WTA 2015

more pics and video on my blog: Serena Williams Wins 2015 Western & Southern Open

Serena Williams


All the preliminaries are over. Next up for Serena Williams is a shot at tennis history. With her title at the 2015 Western & Southern Open now behind her, she turns her attention to Flushing Meadows and the US Open. Win there, and she captures the calendar year Grand Slam. It won’t be easy. The pressure on her shoulders will likely be greater than it has ever been. And the competition will not just roll over and capitulate. She lost at Rogers Cup to eventual champion Belinda Bencic. Even in winning Cincinnati, she was given a test by Simona Halep, who will be the #2 seed at the US Open. Williams did win the Western & Southern final in straight sets, but it was a tough 6-3 7-6 (5) match where Simona had her chances in the second set to extend Serena the distance. Speaking of Simona, has played a lot of tennis the past couple of weeks, reaching the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern finals. She was scheduled to play in New Haven next week before the US Open, but pulled out with a leg injury. Her leg might be a little tweaked, but rest assured that is tennis talk for “I’m tired and need to be ready for the Major. No need to burn myself out playing too much beforehand.” And while they probably are disappointed at the Connecticut Open, I wholeheartedly agree with Simona’s decision. Take the rest before the Open.



1 SERENA WILLIAMS (won 6-3 7-6 (5) vs 3 Simona Halep)

more pics on my blog: Maria Sharapova Bloomingdale Pop-Up Store, Caroline Wozniacki At Players Tribune 2015 US Open Party

Maria Sharapova


US Open 2015 pre-tourney sponsor events/parties are continuing with Maria Sharapova opening a Sugarpova pop-up store at New York City’s flagship Bloomingdale’s. I must admit, I’ve actually tried a few varieties of Masha’s candy line and it’s pretty good. Additionally, it’s just great to see athletes expanding their brand beyond sports apparel, equipment and accessories. For all of Masha’s fame, she works really hard at promoting her candy business. The only worry I have is that with some recent injuries, I hope she’s not doing too much before the US Open.

Caroline Wozniacki


Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki was out and about at the Players Tribune party to celebrate the 2015 US Open as well as women in sports. The Players Tribune is a media outlet founded by former Yankee’s shortstop Derek Jeter where athletes can contibute articles in their own words (which has it’s pluses and minuses). Sunshine was named a senior editor. I’m not sure what that all means for her, but it obviously isn’t too much of a distraction as Caro was able to hightail it back to New Haven from NYC to beat Alison Riske 2 and love at the Connecticut Open.

MARIA SHARAPOVA








CAROLINE WOZNIACKI


with Derek Jeter


with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver


with USWNT Soccer Player Christen Press

more pics and video on my blog: Petra Kvitova Wins 2015 Connecticut Open

Petra Kvitova


The final WTA warm-up event before the 2015 USOpen is in the books and for the 3rd time in 4 years the champion of the Connecticut Open is Petra Kvitova. The win marks Kvitova’s 3rd title of 2015 and 17th of her career. It was Petra’s 4th straight Connecticut Open final, only losing in 2013 to Simona Halep. Simona was due to be the top seed this year but pulled out prior to play beginning, leaving 2nd seed Kvitova as the top seed in the draw. She earned her title with 4 great wins. I am quite fond of Petra, so I forgive her for beating my favorite player on tour, Madison Keys, in her opening match after a first round bye. The 2-time Wimbledon champion then beat former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarters and former world #1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semis. The final was a battle of two Czech left-handers, the first all-lefty Premier level final in two years, and only the 3rd in the last 22 years, as Petra took on good friend and Roland Garros runner-up this year, Lucie Safarova.

Lucie Safarova


Both ladies wore identical tennis outfits, both are tall and both are lefties. It was like watching the same person on both sides of the net. But although Lucie came out strongly, Petra just has more pop on her shots…when she’s on, that is…and eventually took down her countrywoman, 6-7 (6) 6-2 6-2. I’ve said over and over, as others have, that when Petra is on she can beat anybody, including Serena Williams…which she did in straight sets in Madrid this year. Her win over Serena was far more emphatic and convincing than when Belinda Bencic beat Serena at Rogers Cup. I don’t mean to take anything away from Bencic, but Serena helped her out with very poor play at times in the final two sets. Kvitova rolled Serena in Madrid. The problem is, from match to match…heck, from set to set…Petra’s level of play can go from all-time great to sacrificial lamb early round qualifier. Despite winning 3 of the last 4 Connecticut Opens, Petra has flamed out at the US Open the next week, having yet to make it past the 4th round. The last two years, Petra hasn’t made it out of the 3rd round. I really hope that turns around sooner or later. When she plays to her full potential only she…and perhaps a healthy, sharp Victoria Azarenka…have the tools to go toe to toe with Serena without Williams helping them out with a ton of errors. Madison Keys looks like she has the raw tools but they still need to be honed as she continues to develop her game. For now, I would love to see a US Open match between Petra and Serena where they both brought their A games. It would be one for the ages.



