Tennis Acumen

Getting to Know Rinky Hijikata:

Tennis Acumen at the  Columbus Fall Challenger 2022. And we are here with Rinky Hijikata, from Australia.

(photo credit: University of North Carolina)

Tennis Acumen: Rinky, what are some of your favorite cities on the tour?

Rinky Hijikata: Favorite cities? I do love London. I love New York City. Anytime I get back home to Sydney, it's great. I love playing anywhere in Japan as well.

Tennis Acumen: Favorite bands, favorite music?

Rinky Hijikata: Favorite music. I like Kalid, the singer. I'm a big fan of his. I like Eminem. I really I like Jake Hull.

Tennis Acumen: Excellent. Favorite movies?

Rinky Hijikata: Favorite movie? Inception. It's a good one. I love Inception. Shutter Island. Anything of DiCaprio's. I like him, so I like a lot of his movies.

Tennis Acumen: Favorite restaurants?

Rinky Hijikata: In and Out Burger, the burger chain. If I am going to have a cheat day, you know? .

Tennis Acumen: That's great. Now you're having friends over and you're cooking dinner. What's your ‘go to’ meal?

Rinky Hijikata: I'm not a very good cook, so I don't know. I don't know if I even have a 'go to meal I could set out for my friends'. I'd probably just order takeout.

Tennis Acumen: You're not the first person to say that.

 

(This exclusive interview has generated seven ‘quick read’ excerpts, to be posted at tennisacumen.com over time.)

Rinky Hijikata: WINNING AND LOSING

Tennis Acumen at the  Columbus Fall Challenger 2022. And we are here with Rinky Hijikata, from Australia.

(photo  credit: Karl Corbett)

Tennis Acumen: Rinky, let me ask about your spirit, your attitude. Some guys absolutely love to win, and some guys absolutely  hate to lose. Where are you on that spectrum?

Rinky Hijikata: I definitely go both ways. I feel like I'm somewhere in the middle. When you win, there's no other feeling like it, I think. And especially when you're in tight matches,  when the stakes are high. There is  all kinds of adrenaline. The euphoria when you win can't really be compared to anything else. And then, obviously, when you lose the tough one, it's the same level of emotion. It's a tough pill to swallow and it can be pretty painful. But, when you're on the tour, you pretty much lose every week. There's only one winner. I feel like I've tried to become a better loser. I guess I'm trying to not take it as hard as I have in the past and try to move on a little bit quicker.

Tennis Acumen: Thanks for talking with us. I hope to run into you a few years down the road, maybe a decade or so. I'll ask you about life after tennis.

Rinky Hijikata: Perfect. That sounds good.

(This exclusive interview has generated seven ‘quick read’ excerpts, to be posted at tennisacumen.com over time.)

Rinky Hijikata: Getting Started in Tennis

Tennis Acumen at the  Columbus, Ohio  Fall Challenger 2022. And we are here with Rinky Hijikata, from Australia.

(photo credit: Karl Corbett)

Tennis Acumen: How did you get started in tennis? What was it like growing up?

Rinky Hijikata: My dad's a tennis coach. I grew up in Sydney, Australia. My older brother and sister used to play a little bit. I used to just go down the courts with them and pick up balls for them and started hitting a little bit. And  I really loved to play because I was pretty active as a kid. So, I tried to do everything that I could. I would play any sport. And yes, tennis happened to be the one for me. .

Tennis Acumen: Excellent. And did anyone tell you how hard it was going to be for? .

Rinky Hijikata: Not right away. When you pick up a racket, when you're five, six years old, then you're just playing for the fun of it. You know, your career was never really in mind. So, I was just trying to have fun. And then maybe a bit later on, people were telling me, it's not going to be easy, but it's something that I really wanted to do. And I'm happy that I'm out here playing. .

Tennis Acumen: Are there any other sports that you played growing up? .

Rinky Hijikata: Well, I did whatever I could. I played rugby, surfing, lifesaving at the beach, whatever I could do. I just loved being active and getting out there and playing sport.

Tennis Acumen: Your parents wanted to get you out of the house because you were bouncing off the walls. .

Rinky Hijikata: Yes, the longer I was out of the house, the better.

(This exclusive interview has generated seven ‘quick read’ excerpts, to be posted at tennisacumen.com over time.)

Aleks Vukic: A Life Outside of Tennis

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed Australian Aleks Vukic at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: So, Aleks, when you have free time, how do you entertain yourself or feed yourself? On tour and off? you do a lot of reading, listen to music?

