Top 32: Radwanska came alive, Kvitova was OK, Venus never gives up

Flavia Pennetta wants to stick around a little bit longer. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Flavia Pennetta wants to stick around a little bit longer. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

The top 32, WTA, Nos. 8-5

No. 8

Flavia Pennetta

The Italian has already retired, which is too bad, because just a few months ago she played better than she ever had, knocking off Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and her close friend, Roberta Vinci, for the US Open title. In fact, everyone says that she is one of their good friends, which is because Pennetta is one of the nicest people out there – on court and off. The 33-year-old had played for a long time, and perhaps she should have won a major a few years ago, but she could not because she was always fast enough, fairly powerful and solid at the net, but she wouldn’t always go for it. This time though she kissed the lines day after day and now she was able to walk away, into the sunset, with a wild smile for many years to come.

No. 7

Venus Williams

Perhaps that the American Venus will never be able to win another major, but at the very least, for the first time since 2011 when she was seriously ill, she was much more under control. The 35-year-old has slowed down a bit, but her phenomenal backhand and her gigantic first serve became lethal month after month. Yes, her forehand is up and down, and her second serve can be extremely weak, but her net game is substantially better than 10 years ago. We do know that she always battles, and when she isn’t tired, she can take down anyone. This year by winning Wuhan, she bested Aga Radwanska, Carla Suarez, Vinci and Garbine Muguruza. That is about as good as it gets.

Venus has won seven Grand Slams, but she hasn’t won a title since 2008. Does she have a legitimate chance? Perhaps not, but you can’t totally ignore her.

No. 6

Petra Kvitova

The lefty Czech had a decent year, but not a great one overall. When you have won two Wimbledon crowns, you cannot say that she has improved in a year without an appearance in a Grand Slam final. Often she played amazing well one day, but then she disappeared on the next day when she isn’t all right.

In Australia, she won Sydney and declared that she had a real chance to win the AO, but then she was erratic and lost against Madison Keys. In Madrid, she played spectacular by beating Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova to win the title. She thought she could win Roland Garros; then she was stunned by Timea Bacsinszky.

After that, she got sick again (mono) and after that, she was a little slow. Fortunately, her body recovered and she played excellent ball at the WTA Finals, where she beat Maria Sharapova and then fell against Radwanska. In the Fed Cup final, she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, but lost against Sharapova in one of the best matches of the year. However, the Czechs ended up winning the crown. That made her happy, which is good, but in 2016, she has to be healthy and not back off at all.

No. 5

Aga Radwanska

Radwanska-15-Stan-TR-MALT5752After losing in the first round of Roland Garros, the Polish player was very upset. For the first four months, she wasn’t played well at all, she was pushing the ball around and she was indecisive. But once she came on grass, she mentally eased it up, she moved forward, and she became to be more creative. All of a sudden, she was back. She was by no means perfect, but she saw what she needed to do. She reached the Wimbledon semis when she beat Keys before she lost against Muguruza. At the US Open, Keys got her back, but in Asia, she won Tokyo by beating Belinda Bencic. In Beijing, she bested Keys once again, took out Angie Kerber and then fell against the aggressive Muguruza. Then in the WTA Finals, she was driven and directed, finally overcoming Muguruza 7-5 in the third set (finally) and besting Petra Kvitova in three sets to win it all.

Admittedly, the 26-year-old said that now, she is really ready to win a major for the first time. Can the small person actually finally do it? I bet she can, in 2016.

Pennetta waves goodbye forever after she loses to Sharapova

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Flavia Pennetta: in her last WTA match. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography.

SINGAPORE — Say goodbye Flavia Pennetta, who fell to Maria Sharapova 7-5 6-1.

With her 2015 U.S. Open trophy in her hands, Pennetta announced thus Woolf be her last season. If she had extended the match, she would have lived to play another day in the semifinals. But, Sharapova is a steamroller now and she denied Pennetta.

The 33-year-old Italian was very aggressive and forceful in the first set, but Sharapova kept going for her shots, moved forward and make sure that she wasn’t going to go side to side for a few hours.

