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Caroline Garcia wins the WTA Finals: ‘She dashed all over the place’

November 8, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

Over the past 30 years, in the, only four players have won hte WTA Finals without taking a Grand Slam: Agnieszka Radwańska, Dominika Cibulková, Elina Svitolina and now, it is Caroline Garcia.

The now-cool veteran Garcia was never broken and beat the powerful Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (4), 6-4. Sabalenka, who had a terrific week in Fort Worth. When she became frustrated, she turned it around. She was very close against the Frenchwomen. But, when the match was to be decided, Garcia would go for it with a lot of depth and creativity. While Sabalenka looked very good, but when she had the opening to pull it into the third set, she made some odd errors.

Garcia was super-focused, and she dashed all over the place. That was pretty surprising, because 10 years ago, she looked very decent, but she was not excellent all the time. On court, she could be intense, but at other times, she would mentally walk away.

But not now. In the past three months, she looked very strong, and finally realized that if she could push her with her forehand, backhand and her terrific first serve, then she could beat anyone.

After beating Sabalenka, she said, “I had to try something new, and I like to challenge when I am going. That was very important.”

Not only did she beat Sabalenka, but it the semis, she almost stunned the No. 1, Iga Świątek. She really earned it. She was very calm and very effective. Plus, Garcia had to play almost every day, and really, it did not matter. Yes, everyone can be tired, but Garcia edged Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5) in 2 hours, 27 minutes. The next day, she prevailed again, with no fear.

Next year, the now No. 4 Garcia has a chance to win a Grand Slam. She has won 11 titles on hard courts and on grass in singles. But on the clay, she has been spotty. However she won Roland Garros in doubles twice. Maybe next year, she can win it in singles in Paris. That would be phenomenal.

Rune takes down top-10 players to win Paris 1000
Instead on saluting the veterans, how about Holger Rune, the 19-year-old who sort of stunned Novak Djokovic in three long sets in Paris? In January, he was ranked No. 103, and now he is currently No. 10. What a turned around! There are not many teenagers to enter into the top 10, such as Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

The Dane Rune was surprised about moving up so quickly. “I didn’t expect that at all four or five weeks ago but now I’m here,” said Rune. “I’m super happy how I officially ended my season, and if there possibly is more matches.” He will be the first alternate at the ATP Finals. If he plays, then more of the tennis world will see just how good he is.

Rune has won 19 of his past 21 matches, beating four top 10 other players: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

One of his coaches, Patrick Mouratoglou, who also works with the WTA players and appears on TV, too, said: “We have to be very transparent on this. He can progress. He can improve much more. There are elements where he can actually improve very much,” Mouratoglou said. “We are reaching the end of the season. We will work on that. It’s not really that there is a danger, but there is a lot of work to provide. He’s Top 10. It’s not his ambition. I don’t know [if] we have seen actually his top tennis. It’s higher than before, but we have to upgrade his average tennis play and to make sure that his normal average play is as excellent as we have seen so far.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Caroline Garcia, Holger Rune, Novak Djokovic, paris, wta finals

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

Novak Djokovic: ‘It could not be better going into Roland Garros’

May 20, 2022 by Matthew Cronin

It took Serbian Novak Djokovic weeks before he came back into top form this spring. In Rome, he won the tournament, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0, 7-6(5). The No. 1 has won 38 ATP Masters 1000s. He has also won 20 Grand Slams. He has had a tough year, but now, he is finally in the zone.

“Two days ago I played great. I have been building my form for the past couple of weeks and I knew that my best shape on clay usually comes around Rome, so it could not be better going into Roland Garros,” Djokovic said. Djokovic knew his form was improving through the final and, gradually, he exploited Tsitsipas’s backhand.

“I always believed that I could come back and win the match, and I stayed there even though a lot of things were against me in terms of how I felt on the court. Game-wise, physically I was just far from my best,” Djokovic said. “So, of course, in those types of conditions and circumstances, then you have to really work two times more than you normally would. I played a clay court specialist. I have to try to be optimistic and build, to Roland Garros and where I want to peak.”

With him being sidelined though the early part of 2022 due to not having been vaccinated for COVID-19, he practiced all the time. But, without match play the 34-years old gets irritated and frustrated. When he is on court, he can be lethal and so steady. But now he is in a better space and he is driving on the train.

His backhand might be the best ever, when he is almost perfect cross-court and also down the line, too. He can smack his very good forehand, and he can return quite deep. His eyes can focus, and he can be very thoughtful.

