Indian Wells: Li Na wins all-Chinese match. Nadal survives Stepanek scare - UBITENNIS
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Indian Wells: Li Na wins all-Chinese match. Nadal survives Stepanek scare

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TENNIS –  On the women’s side, Li Na (1) took on her and beat countrywoman, Zheng Jie who was a dangerous floater in any draw. The first seed won 6-2. 7-5. In the men’s event Rafael Nadal survived an early scare against Radek Stepanek. Cordell Hackshaw

 

With all 1st round matches concluded over the past 3 days, Day 4 at the BNP Paribas Open has heated up considerably for the 2nd round matches. Many of the top seeds and tour favourites were on court and the fans loved every moment of it. On the women’s side, Li Na (1) took on her countrywoman, Zheng Jie who is a dangerous floater in any draw. This is the highest seeding Li has had at a “major” event and she most definitely was not about to waste this opportunity. Li took the first set easily 6-2 but lost her way a bit as she was down 2-4 in the 2nd set. However, Zheng was unable to close the deal and force a 3rd set as Li cleaned up her game and took the match 6-2, 7-5. She will be joined by Maria Sharapova (4) in the 3rd round who took out Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-4.

Other top seeds were in action and moved through to the next round including Petra Kvitova (8) who took out American wildcard Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets as did Dominika Cibulkova (12), Sam Stosur (16) who took out Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-3; a rematch of the 2010 French Open final, and Sloane Stephens (17). Ana Ivanovic (11) had a tough time against her opponent Elina Svitolina. Ivanovic’s inability to stay focus in matches is now legendary and found herself down a set in the early parts of the match 4-6. She was able to take the 2nd set 7-5. However, Svitolina served for the match twice in the 3rd set in a string of six consecutive breaks of serve culminating in a tiebreaker to decide the match. It was at this point that Ivanovic found her range again to take it 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(1). Flavia Pennetta (20) found herself in a somewhat similar fight against 17-year old American Taylor Townsend. Townsend, despite all the talk of her body, has a very solid game and it would be interesting to see how far her career goes in spite of the weight of expectation. Nonetheless, it was not her day today. The American had a break in the 3rd set but could not consolidate and the more experience player in Pennetta simply capitalized to take the match 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

Other winners of the day included several Russians who will join Sharapova in the 3rd round: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (21), Ekaterina Makarova (23), Svetlana Kuznetsova (27) and unseeded Alisa Kleybanova who took out the 32nd seed Garbine Muguruza in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. It is nice to see Kleybanova back on tour and playing top draw tennis as she did when she rose to No. 20 in 2011. Since then, she has successfully battled Hodgkin’s Lymphoma which took her off the tour for a considerable amount of time.

There were several upsets, the biggest of which saw Angelique Kerber (5) bounced out of the tournament by Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor in 3 sets 6-2, 6-7, 4-6. Sabine Lisicki (15) continued her inconsistent streak of play as Aleksandra Wozniak took her out on her way to the 3rd round 7-5 1-6 7-6. Soria Cirstea (25) and Klara Zakopalova (28) were also knocked out of the tournament by Camila Giorgi and Karoline Pliskova respectively.

The men’s draw proved to be far more interesting than the ladies in the earlier rounds of the tournament as many of the top men face stiff opposition from their opponents. Andy Murray (5) dropped the 1st set 4-6 to Lukas Rosol, the man who took out Rafael Nadal out of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. Murray had only 1 winner to the 18 from Rosol in that initial set. However, the Scotsman righted his ship and soon nullified the potential threat that was the Czech. Rosol had the initial break in the 2nd set but was unable to adapt his style of play, the monster serve/forehand combination to the superior tactics of the 2 time major winner. Murray drew Rosol side to side and withstood the barrage of heavy-handed forehands which became more and more erratic as the match went on. In the end, Murray was just too much for Rosol to handle and Murray moved on 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Things were looking very comfortable for Roger Federer (7) against Paul-Henri Mathieu as he was up 6-2, 5-4 serving for the match. However, he gave Mathieu his first looks at break points and Mathieu converted on this rare occasion. Federer then became quite erratic and the match became anything but routine for the Swiss. He barely got the 2nd set to a tiebreaker and was down a mini break. Federer then found his top form again and closed out the match 7-6(5) to move through to the 3rd round. It seemed as though all the top men wanted to complicate their lives as Rafael Nadal too joined in on the action. He dropped the 1st set to Radek Stepanek who was playing a most aggressive style throughout the match. Nadal did his best to avoid the upset and just got by to the 3rd round in under two and a half hours 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. The world’s number one is looking to retain the title here as he did last year when kick started an incredible 2013 for him on hardcourts. He did not lose a match all of last year on the surface.  Milos Raonic (10), Fabio Fognini (13) and Andreas Seppi (29) also had to battle it out in 3 sets to get through to the 3rd round.

