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Injured Serena pulls out, Sharapova moves on 

June 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment

March 08, 2018: Serena Williams (USA) hits a backhand in her match against Zarina Diyas (KAZ) at the BNP Paribas Open played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. ©Mal Taam/TennisClix/CSM

FROM ROLAND GARROS — It is to bad that Serena Williams withdrew; her arms and her shoulders really hurt a lot, which is why she had to way goodbye. She will see the doctors in Paris tomorrow. Will she will recover, quickly, and play Wimbledon? She loves Wimbledon — she has won it seven times — so she will push herself as much as she can. Hurt, or not.

Serena was supposed to play against Maria Sharapova. So the American/Russian didn’t have a chance to to attack Williams and test herself. Not this week, though, maybe in Wimbledon, or during the rest of the summer. They both hope so.

Sharapova will face Garbine Muguruza, who also advanced when Lesia Tsurenko retired after just two games. That is too bad, because there are a lot of fans who come out to watch the tennis and when there are just a few people playing, maybe the fans won’t want to come anymore. There are too many injuries, year after year.

On the women’s side, there were two other matches on Monday, and there were two blow outs: Simona Halep crushed Elise Mertens, and Angie Kerber whacked Caroline Garcia in straight sets.

Yesterday, on the bottom half, all four matches were contested, and there were no three-setters. However, there was a fun contest with Daria Kasatkina and Caro Wozniacki. There were some incredible rallies, and Kasatkina outlasted her 7-6, 6-3.

On Sunday and Monday, there was only one good match. Let’s hope on Tuesday, there will be some wonderful contests, maybe Sloane Stephens against Daria Kasatkina. That must go three sets, with two cage players. They will have a huge amount of long strokes. Whomever will worn her down, she will reach into the semis.

The Men
Juan Martin del Potro is so incredibly confidence now. He bested John Isner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, crushing his forehand, his big serve and he moved fairly well. He also scampers to the net and puts it away.

Isner had a good nine days at RG. He knows that his gigantic serve and her massive forehand, and he hustles. But, for the past 10 years, he hasn’t been able to figure out how to be an effective returner. He can do it here and there, but this was on clay, which is slower, and softer, and he couldn’t break it against DelPo. Not once.

“If I would have lost today, I would have liked to maybe put up a better fight. So that’s a little disappointing,” Isner said. “Delpo certainly has one of the best forehands in the world, especially when he’s feeling it out there. And if he’s able to get in position and take a rip at that shot, it’s going to be very lethal. So it’s very good for tennis to have him playing well again and being healthy.”

Marin Ciclic needed five sets to push back Fabio Fognini. It was up-and-down for both of them, playing well, missing it, re-doing it, over-thinking. As Cilic said, it was “extremely tough mentally.” And how.

On Wednesday, two of the excellent top 5 veterans will clash. Years ago, from Cilic and DelPo, they struggled on clay. Still, sometimes, they make too many errors. But here at RG, they are going exactly what they can do. They are almost a tossup, both of them have won the US Open — on hard courts. On clay, even thought they can nail their forehands, they have to return deep.

“We played many times. We know each other,” Cilic said. “He won a lot of our matches in these last few years, and we had few tough ones. One of them was the Davis Cup match, that was the last one. That was a big match. [Argentina won the Davis Cup]. Juan Martin is having great season playing great tennis. And then [we] are playing similar games but still different. I think in some ways I’m maybe a little bit quicker on the court, but he’s in some ways serving a little bit better, hitting off his forehand side bigger and more consistently. So just in those comparisons, it’s always a tough matchup between both of us.”

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Rising: Stephens and Sharapova are locking in

June 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment

FROM ROLAND GARROS — Sloane Stephens was almost done, playing in the third set, against Camille Giorgi, at 6-6, the summer has arrived, and the heat was on.

The Italian was so, so, close, but while she can smack winners, she can also miss it, on the lines. Really, it was the 2017 US Open champ Stephens to decide which way to go, very deep, short, and faster, harder or slower. No one knows whether Giorgi is locked in, or is she a little bit confused. Right at the end, Stephens was thinking hard, while the Italian was over-hitting. 

