Tennis Acumen

Daniil Medvedev Continues Fine Form in 2018

PETE ZIEBRON

Earlier this month, from court side seats at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, I watched Russian upstart Daniil Medvedev dismiss American Steve Johnson in straight sets in the opening round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Medvedev made impactful headlines last year at Wimbledon when he defeated world number three Stan Wawrinka in the opening round.  Earlier in the year, he reached the final in Chennai before falling to Roberto Bautista Agut.  Other notable wins last year were against then world number eleven Grigor Dimitrov in Washington.  The Bulgarian would win the Western & Southern Open a few weeks later in Cincinnati.  Then in Moscow in October, Medvedev defeated yet another world number eleven, this time against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.  These achievements helped cement a place in the ATP Next Gen Finals, where Medvedev would go 2-2, falling to Hyeon Chung in the semifinals.

Medvedev continued his excellent play into this year, as he won the ATP Sydney 250 title as a qualifier.  Following a second round loss last week in Miami, Medvedev is now 11-5 on the year.

Three weeks ago in the match against Johnson, the Russian seemed to hit aces when he needed them and ended up with ten aces in his 76(0) 64 victory.  Probably my biggest takeaway from watching this match was the fact that Medvedev defended exceptionally well and got to every ball.  Personally, I am looking forward to watching the continued upward trajectory of Daniil Medvedev.

 

 

Ash Barty - from World #325 to World #14 in 2017

PETE ZIEBRON

Following more than a one a half year hiatus from the WTA Tour, Ash Barty stormed back into action last July and reached the semifinals in Eastbourne.  Despite reaching three major doubles finals in 2013, Barty decided to try her hand at professional cricket in Australia in 2015

This August in Cincinnati, I asked Barty about this move:  "For me, I just needed to take some time and refresh, be myself a little bit. I wasn't expecting to go into cricket. It just sort of came up for me.  Obviously I'm very happy now, back playing tennis. I'm happy and healthy and playing well."

To open her 2017 campaign and first full season on the WTA Circuit since 2014, Barty took a set from world #1 Angelique Kerber in Brisbane.  Barty continued her good form and defeated two top 50 players in the opening rounds of the Australian Open.

Next, Ash Barty would win her first career WTA title in Kuala Lumpur as she won 14 of 15 sets en route to the title in March.  However, Barty would record a couple of the biggest wins of her career in the summer months.  At Birmingham, she would defeat eventual Wimbledon Champion Garbine Muguruza in the semifinals and Venus Williams in the second round in Cincinnati.

Following her win over Williams, Barty elaborated: "It really is a privilege to be able to share the court with Venus. She's an amazing champion, and how she's still playing so well, still making slam finals is, yeah, it's amazing. To be able to share the court with her and play well today, it was really exciting."

"Oh, I think just massive, massive amounts of confidence. To be able to beat a champion like Venus is just really cool, and I think that, you know, today we played really well and were able to execute on a big stage.

It's never easy playing someone in their home country, and I think for me I didn't really think about that too much today. But no, it was just a privilege for me to be able to share the court with Venus. I can now say I have played both Venus and Serena, which I think is pretty cool in a career in itself."

Later in 2017, Barty would reach the final in Wuhan.  She would defeat Karolina Pliskova, who would reach world #1 in 2017, in the quarterfinals and 2017 Roland Garros Champion Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals.

Ash Barty also reach the Roland Garros doubles final with partner Casey Dellacqua - the pair have now reached all four major finals in doubles.

Barty closes 2017 as world #14 - she started the year at #325.  

 

 

Simona Halep Closes in on World #1 Ranking in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Simona Halep in action at the Western & Southern Open.  Photo Courtesy: Christopher Johnson, Grand Slam Magazine

Simona Halep was within two points of becoming world #1 last month.  On Saturday, she put herself in position to reach the WTA pole position with a 6-2 6-1 win over Wild Card American Sloane Stephens at the Western & Southern Open.  The Romanian plays 2017 Wimbledon Champion Garbine Muguruza for the Cincinnati title and if she wins, will become the 24th player to reach #1 in the women's game.

Halep needed just 55 minutes to defeat Stephens, who was playing in just her fourth tournament following foot surgery.  The relentless play by the current world #2 snuffed out any efforts by Stephens to get into the match as she won 34 of the last 32 points in sweeping the last five games of the match.

The Romanian headed into this semifinal as the only player yet to drop a set at the Western & Southern Open.  Although Stephens held serve to open the match, Halep also held and then proceeded to win the next four games as well to take a commanding 5-1 lead.  Following a Stephens hold, Halep closed out the set to win it 6-2.

Just as she did to open the match, Stephens held serve to begin the second set.  However it would be the last game that she would win as Halep steamrolled the rest of the way, winning 25 of the last 33 points in the final 5 games of the second set.

Halep attributed her sound play against Stephens to the fact that she played so well the day before in her win over Jo Konta:  "I think the match from yesterday gave me a lot of confidence, and since yesterday I started to feel the game, to feel like I can hit the ball.

So today was much better.  I moved very well today.  I just feel good.  That's maybe why I can play.  I have no pressure."

Regarding the Final against Muguruza, I asked Halep to elaborate on her game plan for the match: "If I stay with my plan, I have a better chance.  That's why I don't change anything for tomorrow (Sunday).  Just going the same like these days.

I know that she has a lot of confidence coming with title from Wimbledon, so she's favorite, in my opinion.  She's hitting the ball strong, but I already had two matches so I know how it's gonna come, the ball.  But still, I just want to do the same and not thinking about the result.  I just want to go there and enjoy moment."

With the Cincinnati title, Halep would become the new world #1.  A win would also be her 40th of the season and since Indian Wells, the Romanian has reached the quarterfinals or better in her last 10 tournaments.  The final will be played on Center Court beginning at 2 PM local time in Cincinnati.

 

 

Rublev, Ferrer & Isner Win Titles

PETE ZIEBRON

Lucky loser Andrey Rublev won the first title of his career on Sunday, while veteran Spaniard David Ferrer won for the first time in two years and John Isner took advantage of a weak field to win on grass for the third time in Newport.

Despite losing in the second round of qualifying in Umag, young Russian Andrey Rublev dropped just one set in the main draw, winning the ATP Umag 250.  World #174 Atilla Balazs of Hungary defeated Rublev in straight sets, however the 19 year-old from Moscow entered the main draw when Borna Coric withdrew due to neck pain.  Despite losing the first set in his quarterfinal match against Fabio Fognini, Rublev then won the next six consecutive sets he played and defeated Paolo Lorenzi in the final.  Today, Rublev rocketed up the ATP rankings 25 places to world #49.  As a result of his efforts in Umag, Rublev was granted a Special Exception into the main draw of the ATP 500 this week in Hamburg.  His first round opponent is German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

David Ferrer had won just four of his last nine matches heading into the ATP 250 last week in Bastad.  The 35 year-old Valencia native had to feel very good about his chances in the semi-finals against fellow Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, a player he defeated win consecutive times entering the match.  At world #39, Verdasco would be the highest ranked opponent by far that Ferrer would have to face but that mattered little to Ferrer.  Following his win over Verdasco, Ferrer defeated tricky Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets to win his 27th career title.

