Barbora Krejcikova – TennisReporters.net

TennisReporters.net top 32 women: No. 10-6

December 28, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

10 Barbora Krejcikova
She is one of the best doubles players, in front of almost everyone, but in the singles, she can be super steady. Yet then, she can fall off. Her backhand can be flat, and also, she can spin, it. However, it could be to short, yet her forehand is strong, but not huge, all of the time. Yet the Czech can begin to be a real threat, winning Roland Garros in 2021. Then, she was locked in, but this year, she was pretty good, when she won Dubai and San Diego, but not phenomenal, month after month. In 2024, though, she will have a chance to win a couple Grand Slams, in the doubles, and maybe, with the singles, if she can improve her forehand.

9 Maria Sakkari
She had a decent year, winning Guadalajara in September, but after that, she began to slip, again. She really loves to run, back and forth, and she can also mix it up, too, but her serve is not that mighty enough, and she does not crack the ball enough. Yes, the Greek can look intense, and she also can be badly consistent, but her returns are so-so. She will push herself again, and she really wants to reach into the finals at the Slams, for the first time, but to do so, she has to think about how to enrich, once again, and then be more reacting.

8 Karolina Muchova

She has gone very deep with all four Grand Slams, and while she has not done yet, she is just so phenomenal when she is totally locked in. She almost won Roland Garros in June, and she lost against Iga Swiatek in three, dramatic sets. She was close, but she hesitated. At the 2024 Australian Open, she must close the deal, ASAP.

7 Marketa Vondrousova
Another Czech can play amazing ball, winning the 2023 Wimbledon, and also, reaching the 2019 Roland Garros. The odd thing is that she is a capable person, yet she has only won two titles, and while she can go very vast, but she can also lose her head. In London, on the grass, she rose up quickly, and she nailed so many winners, beating Jessica Pegula, and Elina Svitolina, and in the final, she out-hit Ons Jabeur to win it all. Without a doubt, this two weeks were her best, ever. Her forehand and her backhand was incredibly limitless, and with a tremendous diversity. However, she can lose herself, mentally. In the fall, she looked very tired, and she lost a good amount. She is a darn good player, but if she wants to win more titles, then next year, she should not play week after week. The 24-year-old has to be more calm, and practice less, and sit down and think about how she should play.

6 Ons Jabeur
All year, it looked like she would finally win a Slam, but she hesitated at the 2023 Wimbledon in the final, and now, she still hasn’t done it, yet. She has so much likeness, with her terrific drop shots, even when she is way back on the court. She took down Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon, and she was playing bending down, and she would put it away. However, Vondrousova was not nervous, while Jabeur backed up, and she lost 6-4, 6-4. She really cried, hard. Other than that, she had some good weeks, winning in Charleston, and in Ningbo, in China. Yet in the fall, she did not play very well, with a lot of errors. The Tunisian will try to improve her serve, and her return, more aggressively. If she does, she will have another chance to win a Grand Slam, but she has to be more stable. As she said: “Honestly, I felt a lot of pressure, feeling a lot of stress. … For me, I always believed in mental, in working on it. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past years since I was maybe 10 years old because I know if you are not ready physically, mentally you can always win.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Muchova, Maria Sakkari, Marketa Vondrousova, Matt Cronin, Matthew Cronin, Ons Jabeur, wta

The picks at Wimbledon: Wednesday, July 5

July 3, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

Barbora Krejcikova over Heather Watson

Over the past 13 years, the Britain has put together some nice wins. Watson can really hustle, and she can also play hour after hour, but the reason why is she has yet to reach the top 35. Maybe because her heavy strokes isn’t hard enough.

Krejcikova looks pretty darn good, and while she can play up and down, when she is concerning, she can pulp the ball. She is awesome at the net, and she can also return, pretty deep. However, from the backcourt, she can hit it too short. In a sense, though, she is pretty confident, when she won 2021 Roland Garros.

