Archives for 2015

Another classic in WTA Final: Sharapova overcomes Radwanska

October 25, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 25 : Maria Sharapova in action at the 2015 WTA Finals

Maria Sharapova in action at the 2015 WTA Finals. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – Maria Sharapova and Aga Radwanska have played each other numerous times, and for the most part, they have been fairly tight. But in the end at the WTA Finals, the Russian/American has come through every single contest. All of them have been phenomenally close. Try in 2012, when Sharapova came through 5-7 7-5 7-5 in 3 hours, 12 minutes in Istanbul. In 2014, Radwanska ran side to side, but Sharapova came though again in Singapore, winning in 3 hours, 10 minutes. On Sunday night, when she hasn’t play a full match since Wimbledon, the enthusiastic Sharapova pulled it off, defeating Radwanska 4-6 6-3 6-4 in 2 hours, 47 minutes. Was that too short? Too long?

Even though Radwanska has taken down just about every top competitor, when she is super close, she can back off a little bit. She held two break points at 4-5 in the third set, but when she rushed the net, she landed her volley in the middle of the court and Sharapova launched a lob for a winner. Then the Pole missed a standard forehand long. When Sharapova had her first match point, she blasted a forehand down the line for a winner. Game over. Radwanska can’t figure out how to pull it off.

“Very powerful. Solid player,” said Radwanska, who is now 2-13 head to head against Sharapova. “I think no normally weak points and pretty much everything which is on the same level. She’s really going forward from the first point. So you cannot really step back, because otherwise she’s going to pretty much kill you from every point. That’s why you really have to play aggressive as well from the beginning. As she serving well and first two serves and return she’s really going for it, so the way it is, just not to get back too far and trying have some control as well on the court.”

Sharapova later said that after she was hurt again in the end of September when she played her only match in Wuhan. She could have said OK, my body just won’t be healthy this year and it’s time to shut it down. But she didn’t, went to Europe, had a doctor who worked on her, she got back on the court in LA, and at least on Sunday night, she was moving around pretty quickly.

“I was very determined going into this match. I felt like I was focused and I did everything I could to be ready in the last three weeks,” Sharapova said. “I think it could have been quite easy for me when I was in Wuhan after that match to just contemplate and say, ‘You know what? I’ve had a few frustrating months. Be really easy just to skip this last one.’ But I made my way to Europe to try to get better as fast as I could. Flew back to the United States an, started training, and here I am. I feel like this match, as I look back, I know it’s still a long road to go in this event, but as far as a personal achievement, it’s nice to look back three weeks ago and think I’m glad I did that and got through it and gave myself a chance to play here.”

In the third set, it looked like Sharapova might grow wild. She isn’t fast as Radwanska, but she’s tougher. Look at their forehands and Sharapova’s is substantially better. Plus, over the past five years or so, her legs have become stronger. She rarely becomes too tired. She doesn’t mind coming into the net once and while and she can toss in a drop shot.

“I know we have pretty long ones. I know a lot of you look forward to them,” Sharapova said. “I do, too. I really do enjoy playing against her. I feel like those are some of the matches that I like to watch on TV, when different styles of games clash against each other. Becomes that bit of a cat and mouse game. That’s something that my father talked about so much when I was a young girl. Just have to figure out a way to win no matter how similar or different the games are. I think that combination just creates really good matches between each other. I think the game in the third set, I think it was my first service game to hold to 1‑all, that was a pretty big game. Very physical, a lot of long rallies, and I came through. Even though I hit some doubles, I came through with some aces.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Aga Radwansa, maria sharapova, singapore, wta finals

Halep always gets nervous, but this time on fire to beat Pennetta

October 25, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Simona Halep dominated Flavia Pennetta at the 2015 WTA Finals. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – Simona Halep gets nervous – a lot. She also becomes very, very good when she is in a right space.

On Sunday, the opening day at Singapore, she walloped Flavia Pennetta 6-0 6-3.

What a turnaround, as not even two months ago, the Italian whipped the Romanian 6-1 6-3 in the semis of the US Open. Pennetta played fantastic, but Halep wasn’t really there.

