by ti-amie Tournament: Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Dates: February 6 - February 12, 2023
Level: WTA 500
Total Financial Commitment: $780,637
Surface: Hard
Entries
Seed* Name Current Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Ons Jabeur 2 2
2 Daria Kasatkina 8 8
3 Veronika Kudermetova 9 9
4 Belinda Bencic 10 13
5 Danielle Collins 11 14
6 Beatriz Haddad Maia 14 15
7 Paula Badosa 16 11
8 Jelena Ostapenko 17 18
Anett Kontaveit 19 17
Liudmila Samsonova 20 19
Martina Trevisan 21 22
Shuai Zhang 22 24
Barbora Krejcikova 23 21
Elena Rybakina 25 23
Marie Bouzkova 26 26
Amanda Anisimova 27 29
Elise Mertens 32 27
Bianca Andreescu 43 22 (SR)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC) Top 20
(WC) Top 20
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
Alternates
Name Current Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Qinwen Zheng 28 30
2 Karolina Pliskova 31 31
3 Jil Teichmann 33 33
4 Alizé Cornet 34 34
5 Aliaksandra Sasnovich 38 38
6 Leylah Fernandez 40 39
7 Sorana Cirstea 42 43
8 Yulia Putintseva 47 51
9 Shelby Rogers 51 53
10 Marta Kostyuk 61 57
11 Garbiñe Muguruza 73 58
12 Claire Liu 62 59
13 Anna Kalinskaya 59 64
14 Rebecca Marino 67 66
15 Tatjana Maria 71 71
16 Tereza Martincova 74 73
17 Evgeniya Rodina 445 73 (SR)
18 Linda Fruhvirtova 82 80
19 Lin Zhu 87 85
20 Ysaline Bonaventure 90 92
by ti-amie Qualifying Entry Lists
Entries
Seed* Name Current Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Qinwen Zheng 28 28
2 Karolina Pliskova 31 31
3 Jil Teichmann 33 33
4 Aliaksandra Sasnovich 38 38
5 Leylah Fernandez 40 40
6 Sorana Cirstea 42 42
7 Yulia Putintseva 47 47
8 Shelby Rogers 51 51
9 Mayar Sherif 54 54
10 Lauren Davis 57 57
11 Claire Liu 62 62
12 Rebecca Marino 67 67
Garbiñe Muguruza 73 73
Tereza Martincova 74 74
Ysaline Bonaventure 90 90
Cristina Bucsa 100 100
Dayana Yastremska 101 101
Magdalena Frech 102 102
Diane Parry 107 107
Margarita Betova - 100 (SR)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates
Name Current Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Moyuka Uchijima 116 116
2 Katie Boulter 120 120
3 Elena-Gabriela Ruse 131 131
4 Karolina Muchova 133 133
5 Lesia Tsurenko 134 134
6 Heather Watson 140 140
7 Su Jeong Jang 143 143
8 Katarina Zavatska 311 145 (SR)
9 Mirjam Bjorklund 150 150
10 Kristina Mladenovic 151 151
11 Na-Lae Han 154 154
12 Despina Papamichail 157 157
13 Laura Siegemund 158 158
14 Carol Zhao 169 169
15 Nigina Abduraimova 176 176
16 Anastasia Zakharova 177 177
17 Ipek Oz 180 180
18 Katherine Sebov 190 190
19 Valentini Grammatikopoulou 200 200
20 Carole Monnet 208 208
Withdrawals
Name Current Ranking Entry Ranking
Caty Mcnally 94 94
by ashkor87 No Sabalenka, I see..understandable..wonder if Rybakina will actually show up... Good opportunity for someone who did not do that well at the AO, maybe injured ..like Badosa, kudermetova...am curious to see how Samsonova does after the thrashing she got from Vekic ...I would bet on Kudermetova if she is fit again...
by ponchi101 Samsonova's trashing looks much more acceptable after Donna's run. Vekic was playing quality tennis.
