Ons Jabeur – Page 2 – TennisReporters.net

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

Serena Williams, 40, returns to singles at Wimbledon

June 20, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Serena Williams will return next week, but the 23-time Grand Slam champion has not played in a year.

She gave birth to her daughter in 2017 and wanted to be around all the time, just like other people. Obviously, there are also other people who do not really care, so they can continue to work away from their kids a lot.

During 2021 Wimbledon, Serena had to retire with her leg a leg injury in the first round. She has rarely done that, so it was a shook. But, why push it? Now Williams has to be 100 percent to compete with the best on tour.

Serena has always been very thoughtful, but it took her years to trust people, on court, and off court, too. She quickly became one of the best players when she was only a teenager. And then after that, she became a dominate player, with her amazing first serve, locked-in return, gigantic forehand and backhand. She would just crack the ball on any line. She started at the WTA in 1998, and next week, when she start in Eastbourne, she is 40 year old.

Williams will play with Ons Jabeur in the doubles at Eastbourne, but not singles. Serena has won 14 Grand Slams doubles titles, along with — of course — her older sister Venus.

Is Serena lurking? Does she really believe she can grab another singles title at Wimbledon, where she has won seven times? That would be very surpriseing. Five years ago, Serena still looked like that when she was on it, she can find the solution. But the other excellent people became smarter and driven, especially Iga Swiatek, the current No. 1, who hasn’t lost a match since early February.

In 2016, Serena won it at Wimbledon over Angie Kerber. In the 2018 final, the German got her. Once again, at 2019 Wimbledon, she was in the final, but the intense Simona Halep stoned her.

Is it possible that the aging Serena can be brilliant again? Roger Federer, who won 20 majors, but he also is 40 year sold, and he hasn’t won a Slam since 2018, at the Australian Open. And just like Serena, his body broke down and now he cannot play until next year.

We all know that Serena can play some incredible points. But not every point, just like she did when she won four Grand Slams in a row. That was amazing. Now, Serena will need to excel over the long haul. It takes seven pressure-packed victories to win a major. A rusty, but still masterful Serena will have great moments at Wimbledon. But raising the Venus Rosewater Dish will probably not be one of them.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Ons Jabeur, Serena williams, Venus Williams, wimbledon

The Italian final: Iga Świątek versus Ons Jabeur

May 15, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Iga Świątek goes into the Rome final with 27 wins in a row. She is not only No.1, but now on the clay, she is crushing people day after day. Last year, who would have thought that she became not only very fast, but smarter. She can belt her forehands and her backhand, she can mix it up, and she can also return like a ghost.

In the semis in Italy, she totally crushed Aryna Sabalenka. She wiped her out 6-2, 6-1.

Świątek has won just one Grand Slam, at the 2020 Roland Garros, but she is now tied with Serena Williams, who also had 27 wins in a row. Świątek is not quite there — a long shot— because Martina Navratilova had 74 wins in a row back in 1984.

Who would have guessed that at the start of the year? Świątek is a little bit shocked. She has lost three matches in January and early February, against the now retired No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Danielle Collins and Jelena Ostapenko. After that, she began to streak.

“I needed time to learn how to do that properly, how to use the streak or ranking to put pressure on my opponents. I feel like I’ve done that pretty well last season and this season at the beginning, just learning how to use it in a positive way,” Świątek said. “Last year when I had better ranking, it felt like it’s something that’s pressuring me down. This time it’s totally different. Also having Tomasz [Wiktorowski, a coach who worked Aga Radwanska for many years], who is so experienced, who has been working with top players already, it’s also really helpful. I feel like I can lean on them in that matter. I just wasn’t analyzing that much as I did in previous seasons, so it also helped.”

In the final, the rising Jabeur has finally improved a lot. The 27-year-old has been pretty decent, but she has been downcast. She does have a lot of shots, and she can run for a long time, but when she has a chance to bang it, she can become confused.

Then in April, she switched her approach and became so much more confident. She did more grinding, which helped her win in Madrid.

“Honestly I feel like I was playing better the other matches. Maybe today wasn’t the best,” Jabeur said. “Probably another test for me mentally, for sure. But to back up the performance from Madrid, it’s very important for me. It’s one of the reasons why I’m here, why I want to continue showing myself on the court. It’s part of maybe the journey. I told you I want to win a Grand Slam, so maybe I have to go through this to be able to win one Grand Slam. For now I’m doing it right. Different test from each match. Hopefully I can still continue.”

Świątek and Jabeur have played three times, with the Tunisian winning two times, and the Pole winning once.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, Italian Open, Ons Jabeur, rome

Jessica Pegula to face Ons Jabeur in the Madrid final

May 6, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

When Jessica Pegula was a kid, she thought about playing all sports: football, hockey or even tennis. She wanted to score or nail a winner, either way.

