The last 16 was played on Thursday at the 2018 Volvo Car Open in Charleston with four of the top eight seeds making it to the quarter-finals. I didn’t get to watch as much tennis on Thursday as I was playing tennis. More about my tennis at the end of this post for anyone interested! Read on for seven stories in Thursday’s Set Points post.
Faves up first, Goerges & Sevastova through to the QFs
I was a tad disappointed that my two favourite matches of the day, Osaka vs. Goerges and Sevastova vs. Barty, were both up first on the schedule at 11am local time. Goerges and Sevastova both prevailed in straights, the former who twice came from a break down to win the opening set in the tiebreak. I was sad to hear that Naomi was sad in press.
Keys gains revenge
I got back from tennis in time to watch the second set of Madison Keys vs. Camila Giorgi. Unlike their last match at Wimbledon, this was highly uneventful and a little bitty, not surprising really with the nature of their games. Keys came out on top in two long games in the second set and served well to win in straights, 6-4 6-3.
Kr. Pliskova serves her way past Vesnina
Kristyna Pliskova scored another quality win, beating Elena Vesnina, 6-3 1-6 6-2. The Czech player wobbled in the second set but came back in style in the third set where she was almost untouchable on serve. I really like how Kr. Pliskova can redirect pace and she looked very impressive in sets 1 and 3.
I’ve watched a lot of Vesnina matches this year and this one was a good summary of them all – a mixed bag! Vesnina was absolutely brilliant in the second set, playing aggressively and accurately with successful drop shots. Vesnina carried the momentum into the third set with consecutive love service holds. Her game then rather careered off into the abyss with a succession of errors. Vesnina was broken to love in her final two service games of the match.
Fun fact #1 – Six of the eight games in the deciding set were to love
Fun fact #2 – Both players finished the match well in the positive for winners to unforced errors
Fun fact #3 – It just hit me that Vesnina’s Indian Wells points have come off and she’s now ranked 42 in the world!
While I was sleeping…
Alizé Cornet upset the number one seed, Caroline Garcia in three sets, 5-7 6-1 6-4.
QF line-up
Friday’s quarter-finals are as follows:
(14) Alizé Cornet vs. (12) Kiki Bertens
(7) Madison Keys vs. Bernarda Pera
(3) Daria Kasatkina vs. (5) Julia Goerges
(8) Anastasija Sevastova vs. Kristyna Pliskova
QF thoughts
I’m not going for any shocks in today’s QFs. The only upset I considered based on ranking was Pera over Keys. I haven’t watched enough of Pera really to make an informed decision on that one. I’m very disappointed that the stand-out match, Kasatkina vs. Goerges, is first up.
My experiences on a tennis court – Week 2 of club sessions
The weather has been dreadful over the past few weeks but thankfully it hasn’t yet interrupted my club sessions. I’ll aim to write a bit about my tennis each week. This week was mostly uneventful as we just played doubles sets. I didn’t play too bad. Normally I find the first session back goes well because i’m excited and the second one is dreadful! I was trying to be a bit more aggressive with my forehand and it was paying off on return. Pet peeve – one of my partners kept calling balls long which were clearly in to me. He did it THREE times on serves when I WAS returning. I should have overruled 🙊.
Moo's Tennis Blog 
So disappointed that Garcia lost to Cornet after how well she played in her opener!
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I was surprised. Did you see any of the match?
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No, I was in bed! I’m intending on catching up on matches some time this week.
I’d love to see Kasatkina defend her title, although there are some great clay court players still in it. An in form Goerges will be formidable.
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Bernarda Pera underdog
Pera turned 20y/o in 2014, but only played 5 (M)atches, 2015 11 M, 2016 9 M. In 2017 apparently she got some sponsorship and played 21 M. In 2018 Pera has already played 20 M.
If a player doesn’t have a super junior record or rich parents, it becomes very difficult to start a pro career.
Pera moving from Croatia to the US may have also slowed her career.
Collins and Kristy Ahn had to play college ball to start their pro tennis life.
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The win over Konta at the Aus Open came out of the blue but she has really backed it up. I don’t think i’ve watched any of her matches before so hope to watch tonight.
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That was typical Caroline Garcia in sulk mode. Played the whole match sucking her thumb and snatching at balls. It was a real horror show!!
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Impressive stuff from Keys. Surely only a matter of time until she wins a slam.
It sounded oddly like Paul Gambaccini commentating.
Is it me, or do female players in general seem slightly less friendly with their opponent during the handshake? I’ve noticed it in a lot of matches over the years. But I may be incorrect.
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Well done women are less friendly than atp players but then some are much more so. You see a lot more hugs and kisses on the women’s side but also a lot more pouting.
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Unremarkable performance by Naomi Broady at Monterrey – she beat Carol Zhao in her first match and then lost to Timea Babos in the second – except for one thing. She hit 21 aces in the first match and 20 in the second.
If only the rest of Naomi’s game was of the same standard as her serving …
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