Yes, that is on clay, but on the grass, Krejcikova will be slightly confident, and she will win it in two secure sets.

Donna Vekic over Shuai Zhang
The Chinese Zhang has lost eight matches in a row, which is surprising, given that last year, she beat some very good players, but she is slipping, big time.

Vekic plays a lot, week after week, and this year, she moved forward. She can miss some odd-shots, but she can also roar with her backhand. She looked very good in Berlin, so perhaps at the Slams, she will continue to rise. At least in the first round, she will win it in two easy sets.

Sebastian Korda over Jiri Vesely

It seems like Korda is playing much better than he did it three months ago, as he was hurt, so he had to stop. However, at Queen’s, he finally looked very good, reaching the semis. He can be strong, and nail his forehand and his backhand. He is not perfect, yet, but he is getting better, year after year. The older Czech Vesely has had some terrific matches, but he is aging, and while the 6-foot-6 player has hit a number of aces, but in the backcourt, he can fall down. Korda will win it in four hard sets.

Matt’s yesterday picks

Correct: Andy Murray over Ryan Peniston

Matt’s picks from Wimbledon

1 out of 1, 100% correct

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Barbora Krejcikova, Donna Vekic, Jiri Vesely, Matthew Cronin, Ryan Peniston, Sebastian Korda, Shuai Zhang, wimbledon

TennisReporters.net’s top 32 in 2022: women 25-21

December 15, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

No. 25: Shuai Zhang
The 33-year-old keeps improving, not just the doubles, which she has been wonderful, but also in the singles. Four years ago, at the Australian Open, she won the doubles with Sam Stosur. They were so happy, and they also took the US Open. How about that? However, in the singles, though, she won just three singles, which is decent. If she is going to beat everyone, she has to out-hit the huge players. Here and there, she has won a few big matches, like this year, she upset Anett Kontaveit. She is very steady, and she can still run quite fast, but she doesn’t have enough power.

No. 24: Marie Bouzkova
Another Czech continues to beat some fine players. She started the year ranked No. 97 and gradually, she became much more fit and more caring. She reached the semis at Guadalajara in October and she was satisfied. However, she has to improve her serve, net play and forehand, too. That is the only way she can reach into the top 5 in 2023.

No. 23: Amanda Anisimova
The 21-year-old has had an interesting year, with some phenomenal shots, but also, she has to feel unfulfilled. She believes that she can mince down almost anyone, and she has won a lot of matches going deep. Still in the Grand Slams, she backed off. Yes, she can whack her forehand and backhand and she can attack. However, she is not fast enough yet and her serves are marginal. She did get hurt in August, so in September, she stopped for the rest of the year. Next year, if she is healthy, then she will add some new diverse shots and come into the net more. If she reaches the top 10, it will because she trusted her skills and found ways to improve.

No. 22: Barbora Krejcikova
Krejcikova and her partner, Katerina Siniakova, rose to no. 1 in doubles. They were so conformable. In singles, she had an odd year. At the Australian Open, she reached the quarters, and was no. 3. She looked very decent. However, after that she went down so slowly, losing everything for seven months. Finally ,at the end of September, she found out what she had to do to recover. Somehow she did, with more spin, winning Estonia and Ostrava and upsetting the no. 1 Iga Swiatek. Then she lost at her next event. If she can be more attentive, then she can push herself back into the top 5. Maybe. She has to keep find some consistency.

No. 21: Elena Rybakina
At Wimbledon, she almost came out of nowhere to win her maiden Slam on the grass. She was so ferocious, bending down, do a split and aim for the lines. She returned very deep, and with a lot of skill. That was her two best weeks ever. But, after that, she just looked decent. Without a doubt, she is only 23 years old, so she has more time to throw in some more variety in her strokes. She is very good but not phenomenal yet.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: amanda anisimova, Barbora Krejcikova, Marie Bouzkova, Matthew Cronin, Shuai Zhang

Women’s first round at Australian Open

January 15, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Here are four matches in the first round at the Australian Open within the women. The next day, the men.

