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Pete Sampras’ Sister Wins, Andy Roddick’s Brother Loses at NCAA Team Finals In Athens

May 20, 2014 by Admin

by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

ATHENS, Ga. — Siblings of two all-time tennis greats founds themselves on opposite sides of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat Tuesday at the NCAA Team Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The women’s team from UCLA, coached by Stella Sampras-Webster, the older sister of seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras, defeated North Carolina 4-3 to win the women’s title, while the men’s team from Oklahoma, coached by John Roddick, the older brother of 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, were defeated by USC in the men’s title match.

The afternoon women’s final went down to the decisive match at No. 3 singles where UCLA’s Kyle McPhillips beat Caroline Price 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the last singles match to clinch the second NCAA women’s national title for the Bruins.

“This is the single best accomplishment I’ve ever had in my life,” said McPhillips. “I’ve played (junior) Wimbledon, Australian Open, French Open, US Open and nothing compares to this day right here. Winning individually is so different from winning for your team, your coaches and school.”

UCLA also got singles victories at No. 1 when the country’s No. 2 ranked player Robin Anderson, beat the only player ranked higher than her, top-ranked Jamie Loeb 6-2, 6-2. The other UCLA point in singles came at Chanelle Van Nguyen in No. 4 singles. UCLA won the opening doubles point, which is determined by which team wins two of three eight-game pro-set doubles matches.

In the evening men’s final, Oklahoma, playing in its first NCAA team tournament final, surprised the Trojans by taking the doubles point, but after Dane Webb won at No. 3 singles for the Sooners, the Trojans swept the remaining completed singles matches at No. 1 (Yannick Hanfmann), No. 2 (Ray Sarmiento), No. 4 (Max de Vroome) and No. 5 (Eric Johnson). Vroome won the match-clinching win for the Trojans.

“That was probably the best singles I’ve seen played this year,” said Roddick of the top-ranked Trojans. “Having said that, I think it’s probably the best doubles we’ve played all year.”

The win was the fifth in six years for USC and the ninth overall in the NCAA Team Tournament era (since 1977).

The electric atmosphere of the men’s final, played through dusk, was compounded by the appearance of members of the famous USC marching band “The Spirit of Troy.” While college tennis provides for a slightly more rowdy atmosphere for tennis, full-on organized bands are rarely seen, outside of an occasional Davis Cup match.

“Any team that gets to the semis of the NCAAs, the band comes out,” said USC coach Peter Smith of the arrangement that USC sports teams have with its athletic department and the band. “That’s what they told me. I don’t necessarily arrange it, but they weren’t here yesterday, I was downplaying it with the team, but I was pissed. When you win a national championship or any great victory and the band plays the fight song, it’s a pretty special feeling.”

While USC had its band in its corner, the Sooners had the younger brother of its coach, Andy Roddick, and his model/actress wife Brooklyn Decker cheering them on from the stands.

After Oklahoma’s win over UCLA in the semifinals on Monday, John Roddick discussed his former world No. 1 ranked brother coming to support the team in person.

“He called me last night and said, ‘Am I going to be a distraction if I come?’ And I said, ‘No,’ the guys are used to you for the most part,” said Roddick, a former All-American at the Univ. of Georgia. “The guys have loved having him to cheer them on. He’s a guy who would have loved playing college tennis and he knows that and he says that all the time. It just wasn’t in his cards. I don’t think he would change that since he won the US Open when it would have maybe his senior year. I think that is pretty good. He’s a huge supporter of what we do.”

Loeb, ranked No. 1 in women’s college tennis as a freshman, was looking to do something that her mentor Hall of Famer John McEnroe also did as a freshman on the very same court – lead a team at No. 1 singles as a freshman to an NCAA Championship in Athens.

Loeb, who trained at the John McEnroe Tennis Center at New York City’s Randall’s Island, lost at No. 1 doubles 8-7 (3) with partner Hayley Carter to UCLA’s Anderson and Jennifer Brady in the match that clinched the doubles point for the Bruins. Loeb then played Anderson at No. 1 singles and struggled with her serve and could not overcome her bouts of bad tennis.

It marked North Carolina’s first appearance in the NCAA Team Tournament final.

Novak Djokovic Claims Clay Win Over Rafael Nadal In Rome – Mondays with Bob Greene

May 19, 2014 by Admin

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

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

Serena Williams beat Sara Errani 6-3 6-0 to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia women’s singles in Rome, Italy

Julien Benneteau beat Steve Johnson 6-3 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Primrose in Bordeaux, France

Heather Watson beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-6 (5) 6-0 to win the Sparta Prague Open in Prague, Czech Republic

SAYING

“Beating Rafa on clay is definitely a confidence booster. Let’s hope it’s something I can take into Roland Garros.” – Novak Djokovic, following his victory over Rafael Nadal in the final in Rome.

“Rome now is the past for me.” Rafael Nadal.

“I’m like a fine wine, I guess – at least my tennis is. My game gets better with age.” – Serena Williams, who at age 32 won her third Italian Open title.

“I’m sorry. You were unbelievable all week. I tried to do my best and stayed on the court only for you.” – Sara Errani, speaking to the crowd after she played the entire final after injuring her left thigh music in the opening set.

“I think this week is important for me. ,,, I was able to play in another final here. I was able to compete well against one of the best players of the moment. I arrive to Roland Garros now more encouraged than how I felt a few weeks ago.” – Rafael Nadal.

“It’s always nice to go back-to-back. I think the way we have been winning, we have shown a lot of resilience and we have dealt with situations that arise in matches. I think it is good going into a Grand Slam and if we keep that up at Roland Garros – because nothing is easy – and are mentally tough as we are now, we will give ourselves a chance to win.” – Daniel Nestor, after teaming with Nenad Zimonjic to win the Italian Open men’s doubles.

“We were down in both sets and played some great games to get back in the match. The whole week was completely different to Madrid, where we started really well and did not lose a set. We had a tough draw this week, with really good opponents, but found a way to win. We saved a match point in the first match and match point in the semifinals. It was very, very difficult.” – Nenad Zimonjic.

“It was a special day, but it was also a very difficult day for me. I tried my best but I couldn’t do anything more with the injury, so it ended up being a sad day for me in the end.” – Sara Errani, who suffered a thigh injury and lost the title matches in both singles and doubles.

STOPPING THE KING

Novak Djokovic left the King of Clay chocking in his red dust in Rome in the last major stop before tennis heads to Roland Garros and the year’s second Grand Slam tournament. The Serb defeated Rafael Nadal for the fourth straight time, but only for the fourth on clay in their 41 career matches. And Djokovic has won eight of the last nine sets the world’s top two ranked players have contested. “Let’s hope it’s something I can take into Roland Garros,” Djokovic said of his victory in Rome. “It’s been a great week considering where I was a few weeks ago with the wrist injury.” Djokovic injured himself at the Monte Carlo Masters last month and missed the Madrid Masters. Against Nadal, the Serb dropped serve twice as he lost the opening set. After that he was dominant. “I tried to be aggressive from the beginning to the end,” Djokovic said. “It didn’t work at the start but I didn’t change the game plan and I found the right rhythm and everything started going in.” Nadal was seeking his eighth title in Rome; instead Djokovic won his third and 44^th of his career. It was Nadal’s third clay-court loss of the season – the first time that’s happened in a decade – and raised questions about his chances at Roland Garros where he has been almost unbeatable. “I have to start thinking about Roland Garros next week, and if my chance of playing well in Paris wasn’t very high a few weeks ago, now I think that I have a better chance,” Nadal said.

SERENA AGAIN

Serena Williams captured the Italian Open women’s singles title for the second straight year and the third time in her career. Her victim was local favorite Sara Errani, who reached the title match of her country’s biggest tournament for the first time, becoming the first Italian to play in the final since Raffaella Reggi in 1985 – before Errani was born. Unfortunately Errani pulled a muscle in her left thigh in the eighth game of the first set and never won a game after that. “Sara played really well in the first set,” Williams noted. “She was doing everything right and I could tell she had obviously improved since our last meeting in Paris last year. It was unfortunate she got injured in the last game of the set, but overall I thought she was playing really well out there.” Of course, Williams played better – much better. She is 53-2 on clay since the start of the 2012 clay season, losing only in the first round of the 2012 French Open and the first round at Charleston this year. Serena has won 60 titles in her career, just seven shy of sixth-place Billie Jean King on the all-time list. The five highest on the all-time list for most WTA titles are Martina Navratilova, who won 167 titles; Chris Evert, 154; Steffi Graf, 107; Margaret Court, 92, and Evonne Goolagong, 68.

SUPPORT FOR SERBIA

Torrential rain and catastrophic flooding in his native Serbia has been on Novak Djokovic’s mind while he went on to win the Italian Open. After he beat Canada’s Milos Raonic in the semifinals, Djokovic and countryman Nenad Zimonjic invited fans to meet him in the stands to take a group photo with a banner that read: “Support Serbia and Bosnia.” The two players also wore stickers during their respective matches bearing the same message. In what is being called the worst flooding in more than a century in Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, the death toll has risen to more than 20. Thousands have also been evacuated from towns under threat of rising flood waters. “I’m following it as much as I can,” Djokovic said. “I am on the phone, following the news online. A flood like this hasn’t been seen in the history of my country. It’s a total catastrophe of biblical proportion. Half of the country is in danger, not having electricity, mobilization, and we are talking about cities not small villages.” Djokovic won the singles title while Zimonjic teamed with Canadian Daniel Nestor to capture the doubles crown.

After he beat Rafael Nadal to win the singles title, Djokovic drew a heart on the red clay with his racquet. “This heart on the court is for you,” Djokovic, speaking in Italian, told the fans during the victory celebration. “It’s also a special dedication to my country, which is suffering a lot right now. My heart is with them.”

STAYING HOME

Victoria Azarenka is still suffering from her left foot injury and will miss the French Open. “Unfortunately I will not be able to compete in Roland Garros this year. Working hard on my recovery & getting back on the court,” the former top-ranked player said on Twitter. Azarenka hasn’t played a tour match since Indian Wells, California, USA, on March 7. The Belarus star has won the Australian Open twice and been runner-up at the US Open twice.

STIRRING VICTORY

Britain’s Heather Watson will enter the French Open qualifying with a new title under her belt. Watson beat Anna Schmiedlova in the final to capture the Prague Open and move back to the world’s top 100 rankings. Watson won the ITF tournament – a tier below the WTA tour – 7-6 (5) 6-0. It was a busy final day for Watson, who also beat Hungary’s Timea Babos 7-6 (3) 6-3 in a semifinal match. Rain had delayed play on Saturday.

SET FOR NEWPORT

Three Hall of Famers and a recently retired one will play an exhibition doubles match on Sunday, July 13, before the final of the International Tennis Hall of Championships is held. Participating in the grass-court exhibition match will be Monica Seles, Tracy Austin, Gigi Fernandez and Jill Craybas. The exhibition will be the first women’s tennis event played in Newport in many years and will be held the day after the Class of 2014 enshrines are inducted into the tennis shrine. The enshrines are former world number one Lindsay Davenport, wheelchair tennis champion Chantal Vandierendonck, coach Nick Bollettieri, tennis industry leader Jane Brown Grimes and tennis broadcaster and historian John Barrett.

STEPPING DOWN?

