Sorana Cirstea – TennisReporters.net

The top 10: the women after the US Open

September 14, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Here is my list of the women with the biggest impact from the US Open.

1. Coco Gauff
When it started, it looked like she had a chance to win her first Grand Slam, but she had to wait over seven matches. She is only 19-years-old, but she knew that if she played really well, especially with her new, very good forehand, then she could beat anyone. That she did, when her backhand was terrific, her first serve was even harder, and of course, at the net, she could put it away. Her confidence is so high, that soon enough, if she is healthy, then she can become No. 1. A new, fantastic player.

2. Aryna Sabalenka
Yes, she is No. 1, and she has had a fine year, but in the third set in the final, she made so many errors, and she did not mix it up, more. Yes, she is a massive hitter, with her powerful backhand and her forehand, but at times, her serve can be mediocre, and at the net, she is OK, but she needs to improve it. She did win the 2023 Aussie Open, and perhaps she will recover in the fall, yet she could be frustrated again. It is all about her direction.

3. Karolina Muchova
The Czech looked wonderfully, all the way into the semis, and during the first and the second set, she was pretty close against Gauff, but then, she pushed back and she made some crazy error. On the court, she can be patient and smart, but then she forgets what she is doing, and then she panics. Really though, she is a fine player, but the older you get, she has to add some better shots. She only has won just one title, Seoul, in 2019. Maybe she can win another title during the tough fall.

4. Madison Keys
She looked great in four matches, then right at the end against Sabalenka, she collapsed in the third set tiebreaker. Of course she can crush the ball, with her hard forehand and her backhand, but she still can be concert, and then she will over-hit it. She has gone deep many times, and off the court, she seems to be intelligent, but the only way to win a Slam for the first time has to add something new, and be much more CALM.

5. Jelena Ostapenko
She is just so hard to figure out. She played so well and she crushed Iga Swiatek and then the next match against Gauff, she made so many errors, and it ended, quickly. She is one of the biggest hitters, but she is also somewhat slow, and she doesn’t be patient enough. That is how she is, maybe for ever.

6. Marketa Vondrousova
The great thing is that she won the 2023 Wimbledon, and she played as well as she can. The other Czech has gone deep at another various events, and she has also taken down a number of darn good players. However, in the quarters against Keys, she did not play at all. Yes, the American played stellar, but Vondrousova was second-class, and maybe worse. Hopefully, she can forget that she was way down, and if she does that, she can stay in the top 10 for a long time.

7. Sorana Cirstea
At the beginning this year, it looked like that she has become more aggressive, and push herself into the het, and also, to go for it much early. The 33-year-old has around for 17 years at the WTA Tour, so she was always very decent, but not fantastic. But now, in the summer and at the U.S. Open, she looked so much better, on court. Maybe in 2024 she will finally reach the top 10. That would be a stunner.

8. Qinwen Zheng
She is only 20-years-old, so clearly she is already good, reaching the quarters, and beating Ons Jabeur. It will take the Chinese to improve a lot, and she knows that, but if she can commit it, then she will continue to take down the good players. However, she has to leap higher.

9. Carolina Wozniacki
Was it surprising that the former No. 1 won a couple matches and she looked pretty good, but in the third set against Gauff, she could not out hitter her, forehand versus forehand. Her backhand has always been great, and she can run fast, almost forever, but her forehand and at the net were good, but not sublime. However, she is a little bit better, so moving forward, maybe she will gradual wax.

10. Xinyu Wang
The young 21-year-old player really likes to play the doubles, but in the singles, she can be interesting. She returns very well, and at the net, too, but in the back courts, she can be proper, but she does hit the ball even harder. She needs to be more gutsy.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Aryna Sabalenka, Carolina Wozniacki, coco gauff, jelena ostapenko, Karolina Muchova, madison keys, Marketa Vondrousova, Matthew Cronin, Qinwen Zheng, Sorana Cirstea, us open, Xinyu Wang

US Open picks: Tuesday, Sept 5

September 4, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Coco Gauff over Jelena Ostapenko

Many people are thinking that Gauff is ready to win the U.S. Open for the first time. She is playing wonderful ball, with her terrific backhand, and at the net, where she really reads it. She has lost a few sets, but in the third set, she jumps on the ball, and she focuses. It is possible that she can be shaky, in the match, but she is maturing.

