Tennis Acumen

Roger Federer Considered Not Playing Cincinnati This Year - He Played & He Won

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Roger Federer, 6 time Champion in Cincinnati, addresses the media following his victory.  Pete Ziebron Images

Roger Federer won the Western & Southern Open for the 6th time yesterday over Spaniard and #6 seed David Ferrer 6-3 1-6 6-2.  Following the match, Federer, who reached the final in Toronto the previous Sunday, stated in his post-Championship match press conference that he considered not playing in Cincinnati:

"You know, backing up a tough week from last week, I didn't think it was possible.  I was considering not playing for just a day or so on Monday.  So just to not go crazy here.  We don't need to take chances here.

I need to be smart about how much I play, when I play, and how do I feel.  So I waited for Monday, Tuesday to see how I played.  In practice I felt like I was recovering quickly, and give to a go.  Play with less pressure, more with the confidence, and you never know how you end up feeling midway through the week."

Prior to reaching the final, Federer defeated several quality opponents: #46 Vasek Pospisil of Canada, #23 Frenchman Gael Monfils, #9 Andy Murray of Great Britain in the quarters and #7, Canadian Milos Raonic in the semifinals.

Fans at the Lindner Family Tennis Center were greeted by the the announcement of the final on kiosks throughout the venue.  Pete Ziebron Images

In his quarterfinal match against Andy Murray, Federer won the first set 6-3 but went down a double break at 1-4.  Federer would eventually win the 2nd set 7-5 to advance to the semifinals.  Following the match, I asked Federer how he was able to claw his way back from the large 1-4 deficit, level the set and ultimately win the match.  Here is how Roger describes his thought process and execution of getting back into the set:  

"Then I just said, Maybe I can sneak in a quick break.  Maybe I can hang around.  I did.  I played an okay game.  He was maybe a bit sloppy, I don't remember.  But I just felt like from the start I was hitting the ball well and even when he was playing well I was able to counter that."

Following the break of Murray to take the set to 2-4 with Federer serving, here is his thought process at this particular time:  

"I figured like at 4‑2 if he has to serve twice to get out of the set, I was going to get another shot.  That's when I started really believing again.  That was, looking back now, clearly a big moment, you know, that 4‑1 game, 4‑2 game as well."

Many top players are now being coached by former ATP champions.  Following his 6-4 4-6 6-3 win in the 3rd round over Gael Monfils, Federer was asked if the player seeks to implement much of what made their coach so successful into their own game:

"There is so much more to a coaching relationship than just being totally inspired. You're your own player and you already have your own DNA, so you can never duplicate somebody.

Actually, as a junior you should never do that.  You can learn things and pick certain things, but the last thing you want to do is like do the exact same thing like somebody else because it usually just doesn't work for you as a player. 

So I think when a coach comes in, gives a different angle and different mindset and that makes you feel more comfortable and new input, I think that's what it's about." 

Federer himself is coached by his idol, 6-time major champion Stefan Edberg.  The title in Cincinnati was the first Masters 1000 Federer has won since working with Edberg.  Next week in New York, Roger Federer will attempt to win his first major championship with Edberg.

 

Julien Benneteau's Run in Cincy Ends in Semifinals vs. David Ferrer

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

 

Julien Benneteau reaches his first Masters 1000 semifinal in Cincinnati.  Pete Ziebron Images

Julien Benneteau started playing professional tennis in 1998.  This weekend in Cincinnati, Benneteau reached his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal at the Western & Southern Open.

In fact, the 32 year old Frenchman has played 242 ATP Tour level events and has not won a title.  Benneteau has reached 9 finals but has come up short each time.

Yesterday, he faced #6 seed David Ferrer of Spain in the day session men's semifinal.  Benneteau came into the match knowing that he has had success against Ferrer in the past, winning 4 of their previous 9 matches, including a favorable 3-2 record against the Spaniard on hard courts.  However, despite the overall hard court advantage, Benneteau would fall to Ferrer 6-3 6-2 in 71 minutes.