Her father, Terry Pegula, owns the NFL Buffalo Bills, and the NHL Buffalo Sabres. But ,she wanted to do play tennis and advance to a pro career. Eventually, the American joined the WTA, but while she was OK, she was not amazing on court — yet.

Up until the start of last year, she was so-so, out of the top 50. Year after year, she would win and then she would lost, early. But then, she decided to hit the ball much harder and really go for it.

She still isn’t perfect, yet, but she has improved a tremendous amount. The 28-year-old could have retired, and go watch hockey or football, but she wanted to fight on court.

Now she is in the final in Madrid, and on Saturday, she will meet the talented Ons Jabeur.

Pegula is ready to drive and she wants to practice confidently.

“Well, if I didn’t work, I’d be very bored. People don’t realize that, they’re like, ‘You don’t have to work.’ I’m, like, ‘What would I do all day?,’ ” Pegula said. “I just wasn’t wired like that, I guess. Growing up, I guess I was just wired differently where I always wanted to be successful, and whatever it was, I feel like it’s not just tennis, whatever I do off the court too, I want to be really good at it, I want to be the best at it, I want to work hard at it. But honestly I think I just love the sport. I just have a lot of passion for playing. Yeah, I love to compete and be out there. It’s so much fun for me, and I think at the end of the day most players that’s what they are playing for.”

There are some people who want to earn money — whether it be a modest or large amount of money — and a few people do not push themselves when they play the matches. They may look OK, but there are times when they are feeling good. Conversely, when they can start to lose, they check out.

“You see the top players, they’re not playing really for more money at the time. They have already made enough money. Look at [Roger] Federer,” Pegula said. “He could have stopped a while ago and nobody would have blamed him. He says he loves the sport. I feel like I have the same feeling. I’m very compassionate about it and I love to compete and I love the challenge and the grind of doing that.”

Yes it is a huge challenge but she is rising to it. She is ranked No. 14 and very soon, she could finally be in the top 10. This year she has knocked off some solid players. But besides Madrid, she has been up and down. In Dubai, Jabeur crushed her. Who will prevail on Saturday? Neither have won a WTA 1000. Someone will.

“We’re both, I think, going to be nervous,” Pegula said. “We’re both going to want to win. We’re going to go out there and compete and have a great match, I hope.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Jessica Pegula, madrid, Ons Jabeur

TennisReporters.net 2021 year-end review: top 10-6, the women

December 27, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

10. Ons Jabeur
The Tunisian had a terrific year, overall, re-thinking what she should do during the match. She is so fast and can hit it harder, crosscourt and down the line. A couple years ago, she was decent, but not wonderful. Currently now, she can grind it. While she wants to rally for a long time, there are times when she doesn’t go for it enough and look to end points by cracking winners. Next year, if she wants to reach the top 5, she will have to dig in and slam it even more.

9. Iga Swiatek
When she is on and focused, she is thrilled and compelling. Other times, when she isn’t playing well, she can be ticked off. When she won Roland Garros last year, she was phenomenal, sliding on the clay, charging in and she pounded it. She is young, and she can be impatient, so she must be more consistent. In 2022, if she wants to go higher, it would be nice to see her improve her serve and her forehand.

8. Paula Badosa
The New York-native Spaniard jumped up the rankings by gradually pushing herself. She is working with the coach, Jorge García, and apparently, he found a solution this year. Badosa is willing to mix it up, with her slice, spin and flat shots. Using that kind of variety can be confusing, but it is possible. She had beaten a number of top-level players, winning Indian Wells. So now, next year, she will add with more strokes. Just push even harder.

7. Anett Kontaveit
The Estonian is now at her career high. She started this year at No. 23, dropped down to 31 in May and then she rapidly bolted up. Somehow, someway she won four smaller tournament titles, but important ones. At the WTA Final, she reached the final, and while she lost, she beat a series of solid players. She is intelligent, quick and can change direction. Now she is much smarter on the court. “I think I’m excited for the next season. Really want to keep this momentum up, just keep improving on my game,” she said. She will charge once again.

6. Maria Sakkari
The Greek is another one who rolled up, being incredible consistent, and she was very rugged. She scrambles and jumps up in the air while crushing the ball and deep. After the end of the season, she wrote, “Before this year, I would say that sometimes I was a little too hard and negative on myself. This season, with the help of surrounding myself with the right people, I’ve concentrated on making my mindset much more positive by manifesting kinder thoughts. I would definitely say that being nice to yourself is always a good idea.” It must be. Next year, then, she won’t be negative for the rest of the year. She hopes.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Anett Kontaveit, Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur, Paula Badosa