The Body Serve
  • Home
  • THE BODY SERVE TENNIS PODCAST
  • Selected Writing
  • #ThisWeekInTennis
  • TBS DIARY
  • SOCIAL
  • Contact

THIS WEEK IN TENNIS: THE HAPPY SLAM AWAITS           (1/11 - 1/17)

1/16/2016

0 Comments

 
After an eventful opening week to the 2016 tennis season, chock full of big-name stars, week two was a much more low key affair. The biggest name in action this week was WTA #2, Simona Halep, still dealing with lingering Achilles/leg problems. On the men's side, David Ferrer at #8 was the top ranked player on the circuit. Nonetheless, there was plenty on offer to delight tennis fans: a resurgent Svetlana Kuznetsova, an improved Bouchard, Fast 4 Tennis, a Troicki defence, and 32 qualifiers who battled their way into the main draw of the Australian Open. While we're on the topic, be sure to check out my preview of The Happy Slam!

ATP
Embed from Getty Images


​Week 2 Winners
​
  • Sydney - Victor Troicki d. Grigor Dimitrov 2-6 6-1 7-6 (That's back-to-back Sydney titles for Troicki)
  • Auckland - Roberto Bautista Agut d. Jack Sock 6-1 1-0 retired. (The Spaniard's triumph in Auckland was the third ATP title of his career.)

Spotlight​

​Once dubbed "Baby Fed" for the uncanny similarities to Roger Federer in style of play, Grigor Dimitrov now finds himself struggling to stay afloat inside the ATP top 30. From a career high of #8 in August 2014, Dimitrov now resides at #28 after a disastrous 2015 season, when he advanced to the final eight only six times. However, his quarterfinal showing in Brisbane and run to the finals in Sydney promise to spark a comeback of sorts for the beleaguered Bulgarian. Both losses -- to Federer in Brisbane, and Troicki in Sydney -- were in three sets. Along the way, he scored wins against: Troicki (Brisbane), Simon, Cuevas, Dolgopolov, and Muller. While his name won't be mentioned as a favourite in Melbourne, Dimitrov is at least able to carry some momentum into the rest of the season as he begins the climb back to the ATP top 10.

Other Standouts
  • Jack Sock - F, Auckland (d. Estrella Burgos, Pospisil, Anderson, Ferrer)
  • Jo-Wilfried Tsonga -  SF, Auckland (d. Kohlschreiber, Fognini)
  • Taylor Fritz - Qualified for Australian Open main draw (d. Moriya, Berrer, Zverev)
  • Tim Smyczek - Qualified for Australian Open main draw (d. Pereira, Karatsev, De Schepper)
​
Other events this week: Kooyong Classic, Fast4 Tennis, ​Australian Open Qualifying
Doubles 

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares built on a semifinal run last week to win the Sydney doubles title. Murray ended a successful partnership with John Peers at the end of 2015. The early success of Murray/Soares position them as favourites for the title at the Australian Open. 

​Rankings Watch
  • Jack Sock - New career high of #22 after making the final in Auckland.
  • Mikhail Youzhny - The former top 10 player re-enters the top 100 due to a string of good results on the Challenger circuit.
  • Viktor Troicki - Slips four spots to #26, even after defending his title in Sydney.

Press

Hewitt was due to play #AusOpen juniors with Federer in '98, until he became the lowest-ranked winner in ATP history pic.twitter.com/1yA7KfDQq5

— Leigh Walsh (@LeighWalsh87) January 16, 2016
Q. You saw in the last ten days a lot of the women decided they weren't going to play and retired.

VIKTOR TROICKI: I don't follow women's tennis. I mean, guys I just saw Bernie pull out. The rest I think -- the top guys are not playing the week before the slam. That's their decision. But, I mean, for me, it's working well, so I don't see why not play it.

Q. What was the injury? What happened?

BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, I'm sure you all want to know. I was just feeling a little bit sick last night. Was very difficult to play two matches today. Unfortunately I was -- did the right decision being sick to not play today.

Q. We've seen some withdrawals here, and most of the top men's seeds are down in Melbourne preparing already. Do you have any concerns about the workload you've had in the last couple days?