Aleks Vukic: At home in Australia, I'll just go out with mates, have dinner, see a different friend each day. When I'm on tour, it's a bit different. Depends on which one of my mates is out on tour that week. We’ll go and grab dinner. Then, I'll have some alone time towards the end of the day. I enjoy alone time. Surf some stuff on the internet and go to bed and do it again. My life is not entertaining when it comes to that. I really enjoy the simple things.

 

Tennis Acumen: How about music and TV shows?

Aleks Vukic: I like softer EDM (electronic dance music). Hayden James or something like that (Hayden James is an Australian DJ, songwriter and record producer from Sydney, Australia.) I like Aussie artists and more low-key music. I always look forward to Spotify when new music comes out, always try and give it a listen. I love music. I think it's a similar to food where it's like every day feeling something a little different. I listen to like Mumford and Sons some days, and it just depends on the mood.

 

Tennis Acumen: Favorite foods?

Aleks Vukic: When I go back home, my mom makes an unbelievable Spaghetti Bolognese, so I love that dish. I love pastas. I like a good burger as well.

 

Tennis Acumen: Now, if you're sitting at home and friends are coming over, what would you cook? What's your ‘go to’ meal?

Aleks Vukic: I'm not a great cook, so I probably wouldn't cook anything. I would. I probably just order pizza, to be honest, just straight up.

 

More of this exclusive interview is available at Tennis Acumen. Go to the interviews category, shown on the upper right hand side of the screen.

Tags: aleks.vukic, Vuki_SMASH23

Evan King: A Life Outside of Tennis

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American Evan King at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Photo credit: Behind the Racket

Tennis Acumen: You're obviously focused on tennis. I mean, you have to be obsessed and half crazy.

Evan King: Yeah. Full crazy

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Other interests? Food, fashion, music, art?

Evan King: I would just go back to the music, the battle rap. That's what I go back to. I would say that would be my hobby when I'm off the court. I'm watching for new battles. I follow a couple of professional battlers. I have been to a couple of events.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Seriously. That's great. There's another passion.

Evan King: Yeah, exactly.

Tennis Acumen: And somebody else has to do the work. That is always good.

Evan King: And I just take it in and enjoy all of what they're putting into the universe. I think when I'm done competing, I want to stay in tennis or in athletics in general. I had a lot of fun in college tennis. I think I do want to be a college coach when I'm done playing.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Given consideration to announcing or broadcasting?

Evan King: Yes and no. I think I could be OK at it. I enjoy the sport. I think I can articulate what I'm trying to say. I think that could be OK. I know a fair amount of the people playing. I think that's a good thing. No, I'm definitely into the sport. I don't think my status as a tennis player would make the transition that easy. You look at Tennis Channel and you look at ESPN, they're all former world number ones, all that kind of energy. Yeah, I need to get my name bigger to really have that be a legitimate option for me. But I think I would have fun with it. Whatever it is, I'll stay in athletics. So that's where my passion is. That's what I enjoy.

Tennis Acumen: So, supporting people that have the same passion, perhaps helping them avoid some of the mistakes you made? Yeah, I understand that.

Evan King: Because through juniors through college, into the professional ranks, you need help to jump the hurdles I wasn't able to.

 

More of this exclusive interview is available at Tennis Acumen. Go to the interviews category, shown on the upper right hand side of the screen.

Tags: @EvanKingChicago

J. J. Wolf: A Life outside of Tennis

In 2021, Tennis Acumen interviewed American J. J. Wolf at the Champaign Challenger tournament. Here is a part of that conversation:

Tennis Acumen: Passions outside of tennis: what do you do to expand your horizons and get entertainment?

J. J. Wolf: I do a lot of outdoor activities, go for a lot of hikes, a lot of stuff in the water, fly fishing, things like that. Shoot some guns once in a while. I really, really enjoy doing that, just getting on the range and letting loose. Basically, I like to get outside and experience the world.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: Now, did you do that growing up?

J. J. Wolf: Yeah, yeah. We’d go camping, that sort of thing. Tent camping. I never had a motor home or anything like that, but I think that could be fun. At some point, there’s a Jeep that I want to get. I've seen these things you can put on the top that unfold into an actual tent on top of your car, which is pretty cool. My girlfriend really loves outdoor activities too, so we'll go for a trip when we can.

Tennis Acumen: Just an aside, Brenda and I got a motorhome seven, eight years ago.