The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, has broken ground on the first project of a USD 15.7 million capital campaign and improvement project. “This is the largest, most exciting project the International Tennis Hall of Fame has ever taken on,” said International Tennis Hall of Fame chairman Christopher Clouser. “The Hall of Fame welcomes thousands of tennis fans from all over the world each year. Our goal within this project is to make the Hall of Fame a must-see international destination for all tennis fans, and to ensure that the facility is an asset to our local community.”

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Bordeaux: Marc Gicquel and Sergiy Stakhovsky beat Ryan Harrison and Alex Kuznetsov, walkover

Prague: Lucie Hradecka and Michaella Krajicek beat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-2

Rome (men): Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Robin Haase and Feliciano Lopez 6-4 7-6 (2)

Rome (women): Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik beat Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci 4-0 retired

SURFING

Nice: www.opennicecotedazur.com/

Düsseldorf: www.world-team-cup.com/

Nürnberg: www.nuernberger-versicherungscup.de/

Strasbourg: www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/

Paris: www.rolandgarros.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$668,279 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur, Nice, France, clay

$643,571 Düsseldorf Open, Düsseldorf, Germany, clay

WOMEN

$226,750 Nürnberger Vesicherungscup, Nürnberg, Germany, clay

$226,750 Internationaux de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN & WOMEN

Roland Garros, Paris, France, clay (first week)

Rafael Nadal Wins Madrid Open with Lots of Help – Mondays with Bob Greene

May 12, 2014 by Admin

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Rafael Nadal beat Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-4 3-0 retired to win the Mutua Madrid Open men’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Maria Sharapova beat Simona Halep 1-6 6-2 6-3 to win the Mutua Madrid Open women’s singles in Madrid, Spain

Sharon Fichman beat Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-2 to win the Open de Cagnes-Sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France

SAYING

“Winning at home is always more special than winning anywhere. Having the chance to play in front of your home crowd … is unforgettable for me. This city gives me a lot. This is a very important victory for me.” – Rafael Nadal, after winning the Madrid Open.

“It was very sad, especially as I was winning, playing almost the best tennis in my life. But there is some, you know, good side, too. There is a lot of confidence I get from this tournament.” – Kei Nishikori, who retired with an injury in the third set of the Madrid Open final.

“I was just fighting because if I had the chance I was going to be there to take it.” – Rafael Nadal, admitting Kei Nishikori dominated play through the first 15 games of their title match.

“I didn’t have a great first set today, but I knew it wasn’t over until the last point was played.” – Maria Sharapova, who rallied to win the Madrid Open women’s singles by defeating Simona Halep in three sets.

“I played really well all week and I beat top players and I had a very high level of my tennis. Maria is a great player and a great champion. She played really well, and I think she deserved to win this title. The difference I think is the experience. She has more experience than me.” – Simona Halep, after following her loss to Maria Sharapova.

“This is not the way I wanted this week to end.” – Serena Williams, after pulling out of the Madrid Open because of an injured left thigh.

“Now I’m hurting because I’ve lost a really tough match. … Tomorrow I’ll see it another way. I’ll be more positive. .. It hurts me not being able to be in the final tomorrow.” – David Ferrer, after losing his semifinal to Kei Nishikori.

“I was thinking ‘OK, I’m going to play until I’m 30 and then I’m going to quit.’ But then comes the moment when you’re 25 and you wake up one day and it’s like. ‘OK, I cannot go anymore. I cannot suffer.’” – Dinara Safina, announcing she has officially retired from the WTA tour.

SLIM WIN WITH HELP

Two games from victory, Kei Nishikori’s back injury resurfaced and Rafael Nadal ended up winning his second straight Mutua Madrid Open. After taking the first set 6-2, Nishikori was up a break in the second and serving at 4-3 when he pulled up clutching his back. Nadal broke Nishikori to pull even as the Japanese 10^th seed failed to win another game. At 3-0 in the final set, Nishikori could barely walk to the net to shake hands with the Spanish champion. “It was my hip and actually everywhere after the second set, my legs were hurting too much, Nishikori said. Nadal took advantage of the injury, capturing his 63^rd career title and 44^th on clay, just two short of the all-time record of 46 held by Guillermo Vilas. The win also increased Nadal’s record to 27 Masters titles. Even Nadal admitted Nishikori was dominant through the first 15 games of the match. “There was some moments where, I don’t know, I couldn’t find myself,” Nadal said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play or I was missing intensity, I was just mentally blocked. When you’re blocked, you just need a spark to go out there and compete again.” The spark came when Nishikori suffered the injury. “I’m very sorry for Nishikori,” Nadal said. “He’s an unbelievable player that will fight to be in London (at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals). I am sure of that. I really hope that the injury is not too bad and he will be able to compete in Roland Garros.” Nadal was presented with the winner’s trophy by Queen Sofía of Spain. “Even though I think that today I did a not so good first set, I think I did a great tournament,” Nadal said. “This is the reality of the situation.”

With his 63 career titles, Nadal is now sixth on the Open Era list, one behind Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg.

SOARING

Japan’s Kei Nishikori has put the tennis world on notice: Consider him a strong contender for a Grand Slam tournament title. While a back injury cost him the victory at the Madrid Open, the clay court tournament showed that Nishikori is ready to make the next step to the top of the rankings. By reaching his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final, Nishikori is the first Japanese man ever to rank in the Top 10 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and the first Asian male since Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan in March 2004. Nishikori secured the ranking with a marathon win over David Ferrer in the semifinals, needing just under three hours and 10 match points to edge his Spanish opponent 7-6 (5) 5-7 6-3. That was Nishikori’s 14^th straight win, including a semifinal in Miami where he was forced to pull out prior to the match. The 24-year-old right-hander won his first ATP World Tour clay-court title two weeks ago at the Barcelona Open. The back injury that caused Nishikori to retire in the final also had troubled him in both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches. Still, he came away from the week feeling confident. “It’s going to be very exciting at (Roland Garros) because I’ve never felt like this on clay,” he said. “I’m very confident of whatever I hit going for winners. I can hit from either side – forehand or backhand – so it’s a very good feeling that I have on clay right now.”

SHARAPOVA VICTORIOUS

Shaking off a slow start, Maria Sharapova overpowered Simona Halep to win the Madrid Open women’s singles. Sharapova has now posted a 47-3 record on clay since the 2011 French Open, with all three losses administered by Serena Williams. Sharapova held her serve just once in the opening set as she hit four double-faults. But the Russian’s ground strokes began finding the corners and lines, keeping her opponent running from side to side. Sharapova converted both of her break points in the second set to level the match, then was never really challenged in the decisive set. “I don’t know how I pulled it off,” Sharapova said of capturing her 32^nd career title and second of 2014. “In the first set I wasn’t doing much to hurt her, and that’s the tennis she’s capable of playing. I knew I had to do some different things after the first set to win this match.” That, she did. Sharapova is a perfect 11-0 on clay courts this year and will rise to seventh in the world on the new WTA Rankings. “I don’t take these moments for granted because I know what it’s like to be out and injured and trying to find your way back just to play tennis,” said Sharapova, who has had her career disrupted several times by injury.

SWISS PAIR – AGAIN

Apparently having twins was a winning move for Roger Federer the first time. The Swiss master, who has won numerous titles more than once in his career, had twins again, this time two boys to go with the two girls his wife Mirka gave birth to four years ago. “Twins again … miracle, Federer wrote on his Facebook page when he announced the new additions to his family. Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick, confirmed to The Associated Press that the baby boys – named Leo and Lenny – were born in Zurich, Switzerland. Earlier in the week Federer withdrew from the Madrid Open in order to be with Mirka when she gave birth. Godsick said the 17-time Grand Slam tournament champion intends to enter the French Open, which begins May 25, and could possibly play this week’s ATP World Tour event in Rome, Italy. “Roger has plans to play the French Open, and he’ll take it step-by-step as to what he plays before that,” Godsick said.

STOPPING THE BRYANS

Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan ran into a familiar foe – and this time the foe won. Daniel Nester and Nenad Zimonjic beat the American twins to capture the Mutua Madrid Open doubles, their second title since reuniting at the start of the 2014 season. It was the winning pair’s 26^th ATP World Tour team title and snapped the Bryans’ 24-match win streak. Nestor, a 41-year-old Canadian, has now won 84 tour-level titles, third best in the Open Era behind Mike Bryan, who has captured 100 titles, and Bob Bryan, who has 98. Zimonjic, a 37-year-old Serbian, won his 51^st tour-level title.

SERENA OUT

Serena Williams halted her bid for a third straight Madrid Open title when she withdrew from the quarterfinals of the clay court tournament because of a left thigh injury. The American had her thigh heavily bandaged in her earlier matches. Williams was injured during her first-round victory over Belinda Bencic. And while she showed signs of improvement during her following two matches, she announced her withdrawal before she was to take on Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals. “I have a left thigh injury and, unfortunately, have to withdraw from this year’s Mutua Madrid Open,” Williams said. “It happened during my first round match. It started to get better, but most importantly right now, I just need some time to rest and recover. It’s beyond words. It’s so frustrating. We couldn’t ask for a better tournament and I love it here in Madrid. I love being a champion here.”

Serena continues to pile up the numbers in her career. When she beat Carla Suárez Navarro, Williams became the 11^th player in WTA history to reach 650 career match wins – just one behind her older sister, Venus Williams. And Serena continued her brilliant history against Spaniards. She has won her last 29 matches against Spanish players and hasn’t lost since she retired with an arm injury in Berlin against Hall of Famer Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in 1999 – 15 years ago.

SPANIARDS STOPPED

Two Spanish players parlayed their wild card entry into the Mutua Madrid Open into a run to the doubles final. That’s when they ran into an unstoppable Italian pair. Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci ended the surprising run of Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro 6-4 6-3 to take their third WTA doubles title of the year. “Tonight was a very tough match,” Vinci admitted. “Garbiñe and Carla are tough opponents and they had a great week. This is the second time we have won the title here in Madrid and are glad we could finish the week with another trophy.” The Italians now have 19 WTA doubles titles, including four Grand Slam tournament crowns. Muguruza and Suárez Navarro beat a slew of seeded teams to reach the final, including the top-seeded pair of Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai.

SU-WEI SOARS

In the WTA’s new doubles rankings, Hsieh Su-Wei has joined her partner Peng Shuai as co-world number ones. Earlier this year Peng became the first player from China ever to hold a world number-one ranking in tennis, male or female, singles or doubles. Now Hsieh achieves the same feat for Chinese Taipei. “Reaching number one in the world is a great feeling,” Hsieh said. “We have been working really hard as a team. I was very proud of Peng reached number one earlier this year and now I am happy we can share it.” They are the 10^th team ever to become co-world number ones in doubles in the WTA rankings.

SOUND WRIST?

Novak Djokovic says he’s ready to return to work. The Serbian right-hander said his right wrist has been pain-free for 10 days and he plans on playing in this week’s Italian Open. “Right now I feel much more confident at the state of my wrist and I know that I’m ready much more to play a match than I was one week ago,” Djokovic said while practicing in Rome with Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka. When Djokovic lost to Roger Federer in the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals last month, his wrist was heavily taped. “It’s a wiser decision if you try to heal it 100 percent than 50 percent and compromise the next weeks,” Djokovic said. “The second time that it comes back it becomes a chronic injury, which you definitely don’t want to have. From now on I will be extra careful about my wrist.”

