Summer Recap: Best 2017 Tennis Tournament Improvement Was Rhinegeist Beer Balcony at Cincy Tennis Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
Now that the hangover from the most interesting US open in years is over, it’s time to reflect on what we did this summer. While some memories are a little fuzzy, one thing is clear: there’s only one thing I love more than tennis and that’s craft beer. Craft beer’s introduction to the sports market has been slow and steady for the most part. Major League Baseball found success in serving local craft beer to baseball fans who then became fans of the suds. Most of the other major sports have followed suit in offering local creations to their fan base, but tennis has been too slow to the craft beer game. I was happy when Holy City Brewing of Charleston brewed a beer for the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, but I’d never seen a full-blown craft beer zone at a tournament until I stumbled into the Rhinegeist Brew Balcony. Alright, I didn’t stumble in.
Marissa Beck is Director of Strategic Partnerships for Rhinegeist Brewing, which means she ensures that Cincy’s biggest craft brewer gets its products in the hands of sport fans and event attendees. “It’s one of those things,” she said. “We really wanted to give tennis fans a place where they can go and try a lot of our really good local beers.” The Truth IPA is their flagship brand, but they had 6 other choices waiting for you. At a tennis tournament!
To drink a Peach Gose at a Masters 1000 was heaven on earth. Among the other fantastic choices, Bubbles Rosé Ale with peaches and cranberries was perfect for the heat and humidity of Cincinnati and the Randy Radler beer mixed with grapefruit juice did the trick as well.
Rhinegeist Brew Balcony
If you wanted to hit some balls at the tournament, you could’ve tried the tennis-themed ping-pong tables. Ping-pong is huge at the mother ship brewery.
“The tournament is known for its food, so we want to make sure we can live up to our Cincinnati standards,” Beck said. “We’re from Cincinnati. This is where our brewery is. And there are so many people who come from out of town, so let’s give them a taste of real Cincy beer.”
Nadal Practices Below the Beer Balcony
The brewery, located downtown in Over-The-Rhine, is a massive facility with a rooftop deck and an impressive view. I visited the brewery on a Saturday night and I can tell you that the view from the Rhinegeist Brew Balcony was even better. It overlooked Practice Court 6 at the Western & Southern Open, better known as the practice “show court”. Rafael Nadal held hits there as well as Dominic Thiem and Sascha Zverev. While hundreds stood by court side or climbed to the top of the grandstand bleachers to catch a glimpse of the action, Rhinegeist visitors got the best view of all without having to leave their table or their brew.
“We’ve got a lot of people who are stopping in here and then going downtown to check out the brewery,” Beck said. “We’re trying to get our delicious suds out any way we can.” Well played, Rheingeist. Well played.
Big Guns Out Tuesday after Monday Action at @CincyTennis Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
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Yesterday was press day at the Western & Southern Open, so that meant off-court distractions to hear words from the mouths of the elite of the sport. Nadal, Thiem, Pliskova, Halep and others sat down for round table chats with the media.
The action on court saw Petra Kvitova with a comeback win over Anett Kontaveit, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-3. The crowd gasped in the first set, with the former Wimbledon champion struggling to find her form. And she did just enough to get through to Stephens or Safarova in the next round.
Tommy Paul had just another day at the office in his Summer of Tommy tour, relegating Donald Young to yet another first round loss in Cincinnati. The 6-4, 7-6(4) win earns Paul a match against Isner tonight.
Frances Tiafoe quickly ended the dream qualifying run by Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, 6-3, 7-6(2) and was in great spirits after the match, joking with fans and giving away $39 official tournament towels. Sascha Zverev awaits in Round 2.
Kiki Bertens had no trouble as she stormed past Oceane Dodin, 6-3, 6-0 on Grandstand yesterday in a sparsely-attended match. Up next for Bertens is a match against #7 seed Jo Konta.
Evening play saw lucky loser Ramkumar Ramanthan advance over Christopher Eubanks in three sets and Madison Keys winning a Stanford final rematch over Coco Vandeweghe in three sets.
Off court, Rafael Nadal revealed he’s still a little sore from that loss against Shapovalov in Montreal and when asked what advice he’d give Dominic Thiem, he replied, “I’d better not.”