J. J. Wolf: Awesome, you like it?

Tennis Acumen:. Yeah, it's twenty four feet. It's great for two people, and we absolutely love it. We went up to Laver Cup a few weeks back.  We parked our motorhome in Salem, about half an hour north of Boston, right on the harbor. We wake up in the morning looking at the boats going by, the seagulls. We absolutely fell in love with that. And we can follow the tour as well. Some of our trips have been great, like Laver Cup. Camp somewhere nearby, Uber into the tournament, get a hotel for the weekend. If you like the outdoors and you also like the comforts of home, it's a good idea.

J. J. Wolf: Definitely.

 

 

Tennis Acumen: You travel a lot, J.J. How do you manage it, going from the seafood in New England to barbecue in Texas to European or Asian food, how do you manage when the food's not always predictable?

J. J. Wolf: I'm not very picky at all, so I can find food I like just about anywhere. I haven’t played a full year on tour yet with everything that's happened. Once I have played a couple of years, I know I will find the spots I like at different tournaments and go from there.

Tennis Acumen: So at home, people are coming over for dinner. What's your ‘go to’ dish if you're cooking?

J. J. Wolf: Well, that's a tough one. If I'm cooking, there's not a lot of options, to be honest, but I could always throw some steaks on the grill. That's probably what I'd do. Steak and potatoes.

 

More of this exclusive interview is available at Tennis Acumen. Go to the interviews category, shown on the upper right hand side of the screen.

Tags: @jjwolf5

Lloyd Harris in 269

PETE ZIEBRON

Twenty-nine months ago I watched Lloyd Harris lose in the first round on the brand new ATP Phoenix Challenger at the Phoenix Country Club.  The South African was ranked 92nd and went out  6-3 4-6 4-6 to American Ryan Harrison, ranked 104th.  The match did not stand out in any manner, as several other players were in Phoenix, namely: David Goffin, Ernests Gulbis, Jeremy Chardy, Casper Ruud, Dan Evans and eventual Champion Matteo Berrettini.

Yesterday, Harris stunned Rafael Nadal in the 3rd round of the Washington 500 to improve to 17-14 in 2021 and 49-47 in his career.  The 50th ranked Harris has recorded wins this year over: Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Denis Shapovalov, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov and Gael Monfils.  However, he also lost to: #423 Adrian Andreev and #192 Mackenzie McDonald.

Lloyd  Harris in the Lexington Challenger, 2017 (photo by Karl Corbett)

Harris has a 7-11 career record at majors, reaching the 3rd round of this year's Australian Open, as well as a 2-4 mark at Masters 1000 events.

Entering Washington, Harris lost 4 of his last 5 matches, with the lone win coming in the 1st round at Wimbledon.  This week in Washington, the South African received a first round bye as he is the tournament's 14th seed.  In his opening match, Tennys Sandgren retired in the second set and Harris advanced with a 604 1-0 RET result to then meet Nadal in the 3rd round.  

Next up is Nishikori, whom he defeated in the quarterfinals this year in Dubai 6-1 3-6 6-3.  Harris eventually reached the final, losing to Aslan Karatsev.  Denis Kudla or Mackenzie McDonald will await the winner in the Washington semifinals.

 

 

 

Alexandr Dolgopolov Retires

PETE ZIEBRON

 

Alexandr Dolgopolov retired from the ATP Tour today.  His game was always fun to watch and he provided a few memorable moments that I will share with you here.

In 2011 on the old Court #2 at Indian Wells, Dolgopolov was playing Juan Martin del Potro.  The Argentine would win a tightly contested match 7-6(3) 6-3 but what made this memorable for me as well as the nearly capacity crowd was what happened on Dolgopolov's serve in the middle of the opening set.  The Ukrainian served three consecutive lets.  After the third, he just started laughing uncontrollably.  A fun moment in an otherwise tense match.

Jim Courier joined John McEnroe in the booth for one of Dolgopolov's matches at the US Open.  The Dolgopolov service motion has always looked effortless as he simply snaps into action, tosses the ball and fires away, time and time and time again with little to no variation in the technique.  Courier accurately described this motion as looking like a "jack-in-the-box" and McEnroe laughed hysterically.  Two points later, McEnroe just uttered "jack-in-the-box" and continued laughing.  Jim Courier absolutely nailed it, he certainly looks like a jack-in-the-box on every service motion.  Too bad we will no longer see it on tour.

In 2017, Kevin Anderson arrived in Cincinnati having won 10 of his last 13 matches and playing solid tennis.  Two weeks later, he would reach the US Open final, falling to Rafael Nadal.  However, at the Western & Southern Open, he played Dolgopolov on sunken Court 9 in the opening round.  My vantage point for the entire match was front row directly behind the server on the end opposite Center Court.  Dolgopolov withstood 24 aces from the South African, did not hit a double fault and also did not allow any break point opportunities en route to an impressive 6-4 7-6(6) victory.