Djokovic is peaking, and at Roland Garros, he has a shot to win the tournament, assuming whether Rafa Nadal will be healthy. If they advance, the two legends will meet in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard stopped playing after Rome. He has won 13 Grand Slams at the French Open, and he has been clearly the best player ever in Paris, but if his legs or his sore back seize up, he might not be able to win it for the millionth time.

Another Spaniard, the 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, is winning almost everything. He is so fast, he can bash the ball, and he can hit some amazing drop shots. He can sprint, and he smiles when he hits a winner. However, even though he won Barcelona and Madrid, he has yet to dominate the three-out-of-five set matches. He will, one way or another, but can he do it next week? Maybe in the first week, but in the second week? Possibly as long as he can be more consistent.

Here are a few players who can reach the second week including Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz, Denis Shapovalov, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and of course, Daniil Medvedev, who just returned to action.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Also Nadal's health, Novak Djokovic, paris, Rafael Nadal, roland garros, rome, Stefanos Tsitsipas

The spectacular Novak Djokovic overcomes Daniil Medvedev

November 7, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

Everyday whether he is playing fantastic or mediocre, Novak Djokovic shows up to play. Once again, on Sunday in Paris, there was an encore. Like the best music in the final song, the Serbian edged Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win another title this year. He grabbed five huge titles in 202
If you go back to see Djokovic’s first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, in 2005 when he fell to Marat Safin, he clearly looked terrific. But, he still had to improve his forehand, his second serve and net game. New, 16 years later, the now 34-year -old has become almost picture-perfect, which is why he won three Grand Slams this year. He almost took a fourth at the US Open, the famous and elusive calendar year Grand Slam, but Medeved caught him in three sets in the final. The Russian was incredibly steady on the rock.

However, Djokovic said he thought about it a lot. And, he re-adjusted.

“I went back and reviewed the final of the US Open to see what I did wrong and what I did right. I tried to read the patterns of his serve and the ball toss, maybe. I tried to look for the small details, because it was a match of small margins,” Djokovic told the Tennis Channel.

“He started better, broke my serve in the first game and I came back. He served the first set out pretty comfortably, but I felt as if I was there. I thought it was only a matter of time when I was going to read his serve better and start to make some plays. You can’t go through him. You have to find a way to play with controlled aggression, play the right shots at the right time and make him come in. It’s variety that wins matches against him. We both suffered on the court and there was a lot of grueling rallies.”

Djokovic has now won 86 titles, mostly because he is still so fast and, plus, he is now more comfortable coming into the net, and his backhand might be the best ever.

”You still have to play some half volleys, some low volleys and come in, but you have the whole of the court to play with,” he said.

A few years ago, Medvedev was almost out there, when he wasn’t playing well. He has always been steady, but he didn’t want to aim at the lines. At times, he would because like almost all of the players wanted badly to become No. 1. Or even the top 10. So, he worked and worked, he added to his game, with his serves and his return.

Right now, he is on the top of the game. Or close. He has beaten everyone in the past two years, and he is just fine to stay out there for hours and battle. He has no fear. Well, almost, because the best players can get nervous, depending on the day. That includes Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and of course, Djokovic.

At the ATP Finals in Turin, in a couple weeks, Djokovic and Medvedev might clash again. That are 5-5, head-to-head. That is enough times for them to know each others games. Plus, they have had some fascinating matches. However, as Djokovic knows, (he who has played Nadal 58 matches), there needs to be some new adjustments. Medvedev will do that, too.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Novak Djokovic, paris

Roland Garros, Day 9: Federer and Serena are gone

June 7, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

On Sunday, two of the best players ever who have won so many titles, are out as Roger Federer withdrew and Serena Williams lost. They are good friends, but as I have written this so many times now, they are aging. When they hit 39 years old, they are much more mature, but have slowed down. They both know what to do, and they can see it, but trying to sprint, very fast, that is a tough ask.

Federer decided to end his Roland Garros after he beat Dominik Koepfer in four sets because it was a very long match. His body said it is time to go back home. He hasn’t played much over the past 17 months, because his legs were messed up. As Andy Murray said about Federer, another good friends, “I’d argue that it’s quite risky to play multiple 4hr matches in a row in your 2nd tournaments back in 18 months so to me it makes sense to be reactive based on how your body feels, length of matches.” True.

Let us see during Wimbledon. Hopefully, his body will be in better shape. He has to because he really wants to win London.

