Tennis Acumen

Photo of the Day: Richard Gasquet

Richard Gasquet, born in 1986, is a French player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained in 2007.He has won  15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. In Grand Slam singles, Gasquet reached the semifinals of the 2007 and 2015 Wimbledon Championships and the semifinals of the 2013 US Open. Gasquet is best known for his elegant groundstrokes and his one-handed backhand.

 

photo credit: Karl Corbett, (c) Tennis Acumen

 

Richard Gasquet is shown here at his 2010 run to the third round in Cincinnati. He beat Mikhail Youzhny and Michael Berrer before falling to Mardy Fish.

Photo of the Day: James Blake

Dateline Cincinnati, Ohio   |     August 7, 2002

Two weeks prior to his second Cincinnati Masters appearance, James Blake made it to the finals in Newport, Rhode Island. Next, he won his first round match at the Masters event in Toronto. That was enough to put James Blake in the top 30 for the first time as he came into Cincinnati. Blake beat Andrei Pavel in the first round, and lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second. Blake's career high ranking was # 4 in the world.

 

photo credit: Karl Corbett,  Tennis Acumen

Photo of the Day: Dayana Yastremska

PETE ZIEBRON

Dayana Yastremska faced 5 major Champions in the 13 matches she played in 2020.  Peter Ziebron Images

 

Although Dayana Yastremsmka played just 13 matches in 2020, she faced 5 former major Champions, winning twice.

Going 8-5 overall in January and February, here are the Ukrainian's results against the major Champions this year:

 

6-3 2-0 RET WIN vs. Angelique Kerber in Adelaide 2nd round

2-6 5-7 LOSS to Ash Barty in Adelaide Final

5-7 5-7 LOSS to Caroline Wozniacki in Australian Open 2nd round

6-3 7-6(4) WIN over Sofia Kenin in Qatar 2nd round

2-6 4-6 LOSS to Garbine Muguruza in Qatar 3rd round

 

 

Photo of the Day: Karolina Pliskova

Karolina Pliskova has achieved quite a bit in her career.  She has been world #1 for eight weeks, has been a Fed Cup Champion three times and reached the US Open final.

The best stretch of her career at the majors started when she reached the US Open final in 2016.  This propelled the Czech as she then reached at least the quarterfinals in five of the next six majors.

 

 

Karolina Pliskova

Peter Ziebron Images

Photo of the Day: Ana Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic enjoyed a wildly successful run beginning in the spring of 2007, when she reached the Roland Garros final and the Wimbledon semifinals.  She then reached the 2008 Australian Open final and then won Roland Garros a few months later and became the #1 player in the world.

Ivanovic narrowly missed an incredible Triple Crown at Roland Garros in 2007, when she defeated #3 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals and #2 Maria Sharapova in the semifinals before falling to #1 Justine Henin in the final.

 

Ana Ivanovic spending time with Tennis Acumen's veteran journalist, Pete Ziebron.

(c) 2016  Peter Ziebron Images

Growing up in Belgrade, Ana had to schedule her practice sessions in between bombing runs on the city, during the Kosovo crisis of 1999. In winter, she practiced in an abandoned Olympic-sized swimming pool,  drained of water and converted into indoor courts.

 

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Photo of the Day: Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki concluded 2010 & 2011 as the #1 player in the world on the WTA tour.  The Dane won the 2018 Australian Open and was a finalist at the US Open in 2009 & 2014. Caroline's career prize money exceeds $32 million dollars. One of our favorite quotes from Caroline: "I never give up. Doesn't matter what the score is." She has reportedly retired after 2020's Australian Open.

 

     Caroline Wozniacki addresses media

     Peter Ziebron Images

 

 

Photo of the Day: Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova reached #1 or #2 in the world in nine different years in her career.  In addition, she is the most recent woman to win the career Grand Slam when she won Roland Garros in 2012 - she would add a second Roland Garros title in 2014. Maria's career prize money exceeds $38 million dollars. 

The best match I ever saw her play live was a 2014 quarterfinal on Grandstand court in Cincinnati where she defeated Simona Halep 4-6 6-3 6-3. Each player converted 8 out of 10 break chances. Sharapova won the first seven times they played each other, Halep won the last two times. 

