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2018 Aussie Open, The Picks, Day 11

January 25, 2018 by Leave a Comment


Caro Wozniacki vs Elise Mertens
We all know who Caro is, but who is Elise? In the semis of the Aussie Open? Clearly, she is very talented and driven. She is pretty quick, stable and she focuses. As long as she is healthy, the 22-year-old will be around for another decade, moving closer into the top 10. Or the top 5. Or No. 1, someday. We don’t know yet. 

But we do know that Wozniacki has been there since the dawn of time. That is a joke, but really, she has played hundred of matches, and even when she started 10 years ago she was already so quick and her backhand was phenomenally good. Hopefully, she won’t get super nervous at the Grand Slams because she has won many important tournaments, but she hasn’t won a Slam yet. Eventually, I would think she will. But, at the AO this week, she is not the overall favorite until she finally grabs a major.

Caro will win this match against Mertens, because Wozniacki will breath and crack her first serve and her heavy backhand. Wozniacki will win in straight sets.

Simona Halep vs Angie Kerber
Two days ago, I thought that both Halep and Kerber would have have to play many hours against Karolina Pliskova and Madison Keys. But, both contests wer super short, because Simona and Angie played spectacularly good. While the other two couldn’t find the solution. 
Hopefully, later tonight, both Halep and Kerber will play extremely well and then, it will be a heck of a match. Both are very strong, fast and super consistent. They move quickly side-to-side. They hit crosscourt and down the line. Neither of them like to go to the net, and neither of them have a huge first serves, but they return so well. They move forward and jump of the balls. 

This fortnight is a huge opportunity. Still, this is a real pick-em. The two-time Grand Slam champion Kerber is totally locked in. Angie will win in three fantastic sets.

Marin Cilic vs Kyle Edmund
A toss-up? Maybe. We all know that Cilic studies hard, he mixes it up, and when his body is feeling good, he can swing away. He has a gigantic serve, a massive forehand and his backhand down the line, has improved over the year. Until last year, Edmund was up and down mentally. When he was close to winning over the good players, he would hit some crazy shots and lose. But now, not only can he hit some huge shots, he is also very steady and he could make better decisions.

The Brit has already won a few marathons against some excellent players. The former 2014 US Open champion Cilic wants to reach to the final in Melbourne — badly. He will win in four tough sets.

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2018 Aussie Open, The Picks, Day 8

January 22, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Rafa Nadal vs Mario Cilic
The Spaniard had a pretty tough night against the improving Diego Schwartzman.Nadal won, but it took nearly four hours. He has been there before, and the No. 1 will be there again, but still, it is somewhat early and he has to make sure not to get hurt at all during the AO event. 
For Nadal, the good thing is when he is on court against Cilic, they won’t have too many rallies, The very tall Mario is a terrific player, but he isn’t that fast. Cilic has a big serve, his heavy forehand and he can mix it up, going down low. 
Yes, Cilic can upset Nadal, if he is playing amazing, hour after hour, but in reality, Nadal has won 16 Grand Slams, and Cilic has won just one — at the US Open. Clearly, over the past 13 years, Nadal has been a better player. With his phenomenal forehand and his tough return, Nadal will win in four sets.

Grigor Dimitrov vs Kyle Edmunds
Dimitrov is totally on fire. He took down the Aussie Nick Kygrios on Saturday night, and now, he is locked in. Brit Edmunds has had a fine tournament this week, and he has improved a lot over the past year, but when is he going to figure out what to do with his weapons? Here and there, yes, but Dimitrov has so much variety, when he needs it. The Bulgarian wins in straight sets.

Caro Wozniacki vs Carla Suarez Navarro
This should be a very interesting match. They have never faced off against in the Grand Slams. In 2016 Tokyo, Caro won 6-4 in the third on a hardcourt, and in 2017 Madrid, Carlo won 6-4, 2-6, 6-2  on clay.  
Wozniacki has been better than Suarez over the past 10 years, as she has won 27 titles, while the Spaniard has only won a few. Yes, Wozniacki can fall flat here and there, but in the past 12 months, she has changed it up a little bit and once again, she is very focused.  
Suarez practices all the time, she goes from tournament after tournament. Even though she can sit way behind the court, she mixes it up consistently. Plus, she actually has a one-handed backhand, which is very unusual on the WTA. 
It will go three sets and both of them already know that they will be there for a solid two hours, rally after rally. Neither of them ever gets tired. You never know with Caro: will she be aggressive, or push the ball. Either way, she will win to advance at the semis.

