ATP 500 WTA 500 Washington DC 7/31-8/6 2023

[ti-amie]

As for not liking Pegula, there is nothing about her not to like. We are talking about her tennis ability- I think she is good, tier 2, not great, not tier 1..that is all. Whether she makes the cover of Vogue simply does not interest me- tennis is what we are discussing.

The thing is making the cover of a major fashion magazine, especially for WTA players, is a big deal. If you pay attention to what WTA 250's pay as opposed to ATP 250's the women need the endorsement money in order to keep their heads above water. And the way to attract endorsement money is by making the cover of the Vogue franchise in whatever country you live in. There are options besides Vogue - the Qinwen video is for Marie-Claire - but everyone knows Vogue.

Pegula doesn't have the cachet of Qinwen who cleans up very, very nicely and has the body type people in fashion go for.

It comes down to the (now) old adage "don't hate the player hate the game".

[ashkor87]

Pegula doesn't need the money..and who said anything about hate?

[JTContinental]

Can we agree that you truly don't like her? I can't recall any Pegula fans here; we simply say that she is a solid player, and that she has reached a very high ranking. Will she win here? I doubt it; it is a very even field. Can she make the semis? Very possible.
From my side: the few times I have seen her play, Jessica is a fine player, but nothing about that game impresses me. SO, having reached #3 in the rankings, I say she has overachieved. And she may win a few more tournaments in her career. This might be one.

I'm a Pegula fan. I think she has a nice all-court game, a lot of power, nice touch at net, a lot of composure, but hasn't been able to close some big matches. Hopefully she will close a few more before she hangs it up. I think she will keep putting herself in position for a while.

I'm also a fan, albeit more from her personality than her game

[meganfernandez]

As for not liking Pegula, there is nothing about her not to like. We are talking about her tennis ability- I think she is good, tier 2, not great, not tier 1..that is all. Whether she makes the cover of Vogue simply does not interest me- tennis is what we are discussing.

The thing is making the cover of a major fashion magazine, especially for WTA players, is a big deal. If you pay attention to what WTA 250's pay as opposed to ATP 250's the women need the endorsement money in order to keep their heads above water. And the way to attract endorsement money is by making the cover of the Vogue franchise in whatever country you live in. There are options besides Vogue - the Qinwen video is for Marie-Claire - but everyone knows Vogue.

Pegula doesn't have the cachet of Qinwen who cleans up very, very nicely and has the body type people in fashion go for.

It comes down to the (now) old adage "don't hate the player hate the game".

FWIW, I don't think she is going to be on the COVER of Vogue. Maybe IN Vogue. But probably something else. NYT Magazine is my guess.

[ti-amie]

As for not liking Pegula, there is nothing about her not to like. We are talking about her tennis ability- I think she is good, tier 2, not great, not tier 1..that is all. Whether she makes the cover of Vogue simply does not interest me- tennis is what we are discussing.

The thing is making the cover of a major fashion magazine, especially for WTA players, is a big deal. If you pay attention to what WTA 250's pay as opposed to ATP 250's the women need the endorsement money in order to keep their heads above water. And the way to attract endorsement money is by making the cover of the Vogue franchise in whatever country you live in. There are options besides Vogue - the Qinwen video is for Marie-Claire - but everyone knows Vogue.

Pegula doesn't have the cachet of Qinwen who cleans up very, very nicely and has the body type people in fashion go for.

It comes down to the (now) old adage "don't hate the player hate the game".

FWIW, I don't think she is going to be on the COVER of Vogue. Maybe IN Vogue. But probably something else. NYT Magazine is my guess.

Vogue does do a China edition I think (I won't die on that hill ) but right now with so many Chinese Dramas featuring actresses that would probably sell more magazines I think you're right.

[ti-amie]

UPDATED ATP MD Singles Entry Lists

Entries
Seed Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking

1 Taylor Fritz 9 9
2 Frances Tiafoe 10 10
3 Felix Auger-Aliassime 12 12
4 Hubert Hurkacz 16 18
5 Grigor Dimitrov 20 24
6 Alexander Bublik 26 26
7 Adrian Mannarino 27 35
8 Sebastian Korda 28 25
9 Daniel Evans 30 30
10 Yoshihito Nishioka 31 27
11 Christopher Eubanks 32 43
12 Tallon Griekspoor 36 31
13 Ugo Humbert 38 39
14 Andy Murray 42 40
15 J.J. Wolf 46 48
16 Emil Ruusuvuori 50 47
Gregoire Barrere 53 49
Mackenzie McDonald 55 54
Brandon Nakashima 58 55
Marcos Giron 62 65
Jordan Thompson 63 70
Aslan Karatsev 69 50
Corentin Moutet 73 71
Max Purcell 74 64
Aleksandar Vukic 82 87
Thanasi Kokkinakis 86 90
Yibing Wu 89 62
Alexander Shevchenko 93 97
Constant Lestienne 95 74
Diego Schwartzman 97 98
Radu Albot 98 107
Yosuke Watanuki 102 116
Maxime Cressy 105 58
Taro Daniel 113 106
Michael Mmoh 116 119
Lloyd Harris 204 47 (PR)
(WC) Gael Monfils 322
(WC) Kei Nishikori 439
(WC) Kevin Anderson 645
(WC)
(WC) A+
(SE)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)


Alternates
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking

1 Emilio Gomez 139 127
2 Liam Broady 126 142
5 Bradley Klahn 799 145 (PR)
7 Juncheng Shang 156 155
8 Vasek Pospisil 165 157
9 Alexander Ritschard 173 161
10 Sho Shimabukuro 160 162
11 Elias Ymer 186 169
12 Denis Kudla 161 180
13 Harold Mayot 182 181
15 Brandon Holt 219 201
16 Zachary Svajda 225 202
17 Shintaro Mochizuki 196 212
19 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 499 240 (PR)
20 Li Tu 233 246

Withdrawals
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking

Daniil Medvedev 3 3
Denis Shapovalov 22 29
Nick Kyrgios 35 33
Mikael Ymer 51 59
Jeremy Chardy 507 88 (PR)

[ti-amie]

UPDATED ATP Qualifying Singles Entry Lists

Entries
Seed Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking

1 Liam Broady 126 142
2 Emilio Gomez 139 127
3 Juncheng Shang 156 155
4 Sho Shimabukuro 160 162
5 Denis Kudla 161 180
6 Alexis Galarneau 162 215
7 Shintaro Mochizuki 196 212
8 Brandon Holt 219 201
9 Zachary Svajda 225 202
10 Mitchell Krueger 267 263
11 Mukund Sasikumar 346 385
12 James Trotter 437 573
Kyle Seelig 446 409
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski 499 529
Mateus Alves 503 478
Matija Pecotic 611 613
Bruno Kuzuhara 629 624
Donald Young 653 628
Bradley Klahn 799 145 (PR)
(WC) Andrew Fenty -
Peter Polansky - 336 (PR)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)

Alternates
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking

3 Kiranpal Pannu 715 671
4 Juan Sebastian Gomez 992 673 (PR)
5 Joshua Sheehy 734 757
6 Osgar O'Hoisin 802 795
7 Kosuke Ogura 804 801
8 Mitchell Harper 807 810
9 Ozan Baris 815 832
10 Roy Smith 858 855
11 Pedja Krstin 1009 877
12 Juan Carlos Aguilar 909 890
13 Connor Farren 959 894
14 Jaycer Lyeons 906 906
15 Michail Pervolarakis 990 916
16 Juan Sebastian Gomez 992 991
17 Preston Brown 982 1012
18 Lorenzo Esquici 1062 1067
19 Kelsey Stevenson 1147 1158
20 Yannick Mertens 1238 1192

Withdrawals
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking

Nicolas Jarry 29 28
Roman Safiullin 47 92
Radu Albot 98 107
Yosuke Watanuki 102 116
Taro Daniel 113 106
Michael Mmoh 116 119
Enzo Couacaud 152 158
Zizou Bergs 158 178
Vasek Pospisil 165 157
Harold Mayot 182 181

[ti-amie]

UPDATED WTA MD Singles Entry List

Main Draw Singles

4 Pegula, Jessica (USA)
5 Garcia, Caroline (FRA)
7 Gauff, Coco (USA)
8 Sakkari, Maria (GRE)
10 Kasatkina, Daria (RUS)
12 Kudermetova, Veronika (RUS)
14 Bencic, Belinda (SUI)
14 Brady, Jennifer (USA) SR
15 Samsonova, Liudmila (RUS)
18 Keys, Madison (USA)
19 Pliskova, Karolina (CZE)
20 Azarenka, Victoria (BLR)
23 Potapova, Anastasia (RUS)
25 Zheng, Qinwen (CHN)
26 Kalinina, Anhelina (UKR)
27 Pera, Bernarda (USA)
28 Mertens, Elise (BEL)
29 Martic, Petra (CRO)
OUT 35 Badosa, Paula (ESP)
36 Kostyuk, Marta (UKR)
IN 39 Stephens, Sloane (USA) ?

[ti-amie]

[Owendonovan]

I'm a Pegula fan. I think she has a nice all-court game, a lot of power, nice touch at net, a lot of composure, but hasn't been able to close some big matches. Hopefully she will close a few more before she hangs it up. I think she will keep putting herself in position for a while.