This time, she came up firing and she was swirling around the court. Halep jumped on her balls early, she crushed her fabulous backhand down the line, she rolled her forehand and slugged her serves. Pennetta tried hard enough in the second set, but she couldn’t handle her range. Halep knew exactly when to attack and when she knew to back off. This time, she was full of confidence.

Here is the rub though: Halep has looked very shaky at the Grand Slams this year. She reached the quarterfinal of the Aussie Open and then admittedly became scared against Ekaterina Makarova and lost. In Roland Garros and Wimbledon, she went down hard and very early.

But at the US Open, once she reached the second week, she was vicious on court and she wouldn’t give up. She took down Vika Azarenka 6-4 in the third set in the quarters, perhaps their most exciting match of the year. But then when she came on court against Pennetta, her face looked glaced. She wasn’t in the match at all.

“I can say I was a little bit tired,” Halep said in Flushing Meadow. “Also nerves. Was first semifinals of US Open. I beat Flavia before in Miami and I knew that she can play good tennis. I knew that she’s very solid. Maybe that day that we had between the quarterfinals and the day when we played I think wasn’t too good for me. I was very tired after Azarenka match, and then I was like without energy Friday when we played. I just want to take the positive things from that match. I have learned about how to manage the situation when you play semifinals, and I hope to have many more and to pass that bad feeling.”

Why she was nervous was pretty bizarre. In 2014, the world met her for the first time; she reached the final at Roland Garros and she nearly upset Maria Sharapova in three sets. After that, Halep kept climbing up to the top charts, but on the majors, she was completely unpredictable.

Fortunate for her, at the last huge event, she reached the final at the WTA Finals in 2014. She stunned Serena Williams in the round robin, and they faced off again in the final. Williams won, but Halep wasn’t awful

Maybe she can reach the final again. And this time, she won’t be too nervous. However, that’s debatable.

“I need to do final for every Grand Slam, then I will be okay,” she said with a smile. “Every tournament is different. Every tournament I have nerves. Every match I have nerves. For me, it’s normal. But I have just to learn how to manage them. In every match I have different nerves, so it’s tough to explain. It’s just about my inside.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Flavia Pennetta, Matt Cronin, Simona Halep, singapore, WTA Final

WTA Finals: Maria Sharapova finally returns, to face improved Aga

October 24, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

SINGAPORE – Marie Sharapova says that if she manages to play three matches of the Red Group at the WTA Finals at Singapore, she will be happy, especially if she plays reasonably well. The five-time Grand Slam champion has played once since Wimbledon, due to various injuries, and clearly, she has been frustrated. But, the 28-year-old has been around for a long time and she knows that if she can be patient, she will eventually find her way back to top form. If she does, she will shake the rust off and go for her massive shots.

Sharapova has always been a force against Aga Radwanska, whom she will face on Sunday night. However, the Pole is very creative and she has been playing substantially better since the first half of the year, when she was very frustrated. She was pushing the ball frequently, wasn’t going for the lines and wasn’t attacking the net often enough. But, during on the grass season, she figured out what ailed her, mixed her shots, moved forward when she could and, over the past three months, she has rediscovered her shots.

As Radwanska said, she just didn’t want to fold her tent. The former No. 2 wanted to find a way to be back at the WTA Finals once again, and she did. Radwanska knows that she has legitimate shot to upend Sharapova, but even though the Russian will be a little wary given that she won’t be very confident. If the Pole plays very well for at least the first hour, ‘Aga’ will have to jump on her second serves quite a bit.

Back in February at the Fed Cup in Poland, Sharapova just blew Radwanska apart. This time, Radwanska cannot hesitate and must be aggressive. Sharapova is very pleased that her body is feeling much better now, but Radwanska has been playing seemingly every weekend and should grab it in three sets.

