Archives for June 2021

Wimbledon: Tough losses as all fall down

Serena Williams

Slipping on the slick turf, Serena Williams retired in the first round at Wimbledon. She was injured and she had to retire at 3-3 in the first set. She cried, and she was unfulfilled. But life goes on, because when you are 39 years old, you begin to slow down, little by little.

Serena lost to veteran Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who is ranked No. 100. If Serena didn’t hurt her leg, she likely would have won the match, but the American has not won a Slam since 2017. That is four years ago.

That might be her last time in London, or maybe, in 2022, she will come back. But she has a child, and she has played at the WTA and the Grand Slams since 1997. She loved it, obviously, that is what she did, winning 23 Grand Slams. With young players coming in, and they are better each year, with their serves, the forehands and the backhands. Many of them do not become so nervous. They want to upset the star, Serena, so the fans can recognize them.

How good are they? Will they reach the top 10? Will that success allow them to think that, day after day, they can beat the best competitors.
 
Can Serena do it one last time? Probably not, but at the US Open, she will have a shot. Not a big one but a substantial chance, as long as she is not hurt physically.

Another aging person, the 20-time Grand Slam winnerRoger Federer, looked pretty good on Tuesday, but not great-great. Federer advanced 6-4, 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-2 after Adrian Mannarino retired with a knee injury. Another veteran, Mannarino, was into it, but then he went down and then he was gone, when he slipped. As Federer said, “It was just a terrible ending, one I don’t like to see. I just felt like it was really a bad ending.”

Federer has won Wimbledon so many times. But, the last time he won a major was in 2018 at the Australian Open. That is three and half years ago. Like Serena, he loves the grass, and he is brilliant and very smart on the court. Both of them are intense and thoughtful, as they were when they started 20 years ago. They were so fast. This week though, they are a little slower and not fast enough. On grass, though, there is short points, so if Federer goes for it early, sure, he has a chance to go deep at Wimbledon. But, can he crack in the second week? We will find out soon.

MORE
How about the 40-year-old Venus Williams, who is ranked out of the top 100, because she has had a tough year. However, Venus won Wimbledon five titles. At least she played an inspired tennis, beating Mihaela Buzarnescu 75 46 63. But, in the second round, Ous Jabeur won the last eight games to send Venus packing 7-5, 6-0.

Keeping her hopes alive is Vera Zvonareva, the former No. 2, and now ranked No. 96. She keeps trying and she won a match on Tuesday. In 2010, she reached the final at Wimbledon. In the second round, she couldn’t take down former Roland Garros champ Iga Swiatek, losing 61 63.

Sebastian Korda knocked down Alex de Minaur, and during the summer, he likely will go into the top 30. He is very talented. Next up is Brit Daniel Evans, seeded No. 22.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov won long five-setter, beating Kohlschreiber. He plays a lot and that could affect his ability to weather more five-setters.

Talking with Evert and McEnroe about Wimbledon

Two great, retired players, John McEnroe and Chrissy Evert, did a conference call on Tuesday, with ESPN. They were taking about Wimbledon, which starts Monday. Obviously, they have a lot of opinions. When they are talking on TV, they have some excellent comments. They are totally addicted to the Grand Slams and the other huge events, too.

Before the events start, they will list many people who can win the major or go very deep. As they know, when play starts, even the best players can be very nervous, or erratic, or calm, or nailing winners.
 
Here are four comments:

Evert about Serena Williams: How good will she be?
“That’s the question everybody’s been asking. Like Roger Federer, Serena’s best chance is on the grass obviously because of all the Grand Slams because of her power, because of her big serve, the first strike of the ball, shorter rallies. She’s won the most of any current player on grass. She has had the most experience and wisdom and instincts on the grass courts of any current player. 

“In saying that, I also have to say that if ever the field was at its most vulnerable, I would think it would be this year with the injuries, with the lack of grass court practice. This is to me her golden opportunity. 

“The big challenge for her in my mind will be stringing together seven matches where she plays at a high level mentally and physically. That’s always, for the aging athlete, the big thousand-dollar question: Can they string together seven high-quality matches? It’s physically, mentally staying healthy, staying involved with each match, staying present with each match.”

McEnroe on Djokovic, who won the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year: Can he win the Grand Slam (all four majors in one year)?
“Novak is biggest obstacle to me is if his body holds up through this. It looks amazing. He looked phenomenal. He’s halfway home. He won the tougher one. He’s the best player that ever lived, I would say, on hard courts. If he’s able to maintain his health through this, I think he’s got a great shot at winning the Slam.”