Each player held serve through the first 6 games of the match before Ferrer was able to break Bennetau in the 7th and 9th games to take the opening set in 39 minutes.  In the second set, Ferrer continued to hold his serve easily and managed to break Benneteau when he served at 1-2 and yet again as he served to stay in the match at 2-5.  

Ferrer had an impressive 69% first serve percentage with no double faults and I asked him what worked well for him this time around against Benneteau:  "Yeah, my first serve work all the both sets.  I receive very good the first and second sets."  Ferrer went on to say: Maybe today he didn't play his best match.  He did have a very good week, a very great week, but today maybe he had a little bit mistakes.  Maybe was his first semifinal in on Master 1000.  Maybe experience was the key in those moments, no?"

Julien Benneteau did have a solid week in Cincinnati as Ferrer noted.  He saved a match point in the 1st round against Lucky Loser Blaz Rola of Slovenia in a 3rd set tiebreaker to advance.  In the 2nd round, he rolled over Qualifier James Ward of Great Britain, dropping only 4 games.  Next, he fended off big hitting Jerzy Janowicz of Poland in the 2nd round, winning 8 of the last 9 games of the match.  Finally, Benneteau roared back from a set deficit against #3 seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in the quarterfinals to win 1-6 6-1 6-2, setting the stage for the semi with Ferrer.

• This year was not the first time Benneteau has had success in Cincinnati.  Here is what happened in 2009 as reported by Tennis Acumen:

Perhaps the most fortunate player at the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters 1000 tournament was Frenchman Julien Benneteau.  During the second round of qualifying, Benneteau lost to Lukasz Kubot of Poland, a player that he defeated in qualifying the week before in Montreal.  

Benneteau was the #2 seed in the qualifying draw and was rewarded exponentially when Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from Cincinnati, citing fatigue after getting to two consecutive Finals in the previous two weeks (defeating Andy Roddick in Washington and losing to Andy Murray in Montreal).  Not only was Benneteau placed into the main draw, he also inherited del Potro’s #6 seed placement, thus “earning” a first round bye.  If that wasn’t enough, Benneteau enjoyed a relatively easy draw, beating Jurgen Melzer and qualifier Mikhail Youzhny in the second and third rounds respectively.  

Benneteau also took the first set from Andy Murray in the quarterfinals and was up a break in the second set before engaging in a 53 shot rally that Murray won that finally turned the tide of the match in Murray’s favor.  (Had Benneteau beaten Kubot to qualify, he would have played Jose Acasuso and if he advanced, Roger Federer was waiting in the second round.)  To say that Benneteau was a “Lucky Loser” may very well be the understatement of the 2009 tennis campaign. 

In addition to currently being ranked #41 in the world, Julien Benneteau is also a very accomplished doubles player.  Earlier this year, he won the Roland Garros doubles title with Edouard Roger-Vasselin.  In fact when I asked him about his best memory of playing Davis Cup for France, he stated "I would say the 2010 quarterfinals against Spain in France at home.  We won 3-0, 5-0 but Saturday I play the doubles.  Very important we won.  Very good crowd and nice atmosphere."

Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Julien Benneteau in action in Cincinnati.  Pete Ziebron Images

Ironically, Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin played a semifinal doubles match yesterday a few hours after Benneteau's singles semifinal loss.  The pair would drop a tight match to Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock on Grandstand Court.

Following his loss to Ferrer, Benneteau elaborated on the fact that he is well prepared for the US Open: "Well, I know that my game is in a good place and I'm in good shape.  To win three, four matches like I did this week it's something very important.  

As a result of his semifinal result in Cincinnati, Julien Benneteau is expected to rise to #27 in the world. He achieved his career high of #26 in April 2012.

Maria Sharapova Tops Simona Halep Again in Cincy Quarterfinals

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Maria Sharapova advances to the Western & Southern semifinals.  Pete Ziebron Images

Maria Sharapova overcame a poor first set, dug deep and found a way to defeat #2 seed Simona Halep of Romania  3-6 6-4 6-4 last night in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open.  The win was the 5th for Sharapova in as many matches against Halep and their first meeting since the final of Roland Garros earlier this year.

