McIntyre Tennis

Elina Svitolina Talks GEMS Life, Making the Semis at Wimbledon and More

Interview Conducted at the Rogers Cup by Mike McIntyre for Match Point Canada Podcast

Photos by Mike McIntyre

Q: Elina, thank you so much for joining us today. Got to start right off the bat with GEMS Life, which is something that people on Twitter, social media and tennis fans in general seem to have really taken to over the last little while. Can you tell us how did that come about? Whose idea between the two of you and where do you see that going in the future?

Svitolina: Well, obviously the idea was from the most creative person in the relationship. It's a Gael (laughs), but it came up just from the first thing it was because we wanted to share with the fans and try to give something back. And we're doing some stuff that we tried to share with fans and try to do some charity events as well. He helps me a lot with my foundation as well which is amazing. So it's something we want to give back and what we can control and that's it.

Q: And being that you're both two professional tennis players, that must help you both in different ways to bring things out of each other, being that you're such different people?

Svitolina: Yeah, as you say, we are very different. When we're on the court and off the court we have a different mentality. But it's not bad, I think it's just, adapt to our personality that helps me to relax a little bit because you know, sometimes I can be too tough on myself and in the same time I just try to work really hard every time that I go on the court and that's my mentality. That's what helps me to improve I think. And he helps me a lot. Also when I had some injuries it was a difficult time for me, so he knows how to handle it and helped me a lot.

Q: Any possibility down the road of a mixed doubles pairing or is it just too busy with your singles commitments?

Svitolina: For the moment I don't think it's happening for the - at least at the US Open. Maybe next year at Wimbledon, but not so sure because there is a high risk of injury and we try to just to focus on the singles first and then later, I'm sure it's possibly can happen.

Q: Now you mentioned Wimbledon and just recently had the best run you've had so far in your career to Grand Slam making the semifinals there. How much positivity do you take out of that experience at the All-England club?

Svitolina: It definitely was a big step for me. I, I was struggling with my health and it taught me a lot to be patient, to work really hard and try to control what is in my power. And that's what really helped me to play well. And I think it was a good step for me in the right direction.

Q: The WTA Tour seems to be so deep right now in terms of the talent level. I mean if you look at a draw it really any tournament across the board and you're getting first, second round matches, that would be wonderful finals to watch even. How much has the quality of play changed since you came on the tour?

Svitolina: Definitely we’ve had a massive change. Everyone is extremely fit. Everyone is traveling with three, four coaches, which is  - I don't think (happened) before and I think that's why everyone is fit. Everyone is ready, everyone is extremely motivated. So I think this really raises the level and the players are extremely fit. So that's why I think that everyone is very dangerous to play and it doesn't matter which stage of the tournament.

Q: Tennis goes through so many changes. Things like Hawkeye for review, on-court coaching. There are Fed Cup changes that are coming. What's something that you would like to see personally perhaps adjust or change on the professional tennis circuit?

Svitolina: I think so far it's going the right direction. Not so sure about the coaching because - I know the beginning I was already not so sure about this - but I think we’re trying new things. It's important to know and to see how it works and that's how we learn and move forward.

Q: In terms of Canada in particular and the success that you've had here before, both in Montreal making the semis last year and obviously two years ago - you're basically the defending champion here, from your win in 2017 - how much do you enjoy coming here to this country, both in terms of your performance in the tennis and just what you can enjoy outside of the court as well?

Svitolina:  Definitely I have great memories coming to Toronto. It was amazing run for me. Last time was here in Montreal as well. Last year I played some great tennis and I'm enjoying being in Canada and the fans are amazing here. It makes it an extremely special atmosphere anytime you play. And that's why it's really enjoyable.

Q: Last question for you. The last time I met up with you was in New York City at the Tie Break Tennis event a year ago, right when Serena Williams was making her return to the game. And at the time you spoke about how eager you were to face her once again, if you could. That hasn't happened yet. How much are you looking forward to facing Serena Williams at another point here down the road?

Svitolina: Definitely. She's an amazing player and a great champion. So for sure I wanna face players like this to compete against them. And the same I think with with Maria (Sharapova), it’s always an amazing opportunity to play against them.

Q: Thank you very much, Elina, for taking the time with us today on Match Point Canada. We really appreciate it and I wish you all the best the rest of the season.

Svitolina: Thank you.

