Iga Swiatek – Page 3 – TennisReporters.net

The Picks in Madrid: Wednesday, May 3

May 3, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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~~

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: atp, Borna Coric, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, madrid, Matthew Cronin, wta

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

April 22, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left Tagged With: Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenko, atp, barcelona, Carlos Alcaraz, Dusan Lajovic, Holger Rune, Iga Swiatek, Munich, Stefanos Tsitsipas, stuttgart, wta

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

April 18, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Banja Luka, barcelona, Cameron Norrie, denis Shapovalov, Iga Swiatek, Matthew Cronin, Novak Djokovic, stuttgart

The steady, the powerful: Carlos Alcaraz wins Indian Wells

March 20, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Aryna Sabalenka, Carlos Alcaraz, daniil medvedev, Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, indian wells, Matt Cronin

No. 1 Iga Swiatek is looking upward

March 15, 2023 by Matthew Cronin

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.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu, Frances Tiafoe, Iga Swiatek, Matthew Cronin, Petra Kvitova

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

November 4, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Carlos Alcaraz, coco gauff, Fort Worth, Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, paris, wta finals

Four Thursday picks for the 2022 US Open

September 8, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

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.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Caroline Garcia, Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur, us open

Wimbledon: Amanda Anisimova beats Coco Gauff

July 3, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Amanda Anisimova is still becoming more mature, on the court and off. Over the past few months, she began to think more clearly about her oncourt tactics. Both her forehand and her backhand are titanic, and while she isn’t incredibly fast, she can be pretty quick when chasing would-be winners. She stares at the ball and then she can decide to rally or leap on the lines.

On Saturday, she beat Coco Gauff 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round. She was extremely excited.

“It was a super tough match today, but it was extremely special to get to play on Centre Court for the first time in my life,” Anisimova said. “It’s super exciting how many Americans are doing well and have advanced here so far. I think we have a ton of strong players. Even today playing against Coco, I think that’s extremely exciting and good for our country to play on Centre, both being American.”

She is the only American woman left in the tournament at Wimbledon. Jessica Pegula lost today, and a bunch of players lost in the first week. So now it is up to No. 25 Anisimova, to go further.

“At the end of the day it’s about the consistency and how well you do at each tournament. It’s still something that I’m working on,” she said. “Just getting far into tournaments – I had a couple quarterfinals this year where I think I could have gone past it. I just try to take the experience. I’m just here for the journey so I’m building off of that.”

It was a windy day, and the 18-year-old Gauff, who reached the final at Roland Garros, fell out in the last two sets. She could have been much more patient, but she just could not get it together. However, she said that Anisimova can go almost all the way. Oh, really?

“I think she has got a good shot of pretty much going all the way to the final. If she plays like she did those last two sets against me, I think that’s some top-notch tennis right there,” Gauff said.

Anisimova will face the Frenchwoman Harmony Tan on Monday, who upset Serena Williams in the first round.

Swiatek’s streak ends

There was a wild upset when the No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 37-match win streak finally ended. The 32-year-old veteran Alizé Cornet was very driven and she snapped winners all over the place. She can hit it short and soft with her second serves, but she is still very quick and she can blast her forehand. However, Cornet had not reached the quarters at Wimbledon. Earlier this year, at the Australian Open, she upset Simona Halep before Danielle Collins took her down in the quarters.

But this time, Swiatek finally grew cold, and she lost, 6-4, 6-2 to Cornet. But, when she gets back on the hard courts, the Pole should be ready to punch it again.

Outside of Anisimova and Cornet, there are two players who are lurking, the former two-time champion Simona Halep, and the current No. 5, Paula Badosa. Halep won the 2019 Wimbledon, stunning Serena in the final. Currently, she looks pretty good, but to get there, she has to hit it even harder. Last week, Anisimova punched Halep in Germany on the grass. The Romanian is always very steady, but she has to attack the net.

