On grass, a new shot at Wimbledon for Swiatek

Iga Swiatek
Mal Taam/MALT photo

It is pretty obvious that Iga Swiatek won Roland Garros four times, and in the next few weeks, now she will try to win Wimbledon for the first time. Last year, she lost against the tough competitor, Elina Svitolina. Maybe they can face off again, or maybe not, but the No. 1 Swiatek wants to really try to change in up, on the slick grass. It depends on the day, when it can rain, a lot, or warm and sunny. No one really knows until it started.  

Swiatek is on the roll, winning Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. She played fantastic, almost each match, but now she has to take a breath, and breath, and think about it.

She might have to, as Naomi Osaka almost beat her in the second round, but she came through, 7-5 in the third. However, she rose up, and the former No. 1 Osaka was a little erratic, but already, she is darn good. She has won four Grand Slams, but the Japanese has never gone into the third round at Wimbledon. She must do it ASAP, as on the court, she can be brilliant. But she has to play more consistent. 

This week, she is playing at the Libema Open, and she defeating versus Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4. Impressive.

 “I’m kind of taking it as if this is my first year on grass,” Osaka said. “I think even now, this is my first time at this tournament so in some ways I feel like a newbie all over again. I’ve been in Europe since April, so this is a lot of commitment for me. I’m really happy that I’m doing this.”

She is ranking No. 125, so if she can win a few matches, then she will be  at Wimbledon, and she won’t have to qualify, unless they will give her a wild card. Either way.

In England, at the Rothesay Open, there are some interesting  matches. Almost everyone is there from Britain, such as the No. 30 Katie Boulter, who won it in San Diego on the hardcourts, and that has her best tournament, ever.  But after that, she began to struggle, so to go deep in Nottingham, she will drive hard, early. Two of the top seeds are Ons Jabeur and Marta Kostyuk.

The Americans really have a chance to win Wimbledon, with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, Madison Keys, and Emma Navarro. None of them have reached into the final, but it is possible, as Serena and Venus Williams did it so many times. Both of them will nail the ball, with there first serves, there backhands, and there returns. Even Serena could also split her forehand, into the corners. The current players have watched her a ton, so then they must have seen them, on the court. Then try to do a new thing. Last year, Marketa Vondrousova won it, beating, believe it or not, Jabeur, in the final. Both of them could go very deep, this time.

The No. 5 Pegula just returned to play in the Netherlands of the Libema Open.The American had not played  since April when she got a rib injury. Now she feels much better, and she knows that she will have to play a lot now, on the grass, and the hard courts, and then in Paris on clay in July.  Good, luck.

“It’s just such a crazy year with the Olympics squeezed in. With my game, I’d rather be ready for grass and the rest of the hardcourt season and grind out the rest of the year, than try and push it for clay and it doesn’t feel well,” Pegula said.” That’s why we played it safe.”

She says that when she watched during Roland Garros, she thought that the No. 1 is stunning. 

“Iga dominated the clay season, what else is new,” Pegula said. “Now we go into grass and I’m sure the grass-court players will do well. I feel like I’m walking back into the same kind of thing. That’s good.”

Serena Williams, 40, returns to singles at Wimbledon

Serena Williams
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

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.

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

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.

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): 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.

Federer goes down, but Barty rises again

The great Roger Federer went down at Cincinnati on Thursday, losing to the up-and-coming Andrey Rublev, 6-3, 6-4. Rublev is very good, when he is on.

For the most part over the last 16 years, Federer knows how to win. He may not play well, but he still mixes it up and he changes the tactics. But not this time. The powerful Rublev kept coming, he hit it hard, and he really focused. Federer, who just started playing after he lost in the final at Wimbledon, losing 13-12 in the fifth set against Novak Djokovic. So close by Federer, but no cigar.

The Swiss will go to the US Open, and he could go deep once again. But, to win it? That is a tossup, because Federer hasn’t won it since 2008. That is 10 years ago, on the hardcourts, at the US Open, which can be hot and sticky.

