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2017 top players: women’s 6-10

December 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment

 


TennisReporters.net will review 2017’s top 30 women and men, our annual feature.

No. 6: Elina Svitolina
Let’s talk about how strong she is! This year, for the first time, the 23-year-old took a very long deep breath and went for it. In Toronto in August, she upset Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep and Caro Wozniacki, all players who have risen to No. 1. She also won Rome and three other titles. Then we all knew that she is an excellent player. Even though she practices all the time, however, she can get frustrated and despondent. She can get nervous at the Grand Slams. But, in 2018, I think she will to continue to mature and without a doubt, be right there deep in the majors.

No. 7: Jelena Ostapenko
The youngest player in the top 10, she is so incredibly powerful and never backs off. She hits as hard as she can, from both her  forehand and her backhand. She is so aggressive, amazing aggressive. That is why she won Roland Garros, never getting nervous and totally locking it in. However, she can over-hit it and isn’t patient enough. She has a ton of winners, and also, some bad errors, too. I would think though, she will get better each year. For sure, if she’s healthy, she will win another Grand Slam in 2018.

No. 8 Carolina Garcia
The Frenchwoman was up and down most of the year. In the fall, she rose up, beating just about everyone. She won Wuhan and Beijing, beating Angie Kerber, Svitolina, Petra Kvitova and Halep. In the WTA Finals, she upended Wozniacki before going down against the veteran Venus Williams. It has taken Garcia more than a few years to get very good, but finally, this strong and fast player moved forward and she decided it was just fine to hit at the lines. And she did. Though unpredictable, she can stay in the top 10, or even go further in 2018.

No. 9: Johanna Konta
The Brit looked fantastic in the first half of the year, winning Sydney and Miami, and then she reached the semis at Wimbledon, beating Garcia and Halep. Then, she began to check out, losing against the great Venus in the Wimbledon semis. After that, she had nothing left. She was tired and she wasn’t thinking anymore. The big upside is that she cracked the top 10 and she beat a number of very good players. The bad thing is that she can lose focus on the court. She will to continue to fight and fight some more. One way or another, she will go deep in 2018. And win a Grand Slam for the first time? Hmmm 

No. 10: CoCo Vandeweghe
The huge-hitting American finally came into her own, as she showed patience, got into great shape, and reduced her anger. Ten years ago, five years ago, even three years ago, she was ready to fade. But now, she is more mature and smarter. She has said that she can win a Grand Slam and become No. 1. OK, let’s see if she can pull it off in 2018. She is close now. 

 

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Who really loves tennis? Wimbledon favorites on day 2

July 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment

FROM WIMBLEDON, Day 2:

THE MEN
The great Roger Federer will go against the up-and-down Alexandr Dolgopolov on Tuesday. Dolgopolov has an incredible variety, but he is rarely patient and he does not serve hard and move it around in the box. Still, maybe one time, Dolgopolov can play fantastic and on Centre Court he could be very happy and really go for it.
Federer knows everything he has to do, and in the first round, he will quiet the monster.

Kei Nishikori won over Marco Cecchinato and the Japanese says he can win it all at Wimbledon. On grass? Wow, he thinks that for two weeks, he will not get hurt — again? That would be very unusual. Let’s see.

There are times that Stan Wawrinka can play out of his mind, and there are others days he checks out. He was on fire at RG, but on Monday on grass, he lost against the young Russian Daniil Medvedev.

Good for Medvedev, but as Wawrinka has said, he cannot play well every week. Clearly, that happened on the first day.

Here is a stunner: Aljaz Bedene beat Ivo Karlovic 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 6-7(7) 7-6(7) 8-6. Karlovic can serve harder than anyone, but when they start rolling, he is too slow.     

Rafa Nadal smoked John Millman, and without a doubt, he is one of the favorites. He has won Wimby before and, as long as he stays healthy, he can knock out anyone.
                          
How about Marin Cilic who destroyed Philipp Kohlschreiber? Maybe he can reach the semis at a Slams.

