Cornet upsets Garcia in all French clash

In an all French third round clash, the Volvo Car Open was shocked by the defeat of top seed Caroline Garcia.  The Charleston tournament is now at the quarter final stage, and has lost the top two seeds.

Alize Cornet (14) started slowly, giving up a 0-4 deficit to Garcia, and despite a comeback, fell short 5-7 and things looked grim,

The good news was the creation of 10 break points by Cornet compared to 5 for Garcia. The better conversion by the top seed saw her take the advantage.

The edge vanished almost immediately, as Cornet ran riot in set two, holding serve without needing to save a single break point. Winning 16 of 20 points on Garcia’s second serve, Cornet sealed the deal 6-1.

In the decider, Cornet won 84% of points on her first delivery and heat was decisive in her winning the set and match 5-7 6-1 6-4.

20 winners and only 17 unforced errors was a tidy return - Garcia was not helped by contributing 49 unforced mistakes.

Other third round results:

Kiki  Bertens (12) defeated qualifier Fanny Stollar 6-2 6-4

She will play Alize Cornet in the quarter finals

Bernarda Pera defeated wildcard Sara Errani 6-3 2-6 6-4

She will play Madison Keys in the quarter finals

Madison Keys (7) defeated Camila Giorgi 6-4 6-3

Julia Goerges (5) defeated Naomi Osaka (10) 7-6(4) 6-3

She will play Daria Kasatkina in the quarter finals

Daria Kasatkina (3) defeated Irina-Camilia Begu (13) 6-2 6-1

Monterrey second round:

Garbine Muguruza (1) defeated Alison Riske 6-2 6-3

She will play Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarter finals

Ajla Tomljanovic (8) defeated Anna Blinkova 6-2 5-7 6-2

Danielle Collins received a walkover from Lesia Tsurenko (3)

She will play Ana Bogdan in the quarter finals

Ana Bogdan (6) defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2 6-3

Monica Puig (5) defeated Stefanie Voegele 6-4 6-3

She will play Timea Babos in the quarter finals

Timea Babos (4) defeated Naomi Broady 6-3 6-7(6) 7-5

Sachia Vickery (7) defeated wildcard Ana Sofia Sanchez 6-3 6-3

She will play Magdalena Rybarikova in the quarter finals 

Magdalena Rybarikova (2) defeated Jana Fett 7-5 6-2

Kvitova and Konta exit Charleston

Upsets came thick and fast in Charleston as the second round reached its conclusion.

Normally a Pliskova victory over Kvitova wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows, but this all Czech battle was between the second seed and the other twin, Kristyna Pliskova, currently ranked 77 in the world.

Petra opened well in the first set, creating a dozen break points and converting four of them for a 6-1 lead.

Kristyna then smashed the Kvitova second serve in set two, while not having her serve threatened.  15 of the 19 points from Petra’s second delivery were captured by Kristyna and she levelled the match at 1-6 6-1.

Pliskova continued her serving superiority in the decider, breaking twice, and dropping her own serve just the once.  Kristyna’s more highly credentialed sister may have elected to bypass the Volvo Car Open, but the Pliskova name has been well represented and is now into the third round, the victory 1-6 6-1 6-3.

Other surprises:

Hungarian qualifier Fanny Stollar, ranked 219, defeated Johanna Konta (6) 6-3 6-4

Wildcard Sara Errani, once a Roland Garros finalist, but now ranked 95, defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu (15) 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2

Camila Giorgi defeated Daria Gavrilova (11) 6-2 2-6 6-3

Meanwhile other seeds cruised (with some exceptions) into the final 16:

Kiki Bertens (12) defeated Aleksandra Krunic 6-4 6-2

She will play Fanny Stollar in the third round

Madison Keys (7) defeated Lara Arruabarrena 6-1 3-6 6-3

She will play Camila Giorgi in the third round

Julia Goerges (5) defeated Kristie Ahn 2-6 6-4 7-6(1)

She will play Naomi Osaka in the third round

Naomi Osaka (10) defeated Laura Siegemund 6-3 7-6(8)

Irina-Camelia Begu (13) defeated qualifier Claire Liu 6-4 6-2

She will play Daria Kasatkina in the third round

Anastasija Sevastova (8) defeated qualifier Caroline Dolehide 7-5 6-7(5) 6-1

She will play Ash Barty in the third round 

Ash Barty (9) defeated Tatjana Maria 4-6 6-3 6-2

Elena Vesnina (16) defeated Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-1

She will play Kristyna Pliskova in the third round

Rain is stalling progress in Monterrey, and no second round matches have been completed.

One match had started before the weather compromised things - Ana Bogdan leads Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2 4-3.

