Mondays With Bob Greene: It was definitely a big achievement to beat Roger Federer in his home city and country

STARS

Andy Murray won the Valencia Open 500 in Valencia, Spain, beating Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-2

Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-4 4-6 6-2 to win the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland

Aravane Rezai beat Marion Bartoli 7-5 retired to win the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia

Chan Yung-Jan beat Ayumi Morita 6-4 2-6 6-2 to win the OEC Taipei Ladies Open in Taipei, Taiwan

Italy won the 2009 Fed Cup championship, beating the United States 4-0 in Reggio Calabria, Italy

Thomas Enqvist beat Goran Ivanisevic 7-5 6-2 to win the Chengdu Open in Chengdu, China

Andrey Golubev beat Ilya Marchenko 6-3 6-3 to win the President’s Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan

Lu Yen-Hsun beat Igor Sijsling 6-2 6-3 to win the Flea Market Cup in Chuncheon, Korea

SAYING

“It was definitely a big achievement to beat Roger in his home city and country. He had a huge amount of pressure on him to win today.” – Novak Djokovic, who stopped Roger Federer’s bid for a fourth straight Davidoff Swiss Open title.

“It’s disappointing to lose at home in the finals, no doubt.” – Roger Federer, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the Davidoff Swiss Open final.

“I’d prefer to win in a different way, but it’s tennis, a lot of different things happen.” – Aravane Rezai, after winning the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions when Marion Bartoli retired with a left leg injury.

“I didn’t have high expectations this week, but with every round and match you get more confident. It is very rare for someone to win a tournament after a long break.” – Andy Murray, who, playing his first tournament since the US Open in September, won the Valencia Open 500.

“We’re the world champions, it’s simple.” Flavia Pennetta, who led Italy to the Fed Cup championship, beating the United States in the final.

“I wanted to come here. I wanted to play for my country. Some people I guess didn’t want to play as badly as I did.” – Melanie Oudin, who was on the losing United States Fed Cup team.

“It’s incredible; the girls have rewritten the history of Italian tennis.” – Corrado Barazzutti, after his Italian team beat the United States to win the Fed Cup title.

“It’s always fun to walk on the court to play against John. It’s something special and it’s always going to be that way.” – Bjorn Borg, after beating John McEnroe for the first time in 9½ years.

“It’s all the good parts of tennis. Now you don’t have the stress anymore, you don’t have the pressure anymore. You just go out there and have fun.” – Thomas Enqvist, who won the inaugural Chengdu Open on the ATP Champions Tour for seniors.

“First, (I played) Bjorn (Borg). I had a great time, then John (McEnroe) … I didn’t have (such a) good time because he wanted to beat me badly. But in the end he lost. So it’s always fun when you can beat your idol.” – Goran Ivanisevic, who was a finalist in the inaugural seniors tournament in Chengdu, China.

“It’s a shame I haven’t been playing (in this) part of the world. If I knew how good the place was, I definitely would have come much more often.” – Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who played in the Chengdu, China, seniors event.

“To be honest, I do not know what happened today. I felt we could not miss.” – Nenad Zimonjic, who teamed with Daniel Nestor to beat twins Bob and Mike Bryan and win the Swiss Open doubles.

“My idea was always to finish my career at (Paris Masters venue) Bercy, but at the same time going to Melbourne would make me worthy of a Trivial Pursuit question.” – Fabrice Santoro, who would become the first to play Grand Slam tournaments in four decades if he plays the 2010 Australian Open.

SUSPENDED

Two Belgian players – Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse – have each been suspended for one year for failing to report their whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times this year. Wickmayer reached the women’s semifinals at the US Open in September and is ranked 18^th in the world. The suspension was somewhat of a surprise since the prosecutor at the tribunal in October recommended that Wickmayer receive only a warning. But the tribunal said that Wickmayer’s failure to live up to anti-doping rules required the minimum one-year suspension. The 20-year-old has said she will appeal the ban. Malisse was suspended from the men’s tour for breaking the whereabouts rule twice and missing a doping test.

SERENA FINED?

Serena Williams will most likely be handed a “significant” fine for her US Open outburst, according to Francesco Ricci Bitti, president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Ricci Bitti noted that banning the world’s top-ranked women’s player from the Australian Open “would penalize the people handing out the punishment. For the Grand Slam committee to exclude her from a Grand Slam doesn’t seem likely.” The Grand Slam committee is composed of Ricci Bitti and the presidents of the four Grand Slam tournaments. After her outburst at a lineswoman during her semifinal loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters, Williams was fined USD $10,000.

SEASON FOR REST

Novak Djokovic says there should be a two-month off-season for tennis players to halt the injuries that have caused many of the top players to pull out of tournaments. Speaking at the Swiss Indoors tournament where he beat Roger Federer in the title match, Djokovic said more players are getting injured because of the demands of a long season. US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro pulled out of the Basel, Switzerland, tournament. The top players and ATP officials will meet during the Paris Masters this week, with the length of the season one of the topics on the agenda.

