UPDATE: Flavia Pennetta secures her spot for Singapore but retires from Moscow - UBITENNIS
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UPDATE: Flavia Pennetta secures her spot for Singapore but retires from Moscow

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US Open champion Flavia Pennetta has secured her eighth place in the WTA Race to Singapore and qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore thanks to her 6-2 6-4 win over 21-year-old Daria Gavrilova from Australia in one hour and 31 minutes at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. After the match the Italian has decided to retire from the quarter finals in Moscow to focus on Singapore. Reaching the WTA Finals is the best way to end her great career

“Qualifying for the WTA Finals is a dream come true and the perfect way to end an amazing season. It will be a wonderful way to say goodbye to tennis. It’s a spectacular stage to bow out on. Having won the WTA doubles title I can’t wait to make my debut in singles”, said Pennetta

Pennetta converted on her fourth break point in the 14-point first game of the first set. Gavrilova brought up a break point in the fourth game but Pennetta saved it to take a 3-1 lead. Pennetta went up a double break in the fifth game to pull away to 4-1. Gavrilova, who beat Maria Sharapova in Miami, broke serve on her sixth break point chance in the next game. Pennetta broke again immediately in the seventh game before closing out the set for 6-2

After calling a medical time-out to treat a bladder on her foot at 1-2 Pennetta broke to love in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead after Gavrilova made three double faults. Gavrilova broke back for 3-3 as Pennetta sent her forehand wide. Pennetta got another break in the seventh game for 4-3. In the 10th game Pennetta committed two double faults and was had to save four break points with her serve and two forehands before closing out on her first match point as Gavrilova hit her smash into the net.

Thanks to this win Pennetta is very close to securing her berth for Singapore. She would become the fifth Italian player to qualify for the “Masters” or ATP/WTA Tournament at men’s or women’s level after Adriano Panatta in 1975, Corrado Barazzutti in 1978, Raffaella Reggi in 1986, 1987 and 1989, Silvia Farina in 2001 and 2002, Francesca Schiavone in 2010 and Sara Errani in 2012 and 2013.

Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova, winner in Linz last Sunday, edged past 2015 Roland Garros finalist and second seeded player Lucie Safarova in three sets with 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.

Safarova just played her second match in the last 50 days after being hospitalized with an infectious disease which forced her to miss the post US Open season. She made her come-back to the court last week in Linz where she lost against Romanian Andrea Mitu. In the first set she was brushed aside by Pavlyuchenkova who dropped just one game in the first set.

In the second set Safarova missed three break points in the second game before before dropping her serve in the sixth game to trail 2-4. Safarova was on the verge of defeat when she went down 2-5 but she bounced back reeling off three games. Pavlyuchenkova took the 6-5 lead after saving a break point. Safarova faced a match point in the next game but was able to save it with an ace forcing the match to the tie-break. Pavlyuchenkova made two double faults and another error with her her drop-shot. Safarova won the set on the ninth point.

In the third set Safarova fended off three break points but Pavlyuchenkova got the crucial break in the fifth game at 2-2. The Russian player got a double break in the ninth game to seal the win. In the quarter finals Pavlyuchenkova will face Margarita Gasparyan

After the defeat of Safarova Angelique Kerber has secured her spot in the WTA Finals in Singapore. The German has reached the WTA Finals for the third time after qualifying 2012 and 2013. Kerber won four titles in Charleston, Stuttgart, Birmingham and Stanford.

Lucie Safarova currently holds the number eight spot but, after her defeat in the first round of the Kremlin Cup, she can be overtaken by Carla Suarez Navarro if the Spanish player reaches the final in Moscow

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Miami Open Daily Preview: Jannik Sinner Plays Daniil Medvedev in the Semifinals

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Jannik Sinner on Wednesday in Miami (twitter.com/miamiopen)

Semifinals in both men’s singles and women’s doubles will be played on Friday.

The men’s singles semifinals feature three of the top four seeds, but they do not include top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, who was upset by Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday evening.  Dimitrov will face Sascha Zverev on Friday for a spot in Sunday’s championship match.

The other men’s semi is a rematch of the epic Australian Open final, as well as a rematch from last year’s Miami final, between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev

And in the women’s doubles semifinals, it will be four Americans, two Italians, and a Canadian teaming with a Kiwi.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Friday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.


Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Jannik Sinner (2) –  Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium Court

In the championship match of January’s Australian Open, an exhausted Medvedev, who had already played three five-setters, started out unusually aggressive.  It caught Sinner off-guard, and won Daniil the first two sets.  But Jannik showed an extreme amount of composure for someone down two sets in his first Major final, and rather comfortably claimed the next three, as well as the biggest title of his career.

Overall Medvedev leads their head-to-head 6-4, with all 10 meetings on hard courts.  However, you can divide their history into two parts.  Medvedev won the first six matches, with the most recent coming in the final of Miami a year ago.  Since then, Sinner has taken the last four, which all took place between this past October and January. 

In the absence of Djokovic, and with Alcaraz only winning one title since last July, these two are definitively the best two hard court players the ATP has to offer.  Since last summer, Sinner has reached six hard court finals, while Medvedev has reached five.  Yet notably, their results in those finals tell contrasting stories.  Jannik has gone 5-1, while Daniil has gone 0-5.

Sinner has been the ATP’s best big match player across the past six months.  And on Friday, he should be favored to earn his fifth consecutive victory over Medvedev.


