The Wrap: Madrid ruled by Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Each couple weeks, you can play fantastic and win it constantly, but in another few weeks, you can collapse, or play poorly. That is all about the tennis, on the court, and off. They can be happy, or sad. It is not just playing, but also, many of the players are learning what they can do. In order to practice all the time, to eventually  reach at the WTA or the ATP, it is rare that they can go to school. Or even if they did it, by high school, and you sit there for hours, five days a week, then they have to deal with the excellent players, and often, you will love. It is  very rare.

Also, mentally, you can see that a few of the players are upset, and worried. You can look at Amanda Anisimova and Garbine Muguruza, both just decided to take the time off. On court, they are bored, or frustrated. Hopefully, soon enough, they will come back, eventually, but to do very deep at the big events and the Grand Slams, that is a legitimate question.

However, Aryna Sabalenka had a terrific tournament in Madrid, beating Iga Swiatek  in three, super intense sets. She had lost five times with the Polish person, Swiatek,most of it on the clay, but this time,  Sabalenka decided not just to crush the ball, but to react. A few years ago, she did not love clay, but now, she is finally much more core.

“I really enjoy playing on clay, because I have extra time. It’s not super fast, so I can go for my powerful shots, because I have not so many but I have a lot of time here,” Sabalenka said. “Yeah, that’s why I really enjoy clay, because it’s longer rallies. It’s like not just bomb, bomb, you know. You have to work for every point, and that’s really amazing.”

She now rarely gets tired, as she can run for ever. Even when she plays, at an event, she knows that if she can consistently as much as she can, then she will gradually remedy. As she said,“I was working really hard in my fitness, so I’m able to play these long rallies and play these long matches and not getting really tired.  So I was feeling fine.”

Swiatek and Sabalenka and are No. 1 and  No. 2. Last year in Rome, Swiatek destroyed Sabalenka 6-2, 6-1. Now it will be totally different, on clay. They might play in the final in Rome, or maybe not. Also. Roland Garros is also coming up. There will be some nervous at times, but both of them know that if they play great, then they feel that they can beat anybody.

NOTES

Petra Kvitova,  Belinda Bencic, Zhang Shuai and  Simona Halep, whom we don’t know who will return. She is waiting, soon. … Other than Sabalenka and Swiatek, there are some who will reach into the quarters, at least. Here are 15 more people who can win a few matches and then, in Rome, they will be pumped up such as Ons Jabeur,  Jessica Pegula,  Carolina Garcia, Coco Gauff,  Elena Rybakina, Mayar Sherif, Victoria Azarenka (who won the doubles) Paula Badosa, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Martina Trevisan , Beatriz Haddad Maia, Anastasia Potapova, Barbora Krejcikova, Sorana Cirstea, and the  — the last one, who finally began to rise with Zheng Qinwen.  She is coming up.

The Picks in Madrid: Saturday, May 6

Iga Swiatek
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Iga Swiatek over Aryna Sabalenka
It was going to happen in the final at Madrid, as the No. 1 and the No. 2 believe that if they played so consistent, then they can beat anyone. However, they both think that if they play well and throw in some deep returns, then the rallies will be close.

They both have two huge forehands and their backhands are super vigorous. Swiatek has a better clay record, and she won Roland Garros twice by being patient and also crushing the ball. The challenge is really on, again.

After she won the 2023 Australian Open, Sabalenka was finally satisfied. Before last year, she looked pretty good but also she struggled, especially at some events. She can really run, and she can also push herself, from the backcourt where she can snag some winners. At the end of year in the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, she cut down over Swiatek in three sets on the hard court. Then two weeks ago, on indoors on clay in Stuttgart in the final, Swiatek battered Sabalenka in two sets on clay.

“Really different,” Sabalenka said, “but I really like it. I don’t have to rush things. I just have to wait for my opportunity and I just have to take it and go for it. … I really want to have this revenge. I think I would just play with more passion. I wouldn’t rush things. Yeah, I would just go one more time, try better, and fight for this title.”