PS: I recently was able to watch the third set of the Pegula Wimbledon QF loss (even I didn't have the heart to watch the whole match), via ESPN-Plus. It actually was sad watching how Jessica blew her third set 4-1, game point for 5-1 lead. She just got so tentative- multiple times starting to move towards the net, then backing up- blowing these points, of course, with being in no-man's land. (OF course, Vondroušová did play some excellent tennis at that time. But, still....) Certainly, at least, Jessica will soon get to a Slam singles SF.....

Confidence... she will have to force herself to play fearlessly in the big moments.

Am I really the only TAT Pegula fan who will come forward? I'm sure there are a few more. She has a great personality, too. I think she will be in Vogue or some other big publication in August. Caitlin Thompson spend some significant time with her to report a long story. She didn't name the publication, but I'm thinking Vogue or the NYT Magazine. Not Racquet.

I root for her when she's on court. She's not my favorite, but I like her succeeding with the game she has. She's taken the average(ish) skills she has and parlayed them into a very successful career. Good on her.

[ti-amie]

WTA Main Draw Singles

USA J. Pegula (1)/BYE
USA S. Kenin vs Qualifier
UKR E. Svitolina vs BLR V. Azarenka
BEL E. Mertens vs RUS D. Kasatkina (5)

GRE M. Sakkari (4)/BYE
USA B. Pera vs Qualifier
USA J. Brady vs UKR A. Kalinina
CHN Q. Zheng vs USA M. Keys (7)

SUI B. Bencic (6) vs RUS A. Potapova
USA S. Stephens vs Qualifier
Qualifier vs CZE K. Pliskova
BYE/USA C. Gauff (3)

RUS L. Samsonova (8) vs USA D. Collins
ROU S. Cirstea vs CRO P. Martic
CAN B. Andreescu vs UKR M. Kostyuk
BYE/FRA C. Garcia (2)

[ti-amie]

ATP Men's Singles Draw

(1) Taylor Fritz/Bye
Qualifier vs Max Purcell
Aleksandar Vukic vs Brandon Nakashima
Bye/(15) Andy Murray

(11) Christopher Eubanks/Bye
(PR) Lloyd Harris vs (WC) Kei Nishikori
(WC) Kevin Anderson vs Jordan Thompson
Bye/(7) Adrian Mannarino

(4) Hubert Hurkacz/Bye
Qualifier vs Michael Mmoh
Marcos Giron vs Radu Albot
Bye/(16) J.J. Wolf

(12) Tallon Griekspoor/Bye
Corentin Moutet vs Liam Broady
(WC) Gael Monfils vs Qualifier
Bye/(6) Alexander Bublik


(5) Grigor Dimitrov/Bye
Mackenzie McDonald vs Diego Schwartzman
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Constant Lestienne
Bye/(10) Yoshihito Nishioka

(13) Ugo Humbert/Bye
Taro Daniel vs Thanasi Kokkinakis
Yosuke Watanuki vs Yibing Wu
Bye/(3) Felix Auger-Aliassime

(8) Sebastian Korda/Bye
Maxime Cressy vs Alexander Shevchenko
Qualifier vs Gregoire Barrere
Bye/(9) Daniel Evans

(14) WC Ben Shelton/Bye
Qualifier vs Emilio Gomez
Aslan Karatsev vs Qualifier
Bye/(2) Frances Tiafoe

[ti-amie]

WTA Qualifying Draw

A. Blinkova (1) vs C. Ngounoue
K. Day vs M. Frech (7)

V. Gracheva (2) vs L. Fernandez
E. Mandlik vs K. Boulter (6)

A. Parks (3) vs H. Baptiste
I. Shymanovich vs P. Stearns (5)

L. Davis (4) vs A. Smith
A. Krueger vs R. Peterson (8)

[ti-amie]

ATP Qualifying Singles Draw

(1) Juncheng Shang vs Gage Brymer
(PR) Peter Polansky vs (12) Thai-Son Kwiatkowski

(2) Sho Shimabukuro vs Donald Young
(PR) Bradley Klahn vs (10) James Trotter

(3) Denis Kudla vs Kiranpal Pannu
Bruno Kuzuhara vs (9) Mukund Sasikumar

(4) Alexis Galarneau vs (PR) Juan Sebastian Gomez
(WC) Bjorn Fratangelo vs (8) Mitchell Krueger

(5) Shintaro Mochizuki vs Mateus Alves
(WC) Benjamin Kittay vs (11) Kyle Seelig

(6) Brandon Holt vs (WC) Andrew Fenty
(WC) Ryan Harrison vs (7) Zachary Svajda

[JTContinental]

In "one to watch" news, junior Wimbledon champ Clervie Ngounoue took out top seed Anna Blinkova 3&2 in the first round of qualifying.