Estoril Open Semifinals: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Pablo Cuevas book finals places

Posted by Admin on May 4, 2019
Posted in: ATP, Estoril, Guest Writer, On Site. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Estoril Open Semifinals: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Pablo Cuevas book finals places
Manuel Traquete, Tennis Atlantic

Just like the quarterfinals, long, hard-fought battles with a lot of twists and turns were the dominant theme on semifinal Saturday. Eventually, both favorites advanced to contest tomorrow’s final but not without overcoming great adversity first.

In the first semifinal David Goffin vs Stefanos Tsitsipas, Goffin started up great, playing his best tennis of the year to win the first set 6-3 with two breaks. He was moving Tsitsipas around the court with ease and firing winners at will. The second set, however, saw the match take a very unexpected turn, not because Tsitsipas won but because 7 of the 10 games were breaks of serve, including 7 of the first 8, something incredibly atypical in an ATP match. At the end of the second, 56 points had been won by the server in the match and 56 by the returner as well. It was Tsitsipas who emerged victorious of this peculiar situation, with Goffin repeatedly missing forehands on important, a trend that continued in the third set, where Goffin look better and closer to victory for the most part but kept making terrible errors in the most important points while Tsitsipas hang tough and sneaked a decisive late break. Losing in this fashion won’t do any good to Goffin’s continually waning confidence but at least the level is still there. Tsitsipas on the other hand showed why he’s now a top 10 player, winning despite getting dominated for large portions of the match, and will play for his second title of the year tomorrow.

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The second semifinal was also a very tight and hard fought contest… at first at least. Alejandro Dadidovich Fokina won a very tight first set by coming through in the clutch but he got broken at 2-3 in the second set in what was the point of the tournament, featuring an impossible Pablo Cuevas no-look smash retrieval. In his frustration, Fokina sent the ball to the crowd, seemingly injured himself in the process and was never the same again. Cuevas would only lose 2 more games the entire match; Fokina won some good points, but looked to be struggling physically, cramping to the finish line. It was still a good week for him, coming all the way through qualifiers and showing he has what it takes to rise up the rankings quickly in the coming years.

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In the final, Tsitsipas is a clear favorite, being the far superior player overall. But these 250 clay tournaments are where Cuevas makes his living and he will definitely be a very tough nut to crack. Whoever wins will become a new champion in Estoril.

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Estoril Open QF day: Stefanos Tsitsipas beats local hero, battles to the finish on center court

Posted by Admin on May 4, 2019
Posted in: ATP, Estoril, Guest Writer, On Site. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Estoril Open QF day: Stefanos Tsitsipas beats local hero, battles to the finish on center court
Manuel Traquete, Tennis Atlantic

Friday was a very long day at the Estoril Open, with every match being long and tightly contested until the end. The day began with fast rising Stefanos Tsitsipas taking on local hero João Domingues. While Tsitsipas winning came as a surprise to no one, the manner in which he did might have. Domingues put up an incredible fight and was unlikely not take at least a set. He was bold, aggressive and was hitting great shots. He broke early and has 30-0 when serving for the first set, but couldn’t close it. He had already been close to beating Kevin Anderson at this same venue 2 years ago, but just like then he couldn’t get the big win with his opponent’s superior experience and pedigree coming through in the end.

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Tsitsipas’s opponent will be David Goffin, who won a very long and tense match against Jaziri. He started strong and took an early break only to give it away and lose the first set 4-6; he was up a double break on two occasions in the second set, including at 5-2, but once again just couldn’t capitalize and only barely eeked out a tiebreak to then barely sweat in the deciding set. Goffin’s level was far from good and incredibly far from the one that took him as high as #7 in the world less than 2 years ago. Winning in this manner might be what he needs to start regaining his lost confidence. Beating Tsitsipas in the semifinal would of course go even further towards it, but it’s a difficult bet for anyone to made judging by their respective levels so far this year.

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The second semifinal will be played between the two night session winners: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Pablo Cuevas. Davidovich Fokina won a pulsating match against Gael Monfils, which had the crowd on their feet on many occasions such was the spectacle produced by Monfils’s athleticism and Dadivovich’s shotmaking talent. At several stages, Monfiils look like he had it, with Fokina  looking tired and making a lot of double faults, but in the end the young Spaniard got his scalp with Monfils getting a somewhat disappointing result in his return to the ATP tour after being sidelined due to injuries for a few weeks ago. Monfils still leaves Estoril as a massive fan favorite, with the entire stadium pulling for him and collective disappointment when he was eliminated.

