By Jonathan Newman

Simona Halep finds herself, once more, one match away from becoming the top ranked women's tennis player in the world. If she beats Garbiñe Muguruza tomorrow in the Cincinnati final, Halep will be the 24th
woman to hold the top ranking. She would have been the 23rd woman to climb the WTA summit, but that honour went to Karolina Pliskova, after Halep squandered two prior chances earlier this year.

The first, the French Open final against Jelena Ostapenko, is one that Halep jokes still gives her nightmares. In her All Access Hour this week in Cincinnati, Halep quipped, "I was very close, winning the Grand Slam and being number one in the same day, I still have bad dreams about that (laughs), I still suffer." Tomorrow, Halep gets another chance to exorcise those demons. 

Today, Halep faced a resurgent Sloane Stephens in the Cincinnati semifinals. Stephens, off the tour for more than a year after having foot surgery, made the semifinals in Toronto last week and continued that rich run of form this week. Stephens, however, was not at her physical best after playing two matches yesterday due to the rain-affected schedule on Thursday night. 

"I mean, three matches in 24 hours is never easy, so gonna go with that," said Stephens. "I actually didn't think I played that badly. I think she's just a little bit fresher and just wasn't a great day."

Halep, for her part, looked every bit as fresh as Stephens described in her press conference. From the onset, the Romanian moved with purpose and was the clear aggressor of the two, dictating points throughout. After surviving a nervy finish to her quarterfinal win over Johanna Konta, where she lost five match points, Halep was in complete control a day later. If the top ranking were on her mind, she did not show it.

Prior to today's match Halep knew she needed to win the title to become No. 1, but she wasn't aware of just how close the battle was until before her semifinal: "Before the match I talked to my brother by SMS, that, 'Is it true that I am five points away if I win the match?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'It's unbelievable. Five points, can you believe it?'"

Halep says she is more relaxed now than she was the two previous times she played for the top ranking. When asked what is different this time, Halep said "I'm more relaxed now. So I'm not thinking about that (No.1). I know that if I keep this level, is gonna come. If not tomorrow, maybe next weeks. But I'm much better now. Hopefully I can play better."

This time she will play the current Wimbledon champion, Garbiñe Muguruza. After battling through a pair of three-set matches against Madison Keys and Svetlana Kuznetsova, Muguruza made easy work of the current world No. 1, beating Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-2. Halep and Muguruza have played three previous times, and the Spaniard leads their head-to-head 2-1. 

Halep acknowledges that winning a first Grand Slam title remains her primary goal, but also appreciates the unique opportunity she gets tomorrow: "I think it's something special to get No. 1 in the world. Only 23 players got that." Halep also knows that a handful of players are in the same position as her and is eager to grab her chance tomorrow, "everyone can get to No. 1 now. The ranking is close. So depends of anyone. But I am so close. I really want that. So we will see."




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​Jonathan Newman and James Rogers are the hosts of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. This diary entry comes to you from the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio.

JR: Hi Jonathan, did you know it’s your birthday tomorrow?

JN: Why are you louding up my business all over the place?!?!

JR: I thought you’d be happy to celebrate but I guess not. You’ll be watching tons of semifinal matches on your birthday. The men’s are allllllmost decided.

JN: As I type, Nadal has just been broken by Kyrgios to start the final men’s quarterfinal. Nadal and Kyrgios are both pulling double duty today, having both won their Round of 16 matches earlier today.

JR: Rafa took out Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6, 6-2; NK beat Karlovic in 3. If Nick is motivated, which he normally is against the top guys, this could be bad news for Rafael. He just held very easily to go up 2-0.

JN: Rafa hasn’t looked especially sharp in his two matches so far, so we shall see. Nick has been struggling with his hip injury for quite some time now, so conventional wisdom would dictate playing two matches in one day to be too much, but nothing with Nick is ever conventional.

JR: Earlier on Grandstand, David Ferrer upset Dominic Thiem pretty convincingly. Daveed served incredibly well, looked to finish at the net surprisingly often, and forced Dominic back on returns. He lost 9 - NINE! - points on his serve for the entire match. Thiem for his part was just so underwhelming. Lots of negative emotion out there, and a total lack of patience. Tried to crush way too many balls when it wasn’t the right time.

JN: Welp, double break 3-0 lead for Kyrgios. Back to Thiem, we talked earlier how he has quite a long way to go before he can take that next step like Zverev has, and it boils down to how much he goes for ALL the time. But, this is not news. I’m really surprised by how many players pulling double duty today got the job done.

JR: Pliskova went 3 against Giorgi, and then came back a few hours later to stun Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2. Sloane Stephens started slowly against Makarova but took her out in 3, and then got past streaking Julia Goerges to reach the semis. Oh, to be young. Sloane has now re-entered the top 100 off the strength of 4 events.

JN: Halep was the other quarterfinal on the women’s side; she beat Konta 6-4 7-6 after squandering a handful of match points before taking the tiebreak. Feels like that was a mightily important win for Halep...can you imagine if she wasn’t able to close that one out? Yikes. So, the two women’s semis are set: (1) Pliskova vs (4) Muguruza and (2) Halep vs Stephens. Not bad, right?!?! The women have been delivering the goods for a while now.

JR: I think Mugu-Pleesh will be great; both are feeling themselves lately, and Muguruza has had to fight in her last two matches. Based on those performances and her pressers, I think she feels she has something to prove at WTA events. I believe Halep will have her hands full with Sloane, especially if Simona gives her opponent chance after chance to get back into the match.