Ostapenko actually won Roland Garros years ago, and she put in so many winners, as she went for it, all the time. But now, while she can crush the ball, currently, she can wait, here and there, until she can go for the right shot. Yes, she can make some crazy shots, and it will go out. That is her, but Ostapenko really likes to play in front of the massive crowns. However, Gauff will challenge her, backhand versus backhand, and she will win it, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic over Taylor Fritz

The American Fritz has played much better at the U.S. Open, with some intense strokes. Before that, he was somewhat confused, and his return was spotty. However, over the past two years, his forehand and his backhand has been concisely powerful. However, he has only won one ATP 1000, and he has never gone deep in the Slams. But maybe he is finally more mature, point after point.

But he has to face against Djokovic, who has won 23 Grand Slams, as well as a huge amount of the ATP 1000s. Clearly, the 36- year-old is better than just about everyone, as his backhand is the best ever, and his intelligent serves. He can also run very quickly. Yes, it will be above 90 degrees on Tuesday, so they will eventually be tired, if it goes long, more than three hours. Djokovic has beaten him all seven times, including at Cincinnati, when he crushed him 6-0, 6-4. Yes, two year ago, at the 2021 at the Australian Open, Fritz looked very good, but in the fifth set, the Serbian raised up, and Fritz fell.

This time at the U.S. Open, Fritz will win a set, but Djokovic will bury him, stroke to stroke, and he will grab it 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3.

Karolina Muchova over Sorana Cirstea

Three years ago, the Czech beat Cirstea at the U.S. Open in the third round in a massive match, grabbing it 7-6(7). Will they do it again on Tuesday? Sure, why not? They are both hitting deep, into the corners, and attacking it. They can bash the ball, and they also can be steady. Yes, Cirstea can back off, and the reason why is because she has yet to win a huge tournament, but at this year, the veteran has changed her tactics. So she has won a bunch if matches.

However, Muchova is one of the best players when she can lock it in. She has yet to win a Grand Slam, but at least she came close at Roland Garros. However, she can collapse, when she isn’t playing well.
The 33-year-old Cirstea is finally understanding that if she wants to go further, she will have to take the gloves off. She will, and the Romanian will win it 6-4, 5-7, 7-6

Frances Tiafoe over Ben Shelton

The 20-year-old Shelton has already had a fantastic tournament, and he is growing, day after day. He is physically strong now, and he is faster, running, too. Also, he can mix it up, and down the line. He will improve a lot over the next 10 years, but right now, Tiafoe believes that he can actually win it at the U.S. Open. That is a huge task, as he has yet to win a Slam, or an ATP 1000. Maybe he is ready. He can look stellar when he is on, trying to paint the lines. His forehand and his backhand are darn stout, but he is going to have to do it against Shelton, who will be pumped, up. As Patrick McEnroe said: “This is the biggest match like this in a long time. A very long time.”

However, Tiafoe will control him, and he will win it 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Ben Shelton, coco gauff, Frances Tiafoe, jelena ostapenko, Karolina Muchova, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, Novak Djokovic, Sorana Cirstea, Taylor Fritz, us open

The Picks in Miami: Friday, March 31

March 31, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Daniil Medvedev over Karen Khachanov
Will Khachanov raise up early, and counterattack as soon as he could. He has had a fine tournament, saying that “Since last year’s U.S. Open, semifinals, I think this was a bigger change and bigger step forward, which gave me the current results which I have right now. I would say the confidence and self-belief and all these things, they appear stronger. Now I’m happy that I can show that level constantly and more consistently.” Oh, real? Well that is good, yet the powerful person has had a good year, but not phenomenal. Yes, he looked pretty good at the Australian Open when he reached the semis, but other than that, he has lost against with a variety people, such as Medvedev, who beat him in straight sets in Adelaide. Yes, Khachanov can poke the ball, but can he out-thing with Medvedev, who is there every second? Probably not. Those two Russians are good friends, but on court, it is totally different. Medvedev will control him, and he also knows how to play him. Medvedev will win in straight sets.