Eight of the nine games played in the 1st set were breaks of serve.  Only Halep managed to hold her serve at 2-1 as the server was not able to win their service game.  As a result, Halep carried some momentum in tho the 2nd set.

Simona Halep hit her first 2 aces of the match in the opening game of the 2nd set and promptly broke Sharapova to take a set and a break lead in the match.  However Halep was broken back and the Sharapova was finally able to hold her serve in her 7th service game to square the set at 2-2.  The next 3 games were breaks of serve and Sharapova held a 4-3 lead.  

• At this point in the match, the server failed to hold serve in 13 of the first 16 games!

Maria Sharapova consolidated the break for a 5-3 lead, Halep held easily and now it was Maria Sharapova on the service line, seeking to take the match to 3 sets if she could hold serve.

Sharapova raced to a 40-0 lead only to see Halep get back to deuce as Sharapova double faulted at 40-30.  Finally, Sharapova would close out the set, winning the next 2 points to even the match.

After the match, Halep lamented on the way she played in the 2nd set: "I think this second set for sure I made  a step behind the baseline and was a mistake."

World #2 Simona Halep in action at the Western & Southern Open.  Pete Ziebron Images

Simona Halep staved off a break point in her opening service game in the 3rd set and promptly hit a pair of consecutive aces to win the game.  Just as it appeared that Sharapova rediscovered her strengths while serving, she was broken yet again despite holding a 30-0 lead in the 2nd game of the decisive set.

Unfortunately for Halep, she could not capitalize on the momentum and lost her service game at love.  Sharapova would double fault leading at 40-30 in the fourth game of the set but managed to get through the game, winning the next 2 points to knot the set at 2 all.

Each player held serve comfortably over the next 4 games but things got dicey for Halep as she served at 4-4.  Despite winning the opening point, Halep would drop the next 4, double faulting at 15-40.  

Maria Sharapova now served for the match and lost the first point of the game.  During an extended rally, it appeared that Halep won the next point as she hit deep and Sharapova managed to get her raquet on the ball but hit it wide and out.  Halep's ball was called out on a late call.  Halep challenged the call and replay showed that the ball was in, however Chair Umpire Maria Alves ruled that the point would be replayed, much to the dismay of Halep and the large, electric crowd on Grandstand Court.

Ironically Sharapova would win the next point to take a 30-15.  Although Halep won the next point to take the game to 30-30, she was noticeably rattled by the turn of events and Sharapova eventually closed out the dramatic game to win the match.

Following the match, I asked Sharapova what she liked in her game in this match: 

"I'm happy how I turned it around and that I was able to , after a slow start, bring my energy.  That's sometimes never easy.  It's much easier to just throw in the towel and just call it a bad day.

I was willing to accept that I didn't have a good beginning of a performance and I was willing to go out there and change some things around; I did."

Since Halep lost to Sharapova for the 5th consecutive time and has not yet beaten her, I asked her what she will need to do the next time they play: "I want just to try  for the next time to be more aggressive.  More, more, more aggressive.  Because if I play fast, it's better for me."

Next up for Maria Sharapova will be a semifinal match against #9 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

 

Andy Murray Sets Up QF Clash with Roger Federer With Dramatic Win Over John Isner

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Andy Murray tops John Isner in 3 sets in Cincinnati.       Pete Ziebron Images

Andy Murray saved a match point late in the 3rd set of his 6-7(3) 6-4 7-6(2) victory over top American John Isner yesterday at the Western & Southern Open.  Murray's win sets up an intriguing quarterfinal match tonight with #2 seed Roger Federer.

There were no breaks of serve in the first set of a match played in front of an overflow crowd on Grandstand Court.  Murray jumped out to 2-0 and 3-1 leads in the breaker however Isner won the final 6 points to win 7-3 and take the opening set.

