Novak Djokivic Archives - World Tennis Magazine

Mondays with Bob Greene

4 November 2019

STARS

Ashleigh Barty beat Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 to win the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen in Shenzhen, China

Novak Djokovic beat Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 to win the Rolex Paris Masters in Paris, France

Zhang Zhizhen beat Li Zhe 6-3 4-6 6-1 to win the Shenzhen Longhua Open in Zhenzhen, China

SAYING

“To come through a week like this, you have to beat the best of the best.” – Ashleigh Barty, who did just that in winning the season finale WTA Finals.

“She’s number one for a reason.” – Elina Svitolina, after falling to Ashleigh Barty in the Shenzhen title match.

“I thought I had the best serving match of the tournament and that’s why the match was pretty short. … I couldn’t be happier with this win.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning the Paris Masters for the fifth time.

“Credit to Novak. Of course, it’s a tough ending, but he was the better player.” – Denis Shapovalov, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final.

“We played some great tennis. There was no one out there in this tournament who could beat us.” – Timea Babos, after she and Kristina Mladenovic captured the season-ending WTA Finals doubles title.

“I will do all I can do and all what’s possible to recover for it.” – Rafael Nadal, on his chances of playing in the year-ending Nitto ATP Finals in London next week after suffering an abdominal injury that caused his to pull out of the Paris Masters.

“I really didn’t want to retire. I wanted to finish the match. It was not possible. I’m really disappointed about how my body failed me.” – Belinda Bencic, who criticized the court after becoming the fourth player to pull out of the WTA Finals.

SWEET ENDING

It has been a special year for Ashleigh Barty. The 23-year-old Australian grabbed her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, took over the number one ranking, then wrapped up 2019 by winning the WTA Finals title in her first appearance at the season-ending event. “It feels like it’s been a year that just hasn’t stopped,” Barty said. “It’s been a year of incredible ups and downs; I think more ups than downs. To cap it off with a very, very special night tonight in Shenzhen is really cool.” She topped the year with a straight-set victory over defending WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. The Final final produced five service breaks in the first eight games of the second set with Barty leading 5-3 and serving for the match. Barty did just that, at love. “I think she was playing great match today,” Svitolina said. “She was on it 100 percent. Then it was very, very tough. I missed just little bit of my chances, and that’s what made the difference.” For the victory, Barty collected USD $4.42 million, the richest winner’s purse ever in the sport. And she’s not through. “There’s one more very important week to cap off what would be the most perfect year,” Barty said, noting Australia will be at home to France next week in Perth. “This Fed Cup final is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. Playing for your country, for myself to play in front of my friends and family, representing Australia, wearing the green and gold. There’s absolutely nothing better.”

SERB DOMINATES

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic cruised to a record-extending fifth Paris Masters title with a straight-set win over Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. Despite the win, Djokovic will drop out of the top spot of the ATP Tour rankings going into next week’s Nitto ATP Tour Finals. However, Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who takes over the number one spot, withdrew from the Paris event with an abdominal muscle strain and could be doubtful for the London finale. Against the 20-year-old Shapovalov, Djokovic was dominating. The winner faced only one break point as he won his 34^th career Masters title, one back of Nadal’s all-time record. “I served very well, there were not many rallies in the match,” Djokovic said. “A break in each set was enough. It was the best serving performance in this tournament.” The Serb won his fifth title of 2019 and 77^th of his career, tying hm with John McEnroe in the fifth spot behind Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Nadal. Playing in his 50^th Masters final, Djokovic began the match with an ace and held at love. It was the closest the young Canadian would get.

SUPERB IN CHINA

When Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic captured the WTA Finals doubles, they became the first team in 11 years to successfully capture the season-ending title twice in a row. “The game plan, like the whole week, was bringing our big game,” Mladenovic said after the pair stopped the second-seeded team of Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova in straight sets. “There was not that many rallies out there.” The champions needed only 65 minutes to lift the Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy for the second time. The Franco-Hungarian pair, who went undefeated the entire week, collected the largest prize money check in doubles tennis history, USD $1 million. The last pair to win back-to-back championships at the Finals were Cara Black and Liezel Huber in 2007-08. Babos is the first player to win the doubles crown three straight years since Lindsay Davenport 21 years ago. In 2017, Babos partnered Area Sestini Hlavackova to the title. Davenport won in 1996-98 alongside Mary Joe Fernandez, Jana Novotna and Natasha Zvereva. “Nothing better than to share it with Kiki,” Babos said of her latest title. “Really, every tournament for me is the same when I can share it with her. It’s very amazing to be able to lift that trophy for the third time in a row. We’re both hungry to be back and to get more.”