However, you have to give him a shot, perhaps his last time, as he is 38 years old, and to win a major again, the 20-time Grand Slam champ has to go for winners pretty early. Because if he doesn’t, during the second week, Federer could be tired and overhit.
 
NOTES
It was pretty clear that Ash Barty thinks she can beat anyone when she is so confident and steady. Plus, a few years ago, she was shaky, but now she is locked in. A few days ago, she beat the former five-time champion Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-1. The American/Russian is back again, but she isn’t steady yet, and she has to find her solution. It will take her months to be 100 percent, physically. If she can continue to play, and she doesn’t gets injured again, then she will be a fantastic player. No doubt about it, but somehow she has to get healthy, period.  

Naomi Osaka is lurking. She has reached to the quarters, and while she has been mentally up and down this season, the two-time Slam champ wants to prove she can beat anyone. Yes, she is No. 1 again, but she hasn’t won an event since January in Australia. It is time for her to leap up and knock everyone down.

Osaka will face against American Sofia Kenin, who down Elina Svitolina for the second time in two weeks. Kenin is getting better all the time. She isn’t quite there yet, but she is smart and intelligent…

Venus Williams woke up this week, after she lost a lot of matches over the past few months. But, when she is confident, she can dominate with her sharp first serve and her razor backhand. She will play Madison Keys, who also is finding her past form. Venus has gone deep over the past few years, but Keys can be negative, on court. It sounds like Venus has been very positive in Ohio.

Madison Keys talks about being healthy

Madison Keys

FROM THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, Day 2 — Four years ago, Madison Keys, who advanced to the second round, reached the semis at the Australian Open, stunning Venus Williams then she finally went down to Serena Williams.

The same thing occurred in the 2017 US Open final when she was incredibly nervous and she lost quickly to Sloane Stephens. Last year, almost out of nowhere, at Roland Garros, she never loves clay, but finally, she understood her strategy, so she reached the semis. But Keys again lost to Stephens in straight sets. At the 2018 US Open, she was at the semis, playing well, smoking the ball, but she couldn’t not return very well and Naomi Osaka waxed her.

All in all, in the Slams, Keys has played very well overall, staying on top of the ball and digging in. She hasn’t won a Slam yet. But, if she can stay healthy all year, she will have a real chance to win it. Her first serve and forehand are gigantic.

But will she be healthy during the entire year? She wants to, but that doesn’t mean that it will happen, year after year. However, in December, she decided not to play early in Australia; she didn’t play Brisbane or Sydney. She wanted to wait and feel healthy. On Tuesday, Keys beat Destanee Aiava, easily.

‘I started being able to do some stuff at the beginning of December, but I was still a little bit limited, and it was still seeing, if we did something physical one day, had to back off the next day,” Keys said. “It was definitely managing that still for the first probably 10 days, so it was middle of December before I really got to ramp things up. We have been training a lot, so I’m glad you said that I looked fit. … There is a little bit of stress,
but at the same time, it is what it is. I couldn’t do anything about it. So, all I could do was prepare as well as I could and play as many practice sets. Luckily, things paid off, and I got the win.”

In 2018, at the AO, the 23-year-old Keys reached the quarters, going down to the former champion Angie Kerber. That was another tough loss, because the German is very quick, and can run side to side forever, while Keys cannot.

But she has worked her footwork and spped, so at the AO, she can look play even better. However, there are some difficult matches: against Elise Martens in the third round, perhaps against Elina Svitolina or Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round, and in the quarters — hello — Osaka, the US Open champion. As Keys said, her defense has improved. Well, it has to get better.

“I think my movement is, it’s gotten a lot better. It’s something I have been very focused on,” Keys said. “I think it’s more what I do when I get there is my issue. So, I’m working on making the right decision once I have slid into the ball, that’s more my problem.”

