|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 6, 2017 5:49:10 GMT
more pics on my blog: Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina and Caroline Garcia Reach Roland Garros 2017 QuarterfinalsSimona HalepWhile the Roland Garros 2017 quarterfinalists in the top half of the draw are all worthy players but lacking in top 10 seeds, the bottom half of the draw has 3 of the top 5 seeds, including arguably the favorite, 3rd seed Simona Halep. She sure looked awesome in crushing Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-1 6-1. As good as Halep looked, this isn’t golf where a great score one day carries over to the next round. It will be 0-0 when Simona takes on 5th seed Elina Svitolina in the quarters. Either of them is capable of going all the way. 2nd seed Karolina Pliskova has quietly moved through the draw. It’s about to get a lot louder when she takes on France’s Caroline Garcia. Will the French crowd turn on Pliskova like they did with Garbiñe Muguruza? It might not work with Karolina, who beat Serena Williams at last year’s US Open with a partisan American crowd against her. 3 SIMONA HALEP d. 21 Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-1 6-1 2 KAROLINA PLISKOVA d. Verónica Cepede Royg, 2-6 6-3 6-4 28 CAROLINE GARCIA d. Alizé Cornet, 6-2 6-4 5 ELINA SVITOLINA d. Petra Martić, 4-6 6-3 7-5
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 7, 2017 5:59:48 GMT
more pics on my blog: Timea Bacsinszky, Jeļena Ostapenko First Into Roland Garros 2017 SemifinalsTimea BacsinszkyTimea Bacsinszky wrote another chapter in her Roland Garros comeback story. Out of tennis in early 2013, she received an email that she still was eligible for Roland Garros qualifying. She didn’t qualify that year, but it spurred a comeback that has now seen her go semifinals, quarterfinals, semifinals for 2015 through 2017 in Paris. This year’s semifinal ticket was punched with a windy, rain interrupted win over Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4 6-4. To reach the final, Bacsinszky will need to best 19 year old rising star Jeļena Ostapenko, who beat Caroline Wozniacki, 4-6 6-2 6-2. The Latvian teen doesn’t have a WTA level title yet in singles. What a breakthrough it would be if her first one ends up being a Major. 30 TIMEA BACSINSZKY d. 13 Kristina Mladenovic, 6-4 6-4 JEĻENA OSTAPENKO d. 11 Caroline Wozniacki, 4-6 6-2 6-2
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 8, 2017 4:41:41 GMT
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 9, 2017 4:42:59 GMT
more pics on my blog: Simona Halep, Jeļena Ostapenko Reach Roland Garros 2017 FinalSimona HalepPity those who have ignored the women’s draw at Roland Garros 2017 because of who wasn’t here. Look, I wish Maria Sharapova had been in the tournament. So I understand the disappointment in not seeing all the big names. But tennis doesn’t need Sharapova, Serena or Vika to produce high quality, dramatic sports theater. The women’s singles semifinals were a fine example of that with two terrific matches. Simona Halep followed her great escape against Elina Svitolina with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory over 2nd seed Karolina Pliskova. Had Pliskova triumphed, she would have overtaken Angelique Kerber as world #1. Instead, 3rd seed Halep has a chance to be the one to unseat Kerber as #1. To do so, Simona must win the final. Standing in her way will be Jeļena Ostapenko, who leads all players (male and female) in winners at this year’s Roland Garros. She hit another 50 winners to win the battle of the birthday girls against Timea Bacsinszky, 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-3. On paper, with lots more experience, Halep appears to be the favorite. But Ostapenko is playing with no trace of fear. And why should she? Her average forehand speed at this event actually exceeds that of Andy Murray. She can hit an opponent off the court with her weapons. No woman moves on clay better than Simona. She will need to use her superior movement to get back shots from Jeļena that would be winners against other players, making the newly 20 year old hit extra shots and force her into overhitting and errors. 3 SIMONA HALEP d. 2 Karolina Pliskova, 6-4 3-6 6-3 JEĻENA OSTAPENKO d. 30 Timea Bacsinszky, 7-6 (4) 3-6 6-3
|
|
|
Post by mnmlistgolfr on Jun 9, 2017 4:46:20 GMT
So will Simona and Jelena wear the same outfit in the final?
