Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Sabalenka survives Siegemund

Eight years ago, Laura Siegemund defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 in the second round in Charleston. Later, in press, Williams remarked that the match "...could be the best match she’ll ever play in her life." I have no idea how that match rates with Siegemund. That same year, she won Stuttgart, defeating Zhang Shuai, 8th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2nd seed Karolina Pliskova, 4th seed Simona Halep, and Kiki Mladenovic. Unfortunately, I can't recall whether one or more of those matches was exceptional.

If Siegemund had played the third set in today's Wimbledon quarterfinal the way that she played the first set, she would surely have proven Williams wrong. Few players are as good at flummoxing big hitters as Siegemund is, and she went about flummoxing top seed Aryna Sabalenka with her drop shots, chips, line-skidding shots, and tricky serves in an almost businesslike way--until she didn't. 

Siegemund pulled all of her tricks successfully in the opening set, and in the second set--as one would expect--Sabalenka improved her service game, while--at the same time--her opponent's serve was less effective than it had been earlier. It was also at this point that Siegemund began to make repeated backhand errors.

In the final set, Siegemund, after a while, appeared to be suffering from fatigue. Despite going up 3-1 and--a bit later--4-3, she wasn't able to get far enough ahead of Sabalenka to defeat her. She said later that she had indeed become tired, and that she didn't take the risks that she should have taken. It should also be noted that Sabalenka is an excellent doubles player and has some net savvy of her own.

After the match, Sabalenka said that of her opponent's game: "It's a smart game. She's really making everyone work against her....It doesn't matter if you're a big server, a big hitter, you have to work. You have to run, you have to earn the win. I didn't want her to see that I was annoyed or anything by her--even if I was a little bit at some points--but I was trying not to give her that energy."

Sabalenka won the match, which lasted just shy of three hours, and was highly entertaining. Her 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory puts her in the semifinals, in which she will play 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6 (9) in the second quarterfinal of the day.

Anisimova has always impressed with her tennis. Ever since her run to the semifinals of the French Open in 2019, when she was just 17 years old, she's been someone to watch. In 2022, she reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Her career was interrupted, however, when she made a smart decision to leave the tour for a while in order to strengthen her mental health. It's been a tough climb back up the rankings, but today, Anisimova reached the semifinals of Wimbledon.

The first set was all about Anisimova, who needed less than half an hour to win the first set 6-1 over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. However, the Russian player, a tour veteran who has played her share of big matches, made the second set more competitive, though Anisimova led at 4-2. At 5-3, when Anisimova served for the match, she was broken. Pavlyuchenkova saved two match points and forced a tiebreak, in which she held four set points. She then saved another match point, but Anisimova prevailed.

There was a major upset in doubles today. 2nd seeds Gaby Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe were upset, 7-5, 7-6 (4), by 8th seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens. And in the first round of wheelchair singles, Diede De Groot defeated Lucy Shuker 6-1, 6-1.

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Monday, July 7, 2025

Two Russians, two U.S.A. players, and one Iga remain in the draw

The Wimbledon round of 16 was completed today, with minimal drama, except for one match, and especially one final game. Belinda Bencic, after making nine tries, finally advanced to the quarterfinals, with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova. Alexandrova saved five match points, and the final game was pretty much a microcosm of the match, which most commentators would refer to as a "roller coaster." 

Mirra Andreeva easily defeated a somewhat flat Emma Navarro in straight sets. In the on-court interview after the match, Andreeva said that her coach, Conchita Martinez, would be playing in the Legends competition, and that she, Mirra, would be Martinez's coach. "I think that's my time to get back at her," Andreeva said, while Martinez was cracking up in the stands. 

Iga Swiatek defeated a somewhat sick Clara Tauson. The Danish player took a medical timeout after the first set, but she was obviously not herself after that (much like Barbora Krejcikova a few days ago). This is Swiatek's second time to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. 

Also today, Liudmila Samsonova defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5, 7-5. I believe that we'll be seeing more and more of Bouzas Maneiro in the future.

In yesterday's round of 16 play, the indefatigable Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Sonay Kartal, and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in nine years. Laura Siegemund defeated Solana Sierra, and Amanda Anisimova defeated Linda Noskova, the last surviving Czech in the draw.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka was tested, not surprisingly, by her former doubles partner, Elise Mertens. Mertens gets better with age, and she gave Sabalenka all that she could handle. Nevertheless, the world number one prevailed with a 6-4, 7-6 victory.

