Tennis Capsules: McEnroe wins doubles exhibition at SAP Open

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The hands were still soft, the volleys were crisp and the temper had calmed down 20 years after John McEnroe had last been a regular on the ATP Tour.

McEnroe made a brief return to play an exhibition doubles match Monday on the opening night of the SAP Open, teaming with young American Jack Sock to beat Gael Monfils and Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4 in a lighthearted match.

McEnroe showed the deft skill at the net that made him one of the game's best doubles players ever in a match that included three players young enough to be his children.

"If you know some of the tricks of the trade, I don't care," he said. "I'm covering half the court. This is beautiful for me. I'm not saying I could go out and win things but I'd be comfortable going against anybody right now playing doubles."

McEnroe hit crisp volleys all match long, bringing back memories of his touring days when he won seven Grand Slam singles titles and 10 major doubles titles from 1977-92.

Even though he lacks the power of the younger, modern players, McEnroe was able to get his serve up as high as 125 mph — a feat he credited to a friendly radar gun operator rather than some newfound strength.

"I hit one 125 (mph)," he said. "I've never hit it that hard in my life. I owe that guy a dinner."

Perhaps the biggest difference besides the gray hair was the lack of temper tantrums that were such a regular part of his matches when he was on the tour. With the Hawk-Eye replay system in place, McEnroe had little to argue with the umpire or linespeople.

He challenged three calls in the match, winning one of them, and even got down on his belly to closely inspect a mark before challenging a call in the second set that he eventually lost. His only argument came when Monfils won a challenge on a shot that just clipped the back line.

"It's a conspiracy," McEnroe shouted after losing the point.

McEnroe said he would have loved to have had the replay system during his playing career, when he was known perhaps as much for his demonstrative arguments as his sterling play.

"I would have won a lot more majors — in my opinion," McEnroe said. "Forty percent of the energy I wasted in losing it would have allowed me to sort of focus on playing."

The other players had little personal experience with McEnroe's brilliance during his hey-day starting in the late 1970s. Sock, 19, wasn't even born the last time McEnroe played in a major singles tournament and Monfils and Johnson were not born when McEnroe won his last major singles title in 1984.

But they still enjoyed the spectacle as much as the crowd of 5,157 did. Sock even joked after the match that he might drop partner Sam Querrey for the main doubles draw to play with McEnroe instead.

"To get a chance to play with a legend like that is always fun," Sock said. "I let him do all the work. His volleys and hands are incredible."

McEnroe was originally scheduled to play with defending champion Milos Raonic, who pulled out with a knee injury. Sock ended up teaming with McEnroe, and Johnson, the reigning NCAA champion at Southern California, played with Monfils.

Raonic is still expected to compete in the singles draw, starting with his second-round match Wednesday against Tobias Kamke. Kamke won the first match of the tournament earlier Monday when he beat Izak Van der Merwe 6-3, 6-3.

Sixth-seeded Kevin Anderson took on Grigor Dimitrov later in the only other singles match of the day.

Ivanovic advances in Qatar when opponent quits

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Serbia's Ana Ivanovic advanced to the second round of the Qatar Open on Monday when Carla Suarez Navarro withdrew midway through their match because of a back injury.

Last month, Nishikori became the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open since the Open Era began in 1968 with a five-set victory over former finalist and sixth-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the fourth round.

The 22-year-old lost to No. 4-ranked Andy Murray in straight sets in the quarterfinals but said his success in Melbourne has given him the confidence to take on the world's top players.

"I was aiming to reach the quarterfinals and to beat a top-10 player in a major tournament like the Australian Open gives you a lot of confidence," Nishikori told The Associated Press on Monday.

Nishikori also matched the best Grand Slam performance by a Japanese male in the Open Era — Shuzo Matsuoka's run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1995. His quarterfinals finish took him to a career-high 20th in the world rankings.

Nishikori moved to the United States at the age of 14 and attended the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Fla. It was a bold move considering he didn't speak a word of English, but one that paid off.

At the age of 18, he won at Delray Beach to became the youngest man to win an ATP title since Lleyton Hewitt captured his first in 1998 at 16.

"Moving to the United States allowed me to play against a lot of different players," Nishikori said. "I was able to get stronger as a player and felt that the world wasn't as far away as I thought."

After hiring Brad Gilbert as one of his coaches at the end of 2010, Nishikori finished last season with a flourish. He reached his first Masters semifinal at Shanghai and finally broke Matsuoka's mark, rocketing all the way up the rankings to No. 24 after upsetting world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the final of the Swiss Indoors.

"I had a hard time believing I was able to beat a player like Djokovic," Nishikori admitted. "He was having an incredible year and beating the world's No. 1 player proved to me that I was getting better. It was definitely a result that helped me to do well in Australia."

Nicknamed "Air K" because of the jump he takes to give his forehand a little extra power, the 5-foot-10 Nishikori said the move was designed to make up for a lack of height. "I don't remember when I started that but it was when I was very young. I knew I wasn't that tall and this was one of the ways I tried to compensate for that."

Nishikori was given a quick reminder how tough tennis can be when he lost to big-serving Ivo Karlovic in the Davis Cup World Group series on Friday. Croatia went on to beat Japan 3-2 and Nishikori, who won his reverse singles match on Sunday, blamed himself for the loss.

The 6-8 Karlovic is 43rd in the rankings but his powerful serve allowed him to record 18 aces in his 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win over Japan's top player.

"I've never played a guy like him before," Nishikori said. "Fortunately, there aren't too many like him on the tour and next time I meet a guy like that I just have to try to stick to my style of play."

Federer says there is no rift with Wawrinka

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — With the No. 1 ranking and her first major title secured, Victoria Azarenka is already thinking about the "Golden Slam."

The 22-year-old Belarussian, who won the Australia Open last month, still has a long way to go, but the London Olympics is high on her wish list.

"That's everybody's dream to achieve, but, I mean, it's a very difficult task," said Azarenka, who will put her 12-0 record on the line this week at the Qatar Open. "But I definitely am going to have the mentality to try to do that."

Heading into this week's tournament, Azarenka is preparing to be the player everyone else wants to beat.

"There's going to be extra motivation (for others), but for me it's kind of exciting that every time I have to step on the court I have tougher task to handle," she said. "So I worked really hard to be at this position, so, you know, I have to deal with it now."