The WTA Finals: Jessica Pegula over Iga Swiatek

Jessica Pegula
Rick Limpert

When Iga Swiatek is running, and she catches it, she will bend down, a little bit, and then she will make an attempt to kiss it in the lines. Sometimes, she will be patient, but when she sees that she can attack it, and knock it  on the lines.

She beat the No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2, as she knew that if she could blast her  forehand and her backhand, she was comfortable. Her first serve were close on the lines, and also, she mixed it up. Swiatek has had a very interesting year, when she was beating everyone, but when she was mentally down, and she became pretty frustrated. However, in Cancun, she totally locked in.

However, on Monday, she has to face against Jessica Pegula, who easily beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-1. The last time in Montreal in the semis, she beat Swiatek. The American is playing much better, as the same time in 2022 at the WTA Final, she lost all three matches. Incredibly, this week, she actually won three matches, punching past set after set.

Swiatek knows that she has to play point after point.

“Jessie (Pegula) is a great player, and she fully deserves to be in the final of any tournament,” Swiatek said. “I know it’s not going to be easy. There’s a lot to think about. I’m just going to focus on myself tomorrow. She’s really solid and can handle everything mentally. I’ll try to do my best and give 100%. That’s all I can do.”

Pegula has won two 1000 big titles, in Guadalajara, and Montreal. Plus, two weeks ago, she won Seoul. As she says, she is purchasing power.

“I managed to get my act together at the end of the year,” Pegula said. “I’ve done a good job of resetting coming here. It’s not fun leaving (at the 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth) 0-6. I’m glad I’ve turned the tables. I found a way to make it work. I’m feeling confident going into the finals.”

She has to be, as Swiatek will try to mover her forehand, and jump on the second serve. Pegula  has really improved going down the lines, and she is also when she is on the net.  

Swiatek is ranked No. 2, but if she beats Pegula, she will become No.1 again. However, the American will not fold, early, but in the third set, it will be very tight. This time, Pegula will hit some amazing forehands down the line, and she will win it 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

NOTES

Here he was again, as Novak Djokovic won another ATP 1000, when he beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in Paris. That is now he has won 40 ATP 1000s. Talk about a record. He backhand is nearly perfect, crosscourt, down the line, in the middle, flat and spin. Last week he won it against some very good players, but he was comfortable to handle it. He did, and now he will go to the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.  

He is No. 1, and when it finishes, maybe can catch Carlos Alcaraz, but he is way ahead. The Spaniard has to win all five matches, and Djokovic has to win none. That is almost impossible, but really, it is more important who can actually win the tournament. Or to play each other, then that will be a fascinating match. Later this week, we can talk about the other six players who will play, such as Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev and more.

Sabalenka: “I think the best season in my life so far”

Aryna Sabalenka
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Jessica Pegula finally played terrific at the WTA Finals, beating the intense player, Elena Rybakina in two sets. However, on Tuesday she has to face against the No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, who crushed Maria Sakkari.

They have played each other five times, and Sabalenka beat her four times, mostly on the clay, but at this tournament last year, she beat her 6-3, 7-5 on the hard courts. The Belarussian also really likes on the hard courts, winning the Australian Open. Her forehand and her backhand are massive, and her return is super aggressive. However, she can get frustrated on the court, over hitting the ball, and not coming into the net. She can be a brilliant player, but also, she can check out in the third set, occasionally.

Pegula believes that when she can go for it, and also to risk it, rather than just to put it on play, then she can actually grab a lot of winners. Years ago, she was decent, but she wasn’t been able to out-hit against the top players. Now she is, and to win this match, she has to change it up more, and push her into the wall.

Sabalenka knows that she has to be patient, and to jump it when she is returning. As she said, two days ago: “It’s just super great season, I think the best season in my life so far. Hopefully this is just the beginning: with every year I’ll play better and better. I use this year as a motivation for me to keep working hard, to keep pushing, and see where is my limit are. ”
Sabalenka will make some odd error, but towards at the end, she will hit some massive first sets and she will win it 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Surpassingly, Rybakina did now play well enough on Sunday against Pegula, when she lost. Yes, the American was so consistent, but the 2022 Wimbledon champ has had a solid year, but she only won one ever, in Rome. She certainly has beaten all the top players, but her forehand can be spotty. The Russian Rybakina is a huge hitter, and she can return pretty well, but if she wants to win another huge event, then she has to raise quickly.

Sakkari is one of the best rallies, hitting hour after hour. She can be so steady, but she plays all the time, and in the fall, she looks very tired. Yes, she does want to show that she is still there, in the matches, but she is not hitting the ball deep enough, which is why Rybakina will win the match 6-4, 6-1.