Svitolina Survives First Round Scare to Advance at French Open

By Mike McIntyre

Photos by Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Fourth seeded Elina Svitolina is widely considered one of the favorites to emerge with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in two week's time at Roland Garros. Her French Open started with her looking anything but the player who could do that. The Ukrainian found herself down two breaks of serve at 1-5 in the opening set. Svitolina then settled down and rattled-off six straight games to take the set 7-5 and give her fans a much needed chance to calm down. She would take the match 7-5, 6-3.

Asked after the match about her slow start the Ukrainian said, "It’s probably a mixture of things. She was striking the ball well, I was a little bit off sometimes going for too much. It was a mixture of things…of course I want to prevent doing this again next match.”

Svitolina's stats for the match reveal a first serve that was clicking at merely 63% and allowed her to win just 57% of those points. She actually won a higher amount of second serve points at 62% and saved 3 of 6 break points that she faced versus only 6 of 11 saved by her opponent Tomljanovic. Svitolina's winner to error margin was 22-26 while Tomljanovic was heavier with the mistakes and had a 21-35 ratio between the two statistics.

A year ago Svitolina took down Yaroslava Shvedova by a more routine score of 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round before falling to Simona Halep in the quarterfinals where she held a 6-3, 5-1 lead but allowed the Romanian back into the match and saw it ultimately slip away 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0. It was a defeat that Svitolina admits was a tough learning experience that she now uses to motivate herself in order to move towards her first major title on the WTA.

In 2018 the 23 year old has already captured three titles in Brisbane, Dubai and most recently on the clay in Rome. She successfully defended her Italian Open title there last week to kick-start an otherwise mediocre clay season and re-establish herself as a threat in Paris.

In her post match press conference on Sunday Svitolina eluded to the fact that she was going to head right back out onto the practice courts. "I know that I have to put lots of hours on court to get better. For me, the only way to get better is to practice. To get better, to improve my game each day, each match.”

Svitolina will next face 20 year old Viktoria Kuzmova who defeated 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 7-6(2), 7-6(2). The younger Kuzmova made the finals of the 2016 Junior US Open in New York City and likely just ended 37 year old Schiavone's French Open career in the Italian's 18th consecutive appearance there.

The Ukrainian does not play her second round match against Kuzmova until Wednesday and joked that she might, "Go back home and come back" before then. When she does return to action expect a cleaner performance than the one we saw today as Svitolina works towards making her first career major semi-final or better here in Paris.

Elina Svitolina Ready For What's Next

By Mike McIntyre

Photos Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Elina Svitolina wants to play Serena Williams again. Not just to say that she faced the legendary American player on more than one occasion or that she held her own against her. The current world No. 4 wants to play Serena again to see how her game has changed since the last time they faced each other in that stunning upset at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and to see what the 23 time Grand Slam champion has added to her repertoire.

"It’s going to be very exciting to see her back on court," Svitolina told me when we met earlier this Spring. "Definitely I want to play against her, I want to see how things are gonna go this time because the last time we played it was in Rio so it was a different situation. I think she can come back at the same level she was at before. Also there will be something new from her, that’s what I’m expecting - even for her."

Svitolina is clearly a student of the game who is eager to learn from the champions that came before her. She laments the retirement of some of the greatest players that filled the era just before she joined the professional ranks, like Li Na and Kim Clijsters for example. It isn't enough for the talented Ukrainian to simply watch their matches on film, she wishes she could have experienced what made them great first-hand.

"Just, you know, to feel the speed of the ball, to see the way they are playing, building the point. I really like the style of their games. Of the way they were presenting their games. I learned a lot from both of them. Of course we can see it on TV, but when you play against them it’s completely different, what they do in the important moments. I would definitely want to play against them."

Svitolina will have to make do with facing the current crop of athletes on the professional circuit who would all love to have the success of those players mentioned above. Svitolina has clearly been taking steps in the right direction to get there.

It was roughly a year ago in Rome where she served notice that she was a legitimate presence who was ready to join and remain among the elite players on the tour. Overall 2017 was a coming-out party for the Ukrainian as she captured five WTA titles that began when she won in Taipei. Svitolina then made it consecutive tournament victories for the first time in her career when she also took the next event she entered in Dubai.

After those hard court successes, Svitolina proved she can do it on clay as well with a title in Istanbul. It was in Rome however at the Italian Open where she defeated three high quality players in-a-row to emerge with the title - defeating Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep - to truly assert herself.