After beating Radwanska on Sunday, Sharapova was thrilled. Since Wimbledon, she only had been able to play for half a match in Wuhan before she retired with an injury. Then she went to Europe to get her legs better and then she came over to Singapore early. She really wanted to get out on court and try it. She did not become injured again, could run as fast as she could, and could swing away with her powerful arms.

As Pennetta said, she played very well, but Sharapova was on fire, especially in the second set, wracking winners. Her huge serve, her massive forehands and backhands, and her ability to charge the net and not go backwards showed how confident she is.

“I was playing I think really well. I just has one game in the 4‑3 where I play a little bit worse,” Pennetta said. “I had two double fault, and so I lost my chance I think on that game. But I think was really good game. She play unbelievable. I didn’t remember see Maria playing so good and serving so good from ‑‑ the second set was perfect for her doing everything, drop shot, volley. Everything was work good for her.”

The last time they played, Pennetta out-stroked Sharapova at Indian Wells last March. That time, Pennetta was dictating once they got into rallies. But on Thursday, the five-time Grand Slam was under control

“It’s strange, I have to say,” Pennetta said. “Before the tournament I didn’t expect to see Maria so focus and so good and everything. Sometimes it’s good to stay away a little bit. You recover and you have more energy. You come with more ambition. So sometimes you need to stay away for a while. So for her, of course it’s working really good.”

Sharapova said wanted to be 100 percent before she got to Singapore, and she wanted to make sure that she is fully healthy. She did not want to have to stop again. She hit the gym and practiced when she could.

“So in a way, yeah, you’re taking a break, but you’re still working towards staying fit and strong and mentally positive,” Sharapova said. “You still have to work a lot. You don’t just sit around and hope that you feel better one day.”

Pennetta is retired now, but she doesn’t realize it yet. She says that she feels happy, but she didn’t want to stay on the court after she was done, as she didn’t want to cry. She will miss seeing week in and wake out, but she can deal with that, as she will be around here and there at the tournaments, watching her fiancee, Fabio Fognini.

“I will miss the competition. When you go on the court, the central court, it’s something special,” she said. “I don’t think I will have it anymore.”

Sharapova doesn’t know whom she will play on Saturday. The US Open champion Pennetta doesn’t know what she is going to do on Saturday either.

Maybe she will rest, for the first time when Pennetta became a pro in 2000. Maybe she will just bounce the balls around. Pennetta isnt sure yet, but she is already smiling.

“I am really happy to start a new part of life, new things.”

Sharapova confounds Halep; Playing hard, Pennetta overcomes Aga

Flavia Pennetta wants to stick around a little bit longer. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Flavia Pennetta wants to stick around a little bit longer. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – For reality checks, Flavia Pennetta isn’t ready to go home, and Maria Sharapova wants to beat her before she waves bye-bye.

Pennetta out-stroke Aga Radwanska 7-6 6-4, while Sharapova out-bashed Simona Halep 6-4 6-4. Pennetta is 1-1 in the Red Group Singapore, having lost to Halep on Sunday. Sharapova out-lasted Radwanska in three sets.

If Sharapova wins a set against Pennetta, then she will qualify for the semifinals. If she loses in straight sets, then who knows? In fact, no one really knows as Pennetta and Halep (who blitzed the Italian on Sunday) can have legitimate chances, and Radwanska also does, too. Ping-Pong.

The soon-to-be-retired Pennetta isn’t just happy to be here. Before she came out, many of the people in the stands were unsure. She has finally won a Slam andis going home in Italy very soon. So, all she had to do is play hard and don’t worry about the score. Uh-uh.

Against Radwanska, Pennetta pushed herself extremely hard. She served big, attacked the net when she could and went toe-to-toe from inside the baseline. When Pennetta missed a few bad shots, she grew angry. Guess what? When she went on court, she forgot this is her last tournament.

“I’m not thinking like this,” she said. “I don’t have this way to think. I don’t go in the court and think, ‘Oh, it’s going to be maybe my last one or I have tomorrow,’ I have three more. I just go to the court and say, ‘Okay, I have to play.’ That’s it. I don’t know how it’s happen, but it’s like this.”