STREAKING TO VICTORY

Andy Murray took commanding leads in both sets as he easily beat Mikhail Youzhny to win the Valencia Open. “I knew the start of the match was going to be important and I started well, going up 5-1 pretty quickly,” said Murray, who was playing his first tournament since the US Open in September where he suffered a hand injury. The fourth-ranked Scot also won the first four games in the second set and wrapped up the win with his eighth ace of the day.

SECOND TITLE

Flavia Pennetta led the charge as Italy won its second Fed Cup title, this time by overwhelming the United States 4-0 in the final. Pennetta began the romp by beating Alexa Glatch 6-3 6-1, then clinched the title with a 7-5 6-2 victory over Melanie Oudin. That gave Italy an unbeatable 3-0 lead. Francesca Schiavone also defeated Oudin 7-6 (2) 6-2, while Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci downed the America duo of Vania King and Liezel Huber 4-6 6-3 11-9 (match tiebreak). The fourth singles match between Schiavone and Glatch was not played. It was the first time Italy has beaten the United States in Fed Cup after nine straight losses. Italy captured its first Fed Cup crown in 2006. The Americans, who have won a record 17 Fed Cup titles, last captured the women’s competition in 2000.

SWINE FLU

The swine flu has struck Germany’s top player. Tommy Haas pulled out of a tournament in Stockholm, Sweden, because he wasn’t feeling well. “I did a test because I suspected that I had swine flu,” Haas said. “The test was positive.” In a story in Bild newspaper, Haas said he is already feeling better, but doesn’t know when he will return to the men’s tour. “I’ve calmed down now because although swine flu is a very strong form of flu, you can quickly overcome it when you’re in good physical condition like I am,” Haas said.

STERLING RESULTS

Regardless of the amount of the fine Serena Williams might be assessed because of her US Open outburst, she should have no trouble writing a check. Williams set a women’s tennis single-season record by winning more than USD $6.5 million this year. The old mark was slightly less than USD $5.5 million, which was earned by Justine Henin in 2007. Williams won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Championships this year, beating older sister Venus at both Wimbledon and the tour championship. The American has earned a record USD $28.5 million in her career.

SCHEDULED FOR CLAY

Roger Federer wants to be ready to defend his French Open title next May. So the world’s top-ranked player has decided to play an extra clay-court tournament in his preparation for Roland Garros. Federer has added the Estoril Open in Portugal, which he won in 2008 but skipped this year. He says he intends to play 19 events in 2010, cutting next October’s Japan Open from his schedule.

SEEKING TO MOVE?

Could the French Open move from Roland Garros? The French tennis federation (FFT) is considering such a move if its extension project fails to get the approval within a year. The project was agreed on earlier this year and an architect was appointed. But now the Paris City Council wants to take another look. “It seems that the mayor’s entourage has become more hostile to our project, which was not the case when we launched it,” said FFT director general Gilbert Ysern. “Add to that the residents’ opposition and we are now forced to look for other options, including that of leaving the premises.” In May, officials said a new center court that would have a retractable roof would be ready at Roland Garros by 2013 or 2014.

SEEKING COMPASSION

Compassion, not criticism, is what Andre Agassi hoped would be the response to his admission that he used crystal meth in 1997 when he was depressed. Appearing on the television show “60 Minutes,” Agassi became emotional when reacting to comments by Martina Navratilova, who compared him to baseball’s Roger Clemens. “It’s what you don’t want to hear,” Agassi said. “I would hope along with that would come some compassion that maybe this person doesn’t need condemnation. Maybe this person could stand a little help, because that was at a time in my life when I needed help.” In his autobiography “Open,” the eight-time Grand Slam tournament winner said he failed a drug test, and then lied by saying he unwittingly took the substance. The result was thrown out then by tennis officials then, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has now called for an investigation. WADA director general David Howman said his organization has written to the ATP and that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) would be made aware of it, but he would not divulge what was said. Howman has urged the ATP to look more closely into the situation.

STREAK STOPPER

It’s been nearly 10 years, but Bjorn Borg finally has another win over John McEnroe. The Swede beat his long-time American opponent 6-4 6-4 in their final round-robin match at the Chengdu Open, a senior event in Chengdu, China. Borg last beat McEnroe in April 2000 in Doha, Qatar, and had lost 12 straight matches. But Borg was masterful in China, serving 11 aces and breaking McEnroe’s serve once in each set. McEnroe, on the other hand, never had a break point on Borg’s serve. However, neither Borg nor McEnroe qualified for the final, which was won by Thomas Enqvist over Goran Ivanisevic.