Sam Querrey was asked in press in Cincinnati in 2010 about his next opponent, Dolgopolov.  Querry attempted a few times to pronounce his surname, unsuccessfully.  Doll-gop-a-lov, then Dole-ga-pawl-ov.  Several broadcasters stumbled over the pronunciation over the years.

Somewhat surprisingly, Dolgopolov has only been requested for press conferences 16 times in his career.  One was in 2015 in Cincinnati following a 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2 loss in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic.  En route to the semis, the Ukrainian came through qualifying and defeated: Bernie Tomic, Jerzy Janowicz, and Tomas Berdych in the main draw.  Dolgopolov actually had the match on his racquet in the second set tiebreaker.

My favorite portion of the presser following the match was about his clothing line:

Q. The design on your shirt looks like the Ukrainian flag. Is that intentional?
ALEXANDR DOLGOPOLOV: Yeah, that's the Dog Collection, actually, so made a little bit with the colors of Ukraine. It's quite nice from home to do that, and I'm happy with it.

The Dog Collection.

Dolgopolov won 3 singles titles: Umag in 2011, Washington in 2012 and Buenos Aires in 2017.  In addition he won the doubles title at Indian Wells with Xavier Malisse in 2011.  His career record in singles on the ATP Tour is 221- 201.

Alexandr "The Jack-in-the-Box" Dolgopolov will be missed!

 

 

 

Dennis Ralston, 6 Time Davis Cup Champion - Player, Coach & Captain

PETE ZIEBRON

As host of The Dennis Ralston Show in 2017 and 2018, I had the unique opportunity to discuss the current status of tennis as well as ask questions regarding stories from the past with Dennis Ralston.  These stories included his playing days as well as coaching Davis Cup teams and Chris Evert, Gabriela Sabatini, Yannick Noah and Roscoe Tanner.

Today, in Austin, Texas at age 78, Dennis departed the earth to be with the Lord.

Dennis won five major doubles titles in his storied career and reached the Wimbledon singles final in 1966.  

My favorite segment of The Dennis Ralston Show was when I was able to ask questions in the "Dennis Remembers" portion.  Winning the Davis Cup as a player in 1963 was certainly a career highlight and achievement, however the best stories came from 1968-1972.  During these first four years, Ralston led the United States to four consecutive Davis Cup triumphs as the Coach of the squad.  The following year, Ralston served as Captain and the USA won yet again, for the fifth straight year.

Ironically, my late Father, who attended one of Nick Bollettieri's first tennis camps in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1969, was on hand to watch the United States win the Davis Cup Finals in Cleveland in both 1969 and 1970.  Several times in my younger years, I would hear these stories of when Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith defeated Ion Tiriac and Illie Nastase of Romania in 1969 as well as when Ashe and Cliff Richey defeated West Germany in 1970.

Dennis, I am so glad and honored to have hosted your tennis show not long ago.  Rest in Peace.

 

Sofia Kenin: When Nobody is Watching

 

It happened back in 2017, on  Tennis Acumen’s annual pilgrimage to Surprise, AZ for the Women's ITF $25K tournament.  In years past, we had seen Jo Konta, Monica Puig and Catherine Bellis in action.  In 2017, we went to see 2016 Wimbledon Junior Champion Anastasia Potapova. 

As we were watching Potapova play in Surprise, several other matches were taking place.  One match in particular caught our attention: Sofia Kenin in action.  With thirty people watching the Potapova match, there was not a soul watching Kenin.  During the Potapova match, we did make the short walk, two courts over, to watch some of Kenin's match, but… like everyone else, we wanted to watch the Junior Wimbledon Champion play that day.

Fast forward to 2019: Kenin won her first WTA title in Hobart without dropping a set.  In March, Kenin would reach the Acapulco final, defeating Victoria Azarenka and Bianca Andreescu in the process.

Sofia Kenin would then stun the tennis establishment with a 6-2 7-5 victory over Serena Williams in the 3rd round at Roland Garros. Kenin also beat Belinda Bencic in a three-set final to win the Mallorca title.  Next, Kenin would reach semifinals in Toronto, where she defeated Ash Barty and in Cincinnati, defeating Naomi Osaka.  Kenin would win her third title of the year in Guangzhou, defeating former US Open Champion Sam Stosur in a three-set final.