Then Sabalenka will attempt to go for it with some hard shots. But, if you recall, at Rome almost one year ago, Swiatek destroyed her

On Saturday, Swiatek will win it in three sets, with some electrifying points.

Matt’s yesterday picks

Correct: Carlos Alcaraz over Borna Coric
Jan-Lennard Struff over Aslan Karatsev

Matt’s picks from Madrid

8 out of 13, 61.5% correct

The Picks in Madrid: Thursday, May 5

Maria Sakkari
Ron Cioffi/TR

Stefanos Tsitsipas over Jan-Lennard Struff
These two have had some close matches, with Tsitsipas winning three, , and Struff grabbing two, one on clay, and another of the hardcourts, at the ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati. The veteran Struff has had a decent year in 2023, as when he started, he was way back, with his ranking which was No. 152. He must have been fighting.

However, he began to play different, and manage it. Tsitsipas can also be more tolerant, and he does what kind of shots. He will think occasionally, and when he does, the strong man will decide which way to go. Tsitsipas will nail more than a few aces with his serve, and he will win it in two, famed, sets.

Iga Swiatek over Veronika Kudermetova
The Russian Kudermetova has had a surpassing tournament, as over the past year, she would play spectacular, and then, she would lose it, on the court. But as she said, “I step on the court, I try to do my best. I try to improve. That’s give me confident. When I step on the court, I know behind of my shoulder I have a lot of good practice, a lot of good matches. It’s give me really belief in myself.”

She must, but now she has to upset Swiatek, who is totally into it. She knows how to caper on the ball, and she can also be nursing.“ Having both things combined and being able to do both, like, Rafa [Nadal] or Novak Djokovic], they can play great in defense and be patient and also they can attack well. I think this should be the goal of every tennis player,” Swiatek said. “That’s why we are working on both, but for sure there are many girls right now who are playing fast serve and fast first ball. I can’t really tell you, but I don’t mind.” She apparently is playing happy, with no nerves. There for, Swiatek will win it in two, smart, sets.

Zhizhen Zhang over Aslan Karatsev
Who would have known that Zhizhen Zhang was going to win again, even though he had not won hardly anything anything at all in the the ATP Tour, but he is this week, and now he will out-hit over Aslan Karatsev in two sets.

Aryna Sabalenka over Maria Sakkari
Aryna Sabalenka is rippled along, as her forehand is massive again. This week, Maria Sakkari played some fine tennis, with some touch, and she will try to slide and bring it back, but Sabalenka will attack her backhand, and put together in the corners. Sabalenka will win it in two sets.

Matt’s yesterday picks

Correct: Carlos Alcaraz over Karen Khachanov
Correct: Iga Swiatek over Petra Martic
Correct: Borna Coric over Daniel Altmaier
Jessica Pegula over Veronika Kudermetova

Matt’s picks from Madrid

5 out of 8, 62.5% correct

The Picks in Madrid: Wednesday, May 3

Petra Martic
Ron Cioffi/TR

Carlos Alcaraz over Karen Khachanov
Here and there, the Spaniard is already playing as well as he could, crushing Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2. He is already so good, crushing his forehand and his backhand, and he attacks, even with his return.
Khachanov has had a fine event, putting together with his massive shots, and also, he can rip the ball. However, while he knows that he has to almost attack him, early, but how can he bend down and get into the rallies? He can do it for a while, but the Spaniard Alcaraz will drive him close to the net and put it away. The soon to be No. 1 Alcaraz will win it in two, long, sets.

Jessica Pegula over Veronika Kudermetova
In Madrid, Pegula has finally understand what she knows how to be more honest, on the court, and in the dirt. Not only has she played for years in the singles, but now over the past couple years she has also plays the doubles, and that is became with her special shots. She reactid, all the time. Kudermetova also can react, with her hard forehand and her backhand, somewhat deep, and close to the corners. She can miss some solitary shots, but she can also to be truly center. This will be a long match, point after point, but at the end, Pegula will grab it in the third set, with her new optimistic game.