by ti-amie UPDATED MD Singles Entry Lists
Entries
Seed Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Daria Kasatkina 8 8
2 Belinda Bencic 9 13
3 Elena Rybakina 10 23
4 Veronika Kudermetova 11 9
5 Jelena Ostapenko 12 18
6 Beatriz Haddad Maia 14 15
7 Anett Kontaveit 18 17
8 Liudmila Samsonova 19 19
Karolina Pliskova 20 31
Paula Badosa 21 11
Shuai Zhang 23 24
Martina Trevisan 25 22
Marie Bouzkova 26 26
Qinwen Zheng 29 30
Barbora Krejcikova 30 21
Elise Mertens 32 27
Danielle Collins 40 14
Bianca Andreescu 42 22 (SR)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC) Top 20
(WC) Top 20
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
(Q)
Alternates
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Jil Teichmann 28 33
2 Alizé Cornet 58 34
3 Aliaksandra Sasnovich 37 38
4 Leylah Fernandez 38 39
5 Sorana Cirstea 61 43
6 Yulia Putintseva 44 51
7 Shelby Rogers 45 53
8 Marta Kostyuk 60 57
9 Garbiñe Muguruza 82 58
10 Claire Liu 52 59
11 Anna Kalinskaya 53 64
12 Rebecca Marino 70 66
13 Tatjana Maria 63 71
14 Tereza Martincova 87 73
15 Evgeniya Rodina 427 73 (SR)
16 Linda Fruhvirtova 51 80
17 Lin Zhu 54 85
18 Ysaline Bonaventure 97 92
19 Margarita Betova - 100 (SR)
20 Cristina Bucsa 86 102
Withdrawals
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking
Ons Jabeur 3 2
Amanda Anisimova 35 29
by ti-amie UPDATED Qualifying Singles Entry Lists
Entries
Seed Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Jil Teichmann 28 33
2 Aliaksandra Sasnovich 37 38
3 Leylah Fernandez 38 40
4 Yulia Putintseva 44 47
5 Shelby Rogers 45 51
6 Claire Liu 52 62
7 Sorana Cirstea 61 42
8 Rebecca Marino 70 67
9 Garbiñe Muguruza 82 73
10 Cristina Bucsa 86 100
11 Tereza Martincova 87 74
12 Ysaline Bonaventure 97 90
Magdalena Frech 101 102
Dayana Yastremska 103 101
Diane Parry 108 107
Moyuka Uchijima 116 116
Katie Boulter 121 120
Lesia Tsurenko 136 134
Elena-Gabriela Ruse 144 131
Margarita Betova - 100 (SR)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
(WC)
Alternates
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking
1 Heather Watson 160 140
2 Su Jeong Jang 149 143
3 Katarina Zavatska 286 145 (SR)
4 Mirjam Bjorklund 153 150
5 Kristina Mladenovic 145 151
6 Na-Lae Han 176 154
7 Despina Papamichail 151 157
8 Laura Siegemund 125 158
9 Carol Zhao 163 169
10 Nigina Abduraimova 152 176
11 Anastasia Zakharova 186 177
12 Ipek Oz 187 180
13 Valentini Grammatikopoulou 204 200
14 Carole Monnet 225 208
15 Lina Gjorcheska 211 213
16 Natalija Stevanovic 220 215
17 Ekaterine Gorgodze 239 220
18 Anastasia Tikhonova 177 227
19 Ekaterina Makarova 221 230
20 Jana Fett 254 237
Withdrawals
Name Seeding Ranking Entry Ranking
Karolina Pliskova 20 31
Qinwen Zheng 29 28
Lauren Davis 48 57
Mayar Sherif 50 54
Caty Mcnally 90 94
by ti-amie Qualifying Draw
A. Sasnovich (1) vs M. Bjorklund
E. Ruse vs T. Martincova (7)
L. Fernandez (2) vs K. Mladenovic
K. Zavatska vs M. Uchijima (12)
Y. Putintseva (3) vs A. Zakharova
N. Abduraimova vs D. Parry (11)
S. Rogers (4) vs V. Zvonareva (WC)
S. Jang vs M. Frech (9)
C. Liu (5) vs S. Bojica (WC)
L. Siegemund vs D. Yastremska (10)
R. Marino (6) vs M. Betova
L. Stefani (WC) vs Y. Bonaventure (8)
by ti-amie Main Draw Singles
(1) Daria Kasatkina/Bye
Jil Teichmann vs Qualifier
Qinwen Zheng vs Qualifier
Danielle Collins vs (5) Jelena Ostapenko
(4) Veronika Kudermetova/Bye
Elise Mertens vs Martina Trevisan
Barbora Krejcikova vs Qualifier
Paula Badosa vs (8) Liudmila Samsonova
(6) Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Marie Bouzkova
Bianca Andreescu vs Qualifier
Karolina Pliskova vs WC Garbine Muguruza
Bye/(3) Elena Rybakina
(7) Anett Kontaveit vs Shuai Zhang
Qualifier vs Qualifier
WC Marta Kostyuk vs WC Sorana Cirstea
Bye/(2) Belinda Bencic
by ashkor87 Sad to see Leylah playing Mladenovic in the qualies..both deserve better
by Deuce Heh... Mladenovic has certainly done nothing in the past several years to 'deserve better' than having to play qualies.