Fast forward a year and Svitolina repeated her success at the Italian Open just last week. She easily won her first match against Petra Martic before finding herself down 0-6 against Daria Kasatkina in the next round. Svitolina dug deep and pulled-off the 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory to advance to the quarter-finals. There she beat Angie Kerber before taking-out Anett Kontaveit to reach the finals once again. In the finals Svitolina faced current World No.1 Simona Halep and defeated her by a surprisingly quick score of 6-0, 6-4 to successfully defend her title in Rome and remind everyone that she should be included in the contender category as we prepare for Roland Garros.

Speaking of the upcoming Grand Slam, one match that Svitolina wasn't afraid to discuss with me when we talked was her collapse in the quarter-finals of last year's French Open where she was up a set and 5-1 in the second frame (with a match point as well) against Halep before she fell apart and was defeated 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0. I didn't even have to ask Svitolina about that match myself as she took control of our interview and directed our conversation directly towards the potentially awkward subject. She is not one to shy-away from those difficult moments, but rather sees them as a learning experience as part of the process she needs to go through to become a champion.

"Of course there was some very disappointing matches that I lost in the Grand Slams that I was very close to go through but unfortunately I didn’t do it. In Roland Garros I was very, very close to go to the semi-final. But this is tennis and this is the way it goes. Sometimes you have to lose those kind of matches to learn and to move forward."

Svitolina certainly appeared to move forward from the missed opportunity at a first Grand Slam title in Paris. She exacted revenge on Halep later that summer in Toronto where she thrashed the Romanian 6-1, 6-1 in the semis of the Rogers Cup before taking down Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 in the finals. Pretty impressive score lines against the current No. 1 and No. 2 in the world.

Svitolina lays claim to a winning record against the three players who are ahead of her in the WTA rankings - including the two players mentioned above and No. 3 Garbine Muguruza, which bodes well for her future chances of taking over the top spot. When I asked her which player she most wanted to beat among her fellow competition, Svitolina without hesitation mentioned a player who many would not have guessed. Her memories of what's going on in the sport and the losses that she has incurred are so sharp that she mentioned Aga Radwanska as the one she most relishes playing again. "That’s the player that I want to play because I think I lost to her the last time that we played like two years ago." The Polish veteran leads their career head-to-head 4-0 and Svitolina clearly wants to correct that injustice.

 Aside from drawing inspiration from past losses on the tennis court, Svitolina also takes strength and motivation from other sports - and in particular boxing.

"I really like that sport as a workout. I always try to go to the boxing club and it’s good for my mind. I just enjoy that sport, enjoy watching it. When I was growing up in Ukraine the Klitschko brothers were very famous. They in one way, at some point really inspired me to go for more, to achieve something that you know, probably I would not ever have in my mind as a goal."

The goals are plenty now for Svitolina and they all seem very much in reach due to her studious and self-reflecting approach to the game. She never stops learning and isn't afraid to look in the mirror to help progress towards Grand Slam success. At the rate she is moving forward, one of these days when she looks there, she will very likely be holding up her first major trophy.

Naomi Osaka Continues Impressive Run, Defeats Idol Serena Williams in Miami

By Mike McIntyre

Photos Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

Twenty year old Japanese phenom Naomi Osaka continued her impressive form of late as she defeated her idol Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday at the Miami Open. In a blockbuster first round encounter, the two were pitted against one another for a match that every tennis fan had circled on their calendar when the draw was announced a few days ago.

Due to Serena's nearly fourteen month layoff from the WTA Tour, it was the much younger Osaka who was actually favored to advance due to her incredible play over the past week. At the BNP Paribas Open just prior to this event, Osaka ran-over three players who had been Grand Slam finalists in Aga Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep along with multiple Slam winner Maria Sharapova. Three of those players had been World No. 1 at some point in their careers including Halep who holds the position again at the moment. In the finals of Indian Wells, Osaka soundly defeated fellow-youngster Daria Kasatkina by a score of 6-3, 6-2 - the same count as her match in Miami against Serena today.

For her part, Serena is still obviously trying to find a consistent form that she understandably is lacking after her second tournament back on tour. It is rare that she is out-aced, but today it was her opponent who led 7-3 in that category. A 53% first serve percentage is below where Serena is needing to find her big weapon as well. The groundstrokes were being all too often sprayed wide or long and this is something that the American will have to reduce over time as she attempts to get back to her dominating ways.