Notes: the women and men

On Monday, two of the former champs, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek, won easily, so they are in it.

In Paris, Taylor Fritz won a match, and he said that his body is so-so. If he wins a couple matches, then he has a solid chance to play in the ATP Finals. Or maybe not:

“It’s something that’s been bothering me for a little bit… I didn’t think it was anything too bad going in [to this match], but one where I slid out and sliced that forehand, I felt like I did something that I had never done to it before,” said Fritz. “Like maybe I tore something or pulled it. So I’m going to have to get it checked out and see what’s going on.”

The other American, Tommy Paul, won a marathon, beating Richard Gasquet 0-6, 6-2, 7-6(6). He has to win the tournament to qualify, but it is almost impossible. But at least he will try…

He may be ranked No. 7. but last year in Paris, Holger Rune won it, but now he is defending 1,000 points. He does have a chance to qualify, but he has to go very deep to do it again. He has not played very well since Wimbledon, so he is going to have to recover, immediately. Rune is only 20-years-old, so over the next couple years he will get better, here and there, but he has to think about it all of the time. They all must do.

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

Caroline Garcia
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

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.”

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

Carlos Alcaraz
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WTA Finals: Eight great players, but who will win?

Karolina Pliskova

Over the past 25 years — or even longer — it usually looked like the No. 1, or the No. 2 were serious favorites at the WTA Finals. But this week coming up, in the eight-player, round-robin event in Shenzhen, China, almost all of the competitors will have a shot to win. That is almost unheard of. There will be a bunch of three-setters, surprises and complicated group calculations. Whoever wins the event, she has to step up and produce top-level tennis.

In the Red Group, it will be Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic.

In the Purple Group, it will be Karolina Pliskova, Bianca Andreescu, Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina.

The odds
Although Barty, Andreescu, and Osaka all share the same odds going into the Finals, I believe that perhaps that Pliskova has a decent chance.”


Red Group
Will Barty stay at No. 1? Probably, because she has a big lead in points. But while the rankings are important, the Australian still wants to win the event. She has improved a tremendous amount this year, staying patient, and she really mixed it up a lot. But, at times, she should become more aggressive.

Yes, Barty won Roland Garros, her first victory at a Grand Slam. In the final, she showed no fear. Then at the US Open, she exited in the fourth round against Qiang Wang and couldn’t hit it into the corners often enough.

She reached the semis of Wuhan and at the Beijing final, so she enters the event in good shape. But, in her group is the player who won Beijing, Osaka, who beat Barty in three sets. Osaka usually goes for it as soon as she can and Barty likes to work her way into the points. So if the Aussie wants to win it, she has to go for her shots, immediately.

In the fall, Osaka turned around her play. She had won the Australian Open, but then slumped, on clay, grass, and the US Open. She is a terrific hitter, but the pressure affected her mentally and she wasn’t focused. Now she comes in with wins at Osaka and Beijing, and if she can find her rhythm, she’s another one who can win it for the first time.

Talking about being up and down, there’s also Kvitova. The Czech can be fantastic, jumping on balls with her massive forehand and cracking first serve. She can scramble, she can re-set, and she can be very competitive until the final ball. But, the two-time Grand Slam champion can also unravel mentally when she can’t get her game going. So does the 29-year-old, one of the most popular and friendly players off the court, really want to win the tournament badly? To do it, she must be totally focused, day after day.

At the start of the year, Bencic didn’t look like she’d be among the top eight at China. A few years ago, she cracked the top 10 and beat a lot of top players with her variety and tactical ability. But, she had a few injuries, and took at least a year-an- a-half to become good again. Right now, she is patient or aggressive as she needs to, and is winning against the biggest names again. To win the tournament this week, though, will be difficult with all the quality opposition.

Purple Group
Pliskova can play fantastic ball. Her first serve is massive, she can go down the line with her forehand and backhand, and she is pretty good when she goes up into the net. But, she has yet to win a Grand Slam. She has been at the top for years, and she has got fairly close, darn close. But, in important moments, she backs off, mentally. Also, the Czech is not very fast, and opponents can break her down. If she immediately starts to roll, she can bash the ball, put together a ton of winners and win the WTA Finals. The No. 2, though, is not the favorite; there are very solid players in the field who can run her around.