Good wins by Kevin Anderson, Donald Young, Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who advanced when Nick Kyrgios retired. A surgery coming for Kyrgios? This year, he has not dealt with the doctors.

THE WOMEN
The Roland Garros champ Jelena Ostapenko won on Monday, and we would think that the big basher will continue to feel that she is better than anyone. That is possible. After all, she did shock the world in Paris.

Speaking of Petra Kvitova, she is also on fire, winning Eastbourne and on Monday, she won easily. However, she is a little bit hurt already and while she bangs the ball, if she goes very deep, she can panic. Over the past decade, she did.

Good wins by Vika Azarenka, Ana Konjuh, Johanna Konta, Dominika Cibulkova and the Americans: Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady and Madison Brengle.
 
How about Genie Bouchard, who in 2014, she reached the final and she was looking very, very good. But now, she cannot get going. She lost against Carla Suarez-Navarro in the third set without a wimper. At this point, you cannot say that she can get back into the top 5. She is so confused.
 
The same thing goes with Laura Robson, who lost against Beatriz Haddad. Is the Britain Robson really loves tennis? I am just not sure.

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Sharapova returns but WTA players are not all pleased

April 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Notes on A Draw Sheet

Also: Nadal, Goffin, Konya and more

Maria Sharapova is back—finally. It has been 15 months since she was suspended for testing positive for meldonium.

But, it is over. While there are some people who never want her to walk on the court again, she stayed away, she didn’t yell, or get very angry. She just practiced and made sure that she was eating the right stuff.

The five-time Grand Slam champion has a tremendous amount of work to do, physically as well as emotionally. She has no ranking. A number of players don’t like her, and some of them want her to fail. If, however, she decides that it is important to become friends with her fellow WTA players, then perhaps they will learn to like her and they will stop ripping her. Believe it or not, when you get to know her, she is very nice, fun and extremely intelligent.

Maria to change this time around. She has always been very good, or great, depending on the day. She practices like a maniac, and usually, she pays attention to the little details in her game. She never gives up — we know that —and over the past 15 years, she has improved tremendously.

Clearly, she can crush her backhand and forehand, and her first serve. But, to win another major, she has to improve her second serve and actually come to the net once in a while and stick with it. If she does, here comes another Grand Slam winner, No. 6. Whether she does it this year or next year, there are loads of fans who want to see her, in the morning, in the afternoon, or very late in the night, watching her, saying ‘Maria C’mon, C’mon, Come ONNN!’

Sharapova is playing in Stuttgart and has won two matches already over Roberta Vinci and Ekaterina Makarova. Next up: qualifier Anett Kontaveit.

MORE

Rafa Nadal is on fire once again, largely because he’s playing on clay now, and he absolutely loves it. On the hard courts, his legs hurt him a lot, but on clay, it is softer and he can just slide around and dig it out. He won Monte-Carlo (his 10th time) and this week, he is competing on Barcelona. He has won countless times in both places, let alone at Roland Garros. It is coming pretty fast.

However, before that, his confidence must go high to the sky, such as beating Andy  Murray, who is also at Barcelona. Rafa has beaten Murray many times on clay, but now, the Scot is No. 1, he has improved a tremendous amount and, while he has been hurt over the past month or so, he has to show that he can push Nadal way back on the baseline. If they play this week in the final — we hope so and they hope so — it would be very interesting for Murray to face Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarters. He is super steady these days…

David Goffin is in Barcelona and while the top-10-er has been more consistent over the past year, there are just a couple negative things that hurt him. He has yet to win a big tournament — ever and just lost against the 20-year-old Karen Khachanov. The Russian is rising.

Some interesting wins in Stuttgart: Anastasija Sevastova took down Johanna Konta 6-3 7-5, the good veteran Carla Suarez Navarro over Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-4, and the German Laura Siegemund upset Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 6-3. Konta is terrific on hardcourt, but on clay … eh.