Thus, perhaps Sofia Kenin's victory in the 2020 Australian Open was already in the making, when nobody was watching.  In 2019 alone, she defeated Grand Slam Champions: Serena Williams, Ashley Barty, Bianca Andreescu, Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka.

In Melbourne, Kenin dropped just two sets in the fortnight, one to fellow American upstart CoCo Gauff in the opening set of their 4th round match.  After correcting course against Gauff, Kenin lost just three of the next fifteen games and recorded an impressive bagel in the third set of that match.  Against Ash Barty in the semifinals, the Australian world #1 held set points in both sets but it was Kenin who would prevail to march to the final.  The other lost set was the opening set in the final against Garbine Muguruza.  Kenin then went on to win twelve of the next sixteen games to win the title.  

Following the Championship match, Kenin elaborated:   "I knew I had to take my chance. I had to be brave by playing a two-time Grand Slam champion. All respect to her. She played a really tough match. Every point, it was such a battle. A lot of moving. A lot of emotions on court from both sides."

Sofia Kenin entered the Australian Open as the #14 seed in the tournament.  She departs Melbourne as a Major Champion and the world #7 in the new WTA rankings.

Her rise from obscurity has been astonishing. Three years away from a match that nobody wanted to see... to a Grand Slam title in Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pliskova, Yastremska & Venus Williams All Lose Early at 2020 Australian Open

PETE ZIEBRON

Three WTA players that will be watched closely for the first few months of 2020 include Karolina Pliskova, Dayana Yastremska and Venus Williams, pictured below.  Pete Ziebron Images

Karolina Pliskova, who had reached world #1 and usually leads the WTA in aces at the conclusion of the year still has not yet broken through at the majors, the grandest stages in tennis.  The Czech, who reached the semifinals at the Australian Open last year, was defeated in the 3rd round this year in straight sets by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.  Despite saving 13 of 15 break points against, Pliskova managed to break only twice in the ten break opportunities she had on Pavlyuchenkova's serve.

A few weeks before the start of the Australian Open, Pliskova won the title in Brisbane, defeating two-time major Champion Naomi Osaka in the semifinals and 2017 US Open Finalist Madison Keys in the final.  Pliskova herself reached the US Open Final in 2016, losing to Angelique Kerber of Germany.  Despite holding the world number 1 ranking for 8 weeks Pliskova has not yet won a major.  The current world #2 has 16 career titles.

Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska first caught my eye in the 2016 Wimbledon Junior Girls Final, a match she lost to Russian Anastasia Potapova.  In the off-season, Yastremska started to work with new coach Sascha Bajin, a move expected to pay quick dividends.  

This year at the Australian Open, Yastremska took on 2018 Australian Open Champion Caroline Wozniacki, who was appearing in her final professional tournament.  Despite being up breaks in each set, the 19 year-old Ukrainian was unable to prevail and lost 7-5 7-5.  Yastremska won two titles in 2019 is currently ranked 22nd inthe world.

Venus Williams matched up with American upstart Coco Gauff in the first round of the Australian Open.  It would be the second time in three majors that the two would play in the opening round, having met last year at Wimbledon with Gauff prevailing in straight sets.  This match was more of the same as the 15 year-old Gauff won again in straight sets.

Williams has 4 Australian Open Doubles titles and 2 Singles Finals appearances in her career.  

Going forward, Tennis Acumen will continue to monitor the progress and results of Pliskova, Yastremska and Williams for the initial months of 2020.

 

 

 

Denis Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev & Nick Kyrgios Intrigue Heading Into 2020

PETE ZIEBRON

Heading in to 2020, six players in particular intrigue me with respect to what they may be able to accomplish in the new tennis season.

Regarding the ATP, these players are: Denis Shapovalov, Andrey Rublev and Nick Kyrgios.  On the WTA side, they include: Dayana Yastremska, Karolina Pliskova and Venus Williams.

Today, on the last day on this decade, Tennis Acumen will elaborate a bit on the ATP players.

Denis Shapovalov closed 2019 on an absolute tear.  In October he earned his first career ATP title in Stockholm, winning all eight sets en route to hoisting the trophy.  A few weeks later at the ATP Paris Masters 1000, he reached the final, losing to then world #1 Novak Djokovic.  The Canadian defeated #12 Fabio Fognini, #6 Alexander Zverev and #13 Gael Monfils on his way to the final.  

Shapovalov is on my radar primarily since he employed the services of new coach Mikhail Youzhny in August.  His results improved immediately as he went 19-9 with Youzhny compared to 19-19 without him and he enters 2020 as the 15th best player in the world.  