American John Isner had perhaps the easiest route to an ATP title in history in Newport.  Isner beat a pair of Americans and a pair of Aussies in winning the title.  The rankings of his opponents are as follows:  #201 Sam Groth {AUS}, #203 Denis Novikov {USA}, #142 Bjorn Fratangelo {USA} & in the Final, Qualifier #249 Matt Ebden {AUS}.  The win was Isner's 11 title of his career.

Jerzy Janowicz Notches Two Wins on Grass in Stuttgart

PETE ZIEBRON

An ecstatic Jerzy Janowicz celebrates a victory.  Pete Ziebron Images

Four years ago, Jerzy Janowicz reached the Wimbledon semifinals and was up a set and a break on eventual Champion Andy Murray.  Since this time, the Pole has reached two ATP Finals however has not achieved what he and many others have expected.

Last week in Stuttgart, Janowicz played well in reaching the quarterfinals.  Prior to losing to Benoit Paire, Janowicz defeated world #12 Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.  The two victories in Germany gave the Pole three wins for the year, a marked improvement after not winning a match in three attempts last year on the ATP Tour.

Janowicz did manage to take a set from US Open Finalist and then world number one Novak Djokovic in the first round of the US Open last August.  Additionally, he came close to defeating Gilles Muller in his opening match at the Rio Olympic Games, losing a heartbreak of a tiebreaker at 12-10 in the third set.  Janowicz did manage to win the clay court Genoa Challenger last September, defeating Nicolas Almagro in the Final.

In November of 2012, Janowicz reached the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 Final, losing to David Ferrer.  In that event, he defeated then world #3 Andy Murray and then world #9 Janko Tipsarevic.  Following the Final, Janowicz had this to say: "Maybe one day I will become top‑10 player in the world."

Following his loss in the 2013 Wimbledon semifinal, Janowicz stated: "I'm still quite young player.  I have a lot of time.  I will just keep on practicing and I hope I will have a chance to be in the semifinal of Wimbledon again."

Today Jerzy Janowicz is 26 years of age.  Last week on the ATP Tour 39 year-old Tommy Haas defeated Roger Federer and 38 year-old Ivo Karlovic reached the Final in Den Bosch.  There is still plenty of time for Janowicz to find the winning formula that works for him at Paris Bercy in 2012 and again at Wimbledon four years ago.  His effort last week in Stuttgart will certainly cause the tennis world to be on alert as Janowicz will attempt to replicate his fantastic run on grass once again this year at Wimbledon.

 

 

American Men Continue to Stay Away From April Clay Tennis Tournaments in Europe

PETE ZIEBRON

This week at the ATP Barcelona 500 tournament, not a single man from the United States of America will be playing the event.  Last week, Ryan Harrison was the lone American man to make the trip across the Atlantic Ocean to play tennis at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000 tournament.

Despite the fact that Roland Garros will get underway, the overwhelming majority of American men tend to feel like playing the US Clay Court Championships at the ATP 250 in Houston the week prior to Monte-Carlo rather than playing in Monaco and / or Barcelona will be more than sufficient work.  Yes, there still remain two Masters 1000 events in Rome and Madrid prior to the second major of the year, however when one questions the results of American men at Roland Garros, these two paragraphs speak volumes with respect to the answer to any such inquiries.

Five years ago, Tennis Acumen pointed out the lack of American participation in Monte-Carlo and here is an update to the roll call:

Americans playing the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 1000 since 2004:

• 2004    zero
• 2005    Vince Spadea
• 2006    zero
• 2007    zero
• 2008    Sam Querrey
• 2009    zero
• 2010    zero
• 2011    zero
• 2012    Donald Young
• 2013    John Isner  {WC}
• 2014
• 2015    John Isner, Steve Johnson, Dennis Kudla {Q}
• 2016
• 2017    Ryan Harrison

 

Getting back to ATP tennis this week being played in Barcelona:  the only American to ever win the title in Barcelona was Todd Martin in 1998.

 

 

 

 

STRANGLEHOLD - Big 4 has won 93 of the last 109 Masters 1000 Events

PETE ZIEBRON

On Sunday, Roger Federer will play Rafael Nadal for the Miami Masters title. Whomever wins will add yet another tally to the haul of the Big Four at the ATP Masters 1000 events.

Marin Cilic was the last non-Big Four man to win a Masters title when he was victorious in Cincinnati last August. Prior to that win, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga needed to defeat Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer to win in Toronto in 2014.

The upper echelon of the ATP has absolutely dominated the Masters 1000s since 2005.

2017 2/2
2016 8/9
2015 9/9
2014 7/9
2013 9/9
2012 8/9
2011 9/9
2010 6/9
2009 8/9
2008 7/9
2007 7/9
2006 6/9
2005 8/9

 

Tempe $75K Challenger: Arizona's 1st Men's Pro Tennis Tournament Since 2005

PETE ZIEBRON in TEMPE

Tournament Director Gary Nees and Arizona Sports & Entertainment Chief Executive Officer Alan Young have been on-site from start to finish on the opening days of the tournament.  Charles Gabrean Photography

A little more than a month ago, the USTA Southwest Section sent out a tweet announcing the fact that men's professional tennis would return to Arizona in February.  The drought would finally be over for tennis fans in the Grand Canyon State - the last men's tournament departed following play in 2005 for Las Vegas.

Since that time, the Goldwater Women's Classic was held at the Phoenix Country Club from 2009-2012 and the Surprise Women's Tennis Classic has been played in the West Valley since 2008. 

Nicolas Jarry of Chile powers his way to the final round of qualifying.  Charles Gabrean Photography

Yesterday, play got underway at the Whiteman Tennis Center on the camps of Arizona State University.  The $75K Challenger features young American upstart Ernesto Escobedo as the #1 seed and 2014 Wimbledon doubles Champion Vasek Pospisil as the #4 seed in singles.

The plan will be to grow the tournament going forward.  Despite a very late start in getting the event on the ATP calendar, the first two days of qualifying have run smoothly.  Tennis aficionados in Phoenix have shown up to support the event over the weekend and larger numbers of spectators are expected throughout the week as the main draw gets underway.

The final round of qualifying gets underway tomorrow at 10 AM, followed by the opening round of the main draw at the Whiteman Tennis Center.

 

 

Borna Coric Looking to Rebound in 2017

PETE ZIEBRON

Last August at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, I watched in awe as then 19 year-old Borna Coric of Croatia saved Match Point to defeat Nick Kyrgios, then thrashed Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-3 in 72 minutes the following day.  The convincing win over Nadal  four and a half months ago would be the last victory Coric has enjoyed to date.