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The amazing Federer wins again, Konta wins her first huge event

April 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment

THE TOP 10, April 3

PLUS: Nadal, Nick, Caro, Venus & more

Roger Federer

Yes, the 35-year-old put together his best performance to win the 2017 Aussie Open, Indian Wells and Miami. At the start of the year, no one thought that he could go back-to-back-to-back when he was aging.

But he did, and now, he is the best player of all time. 

Hopefully this year, he will not get hurt again. Everyone wants to see him play. If you happen to be in Paris, go out and watch him. Eventually, he will have to retire. But not this year.

Rafa Nadal

The Spaniard has changed a little bit, being a little more aggressive with his backhand down the line and coming into the net. He is trying to mix it up more, which is good, and hopefully, the next time he plays Federer this year, he can out-hit him. In Roland Garros that it, because Federer won’t play again until late May.

Nick Kyrgios

The 20-year-old Aussie had a terrific tournament, nearly beating Federer in three very long sets. He is young and he is improving each week — if he continues to pay attention and be more focused on court.

Fabio Fognini

For the first time, the talented Italian reached the semis in Miami, looking good, mixing it up and pushing himself into the net. Hopefully, he won’t be a one-off.

PLUS 1

Alexander Zverev

The teenager is now ranked No. 20 and he is improving in every tournament he plays.

WOMEN

Johanna Konta

The 25-year-old Brit has improved so much over the past two years, which is mind blowing. In 2014, who knew who she was? But now, she looks like she has a true shot to win a major. She knocked out Simona Halep,

Venus Williams and Caro Wozniacki. That is good as it gets — except for getting a victory over Serena, who is injured.

Caroline Wozniacki

Someday soon, the No. 12 Caroline will win another big tournament again, but she needs to change it up even more. She has to continue to improve her forehand and come into the net once in a while. Regardless, Caro did well in March.

Venus Williams

The 36-year-old Venus is always out there trying as hard as she can, but her second serve is pretty weak and she isn’t as fast as she used to be. Still, she’s back in the top 10, which is admirable. 

Karolina Pliskova

Pliskova is very confusing. She is so strong and aggressive; she works and plays all the time. But somedays, she gets loses her mental focus and then, she is gone.

PLUS 1

Lucie Safarova is coming back strong. The former No. 5 took out Dominika Cibulkova and reached the quarters.

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Roger Federer vs Rafa Nadal in Miami final; Konta wins title

April 1, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Roger Federer vs Rafa Nadal
It is pretty stunning that this year, Federer walked on court, stared at his backhand and said, “It is time.”

The 18-time champ knew that the only way he was going to consistent knock down the other top players (Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic) is to go more forward, meaning that he had to leap upwards, instead of being way back behind the court.

For many, many years, the lefty Nadal would just continue to pound into his backhand with his heavy topspin. Federer really didn’t know what to do. Once in a while, he would jump up and crack it down the line and hit some winners.

But Nadal didn’t care; he was pretty sure that, eventually, he would watch Federer grow angry. Then, he would become comfortable and settle in for the win.

At the start of this year, Nadal had won 23 matches against Federer, who won only 11. Believe it or not, in 2017, Federer hadn’t won a major against Nadal since 2007, when the Swiss had taken down the Spaniard in five sets at Wimbledon.

Rafa was only 20 years old then. But very quickly, he knew exactly what to do.

After that, Federer couldn’t understand why Nadal wasn’t going to chip and charge, or push the ball in the center of the court, or challenge his forehand. He just pounded and pounded and pounded till Federer’s grew frustrated in his one-handed backhand slice.

Nadal beat him at 2008 Roland Garros (on clay), 2008 Wimbledon (on grass), 2009 Australian Open (on hard courts), 2011 RG, 2012 Aussie Open and the 2014 Aussie Open. Rafa had beaten Roger six times in the Slams.

Now, Federer is 35 years and Nadal is 30.

In the summer of 2016, Roger was pretty hurt and, after he lost early at Wimbly, he called it a year. He was tired and his body was breaking down.