Andrey Rublev also won his first ATP title in October in Moscow.  The young Russian was starting to show signs of kicking down the door a few months earlier in Cincinnati when he defeated Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer on consecutive days to reach the quarterfinals.  Rublev needed to qualify for the main draw in Cincinnati but continued to steady his game throughout the week.  

Following his run in Ohio, Rublev would post notable wins over: #8 Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios at the US Open, former USA Open Champion Marin Cilic in Moscow and over #9 Roberto Bautista Agut in Davis Cup play.  Rublev enters 2020 with a ranking of world #23.

Nick Kyrgios 2019 highlights include two titles.  In February, he won Acapulco where he defeated #2 Rafael Nadal, #9 John Isner and #3 Alexander Zverev.  After going just 5-7 after the win in Mexico, Kyrgios would not start playing well until late July when he would win the Washington 500.  Here, in the nation's capital, he defeated Tsitsipas in the semifinal and Daniil Medvedev in the final.  Medvedev would go on to win 25 of his next 27 matches.  Following his title in Washington, Kyrgios would close the year with just five wins in ten matches.  

Kyrgios has just 50 points to defend until late February and begins 2020 with a world ranking of #30.

 

 

The Match Where Daniil Medvedev Became Daniil Medvedev - The Semifinal Against Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON

 

At age 23, Daniil Medvedev is the hottest player on the ATP Tour.  He is number four in the world. Here is some insight about how he arrived there.

On March 10, 2018, I saw Daniil Medvedev in person for the first time at Indian Wells. He beat Steve Johnson 7-6(0), 6-4.  Following the match, I sent a message to a friend, colleague and former ATP player, asking:

What are your thoughts about Daniil Medvedev’s game? He really impressed me in his match vs. Johnson. He gets everything back. Forehand & backhand strokes resemble Murray’s.

The response I received back was:

I agree with everything you say, Pete. I like him too, but I feel like he needs to add a big weapon to finish points when he has to. He has the ingredients, so it could be any weapon.  He just needs one.

Fast forward to 2019. This year in Cincinnati, I was saw the arrival of "the big weapon" that Medvedev needed - a blistering second serve.  In the semifinal against world #1 and defending Cincinnati champion Novak Djokovic, Medvedev was down a set. Midway through the second set, he decided to change his strategy and go big on his second serve.  From that point onward, Medvedev won 9 of the next 12 games, and won the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Following the match, I asked Medvedev about this tactic.

TA:  Five second-serve aces tonight, looked like you really started going big on the second midway through the second set.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I didn't know it was five. Yeah, as I said on the court, at one moment, I think it was 3-All, 30-All when I did the first time, and I was standing there before my second serve, and I was, like, I'm losing literally. I don't know the percentage I had, but in my opinion I had, like, 20% the second service won. Especially in the crucial moments, he was pushing me.

So I say, If I do one double fault it won't change my life. Same result. But if I put it in, it's maybe going to be an ace, and I actually made a good decision to do it like this.  

Later that day, I asked Djokovic about Medvedev’s change in tactics:

TA:  He started changing his tactics, going bigger midway through the second set. How were you attempting to cope with that at that point?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I thought I played a really good match. Yes, maybe in those games, especially in the third set when I was broken, I could have done a little bit better, but, I mean, when someone serves a 128-miles-per-hour second serve and doesn't make too many double faults and goes for every shot, I mean, you just have to put your hat down and congratulate him.

I mean, he played amazing tennis from 4-3 in the second set. Not much that I could really do. I mean, I tried to return his serve. When I had my racquet on the ball, I was returning his serves, but you can't really prepare yourself for someone serving that big second serve consistently, from 4-3 to the end of the match, with maybe two double faults out of God knows how many serves.

Well done. I mean, he definitely has a lot of confidence. When you have so much confidence, then you allow yourself to go for these kind of shots. I congratulate him. He deserved to win the match.

The Russian arrived in Cincinnati having played consecutive finals the previous two weeks, losing to Nick Kyrgios in the Washington and to Rafael Nadal in Montreal.  The only set he would lose in Cincinnati would be the opening set in his semifinal against Djokovic. After that, he would sweep David Goffin in the final to take his first Master Series title.

Following Cincinnati, Medvedev reached the US Open Final, losing to Nadal in five sets. Nadal broke a 12-match winning streak. Medvedev continued winning titles in St. Petersburg and again at the Shanghai Masters 1000, reaching six consecutive finals.  Medvedev has won 21 of his last 22 matches, as well as 29 of his last 33 matches, losing only to Nadal (twice) and Kyrgios in this span.