JN: I’ll leave you to the predictions game. All I’ll add is that Muguruza and Pliskova have both seemed really confident in press; I think that bodes well for them into the U.S. Open. As for the other men’s matches: Isner beat Donaldson 7-6 7-5 to set up a semi with Grigor who beat Sugita handily 6-2 6-1. The other semi will be Ferrer against either Nadal or Kyrgios, and Kyrgios just served out the first set 6-2.

JR: You know what, I was being unfair to Simona. She handled Konta, who is pounding the ball, even if it took her a few tries. Back to the men: are you saying that Isner broke serve? Omg. But you may be right in your prediction that we’ll have an American finalist; it’s even possible we’ll have an American winner. Oof. I hope that Grigor puts together a great performance, because Grigor has a beautiful game and well, you know.

JN: Isner’s been breaking serve all summer! Someone needed to call Bette Midler because this men’s draw needed some serious wind beneath its wings. I almost feel like we’re bound to have a real surprise winner, which would point to Ferrer or Isner. With all the injuries on the ATP and withdrawals, nothing should be considered a given. Nadal holds for 1-0 to start the second set.

JR: This is normally when I would predict Jo Tsonga to win, but alas, he lost long ago. With that, let’s say goodbye and get me a damn margarita.

JN: Shouldn’t you be getting ME a margarita since it’s MY birthday eve?!?!

​JR: [silence]

2:00 Muguruza-Kuznetsova insta-classic 
8:00 The odd men's draw: Rafa the only superstar left
9:20 Odds and ends - Giorgi's no handshake, Sam Querrey's abominable behavior, Makarova-Kerber epic
15:00 Thiem - our analysis of Thiem proved to portentous (lost to Ferrer after we taped)
18:00 Our sit-down with Francoise Abanda, our first Canadian player on the pod!
32:20 Our listener mailbag, with the silky Southern stylings of Chad (@ccsmooth13)
36:30 Most importantly, what's good to eat here?
​45:30 Question from @AnnaMarseille: have any players changed your impression of them after speaking with them in person?

By James Rogers
Photo credits: Jonathan Newman
​

It wasn’t always pretty, but Garbiñe​ Muguruza powered through Madison Keys’ sustained aggression, a 2-hour rain delay, and three match points against her to win a third-set tiebreaker against the in-form American. The Spaniard survived a tough test in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon, handling unpredictable conditions and an opponent whom she had never beaten. Keys had won their previous three meetings: here in 2012, in Rome on her way to the final in 2016, and in Stanford just two weeks ago.

Keys got off to a fast start, punctuated by a dazzling down the line forehand to secure the early break and 2-0 lead. Muguruza, unnerved, broke right back in the next game, the trade of early breaks setting the tone for the rest of the match. The serving struggles were in no small part due to the wind -- a portent of the wild thunderstorm to come -- which wreaked havoc on both players from the onset. But, it was Keys’ ball toss that seemed to be the most affected.

Still, Keys inched ahead on serve to 4-3, before Muguruza left the court for treatment on a lower back problem. When she returned, her thigh taped, the Spaniard took control of the first set and sped to the finish line: she held serve, broke Keys, and served it out with little fanfare. In their previous three meetings, the loser of the first set went on to lose the match; would this match prove different?

After six straight service holds to start the second set, Keys broke to go up 5-3. Serving for the set, the American handled a tough shoelace volley, and launched a deft lob to reach set point. She then bagged the set with a trademark wide serve and inside-out forehand combination, one that she used effectively throughout the match.

With the match in the balance at 2-2 in the third set, the Mason skies produced an almighty storm, delaying the proceedings for two hours. When the thunder and lightning abated, Keys sprinted away with a 4-2 lead in the decider; but, in what was the story of this third set, her untimely errors squandered the multiple leads and chances she held. Still, Keys kept coming, breaking again with a barrage of winners to serve for the match at 6-5.

With the match on her racquet and a 40-15 lead, Keys failed to convert three match points, undone mostly by the unpredictability of her backhand. While Keys was erratic in the key moments, Muguruza remained steadfast, returning with extreme aggression and drawing costly mistakes from Keys.

Muguruza credited her experience in getting her through tough moments: “I knew that no matter what, I’m there and I have my options as well . . . sooner or later I’m going to have a chance.”

That chance came in the third-set tiebreaker. The Spaniard’s sustained aggression finally wore down Keys. After failing to serve out the match and squandering three match points, Keys doubled down with error after error in the tiebreak, thanks in no small part to Muguruza’s brilliant stretch of hitting from the backcourt. A final backhand error sealed the win for Muguruza after 2 hours and 18 minutes.

1:00 What we've been up to in Cincinnati today
6:00 The men's draw was already a huge mess - and then Fabio barfed on court
9:15 Venus plays an efficient, powerful match against Alison Riske
14:30 Watching Ash Barty in singles and doubles (Venus' next opponent)
20:50 Meeting tons of Tennis Twitter folks in Cincinnati
25:45 What is going on with the famous Applebee's?
27:00 Getting into the player interview snippets 
32:00 Simona on another level no passengers on her plane ....
40:00 Elina Svitolina talks about her steady rise
44:30 Mega Thiem talks about why he recaps his matches on Facebook
46:26 Angie Kerber brings the honesty
51:00 Karolina Pliskova is funny!
​54:45 A few words from Caroline Wozniacki

By James Rogers
​

This match was always going to be decided on the serve; it just wasn’t clear whose serve that would be. Madison Keys and CoCo Vandeweghe -- a study in similarities on court and contrasts off -- traded momentum shifts and the rare service break in a 1 hour 56 minute first-round match at Cincinnati on Monday. The Americans, who dictate with first serves and huge returns, are arguably the most likely Americans under 30 to win a Slam; they are also both prone to wild swings in concentration and accuracy.

