Tennis Acumen

Novak Djokovic the First to Win All Nine Masters 1000 Titles, Defeats Roger Federer in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON

Novak Djokovic wins Cincinnati on his sixth trip to the Final.  

Novak Djokovic saved his best tennis of the week in Cincinnati for the Final and as a result, he was finally able to win the Western & Southern Open on his sixth attempt.  The Serb defeated seven-time Champion Roger Federer 6-4 6-4 last Sunday.

In three previous finals against Federer in Cincinnati, Djokovic was only able to break serve one time.  However, despite saving the meager five break points against him all week in the tournament, Federer quickly had to stave off two break points in the opening game of the match.  After two easy service games at love, Federer again faced break points when he served for the fourth time at 3-all and this time, Djokovic was able to secure the break on his second opportunity of the game.

Despite that fact that Djokovic had been broken thirteen times during the week, Federer's lone break would come when the Serb double faulted to hand a 2-0 lead to the Swiss early in the second set.  At this point, the sold out crowd was delirious in attempting to lift Federer and his game.  The fever pitch would be short lived as Federer fell quickly behind at 0-30 and was broken back immediately as he failed to consolidate the break.

After three routine holds of serve, Federer was broken yet again in the seventh game of the set as Djokovic took firm control of the match and marched to a 6-4 6-4 victory. Djokovic now leads the head to head with Federer 24-22 and is the favorite to win the US Open.

World #1 Simona Halep Defeats Upstart Aryna Sabalenka to Advance to Cincinnati Final

PETE ZIEBRON

Last Sunday, world #1 Simona Halep won the title in Montreal.  Today, she will attempt to win on consecutive Sundays, this time in Cincinnati at the Western & Southern Open as the Romanian beat world #34 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3 6-4 to advance to the final.

Following three consecutive breaks of serve early in the opening set, Halep led 3-2.  The top ranked women's player would go on to take the opening set 6-3 as her 20 year-old counterpart double faulted twice in the final game of the set.

Halep immediately held serve comfortably at 15 to open the second set and would get another early break to cruise to a 3-1 lead.  However, the Belorussian broke back immediately  and then consolidated the break to square the set at three games apiece.  

The finest tennis of the match appeared in the last two games of the set.  First, Halep dug out of 0-30 and 15-40 holes to reach deuce.  Then she saved a break point and proceeded to win the next two points to take a 5-4 lead and force Sabalenka to serve to stay in the match.

Despite falling behind 0-30, Sabalenka won the next three points to put herself at a game point.  The Romanian would then win the next two points and stood at Match Point.  Sabalenka saved Match Point with an ace but dropped the next two points and Halep advanced to the Cincinnati Final for the second consecutive year.

Simona Halep will face Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands who defeated Petra Kvitova in the first semifinal.

Following the match, I asked Sabalenka if she felt that she may be able to take control of the match in the last two games of the second set:  "Yeah, it was so close.  But she's a good player.  She put everything in.  I think I was waiting for her mistake.  Next time I'm going to be more focused on the points.  But she play really well and I was so angry after the match."

Halep elaborated a bit on her game plan for the match:  "She's a very powerful opponent.  You have to adjust yourself on court.  She's hitting the ball very strong.  The serve was huge.  It was a really tough one.  But I stayed there.  I stayed focused.  I tried to stop missing and just push her back.  I tried to return and I think I did it pretty well today.  I feel happy that I could go through this one."

 

Juan Martin Del Potro and Nick Kyrgios Meet For First Time in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON

Juan Martin del Potro in action against Nick Kyrgios in Cincinnati

Despite the fact that both Juan Martin Del Potro and Nick Kyrgios have been on the ATP Tour for several years together, they had never played previously before Friday's 3rd round match at the Western & Southern Open.

The encounter was originally scheduled for Thursday but due to epic amounts of rainfall in southern Ohio, the match was pushed into a Friday time slot, with the winner having to play a second match later in the day.  

A large and enthusiastic crowd greeted both players as they appeared on Grandstand court to open Friday's order of play.  Kyrgios opened the match with an ace and the battle was underway. Each player held serve comfortable for each of their first four service games until Kyrgios saved a break point in game nine before closing out the game.  Del Potro now served to stay in the opening set and saved a break point of his own, in this case, a set point, as a Kyrgios forehand clipped the tope of the tape and fell just wide.  