Everyone talks about how smart Radwanska is, and that is very true, but Pennetta knows where she is going and that she can go for her shots when the lines are barking at her. Her forehand and first serve give the Pole a lot of trouble, and when they were contesting long rallies, Pennetta would hit behind her, or nail huge shots right down the middle. She has matured a great deal.

The same goes with Sharapova, who faced No. 2 Halep. She cannot allow Halep to go inside the court. Whether she was serving or returning with authority, Sharapova was the dictator. Halep is faster and would prefer to run around side-to-side, but there is no way that she can yank her around all night long when the Russian/American wouldn’t be able to hammer the corners.

That is why Sharapova is now 6-0 head-to-head against Halep: she consistently bothers her because she doesn’t allow her to grind every point. Halep can certainly grind on occasion, but she can’t handle her forehand side and she doesn’t push Sharapova back enough. Maybe the Romanian will do so again if they happen to a face off on Sunday, but right now, she is confounded by her.

Sharapova and Pennetta have played each other five times before, all three-set matches. Pennetta bested her at 2015 Indian Wells. She loves at the tournament, especially when she won her first big title there in 2014. Pennetta was a 31-year-old then, and while she has been very good at times over the past decade or so, few sensed that she was getting better and better.

At the 2015 US Open, she finally put it all together and won the crown. As Sharapova said, she was a little surprised that she won, but she truly deserved it. They will clash again on Thursday. Without a doubt, they respect each other, but both of them want to win badly.

“It is [a little surprising], but I feel like there is always a moment for people to shine,” Sharapova said. “I know there are players that are extremely consistent that are at the top of the game, and I’ve been playing for many years and been fortunate to win Grand Slams. But I work hard and I don’t just sit there and say I’m only player that does it. There are hundreds of players that probably work harder than I do and commit more time than I do and sometimes don’t get the results. I realize how fortunate I am.

“I know that Flavia has been through a lot in her career with surgeries, injuries, work and effort coming back, stopping. A lot people don’t talk about that, but I think you should. That matters. I think that when you go through those moments, eventually it pays off. That was her time to shine, and I was really, really happy.”

Halep always gets nervous, but this time on fire to beat Pennetta

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Simona Halep dominated Flavia Pennetta at the 2015 WTA Finals. Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

SINGAPORE – Simona Halep gets nervous – a lot. She also becomes very, very good when she is in a right space.

On Sunday, the opening day at Singapore, she walloped Flavia Pennetta 6-0 6-3.

What a turnaround, as not even two months ago, the Italian whipped the Romanian 6-1 6-3 in the semis of the US Open. Pennetta played fantastic, but Halep wasn’t really there.

This time, she came up firing and she was swirling around the court. Halep jumped on her balls early, she crushed her fabulous backhand down the line, she rolled her forehand and slugged her serves. Pennetta tried hard enough in the second set, but she couldn’t handle her range. Halep knew exactly when to attack and when she knew to back off. This time, she was full of confidence.

Here is the rub though: Halep has looked very shaky at the Grand Slams this year. She reached the quarterfinal of the Aussie Open and then admittedly became scared against Ekaterina Makarova and lost. In Roland Garros and Wimbledon, she went down hard and very early.

But at the US Open, once she reached the second week, she was vicious on court and she wouldn’t give up. She took down Vika Azarenka 6-4 in the third set in the quarters, perhaps their most exciting match of the year. But then when she came on court against Pennetta, her face looked glaced. She wasn’t in the match at all.

“I can say I was a little bit tired,” Halep said in Flushing Meadow. “Also nerves. Was first semifinals of US Open. I beat Flavia before in Miami and I knew that she can play good tennis. I knew that she’s very solid. Maybe that day that we had between the quarterfinals and the day when we played I think wasn’t too good for me. I was very tired after Azarenka match, and then I was like without energy Friday when we played. I just want to take the positive things from that match. I have learned about how to manage the situation when you play semifinals, and I hope to have many more and to pass that bad feeling.”

Why she was nervous was pretty bizarre. In 2014, the world met her for the first time; she reached the final at Roland Garros and she nearly upset Maria Sharapova in three sets. After that, Halep kept climbing up to the top charts, but on the majors, she was completely unpredictable.