Tick-tock: In Paris, patience is important on clay

It was a wonderful day in Paris. It was sunny, it was warm, and the fans were smiling. But, on court, in the first Sunday, there were some important losers.

Venus Williams went down, so did Jo Konta, and somewhat shockingly, Jelena Ostapenko , the 2017 RG champion. She said: ‘It was terrible day at the office for me. In general I played maybe like 20% of what I can play. Made like 50 unforced errors and so many double faults. Like I couldn’t serve. Everything together just brought me a really bad result.”

Oh, yes, she did.

There is a tremendous amount of pressure. But, not for everyone, because certain mediocre people don’t think they have a chance to win it all, and that is too bad.

Venus Williams can still play fantastic at times. In two weeks, she will be 38 years old. She is still a top 10 player, and she will play until 40 years old, at least, assuming she is healthy. But that is a long time. Against Wang Qiang, Venus changed her tactics repeatedly, but she couldn’t keep it inside the baseline, spraying 35 unforced errors. On clay, she just can’t figure it out. She may never do that. But really, Wang played aggressive and very thoughtfully. She is an excellent doubles player, but maybe now Wang will feel better in the singles? We will find out, immediately. 

In the first half of 2017, Konta was bashing the ball and she cracked the top 10 after winning Miami. But since then, she has slipped, and she is pretty confused. She has to shake it off. 

The good thing on Sunday among the women was Sloane Stephens, who blasted her foe, Arantxa Rus. Alize Cornet came back and knocked off Sara Errani in three sets, and the No. 4 Elina Svitolina really has a chance to grab the title. If she contains herself.  

Among the men, a few of the top guys won pretty eroundasily, with Grigor Dimitrov, Alexandra Zverev and Dominic Thiem sailing into the second round. Dimitrov won the 2017 ATP Finals, and he was rising quickly, but this year, he has been so-so. He actually really likes playing on clay, and he said that every year, he has improved, sliding around, slicing it, topping it. But can he won RG for the first time? Or even reach the semis? He has to step up, and he has to be very calm at the Slams, because he has yet to win a major. Even any tournament this season. Tick-tock.  

Sloane Stephens finds her footing on clay but falls to Garcia


American Sloane Stephens said this week that she understands how to play better on clay now. She used to get frustrated at times, but now she is learning what she needs to succeed. However, she has to be more tolerant. On Wednesday in Rome, she knocked down Kaia Kanepi 6-0 5-7 6-4.

But, she couldn’t extend the magic against Caroline Garcia, losing 6-1 7-6(7). Garcia has improved huge amount over the past year — in the singles, that is. Both of them can sit back and rally for ages. They are both very accurate, rarely missing some easy shots. Eventually, however, they can swing hard and try to kiss the lines. This match can go for two and half hours. At the end, whomever is willing to go for it and not push the balls back, she will take it, with Stephens or Garcia.
 
Simona Halep smoked Naomi Osaka pretty quickly and then got a walkover when Madison Keys pulled out. That will keep her atop the WTA rankings.

Venus Williams overcame Elena Vesnina 6-2 4-6 7-5, as the Russian faltered in the last games. But Anett Kontaviet took down Venus 6-2 7-6(3) in the third round. Kontaviet aslo knocked Venus out of Madrid last week.

The amazing thing is for the first time, or very rarely, over the past 20 years, that Venus decided she could play doubles without Serena. Unfortunately, she picked Keys, who withdrew from singles and doubles, citing a rib injury.

On the rise is Maria Sharapova, who dispatched Gavrilova in straight sets. There was no doubt that Sharapova would find her form. Now, the question is can she get back into the mix of the top 5. If Sharapova wins a few more matches, she will be in the top 32, which will help at Roland Garros.

Here is a marathon when Daria Gavrilova took out Garbine Muguruza 5-7 6-2 7-6(6). Muguruza had a few match points and she couldn’t convert. She rarely chokes, and Gavrilova kept pushing her. I am just not sure that the former RG champ Muguruza can take the Paris title again.

