Kerber last former champion standing in Charleston

Defending champion Angelique Kerber, who defeated Kristina Kucova in straight sets today, is now the last former Charleston champion in the competition. 2009 champion Sabine Lisicki and 2014 champion Andrea Petkovic went out in the second round, and 2004 champion Venus Williams and 2010 champion Sam Stosur were defeated today in the third round. 2007 champion Jelena Jankovic entered the tournament but had to withdraw before the first round.

Yulia Putintseva (photo by Daniel Ward)

3rd seed Williams, who had difficulty with her second serve, went out in three sets to Yulia Putintseva. Stosur also went out in straight sets--to 5th seed Sara Errani, who has very quietly advanced through the Volvo Car Open draw, practically unnoticed. Stosur and Errani had to play in swirling winds, and it was the Italian who was better able to manage the conditions.

One former runner-up also remains in the draw. Qualifier Elena Vesnina, who was a finalist in 2011, defeated Lourdes Dominguez Lino today. Vesnina had a bit of luck in the second round when 2nd seed Belinda Bencic had a problem with her back, but the Russian's form has nevertheless been excellent all week.

Sloane Stephens, who had won only one match in several attempts in Charleston, advanced to the quarterfinals tonight with a straight-sets win over Daria Gavrilova. And Irina-Camelia Begu saved a match point against Monica Puig, then went on to defeat her 1-6, 6-2, 7-6.

Laura Siegemund (photo by Daniel Ward)

Laura Siegemund, whose serve was on fire yesterday, had to be more creative today because of the windy conditions. The German was able to utilize her many defensive skills to overcome Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 7-5, 6-2 on the Althea Gibson Club Court. Siegemund, who played doubles tonight, has now been on the court over ten hours. "...I feel pretty good," Siegmund said after her singles match. "I'm used to having long matches on clay. It's part of my game, also, I think, to do a lot of running...."

Daria Kasatkina (photo by Daniel Ward)

And then there was Daria Kasatkina, who just keeps making it look easy. Today, Kasatkina beat Louisa Chirico 6-0, 6-4. Chirico, to her credit, made the second set quite competitive. Kasatkina, who has now reached her second premier quarterfinal since advancing to the round of 16 in Indian Wells, is likely to be seeded at the French Open. She was the junior champion there in 2011.

Kasatkina and her partner, Elena Vesnina, lost their quarterfinal doubles match to Caroline Garcia and Kiki Mladenovic. Siegmund, however--with partner Anna-Lena Groenefeld--won hers. The German team defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues (still playing!) and Arantxa Parra Santonja.

Here is the quarterfinal singles draw:
Angelique Kerber (1) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu
Daria Kasatkina (14) vs. Sloane Stephens (7)
Laura Siegemund vs. Elena Vesnina (Q)
Sara Errani (5) vs. Yulia Putintseva

No shortage of drama in Volvo Car Open second round

Clockwise: Laura Siegemund, Elena Vesnina, Venus Williams (photos by Daniel Ward)

Venus Williams and Samantha Stosur, 2004 and 2010 champions, respectively, advanced today in Charleston during
second round play. Williams defeated countrywoman Alison Riske 6-4, 6-2, and Stosur defeated 2014 runner-up Jana Cepelova 6-4, 7-5. Cepelova entered this year's main draw as a lucky loser.

2011 runner-up Elena Vesnina (who won the doubles title that year with Sania Mirza), advanced when she defeated 2nd seed Belinda Bencic. Bencic was troubled by the back problem she experienced when she played in Miami. Qualifier Vesnina, on the other hand, was in fine form, beating Bencic 6-1, 6-1.

Another former finalist who was defeated today was Lucie Safarova, who lost to wild card Louisa Chirico. Safarova, who was out for several months because of two serious illnesses, was the runner-up in 2012.

Laura Siegemund (photo by Daniel Ward)

Laura Siegemund, the 28-year-old German who is ranked number 75 in the world, has been showing us quite a bit of good tennis lately. Today in Charleston, on Billie Jean King Stadium Court, Siegemund outlasted 8th seed Madison Keys in a match that went on for over two hours and 48 minutes. The German player needed six match points to prevail, but she stayed as steady as anyone could have--even when she found out that what she thought was the winning fourth match point wasn't converted when the chair umpire overruled a call.

It was a good match and an entertaining match. Siegemund served extremely well, and she used a lot of variety in constructing points, slicing and lobbing to keep points going. Her drop shots were especially effective.

In the first round, Siegemund needed almost two hours and 44 minutes to claim victory.

On the other end of the spectrum, Daria Kasatkina has given up only five games in her two Volvo Car Open matches.

Sloane Stephens, looking for a victory in what she says is one of her favorite events, got just that. Stephens defeated Danka Kovinic in straight sets on Billie Jean King Stadium Court. 2009 champion Sabine Lisicki lost to Yulia Putintseva, and Irina-Camelia Begu defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands in a match that went on for almost two and a half hours.

