doubles: Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Chan Hao-Ching and Monica Niculescu 6-0 6-0

Mixed doubles: Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis beat Henri Kontinen and Heather Watson 6-4 6-4

Boys’ singles: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Axel Geller 7-6 (2) 6-3

Girls’ singles: Claire Liu beat Ann Li 6-2 5-7 6-2

Boys’ doubles: Axel Geller and Hsu Yu Hsiou beat Jurij Rodionov and Michael Vrbensky 6-4 6-4

Girls’ doubles: Olga Danilovic and Kaja Juvan beat Catherine McNally and Whitney Osuigwe 6-4 6-3

Men’s Wheelchair singles: Stefan Olsson beat Shingo Kunieda 6-4 6-2

Women’s Wheelchair singles: Diede de Groot beat Sabine Ellerbrock 6-0 6-4

Men’s Wheelchair doubles: Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid beat Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer 6-7 (5) 7-5 7-6 (3)

Women’s Wheelchair doubles: Yui Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley beat Marjolein Buis and Diede de Groot 2-6 6-3 6-0

 

OTHER

Nicola Kuhn beat Viktor Galovic 2-6 7-5 4-2 retired to win the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig, Germany

Jana Cepelova beat Danka Kovinic 6-4 6-3 to win the Hungarian Pro Circuit Ladies Open in Budapest, Hungary

Johanna Larsson beat Tatjana Maria 6-1 6-4 to win the Grand Est Open 88 in Contrexeville, France

 

SAYING

“I was just really a normal guy growing up in Basel, hoping to make a career on the tennis tour. I guess I dreamed, I believed and really hoped that I could actually maybe really do it. So I put in a lot of work and it paid off.” – Roger Federer, after winning a record eighth men’s singles title at Wimbledon.

“I am really proud of myself for everything I did in these two weeks over here. I played, I would say, probably the best tennis of my life. That is what I am going to take home with me.” – Marin Cilic, following his straight-set loss to Roger Federer.

“Two years ago I lost in the final against Serena and she told me I would win one day. Here I am. Finally!” – Garbiñe Muguruza, after beating Venus Williams to win the women’s singles.

“She played really well. I mean, she played top gtennis, so I have to give her credit for just playing a better match.” – Venus Williams, following her loss to Garbiñe Muguruza.

“I don’t see anything that would indicate really Roger is getting older or anything like that.” – Tomas Berdych, who lost to Roger Federer 7-6 (4) 7-6 (4) 6-4 in the semifinals.

“This is definitely the biggest victory since then, since I came back, especially at that stage of a Grand Slam, playing one of the guys who is dominating the tennis this year again. Definitely the biggest win.” – Gilles Muller, after upsetting Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13.

“It’s not the result that I was expecting.” – Rafael Nadal.

“Most of the time when he was hitting ridiculous shots, I just laughed and said, ‘Good job, let’s see if he does it again.’ He did. For three sets.” – Dustin Brown, after losing in straight sets to Andy Murray.

“It’s been a fun run.” – Sam Querrey, after reaching the semifinals where he lost to Marin Cilic 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-5.

“She dictated the match from the very first ball till the very last one. I think she just showed why she’s a five-time champion here. It was very difficult for me to get a good foothold in the match. The few opportunities that I did get, she did incredibly well to take them away from me.” – Johanna Konta, after losing her semifinal match to Venus Williams.

“Martina Navratilova told us, ‘Do you know you girls have to finish till 11?’ After the first set, I looked at the clock. OK, we’re still fine.” – Elena Vesnina, after teaming with Ekaterina Makarova to win the women’s doubles final in 54 minutes, crushing Chan Hao-Ching and Monica Niculescu 6-0 6-0.

“I’m just out there competing. I try to produce whatever I need at the time. There’s no plan or anything like that. I don’t plan. I’m just trying to compete.” – Venus Williams.

“We knew before the final a British player was going to win the mixed doubles. I’m just happy it was mine.” – Martina Hingis, who teamed with Britain’s Jamie Murray to win the mixed doubles, beating Britain’s Heather Watson and Finland’s Henri Kontinen.