In this rematch of the Stanford final -- which Keys won in two tight sets -- it was easy to appreciate both players’ intensity and power off the ground. Keys came out of the gate strong, pounding returns to earn a break in the third game. At one point in the first set, 14 straight points were won by the server (two holds at love for Keys, one for Vandeweghe). Both players protected their serves with ease after Madison’s early break, but Keys and her ground game drew sloppy errors from CoCo to decide the set.

Vandeweghe pounced to a 3-0 lead in the second set after breaking Keys’ serve. CoCo did a good job to stay tight to the baseline, her aggression forcing Madison to produce a rash of errors. Serving for the set at 5-3, Vandeweghe scrambled to return an overhead smash by Keys and finished the point with a brilliant pass. She won the set with a 117 mph unreturnable serve.

​
​The third set saw Madison race to a 3-0 lead, aided by a few poorly timed double faults from this year’s Australian Open semifinalist. At that point, Madison couldn’t miss; even her mishits clipped the lines. Despite CoCo’s comeback to tie the set at three games apiece, it was Keys’ serve that would ultimately decide the match.

At 5-3, CoCo saved three straight match points, but Madison closed her out 6-3 to bring their head-to-head to 2-0. After the match Madison noted, “It’s never easy to play a friend.” The two shared a  warm embrace at net after the match, like they did two weeks ago in Stanford, and it was Keys who was again the victor.

Keys’ serve guided her through the tensest moments of the third set. It got her out of trouble when Vandeweghe erased Keys’ 3-0 lead: “In my head I was just thinking, you’re back on serve. It’s back even, and just focus on your serve and see if you get any chances in return games. And luckily I did.”

​That game plan can be exciting in its simplicity. There is a terrible beauty to 115 mph serves, to Madison’s graceful ball toss with her palm raised toward the heavens, to CoCo’s menacing forward motion. Women’s tennis must always defend itself on many fronts, from style to athleticism to economics. But, Keys and Vandeweghe led the night session in a tournament marred by withdrawals, reminding fans that American women’s tennis is thriving. There was magic tonight in two women facing off, thumping the stitching out of the ball, sounding their yawps over the rooftops of American tennis.

Welcome to our second episode from the 2017 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. We are again recording in our car, but this time we've also got outtakes from Monday's player roundtables. On this episode, you'll hear from Muguruza, Nadal, Kuznetsova, and Konta ahead of their opening matches. Nadal dishes on today's news that he will officially regain the world #1 ranking after Cincinnati, a thoughtful Muguruza reflects on her career as a two-time Slam winner, while Kuznetsova and Konta provide a whole lot of levity to the proceedings. Stay tuned to our upcoming episodes this week for more player outtakes from Monday's roundtables.  ​
​

​02:00 James gives his thoughts on his first ever player roundtable interviews
11:20 Muguruza reflects on being a two-time Slam champion
13:36 Garbiñe gives insight into learning how to keep things closer to the vest, navigate media
16:26 "I like that I like to be in those situations" - Muguruza on embracing the big stages
20:45 Reflecting on her emotional French Open press conference
26:22 Nadal responds to news of reclaiming world #1 ranking
31:35 Sveta for President?
34:29 Who Sveta texts with most, and a BIG BIG laugh
35:36 Konta commits to fun and games, segues to Wimby reflections
40:29 How Jo deals with the trolls: block block block block
44:59 Jo's take on some of the funniest players on the WTA

We're on the road to Cincinnati, Ohio from Toronto, basking in Dr Peppers & American junk food. This is our first totally unedited podcast, recorded and uploaded straight from the car. We're catching up on the summer hardcourt season: seeing Venus, Ostapenko, and Kvitova in Toronto; Rafa-Shapovalov in Montreal; Sloane's return and Madison's win in Stanford. We also preview the blockbuster first rounds in Cincy: Madison-Coco and Sharapova-Ostapenko.
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​00:30 What we really sound like, without edits!
05:00 Opening Monday at the Rogers Cup Toronto
07:30 Ostapenko loses to Lepchenko but shows how great she can be
13:45 Petra's back!
15:30 Venus takes the long way, but beats Begu at 11 pm
18:10 A bit of kvetching about annoying fans
26:00 Young Canadian Shapovalov beats Nadal in MTL
30:15 Is it Fedal the rest of the way in 2017? Who else? Zverev.
35:50 Madison Keys is here! And other US hardcourt news
38:00 Previewing the Cincinnati Masters, big first round match-ups
46:00 What we're personally looking forward to in Cincy

#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts. 
​

​"This Week In Tennis is brought to you by The Body Serve Tennis Podcast: "featuring casual, semi-respectable conversations about the ATP & WTA." Subscribe on iTunes and follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram.

