Tennis Frontier

Category: WTA Tour

Tennis Frontier News from the WTA Tour

Tennis Quiz: WTA Finals Champions

The WTA Finals are set to played in Singapore from October 25th to November 1st. The tournament has gone through many different names, formats and venues, but it has consistently crowned a year-end champion every year since 1972 (twice in 1986!). While most of the winners are the well-known greats, there have been some surprises here and there. See how many of the 44 champions you can name in five minutes!

WTA FINALS WINNERS (1972-2014)

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): VOXSPORTS VOXER

October 23, 2015
2015 US Open Review

As the 2015 U.S. Open approached, there were two questions that tennis fans wanted answered: Would Serena Williams achieve the first Calendar-Year Grand Slam in 27 years, and who would challenge Novak Djokovic for the men’s title? The tournament gave us the answers in some very unexpected ways.

Embracing the Role of the Villain. Djokovic came into this year’s tournament as the frontrunner, but after losing the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters titles to his two closest rivals, he looked a bit more vulnerable than in recent Majors. He was rarely challenged before the final, and his demolition of last year’s champion Marin Cilic was brutal. In the final against crowd-favorite Roger Federer, he was clearly the villain, the top dog that everyone wanted to see defeated. It is a testament to Djokovic’s mental strength how he handled the adversity from the stands and the threat of Federer’s new “SABR” attack. He fought off repeated attempts to be broken, refusing to let Federer take the match from him. Everyone loves a veteran champion — and Djokovic may be in Federer’s position someday — but for now he will have to wait to be embraced by the public. With this U.S. Open title, Djokovic now has 10 Grand Slam titles, a mark only seven others have achieved in the history of tennis. And he isn’t done yet.

The Dream of a Calendar-Year Grand Slam Vanishes. The pressure on Serena must have been immense. So close to tennis immortality. The first Calendar-Year Grand Slam in 27 years. After she got through a brief challenge from Bethany Mattek-Sands, she fought off Madison Keys and Venus Williams to advance to the semifinals. Two matches away. And with so many rivals falling by the wayside in earlier rounds, it looked almost inevitable that Serena would be lifting her fourth consecutive (and seventh overall) U.S. Open trophy on Saturday. And then Roberta Vinci happened. No one, not even Vinci herself, expected the veteran Italian to pull off the upset. There is no doubt that Serena played tight and was clearly mentally stressed in the semifinal, but Vinci played the best tennis of her career, pulling off one of the greatest upsets in tennis history. Vinci said it best during the interview. When asked, “When did you believe that you could beat Serena?”, Vinci’s responded, “No.”

Mamma Mia! No one — not a single person on earth — predicted an all-Italian women’s final. It still doesn’t sound right, but that’s what we got with the 26^th seed Flavia Pennetta and the unseeded Vinci. After Serena lost, tickets for the women’s final dropped in value by over 80%. Fans were expecting to see history made; instead, they were treated to two women playing in the first Grand Slam final of their careers. After a few nervous games and a first set tiebreak, Pennetta asserted herself and won her first Grand Slam title. And then she shocked everyone by announcing that she would “say goodbye to tennis” at the end of the season. Mamma Mia, indeed.

The Lack of a True Rival. Who is going to step up to challenge Djokovic for the Grand Slam titles next year? This year, we saw Stan Wawrinka take the French Open, but so far he has failed to follow it up in any of the other Majors or Masters. Roger Federer and Andy Murray seemed ready to make a challenge, but Murray didn’t even make the fourth round in New York, while Federer again seemed to be outmatched by Djokovic in another major final. Nadal failed even to make the final four of a single Slam this year. It looks like the Djokovic era will continue for another couple of years until one of the younger players steps up.

Five-Set Matches Are tough! The number of retirements in the men’s draw was ridiculous. There were 14 before the quarterfinals. A lot of factors were involved but there were even retirements by players who were winning when they had to drop out. The humidity certainly played a factor, but this could add some momentum to the debate about changing the men’s Majors to best-of-three set matches like the women. Mamma Mia.

Wanted: A New Female Star. As this tournament proved, there is a big flux after Serena. She was so dominant and winning everything that is was hard to notice, but the performances by the Top 10 women were abysmal. Seven of the Top 10 were gone after the second round. Petra Kvitova ran out of gas against Pennetta in the quarters, and Simona Halep was blown off the court by Pennetta in the semis. New rising stars Garbine Muguruza and Belinda Bencic were gone by the third round. Here’s to hoping that someone will rise up and be more than a one-time wonder in 2016.

Doubles Dominance. Martina Hingis’s collection of doubles titles in 2015 is truly impressive. After getting warmed up with a mixed doubles title with Leander Paes at the Australian Open, she then teamed up with Sania Mirza and took the two doubles titles at Wimbledon and did the same thing again at the U.S. Open. She now has 20 Grand Slam titles and doesn’t look like she’ll retire again any time soon. On a side note, the French team of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, seeded a lowly 12^th, took home the men’s doubles title. It’s always nice to see two players who have come so close in the past finally win a big one.