Sofia Kenin vs. Madison Keys
After winning the 2020 Australian Open, Kenin looked excellent, but gradually she grew nervous and inconsistent. Currently, she is trying to be more thoughtful, and when she is on court, she is mixing it up a little bit. If she is going deep in Melbourne, she has to serve and return like a demon. Keys is finally playing better this week, because last year she was mentally and physically out of it. But when she is on, she can smoke the ball. This match is a tossup, but assuming she won’t get hurt, Keys will wear down in three terrific sets.

Emma Raducanu vs. Sloane Stephens
The young Brit was moving forward on court when she won the 2021 US Open. She was thrilled, and on court, she ran confidently, including her muscular forehand and her backhand. Raducanu likes to rally, as does another US Open winner Stephens. The now veteran American is an incredible grinder, but not recently. In fact, last year she did win some important matches, but the No. 68 lost a lot. If she wants to come back into the top 10, then she is going to totally commit. She is a darn good player, but she has to prove that she really wants to be smarter on court. Raducanu is more focused now, and she will win in straight sets.

Coco Gauff vs. Qiang Wang
The American teenager continues to grow, month after month. Clearly, she is not Serena Williams yet, but her forehand and her backhand are heavy and now she can mix it up more. She also throws in lots of spin and power. However, her serve and her return are so-so. Four years ago, Wang looked good, cracking into the top 20, beating some very good players, but over the past couple years she fell. Yes, she was injured and didn’t know which way to turn. Currently, she is ranked No. 112, so she has a lot of work to do. But, it is too big a task for Wang to take down Gauff in this tournament.

Barbora Krejcikova vs. Andrea Petkovic
In June, the Czech won Roland Garros, which was unexpected. She finally knew what she had to do. After that, her confidence rose. She can rip the ball, returning calmly. Yes, Krejcikova can still be up and down, but she is much more consistent than Petkovic. The German is very smart when she talks. However, she is aging and it is hard for her to crack balls deep enough to challenge a top 10 player. Petkovic will focus but Krejcikova is just too strong.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Barbora Krejcikova, coco gauff, Emma Raducanu. Sloane Stephens, madison keys, qiang wang, Sofia Kenin

TennisReporters.net 2021 year-end review: top 5-1, the women

December 30, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

5. Barbora Krejcikova
Pretty crazy that Krejcikova won the Roland Garros singles and doubles titles. Yes, over the past eight years, she look terrific in the mixed and doubles, winning a bunch of titles. But in the singles, she looked OK, but not fantastic. And then in Paris, she shook up her head, and she beat a number of very good players. She punched out everyone. She has a lot of variety, and she can kick the forehand, as well as her effective backhand. Each year, at the net and serving, she improved. Now, everyone knows who the Czech is. There are thinhs she has to work to improve, but she is looking climbing the mountain.

4. Karolina Pliskova
Every year, the Czech looks wonderful, nailing so many aces, and throwing in her winners, with her exploding forehand and blowtorch backhand. She is a basher, and she can hustle. The is a very talkative person, in the press, winning or losing. When she wins, she can be happy if she played great. But if her performance was so-so, she would say that “I just have to be better.” When she loses, she would also say, “I really sucked.” She is a smart person, and she has beaten all the top players. But, when very deep in the Grand Slams, she seizes up. It is somewhat amazing that the 29-year-old has yet to win a Slam, falling in two finals. Perhaps in 2022, she will finally achieve her gold trophy.

