Archives for 2025

Finally, Amanda Anisimova wins a gigantic title

February 16, 2025 by Matthew Cronin

Who would have known that the American Amanda Anisimova finally won a big title, winning a WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open. She crushed the ball in the final, beating the veteran Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 6-3. That was huge, as over the past few years, she looked terrific, and then, she started to hit some wild errors. But she turned it on last week, hitting it deep and with more variety. She also beat Paula Badosa and Ekaterina Alexandrova, among others.

“It’s been such an incredible week here. I think every match has been very tough,” Anisimova said. “I’m just super happy with my performances and my level here, and to be able to get my first 1000 title is really special to me. It was actually quite stressful, especially with the rain, at 3-3. I was trying to stay focused. There’s not much that either of us could do with the conditions. But I think that game was super important, and I’m happy that it went my way because, as you said, it was a very challenging moment in the match.”

Yes, she was, as last year, in the first seven months, she was out of it, mentally. She was frustrated and ticked off, too. But she decided to be more intelligent and patient. She is a gigantic hitter, but now she is more brilliant, on the court and off. Now she is ranked No. 18 and ready to go. Whether she can reach in the top 10 is still up and the air, but currently she is super confident. Both her forehand and her backhand are strong, and her return is aggressive.

Believe it or not, 12 months ago, she was ranked No. 213, and she was very low, but she kept trying , and in the summer at Toronto, she reached the final. She lost against Jessica Pegula, but she looked pretty darn good.

Really though, last year, the 23-year-old lost a number of matches, like at Wimbledon, when she couldn’t reach the first round at the qualifying. In 2023, in May, she stopped, and she didn’t play on the court when she was ready to try it again in 2024 January. It took her a long time to revive, but she is right there now.

“I think that I’ve been able to really execute well from my backhand side,” Anisimova said. “But also I’ve been working a lot on my forehand, which I think that I’ve also had a lot of winners on. I think I’m really trying to develop my game as a whole, try to come into the net more, and use my serve to my advantage. I think my whole game is actually coming together.”

It has been going on for year in Delray Beach Open in Florida during February, but this time, the American men couldn’t win it again, and this time, the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic won it, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 . That was so close, but he stood tall.

“It feels unbelievable to win after losing two finals before and then down 5-2, match points. It was an amazing feeling and I’m so proud of myself,” said Kecmanovic.

“It’s an unbelievable week. I’ve worked so hard, I’ve done everything I could right. It didn’t happen for a long time, but I kept believing and I’m so happy to finally win another title.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story

Madison Keys and Jannik Sinner win the Australian Open

February 2, 2025 by Ron Cioffi

At the start of the Australian Open, who would have thought that Madison Keys would win a Grand Slam? Yes, at the beginning of the year, she did win another tournament, at Adelaide in the beginning of January, but the 29-year-old had never gone into the Slams. Eventually, when it was deep, she failed, year after year. But the American finally rose so high, beating the No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. She was totally into it, point after point.

It was not just him when the now three-time champion, Jannik Sinner, out-hit against Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3. He was stronger on the court, and his forehand and his backhand were phenomenal. A few years ago, the Italian was up and down, week after week, but now he is so stable and consistent.

It certainly told Keys after she won it that she might not be able to win another major, but this time, she was finally much more harmonious and nailed it with her huge first serve and her forehand and backhand. She finally climbed high.

“I felt like from a pretty young age, I felt like if I never won a Grand Slam, then I wouldn’t have lived up to what people thought I should have been,” Keys said. “That was a pretty heavy burden to kind of carry around. I think it just kind of forced me to look at myself in the mirror a little bit and try to work on, kind of just internal pressure that I was putting on myself.”

She put away the tough pressure, knowing that if she hung in there, and just lock it in, then she will have a chance to beat anyone. She did, as not only did she beat Sabalenka, but also she knocked off the No. 2 Iga Swiątek in the semis. Even before that, she bumped off Danielle] Collins, Elena Rybakina, and Elina Svitolina. What and incredible line-up. Apparently, she would also listen with her therapy.

“To really start kind of digging in on how I felt about myself and really being honest with myself about it, it was really hard,” she said. “So just being really honest and actually getting help and actually talking to someone, and not just about tennis but about how I felt about myself. I honestly think that had I not done that, then I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

Last year, Sinner won the Aussie Open for the first time and became super fitting. At the 2024 Aussie, he pushed himself, even though he was nervous, but in the final, in the fifth set, he pounded against Daniil Medvedev and won. Then he was ready to take off, and he did, winning Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati, the US Open, Shanghai, and the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. And now, he grabbed it again at the 2025 Aussie Open. He is No. 1, and he will stay there for a while. Perhaps the 23-year-old can win many more Slams.

He was so composed and brilliant. He is rocking and rolling. Now, he will try to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“The first one is more kind of relief. It’s different. It gives you the [knowledge] that you can do it if you play some great tennis,” Sinner said. “The second one, this one, maybe you enjoy it a bit more because it’s different. But every Grand Slam, or every tournament you win, or you go far, it has its own story. You have to pass difficulties, like I did also this year here, and this makes it very, very special.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story

Novak Djokovic takes down Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters

January 21, 2025 by Matthew Cronin

After the first set, it looked like Novak Djokovic might retire, as Carlos Alcaraz was on fire, and his upper left leg was super sore.