A Final Look Across the Frontier… So the final Slam of the year is over. We saw a No. 1 reassert his dominance and enter the top-level of greats, we saw the dream of a Calendar-Year Grand Slam destroyed by a perky Italian nobody gave a chance of winning, we saw a Hall-of-Fame member take all the doubles titles, we saw a pair of unheralded Frenchmen take home a Grand Slam title, and we saw the final rain delay at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Australian Open is only four months away!

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): kulitat

September 14, 2015
2015 Western & Southern Open – Cincinnati Review

The Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati was a relatively calm and orderly affair compared to the Rogers Cup the week before. There were no sledges made, very few rain delays, and no newcomers making major breakthroughs. But there is always plenty of history and positioning for the upcoming U.S. Open on the line, so the W&S Open is one of the most important tournaments on the tennis calendar, and this year was no different.

The Unbreakable Maestro
Before the summer started, Roger Federer announced that he would skip the Rogers Cup, stunning tennis fans from Albania to Zimbabwe. Surely he would lose his World No. 2 ranking and the No. 2 seed at the U.S. Open for this foolish decision. And sure enough, Federer fell to No. 3 after Andy Murray’s victory in Montreal, and when Murray made the semifinals at Cincinnati, the only way for Federer to get the No. 2 ranking back was to win the tournament. What Federer did in this tournament surprised pretty much everybody. He was never broken once in the tournament, did not drop a set, and played a style of tennis that was bold, majestic, and age-defying. The man is 34 years old yet just beat the No. 1 and 2 players in the world successively for the first time in his career. He never dropped his serve in 44 service games. He practically returned serves from the service line. His volleys were Edbergesque. And he now has seven Cincinnati flower vases sitting on his mantle. With Murray’s Montreal win and Federer’s in Cincinnati, the upcoming U.S. Open has become a lot more interesting and unpredictable.

Survival of the Strongest
Watching Serena Williams march through a tournament to another title brings back the scene when Scarlet O’Hara was stepping through the wounded soldiers in Atlanta as she looked for someone. Will anyone be fit, healthy, and ready to challenge Serena in New York? Simona Halep seems to be back on track after early losses at Roland Garros and Wimbledon but with her incredibly hard schedule, one has to wonder when she will break down again like she did in the Toronto final against Belinda Bencic. The fact remains that the only person who can beat Serena is Serena herself. The mounting pressure must be incredible, but if anyone can do it, it’s Ms. Williams. And she gets another Cincinnati vase to put on her very crowed mantlepiece.

Another Record Denied
Back in June, Novak Djokovic was one win away from completing his career Grand Slam at the French Open. It seemed like it was destiny after finally beating Rafael Nadal for the first time in seven tries. But Stan Wawrinka stood in his way and denied him a record only a few have accomplished. This week, Djokovic was going for another record: a Masters 1000 box set. No one has ever won all nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Federer lacks Rome and Monte Carlo, Nadal has never won Miami and Paris (Bercy), and Andre Agassi is also two titles short of a set. Amazingly, Djokovic has never won in Cincinnati but after his defeat in the Montreal final last week, most thought he would make a statement before the U.S. Open started. But a new and improved Federer, on one of his favorite courts, once again kept Djokovic from making history. Djokovic is at a special place in his career right now. Every time he wins, he takes one more step to glory, but the other side of the coin is that every time he loses, he is denied another record of some sort. It’s an enviable place to be in, and it’s tough to win everything. Djokovic will definitely be looking to make a statement in New York now.

The Walking Wounded of the WTA
The number of players who have been injured, dropped out of the tournament, or retired from their matches is becoming alarming. Maria Sharapova (leg injury), Petra Kvitova (mono), Caroline Wozniacki (leg), Belinda Bencic (wrist), Victoria Azarenka (leg), and Venus Williams (illness) are some of the top players who have been struggling with injuries or health during the summer months. At this rate, there won’t be anyone to challenge Serena Williams as she marches full steam ahead to her calendar Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. It’s been disappointing to see and leaving a whole lot of questions for the final Grand Slam of the year.

Nadal’s Struggles
For the last 10 years, Rafael Nadal has won at least one Grand Slam every year. Since 2004, when he won his first French Open, he has left his teeth marks on one of the major titles’ trophies, but his record run is in serious jeopardy. After going out in the second round of Wimbledon, Nadal went over to Hamburg and won a tournament on his beloved clay and then was destroyed by Nishikori in the quarterfinals in Montreal, and defeated in the third round in Cincinnati by compatriot Feliciano Lopez. The Nadal we know and expect has just not appeared this year and it looks like his record run of major titles is finally over.

SledgeGate Continues
The tournament changed but the uproar over the brash Nick Kyrgios refuses to go away. He said he had apologized to Stan Wawrinka in person, but then Wawrinka said that no such thing happened. He said, he said. After giving out a $10,000 fine, the ATP has been quiet, but Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic condemned the remarks. Kyrgios has really isolated himself from the tennis community and will have to really work hard to gain some trust and acceptance on the tour. He was very quiet in Cincinnati this week, taking only three games from Richard Gasquet.

