Bryans, Vekic Claim Tennis Titles; Fed Cup Shockers

Another Serb Star Born as Vekic Wins Kuala Lumpur

SerbCroatian teen Donna Vekic captured her first career title on Sunday at the WTA stop in Kuala Lumpur, upending top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in a marathon 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4). She became the first player in eight years to win a WTA title under the age of 18.

“I was up 5-1 in the third set and she came back out playing insane,” said the 17-year-old Vekic, who was 0-2 career in WTA finals entering the week. “So I’m happy I was able to get through in the end.” It was her first Top 10, trailing early 7-5, 5-4 in the match.

During the two-hour, 51-minute clash, Vekic hit 11 aces to Cibulkova’s two, eventually dropping Cibulkova to 4-7 in career finals. Cibulkova is 1-2 in finals in 2014 after losing to Li Na in the Australian Open final and defeating Christina McHale for the Acapulco crown.

Bryans Close on 100 with No. 98 at Monte Carlo

The Bryan brothers, Bob and mike, won their 98th team title when they defeated Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 in the final of the Monte Carlos Masters, their fifth title of the year.

“Hopefully 100 before the French,” Bob said. “We’ve got two tournaments or three coming up before the French.” They extended their unbeaten streak to 21 matches, winning their fifth title in a row after Delray Beach, Indian Wells, Miami and Houston.

It was their fourth career Monte Carlo title, and 29th Masters-level title. “It’s been a great run,” Mike said. “I think we’ve done it once before in our career where we won five in a row. That was last year. It’s great for the confidence for the rest of the clay season. What you want to do is build towards the French Open.”

Fed Cup World Group Semifinal Results

Czech Republic d. Italy 4-0
Petra Kvitova and Lucie Safarova continue the Czech’s Fed Cup dominance over the last few years, rolling over Italy’s Sara Errani, Roberto Vinci, and rookie Camila Giorgi in singles.

Germany d. Australia 3-1
Angie Kerber and Andrea Petkovic sweep Sam Stosur (0-2 in singles) and Casey Dellacqua (0-1) to reach Germany’s first Fed Cup final in 22 years. Germany will travel to the Czech Republic for the final on Nov. 8-9.

Fed Cup World Group Playoffs Results

Russia d. Argentina 4-0
The Russian “C” team of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova was enough to subdue an Argentine team that had no Top 70 players on the red clay in Sochi. The Russians will compete in the World Group in 2015 for a 17th consecutive year.

Canada d. Slovak Republic 3-1
Without Dominika Cibulkova who was off playing the WTA event in Kuala Lumpur, the Slovaks could field no players in the Top 50, and were easy pickin’s for rising star Genie Bouchard and veteran comeback player Aleksandra Wozniak who blanked the Slovaks in live play. Canada now enters the World Group for the first time in 2015.

Poland d. Spain 3-2
Aggie Radwanska does the heavy lifting with two singles wins as her little sis Urszula loses both her singles matches. In the deciding doubles, Aggie teamed with doubles specialist Alicja Rosolska to beat the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Silvia Soler-Espinosa on the red clay in Barcelona. Poland now enters the World Group for the first time in 2015.

France d. USA 3-2
The French send the U.S. out of the World Group I for 2015 behind singles wins by France’s Caroline Garcia over Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys, and Garcia winning the doubles with veteran Virginie Razzano over the doubles-challenged Keys/Stephens. France was 1-12 against the U.S. entering the tie.