One other qualifier, Kristina Kucova, advanced when she defeated Kateryna Bondarenko. Daria Gavrilova defeated Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-0. And totally under-the-radar 5th seed Sara Errani beat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-0, 6-3.

Genie Bouchard, whose luck seems to go from bad to worse, had to retire after the first game of her third set against Lourdes Dominguez Lino. The back issue that bothered the Canadian star in Miami flared up, and--as much as she wanted to go on--Bouchard had to stop playing.

Monica Puig (photo by Daniel Ward)

In the night match, 2014 champion Andrea Petkovic was upended by Monica Puig, who won five games in a row when she was 2-5 down in the first set. Between sets, Petkovic was visibly upset with herself, and her demeanor carried over into the next set, which was more or less all about Puig. Toward the end, Petkovic rallied, saving two match points, but she was unable to stop her opponent, whose accuracy and tenacity gained her a 7-5, 6-2 victory.

In doubles, top seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova won their first-round match against Andreja Klepak and Katarina Srebotnik, and 4th seeds Raquel Atavo and Abigail Spears defeated Lara Arruabarrena and Raluca Olaru.

The night match featured Australians Casey Dellacqua and Samantha Stosur against the French team of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Garcia and Mladenovic won 7-5, 6-4. Their next opponents will be composed of two Russians--Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina.

Defending champion Angelique Kerber will face qualifier Kristina Kucova tomorrow in the third round. Venus Williams will play Yulia Putintseva, and Sara Errani will compete against Sam Stosur.

Defending champion Kerber prevails in Charleston

Angelique Kerber (photo by Daniel Ward

The night crowd couldn't have asked for a better match than the one they got tonight in Charleston at the Volvo Car Open. Defending champion Angelique Kerber faced off against Lara Arruabarrena, and the Spaniard showed off all of her clay court skills against Kerber. Between them, the players hit 95 winners (and made 84 unforced errors) in a three-set contest that lasted almost two hours and forty minutes. The players had to struggle not only against each other, but against chilly, windy conditions.

Kerber prevailed 6-2 in the opening set, but the set's scoreline doesn't adequately reflect the level of Arruabarrena's play. The Spaniard took the second set 7-5, and the third went to a tiebreak, which was taken control of early on by a flummoxed, not very pleased, Kerber. She won it 7-3. After the match, Kerber said what we so often here in Charleston: "The first match on clay is tough."

The Australian Open champion wasn't the only one who suffered. Kiki Mladenovic and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni played a tense match which ended with the tiebreak from hell. Each woman took a set 6-4, then--in the final set--Lucic-Baroni held two match points when Mladenovic served at 5-6. The Frenchwoman saved the first one with a drop shot, and she saved the second one with a missile-like serve. Not surprisingly, a tiebreak ensued.

I lost track of how many match points were held by either woman in the tiebreak. It went on and on, and at 11-all, one double-faulted, and then the other one double-faulted. It seemed like it would never end, but end it did, with Lucic-Baroni winning 15-13.

Daria Kasatkina (photo by Daniel Ward)

Genie Bouchard (photo by Daniel Ward)

Daria Kasatkina, who played in the day's first match, had it a lot easier. The young Russian defeated Zheng Saisai 6-2, 6-1 in an efficient performance. 10th seed (and 2010 champion) Sam Stosur defeated a tough-playing Aleks Krunic in straight sets, and Genie Bouchard defeated Alex Dulgheru in straight sets. That was a well-played match, and Bouchard's drop shots were superb. There was a certain amount of anticipation about the handshake, but no worries--it was warm and sportswomanlike.

Other players who won in singles today were qualifier Kristina Kucova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Monica Puig, wild card Louisa Chirico, Zhang Shuai, Yarslava Shvedova, and Yulia Putintseva.

Kasatkina pulled double duty today and succeeded. She and partner Elena Vesnina defeated Kateryna Bondarenko and Olga Savchuk 6-7, 6-3, 10-6. Vesnina won the doubles title (with Sania Mirza) in 2011.

Sam Stosur (photo by Daniel Ward)

Tomorrow's night match features 2014 champion Andrea Petkovic, who will take on Monica Puig. 2004 champion Venus Williams plays Alison Riske, and 2nd seed Belinda Bencic plays Elena Vesnina. The night doubles match features Australians Casey Dellacqua and Sam Stosur competing against the third-seeded French team of Caroline Garcia and Kiki Mladenovic.

Volvo Car Open begins with major doubles upset

The second-seeded doubles team of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka went out in the first round of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston Today. The former French Open champions were defeated 6-4, 6-2 by Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja in the only doubles match played on opening day of the event's main draw.