Serena is pushing, and she looks pretty decent, but in order to get much better, then maybe she can attack early, and get it done ASAP. She lost to Elena Rybakina 6-3 7-5 — a good player who is up and down — and Serena couldn’t hit the ball from the backcourt and fumbled with a lot of errors. So in England, she has to hit it deep and mix it up more.

If she practices a lot, and I think she will when she arrives in England, then she will have her last chance to win a major. Serena will have to be totally into it, and be really aggressive on the grass.

MORE
Two of the very good players will face off on Tuesday with Daniil Medvedev versus Stefanos Tsitsipas. That will be a fantastic battle, with some huge swings. Seems like every predictor had Medvedev getting bounced in the first round. Now, he is into the second week.

Who knew that Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has finally reemerged? It had taken her for a decade. She is playing decent, but not wonderful. But, over the past few months ago, she woke up and smellrf the roses. Now she is much smarter on the court. Do it again. Prove it.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, daniil medvedev, Elena Rybakina, paris, Roger Federer, roland garros, roland-garros, Serena williams

Sorana Cirstea: ‘I found the joy of playing, the freedom’

June 5, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

The delightful Sorana Cirstea has always been very nice, when she talks off the courts. However, the 31-year-old has been around for 13 years, and why she has had some terrific wins, she never went very deep into the Grand Slams. She can hustle, and she is pretty fast. But, what keeps her stymied is throwing in so many error.

That is why she has never reached the top 20. But she was close. Currently, she is No. 54. Maybe she can climb into the top 30s again, or even into the top 20s, but it will be very tough.

However, she has improved, and she seems to be thrilled about her life. Finally, she likes the dirt

“It’s funny because going into clay I was not very happy. I felt I was playing quite good towards the end of the hard court season,” said Cirstea, who beat Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-2. “Now when I’m getting the rhythm on hard court we have to switch on clay? But it’s been good. I haven’t changed much. I went through the same mindset like on the hard court, and I think it took me a little bit by surprise this clay court season, because I did not expect to come out so strong, first tournament winning Istanbul. I’m definitely enjoying it. I would not say clay is my favorite surface, but I’m definitely enjoying it.”

At the 2009 Roland Garros, she reached the quarters, upsetting Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic. She was playing wonderful but she lost to Sam Stoser.

She remembers that year, but she has changed and more mature.

“It’s funny, because I have a different mindset. Because if you think too much in the past or too much in the future, you will get frustrated,” Cirstea said. “If you ask me 12 years ago if I would still be playing today, I would definitely say no. I just go with the flow. I’m healthy, I’m enjoying myself, I’m playing at a very good level, probably one of the best I have been. I’m very mature. I’m taking it day by day, I’m not going too far ahead with my mind. I’m actually enjoying all this process. Definitely I’m enjoying much more I think this comes with maturity.”

Cirstea did have many ups and downs, moving around, finding the lines, but also, she did not understand where she was going, and what could she do? It looks like she thought about it, and right now, she thinks a lot.

“I would say, everyone has their own rhythm and their own path. You can’t compare yourself with anyone,” she said. “At the beginning of my career, I had this a lot, people comparing me to other people my age or comparing me to different players. So now, looking back, I feel that’s absolutely useless, comparing yourself with other people, because everyone has their own path and their own timing and their own route in life, their own way.

“Also, do not look left and right but look left and right for lessons, for positive things. It took me a long time to understand this and not get frustrated, because there were people my age or younger doing better. It plays a little bit with your head. But the moment when I realize that I’m playing for myself, I have my own career, I have my own path, my own life, things started to change and I found the joy of playing. I found the freedom of playing. I found the joy again.”

MORE
Kei Nishikori finally didn’t have to play for many hours again, as his opponent, Henri Laaksonen, retired. Now he has to face Alexander Zverev on Sunday. What a banger. The German said: “This is the main goal of my tennis career, to win Grand Slams and I feel in the past year-and-a-half I am on a very good [path] again and I hope I can continue.” Let’s see.

Victoria Azarenka crushed Madison Keys on Friday. Maybe Azarenka can stay around because she can be darn good.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova sort or stunned Aryna Sabalenka. Pavlyuchenkova is a little bit more mature. Sabalenka looked great this year, until at RG, she collapsed.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: Anastasia, paris, Pavlyuchenkova, roland garros, roland-garros, Serena williams, Sorana Cirstea, Victotia Azarenka

Roland Garros day 5: American men has little chance

June 3, 2021 by Matthew Cronin

Notes on a draw sheet:
Every day in the Grand Slams first weeks, there will be some really long matches and some darn good ones, too. There are marathons that can be fantastic, but also, it could be lousy and with so many errors.