Fortunate for her, at the last huge event, she reached the final at the WTA Finals in 2014. She stunned Serena Williams in the round robin, and they faced off again in the final. Williams won, but Halep wasn’t awful

Maybe she can reach the final again. And this time, she won’t be too nervous. However, that’s debatable.

“I need to do final for every Grand Slam, then I will be okay,” she said with a smile. “Every tournament is different. Every tournament I have nerves. Every match I have nerves. For me, it’s normal. But I have just to learn how to manage them. In every match I have different nerves, so it’s tough to explain. It’s just about my inside.”

WTA Finals: Maria Sharapova finally returns, to face improved Aga

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SINGAPORE – Marie Sharapova says that if she manages to play three matches of the Red Group at the WTA Finals at Singapore, she will be happy, especially if she plays reasonably well. The five-time Grand Slam champion has played once since Wimbledon, due to various injuries, and clearly, she has been frustrated. But, the 28-year-old has been around for a long time and she knows that if she can be patient, she will eventually find her way back to top form. If she does, she will shake the rust off and go for her massive shots.

Sharapova has always been a force against Aga Radwanska, whom she will face on Sunday night. However, the Pole is very creative and she has been playing substantially better since the first half of the year, when she was very frustrated. She was pushing the ball frequently, wasn’t going for the lines and wasn’t attacking the net often enough. But, during on the grass season, she figured out what ailed her, mixed her shots, moved forward when she could and, over the past three months, she has rediscovered her shots.

As Radwanska said, she just didn’t want to fold her tent. The former No. 2 wanted to find a way to be back at the WTA Finals once again, and she did. Radwanska knows that she has legitimate shot to upend Sharapova, but even though the Russian will be a little wary given that she won’t be very confident. If the Pole plays very well for at least the first hour, ‘Aga’ will have to jump on her second serves quite a bit.

Back in February at the Fed Cup in Poland, Sharapova just blew Radwanska apart. This time, Radwanska cannot hesitate and must be aggressive. Sharapova is very pleased that her body is feeling much better now, but Radwanska has been playing seemingly every weekend and should grab it in three sets.

Simona Halep will go up against Flavia Pennetta on the first day in the afternoon on Sunday. Halep may not be 100 percent with her sore left ankle, but as she says she is ready to push as hard as she can as it’s the last week of the season. The Romanian played incredibly well in 2014, when she reached the final here at the WTA Finals. She stunned Serena Williams in their first match. But, in the final, the American was then locked in and beat her pants off.

Outside of the majors, on clay and on grass (which were pretty miserable), Halep was substantially better on the hard courts, except when facing Serena, who isn’t playing this tournament. She is so fast; she can zoom up and back and side-to-side, and she can rip both her forehand and backhand. Mentally, if she is in the right space, she can win this tournament. However, she can get angry and frustrated, which is why she can fall off against Pennetta.

The Italian played wonderfully winning the US Open, including when she blitzed Halep in the semifinal. Halep was the favorite, but she folded while Pennetta kept smoking the ball, very deep and true.

In a sense, Pennetta is just happy to be here in Singapore. She will retire after this week. She is as happy as she has ever been. While she will try hard, she isn’t going to go up over the wall and back down again. She just wants to have a great time, and doesn’t want to collapse after battling for three-plus hours. She won’t be nervous at all, while Halep will. It’s really up to the world No. 2 to win or lose, but if Halep gets frustrated early, Pennetta can dance around the court if she out-schools her.

Halep said that she and her coach, Darren Cahill, have yet to decide whether they will continue next year. Cahill knows his stuff inside and out. If Halep is very smart, she should give him a full year and realize how much she can improve.

Speaking of which, Garbine Muguruza said on Saturday that she and her new coach, Sam Sumyk, will continue in 2016. In the White Group, she will face Lucie Safarova on Monday.

Two lefties Petra Kvitova and Angie Kerber will face off on Monday.