One lucky loser and one qualifier advanced today in singles play. 2014 runner-up Jana Cepelova, who got into the main draw as a lucky loser, defeated Anastasija Sevastova, and qualifier (and 2012 runner-up) Elena Vesnina defeated qualifier Cindy Burger.

One seed lost. 16th seed Misaki Doi was defeated 4-6,  6-3, 6-1 by Kateryna Bondarenko.

2009 champion Sabine Lisicki defeated Irina Falconi in straight sets. Caroline Garcia, who was seeded last year, lost in a third-set tiebreak to Irina Camilia Begu. Last year, Begu (who was also seeded in 2015) gave eventual champion Angelique Kerber one of her toughtest challenges when they competed in the quarterfinals.

Daniel Island local Shelby Rogers lost her first round match to Lourdes Dominguez Lino.

One of tomorrow's most interesting matches, I think, will be the one played by Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Kiki Mladenovic. Mladenovic beat Tatjana Maria today, but not without a bit of racket tossing.

Photo by Daniel Ward

Another must-watch tomorrow will be played by 2010 champion Sam Stosur and Aleksandra Krunic. Krunic, who has performed extremely well for the Serbian Fed Cup team, can be a tough competitor, and could make things interesting if Stosur's serve is a bit off. Also of interest--Genie Bouchard will compete against Alexandra Dulgheru.

Tuesday's night match features defending champion Angelique Kerber, who will face off against Spain's Lara Arruabarrena.

Defending champion Kerber fit and ready for action in Charleston

Photo by Daniel Ward

Charleston defending champion Angelique Kerber looked very fit and relaxed today as she chatted with the media during the Volvo Car Open All Access Hour. Kerber reported that she had taken a couple of days off, undergone treatment for her leg, and that she has been practicing without having the leg taped. She said she was happy to be in Charleston, and talked about her appreciation of the locals' friendliness and hospitality.

Kerber joined the other top seeds in emphasizing the need for equal prize money in professional tennis. Her countrywoman, Andrea Petkovic, the 2014 champion, said that she was angry about the way the equal prize money issue has been represented in the press--that news stories lead the public to believe that equal prize money exists in places that it doesn't. Petkovic said she had hoped that more progress would have been made in this area by now, and that it saddens her to realize the level of sexism that continues to exist.

Photo by Daniel Ward

Venus Williams, whose 2006 op-ed in The Times led to the establishment of equal prize money at Wimbledon, spoke at length about the issue. "It’s important," she said, "for men to get on board because these same men have daughters, they have wives, they have sisters, and they should want those same opportunities for those people in their family." Williams said that she thought things had progressed a bit more than they have. "It’s a wake-up call for me to not sit still, and it’s made me examine what else I can do, not just for women’s tennis, but for women everywhere."

Also attending All Access Hours were Sloane Stephens, Sara Errani, Belinda Bencic, and Madison Keys. Stephens, who has partnered with Soles4Souls and is collecting shoes while she is at the Volvo Car Open. (Donation of a pair of gently used shoes gets you a pair of tickets to one of her Charleston matches.) The 7th seed good-humoredly responded to a question about her memories of Charleston that "I must like it here--I've won only one match and I keep coming back."

Sara Errani talked a little about her health issue: The Italian star has iron deficiency, and is taking supplements to correct the problem. Iron deficiency is not uncommon among athletes; however, Errani says hers is an inherited health issue.

Photo by Daniel Ward

Belinda Bencic, when asked what it was like to have people recognize her on the street, said that no one recognizes her when she goes out, so there is no problem (I probably wasn't the only one who was thinking "yet"). The young Swiss star talked about how much she has learned from her coach, Melanie Molitor, and from Martina Hingis, about how to handle off- as well as on-court concerns on the tour. I asked her if she likes to read, and she became quite animated, saying she loves to read, but "no ebooks"--she likes to hold the books in her hands.

Kerber heads Charleston field

Photo by Daniel Ward

2015 Family Circle Cup (now the Volvo Car Open) champion Angelique Kerber will be on hand in Charleston next week to try to defend her title. Kerber's thigh was strapped this past week in Miami, where she lost to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals. The strapping was supposedly there as a preventive measure, but some wondered whether she was a bit hampered by pain.

Of course, the 2016 Australian Open champion won the Charleston title last year with a heavily strapped shoulder, and in the course of the tournament, she tweaked her thigh on two occasions, so any strapping we see may not be relevant.

Photo by Daniel Ward

Last year, Kerber--who is seeded number 1 in Charleston--had to play friend and countrywoman (and defending champion) Andrea Petkovic in the semifinals, an occurrence which added to the eventual champion's already-dramatic draw (dramatic because of injuries and close calls). This year, the two Germans could play each other in the quarterfinals. Also, Petkovic could play close friend Jelena Jankovic in the third round; Petko beat JJ in 2014 during her title run.