Evert about the young player Coco Gauff, who is she evolving:
“In a sense it’s been kind of gradual. I’m glad she hasn’t won a Grand Slam title thus far because then things would have gotten out of control if she would have done that at a young age. 

“Personally, I think if her game continues to evolve like it has, she could be the biggest thing in tennis by the end of the year. I believe that she could be the biggest thing in tennis at the end of the year with some great results. 

“At the same time, I don’t want to be like press building her up because then there’s more pressure on her. 

“I was amazed. I watched her play every tournament on clay. She started out a little slow. She beat some really quality players. Should have won the quarterfinal match at the French Open. She’s only 17. She’s got the game. She’s got the power. She’s got tremendous composure. You can tell it in her eyes, she wants it badly. There’s every indication she has the mental side and the skill set side to win a Grand Slam, to be No. 1 eventually. Now it’s just the waiting game. “

McEnroe on the controversial Nick Kyrgios, who decided not to play on clay, and he hasn’t played since January at the Australian Open.
“Nick? I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t play the clay. I was very surprised not to see him get to England earlier, or whenever he would go, to play a couple tune-up events considering he hasn’t played since Australia. That sort of worries me. Not that he can’t come out and hit 40 aces. I just have no idea what his conditioning is. The obvious questions: Where is his head at, the questions that we ask normally are magnified because he hasn’t played.”
 
“No one wants to play him first round, I can assure you that. But he’s going to be unseeded. He’s like [61] in the world. It’s unbelievable that he’s a guy that talented with that ranking at this present time. 

“I like Nick. He can be great for the game, but at the same time I don’t think even he could expect to just waltz his way in and suddenly pull off some incredible run. Maybe he’s doing something I’m unaware of as far as training. If he just left, he’s going to get there a couple days ahead of time. Well, I hope he’s ready to play. Let’s just put it that way.”

2021 Roland Garros winners: Novak Djokovic & Barbora Krejcikova

Barbora Krejcikova

Down two sets to love, Novak Djokovic was a little bit frustrated, and he was not sure where to go. He was playing pretty good but Stefanos Tsitsipas was on fire, mixing it up, cracking the ball, and he was super confident.

But, for the 19th time, Djokovic won a Grand Slam, edging Tsitsipas 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4. He stood up tall, his forehand was deep, his backhand was very steady and he moved it all around. He hits it flat, he touches a lot of spin, and then would hit it powerfully, way up high. He returns very well, and he is very quick. He is not perfect at the net, nor are his drop shots, but he always makes a huge effort.

That is why that Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are the best players, at least by Slam count. This year, Djokovic could win another Slam, and then he will tie with the Spaniard and the Swiss at 20 majors at the Grand Slams. Then the race will begin, in what will be super intense until they retire.


When? It is hard to say, but they are thinking about it frequently, so perhaps there could be some tension.

Tsitsipas looked great in the first two sets, but then he tired, and began confused. Sure, he can win a Slam, eventually, but he still has to adjust inside his head. And if he does, he can lock in during the fifth set, and finally, grab a major prize.

That Barbora Krejcikova won the title was almost crazy. Yes, over the past eight years, she looked terrific in the mixed and doubles, winning a bunch of titles. But, the singles, she looked OK, but not fantastic.

And then in Paris, she beat a number of very good players, and she took them down. She has a lot of variety, with her forehand, her backhand, her first serve and respectable returns. This is simple but it is very true: when you play in the doubles, and Krejcikova plays at the tournaments — she does it overtime. So, because of that, then each year you improve at the net and serving. She certainly did and during the final, it was a lot of pressure in the third set against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But, Krejcikova continued to stay calm. The veteran Pavlyuchenkova was close in the third, and she was aggressive, but not enough.

Krejcikova won 6-1 2-6 6-4, which was a gigantic win. Now, everyone will know who the Czech is, making it harder for her to jump into the top 10. Currently, she is ranked No. 15. She is looking for the mountain.