Over too many years, American men rarely reach the second week. Here and there, but the last time was Andre Agassi, who won it in Paris, grinding and cracking the ball. He won it in 1999. He was so brilliant.

Now, it has been 22 years ago and probably, no American will win the 2021 Roland Garros. But, to reach the second week, that would be something.

On Wednesday, John Isner, Reilly Opelka and Steve Johnson won their matches. Isner has always been played very well on the hardcourts. The tall, young man Opelka is smart and he is committed to his game This year, Johnson did very little until this week, so maybe he can be self-assured again. Let’s see come Monday.

The Japanese Kei Nishikori has been around for a long time, and when he is healthy — and that is rare — he is muscular and he has a great set of wheels. He just won two five-setters. So, eventually, he will be sore in the third round. His legs will be very fatigued. But, to win another match … unlikely.

Chilean Cristian Garin won a five-setter. When the tournament ends, he will be ranked in the top 20. He is stellar stuff.

Serena Williams won in three sets, downing Mihaela Buzarnescu. She has always been great, but she is still on and off. Gradually, though, she will be more compatible

Aryna Sabalenka also won. For sure, she has a chance to win it all, but only if she is continues to stay calm. Victoria Azarenka and Madison Keys will clash. That will be a barn-burner.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: andre agassi, John Isner, paris, Reilly Opelka, roland garros, roland-garros, steve johnson

Roland Garros, Day 11: ‘Hang it all out’

October 9, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

What is fascinating in the Roland Garros second week is there are some well-established players, but also some of the new breed.

On the Thursday and Friday, all the men and the women will compete in Paris. The traditional players are still there, such as Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Petra Kvitova and Sofie Keni , all the Slam winners.

One important questions: When they play, are there nervous or not?

Kvitova can win a another major, but she has yet to win RG. So, once again, if she is remains calm and hones her tactics, then maybe she can trick Kenin. Kenin, who crushed Danielle Collins in the final set of the quarters; she wiped her out. Both Kvitova and Kenin are aggressive and play without fear. They won’t push the ball, and they go for the lines. Big serves and returns will determine the match.

How about Nadia Podoroska and Iga Swiatek? Where did they come from all of a sudden?

The youngsters will be around a long time. But, to go way up into the top 10 in the next year, that is pretty questionable. Or they can disappear as quickly as they rose, though Swiatek looks like the real deal. They just have to prove it…

Stefanos Tsitsipas is on the winning streak. Over the past two weeks, he started to be consistent and powerful. Before that, in August, he was on and off, playing well or playing badly. Tsitsipas recently said that at this Grand Slam, he could it hang it all out.

He will face Djokovic in the semis, and the No. 1 Serbian is very controlled. And he is cane astute. If he feels rattled, and realizes it, he can change it up. Tsitsipas has had some tough days, but he never gives up.

Nadal is cruising, taking out Diego Schwartzman on Friday. It was odd to see the Argentine getting into a tiebreak and then not winning another point. But, with Nadal on clay, the mountain is very steep.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: french open, paris, Petra Kvitova, rafa nadal, roland garros, Sofia Kenin

Jennifer Fights for Her Life Grab Women’s Crown

May 30, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

We started TennisReporters.net in May 2001, 20 years ago. We have posted well over 1,500 articles.

As coronavirus began to strike the tennis world, Indian Wells cancelled the tournament on March 9. Right after that, the tournaments pulled out quickly, including Miami, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. Now, the WTA and the ATP have shut down until June 7. Or even further. No one really knows.

However, if you love tennis, you can reminisce with TennisReporters.net. We are resurfacing many of our best stories, written by Matthew Cronin.

FROM PARIS (2001): With a smile that reached all the way around the Seine, Jennifer Capriati celebrated the most important title of her career after she willed her way past Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 in a nail biting final at Roland Garros on Saturday.

“I was fighting to the end, for my life out there. I just wanted to win so bad,” Capriati said of two hour and 21 minute sweatfest. “Afterwards, it just all paid off, all the fight. I’m really happy and relieved.”

Sharing seemingly never-ending hugs with her family after a gut-wrenching victory over a more than game opponent, Capriati lit up Roland Garros by beaming toward to sky.

“It doesn’t seem real,” said Capriati to her mother Denise after winning her second straight Grand Slam title.