The following day after defeating the Spaniard to advance to the Cincy quarterfinals, Coric retired after losing the opening set 2-6 to eventual Champion and countryman Marin Cilic.  Still not feeling 100%, Coric retired yet again in the opening set of his US Open encounter against Feliciano Lopez after just 7 games.  Then Coric lost to Richard Gasquet in the Davis Cup semifinals a week later before shutting down his 2016 campaign.

The quarterfinal against Cilic was highly anticipated as Coric was playing with considerable confidence, especially after surviving a barrage of aces from Nick Kyrgios and then defeating Nadal with surprisingly considerable ease. 

Just 47 days ago, Borna Coric turned 20 years old, yet it seems like he has been on the ATP Tour for a long time.  This week, Coric is the #6 seed in the Chennai Open where he will face a qualifier to begin his 2017 season.

Coric also played quite well in Cincinnati in 2015.  In his opening match, he played qualifier Alexander Zverev of Germany.  The enthusiastic crowd on Grandstand Court appreciated the opportunity to watch two of the ATP Young Guns in action and the match did not disappoint.  Coric saved a Match Point late in the third set and defeated Zverev 7-5 3-6 7-6(5) in 2 hours and 45 minutes.  Next, Coric nearly defeated world #5 Stan Wawrinka before falling 6-3 6-7(3) 3-6.

Borna Coric enters 2017 ranked 48th in the world.  He will attempt to win his first career title this year as well as surpass his career high of world #33 that he achieved in July 2015.

 

2nd Annual CopperWynd Women's Pro Challenge Underway in Scottsdale

PETE ZIEBRON

Defending Champion Samantha Crawford is back in action this week as the #2 seed at the $50K ITF CopperWynd Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Last year, Crawford defeated Swiss Viktorija Golubic to win the innagural event at the gorgeous resort that straddles the border of Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, Arizona.

Crawford parlayed her fine form in the desert to a stunning run to the quarterfinals in Brisbane, Australia two months later.  The upstart American stormed through the qualifying draw, then defeated world #14 Belinda Bencic in straight sets in the round of 16 and then crushed world #24 Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-0 to reach the semifinals where she would fall to Victoria Azarenka.

Victoria Golubic also played inspired tennis in 2016 as she won her first WTA title in July, defeating world #26 Kiki Bertens to win in Gstaad.  Last month, Golubic reached the final in Linz and lost to eventual WTA Finals Champion Dominika Cibulkova 3-6 5-7 in a very well played match.  Golubic is currently world #53.

The #1 seed at the 2016 CopperWynd Women's Pro Challenge is American Nicole Gibbs.  Last year, Gibbs fell in the 2nd round to eventual semifinalist Robin Anderson.  Earlier this year, Gibbs cruised through the qualifying rounds at Indian Wells and proceeded to defeat then world #24 Madison Keys 6-3 6-3 and ultimately reached the quarterfinals, falling to Petra Kvitova 6-4 3-6 4-6.  Gibbs would also record a win over world #29 Kristina Mladenovic the following week in Miami.

The year, the CopperWynd Women's Pro Challenge is working with ACEing Autism, whose impressive Mission Statement reads: Our mission is to connect children with autism through unique tennis programs, and to develop and advance proven methods to positively impact the children, families and communities we serve.

Main Draw action gets underway on Tuesday, November 1.

 

Cincinnati 2016 Best Performances & Reflections

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI from August 12 to August 20

Grigor Dimitrov in action at the Western & Southern Open.  Photo Credit: Christopher Johnson www.GrandSlamMagazine.com

The Western & Southern Open held each year in the northern Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio is my favorite tennis tournament of the year.  The 2016 edition was my eighth consecutive year covering the event.

Arriving on the opening day of qualifying and staying through the conclusion of the semifinals eight days later allowed me to enjoy fantastic vantage points both on the courts and well as in the press conferences.  The following are observations of the peak performances of both the better known players as well as some that were not necessarily on the radar of the majority of tennis aficionados around the world.

Top Performances:

Marin Cilic

d. Viktor Troicki 63 64

d. Fernando Verdasco 63 61

d. #6 Tomas Berdych 63 46 64

d. Borna Coric 62 RET

d. Grigor Dimitrov 46 63 75

d. #1 Andy Murray  64 75

2016 Cincinnati Champion Marin Cilic.  Photo Credit: Christopher Johnson  www.GrandSlamMagazine.com

In his 71st Masters 1000 tournament, the towering Croat finally won his very first title.  Despite the fact that Cilic won the 2014 US Open, he never before reached even the semifinals in the Masters Series events despite eight previous trips to the quarterfinals.

In one of the best matches of the tournament, Cilic defeated #6 seed Tomas Berdych in the round of 16.  Following his win in the next round against Borna Coric, I said to Cilic in press that I felt that his tennis in the match against Berdych resembled the form he showed in the 2nd week of his run to the US Open crown two years ago.  Cilic agreed, stating "(For) the first set and a half, I played maybe the best ever."

Cilic would go on to defeat Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals in a match that lasted until 1:40 AM on Championship Sunday morning due to long rain delays in the evening and night.  Next, Cilic would also top Rio Gold Medalist and Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray in the Final.  The victory ended Murray's 22-match winning streak.

Karolina Pliskova

1st round BYE

d. Jelena Ostapenko 64 61

d. (LL) Misaki Doi  75 63

d. #7 Svetlana Kuznetsova 63 46 62

d. #4 Garbine Muguruza  61 63

d. #2 Angelique Kerber 63 61

2016 Cincinnati Champion Karolina Pliskova.  Pete Ziebron Images

Karolina Pliskova leads the WTA in aces and she brought her big game to the Western & Southern Open.  Pliskova elected not to go to Rio and play in the Olympic Games, choosing instead to rest with the opportunity to play her best tennis on the North American hard courts. "Last year I played a lot of tournaments, and in the end of the US Open I felt really tired.  I just want to prepare for the big tournaments better than I did last year."

As a result of her strategy, Pliskova dropped just one set in the tournament and won the biggest title of her career.  Three consecutive wins against top 10 players in Cincinnati proved that she indeed made the correct decision with respect to opting out of the Olympic Games.  Her semifinal win over Halep ended the Romanian's 13 match winning streak.  Next, Pliskova defeated Rio Silver Medalist and 2016 Australian Open Champion Angelique Kerber.  With the win, Karolina Pliskova reaches a career high of #11 in the world, just 55 points behind #10 Svetlana Kuznetsova.  Concurrently, Pliskova sits in 9th place on the Road to Singapore.