Here is the quarterfinal draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) v. Laura Siegemund
Amanda Anisimoa (13) v. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Mirra Andreeva (7) v. Belinda Bencic
Iga Swiatek (8) v. Liudmila Samsonova (19)

Three of the above-listed women are tried-and-true tour veterans. Siegemund, who is 37 years old, left the tour in 2012 because of some torn ligaments. She earned a degree in psychology and she also obtained her trainer's certificate. Siegemund didn't believe that she would return to the tour full-time, but she did. The German player, a drop shot/lob trickster (like her 37-year-old countrywoman, Tajana Maria) is capable of making her opponents' lives miserable. But if Swiatek serves like she did in the second set of her match against Tauson, the trickster will have her work cut out for her.

Pavlyuchenkova, who is 34, was the junior number 1 in the world, back in the day. I remember the day that I met her, many years ago. I just happened to be walking by the platform where the draw was about to take place in Charleston, and she saw me, walked over, put out her hand, and said, "hi, I'm Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova."  Of course, I already knew who she was, but I was impressed by her persona. 

The Russian veteran was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in February, and has spent the last few months working to recover her form. 

Then there's 28-year-old Belinda Bencic (also a junior world number 1), who left the tour for six months last year after she gave birth to a daughter. Bencic, who won Olympic gold in 2021, said that she "always got stuck in the fourth round" before. 

In doubles, the big upset so far occurred in the second round, when 3rd seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini were defeated by Chan Hao-Ching and Barbora Krejcikova, who gave their opponents a walkover in the next round.  

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Saturday, July 5, 2025

Wimbledon will get a new champion in 2025

< p>Today, an obviously ill, running-on-fumes, Barbora Krejickova was unable to take the next step in defending her 2024 Wimbledon title. There were, in fact, moments in the third set of her third round match against 10th seed Emma Navarro that she was unable to take the next step--period. Krejcikova took a medical time-out, but that didn't help. Known for her calm demeanor on court, the defending champion stood and wept at one point near the end of the match. She then skillfully served and won the ninth game of the set. But that miracle surge was short-lived--Navarro defeated her 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

This victory makes Navarro the official Czceh champion-killer of 2025 Wimbledon. Earlier, she defeated two-time champion Petra Kvitova.

Yesterday, Emma Raducanu gave top seed Aryna Sabalenka everything she could handle. Sabalenka won, 7-6(6), 6-4, in a match that was very exciting to watch. 

6th seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys didn't fare as well; she was beaten in straight sets by one of the tour's veteran tricksters, Laura Siegemund. The German player sliced and lobbed Keys repeatedly, not allowing her to develop any kind of rhythem. Siegemund's 6-3, 6-3 victory puts her into the Wimbledon round of 16 for the first time in her career.

Also gone is 11th seed and 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, defeated 7-6(6), 6-3 by Clara Tauson.  

Dayana Yastremska has looked very good at this year's tournament; she knocked out 2nd seed Coco Gauff in the first round. But today, Yastremska was defeated 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 by an under-the-radar Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. And 16th seed Elena Svitolina, who has historically done quite well in London, was upset today by the always dangerous 24th seed, Elise Mertens. 

With Petra Kvitova, Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova out, all of the former champions (all Czechs) have been eliminated from play. Thee will be a first-time champion, and--of course--all eyes are on world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka lost the Australian Open final to Madison Keys, then she lost the French Open final to Coco Gauff. So far, at Wimbledon, she has defeated notable qualifier Carson Branstine, a very in-form Marie Bouzkova and Raducanu.

Here is the round of 16 draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) v. Elise Mertens (24)
Solana Sierra (LL) v. Laura Siegemund
Linda Noskova (30) v. Amanda Anisimova (13)
Sonay Kartal vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Mirra Andreeva (7) v. Emma Navarro (10)
Ekaterina Alexandrova (18) v. Belinda Bencic
Iga Swiatek (8) v. Clara Tauson (23)
Liudmila Samsonova (19) v. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 

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Tuesday, July 1, 2025

First round blues: 2nd seed, 3rd seed, 5th seed, and beloved champion all out of Wimbledon

Today, 3rd seed and Bad Homburg champion Jessica Pegula lost in the first round at Wimbledon, defeated 6-2, 6-3 by Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Some upsets--when you apply reality to them--aren't that surprising; this one was. It took the Italian player, who is ranked number 116 in the world, less than an hour to send Pegula out of the tournament. Cocciaretto's strategic, aggressive play was just too much for Pegula.