Stephens won 4-6, 6-1, 8-6. Now she has reached the fourth round, for the fifth time. Is it time for her to finally reach the quarters? Possibly, but not guaranteed. And, by the way, she is now reach No. 8, the highest women American, passing Venus Williams, at the least this week.  

After 10 months off due to her injury, Stephens did return until late June in 2017. She was always smart, but the good news is that when she was off, she watched a lot of tennis on TV and she learned a lot.

“I would say I see the most change in myself, in my own game, but I do think that things are a little different since I came back. Just making a lot balls, being consistent. Obviously when I first came back I had some really great results ,being consistent and wearing girls down. That worked for me. But ,after a while, it’s not going to work. You have to find other ways to improve all the time.”

Stephens has to play Anett Kontaveit, who upset Petra Kvitova. Kontaveit can smack her forehand and backhand, with a mediocre serve, but she can secure on the net.

Maria Sharapova of Russia during her third-round match at the 2018 Roland Garros Grand Slam tennis tournament

Maria Sharapova played a tremendous, fantastic match, blowing out Katarina Pliskova 6-2, 6-1. Sharapova was gone for 15 months, and when she returned in April of 2017, she was pretty shaky. It has been 14 months now, and she has had a few good wins, a few bad ones and some decent ones. She has been hurt a decent amount, but over the past couple of months, she has been pretty healthy. Now, she is more comfortable and she is beginning to swing it out.     
“I don’t like to feel too comfortable. I think there are definitely matches where you play flawless, you play great. But, I have said in my career where I have come off the court and said that was perfect is just a handful of times, because there are always things that you can improve,” Sharapova said.

“There are always errors that kind of creep up, certain moments in a match. Even today I had that long point where she made a dropshot on the run and it was a really long point, could have given me a chance to go up two break points, but it didn’t. It was 30-all. I actually thought to myself, ‘I was, like, no matter the score, I’m not going to let this point define the match.’ You never know. Tennis, that’s what’s so interesting about this game is that every point can really put you back to reality. I thrive on those situations and those moments.”

Next up for Sharapova is Serena Williams who beat Julia Goerges 6-3 6-4. Serena played very well, the best day this year. She was pretty quick, and her serve, forehand and her backhand were deadly. Now she has to play against Sharapova, which could be a fun match, but Serena is 19-2 in the head to head. In 2013 in the final here in RG, Serena won 6-4, 6-4. That was a little bit closer, but still, Serena had been absurdly dominant. In the past 10 years, Serena has won 24 sets, and Maria has won just one. Even though they have changed a lot over the past two years, still, Serna is the favorite, hands down.

NOTES
Marin Cilic is playing very well, knocking out Steve Johnson in three sets. He likes the heat, and he can be very forceful. He has to play against Fabio Fognini, who overcame Kyle Edmund is five sets. Cilic is the favorite, but the Italian is on a roll and can be a factor here. … David Goffin was almost downed and out in the fourth set, but he recovered to smash some amazing shots. He wore out Gail Monfils 6-7, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. The Belgian likes to move it around. … Rafa Nadal is just crushing the ball. He destroyed Richard Gasquet, for the 16th time. You have to think that Nadal will reach the semis, and then go against, I think, Cilic/Fognini/JM del Potro or — imagine this — John Isner, who just won over Pierre Herbert in four sets . On clay, finally, for Isner.

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Report card: top five women in Rome

May 22, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Here are the women with the best results last week in Rome.