Garbine Muguruza is easily the most genuine and emotive player in the top 10 of anything. She talked about the emotions that raced through her at Wimbledon this year, as well as avoiding social media due to trolls. “The ones who love me today will hate me tomorrow,” she said, following up with “I don’t have to read this.” Later, she spoke about the close rankings race and the need to compete every week on tour. “Shit. I gotta play. I’ll be #25 if I skip one,” she said to a room full of journalists enraptured by her refreshing honesty and affability.
We’re heating up today, with Muguruza, Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Jack Sock and Dominic Thiem lined up for a long day of tennis.
ORDER OF PLAY – TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2017
CENTER start 11:00 am
ATP – Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) vs [10] Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – [9] Venus Williams (USA) vs Alison Riske (USA)
ATP – [13] Jack Sock (USA) vs Yuichi Sugita (Japan)
Night Session – start 7:00 pm
ATP – [14] John Isner (USA) vs [WC] Tommy Paul (USA)
Not Before 8:30 pm
WTA – [4] Garbiñe Muguruza (Spain) vs [Q] Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA – Aana Konjuh (Croatia) vs [11] Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia)
ATP – Steve Johnson (USA) vs David Ferrer (Spain)
Not Before 2:00 pm
WTA – [Q] Taylor Townsend (USA) vs [2] Simona Halep (Romania)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [WC] Sloane Stephens (USA) vs Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)
ATP – [3] Dominic Thiem (Austria) vs Fabio Fognini (Italy)
STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
ATP – [9] David Goffin (Begium) vs Nick Kyrgios (Australia)
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – Julia Goerges (Germany) vs [10] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
ATP – [WC] Jared Donaldson (USA) vs [12] Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)
WTA – [7] Johanna Konta (GBR) vs Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) vs [8] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)
COURT 10 start 11:00 am
ATP – Kevin Anderson (South Africa) vs [Q] Alexadr Dolgopolov (Ukraine)
WTA – Alize Cornet (France) vs Catherine Bellis (USA)
ATP – [11] Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) vs Paolo Lorenzi (Italy)
WTA – Elena Vesnina (Russia) vs Caroline Garcia (France)
WTA – Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) vs Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic)
COURT 4 start 11:00 am
WTA – [Q] Ashleigh Barty (Australia) vs [Q] Varvara Lepchenko (USA)
ATP – Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Spain) vs [Q] Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
ATP – Robin Haase (Netherlands) vs Adrian Mannarino (France)
WTA – [Q] Francoise Abanda (CAN) vs [Q] Magda Linette (Poland)
COURT 7 start 11:00 am
WTA – Kristina Mladenovic (France) / Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) vs [6] Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) / Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic)
WTA – [5] Timea Babos (Hungary) / Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic) vs Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) / Kveta Peschke (Czech)
WTA – Daria Gavrilova (Australia) / Daria Kasatkina (Russia) vs Nadiia Kichenok (Ukraine) / Anastasia Rodionova (Australia)
WTA – [7] Ashleigh Barty (Australia) / Casey Dellacqua (Australia) vs [WC] Alexa Glatch (USA) / Catherine McNally (USA)
WTA – Chia-Jung Chuang (Chinese Tapei) / Renatal Voracova (Czech Republic) vs Raquel Atawo (USA) / CoCo Vandeweghe (USA)
COURT 8 start 11:00 am
ATP – Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) vs Karen Khachanov (Russia)
WTA – [12] Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) vs [Q] Aleksandra Krunic (Serbia)
ATP – Nikoloz Basilashvili (Georgia) vs Borna Coric (Croatia)
ATP – Ryan Harrison (USA) / Michael Venus (NZL) vs [8] Oliver Marach (Austria) / Mate Pavic (Crotia)
COURT 11 start 11:00 am
WTA – [Q] Donna Vekic (Croatia) vs [LL] Natalia Vikhlyantseva (Russia)
WTA – [15] Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) vs Shuai Peng (China)
ATP – Leander Paes (India) / Alexander Zverev (Germany) vs Feliciano Lopez (Spain) / Marc Lopez (ESP)
ATP – Nikola Mektic (Croatia) / Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pakistan) vs Diego Schwartzman (Argentia) / Mischa Zverev (Germany)
WTA- After Suitable Rest – Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) / Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) vs Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) / Kristen Flipkens (Belgium)
Tennis Road Show Back to Cincinnati Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
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It’s hard to believe it’s already late summer and the tennis road show moved to Ohio for a big build-up to the US Open. With so many engaging story lines on both sides of the sport, the Western & Southern Open will likely set the table for the end-of-year narrative.