She offered no resistance at all today, as Leylah rolled over her quickly.
by
ponchi101 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 12:42 pm
Sad to see Leylah playing Mladenovic in the qualies..both deserve better
How about Pliskova Vs Mughuruza? To then face Rybakina? That's one "What have I done to deserve this?" match (for Garbie or Karo).
by ti-amie It'll be interesting to see who wins the KaPlis vs Muguruza match. Both women have lost a step or two physically and mentally.
by ti-amie Day 2 Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 11:00 AM
Qualifying
KAZ Y. PUTINTSEVA (3) vs UZB N. ABDURAIMOVA
UPCOMING
Qualifying
CAN L. FERNANDEZ (2) vs UKR K. ZAVATSKA
UPCOMING
Round of 32
BEL E. MERTENS vs ITA M. TREVISAN
UPCOMING
Round of 32
UKR M. KOSTYUK vs ROU S. CIRSTEA
UPCOMING
Round of 32
USA D. COLLINS vs LAT J. OSTAPENKO (5)
Court 1
Starts at 11:00 AM
Qualifying
USA C. LIU (5) vs UKR D. YASTREMSKA (10)
UPCOMING
Qualifying
SWE M. BJORKLUND vs ROU E. RUSE
UPCOMING
Round of 32
EST A. KONTAVEIT (7) vs CHN S. ZHANG
UPCOMING
Round of 16
HUN T. BABOS/FRA K. MLADENOVIC vs RUS V. KUDERMETOVA/RUS L. SAMSONOVA
UPCOMING
Round of 16
USA B. MATTEK-SANDS/IND S. MIRZA vs BEL K. FLIPKENS/GER L. SIEGEMUND
Court 2
Starts at 11:00 AM
Qualifying
USA S. ROGERS (4) vs POL M. FRECH (9)
UPCOMING
Qualifying
CAN R. MARINO (6) vs BEL Y. BONAVENTURE (8)
by
ashkor87 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 4:23 pm
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 05, 2023 12:42 pm
Sad to see Leylah playing Mladenovic in the qualies..both deserve better
How about Pliskova Vs Mughuruza? To then face Rybakina? That's one "What have I done to deserve this?" match (for Garbie or Karo).
But at least they are in the main draw! Qualies Seems an indignity, somehow
by ashkor87 Many really good players here .Rybakina is probably the best, but unlikely to take these tournaments too seriously so soon after the AO ..Kudermetova and Kasatkina mysteriously dropped off in Australia, would be good if they are back to form..
by ponchi101 It is a 500, so there are no easy players here. Kasatkina has been very disappointing in the last slams, but these are the tournaments in which she is reliable.
by ashkor87 Bencic is the one to bet on, though..only Rybakina can actually beat her ..
by JTContinental Cirstea, Kudermetova, Haddad Maia, Kontaveit, and Badosa would like to protest that statement...
by
ashkor87 JTContinental wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:26 am
Cirstea, Kudermetova, Haddad Maia, Kontaveit, and Badosa would like to protest that statement...
Kudermetova maybe, the rest? nah..
by JTContinental Most of them are unlikely due to Bencic's current form vs their fading form, but they did all beat her in 2022. From the qualies, so did Pliskova and Fernandez.
by
Deuce Kontaveit is in the process of playing one of the most inconsistent matches I've ever seen anyone play (vs. Zhang Shuai)...
Kontaveit won the 1st 3 games of the match, and looked very good doing it. Then she lost the next 5 games, and looked terrible. At one point during a changeover, she had her blood pressure checked (which seems to be the new popular thing to do in the WTA). She lost the set 4-6.
In the 2nd set, she got an early break, and looked very good again to 5-3. Then she looked really bad again, blowing several set points on her serve in the process, as it went to a tiebreak. Then it was back to being the good Dr. Jekyll for the tiebreak, which she won rather convincingly.
The match to this point has been entirely on Kontaveit's racquet - for good and for bad (and she doesn't grunt or scream when she hits a shot - it really sounds more like she's sneezing
)...
Off to the 3rd set now, and there isn't a human on the planet who can confidently predict the outcome of this one.
by Deuce Well, Kontaveit won the roller coaster match - 6-4 in the 3rd... but not before Mr. Hyde made yet another appearance as she went down 0-40 in that 10th (and final) game before summoning Dr. Jekyll again to rally herself back into the game and close it out.
