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Shocker? Radwanska d. Murguruza, Kvitova d. Sharapova to reach final in WTA Finals

October 31, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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SINGAPORE – For the first time at the WTA Finals, two players who went 1-2 in the groups have now reached the finals: Aga Radwanska surprised the up-and-coming Garbine Muguruza 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5, while Petra Kvitova out-hit Maria Sharapova 6-3 7-6(3).

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The 22-year-old Muguruza, who is ranked No. 3, was worn down in the season’s final tournament. Even

though she was tired after a tough week as she was competing in singles and doubles, she nearly came though.

“I just wanted to give everything I had, and doesn’t matter how long I was going to be able to keep it. I just went out there, and if I die on the court, I die, but at least I go out from there happy,” the Spaniard said.

Like Muguruza, Sharapova was 3-0 entering the semifinal. She had beaten Kvitova five of the last six times, but the Czech couldn’t let her breath. She came right at her and didn’t stop. Sharapova knows that when Kvitova is on fire, it’s hard to handle her.

“She’s a very aggressive player. She has a lot of depth and power. She goes for her shots. I think when she commits to her game and she executes, it’s a very powerful game,” Sharapova said.

Somewhat amazingly, Kvitova and Radwanska have played eight times, with the Czech owning with a 6-2 edge. However, the 25 year olds have played four WTA Finals, in 2011, when Kvitova won the title, beating the Pole in straights in the Round Robin in Istanbul; in 2012, when Radwanska won in straight sets in a Round Robin; in 2013, with the Czech winning in straight sets and in 2014, when ‘Aga’ won easily last year in the Round Robin at Singapore.

They are tied up in the WTA Finals. While Kvitova has been a better player overall, Radwanska is on a roll. The contest should be very close.

“It’s difficult opponent, for sure,” Kvitova said. “She’s very smart. I think she has a lot the variety on the court. She getting so many balls, so sometimes it feels that she’s never‑ending story on the court.

So it’s really about the patient and still be kind of sharp, but playing a lot of shots and rallies. It’s difficult. So both of us will leave everything.”

 

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Pennetta waves goodbye forever after she loses to Sharapova

October 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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Flavia Pennetta: in her last WTA match. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography.

SINGAPORE — Say goodbye Flavia Pennetta, who fell to Maria Sharapova 7-5 6-1.

With her 2015 U.S. Open trophy in her hands, Pennetta announced thus Woolf be her last season. If she had extended the match, she would have lived to play another day in the semifinals. But, Sharapova is a steamroller now and she denied Pennetta.

The 33-year-old Italian was very aggressive and forceful in the first set, but Sharapova kept going for her shots, moved forward and make sure that she wasn’t going to go side to side for a few hours.

After beating Radwanska on Sunday, Sharapova was thrilled. Since Wimbledon, she only had been able to play for half a match in Wuhan before she retired with an injury. Then she went to Europe to get her legs better and then she came over to Singapore early. She really wanted to get out on court and try it. She did not become injured again, could run as fast as she could, and could swing away with her powerful arms.

As Pennetta said, she played very well, but Sharapova was on fire, especially in the second set, wracking winners. Her huge serve, her massive forehands and backhands, and her ability to charge the net and not go backwards showed how confident she is.

“I was playing I think really well. I just has one game in the 4‑3 where I play a little bit worse,” Pennetta said. “I had two double fault, and so I lost my chance I think on that game. But I think was really good game. She play unbelievable. I didn’t remember see Maria playing so good and serving so good from ‑‑ the second set was perfect for her doing everything, drop shot, volley. Everything was work good for her.”

The last time they played, Pennetta out-stroked Sharapova at Indian Wells last March. That time, Pennetta was dictating once they got into rallies. But on Thursday, the five-time Grand Slam was under control

“It’s strange, I have to say,” Pennetta said. “Before the tournament I didn’t expect to see Maria so focus and so good and everything. Sometimes it’s good to stay away a little bit. You recover and you have more energy. You come with more ambition. So sometimes you need to stay away for a while. So for her, of course it’s working really good.”

Sharapova said wanted to be 100 percent before she got to Singapore, and she wanted to make sure that she is fully healthy. She did not want to have to stop again. She hit the gym and practiced when she could.

“So in a way, yeah, you’re taking a break, but you’re still working towards staying fit and strong and mentally positive,” Sharapova said. “You still have to work a lot. You don’t just sit around and hope that you feel better one day.”

Pennetta is retired now, but she doesn’t realize it yet. She says that she feels happy, but she didn’t want to stay on the court after she was done, as she didn’t want to cry. She will miss seeing week in and wake out, but she can deal with that, as she will be around here and there at the tournaments, watching her fiancee, Fabio Fognini.