Last year's runner-up, Madison Keys, is in the same quarter as 2nd seed Belinda Bencic. Last year, Bencic was upset in the second round by Danka Kovinic. In 2014, the Swiss player lost in the semifinals to Jana Cepelova in one of the best matches I saw that year.

2004 champion Venus Williams is seeded third. Seeded fourth is Lucie Safarova, who--if she is match-tough enough--should be seen as a potential champion. The Czech player, whose career was interrupted for a lengthy period by illness, has won the doubles championship twice (once with Kiki Mladenovic, with whom she had never even practiced before). Playing in Safarova's quarter are Daria Kasatkina, Daria Gavrilova and Genie Bouchard, so the Czech has her work cut out for her. Safarova was the runner-up in singles in 2012.

Williams and Jankovic, like Petkovic and Kerber, are former Charleston champions, winning in 2004 and 2007, respectively. Other former champions in the draw are Sabine Lisicki (2009) and Sam Stosur (2010).

Commentators and writers make much of the green/red clay divide, and many tennis writers forget to include Charleston in the clay season altogether, preferring to reference the European clay season. Every year, for the past several years, the players have mentioned that green=slow and red=fast is, at this point, a myth. Jankovic remarked a couple of years ago, in fact, that the green clay in Charleston is slower than some of the European red clay.

The first annual Volvo Cup Open is introducing some new features. More seating has been built into the Althea Gibson Club Court, and AGCC matches will now feature an announcer and music, as well as post-match interviews.

Another innovation: The tournament has partnered with Stre.am to broadcast live video from all outer tournament tennis courts, including practice courts. Five courts will be affixed with multiple cameras showcasing different angles of the court. Fans can tap into the URL (https://stre.am/volvocaropen), which went live today, and get a live look at the action happening on various courts. This is the first time Stre.am has provided a platform for its users to view multiple channels at one time.

Finally, an additional jumbotron has been added to Billie Jean King Stadium Court.  The 11' x 17' screens are located at the northeast and southwest ends of the stadium.

Tennis, a subject for poetry

As some of you know, I am a poet. To celebrate National Poetry Month, I'm presenting

the tennis poetry I've written over the past few years.

First, some blank verse originally published in 2013 in The Barnstormer:

The Lesson of Caroline

Up and down and side to side she sprints
without fatigue. The match can last for hours;
the Dane will scarcely shine a bead of sweat
or fail to stretch and meet the ball right on
the sweet spot. With those metronomic swings,
Wozniacki can wear down the stalwart grinders,
the spinners, steely veterans, braided upstarts.
But Wozniacki needs to take it from you.
She takes it, but she doesn't dish it out.
To run the risk, to grab control, feels wrong
somehow--no Sunshine in that raw aggression.
So Wozniacki never wins the big ones;
she doesn't get to lift the silver plate
or see her smile reflected in a statue.
To guard and to defend is something learned;
it propels you to the line, but never over.
Watching Wozniacki's hesitation,
I confront the Caroline who lives in me.


Also published in The Barnstormer:

Watching Them Play On Clay

This is not the tennis you learned in school
in New York, California or Wisconsin.
This is dirty. Socks turn red, feet slide
like sandpaper on the smoothest pine
surface. The thwack of clay knocked
out of shoe soles, the tiny bits of brick
that stick to sweaty thighs, quivering
ever so slightly as muscles twitch--
and then the wait. The long wait.
No first strike here, but rather, patience,
as minutes seem to swirl past while the yellow
departs the red, and spins toward the white.
There is art in the slice, grace in the grind.
Thinking is required. And stretching, bending,
beholding the big picture in fluid angles.
The rain can fall, the game goes on,
the court a wash of cinnabar.
This is not the tennis you learned in school;
this is dirty and beautiful.


An Elizabeth Barrett Browning satire from the 2014 Family Circle Cup, written after one of Errani's
inimitable net performances:

The Errani-Browning Riff

How do I drop thee? Let me count the ways.

I drop thee to the depth and breadth and height
My racket can reach, when feeling out of sorts
For the ends of lobbing and ideal grace.
I drop thee to the level of every game's
Most quiet slide, by sun and stadium-light.
I drop thee freely, as women strive for rights;
I drop thee purely, as they return my second serves.
I drop thee with the passion put to use
In my old beliefs, and with my Fed Cup's faith.
I drop thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost ranking. I drop thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my career; and, if God choose,
I shall but drop thee better after Charleston.

Haiku written when Wozniacki ran the New York marathon:

Haiku For Wozniacki

Leaves of red-gold blur
past the Lady, past the past
Caroline, you run!

And Haiku written just before a Wimbledon tournament:

Haiku For Kvitova

White-clad women grace
perfect, verdant lawns in June
Petra, mow them down!