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 9, 2017 16:59:59 GMT
So will Simona and Jelena wear the same outfit in the final? As long as Adidas is writing the checks, yes 😁
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 11, 2017 5:30:38 GMT
more pics on my blog: Jeļena Ostapenko Wins Roland Garros 2017Jeļena OstapenkoIn 2016, Jeļena Ostapenko lost in the first round of every Major. What a difference a year makes. The 20 year old Latvian blasted 50-plus winners again to come back from a set and 0-3 down to defeat Simona Halep and win Roland Garros 2017, 4-6 6-4 6-3. Going into the match, Jeļena was winless in three WTA finals. She becomes the first player to make a Major their first title since Gustavo Kuerten won Roland Garros on June 8, 1997. That happens to be the day Ostapenko was born. She is the first unseeded player to reach the women’s final since Mima Jausovec in 1983 and the first unseeded woman to win since Margaret Scriven in 1933, when only 8 players were seeded. Jeļena won’t need to worry about seeding at Wimbledon as her Roland Garros win will propel her ranking from 47 to 12. Her bank account will also rise. She entered Paris with $1,288,260 in career prize money. Her win on Saturday earned her a little more than $2.3 million. She is the first Latvian Major winner. Ostapenko certainly has the firepower to keep winning. The key is controlling her errors. She is a winner machine, but also an unforced error machine. However, the talk about how she will do moving forward can wait for another day. Let the 20 year old enjoy what she has accomplished. JEĻENA OSTAPENKO d. 3 Simona Halep, 4-6 6-4 6-3
|
|
|
Post by mnmlistgolfr on Jun 11, 2017 14:22:51 GMT
I didn't get a chance to watch the final, but with both players wearing the same outfit, I imagine it would've been difficult to figure out who was who if Jelena didn't wear the headband.
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 11, 2017 15:20:32 GMT
I didn't get a chance to watch the final, but with both players wearing the same outfit, I imagine it would've been difficult to figure out who was who if Jelena didn't wear the headband. Not really. The way the ball explodes off of Jeļena's racquet makes it easy to tell who is who. Simona is great but the ball leaves her racquet like In-Kyung Kim off the tee. Jeļena is like Lexi Thompson off the tee...or Ariya if she ever committed to using driver. The only two players on tour right now capable of hitting like Ostapenko are Serena Williams and, when she is on, Petra Kvitova. Maybe Madison Keys has the same pure power, but she is still a work in progress putting shots together. Jeļena had the 4th fastest forehand speed at Roland Garros 2017. That includes the men. Her forehand speed exceeded that of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. You see those bombs coming off her racquet and you know which side of the net she's on.
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 11, 2017 17:04:29 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mr3putt on Jun 11, 2017 19:04:58 GMT
I can guarantee Aza was watching Rafa destroy his opponent this morning.
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 25, 2017 17:40:46 GMT
more pics on my blog : Petra Kvitova A Champion Again, Wins 2017 Aegon Classic BirminghamPetra KvitovaWhen Petra Kvitova had her left hand slashed by a home invader last December, it was fortunate she didn’t lose her life. Fighting off the knife wielding attacker was an act of survival, but one that left her dominant hand with career threatening damage. Luckily, the medical doctors and physical therapists who are working with Petra have done such a great job that instead of being out at least a year and possibly more, as was initially feared by some, the 2-time Wimbledon singles winner is back six months later and a champion again in only her second event back. The Czech star won the 2017 Aegon Classic Birmingham in comeback fashion over Ashleigh Barty of Australia, 4-6 6-3 6-2. It’s Petra’s 20th WTA singles title. Petra KvitovaPetra won this match without her A game. A lot of that had to do with Ashleigh, who was doing a great job of mixing power and touch, keeping Kvitova from getting in a sustained rhythm. Even though the 6-4 first set score appears close, Barty was in control. She was rolling through her service games like she was late for a flight. Even though Petra won the second set, the match really was won when Barty was serving at 2-all and up 40-0. Instead of winning that game to stay on serve, Ashleigh didn’t win another point in that game as Petra broke her…and Barty didn’t win another game as Petra swept the last four to close things out. Petra KvitovaClearly, Petra can win Wimbledon. She has already done so twice before. And there is no surface that agrees with her more than grass. If you take the US Open, Roland Garros and the Australian Open all put together, Petra has been to the quarterfinals or better a total of 3 times. Just at Wimbledon alone the 27 year old Kvitova has been to the quarterfinals or better 5 times, the semifinals or better 3 times and won the title twice. That said, she wasn’t completely sharp against Barty. Her most impressive win of the week was probably against the surging Kristina Mladenovic in the quarterfinals. However, at the end of the day, even if she wasn’t 100% of her best, she was still the one holding the trophy when the dust settled. Being one of my four current Mount Rushmore favorites (Keys, Kvitova, Sharapova and Halep) and considering what she’s had to come back from physically and emotionally after being attacked by a knife wielding assailant, this is probably the happiest I’ve been to see a winner since Madison won this event last year. (WC) 7 PETRA KVITOVA d. Ashleigh Barty, 4-6 6-3 6-2
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jun 30, 2017 4:28:32 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mr3putt on Jul 7, 2017 1:42:28 GMT
Eugenie is such a FAKE and POSER...out in the 1st rd...we have a good looking Canuck and she can't play....ugh.
|
|
|
Post by bangkokbobby on Jul 7, 2017 3:12:18 GMT
|
|