GRIGOR DIMITROV: No, none. Absolutely none. I've done that before. I've played quite a bit before a slam.
I mean, that's what I want to do right now, play matches. So there is no excuses for me if I go there and lose or anything like that. I just don't really think about it. I have a final to play tomorrow.
Going to give 100% from myself. Yeah, going out to Melbourne, probably playing on Monday. That doesn't scare me. I'm in a way I'm kind of happy because I'm in a good rhythm.

Muy feliz por esta victoria en un torneo tan importante y con tan buenos jugadores. ¡Vamos en buena dirección! pic.twitter.com/xaAgUwNyd0

— Roberto BautistaAgut (@BautistaAgut) January 16, 2016

On my way to Melbourne □□□ pic.twitter.com/yYpRh1zfPa

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) January 12, 2016

Enjoying the day in Sydney. Bring on #Fast4Tennis tonight. Vamos! #ilovesydney pic.twitter.com/8RsDPbsySh

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) January 11, 2016

​Parting Thoughts

While most of the top players were off the circuit this week, getting practices in ahead of the Australian Open, 128 lower ranked players were still trying to qualify for the year's first major. For Tim Smyczek, this was the second year running that he won three matches and earned one of the 16 available spots to be slotted into the main draw. Last year, Smyczek qualified, won his first round match, then found himself one game from defeating #3 seed, Rafael Nadal, before eventually losing in the fifth set. Smyczek will be remembered for his tremendous sportsmanship during the most important game of his career, offering Nadal two serves after the Spaniard's first serve fault was hindered by a boisterous fan. Smyczek has since been depicted as the clichéd nice guy who finishes last, but hopefully this year the tennis gods will look more kindly on him. 
​
​Australian Open Preview: Where the Seeds Fall ​
​

On The Web
  • Shortly after Bernard Tomic turned in a promising semifinal showing at the Brisbane International last week, reports surfaced of a scuffle involving Tomic in the lead-up to the event. 
  • "Our Friends" - Andy Murray's love for animals, including his two dogs (Rusty and Maggie May), and his charity work for WWF.
  • "Daniel Nestor Earns 1,000th Doubles Tennis Win"
  • ​Andy Murray raises funds for Unicef to provide aid to children of Syrian refugees.
  • A bit confused by Fast4 tennis? Here's a guide to how the format works, and another. 
  • Paradorn Srichaphan is heading to Asian Tour Q School to become a pro golfer.
  • "Scary Thought: Novak Djokovic is Getting Better at Tennis."

WTA
Embed from Getty Images


​Week 2 Winners


Sydney - Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Monica Puig 6-0 6-2 (16th career title)
Hobart - Alize Cornet d. Genie Bouchard 6-1 6-2 (Fifth title of Cornet's career and first since April, 2014)

Spotlight

At 30 years old, Svetlana Kuznetsova is not the first name that comes to mind when one considers likely Slam winners. In the almost seven years since her last Grand Slam title at the 2009 French Open, Kuznetsova has managed only four appearances in the final eight of a major. Yet, she remains a four-time Slam finalist, the same number of appearances as Victoria Azarenka, and her two titles match those held by Kvitova and Azarenka. Even though she's suffered from extended bouts of inconsistency, Kuznetsova still possesses a rare pedigree which separates her from other players of similar ranking. Her title in Sydney is also her second in less than three months, following her triumph at the Kremlin Cup in October. Perhaps, then, Kuznetsova is entering a new phase of success in her career; her blitzing of Monica Puig in the Sydney final was a reminder that Kuznetsova's best still ranks highly among the game's elite.​

Other Standouts

Monica Puig - F, Sydney (d. Rybarikova, Schmiedlova, Stosur, Bencic)
Simona Halep - SF, Sydney (d. Garcia, Pliskova)
​Genie Bouchard F, Hobart (d. Mattek-Sands, Van Uytvanck, Giorgi, Cibulkova)
Doubles

​Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza continued their dominance of the WTA doubles circuit with yet another title in Sydney. The win saw the duo complete their 30th consecutive match win as they defeated Garcia/Mladenovic 1-6 7-5 10-5. Martina Hingis also returns to #1 in the doubles rankings, alongside Sania Mirza. She first rose to the top spot more than 17 years ago in 1998. 

