Mondays With Bob Greene: The score reflects the reality of this match

STARS

Serena Williams beat Venus Williams 6-2 7-6 (4) to win the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar

Ivan Ljubicic won the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon by beating Michael Llodra 7-5 6-3 in Lyon, France

Jurgen Melzer beat Marin Cilic 6-4 6-3 to win the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy in Vienna, Austria

Sergiy Stakhovsky won the St. Petersburg Open by beating Horacio Zeballos 2-6 7-6 (8) 7-6 (7) in St. Petersburg, Russia

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova beat Klara Zakopalova 7-6 (1) 6-3 to win the Internazionali di Tennis Val Garden/Sudtirol in Ortisei, Italy

Jelena Dokic beat Sofia Arvidsson 6-4 6-4 to win the Internationaux Feminins de la Vienne in Poitiers, France

SAYING

“I haven’t won a tournament that wasn’t a Grand Slam in a while, so that was even more exciting. My losing streak in (other) tournaments in over.” – Serena Williams, after beating sister Venus to win the Sony Ericsson Championships.

“It was the end of the season, so I have no complaints. You have to show up and play no matter what. So that had nothing to do with it.” – Venus Williams, discussing her fitness for the Sony Ericsson Championships.

“That will be my goal, to get up there to the top again. I have the ability to do that.” – Jelena Jankovic, who lost in the semifinals at Doha, Qatar, to Venus Williams.

“It’s a special place for me. I won my first title here in 2001 and here is my first title as a father. It’s my son’s first birthday in four days and it’s the best present I could offer to him.” – Ivan Ljubicic, after winning the title in Lyon, France.

“I just felt like I hadn’t lost the match yet. She still had to win one more point.” – Caroline Wozniacki, who saved a match point and went on to beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-4 7-5 in Doha, Qatar.

“I don’t have enough speed at this stage of my career to fight young guys like (Sergiy) Stakhovsky.” – Marat Safin, after losing to the qualifier in his penultimate tournament before retiring.

“He was my idol when I was growing up so I couldn’t even imagine beating him just a few years ago.” – Sergiy Stakhovsky, after beating Marat Safin in the St. Petersburg Open.

“I have two tournaments left, but in my mind the race for the Masters has been over for quite a while.” – Gilles Simon, whose hopes of gaining a spot in the World Tour Finals suffered a setback when he lost to fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra at Lyon, France.

“He was far better than me. The score reflects the reality of this match.” – Arnaud Clement, after losing to eventual champion Ivan Ljubicic in the Lyon Grand Prix semifinals.

“I am playing some very good tennis at the moment and get a lot of support here, so it’s a pity the tournament is over tomorrow.” – Austrian Jurgen Melzer, after winning his semifinal match in Vienna. Melzer went on to win the title.

“It was a tough year overall. Many things have happened on and off the court. I had a lot of injuries, some personal problems, a death in my family. It’s really hard sometimes to be focused on tennis and to only think about the game. And after those things happen, you realize that tennis is just a sport, and you don’t need to take it so seriously. I try to go with a smile on my face.” – Jelena Jankovic, who reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships.

“It’s been a tough year. We had some tough losses and some great wins.” – Cara Black, who with partner Liezel Huber are the top-ranked WTA Tour doubles team for the third straight year.

“If you’re going to tell your story, you owe it to yourself to tell it honestly. Especially if you’re going to call it ‘Open,’” – Andre Agassi, on his tell-all book.

“It has got to the point where either these sports organizations enforce the rules or someone like congress is going to say ‘we gave you a chance to manage your affairs properly and now we are going to take it over.’” – Dick Pound, former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

“You know obviously I was disappointed to hear something like that but you know it takes a lot of guts and courage to come out and say something that you know nobody would have really known about.” – Mary Joe Fernandez, about Andre Agassi’s admission of taking drugs.

“Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn’t own up to it. He’s up there with Roger Clemens as far as I’m concerned. He owned up to it (in the book), but it doesn’t help now.” – Martina Navratilova, about Andre Agassi.

“Why is he saying this now that he has retired? It’s a way of damaging the sport that makes no sense. I believe our sport is clean and I am the first one that wants that.” – Rafael Nadal.

“It was a shock when I heard the news. I am disappointed and I hope there are no more such cases in future. … Our sport must stay clean.” – Roger Federer.

“Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for (the) better.” – Andy Roddick.

“The ITF, Grand Slams, ATP and WTA Tour are now unified in their efforts to keep tennis free of drug use, and this should not be overshadowed by an incident that took place over 12 years ago. The statements by Mr. Agassi do, however, provide confirmation that a tough Anti-Doping Program is needed.” – The International Tennis Federation (ITF) in a statement.