The only break of the match took place in the first game of the 2nd set.  Isner got into an immediate 0-40 hole but came back to force 2 deuces before Murray won the next 2 points to break.  Following the match I asked Murray about this pivotal time in the match: "You don't get many opportunities (against Isner).  So you need to be ready all the time for when one comes along, and I made a few more returns in that game.  He maybe lost his concentration a bit.  He missed, I think, four or five forehands in that game."

John Isner was able to get to deuce as Murray served at 2-1 and again at 4-3 but was not able to break.  Murray ultimately closed out the set with a love game at 5-3.

The crowd continued to grow as the match went to a 3rd and deciding set.  After the match, both players appreciated the strong crowd support.  Isner: "You could see people on center court at the top looking over and watching.  It was great.  The fans were unbelievable."  Murray on playing this match on Grandstand Court: "It's just a better atmosphere.  It feels nicer to play like that.  And, yeah, it was great out there."

Both players held serve routinely until Isner reached deuce on his service game at 2-2.  He promptly hit one of his 21 aces to win the first point and then closed out the game with a forehand winner to lead 3-2. 

Following several more routine holds, Andy Murray would now serve at 5-6 to take the match into a final set tiebreaker.  Murray jumped out to a quick 30-0 lead but fell behind 30-40, double faulting on the last 2 points, setting up match point for Isner.  With some spectacular defense, Murray was able to level at duece before dropping the next point to give Isner yet another match point.

With the crowd roaring in support of Isner, Murray snuffed out the 2nd match point and won the next point with more unbelievable play on both defense and offense.  Murray finally closed out the game with his 14th ace to take it to the breaker.

After the match, I asked Murray how he was able to stave off elimination in the final game of the 3rd set. "I just managed to find a way to get through that game.  I hit some good passing shots.  When I was getting into rallies I was able to dictate a lot of the points, but in that game in particular it was just, yeah, instincts, really."

Isner opened the final set tiebreak with an ace before Murray won both points on his serve as well as securing a mini-break on Isner's next serve.  Isner would win the next point but that would be the last point he would win in the match as Murray prevailed 7-2 in the breaker.

Murray was very happy with his win: "I want to get back to winning events and being in the finals of the big tournaments, and winning matches like today is a big step for me."

The victory was Andy Murray's 3rd in as many matches against Isner, although it was their first meeting since they met in the quarterfinals at the US Open in 2011.

Roger Federer's 3 set win over Gael Monfils last night sets up an enticing quarterfinal match between Murray and Federer.  

Following their respective matches, both players spoke a bit about playing each other.  Murray: "If I play against someone like Roger, that's another great test.  regardless of the outcome, it can be a perfect test.  You know, the US Open is just 10 days away, and normally against him you'll see exactly where your game is at."

 

Roger Federer on Murray: "I remember I played him in Bangkok first time in the finals and he was very disappointed after he lost.  I remember that was a bit odd because he wasn't the favorite at all, but he was so disappointed and angry.  In a way I thought that was good because he expected more from himself. 

It shows you probably, you know, the mind of a champion, really, somebody who really wants to achieve big things.  He thought he could, which he definitely could.

Other than world #1, he's achieved everything he ever wanted probably at this point, so I think he's had a wonderful career."

Andy Murray and Roger Federer will meet tonight in the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals.  Historically,  Murray holds a slight 11-10 overall advantage.

Jerzy Janowicz Stuns #7 Seed Grigor Dimitrov in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Jerzy Janowicz notches his biggest win of the year.            Pete Ziebron Images

Since his march to the 2013 Wimbledon semifinals, world #65 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland has a 20-25 record on the ATP Tour.  His best result since then has been a semifinal appearance of the 250 level event earlier this year in March in Montpellier, France.  

Yesterday, Janowicz played lights out tennis in the first and third sets and shocked the tournament's #7 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4 3-6 6-3 in 1 hour and 47 minutes at the Western & Southern Open.

Jerzy Janowicz hit at least one ace in each of his service games in the opening set, finishing with 8 in the set with only a single double fault.  The overall play of Janowicz throughout the set resembled his success with his serve as he was also bludgeoning the ball with powerful forehands, often keeping Dimitrov deep in the court.  Occasionally, Janowicz would throw in an unexpected drop shot to concurrently keep Dimitrov off balance and constantly thinking what might come next during rallies.