Where did the Canadian Andreescu come from? Yes, the teenager looked very good in the juniors. But, to join the WTA and then almost immediately win a few huge events, such as Indian Wells, Toronto, and the US Open, was a shocker. Of course, Andreescu is very young, but she already knows the right way to play. While she isn’t very tall, she is super agile, has a huge amount of shots, and she can move forward regularly. She can surely win a Grand Slam again, assuming that she stays healthy, and she can become No. 1. But she hasn’t played before at the WTA Finals, and many of her opponents haven’t played that much against Andreescu, nor she has played against them. They will have to adjust. One way or another, she’s one of the favorites to win the WTA Finals.

You never know with Halep, a true grinder who now competes hard. In 2018, the Romanian won a major for the first time at Roland Garros, which took a lot of pressure off her. The 27-year-old she stopped being so nervous and she dug deep.

Halep is one of the best returners and, she can run side-to-side forever. Plus, she is pretty good tactically, so in the final at Wimbledon, she locked in and only missed a couple of shots. It was possibly her best match ever, crushing Serena Williams in the final. But since, she hasn’t done much at all. Halep was frequently hurt in the run up to this week, and to win the Finals, she would have to hit the lines constantly. Right now, though, she might just want to go back home.

Svitolina is also in question. Having won the WTA Finals in 2018, she looked like she had a real chance to next win a major. She did improve a bit, reaching a pair of semifinals, but she has yet to reach a final at the Slams. 

She is a very strong player, running back and forth, and side to side. Physically, when she is healthy, she can beat everyone, but Svitolina can be frustrated on court. Winning a second straight title will be tough.

WTA Finals: Svitolina revives, upends Pliskova

Elina Svitolina
Back in the spring, Elina Svitolina was ready to pounce. She hadn’t won a Grand Slam, but in the big tournaments, she was very strong, fast and powerful.

From January through May, she won Brisbane, Dubai and Rome against very good players. She upset the No. 1 Simona Halep in the final in Italy — on clay. She was legitimately one of the favorites going in Roland Garros. But she lost in the third round. She wept and she was very upset.

The same thing happened during the summer. She lost in the first round at Wimbledon, but back in the hard courts, she began to feel a little bit better, and she reached the semis at Montreal and the quarters in Cincinnati. Not great, great, but decent. 

But after she walked into the US Open, in the first week, she looked pretty good. But, then in the third set against Anastasija Sevastova, she totally disappeared, and she went down 6-0 in the third. Wow. Credit to Sevastova, but Svitolina  totally crashed out. It is all about the Slams, and she has yet to go super deep in the majors.

But not now. In the past four days, she is into it again, beating Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. In the third set, she looked healthy and concentrated. Two days ago,  she smoked Petra Kvitova, serving and running substantially faster. 

“I think my serve was not great today at all, but it’s also, on the other hand, she’s returning pretty well, so she’s putting a lot of balls back,” Pliskova said. “So, there is the pressure that you always have to play the ball after the serve. … Obviously, the third set I didn’t hold much my serve, which is always frustrating, but she’s a good player, too, so I was not there alone.”

And now, in Singapore, Svitolina had a decent chance to win it all. She is pretty honest. Here is what she said after the match about the Czech:  “It worked really good, because I think Karolina was up and down and struggling sometimes.”

Yes, she did, and now, on Thursday, Pliskova has to down Caro Wozniacki to make the semis. Right now, both of them are feeling good. There will be some long rallies, and Svitolina has to be patient. The same goes with Wozniacki, who has to be step in, rather than going way back on the court.

“[Against Wozniacki] it’s another tough battle. She’s a fighter and so am I,” Svitolina said. “It’s gonna be a tough match.”

WTA Finals Race: Wozniacki, Stephens, Kvitova



It is in the middle October, and next week the top 8 players are at the WTA Finals in Singapore. On Wednesday, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova qualified, joining Simona Halep, Caro Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Sloane Stephens.

Halep’s back issues flared up enough for her to withdraw. Holland’s Kiki Bertens will take her spot.

Will they go out there and really battle? Mostly, but over the years in Singapore, a few people couldn’t run fast, or they were so exhausted. Right now, we don’t know until they get on the court, but day after day — they have to play three matches, wins or lose —so we will discover who really wants it.

There were some incredible matches last year. Kvitova, who reached the final and had a solid chance, but she lost 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 to Aga Radwanska, when the Pole was healthy and she out-thought everyone. Aga has been hurt over the past year so she isn’t in Singapore, but Kvitova is right there. The Czech has had a some terrific wins this season, but in the fall, she has been so-so at best. Will she rise? Perhaps, as Kvitova won the WTA Final in 2011, knocking out Vika Azarenka in three fun sets.