Elina Svitolina vs Elise Mertens
Ukranian Svitolina is coming very close to No. 1. Maybe next week, maybe in a few months, or towards at the end of the year. But first, she has to take down Mertens, a very good player. 
There are times that Svitolina gets angry, inside her head, but she is so driven. She has a terrific first serve, and loads of spin, and she can nail her forehand and her backhand. 
Mertens hustles, too, and everyday, she gets better and better. But can she upset Elena? I cannot see it, yet, but maybe soon. Svitolina wins in straight sets.

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2017 top players: women’s 1-5

December 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment


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

No. 1: Simona Halep
It is amazing that the Romanian ended the year as No. 1. She has yet to win a major, but still, she was remarkably consistent in 2017. The very steady Simona only won one tournament, in Madrid. Beyond that, she reached a number of finals — and she lost in Rome, Roland Garros, Cincy and Beijing. She has had some terrific wins, and mediocre losses. She is quite strong, can runs forever and keeps her chin up. Simona has come close to winning a Grand Slam. Without a doubt, in 2018, she will get another opportunity in a final. The only way to actually raise the trophy is not to back off —  at all.   

No 2: Garbiñe Muguruza
The Spaniard played so much better this season, at least when she began in May, and then, she was ready to be rock on. She won Wimbledon, smashing her forehand and backhand, moving forward very quickly and nailing her serve. Also, she prevailed in Cincinnati, smoking Kristina Pliskova and Halep. However, she began to fade, and she did not win another tournament. That’s why she is No. 2, not No. 1, and she should stay there for more than just a few weeks. The Spaniard won the WTA Player of the Year award. She is getting better all the time, and she will win another Slam in 2018 In order to do so, she needs to locked it and stay there. 

No 3: Caroline Wozniacki
Props to the Dane. In 2016, she was fading, badly. But in 2017, she returned and she was ready to push herself without moving backwards all the time. She ended the year winning the WTA Final, knocking down Halep, Pliskova and Venus Williams, along with Tokyo. Still the year was filled with near misses when she lost six finals. The great thing about Caro is she never gives up, truly. Yes, on court, when she gets upset because she can’t find the lines, and she was afraid to try to put together a winner. In the fall, she had to, one way or another. And she did. Can the veteran win a Grand Slam in 2018? I have no idea, because years ago, I thought she would. But now, she has improved her forehand a little bit. This is the last time: Caro can win either the Aussie Open or the US Open. Pick-em.
 
No. 4: Karolina Pliskova
The Czech can look so, so good, and there are other times that she checks out mentally. She is tall, has a massive first serve, can move into the net and put it away. But, each week, she is often up in the air. She has won a number of huge matches, but she has yet to win a major. She has come close, but right at the end, her eyes started to glaze. She is faster running now than she used to be, and she is pretty quick when she is rushing towards the net. With her volley, she is the best player at the net, with the exception of Serena. But can Karolina finally win a major? I would say yes, in 2018, but she has to focus for two straight weeks.  

No. 5: Venus Williams
Venus just keeps going and going. She is 37 years old. While she’s a little bit slower now, she still has a great backhand, a massive first serve, and occasionally, commanding at the net. Also, her forehand has gotten a little bit better, and shows more power. It has only taken Venus 20 years on the WTA tour to figure out how to drive her forehand deep. That has been a long time, but the reality is, she always wants to improve, which is excellent. In 2018, she will win a few more titles, but to grab a Slam again? That is very difficult. She has won seven majors, but the last time was in 2008, at Wimbledon, and that was a long time ago. You have to give her another shot in 2018, at Wimbledon again. So let’s see that she can change her tactics in the final.

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WTA Finals: Revived Wozniacki wins the title in Singapore

October 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Former No. 1 runs over Venus Williams for first year-end tournament crown

It has been six years since Caro Wozniacki was atop the end-of-the-year WTA rankings. Back in those years (some of her best), she reached many finals. But, especially in the Grand Slams, she grew crazy nervous and the steady foe almost collapsed.

But not this time. No, she rose super high.

