Archives for October 2024

Ben Shelton had a very good run in Basel, but in the final, Giovani Mpetshi Perricard, another young player, won it, 6-4, 7-6(4). The Frenchman stayed very deep, and he also tried to smash it in the corners. The American Shelton can also attack, when he can set it up, and show where it is. He is quick, running, and he can spin it, or flatten it out. However, Mpetshi Perricard can also think about his directions, rather than doing the same thing. He won it, and now, he is in the top 31. He is rising.

“On this surface, of course my serve is a good weapon for me, but I try to be aggressive from the baseline and put some pressure on the opponent,”  Mpetshi Perricard said. “I’m very happy [because it was] a big part of my game this week.” 

Two years ago, Shelton looked good, but not great, yet. But his backhand and his serves are much better, and he is more consistent at the net. Next year, he could go into the top 10, and if he does, then he will be more conscious. 

In Vienna, Jack Draper won it, beating   Karen Khachanov 

 6-4, 7-5. Draper plays a lot, week after week, and sometimes he can lose, early, but when he starts to feeling very good, then he will be more real. This was the second time that he won an event, and he is more comfortable in the indoors. Or maybe not. 

Next week, it will be the ATP 1000 in  Paris, indoors, when it is cold outside. There should be some wild matches.

Over in Tokyo, Zheng Qinwen won it again, beating the American Sofia Kenin 7-6(5), 6-3. The Chinese is so fast, and she can nail it with her forehand and her backhand, crosscourt, and down the line. She can stay right in front of it, and slap it back. Two years ago, she was pretty good, but not tremendous yet, but now, she is ranked in No. 7, and in two weeks, she will likely go to the WTA Finals. Just only eight. She will be thrilled, in Riyadh.

A few years ago, Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open, but then gradually, she went down. Now, she  had a very good tournament, but this season, she was up and down, losing very early. She is trying hard though, and she can be much more focused. She is powerful, but she can become upset, when she isn’t playing well at all.  Really, the current No. 88 has to be much more calm, on the court. Everyone has to.

Each week, American Tommy Paul can focus when he has to, and when he has a real chance to win a title, he can explode on the court.

Paul grabbed it, beating the once No. 2 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3  in Stockholm. He has now won three titles, and while he is 27 years old, he has improved a lot over the past two years. He is so consistent, and he likes to have long rallies. However, five years ago, he was decent but not fantastic. Now, if he can, he could reach into the top 10 for the first time. Currently, he is ranked No. 12. As he said, he realizes that the top 10 is very important, and he admitted that.

“I am not too focused on the ATP finals; I am trying to break into the top ten. That has been a goal for me this year, and, I am three spots away, and those three spots aren’t easy,” he said.“I am trying my best this week and the rest of the season. We have three or four more weeks, so if I can put together a good string of tournaments, who knows.”

He will have to try. He played very well on the grass, winning London, Queen, but after he lost at Wimbledon, he went down, but in Europe in the fall, he finally rose. He is not the hardest hitter, but he can mix it up. His first serve is effective, and it is OK on the net. Yet he can almost put it back, more profound, when he can. He can win a good amount, but he must go deep again to catch into the top eight with the ATP Finals.   

He will play next week in Vienna. Sprinting on the court will be tough physically, but he will be enthusiastic. When you win, you can smile.

They will be happening again, when in Beijing, the No. 1 Jannik Sinner was darn close to win it, but in the third tiebreaker, the Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz rose up so high. He won it 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3). He was down 0-3, and then he decided to try to put it away, when he had a chance to nail it. He sure did.

“I never lost hope,” said Alcaraz. “Honestly I knew that [when I started it] that every tiebreak Jannik plays is almost to his side. I thought that in the third set, I’m not going to lie, 3-love down, two mini breaks for him. So I didn’t lose hope, but I thought, ‘Okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close.’  I played great points just to make 3-all and after that I just thought to go for it. If I lost it, at least I went for it. So that’s all I thought in that moment.” 

There rivalries is tremendous now, as both of them have won the Grand Slams, and also, in the ATP 1000’s. In 2024, Sinner has won the Australian Open and the US Open, and Alcaraz won Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 

That know each other very well, so on the court, they can go for it, early, or to be patient.  On Wednesday, in the tiebreaker, he pushed himself, and mixed it up, close to the lines. Now it is in the fall, they can play  each other again, but it is hard to know. Or perhaps they can turn it around and show some amazing shots. 

Before that, in the semis this week,  Sinner beat Bu Yunchaokete 6-3 7-6(3), a pretty tough match, but the Italian cracked his forehand and his backhand in the tiebreaker, and he pushed him down. However, Yunchaokete is a coup, beating Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti , and Karen Khachanov, the top 15 players. He is young, and he is also very consistent.

Sinner recently won the 2024 US Open, and he is much more real, set after set. But he still wants to show that he is incredible, with his massive first serve, and his better return. Yet the No. 2 Alcaraz is also playing tremendous, also winning three Grand Slams. He is super smart, in the court. On Tuesday, in the semis, Alcaraz beat the former US Open  Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3 — again. The Russian can play amazing, on the baselines, but he can also back up. Maybe Medvedev is lost, thinking about what he has to do, and recover.

Also in Beijing, there was a lot of the fans who wanted to see with Coco Gauff versus Naomi Osaka. Both of them have some terrific finals, and they can mash the ball, especially with there hard backhand. Yet they split, but then, Gauff won  the second set, 3-6, 6-4. The third set could be wonderful.However,  Osaka retired, as she felt sick. See you later. Ouch, although,  Osaka looked pretty good this week, but she has had a tough year.

 “I wasn’t sure if it was her hip or back, I just knew that towards the end she could barely jump on her serve,” Gauff said, “so I knew that it was something that, in the moment, was probably bad but hopefully it’s something that’s not a long-term thing.”

Gauff needs to win a title during the fall, as she hasn’t won a tournament since January. She really wants, too.

NOTES

That was an odd match, when Paula Badosa beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-0. The American must have been out of it…

In Tokyo, the Frenchman Arthur Fils won it all, beating Ugo Humbert in three long sets, and he was so in to it, and soon enough, next year, he will reach into the top 10. He is already No. 21, so he will move up the change…

The No.7 Zheng Qinwen keeps on chucking, still winning a lot. She just beat Amanda Anisimova in three sets, as she can rally for a while, and then when she gets a chance to smash the ball, she will. She will face against Badosa, which should be a few, wild points.