Flavia Pennetta Believes Raducanu’s US Open Win Is A Bad Sign For Women’s Tennis - UBITENNIS
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Flavia Pennetta Believes Raducanu’s US Open Win Is A Bad Sign For Women’s Tennis

The former star of Italian tennis explains why she doesn’t like what is currently happening in the sport.

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2021 US Open Women's Singles Champion Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open, Saturday, Sep. 11, 2021 in Flushing, NY. (Darren Carroll/USTA)

The fairytale run of Emma Raducanu to her first ever Grand Slam title at the US Open has been hailed by many. However, one former player isn’t happy about it.

 

Flavia Pennetta, who reached a ranking high of sixth back in 2015, believes the shock run by the Brit highlights the lack of consistency among women’s players. Raducanu was playing in only her second Grand Slam main draw at the age of 18. Coming through qualifying she didn’t drop a set in 10 matches played, scoring wins over top 20 players Belinda Bencic and Maria Sakkari. In the final she defeated Leylah Fernandez, who was also making her debut in a major final.

“I don’t like it. What is happening, this very strong discontinuity, in my opinion, is not good for tennis,” Pennetta told Corriere della Sera earlier this week.
“In my time it could never have happened that a young girl played from qualifying, like Emma Raducanu in New York, to win a Grand Slam.
“Top athletes made too much difference.
“There is something wrong.
“Charisma is missing, so women’s tennis is more difficult to sell.”

Raducanu has been tipped as the next big thing in the sport with a surge in sponsorships and fans. Her more recent endorsement is French fashion house Dior who has named her as their new ambassador. Raducanu, who is currently ranked 24th in the world, also has a high-profile deal with jewellery brand Tiffany & Co.

It has been five years since a woman successfully defended a Grand Slam singles title which was Serena Williams at Wimbledon back in 2016. Since then, the last 20 major titles have been won by 14 different players. The only women to have won multiple titles during that period is Naomi Osaka (four), Simona Halep (two), Angelique Kerber (two) and Ash Barty (two).

“The youngsters, Raducanu and Fernandez, have still to confirm themselves at that level. A Slam champion can’t totally disappear,” Pennetta replied when asked if a decline in Williams’ form has caused this level of inconsistency. “I have never been among the superstars but I stayed at a high level for 15 years, and the same for Francesca Schiavone.”

39-year-old Pennetta is a former US Open champion herself who also produced a surprise run to the title. Seeded 26th in the 2015 draw she knocked out Petra Kvitova and Halep to set up a final showdown with Roberta Vinci which she won in straight sets. Shortly after her shock triumph she announced her retirement from tennis.

Recently it was announced that Pennetta has been shortlisted for the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot. Besides her US Open trophy, she won an additional 10 Tour titles and reached world No.1 in the doubles during her career. Should she receive nomination into the prestigious Hall of fame, she would become only the third Italian in history to do so after former player Nicola Pietrangeli and journalist Gianni Clerici.

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Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

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Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

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Arthur Fils eases past Flavio Cobolli to move to 2-0 at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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World number 36 Arthur Fils eased past Flavio Cobolli 4-1 4-2 4-2 in 59 minutes to move to 2-0 in Green Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fils won 72% of his first service points and fired five aces. 

 

Fils saved a break point in the first game on the deciding point. The Frenchman broke serve in the second game and rallied from 0-30 down to hold serve in the third game. 

Fils served out the first set 4-1 with a hold at love. 

Cobolli made a double fault at 30-30 in the first game of the second set, but Fils broke serve when Cobolli hit his backhand into the net. 

Cobolli saved a break point with an ace on the deciding point in the third game. Fils won his next two service games with ease to seal the second set 4-2. The Frenchman dropped two points on serve in the second set.

Fils earned an early break in the first game of the third set. Cobolli broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Fils broke for the second time at love in the third game with a backhand down the line return winner and sealed the win on his second match point. 

Fils, who beat Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will face Dominic Stricker in his third round-robin match. 

“I played very nice today. I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy with it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s what I can do”, said Arthur Fils. 

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