Fasten Your Seatbelts Because Here Come the U.S. Open
There are two more warm-up tournaments in Connecticut and North Carolina this week, and then the final Grand Slam tournament finally comes. The two weeks in Canada and Ohio have given us more questions than clues or answers about what is going to happen on the men’s side, while on the women’s side, the results thus far look like a dress rehearsal. But as is so often the case with the greatest sport on earth, it hasn’t been boring.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): mirsasha

August 23, 2015
2015 Rogers Cup Review

One week ago, as the men began play in Montreal and the women started play in Toronto, the main talking points were about the performances of Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams and how they would start their preparation for the upcoming U.S. Open, as well as the performances of the Canadian stars playing in their home country’s Masters/Premier event. But the tennis fans were treated to a whole lot more than they ever expected this week.

Finally, At Long Last, About Time!
The numbers were repeated over and over again. Andy Murray had not beaten Novak Djokovic since his dramatic win at Wimbledon in 2013. The losing streak had built up to eight consecutive losses. Murray would play outstanding tennis in a tournament, only to be turned away time and again by Djokovic. Even when Murray demolished Kei Nishikori in the semifinals, there was still the feeling that Murray may challenge Djokovic but in the end fall short as always. The turning point came in the fifth game of the third set. The 18-minute game went to deuce 10 times and Djokovic had six break points, but on this day Murray refused to surrender. Somehow, he held on to that game. Still, Djokovic fought off three match points serving at 2-5, and then had his own chance to get back on serve in the next game but Murray finally sealed the 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win on his fifth championship point. A big old monkey jumped off Murray’s back and the upcoming U.S. Open just got a whole lot more interesting.

A New Star Arrives
We have another Swiss Superstar coming onto the scene. This may not have been a Grand Slam, but when you defeat the home crowd’s darling and former Wimbledon finalist in round one, a former World No. 1 and the current No. 5 in round two, another former Wimbledon finalist in round three, another former World No. 1 and the current No. 6 in the quarterfinals, the World No. 1 and the holder of all four Grand Slams in the semifinals, and finally a former French Open finalist and World No. 3 in the final, people are going to notice. Belinda Bencic won her second title of the year and will move up to No. 12 in the new rankings. There is no doubt all eyes will be on her at the U.S. Open. Bencic could be the real deal.

World No. 1’s Denied
Most expected Djokovic and Serena to come away with the titles this week, but shockingly, both were denied. Djokovic just couldn’t finish off Murray in his usual style, and Serena let Bencic back into the match after dictating things through most of the first set. Still, even though they left town without a title, you get the feeling that they will fine tune their tennis in Cincinnati, and will be raring to go when the year’s last Grand Slam rolls around. They are still the ones to beat and that’s not going to change any time soon.

Home-Ain’t-So-Sweet Home
Clicking on the website of the Rogers Cup last week, tennis fans’ computer screens were immediately covered with huge pictures of Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard. Along with Vasek Pospisil and six other wild cards to represent Canada, expectations were there despite Raonic’s recent struggles and Bouchard’s dismal season. Raonic was upset by Ivo Karlovic in his first match, Bouchard lost to eventual champion Bencic in the first round, and the only Canadian wildcard to win a match, Vasek Pospisil, lost in the third round to John Isner. It was a tournament to forget for the Canadians.

The Walking Wounded
We’re only halfway through August but there are a disturbing number of absences, dropouts, retirements, and injuries. Both World No. 2’s Roger Federer (cutting back on schedule) and Maria Sharapova (injury) were absent. Simona Halep had to retire in the final set of the women’s final. Kei Nishikori was clearly hampered in his one-sided loss to Murray in the semifinals. Raonic still does not seem to be fully recovered from his foot injury. Stan Wawrinka retired during his infamous match with Nick Kyrgios. Caroline Wozniacki was also struggling with an injury in her early round loss. The hard-court season only gets tougher from here so this could be a chance for some young players to break out of the early rounds and even score some upsets, just as Bencic did in Toronto.

The Sledge
How many people really knew what “sledge” meant before this tournament? Everyone has seen multiple reports of what happened whether they wanted to or not. In one of the ugliest matches in recent memory, Kyrgios managed to insult Stan Wawrinka, fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, a young WTA player from Croatia, and pretty much the entire tennis community. He was fined $10,000, and still could be suspended by the ATP. There are some serious problems with Kyrgios, and it appears that no one really knows what to do with him. Tennis Australia has asked fellow Australian and veteran Lleyton Hewitt to act as an advisor for the young Australian, but boy does Hewitt have his work cut out for him.

In the End, It’s All About Tennis
Despite all of the media storm over one comment made by a misguided player, tennis proved to be a sport that wipes away the sludge and the sledges with inspiring performances. With Murray’s spirited effort to finally break through Djokovic and Bencic’s fantastic string of wins, the hard-court season finally seems like it’s here — and it’s only going to get more interesting.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): kulitat / mirsasha

August 17, 2015
Wimbledon Review 2015

Wimbledon has always been a tournament steeped in history and tradition. Every year, a little more history is added to the legend and charm to the greatest tournament in the world. This year was no different, with the top players fighting off challenges and establishing their positions as the greatest in the world.