While most of the tennis world was witnessing the breakout weekend in Toronto for Sascha Zverev, there were packed stands for qualifying matches in Ohio, including a girl who cried because she didn’t get an autograph from Magdalena Rybarikova. I thought, “It’ll get better.” It can always get better than getting snubbed by Rybarikova for an autograph.
This is the greatest tennis place in America. Not the greatest tennis space like Indian Wells, but the greatest tennis place. A place where Americans root for Americans and where they never say John Eisner. Media Director Pete Holtermann says it best when he tells me that there are 9 states within a 250 mile radius of the event. It’s the Midwestern Open.
38 matches on a single day like last Saturday is Slam-like, if not Slam-lite. It is nearly impossible to cover all of the courts and all of the matches at a big tourney footprint like the Western & Southern Open. You pick what looks good and you plan to stay in that area of the facility. It’s progressively bigger in my usual route of Newport, D.C., Cincinnati and the US Open.
In fact, it’s the perfect warm-up to the US Open. Who knew? Oh, wait.
Sunday’s 19 matches felt relaxing by comparison. Qualifying concluded with the 19 winners, 7 men and 12 women who jump into main draw play today. They were beaten to the first round by Ryan Harrison, Gilles Muller, John Isner and Vik Troicki, who kicked off their first round matches yesterday.
Harrison fought hard in a three set loss to Muller and he heard that American fanbase he says is so sorely needed. They cheered for him through the ups and the downs, but the American wilted in the thrid set tiebreak to advance Muller to the second round with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(3) win.
The fans were then served a less dramatic match but got to cheer on another fellow countryman when John Isner eased past Troicki, 7-6(3), 6-4.
Maximilian Marterer of Germany advanced in straight sets yesterday to his first career main draw of a 1000 level event. He was so excited he could barely contain his glee as he rode off on the golf cart he had to share with his opponent, Ramkumar Ramanathan. Ramanathan looked dazed as a man who had lost two consecutive tie breaks despite the fans overwhelming support on Court 4. Marterer rides into the first round against American Frances Tiafoe later today.
J.P. Smith is almost an American to these fans and it showed at the end of his match yesterday. Despite cheering for Christian Harrison throughout the match, their applause turned to the former University of Tennessee alum as he prepared to serve out the 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win. Fans flocked to him for photos as he soaked up a memorable weekend on the outer courts.
Taylor Townsend gave many plenty to smile about with her comeback win. After losing the first set in a tiebreak to Carina Witthoeft on Center Court, she stormed back to win out 7-5, 6-1. More adulation by the crowd was in store for Townsend as she was mobbed by well-wishers. Monica Puig is next in store for Townsend later this afternoon on Court 10.
ATP – Steve Johnson (USA) vs Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – [9] Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain) vs [2] Angelique Kerber (Germany)
ATP – [12] Marin Cilic (Croatia) vs Borna Coric (Croatia)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [5] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) or [10] Johanna Konta (Great Britian) vs [3] Simona Halep (Romania)
Not Before 8:30 pm
ATP – [1] Andy Murray (Great Britain) vs Bernard Tomic (Australia)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA – [15] Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) vs [7] Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
Not Before 1:00 pm
ATP – [4] Milos Raonic (Canada) vs [8] Dominic Thiem (Austria)
Not Before 2:30 pm
WTA – [4] Garbine Muguruza (Spain) vs [Q] Timea Babos (Hungary)
Not Before 4:30 pm
WTA – [6] Raquel Atawo (USA) / Abigail Spears (USA) vs Maria Irigoyen (Argentina) / Oksana Kalashnikova (Georgia) or [2] Hao-Ching Chan (Chinese Taipei) / Yung-Jan Chan (Chinese Taipei)
ATP – Treat Huey (Philippines) / Max Mirnyi (Belarus) vs Lucas Pouille (France) / Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) or [2] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA)
STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
ATP – [5] Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) / Horia Tecau (Romania) vs [3] Jamie Murray (Great Britain) / Bruno Soares (Brazil)
ATP – Lucas Pouille (France) / Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) vs [2] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA)
ATP – [1] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (France) / Nicolas Mahut (France) vs [6] Daniel Nestor (Canada) / Vasek Pospisil (Canada)
ATP – TO BE ARRANGED – [4] Ivan Dodig (Croatia) / Marcelo Melo (Brazil) vs [8] Raven Klaasen (South Africa) / Rajeev Ram (USA)
COURT 9 start
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – After Suitable Rest – Vania King (USA) / Monica Niculescu (Romania) vs [5] Julia Goerges (Germany) / Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
WTA – After Suitable Rest – [4] Martina Hingis (Switzerland) / CoCo Vandeweghe (USA) vs Sara Errani (Italy) / Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA – Christina Mchale (USA) / Maria Sanchez (USA) vs [3] Timea Babos (Hungary) / Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan)
RESULTS – Thursday, August 18
ATP Singles – Third Round
(1) Andy Murray (Great Britain) d Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 6-3 6-2
Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) d [2] Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) 6-4 6-4
Borna Coric (Croatia) d [3] Rafael Nadal (Spain) 6-1 6-3
It’s a Monsoon of @CincyTennis Press Conferences Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
Andy Murray
It’s been a very rainy year for pro tennis and I hope you weren’t expect anything different at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio on Tuesday. Nearly four inches of rain fell in a 30-hour span between Sunday and Monday, and Andy Murray perfectly jinxed the place in his afternoon presser today. When asked about his exhaustion following the marathon gold medal match, he replied, “Hopefully, we’ll get a few days of rain here.”
Typical British humor, but a pox upon this house.
Murray got another zinger in when I asked him if he’d brought the gold medal to Cincinnati. “I came directly here. I wasn’t going to leave it in Brazil”, he responded in perfect Muzzerese.
With more rain, it was a good day to sit around in an interview room as the players provided the entertainment while seated. But it was an even better day to be Juan Martin Del Potro, who nabbed a wild card to the U.S. Open. After Steve Johnson suggested yesterday that it would be America’s loss if the silver medalist gained direct entry, Rafael Nadal summed up the other players thoughts perfectly: “He’s a U.S. Open winner. He deserves it.”
Kei Nishikori and Andy Murray also agreed that the Delpo decision was a just one. Nishikori was the first up in the main interview room on the third floor of the stadium. He was in high spirits, though it’s always so subtle. I asked him if he had the bronze medal with him. He responded that he had stopped at home, presumably in Florida, and left it there and followed it up by saying “I hope nobody takes it.”
That’s Nishikori in a very, very good mood.
It’s simple: If Angelique Kerber wins the Western & Southern Open, she’s the #1 player in the world for the first time in her life and a new #1 for the first time in 183 weeks. Serena William’s withdrawal makes all of this possible, and remember, Williams accepted a wild card here likely in large part to stay ahead of Kerber in the rankings.
The German silver medalist discussed an Olympic-heavy variety of topics in her press conference.
Tournament officials have done a nice job of getting in every possible point of tennis in the extremely bad weather. Much of the parking at the event has been rendered useless due to mud that’s reminiscent of Woodstock, if I only I was there.
I had to have my car pushed out of the mud twice by guys with no shoes on successive days, since their footwear had become lodged in the mud while pushing out other vehicles earlier in the day.
God Bless Tournament Director Andre Silva on his maiden voyage of the Good Ship Cincy. It’s been heavy seas, but he’s kept the action running whenever and wherever it can run. Today’s forecast could also be problematic, but conditions should improve for Thursday.