She gets the winner of Leylah and Shelby Rogers, who both came through qualifying, next.
by
ponchi101 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:34 am
Bencic is the one to bet on, though..only Rybakina can actually beat her ..
I know Belinda is a quality player, but not to the level that you can say she is a 70% favorite for any tournament. It is a very strong field she is facing.
by
ashkor87 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:38 pm
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:34 am
Bencic is the one to bet on, though..only Rybakina can actually beat her ..
I know Belinda is a quality player, but not to the level that you can say she is a 70% favorite for any tournament. It is a very strong field she is facing.
I don't know about the ' strong field' ,- no Swiatek, Sabalenka, Garcia..
by ashkor87 As before, our endless argument!
Tier 1- Swiatek, Sabalenka, Rybakina
Tier 2 - Garcia, Bencic, Ostapenko, Vika, Pegula
Tier 3 - Coco, Leylah, etc.
Players in the same tier can beat each other, they will generally not be able to beat someone in the tier above..
Not sure about Jabeur, for instance...probably tier 2? Or somewhere between 2 and 3?
PS- generally means generally- not every time.
by
ponchi101 Our endless argument indeed!
I don't know. This is a 500, and sure, no Iga nor Aryna, but some fine players. Bencic (which the favorite in your book), Kasatkina, BHM, Badosa. It is good for the tier they are in.
And Ons has not been having good results, but let's not drop a 2 time slam finalist into Tier 3. She is still a fine player.
by ashkor87 I would put BHM, Badosa in tier 3 ..not 2. Along with Sakkari..
by Suliso There are no real Tier's at WTA 500. If such a concept could be applied at all then it's most relevant in Slams where everyone is as prepared as they could be and try hard. Not at a lowly 500 series where some are there just for extra $$$.
by ashkor87 That is also true.also, depends on surface .this is only for hard courts
by Suliso A good win by Ostepenko
by ti-amie Day 3 Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 03:00 PM
BRA B. HADDAD MAIA (6) vs CZE M. BOUZKOVA
FOLLOWED BY
ESP P. BADOSA vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8)
NOT BEFORE 7:00 PM
CZE K. PLISKOVA vs ESP G. MUGURUZA
FOLLOWED BY
CAN B. ANDREESCU vs KAZ Y. PUTINTSEVA
Court 1
Starts at 02:00 PM
CAN R. MARINO vs CHN Q. ZHENG
FOLLOWED BY
USA S. ROGERS vs CAN L. FERNANDEZ
NOT BEFORE 4:00 PM
SUI B. BENCIC/BEL E. MERTENS vs POL A. ROSOLSKA/NZL E. ROUTLIFFE
FOLLOWED BY
SUI J. TEICHMANN vs UKR D. YASTREMSKA
FOLLOWED BY
CZE B. KREJCIKOVA vs ROU E. RUSE
by ashkor87 Ostapenko and Collins are both tier2 players, by my classification. I also think Leylah is T2, assuming she is recovered..
But great to see Ostapenko continuing the momentum..she had won a big one ib the middle East last year, beating swiatek, no less..so she evidently likes it in the heat
by ti-amie Collins fought her way back into the second set before I had to turn it off. I was surprised Ostapenko won.
by jazzyg Bencic is very talented but nowhere near the player many believe her to be. I remember a female commentator last summer picking her to win the US Open and saying she was a lock to win multiple slams.
I do not think she will ever make a slam final. If she ever reproduces her Olympics form at a slam, she will, but where is the evidence she will?
by ti-amie I've never been a fan but I wonder if the hype around her was bigger than her actual tennis ability? I mean she's a good player and she can go deep in a tournament but there is just that something missing that would put her into the elite.
by ashkor87 Agree about Bencic..I have her down as a
Tier 2..
Only a tier 1 player can win a slam.
I do love her game, though, ability to hit early, change direction..not many players can.adds some variety to the field.
by JTContinental How did Ostapenko win one then when she is only a Tier 2 player?
by ashkor87 just got to see some videos of Cirstea versus Kostyuk.. court seems awfully slow - both players struggling to get the ball to go rhtough the court..
by
ashkor87 JTContinental wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 3:39 am
How did Ostapenko win one then when she is only a Tier 2 player?
at the mment, she is Tier 2. I have no objection to calling her Tier 1.
by
Suliso JTContinental wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 3:39 am
How did Ostapenko win one then when she is only a Tier 2 player?