After the match Osaka giggled in her own awkwardly innocent way about how much the match against her self-professed idol had meant. "I don't know if anybody knows this," she revealed to the crowd, "but Serena's my favorite player." She continued to divulge with a slight amount of humor (that may or may not have been intended), "I kinda wanted to impress her. I just wanted to make her say 'Come On' one time and I think she did, so I'm really happy about that."

With a winning streak that now stands at eight consecutive matches, Osaka must be considered at least an even threat to take her next match in Miami against fourth seeded Elina Svitolina. The pair have split their career head-to-head encounters 2-2, with Svitolina winning most recently in Dubai by a score of 6-2, 6-4. Despite that tournament being but a month ago, it is safe to say that the Osaka that the Ukrainian will face Friday will present a tougher challenge this time around.

Ten Thoughts on Tie Break Tens

By Mike McIntyre

Monday night marked an entertaining evening of tennis action at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City. In a unique and fast-paced format, Tie Break Tens took over the multi-sport venue and offered-up the Williams sisters to an adoring crowd. It was Ukrainian Elina Svitolina however, the No. 4 player in the world, who stole the show as she dismantled her three opponents en route to the championship title. Here's a look at my ten thoughts from Tie Break Tens as we wrap-up from the Big Apple.

1) Elina Svitolina will win a Grand Slam

Sure it was only an exhibition event, but you wouldn't have known that from watching Svitolina both on and off the court Monday night. The hard hitting 23 year old showed no mercy to opponents Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe and Shuai Zhang and took them out by a collective score of 30-6. Even when Svitolina tried to be nice - on an underhanded serve while leading Vandeweghe 9-0 - she just couldn't pull it off and won the point. While some have criticized the Ukrainian for her failures on the Grand Slam stage, her resolve and continually improving game will one day lead her to the very top of the women's game. While some of her opponents were hamming-it-up with the crowd last night, on their cell phones or catching up with one another, Svitolina remained as focused as if she was preparing for a Grand Slam final. Such maturity and determination will certainly serve her well once she does reach that stage of a major.

2) Tennis works just fine in alternative formats

My apologies to all the tennis purists out there, but the action-packed, no-mercy design of Tie Break Tens is appealing and it delivers. Some of the matches were over in a hurry (see Svitolina d. Vandeweghe 10-0 as proof) but most were competitive and entertaining at the same time. This was not a "practice your tweener" type of event. While CoCo had to use some humor with the crowd to deflect from the beating she endured, the competitors all seemed interested in playing their best tennis. Plus watching Serena Williams court-side on a stationary bike while scouting-out her opponents was pretty unique to say the least.

3) The Williams sisters are still the biggest draw in women's tennis

Don't get me wrong - I love the depth that has emerged on the WTA Tour over the past few years. That being said, to see Serena and Venus Williams competing on court at the ages of 36 and 37 respectively is something we should all be so thankful for. They don't owe us this but continue to compete around the world - with six month old daughter in tow in Serena's case - because they love the sport so much. The reaction from Team USA's women's hockey team to meeting with Serena at the end of the evening pretty much summed-up the immense and undiminished star power that she and her sister still clearly possess. 

4) CoCo Vandeweghe is entertaining

Like her or not, Coco was the only player last night trying to work the MSG crowd into a frenzy. At times it seemed like a younger, female version of Jimmy Connors trying to get the fans to liven it up and enjoy the moment. She has a fun-loving personality that comes across when talking in person. When we met prior to the start of play for a one-on-one she said I was lucky that she wasn't yet "hangry" while she postponed her pre-match meal. CoCo is a fiery personality to be sure and time will tell if she is able to harness that in a positive manner that will allow the 26 year old to deliver on her large potential.