Davis Cup quarter finals this week

The Davis Cup quarter finals are upon us and this week sees the following match ups:

Italy (8) v France (1) at the Valletta Cambiaso ASD in Genova, Italy

Teams include:

Italy

Fabio Fognini 

Paolo Lorenzi

Andreas Seppi 

France 

Lucas Pouille 

Adrian Mannarino 

Pierre-Hugues Herbert 

Spain v Germany at the Plaza de Toros de Valencia in Valencia, Spain

Teams include:

Spain

Rafa Nadal

Pablo Carreno Busta

Roberto Bautista Agut

Germany

Sascha Zverev 

Philipp Kohlschreiber

Jan-Lennard Struff

Kazakhstan v Croatia (4) at the Varazdin Arena in Varazdin, Croatia

Players include:

Kazakhstan

Mikhail Kukushkin

Aleksandr Nedovyesov

Dmitry Popko

Croatia

Marin Cilic

Borna Coric

Viktor Galovic

USA v Belgium (2) at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Players include:

USA

John Isner

Sam Querrey

Jack Sock

Belgium

Ruben Bemelmans

Joris De Loore

Sander Gille

The one top ten player missing from the nominated teams is David Goffin, and the Belgian line up can ill afford to compete against the strong American outfit without his services.

Meanwhile the Monterrey women’s tournament has progressed, with all first round matches complete, and all eight seeds safely through to the second round.

In Charleston, the first round concluded, also with no major surprises, and all seeds intact.

The seeds with byes (plus lucky loser in qualifying - Dayana Yastremska - who replaced Sloane Stephens in the draw) stepped on to the court for the first time to join first round victors.

Second round results:

Caroline Garcia (1) defeated Varvara Lepchenko 6-2 6-3

Daria Kasatkina (3) defeated Christina McHale 6-3 3-6 6-2

Alize Cornet (14) defeated Polona Hercog 6-2 6-3

The other 13 round two matches are currently underway, or scheduled for later today, US time

WTA Touring Monterrey and Charleston

With Davis Cup quarter finals on later this week,  ATP events are on hold so as not to clash, and to allow any players to represent their countries if desired.

The WTA Tour, however continues to roll, tournaments in Charleston, South Carolina, USA (Premier category), and Monterrey, Mexico (International category), being contested.

In Charleston, the Volvo Car Open presented byes to the top eight seeds and the other 48 players in the draw have complete first round matches.

Top seed is world number 7 Caroline Garcia, and together with Petra Kvitova (10), a pair of top ten players is competing.  As is last years champion Daria Kasatkina (seeded 3 this year).

Five others from the top twenty are here, and all seeds are in the top fifty,  so a quality field has been assembled.  The only drawback is the late withdrawal of just crowned Miami champ Sloane Stephens from the draw.

No real surprises so far, but two teenage qualifiers from the USA are further proof of the wealth of talent that the Americans have coming through.

19 year old Caroline Dolehide defeated Johanna Larsson, 10 years her senior, and 69 ranking spots ahead, 5-7 6-0 6-4.

Claire Liu, 17 years old and ranked 202, defeated Magda Linette, aged 26 and ranked 69, 1-6 6-3 6-3.

The other tournament up for grabs is the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey.

Defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is not competing here, as too Angie Kerber, beaten finalist in 2017, both choosing to take a weeks break from the rigours of the tour.

Garbine Muguruza is the top seed, and the only top ten player in the draw.  The talented Spaniard, with two Grand Slam titles already, is anxious to gain a consistency elsewhere on the women’s tennis calendar.

This year has been frustrating, with an 8-6 win/loss match record far from adequate for a world number three.  If she doesn’t win here, and the pressure is immense for anything but that occurring, then serious questions must be raised about Garbine’s immediate place in the game.

Her main opposition in Mexico should come from the likes of Lesia Tsurenko (3) or Danielle Collins, neither of whom she would meet until the semi finals.

However, her second round opponent will be Alison Riske, and that is not an assured free pass.

The final is expected to feature the only two top twenty players in the draw, Garbine and Magdalena Rybarikova (2).

Muguruza leads their head to head battle 4-2, the last two matches being the 2017 Wimbledon semi final smashing by the Spaniard 6-1 6-1, and a repeat dose from Garbine in the 2017 US Open third round 6-1 6-1.

Isner lifts Miami Open Trophy

The final day of the 2018 Miami Open was celebrated by a great Men’s Singles Final between Sascha Zverev (4) and John Isner (14).

This was the last time the Crandon Park venue on Key Biscayne would host the tournament, a long time partnership ending on a high note.

Isner threatened Zverev in the early stages of the opening set, and had five break chances in the first three German service games.  Zverev would save all of those and the pair easily held for the remainder of the set, and a tie break decided the result.

Isner had entered the match on the back of 37 consecutive holds of serve, and led the tie break 4-3.

However, Zverev upped the ante, taking the final four points and winning the set 7-6(4).

Isner kept powering his serve in set two, but Zverev continued to return with conviction, the timing and placement top shelf.  Isner was patient, and although he couldn’t find a path through the Zverev defence (only two aces for the set) he levelled at 4-4 with relative ease.

Then the turning point arrived - a series of errors off the German racquet, mostly due to Isner’s deep probing forehand, contributed to the first service break of the match.

Isner then ran into a truck laden with nervous tension as he attempted to serve out the set at 5-4.  He faced and saved his only two break points for the set before capturing it 6-4 and forcing a decider.