You can also ask how Raducanu and Pennetta won one...
by
Deuce If only 'Tier 1' players are capable of winning a Major... and only players who have won a Major can be in 'Tier 1'... that eliminates everyone from ever winning their first Major from this point on, doesn't it?
Hmmm...
Maybe first time Major winners will only happen when all of the 'Tier 1' players retire from tennis?
by Deuce Those of you looking forward to the Pliskova - Muguruza match here will have to wait... Muguruza withdrew from the tournament, citing 'personal reasons'.
Badosa also withdrew, of course... because that's what she does. She either withdraws from a tournament or retires from a match at least once every month, it seems.
Bonaventure and Liu are the 'lucky losers' who get in.
by Deuce Shelby Rogers and Leylah are playing pretty much even through 2 sets - Rogers took the 1st 6-4, and Leylah just won the 2nd in a tiebreak (but she needed several set points in the tiebreak to win it).
To my recollection, Rogers often fades in 3rd sets. And the air and court temperatures today are quite hot. We'll see, though...
Elsewhere, Haddad Maia lost the 1st set vs. Bouzkova, but just took the 3rd set at love. I don't know what happened there, as I'm watching the Leylah - Shelby match.
by Deuce So much for Rogers fading in the 3rd... She won it easily, 6-1.
Leylah just fired blanks for the entire 3rd set - she was missing everywhere. Missed a few easy ones, that got her frustrated and nervous, and it snowballed from there.
by ashkor87 Badosa has pulled a Badosa, but I am more worried about Muguruza.. 'personal reasons'..,,thought as much .something wrong with her personal life somewhere? Anyone know? Feel sorry for her..
by ashkor87 Samsonova rolling in fifth gear now.. she should do well on this slow surface, her power is useful here..
by ponchi101 At least Badosa is retiring before the tournament begins (or before she plays her 1r) so there is an LL that gets to play, and people at least get to watch a match. But she has got to be the highest ranked player with the least fighting spirit in her.
She would have to sit down and have a talk with Rafa.
Tier 1, tier 2, tier 3, win a slam. It reminds me of Mats Wilander's famous (infamous) "You cannot be called a contender to win a slam until you have won one". A perfect circularity for the commentator: if you win, you were ready, if you don't, you were not. Makes the commentator looks like a genius, and in reality it is a rather silly comment, circular, as I said.
by ashkor87 nice, but I am willing to say in advance who will win a slam and who will not! which is better than saying anyone can win, which has no content at all - it is in fact a perfect tautology
by ti-amie Day 4 Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 03:00 PM
CHN Q. ZHENG vs LAT J. OSTAPENKO (5)
UPCOMING
RUS V. KUDERMETOVA (4) vs BEL E. MERTENS
UPCOMING
UKR M. KOSTYUK vs SUI B. BENCIC (2)
UPCOMING
EST A. KONTAVEIT (7) vs USA S. ROGERS
Court 1
Starts at 02:00 PM
BRA L. STEFANI/CHN S. ZHANG vs KAZ A. DANILINA/UKR L. KICHENOK (2)
UPCOMING
USA N. MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/AUS E. PEREZ (3) vs JPN S. AOYAMA/TPE H. CHAN
UPCOMING
USA D. KRAWCZYK/MEX G. OLMOS (1) vs SVK T. MIHALIKOVA/CHN Y. XU
UPCOMING
CAN L. FERNANDEZ/BLR A. SASNOVICH vs CHN Z. YANG/RUS V. ZVONAREVA (4)
UPCOMING
JPN M. KATO/ROU M. NICULESCU vs NOR U. EIKERI/CHI A. GUARACHI
by Deuce Samsonova took 3 sets to beat a 'lucky loser'. That's obviously not a convincing performance...
Andresscu lost in straight sets (1st was a tiebreak) to Putinseva, thus continuing her uninspiring comeback bid.
by Fastbackss I am not as dour on her year so far.
She beat muguruza in Adelaide. Beat a seed in first round at AO. Made it to semi's of Hua Hin before retiring with injury. This is the following tournament; it's possible she still has something tweaked. (Also, LL has already played some matches there)
by
Deuce Fastbackss wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:49 am
I am not as dour on her year so far.
^ It's not just 2023...
It's last year... and the year before... and the year before...
She had a very good 6 months in 2019. What has she done since then?
I think it's quite safe to say that her comeback is rather uninspiring.