Simona Halep will go up against Flavia Pennetta on the first day in the afternoon on Sunday. Halep may not be 100 percent with her sore left ankle, but as she says she is ready to push as hard as she can as it’s the last week of the season. The Romanian played incredibly well in 2014, when she reached the final here at the WTA Finals. She stunned Serena Williams in their first match. But, in the final, the American was then locked in and beat her pants off.

Outside of the majors, on clay and on grass (which were pretty miserable), Halep was substantially better on the hard courts, except when facing Serena, who isn’t playing this tournament. She is so fast; she can zoom up and back and side-to-side, and she can rip both her forehand and backhand. Mentally, if she is in the right space, she can win this tournament. However, she can get angry and frustrated, which is why she can fall off against Pennetta.

The Italian played wonderfully winning the US Open, including when she blitzed Halep in the semifinal. Halep was the favorite, but she folded while Pennetta kept smoking the ball, very deep and true.

In a sense, Pennetta is just happy to be here in Singapore. She will retire after this week. She is as happy as she has ever been. While she will try hard, she isn’t going to go up over the wall and back down again. She just wants to have a great time, and doesn’t want to collapse after battling for three-plus hours. She won’t be nervous at all, while Halep will. It’s really up to the world No. 2 to win or lose, but if Halep gets frustrated early, Pennetta can dance around the court if she out-schools her.

Halep said that she and her coach, Darren Cahill, have yet to decide whether they will continue next year. Cahill knows his stuff inside and out. If Halep is very smart, she should give him a full year and realize how much she can improve.

Speaking of which, Garbine Muguruza said on Saturday that she and her new coach, Sam Sumyk, will continue in 2016. In the White Group, she will face Lucie Safarova on Monday.

Two lefties Petra Kvitova and Angie Kerber will face off on Monday.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Aga Rawdwanksa, Flavia Pennetta, maria sharapova, Matt Cronin, Simona Halep, singapore

Djokovic, dominatrix: Novak d. Nadal in Beijing. Shanghai begins

October 13, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Now what to do with Novak Djokovic? He has essentially won just about everything this season. Oh sure, he was somewhat stunned against losing against Stan Wawrinka in the final at Roland Garros, but he never looked shaken. He has won the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Wimbledon, the US Open and now Beijing. He has won on hard courts, clay and grass. He has beaten Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Yes, Federer grabbed a couple matches, but Djokovic has beaten him in the most important contests, out-thinking him in the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

The same goes with Murray, who finally beat the Serbian for the first time in two years by upending him in Montreal. But Djokovic did essentially thrash him in the Aussie Open, plus he beat the Brit four times this season.

Djokovic has played Nadal three times this year, and he has not only been beating him, but he didn’t lose a set, winning 6-2, 6-2 in the final of Beijing. Yes, Nadal was happy to even being there, given that he has lost so many times against guys he used to be able to control. Against Djokovic, he has a long way before he can unearth him.

The incredible thing about Djokovic is that he actually likes the fall. A number of players pretty much fall apart after the US Open because they are too tired or they have checked out mentally,. Since 2011, Djokovic has been pushing hard every month. Of course, he hasn’t been able to win every single match, but when he wasn’t hurt during the fall, he has been pretty electric, winning Beijing, Shanghai, Paris/Bercy and the Barclay ATP World Tour Finals in London.

He can do just about anything now, from his intelligent serve; his much improved and forceful forehand; his never-miss backhand; and his amazing return. Right now, over the past four years, he has been the most consistent player around, and the only way someone can knock him out of the top No. 1 is to be substantially better.

Who is ready to do that? Currently, Djokovic is on fire. He can win Shanghai, Paris/Bercy and the ATP World Tour Finals. He might be a little tired, since he is always going deep, but he can do it again. He really can.

Nadal was pretty pleased by reaching the final in Beijing, knocking out Vasek Pospisil, Jack Sock and the dreaded Fabio Fognini. But in the final, the Spaniard was OK, but not even close to winning. Yes, he ran hard, and he was aggressive for the most part, but he didn’t crack enough deep balls, he couldn’t smack enough backhands and his serve is still a little weak. The 14-time champion Nadal was substantially better in 2013 when he was neck to neck with Djokovic, but now, he isn’t confident enough. Perhaps he will continue to improve over the next five weeks, but if the now No. 6 is able to do so, he will have to cut loose.

