Tennis Frontier

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General Tennis News from the Tennis Frontier

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Wins the Open GDF SUEZ

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ended a memorable week in Paris by defeating Sara Errani at the Open GDF SUEZ. The Russian reeled off 48 winners en route to taking the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

In a match of many momentum swings, Pavlyuchenkova began by racing out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set. She then dropped seven consecutive games to leave Errani firmly in the driving seat with a set lead and a 2-0 buffer in the second.

The Russian then awoke from her slumber and took seven consecutive games of her own behind strong serving and huge groundstrokes. With the second set sealed, the match was carefully balanced as it progressed into the deciding stanza.

Pavlyuchenkova took the opening game but her advantage was short-lived, with Errani reeling off three more consecutive frames to move out to a 3-1 lead.

The see-saw battle turned on its head again – this time decisively, with Pavlyuchenkova recovering her rhythm and dropping only six more points throughout the remainder of the match. She won the remaining five games without reply to secure the biggest title of her career.

“I just want to keep working hard and improving my game, and if I keep doing those things it will show in rankings and results,” said the Russian after the match.

It was Pavlyuchenkova’s sixth career title and it was well earned. Earlier in the week, she defeated Carla Suárez Navarro, Angelique Kerber, and top seed Maria Sharapova.

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Cover Photo: karlnorling, Creative Commons License (Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova)

February 3, 2014
Makarova Wins Pattaya Open

Ekaterina Makarova won her first title in nearly four years clinching the Pattaya Open in Thailand with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) victory over Karolina Pliskova.

The Russian took the match in 1 hour 36 minutes and fought off two set points in the second set tiebreak to take the championship.

“It was a nervous ending and a really tough match, and she was playing really great tennis today,” stated Makarova after the match.

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Cover Photo: angela n, Creative Commons License (Ekaterina Makarova)

February 3, 2014
Federer Commits to Davis Cup Action

Roger Federer will join the Australian Open champion and new Swiss No.1 Stanislas Wawrinka in their Davis Cup first-round tie against Serbia.

“I can confirm that Roger is in Serbia and will play in the Davis Cup,” stated Sandra Perez of the Swiss Tennis Federation.

It is the first time since 2012 that Federer has made the commitment to play Davis Cup and the last time he played a first round tie was back in 2005.

The Swiss will begin the tie as favorites with Serbia missing Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic. The makeshift Serbian team will provisionally feature Dusan Lajovic (ranked No. 102) and Filip Krajinovic (No. 280) in singles, with Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac pairing up for the doubles.

The tie will be played on an indoor hard court in Novi Sad.

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Cover Photo: Kenneth Hong, (Creative Commons License)

January 29, 2014
Stunner Down Under – Wawrinka Wins Australian Open

Stan Wawrinka, erstwhile Swiss No. 2, shocked Rafael Nadal and the tennis world by taking the trophy in Melbourne over the world No. 1: 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. In doing so, he became the rare player to win a Major outside of the Top 4 in what has otherwise been nearly decade of dominance by (mostly) Federer and Nadal, an ardent Djokovic, and a sprinkling of Murray. (Oh, yes, and one by Juan Martin del Potro.)

Wawrinka was ranked No. 8 going into the tournament, and will be No. 3 when the rankings come out on Monday. He’s spent a good deal of his career under the shadow of Roger Federer, but he has emerged into the sunshine today. He toppled the defending champion, Novak Djokovic, in the quarterfinals, and bested the top seed today, becoming the only man to beat Djokovic and Nadal in the same Slam.

He started the match with a great calm and focus, and took the first set handily, despite not having a great first serve percentage. Then he broke Nadal at love in the first game of the second. He held for a 2-0 lead, when, on his own service game, Nadal seemed to tweak his back. He held serve, but went off the court for a medical timeout. When he came back, his movement and serve were clearly compromised. Speculation rose as to whether the Spaniard might retire. Wawrinka won the set 6-2.

However, in the third set, Nadal loosened, while Wawrinka tightened. The Swiss had 19 unforced errors when the set was done, and had basically handed it to Nadal: 6-3.

The fourth set was on serve until Wawrinka broke in the sixth game, but Nadal broke straight back, raising the stakes, and the hopes that it might actually go the distance. But Wawrinka found his nerve, and broke again for 5-3, then served out the match.

Nadal had been gunning for a lot of history in this final, but it was not to be. Stan the Man, as he’s known, or the “Stanimal,” made his own bit of history today.

Photo credit: Marianne Bevis (Creative Commons License)

January 26, 2014
Li Na Third-Time Lucky in Australia

The Chinese superstar and world No. 4 Li Na won her first Australian Open title on her third try, defeating Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6(3), 6-0. This is the second Major title for Li, 31, who won the French Open in 2011. Li is the first player from China to win the Australian Open, and Cibulkova is the first Slovakian to reach the final of any Major.

Cibulkova, 24, ranked 21, and standing just 5’3″, was a surprise finalist. After the tournament saw off the top-seeded Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka, Li’s draw opened up. But Cibulkova had to personally dispense with Maria Sharapova, rising star Simona Halep, and the tricky Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the final.