Roland Garros, Day 12: Novak Djokovic versus Rafa Nadal

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will face off on Friday night at Roland Garros. It is amazing that those two have clashed in 57 matches. If you really like to watch the great players, how about 58? Sit down and watch TV and you can stay there foreve
On court, they totally know each other – their strokes, their attitudes – and they can go for big shots when they see openings. There have been so many winners, hundreds of them. In their first match back in 2006, Nadal beat Djokovic, who retired in the Roland Garros quarters. The Spaniard eventually won the Slam for the second time in Paris, and while the Serbian began to win the majors, Nadal continued to beat him, six times at RG. But know this: Djokovic has taken down Nadal a lot,on the hardcourts. In a sense, they are even.

Djokovic has the overall edge 29-28, but in last year’s French final, Nadal smoked Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5. That was a blow out, but yesterday, the super consistent backhand Djokovic said that this week, he is feeling terrific. “I’m confident. I believe I can win, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Let’s have a great battle,” he said.

There were other finals, and Djokovic could not find the solution. Back in 2013, the only time, Djokovic nearly upset Nadal in this tournament. The Serb was toe-to-toe, however, the Spaniard fought and fought and he finally won, 9-7 in the fifth. That is clearly one of their classic matches.
 
“l probably pick Rafa as the biggest rival I’ve ever had in my career. The anticipation for the match against him, any match, any surface, any occasion, is always different from any other,” Djokovic said. “His match had it all: falls, crowd, break. It was a lot of intensity. I just felt under tension the entire time. I felt like I missed some of the chances to end the match in the third set. I didn’t want to give him too much opportunities to dictate the match. That’s why it was just super, super stressful to constantly be under pressure on my service games because his service games were quite smooth with the big serve. Yeah, the reaction in the end was just me liberating that tension that was building up for the entire match.”

Nadal has a phenomenal forehand … Djokovic has a better very deep backhand … they are almost tied with the serves. But, with the second serves, the Serb hits it harder. Once again, they are tied with the returns, but Nadal is more comfortable at the net. No matter Nadal’s incredible success on clay, Essentially, they are even.

Roland Garros, Day 11: Tsitsipas & Zverev on pressure

Alexander Zverev

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev have reached the semis at Roland Garros and both of them have said that right now they believe that they can finally win a Grand Slam.

In Paris, Tsitsipas had a terrific win, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5. He was very patient, hitting the balls deep. When he has a chance, he went for the winners. He didn’t do that at every opportunity, but he knew he could pound it.
“I feel privileged that I’m in that position, and I feel obviously I’ve put in a lot of daily hard work has been a key element of me being here. But my ego tells me ‘I want more.’ ” Tsitsipas said.

Last year at the 2020 U.S. Open final, Zverev was close in the fifth set, but he could not find the finish line against Dominic Thiem. The German backed away from going for his shots while the Austrian was fearless and won. This time in the quarters in France, he easily won 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The 24-year-old Zverev has won some big titles, taking numerous ATP 1000s and ATP Finals. He has won on clay and on hardcourts. But, holding him back was getting angry at himself. Now, he is so much smarter.

“Obviously, the Grand Slams are the tournaments that we want to win the most,” Zverev said. “Before, maybe, the last few years, I was putting too much pressure on myself. Before Medvedev and Tsitsipas arrived, I was seen as this guy that was going to all of a sudden take over the tennis world. I was not very patient with myself, which I feel like now, maybe, I learned how to deal with the situation a little bit better.”

Tsitsipas is 22 years old and now knows he is more comfortable with his forehand and his returns. His backhand can be flat, or he can swing very hard. He really likes his progress.

“I’m playing good. That will show by itself,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a player that thinks they can’t win the tournament. I’m pretty sure that they all can play well. If someone could grant them the tournament, I don’t think that’s a thought. Of course, I’m playing well. I think if I can keep repeating the process, the everyday hustle that I put in, for sure there’s going to be a reward, why not?”

Why not, that is for sure.

MORE
How about this? Usually at the Grand Slams, in the semis, there have been at least a couple women players who were in the top 10, or how about No. 15? Not now, this week. All four are in their first major semifinal.

Yes, all four players have looked excellent during the matches, but before that, none of them have won a huge tournament. So, on Thursday, it will be the No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova versus the No. 85 Tamara Zidansek; and then the No.17 Maria Sakkari against the No. 33 Barbora Krejcikova.

Going into Paris, many people, the journalists and the fans, would have thought that the top 10-ers would have reached into the semis, such as Iga Swiatek, Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and others. But they lost or withdrew [Osaka]. So, now it will be the new, new players.

