Oracle

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Alexander Zverev beat Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-3 to win the Nitto ATP Finals in London, Great Britain

Peng Shuai beat Lauren Davis 1-6 7-5 6-4 to win the Oracle Challenger Series women’s singles in Houston, Texas, USA

Bradley Klahn beat Roy Smith 7-6 (4) 7-6 (4) to win the Oracle Challenger Series men’s singles in Houston, Texas, USA

Prajnesh Gunneswaran beat Saketh Myneni 6-2 6-2 to win the Bengaluru Tennis Open in Bangalore, India

Luksika Kumkhum beat Sabine Lisicki 6-1 6-3 to win the Taipei OEC Open in Taipei, Taiwan

SAYINGS

“I fell to my knees, so my knees kind of hurt. Apart from that, I was very happy. Obviously, it’s quite astonishing, winning this title, beating two such players back-to-back, Roger (Federer) and Novak (Djokovic) in semifinals and final. It means so much. I’m incredibly happy and incredibly proud of this moment right now.” – Alexander Zverev, after winning the ATP Finals.

“You are a sharing person and you have shared some titles with me. I appreciate you letting me win one today.” – Alexander Zverev, thanking Novak Djokovic at the post-match awards ceremony.

“It’s been a hell of a ride.” – Mike Bryan, who teamed with Jack Sock to win the ATP Finals doubles title.

“Taking into consideration my health and the heavy burdens of professional tennis, I have to concede that I’m not able to push my body to the limits required.” – Agnieszka Radwanska, announcing she is retiring from the WTA Tour as a player.

SHOCK IN LONDON

Alexander Zverev crowned his remarkable year by capturing the season-ending ATP Finals with a surprising one-two finish. “I really can’t describe it,” Zverev said after overpowering Novak Djokovic in the final. “It is the biggest title I have ever won.” The 21-year-old German upset six-time champion Roger Federer in the semifinal before stopping Djokovic’s bid to equal Federer’s record. “Sascha (Zverev) definitely played much better than he did in the group stage,” said Djokovic, who beat Zverev 6-4 6-1 in the round-robin portion of the event. “He deserved to win.” Djokovic had sailed through the round-robin portion and the semifinals without dropping his serve. Zverev broke the Serb four times in the title match. Battling from the baseline, the two held until the ninth game, when Djokovic netted a forehand to lose serve. Zverev pounded three aces to close out the opening set. Zverev broke Djokovic’s first two service games in the second set while losing his own. His final service break came on the final game when he produced a stunning backhand down the line on match point. It was only the third loss for Djokovic since the beginning of Wimbledon in the summer. “(Djokovic and Federer) are still going to be the guys to beat at the big tournaments,” Zverev said. “(But) I will do everything I can to get better, to compete with them always. I feel like I’m doing that. But I still have a lot of things to improve. I’m still very young.”

SAYONARA

At the age of 29, Agnieszka Radwanska is calling it quits. The Polish star, a former Wimbledon finalist, cited health issues in announcing her retirement. “Today, after 13 years of playing tennis competitively, I have decided to end my career,” Radwanska said on her Facebook page. “Unfortunately, I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can’t live up to my expectations. I’m hanging the racquet up and say goodbye to the pro tour, but I’m not leaving tennis.” Radwanska lost the 2012 Wimbledon final in three sets to Serena Williams. That same year she reached her highest ranking, second in the world. In her career, she won 20 WTA Tour titles, including the WTA Finals in 2015. “Tennis is and always has been special in my life,” Radwanska said. “But now it’s time for new challenges, new ideas, equally as exciting as those on the tennis court, I hope.”

SPECIAL WEEK

Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum sailed through the Taipei OEC Open without dropping a set. She finished her marvelous with a straight-set win over Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, who entered the USD $125,000 tournament with a wild card. The 25-year-old Kumkhum won 86 percent of the points on her first serve and 82 percent on her second serve. She finished the convincing 50-minute win with four aces. This was Kumkhum’s best year, reaching the third round of the Australian Open and gaining her highest ranking of 80th in the world.

SMASHING WIN

“It was a hell of a match,” Mike Bryan said after he and Jack Sock won the ATP Finals doubles title. The Americans saved a match point while beating the French team of Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. The Frenchmen staved off five championship points during the tiebreaker before having one of their own. But the 40-year-old Bryan and his young partner closed out the victory 13-11. It was the fifth time Bryan has won the season-ending tournament, the first four with his usual partner, his twin Bob, who has been out since May with an injured hip. This was the first ATP Finals that Mike Bryan and Sock had played together. “This could be our lash hurrah because Bob’s training back in Florida,” Bryan said. Since teaming up, Sock and Bryan also won Wimbledon and the US Open.