Manic Monday: One of the Best Days of the Tennis Year. The middle Sunday of Wimbledon is almost a bit of a downer, with no action and an extra day when we are forced to anticipate and wait for the upcoming fourth round matches. But the crazy, non-stop action of eight men’s and eight women’s matches all crammed into one day makes for one of the most exciting and exhausting days in tennis. On the men’s side, No. 1 seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic almost got an early vacation when Kevin Anderson took the first two sets, but after winning the next two sets to tie it up, thanks to the English curfew, the last set was played on Tuesday, and Djokovic quickly finished the match to move on. Thomas Berdych, however, fell a round early before his anticipated match with Roger Federer. On the women’s side, the marquee match was between the two players who have won eleven of the last sixteen Wimbledon titles. Venus Williams was playing extremely well this tournament and there were some experts saying that she just might be the one to beat Serena Williams and end her sister’s chance for a Grand Slam. But after that close encounter with Heather Watson, Serena was in no mood to fool around. Serena defeated Venus for the 15^th time in 26 matches to advance. The biggest surprise was French Open finalist and No. 6 seed Lucie Safarova being upset by American Coco Vandeweghe. That left three American women (Serena, Vandeweghe, and Madison Keys) in the quarterfinals.

Nick Kyrgios and Vasek Pospisil: The Good and the Ugly. After Milos Raonic went down in the 3^rd round, fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil took up the banner and surprised everyone, probably even himself. The 2014 Wimbledon doubles champion came back from two sets down to shock No. 22 Viktor Troicki in the fourth round and advance to his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. With his doubles matches going the distance as well, he didn’t have much left against Andy Murray but it was an encouraging result for Pospisil and Canada’s future Davis Cup hopes. Meanwhile, a player who went the extra mile to make a fool out of himself was Nick Kyrgios. In his 4^th round match against No. 21 Richard Gasquet, Kyrgios clearly tanked during the second set; sat down during a game to change his socks, and got into an argument with the umpire; was almost disqualified when the racket he flung bounced into the stands, narrowly missing hitting someone; and finally hugged a ball boy in a desperate attempt to grab a laugh. His post-match interview was just as embarrassing. After kicking Bernard Tomic off the Davis Cup team, now Tennis Australia is going to have to figure out how to teach their young players on- and off-court manners. It’s a shame, because they have a group of young men who could bring Australia back to the top. But right now an implosion seems just as likely.

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka: The Invisible Champions. They are both Grand Slam champions. They have both been ranked No. 1. And they are a combined five wins and thirty-five losses against Serena. In Grand Slam tournaments alone, they are a combined one win and sixteen losses. Watching their matches, you get the impression that Maria Sharapova no longer has any chance against Serena, but with Victoria Azarenka, there is some hope that someday she will finally beat Serena on the big stage and a true rivalry will be born. But as it stands, their failure to beat Serena — or, depending on your point of view, Serena’s brilliance against these two — are big reasons for Serena’s march through the tour during the last few years.

Andy Murray: A Whole Lot of Questions Are Answered. It looked so good for Andy Murray. His successful clay court season and his fourth Queen’s Club title had everyone thinking that Wimbledon would be the place where he would finally find the success he was enjoying before his back surgery. He even got lucky in avoiding his nemesis Djokovic until the final. But then he ran into Federer. The level of tennis between Federer and Murray was not bad, but Federer had a answer for everything Murray threw at him. He played the big points better, and shut down Murray in a rather shocking straight-set match. At this point, it’s obvious that while Murray is a great player, he is nowhere near the level of Djokovic or Federer. Several things would have to work in his favor if he is going to have a chance to beat them and win another Slam. Murray may have another major or two left in him before his career is over, but luck will have to play a part. He may prove that assumption wrong in the upcoming U.S. Open, but after this Wimbledon match, he is starting to look more and more like the ATP version of Sharapova.

Doubles: Twice the Stories, Twice the Fun! The doubles draws had a lot of interesting stories this year as well. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova had won the first two Slams of the year, and were going for a calendar Slam of their own, but they were defeated in the quarterfinals. The title was won by none other than 34-year-old Martina Hingis and India’s Sania Mirza. They teamed up earlier this year and after taking several titles, they finally won their first slam together. This was Hingis’s 18^th overall Slam title (5 singles, 10 doubles, 3 mixed) but perhaps the even bigger story was Mirza. She became the first female Slam winner from India. On the men’s side, Andy Murray’s older brother, Jamie, made it to the men’s doubles final with teammate John Peers. Murray was going for his second Wimbledon title after winning the mixed doubles with Jelena Jankovic back in 2007. With Andy watching from the stands, Jamie and Peers went down in straight sets to Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.

Garbine Muguruza: Gutsy Garbi’s Grand Slam Breakthrough. When Garbine Muguruza defeated Serena and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2014 French Open, it looked like she was getting ready to bust out of the lower ranks of young players and come right up to the Top 10. She stalled a bit after that and struggled the first half of the year, but thanks to the bottom half of the draw opening up, she took advantage of the opportunity and defeated a revitalized Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals to reach her first Grand Slam final. She had a lead in the first but let Serena pull away. However, after falling behind 4-6, 1-5, she pulled out all the stops and broke Serena twice to pull within 4-5 before Serena was finally able to finish the match. If Garbi had won that game to get to 5-5, who knows what could have happened? But tennis fans everywhere were impressed with her big game and mental strength on the biggest stage in the world of tennis. She will be ranked in the Top 10 when the new rankings are released Monday. Instead of Simona Halep or Eugenie Bouchard, Muguruza could be the one who challenges Serena in the next few years.