Nick Kyrgios just missed winning the opening set against del Potro in Cincinnati

Each player hit two aces in their next service game and the opening set went to a tiebreaker.  At 4-all, a Kyrgios forehand was framed and the ball landed in the seats.  Del Potro would go on to win the next two points to take the breaker 7-4 as well as a one set to none lead.

Like the opening set, each player held serve throughout the entire set.  Kyrgios hit three aces in his fourth and fifth service games of the set, as well as two more aces when he served at 5-6 to stay in the match.  The Aussie then raced to a 5-2 lead in the second set breaker.  Del Potro was eventually able to square the breaker at 6 points each before Kyrgios won the next two to even the match at one set all.

Nick Kyrgios was broken to open the third set and it felt like all of the air was let out the Grandstand Court.  Del Potro consolidated the break with three aces in his next service game to race to a 2-0 lead.  Kyrgios would be broken again in his third service game of the final set as Del Potro took a commanding 4-1 lead.

From there, each player held serve and Juan Martin Del Potro would defeat the 2017 Western & Southern Open finalist in three sets.  Later in the day, Del Potro reappeared on Grandstand Court where he would lose his quarterfinal match to David Goffin 6-7(5) 6-7(4).

Milos Raonic Wins Battle of Canadians in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON

Milos Raonic in action against Denis Shapovalov on Court 10 in Cincinnati

Milos Raonic used his big serving and veteran experience to oust countryman and upstart Denis Shapovalov  7-6(6) 6-4 to advance to the 4th round of the Western & Southern Open.

Shapovalov held a set point in the first set tiebreaker on his racquet at 6-5 but failed to capitalize on the opportunity.  The 19 year-old lost both service points and then Raonic slammed the door to take the breaker 8-6.  

Raonic held serve comfortable to open the second set and proceeded to break Shapovalov at 30 to take a 2-0 lead.  Following the match, I asked both men about the shift in momentum from the conclusion of the opening set into the second set:

Shapovalov: "I started rushing a bit more in the second set.  Maybe it was just a little bit of lack of focus, still thinking about that.  Yeah, I came in on a couple of balls that weren't good to come in on and just rushed in general a little bit."

Raonic: "I think a little bit of both (he may have still been thinking about the end of the tiebreaker and I pushed him a bit in his first service game of the second set).  I was getting more into his games than he was into mine."

Denis Shapovalov had a set point against Milos Raonic.

Serving at 4-2 in the second set, Raonic uncharacteristically hit three double faults in the game to basically hand the game to Shapovalov and o=all of the sudden, the set was back on serve.

Serving at 4-5 to stay in the match, Shapovalov got behind quickly 0-30, won the next three points and then dropped the next three as the elder Canadian Milos Raonic won the match to advance to round three.  He awaits the winner of the Novak Djokovic - Grigor Dimitrov winner,  At the moment, Djokovic is up a break early in the 3rd set in a match suspended by rain

Aryna Sabalenka Defeats Karolina Pliskova to Advance to 3rd Round in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON

Aryna Sabalenka powers her way into the 3rd round at the Western & Southern Open

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus recorded her second consecutive impressive at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday, defeating #9 seed Karolina Pliskova 2-6 6-3 7-5 on Court 10 at the Western & Southern Open.

The 2017 US Open quarterfinalist was broken by Pliskova in each of her opening two service games as the Czech raced to a 4-0 lead.  This would be the only two games of the match that Sabalenka would be broken as her game improved significantly midway through the opening set.

Each player held serve comfortably in each of the first five games of set two.  Then, Sabalenka broke Pliskova at 30 to take command of the set.  She quickly consolidated the break at love with an ace.  Following a Pliskova hold that featured two aces, the Belorussian served at 5-3 to level the match at a set apiece.

Karolina Pliskova at the Western & Southern Open

After not being able to close out the game at 40-30, Sabalenka needed to save four break points before ultimate prevailing in a 22 point game to take the set 6-3.

Service was held by both players in the first ten games of the deciding set, however Sabalenka saved a match point as she served to stay in the match at 4-5.  The tenth game lasted 14 points as the Belorussian leveled at five apiece.  

