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Kerber vs Osaka, Djokovic vs Edmund, Kyrgois vs Nishikori

FROM WIMBLEDON —

Angie Kerber vs Naomi Osaka
This should be a very tight match. Kerber loves to grind, and she runs to and fro, while Osaka immediately hits into the corners and tries to put everything away. Over the six months, the German has looked very good, and at other times, she looks mediocre and sad.

Osaka can rip the ball, and hit the lines, just liked when she won Miami. However, on clay, she was all over the place mentally. Kerber knows she has to dig in, and when she has a chance, she must go for it, rather than just pushing the balls around. In the third set, Kerber took a deep breath and she invaded her. She will grab the victory.

Novak Djokovic vs Kyle Edmund
The Serbian is getting better and better as he is much more comfortable when he is on the court. The Brit has improved a lot during the past year, and now he can sit back and play calmly and forcefully.

Djokovic knows that pretty soon,he will stop being so skittish, and concentrate. Edmund is smarter now, he moves all around, and he attacks when he sees opportunties. While Edmund is excited about playing in front of the sold-out Centre Court, that doesn’t mean that he can convert. Djokovic can be frustrated at times, but he does believe that he can outhit him. Novak wins in four sets.

Nick Kyrgois vs Kei Nishikori
This is a true bang-up match. When he is healthy, the Aussie is powerful and sointense. The Japanese reached the 2014 US Open final, and it looked like that sometime he would become No. 1, but he has not. However, Nishikori is still strong, he really wants to go far. While over the years, the 28-year-old didn’t quite get it on grass, but inside his head, he knows that if he stays healthy, he can push the opponents way back in the court. However, Kyrgois can blend his often powerful strokes, and he will find a way to deliver them. That will be a five=setter, and Nishikori really wants to grab it, but Nick will break him early and hold on.

Ash Barty vs Daria Kasatkina
The other Aussie, Barty, is finally showing her bold style. A few years ago, when she quit tennis and then returned, she was incredibly nervous. Now, she is cool as a cucumber. The ambitious Kasatkina is very headstrong, and on court, she is very fierce. There will be a lot of rallies, from side to side, and back and forth. Both of them like to spin, and jump on the returns. If Barty continues to progress, she will enter the top 10 pretty soon, or even the top 5 at the end of the year. Kasatkina is still very young, and she will rise soon enough, but Barty will beat her in two tough sets.

2017 top players: women’s 16-20

TennisReporters.net will review 2017’s top 30 women and men, our annual feature.

No. 16: Anastasija Sevastova
I was pretty surprised that the Latvian finally broke into the top 20. After all, she is 27 years old. Four years ago, she quit because she was depressed and her body was very sore all the time. But she returned and at the US Open, she hung in there, stunned Maria Sharapova, and she nearly upended Sloane Stephens. Could she crack the top 10 for the first time? Sure, why not; she loves tennis once again.

No. 17: Ashleigh Barty
The Aussie has improved so much this season. In 2016, she just returned after taking off almost two years, quitting because she was emotionally exhausted and tired of tennis. But she wanted to come back. Now, not only is Ash so strong, but she added consistency to her strokes and she is no longer being shaky. Without a doubt, she can reach the top 10, and possibly, go very deep at the Grand Slams.

No. 18: Elena Vesnina
The Russian has been around for a long time, and she also loves playing the doubles and, with Ekaterina Makarova is one of the best. In singles, she finally understood that she needs to be aggressive to win. Obviously, she is fast, and at the net, she can bend down and she softly puts it just over the baseline. She rarely gives up winners. Can she win a major? I would be very surprised.

No. 19: Madison Keys
This American had some excellent matches, but overall, she gets bruised, frequently. Yes, she has a huge first serve, and she can crush her forehand and her backhand. Downsides are: she isn’t incredibly fast, she doesn’t love the net, and she can get very angry emotionally when she isn’t playing well. Look, she has reached the Grand Slam semis and clearly, she is still young and very talented. However, in 2018, she has to stay healthy and be soothing — on court, that is.

No. 20: Magdalena Rybarikova
The Slovakian is 29 years old. Over time, she found out that she has to be more patient. She is a big hitter, especially with her forehand. She did reach the semis at Wimbledon, which is fantastic, but after that, she slid. In 2018, maybe she should stop playing almost every week? I would say, yes.