Badosa has had a strong year. But, she has yet to reach the semis at the Slams. The Spaniard picked it up last year, and she can be self-consistent, but once again, on grass, if she wants to go even further, she has to try and bang it down. Kick it, if you can.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Alizé Cornet, amanda anisimova, coco gauff, Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, wimbledon

TennisReporters’ Wimbledon predictions

June 24, 2022 by tennisreporters

TennisReporters.net’ co-owners Matt Cronin and Ron Cioffi go on the record with their Wimbledon picks. Each one give their thoughts on which players are going into the second week and the semifinals.

Here are the 10 men and 10 women, who want to happily shake hands in the final.

THE MEN

Rafa Nadal
Once again, Nadal continues to battle and work on new strokes. He won Roland Garros, with an amazing show, along with the Australian Open. He has a shot at the calendar year Grand Slam. That’s a big ask for a player of his age. Nadal gets hurt a lot, but when he manages to go on court, he figures it out. He is just fine at Wimbledon, and if he is healthy, he can win it and have 23 Grand Slam majors. That would be something else.

Novak Djokovic
Over the past couple months, the Serb finally began to play much better, banking on his super confidence. His backhand is phenomenal, his returns is terrific, and his first serve is so patient. However, he is not perfect. If he looks very good in the second week, he can push it into the final. And then he has a very good shot at his 21^st Slam.

Matteo Berrettini
The Italian can go very deep once again. Last year, he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz reading the final, before Djokovic beat him. He just won two tournaments this month, so he is ready to finally win a Slam. He likes to go down really low to hit his shot, and he also can jump up for some huge shots. He is right there, but can he really rise to the Slam challenge?

Carlos Alcaraz
The young Spaniard has had a wild, wonderful year. When the 19-year-old is feeling very good, he can leap around the court and paint the lines. He can be a little bit erratic, but he tends to go for it, anyway. He really likes the clay, but this is on the grass. So next week, he must change it up ASAP and get a clear understanding on how to preserve at Wimbledon.

Andy Murray
We all know that the three-time Grand Slam champion almost retired due to a massive injury, but he did return, and it appears that he is playing better now. The 35-year-old is unseeded. But, he knows almost everything to do to succeed on court. Now he is a little bit slower than when he won his majors. In order to reach the second week, he has to go for it early. If he cracks a bunch of winners, then the fans might think that he can win it at SW19. That would be a blast.

-MC

Stefanos Tsitsipas
The big Greek has a big game and a long fluid backhand. He is in the top tier of the best young players who haven’t grabbed a major, along with Alexander Zverev (who is injured), Berrettini, Andrey Rublev (the Russian is banned) and Felix Auger-Aliassime. It’s easy to say that it’s just a matter of time (and the retirement of the Big Three) for them to win a Slam. But, Tsitsipas has a better chance among these players because of his variety and ability to blast first serves. But, he may have to power through the unpredictable Nick Kyrgios in the third round.

Felix Auger-Aliassime
The Canadian has had a consistent assentation to No. 9. At 21, he still has a lot of time to improve. In 2022 he won Rotterdam over Tsitsipas and reached the Marseille final. But, there are too many events where he stalled in the quarterfinals. That has allowed him to rise to a career-high without having any notable momentum going into Wimbledon.

Casper Ruud
A run to the Roland Garros final was the high point of the Norwegian’s career, propelling him to No. 5 and the third seed at Wimbledon. But, he played only one match on grass and lost to No. 180 Ryan Peniston. Ruud has the big game to make a real run into the second week, especially that the only other seed in his first three matches is Sebastian Baez.

Hubert Hurkacz
Hurkacz is on fire. He took down Daniil Medvedev, Kyrgios, Auger-Aliassime and Ugo Humbert to win Halle. That gives the seventh-seed a head start on grass compared to others. His first-round contest is against the dangerous Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He could face American Tommy Paul in the third round. Others in the bracket are has-beens Fernando Verdasco, Adrian Mannarino and Jiri Vesely.

Taylor Fritz
Fritz is seeded eleventh. That is fortunate as he has only reached one third-round match on the lawns ofWimbledon. It also doesn’t help that he is 0-2 on the grass in the two lead-up tournaments this year. His one claim to 2022 fame is downing Nadal at Indian Wells. So, why will Fritz go deep? He has the game to dominate on the grass. And, it just may be the right time for figure it out, if he can get by his possible third-round opponent: upstart Holger Rune of Denmark.