But that wasn't all. Pegula's countrywoman, 2nd seed Coco Gauff, also lost in straight sets--to Dayana Yasmstremska, who defeated her 7-6, 6-1. This one, I found not as surprising--Yastremska has looked good lately, playing with more consistency. Yastremska and Gauff had played three times before, and Gauff had won all of those matches, which were played on clay.

Then there was 5th seed Zheng Qinwen, who was defeated 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 by Katerina Siniakova. On Saturday, in anticipation of this match, I wrote that "Zheng is the clear favorite, but Siniakova, an elite doubles player, knows her way around a grass court--and she's Czech." And there you have it.

As dramatic as those upsets were, the event of the day was the first-round defeat of wild card Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion who is retiring from pro tennis at the end of the season. Kvitova, who had decided to retire when she gave birth to her son, changed her mind and returned for one more year. She lost today to 10th seed Emma Navarro, who defeated her 6-3, 6-1. After she match achieved match point, Navarro--instead of celebrating--simply stood and applauded her opponent, as the crowd gave Petra a loud and extended send-off. Meanwhile, in the broadcasting booth, Martina Navratilova was in tears--and so was I. 

As a poet, I tend to avoid writing haikus; I don't know why. But I wrote one for Petra Kvitova several years ago, just as Wimbledon was about to begin, and I wrote another one when she returned to the tour unexpectedly early after having been attacked by a home invader. The perpetrator sliced her precious left hand and left some doctors thinking that her career was over, but she showed up in Paris and won her first round.

Today, I wrote one last haiku for her:

 (Yet Another) Haiku for Petra

Last look at the lawns
A champion walks away
Grass wet with our tears

Yesterday, we saw the 9th seed, Paula Badosa, go out, also. Badosa was defeated 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 by Katie Boulter of Great Britain. And two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur had to retire in her match against Viktoriya Tomova. 15th seed Karolina Muchova, a player who I think could win Wimbledon, also went out yesterday, to Wang Xinyu. This wasn't a surprise. Not only is Muchova playing with a one-handed backhand (she plays two-handed) to compensate for her ongoing wrist problem--Wang recently reached the Berlin final. To get there, she defeated Daria Kasatkina, 2nd seed Coco Gauff, 8th seed Paula Badosa (retired), and Liudmila Samsonova.

There's more: Queen's Club champion Tatjana Maria went out in the first round (def. by Katie Volynets) , as did Nottingham champion McCartney Kessler (def. by Marketa Vondrousova) and Eastbourne champion Maya Joint (def. by Liudmila Samsonova). 

Eastbourne runner-up Alex Eala faced defending champion Barbora Krejcikova and took the first set easily. But then Krejcikova appeared to turn on some type of switch and win the next two sets. In addition to hardly having any match play this season, the defending champion also recently sustained a right thigh injury and had to withdraw from Eastbourne.  

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Saturday, June 28, 2025

Challenges for Czechs as Wimbledon draws near

Last year, Barbora Krejcikova won Wimbledon. However, in November, she sustained a back injury that kept her off the tour for six months. She returned in May, and--as she was headed for the quarterfinals in Eastbourne earlier this month--she sustained a left hip injury and withdrew from the tournament. It sounds like this was a precautionary move, but--between the long break and the new injury--it isn't exactly a good time for Krejickova to compete in London.

Her countrywoman, the piece of dynamic art known as Karolina Muchova, has never won Wimbledon, but I certainly believe that she could. But Muchova's career has been wrecked, again and again, by a chronic wrist injury. The Czech player's temporary solution to that problem is her conversion to a one-handed backhand (which certainly suits her elegant game), but she hasn't had a lot of experience hitting her backhand with one hand, and--well, Wimbledon is almost here.

The other chronically injured Czech is Marketa Vondrousova (she's had two wrist surgeries), who won Wimbledon in 2023, and was the first unseeded woman to do so in history. Things look good for Vondrousova, however; she recently won Berlin, defeating the likes of Madison Keys, Diana Shnaider, Ons Jabeur, top seed and world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and Wang Xinyu. We can only hope that she stays healthy for the next couple of weeks.

It doesn't feel right to have this conversation without mentioning two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who intended to retire after she had her baby, but has come back (with a wild card) for one more year. I don't think that anyone expects Kvitova to be in the conversation for Wimbledon, but it would be nice to see her do well there. One way or the other, just having her there is special.

Other grass court winners this season include Elise Mertens ('S-Hertogenbosch--her first grass title), Tatjana Maria (in an absolutely stunning run at Queen's Club), McCartney Kessler (Nottingham), Jessica Pegula (Bad Homburg), and Maya Joint (Eastbourne). Berlin, Queen's Club and Bad Homburg are all WTA 500 tournaments. 