Roger Federer: Denied No. 8 and No. 18 — Once Again. Like Murray, Roger Federer had a perfect grass court season. He won his eighth Halle title in Germany and then went through the early rounds of Wimbledon without much fuss. His serve wasn’t broken until Giles Simon managed to do it once in the quarterfinals. Before the semifinals, six out of 10 experts were predicting a Murray win, but Federer once again went on to show us how far Murray has to go before he can start winning Slams again. It was a well-contested match and Murray did everything he could, but Federer stepped up when he had to and broke Murray at the end of each set to grab his fourth straight win over the Scot. In the final, Federer did not have the same level he brought to the Murray match. But that could also be blamed on the fact that Djokovic was a much better opponent. Federer had two set points on Djokovic’s serve in the first set, but ended up losing a tiebreak badly to fall behind. In the second, Federer fought off an amazing seven set points to take the second set tiebreak. But that was all he had left in him. A short rain delay wasn’t long enough for Federer to find a second wind and Djokovic seemed to have no fuss in grabbing the final two sets. At the age of 33, what Federer has accomplished is amazing, but you get the feeling that his chances of winning Grand Slams are beyond him now. Nevertheless, he is still No. 2 in the world, and if Djokovic trips up somewhere, Roger could definitely take a surprise Slam in the way Pete Sampras took the U.S. Open in 2002.

Serena Williams: Wins Second “Serena Slam” Twelve Years After the First. Twenty-first Grand Slam. Sixth Wimbledon. Thirty-nine wins and one loss for the year. Twenty-eight straight Grand Slam wins. The list goes on and on. What Serena is doing at the age of 33 boggles the mind. She has gone up against long-time rivals, new rivals, her sister, and anyone else tennis can throw at her — and she just keeps finding ways to win. If her win over Timea Bacsinszky in last month’s French Open wasn’t proof enough, Serena’s third round win over Heather Watson was a true showcase of just how tough she is when the chips are down. Serena is very aware of what is at stake and she now has New York squarely in her sights. This is a player we will be telling our grandkids about someday, and it is a privilege to watch her go for the first calendar Grand Slam since 1988. She may make it; she may not — but every tennis player on the planet will be watching to see if history will be made at the U.S. Open.

Novak Djokovic: Supremacy Reestablished. After being shocked at the French Open by Stan Wawrinka, and being denied again his first title at Roland Garros, everyone wondered what sort of state Djokovic would be in when he came to London. He skipped the pre-Wimbledon tournaments and only took part in an exhibition where he was beaten by youngster Alexander Zverev. He came into Wimbledon and after three easy matches was almost ousted by Kevin Anderson but somehow he was able to come back after dropping the first two sets. After that close call, he took care of Marin Cilic and surprise semifinalist Gasquet in straight sets. Against Federer, he seemed to be in control the entire match, even after dropping the second set tiebreak. Djokovic now has nine Grand Slams, good for sixth place on the all-time list. With Rafael Nadal struggling to regain his form, Federer showing his age, and Murray failing to find another level, Djokovic could very well be ruling the tour for the next couple of years and adding to his Grand Slam trophies until the next generation of players such as Thanasi Kokkinakis and Borna Coric come up to take his place.

Wimbledon: The Grandest of Grand Slams. While each Grand Slam tournament has its own history, traditions, and charms, every year Wimbledon comes around to prove once again that there is no tournament like it. With the strengthened grass court season this year, it made its position even stronger. Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams solidified their positions as the No. 1 players in the world, and Wimbledon did the same, reminding everyone that it truly is the greatest tournament, of the greatest sport, in the world.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Si:robi / Marianne Bevis / Si:robi / Carine06

July 12, 2015
Wimbledon First Week Review

Wimbledon has wrapped up its first week of competition and the final 16 for both the men and the women have been decided. There have been plenty of surprises, upsets, and new heroes during this first week. Tennis Frontier looks back at the Top 10 moments, and some foolish yet brave predictions for the final.

Serena Williams escapes another close one. Boy, that was close! Serena won the first set pretty handily and looked to be cruising for a change but then she tightened up for whatever reason, and local favorite Heather Watson played a really smart, tough game to come that close to ending Serena’s Grand Slam dreams. When Watson was up two breaks and serving at 3-0 in the third, or serving for the match at 5-4, how many thought it was over for Serena? She clearly was flustered by the home crowd cheering for their heroine, but Williams screamed, hollered, fought, and willed herself back into the match. She looked almost in tears when the match was over. Is the pressure of a Grand Slam getting to her? She has fought 17 Grand Slam matches this year. She has won them all but eight have gone to three sets, and she has dropped the first set six times. And now comes maybe her toughest test left in the tournament: her sister Venus. They will meet in a Grand Slam for the first time since 2009 Wimbledon. Venus is playing extremely well and she just might be the one, ironically, to end Serena’s Grand Slam.

