Chris Evert Believes Serena Williams Will Be 'Less Intimidating' When She Returns - UBITENNIS
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Chris Evert Believes Serena Williams Will Be ‘Less Intimidating’ When She Returns

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Players on the tour as no longer fearing Serena Williams as much as they once were, according to former world No.1 Chris Evert.

Williams hasn’t played a competitive match since winning the Australian Open after giving birth to her first child in September. The 36-year-old currently has 72 WTA titles to her name, including 23 grand slam trophies. Her recent absence from the sport has resulted in an open 2017 season. This year three players has held the No.1 position at some point (Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza) and the grand slam events has been won by four different players.

Some have criticised the lack of consistency on the tour, but Evert has insisted that this season has seen an elevation in players form due to Williams’ absence. Allowing them to be more competitive.

“I think that this whole year, the level has gone up because Serena hasn’t been dominant and the other players have all felt that they had a shot at it, at the number one ranking,” Evert recently said, according to AFP news.
“I think that because of that challenge, they have improved in the physical and the mental part of it because they’ve all had a shot at it and they’ve pushed each other and that’s why there have been so many different winners. So I think the level will have improved by the time Serena comes back.”

At this week’s China Open in Beijing, four out of the top eight seeds failed to win their opening matches (Muguruza withdrew due to illness). US Open champion Sloane Stephens is yet to win a match in Asia after suffering back-to-back first match defeats in Wuhan and Beijing.

The mixture of results could provide Williams with a gap to swiftly find her footing when she returns to the tour early next year. Though questions remain about how the American will cope with balancing motherhood as well as playing on the tour. A issue raised by Evert, who has questioned how she will handle the situation emotionally.

“There’s so many things we don’t know about Serena, how it’s going to feel to her being a mother coming back, is it going to distract her, is it going to motivate her more?” She said.
“Or how being a mother emotionally will pull at her and will it take her away from tennis? There’s so many elements here that we don’t know about Serena and her comeback,”

Inevitably, when Williams does return to the tour, she will be headline news around the world. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, she has won at least one WTA title every season since 2007. It remains to be seen what happens when she returns to action, but she might face the prospect of not being able to intimidate her opponents with the power of her play.

“I think the other players have gotten better and I think they’re not going to be as intimidated when Serena comes back.” Concluded Evert.

Williams is hoping to return to the tour in time for the start of the Australian Open in January.

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Jannik Sinner reaches his fourth semifinal of the year in Miami

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This year’s Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner converted four of his eleven break points in his 6-4 6-2 win over Tomas Machac in 91 minutes to reach his fourth semifinal of the season at the Miami Open. 

Sinner has claimed a tour-leading 20th match win this season to reach the Miami Open semifinal for the third time. The world number 3 finished runner-up to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021 and Danil Medvedev in 2023 in his finals in Miami. 

Sinner started the match with an immediate break in the first game to take a 1-0 lead. Machac, who beat Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray on his way to the quarter final in Miami, broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Sinner earned his second break in an eight-minute seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The Italian star held on his next two service games to close out on his first set point. 

Sinner earned two break points on each of Machac’s first three service games. He broke twice in the third and fifth games to open up a 5-1 lead and served out the win on his second match point. Sinner dropped just three points on serve in the second set. 

Sinner will face the winner of the quarter final match between Danil Medvedev and Nicolas Jarry. 

“I did not exactly know what to expect today. The first games I was looking a little bit what kind of tactics could work or not. Today I played especially in the important moments of the match. I am really happy to play again in the semifinals here. Machac has an incredible talent to play this sport. He is super fast also physically . He is in great shape. I feel good. I am just happy to compete. We practise very hard to be in these positions and I am really happy I can play once again in the semifinals at this special tournament. I made my first Masters 1000 final here. I am really happy to be back in the semifinals ”, said Sinner. 

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Danielle Collins beats Caroline Garcia to reach the second semifinal of her career in Miami

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Danielle Collins beat Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-2 in 80 minutes to reach her second semifinal at the Miami Open. Collins became the first qualifier to reach the semifinal in the history of this tournament. 

Collins achieved her third win against a seeded player in five matches over the past seven days. 

Collins dropped just 11 points in nine service games against Garcia and hit 22 winners to Garcia’s 12. 

Collins earned a break in the eighth game and held serve to seal the first set 6-3. The US player broke serve in the third game of the second set and never looked back to close out the match in 1 hout and 19 minutes. 

Collins has extended her record to 4-0 in her head-to-head matches against Garcia and has not lost a set to her French opponent. 

Collins set up a semifinal match against the winner of Wednesday night’s match between Jessica Pegula and Elena Alexandrova, who beat world number one player Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.  

Collins won two WTA titles in Palermo and San José in 2021 but she has not reached a WTA Tour level final since losing to Ashleigh Barty in Melbourne in 2022. 

“I think Caroline Garcia comes out here and fights her butt off. She hits some really strong shots. I don’t think the set scores are a reflection of how close the match really is”, said Collins. 

Garcia beat Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff to reach the quarter finals in Miami for the first time in her career. The French player was troubled by an injury to her right shoulder and received treatment early in the second set. 

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Alexander Zverev beats Karen Khachanov to reach the quarter final for the fourth time in his career in Miami

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Alexander Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4 without facing any break points in a re-match of the Olympic final in Tokyo 2021 to reach back-to-back quarter finals after advancing to the last eight at Indian Wells. Zverev is aiming to win his first Masters 1000 title since Cincinnati in 2021. 

Zverev dropped just nine points on serve in the whole match and fired nine aces. The German player converted three of his four break points. 

Zverev broke twice in the fourth and sixth games to win the first set 6-1. The German player earned another break in the third game. He held on his next service games and sealed the win on his first match point. Zverev leads 4-2 in his six head-to-head matches against Khachanov. The German player reached the quarter final for the fourth time in his career in Miami and the last eight in a Masters 1000 tournament for the 27th time in his career. 

Zverev set up a quarter final match against Hundary’s Fabian Maroszan, who upset Alex De Minaur 6-4 1-6 6-1. The first set went on serve until the 10th game when Maroszan earned a break to win the first set 6-4. De Minaur broke three times to take a bagel win in the second set forcing the match to the decider. Maroszan broke twice in the fourth and sixth games and served out the win on his third match point. 

Maroszan reached his second Masters 1000 quarter final after advancing to the last eight in Shanghai in 2023. Maroszan has a record of four wins to just 1 defeat against top 10 players and 14 wins to just 3 defeats at Masters 1000 tournaments. De Minaur was looking to become the first player to reach 20 wins this season. 

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