RUNDOWN
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• David Ferrer won his first ATP title in two years -- and 27th overall for his career -- when he beat Dolgopolov in the Bastad final. 
• John Isner won for the third time in Newport, the 11th overall ATP title of his career.
• Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick were among the new Tennis Hall of Fame inductees in Newport over the weekend. 
• Andrey Rublev went from lucky loser to first time ATP titlist all at the same tournament in Umag. 
• Irina Camelia Begu won on home soil in Bucharest for the fourth title of her career. Like Kiki Bertens in Gstaad, Begu won both singles and doubles at the same tournament. Begu is up to #38 (+20) in the rankings, while Bertens rises to #36 (+9).
• Julia Goerges had a few choice words for the Romanian crowd during her runner-up speech in Bucharest.
• Denis Shapovalov won his second ATP Challenger title of the year. With the win, Shapovalov moves 31 spots closer to the top 100 at #130.
• Novak Djokovic is unlikely to play the 2017 U.S. Open due to the elbow injury that forced his retirement in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
• Rajeev Ram announced he will no longer compete in singles, and dedicate his remaining time on tour to his doubles exploits. 
• The Ferrer-Verdasco semifinal in Bastad was interrupted by a man who walked on court performing the Nazi salute.
• The ITF issued its decision on the Ilie Nastase case: the Romanian is to be banned from Fed Cup and Davis Cup until 2019.
• Three Wimbledon matches may have been fixed.
• Alex Zverev hired Juan Carlos Ferrero as his new coach. 
• A weekend of WTA weddings: Aga Radwanska, Andrea Hlavackova, and Yanina Wickmayer all said "I do" over the weekend.

#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts. This edition takes a look back at championship weekend at the 2017 Wimbledon.

"This Week In Tennis" is brought to you by The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. Listen to the Wimbledon recap episode below.
​

RUNDOWN

• Roger Federer captured a men's record eighth singles title at Wimbledon over the weekend. Federer extends his all-time Slam tally lead to 19, and rises to #3 in the new ATP rankings.
• Garbine Muguruza beat Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final to win her second career Slam title. With the win, the Spaniard jumps 10 ranking spots to #5.
• Venus Williams, in her second Slam final of 2017, once more fell two sets short of adding an eighth Slam singles title to her resume. She re-enters the WTA top 10 at #9 and rises to #4 in the Road To Singapore standings.
• Marin Cilic, struggling with a blister on his foot, lost in straight sets to Federer in his second career Slam final. The Croat holds steady at #6 in the ATP rankings. 
• Tomas Berdych matched his semifinal performance from one year ago, but was unable to score a set off Federer despite pushing the eventual champion to tiebreaks in the first two sets.
• Johanna Konta provided ample entertainment for her home crowd at Wimbledon, winning multiple three-set matches on her way to a second career Slam semifinal. She reaches a new career high ranking of #4. 
• Magdalena Rybarikova continued her meteoric rise up the rankings in 2017 after reaching her first ever career Slam semifinal. She rises 54 spots to #33, two shy of her career best ranking from 2013.
• Sam Querrey, vanquisher of Novak Djokovic at last year's Wimbledon on his way to the quarterfinals, beat Andy Murray this time around to reach a career-best semifinal.
• The doubles team of Makarova/Vesnina scored a double bagel win in a lopsided final to win their third Slam title together. Only an Australian Open win remains for the duo to claim a career golden slam. 
• Other doubles winners: Kubot/Melo (Men's Doubles), Hingis/Murray (Mixed Doubles). Martina Hingis won the 23rd combined Slam title of her career. The only Slam title missing from her resume is French Open singles (two-time finalist).
• Victoria Azarenka vaults a whopping 482 spots in the rankings to #201 after reaching the fourth round in her first Slam event since her return to the WTA Tour. 

Episode 85 of The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
Wimbledon Preview: Who's Coming for the No. 1 Spots?

Subscribe to The Body Serve on iTunes and follow James and Jonathan on Twitter.

Join The Body Serve for some Wimbledon draw analysis, some bold predictions, and some tea. Five women and four men can potentially grab the no. 1 ranking after the tournament is over - who has the nerve? We'll chat about the three comeback queens (Petra, Vika, Sloane), the tough men's bottom half, and why 'wide open' may not be the best desriptor for the women's draw.  

2:55 So many trolls, so little time
7:30 Men's draw - local gentleman Andrew Murray leads the draw
11:00 Wimbledon seeding formula hits Stan hard
13:30 Nadal's quarter: some big hitters and a few grass specialists
18:10 Raonic, Inc., Federer, Dimitrov, and Sascha
23:45 Djokovic's path is lined with tricky opponents
32:00 Interesting things are going on in women's tennis!
35:40 5 women could become no. 1, but some of the biggest favorites are out of the top 10
38:50 Women's top half: Kerber's been done no favours
43:10 Is Pliskova the one to win it all?
46:15 VENUS, Ostapenko, and some huge top 8 question marks53:45 Comeback queens Kvitova & Azarenka in the Halep/Konta quarter
57:00 More Evans & a potential Wimbledon drinking game

Welcome to the ATP Wimbledon preview edition of  "This Week in Tennis." Below you will be given a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, and suggested some intriguing first round matches at SW19. This preview also features a collection of tennis writing and podcasts from the past week. 

The 2017 edition of The Championships at Wimbledon features myriad storylines to watch over the next fortnight of tennis: can Andy Murray defend his title and/or hold off Nadal, Djokovic, and Wawrinka for the number one ranking? Will Milos Raonic build on his finals appearance last year and capture his first major title? What can we expect from Rafael Nadal on grass this season, especially after winning a 10th French Open weeks ago? ​Is a 19th Slam title in the cards for Federer, or will this be the first Wimbledon since 2002 to be won by someone other than the "Big Four?"

Click here for the WTA Wimbledon preview

ATP SINGLES DRAW​

(1)  Andy Murray
​​
Best Result: W - 2013, 2016
2016 Result: W

A semifinal run in Paris seemed to quell concerns over Murray's inconsistent form in 2017. However, he will begin his title defence at the AELTC with only one match on grass, an opening loss to Jordan Thompson at Queens. His number one ranking is also up for grabs this fortnight with Nadal, Djokovic, and Wawrinka all defending few points from one year ago. A current hip injury is potentially another hindrance to his title defence. 

(2) Novak Djokovic

Best Result: W - 2011, 2014, 2015
2016 Result: 3R

The good news for Djokovic: he has only second round points to defend from one year ago, putting him in position to potentially reclaim the world #1 rankings at the end of Wimbledon. He is also, as of this writing, slated to face Monfils in the Eastbourne final, a potentially last-minute boost of confidence heading into the tournament. The bad news: he is still nowhere near the player he was one year ago, and his last appearance at a Slam saw him lose in straight sets to Dominic Thiem, including a third set bagel.

(3) Roger Federer

Best Result: W - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
2016 Result: SF

After taking the clay season off, Federer returned to the tour in Stuttgart with a surprising loss to Tommy Haas in his opening match. He recovered on the familiar lawns in Halle to claim his ninth title there, positioning him as a top favourite for an eighth Wimbledon crown. Ranked fifth in the world, Federer enters as the third seed due to Wimbledon's unique seeding formula. 

​(4) Rafael Nadal

Best Result: W - 2008, 2010
2016 Result: ​DNP

Nadal enters Wimbledon on the heels of a monumental clay court season, having won his tenth title at Roland Garros and rising again to the #2 world ranking. However, whatever confidence the Spaniard may carry with him into Wimbledon is mitigated by the fact he hasn't advanced past the fourth round at the AELTC since 2011. Still, he enters Wimbledon the healthiest he has been in years and is a two-time former champion and five-time finalist. 

Welcome to the WTA Wimbledon preview edition of  "This Week in Tennis." The world's best tennis players are completing their final preparations for the year's third major at The All England Lawn Tennis Tennis and Croquet Club. Below you will be given a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, and suggested some intriguing first round matches at SW19. This preview also features a collection of tennis writing and podcasts from the past week. 

Last year's champion, Serena Williams, will miss her second successive major tournament as she awaits the arrival of her first child. ​Thus, like the French Open, the women's field is ripe with possibility: the number one ranking is up for grabs; can Pliskova or Halep finally supplant Kerber? Since 2000, only six women have lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish: Serena (7), Venus (5), Sharapova, Mauresmo, Kvitova (2), and Bartoli; will someone new step to the fore like Ostapenko did at the French Open? Then there are the myriad comeback stories: Kvitova in her third event back after suffering a knife attack, Victoria Azarenka in her second after giving birth, and Sloane Stephens in her first after almost a year of being off tour. 

​Click here for the ATP Wimbledon preview

WTA SINGLES DRAW

​(1) Angelique Kerber

Best Result: F - 2016
2016 Result: F

Last year's finalist enters Wimbledon with 1300 points to defend and her number one ranking once again in serious jeopardy. She is without a title in 2017 and owns a paltry 21-13 match record on the season. Even less comforting for Kerber, she potentially faces Safarova in the third round before Muguruza in the fourth. On a more optimistic note, perhaps her pair of wins in Eastbourne over Kr. Pliskova and Arruabarrena will be enough to kick start her season and propel her into week two. 

(2) Simona Halep

Best Result: SF - 2014
2016 Result: QF

Halep enters the Championships after another near miss at the French Open, losing in the final to Jelena Ostapenko. The last time Halep played Wimbledon after reaching the French final (2014), she scored her career best result at the AELTC, making the semifinals in 2014. If she is to match that result, she will likely have to go through Mallorca champion Sevastova in the fourth round, then either Kvitova or Konta in the quarterfinals.


(3) Karolina Pliskova

Best Result: 2R - 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
2016 Result: 2R

Prior to the 2016 U.S. Open, the third seed had failed to advance past the third round at any major in her career. She's since managed to make the finals, semifinals, and quarterfinals at the last three Slams starting with a loss to Angelique Kerber at last year's U.S. Open. She has the game -- and now the confidence -- to keep that streak of strong Slam results going at Wimbledon. Also working in her favour is one of the easier draws to the quarterfinals of the top seeds. 

(4) Elina Svitolina

Best Result: 2R - 2015, 2016
2016 Result: 2R

​​One of the breakout players of 2017, Svitolina finds herself bumped up to the fourth seed with Serena Williams not competing. The higher seeding did her no favours, however, as she draws popular darkhorse Ash Barty in the first round, and a potential fourth round meeting with French Open champ Ostapenko. Svitolina also enters the tournament with fitness concerns surrounding a heel injury. A first ever trip to the second week of Wimbledon would be a huge success for Svitolina considering all the obstacles she faces. 

Relive the 2017 French Open from start to finish with The Body Serve Tennis Podcast. James and Jonathan take you through all the action, starting with a preview of the event, and finishing up with Rafael Nadal's 10th title in Paris and Jelena Ostapenko's big breakthrough. 

​Subscribe to The Body Serve on iTunes and follow James and Jonathan on Twitter. 
​

​​​PART ONE: Are You There, Margaret? It’s Me, God: Roland Garros Preview

We're breaking down the draws for Roland Garros 2017, perhaps the most unpredictable women's major in memory. We talk about the overarching themes (La Decima, Novak-Andre, notable absences, and the 10+ female contenders) but we also go in-depth with the draws. After that, we devote a long time to addressing Margaret Court's continued and unprovoked attacks on the lgbt community. We consider what exactly free speech means, the responsibility that comes with it, and the necessity to push back when our queer personhoods and families are under attack.

1:30 The themes of the Roland Garros draw: the wiiiide open women's draw
4:45 Some surprising favorites: Svitolina, Mladenovic, Stosur?
14:00 Going through the draw - which quarterfinals are most likely to happen?
24:00 Our bold and probably wrong predictions for the women's draw
27:15 Men's draw storylines: La Decima, Djokovic-Agassi, Thiem hopes to put a bow on his clay season
37:00 Men's draw analysis: follow along at home!
47:30 Men's bottom half: Nadal, Djokovic, Thiem, and?
50:45 The Rant: Margaret Court gets personal with her bigotry
57:50 The meaning of free speech: why "Everyone is entitled to an opinion" falls short
1:01:00 Why we need to fight back
1:09:00 Finishing on a happier note: WTA players Tara Moore and Conny Perrin are engaged!
​

PART TWO: ​Mid-Roland Garros Report: All Tea and No Comment

Welcome to our week one recap of the 2017 French Open. We kick things off with a look back at some of the big (albeit few) upsets, as well as the biggest surprises left in both singles draws. Rafa and Novak remain on course for a crackerjack semifinal, while Andy and Stan motor along under the radar on the other half of the men's draw. As for the women, your guess is still as good as ours. We talk about Kiki Mladenovic's possible role as villain on the WTA, before following up on our discussion from last time on the real villain at the moment, Margaret Court.
 
02:12 Kicking things off with the upsets: throwing Zverev in James' face
06:20 Can we talk about the tarp thing? James goes off
07:51 Petko goes to bat for Angie
10:20 Any bigger surprise than Caroline Wozniacki?
17:02 Women's Draw: your guess is still as good as ours
20:32 Talking the Venus-Timea matchup
28:22 Kiki refuses to lose but how much can she have left?
32:26 Men's Draw: marching right along to another Rafole humdinger?
42:42 Good sportsmanship/humanity the big motif of week one?
47:15 Is Kiki a villain? Is she the villain tennis needs? Does tennis need one?
50:15 Forza, Muguruza!
53:45 Margaret Court is definitely a villain
​59:55 Why you say "no comment?"
​

PART THREE: La Décima: 10 Reflections From Rolly G

Rafael Nadal motored through the French Open field to claim his 10th title at Roland Garros, or La Décima. While his latest French triumph was expected, the same cannot be said for Jelena Ostapenko, who rifled winners past her opponents at will to grab the Suzanne Lenglen trophy. Join us as we relive the most memorable and newsworthy moments from championship weekend at the year's second Slam. 

​02:20 La Décima, the men's final, and Rafa's annihilation of the field
19:22 Fearless Ostapenko did THAT!
28:20 Halep's missed opportunities on court and off
37:00 Nole lost at sea? We don't have any answers
40:50 Concerned about Dominic Thiem or nah?
43:48 WTA etceteras: Cash aboard the CoCo train, French drama, & Maria is out
51:04 ATP etceteras: Murray's "shock and awe" performance, Stan readies for Wimbledon
54:16 Our most expansive segment on doubles ever? We take some Canadian pride in Dabrowski
60:59 Watching the rankings, the various roads and races
66:38 Test your Nadal knowledge alongside James!
​

#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts. This edition takes a look back at championship weekend at the 2017 French Open. 

RUNDOWN

• Rafael Nadal returns to world #2 after winning his 10th French Open title. The Spaniard's 15th career Grand Slam also moves him one ahead of Sampras for solo second all-time. On the strength of four titles from seven finals in 2017, Nadal has also qualified for the year-end ATP Finals in London. 
• Unseeded Jelena Ostapenko won the French Open for her first career WTA title. She becomes the first Latvian to win a Grand Slam singles title, and the youngest Slam winner on the WTA since Iva Majoli in 1997. Ostapenko vaults to #12 in the WTA rankings and #4 in the Road To Singapore.
• Stan Wawrinka reached his fourth career Grand Slam final in Paris. The Swiss lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal, winning a mere six games. Wawrinka remains at world #3, but moves up one spot to #4 in the Race To London. 
• Simona Halep held a set and 3-0 lead in the final against Jelena Ostapenko, three games away from capturing her first Grand Slam title and claiming the world #1 ranking. Instead, she settles at #2 in the new WTA rankings, but is the new leader in the Road To Singapore standings.
• Dominic Thiem matched his semifinal showing from 2016 before bowing out to Nadal in straight sets. The Austrian avenged his straight-sets semifinal loss to Djokovic last year by winning a straight-sets quarterfinal against him this time around.  
• Andy Murray, short on form heading into the French Open, made his way to the semifinals before losing a five-set marathon to Stan Wawrinka. A rematch of their semifinal last year, Murray looked poised for a return to the final, but was unable to hold onto a 2-1 sets lead. 
• As she did in 2016, Timea Bacsinszky beat Venus Williams in the fourth round of the French Open; she went on to take out home favourite Mladenovic in the quarterfinals, before losing to the eventual champion in the semis.
• Karolina Pliskova continued her solid play at Grand Slams, reaching her third successive quarterfinal. After never before advancing beyond the second round in Paris, Pliskova finished one set from making her second Grand Slam final. Had she beaten Halep in the semifinals, she would have claimed the world #1 ranking.
• ​Doubles: Mattek-Sands and Safarova won their third successive Slam title; Michael Venus and Ryan Harrison won their maiden doubles Slam, and Gaby Dabrowski and Rohan Bopanna won the Mixed Doubles event.
• Maria Sharapova will miss the grass court season as the injury she sustained in Rome is more serious than initially appeared.
• Coaching changes: CoCo Vandeweghe announced Pat Cash as her new coach, while her current coach, Craig Kardon, will join Donald Young's team. Elsewhere, Paul Annacone will join Stan Wawrinka's coaching team for Wimbledon, and Milos Raonic has hired Mark Knowles to replace Richard Krajicek. 

​Welcome to the WTA French Open preview edition of  "This Week in Tennis." Below you will be given a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, and pointed in the direction of intriguing first round matches at tennis' second Grand Slam. 
​
Click here for the ATP French Open preview.

(1) Angelique Kerber

Best Result: QF - 2012

2017 Clay Results: R16 - Stuttgart, Madrid
​
The world number one has suffered through an indifferent start to her 2017 season, reaching at least the quarterfinals in only four events, with one final in Monterrey. Having lost in the first round in Paris last year, Kerber at least has a good chance to pad her lead atop the women's rankings. 

(2) Karolína Plíšková

Best Result: 2R - 2014, 2015

2016 Clay Results: QF - Stuttgart, Rome

Prior to last year's U.S. Open, the second seed had never reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam. After making the final in New York, and the quarters in Australia, Pliskova will now look to improve upon two second round showings in Paris. ​Prior Slam results are no longer a predictive tool for the world #3.

(3) Simona Halep

Best Result: F - 2015

2017 Clay Results: W - Madrid, F - Rome, SF - Stuttgart

A finalist in 2015, Simona Halep had the most accomplished clay court season of any WTA player heading into this year's French Open. Unfortunately for the world #4, she enters the event carrying an ankle injury that may hinder her hopes of capturing a maiden Grand Slam title. She also has the misfortune of a potential quarterfinal meeting with Svitolina. 

(4) Garbine Muguruza

Best Result: W - 2016

2017 Clay Results: SF - Rome, R16 - Stuttgart

Muguruza is defending champion, but few are picking her to win the title. She endured an extended slump after winning her first major in Paris last year. She showed signs of a resurgence by making the semifinals in Rome. Unfortunately, she injured her neck prior to the match and was forced to retire. For the optimists out there, her pre-Roland Garros 2016 season was underwhelming and she still walked away with the title.  

​Welcome to the ATP French Open preview edition of  "This Week in Tennis." Below you will be given a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, and pointed in the direction of intriguing first round matches at tennis' second Grand Slam. 

Click here for the WTA French Open preview.

(1) Andy Murray

Best Result: F - 2016

2017 Clay Results: SF - Barcelona, R16 - Monte Carlo, Madrid 

World #1 Murray hasn't lived up to his ranking in 2017, owning a paltry 16-7 record on the season. His most recent result heading into the French Open is a 2-6 4-6 loss to Fabio Fognini in Rome. A finalist last year at Roland Garros, Murray has 1,200 ranking points to defend from a year ago. After suffering from shingles and the flu, his fitness is a question mark.
​
(2) Novak Djokovic

Best Result: W - 2016

2017 Clay Results: F - Rome, SF - Madrid, QF - Monte Carlo  

Djokovic enters the 2017 French Open as defending champion, having finally completed his career Grand Slam 12 months prior. He also carries with him the added spotlight of a new, high-profile coaching hire in Andre Agassi, as well as a new clothing sponsor in Lacoste. While his results in 2017 have paled in comparison to this time last year, a finals appearance in Rome might have steadied the ship just in the nick of time.

(3) Stan Wawrinka

Best Result: W - 2015

2017 Clay Results: W - Geneva, QF - Monte Carlo, R16 - Rome 

While Stan Wawrinka is arguably the most inconsistent elite player on the ATP Tour, that reputation doesn't apply to his play in Grand Slams over the last four years; only four times in his last 16 Slam starts has Wawrinka failed to reach at least the final eight. He can beat anybody on any given day, and he should be in the thick of things once more. 

​(4) Rafael Nadal

Best Result: W - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2017 Clay Results: W - Monte Carlo, W - Barcelona, W - Madrid, QF - Rome

Rafael Nadal entered the 2016 French Open on a roll, aiming to win a tenth title at Roland Garros. A wrist injury forced his withdrawal before the third round, laying waste to that dream. A year later, Nadal returns in even better form, having reached the finals of the Australian Open and winning titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Madrid. During that stretch, he also managed to score his first win over Djokovic -- a convincing one at that -- since the 2014 French Open. 
​

​#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

RUNDOWN

• Rafael Nadal continued his domination of the European clay season with his third successive title, this time in Madrid. He beat Fognini, Kyrgios, and Djokovic before taking out Dominic Thiem in a rematch of the Barcelona final. Nadal jumps to #4 in the world rankings and leads the pack in the Race to London standings.
• Simona Halep  defended her Madrid title, beating Kiki Mladenovic 7-5, 6-7, 6-2. Halep also vaults into the top 8 of the Road to Singapore standings.
• Dominic Thiem scored back-to-back finals appearances, in Barcelona and Madrid. Unfortunately for the world #7, he lost both matches in straight sets to Rafael Nadal. 
• Kristina Mladenovic reached her fourth final of 2017, losing in three sets to Simona Halep in Madrid. Mladenovic continues to grab headlines off the court too, once more opining on the Sharapova wild card situation.
• Roger Federer announced his withdrawal from Roland Garros. The current Australian Open champion said he intended to focus on his grass and hard-court preparation.
• Juan Monaco has retired from pro tennis. The 33-year-old Argentinian -- who had been troubled by injuries over the past few years -- retires with 9 titles and a career high ranking of number 10.
• Nick Kyrgios will be working part-time with former pro Sebastien Grosjean.
• Novak Djokovic lost in the Madrid semifinals to Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 6-4, against whom he had not lost since 2014. Djokovic recently overhauled his team, splitting with mentor Marian Vajda but retaining amor y paz "guru" Pepe Imaz.
• Maria Sharapova will not receive a wild card to play the French Open.
• Ilie Nastase, embattled since his disastrous display as Fed Cup captain last month, was invited to present the winner's trophy to Simona Halep in Madrid.  
• Francesca Schiavone took the high road in letting her fans know why she didn't enter Rome pre-qualifying. 

​#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

RUNDOWN
​

• Maria Sharapova returned to the WTA last week after completing a 15-month doping ban. The recipient of a controversial wildcard in Stuttgart, Sharapova reached the semifinals before falling to French no. 1 Kiki Mladenovic. 
• Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for a record tenth time last week.  The Spaniard equaled the record he set two weeks ago in Monte Carlo, where he also triumphed for a tenth time. Nadal defeated a resurgent Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 in the Barcelona final.
• Wild card Laura Siegemund beat Kiki Mladenovic for her biggest career title in Stuttgart. Last year's finalist, Siegemund went one better by beating a who's who of WTA talent, including Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
• Elina Svitolina won her third title of 2017 last week in Istanbul. Svitolina now leads the WTA field in most titles on the season. 
• Lucas  Pouille won the second title of his career last week in Budapest. The Frenchman saved two match points in his opening match against Jiri Vesely before going on to beat Aljaz Bedene in the final. 
• Playing in his second career final, Aljaz Bedene came up one round shy of claiming his first ATP Tour title in Budapest. Bedene was also, once again, the target of xenophobic attacks from countryman Dan Evans.
• Kiki Mladenovic's stellar 2017 campaign continued in Stuttgart, beating Maria Sharapova in the semifinals on her comeback, before losing to Siegemund in the final. 
• Kimiko Date returns to the WTA in Gifu, the site of her initial return to tennis in 2008. The former world number four, now 46 years old, is returning from double knee surgery last year. 
• Injury news: Naomi Osaka  ruptured an abdominal muscle in Stuttgart and has withdrawn from Prague and Madrid. Belinda Bencic also announced her wrist surgery that will keep her off tour for months.
• Petra Kvitova is playing tennis again. The Czech star shared a photo of her practising in Monaco.

​#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

RUNDOWN
​

• Serena Williams announced her pregnancy last week. The 23-time Grand Slam champion also declared her intent to return to the WTA in 2018. Despite not playing since winning the Australian Open in January, Williams also returns to world #1. 
• Rafael Nadal became a 10-time winner at an event last week in Monte Carlo. Nadal beat Albert Ramos Viñolas in the final, and will get two more opportunities to match the feat in Barcelona and at Roland Garros.
• Albert Ramos Viñolas "already looking ahead" after losing to Nadal in Monte Carlo final. 
• Ilie Nastase cast a long and bigoted shadow over Fed Cup play last weekend. 
• The USA and Belarus teams both scored 3-2 wins to advance to the Fed Cup final in November. 
• Wang Qiang won the Zhengzhou Women's Tennis Open for the first WTA title of her career. 
• David Goffin beat Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo quarterfinals before losing to Rafael Nadal amidst a controversial call in the semifinal. Goffin also jumps three ranking spots to return to the ATP top 10.
• The decision on whether Maria Sharapova will receive a wild card into the French Open will be made known on May 16. 
• Max Eisenbud, Maria Sharapova's agent, calls Radwanska and Wozniacki "journeyman" players.
• The WTA website relaunches after makeover. 

#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

RUNDOWN

• Francesca Schiavone, in her final season on the WTA Tour, scored the 8th title of her career last week in Colombia. Schiavone jumps 64 spots in the rankings to #104 and secures her direct entry into the French Open. 
• Borna Coric narrowly survived a round of 16 match against #555 Reda El Amrani, then saved five match points against Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Marrakech final to win his first ATP Tour title.
• American Steve Johnson won the 2nd ATP title of his career when he beat Thomaz Bellucci in the final of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas. 
• Marketa Vondrousova, 17, won her first WTA title last week at the Biel Ladies Open in Switzerland.
• Caroline Garcia describes French Fed Cup saga as the "worst moment of her career."
• Petra Kvitova announced her name will appear on the entry list for Roland Garros, but her participation is still dependent on her continued recovery from a knife attack last December. 
• Vicky Duval made her return to the WTA Tour, scoring wins over Ajla Tomljanovic and Eugenie Bouchard at the Indian Harbour Beach Challenger event. She lost in the semifinals to Amanda Anisimova.
• Ernesto Escobedo reached the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, losing to Tomaz Bellucci in three sets. The young American climbs 18 spots to #73 in the new ATP rankings.
• Roger Federer cast doubt as to whether he will compete at this year's French Open. 
• Previewing the Monte Carlo Masters with Steve Tignor