Two other notable matches with the guys on Wednesday: Kei Nishikori beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(4) 5-7 6-4 in nearly three hours. Good for Nishikori, staying in there, going backhand versus backhand, hitting it hard down the line. Nishikori continued to show he is improving when healthy, pummeling Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1 6-2 in the third round.
 
Props to Fabio Fognini, who out-hit Dominic Thiem and then sailing through Peter Gojowczyk. Next up is Rafa Nadal who had no problem with Canada’s newest top player Denis Shapovalov. They have had some classic matches over the years, and they might do that again.

Situation normal: Roger Federer is in control

INDIAN WELLS – Once again, Roger Federer is a seriously favorite to win another huge title. It is possible that someone will play perfectly, and the Swiss is a little bit off, and at the third set, the guy hits the lines all the time while Federer cannot keep his first serve in, and soon enough, he will get frustrated and he will miss point after point. 

Not these days, though. However, even though Federer has won 20 Grand Slams, and 97 victories overall, there have been losses. All the great champions have a few in the “L” column.

So this week, Federer can lose, but who exactly can run past Roger?
He will face Jeremy Chardy on Wednesday and while the Frenchman is pretty wily, he won’t be able to out-hit him, especially with the forehand. In the quarters, Federer would face either Hyeon Chung or Pablo Cuevas. The young Chung likes to be on the big stage, so he will put together some intense rallies, but in the end, Federer will confuse him. Unless …

One more terrific match coming up Wednesday is American Taylor Fritz versus Borna Coric. That is almost a tossup, but Coric is more driven this year. … How about this: Dominic Thiem and Gail Monfils retired. Nick Kyrgios and Kei Nishikori pulled out last week. Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka are all injured and couldn’t come, while Grigor Dmitrov and Alexandra Zverev both lost. Wow, is playing tennis that difficult for everyone?

Federer and DelPo talk about worrying Djokovic 
Many of the top American players are hurt, and couldn’t come to compete at Indian Wells, and a few retired — important players, too. But at least three very significant guys are here: Federer, Juan Martin del Potro and the former No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The Serbian lost early. He had a ton of unforced errors and, as he said, he was very shaky. He hadn’t played for months, but he really wanted to get back on court and swing away.  H  is struggling mentally, but that doesn’t mean that he will panic forever. He just has to be patient.  

Here is Federer’s take on Djokovic’s situation: “When you do come back, it’s like, ‘Oh, those break points; oh, those deuce points; those 30-all points; 15-30s; first point of the game.’ Where normally, when you’ve played a lot of matches, you just rock up, you hit a good serve, play a good point, 15-love, you just move along with the score.

“But you put extra effort to manage all that’s happening in your head. I feel like when you do come back from injury or when you haven’t played in a long time, it just takes extra effort. That’s probably also what he’s also feeling. And maybe was tired in the end a bit because, the focus you need to have is greater. Look, still such early stages for Novak coming back and the first one after surgery. He’s only going to get better from here. He knows that. We all know that. But it was nice to see him playing again.”

Del Potro has been there, too. Over the last eight years, he was in and out all the time. Multiple surgeries, leaving, coming back, winning, some big wins and some mediocre losses. He could have retired, but he has not. He is still very good, and he might be able to win a major again, but as he says, it can be difficult. Del Potro says that Djokovic just has to be patient,
 
“It’s not easy to come back and play good tennis, as everybody expect Novak’s game. And mentally you must be strong enough to deal with these kind of losses in this big of tournaments,” del Potro said. “It’s only time to get where he deserve to be. And if his body feels good, the tennis come along and the confidence come along, too. But is not easy to deal with this kind of frustrations after injuries or when you always be the favorite to win a tournament, you come here and you lose in first round. Is not easy. But he’s strong enough to deal with that, and I love him and I want to see him in the top positions very soon.”

