SIMONA HALEP HEADLINES HECTIC WEEK IN TENNIS

This Week In Tennis
Vol. 28

Before the final ball was struck at Wimbledon, qualifying in five events on the ATP and WTA tours were already underway. The first week post-Wimbledon was even more frenetic with Davis Cup quarterfinals also being contested in the USA, Czech Republic, Italy, and Serbia. Off-court news by a host of players made big splashes too: a pregnancy, multiple weddings, withdrawals from the Olympics, Hall of Fame inductions, and the release of an autobiography.

Caught your breath yet? Let's take a closer look at #ThisWeekInTennis, recapping winners, player tweets, rankings, articles, and podcasts. 

WINNERS
Bucharest: Simona Halep, Gstaad: Viktorija Golubic, Bastad: Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Hamburg: Martin Klizan, Newport: Ivo Karlovic 

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

​RUNDOWN

• Simona Halep scored a double bagel win over Sevastova in the final of the Bucharest Open. This title was Halep's second on the year and 13th of her career.
• ​The Davis Cup semifinals are set: Croatia, France, Argentina, and Great Britain will compete in September.
• Team USA squandered a 2-0 advantage versus Croatia in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup to bow out of the 2016 event. 
• Ivo Karlovic, 37, becomes the oldest titlist on the ATP Tour since 1979.
• The International Tennis Hall of Fame inducted Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, and Marat Safin over the weekend at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island. 
• Victoria Azarenka created the biggest news of the week when she announced her pregnancy, as well as her plans to return to the WTA tour. 
• This week saw a slew of withdrawals from the Rio Olympics: Simona Halep, Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych, Karolina Pliskova. These most recent withdrawals add to an already depleted field in the upcoming Games. 
• Kiki Bertens won  five singles matches in three days on her way to the final in Gstaad. Bad weather limited the event to just over three full days of play. Bertens eventually had to withdraw from the doubles semifinals because of the added work. 
• Patty Schnyder played her first tour level match since 2011 in Gstaad, Switzerland. The 37-year-old took the opening set from world #92 Katerina Siniakova before losing  6-2 5-7 4-6.
• Pablo Cuevas lost in the Hamburg final to Martin Klizan, but cracks the ATP top 20 for the first time in his career. 
• According to Stuart Fraser: "Rafael Nadal has won his appeal to the ITF to play in the Rio Olympics after failing to meet eligibility requirements."
• A rush of tennis weddings over the past 10 days as Dominika Cibulkova, Ana Ivanovic, Tsvetana Pironkova, and Taylor Fritz all walked down the aisle.
• Sania Mirza celebrated the launch of her autobiography, "Ace Against the Odds."

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​DAVIS CUP QUARTERFINAL RESULTS

Great Britain d. Serbia 3-2

Argentina d. Italy 3-1

Croatia d. USA 3-2
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​France d. Czech Republic 3-1

Thanks to all who came to support me at the @BucharestOpen, this trophy also belongs to each and every one of you! pic.twitter.com/oVC7XTYFOo

— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) July 17, 2016

I have some news for you all ☺️ pic.twitter.com/64Kf90tZF6

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) July 15, 2016

That's bae https://t.co/7S7diHMZeH

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) July 12, 2016

Victoryyyyyy!!!! Wohooooo!!! Idemooooo!!!! @TennisHalloFame @MizunoTennisEU @head_tennis @SlavenHrvoj @spajn

— ivo karlovic (@ivokarlovic) July 18, 2016

This is how I feel, after 3 wins today.. Time to recover and do it tomorrow again□□ #gstaad… https://t.co/6K1EqgwCe5

— Kiki Bertens (@kikibertens) July 15, 2016

I am completely overwhelmed by all the beautiful wishes and congratulations posts. Thank you all! We are very happy and excited for future!

— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) July 15, 2016

Gran semana!!! Sigo creciendo y mejorando. Hoy no salieron las cosas, pero hace tiempo aprendí a mirar lo positivo. Mañana ?? tiene 1 TOP 20

— Pablo Cuevas (@PabloCuevas22) July 17, 2016

Nope! You saw it right!! Tune in next week for the next episode!☺️ https://t.co/mf9QmffydW

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) July 18, 2016

Had to pop over to @wimbledon today... And just couldn't help myself! □ #selfie #sorrynotsorry @… https://t.co/NdekbiHacC

— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) July 15, 2016

​RANKINGS WATCH

• ​WTA: Bertens (+5 to #21), Errani (-4 to #25), Sevastova (+17 to #49), Schmiedlova (-12 to #53), Niculescu (-8 to #61), Parmentier (+8 to #66), Buyukakcay (+6 to #67), Golubic (+33 to #72), Barthel (-22 to #79), Larsson (-27 to #82), Arruabarrena (-13 to #98)​

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• ​ATP: Cuevas (+4 to #20), Klizan (+19 to #28), Ramos-Vinolas (+4 to #31), Verdasco (+12 to #47), Carreno Busta (-10 to #56), Robert (+24 to #59), Kukushkin (-8 to #61), Elias (+18 to #72), Cervantes (+7 to #76), Evans (-9 to #82), Nishioka (+7 to #93)

​ON THE WEB

Halep's Happy Romanian Homecoming
​Remembering What Made Steffi Graf a Tennis Legend
Post-Wimbledon Mailbag: Serena's Longevity; Praise for Kerber, Murray
Henin, Mauresmo Celebrated at ITHF
Safin Inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame
Is Denis Shapovalov the Next Big Thing in Canadian Tennis?
Fearless Golubic Grabs Gstaad
​First-Time Winner Spotlight: Albert Ramos-Vinolas​
​Sania Geared up for Olympics but Not Predicting Medal
Canada's Raonic 'Still Struggling' with Decision to Pull out of Olympics 

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​PODCASTS

Beyond the Baseline - Serena Williams Post-Tournament Interview
WTA Insider - ​Serena Wins No. 22 at Wimbledon
​Tennis.com - Wimbledon in Review
The Tennis Podcast - Davis Cup Weekend & Poll Vault
Break Point Podcast - Episode 37Serena Wins No.22 At WimbledonWimbedon 2016 wrap-up: Serena Williams post-tournament interview
nament interviewWimbedon 2016 wrap-up: Serena Williams post-tournament interview