The server held in the first 8 games of the opening set.  However Dimitrov opened the 9th game with a double fault and failed to win a point in the 4-4 game as Janowicz applied constant pressure with his clean and powerful ball striking in the game.  Although Janowicz dropped the opening point when serving for the opening set at 5-4, he won 2 of the next 3 points with aces and won the set two points later.

The Western & Southern Open broke their all-time attendance record on Wednesday and the near capacity crowd on Court 3 thoroughly enjoyed the action as spectators were buzzing in awe of the power game from Janowicz that was on display in the 34 minute opening set.

Grigor Dimitrov falls to Jerzy Janowicz in Cincinnati.            Pete Ziebron Images 

Grigor Dimitrov then held comfortably to open the 2nd set to get back on track following his difficulties in his last service game.  Janowicz won the first point of the next game, then hit a forehand long and double faulted on the next point, falling behind 15-30.  He would dig out of that deficit, however one sensed that Dimitrov would have opportunities to break soon.

Sure enough, the next time Janowicz served at 1-2, he was broken at love, double faulting on the first and last points of the game.  Dimitrov then held easily to take a 4-1 lead and would break Janowicz at 15, when once again, Janowicz opened the service game with a double fault.

Dimitrov now had a commanding 5-1 lead in the set and seemed certain to close it out.  Surprisingly, he played poor points in the game, fell behind 0-40 and managed only one point in the game.  Janowicz took note of the fact that it was now Dimitrov whose game dipped a bit and Janowicz won his service game at love.  

Now Dimitrov once again served to level the match.  He jumped to a 30-0 lead before Janowicz leveled the match at 30-30.  A tight Janowicz backhand netted and Dimitrov would win the game and set on the next point.  

The scoreboard read on set apiece but the momentum pendulum was swinging in favor of Janowicz.  

Sure enough, Janowicz pounded 2 more aces in the opening game of the 3rd set to take the early lead.  Dimitrov opened his service game with a double faulty and despite taking a 40-15 lead in the game, double faulted again at 40-30 then lost the next two points.  

Jerzy Janowicz now had the early break and consolidated to take a commanding 3-0 lead, given the fact that Janowicz was once again fully engaged in the match.  

Grigor Dimitrov won his next service game at love, capping the game with an ace to finally get on the board in the final set.  Each player then held serve at 30 in each of the next 3 games as Dimitrov served to stay in the match at 2-5.

Instantly, Dimitrov fell behind 0-40, giving Janowicz 3 match points.  However, Dimitrov was not about to exit at this point and won the next 5 points to force Janowicz to serve out the match.

Would Janowicz dwell on his 3 missed opportunities for the last game or would he exhibit the tennis he played in the first and third sets?  

Jerzy Janowicz closed out the game at love for his biggest win in over 2 years.

Next, Janowicz will face Julien Benneteau of France in the opening match on Grandstand Court.  Many eyes will be on this match to see if indeed Jerzy Janowicz will be able to maintain the excellent form he showed in deafetaing the #8 player in the world yesterday.

5 Matches Decided by 3rd Set Tiebreakers in 1st Round at Cincy ATP Masters 1000

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Vasek Pospisil of Canada ultimately prevails over Radek Stepanek in a 3rd set tiebreaker  Pete Ziebron Images

The ATP action at the Western & Southern Open in the 1st round has been spectacular as fans have been able to watch a plethora of 3rd set tiebreakers.  A total of 5 final set breakers have been played thus far and had the server held when serving at 5-6 in the 3rd set in 3 other matches, there may have been 8 3rd set breakers contested in the 1st round.

Three of these dramatic matches took place on Monday.  The  #15 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy saved 2 match points when he served at 5-6 in the 3rd as he finally succeeded in taking his match to a breaker against Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin.  Fognini would ultimately prevail 7-5 in the tiebreaker to advance on the Grandstand court.