“I don’t condone what he did. I’ve made mistakes, too, but I’ve done more good than bad. Let’s look at what Andre has done. He funds a school for 400 kids from the inner-city. I know underneath he’s a hell of guy.” – Nick Bollettieri, who coached Agassi.

SAY IT AIN’T SO

In a tell-all book, Andre Agassi said he ingested crystal meth in 1997 and then, after failing a drug test, lied to tennis officials to avoid a suspension. He also wrote that he swallowed a pill given to him by his father that he believes might have been the illegal drug speed. Excerpts from his autobiography “Open” are being printed by several publications. In one excerpt, Agassi said he wore a hairpiece that nearly fell off at the 1990 French Open and that he became jealous during his ex-wife Brooke Shields’ appearance on “Friends.” Tennis and doping authorities have expressed disappointment in Agassi’s admitted use of crystal meth, but they say it is too late to take any sanctions against Agassi because of an eight-year limitation rule.

SERENA ON TOP

Serena Williams will finish 2009 as the number one-ranked player on the WTA Tour. That was determined when Dinara Safina pulled out of the Sony Ericsson Championships with a back injury. Safina said a disk in her lower back was “starting to fracture” and that the injury had been bothering her for three months. Ranked number one in the world for most of the year, Safina regained the top ranking last week, but her withdrawal for the season finale clinched the ranking for Williams. “It’s such a great feeling,” Williams said about being back at number one. “Dinara is such a great player. She must be really hurt, because she never gives up.” It is the fifth time in Serena’s career that she is ranked number one, the first time in 2002. She concludes the season as the top-ranked player for the second time in her career, having previously been ranked number one at the end of 2002.

SUCCESSFUL PAIR

Despite losing in the final of the Sony Ericsson Championships, Cara Black and Liezel Huber are WTA Tour’s number one-ranked doubles team for the third consecutive year. They are two of just six players in Tour history to hold the number one ranking for more than 100 weeks. Black has been ranked number one in doubles for 148 weeks, second only to Martina Navratilova, who held the top spot for 377 weeks. Huber has now been ranked number one for a total of 112 weeks. Black and Huber are only the fourth doubles pair to jointly hold the WTA Tour’s number one doubles ranking since its inception in 1984.

SWISH AND GONE

The dream team fell apart quickly for US Fed Cup coach Mary Joe Fernandez. Just days after Fernandez announced Serena Williams would play for the American team, the world’s top-ranked player withdrew. “I definitely really wanted to go, but I don’t think I would do well physically,” Serena said after beating her sister Venus in the Sony Ericsson Championships final. “It’s very difficult to play such a mental week and then come back and play again. Right now I’m just struggling in every aspect of my body.” Serena was replaced by Vania King, who will be making her sixth appearance on the US Fed Cup squad. Also on the team are Liezel Huber, who is co-ranked number one in the world in doubles, US Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin and Alexa Glatch. The Italians will field a team consisting of Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani. The final will be contested on red clay in Reggio Calabria, Italy.

STREAKS

Italy has lost to the United States the last nine times the two nations have met in Fed Cup play. In fact, the Italians have never beaten the Americans in Fed Cup, although they pulled off a major surprise in 1986 when Sandra Cecchini handed Chris Evert her first defeat in Fed Cup play. But the US team – with Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver and Zina Garrison joining Evert in Prague, Czechoslovakia – easily won the tie. Italy is playing in its third Fed Cup final in the last four years and is seeking its second title. Italy beat Belgium in 2006. The United States is after its 18^th title, but its first since 2000.

SET FOR BALI

Twelve years after she retired, Kimiko Date Krumm will be playing in the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, a season-ending event for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s top international tournament winners. Besides the Japanese veteran, others in the field in Bali, Indonesia, include Marion Bartoli, Samantha Stosur, Yanina Wickmayer, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Shahar Peer, Melinda Czink, Agnes Szavay, Aravane Rezai, Magdalena Rybankova and Sabine Lisicki. Date Krumm and Lisicki accepted invitations as tournament wild cards to round out the field at the inaugural event. Vera Dushevina will also be in Bali as an alternate.

STAKHOVSKY STOPS SAFIN

Playing in his next-to-last tournament before retiring, Marat Safin was making a surprising run in his native Russia until he ran into qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky. “This is definitely the biggest win of my career as until now I’ve never beaten a two-time Grand Slam champion,” said Stakhovsky, who went on to score another big victory when he stopped Horacio Zeballos in the final to win the St. Petersburg Open. “He was my idol when I was growing up so I couldn’t even imagine beating him just a few years ago,” the 23-year-old Stakhovsky said. Their only other meeting came in last year’s St. Petersburg Open where Safin won their first-round encounter.