“I will miss the competition. When you go on the court, the central court, it’s something special,” she said. “I don’t think I will have it anymore.”

Sharapova doesn’t know whom she will play on Saturday. The US Open champion Pennetta doesn’t know what she is going to do on Saturday either.

Maybe she will rest, for the first time when Pennetta became a pro in 2000. Maybe she will just bounce the balls around. Pennetta isnt sure yet, but she is already smiling.

“I am really happy to start a new part of life, new things.”

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Halep is all done for the year: Radwanska hung in there, made semis

October 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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Simona Halep is first to be eliminated in Singapore. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – Simon Halep is now gone from the rest of the year and really, since she quickly lost against Flavia Pennetta in the US Open semis, she was mentally disturbed and couldn’t calm her frayed nerves .

On Thursday, Aga Radwanska took her down 7-6(5) 6-1. Halep was up 5-1 in the tiebreak, but the Pole kept running as at top speed. Somehow, someway, she got to 6-5. Both Radwanska and Halep went side to side, foreward and backward, under and over, way up high in the sky and touching their rackets well above their heads. Finally, Halep bent down, her legs were wobbly, and she tried to hit a forehand volley and went wide. Without a doubt, it was one of the best point of the year.

But Radwanska was revived and jubilent, while Halep folded quickly.

“I was done. No energy anymore,” Halep said. “I was tired. I felt that I lost the chance to win the first set and probably I lost the chance to win the match in that moment. My coach [Darren Cahill] was telling me many things, but I couldn’t hear because I was done and I was very nervous there.”

Later, the Pole could have hung her head, too. This week, she lost a brutal contest against Maria Sharapova on Sunday, and then lost a tough contest match against Pennetta on Tuesday, but when she went on court, she decided that she wasn’t going home yet. She would just swing away when she could and have a little bit of fun. Radwanska did, especially in the second set, when she was as aggressive as she can be.

But she was asked whether had she lost in the first set, would have she thought that it had been a long year, it was time to say good‑bye. She was leaving. See ya.

“You were just reading my mind actually,” she said. “That was it. I went on court, and to be honest I didn’t practice yesterday. I was really tired and I’m falling apart a little bit as well. So what I had yesterday, it’s half an hour in the gym, two sessions of treatment. What I wanted to do is really play my best tennis today. Like you’re saying, it’s been a really long trip and I lost already two matches. I think that works for me. I think I will have to take more of the day off,” she said with a smile.

Halep says that on Monday, she will announce that she and her coach, Cahill, will continue on next year.

The Romanian says that she has had a pretty good season, which she said there were “ups and down” with her higlight winning Indian Wells, and her low light being upset early at Roland Garros.

She is one of the fastest players on tour who runs and runs and runs, but not in Singapore this week. Her legs were pooped. “Today I couldn’t breathe anymore in the second set,” she said.

Radwanska made it to the semifinals and, depending on today’s outcome, she could face Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, or Angie Kerber on Saturday.

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Little sad: Kvitova d Safarova; Muguruza clips Kerber at WTA Final

October 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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Kvitova reacts during WTA Finals match. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – Petra Kvitova has had a difficult season. At the beginning of the year, it looked like she has a serious shot to become No. 1 for the first time. But once again, she dealt with injuries and she has been up and down ever since.

But on Wednesday at the WTA Finals, she took down her very good friend, Lucie Safarova, 7-5 7-5.   She was not perfect by any means, but she was forceful and she never became angry when she missed a few shots. The stronger lefty out-hit Safarova at the end, going hard at the white lines.

Kvitova will have to watch some tape in the next two days, as she will have to face Garbine Muguruza on Friday, who out-muscled Angie Kerber 6-4 6-4. The two have never met before, and Kvitova doesn’t want the 22-year-old to push her out of the event. The vets can cheer for them, but they don’t want them to beat them anytime soon.

When Kvitova was asked how difficult it was on court against Safarova, her eyes began to grow dark. Those two have known each other since 2007, when Kvitova was only 17 years old and Safarova was 20. Both had a tremendous amount of talent, but both had a long way to go. Now, they are much mature, which helps them on court, but it’s not easy to see her friend go down. On Wednesday, Kvitova and Safarova hugged each other, but it was hard to smile.

“Before the match we have the same locker room and we were just chatting normally, not like we go to play each other soon,” Kvitova said. “She’s good person and it’s just kind of sad that we have to play each other in the group already. We actually are good friend from the Fed Cup, so I’m really glad the Fed Cup is coming soon and we going to be colleagues and not opponents. It’s tough to play her for sure, not because she’s only like very good player right now, she’s in good form, but also playing friend it’s a little bit tougher with emotional and everything. So it’s not easy to handle all these kind of stuff.”