Iga Swiatek over Petra Martic
The No. 1 is rolling again, with her huge, deep shots. Swiatek jumps very quickly, and she will mash her vicious forehand and her backhand. There are moments when she dumps the ball, but after words, she reacts. Martic is still fast, and she goes to try with the rallies. She also can mix it up, and fool her opponents. However, Swiatek is overthrow again, and she will out-hit her, so Martic won’t see what to do. The Polish Swiatek will win it, in two, fast, sets.

Borna Coric over Daniel Altmaier
He played more than three hours, and clearly he will be tired, but finally, he is playing much better than he did three months ago. Coric can be so steady, and he can also engage in the rallies. He can also mix it up, and when he is feeling good, then he can strike. The German Altmaier rose last year, winning a bunch with small events. However, the 24-year-old has pushed himself, going early, and bang close to the lines. He will try to exhaust Coric, which is a good idea, but as long as he doesn’t retire, with an injury, the Croatian will win it in two, exhausting sets.

Matt’s yesterday picks

Correct: Carlos Alcaraz  over Alexander Zverev
Correct: Aryna Sabalenka over Mayar Sherif
Taylor Fritz over Zhizhen Zhang
Irina-Cametia Begu over Maria Sakkari 

The Picks in Barcelona, Stuttgart, Munich: Sunday, April 23

Iga Swiatek
Mal Taam/MALT photo

Stuttgart
Iga Swiatek over Aryna Sabalenka

You have to wonder how  the No. 1 Swiatek became so excellent, again. Maybe it is during this week, when she is in the amazing clay, as she did win Roland Garros, twice. However, this year, she has been up and down, with her hard strokes.

She does know that against the 2023 Australian Open Sabalenka is mighty with her forehand and her backhand, that she can kick down anyone. However, on the hardcourts, she can control what she has to do, and she can also decide if she wants to switch it. At times, she can, but while she knows on the dirt for years, she would over hit, with a lot of errors. Sabalenka has certainly improved her serve, but it is mediocre. That is why Swiatek will be more patient, and also, she will hit some ridiculous shots. The Poland person will win in two, long, sets.

Barcelona
Carlos Alcaraz over Stefanos Tsitsipas

The Spaniard just said that he is feeling great, on court, and he is playing so steady. Alcaraz  grew up when he first started how to play on clay and on the hardcourts, and it took him a while,  but he did it very quickly. He is just so fast when he is running, and he can do almost everything, with his forehand, his backhand, his serve and at the net. Yes, Alcaraz will likely become No. 1 again, but he still isn’t perfect, yet. Maybe in a few years, but he is young, so he still has to conclude exactly the right shots.

Tsitsipas is playing darn well, and he can look great, but then he hits some odd errors. However at least he really concentrates, and he can also seriously alloy it with his one-handed backhand. His forehand is very sturdy, and his first serve is rap good.
However, Alcaraz  has beaten him all three times, including in Barcelona last year, winning in three sets. He will do it again, in another three sets, when Alcaraz hops in the line and put it away, again and again.

Two quick pics
Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina


Andrey Rublev over Dusan Lajovic
The Serbian veteran Lajovic has had a surprising week, but apparently, he is playing wonderful ball. However, the Russian Rublev is much more secure again, and he will win it in straight sets.

Munich
Holger Rune over Boticvan Van de Zandschulp

That could be a very long match, and while Rune has played insane over the past two weeks, yet he is still not playing as well as he can. However, he is rising quickly, but Van de Zandschulp also playing very devout, taking down against Taylor Fritz. The Netherlands seems to think that he can chop him down, but Rune  will out steady him in a bizarre three sets.