Will they be calm, or super nervous? All of them — Pavlyuchenkova, Zidansek, Sakkari and Krejcikova — will be shaking early, but when they can attempt to go for it, and read it, then they can be competitive. Two of them who wins it will start thinking about the final at Roland Garros on Saturday. Maybe they won’t sleep, but take a nap, and dream before they start. A good dream.

Thursday update: Pavlyuchenkova advanced to the final when she took down Zidansek 7-5, 6-3.

Roland Garros, Day 9: Federer and Serena are gone

Roger Federer

On Sunday, two of the best players ever who have won so many titles, are out as Roger Federer withdrew and Serena Williams lost. They are good friends, but as I have written this so many times now, they are aging. When they hit 39 years old, they are much more mature, but have slowed down. They both know what to do, and they can see it, but trying to sprint, very fast, that is a tough ask.

Federer decided to end his Roland Garros after he beat Dominik Koepfer in four sets because it was a very long match. His body said it is time to go back home. He hasn’t played much over the past 17 months, because his legs were messed up. As Andy Murray said about Federer, another good friends, “I’d argue that it’s quite risky to play multiple 4hr matches in a row in your 2nd tournaments back in 18 months so to me it makes sense to be reactive based on how your body feels, length of matches.” True.

Let us see during Wimbledon. Hopefully, his body will be in better shape. He has to because he really wants to win London.

Serena is pushing, and she looks pretty decent, but in order to get much better, then maybe she can attack early, and get it done ASAP. She lost to Elena Rybakina 6-3 7-5 — a good player who is up and down — and Serena couldn’t hit the ball from the backcourt and fumbled with a lot of errors. So in England, she has to hit it deep and mix it up more.

If she practices a lot, and I think she will when she arrives in England, then she will have her last chance to win a major. Serena will have to be totally into it, and be really aggressive on the grass.

MORE
Two of the very good players will face off on Tuesday with Daniil Medvedev versus Stefanos Tsitsipas. That will be a fantastic battle, with some huge swings. Seems like every predictor had Medvedev getting bounced in the first round. Now, he is into the second week.
 
Who knew that Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has finally reemerged? It had taken her for a decade. She is playing decent, but not wonderful. But, over the past few months ago, she woke up and smellrf the roses. Now she is much smarter on the court. Do it again. Prove it.

Sorana Cirstea: ‘I found the joy of playing, the freedom’

Sorana Cirstea

The delightful Sorana Cirstea has always been very nice, when she talks off the courts. However, the 31-year-old has been around for 13 years, and why she has had some terrific wins, she never went very deep into the Grand Slams. She can hustle, and she is pretty fast. But, what keeps her stymied is throwing in so many error.

That is why she has never reached the top 20. But she was close. Currently, she is No. 54. Maybe she can climb into the top 30s again, or even into the top 20s, but it will be very tough.

However, she has improved, and she seems to be thrilled about her life. Finally, she likes the dirt

“It’s funny because going into clay I was not very happy. I felt I was playing quite good towards the end of the hard court season,” said Cirstea, who beat Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-2. “Now when I’m getting the rhythm on hard court we have to switch on clay? But it’s been good. I haven’t changed much. I went through the same mindset like on the hard court, and I think it took me a little bit by surprise this clay court season, because I did not expect to come out so strong, first tournament winning Istanbul. I’m definitely enjoying it. I would not say clay is my favorite surface, but I’m definitely enjoying it.”

At the 2009 Roland Garros, she reached the quarters, upsetting Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic. She was playing wonderful but she lost to Sam Stoser.

She remembers that year, but she has changed and more mature.

“It’s funny, because I have a different mindset. Because if you think too much in the past or too much in the future, you will get frustrated,” Cirstea said. “If you ask me 12 years ago if I would still be playing today, I would definitely say no. I just go with the flow. I’m healthy, I’m enjoying myself, I’m playing at a very good level, probably one of the best I have been. I’m very mature. I’m taking it day by day, I’m not going too far ahead with my mind. I’m actually enjoying all this process. Definitely I’m enjoying much more I think this comes with maturity.”

Cirstea did have many ups and downs, moving around, finding the lines, but also, she did not understand where she was going, and what could she do? It looks like she thought about it, and right now, she thinks a lot.

“I would say, everyone has their own rhythm and their own path. You can’t compare yourself with anyone,” she said. “At the beginning of my career, I had this a lot, people comparing me to other people my age or comparing me to different players. So now, looking back, I feel that’s absolutely useless, comparing yourself with other people, because everyone has their own path and their own timing and their own route in life, their own way.

