Novak Djokovic Roger Federer Archives

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-4 6-3 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia men’s singles in Rome, Italy

Maria Sharapova beat Carla Suárez Navarro 4-6 7-5 6-1 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia women’s singles in Rome, Italy

Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Thiemo De Bakker 6-4 1-6 7-6 (5) to win the BNP Paribas Primrose in Bordeaux, France

SAYING

“I will keep going as long as I can. I try always to give my best on the court regardless of the tournament or the particular match I am playing. This kind of mindset has got me where I am now … and hopefully it’s gonna take me far in Roland Garros. It is and has been the priority of my career.” – Novak Djokovic, after winning in Rome.

“I know I can play better. Novak was rock solid today, he played great throughout. He made very few unforced errors. He was able to take that opportunity that presented itself. I’m happy, feeling good and healthy.” – Roger Federer, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Rome final.

“I never felt I was playing very clean until the end of the third set. So it shows that it’s good to hang in there and just stay positive out there.” – Maria Sharapova, after beating Carla Suárez Navarro to win the women’s title in Rome.

“He hit amazing shots in a lot of key moments … He played a lot of good points. I accept (the result), I can only congratulate him.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing to Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals at Rome.

“I am ready to accept the challenge. If I go to Roland Garros (and) I lose (and) I don’t play well, life continues. It’s not the end of the world. I won so many times there. … It’s normal that I can lose. Losing is part of life.” – Rafael Nadal, when asked about his chances to win his 10^th French Open title.

“Although we trust each other very much, after Australia we did not have very good results. But we kept calm and trusted one another and today we are celebrating. This victory came at the right time.” – Pablo Cuevas, after teaming with David Marrero to win the men’s doubles in Rome.

“We’ve had big goals for a while now. We started playing together last year and had some big results,” Babos said. “But this year it’s even better. We took three titles already. We’re playing well, we’re really starting to feel each other’s game on the court, and we’re having more fun on the court, too.” – Timea Babos, who with partner Kristina Mladenovic won the women’s title in Rome.

“I’ve played here 100 times and I think I’ve won 30 times. Well, I don’t know the math, but I’ve done really well here. But I love Rome. I love playing in Rome. I have a lot of friends here. I love the tournament director. I just love being here, and pulling out of this tournament is not fun.” – Serena Williams, who withdrew from the Italian Open because of a right elbow injury.

SHOWING WHO’S BOSS

There should be no question that Novak Djokovic will be going into the French Open as a strong favorite to capture his second Grand Slam tournament title of the year. The top-ranked Serb easily downed second-seeded Roger Federer to win his fourth Italian Open crown. Djokovic has yet to win at Roland Garros, but Rafael Nadal, who has dominated the clay court tournament, fell in the quarterfinals at Rome and has yet to win on the terra bateau trail leading up to Paris. Djokovic has won his last 37 matches at the highest-level tournaments and increased this year’s unbeaten string to 22 straight as he captured his fifth title of 2015. “The fact I’ve managed to win that many matches in a row … gives me a reason to believe I can do it again,” he said. Djokovic and Federer traded blows to begin the final, with the Serb breaking his Swiss opponent in the 10^th game to capture the opening set. Djokovic won the first three games of the second set and was never threatened after that. “Novak was rock solid, he played great throughout, made very few unforced errors and was able to the take the opportunities that came his way,” said Federer, who at the last moment decided to play in Rome. “It’s a little bit frustrating, but in general I’m satisfied with my performance. I played a good match, but Novak was just a little bit stronger than me.”

Federer has now reached the Italian Open four times, but has never won. He was beaten by Felix Mantilla in 2003, by Rafael Nadal in a fifth-set tiebreaker in 2006, by Nadal again in 2013, and this year by Djokovic.

SHARAPOVA WINS

After Maria Sharapova figured out the wind, there was very little Carla Suárez Navarro could do. Sharapova looked sluggish in the first set as her Spanish opponent dictated play and came away the winner. In the second set, Suárez Navarro kept fighting back, finally leveling the set a 5-5, just two games from victory. Instead, it was all Sharapova after that, winning the next two games to level the match, then crushing her opponent in the decisive third set. Her 35^th career WTA Tour title also meant Sharapova would move past Simona Halep in the rankings and become second in the world behind Serena Williams. Because she will now be seeded second in the French Open, Sharapova could not possibly face Williams until the final at Roland Garros. Sharapova’s 39^th winner of the day capped her victory over Suárez Navarro. “It wasn’t easy to find a rhythm out there, with the way she plays and the wind. I really had to adjust,” Sharapova said. “But I’m proud I was able to stay in there. In the end I was the fresher one and the more aggressive one, so it’s all a positive.” Despite the loss, Suárez Navarro left Italy feeling good about her game. She beat three Top 10 players during the week, including the second-ranked Simona Halep, the biggest win of the Spaniard’s career. Her run to the final lifted Suárez Navarro to eighth in the world in this week’s WTA rankings.