Notable during Wimbledon qualifying was Canadian player Carson Branstine, who defeated both French Open breakout star Lois Boisson and Bianca Andreescu. But the tennis gods never tire of performing their tricks. Branstine's first round opponent?--world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka,

Other first round matches of interest:

Marketa Vondrousova v. McCarney Kessler (32)--The former champion (and now the Berlin champion) will face the Nottingham champion.

Katerina Siniakova v. Zheng Qinwen (5)--Zheng is the clear favorite, but Siniakova, an elite doubles player, knows her way around a grass court--and she's Czech.

Barbora Krejcikova (17) v. Alexandra Eala--The Eastbourne runner-up probably isn't the player Krejickova wants to face in the first round (I doubt that anyone wants to face her in the first round.)

Petra Kvitova (wc) v. Emma Navarro (10)--This isn't an easy first round draw for Kvitova; it should be interesting to watch.

Karolina Muchova (15) v. Wang Xinyu--Wang's grass breakout occurred in Berlin, where she defeated Daria Kasatkina, 2nd seed Coco Gauff, Paula Badosa (via retirement), and Liudmila Samsonova. She was stopped by Vondrousova in the final, but it was quite a run, and Wang exhibited a number of impressive moves and shots. She'll have her work cut out for her with Muchova, the current queen of impressive moves and shots.

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Sunday, June 8, 2025

My French Open top 10

Here are my top 10 French Open occurences, in ascending order:

10. The less things change, the more they stay the same: Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo tried to explain why no women are scheduled for night matches, and to assure everyone concerned that the tournament isn't really delivering the message that so many people are getting. Time, she said, is a factor--the matches need to go for a long time. And while it's true that women play the best of three and men play the best of five--two back-to-back women's matches would solve that problem. Also, many men's matches last only three sets. Ons Jabeur responded, and when she did, others followed her. 

9. Gone so soon: Emma Navarro, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Elise Mertens, 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Muchova, Marta Kostyuk--they were all defeated in the first round. Krejcikova and Muchova were both coming back from injury/illness, so those exits--though very sad--weren't surprising. In the second round, we lost Danielle Collins, Donna Vekic and Diana Shnaider. 

8. With a Fighting Italian behind you, you can do anything: Lilli Tagger became the first Austrian to win the junior girls' title, and she did it without dropping a set. Tagger's coach? 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone, of course. 

7. Mixing and matching in Paris: Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori won the mixed doubles championship, and are the first Italian team to do so in 67 years. Errani and Vavassori also won the U.S. Open title in 2024.

6. Kamiji rolls on: Yui Kamiji, the top seed in Paris, won both the wheelchair singles and doubles (with Kgothatso Montjane) titles. Kamiji, for several years, has played the "second best" role to Diede de Groot. De Groot, whose 125 match win streak was broken last year at World Team Cup play, had to undergo surgery and rehab for her hip, and has returned to the tour, but is clearly not yet back to her former level. Kamiji's "second best" is quite impressive, though. This is her fifth French Open singles title, and her fifth French Open doubles title. She has a total of ten major singles titles, and she has achieved a Career Slam in doubles.

5. When the Fight goes out of the Italian: Jasmine Paolini, seeded 4th, stunned the tennis world last year when she reached the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon. Just before she arrived in Paris, Paolini won both the singles and doubles titles in Rome, and then made it through the first three rounds at Roland Garros without dropping a set.

Then something happened: In the round of 16, Paolini played Elina Svitolina, who is always a threat, to be sure. But Paolini took the first set 6-4, then went up 4-1 in the second. She then went up 5-3. At 5-4, she held two match points. Svitolina saved those, then forced a tiebreak, which Paolini led 6-5, thereby holding a third match point. But Svitolina saved that one, too, and went on to win the match. This is to take nothing away from Elina Svitolina, who played at top form and had nerves of steel; she may have won under any circumstance. But Paolini was clearly rattled. Was she exhausted from Rome? Was Svitolina just too much for her? Was it just a bad day? Or all of those things? Only Paolini knows. 

4. The crown is off--for now: Three-time defending champion (and four-time champion) Iga Swiatek, whose name has become synonymous with Roland Garros, wasn't exactly a favorite this year. After all, she hadn't won a title since she won the French Open last year. But she made it past both Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina, and she owned a 5-1 record on clay against her semifinal opponent, Aryna Sabalenka. The world number 1, however, defeated Swiatek 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-0, then went on, of course, to reach her first French Open final. 