 

Maria Sharapova at a WTA Round Table

Peter Ziebron Images

Photo of the Day: Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils had won twelve consecutive matches this February as well as title in back to back weeks in Montpellier and Rotterdam.  Monfils won 25 consecutive sets before losing in the quarterfinals in Dubai to Novak Djokovic by a 6-2 6-7(8) 1-6 scoreline.  At the moment, Monfils is world #9.

Gael Monfils in action on Court 3 in Cincinnati

Peter Ziebron Images

#gaelmonfils

Photo of the Day: Ernests Gulbis

In 2014, Ernests Gulbis arrived at Roland Garros with a 27-10 mark on the year.  He won the tournament in Nice the week prior and reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, defeating Roger Federer in the round of sixteen.  After losing to Novak Djokovic in the semis, Gulbis shared the following:

How far do you think you can get?
ERNESTS GULBIS:  All the way to No. 1.

Following his run at Roland Garros, Gulbis reached a career high of world number ten.

 Ernests Gulbis in action on the Grandstand Court at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. 

 Peter Ziebron Images

Photo of the Day: Gustavo Kuerten

2004: Gustavo Kuerten approaches the chair during his first round match in Cincinnati. Not every call goes your way.

In 1997, the Brazilian took his very first tour title, and it was at a Grand Slam, winning the French Open. Two weeks later, on a roll, he reached the final in Bologna, Italy with his 11th win in a row.

Kuerten reached number 1 in the world in 2000, the first Brazilian to do so. His career was plagued by injuries, and he retired in 2008, having played just 20 matches in all of 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Photo: Karl Corbett, (c) Tennis Acumen

See more photos in our gallery, here: (LINK)

Photo of the Day: Alexandr Dolgopolov

In 2017, Ukrainian tennis player Alexandr Dolgopolov came into Cincinnati ranked # 71 in the world. He reached # 34 by year's end. In Cincinnati, he qualified into the main draw, beating Americans Reilly Opelka and McKenzie McDonald. He defeated Kevin Anderson in a first round matchup, falling to Australian Nick Kyrgios in the second round. 

Photo credit: Karl Corbett, (c) Tennis Acumen 2017.

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Photo of the Day: Marin Cilic

In 2016, Marin Cilic won his first and only Masters title in Cincinnati. In this photo, he celebrates his moment of victory. Finals opponent Andy Murray was visibly rattled late in the match, requesting that the chair umpire turn off his microphone, because the sound of a light breeze in the microphone was distracting him. Cilic prevailed to win the Cincinnati Masters trophy,  6-4, 7-5.

Photo credit: Karl Corbett. (c) Tennis Acumen 2016

See our full photo gallery here: (LINK)

Photo of the Day: Francis Tiafoe

In 2018, American player Francis Tiafoe came into Cincinnati on a nice run. Tiafoe made it to the third round in Wimbledon, beating both Julien Benneteau and Fernando Verdasco.  He'd beaten Marco Ceccinato and Milos Raonic the previous week in Toronto. Here, he fell to Denis Shapovalov in the first round.

Karl Corbett, (c) Tennis Acumen 2018

See our complete photo gallery here: (LINK)

Denis Shapovalov: Photo

Andrey Rublev: Photo

Knoxville Challenger Photo Gallery - Tennis Images from Tennessee

KARL CORBETT in KNOXVILLE

 

Tennis Acumen continues its coverage from the Knoxville Challenger with photos from the early rounds

 

Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain chases down a ball from Brandon Nakashima of the USA. Glasspool moves on to the third round, after a first round bye.  Photo: Karl Corbett

 

Blaz Kavcic of Slovakia goes airborne during his first round defeat at the hands of Israel’s Edan Leshem.  Photo: Karl Corbett

 

Young American Aleksandar Kovacevic seems to doubt a call that goes the way of Kaichi Uchida of Japan. Kovacevic went on to win.  Photo: Karl Corbett

 

American Michael Mmoh beats Darian King of Barbados in his second round match, but not everything went his way.  Photo: Karl Corbett

 

16-year-old Zachary Svajda takes the court in just his second Challenger event.  Photo: Karl Corbett

 

JJ Wolf, a Cincinnati product, wins his first round match with incredible defense as part of the game. Look at the G-forces.  Photo: Karl Corbett

 

Alex De Minaur Tops Taylor Fritz to Win 2019 BB&T Atlanta Open

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

 

CLICK HERE and watch a 2-minute video reel...