SURLY SCENE

It was not the best of days for Fabio Fognini. The Italian’s frustration boiled over after he blew a 4-2 lead in the first set of a three-set loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov in the opening round of the Madrid Open. When he was given a code violation for ball abuse after he slammed a ball out of the stadium, Fognini argued that he should have only received a warning because it was his first offense. But chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani said he gave the player a code violation because he hit the ball out of the stadium. That prompted Fognini to tell Lahyani, “You have to think (with) your mind sometimes. I know that’s difficult for you.” After losing the first set, Fognini smashed his racquet and called for the trainer for a hip injury. But the ATP trainer refused to treat the playing because it was a pre-existing injury. Fognini then turned his ire toward some fans and asked Lahyani to summon security. Later he expressed his displeasure when the umpire agreed with an out call. When the match ended, Fognini had words with Lahyani during the handshake.

SAFINA STOPS

Remember Dinara Safina? Well, once ranked number one in the world, Safina has officially announced her retirement from professional tennis. The Russian hasn’t played since nagging back injuries forced her away from the WTA tour three years ago. She won 12 WTA titles, but no Grand Slam tournaments, although she reached the title match at the 2008 French Open, the 2009 Australian Open and the 2009 French Open. Her biggest title came at the inaugural Mutua Madrid Open in 2009. Ironically, her last match was also in Madrid, when she lost in an early round in 2011. Dinara and her brother, Marat Safin, are the only brother-sister to both reach the number-one world ranking.

SET FOR PARIS

A former world number one junior, Taylor Townsend will make her Grand Slam tournament main draw debut at Roland Garros in May. The American won the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge when she reached the final of the USTA Pro Circuit event in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida, USA. Townsend, a four-time junior Grand Slam tournament champion, won the Florida tournament. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the French Tennis Federation have a reciprocal agreement in which wild cards into the 2014 French and US Opens are exchanged. Robby Ginepri, who last competed in the French Open in 2010, won the men’s wild card into the clay-court event.

SIGNED UP

Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002, Marin Cilic and Ernests Gulbis have signed to play at this year’s AEGON Championships, a Wimbledon warm-up event. They join reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the strong field, which also includes Grigor Dimitrov and Alex Dolgopolov. Also entered in the The Queen’s Club tournament are 2010 champion Sam Querrey, 2007 runner-up Nicolas Mahut and Australian Bernard Tomic. Murray is seeking to join Andy Roddick, Hewitt, John McEnroe and Boris Becker as the only four-time winners of the grass-court event.

SHOOTING DEATHS

A man fatally shot his wife and two teenage children before setting their house and fire and then shooting himself, according to police in Tampa, Florida, USA. The house where the family lived was owned by former tennis star James Blake. The family was found dead in the burning home. Blake was not believed to be in Florida at the time. Authorities identified the dead as Darrin Campbell, his wife Kimberly Campbell and their teenage children, Megan and Colin. Hillsborough County sheriff’s Col. Donna Lusczynski said investigators don’t know Darrin Campbell’s motive. Blake starred at Harvard before breaking into professional tennis. Ranked as high as fourth in the world in November 2006, Blake retired from the ATP World Tour last year.

STEPPING DOWN?

Caroline Wozniacki is hinting that she may soon retire from the WTA tour and begin to have children. Once ranked number one in the world, Wozniacki was quoted by a London magazine as saying she wants to start a family with fiancée Rory McIlroy, one of the world’s top golfers. “I want to be a relatively young mother, and I don’t see it as being too far in the future,” the Danish player was quoted as saying by Lime magazine. “Therefore I have no dream to make my mark. Instead, I enjoy economic freedom my hard work has given me.” The right-hander, who will turn 24 in July and is currently ranked 14^th in the world, and McIlroy announced their engagement on January 1 this year.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson beat Tatiana Bua and Daniela Seguel 7-6 (4) 6-4

Madrid (men): Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-4 6-2

Madrid (women): Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro 6-4 6-3

SURFING

Bordeaux: www.atp-primrosebordeaux.com/

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.com/

Prague: www.expoprag.cz

Nice: www.opennicecotedazur.com/

Düsseldorf: www.world-team-cup.com/

Nürnberg: www.nuernberger-versicherungscup.de/

Strasbourg: www.internationaux-strasbourg.fr/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$4,000,610 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$117,882 BNP Paribas Primrose, Bordeaux, France, clay

WOMEN

$2,328,050 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 Sparta Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$668,279 Open de Nice Côte d’Azur, Nice, France, clay

$643,571 Düsseldorf Open, Düsseldorf, Germany, clay

WOMEN

$226,750 Nürnberger Vesicherungscup, Nürnberg, Germany, clay

$226,750 Internationaux de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, clay

Carlos Berlocq and Martin Klizan Pull Off Big Upsets in ATP Play

May 5, 2014 by Admin

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Carlos Berlocq beat Tomas Berdych 0-6 7-5 61 to win the Portugal Open men’s singles in Qeiras, Portugal

Martin Klizan beat Fabio Fognini 2-6 6-1 6-2 to win the BMW Open by FWU AG in Munich, Germany

Carla Suárez Navarro beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 3-6 6-4 to win the Portugal Open women’s singles in Qeiras, Portugal

Simone Bolelli beat Julian Reister 6-4 6-2 to win the Tunis Open in Tunis, Tunisia

Andrey Kuznetsov beat Miloslav Mecir 2-6 6-3 6-0 to win the Prosperita Open 2014 in Ostrava, Czech Republic

SAYING

“To come through qualifying – playing eight matches in nine days – is tough. It is difficult to be fit every day. I beat many good players, from (Mikhail) Youzhny to Tommy (Haas). I am very proud of myself that it ended happily.” – Martin Klizan, after winning the title in Munich, Germany.

“It was a great week to have reached a final. Tomorrow is another day.” – Fabio Fognini, after losing to Martin Klizan in the BMW Open final.

“On match point I was only thinking to put the ball in, and that’s what I did, and I felt so good when I finally finished the match. The ceremony was very special for me. I really love this tournament.” – Carla Suárez Navarro, after winning her first WTA title.

“To win a title, and against a Top 10 player, carries double merits. To close the match the way I did was very emotional.” – Carlos Berlocq, who shocked sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych in the final of the Portugal Open.

“The first set looks easy, but it doesn’t show what was going on. Carlos is a big fighter and he completely changed his game, finding a way to win.” – Tomas Berdych, who won the first set 6-0 before losing the Portugal Open final to Carlos Berlocq.

“I feel pressure every day. I think it’s a good thing a little bit because it means I’m still really hungry. If I didn’t, then I would be like, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter.’” – Serena Williams, in an interview to promote the Madrid tournament.

“If Venus and I ever looked at each other and reflected on what we did, we wouldn’t be here. We would be vacationing on some exotic island somewhere. We can’t become satisfied yet because there are still some things that we want to do. I think there’s some pioneering to be done. Obviously, Venus has done some pioneering of her own with everything that she’s done for equal prize money and things of that nature, so I definitely think there’s still lots of room. We’ve opened so many doors, I have to think about what the next steps are.” – Serena Williams,

“Next year? That’s still a long way away. I have thought at times that enough is enough and wrestled with the idea (of quitting), but I’ve managed to overcome those feelings so far.” – Kimiko Date-Krumm, at age 43 still on the WTA Tour.

“I don’t have any problem with people mentioning my age. Of course my recovery time after matches is slower and I feel the fatigue more the next day. On the way back to the hotel, you feel sore and sometimes the ice baths don’t work.” – Kimiko Date-Krumm.

SLOVAKIAN CHAMPION

It wasn’t pretty, but Martin Klizan has the second title of his career and a brand new car. Ranked 111^th in the world, the Slovakian qualifier dropped the opening set before overcoming top-seeded Fabio Fognini in the BMW Open in Munich. Although he had lost his last three meetings with Fognini, Klizan beat the Italian the only other time he reached a final, at St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2012. Klizan called for medical treatment in the opening set, suffering from abdominal pains. The Slovakian continued to complain at each changeover. “I felt very bad and took two tablets because of stomach cramps after the first set,” Klizan said. “That was a crazy game from both of us.” In the third set, Fognini also was treated for a similar complaint. After the match, the Italian told news agency DPA: “Hopefully he’s doing better now than he was during the match.” Asked if he thought Klizan had used the illness to throw off his game, Fognini said: “I think so. Let’s see how many matches he’s won in this manner at the end of the year.” Klizan became the first qualifier to win an ATP World Tour event since Nicolas Mahut captured a Dutch tournament in 2013.

SECOND TITLE FOR BERLOCQ

Like at Munich, the Portugal Open also saw the heavy favorite lose in the final. Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq failed to win a game in the opening set 6-0 rallying to upset Tomas Berdych 0-6 7-5 6-1. “In the second set, when I changed my tactics I saw the ball better, committed less errors and it opened the door,” Berlocq said, explaining the change in fortune. He broke Berdych five straight times to close out the match and join three other Argentinians who have won the Portugal Open, Juan Martin del Potro in 2011 and 2012, David Nalbandian in 2002 and 2006, and Juan Ignacio Chela in 2004. “It’s very nice to know Nalbandian, Del Potro and Gaudio won this title and that I join this list,” Berlocq said. “It is very special for me to be with such great players.” Berlocq won his first game of the match by breaking Berdych to begin the second set. He broke Berdych again in the 11^th game to send it into a tiebreak. The deciding set was all Berlocq, who won his second career ATP World Tour title, having captured the SkiStar Swedish Open last year. Berlocq went into the tournament with a 0-19 record against Top 10 opponents, but knocked off ninth-ranked Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals before upsetting Berdych in the title match. “It’s a very strong, very beautiful feeling (to win here),” Berlocq said. “It was a very special match for me. I didn’t have any pressure to win and it’s not my culture to conform to expectations.”

SUCCESS – FINALLY

Carla Suárez Navarro has won more matches this year than anyone else on the WTA Tour. On Sunday, she won her first career title, beating two-time Grand Slam tournament champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to capture the Portugal Open. “I was a little bit nervous today,” Suárez Navarro admitted. “It was a difficult match, too. It was windy today and we were both making mistakes, and we know each other well. But the most important thing for me today was just to be solid all the time.” It was the sixth career final for the Spaniard and she was the top seed. Still, she was not favored in the final since she has lost three of her previous four meetings to Kuznetsova, who once was ranked as high as number two in the world. “I tried to fight, but unfortunately it didn’t happen today,” Kuznetsova said. It was the third year Suárez Navarro had reached the Portugal Open final. This time she emerged the champion. “For me, it’s a very special moment of the season because we don’t have a lot of tournaments on clay,” Suarez said. “Now there’s Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, which to me is the best tournament of the year.” After this past week, the Spaniard has won 26 WTA-level matches this season, two more than Agnieszka Radwanska and Dominika Cibulkova.

SUCCUMBS TO CANCER

Elena Baltacha, Britain’s top female player for nearly three years, has died of liver cancer at the age of 30. Baltacha retired from professional tennis last year and revealed she had liver cancer only a couple months ago, having been diagnosed in January. When she was 19, she was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver condition which compromise3s the immune system. A native of Ukraine who was raised in Scotland, Baltacha won 11 singles titles, reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2002, made it to the third round of the Australian Open in 2005 and 2010, and was a member of Great Britain’s Fed Cup team for 11 years. “We are heartbroken beyond words at the loss of our beautiful, talented and determined Bally,” her husband, Nino Severino, said in a statement. “She was an amazing person and she touched so many people with her inspirational spirit, her warmth and her kindness.” Tennis stars, including Andy Murray, Martina Navratilova, Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Jamie Murray and Heather Watson, will participate in “Rally For Bally.” a cancer fundraising event that will be held in Baltacha’s memory on June 15.

