On Sunday, 2004 St. Petersburg Open champion Mikhail Youzhny held a master class in the TRK “Galereya” shopping mall. All the mall guests were welcome to take part in the tournament. The guests then challenged themselves as they tried to return Youznhy’s serve.

Many kids did their best and thoroughly enjoyed the contest held in downtown St. Petersburg. After the event, Youzhny, who was born and lives in Moscow, took time to talk about the mall event, his own children and the St. Petersburg Open, which starts on Monday.

Mikhail, could you share your impressions, please. Did you enjoy the event?
I’d like to thank the organizers of the St. Petersburg Open for such a great event. They laid a court in the shopping center where we could play for five hours. I hope everyone will remember this day and maybe it will become a good tradition in the coming years and such events will be held annually.

Were you surprised to see such a big number of tennis fans here? It was really crowded today.
There are always a lot of people in shopping malls, it doesn’t depend on whether there is a tennis court or not…(smiling). But I’d like to believe this event helped tennis to win over more fans among St. Pete’s citizens.

Did you participate in such events during your childhood?
Absolutely not. In my childhood, tennis was only taking off. We did organize some on-court master classes, but we never brought them beyond the stadiums nor did we have such a vast program for kids and all tennis fans.

Youngsters often visit shopping centers these days. Maybe when they participate in such events they could get inspired to take up tennis?
I hope so. I hope it could influence the kid’s choice and help them make the right decision or just encourage them to go for sports. That’s why I think it was a great idea to build an improvised court here. I believe it will develop and improve year on year.

Mikhail, you have two kids, two boys. Are they in tennis already?
The elder son, Maxim, who is 6 years old, played tennis in a kids group, and my younger son Igor, aged 4, is trying to pick up a racquet and hit the ball.

You come to St. Petersburg Open every year. You like the people here so much or it’s all about the atmosphere?
I do need to charge my batteries and enjoy the atmosphere here and feel really relaxed. I like it here. I do feel this city loves me and so do its dwellers. I really enjoy St. Petersburg on and off court.

The tournament keeps changing and improving year on year. The organizers try to keep up the level and even improve everything. Do you agree?
Absolutely. It has improved a lot over the last couple of years. I think it’s the best in its [ATP World Tour] 250 category and boasts one of the strongest lineups, including three Top 10 players, and all the seeded players are Top 30. It’s a high-level tournament with a superb organization.

Finally, what would you wish to all the tennis fans for this week?
I’d like local people to come to “SIBUR ARENA” after work and kids [to come] after school. And I’d like to see a packed stadium.

A cast of ATP World Tour stars were on hand for The Dirk Nowitzki Pro Celebrity Tennis Classic on Sunday. Former singles No. 1 Andy Roddick, former doubles No. 1 Mark Knowles and American John Isner joined fellow players Benjamin Becker and Mitchell Krueger in support of NBA star Nowitzki’s foundation.

“I have so much respect for Dirk,” Roddick said. “Obviously, he’s one of the greatest NBA players of all time, but to see how he’s given back to the community that’s supported him for so long and changed the trajectory of kids’ lives, I have nothing but respect.

“A lot of times you come to these events and there’s a lot of amateurs, but everyone here is saying they’ve played in college. It’s great. You’re playing competitively with this format and everyone is trying to have a good time. Dirk serves at 121 mph. It’s a legit pro-level serve.”

Held on the campus of Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, the event raised money to help provide services for education, health and well-being for children around the world. Also in attendance were actors Ben Stiller and Boris Kodjoe, as well as former ATP pro David Martin and coach Philip Farmer.

“It was a surreal experience for me since I’ve never done one of these before,” Stiller told ATPWorldTour. “It was really fun, even though I’m the worst player here. To be on the other end of a Roddick and Isner serve was intense. You always think to yourself that you can do it, but to actually experience it is something else.” 

“It’s very important to be here,” said Isner. “Everyone respects Dirk so much and that’s why he’s gotten so many pretty cool people to come out and support his foundation. The event is going very well today and we’re all having a good time. The competition is great.”

“It was a blast,” said Nowitzki. “We raised a lot of money. It was an incredible experience for everybody. It’s an honour for me to have these guys come out. Tennis is something I’ve loved since I was a child.”

A big tennis fan, Nowitzki is a familiar face on the ATP World Tour and has visited his local ATP Challenger Tour events in Irving and Dallas in recent years, often supporting countryman Benjamin Becker.