Matt’s yesterday picks

Correct: Iga Swiatek over Aryna Sabalenka
Correct: Carlos Alcaraz over Stefanos Tsitsipas
Correct: Holger Rune over Boticvan Van de Zandschulp

Andrey Rublev over Dusan Lajovic

Matt’s picks this week

15 out of 18: 83.3% correct

The Picks in Barcelona, Banja Luka, Stuttgart: Tuesday, April 18

Cameron Norrie
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadel
Cameron Norrie over Pavel Kotov
The Britain is always playing and he rarely loses very early, as over the past two years, he changed a lot of his strokes. He is very strong, and he can thud his forehand and his backhand. Norrie had a fine year, upsetting a number of good people, yet right now, he has been up and down, very good, or so-so.

However, when he is playing solid, then he should be able to out-think Kotov, who is fairly young, and the 24-year-old did just reach into the semis in Morocco, upsetting Benjamin Bonzi. Clearly, he is rising a little bit, but he is out of the top 100, so he still has to really improve his shots. Norrie will beat him in two, somewhat easy, sets.

Denis Shapovalov over Jozef Kovalik
Is it time for the Canadian to stand up? Shapovalov can look terrific, with his leaping backhand, and smashing his forehand. His first serve is solid, but not fantastic, while at the net, he still needs to improve. Without a doubt, last year, he knocked out a number of very good players, but in 2023, he has done very little. This week, he will try to wake up.

The Slovakian Jozef Kovalik is 30-years-old, and in the singles, he has yet to take down the excellent players. That is why he is ranked No. 155, which mean that he is struggling to stay in the ATP. Maybe he can one day, but not now, as Shapovalov will beat him in two sets.

Banja Luka
Novak Djokovic over Luca Van Assche
Maybe it looks like that Djokovic will crush him, but Van Assche is only 18-year-old, so in the next five years, he can improve himself a tremendous amount. The Frenchman has won two small events this year, and while they did not beat any players outside of the top 100, but still, just to win it all, he certainly is rising, fast. On clay, he can mix it around and vault on the ball. While he must be so psyched to play against the 21 Grand Slam winner Djokovic, but he will likely be nervous, so the No.1 Serbian Novak will win it in two decent sets.

Stuttgart
Iga Swiatek over Qinwen Zheng
The No. 1 Swiatek has not had a great year, but she has been hurt, physically, so this week, assuming that she is healthy, she will be ready to re-set her life. Both her forehand and her backhand are so hard, and almost immediately, she will attempt to nail a winner, fast. At times, she can go too early, and she can also become upset when she cannot hit it in the right way, but if she can breathe, then eventually, she can turn it around.

Zheng is only 20-years-old and already, she is ranked in the top 25. That is not easy for anyone, so while she has not had a great 2023 season, at least last year, she upset a number of good players, such as Paula Badosa and Veronika Kudermetova. The problem though, it that while she is superfast when she is running, but at the 2022 Roland Garros, Swiatek beat Zheng in three sets. Currently, it is all about the clay, ever though in Germany, it is indoors, so it will be faster. Regardless, Swiatek will beat Zheng in three sets, just like they did in Paris.

The steady, the powerful: Carlos Alcaraz wins Indian Wells

Carlos Alcaraz
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

When he was injured, Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t play at the tournaments on court, at all. He has unable to play at the 2023 Australian Open, and he has upset, yet when he finally was able to practice, he gradually became respectable. It took the Spaniard to play fantastic, but he was getting better, each day.

At Indian Wells, he quickly rose, and the 19-year-old won it, beating
Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2. That was surprising, because the Russian had won 19 matches in a row, but on Sunday, he was very flat. He could not hit the balls deep enough, and there were many errors. However, he was exhausted, and he knew that.

But not Alcaraz, who hit so many winners, with his massive strokes. His first serve was hard and into the corners, and his forehand and his backhand were so forceful. He runs super quick, and at the net, he can go down and leap up high. It was one of the best matches, ever.
 
Now, the 2022 US Open is No. 1 again, as the former No. 1 Novak Djokovic could not play at Indian Wells, and also at Miami. He has refused to take the coronavirus vaccine. That is his decision.