In 2014, Wozniacki  reached the US Open final, when she was ready to win her first major. She went on court against Serena Williams — her good friend — and clearly, the American is a better player. Why? Wozniacki did not hit the ball harder enough, and she lost in straight sets.

No big deal. But pretty quickly, it became a huge deal.

In 2015, she would push the ball frequently, and she would not go for the lines. She only won one small title. Wozniacki was freustrated and disappointed.

In 2016, she did the same thing, more or less. Her backhand is one of the best shots out there, and she is incredibly fast. She never gets tired — ever. But her forehand was pretty weak, she would rush the net much, and she did not attack on the second serves. Wozniacki did manage to win Tokyo and Hong Kong, but it wasn’t big enough for a player of her ability.

This season, finally, she changed and she became more aggressive — especially with her forehand —  and courageous.  That got her to six finals and six failures in Doha, Dubai, Miami, Eastbourne, Bastad and Toronto. Could she find a way to do something different? At the US Open, in early September, she froze again.

She then went to Asia, and she discovered that win or lose, she has to burst out of her shell and take some chances.

And finally, she did.

Wozniacki won Tokyo and when she arrived in Singapore for the WTA Finals, she felt more comfortable with her new strategy. She crushed the No. 1 Simona Halep, edged Karolina Pliskvova in the semis, and in the final, she jumped over the seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4.     

Wozniacki won it, and on court, she smiled, so wide.

“I tried to keep pressure on [Venus] and tried to take a little bit of time away and stay a little bit closer to the baseline. It’s important for me to try and cut the angles and try and take the ball on the rise, and I think I did that pretty well,” Wozniacki said. “[Williams] started mixing up the serve a little bit more.  I just had to keep reminding myself that I’m still up and I’m the one who is leading here, and I’m the one who can close out this match right now.”

Wozniacki jumps up three slots and finishes 2017 ranked No. 3. She has already been No. 1 for a couple of years, which is good in a  way, but the most important thing is to finally win a Grand Slam. Next year, in 2018, she has to step up and play ball. If she does, she can win her biggest trophy.

The 26-year-old has been playing at the WTA for 10 years. It is time for her to triumph. Next year, we will discover that inside of her head, she will understand exactly what she has to do.
 
“I’m really proud of how I have played all week and how I have fought and how I really produced some great fighting out there. To be here with the trophy means a lot, and it’s a great way to finish off the year,” she said.

A nod to the hometown boy
Roger Federer may not be surprising us with his greatness, but he keeps on proving that the best is just a word that is constantly being redefined.

Federer won his hometown tournament in Basel for the eighth time, downing Juan del Potro and, in a certain sense, getting some revenge over the player who knocked him out of the US Open. 

More importantly, Fed moves into second place alltime with ATP wins. He eclipsed Ivan Lendl as he grabbed his 95 title along with his seventh this year. In an era with less money and more incentive to play often, Jimmy Connors won 109 tournaments over his long career. 

In the era when competition included undeniable greats Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Federer keeps finding a way to cement his legacy as the GOAT.

Federer is probably waving goodbye to any chance at ending the year as No. 1 by pulling out of Paris. Without emassing some major points in the French capitol, even a tournament win in the ATP Finals won’t allow Federer to surplant Nadal as yearend No. 1.

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WTA Finals: Garcia overcomes Wozniacki, to face Venus

October 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment


Pliskova to face Wozniack in other year-end semi

Caroline Garcia was blown out by Caro Wozniacki with a 6-0 bagel in the first set of their WTA Finals round-robin match. Then, after resurrecting with a 6-3, Garcia gained a running start. Going into the third set, she ready and confident. The Frenchwoman knew that she had risen before; now, it was time to fly.   

Garcia did, just before the finish line. Down 3-5 in the third, she rose. Once again, the Frenchwoman didn’t back off. She beat Wozniacki 7-5 in the third, stunning the world, once again. 

So now, Garcia has reached the semis against Venus Williams on Saturday. Can Garcia actually win the event? Based on her blazing hot recent play, she has an excellent chance with her big opportunity. Moving into the semis of this year-end tournament in Singapore is a huge career boost. She was No. 23 just one year ago.

Venus is rising, too
The 37-year-old Williamd pushed and prodded and finally, after three hours, beat the 20-year-old Jelena Ostapeno . Two days ago, Venus appeared to be tired, but somehow, blasted Garbine Mugruzua, the two-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets.