Petra Kvitova over Sorana Cirstea
What a great tournament by Cirstea, who said this year, she became more intense, and to throw different shots. Her serves are still isn’t to great, but she is very quick, and her forehand and her backhand has more diverse. However, the Czech Kvitova is finally feeling it. When she returns, she bends down, and if she can hit it, then she will punch it, deep. The lefty does not run that fast, but with her forehand and her backhand, she can recreate it, and mix it up, too. Last year she talked about retyring, but now she is back in the game. Cirstea wants to win badly, and she will try hard, but Kvitova will slug past her, and win the match in three romp sets.

Carlos Alcaraz over Jannik Sinner
This should be a terrific match between the two men. The young players have played each other five times, with Alcaraz just beating him at Indian Wells. He also edged Sinner at the 2022 U.S Open in five sets that went on almost forevers, with some unreal shots. Also,, Sinner chopped him down at the 2021 Wimbledon. There rivalry is growing. “He is playing a great level,”Of course I am sure that we are going to play for big things in the future,” Alcaraz said. “I can’t wait to see our [improvement].”

The Spaniard can sprinting with his forehand and his backhand, outstanding in so many different places. The No.1 can hit the ball super hard, and also, he is a darn good player at the net.
The Italian Sinner is also improving at the tournaments. Yes, he can mentally break down, when he makes some mistakes, but he has to raise his chin. Right after that, instead of becoming upset, the the 21-yea-old Italian can just move on, ready for the next point. Here is the point, though. Sinner knows how to attack, consistently, and fool him. Alcaraz also knows that he can track it down, move it around, and change. This will be a very close match, but in the end, the Spaniard Alcaraz will win in it in three tough sets.

Thursday picks

Correct: Elena Rybakina over Jessica Pegula
Correct: Daniil Medvedev over Christopher Eubanks
Correct: Karen Khachanov over Francisco Cerundolo

Matt’s Miami picks

17 out of 26: 65.3% correct

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Carlos Alcaraz, daniil medvedev, Jannik Sinner, karen khachanov, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, miami, Petra Kvitova, Sorana Cirstea

The Picks in Miami: Wednesday, March 29

March 29, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Aryna Sabalenka over Sorana Cirstea
She is on cruise control, and while her serves can be spotty, but her forehand and her backhand are mind blowing. Sabalenka is very loud, and she can swing super hard, and she goes for the lines almost immediately. Cirstea has had a terrific tournament, with some solid depths. She can throw it around, and also, she can fool you. However, while she has been a very depth player, but she is aging, so while Cirstea will stay for a little while, she frankly is not as good against the No. 2 Sabalenka. At least Cirstea will win a set, but in the third set, Sabalenka will win it, stepping on her.

Jannik Sinner over Emil Ruusuvuori
The Italian Sinner seems to be more thoughful on court, not becoming very upset, as the 21-year-old knows that he is not playing well, but eventually, he can push it up. He did have a solid tournament at Indian Wells, taking down Taylor Fritz in the quarters, and while he lost the semis against Carlos Alcaraz, he knew that he is right there. The Fin Emil Ruusuvuori had a solid year in 2022, but this season he has not play well at all, except in Miami. Perhaps he started to add some new things, or to focus every second. Even if he does, Sinner will punch the ball, super cruel. Sinner will win in two easy sets.

Petra Kvitova over Ekaterina Alexandrova
The Czech Kvitova is one of the most powerful people in the past 10 years. Her first serve, her return, and her forehand and her backhand are huge. She did win Wimbledon twice, but that is on the hardcourts, and while she can also be intense, she does not run that fast, and she eventually get very tired.
Alexandrova is rising gradually again, when she thinks on court, thinking about what to do, during the points. She can be fitting, and she can also try to whack on the lines. However, the veteran has never gone deep at the Slams, and believe it or not, the 28-year-old has never made it in the second week. Maybe she can do it eventually, and perhaps she can go further at Miami, but Kvitova is healthy right now and she will win it in two hard-hitting sets.

Carlos Alcaraz over Taylor Fritz
Carlos Alcaraz hit some amazing shots, and so much variety. He beats Tommy Paul sprinting in the backcourts, and touching at the net. The American Paul played pretty good, but he has to continue to get better. That is not with Fritz, who did reach the top 5 before Indian Wells, his first time. He could not win it again, but here at Miami, he is playing pretty darn good, with his first serves, his return, and with his grim forehand. It will be very close again, yet the No. 1 Alcaraz has a tremendous firepower, and in the third set, he will rush the net, and put it away, frequently. The Spaniard will beat the American Fritz, pumping in the air.