SPECIAL SEEDING

Although his ranking has currently dropped to eighth in the world, Andy Murray will be seeded much higher when he defends his Wimbledon title. “We have a surfaced-based seeding system here at Wimbledon,” All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chairman Philip Brook said. “So we take the ranking points of each player, and add to that the ranking points they hypothetically received last year on grass, and we add to that 75 percent of the best-performing tournament in the previous year. So to put it into context for Andy Murray, as winner of Queen’s last year and winner here last year, and a finalist here in 2012, there will be a significant impact on him. There will also be quite a significant impact on (Roger) Federer and (Novak) Djokovic. There will be some adjustment.” A higher seeding would mean Murray would not have to play any of the other top players until late in the tournament. All four Grand Slam tournaments have the right to change seedings and not follow the rankings, but only Wimbledon has actually done so. This year’s Wimbledon will be played June 23 to July 6.

STRAIGHT IN

Thanks to the United States Tennis Association’s reciprocal agreement with the French Tennis Federation, Robby Ginepri has gained a wild card into the main draw at this year’s Roland Garros. The 31-year-old Ginepri clinched the wild card by defeating James McGee 6-1 6-4 in the semifinals of the Wild Card Challenge in Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Players vie for the wild card based on results on the USTA Pro Circuit. “I’m thrilled to go back to Paris, it’s a special place for me,” said Ginepri, who was a US Open semifinalist in 2005. He returned to tennis in 2012 after missing almost two years following a mountain-bike accident in which he broke his left elbow.

SOUND POUND

Total prize money for this year’s Wimbledon tournament will increase by nearly 11 percent, with a lot of the money going to early-round losers. Still, the men’s and women’s singles champions won’t be hurting. Their prize money will increase 10 percent to 1.76 million pounds (USD $2.9 million). Players who fail to get past the third round will receive 12.5 percent more than they did in 2013. “We’ve placed emphasis on the large group of players who need our help the most, those players who lose in qualifying and in the early rounds of the championships,” Wimbledon chairman Philip Brook said. “We also had an eye to being competitive internationally, and we do keep our watch on what is going on in other tennis events and in particular the other Grand Slams.” The French Open champions this year will receive 1.65 million euros (USD $2.3 million).

SICK BAY

The right wrist injury that bothered Novak Djokovic when he lost in the semifinals at Monte Carlo to Roger Federer has caused the Serbian star to pull out of the Madrid Open. “I did everything possible in order to play in Madrid, but unfortunately my right arm injury has flared up again,” Djokovic said. Ranked second in the world, Djokovic said he will now work toward playing in Rome, which starts May 11.

Angelique Kerber played in the Madrid Open, but retired with a bad back from her first-round match while trailing Carolina Garcia of France 6-3 2-0. ‘”I’ve been feeling my back for a few days now and felt it again in the first set, and it was getting worse as the match went on,” said Kerber, who was seeded seventh. “I’m disappointed I had to retire from the match. But I’d like to give all the credit to Caroline, who played an amazing match today.”

SET TO RETURN – BRIEFLY

Marion Bartoli retired right after winning the Wimbledon singles last year. Now she’s returning in June to play an exhibition tournament. The 29-year-old Frenchwoman will play in the Liverpool Hope University International Tennis Tournament from June 18-22, which will also feature retired players Greg Rusedski and Virginia Wade. While she struggled with all kinds of injuries during her 14-year career, Bartoli said her shoulder forced her retirement because she couldn’t serve properly. She won Wimbledon in her 47th start at a Grand Slam tournament – the most ever played by a woman before winning a major championship. And she won the title without dropping a set.

SITTING DOWN ON THE JOB

Eugenie Bouchard was playing Alisa Kleybanova in an opening round match at the Portugal Open when her feet went out from her on the clay and she ended up sitting on the court. Still, when the ball came close enough, the 20-year-old Canadian was able to hit a looping backhand that barely cleared the net. She then got back on her feet and ended up winning the point with another backhand. The play brought a smile to her face as she ended up with a 6-4 6-1 victory.

STAYING AWAY

Richard Williams says he will never return to the tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, where he said his family was booed and subjected to racial epithets. The father of Serena and Venus Williams wrote about the incident in his new book, “Black and White: The Way I See It,” which is being published this week. “I would never go back” to Indian Wells, Williams said in a telephone interview. But he said it was up to his daughters to decide if they want to play the southern California tournament again. “She was taught to make terrific decisions,” Richard said of Serena. “Any decision she makes, I would be behind one-thousand percent.” Serena was on the entry list for this year’s tournament but withdrew, citing a back injury.

SEES IMPROVEMENT

Six weeks after his surgery, Juan Martin del Potro says he is starting intense rehabilitation on his left wrist. Del Potro got encouraging words from Dr. Richard Berger, when he visited his surgeon at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. The Argentine has been using a special splint to support the wrist while the ligaments healed. The player wrote on his Facebook page: “The doctor is satisfied with the recovery and, even though I need to keep using the splint, now I can start the rehabilitation exercises to recover the mobility in my left wrist.” No date has been set on when del Potro will be able return to the ATP World Tour.

SO LONG

Andy Ram of Israel is calling it quits. Ram announced he will retire from the game after the upcoming Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie at home against Argentina in September. The 34-year-old Ram has been half of Israel’s most successful doubles team in both Davis Cup and on the pro circuit. “The time has come, today is the day, it is time to hang up the racquets after a long career,” Ram said. “I have been involved in tennis since the age of five and today I’m 34. It has been a very long path during which I have experienced many things and I would not exchange them for anything … all the injuries, the victories, I will never forget them.” Ram teamed with Vera Zvonareva to win the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2006 and with Nathalie Dechy to capture Roland Garros in 2007. In 2008, Ram and fellow Israeli Jonathan Erlich won the Australian Open men’s doubles title. With Erlich, Ram also represented Israel at the last three Olympic Games, most notably knocking out Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2012 Games in London before being defeated in the quarterfinals by the eventual gold medalists, American brothers Mike and Bob Bryan.

SAD NEWS

Karl Meiler, a semifinalist at the Australian Open in 1973, has died at the age of 64. The German had been in a coma since he fell down the stairs at his home last November. Meiler won four ATP World Tour singles titles, reaching a career-high ranking of 20^th in the world in 1973. He also won 17 doubles titles, including the WCT World Doubles Championships in 1976 with Wojtek Fibak. He represented West Germany in Davis Cup from 1968 until 1980. After retiring, Meiler coached many German players, including Michael Stich, Carl-Uwe Steeb and Bernd Karbacher.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Munich: Jamie Murray and John Peers beat Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins 6-4 6-2

Ostrava: Andrey Kuznetsov and Adrian Menendez-Macciras beat Alessandro Motti and Matteo Viola 4-6 6-3 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Qeiras (men): Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky beat Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero 6-3 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Qeiras (women): Cara Black and Sania Mirza beat Eva Hrdinova and Valeria Solovyeva 6-4 6-3

Tunis: Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Adil Shamasdin beat Stephan Fransen and Jesse Huta Galung 6-3 7-6 (5)

SURFING

Madrid: www.madrid-open.com

Cagnes-Sur-Mer: www.opendecagnes.com

Bordeaux: www.atp-primrosebordeaux.com/

Rome: www.internazionalibnlditalia.com/

Prague: www.expoprag.cz

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$5,077,700 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

WOMEN

$5,077,700 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$100,000 Open de Cagnes-Sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$4,000,610 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$117,882 BNP Paribas Primrose, Bordeaux, France, clay

WOMEN

$2,328,050 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, Italy, clay

$100,000 Sparta Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic, clay

From USTA Futures Event In Vero Beach, Top U.S. Prospect Francis Tiafoe Targets A Junior Grand Slam Title

May 1, 2014 by Admin

By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

VERO BEACH, Fla. — It’s not every day that Sports Illustrated and the Washington Post focus their journalistic endeavors on the sleepy Florida coastal paradise of Vero Beach and its $10,000 USTA Futures level tennis tournament. While the event – the SorensenRealEstate.com Tennis Classic – is among the most successful Futures events in the USA – now in its 20th year – the focus of this media interest is entirely 16-year-old Francis Tiafoe, perhaps the brightest future hope for American men’s tennis.

Tiafoe became a lightning rod for attention in American tennis circles when he became the youngest player to win the boys’ 18 title Orange Bowl last December as a 15-year-old, joining a list of champions at the 67-year-old international event headlined by Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Jim Courier. Add in the fact that he has an incredible story of being the son of immigrants from war-torn Sierra Leone on the west coast of Africa and that he picked up the sport while his father worked as a maintenance person at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland. (Read more in this New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/sports/tennis/francis-tiafoe-top-ranked-junior-grew-up-at-tennis-center-and-it-shows.html?_r=0) With a current world junior ranking of No. 2, Tiafoe is now stepping up onto the next rung of the ladder of competitive tennis on the “Futures” tour – the lowest level of professional tennis.

“It’s definitely tougher. You have to come in with a different mentality,” Tiafoe said of playing pro-level tennis after his 6-4, 6-2 second-round loss in Vero Beach to Gregory Ouellette, a 27-year-old former All-American at the University of Florida, ranked No. 592. “Here, they don’t really care if you are good junior. They don’t care who you are. They want to win the match. It’s completely different. In the juniors, I‘m pretty well respected and I can win matches off my name. Here, you have you work for every match and every point. It’s not easy. I really need to get used to this level.”

“It’s good for Francis to be here and play some matches against these guys maybe lose a few matches and stay humble and keep on learning and getting better,” said Misha Kouznetsov, Tiafoe’s coach from the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, a USTA Regional Training Center for High Performance. “Here you always have to hold serve and you have to always be aggressive. You cannot have mental breakdowns. You have to stay right on it. In juniors, you can get always with a lot of stuff.”

Next for Tiafoe is continued introductions into pro tennis on the USTA Pro Circuit and similar-level ITF Futures events in Spain before competing at the French Open juniors and junior Wimbledon. Main draw or qualifying wild cards into ATP events in Newport, R.I., Atlanta and Washington, DC could materialize in July. Tiafoe will also compete at the USTA National Boys’ 18 Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he will hope to earn the automatic wild card entry into the US Open that is awarded to the winner.

Ranked No. 1,296 in the ATP rankings this week, Tiafoe is a high school sophomore – home-schooled working with three different teachers, mainly over Skype, as well as with other tutors. In addition to practicing and improving his tennis skills and technique, Kouznetsov said he works on tennis specific track work and improving his fitness and endurance.

When asked in Vero Beach what his goals were for the rest of the year, Tiafoe was succinct and clear on what he wanted to achieve, a sign of a someone bound for future success.

“The goal is to win one of the Slams this year in the juniors,” Tiafoe said. “By January of next year, I want to be 400 or 300 in the world in the ATP rankings. I want to go into the pros next year with a pretty high ranking and see if I am going to go to school or not.”

Tiafoe said that his final tournament as a junior player will be the U.S. Open junior championships in September before he will focus entirely on playing for ATP ranking points to help determine whether he will turn professional or attend college.

