Svitolina wins in Dubai

Elina Svitolina becomes the first Ukranian woman to reach the world's top ten following her comprehensive 6-4 6-2 victory over Caroline Wozniacki in the prestigious Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final.

Svitolina simply overpowered the Danish defence which had been so effective until the last match.  The fifth game of the opening set saw the first signs of cracks in the Wozniacki game and the resultant service break was consolidated through to 5-4.

Here, when serving for the set, Svitolina succumbed to the occasion and Wozniacki had three break back opportunities.  However, from 0-40, the seventh seed found a way to save the situation and hold for the one set advantage.

An exchange of service breaks at the start of set two did nothing to halt the Ukranian momentum and Svitolina won the final five games of the match, securing her second title of 2017, the sixth and biggest of her career.

For her efforts, a second consecutive losing final, Wozniacki moves up a spot to 14 in the world with a return to the top ten imminent, considering she has very few points to defend for the next six months.

Finalists have been determined in four other tournaments.

Marseille will have a French champion this year after Lucas Pouille and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won semi finals against Richard Gasquet and defending champion Nick Kyrgios respectively.

Dominic Thiem meets Pablo Carreno Busta in the Rio de Janeiro final, Thiem brushing Albert Ramos-Vinolas aside in straight sets and Carreno Busta coming from a set down to beat Norwegian teenager Casper Ruud, in their two semi finals.

In Budapest, top seed and Hungary's own Timea Babos has won through to the final where she will play the second seed Lucie Safarova.  Both had semi final victories over German players, Julia Goerges and Carina Witthoeft respectively.

Jack Sock has the task of defeating top seed Milos Raonic if he is to take home the Delray Beach title.  Sock proved too strong for fellow American Donald Young and Raonic stopped del Potro's promising Florida showing.

Kerber loses edge since US Open

 Angie Kerber, since ascending to number one in the world, following her US Open win in September 2016, has struggled with the pressure of being ranked up there.  Her results since Flushing Meadows have been round of 16 in both Wuhan and Beijing, quarter final in Hong Kong, and losing finalist in the year end WTA Finals, before this year - quarter final in Brisbane, and round of sixteen in Sydney, Aus Open and Doha.  Sydney and Doha were second round losses but only because Angie received byes to reach that point.

Before Dubai Kerber had a 4-4 win loss record in 2017, yet a tournament win in the UAE would see her propelled back to number one in the world, such is the nature of a rolling 12 month points aggregate method of ranking determination.

Angie made it through to the semi final, ending the quality run of Ana Konjuh, but ran into a red hot Elina Svitolina, who stretched her winning streak against Kerber to three with her 6-3 7-6 performance.

Elina will play Caroline Wozniacki in the final, after the Danish Delight cruised through to her second final in as many weeks, crushing Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets.

The Marseille semi finals are established - Richard Gasquet will take on Lucas Pouille after toppling top seed Gael Monfils in three sets, ensuring at least one French finalist.

Defending champion Nick Kyrgios will attempt to deny the southern French fans an all home nation final as he battles Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other semi final.

Both had easy quarter final victories.

In Rio de Janeiro, top seed Kei Nishikori lost to Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in the first round.  Thomaz could not keep it going for the locals though, and it was 18 year old Norwegian wildcard Casper Ruud who snuck through to take the semi final spot which was expected to be Nishikori's.  

Ruud will make the final should he beat fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta, the Spaniard having won through after Alexandr Dolgopolov retired one game into the third set of their quarter final.

The other semi final features the second seed Austrian Dominic Thiem against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, both players yet to surrender a set this week, the Spanish fifth seed only willing to give away twelve games in total.

French to the fore in Marseille

Nick Kyrgios has been silent for the past couple of weeks which is a blessing but this week he is in Marseille, defending one of the three titles he won in 2016.  He is having to deal with a host of French players, five of whom joined him at the quarter final stage.

Six was looking likely, but unseeded veteran Nicolas Mahut could not continue his form shown in the first round when he upset young gun A,expander Zverev.  Instead, little known Slovakian qualifier Norbert Gombos prevailed in a three set thriller, and will be the next opposition for Kyrgios.

Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, full of confidence following his Rotterdam success last week, will play the Australian in one semi final should both win through, Tsonga needing to edge past seventh seed and compatriot Gilles Simon.

Top seed Gael Monfils meets sixth seed Richard Gasquet in another all French clash, and potentially the best of the four quarter finals.  The victor in that plays the survivor of the Lucas Pouille (4) v Daniil Medvedev match.  Medvedev already is unpopular with locals, having dumped 8th seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire in the opening round.

Over in the US, meanwhile, Florida is the centre of men's tennis, with the Delray Beach Open now down to the final eight.  Or should I say final seven.  Donald Young has been handed a quarter final walkover by Steve Darcis and is the first semi finalist decided.