Fortunately, Federer got better, his knees were better, and he missed playing tennis. Enter Ivan Ljubicic, the former player and now his coach, really helped Federer. They practiced and practiced. When Federer was prepared to play again, he was ready to go. His phenomenal serve, forehand, return, the net, variety, lobs … Almost everything, except for his backhand.

But it was right there. Finally, Federer went on court in the final of the 2017 Aussie, and he shocked Nadal 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3. Nadal was up 3-1 in the fifth set, and we could tell that Federer was much more powerful and directed.

Six weeks later at Indian Wells, Federer crushed Nadal 6-2 6-3.
Now, Federer is incredibly confident once again.

But hold on. In Miami this week, he won two fantastic contests, but they were very, very long. He beat Tomas Berdych 7-6(6) in the third, and in the semis, he ended Nick Kyrgios 7-6(5) in the third. We would think that Federer is a little bit tired, no?

Look, Federer did get a day off. But on Sunday, if he is forced to get into the third set — let’s say after two hours— then Rafa will win. Nadal isn’t tired at all, as he easily whipped Jack Sock and Fabio Fognini.

Without a doubt, Nadal has to improve over the next few years because he hasn’t won a Grand Slam since 2014. Rafa’s backhand can be weak, and he doesn’t come into the net enough.

Regardless, Nadal is pretty pissed off and he wants to win a big event right now. He will run and run and run, and best Federer in three fun sets.

Johanna Konta d Caroline Wozniacki to win title
A couple years ago, it was hard to see Konta, now 25 years old ,reach the top 10, much less win a big event. She did today, out-hitting Caro 6-4 6-3. She is so powerful, so aggressive … and she rarely backs off.

Now the Brit is ranked No. 7. Perhaps this year, she can win a major, if she continues to improve. But, at Wimbledon when the pressure is on? We will find out in the next few months is she’s prepared for that accomplishment.

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Wozniacki against Pliskova: Is Caro ready to win again?

March 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Caroline Wozniacki vs Karolina Pliskova
Earlier this year, Caro and  Pliskova reached the final in Doha. Wozniacki had won the tournament before. In 2013 Miami, Woz overcame Pliskova in three sets here. The same goes, winning at 2014 Monterrey and Istanbul, also in another three sets. Pliskova was good back then, but she was very inconsistent and she grew frustrated with her game.

But in the past two years, Pliskova increased her speed. She will never be the fastest player, but this was a real improvement. But she hits the ball harder than anyone. That is why she is now ranked No. 3, and if she continued to improve, than she will become No. 1 someday. Soon.

This year, the former No. 1 Wozniacki is rising again — especially with her forehand and serve — but once she goes up against the very good women, she chokes a bit. More so, in the semis or finals against the top 10, she gets very nervous. Amazingly, Woz hasn’t won a big event since 2011, when she won Dubai, Indian Wells and Beijing. Now, it’s all in her head.

The good news is that Caro is finally getting aggressive. For sure, she is as steady as a rock and very rarely gets tired. In order to change when she was losing all the time, she need to see the light. She is on her way there, but it will be a months-long journey.

That is why Pliskova will attack immediately and go for the lines. If she is kissing the lines, she will win. If she does not, maybe Caro will break her down.

It’s a tossup, but Pliskova will out-stroke Woz at the end.
  
Roger Federer vs Tomas Berdych
The Swiss is totally locked in. It’s hard to believe that he is now nearly a reflection of his brilliant self from the mid-2000s. Players from that time must be wondering if Federer will continue to show real flashes of the player who dominated the sport a decade ago. Czech Berdych has gotten better in the past 10 days, but he still isn’t 100 percent yet. Take Federer is straight sets. 

Nick Kyrgios v Alexander Zverva 
Who would have thunk it? 

It is the quarterfinals of Miami, you know? Are the young guys ready to dance now? Perhaps they are. 