Tuesday picks

Correct: Carlos Alcaraz over Tommy Paul
Correct: Jessica Pegula over Anastasia Potapova
~~Stefanos Tsitsipas over Karen Khachanov~~

Matt’s Miami picks

13 out of 21: 61.9% correct

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Emil Ruusuvuori, Jannik Sinner, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, miami, Petra Kvitova, Sorana Cirstea, Taylor Fritz

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

June 5, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Anastasia, paris, Pavlyuchenkova, roland garros, roland-garros, Serena williams, Sorana Cirstea, Victotia Azarenka

Serena crushes Cirstea and wins 3rd Rogers Cup

August 11, 2013 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Serena has won eight titles this year.

FROM THE ROGERS CUP TORONTO –She keeps winning, that irrepressible Serena Williams, and outside of her two somewhat stunning losses to Sloane Stephens at the Australian Open and to Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon, as well as her respectable loss to her biggest rival, Victoria Azarenka in the final of Doha, she has been pretty much untouchable the rest of the season.

In fact, since she lost to Angelique Kerber at 2012 Cincinnati (a full calendar year), she has compiled a 68-3 record and won 11 titles. Poor Sorana Cirstea didn’t stand much of chance in the final as Williams started strong and raced to the finish in a 6-2 6-0 victory to take her third Rogers Cup crown. Serena served bigger, she returned more accurately, beat her off the backhand side and for the most part off the forehand side.

Yes, as Cirstea said. the match was a bit closer than the scores indicated, but it really was not that close overall and after Williams broke Cirstea to 5-2 in the first when the Romanian parked a backhand, the contest was all but done. Serena coolly controlled the action, didn’t stress and was keenly focused. She asked Cirstea to try and play at her level and there was no way that the Romanian would be able to on a day when Serena was feeling better after a bout with sickness on Saturday night in her win over Aga Radwanska. She knew that her foe does not have the weaponry to play with her yet.

Yes, Cirstea had a terrific week and has reach a career high No. 21 ranking, but she has only won seven games in six sets against Williams. The gap is clear and very wide.

“She knows when to raise her level,” the 23-year-old Cirstea said. “She knows when it’s enough to play and when she has to step it up.”

Serena goes out of her way to praise her opponents now – she is even over the top at times . The 31-year-old is almost like a mother hen, guiding her little chicks, telling them that the future is bright and there are better days ahead. That is what she did with Cirstea when the Romanian broke down in tears during the presentation ceremony. That is also what she did with Radwanska on Saturday night.

Of course it’s much easier to do when she’s winning, but she is a whole lot more comfortable in her own skin than she was say five years ago, and one can tell that she is becoming somewhat attracted to taking on a leadership role. Yes, she still hates to lose and cannot be easy to deal with inside the locker room after a defeat, but all the players respect her on court and a number of the players are growing to like her off court.

WTA attendance woes

The WTA could really use Serena to be a real leader, sort of like Roger Federer is with the men. The tour could use some help and fresh ideas because the reality is that after attending 21 straight days of matches, which means 42 different sessions (day and night) at women’s only events, it is crystal clear to me that attendance is problematic.

Of the 42 sessions at Stanford, Carlsbad and Toronto, I would say that seven were successful, meaning nearly sold out or sold out. That’s seven out of 42 for the women’s world’s leading sport, which is a troubling number indeed. Yes, Maria Sharapova did not play those three weeks so pretending that she did and went deep at two tournaments, you could generously say that another six sessions would have successful (and really, four is a more realistic number). Everyone else of note played at least one of those events.

Perhaps fans are too into their high-def TVs and computers now and would rather watch the WTA on a screen at home than attend in person, but anyone who has attended an tournament knows that watching the players up close and live is far more impressive and a much more well rounded experience than seeing them on a screen. At this point I would be seriously rethinking marketing strategies when it comes to ticket sales, such as two for one deal with a parent and kid, or something like that.