Next, former Ohio State University standout Chase Buchanan served for the match at 6-5 in the 3rd set against Portugal's Joao Sousa on Monday on Court 9.  Sousa broke Buchanan and won a tight tiebreaker 7-5.

Finally on Monday, Fernando Verdasco won a battle of Spaniards as he won yet another 7-5 tiebreaker against Marcel Granollers on Monday on Grandstand court.  Verdasco failed to close out the match when he served at 6-5 in the 3rd set.

3rd set tiebreak results on Monday & Tuesday:

Fognini ITA d. Roger-Vasselin FRA 7-5

Sousa POR d. Buchanan USA 7-5

Verdasco ESP d. Grannollers ESP 7-5

Pospisil CAN d. Stepanek CZE 7-4

Benneteau FRA d. Rola SLO 9-7

Yesterday, the 3rd set tiebreak mania started immediately out of the gate in the first match of the day on Court 4 as Vasek Pospisil of Canada saved 3 match points against veteran Czech Radek Stepanek, winning his 3rd set tiebreaker 7-4.

Later in the day, Lucky Loser Blaz Rola of Slovenia, who starred at Ohio State University, held a match point against Julien Benneteau of France on Court 9 before falling in the 3rd set breaker 9-7.

• Meanwhile, 3 additional 1st round matches had the strong possibility of even more 3rd set tiebreakers being contested.  All 3 close calls took place yesterday.

Young rising star Dominic Thiem of Austria staged a strong comeback earlier in the match against veteran American Robby Ginepri on Court 3.  However Theim was not able to win hise service game at 5-6 in the 3rd and lost 6-3 7-5 5-7.

As an overflow crowd on Court 4 looked on, Martin Klizan of Slovakia got down early in his service game against #13 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and was not able to manage to win his 5-6 service game in the 3rd set.  Bautista Agut advanced to the 2nd round with a 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory.

As an overflow crowd on Court 6 looked on, Santiago Giraldo of Columbia dropped his 5-6 service game to Italian Andreas Seppi, sending Seppi to the 2nd round with a 4-6 6-2 7-5 win.

The fact that 8 of the 28 matches contested in the 1st round of the Western & Southern Open went right down to the wire speaks volumes to the fine line between victory and defeat on the ATP Tour.  Several higher ranked players were pushed to the brink by the young stars of tomorrow as well as the veterans of the tour.  Second round action continues later today in Cincinnati.

Belinda Bencic Competes Well in 1st Round Loss in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in 1st round action against Karin Knapp.  Pete Ziebron Images

Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch 17 year old  and world #59 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland for the first time in person at the Westen & Southern Open.  Benic, a Wild Card at the event matched up against world #74 Karin Knapp of Italy, who won 2 qualifying matches to advance to the main draw.

Knapp was playing her 3rd match in as many days, having defeated Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-3 6-3 and Puerto Rican Monica Puig 2-6 6-3 7-6(5) in qualifying over the weekend.

As I arrived at the court, shortly after the conclusion of the first set that Bencic lost 6-2, Bencic was not on court and it had been announced that she wished to visit with her coach.  In the opening set, Bencic did not hold serve but managed to break Knapp twice.

This particular match intrigued me especially since Belinda Bencic recorded the following impressive victories earlier in 2014:

Fed Cup, Paris d. #25 Alize Cornet FRA 7-5 6-4

Charleston d. #29 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-1 7-5

Charleston d. #11 Sara Errani ITA 4-6 6-2 6-1

Kanpp opened the 2nd set serving and although the game went to deuce, Knapp closed it out with  a pair of aces.  In the next game, Bencic managed just 1 point as Knapp raced to a 2-0 lead.

Next, Bencic was able to steady her game and broke Knapp for the 3rd time in the match to get on the board in the 2nd set and then consolidated the break to level the match at 2-2.

Throughout the set, Knapp would repeatedly pull down her errant ball toss.  The conditions were breezy at times however Bencic did not have any trouble with her ball toss in the set.  Knapp's tactics flustered Bencic a bit as she often retreated from her service return position when Knapp failed to put the ball in play as the result of a poor ball toss.

