Simona Halep: Wimbledon Win Showed Me How Well I Can Play - UBITENNIS
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Simona Halep: Wimbledon Win Showed Me How Well I Can Play

Simona Halep talked about her high level of self-belief and her relief at ending her sequence of US Open first-round losses.

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Simona Halep (@WilsonTennis on Twitter)

Simona Halep is a picture of contentment at the moment. She smiles when she practices and when she is talking to the media, she is delighted when she wins and she does not seem too affected when she loses.

This is because the Romanian knows what she is doing now. She is 27 and at her peak, she works hard, she has good people supporting her on and off court and she is managing her schedule sensibly. In short, she is doing all the right things to give herself the best chance of success.

Halep’s meticulous, measured approach to the 2019 season paid off spectacularly at Wimbledon. She found some good rhythm on grass in the preceding week at Eastbourne. Then she gradually improved with every round at the All England Club, which set her up for a near-perfect performance in the final that made the great Serena Williams look ordinary.

“The good thing is that I believe I can touch that level,” the Romanian said in her press conference. “If I keep working really hard every day, I can do it again. That’s why I’m motivated. I’m still hungry for results, for titles.”

“I’m sure that with matches and with tournaments I can get back there. Probably this tournament, I don’t know, maybe next one. You never know.”

She continued, “You just have to believe and go ahead. You have nothing to lose now in my position. I’ve done everything I wanted, extra winning Wimbledon. I’m pretty relaxed. But still I have expectations for myself. I’m trying to get better day by day.”

This kind of response is typical from Halep. Her belief in herself is obvious, but she clearly never gets ahead of herself. Instead, she focuses on the process of practising well, improving her tennis and winning one match at a time.

Halep shows her class to beat ‘mirror image’ Gibbs

Nicole Gibbs (@USTA on Twitter)

The Romanian’s approach served her well in her first-round match at this year’s US Open. She was up against Nicole Gibbs, who is in many ways her mirror image. She is the same height and almost exactly the same weight and their body shapes are very similar.

Furthermore, both the American and Halep are primarily defensive players. They are great athletes and defend her baselines very well. They also have fast reactions and can be effective at the net.

The similar styles of the players produced a closely-fought match that went the distance. Halep eventually won it 6-3 3-6 6-2.

In the first and third sets, the Romanian demonstrated two of the main qualities that explain why she is ranked No.4 and Gibbs’ highest career ranking is No.68.

The first quality is footwork. While the American is good in this regard, nobody gets into better positions to hit a tennis ball than Halep. She is the best in the world.

The second quality is attacking play. Gibbs is a very good defender who is capable of dragging almost anyone into long rallies, but she is not good enough at finishing points to consistently beat players in the top 50. By contrast, the Romanian can hit winners against anyone when she reaches top form.

This encounter illustrated Halep’s superiority in attack, as her performance dictated how the match went. In the first set, she won 65% of points on her first serve, hit 15 winners and made 12 unforced errors. She won it 6-3.

In the second set, the Romanian struck just 7 winners and made an uncharacteristically high number (22) of unforced errors. She lost it 6-3.

And in the decider, Halep raised her game once more. She hit 12 winners and 8 unforced errors and won it 6-2.

Halep happy to overcome the stress of previous first-round defeats

Simona Halep (@CincyTennis on Twitter)

In her press conference afterwards, the World No.4 seemed very relieved to get the victory after losing in the first round of the US Open in 2017 and 2018.

“The pressure was tricky today,” the Romanian. “Winning one match in three years is pretty tough. But it’s good that I could get over that.”

“I was stressed before the match. It was not easy to play on the same court that I lost on last year. But I’m really happy that I could manage in the end to play better than in previous sets. In the third set my level was really good.”

Halep continued, “I definitely feel lighter now. I feel much better after finally winning a match in this tournament.”

“I don’t feel great at the beginning of tournaments. But always when I have played tough matches at the start, then I have made it through to the semi-finals or quarter-finals. So I’m confident. I’m moving well and I feel like my game is there.”

Now that the Romanian has ended her sequence of first-round losses at Flushing Meadows, it is hard not to look ahead to possible headline clashes later in the tournament.

The first of those could come in the last 16 against one of the sport’s newest stars, Bianca Andreescu, who has won all seven matches she has played against top ten players so far.

But Halep definitely will not be looking that far ahead. She focuses only on the next task, which on this occasion is a second-round clash with Taylor Townsend, and it is a method that is serving her superbly at the moment.

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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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Miami Open Daily Preview: Elena Rybakina Plays Victoria Azarenka in the Semifinals

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Elena Rybakina on Tuesday in Miami (twitter.com/miamiopen)

The men’s singles quarterfinals conclude on Thursday, while the women’s singles semifinals will both be played.

2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina faces three-time Miami Open champ Victoria Azarenka on Thursday.  The other WTA semifinal sees Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has now taken out top five seeds in consecutive rounds (Swiatek, Pegula), play an in-form American in Danielle Collins,

Plus, the second two ATP singles quarterfinals will be contested.  2022 champ Carlos Alcaraz squares off against Grigor Dimitrov, who has been playing some of the best tennis of his career.  And 2018 runner-up Sascha Zverev takes on Fabian Marozsan, a red-hot Hungarian who is now 14-3 at Masters 1000 level.