5) Retirement is not the end of one's relationship with tennis

Including retired players in a competitive event will always be a risk. In the case of Daniela Hantuchova, things worked out just fine. The mix in styles between her and opponent CoCo Vandeweghe offered some entertaining variety for the crowd. Though she went down in her opening tiebreak, Hantuchova clearly enjoyed being back on a tennis court. The Slovak had an impressive 6-3 lead and could have likely closed it out had it been a tiebreak of the usual variety. She clearly had a game plan and that was to make Vandeweghe work for it. Five points in and we had already witnessed two drop shots from Hantuchova who cleverly used her experience to gain the early advantage. When CoCo yelled out, "Not again!" on the second one, you could tell that the plan was a solid one from the 34 year old who retired from competitive play last year. When I asked Hantuchova if she might follow the comebacks of Bartoli and Serena, she shouted, "No!" faster than I expected. The former World No. 5 is enjoying having a steady home-base to occupy on a regular basis and doesn't miss the hectic pace of life on the tour one bit. She was still very happy to play in the Tie Break Tens format and said future exhibition style matches would likely happen for her.

6) Mingling with other tennis fans is always fun

If you like watching tennis then chances are you also like talking about tennis. Part of the appeal of attending events like Tie Break Tens is catching-up with old tennis acquaintances or making new ones. Seeing Elina Svitolina's No. 1 fan Celeste again Monday night is a good example. I hadn't seen her since the Rogers Cup last summer but with Elina playing "a mere" 7 hour bus ride away from her home in Montreal, I was not one bit surprised she was present at MSG. Decked-out in blue and yellow (of course) and proudly waving her Ukrainian flag alongside her almost-as-enthusiastic mother, it is fans like these who make the sport what it is.

7) Serena Williams is going to struggle at the start of her comeback

After all she has been through these past six months it is truly amazing that Serena Williams is ready to compete at the highest level in her sport, but that's just what she is about to do in Indian Wells and Miami. Her physical fitness needs more time to return to what it once was and that is understandable but still needs to be said. While her serve showed moments of its usual brilliance, the foot speed and stamina have a long way to go. In short, I wouldn't place lofty expectations on the greatest tennis player of all-time (male or female) until she has had a few crash-and-burn events to get back into top gear. After that - hey, this is Serena we're talking about - anything can happen and likely will.

8) Marion Bartoli is going to struggle more at the start of her comeback

The 32 year old Frenchwoman has a long way to go before she is going to be competitive again on the WTA Tour. Kudos to her after all of the physical hardships she has endured over the past few years. It is unimaginable what the psychological and physical effects of her dangerous weight fluctuations must have been like to endure. That being said, her movement was quite suspect as she played Serena Williams last night and she seemed winded after a mere four points of play. If she's not ready for a super tiebreak to ten points, how is she going to survive a best-of-three match with women who have been playing day-in, day-out during her nearly five year absence from competition? Great to see the former Wimbledon champion back at it but I hope her expectations are realistic all things being said.

9) Find the right people

No offence to Mardy Fish, but being an MC is perhaps not the best option for his post-tennis career. The soft-spoken American was co-hosting alongside Hannah Storm but never seemed comfortable throughout the evening and lacked the pump-up ability required when speaking in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd.

The most ill-suited performance of the night goes to the chair umpire however who seriously bungled-up the late moments of the Serena vs Zhang semifinal. There was a moment where Serena had to discourage him several times to avoid re-playing a point that her opponent had successfully earned. He seemed very unsure of when playing a let was the right call to make and had Serena re-play a first serve that video review had shown was quite clearly an un-returnable bomb. Things got kind of awkward for a few minutes but Serena was gracious when it was all said and done.

10) Madison Square Garden is a cool place to watch tennis.

 While the upper-bowl was closed and there were sections in the lower-bowl that had multiple empty seats, catching competitive tennis at this NYC landmark is always something special. Last night was immensely more action-packed then when I saw an aging Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi play each other back in 2011 years after both had packed it in. The venue is iconic and all of the players remarked how it meant something special to them to say they have now competed there. Surely we will see competitive tennis at the Garden again sometime in the future. When we do, I'll make a point of being there to enjoy it as I did Monday night.

 

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

Elina Svitolina Crowned Champion of the Rogers Cup in Toronto

By Mike McIntyre

Elina Svitolina doesn't like being compared to other players nor does she spend an excessive amount of time trying to predict what they will try to do against her on the court. "I try to just play my game and be really focused on what I have to do with the ball and where I have to place the ball. That's my main goal," she has said. That goal was realized on Sunday in Toronto as Svitolina stayed focused and won the Rogers Cup 6-4, 6-0 over Caroline Wozniacki, alerting the tennis world that she is a major threat as the final Grand Slam of the year approaches at the U.S. Open.