Grigor Dimitrov

d. Gilles Simon 61 63

d. #16 Feliciano Lopez 57 63 76(3)

d. #2 Stan Wawrinka 64 64

d. Steve Johnson 76(8) 62

l. #12 Marin Cilic 64 36 57

Grigor Dimitrov reached the Western & Southern semifinals.  Photo Credit: Christopher Johnson  www.GrandSlamMagazine.com

Since bringing on new coach Danny Vallverdu, Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Toronto, losing to finalist Kei Nishikori and the semifinals in Cincinnati, losing to eventual Champion Marin Cilic.  Prior to Canada, the Bulgarian's ranking was #40 in the world.  Due to his resurgence, he has climbed to world #24.  

The impressive win over 2-time major Champion Stan Wawrinka in the round of 16 made a statement to the rest of the ATP field that Dimitrov was indeed starting to get back on track and find concurrently finding the game that led him to the career high #8 ranking that he enjoyed two years ago.

Varvara Flink

Qualifying

d. #22 Cagla Buyukakcay 64 61

d. #1 Misaki Doi  06 76(5) 64

Main Draw

l.  (Q) Alison Riske  46 67(6)

Varvara Flink won 2 qualifying matches on the same day in Cincinnati.  Pete Ziebron Images

Varvara Flink received a Wild Card into the qualifying draw and certainly made good on the decision to grant a spot in the draw to the 19-year old Russian who entered the tournament ranked #360.  Due to excessive rain on the opening day of qualifying, Flink would have to play both qualifying matches the next day if she were to win her opening match against world #69 Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey.  

Link started well in the match and closed even better, dropping just a single game in the second set to advance.  Next up was the world #38 Misaki Doi of Japan, who just missed out on a place in the Main Draw.  Despite being blanked in the opening set and falling behind 2-5 in the second set, Flink successfully won all 3 service games when she served to stay in the match and broke Doi twice in the third set to stun the Japanese.

Next up for Flink was American Alsion Riske, ranked #69 in the world.  After dropping the first set to Riske, Flink held a 5-0 lead in the 2nd set tiebreaker, as well as a set point at 6-5 but was not able to clinch the set and fell to Riske in the opening round of the Main Draw.  Nonetheless, Flink played inspired tennis in this match and especially so in her two wins in qualifying.

Yuichi Sugita

Qualifying

d. #2 Guido Pella  61 57 75

d. Kyle Edmund  64 63

Main Draw

d. Alexander Zverev  67(4) 64 62

d. Nicolas Mahut 63 75

l. #4 Milos Raonic  16 63 16

Yuchi Sugita won 2 Main Draw matches on the same day in Cincinnati.  Photo Credit: Christopher Johnson  www.GrandSlamMagazine.com

Yuichi Sugita came to Cincinnati after an opening round win in the Rio Games over American Brian Baker.  Prior to Rio, he dropped a very close 3-set match to Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round of the Toronto Masters 1000.  After taking out the #2 seed in qualifying Guido Pella, he recorded yet another impressive win over Kyle Edmund.

Due to the massive rain in Cincinnati, The winner of the Sugita-Zverev match would need to play two Main Draw matches in one day to make sure that tournament schedule would remain intact.  I must admit, I attended Sugita's match against Zverev to watch the young German and hoped to be able to see him again later that night.  However, Sugita had other ideas.  After getting hooked on a call very late in the 3rd set on tiny Court 4, the opening set went to a tiebreaker that Zverev won.  The Japanese continued to play well while Zverev lost his cool on several occasions.  As a result, Sugita would earn the victory and the right to play again, where he would defeat Frenchman Nicolas Mahout in straight sets.

Next up was Wimbledon Finalist Milos Raonic.  Following the opening set where Raonic displayed his massive serving in the 140-145 MPH range en route to a 61 first set win, Sugita turned the tables on Raonic and stole the second set on Grandstand to level the match.  Raonic promptly corrected course and rolled to another 61 set win to advance.  With his appearance in the 3rd round, Yuichi Sugita reached a career high of 383 in the world.

Thiago Monteiro

Qualifying

d. #14 Ivan Dodig  76(3) 63

l. #1 Jiri Vesely  67(5) 61 46

Thiago Monteiro continues to rise quickly up the ATP rankings.  Pete Ziebron Images

Thiago Monteiro of Brazil started 2016 with a ranking of world #463.  Throughout the year, he steadily climbed the ATP rankings mostly by winning several Challenger matches and currently sits inside the top 100 with a ranking of #99.  Most notably this year, he recorded wins over Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Rio 500 in February, over Julien Bennetteau at the Provence Challenger in May and most recently over Gilles Simon at the Gstaad 250 just last month.

Admittedly, Montiero was not on my radar as far as up and coming talent on the ATP Tour.  On the opening day of qualifying a fan shared with me that he was very impressed with Monteiro's game and suggested and encouraged me to watch him play.  That piece of advice was spot on as I watched a spirited Brazilian win the 2nd set against Jiri Vesely 61.  Vesely defeated world #1 Novak Djokovic at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April and his n=big game is a threat to all in the the ATP.

My biggest takeaway about Monteiro's game is his endless energy.  The 22-year old Brazilian reminds me of Lleyton Hewitt, especially since he runs everything down and plays each and every point all out.  Going forward, I will make it a point to attend Thiago Monteiro's matches whenever possible and will certainly keep an eye on his continued upward trajectory in the ATP rankings.

Donna Vekic

Qualifying

d. #11 Varvara Lepchenko  76(6) 76(4)

d. Mariana Duque-Marino  61 76(2)

Main Draw

d. Ana Ivanovic  64 62

l. #10 Johanna Konta 62 63

Donna Vekic after the Match Point she won to reach the Main Draw in Cincinnati on Court 3.  Pete Ziebron Images

Donna Vekic entered Cincinnati on a 7 match losing streak.  The 20-yar old Croat quickly corrected course at the Western & Southern Open.  Venice won all 3 tiebreakers in her two qualifying matches and upset #11 seed Varvara Lepchenko in her opening match.  Next, Vekic ousted Colombian Mariana Duque-Marino in straight sets, winning yet another tiebreaker in the process.

Two years ago, Ana Ivanovic was a Finalist in Cincinnati.  In 2016, Ivanovic suffered a straight sets loss to Vekic and only managed to win 6 games in the match.  Next up for Vekic was Johanna Konta, who reached the quarterfinals at her two previous tournaments.  At the Rio Games, Konta lost to eventual Silver Medalist Angelique Kerber and she also reached the quarters at the WTA Premier event in Montreal.  Prior to these tournaments, Konta defeated Venus Williams to win Stanford.  

Donna Vekic would only manage to win 5 games against Konta as the world #10 from Britain continued her fine form.  However for Vekic, she regained her confidence, winning 3 matches, including a Main Draw contest against former world #1 Ana Ivanovic.