Nadal is hurt and he may pull out of Shanghai this week if he doesn’t feel better. Federer and Murray are both there, and both of them will have clean shots to go deep, especially the “Great Federer,” who won the tournament last year.

But what about the younger competitors? All of them need to end the season doing very well, or if they cannot, in 2016 they will not be able to take apart the so-called Big Four (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray) as well as the excellent Stan Wawrinka, who just won Tokyo and grabbed the French Open, owning two Slams now.

Here are some of the 24 and under which are still at Shanghai:

Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem, David Goffin, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Borna Coric, Bernard Tomic, Nick Kyrgios and Sock.

Every singles player – including Raonic, who was able to end 2014 ranked No. 8 – could use a huge win or two. Thiem is now ranked No. 18 and could face Djokovic. The Aussie Tomic could face the Serbian in the quarters – if he gets there. The 18-year-old Coric will face the other Croatian, Marina Cilic. That will be a gigantic battle.

The Belgian Goffin has to play excellent ball during the rest of the season, as he will have to be the main man in the Davis Cup final at home against Great Britain. He could face Murray in the third round, but first things first as he could play John Isner – not an easy task.

The unknown Basilashvili from Georgia qualified and recently cracked into the top 100. It’s hard to tell how really good he is, but at least he’s rising.

Kyrgios will play against the 25-year-old Kei Nishikori, who was disappointed in losing against Benoit Paire in the semifinals. Kyrgios has not been spectacular in Asia, but he has been very decent, currently being ranked No. 32. Even though the 20-year-old has been controversial this year, he has tremendous potential and could end the year in the top 20. In order to do so, he has to keep his head on straight. He better run and run, because that’s what the super fast Nishikori loves to do.

The American Sock is currently ranked No. 33 and he was very close against Nadal. He wasn’t patient enough at the end, but he will have a legitimate opportunity in the second round if he gets there against Tomas Berdych. The Czech has not had his best year ever in 2015, but he is still ranked No. 5 and he rarely plays poorly. Sock will have to play as well as he could to be able to upset him. Sock can hold fairly easy with a huge serve, but he is still has to work substantially to improve his return – all the kids need to.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, aonic, bernard tomic, Borna Coric, david goffin, Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadak, Roger Federer, Shanghai

Venus rising — again. Muguruza improving again, Czechs struggling

October 5, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

OCTOBER 4, 2015 – Venus Williams was extremely happy in winning Wuhan. She does not smile much on court – essentially never – but off the court during a great day, she can be happy and smile very wide, beaming.

As she has said, the 35-year-old has had a difficult year, going down to the other Americans: Serena Williams (twice), Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys. She believed that her strokes were right there. She was so close and pretty consistent. But she is not as fast as she once was, and while her forehand has been more stronger when she first came on the tour in the late 1990s, she can hit it too short. However, her backhand is legendary and she is terrific at the net. She won two marathons over Joanne Konda and Roberta Vinci to reach the final in Wuhan and even though her legs were sore, she still managed to win it, as Garbiñe Muguruza could barely move and she retired, due to injury. Venus out fought all of them, the veterans and young starts.

Now it sounds like she will continue and play next year and possibly into 2017. The eight-time Grand Slam champion still wants a major title. She hasn’t been able to do so since 2008 and it will get harder and harder with her aging body, but you have to give her at least a long shot. Williams is currently ranked No. 11 and could reach the WTA Finals Singapore, and in order to do so, she will have to win at least a few matches. She begins against Ana Ivanovic, which will be very difficult to say the least, even though Ana has been so-so lately. Then Venus could play Stephens. Revenge match.

Muguruza finally came alive in Wuhan, hitting both strokes, moving quickly inside the court, and nailing her forehands and backhands down the line. After suffering at the tournaments after she reached the Wimbledon final, the Spaniard began to think, rather than just banging away on court and she looked tremendous overall. For the first time, the world now knows who she is. In Wuhan, where she beat Angie Kerber and Caro Wozniacki, she looked confident again. She is now ranked No. 5 and assuming that she reaches Singapore, she will have a legitimate shot to win it.