Several of the other top seeds figured out how to get to the 3rd round in an easier fashion. Current Australian Open champ Stanislas Wawrinka (3) won in straight sets over the monster serving Ivo Karlovic. Other straight sets winners include Tommy Haas (11), Kevin Anderson (17), Kei Nishikori (19), Gael Monfils (23), Dmitry Tursunov (27) and Alexsandr Dolgopolov (28). In terms of upsets, Jerzy Janowicz (18), one of the potential stars of the tour, lost to Alejandro Falla 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(5). Janowicz was up 5-2 in the 3rd set before becoming unraveled. Pablo Andujar (32) also lost to Jiri Vesely in 3 sets.

It was not just the men’s singles matches that proved to be interested at this tournament. There were many great pairings on the court which has made the men’s doubles event here a hot ticket. Novak Djokovic paired up with his countryman Filip Krajnovic for a chance of doubles glory but it was cut short by the team of Ernests Gulbis and Milos Raonic in straight sets 7-6, 6-1. The giant duo of Marin Cilic and Juan Martin Del Potro got together to take on the very experienced team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. They also lost their bid for doubles glory as the Nestor/Zimonjic took in the super-breaker 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his partner Nicolas Mahut came through against Kevin Anderson and Robin Haase. They will join Richard Gasquet and Jonathan Ehrlich in the 2nd round as they took out the Polish team of Marius Fystenberg and Marcin Matkowski.

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Miami Open Daily Preview: Thursday’s Action Features Azarenka, Thiem, Rybakina

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A look at the grounds of the Miami Open (twitter.com/HardRockStadium)

Women’s second round action begins on Thursday, including Major champions like Victoria Azarenka and Elena Rybakina, as well as American top seeds Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff.

 

The highest profile WTA match of the day sees Azarenka, a three-time Miami Open champion, face Italy’s Camila Giorgi, who is always a threat on a faster hard court.  Meanwhile, men’s first round action concludes on Thursday, headlined by 2020 US Open champ Dominic Thiem facing Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.


Lorenzo Sonego vs. Dominic Thiem (WC) – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court

Dominic Thiem continues to struggle to regain his form after missing nearly a year of action due to a wrist injury.  He showed some signs of his former self during the fall, reaching the semifinals of both Gijon and Antwerp.  However, he is just 1-8 at all levels to start 2023, with his only win coming on clay in Buenos Aires over Alex Molcan.  Thiem has lost two of his last three matches in a final-set tiebreak, including two weeks ago to Adrian Mannarino at Indian Wells, a tournament Dominic won four years ago.

Sonego was ranked as high as 21st in the world just 18 months ago, but is now 59th, and owns a 5-8 record in 2023.  Yet it’s worth noting he’s also had some tough draws.  Five of those eight losses have come against top 20 opposition.

These players have split two previous meetings., both on clay.  In 2019 in Kitzbuhel, Thiem prevailed in straight sets.  In 2021 in Rome, Sonego prevailed in an epic encounter on his home soil, claiming a third-set tiebreak after nearly three-and-a-half hours.  While neither man arrives in Miami with much confidence, it’s hard to favor Dominic until he gets back to his winning ways.