The Women
No. 1 Simona Halep was very happy after beating Qiang Wang in straight sets, and she joked a lot in the press conference.
On Monday, she actually watched Serena and Venus Williams playing each other. Some people almost never watch the matches, but many of the players stop and watch the famous Williamses. Their matchups are pretty darn intense.
“I’m the world No. 1 in this moment, but I just watched the best player in the world,” Halep said. “I just do what I feel. I felt to come because I admire a lot the sisters.”
 
Venus knocked down Serena in straight sets on Monday, as the younger sister couldn’t control her ground strokes. Venus was pounding the ball very deep and hard. Plus, she was running well. 

On Tuesday, Venus rose up again, beating Anastasija Sevastova. Serena is gone, so Venus has an opportunity to win it all, but most of the very good players still left. Like Karolina Pliskova, who beat the 16-year-old American Amanda Anisimova in straight sets. Anisimova is already tall and strong, so watch her, if you get a chance. She does need a few more years to improve, but she is already very talented. “I think this will change a little bit in the future, but for sure the game is good and not really any weakness,” Pliskova said. The Czech will play the Japanese Naomi Osaka, who lives in the United States. What a basher.  

Teenager Auger-Aliassime ready to rock against Raonic

Felix Auger_Aliassime
INDIAN WELLS–Twenty years ago in Canada, there were a few very good players, but not that many. Now, there are a bunch. The teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime upset the veteran Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 7-6, and now he will go up against Milos Raonic on Sunday. Raonic has reached the final at Wimbledon a couple years ago. Without a doubt, he wants to win a gigantic tournament, but he gets hurt frequently, so the only way to do it and stay healthy this season, because if he doesn’t, he won’t be able to take down the big boys. 

Plus, Raonic must know that already Auger-Aliassime is very good, fast and strong. He is young, so it is hard to tell how great he will be over the years, but many folks that he is already darn good.   

He can’t wait to play Raonic at Indian Wells.

“I am exciting to see someone I have looked up to growing up. I’ll try do everything I can to return the serve and hang in there. It’s quite exciting. I’m looking forward to it, yeah,” Auger-Aliassime said.

When you are young, there is a lot to learn. Even if you are practicing everyday, you still have to try new shots. And stay with it. Look at Roger Federer, who has won 20 Grand Slams, but it took him 35 years to accept his leaping backhand. The Canadian has a ton of things to practice and learn. But already, he likes a few important swings.

“My strengths are probably my serve, forehand. I’m an aggressive player, but I think the coverage of the court is something I have been working on. And I think it’s paying off now with the big guys, you know, to be able to cover the court, to move well, and then to defend and stay in the points,” Auger-Aliassime said. “That’s something that helps me a lot. As a player, you try and be as complete as you can, so there is a lot of things I want to improve and just that consistency that I want to get over the matches and over the tournaments.”

The women
The two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza is once again struggling, up and down. She was pretty decent in Europe in February, reaching the final on Doha and in the semis in Dubai. But now, she is floundering. In the third set against Sachia Vickery, the American hustled and banged away, while Muguruza overhit and was inpatient. Good for Vickery, but so-so for Muguruza.

As the Spaniard said, there is a lot of depth now and almost anyone can be upset. Perhaps not, but maybe things are changing. Vickery is ranked No. 100, while Muguruza is ranked No. 3.  

“We always say that there are so many players that can be dangerous, that can be motivated and have a great day and face an opponent where maybe they don’t have a lot of pressure and play good,” Muguruza said. “Maybe the top player exits early. And we have seen this so many times.”

Muguruza says that before she played with Vickery, she watched her a little bit, but in the match,  the American jumped on the ball. Plus, Vickery was very motivated.

“I think she has a great physical skill. I just think that when players with not a lot of experience play against top players, they are very motivated,” Muguruza said. “They elevate always their game. She was getting a little bit more excited, and the key points went her way, and she was getting more into the match and, at the end, she had a lot more confidence.”