“It is real,” replied Denise. “You won it with your big heart.”

Capriati dedicated the victory to fellow player Corina Morariu, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy in a Florida hospital for a rare form of leukemia.

“I just wanted to show that my heart is with her,” Capriati said. “We’re all players. It really hits home when something like that happens.”

A heavy favorite entering the contest, a nervous Capriati was completely out of sorts in the first set, becoming distracted by the chair umpire’s microphone and complained loudly to her.

“I can’t play that microphone,” she said to the umpire. “Are you kidding me? Turn that thing off. Don’t you have a switch?”

According to her mother, Capriati became tense last night while watching television and seeing one of her mentors, Chris Evert, saying that she was favorite to win the title and it was her time to shine in Paris. Unlike last year when she never entered an event the favorite, Capriati is now widely considered the best player in the world.

“The expectations were on her,” Denise said. “After what Chrissie said, she gave me a look and I knew that she was affected. Everyone was expecting her to win today and that’s not easy.”

Unlike in her previous matches, Capriati was unable to dictate play early, as she moved slowly and dumped numerous groundstrokes into the net. The 18-year-old Clijsters dominated the first set, running beautifully and and keeping her hard groundstrokes deep. Capriati committed a whopping 25 unforced errors in the set and said she was upset by a l
arge contingent of vocal Belgian fans.

But after changing rackets down 0-1 in the second set, Capriati regrouped and began to stand in more confidently in the neck-breaking rallies. Even though Clijsters wowed the crowd with her retrieving abilities, she was unable to control her huge forehand at key moments. Capriati broke her to go ahead 3-2 when Clijsters hit a forehand long and held on to win the set when the Belgian missed a forehand down the line.

While the first two sets were error strewn, both attacking baselines raised their games in the third set. Capriati broke Clijsters to open the set with by bashing away a forehand volley, but the 18-year-old broke her right back when Capriati dumped a backhand.

Both players served extremely well in the set, with Clijsters moving her serves all over the box and confusing her foe and Capriati frequently jamming Clijsters with hard serves into the body. At 6-6 and deuce , Clijsters tried to sneak in a drop shot, but it fell into the net. Capriati then broke her to 7-6 when the teen missed a backhand.

But Capriati was unable to consolidate the break when she committed series of shaky errors. “I couldn’t watch. I felt like I was having a heart attack,” said her brother and hitting partner, Stephen.

Clijsters was two points from the match on a two occasions, but never could control the center of the court. Serving at 9-9, the Belgian started out sloppily, double faulting and committing a bad forehand error. Capriati gained a a break point and quickly cashed in, emphatically circling a ball mark three times after Clijsters missed a forehand down the line to go up 10-9.

But the 24-year-old Floridian against couldn’t hold, when Clijsters passed her with a forehand that clipped the net cord and bounced over her shoulder.

However, Capriati made another charge, breaking her younger foe with a decisive overhead smash. She convincingly served out the match, winning it it a seeing-eye inside-out forehand winner.

“I just watched and prayed,” said Denise. “But she worked through it. I knew she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. In the last game, she finally said, ‘I’m going for it,” and she did.”

The No. 4-ranked Capriati’s resurgence from a once burnt out teen phenom who left the tour for nearly four year’s to hottest player of 2001 is a remarkable story.

“She has the confidence and will, the motivation and desire,” said Stephen of hsi older sister, who also won the ’01 Aussie Open. “She can beat anybody right now. If she can beat the best players on the biggest stage, she’s the best.”

Jennifer, who reached the semis here as 14-year-old, said that while she was growing up, she could never imagine holding up the trophy on Philippe Chatrier Court.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” she said. “I never thought Roland Garros. Maybe I thought this would be the hardest one or the last one for me to win. I was having chills up there thinking about it.”

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Right, Lead Story Tagged With: 2001, french open, Jennifer Capriati, Kim Clijsters, paris, roland garros

OUR FIRST STORY: Tennisreporters.net, in Paris at Roland Garros

May 29, 2020 by Matthew Cronin

Pete Sampras, French Open, Roland Garros 2001

We started TennisReporters.net in May 2001, 20 years ago. We have posted well over 1,500 articles.

FROM PARIS (2001): Having the glorious distinction of being the reigning Wimbledon champions means little in Paris other than being fortunate enough to have a gaggle of British journalist ask you whether you are planning on taking wildcards into Queens or Nottingham. Pete Sampras and Venus Williams discovered that quickly this year at Roland Garros; Venus, after she was bullied by Barbara Schett in the first round, and Sampras, when he was unable to uncork a bottle of white wine named Galo Blanco in the second round.