I’m not throwing this burden entirely on the WTA, because they have some smart and creative people on their staff. But the tournaments surely have to step up and rethink their strategies, too, because my up close and personal look when the stands were 20 % full did not yield a “Wow these marketing strategies are brilliant” all too often. Some kind of world conference on the future of pro tennis is long overdue.

I wonder who will step up and host one. Maybe Serena in her expansive Bel Air haunts?

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: mattt cronin, Rogers Cup, Serena williams, Sorana Cirstea, Toronto

Serena & Cirstea produce in the clutch

August 11, 2013 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

Williams ran gamely with Aga.

FROM THE ROGERS CUP IN TORONTO – Agnieszka Radwanska came somewhat close to finally defeating Serena Williams, but she was unable to do so, not because she didn’t believe she could do it, but because the American played more accurate and courageous tennis at the end of both sets of her 7-6 (3) 6-4 victory.

Williams was not at the very top of her game, so it was perhaps the Pole’s best chance ever to defeat her, but she could not get across the finish line because Serena either came up with some mind -boggling winners at key moments, or Radwanska made the wrong play.

The world number four played more aggressively than usual, which sometimes played in her favor and sometimes did not. She is more comfortable in longer, well constructed rallies, but she felt the only way to get into those was to get Serena off balance. She did a fair amount of times, but not enough at critical junctures.

“It was really close and I had my chances but wasn’t really taking them,” Radwanska said. “It’s always turning against me, especially when you play a top player. I was really trying to play aggressive and going forward, but she’s really playing deep and strong balls. It’s really hard to do anything.”

The match was very fun to watch, perhaps even more entertaining than their 2012 three-set Wimbledon final because there were more lengthy rallies as the slower court at Toronto allowed both players to dig out tough balls. But when push came to shove in the tiebreaker, it was all about Serena.

Radwanska couldn’t pull off a running backhand pass and went down 4-2 and then couldn’t handle a Williams slice serve out wide to 5-2. Serena then missed a lob on the run, but then won a wild point when she misplayed a lob and was forced to short-arm an overhead and eventually took a Radwanska ball out of the air and nailed a forehand swing volley winner. In vintage Serena fashion, she then cracked a big ace down the T to win the tiebreak 7-3.

Williams called for the trainer in between sets and took a pill for what she later said was a stomach problem. She has been irritable most of the week and screamed toward her box on a number of occasions, but said she wasn’t yelling at her coach.

Radwanska broke Williams to 2-1 in the second set but she could not maintain her edge, as she was broken back to 3-3 with a two hot shots to the corners and a ear-splitting overhead.

At 4-4, Williams fought off a break point with a forehand crosscourt winner and then she held with a forehand down the line.

Serving at 4-5, Radwanska knew her back was against the wall and couldn’t come up with a single winner while Williams ended the contest with an gorgeous inside out backhand winner and a forehand crosscourt side.

“She was moving very well and running a lot of good rallies that I think we didn’t have before<’ Radwanska noted. “I think she was really playing great match today.

Williams added that she knew what to do come crunch time.

“I really tried to be more aggressive towards the end,” she said. “Those were obviously really key times of the match. I don’t think I played my best, and I always knew that, worst‑case scenario, I could do a little better.”

Serena will face Sorana Cirstea, whose amazing run continued when she shocked Li Na 6-1, 7-6 (5). Once again 23-year-old Cirstea was the better player in the clutch. She has now beaten Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Petra Kvitova and Li in succession. It’s by far the best run of her career. Her first serve has become a weapon, she’s much steadier than she once was, she is more fit and constructs points more intelligently. And she does not lose her head.

One of her coaches. Darren Cahill, told her to take charge and that she did in, blowing out Li in the first set and coming back from 1-4 down in the second set to win the match. In fact she also came from 1-4 down in the tiebreak. She stayed strong while Li imploded.