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 1:00pm local time.


Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Victoria Azarenka (27) – Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium Court

Rybakina is 21-3 on the year, after surviving a stern test from an in-form Maria Sakkari on Tuesday night.  Elena has already claimed two titles this season (Brisbane, Abu Dhabi), and reached another final (Doha).  This is her seventh WTA 1000 semifinal since last March, and she’s 4-2 in this round.

Azarenka is 14-5 this season, and has now accumulated 44 match wins at this event, the most of any WTA 1000 tournament.  She defeated two seeded players to this stage (Zheng, Boulter), both in straight sets.  This is a fifth Miami Open semifinal for the three-time champ.

Rybakina is 3-0 against Azarenka, with all three meetings occurring within the last few years on hard courts.  She took the first two in straight sets, and then split sets with Vika last month in Dubai, before Azarenka retired.  Despite Vika’s great history at this tournament, recent form dictates Elena must be considered the favorite to achieve a second consecutive final in Miami. 


Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (11) – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court

Coming off his title run in Indian Wells, Alcaraz has been in stellar form.  He has not dropped a set through three matches, playing confident and composed tennis.  Carlitos is vying for a third straight semifinal appearance in Miami.

Until this week, this was the only Masters 1000 event where Dimitrov had failed to reach the quarterfinals or better, and he held a losing record of 11-12 in Miami.  But across the past six months, Grigor has been playing at a very high level.  Since the Shanghai Masters in October, he’s gone 28-7, and advanced to three tournament finals.  In the last round, he looked completely gassed at the end of a near three-hour match against Hubert Hurkacz, yet escaped in a third-set tiebreak.

Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 3-1, though Dimitrov’s only victory was their most recent encounter, six months ago in Shanghai when Grigor began this nice run.  But beating Carlitos again when the Spaniard is seemingly at the peak of his abilities will be an entirely different story.  Alcaraz should be favored on Thursday.


Other Notable Matches on Thursday:

Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Fabian Marozsan – Zverev is yet to drop a set, and ousted Karen Khachanov in the last round.  Marozsan has now reached the fourth round or better in all four of his Masters 1000 appearances, and already took out two top 10 seeds during this fortnight (Rune, de Minaur).  This will be their first career meeting.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (14) vs. Danielle Collins – As per Diego Barbiani on Twitter, Alexandrova’s comeback win over Pegula was the first time she’s beaten a top 10 player after losing the first set, coming after 25 losses.  Collins has played ferociously to achieve her second WTA 1000 semifinal, taking 10 consecutive sets where her opponent has failed to win more than three games.  This is another first-time encounter.


Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Revitalised Grigor Dimitrov Targets Alcaraz Upset In Miami

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(credit Miami Open/Hard Rock Stadium)

Grigor Dimitrov says playing at this year’s Miami Open has been ‘kryptonite’ for his tennis after reaching the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 event for the first time at the age of 32. 

The 11th seed secured his place in the last eight with a dramatic 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), win over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz who uncharacteristically lost his cool in the closing stages. Tied at 2-2 in the deciding tiebreaker, Hurkacz slammed his racket on the ground after the umpire ruled that his foot touched the net which resulted in Dimitrov winning that point. The Pole demanded to see a replay but wasn’t allowed to do so as the umpire was certain that he did. A replay after the match confirmed that he did touch the net. 

“Grigor had hit a little bit of an unconventional return. I hit a good second serve and yeah, I was just trying to get to the ball and I slid,” said Hurkacz. “My coach told me after the match – because I was just sliding and I didn’t feel anything – but my coach told me that I touched the net at the end. So yeah, just a bit unfortunate.”
“I couldn’t feel anything because I was just sliding, so I wanted to see a replay,” explained Hurkacz. “But anyway, I tried to move on and keep playing, but Grigor came up with some good shots.”

As for Dimitrov, it is the second time he has beaten a top 10 player on the Tour during what has been a strong start to the season for him. He has won 18 out of 22 matches played so far in 2024 and has become only the ninth active player to reach the quarter-finals or better at every Masters event at least once. Dimitrov has reached the last eight in three out of the last four tournaments he has played in this category. 

Awaiting the Bulgarian next will be Carlos Alcaraz who won the Indian Wells title earlier this month. He has only beaten the Spaniard once in their four previous meetings on the Tour. However, the only time Dimitrov did so was in their most recent encounter at the Shanghai Masters last October. 

“It’s been like a kryptonite for me, this tournament,” Dimitrov said after his latest win.
“I’m looking forward to the (next) match. Everyone wants to challenge the best of the world. Clearly [Carlos has] been playing outstanding tennis, but so am I.
“I’ve been very consistent on a lot of ends. I think if I clean up my game a little bit it can be very interesting. I’m excited because these are the types of matches I want to play. First time in the quarter-finals here, I think it gives you an extra boost.”

A rejuvenated Dimitrov certainly can trouble Alcaraz who admits himself that he faces a stern challenge. The world No.2 sealed his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-3, win over Lorenzo Musetti. 

“I know he’s a really talented player, a really tough one.” Alcaraz said of Dimitrov.
“Here with the court, I feel that the slice a lot is going to be difficult for me. I know that. But I try to play my best game and try to get the victory.”

Dimitrov is currently playing in his 94th Masters 1000 event. 

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