Daniil Medvedev is currently 4th in the world in the current ATP rankings, and clearly the hottest player on the tour.

 

Dayana Yastremska - Cincinnati Observations

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)

Arizona Tennis Classic Observations - More Like an ATP 375 Rather Than A Challenger

PETE ZIEBRON in PHOENIX

The Arizona Tennis Classic at The Phoenix Country Club  Pete Ziebron Images

When the draw for the inaugural Arizona Tennis Classic was released on Sunday it looked like something better than an ATP 250 but not quite an ATP 500 - more like an ATP 375, if such a thing existed.  Five ATP top 50 players entered the Main Draw, including world #21 David Goffin, the #1 seed in this ATP Challenger.

Today I arrived on the grounds of the Phoenix Country Club just before 4 PM local time and was able to see one full match and parts of two others.  Poland's Kamil Majchrzak defeated Mikael Ymer of Sweden 7-6(3) 6-3 in 89 minutes on Court 2 to advance to the second round.  Majchrzak was extremely efficient in break point conversions, winning all four on the day.  The twenty year-old Ymer showed flashes of talent in the match but struggled to find his first serve, coming in at just 51% in the match.

Britain's Dan Evans in early round action in Phoenix.  Pete Ziebron Images

The next match on Court 2 featured {Alt} Ernesto Escobedo of the United States against Daniel Evans of Great Britain.  The opening game took ten minutes before the American finally claimed it.  In fact, the Brit looked a bit bewildered at the overall pace of Escobedo's game, particularly his serve.  During the match, Escobedo's coach confirmed to me that his serve tops out near 140 MPH.  Despite falling behind 1-3. Evans broke at love to get back on serve and then took the opening set 6-4 at exactly 6:00 PM local time.  Evans then stated to the umpire that it was too dark to continue and that he "wouldn't even be playing golf in this poor light."  The brit got his wish and the match was suspended due to darkness.

Moving to Center Court, Elias Ymer, older brother of Mikael, faced veteran Czech Lukas Rosol.  The Swede dazzled the crowd with spectacular shot making and took the opening set 6-3.  Next, he was up a break at 3-2 when the heavy rain returned and washed out the remainder of play for the day in Phoenix.

This new ATP 375 tournament, OOPS I mean ATP Challenger, is a nice opportunity for player to get competitive match play following their departure from Indian Wells and prior to Miami.

 

 

ATP #11-15 Enjoying Career High Rankings at the Conclusion of 2018

PETE ZIEBRON

Immediately outside the ATP top ten sit five players that have achieved their career high ranking as 2018 draws to a close. 

11  Karen Khachanov RUS

12  Borna Coric  CRO

13  Fabio Fognini  ITA

14  Kyle Edmund  GBR

15  Stefanos Tsitsipas  GRE

Karen Khachanov won three titles in 2018, including defeating four consecutive top ten players to win the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris.  The twenty-two year old Russian dropped just one set in the tournament and recorded straight set wins over Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic.  In addition to the Paris title, Khachanov also was victorious  at the ATP 250 in Marseille {d. Lucas Pouille} and in Moscow {d. Adrian Mannarino}.  Personally, my most memorable Khachanov match in 2018 was a four set battle with world #1 Rafael Nadal in the 3rd round of the US Open.  The linescore in favor of Nadal read: 5-7 7-5 7-6(7) 7-6(3).

Borna Coric rallied in 2018, defeating world #1 Roger Federer to win the Halle title.  In the opening round in Halle, Coric also beat world #3 Alexander Zverev.  Late in the year, the Croat reached the Final of the ATP Masters 1000in Shanghai losing to Novak Djokovic.  En route to the final, Coric defeated world #4 Juan Martin del Potro and #3 Federer.

Fabio Fognini collected three titles in 2018, winning in: Sao Paulo, Bastad and Los Cabos.  The majority of the players that the Italian beat in 2018 were ranked significantly lower, however he did defeat world #4 Juan Martin del Potro in the Los Cabos final as well as world #8 Dominic Thiem at the Rome Masters.

Kyle Edmund ended 2018 as the ATP world #14.  The Brit won his first career title in Antwerp, defeating Gael Monfils in the Final.  Edmund started the year strong, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, losing to Marin Cilic.  In the quarters, he recorded a victory over world #3 Grigor Dimitrov.  Impressively, the Brit also reached the final in a clay court event, in April in Marrakech.