Venus has won the WTA Finals before (2008 vs Vera Zvonareva). When she’s physically well, she has a realistic chance, a big chance, to win it again.

It was good to see Elina Svitolina finally play well, and she knocked off Simona Halep. Both of then have lost two times at Singapore, so they are done this year. Svitolina has to calm down and steady herself more in 2018, week after week. Halep has be upbeat and aggressive next year. She remains a threat at every Slam. 

Wozniacki will face against Katerina Pliskova on Saturday. Pliskova is unpredictable.  It’s a tossup, because Wozniacki likes to keep the ball in play. The final decider: It is all on their forehands.

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WTA Finals: Wozniacki is risking again, while Halep could sink

October 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Garcia wins a marathon versus Svitolina

Years ago, Caroline Wozniacki was dominant, taking out pretty much everyone, except against her good friend, Serena Williams, the best player, ever. Wozniacki was No. 1 for a couple of years. The one missing component was the lack of a major title. So, so eventually, she faded out of the Top 10.

The Dane has always played frequently, week after week, hour after hour, and rarely gives up. Clearly, she can be stubborn, which is why it has taken her a long, long time to change and improve her so-so forehand. Other holes in her game: rarely coming to the net and not leaping on the second serves. 

On Wednesday, at the WTA Finals in Singapore, Wozniacki played nearly perfect, blowing out the No. 1 Simona Halep 6-0, 6-2. The Romanian can play as well as Caro can. Right now, the Romanian need more mental strength. It seems that she thinks she is going to lose, inside. That is why she has yet to win a major — yet.

“I must give her (Wozniacki) credit for the victory. She played well, but I missed too much,” Halep said. “I think if I just could keep the ball in, I could have been much better. But I played into her hands, and that was too much.” 

Yes it was. Wozniacki has been very healthy and happy this season. She bowed out in six finals this year. Then, it took her nine month to win an important tournament, finally prevailing in Tokyo in September. She was ticked off her abysmal final record, but kept pushing herself. On Wednesday, she was super consistent — as always — and she attached the ball. 

“I didn’t expect to be leading by that much in the first set and I started to think’ ‘What’s happening? Am I really playing that well?,’ ” Wozniacki said.

The Dane has won 58 matches this season. Perhaps she will end the year with 60 victories. Without a doubt, Wozniacki has a decent shot to capture the WTA Final.

There have been a few boring matches in Singapore, contrasting with a couple fantastic contests. In the third set, the Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was down, but then she rose and upended Elina Svitolina 6-7(7) 6-3 7-5. Garcia was shaky two days ago, but this time, she wasn’t nervous and when she needed to, she went for the lines. She is muscular and she has been around for the past five years, up and down on court. In the past six months, she began to build point, and move better inside the court.

On Friday, Wozniacki and Garcia will play their final match. Wozniacki is 2-0 and has qualified for the semis. This will be a fun match, because Garcia is in the year-end tournament for the first time and still can advance.

Halep knows that,in order to stay at No. 1 at the end of this year, she has to reach the semis. She got a bump in the contest to be year-end No. 1 when Garbine Muguruza lost to Venus Williams. No. 3 Karolina Pliskova is 2-1 after losing to Jelena Ostapeno but will move into the semis. 

Good fun, no?

 

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WTA Finals, Day 2: Wozniacki & Halep win; the fight is on

October 24, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Simona Halep is in the best spot to be the year-end No. 1. Photo: Jimmy48

Without a doubt, there will be a couple tremendous match-ups in Singapore at the WTA Finals, but on Sunday and Monday, in four matches, it was so-so at best.

Caroline Wozniacki crushed Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-0 in less than an hour. Wozniacki was enjoying a wide variety of tactics and going from very patient to very aggressive. Ukrainian Svitolina was mentally gone, from the first point. 

Simona Halep can slip into states of being very nervous, causing her to lose focus. But not against Caroline Garcia. Halep controlled the match, winning  6-4 6-2 . Halep yanked her from side to side, hitting the lines and moving forward whenever she could. Halep rarely gets tired, running fast and long. When she was into it, she can swing hard with her both of her strokes. 