More notes
It is very surprising that Aga Radwanska lost early again, losing against Naomi Osaka. Aga is already outside of the top 30 and she could be unseeded at Roland Garros in a few months. Radwanska needs to rest, for a while, until her body is fully heals. …Venus and Serena Williams both won on Saturday. They will face each other on Monday, which should be a fascinating contest. Obviously, Serena hasn’t beaten her many times, but given that the younger sister hasn’t played on court for the past 14 months, she’s a little rusty. Venus has played a fair amount in 2017, and this year, too. So yes, if Venus plays extremely well, she can upset Serena. But to beat her, Venus must serve very big, return with depth, and control her forehand. … How about the unknown Danielle Collins who upset Madison Keys? Collins changed it up a lot, while Keys lost her touch. She needs to step it up — again. … Dominic Thiem overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 3-6 6-3 and now he will face Pablo Cuevas on hardcourts. Neither of them loves hardcourts, but they can move well on the courts and they can whack it away. Three sets for sure. … That was a quite a win by Fernando Verdasco, who took down Grigor Dimitrov. Verdasco might be a little bit older, but he is focusing, again. Plus, as he said, he still loves playing tennis. 15 years later. That’s a lot. More tomorrow …     

Fed Cup winners – USA, France, Czech, Germany – on to semis

United States d Netherlands 3-0
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams has been playing for 20 years, and at times, she breaks down, but this weekend in Asheville, North Carolina, she was into it and very excited. She won two singles, and she bested Richel Hogenkamp of the Netherlands. Her backhand is incredibly strong, she returns very well and her first serve is massive.

Williams was in a tough first set until Richel Hogenkamp seems to lose concentration, banging a ball into the stands at 5-5. Once that game slipped out of the Dutch player’s grasp, she didn’t offer much opposition. Venus finished off the clinching match 7-5, 6-1.

Yes, she has aged. When she walks on court and she is feeling good mentally, then she can be patient. Venus not only won twice in singles. The still rising CoCo Vandeweghe grabbed won her match, crawling her way back to win Saturday in three sets.

Believe it or not, Serena Williams returned, one year after she had a child and she couldn’t play. She and Venus lost in doubles, with Serena looking rusty and not ready for competition, even against Lesley Kerkhove/Demi Schuurs, playing together for the first time.

On April 21-22 in the semis, the U.S. has to travel to France, which beat the Belgiums. Do the Williamses want to play in the Fed Cup again?  Possibly, but they have to go to Europe, and while Venus goes everywhere, Serena doesn’t like to travel all the time. That is a toss-up. And yes, even though France is always very good, the Americans are favored. At least for now.

France d Belgium 3-2
It was very close, but finally, Kristina Mladenovic got her head straight and she won all three matches. During the last six months in 2017, she couldn’t play at all, losing and losing, after she had a tremendous first five months. And then she fell down, and further down, and even more further down.
But now, Mladenovic is more comfortable, at least in the Fed Cup. At home in France, she will be very pleased to be in front of the massive crowd. The talkative Alize Cornet couldn’t play this weekend because she was suspended after she missed three out-of-competition doping tests. It is unlikely that she would be able play in April. With Pauline Parmentier losing, maybe the French will bring in the 21-year-old Oceane Dodin? Possible.

Czech Republic d Switzerland 3-0
The Czechs win every singles easily, as they have an incredible depth. Once again, in Prague, Petra Kvitova cracked Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-4 and they took it easily. It appears that Kvitova has become more consistent, she is moving the right way, and she is returning very well. This season, she has a chance to win another major as she is very motivated. In the next round, they have to play Germany, which advanced without its two top players, Angie Kerber and Julia Goerges. We would think that against the Czechs, who have been very strong for years, the Germans will be challenged. It should be a terrific contest.

Germany d. Belgium 3-2
It came to the very end, and the Germans with the longtime veterans Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Tatjana Maria overcame Lidziya Marozava and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4. As Groenefeld said, “We just kept going. … For me this is the best win for my country.” But the Germans will need to bring their best to deal with the Czech Republic.