Elena Svitolina A+
In Rome, in 2017, Svitolina finally rose, winning the tournament. Two weeks later in Paris, she backed off, was nervous and she lost early. But she never stopped trying. In 2018, last week, she played brilliantly. She is so quick, so powerful, and she is very smart. She won the event fairly easily, crushing Simona Halep in the final. Now, once again, she has a legitimate chance to win a Grand Slam at Roland Garros. But there will be pressure, serious pressure …

Simona Halep A
Props to beating Maria Sharapova in the semis. She could have folded but she did not, she ripped her shots and she jumped on it. Unfortunately, in the final, Halep was exhausted. Her legs were very heavy, and she couldn’t run fast enough against Svitolina. Still, the No. 1 Halep was more than respectable, so for the “millionth” time, she has a shot to win her first Grand Slam. If she remains focused …  

Maria Sharapova B+
Even though Sharapova lost in the semis against Halep, she played substantially better last week. Finally. She took a breath, she hustled, she was patient when she could. Yes, she can be erratic and still, a little off. She won Roland Garros twice. So, when she arrives in Paris, she may not win, but she will push, hard. There, her confidence will return. 

Anett Kontaveit B+
Out of almost nowhere, Kontaveit reached the semis, upsetting CoCo Vandeweghe, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams, and Caro Wozniacki before losing to Svitolina. On clay, Kontaveit looks pretty darn good. So, at RG in Paris, she could be a real factor.

Jelena Ostapenko B
Believe it or not, the 2017 Roland Garros champion is getting better. She has had a tough year, but she did reach the final in Miami on hardcourts. In Rome last week, she did beat Jo Konta, and then, went down against Sharapova 7-5 in the third. Ostapenko was very close to that win. While the 20-year-old person can blast the ball from both wings, she has to be a little more comfortable with staying in longer rallies. She did win Paris last year, smoking the ball, so maybe she can do it again.

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Sloane Stephens finds her footing on clay but falls to Garcia

May 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment


American Sloane Stephens said this week that she understands how to play better on clay now. She used to get frustrated at times, but now she is learning what she needs to succeed. However, she has to be more tolerant. On Wednesday in Rome, she knocked down Kaia Kanepi 6-0 5-7 6-4.

But, she couldn’t extend the magic against Caroline Garcia, losing 6-1 7-6(7). Garcia has improved huge amount over the past year — in the singles, that is. Both of them can sit back and rally for ages. They are both very accurate, rarely missing some easy shots. Eventually, however, they can swing hard and try to kiss the lines. This match can go for two and half hours. At the end, whomever is willing to go for it and not push the balls back, she will take it, with Stephens or Garcia.
 
Simona Halep smoked Naomi Osaka pretty quickly and then got a walkover when Madison Keys pulled out. That will keep her atop the WTA rankings.

Venus Williams overcame Elena Vesnina 6-2 4-6 7-5, as the Russian faltered in the last games. But Anett Kontaviet took down Venus 6-2 7-6(3) in the third round. Kontaviet aslo knocked Venus out of Madrid last week.

The amazing thing is for the first time, or very rarely, over the past 20 years, that Venus decided she could play doubles without Serena. Unfortunately, she picked Keys, who withdrew from singles and doubles, citing a rib injury.

On the rise is Maria Sharapova, who dispatched Gavrilova in straight sets. There was no doubt that Sharapova would find her form. Now, the question is can she get back into the mix of the top 5. If Sharapova wins a few more matches, she will be in the top 32, which will help at Roland Garros.

Here is a marathon when Daria Gavrilova took out Garbine Muguruza 5-7 6-2 7-6(6). Muguruza had a few match points and she couldn’t convert. She rarely chokes, and Gavrilova kept pushing her. I am just not sure that the former RG champ Muguruza can take the Paris title again.

Two other notable matches with the guys on Wednesday: Kei Nishikori beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4) 5-7 6-4 in nearly three hours. Good for Nishikori, staying in there, going backhand versus backhand, hitting it hard down the line. Nishikori continued to show he is improving when healthy, pummeling Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1 6-2 in the third round.
 
Props to Fabio Fognini, who out-hit Dominic Thiem and then sailing through Peter Gojowczyk. Next up is Rafa Nadal who had no problem with Canada’s newest top player Denis Shapovalov. They have had some classic matches over the years, and they might do that again.