Garcia has been on fire during the past three weeks and is very happy that she reached the WTA Finals for the first time. But, the letdown is taking effect as she knows that much of the world is watching her for the first time. The Frenchwoman needs to calm down and mix it up, here and there.

Halep wants to keep her newly found No. 1 ranking, which means she has to at least reach the semis.  It is possible that she will face Garbine Muguruza, the No. 2 (who won yesterday) who also badly wants to become the topdog. There will be an incredible battle coming up.

On Tuesday, Venus Williams will face Jelena Ostapenko, and Muguruza is set to battle Karolina Pliskova. Two former No. 1 players will clash. Hopefully, they can smack at each other for three fun hours.

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Singapore: Ambitious Muguruza and Pliskova, both win easily

October 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Del Potro is coming up, wins Stockholm

Right fromthe start, it looked like Garbine Muguruza was ready to roll. She wants to end the season being ranked No. 1, as that has been her goal all year long.

On Sunday, she cracked the young player Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-4 at the WTA Finals in Singapore. Muguruza jumped on the ball immediately and was pretty consistent. She is fast, she hits two big strokes – her forehand and backhand – and now, she actually is planning her next shot, rather than getting angry. Ostapenko always goes for her shots, but at times, the Roland Garros champ is very erratic. She will learn in time, but not yet. 

For Muguruza, she knows that she is a the cusp of the title. She will battle this week until she can’t fight any more. As the Spaniard says about being No. 1:  “It is important. I’m not going to lie, of course, but I know I have to play well.”

In a sense, the same goes with Karolina Pliskova, who has struggled since the end of August when she lost too early at the US Open. She was so upset that she and her coach waved goodbye. She has been OK in Asia over the past six weeks, but not great. 

On Sunday, though, she was locked in and totally crushed the 7-time Grand Slam champ Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2. That was a blowout. Even though Pliskova said that it was close at  times, Venus realizes that she isn’t ready to compete right now. “I just have to put the ball in the court, is what it boils down to. I’ve been in this position before so I’ll be back on Tuesday,” Venus said.

We hope so. If Venus does not, the 37-year-old will go home, back to Florida. She is still extremely good, but without a doubt, she is aging. We all do. 

On Monday … No. 1 Simona Halep will play  Caroline Garcia, and then Elina Svitolina will face Caroline Wozniacki. According to Ostapenko, the ball is very slow, so both Halep and Wozniacki will have the edge, grinding it away.

Del Potro sweeps aside Dimitrov
With the guys, props to Juan Martin del Potro, who wins Stockholm by defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-2.  DelPo has a chance to reach the ATP Finals, but that means he is going to have to go seriously deep at the ATP Masters Series in Paris. DelPo wants to do it but, as he says, he has to be very careful. He gets injured too often. However, if he stays healthy, then maybe he can win the ATP Finals for the first time, In 2018, he has a very good chance to win his second major as his backhand is slowly healing.

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Picking the US Open Women’s Draw

August 26, 2017 by Leave a Comment

The First Quarter

No.1 Karolina Pliskova almost won the 2016 US Open, but Angie Kerber took her down, 6-4 in the third set. The Czech has played pretty well recently. She has improved a lot over the past two years. She is a little bit faster, she crushes the ball and she is very good at the net. Here, she is one of the favorites to win her first Grand Slam. But, at times, she can get angry and be off her game.

Pliskova might have to face against Shuai Zhang in the third round, which could be difficult, but she should get through. In the fourth round, then she will have to play ball. Assuming that Kristina Mladenovic gets through, then the Frenchwoman will be set to attack Pliskova. Mladenovic loves to come into the net, and while she isn’t very fast, she can create angles.

In the quarters, there are five players who can challenge the Czech: the good veterans – Svetlana Kuznetsova, CoCo Vandeweghe and Lucie Safarova – and the two very young players, CiCi Bellis and Anett Kontaveit. Pick the teenager Bellis, who is rising super fast, to move through the early rounds. But, by the time she hits the quarters against Pliskova, she will tap out.

The Second Quarter

There are lots of possibilities.

Elina Svitolina has played extremely well this season. She recently won Toronto, smoking her backhand and forehand. She is very determined. However, she has yet to go deep at the majors.