SPECIAL LADY

Elena Dementieva has been awarded the ACES Award for the 2009 season. The ACES Award is given to the player who consistently goes above and beyond to promote the sport of women’s tennis to fans, media and local communities by performing off-court promotional and charitable activities. “Being a professional tennis player is about a lot more than hitting tennis balls across the net,” said Dementieva, who won the singles at the Beijing Olympics last year. “We have a responsibility to promote women’s tennis and to personally connect with fans, sponsors and media in order to grow the sport I love. I am lucky that so many of the off-court activities on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour are incredibly fun and adventurous.”

SMASHING STREAK

It had been 21 years since an Austrian player had won the Bank Austria TennisTrophy in Vienna. That streak was smashed by seventh-seeded Jurgen Melzer, a Vienna native who defeated top-seeded Marin Cilic to capture the crown. Melzer is the first Austrian to win the title since Horst Skoff did it in 1988, when he beat another Austrian, Thomas Muster. Melzer was also the first Austrian to be in the final since 1995, when Muster was runner-up to Filip Dewulf. It was Melzer’s second ATP World Tour title in his eighth final. His last victory came at the BCR Open Romania in 2006.

STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Jelena Dokic is playing her way back into contention on the WTA Tour. Once ranked number four in the world, Dokic won her second ITF tournament in three weeks when she beat Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson in Poitiers, France. The week before, Arvidsson beat Dokic in the final in Joue-Les-Tours, France. Now 26 years old, Dokic earlier this year helped Australia advance to the Fed Cup World Group II section next year. Then she ran into a variety of problems, including a back injury and the reappearance of her father Damir Dokic. He is now in jail in Serbia after threatening the Australian ambassador to Serbia and Jelena is back to playing winning tennis.

SENIOR WINNER

It’s been a long time since Ivan Ljubicic has taken home the winner’s check. The Croatian ended a two-year title drought when he beat Michael Llodra in Lyon, France. Llodra says he calls Ljubicic “granddad … and today the granddad won.” The 30-year-old is the third player over 30 to win a title this season. “I have been struggling with injuries recently and I will enjoy this title as much as I can,” said Ljubicic, who slipped to 76^th in the world in March because of back and thigh injuries but has since raised his ranking to 29^th. “If I continue to play like this, there will be good things to come,” Ljubicic said.

SPONSOR SWITCH?

Sony Ericsson still hasn’t decided whether they will continue to sponsor the WTA Tour when the current commitment ends after next year. The mobile telephone company has sponsored the women’s tour since agreeing to a six-year deal in 2005. “The deadline to respond to the renewal is the end of this year,” said Aldo Liguori, Sony Ericsson’s corporate vice president and head of global communications. “We still have a little bit of time left. I can certainly confirm we are looking at it very carefully. We are looking at our sponsorship seriously.”

SPONSOR SIGNS

Mercedes-Benz USA is taking over for Lexus as sponsor of the US Open. Mercedes-Benz agreed to a four-year marketing partnership with the US Open in a deal that includes transportation for more than 250 tennis players during the year’s final Grand Slam tournament. Lexus was a US Open sponsor from 2005-09.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Doha: Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez beat Cara Black and Liezel Huber 7-6 (0) 5-7 10-7 (match tiebreak)

Lyon: Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut beat Arnaud Clement and Sebastian Grosjean 6-4 7-6 (6)

Vienna: Lukas Kubota and Olivier March beat Julian Knowles and Jurgen Melzer 2-6 6-4 11-9 (match tiebreak)

St. Petersburg: Colin Fleming and Ken Scups beat Jeremy Chard and Richard Gasquet 2-6 7-5 10-4 (match tiebreak)

Poitiers: Julia Coin and Marie-Eve Pelletier beat Marta Domachowska and Michaella Krajicek 6-3 3-6 10-3 (match tiebreak)

Ortisei: Timea Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin beat Galina Voskoboeva and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-2

SITES TO SURF

Chuncheon: www.tennis.co.kr

Bali: www.commbanktennis.com/

Chengdu: www.chengduchampions.com

Minsk: www.tennis.by

Phoenix: www.goldwaterwomensclassic.org

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

$3,032,000 Valencia Open 500, Valencia, Spain, clay

$2,636,000 Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel, Switzerland, hard

WTA

$600,000 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, Bali, Indonesia, hard

$100,000 OEC Taipei Ladies Open, Taipei, Taiwan, hard

FED CUP

Championship

United States vs. Italy at Reggio Calabria, Italy, clay

SENIORS

Chengdu Open, Chengdu, China, hard

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$4,000,000 BNP Paribas Masters, Paris, France, hard

WTA

$50,000 Privet Minsk Cup, Minsk, Belarus, hard

$50,000 2009 Goldwater Women’s Tennis Classic, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, hard