Young Stefanos Tsitsipas won in Stockholm in October defeating Ernests Gulbnis.  The result served as confirmation to the rest of the ATP field that his march to the Canada Masters was a sign of things to come.  In Canada, the twenty year-old defeated: #8 Dominic Thiem, #10 Novak Djokovic, #3 Alexander Zverev and #6 Kevin Anderson before falling to #1 Rafael Nadal.

The world has been waiting for multiple players to finally challenge the Big Three regularly.  Will 2019 be the year of the breakthough?

 

 

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.

Women's Double Digit Seeds Rule Wimbledon Semifinals

PETE ZIEBRON

Three of the four women's semifinalists have won majors, however all four have double digit seeds this year at The Championships.  Only #13 seed Julia Goerges of Germany has yet to win a major.

The opening semifinal features two-time major winner Angelique Kerber of Germany against 2017 Roland Garros Champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.  Kerber was a Wimbledon Finalist two years ago, when she also collected the Australian Open and US Open titles.  The 11th seed has been flying under the radar this year at Wimbledon, even though she has dropped just one set en route to the semis.

Ostapenko, the #12 seed, reached the quarterfinals last year, immediately after winning Roland Garros.  This year she has yet to drop a set and has also issued two bagel sets in the five matches she has played.  Ironically, Ostapenko and Kerber have not yet met on the WTA Tour.

Serena Willams has won Wimbledon seven times and was awarded the 25th seed by the All England Club.  The American dropped her lone set in the quarterfinals to Camila Giorgi.  Williams has hit 80 winners to just 31 unforced errors in her last two matches.

Making her major semifinal debut is 13th seed Julia Goerges.  The German lost in the 1st round in each of her previous five appearances at Wimbledon.  Last year, she won two titles to close out the year and continued that run with another title in her first tournament of this year.  Goerges has lost all three previous meetings with Williams, including a few months ago at Roland Garros.

Borna Coric Enters Wimbledon With 11-15 Career Mark at Majors

PETE ZIEBRON

Despite the fact that Borna Coric has just one career win at Wimbledon, he shocked the tennis world and Roger Federer in the Halle final last week, prevailing 7-6(6) 3-6 6-2.  The title was the second in the career of the Croat, to go with his triumph last year in Marrakech.

Coric has never won a match at the Australian Open and arrives at Wimbledon with a lone win in three years, a five set victory in his first ever match at the All England Club in 2015 against Sergiy Stakhovsky.  

Borna Coric at the Majors:

0-4  Australian Open

7-4  Roland Garros

1-3  Wimbledon

3-4  US Open

Two years ago in Cincinnati, Coric appeared to be hitting his stride.  He saved a Match Point against Nick Kyrgios, winning a thrilling 2nd round match 7-6(2) 4-6 7-6(6) and then proceeded to annihilate Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-3.   That victory set up an appetizing quarterfinal against countryman Marin Cilic.  Unfortunately, Coric retried from the match after dropping the opening set 2-6.  Cilic would go on to win the Western & Southern Open, while Coric's 2016 campaign came to an end due to injury.

Borna Coric arrives at Wimbledon as the tournament's 16th seed.  He opens his campaign against Russian Daniil Medvedev and could very well have a rematch with Roger Federer in the 3rd round if both men win their initial two matches.

 

 

Daria Gavrilova - Just 5 Wins at Majors Outside of Australia

PETE ZIEBRON

World number 25 Daria Gavrilova of Australia enters 2018 Wimbledon with just a single victory at the All England Club in three years.  In fact, she has won just five matches in ten appearances at the majors that have not been contested in Melbourne.  Two of those five wins occurred last month at Roland Garros.

The 24 year-old Russian born Gavrilova appeared in three finals in 2017 and won the first title of her career in New Haven.  The week prior to New Haven, I attended Gavrilova's 2nd round match in Cincinnati against qualifier Camila Giorgi of Italy.  The Aussie competed well before running out of steam in the final set, losing 6-7(1) 7-5 3-6.  Sitting near Gavrilova's camp, she shared her frustration of not being able to handle the Italian's pace, stating "She just crushes it."

Gavrilova's lone win at Wimbledon came two years ago when she defeated Qiang Wang of China in three sets before falling in straights to Dominika Cibulkova in the next round.  This year, the Aussie is seeded 26th and opens play against Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.  The two have met twice before, both in 2016 and the series is squared at one apiece. 

Should Gavrilova advance, she may play countrywoman Samantha Stosur in the second round.  This would be the fourth time in 2018 that they would meet.  Stosur has won the last two contests and holds a 3-2 lead in their head to head matchups.