Steve Johnson

d. Federico Delbonis  64 75

d. Julien Benneteau 36 62 76(5)

d. #7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 63 76(6)

l. Grigor Dimitrov  67(8) 26

Steve Johnson marched to the Cincinnati quarterfinals, defeating #7 seed Jo-Wilfired Tsonga in the 3rd round.  Photo Credit: Christopher Johnson  www.GrandSlamMagazine.co

Steve Johnson arrived in Cincinnati fresh off his Bronze Medal Doubles performance with Jack Sock at the Rio Summer Games.  Johnson proudly donned the medal following his pre-tournament press conference and was the only Medalist in either draw that brought his medal to the venue.

Johnson cruised past Argentine Federico Delbonis in the opening round then had a tussle with veteran Frenchman Julien Benneteau, who needed a Protected Ranking to enter the Main Draw due to injury.  Johnson dropped the opening set 3-6, then corrected course in the second set before outlasting Benneteau 7-7 in the 3rd set tiebreaker.

Next up was another Frenchman, #7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the round of 16.  Johnson continued his inspired play, won the opening set and despite falling behind 3-6 in the 2nd set tiebreaker, reeled of five consecutive points to win the breaker and the match.  Following that win, I pointed out to Johnson in press that this was a top ten victory.  Johnson:  "It's great. I didn't even actually know that. I had my first one earlier this year, and to get another one is great. You know, I'm starting to come into my own and I really feel comfortable in those moments.  That's the most important thing for me."

Despite having prime opportunities in the opening set of his quarterfinal against Grigor Dimitrov, Johnson would fall in the 1st set tiebreaker 8-6 and the drop the second set.  With his run to the quarters, Steve Johnson rose to world #21 and became the top ranked American.

 

Borna Coric saves Match Point and defeats Nick Kyrgios on Court 3.  Photo Credit: Christopher Johnson  www.GrandSlamMagazine.com 

The best match I watched in Cincinnati was the 3rd round encounter between ATP Young Guns Borna Coric of Croatia and #14 seed Nick Kyrgios of Australia.  The winner would face Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Borna Coric would save a match point in the 3rd set tiebreaker and ultimately prevail 76(2) 46 76(6).  The match featured fantastic play from both.  Kyrgios played with reckless abandon at times, hitting 2nd serves at 130 MPH, both for aces as well as for double faults.  Coric would hold his ground and would ultimately prevail but not before Kyrgios smashed 3 racquets following the first set when he double faulted with one of his 130 MPH serves to end the tiebreaker and the set.  

A full write up of the Coric - Kyrgios match can be found on the 8/18/16 entry on Tennis Acumen.

Thank you Cincinnati, it is always a pleasure and a privilege to cover the Western & Southern Open!

A packed crowd on Court 3 enjoys the drama between Borna Coric and Nick Kyrgios under a glorious Cincinnati mid-August sunset.  Photo Credit: Christopher Johnson  www.GrandSlamMagazine.com 

 

Several Rio Medalists Arrive in Cincinnati & Tell Their Olympic Stories

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

 

Steve Johnson's Bronze Medal from the 2016 Rio Summer Games.  Pete Ziebron Images

Several medalists from the 2016 Rio Summer Games are in Cincinnati this week despite the fact that they had a very quick turnaround and concurrently endured logistical challenges attempting to get to Cincinnati in a timely fashion.

The Medalists who arrived in Cincinnati that have already met with media yesterday and over the weekend include:

Men's Singles Gold: Andy Murray

Men's Doubles Gold: Rafael Nadal

Women's Singles Silver: Angelique Kerber

Men's Singles Bronze: Kei Nishikori

Men's Doubles Bronze: Steve Johnson

The following are quotes from the players about the feeling of winning the medal as well as what they have done with their medal since winning:

Andy Murray:

"It was so up and down, the final, emotionally, physically. It was a really, really hard match, one of the hardest matches that I've played."

"I came directly here (Cincinnati), yeah. I didn't leave (Gold Medal) in Brazil."

Rafael Nadal: 

"The gold in doubles was amazing. Win a medal is always very, very special, but especially doing with one of my best friends (Marc Lopez) is even more special, no?.....The feeling was higher than a lot of singles victories, without a doubt."

 

 

Angelique Kerber:

"The final was a good final from both of us and she (Monica Puig) played unbelievable match, I think one of her best matches in her career for sure.  Still I had a great week.  I won a medal.  That was my goal before I go to Rio.  Yeah, it was a really special week for me."

Kei Nishikori:

"It was a great week for me to play in Olympics Game.  It was very honor to get a medal.  Yeah, especially beating Rafa especially on the big tournament."

The Bronze Medal:  "It's in my home.  I stopped by my home for a few hours and I left it there, so I hope nobody took it."

Steve Johnson:

"The Bryans told me that it will be an unbelievable feeling to win the bronze rather than not win a medal. On the podium, we were smiling with the bronze and it was strange to see that we were happier than the Romanians, who won silver." 

Cincinnati Gets Underway, Dodging Raindrops Along the Way

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

Play is suspended yet again on the first day of qualifying in Cincinnati.  Pete Ziebron Images

A rainy opening day at the 2016 Western & Southern Open brought 4 rain delays before play was eventually called after 10:00 PM.  The match between Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey and Russian Wild Card Varvara Flink was the only contest that was not able to start, despite the players warming up on Court 3 before rain arrived yet again in southern Ohio.  In total, 6 first round matches still need to be completed and the winners of those matches will need to play their 2nd round match later on Sunday.

John Isner took time to meet with the media on Saturday afternoon. Since he recently played two of the Western & Southern Wild Cards, Reilly Opelja and Taylor Fritz in Atlanta, I asked him about their games. Isner: "Opelka is a big guy with a big serve, he reminds me a bit of myself actually. Fritz is already in the top 60 and keeps improving."

John Isner meets with the media on the opening day of the Western & Southern Open.  Pete Ziebron Images

Isner was also impressed about the crowd support on the first day of qualifying in Cincinnati, elaborating: "There were more than a hundred people watching me practice with Zverev."

One of the most competitive matches on Saturday went to a third set tiebreaker. Lukas Rosol of Czech Republic eliminated 4th seed Frenchman Stepen Robert 8-6 in the final set breaker to win the match 7-5 2-6 7-6(8).  Robert won 5 consecutive games at 3-2 in the 2nd set to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the final set before Rosol rallied to win 4 straight games.  Finally, on his 4th match point in the final set breaker, Rosol finally closed out the match and will play Australia John Millman, who saved 2 match points and withstood 14 aces before closing out American Wild Card Ryan Harrison.

Lukas Rosol on his way to eliminating the #4 seed in the qualification draw.  Pete Ziebron Images

The match between Italians Karen Knapp and #18 seed Camila Giorgi on Court 10 was interrupted by two rain delays in the final set. Knapp would eventually prevail 7-6(0) 3-6 6-4.  Knapp advance to play Japanese Kurumi Nara who upset #12 seed Monica Niculescu of Romania 7-6(3) 6-3.