Alex De Minaur, the Champion in Atlanta as confirmed by the video board.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Champion Alex De Minaur and Finalist Taylor Fritz after receiving their trophies.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Alex De Minaur celebrates after winning the title.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Sunday July 28th in Atlanta, and it's the finals at the men’s 250 tennis tournament here. Our competitors are American Taylor Fritz and Australian Alex De Minaur. Since the tournament moved here from Indianapolis in 2010, an American has won every title every year except one, and an Australian won it that year. An American and an Australian face each other across the net today. Cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 80s, with a slight breeze, make for ideal conditions for match play. With veteran Mohammed Leyani in the chair, our match gets underway right on time.

Fritz serves. He has to shake the cobwebs off and save a break point in order to hold. De Minaur gives up just a single point in his service game and we are underway. Serving at 2-3. De Minaur is hitting the ball so hard he breaks a string. He holds at love once again. From the chair, Leyani makes sure the racket is sent to be restrung.

At 3-3, Fritz faces a breakpoint. The crowd, pulling for the American, erupts once he saves it. But De Minaur, unflappable, earns another break point…. and Fritz double faults. They change hands with De Minaur serving, and leading 4-3. The crowd calls out: “Come on, Taylor!”, but it doesn't help. De Minaur holds again and leads, 5-3. Fritz is looking discouraged… and De Minaur keeps charging: scrambling to run balls down and sending back an unpredictable variety of ground strokes over the net. Fritz wins a point, and only one, in his own service game. So De Minaur takes his seat, having won the first set, 6-3. He's given up just one point against serve, and has taken the first set in 30 minutes.

Mohamed Lahyani in the Chair for the Atlanta Final.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Second set, serving at 1-2, Fritz delights the crowd with an ace down the “T”, a challenge won and a screaming forehand winner down the line to take the game. We stand at 2-2. However, the championship seems to be slipping away from Taylor Fritz. Fritz doesn't seem to have any answers… and he can't make a real dent in De Minaur’s service games. In a matter of minutes, De Minaur walks to the bench with another service hold, and leads 4-3. 

New balls, please. 

Taylor Fritz crushes a first serve in Atlanta.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Fritz leads, 40-love on his serve, gives up a point and then smacks a 128 mile per hour service ace. We're tied at 4-4. It's been one hour, exactly since the match began. The crowd is like a rollercoaster, cheering on Fritz's serve and deadly quiet on De Minaur’s, especially in this next game. Another love hold puts De Minaur ahead, 5-4. The crowd roars as Fritz holds at love. The score is 5-5. De Minaur takes the ball and runs Fritz side to side, eventually blowing the ball by him, point after point and caps his love hold with an ace. It's 6-5, with De Minaur in the lead, and we are running out of time.

Fritz aces, then makes a rare appearance at the net to take the first two points and marches on to hold. Now it’s 6-6. Let’s have a tie-break. Fritz hasn't lost his confidence, but De Minaur keeps putting a dent in it. Fritz wins De Minaur’s first service point on a challenge. De Minaur takes it right back on the next point. 1-1. Fritz takes another De Minaur service point to go up 2-1. De Minaur takes it right back. It's 2-2, and then the wheels come off. De Minaur rips off five straight points and it's over.

Alex De Minaur on his was to the second title of his career.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Taylor Fritz serving big in Atlanta.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Fritz, known as a big server, hit nine aces in the match. De Minaur nearly matched him with 8. De Minaur lost only 10 points on serve in his 10 service games as he took this title. It was just flawless tennis. 

It's a final. The trophies are presented. Everyone is thanked, and it's on to the next town for this circus that we call professional tennis. Fritz has hit a new career-high at number 30, and he has off to Los Cabos. De Minaur has his second tour-level title….  and he's off to Washington. We look forward to their next meeting.