Next year in 2016? She is now working with her coach Sam Sumyk, who knows the players inside and out. If she stays with him and continues to listen, she will have a real chance to win a major next season.

Three of the top Czechs are hurting and/or struggling. Petra Kvitova is still a little bit ill due to her mono and lost early in Wuhan and Beijing. Lucie Safarova hasn’t played since the US Open because she is hurt and had to go to a hospital due to a bacteria infection. Katarina Pliskova has lost early at the tournaments since Stanford, when she reached the final in early August. All of them have to be healthy in the Fed Cup fnal in Prague, November 14-15 against the Russians. For the Czechs to prevail, they’ve got to get healthy again.

There are a number of other players in Beijing, who will have a legitimate chance to get in the WTA Finals. No. 2 Simona Halep retired on Sunday, but she has already qualified. No. 3 Maria Sharapova isn’t playing until Singapore because she is hurt, too. Kvitova has qualified, and Safarova is very close, even though she is not playing. Flavia Pennetta has qualified because she won the US Open and did win a match on Sunday in Beijing.

Kerber has been consistent for the most part since she turned it around in April and will likely get in. Carla Suarez Navarro can, too, but she hasn’t won a bunch of matches since the clay season. Aga Radwanska seems to have been better mentally since Roland Garros, so she has a fine shot. Wozniacki says that she is hurt all the time … so it will be surprising if she gets in.

It’s Belinda Bencic who will really push in Beijing, as she reached the final of Tokyo. She beat Muguruza in Tokyo in straight sets in the third round and those two could face off each other again in the third round in China. If Bencic snares it, the 18-year-old will be flying high.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story

Retro, 2001 US Open: Lindsay Stuns Serena and Stops All-Williams Final

September 6, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

NOTE: LINDSAY DAVENPORT IS NOW THE COACH OF MADISON KEYS. THE 20-YEAR-OLD KEYS WILL FACE SERENA ON SUNDAY.

By Matthew Cronin

SEPTEMBER, 2001, US OPEN:

Playing her best tennis since she dominated the field at the Australian Open eight months ago, No. 2 Lindsay Davenport knocked defending champion Serena Williams 6-4, 6-2 out of the U.S. Open in the quarterfinals with a mind-boggling display of heavy groundstrokes and return of serves, snuffing out the thought of an all-Williams final.

Williams was hoping to win her first Slam title of 2000 here and meet her older sister Venus in the final. Davenport and No. 1 Martina Hingis had joked together that they didn’t want to see an all-Williams final and Serena was none too pleased to hear that.

“That’s the way a lot of people would want it,” Serena said. “I’m sure a lot people never want an all-Williams final. It’s going to happen in the future inevitably. Nobody’s going to be able to stop it. Unfortunately, I didn’t pull up my end this year. Obviously, no one would want to see an All-Williams final because everybody doesn’t really like us.”

Davenport said that she and Hingis were merely engaging in some friendly locker room banter. “Martina and I get a long very well and joke around,” said Davenport, who was 1-5 against Serena entering the match. “She was just giving me a hard time” ‘Okay, you have to beat her, finally. You never win. Beat her. It wasn’t serious talk….I think Martina feels she sides with me against them.”

Is Davenport pulling for Hingis to win her semifinal against Venus on Friday?

“Martina’s fun too joke with,” said Davenport, who will play Elena Dementieva in the semis. “Venus doesn’t talk to me much. Serena I don’t see that much. She’s a little bit more friendly, maybe. But Martina and I have talked for many years and I have a better rapport with her.”

Davenport, the ’98 U.S. Open champ, gained a measure of sweet revenge for her loss to Serena in last year’s semis by not allowing her younger and fleeter foe to draw her into long, physically demanding rallies. Davenport served effectively, jumped on her opponent’s second serve and pounded heavy blows up the middle and into the corners. Her coach, Robert Van’t Hoff, advised her not to give Serena too many balls to take running swings at.