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Fokina’s semifinal opponent will be Pablo Cuevas, a veteran of the clay circuit who just keeps going on against all odds. Tiafoe may have made the final last year, but he looked totally out of his depth for the majority of this one, with the second set win really not accurately portraying just how (not) close the match was. Sets 1 and 3 were pretty straightforward with Tiafoe barely able to win points for long stretches. His effort was admirable but ultimately  Cuevas is simply the better player in this sort of conditions.

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If the semifinals and finals bring half as excitement as the quarterfinals, the fans are in for a treat this weekend as these four players each try to capture their first ever Estoril title.

 

Top Seeds Advance at @Cville_USTA Boar’s Head Women’s Open

Posted by Admin on April 24, 2019
Posted in: ATP, Charlottesville, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Top Seeds Advance at Boar’s Head Women’s Open
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Charlottesville is free tennis. So I couldn’t say “free tennis!” today when all four of the opening matches of the day went the distance to three sets. Caty McNally messed with Francesca DiLorenzo’s mind today. The French and US Open junior doubles champion showed major league poise after a strong first set and getting bageled in the second. In a 15 minute game to open the third ser, Di Lorenzo held serve and I was certain that she would win the match. That’s why I don’t bet on tennis. McNally held serve and waited for DiLorenzo to make the errors. McNally is on to the next round to face Sesil Karatantcheva.

Caty McNally, 2019 Boar's Head Women's Open (Photo Credit: Christopher Levy)

Caty McNally (Photo Credit: Christopher Levy)

Louisa Chirico posted a serious comeback win today: Down 2-5 and a set, she forced a second set tiebreak before cruising through, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 over wild card Natasha Subhash, who hadn’t played a match on clay in nearly seven months. Next up for Chirico is a date with 2018 finalist Anhelina Kalinina, a 6-2, 6-4 victor over Erin Routliffe.

Taylor Townsend was the late wild card and top seed and she delivered, besting Sanaz Marand 7-5, 6-1. Townsend and Caroline Dolehide will face off in a second round show of American firepower tomorrow.

Lucie Hradecka, with her protected ranking, didn’t look like much on paper coming into this event. After today’s 6-0, 6-1 drubbing of Australia’s Kim Birrell, she looks like a favorite to win this whole thing. But like I said, I don’t bet on tennis, so don’t blame me.

Qualifiers Set and Main Draw Underway @Cville_USTA Charlottesville

Posted by Admin on April 23, 2019
Posted in: Boyd Tinsley Classic, Charlottesville, ITF, USTA, USTA Pro Circuit, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Qualifiers Set and Main Draw Underway @Cville_USTA Charlottesville
Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Main draw play at The Boar’s Head Women’s Tennis Open got underway today in Charlottesville, Virginia under warm and sunny conditions. Gone is Boyd Tinsley, the Dave Matthews Band violinist and local patron of the sport. Gone is the most interesting little trophy in tennis. A year after Tinsley ran into a little bit of trouble, his name’s been wiped clean from the resort.

Tennis moves on. Today featured a large crowd for an ITF event, undoubtedly brought out by the weather. April in Virginia is tricky by nature, and today’s dry conditions will be replaced by soggier times on Friday. If you like the heat and you like it fast, today was the today to notch a quick victory.

Whitney Osuigwe breezed past Kayla Day, 6-0, 6-4, to become the first main draw match winner in Charlottesville. Australian Zoe Hives, who’d lost four matches in a row, got back into the win column with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over American Cori Gauff. Hives was ecstatic after the match, yelling, quite seriously, “I won a match! Finally!” Those two will face off in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Zoe Hives, 2019 Boar's Head Women's Tennis OpenSesil Karatantcheva, 2019 Boar's Head Women's Tennis Open

The match of the day had blowout written all over it in the first set as Madison Brengle took the opener from Lizette Cabrera 6-1 in 23 minutes. Yet, it was not going to be an easy day for the 2017 tournament champion. Cabrera grabbed the second, 6-3 and things started to look like they might be headed to a third set breaker and they surely did. Brengle dominated the breaker for a 3rd set victory, 7-6(3) and a date against Asia Muhammad or Ellen Perez in the next round. Sesil Karatantcheva easily defeated Urszula Radwanska, 6-2, 6-2, and she’ll meet either Francesca DiLorenzo or Caty McNally.