“Also, do not look left and right but look left and right for lessons, for positive things. It took me a long time to understand this and not get frustrated, because there were people my age or younger doing better. It plays a little bit with your head. But the moment when I realize that I’m playing for myself, I have my own career, I have my own path, my own life, things started to change and I found the joy of playing. I found the freedom of playing. I found the joy again.”

MORE
Kei Nishikori finally didn’t have to play for many hours again, as his opponent, Henri Laaksonen, retired. Now he has to face Alexander Zverev on Sunday. What a banger. The German said: “This is the main goal of my tennis career, to win Grand Slams and I feel in the past year-and-a-half I am on a very good [path] again and I hope I can continue.” Let’s see.

Victoria Azarenka crushed Madison Keys on Friday. Maybe Azarenka can stay around because she can be darn good.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova sort or stunned Aryna Sabalenka. Pavlyuchenkova is a little bit more mature. Sabalenka looked great this year, until at RG, she collapsed.

Roland Garros day 5: American men has little chance

Steve Johnson

Notes on a draw sheet:
Every day in the Grand Slams first weeks, there will be some really long matches and some darn good ones, too. There are marathons that can be fantastic, but also, it could be lousy and with so many errors.

Over too many years, American men rarely reach the second week. Here and there, but the last time was Andre Agassi, who won it in Paris, grinding and cracking the ball. He won it in 1999. He was so brilliant.
 
Now, it has been 22 years ago and probably, no American will win the 2021 Roland Garros. But, to reach the second week, that would be something.

On Wednesday, John Isner, Reilly Opelka and Steve Johnson won their matches. Isner has always been played very well on the hardcourts. The tall, young man Opelka is smart and he is committed to his game This year, Johnson did very little until this week, so maybe he can be self-assured again. Let’s see come Monday.
 
The Japanese Kei Nishikori has been around for a long time, and when he is healthy — and that is rare — he is muscular and he has a great set of wheels. He just won two five-setters. So, eventually, he will be sore in the third round. His legs will be very fatigued. But, to win another match … unlikely.

Chilean Cristian Garin won a five-setter. When the tournament ends, he will be ranked in the top 20. He is stellar stuff.

Serena Williams won in three sets, downing Mihaela Buzarnescu. She has always been great, but she is still on and off. Gradually, though, she will be more compatible

Aryna Sabalenka also won. For sure, she has a chance to win it all, but only if she is continues to stay calm. Victoria Azarenka and Madison Keys will clash. That will be a barn-burner.

Two-time finalist Thiem out of Roland Garros

Dominic Thiem

On the first day at the Grand Slams, the emotions are high or low. At the 2021 Roland Garros, it can be sunny or cold. Or maybe in the middle. Before they start, the players are generally charged up. “Let’s play, let’s sprint, let’s nail the winners and aces.”

But they never know until they began to play. Some can be very nervous, others are calm. On Sunday, there were dozens of matches. “What time is it, where exactly is it, is the clay soft or fast?”

Here are two players who lost and won.
.
Dominic Thiem, who reached RG in the final twice has not had a great year. He lost against Pablo Andujar in five sets. Going in, then former 2020 US champ thought he could pick it up. But in the fifth set, he missed some key points. Thiem was unsure.

“I was not struggling at all with my motivation, but the game was just not there today. Like all the shots are missing power,” he said. “They are not accurate enough. I’m moving not well enough, so everything in my game there are some percents missing. Actually, I don’t really know why, because since I stepped back on court it’s already two months, and I was really practicing well, super intense as well. Shots were there in practice and it got also better in Madrid and Rome. But Lyon [who lost in the first round] and here, the shots and all how I moved and everything was just not the real me.
It’s just not good enough at the moment. It’s very tough situation.”

Aryna Sabalenka is ranked No. 4, winning Madrid a few weeks ago. Mentally she has finally poised. Of course, she is a gigantic hitter, but now she is concentrating more. And she won’t being angry as much when she isn’t playing well.

“I have a lot of experience in these kind of matches. I mean, emotionally,” she said. “That’s why sometimes I scream, ‘Come on, or let’s go,’ because, this character inside of me and that I have to keep trying and don’t waste my energy. In some point, I understand that it’s too much emotions, like bad and good, so I kind of have to start thinking about what should I do to win this match? Put my focus in another place. It’s help me to find this, calmness?