Nearly everyone expected to win did so today, except Novak Djokovic. It didn’t break his heart or at least he didn’t show it.
Novak Djokovic will apparently play with two rackets at the US Open in an effort to maintain his world #1 ranking. At least that’s what he told Tennis Panorama News’ Dave Gertler at the Western & Southern Open in Greater Cincinnati today after being defeated by Tommy Robredo. For Djokovic, he’s the first #1 seed since 2008 not to reach the quarters. The dodgy Cincinnati ‘Capodimonte Cup’ continues to elude him.
Cincinnati Capodimonte Cup
Australian Open Champion Stan Wawrinka made quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters today with a 3 set win over Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. His first serve has been off as of late and Stan only hit 27% of his first serves today. I asked him about that and he acknowledged the issue. Wawrinka will meet Julien Benneteau in the quarters tomorrow. The head to head between the pair favors the Frenchman 2-1.
Julien Benneateau had never beaten Jerzy Janowicz in ATP play until today, where he posted a 7-5, 6-1 win over the big Pole. Benneteau’s serve was on and he was patient with every point. He’ll need that serve when he faces Wawrinka for a chance to make the semis in Cincinnati, a feat he’s never reached before.
“I am not the favorite, but I’ll have my chances and just be ready to take it”, he told me, referring to tomorrow’s match with Wawrinka.
Fabio Fognini is the first Italian quarterfinalist at the Western & Southern Open since 1995. He doesn’t care who he plays in the quarterfinals tomorrow. He’s just thrilled to be here so deep in the tournament and peaking around the US Open.
Simona Halep is getting used to the attention of being a world #2 and she dosen’t care if she plays on Center Court or not. This is her 2nd post-match press conference after acceding to her new post. She also answered an interesting question about being #1 whether or not you win a slam.
Finally, Evina Svitolina beat Carla Suarez Navarro to advance to her first Premier-level quarterfinals today, getting revenge for Suarez Navarro’s win over her earlier this year in Linz. Svitolina’s next opponent is Ana Ivanovic. She spoke me with me after the match and discussed the improvements in her mental game. The 19-year-old is the first teen quarterfinalist here since Pavs did it in 2010.
ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014
CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
ATP – [3] Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) vs. Julien Benneteau (France)
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – [1] Serena Williams (USA) vs [8] Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)
Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – [16] Tommy Robredo (Spain) vs. [6] David Ferrer (Spain)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – [8] Andy Murray (Great Britain) vs. [2] Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Not Before 9:00 pm
WTA – [9] Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) vs. Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
ATP – Vasek Pospisil (Canada) / Jack Sock (USA) vs. [2] Alexander Peya (Austria) / Bruno Soares (Brazil)
Not before 1:00 pm
ATP – [5] Milos Raonic (Canada) vs. [15] Fabio Fognini (Italy)
Not before 3:00 pm
WTA – [4] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) vs. [12] Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
Not before 7:00 pm
WTA – [5] Maria Sharapova (Russia) vs. [2] Simona Halep (Romania)
WTA – [8] Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia)/Anastasia Rodionova (Australia) vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain)/Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan)
COURT 3 start 12:00 noon
WTA – Kimiko Date-Krumm (Japan) / Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) vs. Garbine Muguruza (Spain) / Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain)
Not before 1:30 pm
ATP – After Suitable Rest – [6] Julien Benneteau (France) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France) vs. [3] Daniel Nestor (Canada) / Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia)
WTA – [7] Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) / Abigail Spears (USA) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) / Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)
ATP – Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) / Marcin Matkowski (Poland) vs. [WC] Steve Johnson (USA) / Sam Querrey (USA)
ATP – [1] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) vs. Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) / Horia Tecau (Romania)
Results – Thursday, August 14, 2014
Men’s Singles – Round of 16
[16] Tommy Robredo (Spain) d [1] Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 76(6) 75
[2] Roger Federer (Switzerland) d Gael Monfils (France) 64 46 63
[3] Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) d [14] Marin Cilic (Croatia) 36 60 61
[5] Milos Raonic (Canada) d [WC] Steve Johnson (USA) 67(7) 63 76(4)
[6] David Ferrer (Spain) d Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 75 60
[8] Andy Murray (Great Britain) d [11] John Isner (USA) 67(3) 64 76(2)
[15] Fabio Fognini (Italy) d Yen-Hsun Lu (Chinese Taipei) 36 63 63
Julien Benneteau (France) d Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) 75 61
Men’s Doubles – Second Round
[1] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) d Eric Butorac (USA) / Raven Klaasen (South Africa) 61 64
[2] Alexander Peya (Austria) / Bruno Soares (Brazil) d Marin Cilic (Croatia) / Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) 76(3) 76(6)
[WC] Steve Johnson (USA) / Sam Querrey (USA) d [8] David Marrero (Spain) / Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 76(4) 64
Women’s Singles – Round of 16
[1] Serena Williams (USA) d [13] Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 62 62
[2] Simona Halep (Romania) d [16] Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 64 75
[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) d Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 61 61
[5] Maria Sharapova (RUS) d Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 64 76(2)
[8] Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) d Sloane Stephens (USA) 76(4) 64
[9] Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) d Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 62 26 63
[12] Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) d [6] Angelique Kerber (Germany) 75 62
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) d [15] Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain) 46 64 64
Women’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
Timea Babos (Hungary) / Kristina Mladenkovic (France) d [1] Sara Errani (Italy) / Roberta Vinci (Italy) 26 61 10-8
Women’s Doubles – Second Round
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) / Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) d [2] Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) / Shuai Peng (China) 36 75 10-5
Garbine Muguruza (Spain) / Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) d [5] Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) / Elena Vesnina (Russia) 76(1) 16 12-10
[7] Racquel Kops-Jones (USA) / Abigail Spears (USA) d [WC] Melanie Oudin (USA) / Taylor Townsend (USA) 63 61
[8] Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) / Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) d Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) / Arantxa Parra Santonja (Spain) 63 62
Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) / Yaroslave Shvedova (Kazakhstan) d Cara Black (Zimbabwe) / Sania Mirza (India) 63 63
—Stephan Fogleman from Cincinnati
Tennis Atlantic 