Some luck for sure, but his opening round win over second seed Ivo Karlovic earns him credibility points.  Young will play another American, either Jack Sock or Steve Johnson.  Sock, the third seed, is currently, at number 21, the top ranked American, which says a lot for the adequate but less than awe inspiring space in which we find US men's racquet work

Top seed Milos Raonic is in a different class from the rest of the field, and eighth seed Kyle Edmund will need to fire on all his own cylinders plus some he borrows from elsewhere to stand a chance of gaining a semi final berth.

Raonic, should he advance, will run into Sam Querrey or that rarely sighted Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro. Making his fifty thousandth attempt at a fully fledged comeback, one can only hope this one works and the insanely wasted talent gives us more than teasing glimpses before he finally hangs up his racquet.

Teenagers show how in Dubai

Dubai has seen many shock results in the Premier 5 WTA tournament this week, making it difficult to forecast just who might take charge of the women's tour this year. Yes,  Serena Williams may not be in this field and is the obvious answer to the question, but history suggests she will only take charge as she pleases.

For mere mortals the discussion is more complex.

Karolina Pliskova won her second title for the year in Doha on Sunday, yet after a first round Dubai bye was smashed in the second round by France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-2 6-4.  Doha semi finalist Dominika Cibulkova, also given a bye to the second round, was able to advance no further, despite winning the opening set easily against Ekaterina Makarova.

The trend of seeds departing didn't begin here - the first round had already seen the last of Aus Open semi finalist Coco Vandeweghe,  joined in the departure lounge by Kiki Bertens, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Roberta Vinci and Yulia Putintseva.

After the second round was complete, the final sixteen included a mere five seeded players, and as we await the quarter finals, only three are left standing.  However it is the stories of two other players that is creating the excitement.

19 year old Croatian Ana Konjuh, ranked 36 in the world, beat the higher ranked Shuai Zhang (a Doha quarter finalist) in the first round, then seeds Stosur (12) and Vesnina (8) to reach the final eight where she will create many headaches for world number two and top seed Angie Kerber.

They have met once before, with Kerber the convincing victor, but Konjuh is on the rise, as her finals appearance in Auckland early 2017 indicated.

Americans have reason to feel their tennis future is bright if players such as Catherine Bellis keep on popping up.  The 17 year old, better known as CiCi, won her final three tournaments of 2016, the last a genuine WTA event in Hawaii.  It catapulted her into the top 100, and only injury prevented her carrying that momentum into 2017.  The disappointment of missing the Aus Open, and losing in qualifying in Doha has been replaced with joy as the potential star now enjoys the challenge of quarter final action against Caroline Wozniacki.  This follows ultra impressive eliminations of Putintseva and Siegemund plus her biggest win yet - that over fourth seed Aga Radwanska.

Wozniacki is my pick to win the tournament now - she has been consistent this year and is becoming stronger.  Thirteen match wins and four losses.  One final and two quarter finals before this one.  Three of her four losses have been to players ranked 2, 9 and 19, but as mitigating as that could be, the sense is none of it is satisfactory for her in the slightest.

After she beats a valiant Bellis, Caro should have too many weapons for the winner of an unseeded quarter final between Anastasija Sevastova and Qiang Wang.

It will then be another final,  against the winner of the other semi final, probably between Kerber and the Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, who should stop the excellent run of another American Lauren Davis.

Tsonga No 1 in France again

Three players won their first titles of the year on the ATP Tour over the weekend, but only one would have realistically been given a chance pre tournament.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the second seed in Rotterdam, claimed his thirteenth career title, relegating David Goffin to a second successive runner-up position in the process.

It was Goffin faster out of the blocks, serving competently and able to return the Tsonga delivery with interest, breaking twice for a 4-1 lead.  

Despite Tsonga retrieving one of the breaks, Goffin eased to a 6-4 lead.

The French serve lifted in power and effectiveness in set two, allowing Goffin little option but to defend, and while Tsonga won 80% of points on his own serve, facing no break points,  Goffin finally relented in the tenth game, dropping serve and losing the set 4-6.

The deciding set was a cakewalk with Tsonga savaging the total Belgian game.  Without a title last year, Tsonga is off and running in 2017, winning 4-6 6-4 6-1, and once again taking the mantle of number one French player, moving past Gael Monfils.

David Goffin, although disappointed at losing another final (he has failed in his last six), will be delighted to achieve a career high ranking of 10.

Alexandr Dolgopolov won his first title in five years with victory in Buenos Aires over top seed Kei Nishikori, a player he had previously never beaten.  It was a tough match with both players achieving a service break in the opening set before the Ukranian prevailed in the tie break.

The only two break chances in set two were those afforded Dolgopolov and he converted one which was enough for the 7-6 (4) 6-4 success.

The win catapults him back to the top fifty, still well off his best of 13 achieved some years ago.

The debut winner this week was American Ryan Harrison, who won the Memphis tournament.  Harrison won a final against equally unseeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, in which he did not drop serve.  After a devastating 6-1 first set,  Harrison withstood a much tougher contest in the second, and saved an incredible 10 break points in the process.