Kerber, too, is playing once again, but she hasn’t won the event. In 2016, she was on top of it, but she lost toDomi Cibulkova, who was on fire towards the end of the season. Cibulkova isn’t in this draw, having plummeted to No. 27.

Last year in October, Wozniacki won the event, for the first time, and she has qualified so many times. Back in Doha, she reached the final in 2010 against Kim Clijsters, who is now retired, and the Belgian overcame Wozniacki 6–3, 5–7, 6–3, which was pretty close. In 2017, in the final in Singapore, Wozniacki settled down and cracked her wonderful backhand. She was thrilled, which is why a few more months later, she won the 2018 Australian Open, the first time she had won a Grand Slam. Obviously, she was thrilled, but the most important thing is that not only was she confident, but she has improved her forehand and her returns. Maybe she can win it again next week? She is right there.

Who is playing the best in the event?

Kerber just split with the coach, Wim Fissette, andhad a pretty decent year. But, since she won Wimbledon, she has slipped. Winning Singapore would be almost shocking. 

The young Osaka certainly has a chance to win it. Kvitova has been struggling during the fall, and the same goes with American Stephens, is not playing well at all now. Pliskova looked awful in Moscow, while Svitolina has been very shaky.

Who will win it?

My vote for the top three in Singapore: Wozniacki, Osaka and Kvitova.

WTA Finals: Revived Wozniacki wins the title in Singapore

Former No. 1 runs over Venus Williams for first year-end tournament crown

It has been six years since Caro Wozniacki was atop the end-of-the-year WTA rankings. Back in those years (some of her best), she reached many finals. But, especially in the Grand Slams, she grew crazy nervous and the steady foe almost collapsed.

But not this time. No, she rose super high.

In 2014, Wozniacki  reached the US Open final, when she was ready to win her first major. She went on court against Serena Williams — her good friend — and clearly, the American is a better player. Why? Wozniacki did not hit the ball harder enough, and she lost in straight sets.

No big deal. But pretty quickly, it became a huge deal.

In 2015, she would push the ball frequently, and she would not go for the lines. She only won one small title. Wozniacki was freustrated and disappointed.

In 2016, she did the same thing, more or less. Her backhand is one of the best shots out there, and she is incredibly fast. She never gets tired — ever. But her forehand was pretty weak, she would rush the net much, and she did not attack on the second serves. Wozniacki did manage to win Tokyo and Hong Kong, but it wasn’t big enough for a player of her ability.

This season, finally, she changed and she became more aggressive — especially with her forehand —  and courageous.  That got her to six finals and six failures in Doha, Dubai, Miami, Eastbourne, Bastad and Toronto. Could she find a way to do something different? At the US Open, in early September, she froze again.

She then went to Asia, and she discovered that win or lose, she has to burst out of her shell and take some chances.

And finally, she did.

Wozniacki won Tokyo and when she arrived in Singapore for the WTA Finals, she felt more comfortable with her new strategy. She crushed the No. 1 Simona Halep, edged Karolina Pliskvova in the semis, and in the final, she jumped over the seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4.     

Wozniacki won it, and on court, she smiled, so wide.

“I tried to keep pressure on [Venus] and tried to take a little bit of time away and stay a little bit closer to the baseline. It’s important for me to try and cut the angles and try and take the ball on the rise, and I think I did that pretty well,” Wozniacki said. “[Williams] started mixing up the serve a little bit more.  I just had to keep reminding myself that I’m still up and I’m the one who is leading here, and I’m the one who can close out this match right now.”

Wozniacki jumps up three slots and finishes 2017 ranked No. 3. She has already been No. 1 for a couple of years, which is good in a  way, but the most important thing is to finally win a Grand Slam. Next year, in 2018, she has to step up and play ball. If she does, she can win her biggest trophy.

The 26-year-old has been playing at the WTA for 10 years. It is time for her to triumph. Next year, we will discover that inside of her head, she will understand exactly what she has to do.
 
“I’m really proud of how I have played all week and how I have fought and how I really produced some great fighting out there. To be here with the trophy means a lot, and it’s a great way to finish off the year,” she said.

A nod to the hometown boy
Roger Federer may not be surprising us with his greatness, but he keeps on proving that the best is just a word that is constantly being redefined.

Federer won his hometown tournament in Basel for the eighth time, downing Juan del Potro and, in a certain sense, getting some revenge over the player who knocked him out of the US Open. 

More importantly, Fed moves into second place alltime with ATP wins. He eclipsed Ivan Lendl as he grabbed his 95 title along with his seventh this year. In an era with less money and more incentive to play often, Jimmy Connors won 109 tournaments over his long career. 