“He thought I should play to the same spot in the court a lot before I went to the open court,” Davenport said. “Serena is very quick. I didn’t want to mix it up because she gets into a groove that way. He said, ‘Keep the balls deep.'”

For her part, Serena failed to make critical mid-match adjustments, never varying her strategy and falling into Davenport’s trap.

“I didn’t really hit my backhand well, my forehand well and I wasn’t serving very well,” Serena said. “It was like I was out there going through the motions. That’s the best she ever played against me. She should take that attitude toward everyone.”

In full health for the first time since early March, the tall Southern Californian moved extremely well against Williams, frequently chasing down her opponents blasts. She also dissected Serena’s serve with the a surgeon’s precision.

“It was such a frustrating four to five months in the middle of the year,” Davenport said. “It feel great to play at 100 percent and not have to worry about injuries. I haven’t had this freedom on court in a year.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: lindsay davenport, madison keys, Matthew Cronin, Serena williams, us open

Winners & Losers, Montreal: Murray finally beats Djokovic again

August 18, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

WINNERS

Andy Murray

After he was seriously hurt at the end of the summer of 2013, Murray had to have a surgery and it took him a while to rediscover his form. Against Novak Djokovic, it took him two years, burdened by eight straight losses. But in the final of Montreal, Murray was esquire.

It took more than three hours, and he could have folded when the match grew tight, but he kept trying, coming into the net, swinging his forehand and, as always, he painted his backhand.

For the first time in 2015, he was the dictator; he decided which way he should go and he didn’t panic. Now the Brit has a legitimate shot to win the US Open again, and for the first time on hard courts this season, Murray is just as smart as the Serbian is.

Novak Djokovic

The No.1 finally lost one of the big hard courts, which is pretty unusual, given that he has out-hit and out-stroked everyone on tour, winning the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami. But this time, the reigning Wimbledon champion was a little bit off in Montreal, nearly losing against Ernests Gulbis and then going down against Murray.

Djokovic had hurt his sore right elbow, which affected him, but still, he was pretty close against Murray, even if his return game was not spot on. Really, it doesn’t matter, as he has won so many tournaments over the past four years. However, the question is, can he win the US Open? He has won it only one time, in 2011. Perhaps the eight-times Grand Slam champion is a little nervous on NYC, or in Cincy this week.

Kei Nishikori

Props to the Japanese, who smoked Rafa Nadal. But how in creation did he get hurt once again? Nishikori won Washington, grabbing five matches, which included three setters.

But then he won three straight setters in Montreal until he played Murray in the semis, and he was destroyed, saying he was tired. Later, he said that he has a hip injury and he pulled out of Cincy.

He is a terrific player and when he is on, he can take down just about anyone. But, if he wants to win a Slam, he has to play very clean and directed, and maybe, just maybe, be can win the USO.

Jeremy Chardy

There seems like a million of fine French male players like Monfils, Simon, Tsonga and Gasquet, among others. Chardy was on fire and didn’t give in, up, ending John Isner 7-6 in the third set. He did manage to lose against Djokovic rather quickly in the semifinal, but the veteran won as good he possibly could get.

Ernests Gulbis

Out of nowhere, Gulbis rallied, winning three matches for the first time in 2014 Roland Garros. He was so close beating Djokovic, holding two matches points, but he was clearly nervous and he blew it. But at least he is back on track – we think.

LOSERS

Rafa Nadal

Yes, he was hurt very badly in the second half of the year in 2014, but he says that he is 100 percent now, so why is he so lost? He isn’t aggressive enough and he isn’t returning deep, let alone his spotty backhand. He was flat against Nishikori.

Marin Cilic

The US Open champion was saying that he is improving daily, but in the past five months, he is unpredictable. That is what occurred against Bernard Tomic, who took him out in the first round at Montreal. At this point, Cilic has not chance to win the USO again.