Pliskova quickly fell behind 0-40 before recovering to deuce.  A double fault gave Sabalenka a break point opportunity that she pounced on quickly to take a 6-5 lead and serve for the match.  

Despite dropping the first two points of the game, Sabalenka hit two aces in the next four points to win the match and advance to the 3rd round where she will play 6th seed Caroline Garcia of France on Thursday.

 

Nick Kyrgios Crushes 39 Aces En Route to the 2nd Round in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON

Nick Kyrgios advances to the 2nd round in Cincinnati

Nick Kyrgios hit six of his thirty-nine aces in the final set tiebreaker as he defeated Dennis Kudla 6-7(2) 7-5 7-6(9) to advance to the second round of Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.

Kyrgios reached the final last year and it appeared that he would have an early exit as he dropped the opening set to the American and had issues with his mobility.  None of the twelve service games in the opening set reached deuce and Kudla even managed to win 82% of his second serves in the first stanza.

The 15th seeded Australian called for the trainer early in the second set and had even more tape added to his right knee.  However, considering his lack of mobility, Kyrgios still manager to hit 14 aces in the second set.  In the twelfth game of the set, Kyrgios was able to secure three break points and finally converted on the third to break Kudla in what would go on to be the only break of the match.

Kyrgios opened the final set, reaching deuce but avoided trouble by hitting two aces to close out the first game.  Comparable to the opening set, none of the last eleven games of the final set reached deuce and it was on to the tiebreak.

Kyrgios appeared to be in command of the breaker as he won the first point on his serve, earned a mini-break and then hit two aces to take a 4-1 lead.  Each player won their next two service points and Kyrgios held three match points at 6-3.  After Kudla won the next two points on his serve, Kyrgios had the match on his racquet at 6-5 but proceeded to lose the point and the breaker was squared at six points all.  

The point of the match occurred when Kyrgios hit a second serve ace at 133 MPH when he was down match point at 7-8.  He followed that up with another ace to lead 9-8.  Kudla would follow with an ace of his own to make it nine all as the players once again changed sides.  Kyrgios would steal the next point before finally closing out the match to take the breaker 11-9.

Next up for Kyrgios is Croatian Born Coric.  The two met in 2016 in Cincinnati, where Kyrgios held a match point but failed to close out that match.  

 

Denis Shapovalov Holds Off Frances Tiafoe to Advance to 2nd Round in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON

Canadian Denis Shapovalov won a fierce battle on Court 3 on Monday with young American Wild Card Frances Tiafoe 7-6(6) 3-6 7-5 to earn the right to fight another day at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Shapovalov was broken at 30 by Tiafoe to start the match and each player proceeded to hold serve quite comfortably until the American served for the opening set at 5-4.  Tiafoe played a poor game and was broken at love as the match was leveled at 5 all.  Despite racing to a 40-0 lead in the next game, Tiafoe came back to reach deuce before Shapovalov won the next two points to take a 6-5 lead.

Next, Tiafoe held at love to force the tiebreaker.  Each player held serve for the opening five points before Shapovalov earned a mini-break to go up 4-3.   After winning the next two points, Shapovalov stood at 6-3.  Tiafoe would win both of his service points and the Canadian had the opening set on his racquet.  However, Tiafoe stole the next point to level at 6-all as the players switched sides.  Shapovalov would proceed to win the next point on his serve as well as the next point as Tiafoe served at 6-7 - first set to Shapovalov.

Shapovalov Numbers

• 10 Aces  13 Double Faults
• 4 Double Faults in 3rd Game of 3rd Set

Tiafoe held to open the second set and each player held rather comfortably until the sixth game of the set.  In this game, Shapovalov double faulted three times, yet managed to overcome this sloppiness to win the game after 14 points to square the set at three all.  After holding, Tiafoe managed to break at 30 and then held serve to take the second set 6-3.

Shapovalov started to feel good about his chances quickly into the deciding set as he held and proceeded to break to take a 2-0 lead.  However, he would hit four double faults as he failed to consolidate and the set was back on serve.  

Frances Tiafoe broke in the ninth game of the set, whipped the large crowd on Court 3 into a frenzy on the changeover and then served for the match at 5-4.  Tiafoe quickly got behind 15-40, won the next point but failed to capitalize on his good fortune minutes earlier and was broken two points later.