“He can hit the ball for sure and has a very big serve,” Becker added. “It’s a fun event for a great cause. I’m glad I can contribute a bit. It’s nice to see guys like Andy and John taking time out of their schedule too.”

Germany, Switzerland and Russia all secured Davis Cup World Group status in 2017 with wins on Sunday.

Jan-Lennard Struff led the Germans and stopped Poland from erasing a 0-2 deficit. The 26-year-old Struff won the decisive rubber – his second win of the weekend – 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1 against Hubert Hurkacz to give Germany a 3-2 victory. Poland had won the doubles match and tied the contest when Kamil Majchrzak upset veteran Florian Mayer 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to start Sunday’s play. “To give Germany a 3-2 victory, it means a lot to me,” Struff said. “It’s definitely one of the biggest matches for me so far.”

The Swiss, without Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, still defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 in Tashkent. Former World No. 33 Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan beat Henri Laaksonen 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 7-5 to force a fifth rubber. In the deciding match, 20 year old Antoine Bellier, playing in his second tie, stepped up with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 victory against Jurabeck Karimov. “It’s close to a dream,” said Bellier, No. 507 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. “I’m glad and I’m proud.”

Konstantin Kravchuk, Andrey Rublev and Andrey Kuznetsov made sure Russia didn’t need a fifth and deciding rubber with wins on Sunday against Kazakhstan. Kravchuk/Rublev won the rain-delayed doubles 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5, and Kuznetsov, No. 47 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, dismissed Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. Kukushkin was playing in his second singles match of the day after playing the fifth set of his 6-7(7), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win against Evgeny Donskoy on Sunday as well.

The Kukushkin vs. Donskoy rubber was suspended due to darkness after four sets on Saturday. The Russians will return to the World Group for the first time since 2012.

“It’s a very good day today. The guys won doubles, which was very good. That helped me a lot, physically and mentally,” Kuznetsov said. “The whole team is really happy about it, and we’re looking forward to playing in the World Group next year.”

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan and Spain advanced to World Group play on Saturday.

CROATIA 3, FRANCE 1
Venue: Kresimir Cosic Hall, Zadar, CRO (hard – indoor)

World No. 11 Marin Cilic was the hero for Croatia on Sunday, sending the Eastern European nation into its second Davis Cup Final. Cilic, who won both his singles rubbers and teamed with Ivan Dodig to take Saturday’s doubles clash, clinched the tie 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 over Richard Gasquet.

Croatia defeated France 3-1 to return to the Davis Cup Final for the first time in 11 years, when Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic guided them to their lone title in 2005. They became the first unseeded nation to win the title then and will look to replicate the feat this year against either Great Britain or Argentina.

“When you look at the atmosphere, it’s an incredible feeling,” said Cilic. “It’s been a dream weekend for us. I played incredible tennis. I produced a great performance for all the crowd. I can’t be more proud than right now.

“We have always been playing well in Davis Cup. It’s something that’s in your heart. If we can play the final at home it would be an amazing spectacle.”

On Sunday, Cilic was dominant on the fast hard court in Zadar. He sealed the tie with forehand approach winner into the open court after two hours and 14 minutes. In total, the 27 year old fired 21 winners, including 14 aces, while converting six of nine break chances.

Cilic levels the FedEx ATP Head2Head against Gasquet at 2-2, having dropped their first two encounters. The Croatian has since won two in a row this year, including a three-set victory at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He has been on a tear in recent months, after reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals and claiming his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati.

GREAT BRITAIN 2, ARGENTINA 2
Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow, GBR (hard – indoor)

Andy Murray has put Great Britain on the brink of a historic comeback on the indoor hard court at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. The Brit routed Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to force a deciding fifth rubber on Sunday. Murray rebounded nicely after suffering his first home defeat in Davis Cup singles on Friday (l. to Del Potro), ending a 20-match win streak.

“It feels great,” said Murray. “We were in a lot of trouble a few days ago, but this is the best we can hope for. I hope we can get the job done.”

Great Britain will turn to Daniel Evans to complete the 0-2 comeback, while Argentina counters with Leonardo Mayer. It will be a tough task, with Mayer owning a 10-3 singles record in Davis Cup play and coming off title run at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Manerbio, Italy less than a month ago.

Evans enters in strong form as well, after claiming a Challenger title of his own in Aptos, U.S.A. in early August and pushing eventual champion Stan Wawrinka to five sets in the US Open third round.

Evans is bidding to secure just the 11th comeback from 0-2 down in World Group history. The defending champion Brits are also seeking to capture their seventh consecutive tie victory.