She might have to face Daria Gavilova in the third round, who has reached the final in Connecticut. She is small, but she loves to play and she is super fast. But Svitolina will move on, and then she will go up against Madison Keys, who is finally happy again. The American is ready to go on the court and stay there for hours. Both Keys and Svitolina want it bad, and in the end, Keys will hit harder and she will reach the quarters.

Guess who will play against Keys? How about the RG champion Jelena Ostapenko? The young big swinger hasn’t played great on the hard courts, but she knows what to do: powder the ball and hope it goes in. Without a doubt, if she faces against Angie Kerber, she will win in the fourth round, because the German is mentally gone.

Can Keys beat Ostapenko? Toss-up, as both of them are aggressive all the time. Give it to Keys, in a great marathon.

 

The Third Quarter

Ms. Garbiñe Muguruza is the favorite, hands down. She won Wimbledon, and she just won Cincy. She is on fire, and while she can get mad and pout, her first serve, forehand and backhand are very, very good.

Who can upset Muguruza? Maybe Petra Kvitova, if she is really back. But the two-time Slam champion hasn’t played well at all during the last five weeks and she has a tremendous amount of work to do. Possibly Venus Williams, but the former No. 1 is up and down on hard courts. Caroline Garcia has gotten better, but is not yet a real threat to top players. And then there is Caroline Wozniacki, who has played very, very well this season, but once she reaches the final, she really backs off.

It has to be Muguruza, hands down.

The Fourth Quarter

Well, well, what a great contest coming up in the first round with the five-time major champion Maria Sharapova versus the No. 2 Simona Halep. Sharapova is just coming back, and if she can be healthy, maybe then she can win another major. But until she is 100 percent physically, she will struggle.

But she is better than Halep. The Romanian is 0-3 in matches this year when one win would have given her the top ranking. She has frozen and played very badly, going down very quickly. Just last week, Muguruza destroyed her in the Cincy final, dashing her third shot at No. 1.

Remember in the 2014 final at Roland Garros? Sharapova beat Halep 6-4 in the third. Maria rose up at the end, and Halep pushed the ball. At the USO, both of them will be nervous, but Sharapova – if she isn’t hurt – will continue to attack. Halep will back off. Sharapova will win.

Who will reach the quarters? Look to Jo Konta, Ana Konjuh,or Sloane Stephens. Pick Stephens, who is lights out right now.

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Elina Svitolina wins Toronto, smacks Wozniacki

August 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment

FROM TORONTO, THE ROGERS CUP, SUNDAY, AUGUST 13: Now Elina Svitolina is the top of the charts.

The 22-year-old blasted Carolina Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 to win Toronto. Admittedly, she was tired, because day after day, she has to run back and forth, side to side, forward and back. She is very strong and determined. She barely slept last night, maybe three to four hours, which is incredible. She was showing the effects of beating three strong players: Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep.

During the first set, Svitolina was up and down. Her forehand and backhand were pretty good, but she was a little late. Her serve was decent, but she could not kiss the lines. She was terrific at the net, bending very low and going the other way. At 4-4, Wozniacki looked pretty tired, too, while Svitolina kept pushing. She broke taking won the first set,

In the second set, the Ukrainian was almost perfect. She woke up, her legs returned, she attacked quickly against the Dane. She rarely hit an unforced error, while Wozniacki was super frustrated. She wasn’t going anywhere, and she was totally gone.

The former No. 1 Wozniacki has reached six finals this season — which is fantastic — but lost them all. She doesn’t know why she can read her opponents’ strokes. Overall, she isn’t aggressive enough and she freezes.

Svitolina has won five titles this year and thinks she can win the US Open. She hasn’t been close, but now, she knows that if she really believes that if she can play 100 percent, then she can knock down anyone.

Incredibly, the No. 1 ranking will be up for grabs by five women, according to TV commentators. Besides the Toronto finalists, current No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, former No. 1 Angelique Kerber and the almost-there-but-can’t-convert Simona Halep could all be the top woman by Sept. 11.

She wants to sleep soon, but she is so, so happy.     

“I was very, very tired after the first game of first set. And I knew that I need to give everything because Caroline doesn’t miss much,” she said. “You have to work really hard to get unforced error from her. I just decided I’m going to just play every ball and just leave everything on court. And that’s why, emotionally I was relieved when I won the first set, and then was playing better and better in the second. I really couldn’t believe that it all finished and I’m holding the trophy.”

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