Grigor Dimitrov (11) vs. Sascha Zverev (4) – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court

Grigor Dimitrov just may be playing the best tennis of his career.  He simply outhit and outshined Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday night, mixing highlight-reel winners with a mature and composed demeanor.  Grigor has only been broken twice through four matches in Miami, and is into his third Masters 1000 semifinal out of the last four.  With a victory on Friday, the 32-year-old would return to the top 10 for the first time since 2018.

2018 was also the last time Zverev reached the final of this tournament.  But he’s just one win away from a repeat appearance, and has won all eight sets he’s played this fortnight.  Sascha has only been broken once to this stage, to reach just his second Masters 1000 semifinal since an ankle injury cut his 2022 season short in June of that year.

This rivalry has been nearly completely one-sided.  Dimitrov won their first matchup, a full decade ago when Zverev was still ranked outside the top 100.  But ever since, it’s been all Sacha, as he’s won the last seven.  The German will also be the much fresher player on Friday, as he’s spent considerably less time on court.  And as high as Grigor’s level has been, he remains just 2-8 in Masters 1000 semifinals.  I give the edge to Zverev to advance.


Other Notable Matches on Friday:

Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks vs. Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe (2) – Muhammad and Parks are infrequent partners, yet have survived three deciding-set tiebreaks to reach this stage.  Dabrowski and Routliffe are the reigning US Open champions.

Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (ALT) vs. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (OSE) – Kenin and Mattek-Sands already won a title this season (Abu Dhabi), as have Errani and Paolini, who were victorious in Linz.


Friday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Undeterred Danielle Collins Hits Back At Those Questioning Retirement Decision

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Danielle Collins is two wins away from claiming the biggest title of her career in Miami but no matter what happens she will still be retiring later this year. 

The former world No.7 caught many off guard during the Australian Open in January when she confirmed publically for the first time that 2024 will be her last season. Her announcement came shortly after a tough three-set loss to world No.1 Iga Swiatek and at the time some questioned if she made that comment in the heat of the moment. However, the 30-year-old has her mind made up as she enjoys her latest surge in form. 

At the Miami Open, she has defeated seeded players Anastasia Potapova, Sorana Cirstea and Caroline Garcia en route to the semi-finals. Making it the second time in her career that she has reached this stage of the tournament after 2018 when she did so as a qualifier. In her latest match, she dropped only five games during her 6-3, 6-2, win over a in-form Garcia. Garcia defeated Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff earlier in the tournament. 

Following her latest victory, Collins faced more questions about her decision to retire. Once again she reiterated her results on the Tour would have no impact before questioning why she has to keep justifying herself. 

“I think it’s really interesting how in a lot of different situations I have had to kind of justify the reasons behind retirement,” Collins points out. “I’m living with a chronic inflammatory disease that affects your ability to get pregnant. So that’s a deeply personal situation. I’ve kind of explained that from time to time.
“This is my personal choice. This is so much more to do than just tennis and my career. I’m enjoying my career. I’m having a lot of fun; I love coming out here and competing. But at the end of the day, like, this is a really big life decision. I think that that should be pretty understandable.”

Collins, who turned 30 last December, says she feels there more scrutiny about her decision to retire because of her gender. 

“I find it interesting because I kind of felt like when I was announcing my retirement everyone has been congratulating me and so excited for me, but then on the other hand, I feel like I have had to justify my decision a lot. I feel like if I was a guy, I probably wouldn’t have to justify it that much.” She commented.

So far in her career, Collins has won two WTA titles which was during 2021. The following year she reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open. 

In Miami, the American will play Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the final. 

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‘A Great Challenge’ – Daniil Medvedev Ready For Sinner Showdown In Miami

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(credit Miami Open/Hard Rock Stadium)

Daniil Medvedev says his semi-final clash with Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open provides him with an opportunity to improve his game further. 

The defending champion booked a showdown with the Italian after beating Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 7-6(7), on Wednesday. It is the 14th time that Medvedev has reached the last four of a Masters 1000 event. In his latest match, the Russian hit 12 winners and won 80% of his first service points. 

Medvedev’s next challenge will be the formidable Sinner who has won 20 out of 21 matches he has played so far this season. It will be their first clash on the Tour since the Australian Open final where Medvedev won the first two sets before losing in five. 

“He’s playing better and better,” the reigning Miami champion Medvedev said of Sinner. “He’s confident, some matches where you look on TV, where he’s maybe a little bit in trouble, he manages to find solutions – that’s what champions do.
“It’s a great challenge for me to continue improving my game – I’ll try to show my 100 percent and go for it.”

Overall, the two tennis stars have faced each other 10 times on the Tour before this week. Medvedev dominated their rivalry early on by winning all six of their first matches played. Then it was Sinner’s turn to dictate proceedings with the 22-year-old winning their four most recent meetings. 

Another factor in their rivalry is the competitiveness between the two with more than half of their matches (six out of 10) going the distance. 

“It’s going to be a very tactical match potentially because I have to be ready if he starts off in a similar way as in Australia.” Sinner said following his 6-4, 6-2, win over Tomas Machac. 
“I have to be ready and try to understand it (Medvedev’s game) before. Maybe he’s gonna change a couple of things. So let’s see. It’s going to be an interesting test for me. Hopefully, I can show some good tennis.”

Medvedev is aiming to become the man to defend their title at the Miami Open since Novak Djokovic in 2016. It would also be the first time in his career that he has won the same tournament twice. 

The upcoming semi-final clash is set to take place on Friday. 

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