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.

Wednesday WTA Results From The Sydney International

By: Mike McIntyre

Photos: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

The quarterfinals are set after matches were completed Wednesday at the Sydney International.

Aga Radwanska continued her impressive play with a 7-6(4), 6-0 win over 18 year old Cici Bellis. The young American is an up-and-coming player to watch on the WTA Tour but had no answer for the veteran Radwanska in the second set.

Radwanska will now face 26 year old qualifier Camila Giorgi who upset Petra Kvitova 7-6(7), 6-2. Giorgi has advanced to her first WTA quarterfinal since last June on grass in Birmingham. The pair stand at one victory apiece in their career head-to-head.

Top seeded Garbine Muguruza got through her opening match of the tournament after a first round bye and she dispatched Kiki Bertens 6-3, 7-6(6). After the win however Muguruza withdrew from the event giving Daria Gavrilova a walkover into the semifinals.

After the match against Bertens, Muguruza revealed that, "Since the start I felt a little bit my abductor. I already felt it in Brisbane, so I thought I was going to be much better, but it came back."

This marks the second consecutive tournament (as she eluded to above) that Muguruza has been bothered by injury and unable to complete the event on her own terms. A troubling situation as we head into the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne.

Stay with us throughout the week here in Sydney as we continue to keep you posted on all WTA developments. And be sure to follow us on Twitter as well.

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.

 

Women's Results from Wednesday at Roland Garros

By Mike McIntyre

Photography: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography

It is rare to see Tunisia steal the spotlight in the tennis world but that was the case on Wednesday with 22 year old Ons Jabeur shocking 6th seeded Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Jabeur capture the Junior Roland Garros crown back in 2010 and played with incredible confidence in her match against Cilbulkova. She is the first Arab female tennis player to ever make the third round of a Grand Slam. Prior to this tournament she last qualified for the main draw of a major at the 2015 U.S. Open but had never actually won a round until here in Paris. Jabeur will next face Timea Bacsinszky the 30th seed.

Cibulkova was one of the players I thought was flying under the radar despite her high seeding. I guess it turns out there was a reason nobody was really mentioning her along with the Halep's and Svitolina's of the world. For someone who had made the quarter-finals in 2012 and the semi-finals in 2009 this is surely a great disappointment.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands got her first ever victory against 15th seeded Petra Kvitova 7-6(5), 7-6(5). For Kvitova the result must still seem like a win after her playing career was in doubt after a knife attack at her apartment back in December. Mattek-Sands presented a tricky and experienced opponent and the Czech's conditioning still needs some time to get back to her usual self.

Transitioning to grass court tennis after the French Open will surely give Kvitova the chance to rediscover her form and despite the long layoff she will be considered a top contender at Wimbledon next month.

Former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki put on a clinic against a much younger and less experienced opponent. She double bageled 20 year old Canadian Françoise Abanda in their second round match. Wozniacki has a nice opportunity in her section of the draw with seeds  like Kerber, Bertens and Vinci already out of the draw. She is on track for a fourth round meeting against 2009 Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova who also advanced today.

While the young Abanda must be feeling down after the thumping by Wozniacki, she has made it to the second round of a Slam for the first time in her career and is solidifying herself as the second ranked Canadian female tennis player behind Genie Bouchard.

Some Americans are proving they can still win on clay as Shelby Rogers won 7-6, 6-4 against Çağla Büyükakçay. Rogers will next play against 13th seed Kristina Mladenovic who dispatched Sara Errani today.

Büyükakçay who is from Turkey surprised Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the opening round but then as is so often the case could not sustain the momentum from the upset in her next match.

18 year old CiCi Bellis was another American who won on Wednesday by a score of 6-3, 7-6(5) over Kiki Bertens the 18th seed. It doesn't get any easier for the young Bellis who is currently ranked 48th in the world as she will next face Wozniacki.

Bertens was a Roland Garros semifinalist just a year ago and will be losing some significant ranking points with the loss. 

Another youngster who is having early success in Paris is 19 year old Jelena Ostapenko who looked quite focused while taking to the court against Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig. The Latvian won 6-3, 6-2 to set up a match versus Lesia Tsurenko in a suddenly wide open top quarter of the draw. Between the two of them, Mattek-Sands and Sam Stosur, one will be guaranteed of making the quarter-finals.

Puig has still been unable to build upon her epic Olympic gold medal from last summer in Rio.