After a quick hold by Shapovalov that featured three aces, the Canadian would break Tiafoe at 15 to win the match.  Tiafoe served for the all three sets in the match but was only able to win the middle set.  

Next up for Denis Shapovalov is #14 seed Kyle Edmund of Great Britain. 

Alize Cornet Blasts Her Way into the Cincinnati Main Draw

PETE ZIEBRON

Alize Cornet on her way to the the Cincinnati Main Draw

Alize Cornet narrowly missed out on direct entry into the Cincinnati main draw. Instead, she was the #1 seed in qualifying and impressively powered her way through two matches to earn her way into the Western & Southern Open main draw.

On Sunday, Cornet dropped just four games in dispatching young American Sofia Kenin 6-1 6-3 in seventy minutes. The Frenchwoman won the opening game of the match at love and then Kenin double faulted three times in her first service game to gift the game to Cornet. The fourth game of the set would be the only one that Kenin would win as Cornet served at 80% first service percentage to wrap up the set in just 21 minutes.

Games Won in Qualifying

Alize Cornet  24

Opponents  7

The start of the second set had a significantly different feel as all three of the opening games went to deuce. Kenin held to open the set and the broke Cornet on her third break opportunity in the second game. Next, the American threw away a 40-15 lead by dropping the next two points before winning the next two to march to a 3-0 lead.

That would be the last game that Cornet would fail to win in the match as she rolled in the next six games, winning all of them and outscoring Kenin 26-11 to claim the match and entry into the main draw.

On Saturday, Cornet dropped just three games against American Nicole Gibbs and won seven consecutive games in the match. With Gibbs serving at 2-1 in the opening set, Cornet broke back and proceeded to break the American the next three times while concurrently holding serve three times. Although her winning streak ended when she was serving at 2-0 in the second set, Cornet won the final four games of the match to advance to the second round of qualifying.

Next up for Alize Cornet will be 2017 Roland Garros Champion and the #11 seed Jelena Ostapenko.  The match will be the second night contest on Grandstand Court following Stan Wawrinka and Diego Schwartzman.

Hubert Hurkacz Defeats Ryan Harrison in 1st Round of Cincinnati Qualifying

PETE ZIEBRON

Hubert Hurkacz advancing at the Western & Southern Open.  

On a day delayed by rain on several occasions, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland defeated American and the #2 seed in qualifying, Ryan Harrison 6-3 6-3 on Saturday to advance to the second round of the qualification draw of the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.

After both players appeared on Grandstand Court and warmed up, they were sent off the court for 43 minutes due to the fourth rain delay of the day.  Once they reemerged on court, the opening game of the match was a marathon.

Hurkacz had a game point at 40-30 in the opening game but failed to convert.  As a result, he had to constantly dig himself out of four consecutive break points against before then holding six consecutive game points.  Finally on the sixth, he did indeed hold to take a 1-0 lead after 10 deuces and a 26 point opening game.

Opening game of the match:

• 26 points
• 10 deuces

Despite hitting two double faults in his opening service game, Harrison crushed three aces and leveled at one all.  Next, Harrison broke Hurkacz at 15 to take a 2-1 lead after 21 minutes.

The break was short lived the Pole would break Harrison back and once again on the American's next service game.  Hurkacz ultimately closed out the opening set with 2 aces to take it 6-3.

Hurkacz Numbers

• 7 of 8 Break Points saved
• 3 of 3 in Consolidating the Break

Each player won their first two service games in the 2nd set before Hurkacz was able to break to take a 3-2 lead.  However, in his effort to consolidate the break, he fell behind quickly to 0-40 in the sixth game of the set.  Hurkacz hit an ace and won the next three consecutive points and then two more after Harrison got the game back to deuce to finally consolidate and lead 4-2.

Serving to stay in the match at 3-5, a constantly agitated Harrison was broken at love as Hubert Hurkacz won eight of the last nine points of the match to close it out 6-3 6-3 against the world #57.  Harrison has been a finalist this year in Brisbane in January as well as more recently in Atlanta last month.  

Next up for world #111 Hurkacz is world #112 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, who reached the 3rd round last year in Cincinnati, falling to eventual finalist Nick Kyrgios.  The match will be third up on the Grandstand court.