“I want to turn pro,” Tiafoe said when asked if he was leaning more towards college or turning professional, “but you never know what will happen.”

Maria Sharapova, Grigor Dimitrov Win Titles On Same Day – Mondays with Bob Greene

April 28, 2014 by Admin

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Kei Nishikori beat Santiago Giraldo 6-2 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in Barcelona, Spain

Maria Sharapova beat Ana Ivanovic 3-6 6-4 6-1 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany

Grigor Dimitrov beat Lukas Rosol 7-6 (2) 6-1 to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania

María-Teresa Torró-Flor beat Romina Oprandi 6-3 3-6 6-3 to win the Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Marrakech, Morocco

DAVIS CUP

Asia/Oceania Zone Group II Playoff: Indonesia beat Hong Kong China 3-1

SAYING

“This is an important win for my career.” – Nicolas Almagro, after upsetting top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open.

“I had a lot of opportunities in the second set. I didn’t take advantage of break points, so credit goes to him.” – Rafael Nadal, following his loss to Nicolas Almagro.

“I just tried to hang in there. For the first half of the match I thought it might not be my day today, but somehow I turned it around.” – Maria Sharapova, who came from behind to beat Ana Ivanovic and win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for the third time.

“She’s just a great player, and that’s what happens when you play against great players in big matches like this. You need to use your opportunities.” – Ana Ivanovic, after losing the Stuttgart final to Maria Sharapova.

“I was playing well. I felt I should be in the final and I’m very happy to win.” –Kei Nishikori, who won his first clay court title at Barcelona, Spain.

“I feel great about the week. It was not an easy day for me. Kei played very good. I have good feelings about my play and my improvement.” – Santiago Giraldo, who lost to Kei Nishikori in the Barcelona final.

“It’s a funny story, because on Friday I asked (Robert) to play doubles but we weren’t sure if we would be playing. We got in as lucky losers and we won the tournament. It is an amazing tournament.” – Jesse Huta Galung, who teamed with Stephane Robert to win the doubles in Barcelona.

“I have worked really hard to start winning titles. I have put in enough effort, time and sacrifices to get here.” – Grigor Dimitrov, after capturing the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania.

“A run to a final was very good. It was a perfect week … If you had told me I would have reached the semifinals at the start of the week, I would have taken it.” – Lukas Rosol, who lost to Grigor Dimitrov in Bucharest.

SUCCESS ON CLAY

Kei Nishikori bested Santiago Giraldo to win his fifth tour-level title and second of the year. The key, however, is it was his first triumph on clay. The first Japanese-born player to win a clay-court title, Nishikori dropped his opening serve. No problem. After Giraldo held for a 2-0 lead, he didn’t win another game until deep into the second set as the quickness and fire-power of Nishikori was too much for the Colombian. “This title and (my run in) Miami helped my confidence, especially this week on clay,” Nishikori said. There are three big tournaments coming up in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, so I hope I can do well and increase my (Emirates ATP Rankings) points. My next goal is to get to the Top 10.” Nishikori is the first non-Spaniard to win in Barcelona in 12 years. “I was good on clay when I was little – like 14 (years old). I was winning all the European juniors events,” Nishikori said. “Now it’s much tougher than hard courts and I was struggling a bit. But I’ve been playing well these past couple years so there’s no fear to play on clay.”

SHARAPOVA SHARP

Stuttgart, Germany, is rapidly becoming Maria Sharapova’s favorite stop on the WTA Tour. The Russian captured the Porsche Grand Prix for the third straight time, coming from behind to defeat Ana Ivanovic. It was Sharapova’s first title of the year and 30^th of her career. It also is the first time she has won a tournament three times. In the battle of former world number ones, Ana Ivanovic ripped through the first five games of the match, captured the first set and grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second before Sharapova found her big game, blasting winners off both sides. “From the first moment it was always a close match,” Ivanovic said. “It was always a few close balls to decide each game, and it went on the whole match,” Ivanovic said. “In the second set she definitely went for those big shots, though, and she made some amazing points.”

SHOCKED AGAIN

His domination on clay no longer a sure thing, Rafael Nadal is finding it difficult to add to his great record on his favorite surface. The world’s top-ranked player saw his 41-match winning streak at the Barcelona Open snapped by Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals. Seeking his ninth title in Barcelona, Nadal lost to his fellow Spaniard 2-6 7-6 (5) 6-4. The left-hander hadn’t lost in Barcelona since his debut in 2003 when he was just 15 years old. Injuries forced Nadal to miss the tournament in 2010. It was Almagro’s first career win over Nadal, who failed to convert any of his five break points in the second set. Almagro’s winning the second set snapped Nadal’s streak of 44 straight sets in Barcelona. Nadal saved the first match point. He didn’t survive the second. Nadal hadn’t been eliminated this early in consecutive clay-court tournaments since 2004, when as an 18-year-old he also failed to get past the quarterfinals in Stuttgart and Båstad. “That’s sport,” Nadal said. “Obviously it’s not the happiest day for me, but obviously I never thought I would win here 70 matches in a row. It was not my day today. I felt I did a lot of things well today to win the match, but at the end, (there) remained a little bit. Just accept the situation and keep fighting.”

STEPPING STONE

Grigor Dimitrov moved a step closer to the top 10 when he sailed through the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania, without dropped a set. In the final, Dimitrov, the top seed in a tournament for the first time in his career, toppled Lukas Rosol, who was trying to defend his title. It took only 81 minutes for the 22-year-old Dimitrov to win his second title of the year. “It feels good to have won,” Dimitrov said. “I lifted my game, not having been happy with my previous matches in the tournament. I knew I had to lift my level, especially after the first set. Lukas is a very good winner who hit some outstanding winners.” The two battled evenly until Dimitrov easily captured the tiebreak 7-2. After that, the Bulgarian dominated. The win moved Dimitrov to 13^th in the rankings. “Grigor was just amazing today,” an impressed Rosol said. “I played good tennis, but Grigor was better on the court and I had no answer. I am sure he will break into the Top 10 very soon.”

SUPER PARTNER

Horia Tecau can team with seemingly anyone else and win his home tournament, the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy, doubles title. Or it seems that way. Tecau won Bucharest for the third straight year, this time teaming with Jean-Julien Rojer to stop the Polish pair of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-4 6-4 in the final. Tecau had partnered Robert Lindstedt to the title in 2012 and Max Mirnyi to last year’s trophy. “It’s always great to win at home,” Tecau said. “We got great support from the crowd, but, of course, you also feel some extra pressure here. I’m very happy that I won this title with Jules after winning here during the past two years as well.” It was the third title this year for Tecau and Rojer. They also captured the PBZ Zagreb Indoors and the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca.

STARTING PERFECT

They were a pickup team that lost in qualifying. Yet there they were, collecting the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell doubles title. Jesse Huta Galung and Stephane Robert teamed up the Friday before the main draw began in the Spanish city. They got into the main draw as “lucky losers,” then refused to be defeated. “We played our own games all week,” Huta Galung said. “Maybe the other teams don’t know us as well, so we didn’t have anything to lose. Maybe the pressure was on them.” The Dutch-French team became just the third duo to win a WTA Tour-level title as “lucky losers.” In the final, they knocked off Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, who had two won the Barcelona. So, where do the winners go from here? “We don’t know,” Robert said. “Next week I will be at my highest ranking and Jesse will be around No. 70. So it is still not possible to play regularly on the ATP World Tour, so we might need to play with other players to earn more points before teaming up again.”

STAR ARISING

The final battle at the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem came down to two unseeded players seeking their first title. It was María-Teresa Torró-Flor who became the sixth first-time WTA champion of the year as she beat Romina Oprandi in a see-saw battle. Neither player had ever been in a final before. “It was a difficult match,” Torró-Flor said. “In the second set I started to lose my focus and Oprandi took advantage of that and took the set. I called my coach to the court and he told me I had to keep focusing and work hard like I always do, and after that I started to play a bit better. It was difficult, and I had to fight a lot, but I feel really happy to win my first title.” Torró-Flor took a 5-1 lead in the final set, then lost a chance to serve out the match. In her next service game, she never faltered. Other first-time WTA champions this year include Garbiñe Muguruza, Tsvetana Pironkova, Kurumi Nara, Caroline Garcia and Donna Vekic. With the exception of Pironkova, all of the first-timers are age 22 and under.

STEPPING INTO FATHERHOOD

Novak Djokovic is preparing to join Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka as the only members of the current Top 10 to have children. The Serbian right-hander announced that he and fiancée Jelena Ristic are expecting their first child. “Jelena and I are truly blessed to soon become parents! My love is pregnant!,” the world number two and six-time Grand Slam tournament champion wrote on Facebook. Djokovic and Ristic were engaged last September. Federer, who had twins with wife Mirka in 2009, is expected a third child in the coming weeks.

SOB STORY

Andy Murray broke into tears when he accepted a civic honor in his Scottish hometown of Dunblane. When the local council awarded their favorite son “the freedom of Stirling,” Murray stopped to compose himself and several times wiped his eyes. “I think everyone knows I’m extremely proud of where I come from,” Murray said, his voice cracking. “Moving away was one of the sacrifices I had to make for my job, and every time I come back it’s quite emotional.” Among those in attendance were Murray’s parents, grandparents and girlfriend Kim Sears. Murray also received an honorary degree from the University of Stirling, whose courts he practiced on when he was young. “Tennis players don’t really come from Scotland, so it’s a strange story, but shows that anything can happen if you believe and you dream and work hard, then you can achieve whatever you want to,” said Murray, who currently is ranked eighth in the world.

SLIPPING IN, BRIEFLY

An injury to Caroline Wozniacki’s left wrist opened the door slightly for Johanna Konta of Britain. Konta lost in the final round of qualifying at the Porsche Grand Prix to Italy’s Giola Barbieri. But when Wozniacki withdrew from the clay-court tournament, Konta, as a “lucky loser,” gained a spot in the main draw. Unfortunately Konta’s stay in Stuttgart didn’t last long. She was ousted in the first round by Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 7-6 (4) 6-4.

SICK BAY

Victoria Azarenka’s season is getting shorter and shorter. The world’s fourth-ranked player has pulled out of clay-court tournaments in Madrid and Rome as she recovers from a foot injury. Since reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals, the Belarusian has played in only one tournament, at Indian Wells, California, USA, where she lost her first match. The left foot problem flared up at the Australian Open, where she was seeking her third consecutive title. “Hey, everybody, unfortunately I won’t be competing in Madrid and Rome this year,” Azarenka said in a video posted on her Twitter account. Missing the Madrid Open and the tournament in Rome leaves Azarenka with little time to gain match fitness ahead of Roland Garros, which begins on May 25.