“Even if I was down 4‑1, I still had the belief and still tried to focus on each point,” she said. “I think this kind of mentality is really helping me to take the pressure a bit off and to be able to be aggressive and take charge. Because I know, for example, a player like Li Na, she’s not going to give it to me. If I want to win this, I have to step it up. This is one of the things that Darren said. She’s not going to give it to you. She’s a top 5 player and that’s why she’s there, because she’s doing the right things. So if you want to win this, you have to earn it. I had to win it on my terms. I’m glad I finished in two.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Aga Radwanska, Li Na, Matt Cronin, Rogers Cup, Serena williams, Sorana Cirstea

She had to end it now: Radwanksa beats Errani, to face Serena

August 10, 2013 by Matthew Cronin

Aga says that if Serena is clicking it might be impossible to stop her

FROM THE ROGER’S CUP IN TORONTO – Before an examination of Petra Kvitova’s ills, let’s start with some positives from the semifinalists: Agnieszka Radwanska played courageously and disposed of Sara Errani 7-6 (1) 7-5; Li Na played smart, made her own mid-match adjustment and fought off Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-6 6-2; Sorana Cirstea is having her best tournament ever and smacked Petra Kvitova 4-6 7-5 6-2; and Serena Williams has been untouchable, period.

Recall that the last time that Radwanska and Errani had played, at the 2012 WTA Championships, they nearly killed each other going side to side and back and forth. The contest lasted more than three hours, which ended up being a three-set victory for the fourth-ranked Pole.

The Toronto match had a bit of a similar feel, except it was outdoors in the sunshine rather than indoors at night. Both women are so fast and so resourceful that it is very tough to get a ball past them unless a foe has a wide-open court and substantial power. When they face other, they have to work the points forever, because neither of them can rake winners with the force of say, a Serena or Maria Sharapova.

Consequently, when they walk on court they know that it’s more than likely that they will walk off extremely tired and given that it was a quarterfinal, somewhere back in their heads they must be thinking that if this contest does go three hours again, there woudl be no realistic chance to win the tournament.

Radwanska clearly had that on her mind because she pushed herself further inside the court late in the first set (especially in the breaker), early in the second and then at the very end of the third. The first set featured 11 straight breaks of serve (“For both of us the serves is never the key,” Radwanska said) and in the second set five more.

The final game of the match told the tale, as Radwanska was determined to hit through her foe. That she did, nailing four winners to take it, beginning with a backhand crosscourt. Then she sliced an ace wide into the deuce court, then she took a sky lob out of the air and nailed a forehand crosscourt swing volley winner, and then she ended the contest with forehand crosscourt winner.

Job well done by the former Wimbledon finalist.

“I was trying to focus really hard in the last few points because I knew it could really turn around for her,” Radwanska told me later. “I was looking at the clock and saw two hours already and I said ‘enough I have to end this now.’ I was really pushing myself to stay aggressive because everything is coming back.”

Radwanska will face Serena, who destroyed Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1. Williams has only lost 10 games in three matches, which shows how well she’s been playing, but it’s doubtful that she will be able to match her low games lost total in Rome in May, when she won the tournament dropping only 14 games in five matches.

But Radwanska knows she could be in for hell.

Williams is the only super elite player she hasn’t scored a win over and after the Pole pushed her to three sets in the 2012 Wimbledon final, Serena destroyed her at the year-end WTA Championships in Istanbul and in the semis of 2013 Miami.

“It’s always a great challenge,” Radwanska said. “She’s dictating everything and when she’s at her best, it’s bad luck.”

This could be fantastic match if Radwanska can manage to get into points and weave her blonde-tinted magic, but she hasn’t been able to in the last two occasions. So she’s not sure what strategy she’ll employ.

“It’s hard to tell,” the Pole said. “I’ll see after a few games because you never know what to do because sometimes she’s serving and returning unbelievable and I can’t even touch the ball.”

Absolutely nothing should be taken away from Cirstea for her week here. She’s beaten two former No. 1s in Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic, as well as a former Wimbledon champion in Kvitova.

She stood up tall when she had too and after a heart-warming talk by coach Darren Cahill when she felt the second set slipping a way, she settled down and her confidence returned and she played the big points much better – when she had to.

But she did not have to play a great match to win as Kvitova doubled faulted on break points in six different games and ended the contest with just 12 winners and 55 unforced errors. Cirstea finished with only 18 winners and committed 47 unforced errors.

While Kvitova is criticized for going on mental walkabouts, is not as if she has been playing brilliantly here and there as of late and forgetting she’s on a tennis court. In the past two weeks, she has left her “A game back at the hotel. She’s simply not dictating enough with her forehand, her serve is much weaker than it should be and she’s not coming to net as often as she should. In short, the tall lefty is not playing authoritative tennis.