“I say, ‘Man, you serve so hard, I can’t see the ball.’ Was like (Ivo) Karlovic.” – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, after beating Alex Geller, who hit a 135 mph serve in the junior boys’ final.

“She went for a lot of shots. She competed really well. She kept herself really in the game with her attitude. I thought she just did a lot of things really well and kept it close.” – Venus Williams, discussing the play of Jelena Ostapenka after beating the French Open champion 6-3 7-5.

“You know you’re old when you are older than your opponent’s mother.” – Martina Navratilova, saying she knows what it’s like for the 37-year-old Venus Williams to be facing young players.

“I’m not thinking about age. I feel quite capable, to be honest, and powerful. So whatever age that is, as long as I feel like that, then I know I can contend for titles every time.” – Venus Williams.

“I will definitely remember today. Although right now I am not celebrating a victory on the court, I have become the world number one.” – Karolina Pliskova, moves to the top of the WTA rankings despite losing her second-round match at Wimbledon.

“I don’t think there’s a woman player – and there really shouldn’t be a female athlete – that is not totally supportive of Andy Murray. He has spoken up for women’s issues and women’s rights, especially in tennis, forever and he does it again. That’s one thing that we love about him.” – Serena Williams, after Andy Murray corrected a reporter who said Sam Querrey was the first American to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since 2009.

“He’s introduced me to a lot of ‘80s rock bands. I keep having to remind him I was born in ’91.” – Coco Vandeweghe, talking about her coach, 1987 Wimbledon winner Pat Cash.

 

SWISS MASTER

Debatably playing the best tennis of his career, Roger Federer brushed back Marin Cilic to win a record eighth Wimbledon men’s singles title and become the tournament’s oldest champion in the modern era. It was Federer’s 19th career Grand Slam tournament title and his second of 2017. Even the 35-year-old Swiss master is impressed with his play this year. “It’s disbelief I can achieve such heights,” Federer said after his straight-set victory. “I wasn’t sure I would ever be here in another final after last year.” That was when Federer decided to skip the remainder of the 2016 season to let his body mend. “But I always believed. I kept on believing and dreaming I could get back. Here am I today with the eighth. It’s fantastic. If you keep believing, you can go far in your life.” Federer, who will turn 36 next month, broke the tie for seven Wimbledon titles he shared with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw. The latter won in an era when the defending champion only showed up for the final. Cilic suffered a blister on his left foot and had it treated in the second set. The 2014 US Open champion, Cilic sobbed inconsolably and buried his head in his towel during a changeover. Later, Cilic said the tears were emotional and not because of the physical pain. “It was just that feeling that I wasn’t able to give my best,” he said. Perhaps fittingly, Federer also broke down in tears – after he closed out the victory with a second-serve ace. It was Federer’s fifth title of the year in seven tournaments after he skipped the clay court season. “I’ve got to take more time off,” Federer joked. “I’ll be gone again for the next six months. I don’t know if it will work as well again.”

 

STUNNER

It wasn’t that Garbiñe Muguruza beat Venus Williams to win the Wimbledon women’s singles final. It was how the Spaniard crushed her opponent in the second set. Muguruza won her second Grand Slam tournament title, became just the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon and became only the second player to beat Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final. Muguruza’s coach, Conchita Martinez, was the first Spaniard to win Wimbledon’s women’s crown. And until Muguruza, the only person to beat Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, in a singles final on the grass courts was her sister Serena. “I had the hardest match today against Venus,” Muguruza said after the match. “She’s an incredible player. I grew up watching her play.” And now she has beaten the American in Venus’ favorite spot, Centre Court at Wimbledon. She did it with a supreme display of power hitting, and no points were more important than the final three points of the match’s 10th game. With Muguruza serving, Williams reached set point, 4-5 30-40. But the Spaniard held and Williams failed to win another game. “The first set was tough. We both had a lot of chances,” Muguruza said. “I’m glad I took mine.” From then on it was Muguruza who came out on top of a series of bruising baseline rallies. And it was Muguruza who ended Venus Williams’ bid for a sixth Wimbledon title.