The 19-year-old Zverev is racing ahead, stunning Stan Wawrinka. The controversial but super powerful Kyrgios has played very well this month, and the 21-year-old will reach the top 10 very soon.

Two weeks ago at Indian Wells, Kyrgios beat the No. 20 Zverev 6-3 6-4. Maybe the German will change it up? Perhaps, but as good as Zverev is, he still needs to learn a lot of things. 

So does Nick, but he is a little older, and on court, smarter. Nick in straight sets.

Johanna Konta vs Venus Williams
Both women played two great contests on Wednesday:  Konta overcame Simon Halep in three dramatic — and very long —sets; Venus rushed towards the net frequently and bested the odd No. 1, Angie Kerber, in straight sets.
 
Last year, Konta beat Venus at the Aussie Open and Stanford. While Konta is in great shape now, still, she might be a big tired. If Konta goes right out of the gates, she will win in straight sets. If they go to the third set, Venus will break her down. If Konta can take down Williams, we predict she will reach the final of Miami for the first time.

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Konta: ‘Very clear, assert myself’

January 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment
 AUSTRALIAN OPEN, Jan 20 – Caroline Wozniacki looked decent coming into the match. Was this year’s first major the place where she would return to the top of the women’s game.

Even though the former No. 1 was aggressive at times, but the Brit Johanna Konta just crushed her in the third round today. Konta jumped on the ball immediately and pressed the action, while Caro didn’t understand how to react.

Konta has decided over the past year-and-a-half that she wants to go for it, win or lose. Now, she is ranked No. 9 and should be in the top 5 very soon. She is very dramatic and the 26-year-old has finally believed in herself on the biggest of stages.

How about Caro? Later, she said that Konta played very well. Guess what? She thinks her so-called best friend, Serena Williams, could lose against the Brit.

“She played well. I think if Johanna keeps playing like this, then she has good chances against Serena,”  Wozniacki said. “Obviously Serena is a champion, has won so many Grand Slams. She’s been in tough positions. But I think Johanna is playing on a very high level right now.”

Konta just won Sydney, beating Genie Bouchard and Aga Raswanska. Last year, she reached the final at Beijing and won Stanford over Venus Williams. A year ago here at the Australian Open, she reached the semis, upsetting Venus in the first round and survived Ekaterina Makarova 8-6 in the fourth round. Finally she lost to Angie Kerber in the semis.

Her coach, Wim Fissette, really helps her now.

“Having been already in certain pressure situations, certain things so recently, maybe I can relate back to those things within a match,” Konta said. “However, equally I need to keep myself present. I need to stay within the match that I am. Just because you win a few previously, it doesn’t mean that you’ll keep doing it. It’s not really relevant for the match at hand.”

Konta now knows what to do and she can pull it off. Watch out Ekaterina Makarova, her round of 16 opponent.

On Monday, they could play for hours and hours, smashing the ball.

“I was very clear, assert myself from the first point. I was prepared to lose some points playing that way, but I felt it was the right way,” Konta said. “It was going to give me opportunities at certain points. I’m very happy.”

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The women grades, A-F from Aussie Open: Kerber A-plus, but Caro way down

February 3, 2016 by Leave a Comment

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A-plus

Angie Kerber

For the first time ever, the German finally played as well as she could at a major, crushing her forehand and backhand and she didn’t back off all. The lefty is so fast, strong and just so lethal. She beat both the former No. 1 Vika Azarenka and the current No. 1 Serena Williams to win the Australian Open. Who else has managed to do that? No one, that’s who.

A

Johanna Konta

The Britain has improved a tremendous amount over the past six months, coming from nowhere to somewhere. Her depth is now incredible and she also appears very patient, which is why she reached the major semi for the first time.

A-minus

Serena Williams

The famous Serena played excellent ball all the way until the final, when she was a bit erratic against Kerber and her volleys were out of control. But still, you can’t win every time and, at the Australian Open, she was pretty darn good, just not perfect.