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In Stuttgart, Muguruza & Kerber retire

April 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Photo: Mal Taam/MALTphoto

There have been good matches in Stuttgart, and there are some big pullouts. Over the past three-and-a-half months, there have been the vast majority top women who have played — and competed. The great Williams sisters have been able to play, as has Simona Halep, Caro Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Jelena Ostapenkp, Caroline Garcia, Sloane Stephens and Daria Kasatkina, among others. That is a very good thing because over the past 25 years, many of the players have been hurt way too frequently. But now, they are getting smarter, playing less.

However, yesterday in Stuttgart, three major players pulled out: the two-time champion Garbine Muguruza, another two-time champion Angie Kerber, and the up and coming 18-year-old, Marketa Vondrousova. In the same day? That is somewhat brutal. That just started playing on the clay, which is actually better for your knees. Maybe it is just bad luck, or maybe they should have pulled out before they came to Stuttgart. Last weekend, many players played in the Fed Cup. Someone won, some lost, but either way, the Fed Cup is one of the most entertaining events of the year. So, after Sunday, and some players were very tired, with messed-up bodies. The answer: pull out before the tournament and don’t get on the plane. What is the point when you are going to lose so quickly? Just don’t come. It is not worth it, for everyone.

At least there are two very good players who are still in: Karolina Pliskova and CoCo Vandeweghe. Both of them don’t love clay, but they can both of them literally crush the ball.

There is a good piece on WTA’s website about the former five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. She lost a tough match against Garcia 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4. Is Sharapova struggling? Yes, a bit, because over the past year, she has been so-so. Frequent injuries could be the cause.

Sharapova is close to becoming more consistent, more patient, more emotionally stable on court. To succeed, she needs to be happy and mentally locked in.

Sharapova decided to let go of her longtime coach, Sven Groeneveld, last month, and now she is reunited with Thomas Hogstedt, another long-time coach. Will they stick? Who knows. In a sense, when you are older, the 30-year-old Sharapova really doesn’t need to have a full-time coach. What you really need is to think hard, all the time, focus, whack it, change it up, be super consistent — just breathe. I can be wrong, but one thing I do know is: It’s all in your own head, and no one else can change it. It is all about you, especially on court.

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2018 Aussie Open, The Picks, Day 5

January 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Maria Sharapova vs Angie Kerber
This should be an amazing matchup. Both of them have won Slams, both of them have been No. 1, both of them never, ever give up. They work out all the time, they are incredibly strong, they are very smart and they think about exactly what they should doing. Neither of them likes to come into the net.

However, Maria can crush the ball from both sides, and Angie goes side-to-side as quickly as just about anyone. They have played each other seven times: on grass, on clay and on hardcourts. Sharapova has won four matches, and Kerber has won three. Maria beat her at the 2012 Aussie Open, and Angie grabbing her at the 2014 Wimbledon Open. They haven’t played each other in nearly three years — too long. The veterans now each other well, and they both want to go on court and see who is playing as well as she can. Last year, Kerber was flat while Sharapova missed most of the year due to suspension and injury.

But perhaps they will rise this season and come very close to winning a major again. Perhaps, next week, but only one of them can reach the trophy. Over the past few weeks, Kerber has played excellent ball. Maria hasn’t played much during the past few months. Kerber will win in three sets, in a fun marathon.  

Katarina Pliskova vs. Lucie Safarova
I am still waiting for the former No. 1 Pliskova to finally win a major. This year? Hard to say, but she rarely backs off, which is good. Safarova is a terrific player at the net. Here is another tight contest. If the tall Pliskova is calm, she will win. If Safarova serves big and moves the balls into the corner, she will win. I lean to Katarina who will win with a few stunning and flashy down-the-line backhands.