2 PETRA KVITOVA (won 6-7 (6) 6-2 6-2 vs 4 Lucie Safarova)

more pics and video on my blog: 2015 US Open Day 1: Ana Ivanovic Highlights First Round Women’s Top 10 Upsets

Ana Ivanovic


2015 was supposed to be a big year for Ana Ivanovic. The 2008 Roland Garros champion was coming off a 2014 season that saw her win 4 titles and finish runner-up twice. After another runner-up result to start 2015 at Brisbane, it’s been a bit of a disappointment. So far, no titles. What’s more, despite her best finish in a Major (Roland Garros semis) since she won in Paris seven years ago, she went out in the first round at the Australian Open, the second round at Wimbledon and now the 7th seeded Serbian has been ousted in the first round at the US Open. Sure, she had the misfortune of drawing former Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, a diminuitive but powerful giant killer, in the first round. So Domi winning 6-3 3-6 6-3 over Ana isn’t a shock, but it still doesn’t explain the entire year. Ana is better than her results at Majors. Since her 2008 Roland Garros title, she has only gone past the 4th round at a Major 3 times in 30 events. She actually has more first round exits (6) over that period. I’m a huge Ivanovic fan, so I hope she plays the fall schedule well…maybe salvages the year with a title or at least a final. Increasingly, it appears as if she’ll have to work on her game in the off season and look to 2016 for a return to good form. Ana wasn’t alone in being a top 10 first round casualty. 8th seed Karolina Pliskova, a big hitter who looks like a future Major winner, will have to wait until the future before fulfilling her promise as she was upset by Anna Tatishvili in emphatic fashion, 6-2 6-1. Also crashing out of the US Open in the first round was 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who lost to 22-year old Czech player Denisa Allertova, 6-1 7-6 (5).

DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA (won 6-3 3-6 6-3 vs 7 Ana Ivanovic)


19 MADISON KEYS (won 6-2 6-4 vs Klara Koukalova)


25 EUGENIE BOUCHARD (won 6-4 6-3 vs Alison Riske)


COCO VANDEWEGHE (won 6-4 6-3 vs 29 Sloane Stephens)

more pics and video on my blog: 2015 US Open Day 3: Madison Keys, Eugenie Bouchard Advance…Both To Face Stern Tests In Third Round

Madison Keys


I came into the 2015 US Open with a keen eye on many players. Two, in particular, are 19th seeded American Madison Keys and 25th seeded Eugenie Bouchard. Madison is my favorite active player so naturally I want to see how far she can go and how her game is developing. She has been very impressive in her first two matches. Her 6-1 6-2 win over Tereza Smitkova was marked by great serving and a solid winner to unforced error ratio (19-11), especially for a big hitter. However, up next is a huge test in Agnieszka Radwanska. The Polish star might have slipped to a 15th seed, but make no mistake…Aga is trouble for anybody when she’s on. Futhermore, her “human backboard” style and creative shotmaking often induces errors from big hitters like Maddie when they get impatient. Keys can win, but she will need to plan on being in a lot of rallies and not go for winners too soon in those rallies.

Eugenie Bouchard


Eugenie Bouchard’s first two rounds have been much tougher than Keys, squeezing through in a couple of tough 3-setters. But if you consider how rough Genie’s year has been, just winning matches in a Major at this point is a cause for celebration. She was ranked #5 in the world last October. Less than a year later, she’s plummeted to #25. She’s young and I believe in her talent. I think she can and will reclimb the rankings. However, she cannot commit 46 unforced errors (like she did in her 2nd round 3-set win against Polona Hercog) against her next opponent, Dominika Cibulkova. Domi already upset Ana Ivanovic in the first round and if Genie is sloppy, Cibulkova is more than capable of showing her the door.



19 MADISON KEYS (won 6-1 6-2 vs Tereza Smitkova)


25 EUGENIE BOUCHARD (won 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-3 vs Polona Hercog)


23 VENUS WILLIAMS (won 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-2 vs Irina Falconi)


15 AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA (won 6-3 6-2 vs Magda Linnette)

Eugenie Bouchard looked pretty good beating Cibulkova. Three in a row now, maybe gaining confidence? Big question now - can Mattick Sands pull off the upset of the year?? Up one set!