Sampras had perfect conditions this year to rid himself of the plague of Sisyphus in Paris — hot, dry temperatures and only a little breeze. He had a great draw and actually followed his coach’s game plan to the tee – come in at all costs, run around your backhand and take a lot of chances on the return.

But Sampras is nothing on clay when he’s not serving well and his forehand is sporadic. He is without a weapon. First, he barely got by No. 250-ranked Cedric Kauffmann. Then his serving performance against Blanco was one of the worst he has ever put on and he made a decent but not great player’s backhand look like Bjorn Borg’s during his prime. Sure, Blanco passed with precision, but it wasn’t as if Pete was making him guess much on his service games or was hitting deep approach shots. The winner of a record 13 Grand Slam titles again failed to put together back-to-back wins at Roland Garros for the fourth successive year. “It’s very frustrating, I knew what I had to do in that match and I just have to give him credit,” Sampras said. “He came out with some clean passing shots. He had me on my heels and dictated all the baseline points. He just played better than I did – plain and simple.”

Agassi zeroed in on Pete’s problems. “It’s straight fundamentals. It’s never been easy for a game like Pete’s to do well here. He’s great at turning an entire point around with one shot. On clay, you know, you can’t. You have to fight off three or four (shots) then slowly turn the point around, then slowly finish it. A guy like Alex) Corretja will slide to the forehand and buy himself a lot of time for the shot selection. Pete on the other hand will run to the ball, slam it, then slide. All that is doing is giving him much less time. There’s nothing that you could teach Pete that’s going to make it any easier.”

Blanco joins the list mediocre players who have taken down the dirt-challenged Pete in Paris: Gilbert Schaller, Ramon Delgado, Thierry Champion. Sampras will be 30 next year when he arrives at Roland Garros and even if he says he has many years to left to try to take the French title, you just don’t see aging serve-and-volleyers do well on the dirt anymore. Sampras may be the worst all-time great to ever comepete at Roland Garros. All of Open-era legends did better here – Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Edberg, Borg, Lendl, Wilander, Courier. Sampras would be better off taking his mind off the clay and zoning in quickly on the grass. He is titleless in ’01, having an awful year and is in danger of finishing the year out of the top-10 for the first time since ’89. He needs to take the fast train to London, find a pub, down a few pints and remember just what kind of player he is supposed to be.

Venus is another question all together. Williams was humbled 6-4, 6-4 by the Austrian powerhouse Schett, rendering her dream of grabbing the No. 1 ranking from Martina Hingis in the near future mute. “I just had a very, very rough day,” said Williams. I wasn’t playing normal.”

A confused Williams appeared to have her thoughts elsewhere, as the muscular Schett ate up her weak second serves and exploited her shaky forehand with blowtorch returns and a wicked forehand. Considered by many to be the tour’s hardest hitter, Williams frequently found herself on the defensive, unable to control the center of the court nor read where Schett was going with her shots. The Austrian also served effectively, stretching Williams out with a biting slice serve and occasionally running flat serves down the middle that left Williams flat footed. “It was my groundstrokes,” said Williams, who committed 43 unforced errors. “I couldn’t keep a ball in. I was making quite a few errors for no apparent reason.”

Williams did manage to fight off three match points in the contest’s final game, but unlike numerous times in the past, Schett didn’t seize up and Williams couldn’t pull herself through.

Venus has played sparingly this year, but did win the Ericsson Open, devastated the field in Hamburg on clay and then was upset on dirt by Justine Henin in Berlin. She has never performed well here and why she thought that playing two clay court warm-up events was enough preparation for her stated to desire to win Roland Garros this year is confusing. She needed more preparation to find her footing on the clay and to be able to groove her groundies. The 20-year-old believes she has been playing enough. “I never dreamed it would turn out like this,” Williams said. “Normally I turn it around but today it wasn’t there.”

The Compton Crusher is not going to win a Grand Slam by using the retreat as her most common tactic, which was her main strategy against Schett. She’s now essentially in the same position she was last year, approaching Wimbledon with two bad losses in her last two Grand Slams. Can she repeat her 2000 performance and grab glory at both the All-England Club? Not if she brings the same attitude that she did to the court against Schett.

Filed Under: Featured Bottom Left, Lead Story Tagged With: french open, paris, pete sampras, roland garros, tennisreporters.net, Venus Williams