Juan Martin del Potro vs Tomas Berdych
These two have known each other for many years, and once again, they are very close. The Argentine won a major a long time ago, at the USO, while the Czech has reached the final at Wimbledon. They are tall, they both have massive first serves, as well as some huge forehands. They don’t run very fast, but good enough, and when they get to the net, they can bend down and put it away. Berdych got hurt last year and he has yet to recover. DelPo has looked pretty good, but not spectacular — yet. Still, as long as the Argentine can hit his backhand — his one-hander and a two-hander — deep, he will win. DelPo dearly wants to reach to the second week. He will in four sets.

Alexander Zverev vs Hyeon Chung
Two young players are getting better each month. Zverev is already in the top 3, while the South Korean is more tempered now. He won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan right at the end of the year. However, while Chung moves around the court quickly, Zverev is a gigantic hitter — everywhere. The German will win in four sets.

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Picking the US Open Women’s Draw

August 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment

The First Quarter

No.1 Karolina Pliskova almost won the 2016 US Open, but Angie Kerber took her down, 6-4 in the third set. The Czech has played pretty well recently. She has improved a lot over the past two years. She is a little bit faster, she crushes the ball and she is very good at the net. Here, she is one of the favorites to win her first Grand Slam. But, at times, she can get angry and be off her game.

Pliskova might have to face against Shuai Zhang in the third round, which could be difficult, but she should get through. In the fourth round, then she will have to play ball. Assuming that Kristina Mladenovic gets through, then the Frenchwoman will be set to attack Pliskova. Mladenovic loves to come into the net, and while she isn’t very fast, she can create angles.

In the quarters, there are five players who can challenge the Czech: the good veterans – Svetlana Kuznetsova, CoCo Vandeweghe and Lucie Safarova – and the two very young players, CiCi Bellis and Anett Kontaveit. Pick the teenager Bellis, who is rising super fast, to move through the early rounds. But, by the time she hits the quarters against Pliskova, she will tap out.

The Second Quarter

There are lots of possibilities.

Elina Svitolina has played extremely well this season. She recently won Toronto, smoking her backhand and forehand. She is very determined. However, she has yet to go deep at the majors.

She might have to face Daria Gavilova in the third round, who has reached the final in Connecticut. She is small, but she loves to play and she is super fast. But Svitolina will move on, and then she will go up against Madison Keys, who is finally happy again. The American is ready to go on the court and stay there for hours. Both Keys and Svitolina want it bad, and in the end, Keys will hit harder and she will reach the quarters.

Guess who will play against Keys? How about the RG champion Jelena Ostapenko? The young big swinger hasn’t played great on the hard courts, but she knows what to do: powder the ball and hope it goes in. Without a doubt, if she faces against Angie Kerber, she will win in the fourth round, because the German is mentally gone.

Can Keys beat Ostapenko? Toss-up, as both of them are aggressive all the time. Give it to Keys, in a great marathon.

 

The Third Quarter

Ms. Garbiñe Muguruza is the favorite, hands down. She won Wimbledon, and she just won Cincy. She is on fire, and while she can get mad and pout, her first serve, forehand and backhand are very, very good.

Who can upset Muguruza? Maybe Petra Kvitova, if she is really back. But the two-time Slam champion hasn’t played well at all during the last five weeks and she has a tremendous amount of work to do. Possibly Venus Williams, but the former No. 1 is up and down on hard courts. Caroline Garcia has gotten better, but is not yet a real threat to top players. And then there is Caroline Wozniacki, who has played very, very well this season, but once she reaches the final, she really backs off.

It has to be Muguruza, hands down.

The Fourth Quarter

Well, well, what a great contest coming up in the first round with the five-time major champion Maria Sharapova versus the No. 2 Simona Halep. Sharapova is just coming back, and if she can be healthy, maybe then she can win another major. But until she is 100 percent physically, she will struggle.

But she is better than Halep. The Romanian is 0-3 in matches this year when one win would have given her the top ranking. She has frozen and played very badly, going down very quickly. Just last week, Muguruza destroyed her in the Cincy final, dashing her third shot at No. 1.

Remember in the 2014 final at Roland Garros? Sharapova beat Halep 6-4 in the third. Maria rose up at the end, and Halep pushed the ball. At the USO, both of them will be nervous, but Sharapova – if she isn’t hurt – will continue to attack. Halep will back off. Sharapova will win.