Qualifiers today included Sanaz Marand and Abbie Myers in straight sets and Ingrid Neel and Emily Fanning in third set superbreakers.

Tomorrow’s order of play will showcase Americans Taylor Townsend, Caroline Dolehide, Louisa Chirico and 2018 finalist Anhelina Kalinina.

Madison Keys Prepares for French Open with Charleston Triumph

Posted by Admin on April 11, 2019
Posted in: WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe that Madison Keys is still only 24 years old. The Rock-Island-born player has been a regular on the WTA circuit since breaking through in 2012, but she hasn’t been able to live up to her early promise. Despite plenty of hype during the initial stages of her career, Keys has never previously won a clay-court title, but she’s finally broke her duck when wrapping up the Volvo Car Open in Charleston on April 7th.

Keys beat Caroline Wozniacki 7-6(5), 6-3 to secure $141,420 in prize money, as she became the 16th different winner on the WTA Tour this calendar year. She fought off two break points in the eighth game to force a tie-break, and avoid falling behind to the powerful Dane. It was a pivotal moment which helped swing the match in her favour.

She’d also previously beaten close friend Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals of the competition, despite an error-strewn opening set.

It was her seventh visit to Charleston, and she’s always been a hugely popular figure at the tournament. The crowd got behind the right-hander throughout the final, and she admitted that it’s always been one of her favourite venues to play. Keys told reporters that it “feels like I’m at home” and spoke glowingly about the partisan support that she received from the stands.

The tournament, which is played on green clay, has previously been won by Serena Williams, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, and it regularly attracts a high-quality field. It is one of the oldest events on the calendar, and prior to 2015 it was known as the Family Circle Cup. Over 90,000 tennis fans watched the tournament this year, and the locals always turn up in their droves.

It is one of a number of events throughout April which are generally regarded as a precursor to the French Open, which gets underway on May 26th. Madison Keys reached the semi-finals of the second Grand Slam of the season in 2018, but was defeated by her compatriot Sloane Stephens. It was viewed as a significant step forward for the American, who had crashed out in the first round of the competition 12 months earlier. As a result of her success in Charleston, her odds for the 2019 French Open have shortened, and she’s 22/1 in the latest tennis betting to secure her inaugural Grand Slam title at Roland Garros this year.

She cites Paris as her favourite city to visit, and her 2018 performance in the French capital was hugely encouraging. Although there is still plenty more tennis to be played ahead of the upcoming Grand Slam, she is likely to be feeling quietly confident heading into the clay-court event.

Keys has had her fair share of coaches over the years, but she’s recently been reunited with Juan Todero. She had previously worked with the Argentine five years ago, and he has been credited with helping her break into the top 40 of the WTA rankings. She recently split from Lindsay Davenport and Jon Leach, and has previously worked with both Jesse Levine and Thomas Hogstedt.

Amazingly, this was just her fourth WTA title, and her first since 2017. She’s previously been successful at Stanford, Birmingham and Eastbourne, but reaching the final of the 2017 US Open will also surely be amongst her career highlights. Remarkably, three of her four titles have arrived in tournaments held on the green clay.

It’s a step in the right direction for Madison Keys, and she’ll be keen to build upon her success in South Carolina. She spoke of her desire to “keep this up at a kind of high bar”, and she’ll be hoping to carry that momentum into the French Open and throughout the summer months.

Qualifiers Start Talking After Winning Into Main Draw @VolvoCarOpen Today

Posted by Admin on March 31, 2019
Posted in: Charleston, Volvo Car Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Althea Gibson Clubcourt, 2019 VCO (TennisAtlantic.com)

Qualifiers Start Talking After Winning Into Main Draw at Volvo Car Open Today
Steve Fogleman in Charleston

Last night, there were 8 seats up for grabs at the Volvo Car Open Main Draw at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Daniel Island, South Carolina. By 9:00 a.m., they were down to 7 as American Lauren Davis won on a walkover due to a Varvara Flink injury. Little did the fans know that Davis would be the only American main draw pickup of the day. The last match between Kayla Day and Francesca DiLorenzo ensured that there would be at least one American. So for Davis and DiLorenzo, it’s on to the big dance. And as for the other six lucky qualifiers…

Destanee Aiava, 2019 VCO (TennisAtlantic.com)