Roger Federer is aiming for his eighth Wimbledon title. Federer has looked very solid in his first three matches. He did drop a set against Sam Groth but the other two were relatively easy straight-set wins. He won his eighth title at Halle, and his preparation for this year’s Wimbledon went perfectly. If seeds go to form, he’ll face Roberto Bautista Agut, Tomas Berdych, Andy Murray, and then finally Novak Djokovic in the final. Whether he can win the tournament or not depends on how fast he can win his matches. He cannot afford to get into a long battle with Murray in the semifinals if he hopes to be able to take on Djokovic at full strength.

Rafael Nadal handed another early round loss. From the minute the draw came out, everyone pointed to the second round and a potential upset of Dustin Brown over Nadal. With dreadlocks flying, Brown did what he does best on his favorite surface and sent Nadal home in four sets. For any other player, two titles, two quarterfinal finishes in Grand Slams, and a Top 10 ranking would be a rather successful year, but Nadal is not your average player. He is one of the greatest players of all time and a two-time Wimbledon champion, so it has been alarming to see him struggling the way he has been this year. He now has one more chance at the U.S. Open to extend his record of at least one Slam win a year since 2005. As for Brown, the curse of the victor of Nadal falling in the next round continued and he could not build on his win, but it was probably a career moment for him.

Petra Kvitova shocked by a veteran. Who saw this one coming? Kvitova looked absolutely dominating in her first two matches in her defense of her Wimbledon crown. Her 35-minute win in the first round had her apologizing to her parents who had come from the Czech Republic to see her play. But then Jelena Jankovic happened in the third round. Jankovic has seen her best days but at times she can prove to be a tough opponent for any top player, as she proved by her runner-up finish at Indian Wells back in March. She stayed with Kvitova, played her own game, got Kvitova frustrated, and finally outlasted her in three sets. How far will Jankovic go now?

Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, and Grigor Dimitrov continue to disappoint. At the end of 2014, it looked as though the next generation was finally making its move to oust the Top 4 from their decade-long dominance of men’s tennis. Their challenge this year has been colder than a bucket of ice water. Nishikori had to withdraw from his second round match with a hamstring injury. Raonic has not recovered from his injury during the clay season, and was beaten by Nick Kyrgios in the third round. Dimitrov has just been floundering the entire season and lost in straight sets to the original Baby Fed, Richard Gasquet. They are all still young at 24 to 25 years of age so there is still time, but they had better get busy because there is a whole new generation of young players starting to make their mark on the tour. If they are not careful, they could be passed by before winning a single Major.

Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard fail to build on their 2014 successes. Just as the men’s young trio has stalled, Halep and Bouchard have not taken the steps forward that many fans were expecting and hoping they would. Halep has had some success here and there since her 2014 French Open final appearance, but she was ousted in the second round of this year’s French Open and now in the first round of Wimbledon. Bouchard is even more alarming. After her quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open in January, last year’s Wimbledon finalist has three wins and eleven losses. She will now be ranked in the mid-20s, and will have to face the top players in the early rounds again. She definitely needs to find some answers before it gets even worse.

James Ward almost makes it to the second week. Wildcard entry James Ward rode a bit of luck and his country’s cheers to the brink of the fourth round. The Briton, ranked No. 110, caught a break when his opponent, 7th seeded David Ferrer, dropped out of the tournament and left Ward facing lucky loser Luca Vanni in the first round. He went on to win his first two matches and came oh-so-very-close to the final 16 before going down in the third round, 8-6 in the fifth, to Vasek Pospisil. This will move Ward up to around No. 90 in the rankings — a career high.

Venus Williams is suddenly the one who could stop Serena’s Grand Slam run. It is so great to see five-time Wimbledon champion Venus playing well at Wimbledon again. It’s a bit cruel that the Williams sisters have to meet so early but here they are. This will be their 26th meeting, with Serena leading the head-to-head 14-11. However, Venus won their most recent encounter last summer. If Venus takes the first set, she just might do it, but she will need to win in straight sets to pull it off.

The young players and some new faces rise up. On the men’s side, we have last year’s quarterfinalist Nick Kyrgios (defeated No. 7 Raonic in the third round), Denis Kudla (faces No. 9 Marin Cilic in the fourth round), Vasek Pospisil (2014 Wimbledon doubles champ will take on No. 22 Victor Troicki), and David Goffin (in his first Grand Slam fourth round since the 2012 French Open). It will be interesting to see how much damage they can do on Monday. On the women’s side, there is 18-year-old Belinda Bencic (she’ll take on Victoria Azarenka), Zarina Diyas (defeated Andrea Petkovic), Coco Vandeweghe (in her first Grand Slam fourth round), Garbine Muguruza (first time in the Wimbledon fourth round), Monica Niculescu (in only her second appearance in a Grand Slam fourth round), Olga Govortsova (past the second round of Wimbledon for the first time ever), and Madison Keys (aiming for her second Grand Slam quarterfinal). The women’s side could really open up and we just might see a couple of new faces in the final come Sunday.

Don’t forget about us! Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Maria Sharapova, and Caroline Wozniacki are quietly putting together very solid runs. Wawrinka has yet to drop a set, Murray looks strong but that shoulder issue during the Andreas Seppi match is a bit concerning. Maria Sharapova has quietly (if that’s possible) moved through the rounds and could face Serena or Venus in the semifinals. Wozniacki has struggled this season but she has played well the first week here. She has a tough test in the fourth round, though, against Muguruza.