Gael Monfils

Talk about unpredictable, the Frenchmen said that he was so happy to be back on the North American hard courts, and then he lost in the first round at Montreal and Cincinnati. He said that he thinks he can reach the semis of the USO, and maybe he can, but he has to be much more consistent. Monfils must play very well at Winston-Salem next week

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal

Winners & Losers, Toronto: Bencic beat 6 fine players to grab title

August 17, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

WINNERS

Belinda Bencic

The 18-year-old Swiss was lethal. She was not perfect, but she seemed to read the lines at every turn. She can crack her forehands and backhands, she can sit back and wait until there is an opportunity, or she attacks ferociously. To win the Toronto title, she bested six fine players, outlasting Genie Bouchard, Caro Wozniacki, Sabine Lisicki, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams and Simona Halep. She rarely became nervous and now the teenager is truly believing in herself and she will have a legitimate chance to win the US Open.

Simona Halep

The Romanian had to retire in the final against Bencic, losing the first set 6-7 and winning the second set 7-6, but she was sick and couldn’t continue. However, she fought hard during the week, outlasting Angie Kerber and Aga Radwanska in three sets, and then she had to work hard against the fast Sara Errani in the semis. Yes, she has to swing away at times, but after she had a difficult clay and grass season, she is pleased to be back at the hard courts.

Serena Williams

In the past year, Serena has lost against Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova and now Bencic. Clearly, Serena was upset (she called it ‘crappy’) as her fabulous serve was way off and she had hurt her left hand, but really, it’s better for her to have lost. Now there will be a little pressure – at least until the US Open, when she tries to win all four Grand Slams at the same year.

Sara Errani

The veteran Italian hasn’t played spectacularly well this season, but she “upset” Victoria Azarenka, which was a fine win.

Lesia Tsurenko

The Ukrainian reached the quarterfinals on Toronto and she has been playing outstanding ball, winning Istanbul

LOSERS

Caro Wozniacki

Yes, she was hurt, but she didn’t say anything until after she lost against Bencic. She also lost in the opening round against Varvara Lepchenko in Stanford, when she said she 100 percent – until later. If she doesn’t want to play because her leg hurt, then don’t play, but don’t pretend that you are fine, and then later, she switched her commentary. She is a very nice person, but she needs to be honest all the time

Aga Radwanska

The Polish Radwanska has been close, but oh so far, falling against Kerber and Halep 6-4 in the third in Stanford and Toronto. She has every game in the book, but she cannot panic late or she is not going to reach the top 5 again.

Carla Suarez Navarro

The No. 10 Spaniard had rested well after a poor Wimbledon and she was excited on the hard courts, but she was flat in Stanford and Toronto. The 26-year-old isn’t a baby anymore. It’s time for her to step it up immediately.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Aga Radwanska, Belinda Bencic, Caroline Wozniacki, Serena williams, Simona Halep, Toronto

Kyrgios gets angry — again. Wins but obnoxious against Wawrinka

August 13, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

In Montreal, August 12

Late at night against Stan Wawrinka in Montreal, Nick Kyrgios grew angry in the first set, screamed at a linesperson, and after he lost the tiebreak, he screaming, he threw his rackets, yelling and saying “This is f—ing bullshit!” It was, by him, all night long.

But he continued to be play fairly well. He still irritable and during the second set he said to Wawrinka, “[Thanasi] Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend, sorry to tell you that, mate.”

That was ridiculously obnoxious.

However, he went on to win the match, as Wawrinka retired down 6-7 6-3 4-0 with a back injury.

After the match was over, Kyrgios was asked why he said that about Wawrinka. “He was getting a bit lippy with me,” he told the broadcaster Sportsnet’s Arash Madani. “Kind of in the heat of the moment. I don’t know. I just said it.”

And then, Wawrinka coach, Magnus Norman, went after Kyrgios: “That was really, really low Nick Kyrgios.” Norman tweeted. “Hope for u that u have people around that will teach u a thing or 2 about life tonight. Very bad.”

After a couple of hours, Wawrinka went online, and he was furious.

“Disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine. What was said I wouldn’t say to my worst enemy. To stop so low is not only unacceptable but also beyond belief…here is no need for this kind of behaviour on or off the court and I hope the governing body of this sport does not stand… for this and stands up for the integrity of this sport that we have worked so hard to build.”

Kyrgios should not have said that to Wawrinka on court, but really, so many people have disagreements about their boyfriends and girlfriends, and they will argue – it’s just off the court, not on the court.

Now, clearly he is a very good friend with Kokkinakis, so something happened with Wawrinka that upset him. Exactly why and to which girlfriend, we do not no, officially that is.

However, Nick’s mother, Nill, knows something differently, tweeting: ‘A sledge for a sledge…do your research before piping up like sheep!”

Now, the 20-year-old Kyrgios just simply cannot stop yelling and talking, but he is already a terrific player and if he can stay healthy and continue to improve, he could crack the top 10 by next year – or faster. However, he has to be much more mature or the fans are going to rip him on court every single day.

Without a doubt, his new ‘coach’ Lleyton Hewitt will talk to Kyrgios and explain to him that he cannot embarrass the top players during matches. Hewitt knows that, given that Lleyton could swear on court regularly when he was young. Kyrgios will listen, and maybe he will try, but when he is playing against the very good players, his mind has become extremely intense and all he could think about is winning his way – anyway, anytime, anywhere, against anyone.

Wawrinka confronted Kyrgios in the locker room but nothing occurred – yet. Both men have a fair amount of friends and both have a lot to say. Even if they both disagree the one thing that everyone knows is that Kyrgios has to be more respectful on court. If he doesn’t, he will have to a hard time finding the fans who cheer for him when the match is going on very long and very difficult and he won’t know where to turn. Right there, an angry man could be losing, rather than winning.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka, Thanasi Kokkinakis

The top 5 last weeK: Angie Kerber kept on winning

August 13, 2015 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Angie Kerber

The German is incredibly fast, she is so steady and bends down so low, but last year she kept panickedin the final. This year, she has turned it around, winning four titles, knocking out Aga Radwanska, Elina Svitolina and Katarina Pliskova to win the crown at the Bank of the West at Stanford. Pliskova was pretty close in the third set, but Kerber was aggressive and smarter. Now it’s time for Angie to reach a Grand Slam final and see whether or not she is good enough to knock off everyone – including Serena Williams.

Sloane Stephens

In 2012-2013 it looked like Stephens was coming very hard and ready to make the top 5. The young player reached a series of second weeks at the Grand Slam and it appeared that as she got older, she would be more secure and wasn’t very emotional. But last year, she was out of it, as she was upset frequently and she wasn’t self-assured about her game. Finally, she won a tournament, grabbing Washington over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

No, she didn’t have to best the top players, but she badly needed a title and now she has her first. She is amazingly quick, she can go down the line with either her forehand or backhand, and she has a very decent serve. Currently ranked No. 29, if she is confident again, watch out at Toronto, Cincy and the US Open.

Katarina Pliskova

When she is on, Pliskova is incredibly powerful, but she is still learning. She has one of the biggest serves on tour, but she was way off in the final against Kerber. Had she nailed a number of aces, she would have won. She is only 22 years old and the Czech is very ambitious, but she gets impatient and needs to calm down in the important moments. If Pliskova can make that change, she’ll crack the top 5 and perhaps maybe she’ll win a Slam next year. She is that good.

Elina Svitolina

The Ukrainian is the youngest player in the top 15, which means that even though she isn’t very tall and doesn’t always smoke her forehand and backhand, she is pretty smart already and she hustles. She still has a lot of work ahead, but if she keeps moving forward, she should enter the top 10 next year.

Varvara Lepchenko

The American has had a very tough year, having pneumonia at the end of January and she pretty much wrecked her until last month, when she began to feel much better. She reached the semis at Stanford, upsetting Caro Wozniacki. Now, she is confident again and the No. 45 will be a threat against anyone.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Angie Kerber, Elina Svitolina, Katarina Pliskova, sloane stephens