She actually she said she was tired and lost her energy as she didn’t sleep well the night before. She said she was exhausted after playing just two matches in Canada, which is stunning given she’s only 24, even if she pulled an all-nighter. She was all but done by the second set.

“The serve was really bad after this, and I didn’t find energy from my legs,” she said. “So that’s why it looks that bad.”

And her 10 double faults overall?

“I think that it was starting because of physically, and then it’s going to my mind it was the mental problem, too. It’s always connected.”

Li and Cirstea have faced off five times, with Li winning a 4-1 edge, including a win at the 2013 Aussie Open.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Aga Radwanksa, Li Na, Matt Cronin, Petra Kvitova, Rogers Cup, Serena williams, Sorana Cirstea

Happiness is no tennis at the dinner table

August 9, 2013 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

‘Li Na, Li Na, do this Li Na.’

FROM THE ROGER’S CUP IN TORONTO – Li Na and her husband Dennis don’t talk tennis at the dinner table. Or at least away from tennis sites. That’s likely why every time she talks about him she does so with a smile on her face. “Out of the tennis court we never talk about tennis, so that’s why we can keep a long marriage.”

LI had another reason to smile on Thursday after she edged Ana Ivanovic 3-6 6-1 7-6 (5) in a match that for little while appeared to be in the Serbian’s hands, but once again she could not find a way to best a top player and went down. She was up 5-2, served for the contest at 5-3, but then Li began to deliver hammer shots with her devastating backhand crosscourt and down the line, with slice and body serves and some deep and impossible to touch forehands. Ivanovic did not choke the match, but she could not seem to bring her ‘A’ game when it mattered most. At 5-5 in the tiebreaker, Li nailed a forehand crosscourt winner. On match point with the ball into her favored forehand side, Ivanovic flew one long.

Li’s coach of one year now, Carlos Rodriguez is not with her on tis trip, but they are communicating via email. He will be in Cincinnati with her next week. Having Rodriguez around has even helped her marriage and how Dennis deals with her on court when Carlos isn’t around.

“Every time [Carlos] was like say, Relax. I say, I already relaxed. He say, No, you should even more. I was like, Okay. But it’s very tough, because my husband also is my ex‑coach. Sometimes he also has some idea, but if he say something I didn’t want listening all the time. So now I think he got a little bit smart. If he want to do something he talk to Carlos, and then Carlos talk to me. I was like, Okay, I have to do that because Carlos say I have to do. Because if like two coaches say the different thing, it was a little bit of a fight because I didn’t know which one I listen. Now I think they do pretty good job. They make together first and then say, Li Na, you have to do this. Li Na, you have to do that. Same like here, because Carlos is not here, but my husband always say, Oh, Carlos say you should… So I was like, Okay.”

Li one of the WTA’s most endearing characters. She has a terrific sense of humor and enjoys a good laugh even at her own expense. She will have another tough contest in the next round when she faces Bank of the West Classic Classic champion Dominika Cibulkova who took down Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-3 7-6. Domi has her grove back and she will be more than pleased to play powerball with Li.

Two other women who can smack the ball moved ahead and will face off. Defending champ Petra Kvitova muscled up and took a 6-3, 6-3 victory over SoCal Open victor Sam Stosur, who looked a little fried. Kvitova knew that so she made sure to hang tough in long rallies. But she does not feel she can take that kind of risk against Sorana Cirstea who had perhaps had the best 18 hours periods of her life when she fought off two match points against Caro Wozniacki in a three hour match that ended at almost midnight and then came back on Thursday afternoon and took out Jelena Jankovic 6-3 6-4.

“I think I made a huge step forward today by backing up the win from yesterday, because I think this was one of the issues in the past,” Cirstea said. “I would have a good win but then I couldn’t really back it up.

Now I feel I’m more solid, and I’m taking every match the same and not focusing so much, ‘Oh, I just had a big win.’ I’m like, ‘Today is a new day, new match.’ I just have to do the same things I’m doing every single day. This kind of mentality, it’s helping me.”

Marion Bartoli retired down 7-6 1-0 to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia and either has an abdominal injury or she just exhausted from Wimbledon. Read here.

Serena Williams smoked Kirsten Flipkens 6-0 6-3 and showed the Belgium just how hard it is to best two sisters in one event: Flipkens was the one who beat Venus Williams in round one.