Alex De Minaur Defeats Reilly Opelka to Advance to Atlanta Final

KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA

Before the semifinal in the tunnel & following the match at net.  Photos: Karl Corbett

Reilly Opelka was 17 years old, and Alex De Minaur was 16 when the two met in the 2014 Wimbledon juniors. Opelka won the third set, 13 games to 11. In Sydney this year, De Minaur had home court advantage and beat Opelka in the second round 6-4, 7-6 on his way to the title. Both players are up-and-coming. Opelka is at a career-high of number 43 this week and De Minaur stands at number 31.

Opelka starts as expected, with two aces and 3 serves over 130 miles per hour in just the first game. De Minaur holds at love and the players settle in for battle, as action continues. De Minaur starts expressing his frustration at his inability to block Opelka’s pounding serves back into play.  De Minaur sends an occasional serve straight to Opelka body, taking away any power his return would otherwise have. Both players are willing to charge the net. This is entertaining tennis. At 3 all, 30-30, Opelka follows up his serve with a cross-court rocket for a winner, pumps his fist and roars. He takes the game and we are at 4-3, with De Minaur now serving. New balls, please.

Opelka wins his first return point of the match, but it's the only point he will win this game. De Minaur already has three love holds. His service is surprisingly effective. This is clearly not going to be a one-sided affair. At 4-4, De Minaur earns a break point with a half-volley that lands at the feet of a charging Opelka. Opelka saves that, and a second break point, then closes the game with back-to-back aces. Opelka leads, 5-4.

Of course, we go to a 6-6 tiebreak. De Minaur seems to have the upper hand. He's lost only 2 points against serve, one of those on a double fault. His scrambling style is serving him well. Two players, staring at each other across the net and Opelka blinks first. He double-faults at 4-4.  De Minaur serves it out to win the first set.

Alex De Minaur takes the opening set in a tiebreaker.  Photo: Karl Corbett

In the second-set, parity continues. When De Minaur serves and takes a 3-2 lead, Opelka is shouting at himself back in his chair at the change of ends. De Minaur’s variety,  including short balls that Opelka can't reach, are taking their toll. Opelka gives up three of the first four points in his service game and he is staring at 15-40. Break point one: He wins the rally with a series of devastating forehands. Break point two: an ace at 122 miles per hour down the ‘T’. Opelka rights the ship. Four straight points get us to 3-3.

From there, the bombing continues. Nobody gets close to a break point, and we arrive at 6-6 in the second set. It’s tiebreak time, and it goes back and forth. With Opelka serving at 5-6, De Minaur hits a ball at the baseline off his ankles and down the line, a scorching winner.  Opelka counters with an ace at 141 miles an hour. With the tiebreak on the line Opelka draws an error to win the second set. He leaps into the air, beating his chest, pumping his fist. The crowd roars with him.

In the land of the Falcons, the lengthy wingspan of Reilly Opelka.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Two hours in…. and set 3 begins. This is good tennis. Both players are steady, moving well and showing good ball control, creating angles when they come to the net. Nobody gets close to a break point. The high quality of play continues to two games all. Then, De Minaur draws two errors and wins a break point on yet another Opelka error, this one driven into the net. Now, it's De Minaur’s turn to roar. He now serves, up 3-2 and holds to 4-2. Opelka is off kilter, missing first serves and making routine balls look difficult. Opelka saves two break points, then double faults to set up a 3^rd. He gets himself out of trouble with massive serves, but he is still down a break and De Minaur is fired up. He holds at love and leads 5-3. Opelka struggles in his service game which goes to deuce,   then advantage out and then game set and match.

De Minaur has not been broken in the entire tournament this far, giving up very few points in his 32 service games.

After the match, De Minaur talked about his ability to stay calm and focused. He did exactly that today. He also talks about the rhythm, the practice and the repetition which has made his serve so devastating. Looking forward to tomorrow's final., he doesn’t say much. He just smiles.

Alex De Minaur will next face American Taylor Fritz in the BB&T Atlanta Open Final.

 

 

 

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.