Li broke the Slovakian in the first game of the match, but a low first serve percentage and too many unforced errors kept Cibulkova in the hunt. She proved a worthy opponent in a competitive and entertaining first set, which eventually went to a tiebreak. The veteran proved too much for the first-timer, however, whose serve let her down in the crunch. With the first set in hand, Li found her form and never looked back, closing the second set at love.

Photo credit: globalite (Creative Commons License)

January 25, 2014
Nadal Bests Federer – Into the Australian Open Final

In a much anticipated semifinal, and in the 33rd meeting of their storied rivalry, Rafael Nadal once again took down Roger Federer. The final score was 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3.

This was the most anticipated of their recent matches. While Nadal is the world No. 1, and has the prohibitive edge in their head-to-head, Roger Federer was looking resurgent, with a new racquet and a new coach, Stefan Edberg. He had dropped only one set, against Andy Murray, going into the semifinal. Nadal, for his part, was sporting a grotesque blister on his racquet hand, and had had a couple of unimpressive rounds against Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov. And while a semifinal is unusual for their rivalry, it suddenly became again one of those rubber-meets-the-road matches between them. Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, was out. The bottom-half of the draw has produced a new finalist in Stanislas Wawrinka. With Federer the all-time leader in Major titles, at 17, and Nadal pressing, with 13, the match took on heavyweight significance in their rivalry, for the first time in a few years.

In the first set, Federer pressed, and capitalized on net play. They stayed on serve, and got to a tiebreak, which was where Nadal started to break away. Federer never had a break point in the first set.

Nadal broke in the fifth game of each of the subsequent sets, and that was all he needed. While it did provide flashes of past brilliance, it fell short of the desired additional volume to their series of classics.

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Photo credit: Marianne Bevis (Creative Commons License)

January 24, 2014
Australian Open Day 12 Federer/Nadal Semifinal Schedule of Play / Scores: Friday, January 24

[Scores added as known.]

Rod Laver Arena — 3:00 P.M.

Mixed Doubles – Semifinals
Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) / Matthew Ebden (AUS) d. Sania Mirza (IND) (6) / Horia Tecau (ROU) (6) — 2-6, 6-3 [10-2]

Not Before: 4:00 P.M.

Women’s Doubles – Final
Sara Errani (ITA) (1) / Roberta Vinci (ITA) (1) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) (3) / Elena Vesnina (RUS) (3) — 6-4, 3-6, 7-5

Not Before: 7:30 P.M.

Men’s Singles – Semifinals
Rafael Nadal (ESP) (1) d. Roger Federer (SUI) (6) — 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3

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Margaret Court Arena

Mixed Doubles – Semifinals
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) / Daniel Nestor (CAN) d. Jie Zheng (CHN) / Scott Lipsky (USA) — 6-3, 6-1

Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

January 23, 2014
Cibulkova Thrashes Radwanska in Australian Open Semifinal

Dominika Cibulkova dominated Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska en route to a 6-1, 6-2 victory and a place in the Australian Open final.

Radwanska, who had previously defeated defending champion Victoria Azarenka, struggled to negate the aggression and physicality of the Slovakian throughout the match.

Cibulkova was in control from the outset, dominating the exchanges from the baseline and attacking the Radwanska serve with impunity.

The first set was barely a contest as she ran out a convincing 6-1 winner, closing out the set with a monstrous backhand winner.

The same patterns of play continued in the second set with Radwanska repeatedly defending way behind the baseline as Cibulkova dictated proceedings with pure power tennis.

Radwanska had three break points at 0-2 down in the second set but failed to capitalize and only managed to finally break at 0-4. She held serve in the next game but it was a temporary respite as Cibulkova regained her poise and closed out the set 6-2 to take the match in convincing fashion and book her place in the final.

Her opponent for the championship decider is China’s Li Na, who defeated young Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-4.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): robbiesaurus

January 23, 2014
Li Na Advances to the Australian Open Final

China’s Li Na reached the Ladies Australian Open final for the third time in four years with a 6-2, 6-4 win over young Canadian revelation Eugenie Bouchard.

Li dominated the opening stanza, rushing out to a 5-0 lead in only 16 minutes before Bouchard finally registered a game on the scoreboard. She added another before Li closed out the set behind penetrating groundstrokes and strong serving.

The Canadian steadied her nerves in the second set and made a match of it before her experienced opponent broke and closed out the set with a crosscourt backhand.

Li Na will meet the winner of Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska who face off in the other semifinal.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): globalite

January 23, 2014
Federer Defeats Murray to Set Up Nadal Semifinal Clash

Roger Federer advanced to the Australian Open semifinals after defeating Britain’s Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in 3 hours and 20 minutes in Rod Laver Arena.

A revitalised Federer dominated the first two sets and much of the third where he served for the match at 5-4 before Murray gatecrashed the party to break serve and force the set into a tiebreak. The fourth seeded Scot made the most of the opportunity and went on to win the tiebreak after Federer squandered two match points.

The momentum shift was short-lived as Federer regrouped to take the fourth and final set breaking Murray in the eighth game.

Federer will now face old nemesis Rafael Nadal in the semifinal.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he smiled when asked about renewing hostilities with the Mallorcan World No. 1. It is the first meeting at a Major of the two tennis greats since they met in the semifinals at Melbourne in 2012.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis

January 22, 2014