Here’s today’s slightly ambitious order of play and yesterday’s results:
RESULTS – Tuesday, August 16
ATP Singles – First Round
[9] Gael Monfils (France) d Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) 6-3 6-4
[11] David Goffin (Belgium) d [Q] Nikoloz Basilashvili (Georgia) 7-5 6-3
[13] Richard Gasquet (France) d [LL] Adrian Mannarino (France) 7-6(2) 3-6 6-1
[16] Feliciano Lopez (Spain) d [Q] Mischa Zverev (Germany) 6-3 6-1
John Isner (USA) d Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-3 6-2
Steve Johnson (USA) d Federico Delbonis (Argentina) 6-4 7-5
[WC] Fernando Verdasco (Spain) d Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Spain) 7-6(5) 6-4
Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) d Vasek Pospisil (Canada) 7-5 7-5
Bernard Tomic (Australia) d Joao Sousa (Portugal) 6-4 6-3
[Q] Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) d [WC] Taylor Fritz (USA) 6-1 6-3
[Q] John Millman (Australia) d [Q] Malek Jaziri (Tunisia) 6-4 5-7 6-3
WTA Singles – Second Round
[15] Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) d Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) 6-4 6-1
WTA Singles – First Round
Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) d [Q] Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 6-4 6-0
[LL] Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) d Daria Kasatkina (Russia) 6-1 6-1
[Q] Alize Cornet (France) d Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) 7-6(1) 6-3
[Q] Alison Riske (USA) d [Q] Varvara Flink (Russia) 6-4 7-6(6)
[Q] Timea Babos (Hungary) d [WC] Louisa Chirico (USA) 6-4 6-4
[Q] Annika Beck (Germany) d Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) 6-2 6-3
WTA Doubles – First Round
Sara Errani (Italy) / Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain) d Raluca Olaru (Romania) / Renata Voracova (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-2
Maria Irigoyen (Argentina) / Oksana Kalashnikova (Georgia) d Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) / Nadiia Kichenok (Ukraine) 6-4 2-6 10-3
ORDER OF PLAY – Wednesday, August 17
CENTER COURT – 11:00 am start
WTA – [Q] Annika Beck (Germany) vs [3] Simona Halep (Romania)
[WC] Jared Donaldson (USA) vs [2] Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) 62 03 To Finish
ATP – [4] Milos Raonic (Canada) vs John Isner (USA)
ATP – Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) vs [3] Rafael Nadal (Spain)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [Q] Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) or Kristina Mladenovic (France) vs [2] Angelique Kerber (Germany)
Not Before 8:30 pm
ATP – [1] Andy Murray (GBR) vs Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) or [PR] Juan Monaco (Argentina)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
ATP – [Q] Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) vs [5] Kei Nishikori (Japan)
Not Before 1:00 pm
Andrea Petkovic (Germany) vs Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 11 to finish
WTA – [Q] Donna Vekic (Croatia) vs [10] Johanna Konta (Great Britain)
WTA – [4] Garbine Muguruza (Spain) vs C. Vandeweghe (USA)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – [6] Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) vs [Q] Jiri Vesely (Czech Republic) or Marcel Granollers (Spain)
STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
ATP – [Q] John Millman (Australia) vs [8] Dominic Thiem (Austria)
ATP – [7] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) vs [WC] Reilly Opelka (USA)
ATP – [9] Gael Monfils (France) vs Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus)
ATP – [14] Nick Kyrgios (Australia) vs Borna Coric (Croatia)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [5] Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) vs Andrea Petkovic (Germany) or Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)
COURT 9 start 11:00 am
WTA – [6] Roberta Vinci (Italy) vs [LL] Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria)
WTA – [LL] Johanna Larsson (Sweden) vs Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania) 00 to finish
ATP – [16] Feliciano Lopez (Spain) vs Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
WTA – [Q] Alison Riske (USA) vs [7] Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
WTA – [LL] Johanna Larsson (Sweden) or Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania) vs [8] Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia)
COURT 4 – 11:00 am start
ATP – [Q] Yuichi Sugita (Japan) vs Alexander Zverev (Germany)
ATP – Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) vs [PR] Juan Monaco (Argentina) 46 35 to finish
WTA – [17] Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) vs [Q] Daria Gavrilova (Australia)
ATP – [11] David Goffin (Belarus) vs Bernard Tomic (Australia)
ATP – Kevin Anderson (South Africa) vs [13] Richard Gasquet (France)
ATP – [Q] Yuichi Sugita (Japan) or Alexander Zverev (Germany) vs Nicolas Mahut (France) or [15] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
COURT 6 – 11:00 am start
WTA – [13] Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) vs [Q] Timea Babos (Hungary)
WTA – [LL] Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) vs [Q] Kurumi Nara (Japan)
WTA – [Q] Alize Cornet (France) vs [9] Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
Not Before 2:00 pm
REMAINING FIRST ROUND WTA DOUBLES TO BE ARRANGED
COURT 7 – 11:00 am start
WTA – [LL] Misaki Doi (Japan) vs [WC] Christina McHale (USA)
WTA – [Q] Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) vs Kristina Mladenovic (France) 67(1) 01 to finish
WTA – [14] Samantha Stosur (Australia) vs Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic)
WTA – [12] Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) vs Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine)
Not Before 2:00 pm
REMAINING FIRST ROUND ATP DOUBLES TO BE ARRANGED
COURT 10 – 11:00 am start
ATP – Nicolas Mahut (France) vs [15] Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)
[Q] Jiri Vesely (Czech Republic) vs Marcel Granollers (Spain) 33
ATP – Steve Johnson (USA) vs [PR] Julien Benneteau (France)
ATP – [WC] Fernando Verdasco (Spain) vs [12] Marin Cilic (Croatia)
WTA – [LL] Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) or [Q] Kurumi Nara (Japan) vs [16] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)
Be The Champ When You Get Home: Give Them a Rookwood Cup From Cincy Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic
When it rains at a tennis tournament, you have two choices: shop or eat. I was able do a lot of both during the rainy opening days of this year’s Western & Southern Open outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I ate well and shopped well–and look what I found.