Camila Giorgi battles on Court 10 in Cincinnati.  Pete Ziebron Images

The ATP Masters 1000 main draw will get underway on Sunday with Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov taking on Kevin Anderson of South Africa and Borna Coric of Croatia playing Frenchman Benoit Paire in the opening night session match.

 

Kaitlyn Verfuerth Will Represent the United States for the 3rd Time in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro

PETE ZIEBRON

Kaitlyn Verfuerth and Venus Williams at a photo shoot last year in Los Angeles.

Kaitlyn Verfuerth of Flagstaff, Arizona will be representing the United States in tennis at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in September. This will be her third Paralympic appearance, having previously competed in the Paralympics in Athens in 2004 as an 18-year old and following up that participation four years later in Beijing in 2008.

As a 7-year old, Verfuerth injured her spinal cord in a car accident and has been in a wheelchair ever since. However, she was still determined to compete in sports, especially against able-bodied competitors. Verfuerth thought that basketball would be the sport where she would have her most success. She even made the US National Basketball team, however she learned that she was able to take her tennis abilities to another level during her junior year of high school when she met US National Coach Dan James. Tennis was the sport where she could make a living and concurrently travel the world.

Kaitlyn Verfuerth in action in Vancouver

Kaitlyn's first tournament was in St. Louis and she admitted that she was intimitaded at that time. After that initial experience, Verfuerth's consistent drive, determination and hard work led to success on the court and ultimately landed her a spot on the US National team headed to Athens. She overcame quite a bit of adversity during that time and was questioned by several people why she reduced her college class load to just two courses while practicing and training to make the team. "Sometimes you have to take a risk and step outside of the box. I worked so hard to make the team and I couldn't believe it when I did, I was super stoked!" Participating in the Opening Ceremonies in Athens was a thrilling experience for Kaitlyn, especially being able to wear uniforms that read "USA" on the back.

In 2007, Verfuerth won the Gold Medal in both singles and doubles at the ParaPan American Games in Rio. This gave her an automatic entry into the Beijing Games in 2008. As a result, Kaitlyn enjoyed the fact that she had no pressure, could play freely and concurrently play her game, hitting freely in the matches leading up to Beijing. Although she lost in the quarterfinals in singles, Verfuerth and her doubles partner Beth Arnold from Hawaii played for the Bronze Medal. Despite winning the first set against their French opponents, they would eventually lose the match, as well as the opportunity to medal. "That was a huge learning experience and taught me to stay in the moment. We were really excited, thinking that it could happen and we would win and medal."

Kaitlyn displays her Gold Medals from 2007 in a shadow box. When we spoke, I shared with her that four years ago, Andy Murray, fresh off his Gold Medal singles and Silver Medal doubles performances at the 2012 London Games was asked two weeks later in Cincinnati where he kept the medals. Murray replied, "They are on top of a cabinet." When I shared this with Kaitlyn, she could not believe how casual Murray was about his medals and wrote back to me that she would sleep with her Paralympic medals if she won.

Several ATP and WTA tennis players have decided not to participate in the Rio Olympic Games that begin next week. As a result, I asked Verfuerth if she had any concerns about going to Rio. "I've been there before and I asked players that I know from Brazil about the concerns. They assured me that it is fine. I have trust in the United States Olympic Committee and sometimes the media can hype things up too much."

Four years ago in Cincinnati, I asked Venus Williams if she planned to play the Olympics in Rio in 2016. "Absolutely" was her answer. Thus, I also asked Kaitlyn if she intended to continue to train and compete for a spot on the 2020 USA Paralympics squad. "Yes, at 30 now, I am in my prime. Don't count me out! In fact, I am stronger mentally and smarter on court."

3-time Paralympic Games participant Kaitlyn Verfuerth

When she is not playing or practicing, Kaitlyn coaches the Girls Tennis team at Flagstaff High School. "I've had so much happiness, joy and great memories playing tennis, I enjoy giving back to these girls."

Kaitlyn went on to say that she would also like to compete in the Winter Paralympics in downhill skiing. Living in Flagstaff, Arizona, everything she needs is right in town. Kaitlyn's mention of wanting to be a Winter Paralympian reminded me of Romanian ATP tennis player Ion Tiriac, who was also a member of his country's 1964 Olympic Ice Hockey team.

What a story it would be: American Kaitlyn Verfuerth - Summer & Winter United States Paralympian. As I think about this possibility, Kaitlyn's "Don't count me out!" declaration about playing tennis for many more years just may very well be her mantra to also compete in the a future Paralympic Winter Games down the road apiece. For now, the Rio Games await in September.

Don't count her out!

ATP & WTA Stars Talk About the 2012 London Olympics

PETE ZIEBRON

A couple of weeks after the conclusion of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, the tennis world shifted to the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.  With the Rio Games beginning soon, Tennis Acumen reviews what several of the medalists had to say in Cincinnati about their 2012 performances and experiences:

Venus Williams, Gold Medal in Doubles on whether she was planning to play four years later in Rio:

"Absolutely. I love the Olympics. The last day when it was over, I'm like, I can't wait until Rio. It's no secret how you feel about the Olympics. I'm very excited about Rio."

Juan Martin del Potro, Bronze Medal in Singles on how he was able to rebound from his semifinal loss to Roger Federer and defeat Novak Djokovic to win the Bronze:

"Yeah, I don't know how I did that. (Smiling.)  I was really, really sad after loss against Roger, but my parents, friends, and my team helped me a lot to open my eyes, you know, and to fight in the last match against Djokovic.  I really feel the support from my country. All the people was behind me and help me to get the energy to best I can against Djokovic."

Maria Kirilenko, Bronze Medal in Doubles on how she celebrated:

"I was so excited to get the Olympic medal, and I had just couple days for recovery and I had to fly back here....I went the same day back to Moscow. Next days I went out couple times and we celebrated. It was a lot of people, you know, trying (on) my medal. It was pretty exciting."

 

Roger Federer, Silver Medal in Singles, on dropping the Gold Medal Match:

"It's one of those matches you try to move on from....I accepted quickly that Murray was better on the day. That was it. I wasn't going to let it ruin my Olympics campaign just because I didn't win gold. I still thought silver was a great result for me. That's how I felt when I got back."

 

Serena Williams, Gold Medals in Singles & Doubles on winning Gold twice:

"It was really awesome to win both medals at the Olympics. I really wanted to win doubles. I know everyone was like, You haven't won the singles gold, and that's the only thing big career‑wise move that you haven't won. I was like trying to put that out of my mind.
I went there really with doubles on my mind, so singles was the ultimate goal for me."

