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The top 10: the women after the US Open

September 14, 2023 by
Karolina Muchova

Here is my list of the women with the biggest impact from the US Open.

1. Coco Gauff
When it started, it looked like she had a chance to win her first Grand Slam, but she had to wait over seven matches. She is only 19-years-old, but she knew that if she played really well, especially with her new, very good forehand, then she could beat anyone. That she did, when her  backhand was terrific, her first serve was even harder, and of course, at the net, she could put it away. Her confidence is so high, that soon enough, if she is healthy, then she can become No. 1. A new, fantastic player.

2. Aryna Sabalenka
Yes, she is No. 1, and she has had a fine year, but in the third set in the final, she made so many errors, and she did not mix it up, more. Yes, she is a massive hitter, with her powerful backhand and her forehand, but at times, her serve can be mediocre, and at the net, she is OK, but she needs to improve it. She did win the 2023 Aussie Open, and perhaps she will recover in the fall, yet she could be frustrated again. It is all about her direction.

3. Karolina Muchova
The Czech looked wonderfully, all the way into the semis, and during the first and the second set, she was pretty close against Gauff, but then, she pushed back and she made some crazy error. On the court, she can be patient and smart, but then she forgets what she is doing, and then she panics. Really though, she is a fine player, but the older you get, she has to add some better shots. She only has won just one title, Seoul, in 2019. Maybe she can win another title during the tough fall.

4. Madison Keys
She looked great in four matches, then right at the end against Sabalenka, she collapsed in the third set tiebreaker. Of course she can crush the ball, with her hard forehand and her backhand, but she still can be concert, and then she will over-hit it. She has gone deep many times, and off the court, she seems to be intelligent, but the only way to win a Slam for the first time has to add something new, and be much more CALM.

5. Jelena Ostapenko
She is just so hard to figure out. She played so well and she crushed Iga Swiatek and then the next match against Gauff, she made so many errors, and it ended, quickly. She is one of the biggest hitters, but she is also somewhat slow, and she doesn’t be patient enough. That is how she is, maybe for ever.

6. Marketa Vondrousova
The great thing is that she won the 2023 Wimbledon, and she played as well as she can.  The other Czech has gone deep at another various events, and she has also taken down a number of darn good players. However, in the quarters against Keys, she did not play at all. Yes, the American played stellar, but Vondrousova was second-class, and maybe worse. Hopefully, she can forget that she was way down, and if she does that, she can stay in the top 10 for a long time.

7. Sorana Cirstea
At the beginning this year, it looked like that she has become more aggressive, and push herself into the het, and also, to go for it much early. The 33-year-old  has around for 17 years at the WTA Tour, so she was always very decent, but not fantastic. But now, in the summer and at the U.S. Open, she looked so much better, on court. Maybe in 2024 she will finally reach the top 10. That would be a stunner.

8. Qinwen Zheng
She is only 20-years-old, so clearly she is already good, reaching the quarters,  and beating Ons Jabeur.  It will take the Chinese to improve a lot, and she knows that, but if she can commit it, then she will continue to take down the good players. However, she has to leap higher.

9. Carolina Wozniacki
Was it surprising that the former No. 1 won a couple matches and she looked pretty good, but in the third set against Gauff, she could not out hitter her, forehand versus forehand. Her backhand has always been great, and she can run fast, almost forever, but her forehand and at the net were good, but not sublime. However, she is a little bit better, so moving forward, maybe she will gradual wax.

10. Xinyu Wang
The young 21-year-old player really likes to play the doubles, but in the singles, she can be interesting. She returns very well, and at the net, too, but in the back courts, she can be proper, but she does hit the ball even harder.  She needs to be more gutsy.

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US Open picks: Sunday, Sept. 3

September 3, 2023 by
Tommy Paul
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Sorano Cirstea over Belinda Bencic
This is certainly surprising, as Cirstea has been pretty decent over the past 12 years, but she never went very deep at the tournaments. But now she is, not only because she is smarter, on court, but now she can leeway harder.

Bencic really likes to have large rallies, and then when she can run closer the net, she can hop  on the ball. Both of them have been around for a long time, and they know that in order to win the match, they have to think about exactly what to do, when it is tied. Cirstea is playing as well as she can, and this time she will win it 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Tommy Paul over Ben Shelton
At the start if the year, with the Americans, who would have thought that they will face each other in the fourth round at the U.S. Open? Almost no one. However, here they are, playing excellent tennis, on the hard courts, and sprinting side to side. Over the past year and a half, Paul began to push himself,  just running, but really to go for it. His backhand is better than he was, and his first serve is much stronger. 

