McIntyre Tennis

WTA Moves to St. Petersburg and Taipei

What a two week period for women's tennis! An epic final between the top two players in the world saw Caroline Wozniacki defeat Simona Halep for her first career Grand Slam title. The victory propels the Dane into the No. 1 position in the rankings as well for the first time in six years.

The WTA Tour now moves on with tournaments in St. Petersburg and Tapei.

St. Petersburg

Wozniacki remarkably has decided to remain in the draw here in Russia despite the exhausting two weeks she just experienced in Melbourne. I'll be keeping expectations low for her given the physical and emotional toll that the Australian Open no-doubt took on her. She opens against Anastasia Potapova who defeated Tatjana Maria 6-2, 6-4 in the first round. Wozniacki has been a top player for many years but will offer opponents a little extra motivation now that she is the World No. 1 again.

 Daria Kasatkina is the 8th seed and also in Wozniacki's quarter. The always dangerous Alize Cornet is also floating in this section and is totally capable of emerging as the last woman standing in this part of the draw.

4th seed and defending champion Kristina Mladenovic will attempt to end her 15 match losing streak in singles competition. The Frenchwoman had some positive news recently however as she won the Aussie Open women's doubles event with Timea Babos. Kiki will face the winner between Sorana Cirstea and Dominika Cibulkova in her opening match which doesn't exactly inspire me to believe that a win is on the horizon for her.

No. 2 seed in the bottom of the draw is 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The 20 year old has struggled since her Grand Slam victory last year but is still so young and learning how to cope with life as a full-time pro. She will face either Kiki Bertens or 2010 Wimbledon and US Open finalist Vera Zvonareva in her first match. Ostapenko is also the reigning doubles champion here in St. Petersburg.

The most exciting match of the first round sees 7th seed Elena Vesnina face wildcard Petra Kvitova in what should be a good battle. 3rd seed Caroline Garcia is also in the bottom half of the draw and a good bet to make it towards the finish line.

Tapei

 There will be a new champion in Tapei as last year's winner Elina Svitolina is not entered in the draw. Shuai Peng is the top seed this year and will open against Ana Bogdan.

Canadian Genie Bouchard is benefiting from a wildcard and may soon require those on a regular basis if she wants to play in any big tournaments on the Tour. Her ranking has slipped to 121st in the world and her game and confidence are in need of a major overhaul to remain relevant in the sport. She opens against Lin Zhu. Magda Linette and Timea Babos are both also in the top half of the draw and are seeded 7th and 8th respectively.

Shuai Zheng is the 2nd seed and opens in the bottom half of the draw against Kateryna Kozlova. Veteran Sam Stosur is the 3rd seed and also in this part of the tournament and she begins her quest against Nao Hibino.

Tuesday's Women's Results at the Australian Open

By: Mike McIntyre

Photos: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Petra Kvitova was playing in her first Australian Open since 2016.

Kvitova was beaten in an epic match by Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.

US Open finalist Madison Keys opened with a 6-1, 7-5 victory against Qiang Wang of China.

8th seeded Caroline Garcia of France with a routine 7-5, 6-3 win against Germany's Carina Witthoeft.

Garcia will next face 18 year old Marketa Vondrousova who is already ranked 62nd in the world.

The 22 year old Witthoeft is currently ranked 50th in the WTA rankings right now, hovering near her career high.

Garbine Muguruza was able to finish her first match in three tries in 2018 without injury difficulty. She advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Jessika Ponchet.

Donna Vekic raises her arms following a 7-5, 6-3 win against Japan's Nao Hibino. She will face Angelique Kerber next.

Maria Sharapova was fired-up in her return to Melbourne.

Sharapova is one of two players along with Kerber who have won the Aussie Open in their careers. The two are expected to face one another in the third round.

A selfie with her fans after a 6-1, 6-4 win against Tatjana Maria.

Canada's Genie Bouchard trying to cool-off in her first round match with Oceane Dodin.

The Genie Army has stuck with their player through tough times the past few years.



It's nice to see Bouchard smiling once again on the court. We'll see how long that lasts however as she will next face World No. 1 Simona Halep.

Preview of the U.S. Open Women's Draw

By Mike McIntyre

There has perhaps never been more at stake in women's tennis at the final Grand Slam of the season as there is this year, as eight different players could leave the U.S. Open with the World No. 1 ranking. While some have a much stronger shot at accomplishing the feat than others, it reflects a WTA Tour that is still in-flux with the absence of Serena Williams and reveals a group of players who have yet to decide who among them might settle into the role for an extended period of time. Here is a look at the four quarters of the main draw and who we think stands the best chance of hoisting the trophy, and perhaps also emerging as the next No. 1 player in the world.