Who will reach the quarters? Look to Jo Konta, Ana Konjuh,or Sloane Stephens. Pick Stephens, who is lights out right now.

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Aga Radwanska: ‘I’m fresh, so I’m also happy’

August 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment

FROM TORONTO, THE ROGERS CUP, TUESDAY, AUGUST 8 – Aga Radwanska has been a WTA mainstay for many, many years. In 2007, 10 years ago,  she shocked Maria Sharapova in the US Open, which was stunning because the American/Russian was winning all the time. But Radwanska was very young, super thin and she wasn’t powerful enough to dominate a Top 10 player.

Radwanska strengthens are in her legs; she is very fast and bends down so low. Also she can deposit her backhand deep in the court and can mix it up all day.

But she has yet to win at a Grand Slam. She did reach to No. 2 in 2012. At Wimbledon, she reached the final, knocking off Maria Kirilenko and then Angelique Kerber in the semis, finally losing against to the great Serena Williams in three fun sets.

At the Aussie Open in 2014, Radwanska was very consistent, her forehand was stronger and she was confident at the net. She reached the semis, and she was ready to grab the trophy. But she backed off her shots and lost to Dominika Cibulkova. In the ’06 Australian Open, Serena crushed her in the semis. The only way to upset S. Williams would be to jump on the ball immediately, rather than waiting, which she did not do, and the American blew her out.

These are also great times personally for the Pole as she just wed her longtime boyfirend and hitting partner Dawid Celt.

When Radwanska is very happy, and she was feeling very good, she can push herself. Or she can get better, especially with her weak second serve, and to continue improve her forehand, which is decent, but she has to smash the ball crosscourt.

On Tuesday in Toronto, Radwanska  beat CoCo Vandweghe is straight sets.  She is health again, and she moved inside the courts all the time. But over the last year, she was injured, all the time, but she won’t stop, at least for a couple weeks. This season, she should have pulled out for a long time, but she couldn’t.

“Playing all the time with no breaks — you want to keep going, it’s hard to make the decision that you want to stop and have a break. I didn’t, I just keep going, I didn’t want to not play anything just pushing yourself, and you’re doing injections, you can’t play, you’re skipping those weeks that you’re at home so you’re not practicing at all. Especially the Grand Slams, I didn’t want to not play Paris, Wimbledon. I had a really bad virus, before grass — I was even thinking not play Wimbledon, but I was like, there’s no chance I’m not going to play [a] Grand Slam. You’re pushing yourself, but every day you’re feeling better and better, and I was able to play great matches. And then, there was the foot again, and more injections, and I didn’t play for two weeks. … But I’m fresh, so I’m also happy that I’m playing good tennis with little preparation.”

If she wants to win a major, she will have to change the tactics, like going more to the net often, and immediately go for her shots against the excellent competitors, or she will loses in the final rounds of the majors.

She won her round of 16 match by crushing Timea Babos 6-0, 6-1. However, this week, she has to be patient and not be maudlin. 

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Everybody hurts, sometimes

August 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment

It is August now, which is wonderful, because in the United States, it can be very sunny and warm. Almost everyone loves the summer. Who wouldn’t?

However, the players have played on court for six months. They have played on the hard courts, on clay, on grass. It’s taking a toll on some of the marquee players, who are resting their legs, arms, stomach, back and eyes. If you are very tired, then why not stop for a month? Many players, men and women, will continue to practice almost every day. For the entire year. That is very risky. 

The top men are pretty darn hurt. Stan Wawrinka announced he would not play Montreal, Cincinnati and defend his US Open title, due to a knee injury. The former No. 1 Novak Djokovic is done for the year. Andy Murray withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Montreal. The same goes with Marin Cilic. Only Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal will play Montreal, which is great, because they are the best two players ever. But, can they be healthy when the US Open begins in a month?