In the era when competition included undeniable greats Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Federer keeps finding a way to cement his legacy as the GOAT.

Federer is probably waving goodbye to any chance at ending the year as No. 1 by pulling out of Paris. Without emassing some major points in the French capitol, even a tournament win in the ATP Finals won’t allow Federer to surplant Nadal as yearend No. 1.

WTA Finals: Wozniacki is risking again, while Halep could sink

Garcia wins a marathon versus Svitolina

Years ago, Caroline Wozniacki was dominant, taking out pretty much everyone, except against her good friend, Serena Williams, the best player, ever. Wozniacki was No. 1 for a couple of years. The one missing component was the lack of a major title. So, so eventually, she faded out of the Top 10.

The Dane has always played frequently, week after week, hour after hour, and rarely gives up. Clearly, she can be stubborn, which is why it has taken her a long, long time to change and improve her so-so forehand. Other holes in her game: rarely coming to the net and not leaping on the second serves. 

On Wednesday, at the WTA Finals in Singapore, Wozniacki played nearly perfect, blowing out the No. 1 Simona Halep 6-0, 6-2. The Romanian can play as well as Caro can. Right now, the Romanian need more mental strength. It seems that she thinks she is going to lose, inside. That is why she has yet to win a major — yet.

“I must give her (Wozniacki) credit for the victory. She played well, but I missed too much,” Halep said. “I think if I just could keep the ball in, I could have been much better. But I played into her hands, and that was too much.” 

Yes it was. Wozniacki has been very healthy and happy this season. She bowed out in six finals this year. Then, it took her nine month to win an important tournament, finally prevailing in Tokyo in September. She was ticked off her abysmal final record, but kept pushing herself. On Wednesday, she was super consistent — as always — and she attached the ball. 

“I didn’t expect to be leading by that much in the first set and I started to think’ ‘What’s happening? Am I really playing that well?,’ ” Wozniacki said.

The Dane has won 58 matches this season. Perhaps she will end the year with 60 victories. Without a doubt, Wozniacki has a decent shot to capture the WTA Final.

There have been a few boring matches in Singapore, contrasting with a couple fantastic contests. In the third set, the Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was down, but then she rose and upended Elina Svitolina 6-7(7) 6-3 7-5. Garcia was shaky two days ago, but this time, she wasn’t nervous and when she needed to, she went for the lines. She is muscular and she has been around for the past five years, up and down on court. In the past six months, she began to build point, and move better inside the court.

On Friday, Wozniacki and Garcia will play their final match. Wozniacki is 2-0 and has qualified for the semis. This will be a fun match, because Garcia is in the year-end tournament for the first time and still can advance.

Halep knows that,in order to stay at No. 1 at the end of this year, she has to reach the semis. She got a bump in the contest to be year-end No. 1 when Garbine Muguruza lost to Venus Williams. No. 3 Karolina Pliskova is 2-1 after losing to Jelena Ostapeno but will move into the semis. 

Good fun, no?

 

WTA Finals, Day 2: Wozniacki & Halep win; the fight is on

Simona Halep is in the best spot to be the year-end No. 1. Photo: Jimmy48

Without a doubt, there will be a couple tremendous match-ups in Singapore at the WTA Finals, but on Sunday and Monday, in four matches, it was so-so at best.

Caroline Wozniacki crushed Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-0 in less than an hour. Wozniacki was enjoying a wide variety of tactics and going from very patient to very aggressive. Ukrainian Svitolina was mentally gone, from the first point. 

Simona Halep can slip into states of being very nervous, causing her to lose focus. But not against Caroline Garcia. Halep controlled the match, winning  6-4 6-2 . Halep yanked her from side to side, hitting the lines and moving forward whenever she could. Halep rarely gets tired, running fast and long. When she was into it, she can swing hard with her both of her strokes. 

Garcia has been on fire during the past three weeks and is very happy that she reached the WTA Finals for the first time. But, the letdown is taking effect as she knows that much of the world is watching her for the first time. The Frenchwoman needs to calm down and mix it up, here and there.

Halep wants to keep her newly found No. 1 ranking, which means she has to at least reach the semis.  It is possible that she will face Garbine Muguruza, the No. 2 (who won yesterday) who also badly wants to become the topdog. There will be an incredible battle coming up.

On Tuesday, Venus Williams will face Jelena Ostapenko, and Muguruza is set to battle Karolina Pliskova. Two former No. 1 players will clash. Hopefully, they can smack at each other for three fun hours.