SORRY ABOUT US OPEN

Serena Williams told GQ Magazine that she is remorseful over the US Open incident with chair umpire Carlos Ramos, but notes there was a history to her reaction over his calls. “I think a person can be a little bit more sensitive to anything in that moment,” Williams told GQ. “You know, it becomes a trigger moment. When you go through a really extreme ordeal not once, not twice, not three times, it becomes a trigger moment.” In her US Open finals loss to Japan’s Naomi Osaka, Williams first was assessed a “coaching” code violation by Ramos. Williams argued with the umpire and demanded an apology. She later was given a code violation, which drew a point penalty, for racquet abuse. A third violation for arguing resulted in a game penalty. Williams, who is pictured on the magazine’s cover, said her previous problems at the US Open in 2004, 2009 and 2011 resulted in last year’s blowup. In the 2004 quarterfinals, Williams hit a shot that was ruled to be in by the line judge, but the point was credited to her opponent. In 2009, a line judged called a foot fault on Williams, whose loud reaction drew a penalty point, ending the match. Two years later, Williams yelled “Come on!” when she hit a forehand to start the second set. But the chair umpire, saying play wasn’t over, gave her opponent the point.

SWITCHING COACHES

Germany’s Angelique Kerber has hired Rainer Schuettler as her coach. The 2003 Australian Open finalist, Schuettler replaces Wim Fissette, who split with Kerber just before the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore. The 42-year-old will officially join Team Kerber when the reigning Wimbledon champion begins her training at the end of this month.

Elina Svitolina, who won this year’s WTA Finals, has elevated Andrew Bettles to be her head coach. Bettles has served as Sviolina’s hitting partner an dtraveling coach through much of the last two seasons while Thierry Ascione served as her head coach. Svitolina announced she had split with Ascione after the US Open. Before working with Svitolina, Bettles had been a hitting partner for Ana Ivanovic before the Serbian retired in 2016.

Dmitry Zavioloff, who previously coached Timea Bacsinszky and Stan Wawrinka, is now the permanent coach for Johanna Konta. Zavioloff had been working with Konta for a trial period.

Michael Joyce, who had coached Konta, is now the coach of Eugenie Bouchard. Once ranked in the Top 10, Bouchard finished the 2018 season ranked 89th in the world.

Kiki Bertens, the first Dutch woman since Betty Stove to finish the season ranked in the Top 10, wil add former player Elise Tamaela to her team as a part-time coach and traveling physio. The team includes full-time coach Raemon Sluiter and physio Remko De Rijke.

Maria Sakkari, who split with Thomas Johansson at the end of the season, has hired Mark Petchey as her new coach. Petchey formerly coached Andy Murray and has most recently served as a television commentator.

SHARING THE CALENDAR

The tennis calendar has yet another new team event. The men’s tennis tour said the 24-team ATP Cup will be held in January 2020 a week before the start of the Australian Open. The newest team event was announced three months after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said it would hold a one-week competition for 18 nations in Madrid, Spain, in November 2019. The ATP Cup, which will be played over 10 days in Australia, will offer USD $15 million in prize money and be held in conjunction with Tennis Australia. Tennis Australia also is a partner of the Laver Cup, which pits European players against a “World” team in September. “All of us players around the world are unified and united in this event,” American John Isner said. “It’s the perfect week for it. Everyone wants to be in tip-top shape come the Australian Open, and this event is going to allow us to do that.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bangalore: Max Purcell and Luke Saville beat Purav Raja and Antonio Sancic 7-6 (3) 6-3

Houston (men): Austin Krajicek and Nicholas Monroe beat Marcelo Arevalo and Jamie Cerretani 4-6 7-6 (3) 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Houston (women): Maegan Manasse and Jessica Pegula beat Deirae Krawczyk and Giuliana Olmos 1-6 6-4 10-8 (match tiebreak)

London: Mike Bryan and Jack Sock beat Pierre-Hughes Herert and Nicolas Mahut 5-7 6-1 13-11 (match tiebreak)

Taipei: Ankita Raina and Karman Thandi beat Olga Doroshina and Natela Dzalamidze 6-3 5-7 retired

SURFING

Lille: https://www.daviscup.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

DAVIS CUP
Final

France vs. Croatia in Lille, France, clay