Each player managed to hold serve comfortably for the remainder of the set with the exception of the 7th, 8th and 12th games as each game went to deuce.  Knapp and Bencic were able to win the next 2 points in these respective service games and the set went to a tiebreaker.

Karin Knapp opened the tiebreaker with her 6th ace of the match.  Bencic won the next point on her serve but it would be the only point of the tiebreaker she would win as Knapp advanced to the 2nd round, closing out the match with her 7th ace.

Belinda Bencic competed well in the 2nd set of the match and based on what I witnessed yesterday on Court 7, I expect that she will be recording more big victories against top players on the WTA circuit sooner than later. 

 

 

 

Bernard Tomic & Yanina Wickmayer Advance to Cincinnati Main Draw

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Bernard Tomic fights his way past Matthew Ebden.       Pete Ziebron Images

Bernard Tomic of Australia and Belgian Yanina Wickmayer won their respective final round of qualification matches yesterday at the Western & Southern Open to advance to the main draw which begins today.

Tomic, seeded #5 in qualifying defeated countryman #10 seed Matthew Ebden 6-3 7-6(5) in 70 minutes on Grandstand Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.  The match was well played by both as evidenced by the fact that Tomic fired 10 aces with no double faults while Ebden hit 9 aces and hit only 3 double faults.  

There were only 3 breaks of serve in the match, with Tomic getting his first break with Ebden serving at 4-4 in the opening set.  Though the next game reached 30-30, Tomic steadied his game and won the next 2 points to close out the 1st set.

Each player held serve in the opening games of the 2nd set but then Ebden started to play very well.  He fired 3 aces in the 5th game of the set to win the game at love.  He then broke Tomic on his first break opportunity in following game and proceeded to win the next game at love again, again hitting 3 aces in the process.

Tomic found himself down 2-5 in the 2nd set and it seemed certain that this match would go the distance.  Serving at 40-30, Tomic hit an ace to claim the game.  

Despite leading 5-3 and with a 30-0 lead when serving to close out the set, Ebden would go on to lose the next 4 points, double faulting at 30-40 to let Tomic back in the set.  Each player would hold serve, setting the table for the 2nd set tiebreak.

Tomic took a 2-0 lead, only to have Ebden roar back to lead 5-3, the same score he had a bit earlier in games in the 2nd set.  Perhaps the fact that Ebden came into the match with a 4-19 match record in 2014 explains the fact that he did not win another point in the breaker and Tomic would win the final 4 points of the tiebreaker to advance to the main draw.

Bernard Tomic will have his hands full later today as he will play world #31 Gilles Simon of France in the final match on Court 9.  Should he get past the crafty Frenchman, he would face world #1 Novak Djokovic in the 2nd round.

Former 2009 US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer.  Pete Ziebron Images

Following the Tomic win on Grandstand, an intriguing WTA match took place as #16 seed Yanina Wickmayer faced Julia Goerges of Germany for a spot in the main draw.

The contest featured a high level of play as the there were only 4 breaks of serve in 3 sets.  Goerges served well for the second consecutive day, hitting 11 aces  but it was not enough as Wickmayer was a bit better, winning 6-4 3-6 7-5 to advance to the main draw.

Wickmayer grabbed an early break in the 1st set as Goerges served at 1-1 and each player held serve rather comfortably for the remained of the set.  The only exception was when Wickmayer fended off a break point serving at 4-3.

Goerges impressed in the 2nd set, hitting 8 aces in the set and at least 1 in each service game.  She held serve to open the set and saved 3 break points before eventually closing out the first game on the 22nd point of the game.  Goerges got the only break of the set when Wickmayer served at 1-2 and both players' service games were not threatened for the remainder of the 2nd set.

Wickmayer held to open the 3rd set, broke Goerges in the next game, then held again to race to a 3-0 lead.  Next, Goerges broke after holding serve as Wickmayer managed to win only 1 point serving at 3-1 and Goerges consolidated the break to level the deciding set at 3-3.  