Camila Giorgi vs. Victoria Azarenka (14) – Not Before 7:00pm on Grandstand Court

Azarenka’s three Miami titles came in 2009, 2011, and 2016, defeating Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova in those finals.  She is 38-10 lifetime in Miami, and 10-6 on the season, with half of those victories coming during her semifinal run at the Australian Open.

Giorgi is also 10-6 this year, with half of her wins coming during her title run last month at a hard court event in Merida.  In the first round on Tuesday, she survived a dramatic affair against another of the WTA’s hardest hitters, defeating Kaiai Kanepi in a match that consisted of three tiebreak sets and lasted over three-and-a-half hours.

Giorgi leads their head-to-head 2-1.  That includes a victory nine years ago on grass, as well as a win five years ago on a hard court, though Azarenka retired after only eight games in that match.  Most recently, four years ago on a hard court in Toronto, Vika won in straight sets.  On Thursday, I give Azarenka the edge in a city where she has enjoyed much success, especially considering Giorgi may be a bit physically depleted after her opening round.


Other Notable Matches on Thursday:

Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Katherine Sebov (Q) – Pegula is 15-5 in 2023, and lost a heartbreaker at Indian Wells to Petra Kvitova in an extended third-set tiebreak, during which both players held multiple match points.  Sebov is a 24-year-old Canadian who has claimed two ITF-level hard court titles within the past few months.

Rebecca Marino vs. Coco Gauff (6) – Gauff is 14-4 this season, and is just 3-3 lifetime at her home state’s biggest event.  Marino is a 32-year-old Canadian who has taken several extended breaks from competitive tennis, but won 49 matches at all levels last year.  At the 2022 French Open, Coco defeated Rebecca 7-5, 6-0.

Elena Rybakina (10) vs. Anna Kalinskaya – Rybakina is now 16-4 on the year, coming off her Indian Wells title run last week, where she avenged her Australian Open final loss to Aryna Sabalenka.  Kalinskaya is 6-4 in main draws this season, and while she’s never played Elena at tour level, she did defeat her four years ago in the final of an ITF-level event in Australia.


Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Miami Open Daily Preview: US Open Champions Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu Collide

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A look at the grounds of the Miami Open (twitter.com/HardRockStadium)

On Wednesday, Major champions Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu will meet in a blockbuster first round matchup.

 

Main draw action is already underway in Miami.  The women’s singles draw started play on Tuesday, with the men joining them on Wednesday.  Just like Indian Wells, the top 32 singles seeds receive first round byes, so the big names will begin play later this week.

Those top names include Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz, who needs to defend this Miami title in order to maintain the No.1 ranking he just regained on Monday.  WTA No.1 Iga Swiatek looks to defend this title after failing to do so at Indian Wells, and is one of 11 Major singles champions in the women’s draw, which also includes Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and newly-crowned Indian Wells champ Elena Rybakina.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Wednesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.


Bianca Andreescu vs. Emma Raducanu – 12:00pm on Stadium Court

Andreescu is just 6-6 on the year, but played well against Swiatek earlier this month at Indian Wells.  She’s only played the Miami Open twice, reaching the fourth round in 2019, and the final in 2021, eventually retiring during that championship match against Ash Barty.

Raducanu is 5-3 in 2023, and also lost to Swiatek at Indian Wells.  While Emma only managed to claim four games against the World No.1, but she did manage to win three matches earlier in the event.  Raducanu made her Miami Open debut last year, losing her opening round match 7-5 in the third to Katerina Siniakova.

Their only previous meeting did not reveal much.  It took place last May on clay in Rome, with Andreescu prevailing after Raducanu retired during the second set.  Both players have suffered from many injuries of late, so hopefully they’re both fully healthy for what could be a great match if they are.  But based on recent form, as well as her previous success at this event, I like Bianca to win again on this day.


Sloane Stephens vs. Shelby Rogers – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court

Stephens is just 4-6 to start the year, and lost in the first round of Indian Wells two weeks ago to another American, Sofia Kenin.  Sloane won this event in 2018, the only WTA 1000 title of her career.