Photo Cred Mike McIntyre

The match started out on even footing with both players breaking each other twice early, but at 4-4 it was Svitolina who would break for 5-4 and then manage to hold her serve to close-out the opening set. In the second set the 5th seeded Svitolina would break Wozanicki right away and never look back.

Overall Svitolina broke her more experienced opponent in six of Wozniacki's eight service games and was able to negate any nerves she may have been feeling in closing out the match with ease. Although she made it look easy, Svitolina admitted that she was equally relieved and excited to be the last player standing. "It's been really, really tough physically. Today was very hot. So I've been really struggling. So I'm just very happy that it's finished. And with a title, it's even more special."

While some reporters in her post-match press conference mentioned that Svitolina seemed to "fly under the radar" coming into Toronto, the win should be anything but a surprise. It was her fifth tournament victory of the year and she becomes the first WTA player to win three Premier 5 events in the same season. With previous Rogers Cup champions either retired or currently away from the tour, (Serena Williams and Belinda Bencic) Toronto was guaranteed to have a new champion this year. Svitolina's name might not yet be as recognizable as Wozniacki's or other top-ten mainstays like Simona Halep or Venus Williams, but her win today along with others this year reveal she will likely stay among the best in the game for the foreseeable future.

Photo Cred Mike McIntyre

Svitolina handled four top-ten players in Toronto over the past few days including Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep and then Wozniacki in the final. She beat those four WTA stars by a combined score of 52-22 and only dropped one set - the opener to Muguruza on Friday.

For Wozniacki, her losing streak in finals continues in 2017 as she now drops to 0-6 without winning a single set in any of those matches. Still, she has seen her ranking return to the top-ten this year and she even has a shot at returning to World No. 1 depending on how things go from here. After the match she remained positive stating that, "It was a good week and I beat some great players, and I can really take a lot with me and be proud of that."

Photo Cred Mike McIntyre

As for Svitolina, at only 22 years old she has clearly established herself as one of the few players of the early-twenty crowd on the tour that is ready to make her presence felt and push for the No. 1 ranking. She got some much needed revenge from her French Open collapse at the hands of Simona Halep when she thrashed the Romanian 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-finals in Toronto and with five tournament wins in five finals, Svitolina is proving to be able to handle the magnitude of those big moments.

Photo Cred Neena Channan

Next for the young Ukrainian will be to assert herself at the Grand Slam level. Her quarter-final results at the French Open in 2015 and again this year are her greatest moments to-date at the majors. With the way Svitolina has progressed this season and with her incredible run this week in Toronto, she certainly is capable of taking that next step. We'll have to wait and see if she will be playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 9th to find out if that next step will happen this season or not.

Photo Cred Mike McIntyre

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. 

Elina Svitolina Ready for the Hardcourt Season

By Mike McIntyre

World No. 5 Elina Svitolina sat down with members of the media on Monday in Toronto at the Rogers Cup to discuss her season thus far and her thoughts moving forward in what has been a very successful season for the 22 year old Ukrainian.

Earlier in the day she had an hour long practice session on Court 3 with Johanna Konta of Great Britain who she solidified a friendship with during the two weeks after Wimbledon while she stayed in town there.

Svitolina and Konta played together in doubles Monday afternoon but were beaten by the pair of Andrea Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2, 3-6, 10-6.

While the two worked hard on getting their feel for the harcourts at the Aviva Centre they also shared some laughs during breaks.

Later in the day while talking to the press, Svitolina was candid in assessing where her game is at the moment and what she still needs to do in order to improve.

"I need to stay in the moment, not think so much about what’s going to be ahead of me," Svitolina revealed. "You need to be patient."

Svitolina notices some differences since reaching the top five of the WTA Tour including the fact that, "Well, everyone is listening to you more!"

Svitolina was very engaged in the media scrum and seems to be growing more comfortable with that part of the pro tour. She feels more responsibility with the added scrutiny but also uses that to motivate her to continue to improve and maintain a presence at the top of the women's game. “It’s pressure of course…it gives you this kind of push that you need each morning to wake up and go on the court.”

Of course she could not avoid someone asking her about the epic collapse in the semi-finals of the French Open where she led her match against Simona Halep by a score of 6-3, 5-1 before allowing the Romanian to take the match from under her feet. She answered the question straight-up and said that she has taken the positives from the match and moved on because as she put it, “If I would come back to that match each day or each week I would probably end up somewhere in the crazy house.”