STOPPED BY INJURY

An abdominal injury forced Rafael Nadal to pull out of the Paris Masters and could interfere with his playing in the Nitto ATP Tour Finals. Nadal withdrew from the tournament just before the scheduled start of his semifinal against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. “It’s a super sad moment for me,” Nadal said. “I have been enjoying a lot during the whole tournament, having fun on court. … (I was) in a round that put me in a position that I was fighting for big things here.” If Nadal had won the Paris Masters, he would have clinched the year-ending number one ranking ahead of Novak Djokovic. Nadal said he felt the injury during practice and medical tests revealed the strain. “I think that abdominal doesn’t allow me to serve at the level that I need to serve to be competitive,” the Spaniard said. “When there is a strain in a muscle, that is making a lot of effort in every single serve, so the chance to increase that problem is big. I went through that in the past, so that’s why the recommendation of the doctors has been to not play.”

SHE COMPLAINS

After pulling out of the WTA Finals, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic took aim at the court. Bencic was the fourth player to withdraw from the elite eight-player season-finale, which was played on a temporary hard court at the indoor Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in Shenzhen, China. Japan’s Naomi Osaka withdrew with a shoulder injury, alternate Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands was ill, and Canada’s Bianca Andreescu jarred her knee when returning serve. “I was cramping,” Bencic said on why she withdrew during the third set of her semifinal against Elina Svitolina. “I started to feel it at the start of the second set, my hamstring. I called the physio. I started cramping in my foot and again in my hamstring.” The Swiss player blamed the court. “I think these courts are not ideal,” Bencic said. “You can see there were four retirements this week. I think these courts are terrible for movement of players and for the muscles because it’s like sand. You stop immediately and it goes directly into your muscles. I thin since the first practice you can feel that in your body.” Simona Halep of Romania agreed that the speed of the court was not ideal. “We are all tired after a long year,” the Wimbledon champion said. “We have to do extra work on the shots and the points on this surface. But we have what we have, and that’s it. I’m not going to complain about it.” Steve Simon, WTA chairman and CEO, promised the court will be quicker at next year’s tournament. “The WTA, in consultation with tournament partners and the court provider, go through a detailed process each year regarding the court surface and speed, taking into account player feedback throughout the season and after each edition of the tournament,” he said. “Based on the feedback received this year, it is my expectation that we will have a faster court in 2020.”

SOMETHING SPECIAL

For the first time in ATP Challenger Tour history, there was an all-Chinese final. Zhang Zhizhen defeated Li Zhe to win the Shenzhen (China) Longhua Open. “I’m really happy,” Zhang said. “I didn’t think I would get it this week, so it’s very nice for me. It’s never easy to play him and he played really good in the second set. Barely made any unforced errors in return games. I managed to get the momentum back in the third set and adjust my mindset in the right place.” It was the second Challenger title for Zhang, a native of Shanghai whose nickname is “ZZZ.” He won in Jinan, China, earlier this year and now is ranked a career high 141^st in the world. That’s one spot off China’s highest ranking, earned by Wu Di three years ago. “So, lots of pressure released from my shoulder now,” Zhang said. “It is never easy to win any Challenger title.”

STOPS WITH LOSS

Steve Darcis didn’t come up with a fairy-tale ending to his career. The Belgian veteran announced his retirement from pro tennis in January, saying the ATP Challenger event in Eckental, Germany, would be his final event. During his career, Darcis won two ATP tournaments and 10 Challenger events. In his finale, Darcis reached the final, only to fall to Jiri Vesely 6-4 4-6 6-3.

STRAIGHT TO THE BANK

American teenager Amanda Anisimova is reported to have signed a huge long-term endorsement deal with Nike. According to sources, the 18-year-old New Jersey native’s deal is close to the eight-year, USD $70 million Nike gave to Maria Sharapova. Anisimova is currently ranked 21^st in the world and reached the semifinals at Roland Garros this year when she was 17. She won the US Open junior girls title in 2017, beating Coco Gauff in the final.

SHARAPOVA SCHEDULE

Maria Sharapova is scheduled to play three exhibition events in less than a month. The Russian will face American teenager Amanda Anisimova at the Abud Dhabi’s Mubadala World Tennis Championship December 19-21, then will compete in the Hawaii Open before playing the Kooyong Classic in January. “The Hawaii Open is a great way to warm up for the competition in Australia, which is around the corner,” Sharapova said. “I’m excited to play, explore the beautiful island and meet my fans.” Others scheduled to take part in the Hawaii Open are Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Germany’s Angelique Kerber.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Paris: Pierre-Hugues Hebert and Nicolas Mahut beat Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-1

Shenzhen (men): Hsieh Cheng-Peng and Yang Tsung-Hua beat Mikhail Elgin and Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-2 7-5

Shenzhen (women): Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic beat Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova 6-1 6-3

SURFING

Milan: https://ticketing.nextgenatpfinals.com/

Bratislava: https://www.tennisslovakopen.sk/uvod.html

London: https://www.nittoatpfinals.com/en

Houston: https://oraclechallengerseries.com/houston/houston-event-info/

Tokyo: http://ando-open.tokyo

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

MEN