SEEKING OFFICE

Ilie Nastase, at one time one of the highest-paid players in Europe, is running for a seat in the Romanian parliament. Once known as the “bad boy” of tennis, Nastase will stand in the Bucharest by-election for a seat in the Romanian Senate. Now 67 years old, Nastase will be a candidate for the Conservative Party, a small group that was founded by Dan Voiculescu, a former collaborator of the Communist Political Police, the Securitate. “Today, I want to get involved (in politics) to help sports in Romania,” Nastase said. “I want to fight for the adoption of a law on sponsorship, without which sport in this country is going to die.” Nastase led Romania to the Davis Cup final three times. He won the US Open in 1972 and in 1976 was the first European to exceed USD $1 million in career prize money. He retired from competition in 1984. Nastase ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Bucharest in 1996. The by-election will be held on May 25.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Barcelona: Jesse Huta Galung and Stephane Robert beat Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-3 6-3

Bucharest: Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-4 6-4

Marrakech: Garbiñe Muguruza and Romina Oprandi beat Katarzyna Piter and Maryna Zanevska 4-6 6-2 11-9 (match tiebreak)

Stuttgart: Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Cara Black and Sania Mirza 6-2 6-3

SURFING

Ostrava: www.prosperitaopen.cz/

Munich: http://bmwopen.de/

Qeiras: www.portugalopen.pt/

Tunis: www.tct.org.tn/

Madrid: www.madrid-open.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$590,148 Portugal Open, Qeiras, Portugal, clay

$590,148 BMW Open by FWU AG, Munich, Germany, clay

$125,000 Tunis Open, Tunis, Tunisia, clay

$117,586 Prosperita Open 2014, Ostrava, Czech Republic, clay

WOMEN

$250,000 Portugal Open, Qeiras, Portugal, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$5,077,700 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

WOMEN

$5,077,700 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain, clay

$100,000 Open de Cagnes-Sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, clay

Stan Wawrinka Beats Roger Federer In All-Swiss Final at Monte-Carlo: Mondays with Bob Greene

April 20, 2014 by Admin

Mondays with Bob Greene

STARS

Stanislas Wawrinka beat Roger Federer 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-2 to win the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monte-Carlo, Monaco

Donna Vekic beat Dominika Cibulkova 5-7 7-5 7-6 (4) to win the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Nick Kyrgios beat Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (10) 6-4 to win the Sarasota Open in Sarasota, Florida, USA

FED CUP

World Group

(Semifinals)

Czech Republic beat Italy 4-0 at Ostrava, Czech Republic

Germany beat Australia 3-1 at Brisbane, Australia

World Group Playoffs

Russia beat Argentina 4-0 at Sochi, Russia

Canada beat Slovak Republic 3-1 at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

France beat United States 3-2 at St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Poland beat Spain 3-2 at Barcelona, Spain

World Group II Playoffs

Romania beat Serbia 4-1 at Bucharest, Romania

Netherlands beat Japan 3-2 at ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

Sweden beat Thailand 4-0 at Lidkoping, Sweden

Switzerland beat Brazil 4-1 at Catanduva, Brazil

SAYING

“I can see that when mentally I’m there and I’m fighting, I can play tennis, I can beat all the players. I did an amazing job.” – Stanislas Wawrinka, after beating Roger Federer in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters.

“Of course, I’m very happy for Stan. It’s a huge win for him after winning his first Grand Slam this year, also to win his first Masters 1000. To take the opportunities when they’re there, that’s key in a tennis player’s career. So I’m very happy for him.” – Roger Federer, following his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in Monte-Carlo.

“It’s always special to play Roger. We know it’s always a strange match, especially being in the final here. He’s my best friend on the tour. We respect each other so much. I’m just trying on the court to win the match. Before and after, we are still very good friends. During the match, we just try everything to win. Today I’m really happy to take that one.” – Stanislas Wawrinka.

“I have had to wait 10 years to beat him on clay. It was a long wait but I am pleased with the win and the way I played.” – David Ferrer, after beating Rafael Nadal on the clay in Monte-Carlo.

“I didn’t play the right way. I didn’t play with the right intensity with my forehand. I played too short. I gave him the chance to have the control of the point almost all the time.” – Rafael Nadal.

“I just rest now. I cannot play tennis for some time. How long, I don’t know. It’s really not in my hands anymore. I’m going to rest and see when it can heal 100 percent, then I will be back on the court.” – Novak Djokovic,

“Rafa’s not a machine. Sometimes he can play not so good. Maybe today he didn’t play his best tennis, and I played very good.” – David Ferrer.

“I was frustrated, let’s be honest. I did chuck a ball out of the stadium, I did scream sometimes. I was aggravated to a degree, but not to the extent where I totally lost it.” – Roger Federer, after hitting a ball out of the stadium in frustration during his match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“It’s amazing to hit triple digits. It’s a great milestone to say that you have a hundred, to be the first player to hit a hundred titles. Kind of snuck up on us pretty quick. Last few years we’ve been really hot. We always wanted to beat the Woodies’ record of 61. Then trying to clip Todd Woodbridge’s 83 titles. All of a sudden I’m at 99. It will feel a lot better when we do it as a team. We’ve always looked at our career as team titles, doing it together. That’s the huge goal for this year, to do it together.” – Mike Bryan, who won his 100 career doubles title and teamed with his twin brother Bob to capture their 98^th crown.

“I think of myself as two different people. There’s the Serena Williams that everyone knows: She’s crazy. She can’t make a mistake. And she’s angry and just not nice, to be honest. I’m only that person for three hours a day, when I’m on the court. The rest of the time I’m just Serena. I’m the class clown.” – Serena Williams, in comments she told Fitness Magazine.

SWISS SWITCH

Stanislas Wawrinka has shown that being ahead of Roger Federer in the ATP Tour Rankings is no fluke. The “other Swiss” beat Federer for only the second time in their careers to capture his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. “When I came here, for me it was more like a test. I knew I was playing good tennis, but I didn’t expect to win because the draw was so strong,” Wawrinka said. Instead, the 29-year-old Wawrinka came on strong in the second half of the final to capture the Monte-Carlo crown to go along with the Australian Open title he won in January. “When you win a match like this, it’s only one or two points, especially in the tiebreak,” Wawrinka said. “But I think I did a great tiebreak. I was serving big and being really aggressive. Then I took the advantage at the beginning of the third set. I saw that he was a little bit tired. Me, I was playing better and better, especially moving better.” Federer, who has never won Monte-Carlo, agreed with Wawrinka. “I think it’s one of those finals that I could have won,” Federer said. “But Stan was tougher at the end. I think he deserved it just a little bit more.” It was the first all-Swiss final on the ATP World Tour in 14 years, and was the fourth time Federer had reached the final at Monte-Carlo and lost, the first three times to Rafael Nadal. “I would have loved to have won a second title (this season) because I’ve come close a few times,” Federer said. “That’s my next objective, that I get to the very end more frequently. But clearly I’m happy that the clay court season started so well for me.”

SIDELINED

Fresh off from winning two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, Novak Djokovic’s season is on hold because of an injury to his right wrist. With his right arm heavily taped, the Serb was visibly hampered in his semifinal loss at the Monte Carlo Masters to Roger Federer. The injury severely hampered Djokovic’s serve and backhand. “I just rest now,” Djokovic said. “I cannot play tennis for some time. How long, I don’t know. It’s really not in my hands anymore.” Ranked second in the world, Djokovic said there was one positive thing about his injury. “The good thing is I don’t need to have a surgery,” he said. “I don’t have any rupture or something like that.” He had complained earlier in the week about the pain, but said he felt better after taking a day off from playing and training. But a long quarterfinal win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez aggravated the injury. “Long match, long rallies, heavy balls, definitely did not help the state of my arm,” said Djokovic, who was seeking to win his fifth straight Masters title. “The pain was there every single day from 10 days ago. At some stages it was very painful.”

STRUGGLING

A back injury and defeat in the Australian Open final has cost Rafael Nadal his confidence. At least that’s what the world’s top-ranked player is saying. “I don’t have to lie to anybody,” Nadal said. “After what happened in Australia it was little bit harder for me to find again the intensity, the confidence, the inside power that I always have.” Although he won a clay court tournament in Rio de Janeiro after the Australian Open, Nadal fell in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters and lost the final of the Miami Masters. Then came the Monte-Carlo Masters where Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. Asked if his back was still bothering him, Nadal said: “No, no, the back is not an excuse. The back is in good shape. The physical performance is fine. No problem about that.” The left-hander vowed: “I’m going to fight to try to find that solution soon.”

SUCCESS, FINALLY

It took 10 years, but David Ferrer has finally posted a win over fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal on clay. Ferrer’s 7-6 (1) 6-4 win snapped Nadal’s 30-match clay-court winning streak and came in the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo. The last time Ferrer beat Nadal on clay was in their first ATP World Tour meeting in Stuttgart, Germany. “I have had to wait 10 years to beat him on clay,” Ferrer said. “It was a long wait but I am pleased with the win and the way I played. I spoke with my coach and we had a clear game plan. But with Rafa, it’s always tough because he doesn’t allow you to follow it. The good thing was I was able to deal with his attacks and stay strong physically for the whole match.” Nadal said he failed to stay with his own game plan. “I didn’t play the right way,” the world’s top-ranked player said. “I didn’t play with the right intensity with my forehand. I played too short. I gave him the chance to have the control of the point almost all the time.” Nadal has won Monte-Carlo eight straight years until he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final last year.

SIBLING POWER

The records keep falling for the Bryan brothers. Mike Bryan became the first player to win 100 tour-level doubles titles when he and twin Bob Bryan captured the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, defeating Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-3 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak). It was the 98^th team title for the Americans. It was the fifth title in a row for the Bryans and extended their winning streak to 21 matches. The 35-year-olds have not lost since the Memphis, Tennessee, USA, final in February. The brothers’ goal now is to win 100 titles together. “I will feel a lot better when we do it as a team,” Mike Bryan said. “We’ve always looked at our career as team titles, doing it together. That’s the huge goal for this year, to do it together.” Brother Bob said their goal is to hit the century mark before Roland Garros. “We’ve got two tournaments or three coming up before the French,” Bob Bryan said. “It’s incredible to see what he’s done. I guess I’m knocking on the door. The Californian pair have now won the Monte-Carlo Masters four times and lead with 29 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles together.

STAR ARISING

Donna Vekic is out to prove she belongs with the best players on the WTA tour. The 17 year old from Croatia won her first WTA title – the BMW Malaysian Open – by posting her first win over a Top 10 player, Dominika Cibulkova. “I’m so happy – I don’t know what to say, I’m so, so happy,” Vekic said. She was runner-up in her first two WTA finals – at Tashkent in 2012 and Birmingham in 2013. And she was close to losing at Kuala Lumpur as she trailed Cibulkova 7-5 5-4. But Vekic reeled off seven straight games to take the second set and grab a 4-0 lead in the third. Cibulkova, herself a young player on the rise in the rankings, did not go down easily. She staved off three match points at 5-2 and eventually forced a tiebreak. When Vekic closed out the 5-7 7-5 7-6 (4) victory with a forehand winner, she finished the match by winning one more point than her Slovakian opponent, 122 to 121. Vekic also had 11 aces to just two for Cibulkova. At 17 years, 10 months and 23 days old, Vekic is the first player under 18 to win a WTA title since American Vania King captured Bangkok in 2006. “It was a very tough match,” Vekic said. “She played very well throughout the whole match. I was up 5-1 in the third set and she came back out playing insane. So I’m happy I was able to get through in the end.”

S’IL VOUS PLAIT

Not surprisingly, the French Open will pay out more this year than ever before. The men’s and women’s champions will each earn 1.65 million euros (USD $2,277,640), an increase of 150,000 euros (USD $207,059) from last year. Gilbert Ysern, tournament director at Roland Garros as well as French Tennis Federation director, said “this notable increase in Roland Garros prize money is part of the plan that was put in place for 2013 until 2017.” In all, total prize money for the clay court Grand Slam tournament increased by 3 million euros (USD $4.1 million) from last year. The biggest increases have come for those losing in the early rounds.