Fastbackss wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:49 am
She beat muguruza in Adelaide. Beat a seed in first round at AO. Made it to semi's of Hua Hin before retiring with injury. This is the following tournament; it's possible she still has something tweaked. (Also, LL has already played some matches there)
^ A) Putinseva was not a 'Lucky Loser'. And the fact that she played 2 qualifying matches here is of no significance - if it was, many more qualifiers would win their first main draw match than actually occurs...
B) Beating Muguruza these days certainly cannot be considered a notable accomplishment...
C) Yes... she is quite familiar with being injured. I believe this is about injury #92 of her career. She's 22 years old.
She is also among the players who have a revolving door of coaches and other 'team' members coming and going.
For a player whom many labelled a "definite future #1", she has done very little in the past 3 years.
Even when she was the hottest player in the WTA in 2019, I said that she was maybe a top 20 player at most. Nice game of variety, but extremely inconsistent, prone to many mental lapses... and too 'in love' with her popularity.
by ashkor87 Jabeur out with 'minor,' knee surgery..no surgery is 'minor'!! Hope she recovers well, her movement, especially to low balls, is one of her strengths
by
ponchi101 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:17 pm
Jabeur out with 'minor,' knee surgery..no surgery is 'minor'!! Hope she recovers well, her movement, especially to low balls, is one of her strengths
Indeed. She relies a lot on athleticism, so anything to her knees can be worrisome.
by ti-amie Day 5 Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 03:00 PM
CZE B. KREJCIKOVA vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8)
UPCOMING
RUS D. KASATKINA (1) vs SUI J. TEICHMANN
UPCOMING
CZE K. PLISKOVA vs KAZ E. RYBAKINA (3)
UPCOMING
BRA B. HADDAD MAIA (6) vs KAZ Y. PUTINTSEVA
Court 1
Starts at 05:00 PM
BEL K. FLIPKENS/GER L. SIEGEMUND vs BRA L. STEFANI/CHN S. ZHANG
UPCOMING
USA D. KRAWCZYK/MEX G. OLMOS (1) vs HUN T. BABOS/FRA K. MLADENOVIC
by ashkor87 Kudermetova beating her doubles partner Mertens is not surprising..she is anyway the better player now but I wonder how often the ',junior' partner beats the 'senior,,' just because he/she is familiar with the other person's game and is not in awe of her
On this slow court, beating a powerful player like Kostyuk is also not easy..Q Zheng is also back, she should also thrive on this slow court..good quarterfinals coming up.
by Deuce ^ They are former doubles partners.
by ashkor87 I continue to be surprised at how well Bencic does on slow hard courts..her game doesn't seem all that well-suited, she should do better where her ability to take the ball on the rise, change direction etc have value - which should be on a faster court .
by ashkor87 Samsonova doing well, as expected on a slow court
by
ashkor87 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 3:54 pm
Samsonova rolling in fifth gear now.. she should do well on this slow surface, her power is useful here..
Doing well..beat Krejcikova in straights
by ashkor87 Lop-sided scores like 6-0, 1-6 are a sign of a slow court..because serve doesn't count for much..if one player is playing 5% better in a set, she can win virtually every point...we are seeing this here
by ponchi101 I thought Krejcikova would take that match, after her good run at the Aussie. But these matches are very even. 5 & 6, it could have gone either way.
A total of 9 breaks, and 27 break points in total. As you say, serving was not the key aspect here.
by ashkor87 Impressive win by Rybakina over Pliskova..didn't expect her to be up so soon..
by ti-amie Day 6 Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 03:00 PM
USA S. ROGERS vs SUI B. BENCIC (2)
UPCOMING
RUS D. KASATKINA (1) vs CHN Q. ZHENG
UPCOMING
BRA B. HADDAD MAIA (6) vs KAZ E. RYBAKINA (3)
UPCOMING
RUS V. KUDERMETOVA (4) vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8)
Court 1
Starts at 04:30 PM
JPN M. KATO/ROU M. NICULESCU vs CHN Z. YANG/RUS V. ZVONAREVA (4)
by JazzNU Haddad Maia playing an unnecessarily long match against Putintseva after not closing her out in the 2nd set like she should've. Thought she had a decent chance at beating Rybakina, but not sure she's up for it after that grueling match.
by
ashkor87 JazzNU wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 2:21 am
Haddad Maia playing an unnecessarily long match against Putintseva after not closing her out in the 2nd set like she should've. Thought she had a decent chance at beating Rybakina, but not sure she's up for it after that grueling match.