SHORTENED FINAL

Unseeded Aravane Rezai won the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions when top-seeded Marion Bartoli retired with a quad injury, giving the Frenchwoman only the second title of her career. She won a clay court tournament in Strasbourg, France, in May. The victory in Bali, Indonesia, lifts Rezai into the top 30 in the world for the first time. Bartoli served for the opening set at 5-4, then failed to convert a break point on Rezai’s next serve. In the 12^th game, Bartoli was serving at 14-40 when she hobbled to her chair in pain and had her left thigh taped. She then double-faulted to lose the set before retiring from the match.

SENIOR WINNER

Thomas Enqvist loves it on the senior tour. The Swede beat Goran Ivanisevic 7-5 6-2 to win the inaugural Chengdu Open and increase his perfect unbeaten streak on the senior circuit to 12 consecutive matches. Ivanisevic re-aggravated a pulled thigh muscle and moved gingerly on the court. Still, he finished with 10 aces and struck clean winners from the baseline. Enqvist was supreme, however, hitting winners from all over the court and dominating from the net. “I had five fantastic days here,” Enqvist said. “This was the first time I was able to hit with (John) McEnroe, I got to hit with him, and I got to hit with Bjorn (Borg, who) is my biggest idol and role model – a really big hero for me always.”

STILL SWINGING

Time appeared to be standing still on the women’s tour. Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm reached the singles semifinals at the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia, before losing to top-seeded Marion Bartoli. And Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki and her partner Riza Zalameda were doubles finalists at the OEC Taipei Ladies Open in Taipei, Taiwan. Date-Krumm turned 39 in September; Basuki will turn 39 later this month.

SEALED WITH A KISS?

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has been asked to ban Richard Gasquet from the tennis circuit for a year because of what he says was a cocaine-tainted kiss. The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) have called for the one-year suspension. Gasquet failed a drug test after he withdrew with an injury from a tournament in Florida in March. The Frenchman said his positive test resulted from kissing a woman who apparently had used cocaine. An independent tribunal ruled Gasquet was not to blame and he was cleared to play after serving a 10-week suspension.

STICKING AROUND, PERHAPS?

This was supposed to be Fabrice Santoro’s swan song from the ATP tour. Now, the Frenchman is considering holding off his retirement until after the Australian Open in January. If he competes in Melbourne, Santoro would be the first player to have played in Grand Slam tournaments in four different decades. He played the first of his record 67 Grand Slam events at the 1989 French Open. Still, ending his career in Paris has a special lure for Santoro. “I want emotions, suspense, and, if possible (a final game against) a player I have sympathy for,” he said. That could be Russian Marat Safin, who also is playing his last tournament this week in the French capital. “That would be funny,” Santoro said. “The best memory of my career remains my victory against him at the French Open when he was the world number one.”

SPONSOR

Panasonic has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the Australian Open. Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood said Panasonic will become the official “TV, Camera and Air Conditioning” sponsor for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament along with two major warm-up events in Sydney and Brisbane. The Japanese electronics company’s signing comes after the Australian Open lost two major sponsors because of the global financial crisis when GE Money and beauty products company Garnier both decided to not renew their deals.

SHARED PERFORMANCES

Valencia: Frantisek Cermak and Michal Mertinak beat Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo 6-4 6-3

Basel: Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic beat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 6-2 6-3

Taipei: Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung beat Yayuk Basuki and Riza Zalameda 6-3 3-6 10-7

Astana: Jonathan Marray and Jamie Murray beat David Martin and Rogier Wassen 4-6 6-3 10-5 (match tiebreak)

Chuncheon: Andis Juska and Dmitri Sitak beat Lee Hsin-Han and Yang Tsung-Hua 3-6 6-3 10-2 (match tiebreak)

Fed Cup: Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci beat Liezel Huber and Vania King 4-6 6-3 11-9 (match tiebreak)

SITES TO SURF

Paris: www.fft.fr/bnpparibasmasters/2009/

Minsk: www.tennis.by

Phoenix: www.goldwaterwomensclassic.org

Guayaquil: www.atpguayaquil.com/atp2009/index.php

Aachen: www.atp-ac.com/

Bratislava: www.stz.sk

Toronto: www.tenniscanada.com

Pune: www.deccangymkhana.com

Champaign: www.atkiknstenniscenter.com

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

ATP

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

$63,000 Lambertz Open by Stawag, Aachen, Germany, hard

$63,000 The Caversham International, St. Brelades, Jersey, Channel Islands, Great Britain, hard

$50,000 V Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador, clay

$50,000 Knoxville 2009 Challenger, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, hard

WTA

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

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

TOURNAMENTS NEXT WEEK

ATP

$158,000 ATP Challenger Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia,

$50,000 JSM Challenger of Champaign-Urbana, Champaign, Illinois, USA

WTA

$50,000 Ritro Slovak Open, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, hard

$50,000 Tevin Women’s Challenger, Toronto, Canada, hard

$50,000 NECC-ITF Women’s Tennis Championships, Pune, India, hard