Pick of the Day, Feb 25: Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Flavia Pennetta, Doha

Aga is on a hot streak but her 2nd serve still hurts her

Aga is on a hot streak but her 2nd serve still hurts her

Is the Polish Aga Radwanska in a slump? Yes, she is.

The former 2012 Wimbledon finalist and the once No. 2 hasn’t played very well since the start of the season. She fell to Garbine Muguruza in a tight contest in Sydney, went down to Venus Williams in the fourth round at the Australian Open, lost both matches in Fed Cup (when she was whipped by Maria Sharapova) and last week in Dubai, she fell against the rising Muguruza once again.

Currently ranked No. 8, Radwanska isn’t exactly sure how she should properly hit the ball. She is too aggressive at times and, then, too soft. She will likely get over it now, but the only way that she can start playing very well is to listen to her new coach, Martina Navratilova, and that takes time.

However, the No. 16 Pennetta has not been great this year either. In fact, Pennetta didn’t plat at all until Dubai, when she reached to the quarterfinals and lost to Caroline Wozniacki.

However, at least last week, the Italian was striking the ball better again and gradually, her forehand and serves looked more consistent. Over last year, her doubles play went up sky high and she has looked confident at the net.

She bested Radwanska twice last year in singles, spinning the ball around and mixing up her approaches.

One would think that Radwanska will begin to start winning again, but not yet. It will be a long contest, but the Italian will win it in three dramatic set.

The Wrap: Highlights from week 1 of Aussie summer

The Maple Leaf Missile has taken off again.

The light mental sparring game has begun between Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova for the top spot, or perhaps more appropriately between Wozniacki and the rest of the world if the Czech happens to win Sydney and grabs No. 1. Wozniacki said that she wasn

12 New Year’s Wishes for 2012

 

 

Caroline Wozniacki and Rory McIIroy wish you a New year from Thailand.

No. 1 : That Kim Clijsters and Serena play each other in at least four big matches before the Belgian retires.

No. 2: That Andy Murray plays as well as he’s capable of against a Big 3 member in a Grand Slam final so we can see if that level is good enough to win a major.

No 3: That Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic return to their 2008 levels and consistently push Generation Caro to show how good they really are,

No. 4: That Juan Martin Del Potro returns to his 2009 level so the ATP has potential Big 5 & that the promising youngsters (i.e. Tomic, Raonic, Harrison and Dmitrov) show the elite they can really play with them

No. 5: That Kvitova, Wozniacki, Azarenka, Radwanska et al develop intense rivalries that we’ll still be taking about 5 years from now.

No. 6: That the Big 3 of Djokovic, Nadal & Federer stay healthy all year and play each other on every surface & at least 5 times each.

No. 7: That both tours focus less on branding and more on how the sport is played. After all, tennis is a sport played on a court

No. 8: That Aussie, French & British players have huge impacts at their home Slams — its been a long time coming.

No. 9: That deserving WTA players like Radwanska, Pennetta, Petkovic, Pennetta & Peng reach at least onne Slam quarter so they can make strong go at their first final fours.

No. 10: That American veterans Roddick, Fish, Blake & Ginepri stay healthy enough so they can have major impact at least one more Slam again.

No.11: That all players would actually use social media as a way to interact with fans and not as a substitute texting service

Wish 12 for 2012: 24 highly dramatic, very well played Grand Slam semifinals and finals making 2012 the best year in tennis history!

WTA 2011Review, No

Kim played brilliantly Down Under, but then the injury bug bit her again.

 

In some ways, this list is more intriguing than the top 10, because it contains four Grand Slams winners, as well as three ex number ones, and three up and comers. All 10 are capable of finishing 2012 ranked in the top 10, but at least four of the veterans could slide out of the top 20. A couple of the younger players may have peaked, too.

11. FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE: As Pennetta said, when Francesca is motivated, she

A positive return for Venus Williams

Venus is the best grass court player of her generation

We are just a week away from the start of Wimbledon and thankfully given how few excellent grass court players there on the WTA Tour, Venus Williams showed up in a big way and took a 7-5 5-7 6-3 victory over Andrea Petkovic at Eastbourne. That does not mean that the five-times Wimbledon champ will win another crown, not when she