At a minimum, BHM vs Rybakina will be fun to watch...volleyers can do well on this kind of surface- disrupt things just when the baseliner is settling down into a nice rhythm!
by
ashkor87 ponchi101 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:38 pm
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:34 am
Bencic is the one to bet on, though..only Rybakina can actually beat her ..
I know Belinda is a quality player, but not to the level that you can say she is a 70% favorite for any tournament. It is a very strong field she is facing.
You may remember I had predicted she would win the Olympic gold after the devastation in the first couple rounds .people in this forum thought it was a stretch. Fact is, Bencic is very reliable, on hard courts, so long as she doesn't come up against a grand slam champion- class player .she will reliably beat most other people.
by ashkor87 Btw QZ is, in my estimation, a future major champion, has every chance of beating Bencic. It will show us how good QZ is..
by Deuce Qinwen played a fantastic match vs. Kasatkina today. She completely dominated the 1st set - Kasatkina won her only game when it was 0-5.
The 2nd set was much closer than the 6-2 score indicates. Kasatkina raised her level (it couldn't have gotten any lower than in the 1st set), and there were a lot more good, long rallies in the 2nd set than in the 1st.
I said a year or so ago that Qinwen may well turn out to be the dominant player that everyone thought Sabalenka would be. I still believe that's definitely a possibility.
It looks like we can look forward to a nice rivalry in the top 10 (maybe top 5) between Qinwen and Rybakina over the next 10 years or so. They are rather similar players.
by Deuce I think there is something significant troubling Kasatkina. She has not been herself so far this year... She's getting blown out in a lot of sets.
I don't think the problem is physical, as there is no indication of any injury at all.
She doesn't seem happy at all on the court. She seems resigned to defeat much more often than before. She was always a fighter out there - but lately, she seems to give up much easier. It seems that she is very much lacking confidence out there now - like she goes into each match hoping not to lose instead of believing she will win.
Maybe something is happening in her life that is preoccupying her in a negative way... Maybe something with a close relationship... maybe something related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and her outspokenness about that - maybe she's worried about her family's safety in Russia...
Whatever it is, something sure seems to be bothering her this year.
by Deuce Samsonova was impressive in her straight sets win over her doubles partner for this tournament Kudermetova.
She plays Qinwen next (in the semi), and if both players play as well as they played today, it will be a hell of a high quality match.
by ashkor87 QZ was moving wonderfully in the front of the court against Kasatkina...not just hitting hard..seems to have added some variety to her game
Samsonova does seem a bit slow on her feet, hurts her on faster courts. (this one isnt, of course)
by ashkor87 well, could see only highlights so cant really tell but it didnt look like BHM came to the net much. Teed off on Rybakina's second serve, so presumably Rybakina must have missed a lot of first serves, as she did in patches even at the AO..
if someone actually saw the match..?
by
ashkor87 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 11, 2023 11:31 am
well, could see only highlights so cant really tell but it didnt look like BHM came to the net much. Teed off on Rybakina's second serve, so presumably Rybakina must have missed a lot of first serves, as she did in patches even at the AO..
if someone actually saw the match..?
the stats tell a good story.. Rybakina got 62% of her first serves in, which is good but BHM got 76%. Both had 5 break points, Rybakina converted 1, BHM converted 3. Rybakina won only 25% of second serve return points, BHM won 45% which is sort of normal).
On second serve,BHM actually had a higher win rate than on first serve! 'you are only as good as your second srve' is an adage as old as the game itself, and clearly still true!
what the stats say is that BHM second serve was the difference, and Rybakina's inability to attack it..
by Deuce Bencic easily over Haddad Maia, 2 and 3 in the first semi-final....
She's playing some good tennis so far this year.
by Suliso She often is during this time of the year.
by
ashkor87 JTContinental wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:26 am
Cirstea, Kudermetova, Haddad Maia, Kontaveit, and Badosa would like to protest that statement...
Hmm..they are all gone now. Bencic remains standing.
by martini4me I'd been VERY impressed by Zheng Q. on the couple of occasions I saw her last year. Then she had a fairly poor start to the year. I thought, maybe too soon, and didn't pick her in predictions this week. And naturally, she's just won the second set 61 in her semi-final.
by Suliso Me too. I think she's a future Slam winner.
by ponchi101 She's got a perfect build for tennis. Strong, fast, lite enough. I say: indeed, good chance of a slam in the near future.
by Deuce As good as Qinwen is - and as good as she may be in the future -, I feel that she lacked maturity in the match today. She wasn't able to carry her 2nd set momentum into the 3rd, and she kind of crumbled at important points in that 3rd set.