Svitolina's goals include eventually becoming the World No. 1 player, but she admitted that she is in no rush to have that happen. She compared herself to current ranking leader Karolina Pliskova but deferred to her peer as having a more complete game at the moment. Something that Svitolina is herself working on achieving.

"Of course it’s one of my main goals but for the moment I’m not focusing on this thing. I think it’s just the matter of time, the matter of preparation, and Pliskova she’s No. 1 but her game is kind of set you know? I still think that I can improve more. To be No. 1 you need to be more complete as a player."

Her patient approach reveals a maturity that is not usually found in someone of her age and we'll have to wait and see along with the rest of the tennis world if she is one day able to make that happen.

Svitolina opens her singles play at the Rogers Cup with a second round match against 38th ranked Daria Kasatkina on Tuesday afternoon, not before 5pm, on the Grandstand Court. She leads her head-to-head against the 20 year old Russian 1-0 with a three set win in New Haven last year.

Women's Wimbledon Preview 2017

By Mike McIntyre

Waking up to the release of the Wimbledon draws feels a lot like waking up Christmas morning. Some of the players on Friday probably felt like they were either receiving presents or a lump of coal depending on who they drew as their first round opponent. Here is a closer look at the (once again) wildly unpredictable Grand Slam women's draw that tennis fans will be enjoying over the next two weeks.

First Quarter

What are the chances that the (for now) World No. one Angelique Kerber will do better than her first round exit at Roland Garros? Kerber does not have a nice draw and will face qualifier Irina Falconi in the opening round. Beyond that she faces either of the talented Kristen Flipkens or Misaki Doi in round two, the tricky Lucie Safarova potentially in round three and then likely the 14th seeded Garbine Muguruza in round four. With Kerber's confidence at a seemingly all-time low I can't see her making it out of there in one piece.

Former Wimbledon finalist Aga Radwanska is in this quarter of the draw but her game has been in steady decline over the past year it seems so I wouldn't get my hopes up for her to go deep in the tournament either. Radwanska faces a player whose career is even more in decline in Jelena Jankovic in the opening round.

So who should we keep an eye on in the top quarter of the draw then? Dangerous players include 7th seeded vet Svetlana Kuznetsova along with Olympic gold-medalist Monica Puig, the always dangerous Ekaterina Makarova and French Open semi-finalist Timea Bacsinszky.

I'm going to go with a Muguruza vs Bacsinszky quarter-final.

Second Quarter

Karolina Pliskova is the 3rd seed and has a nice path in her section of the draw. Of the top seeds hers is the quadrant with the least amount of known obstacles towards the quarter-finals. Sloane Stephens makes her return to the Tour after a foot injury that kept here away from the game for nine months and opens against Alison Riske and has a potential second round match against 12th seed Kristina Mladenovic. Coco Vandeweghe would be the likely third round opponent in that section. ESPN Body Issue cover-girl and former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki is a good pick as a potential fourth round match-up.

This quarter seems like the most stable to me and I expect a Pliskova vs Wozniacki quarter-final to emerge.

Third Quarter

There are just so many incredible first round matches happening at the All-England Club this year. Dominika Cibulkova gets Andrea Petkovic in this quarter, Sabine Lisicki makes her return as well to competitive tennis and faces Ana Konjuh the 27th seed and Elina Svitolina the 5th seed will face recent Birmingham finalist Ashleigh Barty.

On top of that we have Venus Williams, French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys in this quadrant. Ostapenko and Keys could provide a terrific third round match here.

I'm going with Williams vs Svitolina for the quarter-finals. Gosh I wish I could be more bold with my picks!

Fourth Quarter

Finally we have 2nd seed Simona Halep opening against Marina Erakovic and on-course for a tough third round match against one of: Carla Suarez Navarro, 2014 finalist Genie Bouchard or up-and-coming Marketa Vondrousova. Victoria Azarenka is yet another player making her return to the court at Wimbledon and gets a very difficult opening match against CiCi Bellis. In the upper portion of this quarter Petra Kvitova - who won in Birmingham last week - is going to be on a collision course with home crowd favorite Johanna Konta. There is simply no shortage of capable players who could be hoisting the Venus Rosewater dish in 2017 and many of them are in this quarter of the draw.

My picks for the quarter-finals are Kvitova and Azarenka for an enticing battle of the recent comeback players.