Destanee Aiava— The Australian has played Brisbane before, but this is her first American premier-level event. “It’s still sinking in,” she told me right after the 6-3, 6-1 victory over Tereza Martincova. “I’ve worked so hard the last couple of months and I’m just to happy to start playing well and qualify for my first Charleston Volvo Car Open. It’s good to be here. It’s my type of weather, not too hot, not too cold, so I’m enjoying it.” When I told her it could be cold and rainy during the first round, she replied, “That’s my favorite weather!” Draws: Belinda BencicMagdalena Frech, 2019 VCO (TennisAtlantic.com)

Magdalena Frech–On the green: “I think it’s amazing. It’s just here in USA so there’s no clay in Europe like this.” She knocked out Conny Perrin 6-4, 6-1 to advance. Although she’s played in the main draw in Melbourne and Roland Garros before, this will be a first American premier tournament for the Pole as well. Draws: Mizhaela Buzarnescu

Nadiia Kichenok, 2019 VCO (TennisAtlantic.com)

Nadiia Kichenok–In her return to singles after establishing herself as a doubles champion with her sister, Lyudmyla (who lost in the first round of qualifying yesterday), the Ukranian faced a hostile crowd today. She beat American Carolyn Dolehide, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(10) in just under three hours on a packed Althea Gibson court as Dolehide stormed back. “I was having fun in the tiebreak, oh yeah,” she said sarcastically.  “It was so many emotions and thoughts in the head but I am so happy I made it through.” About that  partisan crowd, “It actually pushes me forward,” she said. “By cheering against me, I don’t mind. I like the ambiance because it’s so much fun to play in a great atmosphere. Draws: Fellow Qualifier Martina Trevisan

Martina Trevisan, 2019 VCO (TennisAtlantic.com)

Martina Trevisan–“I also yesterday played very well,” she said. “I like so much this surface. I stay very good here and I like it so much right here.” Having beaten Karatantcheva today and at the 2018 US Open main draw, she says she feels more confident at this time and on this surface than she did in New York.

“I feel better even better than (coming into the) US Open, of course.”  Draws: Fellow Qualifier Nadiia Kichenok

Kateryna Kozlova, 2019 VCO (TennisAtlantic.com)

Kateryna Kozlova–“I haven’t played on the green clay since 13, 14 years old, I think?” she told me after the straight sets win over Nicole Melichar. “I was always playing on the red clay, so in the beginning it was kind of weird. It’s not big different but still different movements. You can slide but less than the (red) clay, so I had to get used to it. It helped a lot that I came here one week before qualies right after Miami so I think I get used to conditions really good.”

On the colder weather forecast for the first round: “This can be a problem. I don’t think it’s good for anyone because it’s completely different conditions than now. Now it’s warm and the bounce is higher and that ball flies more and if it’s going to be bad if it’s complete opposite, but we are all in the same conditions, so let’s see who is more able to get used to those conditions.”   Draws: Kristyna Pliskova

Astra Sharma--Since I was stuck in that long third set tiebreak on Althea Gibson with Dolehide and Kichenok (not complaining), I was unable to catch up with Sharma after her three set win over Aoyama.

Draws: Taylor Townsend

RESULTS – MARCH 31, 2019

Women’s
Qualifying Singles – Second Round
Qualifying – [1] K. Kozlova (UKR) d N. Melichar (USA) 61 63
Qualifying – [2] A. Sharma (AUS) d S. Aoyama (JPN) 64 36 61
Qualifying – [9] M. Frech (POL) d [3] C. Perrin (SUI) 64 61
Qualifying – [12] L. Davis (USA) d [4] V. Flink (RUS) walkover
Qualifying – [16] D. Aiava (AUS) d [5] T. Martincova (CZE) 63 61
Qualifying – N. Kichenok (UKR) d [6] C. Dolehide (USA) 76(3) 46 76(10)
Qualifying – [8] M. Trevisan (ITA) d [15] S. Karatantcheva (BUL) 62 63
Qualifying – [10] F. di Lorenzo (USA) d K. Day (USA) 64 64

ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, APRIL 01, 2019
VOLVO CAR STADIUM start 10:00 am
[WC] S. Lisicki (GER) vs [13] S. Kenin (USA)
[10] J. Ostapenko (LAT) vs J. Larsson (SWE)
[Q] D. Aiava (AUS) vs [9] B. Bencic (SUI) 
[WC] S. Rogers (USA) vs E. Rodina (RUS)