Shuai Zhang

The Chinese has almost retired for good because she couldn’t win a match for months and, at the Australian Open, she qualified and reached the quarters. A true stunner.

B-plus

Aga Radwanska

The Pole looked like she had a real shot to win a Grand Slam for the first time and she reached the semis again, but Serena played fantastic. Once again, Aga didn’t serve or return well enough. Some day …

Belinda Bencic

The 18-year-old was very close to upsetting Maria Sharapova, losing 7-5 7-5, which was very good considering that the Russian served as well acheter cialis forum as she has in years. The Swiss is so close

Daria Gavrilova

Some players can’t stand the pressure at the Slams, others thrive. The Aussie had a terrific week until the fourth round, when she was ousted by Carla Suarez Navarro.

Anna-Lena Friedsam

The young German shocked Roberta Vinci and had it against Radwanska, up 5-2 in the third before she cramped and lost. Still, at least she rose up for the first time.

B

Maria Sharapova

The five-time Grand Slam champion looked better and better until she faced Serena in the quarters, when once again, she wasn’t patient enough. Plus, she has to improve her returns against Williams.

Carla Suarez Navarro

At least the nervous foe reached the quarters, which is very good because she is working on her mental game, but she still has a long way to go at the majors.

Margarita Gasparyan

The young Russian reached the fourth round, upsetting Sara Errani. It looks like the powerful Gasparyan is becoming more thoughtful.

Vika Azarenka

The former No. 1 looked so good and she was ready to reach the final, but then Kerber stunned her as she just beaten the German two weeks prior. She is not quite ready to regain the top spot.

Barbora Strycova

You never know how good the veteran Czech will be, playing outstanding ball against Garbine Muguruza and then she was a little flat against Azarenka.

B minus

Annika Beck

So many of the young Germans had a good tournament, including Beck who reached the fourth round-up out-stroking Timea Bacsinszky.

C-plus

Madison Keys

The good news is that Keys fought incredibly hard to overcome Ana Ivanovic in the third round, the bad news is that Keys got hurt once again, losing against Zhang.

Ekaterina Makarova

It was good to see the veteran Russian, who had been injured since the 2015 US Open, getting back on court. She did lose to Konta in the fourth round, 8-6 in the third, but at least she showed that she finally looks like she is healthy again.

C

Svetlana Kuznetsova

The Russian should have gone deep at the Aussie Open considering that she had just won Sydney, but as she says, some days you don’t know whether you will hit the ball correctly. Her age is affecting her consistency.

Ana Ivanovic

Given that the former No. 1 hasn’t gone deep in months, at least she reached the third round and almost knocked off Keys. But she has to be better than that.

C-minus

Garbine Muguruza

There is no doubt that the Spaniard had a chance to reach the final and then, against Strycova in the third round, she looked very shaky. She needs to take a deep breath.

Timea Bacsinszky

The Swiss looked so good at the 2015 Roland Garros and now she is slumping, losing in the second round.

Karolina Pliskova

The Czech had a fine 2015, but in the Slams, she flailed, just like when she lost in straight sets in the third round versus Makarova.

D

Simona Halen

The Romanian is impossible to understand what she is doing right now. She looked fairly good in Sydney, and then she was totally stunned against Zhang, not even going for her shots.

Venus Williams

The seven-time Grand Slam champion looked totally out of it against Konda in the first round. Maybe she should have charged the net more, because she volleys as good as anyone. But not that day.

Sam Stosur

The reality is that she doesn’t play well at all in Australia. If she did, she could actually go deep at the AO, because outside of her country, she has been outstanding (winning the 2011 US Open and reach the 2010 Roland Garros final), and here she hasn’t even come close.

Sloane Stephens

How can she win Auckland and then, in the first round, she falls against an unknown? She is a fine player, but mentally she can disappear.

F

Caroline Wozniacki

At this point, it is impossible to know where the former No. 1 is going. She lost in the first round and she hasn’t competed well at all since last April. Time to add a new coach.

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