 

SHE’S NUMBER ONE

There’s a new number one in women’s tennis these days, but not by winning. Karolina Pliskova lost in the second round to Magdalena Rybarikova. Romania’s Simona Halep lost in the quarterfinals to Johanna Konta. And Angelique Kerber lost in eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the fourth round. All that losing shuffled the WTA rankings, with Pliskova taking over the top rung. Kerber could have remained at the apex by reaching the final, which she didn’t. Halep could have become number one by beating Konta, which she didn’t. So Pliskova became the first Czech to be number one since the rankings began in 1975. A native of Czechoslovakia, Martina Navratilova was representing the United States when she became number one in 1978. Pliskova has won three titles this year, including the Wimbledon warm-up event at Eastbourne. She has never won a major singles title, but that was also true of former number ones Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic and Carolina Wozniacki.

Odd fact. Angelique Kerber spent a total of 34 weeks as world number one. That’s longer than Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova combined were atop the rankings.

 

SUCH A LONG DAY

Marcelo Melo came out a double winner in the men’s doubles. The Brazilian teamed with Lukasz Kubot of Poland outlasted Austria’s Oliver Marach and Croatia’s Mate Pavic in the second longest men’s doubles final in Wimbledon history. At 4 hours, 40 minutes, it was 21 minutes short of the record set in 1992 when John McEnroe and Michael Stich beat Jim Grabb and Richey Reneberg 5-7 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-6 (5) 19-17. The victory also returned Melo to the number one ranking in men’s doubles. It was the second Grand Slam doubles title for both Melo and Kubot. Melo won the French Open in 2015 with Ivan Dodig, while Kubot captured the 2014 Australian Open with Robert Lindstedt.

 

SHORT DAY

Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina have been in the women’s doubles final at Wimbledon before. This time, they won, crushing Taiwan’s Chan Hao-Ching and Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-0 6-0 in just 54 minutes. It was the first “double bagel” in the women’s doubles final since 1953, when Shirley Fry and Doris Hart beat Maureen Connolly and Julia Sampson 6-0 6-0. It also was the third Grand Slam tournament title for the Russians, who captured the French Open in 2013 and the US Open in 2014. Makarova and Vesnina, who were seeded second, lost the 2015 Wimbledon final.

The top-seeded team of American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Czech Lucie Safarova withdrew before their second-round match after Mattek-Sands suffered a severe injury to her right knee in a singles match. Mattek-Sands and Safarova had won the previous three Grand Slam tournament women’s doubles titles.

 

SHE COMES CALLING 

When Switzerland’s Martina Hingis said she needed a partner, Britain’s Jamie Murray was quick to sign up. Wimbledon ended with the two of them capturing the mixed doubles, defeating defending champions Heather Watson of Britain and Finland’s Henri Kontinen. “(Men’s) doubles is obviously my biggest goal of the year,” said Murray, who has been ranked as high as number one in the world in doubles. “It’s going to take something pretty special to kind of maybe potentially take my eye off the ball with it,” Murray said. Then he got the call from Hingis. “It was a great opportunity,” Murray said. “I mean, she’s won everything, won so many mixed as well. I knew I could do well with her. For me, it was kind of an easy decision.” Twenty years ago, Hingis won her lone Wimbledon singles title. The Swiss miss now has 23 Grand Slam tournament titles: six mixed doubles, 12 women’s doubles and five singles. Murray won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title 10 years ago with Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.

 

SINGLE ACHIEVEMENT

It was a battle of Americans for the junior girls’ title at Wimbledon, just like it was at the French Open. Claire Liu, who lost on the clay in Paris, beat Ann Li to become the first American to win the female junior crown at the All England Club since Chanda Rubin in 1992. “All the Americans are doing really well,” said Liu, who lost in the French Open final to yet another American, Whitney Osuigwe. “It’s really good to have a good group of juniors pushing each other.” It was the first Wimbledon final between two American juniors since 1979 when Mary Lou Piatek beat Alycia Moulton.