3. Garbiñe Muguruza
If you go back early in the year, the Spaniard was still struggling; she did not know where to turn. She had won two Slams a few years ago, and she was knocking off everyone with her forceful strokes. But in 2018 she started to slip, gradually, and she grew joyless. She loves hitting her serve and she can be swift. She also hit some spectacular shots. This year, she looked OK, until finally, at the WTA Finals, and she found herself again. Right there, she was back, being determined. “This is actually something important when the moment comes, the tough moments, the stressful matches, to not fear them,” she said. “You have to be like, ‘Okay, you know what, I know how to handle. Let’s see how it goes.’ Have a kind of better mindset to face them.” And she did, winning the WTA Finals. Because of she can keep that attitude, then she can reach No. 1 and win another Slam.

2. Aryna Sabalenka
Possibly the strongest woman on tour with her leg power, the Belarussian can knock out anybody with her ground strokes. She can pop her dynamic forehand and her blazing backhand, as well as her returns. Except for the Grand Slams, she was decent. But at the majors, she can become freaked out and commits many silly errors. She did play very well at Madrid, when she won it, but that is the only title this year. Sabalenka will always have a legitimate shot to win a Slam for the first time in 2022. But, just like Pliskova, if you freeze, or you will lose. She needs to stay controlled when playing under pressure.

1. Ashleigh Barty
The Australian is still No. 1, mostly because when she is playing, she always keeps her focus. Talk about mixing it up, she is so lucid, moving it all over in the box. Her one-handed backhand is legendary, with she slices, spin, and on occasion, she can power it out. She is all about assortment. She has won two major titles, at the 2019 Roland Garros and the 2021 Wimbledon. But can she win the 2022 Australian Open, given that the Aussies haven’t won it in Melbourne since 1978 when Chris O’Neil’s grabbed the title? Barty has to snare it in January. “I’m looking forward to going out there this year and trying to tick that off and do the best that I can to give myself a chance to win the Australian Open,” she said. If she wants to reach the final — which she has not done before — then she will need to use her varied game and extraordinary athleticism.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Aryna Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova

2021 Roland Garros winners: Novak Djokovic & Barbora Krejcikova

June 14, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

Down two sets to love, Novak Djokovic was a little bit frustrated, and he was not sure where to go. He was playing pretty good but Stefanos Tsitsipas was on fire, mixing it up, cracking the ball, and he was super confident.

But, for the 19th time, Djokovic won a Grand Slam, edging Tsitsipas 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4. He stood up tall, his forehand was deep, his backhand was very steady and he moved it all around. He hits it flat, he touches a lot of spin, and then would hit it powerfully, way up high. He returns very well, and he is very quick. He is not perfect at the net, nor are his drop shots, but he always makes a huge effort.

That is why that Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer are the best players, at least by Slam count. This year, Djokovic could win another Slam, and then he will tie with the Spaniard and the Swiss at 20 majors at the Grand Slams. Then the race will begin, in what will be super intense until they retire.

When? It is hard to say, but they are thinking about it frequently, so perhaps there could be some tension.

Tsitsipas looked great in the first two sets, but then he tired, and began confused. Sure, he can win a Slam, eventually, but he still has to adjust inside his head. And if he does, he can lock in during the fifth set, and finally, grab a major prize.

That Barbora Krejcikova won the title was almost crazy. Yes, over the past eight years, she looked terrific in the mixed and doubles, winning a bunch of titles. But, the singles, she looked OK, but not fantastic.

And then in Paris, she beat a number of very good players, and she took them down. She has a lot of variety, with her forehand, her backhand, her first serve and respectable returns. This is simple but it is very true: when you play in the doubles, and Krejcikova plays at the tournaments — she does it overtime. So, because of that, then each year you improve at the net and serving. She certainly did and during the final, it was a lot of pressure in the third set against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. But, Krejcikova continued to stay calm. The veteran Pavlyuchenkova was close in the third, and she was aggressive, but not enough.

Krejcikova won 6-1 2-6 6-4, which was a gigantic win. Now, everyone will know who the Czech is, making it harder for her to jump into the top 10. Currently, she is ranked No. 15. She is looking for the mountain.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Barbora Krejcikova, roland garros, Roland-Garros: Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas