WTA Beijing – Williams’ sisters in action

Serena Williams and Venus Williams will play today at Beijing’s second round against Francesca Schiavone and Sabine Lisicki respectively.

Serena defeated Elena Vesnina in two easy sets on the first round and will take on Schiavone for the third time this year after easy wins on Toronto (6 – 3 6 – 2) and US Open (6 – 0 6 – 1).  Francesca isn’t able to deal with Serena powerful shots and the World No. 1 should take another easy two sets victory.

After last week’s great performance at Tokyo, Venus Williams tries to keep the good momentum here at Beijing. This should be a very fiery contest between two aggressive players who hit the ball very strong. Venus is lightly favorite, but Lisicki has quality to take this match and I think the German may surprise here and defeat another Williams’ sister like she did at Wimbledon against Serena.

ATP Beijing – Nadal and Djokovic return

This Thursday the 2013 US Open finalists, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, will return to action at Beijing.

Djokovic will be the first in action on National Tennis Stadium against Lukas Rosol, the Czech who beat Rafael Nadal in 2012 Wimbledon. This will be the second meeting between the two players, they faced each other earlier this year at Miami and Djokovic won that match 6 – 1 6 – 0. The Serbian should be able to take once again this match in two easy sets.

Nadal plays after Nole on National Tennis Stadium with Colombian Santiago Giraldo. The two players have already played five times and Nadal won all those matches not losing a single set. The Spanish is playing some of his best career tennis and this will be a very hard game for Giraldo. I expect Rafa to take this one in two sets also.

ATP Tokyo – Tsonga wins 100% French clash

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated his fellow countryman Gael Monfils in straight sets

 

Tsonga and Monfils faced for the fifth time in their career, Jo-Wilfried leads the head-to-head 3-1 and was looking to repeat 2009 success at Tokyo.

Tsonga knows he has to produce good tennis in order to qualify for London, he is currently the 10^th player on the race to London. The player also known as Ali served at great level not allowing Sliderman to have a single break point. In a very close match between two good friends, was Tsonga who emerged victorious 6 – 3 7 – 6.

 

Match Stats:

                 Gael Monfils:                                                Jo-Wilfried Tsonga:

Aces                                   11                                                                     8

                                           

Double Faults                     2                                                                     0
   

First serve in                     53%                                                                  54%

First serve won                  66%                                                                  78%

Second serve won              58%                                                                   58%

Break Points Saved         3/4 (75%)                                                             0/0   

 

ATP Beijing: Dimitrov and Haas out

In the starting day of the men’s competition at Beijing, Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Haas suffered straight sets loss against Roberto Bautista Agut and Lleyton Hewitt respectively.

Dimitrov returned this week after poor performance at US Open where he lost in the first round against Joao Sousa. The Bulgarian faced qualifier Bautista Agut and struggled against the Spanish baseline consistency not being able to get a single break point all match. Dimitrov was broken three times during the match losing 4 – 6 2 – 6.

Haas played against another veteran, Lleyton Hewitt, and was trying to avoid a 7^th loss for the Australian player. Hewitt showed great tennis at US Open where he reached 4^th round and the Aussie’s baseline aggressive game proved to be too good for Tommy today. The German lost a close first set in the tie break (6 – 8) and in the second set was only able to win 38% points on serve allowing Hewitt to break him three times.

Results of the Day:

Bernard Tomic 7 – 6 6 – 4 Ze Zhang (W)

Roberto Bautista Agut (Q) 6 – 4 6 – 2 Grigor Dimitrov

Lleyton Hewitt (W) 7 – 6 6 – 3 Tommy Haas (7)

Fabio Fognini 7 – 5 4 – 6 6 – 3 Tommy Robredo

Philipp Kohlschreiber 7 – 5 1 – 6 7 – 6 Albert Montanes

WTA Beijing – Victoria Azarenka suffers second early straight loss

Although having physical difficulties, Andrea Petkovic overcame Victoria Azarenka in three sets

After last week disappointing performance at Tokyo where Victoria Azarenka lost to Venus Williams 2 – 6 4 – 6, the World No. 2 was surprised once again in Beijing against Andrea Petkovic.

The Belarusian struggled with her serve with 15 double faults and despite Petkovic physical problems in the second set, the German was able to recover from a set down in the third to claim her best season victory.

Match Stats:

                 Andrea Petkovic:                                                Victoria Azarenka:

Aces                                   2                                                                      6

                                           

Double Faults                     5                                                                     15

First serve in                     69%                                                                  56%

First serve won                  63%                                                                  70%

Second serve won              34%                                                                   36%

Break Points Saved         6/11 (54%)                                                           4/9 (44%)  

WTA Beijing – Serena Williams starts title quest in style

World No. 1 Serena Williams opened her campaign at Beijing with comfortable win over Russian Elena Vesnina 6 – 4 6 – 2. 

The first set was a close one and Williams dropped her serve twice, but at 4 – 4 she got a decisive break and served for the first set with authority.

The second set was all about Serena, not facing a single break point and only losing 5 points on serve. The American broke two times Vesnina's serve to get a place in the second round.

In the next round she’ll face Francesca Schiavone, the Italian was leading 3 – 2 in the first set when Alize Cornet retired.

Completed Matches Today: 

Serena Williams (1) 6 - 4 6 - 2 Elena Vesnina

Maria Kirilenko 7 - 5 6 - 2 Jie Zheng (W)

Agnieszka Radwanska (3) 4 - 6 6 - 4 6 - 4 Stefanie Voegele

Madison Keys 6 - 4 6 - 3 Dominika Cilbukova

Laura Robson 7 - 6 4 - 6 6 - 1

Misaki Doi (Q) 6 - 1 6 - 1 Silvia Soler-Espinosa (Q)

Sabine Lisicki (13) 6 - 3 6 - 2 Chanelle Scheepers (Q)

Na Li (4) 6 - 0 6 - 4 Daniela Hantuchova 

Lauren Davis (Q) 6 - 0 5 - 7 6 - 4 Mona Barthel 

Lucie Safarova 7 - 5 6 - 3 Samantha Stosur (15)

Kaia Kanepi 7 - 5 6 - 4 Julia Goerges

ATP Bangkok – Milos Raonic conquers Thailand’s crown

Milos Raonic served at great level with 18 aces to overcome Tomas Berdych

Tomas Berdych was playing his third season final and still looking for first title after defeats in Dubai (against Novak Djokovic) and Marseille (against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga).  

The first set was a big battle of serve both players had good percentages of first serves, Berdych with 76% first serve in and Milos Raonic 68%. With such good serves from both players, this set was decided in a tie break, Milos took it with 7 – 4 in the breaker.

Berdych lost his focus and started this set dropping his serve. Raonic just had to hold serve and that’s exactly what he did not losing a single point on his first serve in this second set and taking this one 6 – 3.

Match Stats:

                  Milos Raonic:                                                Tomas Berdych:

Aces                                   18                                                                     4

                                           

Double Faults                      1                                                                      0

First serve in                     66%                                                                  74%

First serve won                  95%                                                                  82%

Second serve won              54%                                                                   64%

Break Points Saved         1/1 (100%)                                                           0/1 (0%)  

ATP Kuala Lumpur – João Sousa claims first career title

João Sousa came back from set down to be the first Portuguese player ever to win an ATP title

Benneteau was the favorite for this match and started with confidence, his backhand and net game were making the difference. After 2 – 2 the French won 4 straight games to take a 1 – 0 lead.

Julien was not closer from his first career victory after 8 straight losses and the second serve was a battle of serves. At 5 – 4 huge opportunity for Benneteau, the French had match point on Sousa’s serve but the Portuguese saved it with an outstanding passing shot forehand down the line. Sousa came strong after that hold getting his first break and with a love hold of serve claimed the second set.

Benneteau seemed to be lost in the match and started the third set dropping his serve, the French wasn’t able to deal with Sousa’s consistency and aggressive game. Despite having 4 break point chances in the decisive set, Benneteau wasn’t able to confirm any of those. After 2 hours and 18 minutes Sousa claimed first career title with a backhand unforced error from Benneteau. 

ATP Kuala Lumpur – João Sousa vs Julien Benneteau Preview

A new ATP champion will emerge at Kuala Lumpur this Sunday, Julien Benneteau will try to avoid a ninth straight defeat in an ATP final while Portuguese João Sousa tries to be successful in first career final.

Benneteau has lost 8 finals so far in his career, the last one this year at Rotterdam against Juan Martin Del Potro. The French hasn’t been able to play his best tennis in decisive matches and this might be one of his last chances to claim an ATP trophy. Benneteau is last year’s finalist, likes to play in Indoor with solid baseline strokes and has good game around the net. Today he defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in a match where he proved to be solider from the baseline.

Sousa can become the first Portuguese player to win an ATP title, after 2010 Frederico Gil lost in Estoril Open (now known as Portugal Open) final against Albert Montanes, this will be the second time Portugal has a player at a final. João has played some outstanding tennis, after his US Open performance where he defeated Grigor Dimitrov and Jarkko Nieminen, the Portuguese player reached St. Petersburg semi-finals and is now playing Kuala Lumpur final after defeating players like Jurgen Melzer and David Ferrer.

Benneteau has a huge chance to claim a title, but the French may suffer with the pressure of 8 straight losses and the fact that he is the favorite in this match. Julien has 72% chances of success, but Sousa has proved to be a very tough opponent. Sousa’s consistency and aggressive play style may difficult Benneteau’s life and I won’t be surprised if the Portuguese could surprise once again.

ATP Bangkok – Tomas Berdych vs Milos Raonic Preview

This Sunday Berdych and Raonic will face in Bangkok’s final, this will be the second meeting between the two players after last year’s Raonic victory at Cincinnati 6 – 4 2 – 6 6 – 2.

After losing this season’s finals at Dubai and Marseille, Berdych has a good chance to claim first 2013 title. The Czech plays very good tennis in Indoor, his serve and massive forehand are very difficult to deal with.

Raonic loves to play in Indoor and three of his four career titles were won in these game conditions.  The serve is so hard to break, Raonic serves consistently over 200 km/h and his forehand is getting better and better throughout his career.

Both players had difficult tests today against French players, Berdych defeated Simon 6 – 7 6 – 2 7 – 5 needing almost three hours while Raonic also needed to come back from set down against Richard Gasquet 3 – 6 7 – 5 6 – 4.

This might be a very close match and the key for this match may be the serve. Both players got today good first serve percentages, Berdych got 60% first serve in and Raonic 63%. Another important factor is the backhand, Berdych’s backhand is better than Raonic and the Czech has to force Milos to play with his weakest stroke.

Berdych is the favorite for this match with 60% chances of victory and I agree with that. I expect the Czech to claim his first season title.

WTA Tokyo – Kvitova claims 2nd season title

Petra Kvitova overcame Angelique Kerber in three sets to earn Tokyo’s trophy

This was the fourth meeting between Kvitova and Kerber, the Germand lead 2 - 1 the head-to-head, but Kvitova was looking to keep her impressive career record in finals (10 – 4 before this final).

Kvitova started strong with an early break of serve hitting the ball very flat and powerful with her forehand. Kerber tried to fight back and had two break point chances with 15 – 40 when she was 1 – 3 down, but Kvitova save those opportunities. The Czech was just too strong and got a double break in the 8^th game that was also a set point after a forehand error by Kerber.

Kerber raised her level in the second set with some amazing counter-puncher skills. Kvitova tried to be aggressive, but Angelique was finding answer for everything. The German crushed her opponent in this set with 6 – 0.

Petra’s forehand came once again in the decisive set and the Czech was the first to get the break digging a 4 – 1 lead. Kvitova proved once again to be very strong in finals, after 1 hour and 40 minutes the 2011 Wimbledon champion closed the match and won her second season title after her earlier success in Dubai. 

WTA Tokyo – Petra Kvitova reaches final after third set tie break victory over Venus Williams

Venus Williams played some of her best career tennis this week with huge victories, but wasn’t able to overcome 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

This was a very fiery contest between two aggressive players, the American started stronger getting an early break for a 2 – 0 lead, but Williams wasn’t able to keep that advantage and with a double fault Kvitova got the break back. After a couple holds of serve, Kvitova dropped her service game once again after a backhand that went long. Both players held serve from this point and Venus claimed the first set 6 – 3 with a return error from the Czech.

Kvitova played solid tennis in the second set not facing a single break point. A break in the fourth game was enough for Kvitova to win this set and take the match into a third and decisive set.

The third set was once again all about the serve. Venus had huge opportunity at game number 6 with two break points, but lost them after two forehand errors, one into the net and the other long. The game was decided in a tie break and Kvitova was just too strong getting a 6 – 0 lead. At match point number three Petra closed the match after another forehand error from Williams.

ATP Kuala Lumpur – Wawrinka gets fourth career victory over Baghdatis

Stanislas Wawrinka repeats US Open success against Marcos Baghdatis in his debut at Malaysia

After his great performance at US Open, Wawrinka returned to competition at Kuala Lumpur with a solid exhibition against Baghdatis. The Suisse claimed the match 6 – 1 7 – 5, not facing a single break point during the entire match. 

Match Stats:

                   Marcos Baghdatis:                                                Stanislas Wawrinka:

Aces                                    2                                                                      6

                                           

Double Faults                      3                                                                      3

First serve in                     52%                                                                  49%

First serve won                  84%                                                                  85%

Second serve won              36%                                                                   67%

Break Points Saved       1/4 (25%)                                                                0/0  

WTA Tokyo – Caroline Wozniacki recovers from set down

Caroline Wozniacki lost the first set against Lucie Safarova, but was able to comeback from that disadvantage to reach Tokyo’s semi-final.

Safarova was just unstoppable in the first set losing just four points on serve and breaking Wozniacki two times to close the opening set 6 – 2.

The Danish player fought back in the second set and at 3 – 2 she got her first break after a double fault from Safarova. Caroline held serve and closed this one 6 – 3.

In the decisive set was all about Wozniacki, Safarova struggled with Caro’s consistency and the former world No. 1 took this decisive set 6 – 2.

In the next round Caroline Wozniacki will face Angelique Kerber.

Other results:

Angelique Kerber 6 – 4 6 – 4 Agnieszka Radwanska

Petra Kvitova 6 – 4 6 – 1 Svetlana Kuznetsova

WTA Tokyo – Venus Williams survives 3 hours marathon

Venus Williams keeps impressing this week at Tokyo and after her victories over Mona Barthel, Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep, the five times Wimbledon champion overcame Eugenie Bouchard 6 – 3 6 – 7 6 – 3.

Bouchard started in good style getting a 3 – 1 lead, but Venus fought back with powerful and deep groundstrokes that allowed her to get 5 straight games closing the first set 6 – 3 after a long rally that ended with a backhand down the line unforced error by Bouchard.

Williams was determined to reach her third season semi-finals after Florianopolis and Charleston. The American got a 2 - 0 lead in the second set, but Gennie recovered and leveled the second set at two games all. The servers dominate from that point and a tie break was needed to decide this set. With 3 – 3 on tie break, Bouchard fired some solid and aggressive groundstrokes and after a couple of Williams’ errors the young Canadian had a 6 – 3 lead and three set points. After a forehand unforced error from Williams the Canada’s number one claimed the second set.

 Despite playing very poor in the tie break, Venus started the third set very strong getting an early break in the third game and got a double break lead in the 7^th game for a 5 – 2 lead. The American failed when serving for the match, but in the next game was able to close the match after a forehand error from Bouchard. Williams celebrated this huge victory with a loud “Come on!” 

Venus Williams reaches Tokyo's quarter-finals

Venus Williams comes from set and break against Simona Halep

Venus has struggled with Sjorgen’s Syndrome that affects her physical condition and doesn’t allow playing at her best consistently, however Venus has been at very good level this week in Tokyo. Serena’s older sister has defeated so far Mona Barthel, Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep. Three great victories so far and despite poor performance by Vika, all the credit to Williams who played very aggressive tennis.

Venus defeated today Simona Halep 4 – 6 7 – 5 6 – 3 recovering from a set and a break down. In the next round she’ll face young Canadian Eugenie Bouchard after her big win against Jelena Jankovic 7 – 5 6 – 3 

WTA Tokyo – Flavia Pennetta vs Caroline Wozniacki Preview

Flavia Pennetta will face Caroline Wozniacki for the seventh time in their careers at Tokyo

Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki is not having an easy 2013 season. The Danish player hasn’t won a single title this season, since 2008 Wozniacki has won at least one title per season. Caro’s last performance at US Open was very disappointing losing in the third round against an inspired Camila Giorgi and this will be her first game in almost a month.

Flavia Pennetta found her best tennis at US Open with some outstanding performances defeating in straight sets players like Sara Errani, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci. Solid baseline play with powerful groundstrokes makes Pennetta a very dangerous opponent. The Italian was victorious in Tokyo’s first round against Daniela Hantuchova 6 – 3 6 – 3.

Wozniacki leads 5 – 1 the head-to-head against Pennetta and despite being favorite the Danish will have to fight hard if she wants to beat Pennetta for the sixth time. Flavia is playing amazing tennis and my prediction will be for a victory from the Italian former top 10.

Gulbis fights back and wins second season title

Ernest Gulbis was down a set and a break, but was still able to overcome Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Garcia-Lopez played wonderful tennis in the first set, especially on the return of serve breaking Gulbis three times. The Spanish took the first one 6 – 3 with 86% first serve points won and also great numbers at first serve in, 71%.

It seemed that Garcia-Lopez was going to be the next St. Petersburg champion when the Spanish got a 4 – 1 lead in the second set, but Gulbis started to fire some outstanding winners and won five straight games to take this match into a decider.

Garcia-Lopez struggled with his body and the third set was all about Gulbis. The player from Latvia only lost 5 points in the third set and after 1 hour and 45 minutes claimed his second season title, after his triumph at Delray Beach.

Simon beats Tsonga for Metz title

Gilles Simon got his first career victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Hard Court to claim Metz trophy

Tsonga struggled all week with his game, this was his first tournaments in the last months after a knee injury, in the two previous rounds against Tobias Kamke and Florian Mayer the French had to come from a set down to claim the victory. Jo was looking for his third straight title at Metz, but in the other side was his fellow countryman Simon, who as also comming from an injury on his ribs.

Simon played very solid tennis while Tsonga wasn't able to find his best rythm. When Simon was serving for the first set at 5 - 4 he faced 15 - 40, but Tsonga wasn't able to get the break back. Tsonga also had a 15 - 40 chance in the beggining of the second set but once again didn't convert the opportunities. Simon broke Tsonga's serve at 2 - 2 and once again when Tsonga was serving to stay in the match at 3 - 5 ending the glourious streak of Tsonga at Metz.

WTA Seoul – Update

Julia Goerges cruises into second round while Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has to recover from a set down

Julia Goerges is not having a good summer so far, with a 1 – 9 record the German is trying to find her best tennis. Goerges faced Misako Doi from Japan. The 22 years old Japanese is a good baseline solid player with aggressive groundstrokes and this would be a big test for Julia. Goerges responded with a good performance winning 6 – 3 7 – 5, but what was more impressive was her serve, Julia won 80% first serve points and got 60% first serves in. She’ll face in the next round the winners of the match between Irina-Camelia Begu and Xinyun Han.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is the third seed at Seoul where she is looking for third season title. She would face in the first round Anabel Medina Garrigues for the second time in her carrer, the previous match was won by the Russian at Linz Hard Courts Indoor 6 – 4 2 – 6 6 – 3. This was expected to be an easier match for Pavlyuchenkova, but the Russian had to recover from a set down after dropping the first 5 – 7. Anastasia fought back and played more aggressive to take this in three sets 5 – 7 6 – 2 6 – 3.

Results of the day

Vera Dushevina 6 – 4 6 – 1 Silvia Soler-Espinosa

Alexandra Dulgheru 6 – 0 7 – 6 Sung-Hee Han (W)

Larra Arruabarrena 7 – 5 2 – 6 6 – 4 Elina Svitolina (5)

Julia Goerges (6) 6 – 3 7 – 5 Misaki Doi

Ye-Ra Lee (W) 6 – 4 6 – 1 Daria Gavrilova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (3) 5 – 7 6 – 2 6 – 3 Anabel Medina Garrigues

Virginie Razzano 6 – 1 6 – 1 Lourdes Dominguez Lino

ATP Metz – Preview

Battle of Giants

This Monday the first game of the main draw will take place between two ATP giants, Ivo Karlovic and Sam Querrey.

Sam Querrey is known as one of USA’s twin towers along with John Isner and has a huge first serve and also a stunning forehand. He’s a very difficult player to break and playing in fast conditions like this in Metz his serve becomes even more effective.

Ivo Karlovic is all about serve, Dr. Ivo is the 7^th player in ATP history with more aces with a total of 7672. In Hard Court Indoor his serve is even faster and breaking Karlovic’s serve seems like a mission impossible.

Querrey leads the head-to-head 4 – 1, but this won’t be an easy game for the American. I expect a very disputed match with both players holding their service games and tie breaks in this match will happen for sure. Karlovic seems to be in better position to take this match, but is very hard to predict a winner in this match. One thing I’m sure, it will be the serve who dictates the points.

Serbia reaches final after 3 - 2 victory

Serbia joins Czech Republic in Davis Cup final after Djokovic and Tipsarevic's victories

After the doubles loss, Serbia was forced to win the two games this Sunday to get a place in Davis Cup final.

The World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was the first in action and after a close first set won in the tie break, Nole had no troubles to claim this match 7 – 6 6 – 2 6 – 2 in just 2 hours and 8 minutes. Milos Raonic was only able to win 29% second serve points and this was the key for Djokovic’s success.

With 2 – 2, the final game would be between Janko Tipsarevic and Vasek Pospisil. The young Canadian played Friday and also Saturday and came to this match with 7 hours of play so far. In the first set at 2 – 2, Pospisil received medical timeout to his right elbow and it seemed that Tipsarevic would take this one sooner or later. The first set was much tied like it happened in the previous game, and the player from Serbia won it 7 – 6. In the next one was all about Tipsarevic winning 6 – 2 and after an early break in the third set things were even easier for Janko. However Tipsarevic felt troubles when serving to close the match at 5 – 3 and was broken for the first time in the match. Both held serve and this was going to be decided in a tie break where Tipsarevic had a 6 – 2 lead, but wasn’t able to confirm any of the four break points. The home player won his point on serve and in his 5^th match point booked a place for Serbia in the final after a huge point where both players ended on the ground.

Serbia behind after doubles match

Canada pulled off another outstanding five set victory and took the lead at Belgrade in Davis Cup semi-finals

In the first day Djokovic won easily his match against Vasek Pospisil in three sets, but Milos Raonic overcame Janko Tipsarevic in a five set battle with 10 – 8 in the fifth, saving one match point and firing 105 winners.

This Saturday the doubles match took place, Ilija Bozoljac & Nenad Zimojic faced Vasek Pospisil & Daniel Nestor and once again the Canadians claimed the fifth set by 10 – 8 getting a 2 – 1 lead.

Serbia are still favorites to book a place in the final, but things got interesting for this fifth day. Novak Djokovic plays the first match of the day against Milos Raonic and the World No. 1 should take this one to tie things.

The last and decisive match will be between Vasek Pospisil and Janko Tipsarevic, the young Canadian is the underdog, but he has proved today in the doubles match to know how to face the nerves and an upset is not impossible.

Don’t miss the last action at Davis Cup this Sunday

Davis Cup - Serbia vs Canada – Friday Preview

This semi-final will take place in Belgrade and is going to be played on Clay Indoor.

The first rubber is going to be played by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Canada’s number two Vasek Pospisil. This will be the first meeting between the two players, but there’ll be no big story in the match. Pospisil is a very weak player on this surface and despite some tiredness from Djokovic, the Serbian’s hero should take this match in three easy sets.

The second rubber promises to be a much more interesting match, Janko Tipsarevic and Milos Raonic will face for the 4^th time and Raonic won the three previous meetings. The last game between these players was at Cincinnati a few weeks ago. Both prefer to play on Hard Court and on clay Raonic’s big serve is not so efficient. Tipsarevic has improved his level of game at US Open and has a very good Davis Cup record on clay with 15 – 4. Raonic is lightly favorite, but Tipsarevic has a big chance to give Serbia a 2 – 0 lead.

WTA Quebec Update

Safarova survives hard test while injured Mattek-Sands retires

The 4^th seed Mattek-Sands was the first to get in action today against the 20 years old from Croatia Alja Tomljanovic.

Mattek-Sands started in good form getting the first break of the match and leading in the starting set 4 – 2, but Tomljanovic fought back with some powerful baseline strokes and leveled things up 4 games all. After a hold by both players Tomljanovic was able to get a break and served with authority to get the first set.

The American got the first break once again in the second set and had a 4 – 0 lead, she lost one of the breaks but was able to secure the other and closed the second set.

In the third Tomljanovic was leading and Mattek-Sands got injured and despite receiving medical timeout wasn’t able to continue playing.

Safarova booked a place in quarter-finals after a tough match against Mirjana Lucic overcoming the Croatian in two tie breaks.

The Czech took the first set 7 – 4 in the breaker and seemed to be in control of the match leading at 5 – 3 in the second set. But things weren’t over yet, Mirjana got back into the match and like the first set this, one would be decided in a breaker. The Croatian had a 6 – 3 lead in the tie break, but Safarova found her best forehands and won this second set with a dramatic 12 – 10 in the tie break.

WTA Quebec – Preview

This Thursday the favorite home player Eugenie Bouchard will be in action against Sesil Karatantcheva after her tough win over Sofia Arvidsson. The player from Kazakhstan won the previous meeting in 2011, however Bouchard has improved her game level and has everything to take this match to her side. Genie proved to be a pure fighter yesterday and should take this match against Karatantcheva.

Lauren Davis overcame Camila Giorgi in a three set contest having to come back from one set down and saving 91% break points she faced. This time she will face another player that won her match in three sets, Andrea Hlavackova. The Czech defeated Anastasia Rodionova and is a good player in Indoor Hard Courts. Hlavackova hits the ball very flat with her forehand and feels very comfortable around the net. Davis is a solid baseline player, but this should be an interesting meeting decided in three sets.

Eugenie Bouchard overcomes Sofia Arvidsson in a third set tie break battle

Canadian number one Eugenie Bouchard was the last home player in competition after the defeats of Sharon Fichman, Stephanie Dubois and Aleksandra Wozniak.

The fifth seed faced Sofia Arvidsson in their first career meeting and things started very well for Genie claiming the first set 6 – 1 and not allowing Arvidsson to win a single service game. But in the second set the player from Sweden raised her level and served at great level with 4 aces and winning 73% first serve points taking this second set 6 – 2.

The third set became a pure battle between both players, Bouchard got an early break for a 2 – 1 lead, but Arvidsson fought back and recovered the break in the following game. The home player had a great chance with a break point at 3 – 3, but Sofia found her best serve and got out of troubles. Bouchard served to stay in the match two times and at 5 – 6 the game was decided in deuce, but the young Canadian took the match into a tie break. Genie was just too strong in that breaker winning 7 – 0 and kept Canada in competition.

Match Stats:

                   Eugenie Bouchard:                                                Sofia Arvidsson:

Aces                                    9                                                                      8

                                           

Double Faults                      4                                                                      2

First serve in                     59%                                                                  70%

First serve won                  64%                                                                  62%

Second serve won              46%                                                                   37%

Break Points Saved       2/7 (28%)                                                           11/16 (68%) 

Challenger Tour Updates: Cali, Istanbul, Petange & Seville

Cali: Argentinean’s day

This Wednesday in the three main draw games there were four players from Argentina in action. The two seeded players, Facundo Bagnis and Guido Andreozzi got straight sets victories over Patricio Heras and Fernando Romboli respectively. The other Argentinean Andres Molteni was surprised by the Brazilian Thales Turini.

Facundo Bagnis (4) 7 – 5 6 – 1 Patricio Heras

Guido Andreozzi (2) 6 – 3 7 – 6 Fernando Romboli (Q)

Thales Turini 6 – 3 7 – 5 Andres Molteni

Istanbul: First seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez cruises into quarter-final

The Spanish Garcia-Lopez booked a place in the next stage after an easy win against Malek Jaziri. Garcia-Lopez applied a bagel in the first set losing only 5 points in that opening set.

The other seed player in action Flavio Cipolla defeated another opponent from Belarus and after needing to comeback from one set down against Uladzmir Ignatik, this time things were easier with a straight sets win over Dzmitry Zhyrmont.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (1) 6 – 0 6 – 3 Malek Jaziri

Flavio Cippola (6) 6 – 2 6 – 3 Dzmitry Zhyrmont

John-Patrick Smith 6 – 3 4 – 6 6 – 2 Mirza Basic

Konstantin Kravchuk 6 – 3 6 – 3 Austin Krajicek

Petange: Benjamin Becker applies double bagel

Benjamin Becker had no troubles to overcome the wild card Ugo Nastasi winning with a double bagel and in the first set only lost one point on serve.

Paul-Henri Mathieu was also victorious today against the qualifier Sam Barry from Ireland winning 95% points on first serve and didn’t face any break point all match.

Benjamin Becker (3) 6 – 0 6 – 0 Ugo Nastasi (W)

Paul-Henri Mathieu 6 – 2 6 – 4 Sam Barry (Q)

Stephane Bohli (W) 7 – 6 6 – 4 Andrey Golubev (8)

Jurgen Zopp 7 – 6 6 – 3 Stefan Seifert

Josselin Ouanna 7 – 6 6 – 1 Filip Veger (Q)

Tim Puetz 6 – 4 1 – 0 ret. Alexandre Sidorenko (Q)

Seville: Spanish top seeds Daniel Gimeno-Traver and Albert Ramos claimed a place in quarter-finals

Daniel Gimeno-Traver defeated the Italian qualifier Enrico Burzi in a good performance on serve winning 83% first serve points.

Albert Ramos overcomes Enrique Lopez-Perez in two sets, but needed a first set tie break to get victorious in his match.

Andrey Kuznetsov won the first set, but allowed Alexander Ward to turn the match to his side and was surprised by the British.

Daniel Gimeno-Traver (1) 7 – 5 6 – 3 Enrico Burzi (Q)

Albert Ramos (2) 7 – 6 6 – 2 Enrique Lopez-Perez

Alexander  Ward 4 – 6 7 – 5 7 – 5 Andrey Kuznetsov (3)

Riccardo Bellotti 6 – 3 4 – 2 ret. Maxime Teixeira (7)

Renzo Olivo (6) 6 – 3 6 – 7 6 – 2 Victor Baluda

Carlos Gomez-Herrera 6 – 3 5 – 7 6 – 1 Lorenzo Giustino

Stephane Robert (4) 6 – 2 6 – 1 Axel Michon

Andreas Beck 6 – 3 6 – 4 Taro Daniel

Challenger Tour Updates: Banja Luka

Aljaz Bedene survives three hours marathon

The number 2 seed Aljaz Bedene survived to his match against Italian Simone Vagnozzi after more than three hours of play. Bedene fired 16 aces to book a place in the quarter-finals.

The 4^th seed Diego Sebastian Schwartzman had to come back from one set down to overcome Jaroslav Pospisil.

In the other match of the day between two Slovakians, Norbert Gombos had no troubles to defeat Marek Semjan

Aljaz Bedene (2) 6 – 4 6 – 7 7 – 6 Simone Vagnozzi

Diego Sebastian Schwartzman (4) 3 – 6 7 – 6 6 – 2 Jaroslav Pospisil

Nobert Gombos 6 – 4 6 – 3 Marek Semjan

Challenger Tour Updates: Cali

Joao Souza starts title defense with solid performance

The 2012 champion Joao Souza and 1^st seed at Cali started his title defense against the current World No. 1787 and former top 110 Giovanni Lapentti. The Brazilian served at great level winning 83% first serve points and not dropping his serve during all match. In the next round he’ll face the qualifier Argentinean Juan Ignacio Londero.

This was a good day for the favorites at Cali and all the seeded players were able to pull off victories:

Joao Souza (1) 6 – 3 6 – 1 Giovanni Lapentti

Facundo Arguello (5) 6 – 3 7 – 6 Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz

Ricardo Hocevar (7) 6 – 3 6 – 2 Sebastian Exequ Pini (Q)

Agustin Velotti (3) 6 – 3 6 – 2 Gianluigi Quinzi

Carlos Salamanca (8) 7 – 6 6 – 7 6 – 0 Darian King

WTA Tashkent – Wednesday Analyze

2012 Champion Irina-Camelia Begu looks for a place in quarter-final

The defending champion Irina-Camelia Begu will face Maria Teresa Torro-Flor in their second career meeting. The first game was this year at Wimbledon and the Spanish took that match 6 – 3 6 – 4. Torro-Flor is playing her best tennis this season, has a huge forehand and is able to produce amazing winners with that stroke. Begu hasn’t been able to perform at her best this season and this year the best she has done is second round in several tournaments. Torro-Flor is playing good tennis, comes from an easy win in the first round and in my opinion the defending champion will be defeated in this game.

Another interesting game tomorrow will be between last years’ finalist Donna Vekic against Olga Govortsova. Govortsova has a poor 9 – 18 record this season and faces a young promising star that plays very well in fast surfaces. Vekic is confident, has a final to defend and should get the victory in this match with her powerful groundstrokes and baseline consistency.

Other games tomorrow:

Julia Glushko vs Galina Voskoboeva

Yvonne Meusburger vs Galina Voskoboeva

Alexandra Cadantu vs Nadiya Kichenok

Vesna Dolonc vs Mandy Minella

Risa Ozaki vs Nastassja Burnett

Bojana Jovanovksi vs Misaki Doi

Challenger Tour Updates: Petange

Petange: French top seeds out

The two top seeds of this Petange Challenger are from France, Kenny de Schepper and Nicolas Mahut, and the nationality isn’t the only thing this two have in common, both were eliminated in the first round of Petange Challenger.

Kenny de Schepper was seeking for his third career victory over Karol Beck, but the 6’8’’ was broken four times and lost his 8^th straight game. Schepper had a 4 – 1 lead on the second set, but allowed Beck to win five straight games to close the match.

Nicolas Mahut started all the way against Stefan Seifert taking the first set 6 – 1, but since that first set the Newport champion struggled with his serve, winning only 25% of points on his second serve in the two following sets.

Karol Beck 6 – 4 6 – 4 Kenny de Schepper (1)

Stefan Seifert 1 – 6 6 – 3 6 – 2 Nicolas Mahut (2)

Ricardas Berankis, Tobias Kamke and Jan-Lennard Struff were the other seeds in action today, but all of them were able to get comfortable victories in straight sets.

Ricardas Berankis (7) 6 – 3 6 – 2 Yannick Mertens

Tobias Kamke 6 – 3 6 – 2 Constantine Lestienne (Q)

Jan-Lennard Struff 6 – 0 6 – 0 Joe Hatto (W)

Challenger Tour Updates: Meknes

Moroccans’ out of competition in Meknes

Three home players were in action today after receiving wild card, but all of them were eliminated in this first round:

Marc Rath (Q) 6 – 0 6 – 3 Mehdi Ziadi (W)

Jordi Samper-Montana (7) 6 – 4 6 – 4 Hicham Khaddari (W)

Gianluca Naso 6 – 2 6 – 4 Yassine Idmbarek (W)

The young French and fifth seed Lucas Pouille was surprised by Juan Lizariturry in two sets

Juan Lizariturry 6 – 4 7 – 6 Lucas Pouille (5)

In a 100% Austrian match, Gerald Melzer defeated his fellow countryman Dominic Thiem in three close sets

Gerald Melzer 6 – 3 3 – 6 7 – 5 Dominic Thiem (6)

Other results:

Kimmer Coppejans 6 – 4 4 – 6 6 – 4 Alessandro Giannessi

Miki Jankovic (L) 6 – 7 6 – 4 6 – 3 Lukas Jastraunig (Q)

Cedrik Marcel-Stebe 6 – 2 6 – 4 Michael Blois (Q)

Steven Diez (8) 6 – 2 4 – 6 6 – 3 Adrian Sikora

Hans Podlpnik-Castillo 7 – 5 6 – 4 Gerard Granollers

Thomas Fabbiano (2) 7 – 5 6 – 2 Steve Moneke

WTA Quebec – Update

Polona Hercog pulls out major upset in Quebec’s first round after defeating the number 1 seed and defending champion Kirsten Flipkens.

The Belgian was defending a title for the first time in her career, but in the other hand was an inspired Polona Hercog. The player from Slovenia served at an outstanding level losing only 6 points on serve during entire match.

Match Stats:

                   Kirsten Flipkens:                                                Polona Hercog:

Aces                                    3                                                                      3

                                           

Double Faults                      3                                                                      0

First serve in                     56%                                                                  76%

First serve won                    74%                                                                  86%

Second serve won             23%                                                                   77%

Break Points Saved      7/11 (63%)                                                            0 / 0