SKIPPING PARIS?

Being with his wife when she gives birth is Roger Federer’s top priority. Consequently the Swiss star could possibly miss this year’s French Open. The day before Christmas Federer announced he and his wife Mirka were expecting their third child, although they have not said when. The 32-year-old Federer says he still does not know the due date. “So we’re just waiting,” Federer said. “It’s a priority for me trying to be there, trying to support my wife. I’ve played enough tennis matches. Missing a tournament or missing a match wouldn’t change anything for me.”

SHORT PROBLEM

Normally when Rafael Nadal misses his first serve, he just reaches into his pocket for the second ball. At Monte-Carlo, however, he had to get the second ball from a ball person. That’s because of a problem the Spanish ace had with the pockets in his shorts. “The ball comes out of the bottom of them and gets in the way,” the world’s top-ranked player told Teledeporte. “We’ll try to sort it out for the next tournaments, but here it won’t be possible.” Pete Sampras always had just one ball at a time, as does Serena Williams. But Nadal, like many of today’s male players, grabs two balls and puts one in his pocket. “When you have been doing something the same way for so many years, when there is a change you have to think about it and it makes things a bit more difficult,” Nadal said. “But it’s better to do it that way than have the ball popping out of the bottom of your shorts, which is quite uncomfortable.”

SIDELINED

Great Britain’s top woman player, Laura Robson, has decided to undergo surgery on her left wrist, meaning she will miss both the French Open and Wimbledon. She was plagued by the left wrist problem throughout this year, playing just one match, and losing that to Kirsten Flipkens 6-3 6-0 in the first round of the Australian Open. She had retired because of the long-standing injury I her opening match against Yanina Wickmayer at a warm-up event in Hobart, Australia. Currently ranked 64^th in the world, Robson announced on her Facebook page that she will have the operation, which will be performed by the same Minnesota-based doctor who operated on the wrist of former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro. “I wanted to inform my lovely supporters that I have decided to have minor wrist surgery at the Mayo clinic with one of the best wrist doctors in the world, Dr. Richard Berger,” Robson wrote. “Dr. Berger is very confident that I will be able to return to the tennis court pain free before you even have time to miss me.” The 20-year-old Robson won the Wimbledon girls’ singles title in 2008 and reached a career-high of 27thin the rankings last year.

SEEKING A COACH

Andy Murray hopes to have a new coach by next month’s French Open. The 26-year-old Murray won the London Olympics singles gold, the US Open and Wimbledon with Ivan Lendl as his coach. But the two announced their split last month and Murray is seeking a replacement. “The plan is to think exactly what I need over the next week, two weeks,” Murray told BBC Sport. “There’s a lot of factors you need to look at and I would hope I would have someone in place by the French Open, but I don’t want to rush it. I don’t want to get someone just because they’ve won a lot of tournaments or were great players.”

SAID WHAT?

No one was more surprised than Donald Young when an umpire assessed him a warning for what he said in a first-round match at the Sarasota ATP Challenger tournament in Sarasota, Florida, USA. What Young muttered after putting a backhand into the net was “son of a biscuit.” After being given the warning for his comment, the former world junior number one told the umpire: “Come on Keith, don’t give me crap for that, man, I said ‘son of a biscuit.’ That’s a problem? That’s a problem now?” Despite the warning, Young won his first-round match, beating Alexander Zverev, a 16-year-old qualifier from Germany. He then beat Zverev’s brother, Mischa, in the next round before losing to Nick Kyrgios of Australia. Kyrgios went on to win the Sarasota tournament, stopping Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (10) 6-4 in the final.

SENT PACKING

The men’s tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia, is moving to Tel Aviv, Israel. The ATP Board of Directors, meeting in Monte-Carlo, approved the tournament’s move, and now needs only a final agreement of conditions between the tournament and the ATP World Tour. “After 19 memorable years in St. Petersburg, the time has come for us to take the tournament in a new direction,” said Ruslan Linkov, a tournament representative. “We are very excited about the opportunities that lie in Tel Aviv and look forward to hold a successful event in September.” The tournament will be held at the Israel Tennis Centre at Ramat HaSharon this September and will offer USD $1,000,000 in prize money. It will be the first ATP World Tour event held in Israel since 1996.

STALWARTS ALL

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, Romania’s Simona Halep, Brazil’s Teliana Pereira and Uzbekistan’s Sabina Sharipova have been named the first four winners of the 2014 Fed Cup Heart Award. The four recipients were decided more than 60,000 fans casting ballots on FedCup.com and FedCup.com/es. The winners will receive a check to be donated to their chosen charity. It is Radwanska’s second career Heart Award for her performance in the World Group and World Group II first-round category. The other three were Zone Group I winners. The Fed Cup Heart Award recognizes players who have represented their country with distinction in Fed Cup competition.

STARTING YOUNG

The top eight ranked boys and girls on the 18-and-under International Tennis Federation Junior World Rankings at the end of the year will compete in the ITF Junior Masters, a new event that be held next April at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu, China. According to the ITF announcement, the competition will consist of two knock-out singles events, with each player guaranteed three matches to determine their final finishing position. The Sichuan International Tennis Centre, which was built in 2008, has already hosted a number of international events. The new competition will be played three match courts, including a 6,000-seat stadium court.

SPLIT ENDS, TOO?

When Danish star Caroline Wozniacki showed up to caddy for her fiancé Rory McIlroy at a par-3 hit and giggle event prior to The Masters, she had dyed her hair pink. By the final round other the golf major, Wozniacki’s hair was its normal blonde. But returning to her natural color may not have been easy. The tennis star posted on social media: “Does anyone know if semi-permanent hairy dye from the brand Manic Panic washes off completely after a little while?” Gold Digest writer Dan Jenkins wrote on social media: “High-level talk on Augusta National veranda: ‘Exactly what color is Caroline Wozniacki’s hair?’ I’m going with a blend of violet and stupid.”

SALUTED

The chairman and CEO of the WTA, Stacey Allaster, is the first person from the tennis industry to be given the Great Wall Friendship Award. The award, established by the Beijing Municipal Government, acknowledges global professionals and experts who have played instrumental roles in facilitating the development of China’s capital. “It is an honor to receive this award, and this is an accomplishment to be shared with the entire China Open team,” Allaster said. “Together we shared a vision to build the China Open into one of the world’s most exciting sports entertainment events in the world. With the success and growth of the China Open, the WTA will host 10 events in China in 2014 as women’s tennis continues to grow and develop within the region.” Since the Great Wall Friendship Award was first given in 1999, 176 honorees from 30 countries have been selected. Of those 176, only three have been from the sports industry: Allaster; Hein Vergruggen of the Netherlands, chairman of the International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; and American basketball star Stephen Marbury, who now plays for the Beijing Ducks. Besides Allaster, 14 other foreign experts received the Great Wall Friendship Award.

SCHOOL TIME

Paul Annacone, an Australian Open doubles champion and coach of both Roger Federer and Pete Sampras; Judy Murray, mother of Andy Murray and Great Britain’s Fed Cup captain, and Patrick McEnroe, USTA Player Development general manager, will be among the keynote speakers at this year’s Tennis Teachers Conference, which will be held in New York City in conjunction with the US Open. The four-day conference, beginning August 22, will bring together the leading tennis teaching professionals and coaches to share best practices. The event offers educational resources, facilitating innovative teaching techniques and creating networking opportunities among the members of the various associations. The conference also will include a series of interactive on-court sessions and presentations.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Kuala Lumpur: Timea Babos and Chan Hao-Ching beat Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Saisai 6-3 6-4

Monte-Carlo: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-3 3-6 10-8 (match tiebreak)

Sarasota: Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and Franko Skugor 7-5 5-7 10-6 (match tiebreak)

SURFING

Barcelona: www.barcelonaopenbancsabadell.com/

Bucharest: http://brd-nastase-tiriac-trophy.ro/2014/

Stuttgart: www.porsche-tennis.de

Marrakech: www.lallameryemtennis.com/

Ostrava: www.prosperitaopen.cz/

Munich: http://bmwopen.de/

Qeiras: www.portugalopen.pt/

Tunis: www.tct.org.tn/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

$2,562,150 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain, clay

$592,239 BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy, Bucharest, Romania, clay

WOMEN

$644,900 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany, clay

$250,000 Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Marrakech, Morocco, clay

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$590,148 Portugal Open, Qeiras, Portugal, clay

$590,148 BMW Open by FWU AG, Munich, Germany, clay

$125,000 Tunis Open, Tunis, Tunisia, clay

$117,586 Prosperita Open 2014, Ostrava, Czech Republic, clay

WOMEN

$250,000 Portugal Open, Qeiras, Portugal, clay

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka

By Bob Greene

STARS

Sony Open Tennis

Key Biscayne (Miami), Florida, USA

Men’s singles: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-3

Women’s singles: Serena Williams beat Li Na 7-5 6-1

Men’s doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6 (8) 6-4

Women’s doubles: Martina Hingis and Sabine Lisicki beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Venina 4-6 6-4 10-5 (match tiebreak)

OTHER

Gilles Muller beat Denis Kudla 6-2 6-2 to win the Zurich Jalisco Open in Guadalajara, Mexico

SAYING

“I played a great match, from the start to the end everything was working really well.” – Novak Djokovic, after dominating Rafael Nadal in the Sony Open Tennis men’s singles final.

“In no other tournament have I lost this many finals, but it’s always a very special tournament to me. The energy and passion from the crowd is unforgettable.” – Rafael Nadal, who was runner-up at Key Biscayne for the fourth time.

“This crowd is amazing. I have so many friends and so many fans here, and I love, love, love playing in this crowd. It just feels really, really good to play at home. There’s really no better feeling.” – Serena Williams, who won a record seventh Key Biscayne title.

“I don’t think I was playing bad. Maybe she just start a little bit better after 5-2 down.” – Li Na, who won only one of the final 14 games while losing to Serena Williams.

“This is incredible for us, especially to win in such a hostile environment. There were a lot of Colombians out there. They were bringing the noise. Juan and Robert should play Davis Cup here because the Colombian fans are loud. They had the flags out.” – Bob Bryan, after he and brother Mike beat Colombian pair Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in the men’s doubles final.

“Just couldn’t find my rhythm on the serve, which was surprising. Maybe the (cool, mid-60s) temperature had something to do with it. Haven’t played that many matches in the dark. It’s a bit frustrating, but Kei did well to stay with me. He was more consistent in the second and the third, which are the ones he won. To his credit.” – Roger Federer, following his loss to Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals at Miami.

“Yeah, it was second time to beat him. I was hitting balls deep and striking well. And I was fighting.” – Kei Nishikori, who now holds a 2-1 career record over Roger Federer.

“Despite my results against her, I still look forward to playing against her because you learn so much from that type of level which she produces. There is no reason for me to have any pressure because of my results against her. She’s an incredible champion. That’s the reason she’s at the top.” – Maria Sharapova, after losing her 15^th consecutive match to Serena Williams.

“I have always felt when I’m playing at my best, then it’s hard for people to beat me. But I have to get there, and it’s hard to always be at your best.” – Serena Williams.