Still, by this time next year, I see her being in the top 10 - and ahead of Sabalenka.
All credit to Samsonova today, though - she rebounded nicely from a significant dip in the 2nd set.
by ti-amie Day 8 Order of Play
Stadium Court
Starts at 03:00 PM
Final
JPN S. AOYAMA/TPE H. CHAN vs BRA L. STEFANI/CHN S. ZHANG
UPCOMING
Final
RUS L. SAMSONOVA (8) vs SUI B. BENCIC (2)
by ashkor87 Bencic vs Samsonova..my favorites...betting on S to beat B now..
She is a bit like Sabalenka, and this court is slow. Equally happy if Bencic wins, of course. But I have been calling out Samsonova as a future champion for more than a year, especially on slow courts
She has awesome power and her serve is great...her one weakness is she is a bit slow, on a fast court that hurts her. She will not have trouble reaching balls here .
This variety among players is great for the game..QZ with her quickness, and relentless ferocity, Rybakina and Samsonova with their effortless power, BHM with her volleying...all add color to the game..
.
by ashkor87 Bencic is becoming the 'benchmark' player, along with Pegula- only a champion-class player can beat them .Halep was that player until last year ..
by Deuce After Samsonova ran away with the 1st set 6-1, Bencic fought for her life in the exhausting marathon 2nd set which lasted almost 90 minutes, winning it in a tiebreak.
Bencic seems to be showing more and more mental strength lately...
Onto the 3rd now...
by ashkor87 well done, Bencic! squeezed it out finally..
by Suliso That's a great win for Belinda! Hopefully a big confidence boost for the tournaments to come.
by Deuce Yes - a very gutsy win for Bencic, saving a few match points in the 2nd set.
by Suliso Without looking it up I'd have guessed more than that.
by ashkor87 Well, Keys has 6, Kvitova has 30 or so...Bencic is in between, which is what one would expect ..but yes, at first blush, I would have guessed 12 or so
by ashkor87 just for context (i had to look it up): Sakkari has 1, Badosa has 3 titles.. Svitolina has 16, Halep 24.
I wonder why people think so highly of Sakkari and Badosa.. !
by Suliso Is Svitolina better than Bencic? Not obviously to me.
by ashkor87 She has been to a Slam final...Bencic hasn't...for instance...
by Suliso Yes, but that's too simplified. Raducanu has won a Slam, but she's not even top 10 level on a regular day. Not yet anyway.
by
skatingfan ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:17 am
She has been to a Slam final...Bencic hasn't...for instance...
Svitolina hasn't played a slam final - best slam result is two semifinals in 2019. Bencic has also made the semis, but only once, and Svitolina has made more quarters than Bencic.
by
ashkor87 skatingfan wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2023 10:56 am
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:17 am
She has been to a Slam final...Bencic hasn't...for instance...
Svitolina hasn't played a slam final - best slam result is two semifinals in 2019. Bencic has also made the semis, but only once, and Svitolina has made more quarters than Bencic.
yes, you are right.. my memory playing tricks.. that was the Italian I was remembering..
by ashkor87 Just for completeness: (according to Wiki)
Player Titles (tour level)
Kvitova 29
Halep 24
Azarenka 21
Svitolina 16
Sabalenka 12
Garcia 11
Bencic 8
Keys 6
Badosa 3
Jabeur 3
Rybakina 3
Gauff 3
Pegula 2
Sakkari 1
Parks 1 (just because..)
None of these is really surprising, I guess... except Pegula, perhaps.. I woud have thought she would have more but in fact she has burst into the top echelons only recently
by
Suliso Why did you omit Swiatek and her 11 titles?
by ashkor87 he he.. forgot.
by ashkor87 i am sure there are others I have forgotten about
by
ashkor87 ashkor87 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:47 am
Just for completeness: (according to Wiki)
Player Titles (tour level)
Kvitova 29
Halep 24
Azarenka 21
Svitolina 16
Sabalenka 12
Garcia 11
Bencic 8
Keys 6
Badosa 3
Jabeur 3
Rybakina 3
Gauff 3
Pegula 2
Sakkari 1
Parks 1 (just because..)
None of these is really surprising, I guess... except Pegula, perhaps.. I woud have thought she would have more but in fact she has burst into the top echelons only recently
Swiatek 11
Stephens 7