Shelton is very young, and he will get better, months after month, but he still needs to be more brilliant, during the rallies. Yes, he can rake the ball, and cheer, after he hits a winner, but he need to be very focus, all the time. As Paul said: “I’m doing things I have never done; never been to the fourth round of the Open, never played on Ashe, never won on Ashe. So it’s exciting for me right now.”

Paul really wanted to be the second week, here, and while he can back off, he will swing hard. He will win it 7-6, 5-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Coco Gauff over Caroline Wozniacki
In her last set, Gauff was on inferno, with her better first serve, her terrific backhand, and her intelligent at the net. She is improving fast, even when with her now sturdy forehand. But what about Wozniacki, who just came back last month, to play again? The former No. 1 was always so consistent, and her backhand was phenomenal. However, her forehand was decent, but not great, and the reason why as she only won one Grand Slam. She did not return harder. There are different things, and now it looks like she is raring to go.

This should be a very close match, into the third set, and while Wozniacki has studied her, Gauff will attack her late, and she  will win it 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. 
 
Taylor Fritz over Dominic Stricker
The San Diego man is rolling, rolling. Fritz is not only hitting the ball so hard, but he is really mixing it up, all over the place. He can make some crazy shots, yet he can also know which way exactly to go.

The young Switzerland  Stricker is quite young, and the lefty plays all over the world, with some fine weeks.  He has not yet taken out the big boys, but at least he qualified, so he must think that he can shock Fritz. All the players want to do it, but on the court, Fritz will push him way back and win it 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

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Top 30s in 2018: Women, 5-1

January 2, 2019 by
Simona Halep

No. 5: Naomi Osaka
At the start of the year, very few people knew who she was when she was ranked No. 68. In January, she began to step up and began working with the brilliant coach, Sascha Bajin, who was around for many years with Serena Williams. Osaka reached the fourth round at Australia, upsetting Ash Barty before losing against Simona Halep. And ka-boom, the spirit rose quickly. She won Indian Wells, and at times, the now 21-year-old was up and down, but at the US Open, she was incredibly confident, banging the ball, with her terrific first serve, her forehand and her backhand. In the final, she jumped on Serena in the third set, and in the last game, instead of becoming nervous, she was very cool and she hit three amazing serves. She won it all, and she cried a lot. During the fall, she looked pretty good, but at the WTA Final, she was emotionally exhausted, and didn’t win a match. In a sense, that didn’t matter, because she is young and she needs to understand what she needs to do, week after week. Osaka is a darn good player and she will get even better in 2019. Will she win another major? I think so.       

No. 4: Elina Sviolina
There are times when it is so hard to figure out the Ukrainian. Some weeks, she looks spectacular, and other weeks, she was maudlin. But at the end of the year, she won the WTA Final, beating Caroline Wozniacki, Katrina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Kiki Bertens and Sloane Stephens. She was so locked in, attacking fast, digging it out and hitting deep. She is very strong and she can stay out there for a very long time. But, that hasn’t helped her at the Grand Slams, because then, her brain explodes. She has yet to reach into the semis at the majors, which was difficult. In 2018 at the Aussie Open, she managed to reach the quarters, but Mertens out hit her. At RG, Wimbledon and the US Open, she did almost nothing. Eventually, Sviolina will figure it out, just like Wozniacki did. Patience is the key. In 2019, she has to breath and hold it.        

No. 3: Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki is the committed grinder. She finally won a Grand Slam, grabbing the 2018 Australian Open, beating Halep 6-4 in the third. That was an amazing story. As she has said, she will remember that, forever. The 28-year-old has been around for a long, long time, 13 years, in fact. She plays a lot, and her backhand is one of the best in the world, crosscourt, especially. She has improved her so-so forehand, and she can chase down any ball, running left, right and straight. However, there were many months that she didn’t play terrific from February through September. Then, she won Beijing, which was solid, but at the WTA Final, she lost two matches and she was gone. It is pretty clear that Wozniaki is addicted to tennis. However, soon enough, perhaps in the next couple years, she will retire. She has won 610 matches, and she has lost 247 matches. She has been No. 1, for a long time, and she has won 30 titles. So what’s left?  Another major, absolutely.   

No. 2: Angie Kerber
When she is happy, the German played extremely well in 2018, winning Wimbledon and reaching the semis at the Aussie Open. The 30-year-old has been so stable, she rarely gets tired, and she races back and forth. Over the years, she was steady, but there were times that she wouldn’t go for it, and eventually, against the great players, she would lose. But, since 2016, she decided that if she is going to win a Grand Slam, she has to push herself, and go for the lines. And she did. She has won 12 titles, which is not huge at all, but it is respectable. Kerber has won two majors, and she certainly wants more. She won the Australian Open in 2016. Can she do it again in 2019 at the end of January? Sure, she can as long as she can smack the ball, frequently.  