“Was really playing well and beating (Grigor) Dimitrov, David (Ferrer) and Roger (Federer), I was really excited to play here. But unfortunately I couldn’t move side-to-side. Just tried to warm up today, but I couldn’t move.” – Kei Nishikori, who withdrew with a groin injury from his semifinal match against Novak Djokovic.

“I had a few game plans. I wanted to get out there and see what works the best. He serves and likes to move to the backhand corner. He runs around his backhand, so that he opens the court for his opponent on forehand side.” – Novak Djokovic, on playing Rafael Nadal.

SUPER NOVAK

It was no contest when Novak Djokovic took on Rafael Nadal in the Sony Open men’s singles final. And the super Serb, who is ranked second in the world behind Nadal, took no prisoners as he blasted his Spanish opponent to win the Key Biscayne tournament for the fourth time. “I played a great match, everything was working really well,” Djokovic said. “I didn’t give him a chance to come back in the match. I am really excited.” He should be. Djokovic blasted five aces and dominated with his serve and huge ground strokes. It was the Serb who controlled most of the points, moving Nadal from side to side before ripping winners. “He was better than me in everything,” Nadal said. “He was able to find the right spot, the right position. Playing against him is the worst thing that can happen to me because he has a better return than mine, he has a better serve than my one, especially on this surface.” Djokovic moved ahead when he broke Nadal in the fifth game of the opening set, taking a 3-2. He closed out the set by serving a love game, then broke Nadal again to open the second set. “I just started swinging freely and had good percentages on my first serves,” Djokovic said. “He had a hard time reading my serve.” It was Djokovic’s second straight Masters title, having won two weeks ago at Indian Wells, California, USA. It was the second time he had pulled off the Indian Wells-Key Biscayne double, matching Roger Federer as the only two to achieve the feat. It was the Serb’s 43^rd tour-level title and 18^th at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level. Djokovic is now 14^th on the all-time title winners list, one behind Thomas Muster. He also passed Andre Agassi for third on the all-time Masters 1000 titles list.

SWEET SERENA

Li Na is the reigning Australian Open champion and won at Indian Wells earlier this month. She is behind only Serena Williams in the WTA Tour rankings. So it may not have been a great surprise when she grabbed a 5-2 lead in the first set of the women’s singles final at Key Biscayne. Li was to win only one more game as Williams captured her unprecedented seventh Key Biscayne title. “Oh, I definitely don’t do it on purpose,” Williams said of the slow start. “I don’t know. Maybe I get a little nervous because I want to do so well, and I want to – I just want to win, and then sometimes if you get too nervous you’re not able to play.” Even in defeat, Li thought she played well. “I think it was a pretty good match,” Li said. “I don’t think today I was doing like a wrong game plan or I was playing totally wrong. Yeah, that’s what I think.” Williams increased her Key Biscayne record total. Last year she moved ahead of Steffi Graf, who held the previous record with five. Serena is one of only four players to win the same WTA event seven or more times, joining Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Graf. Asked how she managed to turn the match around after trailing 5-2, Williams said: “At that moment I felt like I had nothing to lose, and I was able to relax. And whenever I relax, I enjoy myself.”

SEMIFINAL BAGEL

What if they played the semifinals and nobody showed up. That’s exactly what happened at the Sony Open when the men were to battle the penultimate round. Novak Djokovic was the first to gain a spot in the final without striking a ball when his semifinal opponent, Kei Nishikori, withdrew from the hard-court tournament with a groin injury. A few hours later, Tomas Berdych announced he was withdrawing from his semifinal against Rafael Nadal because of gastroenteritis. Fans at the Key Biscayne, Florida, tournament were left to watch two women’s doubles matches. There was an angry chorus of boos when it was announced that the Nadal-Berdych match would not be played. “Sorry for Kei. Sorry for Tomas. Sorry for the tournament. Especially sorry for the fans,” Nadal said. “It’s very unlucky, very unusual for something that can happen. “I cannot remember that (ever happening).” It hadn’t. This was the first time in the Open Era – since 1968 – that an ATP World Tour event had no semifinal matches.

STILL WINNING

Martina Hingis won enough tournaments during her career that she earned entry into the International Tennis Hall of Fame following her retirement. Now she’s back on the WTA Tour – and winning again. Now 33 years old, Hingis teamed with Sabine Lisicki to win the Sony Open women’s doubles title by defeating the Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Gaining a spot in the draw with a wild card, the Hingis-Lisicki team won the last seven points of the super tiebreaker to capture the trophy. Hingis had been retired for nearly six years when she returned to play doubles in last year, entering five events with Daniela Hantuchova. Following the US Open, Hingis didn’t play against until earlier this month at Indian Wells with Lisicki. The Sony Open was her 38^th WTA doubles title, but first since Doha in 2007.

SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE

When a suspicious package was found at the Sony Open, the tournament was locked down while the Miami-Dade Police Department bomb squad investigated. That meant thousands of spectators were prevented from entering or leaving the sprawling tennis complex. Four-lane traffic in both directions in front of the complex was halted. “Earlier this evening a suspicious package was left unattended at the front gate,” the tournament said in a statement. “For the safety of the public the Miami-Dade police have set up a perimeter and cordoned off the area until the package can be secured. We apologize for the inconvenience but the safety of the public must be placed first.” An all-clear was given some 30 minutes after officials had confirmed the lockdown. Security has been beefed up around major North American sporting events since last year’s Boston marathon bombings left three people dead and wounded 264.

SLOVAKIAN MOVER

Match after match, Dominika Cibulkova is proving she belongs with the top players in women’s tennis. The Slovakian has moved into the Top 10 in the rankings after reaching the semifinals of the Sony Open with a 3-6 7-6 (5) 6-3 victory over third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, including staving off three match points. “I knew before the match that this was the match I needed to win to become top 10,” Cibulkova said. “So it was some more pressure, but I’m obviously very happy with the way I handled it today.” But the tournament’s 10^th seed had the misfortune of running into China’s Li Na in the semifinals – and losing. Cibulkova also lost to Li in the Australian Open final and in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, California, USA, earlier in the month.

SIBLING PERFECTION

American twins Bob and Mike Bryan won their 96^th title as a team, the Sony Open, with a 7-6 (8) 6-4 pounding of the Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. It took only 90 minutes for the Bryans to capture their 28^th ATP World Tour Masters level crown and their third at Miami, but first since 2008. It was the third title in five weeks for the brothers and their first Indian Wells-Miami double. The won their second BNP Paribas Open title earlier this month. “This is a match we’ll remember for a long time,” Mike Bryan said. “The crowd support was unreal for both teams. The first set was pivotal and it was huge to save those set points. Bob and I are very excited to play so well and win Miami again for a third time.” Cabal and Farah were the first South American team to reach the Miami final in tournament history. It was their fifth final as a team in 2014, their lone championship coming in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in February. They also reached the final in Brisbane, Vina del Mar and Sao Paulo.

SENIOR STARS

The top two players in the WTA ranking have more in common than just playing winning tennis. Both Serena Williams and Li Na are 32 years old, almost ancient in tennis terms. Both have sparkled this year, with Li winning her second Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open in January, and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, USA, earlier this month. In beating Li in the Sony Open final, Williams improved her career record against her Chinese opponent to 12-1. The American has been as dominant in her career against the other top players on the women’s tour. She is 8-0 against third-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska, 14-3 against fourth-ranked Victoria Azarenka and 16-2 against seventh-ranked Maria Sharapova. Williams has lost just twice this year – to Ana Ivanovic at the Australian Open and to Alize Cornet at Dubai. Following their Sony Open match, which Williams won 7-5 6-1, the two were seen giggling. “We’re playing great tennis and we’re number one and number 2, and we’re both the same age,” Williams said. “For me it was just an honor to be there with her. We’re living the same life, and at this stage, to be on top, I don’t think it’s been done before, and I think it’s really awesome. … I feel like we both have his never-give-up fight. It shows that you can still shine at any age.”

SIGNED UP

Alex Dolgopolov has joined Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych in the field for the AEGON Championships at The Queen’s Club, a grass-court warm-up event for Wimbledon. Dolgopolov has beaten three of the four highest ranked player in the world this year in rising from 57^th in the rankings at the end of 2013 to 23^rd. His highest ranking was 13^th in the world, but Dolgopolov says he’s playing better tennis now. This year he holds victories over Rafael Nadal, Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka and David Ferrer. The tournament is scheduled to be played June 9-15.

SWEDE APPOINTMENT

Former Swedish tennis pro Ingrid Lofdahl-Bentzer has been appointed vice chairman of the Enshrinee Nomination Committee at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The committee develops the annual ballot of nominees for enshrinement in Hall of Fame, located in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. The committee is chaired by five-time major champion Stan Smith and is comprised of 22 individuals from all aspects of the sport, including former players, journalists, historians and administrators. One of the founders of the WTA, Lofdahl-Bentzer was ranked in the top 15 in the world in the 1970s and was Sweden’s top-ranked player. She won five STA Tour titles and was a member of the Swedish Fed Cup team for eight years. She currently serves on the Fed Cup Committee.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Guadalajara: Cesar Ramirez and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela beat Andre Begemann and Matthew Ebden 6-4 6-2

SURFING

Charleston: www.familycirclecup.com/

Monterrey: http://abiertomonterrey.com/2014/

Davis Cup: www.daviscup.com

Casablanca: www.frmt.ma/

Houston: www.mensclaycourt.com/

Katowice: www.bnpparibaskatowiceopen.com/pl

Bogota: www.copaclarocolsanitas.com/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

WOMEN

$644,900 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, clay

$500,000 Abierto Monterrey presentado por Afirme, Monterrey, Mexico, hard

DAVIS CUP

World Group

Quarterfinals

Japan vs. Czech Republic at Tokyo, Japan, hard

France vs. Germany at Nancy, France, hard

Italy vs. Great Britain at Naples, Italy, clay

Switzerland vs. Kazakhstan at Geneva, Switzerland, hard

Group I

Second Round

Americas Zone: Ecuador vs. Brazil at Guayaquil, Ecuador, clay; Colombia vs. Dominican Republic at Cali, Columbia, clay

Asia/Oceania Zone: China vs. Uzbekistan at Tianjin, China, hard; South Korea vs. India at Busan, South Korea, hard

Europe/Africa Zone: Poland vs. Croatia at Warsaw, Poland, hard; Slovenia vs. Israel at Portoroz, Slovenia, clay; Sweden vs. Ukraine at Malmo, Sweden, hard; Slovak Republic vs. Austria at Bratislava, Slovak Republic, hard

Group II

Second Round

Americas Zone: Barbados vs. El Salvador at St. Michael, Barbados, hard; Mexico vs. Peru at Puebla, Mexico, hard

Asia/Oceania Zone: Philippines vs. Pakistan at Manila, Philippines, clay; Thailand vs. Kuwait at Nonthaburi, Thailand, hard

Europe/Africa Zone: South Africa vs. Lithuania at Centurion, South Africa, hard; Finland vs. Bosnia/Herzegovina at Helsinki, Finland, hard; Moldova vs. Belarus at Chisinau, Moldova, clay; Denmark vs. Luxembourg at Hillerod, Denmark, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

MEN

$586,650 Grand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco, clay

$474,005 Fayez Sarofim & Co. US Men’s Clay Court Championship, Houston, Texas, USA, clay

WOMEN

$250,000 BNP Paribas Katowice Open, Katowice, Poland, hard

$250,000 Copa Claro Colsanitas, Bogota, Colombia, clay