Guess what you’re getting from my Cincinnati trip, honey? What you’ve always wanted! A small replica of the Rookwood Cup, the official trophy of the Western & Southern Open.
For the first time ever, Rookwood Pottery is offering a limited number of trophy clones for sale to the general public. Stop by the Rookwood booth during the tournament and check them out. Sculptors scaled down the original trophy and made master cast plaster molds to produce 2000 kiln-fired, hand-casted replicas.
Although the real Rookwood Cup, in all of its glory, is bigger than the numbered replicas, you’ll be happy to know that even the champions of this event go home with smaller versions of the cup. That’s because the real cup permanently rests atop a walnut base with every champion’s name engraved on the sterling silver panels around it. The big cup in the above photo is one of the three real trophies.
The replicas are the brainchild of Rookwood Pottery CEO Micah Carroll, brought on board the company just a year ago.
“When they brought me in here, I knew we needed to revitalize the brand and the Western & Southern Open is one of our biggest partnerships for our products on the national stage, with the trophy. We came up with the idea of something commemorative, and since it’s so unique to all the other trophies, producing the replicas was common sense to us”.
Micah Carroll
The 16-ounce trophy is a ‘muted’ version of the painted cup, Carroll explained, so it would be affordable to consumers. “If we were to paint it, the cost of each one would be around $250”, he said.
Clijsters With Cup
Kim Clijsters reportedly fell in love with the Rookwood Cup the minute she hoisted it as a 2010 singles champion. To be sure, it’s a different-looking trophy, vintage Arts and Crafts, with acanthus leaves symbolizing early Olympians and athletic acheivement. While names like Tiffany and Waterford supplied the Cincinnati trophies for many years until 2010, hometown Rookwood was the original supplier of hardware for the first installment of this sporting event.
Rookwood Cup Replicas
In 1899, the winning women’s doubles team received Rookwood vases and the men’s singles winner got a tankard and ale mugs supplied by the now 136-year-old Cincinnati company. In fact, the company was the first female-owned manufacturing company in the US. Remember, the Western & Southern Open is the oldest tennis tournament in the States still played in its original city. That’s a lot of history in a little vessel.
At $68, it seems a little pricey for a tournament souvenir at first glance, but when you consider that tournament-logo golf shirts go for $50 and up, this little cup is a unique piece of history and a keepsake that you shouldn’t miss. When you learn about the work that went into creating it, it seems like a better gift than anything else you can find at a professional sporting event. It’s easily the most interesting souvenir I’ll bring home from a tournament in a long time. Though this might sound like a paid review, I can assure you it is not. This little trophy will be the champion of our tchotchke case.
The Western and Southern Open
Tier: Premier
Location: Cincinnati, USA
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,503,250
Date: August 15-21
Top eight seeds
Serena Williams
Angelique Kerber
Simona Halep
Garbine Muguruza
Agnieszka Radwanska
Roberta Vinci
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Dominika Cibulkova
First round matches to watch
Andrea Petkovic vs Lucie Safarova: Both Safarova and Petkovic are shadows of their former top 10 selves, however they have an extremely close head to head which makes this particular opening round match unpredictable.
They have met six times on hard courts and they have split the victories down the middle. A clay court victory for the German is the only thing separating them in the head to head.
Safarova has the more firepower, it is a faster court, and she is performing at a higher level currently, so the Czech heads into the match as a slight favourite. However, Petkovic’s counter attacking style can cause problems though, so this is an interesting stylistic match-up.