Rogers is 5-6 this season, and had a losing record in 2022.  She’s only 5-4 lifetime in the main draw of the Miami Open, but two of her biggest results have come on American soil: a US Open quarterfinal as well as an Indian Wells quarterfinal.

Surprisingly, this is the first career meeting between these two WTA veterans.  Both are now 30-year-old, after Stephens celebrated her birthday on Monday.  I give Sloane the slight edge in this all-American matchup based on her superior movement, as well as her fond memories of playing in Miami.


Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:

Alexander Bublik vs. J.J. Wolf – Wolf reached the second week of the Australian Open in January, and the semifinals of the Dallas Open in February.  Bublik has struggled this season, losing his first eight matches in 2023.  This past October in Florence, Wolf defeated Bublik in three sets.

Andy Murray vs. Dusan Lajovic – Murray is now 8-4 on the year, and has played and won some of 2023’s most dramatic matches.  Lajovic is 7-5 this season, but hasn’t won a hard court match in six months.

Sofia Kenin vs. Storm Hunter (Q) – Kenin is 6-7 this year, but is showing signs of her 2020 level, losing two very competitive sets at Indian Wells against Rybakina.  Storm has not won a WTA tour main draw singles match in nearly two years.

Ugo Humbert vs. Gael Monfils (PR) – Monfils is 0-2 at all levels since returning from an extended injury leave.  His fellow countryman is a former top 25 player who reached a Challenger final on a hard court earlier this month.


Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Andrey Rublev Says He Feels No Responsibility To Become The Best Russian Player On Tour

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Andrey Rublev (Roberto Dell'Olivo)

Andrey Rublev has insisted that it is vital he maintains focus on his tennis and not think about what others might expect from him. 

 

The world No.7 has experienced a roller-coaster 2023 season so far which has seen him win 11 out of 18 matches played on the Tour. Rublev’s best run was reaching the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships before losing to Daniil Medvedev, as well as a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open. On the other hand, the 25-year-old has also failed to win back-to-back matches in four out of seven tournaments played.

Trying to maintain more consistency on the Tour, Rublev says dealing with pressure in the sport is a normal occurrence for him and his peers. At a young age, the Russian impressed on the junior circuit when he became No.1 in the world. Since then, he has won 12 Tour titles, as well as a gold medal in mixed doubles at the Tokyo Olympics.

“The pressure is always there but it depends on you, if you feel that there is a lot of pressure, then there is a lot of pressure, but it depends on you,” Rublev said during an interview with ESTO.
“It’s not about feeling pressure or not, it depends on what you do with it because everyone feels pressure, but it depends on you and what you do,” he added.

Rublev is one of three Russian men in the world’s top 20 along with Medvedev and Karen Khachanov. Although they are currently only allowed to compete on the Tour as neutral athletes due to the war in Ukraine. It would be assumed that there is some form of rivalry between the trio to become the best player in their country. However, Rublev has a different view on the matter.

“I don’t feel responsible for being one of the best Russian tennis players and my goal is simple, to be better in my tennis, if I’m good in my tennis then everything is simply getting better in my results,” he stated. 

On Monday Rublev co-headlined the second edition of the Tennis Showdown exhibition event in Mexico alongside Medvedev. Held at The Plaza de Toros México, the event featured one singles and one doubles match.

Despite Medvedev playing in the final of the Indian Wells masters just 24 hours earlier, he put up an impressive fight before losing 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4), to his compatriot after almost two hours of play. On the ATP Tour, the two have locked horns seven times with Rublev only winning twice.

“Hello everyone! Thank you very much for tonight and this match, tonight is very special for me and Viva México!” El Ecomonista quoted Rublev as saying during the trophy presentation. 

However, it wasn’t all good news for the organizers of the event. One media source said that the event only attracted around 70% of its capacity and some fans left before the match ended due to the time of night. 

Both Rublev and Medvedev are now travelling to Miami to compete in this week’s Masters 1000 event. Rublev is seeded sixth in the draw and will play against either JJ Wolf or Alexander Bublik in his opening match. Meanwhile, Medvedev is the fourth seed and starts against either Bernabe Zapata Miralles or Roberto Carbellas Baena. 

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