First Quarter

Current World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova assumed the role thanks to a Johanna Konta victory over Simona Halep at Wimbledon after she herself had already been knocked-out of the draw. Pliskova seemed comfortable talking about her new position at the top of the rankings while she was in Toronto at the Rogers Cup but was pushed to a third set there by 19 year old Naomi Osaka in the third round before falling to veteran Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter-finals. Pliskova would get revenge against Wozniacki in the quarter-finals in Cincinnati before falling to eventual champion Garbine Muguruza in the semi-finals there. I foresee this progression continuing for Pliskova with a return to the finals in Flushing Meadows as a distinct possibility. She's in a great section of the draw filled with recent underacheivers like Kristina Mladenovic and over overachievers like Barbora Strycova in her path towards the final sixteen. Potential quarter-final foes include the struggling Aga Radwanska, a relatively dormant Svetlana Kuznetsova and a couple of dangerous floaters like Lucie Safarova and the young CiCi Bellis. By the quarter-finals I see Pliskova's game coming into a groove and believe she will fight hard to keep her No. 1 status. 

Photo by Mike McIntyre

Keep an eye on: Bellis, Safarova and Vandeweghe

Pass on: Kuznetsova, Mladenovic and Radwanska

Second Quarter

The two big seeds in this section of the draw couldn't be heading in more different directions. Fourth seeded Elina Svitolina may be a surprisingly unknown quantity to many quasi-tennis pundits - she was seriously undervalued by the media in Toronto - but she is a major obstacle to any serious U.S. Open contender. The 22 year old has won a whopping five titles in 2017 and is proving she is ready to claim her first Grand Slam. It may not happen in New York, but it will indeed happen at some point in the near future the way she has been playing.

Photo by Bob McIntyre

Also in this section is sixth seeded and defending champion Angelique Kerber who has had a abysmal season for someone who came into 2017 holding two Slam titles to her name. Kerber is limping into the Open and has not given any signs in match play that she is ready to raise her game to the levels it was at a year ago. Playing rising star Naomi Osaka of Japan in the opening round might very well afford Kerber a quick exit like she experienced at the French Open back in the spring. Osaka has pushed the likes of Konta, Halep and recently in Toronto, Pliskova, to three sets and seems poised to have a breakthrough. She's a hard hitter and if she's healthy I think this could swing her way.

Photo by Mike McIntyre

Keep an eye on: Gavrilova, Keys, Osaka

Pass on: Bouchard, Ostapenko

Third Quarter

Caroline Wozniacki has had a resurgence this season and has climbed her way back into the top-ten in the rankings with appearances in six finals. Unfortunately for her she has lost every one of those finals and in straight sets to boot. Having made the finals twice at the U.S. Open (2009 and 2014) means that Wozniacki knows how to handle the pressure at the final major of the year. I can see a quarter-final appearance here this year but I don't think she has the fire of some of her younger top-ten peers.

Photo by Mike McIntyre

Venus Williams at the age of - well, does it even matter anymore - is also in this section of the draw and the American superstar has already surprised us by making the finals of two Slams in 2017. Her summer appearances don't inspire confidence but you can't count out someone who has made the finals here four times previously including two tournament victories. Her last showing in the finals was fifteen years ago however so I'm not banking on Venus to make it past the fourth round or quarter-finals at best.

Photo by Mike McIntyre

My pick here - and it's not groundbreaking by any stretch - is Garbine Muguruza. She can play more freely now after picking up her second Grand Slam at Wimbledon as she proved with her recent win in Cincy. She has a nice draw, matches-up well vs Wozniacki and Venus, and isn't afraid to take her chances and go for it. I also like Caroline Garcia of France as a potential dark horse here who is the 18th seed in this part of the draw. People might also be mentioning Petra Kvitova and who wouldn't want to see her succeed, but I don't like her play on hardcourts this summer.

Keep an eye on: Garcia, Makarova

Pass on: Kvitova, Rybarikova

Fourth Quarter

Let's just get right to it and admit that the Simona Halep vs  Maria Sharapova match is one of the greatest first round matches of all-time at a Slam. We get the No. 2 seed against the former World No. 1 and U.S. Open champion of 2006. Halep must have been in disbelief when she found out who she drew in her opening match and yet I feel that overcoming this obstacle is almost a necessity for Halep if she wants to hoist a Grand Slam trophy one day. Mentally she needs something to prove to herself that she is a true champion and what better than by defeating one of the greatest players (love her or hate her) of recent history. Her 0-6 record against Sharapova is daunting, yet Halep has played very consistent tennis this year and has made it deep in almost every tournament she has played. Recent no-shows in the later stages of Toronto and Cincy have me concerned if I'm a Halep fan, as there is clearly something that is holding her back from playing anywhere near her best tennis when it seems to count. As if her 6-1, 6-1 thrashing by Svitolina in the semi-finals of Toronto wasn't bad enough, she followed that up by getting blitzed 6-1, 6-0 in the finals of Cincinnati by Muguruza. Halep is only five points behind Pliskova for the No. 1 ranking and that can either motivate or hinder her performance against Sharapova depending on how she reacts Monday night.

