PETE ZIEBRON
Reflections on the 2019 Western & Southern Open tennis tournament in Cincinnati
Dayana Yastremska in action in Cincinnati. Pete Ziebron Images
"So, if it's, like, tight moments in the match, well, I try to keep myself calm. But same time, I try to be aggressive." - Dayana Yastremska
Cincinnati
R1 d. Wozniacki 6-4 6-4
R2 l. Kuznetsova 6-4 6-7(7) 2-6
It was 2016, the Wimbledon Junior Girls Final. That was my first look at Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, bested by Russian Anastasia Potapova, 6-4 6-3. The match intrigued me, and I decided to follow them both. The following February, I saw Potapova play twice at the Surprise, Arizona ITF tournament. However, it wasn’t until this August that I saw Yastremska again. In the meantime, Yastremska and Potapova have teamed to play doubles, including this year at Wimbledon.
Yastremska drew Caroline Wozniacki in her opening match in Cincinnati. In 2011, Wozniacki reached #1 in the world, and has 30 career titles to her name. The 19-year-old Ukrainian won the opening set 6-4. Despite Yastremska hitting eight double faults in the set, both players were competing at a high level once the ball was in play on Grandstand Court. . Yastremska has a very powerful forehand, and Wozniacki was struggling with the pace.
Concurrently, I noticed Yastremska shuffling her feet when Wozniacki tossed the ball to serve, unnerving the veteran Dane. In addition, Yastremska was not playing to the server's pace, wandering well behind the baseline when Wozniacki was ready to serve. A colleague later told me that these are tactics that Yastremska has employed all the way back to the juniors. Wozniacki complained to the Chair, then turned toward her box and disgustedly said "Bullshit. F___ing bullshit."
There’s nothing quite as effective as getting in an opponent’s head. Actually, Rafael Nadal used similar stalling tactics in the fifth set of the 2019 US Open Men’s Final against Daniil Medvedev, causing the Russian to go to the Chair and ask why Nadal was not ready to play at the server’s pace. Medvedev was most likely thinking what Wozniacki actually said, but he simply pleaded: "Ali, every serve I have to wait. Every time I have to wait."
Sure enough, Wozniacki was broken in the very next game. Now at four-all, Yastremska opened with three consecutive aces and won the game at 15. Now, Wozniacki served to stay in the match. Still rattled, she quickly fell behind love-40, won a point and then bowed out. Yastremska would end up winning thirteen of the last sixteen points of the match.
Next up was veteran Russian and two-time major Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
On intimate Court 10, Yastremska would take the opening set 6-4 as both players battled through a warm and humid afternoon in southern Ohio. The Ukrainian would have her chances to win in straight sets, but dropped the second set breaker 9-7.
Early in the third set, Yastremska tired, and struggled with her movement. She was simply not the same player. As a result, Kuznetsova cruised to win the final set 6-2. Kuznetsova would eventually reach the Cincinnati final, losing to American Madison Keys.
Leaving Cincinnati, Yastremska did well in New York, reaching the third round of the US Open, losing to countrywoman Elina Svitolina, 6-2 6-0.
What to watch with Yastremska going forward: Powerful forehand and continued success winning matches over former Major Champions (2019 wins include: Stosur, Muguruza, Azarenka, Wozniacki)
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