!DjokovicBy TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Last Week's Tournaments
Abierto Mexicano Telcel (ATP - Clay - Acapulco, Mexico)
Singles Bracket: Nicolas Almagro def. Gael Monfils
Doubles Bracket: Frantisek Cermak/Michal Mertinak def. Lukasz Kubot/Oliver Marach
Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (ATP - Hard - Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Singles Bracket: Novak Djokovic def. David Ferrer
Doubles Bracket: Rik de Voest/Dmitry Tursunov def. Martin Damm/Robert Lindstedt
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (ATP - Hard - Delray Beach, United States)
Singles Bracket: Mardy Fish def. Evgeny Korolev
Doubles Bracket: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan def. Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa
Abierto Mexicano Telcel (WTA - Clay - Acapulco, Mexico)
Singles & Doubles Bracket
- Venus Williams def. Flavia Pennetta
- Nuria Llagostera Vives/Martina Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino/Arantxa Parra Santonja
McGrogan's Heroes
ATP - Novak Djokovic
A few weeks ago, I said that Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic needed to win the smaller tournaments they play in, if they are to be discussed in the same breath as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (The Quartet Once Referred to as The Big Four; a.k.a. TQORTBF). Murray scored a nice win at Rotterdam that week; this week, Djokovic won a ATP World Tour 500* tournament of his own in Dubai.
Despite the fact that Nadal, Federer, and Andy Roddick withdrew from the tournament, Dubai was still a prestigious event that drew a very respectable field. Djokovic defeated three of the biggest threats there - Marin Cilic, Gilles Simon, and David Ferrer - on his way to winning the title.
And how about this for irony: Djokovic, who has had a history of health concerns (the most recent episode coming at this year's Australian Open, when he retired from his quarterfinal match) is the only player amongst TQORTBF with a clean bill of health. (Murray announced today that he's pulling out of Great Britain's Davis Cup tie, days after he withdrew from Dubai with an illness). That's important for the world No. 3, who has a load of points to defend, as the defending champion, at Indian Wells next week.
*I'm not saying "ATP World Tour 500" in jest, although the numerical mouthful can be the object of playful scorn. Fact is, I'm actually starting to come around on the new ATP nomenclature. The color scheme of the tournament logos helps a lot (white denotes 250, silver 500, gold is 1000), and, I didn't realize originally that the ATP has kept the "Masters" designation visible, however small, on the 1000 events.
WTA - Venus Williams
No, I'm not the closet Venus Williams fan you may think I am. She gets the Hero award for the second week running because she:
A) Won the only WTA tournament of the week.
B) Made the long trip from Dubai to Acapulco, and didn't skip a beat.
C) Won a clay court tournament days after winning a hard court tournament.
D) Walloped No. 2 seed Flavia Pennetta 6-1, 6-2 in the final.
After failing to put away Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round of January's Australian Open, Venus has certainly turned things around in February, going 10-0 in match play and winning two titles.
Two other things I wanted to mention:
- It's nice to see a star like Venus play in a smaller event like Acapulco. I recall seeing a video of her extolling her love of the place, not the money (Acapulco's champion receives $37,000, almost one-tenth of what Dubai's champion gets ($350,000)). That's a rarity amongst the upper tennis echelon, appearance fees notwithstanding.
- Will Venus make it to Madison Square Garden in time for tonight's Billie Jean King Cup? (Yes, an exhibition flush with cash prizes.) New York City got pounded with snow today.
Next Week's Tournaments
(TV Schedule)
Davis Cup (ITF - Men's - Various)
Argentina vs. Netherlands
Czech Republic vs. France
United States vs. Switzerland
Croatia vs. Chile
Sweden vs. Israel
Romania vs. Russia
Germany vs. Austria
Spain vs. Serbia
Monterrey Open (WTA - Hard - Monterrey, Mexico)
Singles & Doubles Bracket