 

SPANISH POWER

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain became just the second Spanish Junior Wimbledon champion and the first since Manuel Orantes won in 1967 when he beat Argentina’s Axel Geller. “I’m in shock,” the winner said. “I was thinking, ‘OK, I want to win this. I want to show the people who I am, that I want to play tennis, professional tennis. I want to show them what I want to do with my life.’” Davidovich Fokina raced to a 4-0 lead in the first-set tiebreak before taking it 7-2 over the big-serving Geller. The Argentine did come away with a title, teaming with Hsu Yu Hsiou of Taiwan to capture the junior boys’ doubles over Jurij Rodionov of Austria and Michael Vrbensky of the Czech Republic.

 

SET FOR WTT

Wimbledon finalist Venus Williams and two other top players will compete in World TeamTennis (WTT) this year. Williams will play her sixth season for the Washington Kastles at the Philadelphia Freedoms on July 24 and at home against the Springfield, Missouri, Lasers on July 25. Maria Sharapova will play for the Orange County Breakers, while John Isner will join Eugenie Bouchard on the New York Empire roster. Besides Williams, the Kastles will have Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey and Australian Nick Kyrgios. The WTT final will be held August 5 in San Diego, California, USA.

 

SHE’S WHO?

What’s in a name. Apparently French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko’s first name is not Jelena. During Wimbledon, she has been called Alona. The 20-year-old Latvian said her family and friends have always called her Alona, referring to it as her “real” name. Her legal name is Jelena. Because “Alona” doesn’t have a name day – celebrated in many countries like a birthday – her parents named her Jelena, who has a name day and sounds in Latvian similar to Alona. A recent update in Latvia, which Ostapenko said was “like one week ago,” means the name Alona will have its own name day and be celebrated on August 18.

 

SWISS DECISION

Boris Becker has won his latest court appearance. A former business partner had claimed the three-time Wimbledon champion owed him 40 million Swiss francs (USD $41.4 million) after a British court last month declared Becker bankrupt. But a Swiss court rejected the claim of businessman Hans-Dieter Cleven and ordered Cleven to pay the legal costs plus 90,000 Swiss francs in damages to the 49-year-old Becker. Cleven, who worked with Becker on several projects in the past, said the former star had missed several deadlines to repay him the money. Cleven can appeal the court’s ruling. Becker has denied he is bankrupt and says he can meet all his financial obligations.

 

SERENA THE BEST

Despite not currently playing because of her pregnancy, Serena Williams is still racking up the trophies. The American won the 2017 ESPY Award as the Best Female Tennis Player for the ninth time in her career. She also was named Best Female Athlete in 2003 and 2013, giving her a total of 11 ESPY Awards.

 

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Braunschweig: Julian Knowle and Igor Zelenay beat Kevin Krawietz and Gero Kretschmer 6-3 76 (3)

Budapest: Mariana Duque-Marino and Maria Irigoyen beat Aleksandra Krunic and Nina Stojanovic 7-6 (3) 7-5

Contrexeville: Anastasiya Komardina and Elitsa Kostova beat anon Arcangioli and Sara Cakarevic 6-3 6-4

 

SURFING

Astana: www.ktf.kz

Gstaad: www.ladieschampionshipgstaad.ch/

Newport: www.halloffameopen.com/

Båstad: www.swedishopen.org/

Umag: www.croatiaopen.hr/hr/naslovnica/

Bucharest: www.brdbucharestopen.ro

Hamburg: https://german-open-hamburg.de/en

Atlanta: www.bbtatlantaopen.com/

Granby: www.challengerbanquenationale.com/

Nanchang: www.jxopen.net/

 

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN

$615,689 Skystar Swedish Open, Båstad, Sweden, clay

$615,689 Plava Laguna Croatia Open, Umag, Croatia, clay

$600,345 Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, grass

$125,000 Presidents Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Bucharest Open, Bucharest, Romania, clay

$226,750 Ladies Championship Gstaad by iXion Services, Gstaad, Switzerland, clay

$100,000 Presidents Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan, hard

 

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$1,629,375 German Tennis Championships, Hamburg, Germany, hard

$720,410 BB&T Atlanta Open, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, hard

$616,605 J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open, Gstaad, Switzerland, clay

$100,000 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby, Granby, Canada, hard

 

WOMEN

$226,750 Ericsson Open, Båstad, Sweden, clay

$226,750 JiangXi Open, Nanchang, China, hard

 

Roger Federer
Roger Federer