Rankings Watch
  • Naomi Osaka - new career high at #125 (+20) after making her way through qualifying in Hobart.
  • Heather Watson - defending her title in Hobart under new coach Judy Murray.
  • Monica Puig - The biggest mover in this week's rankings, Puig vaults 38 places to #56 after reaching the finals in Sydney.
  • Margarita Gasparyan - new career high
  • Genie Bouchard - Following a quarterfinal run in Shenzhen, Bouchard made it to the final in Hobart, rising 9 spots to #38. 
  • Alize Cornet - On the strength of her title in Hobart, Cornet jumps 9 spots to #33.

Press

Q. Can you talk about your first round opponent?

Serena: Uhm, I don't ever really look at the draw, so I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it. Thank you. 

Q. Quite a bit of conversation since your win about great to see you back; a lot of popularity around this win. And you look like you have another great major winning performance with this kind of tennis. Top 5 tennis. Do you feel that way yourself? Do you think you could get back to the top 5, win another Grand Slam?

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA: Honestly, I'm not kind of -- if you say like, Welcome back, I don't think I've been gone or I relax at some stage. I don't take these words from you like so important. I would go crazy if I would put attention on every word which I don't like.
It's okay. That's what people say. That's people opinion. I never thought, that, Okay, I'm retarded or whatever you call it. I heard a lot of critics to my side that I'm -- I cannot play. I should leave the sport. It's okay. Even to Roger they say that.
I just don't pay attention to it. I just try my best, and hopefully this year will go better than past years. More or less I put all the time the same effort. Only thing is I analyze more myself maybe now. That's it.

Sydney ✅ Title number -✌️ next stop- Melbourne □□ #SanTina #Incredibleweek pic.twitter.com/qqUi6jVZ5r

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) January 15, 2016

Thank you Sydney for the most amazing week! Cant wait to be back next year! #DreamRun #TimeOfMyLife □□□ pic.twitter.com/FE7S2polnj

— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) January 15, 2016
​Australian Open Preview: Where the Seeds Fall 

​On The Web
​
  • Patrick Mouratoglou reveals Serena Williams gets knee injections every six months, had bad reaction to latest one.
  • "Four Titles in Last Five Majors, but Serena Williams Still Faces Doubts."
  • Kelsey Anderson is back with a new edition of "Tour Wife Tales" via The Changeover.
  • ​Profile of Victoria Azarenka and her new music video. 
  • Jon Wertheim's weekly tennis mailbag.

​​Parting Thoughts

​Genie Bouchard turned in another good performance this week, building on her quarterfinal appearance in Shenzhen last week with a run to the finals in Hobart. The result boosts her ranking nine spots to #38. With 430 points to defend at the Australian Open, Bouchard might have found form at the right time. Should Bouchard lose early in Melbourne, she could see her ranking plummet as low as the sixties. The good news for the Canadian is she only has 636 points to defend the rest of the year. If her start to 2016 is any indication, she should return to the WTA top 20 in no time. 

​Podcasts

​The Body Serve -"The Return of the Happy Slam"
No Challenges Remaining - "Starting on the Right Foot"
No Challenges Remaining -"Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Draw, Draw, Draw!" 
Realz Tenis Fanz - "ATP/WTA First Week Report Cards"
Realz Tenis Fanz - "Going All Up in the Aussie Open 2016 Draws"
​WTA Insider -"Vika Victorious"
Beyond The Baseline - "Previewing the 2016 Australian Open with Lindsay Davenport" 
Tennis.com - "The Results Are In"
​The Main Draw - "It's OK to Love Novak"
​
Tennis Connected - "Previewing the 2016 Australian Open"
​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    LinkTree

    ARCHIVES

    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • THE BODY SERVE TENNIS PODCAST
  • Selected Writing
  • #ThisWeekInTennis
  • TBS DIARY
  • SOCIAL
  • Contact