 

Andy Murray, Gold Medal in Singles & Silver Medal in Doubles on winning Gold and where he put his medals:

"Well, it was obviously a great moment, biggest win of my career for sure....I think the Wimbledon final and the Wimbledon tournament beforehand gave me extra confidence because I went into the final a lot calmer for the gold medal match, a lot calmer than I went into the Wimbledon final...The medals, they were on top of a cabinet. I spoke to my girlfriend today and asked what she'd done with them. She said she left them there. So I'll try and get them in a better place when I get back." 

 

 

Roland Garros Wrap & Grass Court Season Begins

PETE ZIEBRON

The outline from the Passing Shots show with Jared Pine on June 16.

ROLAND GARROS wrap:

Djokovic wins 4th consecutive major
ND dominates upstart Thiem & shakes off slow start in final to defeat Murray
How many more RG's for Djokovic?
Murray reaches first RG final - now 2-8 in major finals
Murray d Wawrinka in SFs - easier than expected
Thiem gets to first major SF

COACHING

Lendl back with Murray
Raonic hires McEnroe for grass season

NADAL

on the shelf for a while
will we see him at Olympics???

STUTTGART

Thiem saves MP, defeats Federer en route to title (4th of year)
Last 3 wins for Thiem all went 3 (came back from set down in each) & first win had 2 TBs
Fed shakes off rust - probably should have beaten Thiem - lack of match play or something else why he did not win?
Stepanek continues to play well - very good clay season, scares Murray at RG & defeats isthmian & Cilic here
del Potro had just 1 BP opportunity in QF loss to Kohlschreiber

DEN BOSCH

Mahut denies Gilles Muller his first ATP title
Mahut comes from a set down to win QF & SF matches

Part 2 of 3: Dominic Thiem Defeats Both Nadal & Federer this Spring

PETE ZIEBRON

 

After spending two full days at Indian Wells this year, the play and performances of three players jumped out at me: Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin. Last year in Cincinnati, I watched Zverev and Goffin lose matches, despite competing exceptionally well. Two years ago in Cincinnati, I saw Thiem lose to a veteran American Wild Card Robby Ginepri, who was nearing the end of his career.

Earlier in the year, Thiem won the 4th tournament of his career in Buenos Aires, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.  A few weeks later, Thiem would win his 5th career title in Acapulco.  These facts were not lost on the crowd at Indian Wells who was intrigued with the play of this upstart Austrian.  

This March, I joined Dominic Thiem's match against Jack Sock in progress, early in the 2nd set.  Thiem won the opening set 7-5 before Sock rallied to level the match, winning the 2nd set tiebreaker 7-5.  

All of the momentum was now riding with Sock as the pro-American crowd on Stadium 2 shouted their encouragement to the Nebraskan.  Concurrently, Sock was yelling in the direction of Thiem's box and had to be verbally restrained by Chair Umpire Carlos Bernardes at the conclusion of the second set.  It was all happening on Stadium 2 - or so it seemed.

Thiem broke Sock to open the 3rd set and quickly raced to a 5-0 lead and even served for the match before getting broken.  No worries for Thiem however as he broke Sock back to win the match - having broken the American four times in the final set after losing the second set.

The Indian Wells crowd was stunned as Sock had no answers for Thiem and his inspired play in the third set.  Thiem would go on to lose in the next round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  The following week in Miami, he would win two rounds before falling to eventual Champion Novak Djokovic.

Dominic Thiem continued to play well on the European clay courts this spring, where he won his 3rd title of the year in Nice.  He also appeared in the Munich final, losing to Phillip Kohlschreiber. In addition, Thiem defeated Roger Federer at the Rome Masters.

Tomorrow, Dominic Thiem will play Marcel Granollers in the 4th round at Roland Garros.  The 13th seed has already advanced further than previously at Roland Garros and has matched his best effort at a major, equalling his round of 16 berth at the 2014 US Open.  Should Thiem win, he will play the winner of the David Goffin - Ernests Gulbis match in the Quarterfinals.

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander Zverev Continues to Climb the ATP Rankings - Part 1 of 3

PETE ZIEBRON

PART 1 of 3

After spending two full days at Indian Wells this year, the play and performances of three players jumped out at me: Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and David Goffin.  Last year in Cincinnati, I watched Zverev and Goffin lose matches, despite competing exceptionally well.  Two years ago in Cincinnati, I saw Thiem lose to a veteran player nearing the end of his career.  Today's look will be at Alexander Zverev, who defeated Gilles Simon 6-2 6-2 on Stadium 3 in the opening match on Tuesday, March 15.  

Those that attended the Zverev-Simon match knew why they were there - to see how a player on the rise, of whom much is expected in the future, would compete against a crafty veteran.  Spectators would not be disappointed in what they witnessed.

Let's turn back the clock however, to last August in Cincinnati where Zverev would take on Borna Coric in the first round.  Zverev advanced successfully through qualifying, defeating Benjamin Becker and Denis Istomin before meeting the Croat on Grandstand Court.

The previous year, Alexander Zverev appeared on the radar as he  advanced to the semifinals of the ATP 500 event in Hamburg before falling to world 7 David Ferrer.  At that time, Zverev was ranked #285 and rose to #161 as a result of his run in Hamburg.

Getting back to last year in Cincy, Zverev entered the Masters 1000 event ranked #85 and had reached the quarters in Washington the previous week, having defeated Kevin Anderson and Alexandr Dolgopolov before falling to Marin Cilic in an extremely competitive battle 5-7 6-7(3).  Against the world #38 Coric, Zverev roared back to win the 2nd set 6-3 after dropping a tight opening set 5-7.  There was very little between the two rising stars in the final set as it went to a tiebreaker.

In the breaker, Zverev raced to a lead however Coric would hold his ground.  The fiery immaturity of Zverev would cost him dearly in the breaker as Coric would ultimately prevail 7-5 in the final set tiebreak.  The match would be a personal highlight for me from the 2015 Western & Southern Open.  The next day, I asked Rob Koenig, who provided commentary of the match for ATP Media whom he thought would have the better career in the end.  Koenig shared with me that he believed that Zverev had the better game and ultimately would have a more successful career.  This is a comparison I look forward to watching unfold the next few years.

Two weeks ago at Indian Wells, Zverev won a pair of three set matches against Ivan Dodig and Grigor Dimitrov to book his spot in the third round opposite Gilles Simon.  Zverev arrived in California having lost two disappointing matches in Davis Cup to the Czech Republic, including his second loss in as many weeks to Tomas Berdych - Zverev was up 2 sets to 1 in the Davis Cup tie.  

Meanwhile, Simon, who somehow found a way to survive Evgeny Donskoy at the Australian Open, would give world #1 and eventual Champion Novak Djokovic fits in Melbourne.  Since that time, Simon has struggled, including losing a tough 3 setter to Zverev in Rotterdam in February.

