2014 Week-9: From Roger’s Title in Dubai to World Tennis Day

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As both the WTA and ATP World Tours descend on Indian Wells for the 2014 BNP Paribas Open, a tip of the hat to those bringing momentum into the sport’s “5th Slam” (Results from Dubai, Acapulco, Florianopolis and Sao Paulo below)…

Congrats as well to Serena Williams! Even without playing Indian Wells, she will remain the #1 player in the world over the next two weeks. When the BNP Paribas Open is over, she will have amassed 179-weeks as the WTA’s top-player, passing Monica Seles on the all-time list for weeks spent at number-one.

  1. Steffi Graf (377)
  2. Martina Navratilova (332)
  3. Chris Evert (260)
  4. Martina Hingis (209)
  5. Serena Williams (179)
  6. Monica Seles (178)

Lindsay Davenport spent 98-weeks at #1 on the WTA Tour. This July, she’ll be inducted into Newport’s Tennis Hall of Fame, alongside legendary coach Nick Bollettieri, five-time Paralympic medalist Chantal Vandierendonk, executive Jane Brown Grimes and BBC commentator John Barrett. While we just received the list, Lindsay learned the exciting news back in January…while she was in the middle of giving birth to her daughter Haven.

World Tennis Day turned out to be pretty damn entertaining in Hong Kong, London and in New York. Though he lost his exhibition match to Lleyton Hewitt, Tomas started the trend of live-tweeting during the match; which would later turn into some selfless “selfies” with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at Madison Square Garden. Light-hearted and fun, crowds were entertained on three continents Monday while players encouraged the world to…well, Jimmy Connors put it best in a tweet: “Off and On: Off your ass and on your feet! It’s world tennis day!! Tennis. Fun. Exercise. All in one. Who knew?!!” Today’s World Tennis Day Results:

Hong Kong

Samantha Stosur def. Na Li 6-4, 6-3
Lleyton Hewitt def. Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5

London

Andre Agassi def. Pete Sampras 6-3, 7-6(1)
Pat Cash def. Ivan Lendl 8-6

New York

Novak Djokovic def. Andy Murray 6-3, 7-6(2)
Bryan Brothers def. John and Patrick McEnroe 8-3

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WTA RESULTS / Week-9:

Acapulco

What a year for Dominika Cibulkova from the Slovak Republic! While she struggled in Fed Cup and Doha following her first Grand Slam Final appearance at the Australian Open, she found her stride again last week in Acapulco, winning the title over American Christina McHale. With her 4th career WTA title, Dominka is now 13-6 on the season and solidly in second place on the Road to Singapore. Last week’s Final was Christina’s first on the WTA Tour, and her best showing of the year since a Round of 16 result in Sydney.

In doubles, Kristina Mladenovic and Galina Voskoboeva won their second doubles title together, defeating Petra Cetkovska and Iveta Melzer. A Finals appearance was a great result for the Czech Republic’s Melzer, seeing as Acapulco was her first event back after taking 18-months to recover from a shoulder injury.

  • Singles: Dominika Cibulkova def Christina McHale 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4
  • Doubles: Kristina Mladenovic and Galina Voskoboeva def. Petra Cetkovska and Iveta Melzer 6-3 2-6 10-5

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Florianapolis

Truth: The player to watch in 2014 is Klara Zakopalova from the Czech Republic. She’s already won two doubles titles this year with Monica Niculescu in Shenzhen and Hobart, and in singles reached the finals of both Hobart and Rio de Janeiro. In Florianopolis, she not only reached the singles final, she captured her first WTA title in eight years…rallying from behind to defeat Garbine Muguruza. Klara was down 4-6, 2-5 before winning 11 consecutive games to raise the trophy. That’s insane.

In the doubles final, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova defended their title and picked-up their second WTA doubles title together with a match tie-break win over Francesca Schiavone and Silvia Soler-Espinosa.

  • Singles: Klara Zakopalova def. Garbine Muguruza 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
  • Doubles: Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova def. Francesca Schiavone and Silvia Soler-Espinosa 7-6(1) 2-6 10-3

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ATP RESULTS / Week-9:

Dubai

Roger Federer hadn’t won an ATP World Tour Title since Halle in 2013. With a semifinal win over Novak Djokovic and another three-set win over Tomas Berdych in the Final, that all changed in Dubai on Saturday. It was his sixth Dubai win and 78th career title, launching him past John McEnroe for sole possession of third-place on the all-time title leaders list, behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Ivan Lendl (94). With Stefan Edberg in the coach’s box, Roger is 14-2 on the season; with a Finals appearance in Brisbane and a Semifinal appearance at the Australian Open. A four-time BNP Paribas Open champion, Roger looks to keep the win-streak alive this week at Indian Wells.

In doubles, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi won their fifth ATP World Tour Title together with a dominant win over Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. It was a rematch of this year’s Sydney Final…with a different outcome, which Qureshi attributes to a more aggressive approach to the match in the UAE.

  • Singles: Roger Federer def. Tomas Berdych 3-6 6-4 6-3
  • Doubles: Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi def. Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4 6-3

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Acapulco

Primetime delivered big-time during the late nights in Acapulco last week, thanks to epic three-set wins over Ernests Gulbis in the Quarters, Andy Murray in the Semifinals and Kevin Anderson in the Final. Acapulco is Grigor’s second ATP World Tour Title, and with the win he’s reached a career-high ranking of #16 in the world. He brings an 11-3 2014 record into Indian Wells, and a ton of confidence with new coach Roger Rasheed in his player’s box.

The singles final in Acapulco ended around 2:00am, and after two weeks as the bridesmaid, Kevin Anderson (as the runner-up in Delray Beach and Acapulco) had to return to the court for the doubles final with partner Matthew Ebden. Thankfully for Kevin, the pair dominated Feliciano Lopez and Max Mirnyi, taking the doubles title in straight sets.

  • Singles: Grigor Dimitrov def Kevin Anderson 7-6(1) 3-6 7-6(5)
  • Doubles: Kevin Anderson and Matthew Ebden def. Feliciano Lopez and Max Mirnyi 6-3, 6-3

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Sao Paulo

Look who’s on the board! 23-year-old Argentine Federico Delbonis captured his first ATP World Tour Singles Title in Sao Paulo with wins over tough clay-courters Nicolas Almagro, Albert Montanes, local favorite Thomaz Bellucci and Paolo Lorenzi.

In doubles, Philipp Oswald and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez took-down Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, saving three match points in the process. The win came at 15-13 in the match tie-break. Cabal and Farah are having a remarkable 2014 – they recently captured the doubles title in Rio de Janeiro and have reached the Finals of Brisbane, Vina del Mar and Sao Paulo. They even won a Challenger Tour title in Columbia back in January.

  • Singles: Federico Delbonis def. Paolo Lorenzi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
  • Doubles: Philipp Oswald and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 5-7, 6-4, 15-13

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This week, the entire tennis community converges on the Coachella Valley of Southern California. Indian Wells has become the most anticipated and highly attended non-Grand Slam tournament of the calender year, for great reason: It is a fan-focused event. I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to serve as the on-court emcee for the brand new Stadium-2 at this year’s BNP Paribas Open, and can’t wait to experience the best in the game throw-down on this intimate court in the desert. Stay tuned for updates from the 2014 BNP Paribas Open!

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