SURPRISE

Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic are both considered WTA Rising Stars. Tell that the veterans Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Babos and Mladenovic surprised the top women’s doubles team in the world to win their third WTA doubles title of the year. “In all of our previous matches we played really good teams, and it was another tough one today, of course,” Mladenovic said. “We played them in Miami and it was a close match there with opportunities, but we didn’t play our best there, which was a little frustrating. So we wanted to do better today.” That they did, breaking Mirza in the first game of the match to take the opening set 604. Then, from 2-3 down in the second set, the winners won four straight games to garner the title. Both Babos and Mladenovic celebrated birthdays this month. “We’re different than the other teams in that way,” Mladenovic said. “We’re the same age and we’ve known each other for a long time. We were born just four days apart, and Timi is my best friend. We spend a lot of time together off the court, and we also complement each other’s game very well.”

SUCCESSFUL

Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero are perfect when they get to the doubles title match. Now they have an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy to share. “It was the first time I was playing in a Masters 1000 final,” Cuevas said, “so I’m very happy for the victory.” The two teamed up to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia men’s doubles by defeating Marcel Granoller and Marc Lopez. Cuevas is now 5-5 in ATP World Tour doubles finals, while Marrero is 11-11. As a team, they have a 4-10 record in finals. On their way to the final, Cuevas and Marrero beat sixth-seeded Daniel Nestor and Leander Paes in the second round as well as third-seeded Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau in the quarterfinals. Granollers and Lopez were seeded fifth.

SPANIARD SLIPPING

Rafael Nadal will be seeking his 10^th French Open title when the year’s second Grand Slam tournament is played beginning next week. But the left-hander has won only one clay court title this year, that coming at Buenos Aires, Argentina, early in the year. And in recent tournaments, Nadal has lost to Fabio Fognini, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic. The last time Nadal was beaten so many times on his favorite surface was 12 years ago – in his rookie season. And it will be the first year since year since 2004 that Nadal will go into the French Open without having won a Masters 1000 title. By the time he plays his first match at Roland Garros, nearly three months will have passed since he won his lone title of 2015.

It was Wawrinka who knocked Nadal out of this year’s Italian Open, where he was a seven-time winner. Wawrinka captured the quarterfinal 7-6 (7) 6-2, only his second victory over Nadal in their previous 13 meetings. The only other time Wawrinka beat Nadal was in the final of the Australian Open in 2014. “I didn’t have enough leg in some moments today,” Nadal said. “He played crazy. He hit amazing shots in a lot of moments, and especially important ones. … I am not very happy with the way I played. During the night the ball is bigger, the bounces are not that high. So he has the chance to go for it. And he was on fire.”

STORY OF LI

A movie is being made about Li Na’s life. Chinese filmmaker Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s production company, We Pictures, said the film will be based on Li’s autobiography, “Li Na: My Life,” and will be released in 2016. Li is one of China’s best-known athletes and became the first Asian-born tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament singles title when she captured the French Open in 2011. “Li Na had an impossible dream and found a way to turn it into reality,” Chan said in a statement. “She broke rules and defied conventions and, against all odds, became a legend.”

SLAMS COURT

Both Italian Open champions – Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova – and finalist Roger Federer complained about the court at the Foro Italico in Rome. Holes appeared on the court and the players escaped twisting an ankle or worst. Djokovic complained after his 6-4 6-4 semifinal win over Spain’s David Ferrer. Several times during the match Djokovic called officials to fill in holes which began appearing near the baseline. “It’s obvious the court is not where it’s supposed to be condition-wise,” Djokovic said. “We had some places where the holes are really deep. … It’s not just for the serve. If you make those holes and you’re sliding and getting into that hole, you can twist your ankle easily.” Sharapova said the court was “definitely not up to the standards the court should be for this type of event, that’s no secret. … There’s definitely a lot of holes out there.” Federer was more upbeat, but still complained. “The problem is, it kind of breaks away, so that’s not ideal,” he said. “When it happens once or twice, three times, you get a bit worried.