At Indian Wells, Simon did not play poorly against Zverev despite winning just 4 games in a 2-6 2-6 loss.  The Stadium 3 crowd was dazzled by Zverev as he overpowered Simon, who simply had no answers for the young German.  This would be confirmed for me the next day when I spoke with Spectator as we watched action on Court 2.  The man from Uruguay told me that he was sitting very close to Simon's box for the match and that Simon was telling his coach that he was not able to do much with the spin that Zverev was using against him.  This would be telling as Zverev indeed mixed up his game well, alternating power and spin to throw Simon completely off his game and give him absolutely no rhythm all match long.

The Indian Wells Tennis Garden anticipated an upset the next day as Zverev faced world #5 Rafael Nadal.  Zverev would win the opening set in a tiebreaker, get bagel led in the second set and would race to a 5-2 lead in the third, where he would hold a match point.  Eventually, the match point was lost, Zverev tightened up and Nadal somehow emerged as the victor.

Just as he did following the disappointing loss to Berdych in Davis Cup, I fully expect Alexander Zverev to quickly put this loss behind him and continue to rise up the ATP rankings.

Steve Johnson & Jack Sock Record Impressive Back to Back ATP 500 Results

PETE ZIEBRON

Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock each reached the finals and semi finals of each of their respective ATP 500 tournaments in Europe the past two weeks.  

Last week, Johnson reached the final in Vienna, losing to #1 seed David Ferrer 6-4 4-6 5-7.  As a result of his run to the final, Johnson reached a career high of world #33.  Each round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna presented Johnson with a talented, veteran opponent and the American was able to defeat all of them en route to the final.

Steve Johnson's run in Vienna

R32  6-3 3-6 6-2  d. #35 Alexandr Dolgopolov

R16 6-4 6-7 6-4  d. #65 Jerzy Janowicz

QF  5-7 7-6 6-4  d. #11 Kevin Anderson

SF  6-3 7-6  d. #117 Ernests Gulbis

F  6-4 4-6 5-7 l. to #8 David Ferrer

Today, Johnson reached the semifinals in another ATP 500 in Valencia.  Although he had match points, Johnson would come up short against The #7 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.  However, this run to the Valencia Open semis will continue the positive trajectory of Johnson's ranking, leading to another career high when the new rankings come out on Monday morning.  In his last three matches, Johnson has hit 34 aces and just 4 double faults.

Steve Johnson in action this week in Valencia

R32  6-3 6-4 d.  #44 Martin Klizan 

R16  6-4 7-6 d.  #16 Feliciano Lopez

QF   7-5 6-4  d. #26 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

SF   6-4 3-6 6-7  l. to #24 Roberto Bautista-Agut

Concurrent to Johnson, Jack Sock played in the other European ATP 500s the past two weeks.  Sock reached the final last week in Stockholm and also lost to the top seed of the tournament, Tomas Berdych.  Throughout the week, Sock defeated a pair of Spaniards and a pair of Frenchmen before reaching the final.

Jack Sock's run to the If Stockholm Open final

R32  6-3 6-7 6-3  d. #60 Pablo Carreno Busta

R16  7-6 6-7 6-4  d. #44 Fernando Verdasco

QF  7-5 7-6  d. #13 Gilles Simon

SF  6-4 6-2  d. #12 Richard Gasquet

F   6-7 2-6  l. to #5 Tomas Berdych

On his way to the semifinals in Basel, Sock defeated 3 Americans to set the stage with the tournament's defending Champion, Roger Federer.  Today, Sock faced the top seed Roger Federer in his home country of Switzerland.

Jack Sock's run to the Swiss Indoors semifinals:

R32  6-4 6-3  d. #67 Denis Kudla

R16  7-6 6-3  d. #14 John Isner

QF   5-7 6-4 6-2  d. #49 Donald Young

SF   3-6 4-6  l. to #3 Roger Federer 

Jack Sock returns to action next week at the BNP Paribas Masters at Paris Bercy.  Although Johnson's current ranking would allow for entry into the Paris main draw, it was too high at the time the field was announced.

AUG 18: Taylor Dent's Booming Serves Make A Statement in Cincinnati

PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI

 
 Early in the 2nd set, Taylor Dent blasted a 149 MPH ace to close out a game against Rafael Nadal.                      Pete Ziebron Images

CINCINNATI- Despite the fact that world #83 Taylor Dent had a higher ranking than 3 other Americans who received Wild Cards into the main draw of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters 1000 and would need to win 2 qualifying matches to get into the main draw, Dent ratcheted up his powerful serve into the low 140's and beat Go Soeda and Jarkko Niemenen in qualifying to advance.

Waiting for Dent in the 1st round of the main draw was world #24, Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, a foe whom Dent defeated in the 1st round of last year's US Open in 4 sets.  The match was played on center court and like their match last year, Lopez did not have answers for Dent's cannon serves and strong groundstrokes and lost in straight sets 6-3 6-2.

Former WTA player Jennifer (Hopkins) Dent warms up with her husband Taylor 4 hours prior to his 2nd round match with world #1 Rafael Nadal.                                               Pete Ziebron Images 

After a day off on Tuesday, the top 4 players on the ATP would see their first action in Cincinnati as tennis fans were treated to a cavalcade of top notch tennis on center court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Wednesday.  World #3 Novak Djokovic would begin the day session, followed by top ranked Rafael Nadal, #4 Andy Murray and two-time Cincinnati Champion Andy Roddick would conclude the daytime agenda. Defending Cincinnati Champion and world #2 Roger Federer would be featured in the evening session.

Dent would meet Rafael Nadal during the hottest time of the day and started slowly, dropping the first set 6-2.  However, Dent would bring the crowd to its feet as he crushed a 149 MPH ace down the center of the court to close out a game and stay on serve in the early stages of the 2nd set.  Dent then proceeded to break Nadal to gain control of the set; however, he would fail to consolidate the break and the set would remain on serve until Dent was broken at 5-5.  Nadal would go on to serve out the match and advance to the 3rd round.  

Taylor Dent could be satisfied that he played a solid set of tennis against the world #1 and after the match, Nadal praised Dent's serving abilities: "Well, not easy to return his second serve. For sure the first is more difficult, no?  But the second serve is fast, too. It's coming with spins, different slice, kick. So wasn't easy to return."

Twenty-one months ago, Taylor Dent was ranked 879th, primarily due to being sidelined from back surgery.  Last month in Atlanta, he reached his first quarterfinal since Tokyo in October 2005 and seeks to continue to climb in the ATP rankings.  

This week, Dent's wife Jennifer is accompanying him in Cincinnati along with their baby boy Declan who was born this January.  These days, family man Taylor Dent has a brand new perspective on and off the court:  "You know, just tennis can be so frustrating at times. It can really beat you down, you know, emotionally. So after a tough day of practice or a bad loss, you walk off the court and you see the little man there just wobbling his head and smiling at you, it makes it nice."

 Taylor Dent and his 140+ MPH serves will be on the ATP radar when the US Open field is drawn next week.              Pete Ziebron Images