Kvitova is now 1-1 at the WTA Finals, falling against Kerber on Monday and beating Safarova. She has won the title before and although she is unsure if her body will feel A-Okay the rest of the fortnight, if she gets on the run, she has a legitimate chance.

“I feel tired right now. I think in the first match I was kind of probably nervous from the beginning of the match and I couldn’t really play what I wanted,” she said. “Today from the beginning I really was trying to be there and be focused on each point. Lucie know me well, so that’s why probably it was in my mind somewhere to be ready from the beginning. I know it’s like the final, this match. If I lost I’m probably going home soon. So I was really trying to, what I can.”

Muguruza is on a roll now. As the story goes, after she reached the final at Wimbledon, she began confused, as the fans were swarming at her for the first time as they had finally knew whom she was. She let go her coach and for about two months, she fell apart.

But in Asia, she had brought in a new coach, Sam Sumyk, was calm and composed and ready to rip it. A couple of weeks ago, she won Beijing, her first Premier 5. Any time she has a decent shot, she leaps. The 6-foot Muguruza is a very big hitter and given that she also plays doubles, she is pretty efficient at the net.

Kvitova is already impressed. If the Spaniard plays extremely well, she has a decent shot of taking down the two-time champion Kvitova.

“I think that she’s going to play very aggressively; going for the shots; have a good serve,” Kvitova said.“So I think I am going to play the same what I should play. It’s going to be about the returns and the serves. I know how she’s playing well right now. She had a great success in Asia as well. It’s going to be difficult match for sure. I’m looking forward. I never played her, so we see.”

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Sharapova confounds Halep; Playing hard, Pennetta overcomes Aga

October 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Flavia Pennetta wants to stick around a little bit longer. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Flavia Pennetta wants to stick around a little bit longer. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – For reality checks, Flavia Pennetta isn’t ready to go home, and Maria Sharapova wants to beat her before she waves bye-bye.

Pennetta out-stroke Aga Radwanska 7-6 6-4, while Sharapova out-bashed Simona Halep 6-4 6-4. Pennetta is 1-1 in the Red Group Singapore, having lost to Halep on Sunday. Sharapova out-lasted Radwanska in three sets.

If Sharapova wins a set against Pennetta, then she will qualify for the semifinals. If she loses in straight sets, then who knows? In fact, no one really knows as Pennetta and Halep (who blitzed the Italian on Sunday) can have legitimate chances, and Radwanska also does, too. Ping-Pong.

The soon-to-be-retired Pennetta isn’t just happy to be here. Before she came out, many of the people in the stands were unsure. She has finally won a Slam andis going home in Italy very soon. So, all she had to do is play hard and don’t worry about the score. Uh-uh.

Against Radwanska, Pennetta pushed herself extremely hard. She served big, attacked the net when she could and went toe-to-toe from inside the baseline. When Pennetta missed a few bad shots, she grew angry. Guess what? When she went on court, she forgot this is her last tournament.

“I’m not thinking like this,” she said. “I don’t have this way to think. I don’t go in the court and think, ‘Oh, it’s going to be maybe my last one or I have tomorrow,’ I have three more. I just go to the court and say, ‘Okay, I have to play.’ That’s it. I don’t know how it’s happen, but it’s like this.”

Everyone talks about how smart Radwanska is, and that is very true, but Pennetta knows where she is going and that she can go for her shots when the lines are barking at her. Her forehand and first serve give the Pole a lot of trouble, and when they were contesting long rallies, Pennetta would hit behind her, or nail huge shots right down the middle. She has matured a great deal.

The same goes with Sharapova, who faced No. 2 Halep. She cannot allow Halep to go inside the court. Whether she was serving or returning with authority, Sharapova was the dictator. Halep is faster and would prefer to run around side-to-side, but there is no way that she can yank her around all night long when the Russian/American wouldn’t be able to hammer the corners.

That is why Sharapova is now 6-0 head-to-head against Halep: she consistently bothers her because she doesn’t allow her to grind every point. Halep can certainly grind on occasion, but she can’t handle her forehand side and she doesn’t push Sharapova back enough. Maybe the Romanian will do so again if they happen to a face off on Sunday, but right now, she is confounded by her.

Sharapova and Pennetta have played each other five times before, all three-set matches. Pennetta bested her at 2015 Indian Wells. She loves at the tournament, especially when she won her first big title there in 2014. Pennetta was a 31-year-old then, and while she has been very good at times over the past decade or so, few sensed that she was getting better and better.