-RC

THE WOMEN

Iga Swiatek
She won Roland Garros, again, and the No. 1 hasn’t lost a match since early February. During each point, she goes for a winner quickly with her forehand and backhand, too. Obviously, she was a serious favorite on the clay, last year at Wimbledon, she lost in the fourth round. She certainly has been so much smarter now, and if that is the case, then she will continue to be brilliant.

Ons Jabeur
She has had a solid year, and gradually she has become more aggressive and better with her shot selection. On two clay court tournaments, she won in Madrid and reached the final in Rome. She just won Berlin on grass. However, she has yet to make much of an impact at Wimbledon. If she wants to achieve big-time success at Wimbledon, she has to bring a better game in the third set.

Maria Sakkari
No. 5 Greek Sakkari did have a very good last year, and this season, she did manage to reach the finals at Indian Wells. However, in the last three months, the fast hitter lost early at Roland Garros. She always loves to battle, and she rarely collapses. There is a good change that, if she reaches the final, she leap into heaven with the trophy?

Coco Gauff
She reached the final at RG. That was surprising, given that she is still very young. On the hard courts, she knows the right way to grind it, to take more time and to construct where to go. She is becoming better each months. While the grass can be odd, she will figure it out where to go.

Jelena Ostapenko
A few years ago, she won Roland Garros, crushing the ball. But, after that, she became so erratic. She is slower now, and she has not changed a few critical flaws. But now she is here again ready to crush her shots deep into the court. If she really wants to win a major again, she needs to find the motivation to hustle, really hustle.

-MC

Simona Halep
Remember 2019? Halep delivered a masterpiece with a crushing 6-2, 6-2 beatdown of Serena Williams. Sad to say she hasn’t played at Wimbledon since. As Halep has fought through injuries and questionable confidence, she still has the foot speed and consistency to battle all the top players. Getting into her way into the second week is Katrina Muchova in the first round and a possible clash with the resurgent Camila Giorgi in the third.

Petra Kvitova
I took a wild stab at predictions at the beginning of 2022 and said Kvitova would win another Slam. Which, obviously, has got to be on the fast grass of Wimbledon, where she prevailed in 2011 and 2014. She has the weapons and wide lefty serve to frustrate all comers, which showed in her straight-set defeat of Ostapenko in the Eastbourne final. She could face the fourth-seed Paula Badosa in the third round, which would be a challenge.

Karolina Pliskova
How can we do a Grand Slam prediction sheet without mentioning Pliskova. The “always a bridesmaid” label continues to stick. She can’t get deep without a possible meeting with Serena Williams. One of her two major finals was a year ago at Wimbledon. This year hasn’t been her best and she only advanced to the Roland Garros second round and lost to Gauff on grass in Berlin. She can get to the semis but holding the trophy might still elude her.

Paula Badosa
At the age of 24, Badosa doesn’t have much history at Wimbledon. She has only played twice and reached the fourth round last year. But, the Spaniard has the tools to bedevil most of the field, which is why she has risen to No. 4. She hasn’t played since Roland Garros, where she retired with a right calf injury. The lack of matches on grass could slow down her path to the second week. Still, she has the game to advance.

Serena Williams
What do you say about Serena? She still is a mighty force in women’s tennis. But, she has only played two doubles matches since her retirement in singles at 2021 Wimbledon. She is considered a threat to win her record-tying 24^th Slam. But, she arrived in England out of shape. She will make all of her opponents worry. But, she could face Pliskova in the third round. So, we mention Serena in our top group but really have no idea how far she can go.