In the semis, Alcaraz edged Jannik Sinner 7-6(4) 6-3, which was close, but the Italian could not really his solution. Alcaraz beat everyone.

Rybakina contines to dominate
Somewhat else did the same thing, when Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(11), 6-4, in a tight contest. Both of them had won a Grand Slam, at the 2022 Wimbledon [Rybakina] and the 2023 Australian Open [Sabalenka], but this time, she was calm, yet Rybakina can hit her phenomenal forehand. In the first set, in the tiebreaker, it was crazy, with some terrific points, but also, a lot of errors, especially with Sabalenka. Rybakina won the first set and she was ticked off, but each point, she will re-set what she had to do. Her first serve is huge, and she can be very solid.

In the second set, Rybakina smashed her forehand and her backhand. She was locked in, and now, she is ranked No. 7, given that she has won ‘just’ four events. But that is good enough.

Notes
American Frances Tiafoe reached the semis, but Medvedev chopped him down. Tiafoe can look great, but on court, he can be up and down. We would think, though, he is still getting better…we hope.

The USTA announced that Bob Bryan has been named for the U.S. Davis Cup.

The captian Kathy Rinaldi announced that Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins, Madison Keys and Caty McNally will represent the USA in the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup in Austria, April 14-15 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.

Do you want to hear another announcement? Tennis Canada announced that Bianca Andreescu , Leylah Annie Fernandez , Rebecca Marino, and Gabriela Dabrowski to face against Belgium in Vancouver, British Columbia.
 
Rafa Nadal is still hurt and he cannot play in Miami, but he is hoping to play at Monte Carlo on clay in April.

No. 1 Iga Swiatek is looking upward

Iga Swiatek
Mal Taam/MALT photo

There are times when Iga Swiatek starts to miss it. Not a lot, but here and there. When she misses and with an easy shot, a few years ago, she would be frustrated, and then point to point, she could lose it.

But not now, even though when you walk on the court, when she is practicing, or in the matches, your rackets can disappear. But she does try to problem-solving. The No. 1  has to, especially when she is losing.

“Well, most of the times I feel like I have improved, but there are some matches where I feel like a little bit in chaos, and I don’t know which way to go that it’s gonna work.  But honestly, it’s not happening often. In more cases I kind of choose the right solution, and then I’m playing better,” Swiatek said. “Then the momentum changes and, yeah, I just go with the flow.”

Swiatek has won three Grand Slams, and exactly a year ago, she won Indian Wells, beating Maria Sakkari in the final. She then won Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, Roland Garros, the U.S. Open and San Diego, and this year, in Doha. That is a lot, but over the past two and a half months, she looked pretty good, but not flawless. She still has work to do, and she knows that.

“After Australian Open [when she lost against Elena Rybakina], honestly I did a lot of work to not feel like I’m playing not to lose. So right now I don’t feel that way. Well, just reminding yourself, getting rid of the pressure a little bit, reminding yourself that you’re there to run, to play those longer rallies, and not to expect that you’re going to make every shot perfect because you’re doing it in practices. I just change my mindset, and I was really like digging into everything tennis-wise, so it kept my mind busy from all the fuss that is around to the rankings and everything.”

She has a huge first serve, her forehand and her backhand are gigantic, and she is full tilt. Immediately, she can attack, and then when it is right, she can bash it, into the corners, or down the line. As long she has a chance to win the match, then she can be patient and thoughtful. In her last match, she edged over Bianca Andreescu, who was playing almost as well as she could, but Swiatek out hit her. She was smarter.

On Wednesday, Swiatek dominated again and took out 2021 US Open champion, Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-1.

Before the match, Swiatek said, “I just know how her shots feel on the racquet, because before I haven’t even practiced with her.  So it helps that way, but on the other hand, it’s great because we are playing on hard court, and there was clay, but actually this surface is slower. So I think I have to, like, really take care of the tactics anyway, and we’ll see. Honestly, like every day is different. Stuttgart match was like almost a year ago. So long time ago.”

NOTES
Aryna Sabalenka edged Barbora Krejcikova 6-4 in the third set, in a very good match. The No. 2 Sabalenka finally won a Slam at the Australian Open, and she was always very mighty, but her serve was spotty, and she threw together so many faults. But now, she figured it out, at least mentally, and if she continues to be stable, then she will eventually be No. 1. Or not. But this year?

 On Tuesday, the wind kicked in at Indian Wells, very hard, and it was difficult to control it. However, there were three, long matches, and when it finished, and Coco Gauff , Karolina Muchova and Petra Kvitova came through. Even if they did not play great, they didn’t droopy.

That was a dramatic match, although there were some many errors, but Kvitova beat Jessica Pegula  6-2, 3-6, 7-6(11). The two time champion Kvitova  can hit the ball so hard,  and she can put it away, but she can also disappear. But not today, during the heavy wind,  she waited until she could made a terrific shot. That was fine win. 

How he managed to win, when Daniil Medvedev won it 6-7(5), 7-5(5), 7-5 over Alexander Zverev even though he got hurt in the second set. But he has now won 16 in a row. He is on fire, again.

Frances Tiafoe continues to move on. On Tuesday, after a slow start, then he was much more consonant . However, each day it will get tougher, and he will face off a solid player, Cameron Norrie. That would be a three setter. As he said, “I think I was much more raw, kind of just went out and played. I think now you overthink it a little bit and now you’re older and your perspective and, back then I was just playing and enjoying, but you don’t really understand the magnitude of things.”

Carlos Alcaraz: ‘I’m lucky to end the year as No. 1’

Carlos Alcaraz
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

After Rafa Nadal lost couple days ago in Paris. So, in a couple weeks, it appears that Carlos Alcaraz will end the year at No. 1. He already has reached in the quarters in Paris, and win or lose, when he goes to the ATP Finals, he might be thinking that he can win it for the first time with the top eight

Unfortunately, on Friday, Alcatraz retired down 3-6 6-6 in the tiebreak against the very good player, Holger Rune. He said, “Having had treatment on an abdominal muscle.” That is tough and hopefully he will play at the ATP Finals.

He is happy, though, usually off the court. On the court, he pumps himself up many times.
 
“Well, I’m lucky to end the year as No. 1. That’s all I can say,” he said. “It has been a great year for me. But I’m gonna end the year like the previous ones. When I finish the last tournaments, I’m going to have holidays, and then really focus to have a good preseason, to focus on the start next season as great as I can, starting in Australia with all the focus on Australian Open. It’s gonna be a normal end of year for me.”

Not quite normal. When he started this year, he was ranked No. 31, which was very good, but the 19-year-old still has his whole career in front of him to work on his powerful strokes and, also, how to adjust and re-adjust. Also, the superfast player has to grind it, here and there, and then when he has a real chance, then he could go for it. Even if he misses his shots, he could just go to the next point and keep trying to remain focused. He won’t dominate every week, but a heck of a lot of them.

This year Alcaraz won Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona, Madrid and the US Open. He has beaten many in the top 10, like Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz. When he won it at Flushing Meadows, he beat three players in five sets, but he was not tired at all. He just kept churning. That’s when he ascended to No. 1. Talk about being so thrilled.

“Of course it’s a great feeling, to let’s say in a little part to feel the best player in the world,” Alcaraz said with a smile. “For me, it’s just a number. It’s just a ranking. Obviously, it doesn’t mean that you’re gonna win every match, every tournament. Every players can beat you. I see like that, right now. I just feel I can lose every match, and that’s the most important thing. You have to play your best match in every match or at least you have to try to play the best level in every match. That’s what I see in that moment right now.”

He certainly does. His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has worked with Alcaraz for a while. Fererro won a Grand Slam at ’03 Roland Garros. When Ferrero got on court,at the Slams, he was super nervous, and then he would back off. Eventually, though, he moved forward, and he finally figured it out. When the former No. 1 Ferrero retired, he captured only one Grand Slam. He didn’t step up during the ‘03 US Open final, when Andy Roddick put him down in four tough sets.