Agnieszka Radwanska played the big points better than Sloane Stephens in a 6-1 7-6 win and said the young American just needs more experience.

Sara Errani is less than thrilled with Alize Cornet but beat her anyway France 7-5 7-6. Read about their ‘Vamos v Allez’ tiff here.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Aga Radwanska, Alize Cornet, Ana Ivanovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Marion Bartoli, na li, Rogers Cup, sara errani, Serena Williams; Petra Kvitova, Sorana Cirstea

Back on beloved hard courts, Sori is hoping to soar

July 24, 2013 by Matthew Cronin Leave a Comment

By Matt Cronin

FROM THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC AT STANFORD, DAY 3 – Sorana Cirstea went to Las Vegas again prior to another big swing, this one the Emirate Airlines US Open Series hard court segment. The Romanian and fifth seed has not had a great year and in fact she hasn’t won three matches in a row since February in Pattaya City.

She will have a chance to do so on Friday at Stanford and seems refreshed and ready to go after her stint in Sin City, where she once again got to hit the greatest women’s singles player ever, Steffi Graf. The German was her idol growing up, so even though she has been visiting Las Vegas for adidas Player Development camps for the past seven years, she still gets nervous when they take the court together to hit.

“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today,” Cirstea said. “She’s amazing, so modest, so humble, so down to earth. Every time she comes it’s such a big thing for me and in the first 10 minutes while we are hitting it’s such a struggle because of the rhythm she is playing. Forty-five minutes with her is like two hours with someone else. She’s most the incredible athlete I have ever seen.”

Cirstea just fell out of the top 30 to No. 32 but she has faced plenty of elite players before and believes that the 44-year-old Graf could still contend with many of them.

“If she were healthy, she could play on tour easily,” Cirstea said. “She’s so fast. He forehead is amazing, the slice is skips and it’s tough to play against her. I’m top 30 and not that bad, but when I play against her, I don’t feel so good in the rankings.”

Fortunately for Cirstea, she does not have to go up against the 22-time Grand Slam champ week in and week out. But there are plenty of other great players around the WTA these days and if she wants to realize her goal of eventually reaching the top 10, she is going to have to improve a good deal.

The Romanian is already substantially better than she was say five years ago. She’s more patient, her big forehand is more accurate and she appears to be better balanced. She can stay strong off the backhand side and returns second serves aggressively. In her 6-3 6-3 win over CoCo Vandeweghe, she defended her own service games quite well (occasionally popping in first serves at 110 MPH), got enough of the American’s big serves back in play to get into the rallies, many of which she won as Vandeweghe was dealing with an aching back and was a bit slow to the ball and often wild.

Cirstea worked hard in Vegas in 115 degree heat with trainer Gil Reyes (he of Andre Agassi fame) so she feels her legs are stronger and consequently she can set up easier and if she uses her lower body she can add a little more power. She also worked with the savvy coach Darren Cahill and adidas hitter (and former touring pro) Sargis Sargsian, both of whom were surely working with her on point construction.

There are moments in matches when it does look like Cirstea can be a top 10 player and others where it looks like she could fall out of the top 50 again. She does have talent, but she can be erratic and at times loses confidence too quickly. She loves hard courts, but struggles on clay and on grass.

“With the way I think, I always feel I can improve and I have so many ways to get better, but I had some good periods and I was actually playing well in Miami (where she upset Angie Kerber and lost to Jelena Jankovic) and I was sad because it was my last tournament on hard court.”

She only won five matches during the clay court season and Serena Williams crushed her at Roland Garros. At Wimbledon, she let go of two tiebreakers in a second round loss to Camilla Giorgi.

“I had lots of chances in that match,” she said. “ And I was also a little bit sad about that and that’s why I had to take the 10 days off to get my mind off of it.”

She says she fresh and hungry again and excited to be back on hard courts, where she had the most success. Se reached the Stanford semis last year, falling to Serena. She has a god chance to do it again as she will face the unseeded Olga Govortsova in the semifinals. If she can combine her skill set with a Graf’s mental toughness, she has an outside at her first big title.

“I’m already starting to find my game again,” she said.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Bank of the West Classic, Matt Cronin, Sorana Cirstea, stanford