At Stanford, Maria Sharapova won a match, but the next day, her left arm was super sore, so she had to leave. She won’t play at Toronto, or maybe not in Cincy. She returned in April, and she really wanted to play again. On court, she looks pretty good. But immediately, her body froze and she couldn’t play on grass.

Her arm has to be 100 percent to play, or she will get hurt again and she won’t be able to win another Grand Slam. She is a great player, but Sharapova has figure out what is wrong with her health.

The two-time Slam champ Garbine Muguruza says she can be consistent and super powerful this summer on the hard courts. At this point, she’s the favorite at the USO. 

In Washington, Nick Kyrgios retired with a shoulder injury. He retires all the time. He is great to watch — when he is on — but he doesn’t take advice.

Milos Raonic versus Jack Sock should be a terrific contest. … Kevin Anderson is playing extremely well as he upset Dominic Thiem 7-6(7) in the 3rd. … Some pretty decent players are in Los Cabos, with Tomas Berdych and Sam Querrey.

CoCo Vandeweghe once reached the final in Stanford. Can she do it again? As long as she concentrates … We would assume that Petra Kvitova can win the tournament, but it will take a few weeks until she locks in again. 

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Notes on a draw sheet: Clay court season heats up

May 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Hola, Madrid. Serious clay courts here now.

The clay courts are really starting now. Yes, it was important in Monte Carlo and Barcelona (the guys), and Stuttgart and Prague (the girls). But coming soon are three gigantic events: Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros.

Roland Garros is in five weeks and whoever wins on clay, they will be extremely happy, even if they happen to lose early on grass and then the hard courts. You will remember who wins in Paris — forever.

This week in Spain, Madrid has already started.

In Istanbul, one-time Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic overcame Milos Raonic 7-6(3) 6-3.

In Munich, the 20-year-old Alexander Zverev beat Guido Pella 6-4, 6-3 to win his biggest title yet. Zverev is coming up big time. The 6’6” player is now ranked No. 17, and he is coming up super fast. “I’m confident. I’m playing well so hopefully I can keep going and play some great tennis in the upcoming weeks,” Zverev said.  My colleague, Ron Cioffi, predicted at least a year ago that Zverev would be No. 1 at some point in his career.

The last time that a teenager won a Grand Slam was 12 years ago, when Rafa Nadal won Roland Garros in 2005. None of the top competitors were unable to grab Slams when they were teenagers: not Roger Ferrer, not Novak Djokovic, not Andy Murray, not Stan Wawrinka. Only Nadal, who was only 19 years old. He was very young, and he had a lot of work to do, but regardless, he ran like the wind.

Zverev isn’t as fast as Nadal is, but the German crushes the ball from the backcourt, with his serve, his forehand and his backhand. Ka-boom!

Nadal won this year’s Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, but now, he might have to face Murray and/or Djokovic this week. Not Wawrinka, who looks undisciplined. The Britain and the Serbian are struggling, so the Spaniard is the favorite.

NOTES

Maria Sharapova was unable to win Stuttgart, but she did reach the semis, which was more or less OK. But now, she has to focus and disregard fans who are screaming at her. It has been a very, very trying 15 months off since she was banned. Now she is back, and hopefully, she can be super nice to everyone. But, it won’t be easy, that is for sure.

On Sunday, Sharapova beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 and will play Genie Bouchard in the second round. They have played four times, with the American/Russian winning all of them, but at least the Canadian pushed her in Roland Garros a few years ago. Sharapova is the favorite, because Bouchard had just lost six matches in a row. The former No. 5 is very strong, but her brain goes away pretty quickly. Bouchard absolutely has to calm down or Sharapova will crush her.

Three of the top US American women aren’t in Madrid: Serena Williams won’t play the rest of the year (she’s pregnant), Venus is resting, and Madison Keys lost in the first round against Doi. Keys is just coming back, so hopefully, she will get better as fast as she can. Last year, she reached the final at Rome.

The US teenager Catherine Bellis won on Sunday and she is rising very quickly. But on clay? We will find out ASAP.

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