At the 2015 US Open, she finally put it all together and won the crown. As Sharapova said, she was a little surprised that she won, but she truly deserved it. They will clash again on Thursday. Without a doubt, they respect each other, but both of them want to win badly.

“It is [a little surprising], but I feel like there is always a moment for people to shine,” Sharapova said. “I know there are players that are extremely consistent that are at the top of the game, and I’ve been playing for many years and been fortunate to win Grand Slams. But I work hard and I don’t just sit there and say I’m only player that does it. There are hundreds of players that probably work harder than I do and commit more time than I do and sometimes don’t get the results. I realize how fortunate I am.

“I know that Flavia has been through a lot in her career with surgeries, injuries, work and effort coming back, stopping. A lot people don’t talk about that, but I think you should. That matters. I think that when you go through those moments, eventually it pays off. That was her time to shine, and I was really, really happy.”

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Muguruza smashes Safarova; Kerber canes Kvitova

October 26, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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Super-aggressive Muguruza bashes Safarova. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – Before the tournament began at the WTA Finals, it looked like every player amongst the top 8 had a real shot to win the title. But reality set in quickly when the more confident competitors won on Sunday – Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova – and on Monday, two players who have been looked intense in Asia, Garbine Muguruza and Angie Kerber, who won their contests.

Muguruza out-muscled Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-6. The 22-year-old Spaniard has been on fire, winning Beijing, walking without fear and playing very smartly. Safarova has just come back due to a bacteria infection and, while at times she was striking the ball fairly deeply, she wasn’t as powerful as she did during the summer. Anytime she wanted to, Muguruza would attack. She was wasn’t playing perfect, but she was forceful. Both of them are in the doubles at the tournament, too, so they both are very confident at the net, and they can jump all over soft serves.

Muguruza was gutsy, and she was consistently better. She didn’t shake. Right now, she looks like she is super confident, just like in early July, when she was grinning all day, every day, when she reached the final at Wimbledon.

“I love the way she plays and her mentality,” said the former No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. “She’s a great player and person. It’s excellent.”

Safarova thinks that Muguruza is a “young very, very great player.” But for herself, the Czech isn’t quite there yet. She said that she was a little sad, because in the second set, she was very close, but physically, she wasn’t able to disturb her.

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Angie Kerber won the all-lefty battle.

“I’m slowly back in my game, but of course you need the wins,” Safarova said. Yes she does, when she will have to go up against Petra Kvitova on Wednesday.

The other lefty Czech Kvitova also went down, losing against Angie Kerber 6-2, 7-6. Kvitova had beaten Kerber the last three times they played, all long three-setters, including at the 2013 WTA Finals, and last November, in the Fed Cup final when Kvitova came through 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-4. In Prague, the fans were delirious.

This time on Monday, Kerber was slightly better. The German was more composed, she wanted to engage as many rallies as she could and if Kvitova happened to hit short, Kerber jumped on them. Over the past four years ago, when they both became very good, Kvitova was more courageous, which is why she has won two majors and Kerber has yet to do so. The Czech has a substantially bigger serve and her forehand is more powerful. However, Kerber can be more patient, is faster, can go side-to-side and whack her sharp backhands. When Kvitova gets into a zone, she can out hit anyone, because she absolutely crushes the ball. But, once again, she isn’t feeling right physically and she went down.

“It’s really tough to describe,” Kvitova said about her health. “I was just talking with my fitness coach and I was trying to describe it and it’s very difficult. I mean, it’s just something what I really can’t do anything against. My blood test was not the best one. So I couldn’t really do the one I wanted to be prepared for everything. I felt I wasn’t able to stay in the kind of good rally what she played. I miss so early. From that time I started to hit a little bit harder and I made some mistakes, so it was a little difficult to find a balance like between rallies and winners and some kind of volleys and anything. She still played very good shots out there today, and I am going to try to do my best the next match.”

Kerber has been very effected during the Asian swing, so this time around, she didn’t decide that she could engage a marathon – which she loves to do – but she would be aggressive whenever she could. She also wanted to make sure that she could get the balls back anyway she could. Next up is Muguruza and Kerber will have to change it up, because the Spaniard has her number.

I lost to her in two Grand Slams and also in the Asia swing,” Kerber said. “I’m looking forward to play against her. I will try to take my revenge now and try to go out there to beat her. She had an amazing year. She played unbelievable this year, so it will be for sure a tough match. But at the end I know a little bit how she’s playing. I will try to go for it. That’s for sure.”

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Another classic in WTA Final: Sharapova overcomes Radwanska

October 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 25 : Maria Sharapova in action at the 2015 WTA Finals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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Simona Halep dominated Flavia Pennetta at the 2015 WTA Finals. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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