No. 1: Simona Halep
It took so long for the Romanian to rise up at a Grand Slam. She was always very good, but at the majors, she would be so close, but right at the end, she pushed back. However, in early June, she reached the final at Roland Garros, and in the third set against Stephens, she kept pounding on the balls, swinging hard and hitting the lines. She kept her cool. She won, and she took a huge breath. Without a doubt, Halep can get hurt and complain about it, but she always stays in there. She is so strong and she can run and run until the sun goes down. Yes, she has only won one Slam, unlike Serena and Venus Williams, but the 27-year-old Halep can grab another major, on clay and on the hardcourts. At the Australian Open, she will be favored, not because she is much better than the rest, but because finally, she truly believes in herself. In 2019, she will push ever harder.

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Indian Wells coming: Svitolina, Serena, Vika, Caro

March 4, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Notes on A Draw Sheet, March 4, 2018

THE WOMEN
It was good to see Elina Svitolina win the title at Dubai, and as she says, she never gives up. Which is more or less true. But, at the Slams, she can mentally back off. Still, she is only 23 years old, so in the next decade, she can figure out and to go the right places. And nail it. 
In Dubai, she jumped on the resurgent Angie Kerber, and in the final, she beat the good, young player Daria Kasatkina. At Indian Wells, Svitolina will be one of the favorites, but the field is very close, as almost the entire top 10 can beat each other. 
It looks like Serena Williams will walk on the court and play again. It’s very hard to gage how her difficult childbirth and the demands of motherhood are still affecting her. Let’s hop she is ready to compete and win match after match, tournament after tournament. My guess is it will take her a few months to get comfortable. One way or another, it should be a lot of fun …

Vika Azarenka will return at IW, after not playing this year because she is battling with her ex-husband in a custody battle over her young child. Before she stopped playing, Azarenka looked pretty darn good. I would assume that she is very healthy, and she would love to win another major, but the same thing goes here: She needs sometime to understand how she is striking the ball, day after day…

The No. 1 Simona Halep is hurt again, but she always tries to play, pain or nothing at all. She is a true grinder…

The No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki finally won a Grand Slam at the Aussie Open. It took her so long to finally grab it, but now she has and I would think that this year — as she loves to play — she will have a chance to win another major, specifically at the US Open, because she gets frustrated on clay and on grass…

The former two-time champion Petra Kvitova look pretty darn good, winning Doha. She is another one who wants to win so badly she can taste it. She likes fast hard court, but if it is very windy, she can get frustrated. Kvitova does like Indian Wells, the weather, almost everything, so if she is feeling it, she could go very deep, and win it. That would be huge, mentally.
 
THE MEN
Once again, Juan Martin del Potro is on fire, which is terrific, because when he is healthy, he can knock down anyone. How about this: in Acapulco, he beat the vet Mischa Zverev, the grinder David Ferrer, the flashy Dominic Thiem and the young brother, the No. 5 Alexander Zverev. In the final, he knocked out the 2017 Us Open finalist Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4. Very good stuff.

It is all about Delpo’s health. When his arms start to break down, then he leaves and he cannot play. But when it isn’t so bad, he can hit his two-hander, rather than just his one-hander, which he can only slice. That is why, among other things, that he could not beat the best players at the Grand Slams and come up short in the past eight years. He can hang in there in two out of three, but in the Slams, it’s three out of five. Towards the end, in the second week, he gets tired and he cannot find the lines. He looked very good this past week, with his huge serve, his massive forehand, his decent return and improved net game. He is a darn good player.
Even though he lost, the same goes with Anderson. Yes, he isn’t that fast because he is very tall, but he really hustles and whenever he gets a chance, he can jump on it. Both of them will be extremely confident heading into IW next week.

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Konta: ‘Very clear, assert myself’

January 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment
 AUSTRALIAN OPEN, Jan 20 – Caroline Wozniacki looked decent coming into the match. Was this year’s first major the place where she would return to the top of the women’s game.

Even though the former No. 1 was aggressive at times, but the Brit Johanna Konta just crushed her in the third round today. Konta jumped on the ball immediately and pressed the action, while Caro didn’t understand how to react.

Konta has decided over the past year-and-a-half that she wants to go for it, win or lose. Now, she is ranked No. 9 and should be in the top 5 very soon. She is very dramatic and the 26-year-old has finally believed in herself on the biggest of stages.

How about Caro? Later, she said that Konta played very well. Guess what? She thinks her so-called best friend, Serena Williams, could lose against the Brit.

“She played well. I think if Johanna keeps playing like this, then she has good chances against Serena,”  Wozniacki said. “Obviously Serena is a champion, has won so many Grand Slams. She’s been in tough positions. But I think Johanna is playing on a very high level right now.”