-RC

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Carlos Alvarez, coco gauff, Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, Matteo Berrettini, Novak Djokovic, Ons Jabeur, rafa nadal, wimbledon

Retiring at the top: No. 1 Barty says she is ‘spent’

March 23, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

On Wednesday in Australia, No. 1 Ash Barty waved goodbye, once again. As she said on TV this morning she did everything over the past few years. After she won the 2022 Australian Open, she was gone. She looked fantastic on the court, but she did not want to travel anymore. She pulled out of Indian Wells and Miami, and she did say that she needed to rest. But then, she thought about it a lot. Last year after she won 2021 Wimbledon, she was almost ready not to play after that. However, she wanted to try and see how she feels. It turned out to be fine, but the start of this year, after she finally won the Aussie Open, she had nothing left.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” the 25-year-old Barty said. “Wimbledon last year changed a lot for me as a person and for me as an athlete. When you work so hard your whole life for one goal, to be able to win Wimbledon—which was the one true dream I wanted in tennis—that really changed my perspective. I just had that gut feeling after Wimbledon and had spoken to my team quite a lot about it. There was just a little part of me that wasn’t quite satisfied, wasn’t quite fulfilled. And then came the challenge of the Australian Open. I think that for me just feels like the most perfect way, my perfect way, to celebrate what an amazing journey my tennis career has been.”

In 2014, Barty was mentally out of it, saying in her video with friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua that she was “spent.? She could not win anything. So she stopped, she paused and started to play cricket. She played pretty well, but by 2016, she was back again playing tennis. It took her for a while to really feel all the right shots. Eventually, she matured and began to crack the ball, with her forehand, serve and at the net. Barty could always hit her one-handed backhand, with an amazing variety. She could beat anyone when she was in form on the hardcourts, on the grass and the clay. She was one of the best players since she came on tour.

Barty has said that she wants to focus on something else, and it looks like she may not return again. That is her decision. However, Barty was very popular and many the fans would watch her, at the events or on TV. But now, the WTA workers have to reset and hope that the fans can listen and hope they will like a different style.

Indian Wells results

At least Iga Świątek has improved a lot, winning Indian Wells when she took down Maria Sakkari in two easy sets. She can get down so low, and she can hit it pretty deep, with her forehand, backhand and first serve. Plus, this year when she plays, she can lock it in. She can be very intense. She is ranked No. 2 and since Barty has retired, it looks like that Swiatek could be No.1. According to reports, it’s up to Barty whether she will ask to be removed from the rankings, leaving the top spot open.

At what point did Taylor Fritz rose way up high? A year ago, in fact, even in January, he was rising, but he couldn’t put it all together. Finally, at Indian Wells, he played fantastic, upsetting Rafa Nadal 6-3 7-6(5). Yes, the 21 Grand Slam champion was hurt. The Spaniard injured his ribs in the semis on Saturday when he edged the terrific teenager Carlos Alcaraz in more than three hours. He had to get up the next day and battle again. He was frustrated at times, but Fritz get chugging, and he smacked with his powerful forehand and backhand. His first serve was impressive, taking his

first ATP Masters 1000. Finally, he is darn good. Plus, the last time that an American men won in the ATP 1000 was almost four years ago when John Isner won Miami. Nadal said that Fritz finally won it all, plus a couple other Americans are impressive.

Nadal said, “It’s a great victory for him. First Masters 1000. Big day for him. Victory like today helps. He played well. He went through some great matches during this week, especially yesterday [when he beat Andrey Rublev ]. A lot of credit to him on the victory because he had much tougher opponent in front yesterday than today I think.

“But he already played great matches in Australia against Tsitsipas. It’s obvious that he is improving. With this victory, it’s a great start of the season for him. He will have chance to be very close if not in the top 10 very soon. Going to be a big battle there for these numbers because there are a lot of young and great players fighting for these spots. Yeah, Brooksby is another kind of player. I saw him play a couple of times. He does a lot of things very well, with a special style, but doing things very difficult, doing very difficult things easy. Probably he going to have a great future, too.”

Yes, that was Fritz’s biggest championship for the current No. 13. If he develops mentally, then maybe he can go very deep at the Grand Slams. But before that, he and the others are already in Miami. Winning these two 1000 tournament back to back would be almost impossible. Or is it?

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: ash barty, Iga Swiatek, Taylor Fritz