However, he taped it again, and then in the second set he gradually began to play so much better. He snapped it in the second set, and then eventually the amazing player Djokovic, won it, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

The Spaniard kept trying to break him down, but Djokovic kept churning, deep and close on the lines, with his hard forehand and his backhand. He also nailed his first serve and mixed it up with his second one. At times, he played terrific, returning, and he also went very low near the net and put it away. Yes, the 24 Grand Slam champion isn’t No. 1 now, but it doesn’t really matter, as even more than that, he wants to win another Grand Slam. The 38-year-old player always seems to add some new shots, and at the Australian Open on Tuesday night, he put together some incredible points. He is there, ready to beat anyone. Believe it or not, after winning, he said his match was one of the best ever.

“It’s one of the most epic matches I have played on this court, on any court really,” said Djokovic, who played three-hour, 37-minutes. “The medication started to kick in, and it helped no doubt. I had to take another dose, it sounds awful, but I had to. If I lost that second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing, but I felt better and better. I managed to play a great couple of games to end the second set. I saw that Carlos was hesitant from the back of the court, and I took my chances. I started to feel and move better.”

The Spaniard did push him back, rather than attack, earlier, but he didn’t. He is young, and he has won four Slams, so this year, Alcaraz has to rethink about what he has to do. His forehand, backhand and net play are terrific, but when he returned versus Djokovic, he couldn’t move left or right. The same thing. That was a big mistake, so he will learn coming up.

Djokovic was so pumped-up , and now he thinks he can beat Alexander Zverev in the semis. However, the German is also play fine ball.

“Novak is the greatest of all time right now. I think it’s it’s going to be a great match.” Zverev said.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story

Fritz, Gauff on a roll going into Australian Open

January 8, 2025 by Matthew Cronin

Two of the Americans just won at the United Cup in Sydney, with Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff, who beat Poland.

The No. 3 Gauff out fought over the No. 2 Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4, and before that, she had lost 11 matches. But not now, as the No. 3 Gauff is already on fire.

“She has a great head start so depending on how many more times we play, I don’t know if I’ll catch up,” Gauff said. “But at this point, it doesn’t feel like it’s so heavily favored her way. Any day, I can step on the court and I can win, which maybe before I didn’t believe that. I can’t say that I’m going to beat her every time I play her now, but I also can’t say that she’s going to be me every time I play her now. But before I would say I definitely felt a little bit of defeat stepping on the court but now I don’t. I know I have the ability to do it and it’s just about what happens that day. It always comes down to a few points between us.”

The No. 4 Fritz also delivered, beating Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4). He was darn close, but in the tiebreaker, he hit some terrific shots.

“It’s amazing. It’s almost more fun to win the team events because you have people to celebrate with afterwards,” Fritz said. “Coco made it easy for me as the MVP on the team; it definitely helped my job a lot and its great to get it a second time.”

The 20-year-old Gauff is a doubles player, not all the time, but a lot. She has learned her return, at the net, and also, with the lobs. She wants to improve, each month.

Gauff did win at the 2023 US Open, and she has been close in the Slams, but she was unable to grab it. Yet at the 2025 Aussie Open, she will have another chance to find the solution. She can be aggressive, especially with her strong backhand, and she can also be intense on the net.

Gauff will head to Melbourne, hoping that she will play very consistent, and try to nail her forehand, which can be up and down. Last year, she reached into the semis, and then she lost
against the now No.1 , Aryna Sabalenka. This time though, Gauff really wants to soak it into the corner.

“Honestly, before every Grand Slam, I have the belief that I can win, and especially after US Open, I proved that I could do it,” Gauff said. “I definitely have belief that I can win. Obviously this start of the season gives me a lot of confidence. I feel like when I’m playing confident tennis I’m playing great tennis. I definitely feel confident going into AO.”

Sabalenka just won Brisbane, ready to win another Slam. She did it in Melbourne, twice. She can crack the ball, both sides, and she can also be patient, if she has to. There are times when she over hits, but currently, she can be super patient. She is much better than she was five years ago.

“I have to be honest, it’s not working really well so far. But I’m not going to give up on the things I practiced,” Sabalenka said. “Hopefully in Melbourne it’s going to work better for me…I’m just going to swing the racquet, hit the ball and bring the aggressive game back.’ I was more free with my shots and my body. I was able to play with a bit better level.”

NOTES

The former No. 1, Naomi Osaka, reached the final, but then she had to retire in Auckland due to a injury. She did say later that she should be pretty good at the AO. Maybe, but when you can get hurt, and then you might have to retire, once again. Who knows?…
The former US Open finalist, Kei Nishikori made it onto the final in Hong Kong. He is much older, now, but when he is locked in, he can grind it. However, the Frenchman Alexandre Muller out hit him… The younger player, Jiri Lehecka has improved a lot, over the past year, and now he is ranked No. 24, winning at Brisbane. The 23-year-old can really smash his forehand. At the AO, he could go into the second week, and then?

“Definitely the goals are high. I played quarterfinals two years ago,”Lehecka said. “I know that I’m capable of such a result. I know I have the game, I have the level. I beat some good players already. This week also helped me to build my confidence up. I will have a high.”

Filed Under: Lead Story