If Alcaraz continues to improve at the net and with his returns, then for sure he has a real chance to win many Slams. At the ATP Finals, if he continues to play fantastic, then he could build a way into tennis immortality.

WTA Finals
At the WTA Finals, there have been some terrific matches. But, over the past four days, there have been very few fans coming into to watch the players in Fort Worth, Texas. It is the first year, so it will take a while to get used to it, but over the many years, from Monday through Thursday, early in the day, there are not enough fans and that looks horrible on TV. It is November, when fans can be on vacation.

I went to various WTA Finals over the years in Los Angeles, Istanbul, Turkey and Singapore.

In downtown Los Angeles I would walk over the Staples Center, and there were so many excellent matches. But, during the days, Monday through Thursday, only maybe 1,000-2,000 came in. Now on Friday at night, then more people would come and it would be much bigger in Saturday and Sunday. Here and there, it would be packed.
 
The same thing goes with Turkey and Singapore. There are some really nice people, some very good food, plus in the cities, but again, early on, during the day, there were not enough people walking inside to watch the tennis. The Saturday-Sunday, yes, more people came, but not enough.

How about right now? The World Series is in play with Houston ahead 3-2 of Philadelphia 3 games to 2. Yesterday, they played on Thursday night in Philadelphia and the fans were totally packed. Sold out, 46,000 watching.

The same thing will happen in Houston on Saturday at 5 p.m. So, when they do, how many fans in the WTA Finals will attend on Saturday … maybe 5,000? More? Less? We will find out shortly.

Outside of that, Iga Swiatek is on fire. She won two matches, crushing Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2. As Garcia said, she could not handle her this time. The Frenchwoman has had an excellent year, as she is much more aggressive than she used to be. However, Swiatek is so focused, and she can crack her forehand and her backhand. The No. 1 now has an excellent first serve, and she is so fast. Swiatek has made it into the semis, so can anyone upset her? Perhaps, but you have to dig in.

Maria Sakkari won two matches, so she will make it into the semis, too. Earlier, she knocked down American Jessica Pegula. Sakkari is so steady. Pegula looked mentally out of it this week. She lost another match, so she won’t advance.

Neither will Coco Gauff, who lost twice, losing versus Daria Kasatkina on Thursday night, 7-6(6), 6-3. The teenager No. 4 Gauff had a solid year, and she has definitely improved. But to win a huge tournament in 2023, she has to be more stable, on the court. They all do.

Four Thursday picks for the 2022 US Open

Caroline Garcia
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Ons Jabeur vs. Caroline Garcia
The Frenchwoman Garcia is churning, mixing it up and blasting her shots. She does love to rally and stare at her opponents. She can be very intense and threw away her doubts. But, she is very fluky. However, Jabeur also really likes to rally, and she can hit and hit with dozens of strokes. Years ago, she did not attach enough

But gradually the No. 5 became strategic. They have known each other for a long time, and they are friends, but on court, they have to stop thinking about each other and just play ball. Jabeur lost this year’s Wimbledon final. Sheknew that when she gets another chance at a major, she will reach higher. It will be close, but in the end, the Turnisia will win it in three tough sets

Iga Świątek vs. Aryna Sabalenka
Świątek is totally fascinating. The Pole can be pretty patient, and then, she can heat it up, and go for winners. She is so focused, and she bends down so low. There are some moments when she misses for no reason, but when she thinks about it, then she can change direction.

Sabalenka just said that while her serve is not perfect yet. Her coach changed her hand and leg location, and arm movement slightly. Yes, she still does miss a lot, but the reason why she made it into the semifinals because she is improving. Beyond that, she is one of the best players in the game, based on her power. In reality, though, Świątek has won so many titles this year, and because of that, she badly wants to win another Slam. Świątek will pound Sabalenka in two terrific sets.