Sara Errani vs Coco Vandeweghe: Speaking of stylistic contrasts, this match is a classic example of that. Vandeweghe, known for her big serve and groundstrokes will face Errani who is known for her quickness and consistency from the baseline.
The faster courts should suit the American, who will also have the home advantage. However their only previous meeting came at Wimbledon in which Errani prevailed as an easy victor. The match will depend on the level of Vandeweghe as she possesses the bigger weapons, a poor performance will lead to a loss to the more consistent player.
Draw analysis
Serena’s quarter: The world number one received a wildcard into the tournament after failing to defend her Olympic title. As a seed she will receive an opening round BYE and will play either Christina McHale or a qualifier in her opening match. McHale has given Serena trouble in the past so look out for that encounter. Karolina Pliskova is the other seed in the section, but the Czech is not enjoying as good of a season as 2015. She will open up against either Anna Schmiedlova or Jelena Ostapenko before likely meeting Serena in round three.
Svetlana Kuznetsova had plenty to say about the organisation in Rio, but she should be happier in Cincinnati, where she could do some damage. The Russian will meet a qualifier in round two, but that will not be easy given the strong qualifying field. Timea Bacsinszky is one of the players who will arrive late from Rio due to the doubles final, but the Swiss has the advantage of a BYE. The 12th seed will meet either a qualifier or Lesia Tsurenko before a possible meeting with Kuznetsova.
Muguruza
Muguruza’s quarter: Muguruza is short of form and confidence and could be an early exit contender in Cincinnati. Errani or Vandeweghe will meet the Spaniard and will fancy their chances of upsetting the fourth seed. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova therefore will look at this as a chance to make a good run to the quarter finals or better. The Russian will likely meet compatriot Ekaterina Makarova in the second round. Makarova will be a late arrival from Rio due to the doubles final and could suffer from fatigue as a result.
Belinda Bencic returns to action this week after months of injury problems. The Swiss will likely not be at her best, and the in form Olympic Gold medallist Monica Puig may send the 13th seed packing early. The Puerto Rican faces young American wildcard Louisa Chirico in the opening round, she has also had injury problems. With Muguruza’s poor form, Cibulkova will see this is a chance of making the semi finals. The Slovakian will have a tough match against Irina Begu in the second round however, and Puig’s form could be a factor.
Halep
Halep’s quarter: Halep decided against going to the Rio Olympics so comes into Cincinnati fresh. Does she regret her decision? Who knows. But one thing is for sure, she will fight for the title this week. Annika Beck or Yulia Putintseva will open Halep’s tournament in the second round. Elina Svitolina is projected to be the third round opponent, but the Ukrainian will have a tough test against either Caroline Garcia or Daria Gavrilova.
Agnieszka Radwanska will look to put her Olympic misery behind her with a good run here in the build up to the US Open. The Pole has a tough round two of her own against either Petkovic or Safarova. Johanna Konta, who has been in good form lately is the likely third round opponent. The Brit could possibly face Ana Ivanovic in round two.
Kerber’s quarter: Kerber had to settle for a silver medal in Rio, but her week was positive on the whole. The German has a chance of becoming the world number one this week, providing she wins the title and Serena loses early. Kristina Mladenovic or Kateryna Bondarenko await in round two, then it will either be Sam Stosur, Barbora Strycova, or Eugenie Bouchard- a tough draw for the second seed.
Roberta Vinci’s poor form could leave the sixth seed vulnerable to an early exit. Daria Kasatkina or Tsvetana Pironkova will look to prove that said upset. Carla Suarez Navarro will be keen to take advantage by making the quarter finals. The Spaniard will face either Kiki Bertens or Alize Cornet in round two before potentially meeting Vinci, Kasatkina or Pironkova in the third round.
Predictions:
Quarter finals:
Serena def. Bacsinszky
Cibulkova def. Pavlyuchenkova
Halep def. Radwanska
Kerber def. Suarez Navarro
Semi finals:
Serena def. Cibulkova
Halep def. Kerber
“Gold medal match”:
Serena def. Radwanska
Serena will be keen to hold on to her number one ranking, so expect her to be firing this week. Halep will make the final due to the fact she has had ideal time to rest and prepare due to skipping the Olympics.