He broke the Basilashvili serve in the fifth game and rode it through to the end, winning 6-1 6-4.  This win came directly after a win on the Challenger circuit, making Harrison one of the genuine form players right now, and his ranking has improved from 62 to 43.

Dolgopolov first final in 3 years

The finals are set in Rotterdam and Buenos Aires while the semis in Memphis are underway.

Argentine fans were cheering loudly when their own Carlos Berlocq took the opening set off top seed Kei Nishikori, saving all the five break points that he faced, and eagerly converting one of the two he was granted. Nishikori was unable to exert his authority throughout the many exchanges as one would have thought, given his greater arsenal of shot making weapons, and Carlos led 6-4.  A lot different to the second round of the Aus Open last month where Kei won in straight sets.

The semi final turned in the second set, not dramatically but enough for Nishikori to break down the percentage of points Berlocq was winning on his first serve. Even so, the top seed was 4-4 and 0-30, just two points from Berlocq serving for the match.  A touch of brilliance ensured the service hold, and then for a second time in the set the Argentine was broken, squaring the match away at 4-6 6-4.  The world number five appeared far more contented.

The trend continued in the decider,  Nishikori even more dominant on serve, despite carelessly dropping it once.  Berlocq was unable to compete at his first set level, and the result never looked in doubt.  Nishikori into the final 4-6 6-4 6-3

Alexandr Dolgopolov will be his opposition, following the Ukranian's belting of fourth seed Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5 6-2 in the other semi.  It is his first final in three years, and he has not surrendered a set in reaching it.  The start of the match was a poor indicator of things to come, the Spaniard breaking to love.  Dolgopolov immediately broke back, and held serve for the remainder of set one.  While Pablo missed out on four more break chances, Alexandr seized on another of his opportunities to win a vital advantage 7-5.

Set two was a procession, with Pablo level only on first serve percentage, which was deplorable for both.  Everywhere else Dolgopolov dominated,  never facing a break point and breaking the Spanish serve another couple of times. 

The Rotterdam final will be France v Belgium, after second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his semi final against Tomas Berdych.  David Goffin denied an all French affair, halting the excellent run of Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the other semi.

Berdych had been in his best form for some time, so his capitulation at the hands of Tsonga came as a surprise.  The serve was key in the opening set, with Tsonga making 81% of his first attempts count, and winning all but four points off those.  Berdych could only manage a first serve percentage of 56, and Tsonga was eating up almost half of those anyway.

Still Berdych had the ammunition to stay in contention in most service games and avoid facing too many break points.  Tsonga didn't need to save any, and pressured Berdych into a single loss of serve, earning the first set 6-3.

Tsonga's first serve accuracy went out the window in set two, but it mattered none.  He won 20 points of a possible 23 from all his serves - Berdych won a less inspiring 63%,  and succumbed, dropping serve once and losing the match 6-3 6-4.

Goffin never allowed Herbert entry into his semi final, displaying a class of tennis simply too much for the Frenchman.  Three out of four times Goffin broke serve, and he only faced one break point himself.  6-1 and not much in this semi final for the crowd to write home about, except from one end perhaps.  

Much more competitive in set two from Herbert,  but again it was he who had to save break points.  He prevented four from causing any damage, but Goffin only required one to cause the damage.  A finalist for a second time in two successive tournaments on the back of an impressive 6-1 6-3 success.

Pliskova takes Doha - 2nd 2017 win

Karolina Pliskova won the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets 6-3 6-4.  This was the second title already in 2017 to be pocketed by the Czech world number three, already having triumphed in Brisbane in January.  Both wins were Premier level tournaments, confirming Pliskova's status as the best player currently not to have won at Grand Slam level, but most likely to shake that tag soon.

The win was established, as many are, on a dominant first set, itself structured not so much around the wonderful serve, which sets her apart from most women in the game, but more about her returning skills against the Wozniacki delivery.

Wozniacki was able to win a number of points, both on first and second serves, and even managed to convert the single break chance she was given, but this was after losing the first four games and being under constant pressure from the Pliskova shot making.  

Serving at 3-5 Wozniacki was broken once more and she had dropped her first set for the week.

The second set showed why Wozniacki was in the final, and the pair were equally comfortable holding serve through the greater part.  The one break point created was Danish and that was easily dealt with by Pliskova who served her way to 5-4.  With the pressure of serving second and now needing to hold to stay in the match, Wozniacki lapsed and at 15-40 netted a Pliskova forehand, ending proceedings.

A first glance at the stats makes it hard to see how Wozniacki could lose in two sets having made only five unforced errors in the match.

The answer is with the 27 clean winners off the Pliskova racquet, and the aggressive shot making leading to forced mistakes from Wozniacki in addition to the five recorded.

The title for Pliskova included her first wins ever over both Cibulkova and Wozniacki, so she continues to present herself as an increasingly intimidating force on tour.