3. They love Paris every moment: Despite her tense round of 16 loss in singles, Jasmine Paolini wasn't out of the tournament. She and partner Sara Errani, seeded 2nd, won the doubles championship. Errani and Paolini, the 2024 runners-up, also won an Olympic gold medal at Roland Garros last year.

2. Lois! Lois! Lois!: Until last week, only serious fans had heard of Lois Boisson. That all changed when the 22-year-old Frenchwoman, ranked number 361 in the world and holding a wild card, went on an upset tear, the likes of which we haven't seen in a while. Boisson, who serves well, and is a clever competitor and a cool head on the court, went about showing the exit to 24th seed Elise Mertens, Anhelina Kalinina, wild card Elsa Jacquemont, 3rd seed Jessica Pegula, and 6th seed Mirra Andreeva. She was stopped by Coco Gauff in the semifinals, but her run was unforgettable. The French crowd, yelling "Lois! Lois! Lois!," went crazy (which also meant that they were brutal toward her opponents), and now everyone knows her name. Next week, she'll be ranked number 65 in the world.

1. First the Coco, then the champagne: In 2022, an 18-year-old Coco Gauff made it to the final of the French Open, but was defeated in straight sets by Iga Swiatek. Gauff later said that she approached the final without much self-belief, and that she continued to feel bad about her performance. Gauff reached the quarterfinals in 2023 and the semifinals in 2024. In the meantime, she won the U.S. Open in 2023. The Coco Gauff who arrived in Paris this year was ready to take on anybody. Her draw became tougher by the time she reached the round of 16, but she would go on to defeat 30the seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, 7th seed Madison Keys, and the very in-form Frenchwoman, Lois Boisson. In the final, she faced world number 1, Aryna Sabalenka, and--after losing a tense first set in a tiebreak--Gauff went on to win the next two sets, 6-2 and 6-4. 

Coco Gauff has had her ups and downs, like all good players, but she has worked steadily to improve her game, and her mindset is now the mindset of a champion, a reality that was on display throughout the final. 

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Saturday, June 7, 2025

Coco takes Paris--21st Century version

It doesn't happen often that the two top seeds in a major compete in the final, but it did today. Top seed and world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka faced 2nd seed (and 2022 runner-up) Coco Gauff for the title. The wind was strong, with gusts up to 30 mph., and the roof was open. It also rained for a while, but not enough to pause the match.

Wind is probably the last thing that players want to deal with in a big match, and some handle it better than others. Today, it was Gauff who did a better job of managing the elements--and the emotions. It isn't my (or anyone's) place to judge who had what emotions and how intense they were, but Gauff had let it be known that her error-filled, straight-set loss to Iga Swiatek in 2022 (Swiatek also beat her in last year's semifinals) had stayed with her. Gauff was only 18 then, and the subsequent three years have made a difference. Not only is she a better player and more sure of herself--she also came to Paris as a player who had already won a major (the 2023 U.S. Open). 

The first set of today's final included eight breaks of serve as the players struggled to deal with the wind. Sabalenka went up 40, 40-love rather quickly, but Gauff maneuvered her way back. The tenth game contained six deuces, and Gauff won it on her fifth break point. Sabalenka served twice for the set but was unable to close. The set, not surprisingly, went to a tiebreak, which Gauff led--until she didn't. Sabalenka committed 32 unforced errors in the set, yet managed to win the tiebreak, 7-5.

Gauff began the second set with a break, and then held at love. She then went up a double break, while her opponent began to resemble the Aryna Sabalenka of former years. The world number 1 became flustered by both the wind and by Gauff's smooth running down of balls and steadier hitting. The 2nd seed won that set 6-2.

Gauff finessed her way through the third set without making a single unforced error. She served for it at 5-4, and Sabalenka saved that championship point. but a few moments later, the match was over, and Gauff walked away with a  6-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory. 

Sabalenka made 70 unforced errors in the match, and hit 37 winners; Gauff made 30 unforced errors and hit 30 winners. Gauff's expert footwork and mental strength were on full display throughout the match.

We have other champions, too. Top seed Yui Kamiji won the wheelchair title when she defeated 2nd seed Aniek Van Koot 6-2, 6-2 in the final, and Kamiji and Kgothatso Montjane defeated Li Xiaohui and Wang Ziying 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 to win the title.

In junior competition, Lilli Tagger, who is coached by 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone, became the first girl from Austria to win the championship, and she did so without dropping a set. She defeated Great Britain's Hannah Klugman 6-2, 6-0. In doubles, Eva Bennemann and Sonja  Zhenikhova upset 3rd seeds Alena Kovackova and Jana Kovackova 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in the final.

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