ALTHEA GIBSON CLUB COURT start 10:00 am
J. Pegula (USA) vs I. Khromacheva (RUS)
S. Errani (ITA) vs M. Puig (PUR)
M. Linette (POL) vs [14] A. Tomljanovic (AUS)
[Q] A. Sharma (AUS) vs T. Townsend (USA)

COURT 3 start 10:00 am
S. Sorribes Tormo (ESP) vs F. Stollar (HUN)
N. Vikhlyantseva (RUS) vs T. Maria (GER)
P. Parmentier (FRA) vs A. Kiick (USA)
[Q] F. di Lorenzo (USA) vs A. Bolsova Zadoinov (ESP)

COURT 4 start 10:00 am
[PS] A. Friedsam (GER) vs T. Zidansek (SLO)
M. Minella (LUX) vs A. Schmiedlova (SVK)
[Q] M. Trevisan (ITA) vs [Q] N. Kichenok (UKR) 
A. Friedsam (GER) / S. Sorribes Tormo (ESP) vs I. Bara (ROU) / M. Buzarnescu (ROU)

Qualifying Sunday Underway With 8 Main Draw Spots on Line @VolvoCarOpen

Posted by Admin on March 31, 2019
Posted in: Charleston, Volvo Car Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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Qualifying Sunday Underway With 8 Main Draw Spots on Line at Volvo Car Open
Steve Fogleman in Charleston

The carnival rides from the South Carolina State Fair were in full motion as I pulled up to the Volvo Car Open for opening round qualifying yesterday on Daniel Island, South Carolina. It’s a fitting metaphor for this place, which gets far less attention than the “Tennis Garden”.  The grounds, like the clay courts themselves, are expertly manicured. At the East Coast’s last women-only tour level tennis event, there’s a carnival atmosphere, an almost Disney-like feeling here with an overwhelming amount of choices for a fan.

Madison Keys, Jelena Ostapenko, Shelby Rogers and Belinda Bencic hosted hundreds of fans sitting in on their practices on Stadium court, while thousands packed Althea Gibson court and outer courts to watch sixteen qualifying matches.

Lauren Davis, 2019 Volvo Car Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

If you were an American and your last name began with a D, you won yesterday. Lauren Davis started the D run with a 7-6(2), 6-0 breezer over Lyudmyla Kichenok on Gibson. And just like that, she’s already qualified this morning in a walkover of Varvara Flink.

Francesca DiLorenzo, 2019 Volvo Car Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

Francesca DiLorenzo, a 2019 Charleston qualifier, prevailed against Volvo Car Open pre-qualifier Jessica Ho, 6-3, 6-3. After the match, DiLo told me “I love the clay. I’ve been practicing on it for a couple of weeks now and getting used to it again, but I really like it.” On her opponent, Jessica Ho, she said “I thinks she played really well today. She gets a lot of balls back and I knew it was going to be a grind of a match. She’s such a tough player and she fights for every ball. I just tried to stay patient, look for opportunities and go for it when I had the chance.”

For DiLorenzo, a chance to be in Charleston is not one to miss.

“I really like the environment. I just like Charleston in general. Last year, I qualied here so that’s cool for me. I enjoy the clay and I enjoy the city so that always helps.”

Caroline Dolehide, 2019 Volvo Car Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

Caroline Dolehide advanced to a qualifying final with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Lidziya Marozava and faces Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine for a spot in the main draw.

Kayla Day needed three sets to upset Bibiane Schoofs, 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-3 to set up an All-American matchup today with DiLorenzo.  “I got a wild card in to the main draw (last year) and I remember I lost in three sets on this court, so it feels really good to win today,” Day told me. “Every single match I’ve played here has gone three sets so I’m always prepared for a fight here.” She opined that “for first round of qualies, the support was amazing. Not many WTA tournaments you go to have this kind of atmosphere in the first round of qualies. This felt like a final. It was great.”

Kayla Day, 2019 Volvo Car Open (TennisAtlantic.com)

And though, with not a D in her name, Nicole Melichar survived Silvia Soler-Espinosa in three, 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-3 to take on top qualifying seed Kateryna Kozlova for a main draw berth.

It should be a short day with seven matches lined up and a threat of showers in the later afternoon before a major climate change moves through. The temperature is predicted to drop 30 degrees in the next 24 hours, so expect a slow-moving ball on Monday when main draw play begins.