Konta just won Sydney, beating Genie Bouchard and Aga Raswanska. Last year, she reached the final at Beijing and won Stanford over Venus Williams. A year ago here at the Australian Open, she reached the semis, upsetting Venus in the first round and survived Ekaterina Makarova 8-6 in the fourth round. Finally she lost to Angie Kerber in the semis.

Her coach, Wim Fissette, really helps her now.

“Having been already in certain pressure situations, certain things so recently, maybe I can relate back to those things within a match,” Konta said. “However, equally I need to keep myself present. I need to stay within the match that I am. Just because you win a few previously, it doesn’t mean that you’ll keep doing it. It’s not really relevant for the match at hand.”

Konta now knows what to do and she can pull it off. Watch out Ekaterina Makarova, her round of 16 opponent.

On Monday, they could play for hours and hours, smashing the ball.

“I was very clear, assert myself from the first point. I was prepared to lose some points playing that way, but I felt it was the right way,” Konta said. “It was going to give me opportunities at certain points. I’m very happy.”

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Who is up, who is down? Murray & Tomic happy, but not Italy

March 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment

tomic 12

Bernard Tomic carries Australia over the Czech Republic.

 

BIG WINS, MARCH 8, 2015

ANDY MURRAY

The Scotsman was thrilled to be at home taking down Donald Young and John Isner and led Great Britain over the USA in the Davis Cup. Essentially, he sounds like one of the coaches, and he loves putting together his X’s and O’s. Without question, some day he will retire and he will be the captain. But can the GB actually win the title one day? Hmmm.

BERNARD TOMIC

The Aussie won two matches over the Czech and they have advanced to meet Kazakhstan. For the past couple of years, Tomic disappeared for months on end. This year, he is really trying every week. If he doesn’t get hurt, he will reach the top 10 after Wimbledon, or darn close.

VASEK POSPISIL

Yes, the Canadian Pospisil lost to Kei Nishikori on the first day against Japan, but he and Nestor won the doubles in five sets and at 2-2 on Sunday, he came through, winning in three sets to grab the title. He has had a tough year, but now maybe he can turn it around.

FRANCE

Who do you like, the captain Arnaud Clement, or Giles Simons, Gael Monfils, Julian Benneteau or Nicolas Mahut? They all won over Germany and they all looked were strategic and thoughtful. They appear to like each other off the court, as well as Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, who are hurt. They are a true team and should be able to win it all this year – if they maintain their focus in each round.

SERBIA

Novak Djokovic says that his team can win the title again and perhaps they will, IF the world No. 1 is healthy this season. He actually won the singles and doubles this week, when they romped over Croatia. If Novak plays the dubs again and is willing to play three matches in three days, he could eventually meet Andy Murray in the Davis Cup. That would be a treat.

KAZAKHSTAN

Credit must go to Mikhail Kukushkin by winning two matches at home against Italians Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi. And then totally out of nowhere on the decider at 2-2, the No. 130 Aleksandr Nedovyesov over Fabio Fognini 7-5 in the fifth set to grab it 3-2. Few knew who he was, now Nedovyesov  is here to stay.

SWITZERLAND

Yes, the Swiss lost to Belgium 3-2,, with David Goffin winning the deciding match. But the Swiss No. 130 Henri Laaksonen won two singles matches. Had either Stan Wawrinka or Roger Federer played, they likely would have won the Davis Cup. Props must be given to the captain, Severin Luthi.

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

Even though she did not play any of the top 20 players, Caro really needed a title and she got it, beating Alexandra Dulgheru in Malaysian for the crown. Wozniacki now has 23 WTA titles, which is fine, but she hasn’t won a Premier Event since 2012. Indian Wells is waiting for you.

BIG LOSSES

JOHN ISNER

The American lost both matches against the Great Britain, falling to James Ward and Andy Murray.  After taking the first two sets over Ward, he lost six straight in the two matches. Isner is very upset, saying that he threw it all away. Obviously, he has had a difficult season this year. Can he turn it around soon? Perhaps, but he absolutely has to change his returns.

ITALY

The Italians looked very good with Simone Bolelli, Fognini and Seppi at the Davis Cup. They all looked very flashy during the first two months entering against Kazakhstan, but on Sunday, Seppi and Fognini imploded and fell 3-2. Back to there drawing board.

ANA IVANOVIC

Without question, Carolina Garcia is rising and she bouced the defending champion Ana Ivanovic. InMonterrey, Ana was there for the taking. The world No. 6 Ivanovic wants to win a Slam again, but first of all, she has to be much more consistent.

CROATIA

The young Borna Coric played fairly well in losing to Viktor Troicki,, but Djokovic crushed the other two who aren’t ready for prime time. Croatia’s top man, Marin Cilic, has to come back very soon. And why isn’t Ivo Karlovic playing at all? The Davis Cup sure could use them.

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