Photo by Mike McIntyre

The good news for Halep is that a) Sharapova has not proven to be healthy enough to compete in recent months and b) the rest of her draw is pretty favorable. Her second through fourth round matches don't make me blink an eye if she wins her opener, and Johanna Konta could meet her in the quarter-finals but the Brit has not really performed on the hardcourts since her Wimbledon semi-final run.

Photo by Jimmie48 Photography

Do keep a close eye on Sloane Stephens who has been straight-up fire this summer. In only her third tournament back after an eleven month layoff, the American made the semi-finals in Toronto beating Kvitova and Kerber along the way. She then followed that up with another semi-final appearance in Cincinnati to prove that Toronto was no fluke. That saw her ranking skyrocket from 934 in the world to its current spot at No. 84. Only a matter of time before she is back in the top 20 and with her recent confidence she is not someone you would want to face. A second round match against New Haven finalist Dominika Cibulkova is an early test, but she has had plenty of those lately and handled them with relative ease. 

Photo by Mike McIntyre

Keep an eye on: Goerges, Stephens

Pass on: Everyone else not named Halep or Sharapova

Svitolina and Wozniacki to Contest Rogers Cup Final in Toronto

By Mike McIntyre

In a tournament where most of the top seeds have fared well, it will be No. 5 Elina Svitolina and No. 6 Caroline Wozniacki who meet in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday in Toronto. The rising star Svitolina, 22 years old, will take a 2-0 career head-to-head record against the veteran Wozniacki, who is 27 years old.

On Saturday it was the Ukrainian, Svitolina, who first took to the court to finish her match against No. 4 Garbine Muguruza that was halted due to rain from the previous day with the Spaniard up a set. Svitolina came out determined as the match continued and sent the Wimbledon champion packing with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. 

Next-up was the former World No. 1 Wozniacki against American Sloane Stephens who just recently returned to the WTA Tour after an 11 month layoff due to a foot injury she sustained last summer. Stephens lost in the first round of her first two tournaments back this summer but caught fire this week in Toronto defeating - among others - No. 14 Petra Kvitova and No. 3 Angie Kerber coming into the semi-final match against Wozniacki. Her magic ran-out however against Wozniacki, who took the match easily in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to advance to her sixth final of 2017.

For someone who was winless in her five previous Rogers Cup's in Toronto, Wozniacki admitted she was playing more freely this year with expectations low. "Maybe that's also the key why it's been going so well," she told me after the match, "because I just walked in and I was more relaxed about the whole thing."

On the Grandstand Court meanwhile No. 2 Simona Halep used the heavily Romanian crowd to her advantage and dispatched of Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-2 to set-up a second match of the day for both her and Svitolina. Halep was bringing a 2-1 advantage in their previous encounters into the match and had the easier quarter-final as well. The Romanian also held perhaps a mental edge having a huge come-from-behind win over Svitolina back in June at the French Open.

Their semi-final match took the court just after 6pm and a mere 56 minutes later it was surprisingly over, a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win for the young Svitolina. It was sweet redemption for Svitolina after seeing her 5-1 second set lead in the French Open quarter-finals erased by Halep two months ago.

As Svitolina super-fan Céleste Pagniello put it to me after the match in Toronto, "Elina's heartbreaking loss to Halep in Paris was easily her lowest moment in a season filled with so many highs. To see her get her revenge, and so convincingly is special beyond compare."

For a baffled Halep, all that she could offer to reporters after the match was, "Well, I really don't know. So if you can analyze this match, I would be happy to listen."

Svitolina meanwhile referenced the learning experience from Paris in her post-match press conference. "From the first point today till the last point, I was very focused and I was just 100% on every ball. I learned from that experience that, you know, you need to play until the last point...just one point at a time." 

On paper the final has loads of potential, but as we witnessed in the Halep/Svitolina match anything is possible. Will the veteran Wozniacki be able to win her first title of the season after five previously futile attempts? Or will the ever-improving Svitolina be able to defeat her fourth top-ten opponent of the week and capture her 5th title of 2017?

Svitolina has won both of their previous career meetings. She took the first one in the round of 32 in Miami last year 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1) and the second in more routine fashion in the finals of Dubai earlier this year 6-4, 6-2. It will be key for Wozniacki to take the first set to give herself a boost of confidence as she has been beaten in straight sets in each of the finals she has contested this year. The Dane will likely have the crowd behind her as was the case in all of her matches this week. Tennis fans are more familiar with Wozniacki but are quickly learning that Svitolina is one to watch for now and undoubtedly for the foreseable future.