STOPPED PLAYING

In the middle of her bid for a third straight Italian Open title, top-ranked Serena Williams withdrew from the clay court event with a right elbow injury. “It actually started a little bit in Madrid last week,” Williams said in announcing her withdrawal. “I wasn’t serving my best. I have to be able to serve and hit my shots with a lot of confidence, and when you’re injured you don’t have that much confidence. It’s so important to have it when you go up against any player out there, whether it’s in my match today or in the final of a Grand Slam. You just really need it.” Williams said it wasn’t easy to withdraw. “I talked with my coach and he said it wouldn’t be very smart for me to play, and that we have to make the right decision for the future, and not for now,” she said. “I told him that I hate quitting, but then he told me this isn’t about quitting, it’s about making the best decision.” Williams said she didn’t want to make the same mistake she made last year just before Roland Garros. “I’m learning from bad decisions in the past, even last year,” she said. “I ended up taking four days off before Paris and practiced just a day or two before the tournament started, and you never want to enter a Grand Slam under those circumstances, especially as a defending champion like I was last year.”

SAYS HE’S EXHAUSTED

Citing fatigue, Andy Murray withdrew from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia just before his third-round match against David Goffin. The Scot had played 10 matches in 12 days, winning his first ATP World Tour clay court title in Munich, Germany, then upsetting Rafael Nadal in the final in Madrid, Spain, six days later. Murray won his first match in Rom, beating Jeremy Chardy, but after feeling flat in practice the next morning, he decided he had to rest. Writing on Twitter, Murray said: “I always feel bad after making decisions like this, but my body is extremely tired and fatigued right now.”

STRAIGHT IN

Louisa Chirico will make her Grand Slam tournament singles main draw debut at this year’s French Open. The 18-year-old American won the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge to earn the spot at Roland Garros. Chirico actually tied fellow teenager Katerina Stewart in the wild card challenge. But the rules say that in the event of a tie, the player with the best WTA singles ranking will be awarded the wild card. Chirico is ranked 120^th in the world, while Stewart is ranked 201^st. In 2013, Chirico reached the French Open junior girls final, losing to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in three sets. She then reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon juniors, losing again to Bencic, and the quarterfinals of the US Open juniors.

Seventeen-year-old Frances Tiafoe earned the USTA’s French Open men’s main draw wild card berth.

SCHEDULING SNAFU

Players have called for Madrid to reexamine its scheduling policy after Andy Murray and Phillip Kohlschreiber played until 3 a.m. in their second-round match. The two had met in a rain-delayed Monday final in Munich, Germany, then took the court in Madrid beginning at 1:12 a.m. the following day. Murray won 6-4 3-6 6-0. “It was very difficult,” Murray said. “I think me and Philipp both were quite frustrated on the court. I wouldn’t say the level of tennis was particularly good or that it was a very entertaining match. … You aren’t going to get guys playing their best tennis when you’re on court at 3 in the morning.” Murray said officials didn’t talk to the players until around midnight when it was agreed that the match should have been moved to another court. Rafael Nadal said players should not have been put on court at that time once the schedule had gone so long. “It’s not right to start a match at 1 o’clock in the morning,” the Spaniard said. “It’s completely bad news for the players and for the crowd and everybody.”

SEEKING NEW FACILITY

The Italian Open may move away from historic Foro Italico. Running out of room and with ticket demand soaring, local organizers want to move the clay court tournament to a new location near Rome’s main airport. “We can’t fit in here anymore,” Italian tennis federation president Angelo Binaghi said. “The hunger for tennis makes this the biggest sports event in Italy.” The Foro Italico was built under Benito Mussolini in the 1920s and 30s. It has been the site for the Italian Open since 1935. The stadium, which seats 10,500, was inaugurated in 2010. With Rome bidding for the 2024 Olympics, Binaghi suggests building an entirely new tournament venue and national training center near the Leonardo Da Vinci airport, which could also be used for the Games. “It’s great to dream, and link this dream to the 2024 bid, so this tournament can have the (space) that it deserves,” said Carlo Mornati, vice secretary general of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). The Italian Open is run by both the federation and CONI.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bordeaux: Thiemo De Bakker and Robin Haase beat Lucas Pouille and Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3 7-5

Rome (men): Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero beat Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-4 7-5

Rome (women): Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic beat Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza 6-4 6-3

SURFING

Nice: www.opennicecotedazur.com/

Geneva: www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Tournaments/Geneva.aspx

Strasbourg: www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/

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

Paris: www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/index.html

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)