Predictions: The men looked formidable and it’s hard to imagine anyone other than one of the Top 4 taking the title. The semifinals should see Djokovic get some revenge against Wawrinka for his defeat in the French Open final. Murray looks ready to finally get to the final and end his losing streak against Djokovic. Serena has proved time and time again that she is tough to beat when her back is up against the wall. Once she gets past Venus, she could see a new face in the final, such as Muguruza or Keys. Murray and Serena should be taking the titles one week from today. But this is Wimbledon and the unexpected often happens. So set those alarm clocks, and get ready for some history to be made!

July 5, 2015
Wimbledon Preview

Wimbledon, the granddaddy of Grand Slams, is set to commence on Monday, June 29. The grass has been cut, the strawberries have been picked, the whites have been pressed, the champagne is bubbling: Wimbledon is ready to begin! The grass court season has had several upgrades this year but it is finally time to get down to the one everyone is after. As usual, there is plenty of drama and intrigue this year. Here’s a look at some of the players who could be lifting the cherished trophies.

When predicting the men’s champion at Wimbledon, there is no other place to start than the Big Four: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. Between them, they have won the last twelve titles. Wimbledon is the only tournament where the other players have failed to break through the toughest quartet ever to rule tennis. In the last ten years, only two players (Andy Roddick and Tomas Berdych) have even managed to make it to the final, only to lose to one of the Big Four.

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Novak Djokovic (Serbia): Djokovic is coming off a very disappointing Roland Garros final. He was expected to finally win his first title there, but he was blown off the court by Stan Wawrinka. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back after losing in Paris, which may have been the best chance he will ever have of winning a calendar Grand Slam. He has advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the last 24 Majors, so it will be a complete shocker if he doesn’t get that far again. He is the defending champion and will be going for his third Wimbledon title, and ninth Grand Slam overall. Djokovic is projected to face Nishikori in the quarterfinal, and then his nemesis Wawrinka in the semifinal.

Roger Federer (Switzerland): Federer has his pre-Wimbledon routine perfected. He just won his eighth Halle title and will now be going for his eighth Wimbledon. A title here would break his tie with Pete Sampras, making Federer the undisputed grass court king of all time. He has not won a Major since the 2012 Wimbledon, and he has advanced to a Major final only once in the last 11. He came so close last year in a five-set loss to Djokovic in the final. Does he have it in him to fight through seven best-of-five set matches during the next two weeks? Federer is expected to face Berdych in the quarterfinal, and then Murray in the semifinal.

Andy Murray (Great Britain): Since his Wimbledon triumph two years ago, Murray has struggled. He finally underwent back surgery in the fall of 2013, and has since been slowly climbing back to his former level. After finishing as runner-up at the Australian Open in January, he won two clay court tournaments (including the Madrid Masters), advanced to the semifinals of the French Open, and just won a fourth time at Queen’s Club in London. A lot of experts are picking the newlywed Murray to lift his second Wimbledon trophy. There’s only one problem: Novak Djokovic, who has won their last eight encounters. But the feeling is that if Murray is to win again, Wimbledon will be the place. The Scot will have to get through Nadal or David Ferrer in the quarterfinal, and then Federer before getting to the final.

Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland): Wawrinka is flying high after his incredible performance at Roland Garros. However, grass is not a surface he craves and his quarterfinal showing from last year was his best result. But if Stan the Man gets into a groove, no one can stop him. An early round loss or a deep run — it’s anyone’s guess. One thing we can be sure of: Wawrinka won’t be wearing his boxer shorts this time. Wawrinka is slated to play Milos Raonic in the quarterfinal, and then a possible rematch with Djokovic in the semifinal.

Rafael Nadal (Spain): Yes, he’s fallen to No. 10 in the rankings and hasn’t advanced past the fourth round since 2011. But you can never overlook a 14-time Grand Slam champion, even if he has been struggling this year. A third Wimbledon title for the Spaniard would be quite a story. If he can make it to the quarterfinal, he could be dangerous. He will play David Ferrer in the fourth round, and if he gets through that, Murray should be waiting for him in the quarterfinal.

The best of the rest: Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, David Ferrer, Marin Cilic, and Grigor Dimitrov. Of these, only Cilic has been able to break through the Big Four to win a Major. Nishikori has had injury issues and is still looking for the next big win. Berdych can beat all under him, yet none above him. Raonic got bumped up a spot over Ferrer in the seedings but he has been troubled as well. After missing the French Open with a foot injury, he is still struggling to find his form. Ferrer is not at his best on this surface, so getting to the quarterfinals would be pretty surprising. Cilic has struggled to regain his form and has made the quarterfinals here only once (last year) so not much is expected. Dimitrov has had a season to forget. He has struggled up to this point, with no titles and a 19-12 win-loss record. Now would be a good time to get back into the later stages of a tournament.

As for the women, the list of candidates is shorter. There are young and exciting players coming up but they are still struggling to make that breakthrough.

Serena Williams (United States): It’s all about Serena Williams now. She has won the last three Majors, and will be going for her sixth Wimbledon and 21st Major to complete her “Serena Slam”. I’m sure she would like a win here to erase those bizarre images of her stumbling around court last year.

Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic): Kvitova is the defending champion and No. 2 seed this time. Last year, she kind of went under radar until she finally blew Eugenie Bouchard off the court in the final for her second Wimbledon title. Kvitova is a very hard-to-predict player, but if she gets into the groove on grass, her favorite surface, two weeks from now, she could be lifting her third Wimbledon dish.

Simona Halep (Romania): There was a lot of buzz around Halep before the clay season started, but that has fizzled out with her poor results. No one is talking about Halep winning the title here so it would be a huge surprise. She could be facing Kvitova in the semifinal, but she could be gone before then.

Maria Sharapova (Russia): It’s been 11 years since we saw Sharapova come out of nowhere to shock Serena in the Wimbledon final to win her first Major. Since then she has added four more Majors and loads of other tournaments but she has one problem: she can’t beat Serena. They are slated to face off in the semifinal, but it’s very difficult to imagine an upset. But one thing Sharapova does not lack is determination, so you can bet she is going to give it everything she has. If she makes it that far, that is.

The best of the rest: Some of the women who could pop up in the semifinal or final would include Caroline Wozniacki, Lucie Safarova, and Ana Ivanovic. Wozniacki is still searching for her first Grand Slam title since making the U.S. Open final way back in 2009. She has played decently this year but has struggled at times. If Serena or Kvitova are upset, she could surprise us, but grass is not Wozniacki’s best surface. Safarova had a fantastic French Open, finishing as runner up in the singles and winning the doubles title with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. It will be interesting to see if she can follow it up. Ivanovic is in year seven of looking for a second Grand Slam. She made it to the semifinals of Roland Garros, so we’ll see if she can build on that.

Get ready for some great tennis, sleepless nights, and matches that will last a lifetime!

Projected Quarterfinals:

Men:
Djokovic – Nishikori
Wawrinka – Raonic
Murray – Ferrer
Federer – Berdych

Women:
Williams – Ivanovic
Sharapova – Safarova
Halep – Wozniacki
Kvitova – Makarova

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): yvettemn

June 26, 2015
Serena Scores Slam #19

The 2015 Australian Open Ladies’ singles final brought the No. 1 seed against the No. 2 seed. This was the 19th time Serena Williams faced Maria Sharapova. Adding today’s outcome, Williams has beaten Sharapova 16 straight times.

Serena Williams broke in the first game. After a short rain delay, the roof was closed at Rod Laver Arena. Serena then came out and won six straight points, grabbing a second break for 5-2. Sharapova got one of the breaks back, but Serena broke back to win the first set 6-3.

In the second set, both Serena and Maria held their respective service games — no breaks of serve. Serena had an opportunity to finish the match with Maria serving at 4-5, 30-40. On the first championship point, Maria hit a forehand down-the-line winner, and held her service game.

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It was a tightly contested tiebreak. Serena had a 6-4 lead, and Maria fought off a second championship point with a huge forehand down-the-line winner. Serena then had the match on her racquet. Serving on championship point No. 3, Serena’s first serve was called a let. She composed herself, then fired down an ace to win the match 6-3, 7-6(5). An outstanding statistic for Serena was her serve, including 18 aces.

Serena Williams made history by winning her 19th Grand Slam title, moving her into second place in the Open Era. This was also her sixth Australian Open victory.

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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): VOXSPORTSdotNET

January 31, 2015
Australian Open Day 14: Men’s Final, Mixed Doubles Final – Order of Play & Scores

The final day of the Australian Open features the Men’s final. Four-time champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will meet the No. 6 seed, Andy Murray, who has been a finalist here on three previous occasions: 2010 (l. Federer), 2011 & 2013 (l. Djokovic).

Preceding them is the Mixed Doubles final. The third-seeded team of Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) and Daniel Nestor (CAN) will play the seventh-seeded team of Martina Hingis (SUI) and Leander Paes (IND).

The schedule for Day 14 is listed below (Results to follow). All times are local.

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Rod Laver Arena — 4:00pm

Mixed Doubles – Final
Martina Hingis (SUI) (7) / Leander Paes (IND) (7) d. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) (3) / Daniel Nestor (CAN) (3) — 6-4, 6-3

Not Before: 7:30pm

Men’s Singles – Final
Novak Djokovic (SRB) (1) vs. Andy Murray (GBR) (6)

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January 30, 2015
Australian Open Day 13: Women’s Final, Men’s Doubles Final – Order of Play & Scores

The Women’s Singles final pits the No. 1 & 2 seeds against each other: Serena Williams (1) will face Maria Sharapova (2) for the 2015 Australian Open championship. They’re followed by the Men’s Doubles final, which features two unseeded teams, one from Italy, the other from France: Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini play Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut.

The schedule for Day 13 is listed below (Results to follow). All times are local.

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Rod Laver Arena — 7:30pm

Women’s Singles – Final
Serena Williams (USA) (1) d. Maria Sharapova (RUS) (2) — 6-3, 7-6(5)

Men’s Doubles – Final
Simone Bolelli (ITA) / Fabio Fognini (ITA) d. Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) / Nicolas Mahut (FRA) — 6-4, 6-4

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January 29, 2015