Each player held serve over the next 5 games as the match passed the 2 hour mark.  Then out of nowhere, Goerges dropped the first 3 points as she served at 5-6 to take the match into a final set tiebreak.  She won the next 2 points before Wickmayer was able to finish her off in 2 hours and 16 minutes and advance to the main draw.

Next up for Yanina Wickmayer will be #14 seed Sara Errani of Italy in the first round of the main draw. Errani comes into the match with a 9-7 record on hard courts in 2014, while Wickmayer is 7-9 on hard courts this year.  Wickmayer has enjoyed success on hard courts in her career, as she advanced to the 2009 US Open semifinals.  Ironically, she defeated Sara Errani in the 3rd round of that march to the semis.  Errani tends to fare much better on clay as she reached the Roland Garrpos final in 2012.  The winner of the match will face either Roberta Vinci of Italy or German Sabine Lisicki in the 2nd round.

 

 

Julia Goerges Fires 10 Aces to Advance to 2nd Round of Cincy Qualifying

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Julia Goerges serving to Ajla Tomljanovic at the Western & Southern Open.  Pete Ziebron Images

World #88 Julia Goerges of Germany faced a difficult challenge in her first round of qualifying at the Western & Southern Open yesterday in Cincinnati.  The large draw of 48 pitted her against world #56 and #11 seed Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia.

Goerges raced through the 1st set in 19 minutes and proceeded to win the opening game of the 2nd set as well, marking a run of 7 consecutive games.  Next, Tomljanovic would go a run of her own, winning 9 of the next 12 games, including 5 in a row, to take the 2nd set as well as a 3-0 lead in the 3rd and deciding set.

Now it was Goerges' turn to once again get on a hot streak.  With Tomljanovic serving for a 4-0 lead, Goerges fended off 2 game points in a critical 12 point game and  broke to get on the board in the final set.  

Tomljanovic would eventually lead the final set 4-2, however the match seemed to turn when she served at 4-3, 30-0.  Following an ace to reach 30-0 in the 8th games of the set, a long, hard hitting rally ensued when a linesman called a Tomljanovic forehand long.  The chair overruled and both players were not happy that a high quality and crucial point needed to be replayed.

Ajla Tomljanovic proceeded to lose each of the next 4 points of her serve as Goerges levelled the set at 4-4.  In fact, Goerges would outscore Tomljanovic 12-4 in points following the overrule and win the final 3 games of the match. 

 

Streaks in the match:

• Goerges wins first 7 games of the match
• Tomljanovic wins 9 of next 12 games
• Goerges closes match winning 5 of 6 games

Julia Goerges hit 10 aces in the 110 minute match played on Court 9 and will play yet another seed today, former US Open semifinalist, #16 seed Yanina Wickmayer, for a place in the main draw.

Evgeny Donskoy in 2nd set tiebreaker action against Blaz Rola.  Pete Ziebron Images

In ATP action at the Western & Southern Open yesterday, a hard hitting tussle involving #7 seed Blaz Rola of Slovenia and Evgeny Donskoy of Russia took place in the last match on Grandstand court.  There were no breaks of serve during the 100 minute match won by Rola 7-6(4) 7-6(6).

Donskoy, who staved off all 5 break point chances against him in the match fell behind 2-5 in the 2nd set tiebreaker and eventually led 6-5 before Rola steadied his game late in the breaker and won the final 3 points of the match to advance to the final round of qualifying.

Blaz Rola will face #11 seed Benoit Paire of France today in the last match of the day on intimate Court 4.  The winner advances to the main draw.

Paire was impressive yesterday in his 6-1 6-3 defeat of 17 year old Alexander Zverev of Germany.  With Zverev serving at 1-2 in the first set, Paire finally converted on his 7th break point opportunity to take a 3-1 lead in the set. This game would be the 2nd in a run of 5 consecutive games for Paire, which helped him seal the opening set.  Paire would go on to win 6-1 6-3 in 61 minutes.