In set three, although again serving second, Isner placed Zverev under pressure from the outset.  He had three break points at 2-2 and another chance to crack the fourth seed, all of which evaporated.

Still, it appeared only a matter of time, and that came in game nine where Zverev finally wilted.  The point giving Isner a 5-4 lead exasperated Sascha to the point of destroying his racquet.  He was resigned to his fate.

Isner served a love game, finishing appropriately with an ace, to win the Miami Open final 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4.

18 aces among 44 winners underscores a great days work.

At 32 years, 11 months, John Isner now is the oldest male player to win a first Masters 1000 title, and reclaims the mantle of number one American ranked player (at #9 his equal career high).

Sloane beats Jelena to take Miami

Day Twelve of the Miami Open, and the Women’s Final was yet another career defining moment for Sloane Stephens (13), as she captured her first Premier Mandatory category title.

Her sixth overall title, from six finals appearances, accelerates Stephens to number nine in the world, and America’s number two singles player behind Venus Williams at eight.

The losing finalist on Key Biscayne was Jelena Ostapenko (6), whose first set battle with Stephens was error filled but fascinating. The pair exchanged eight breaks of serve between them en route to a fitting tie break.  Stephens had wasted a chance at 5-4 to serve out the set, with a double fault and loose ground shots, and in the tie break after she’d skipped away to a 6-2 advantage, Ostapenko saved four set points.

Stephens steadied, though, and took the set 7-6(5).

This was the first set dropped by the Latvian all tournament.

It also signalled the end for Jelena as Sloane stepped on the gas in set two, winning 14 points from 22 on the Ostapenko first serve, and 17 from 25 on the second delivery.

Jelena was striking far more winners, but simultaneously committing a host of unforced errors, undoing any positive work.

Sloane Stephens coasted to victory 7-6(5) 6-1.

A fantastic win, and looking back over the tournament, it is easy to see why Sloane lifted the trophy this week.

Her victims included:

Angie Kerber (10), Garbine Muguruza (3), Vika Azarenka, and Jelena Ostapenko (6) - all Grand Slam title winners, 7 between them.

Two are current GS title holders - Garbine and Jelena - as is Sloane herself - and the only one missing from the quartet is Caroline Wozniacki, who was knocked out early in the other side of the draw.

Aside from Stephens climbing to a career high of 9 in the world, other significant movers in the women’s singles rankings include:

Petra Martic - up five spots to a new career high of 35

Danielle Collins - up 40 places to a new career high of 53

Sofia Kenin - up nine spots to a new career high of 85

Yafan Wang - up 28 spots to a new career high of 97

There are now 2 US women in the top ten, four in the top fifteen, and fourteen in the top 100.

Isner and Zverev to fight for Miami title

The men’s final will be contested between Sascha Zverev (4) and John Isner (14) after Mens Semi Finals were decided on Day Eleven of the Miami Open.

This will be Isner’s fourth attempt to win a Masters 1000 final, having previously lost to Federer in Indian Wells (2012), Nadal in Cincinnati (2013), and Murray in Paris (2016).

13 times in the first 20 years of the Miami Open, did an American lift the Men’s Singles trophy, but since 2004, only Andy Roddick has represented the Stars and Stripes in a final (2010), where he repeated his success of six years earlier.

Long John has a chance to relive America’s past glories, but how did he reach this point ?

It was a victory over seemingly unstoppable Juan Martin del Potro (5), whose charge toward three successive tournament victories is now kaput.

In the opening set, Isner held serve - hardly a shock - then belted winners from both sides plus a forehand volley to break the Argentine serve in the third game. This set the scene for a 27 minute extravaganza of 19 American winners, including five aces, plus a sizzling ground stroke display allowing nothing from del Potro to strike through.

No winners from the fifth seed and no break points achieved.  Meanwhile Isner broke once again to lead 6-1.

Sure, del Potro may have been suffering some fatigue from his epic struggle against Raonic, but no credit should be taken away from the wonderful display from John Isner in set one.

Set Two, however, was more of a contest that non partisan sections of the crowd were seeking.

No service breaks, and Isner kept up his efficiency from the line, winning 28 of 34 points behind his delivery.  This included another 20 winners, 8 aces, and some brilliant volleying, notably in the tie break which was carried seven points to two by the 14th seed.

Isner won 6-1 7-6(2) to a mixed reception - clearly the majority loved the result but a large Argentine presence in the crowd were disheartened, as were the diehard “delpo” fans who follow the player, not the flag.

Sascha Zverev (4) did not face a break point throughout his semi final against Pablo Carreno Busta (16), but the opening set was tight, needing a tie break to resolve the impasse. Zverev won through, thanks to some quality backhands, taking him from 0-3 to 7-4, and a one set lead.

The second set was a master class from the German as he hit winners from every part of the State of Miami, leaving Pablo without an answer.

14 points won from 14 first serves was an indication of  Sascha’s dominance, and he proceeded to win 7-6(4) 6-2.

30 winners against 21 unforced errors for the match.  

The final should be a ripper with two players at the peak of their powers.