Hi there, Roma! The main draw for the 2018 Internazionali BNL d’Italia kicked off on Monday with a total of 13 first round matches on the schedule. This is always a fab tournament to follow and i’d love to make it there one day. Read on for eight stories from Monday in Rome…
Farewell, Roberta!
Roberta Vinci played the final match of her career, going down in three sets to Aleksandra Krunic. Even as she came out the tunnel at the start, Roberta was grinning profusely! The Italian actually started really well and controlled the net against a mostly flat and erratic, Krunic. I returned to work after the first set where Krunic clearly improved and won in three sets, 2-6 6-0 6-3.
Krunic ‘retired’ Kimiko Date last year in her final match in Tokyo and she did it again to Vinci today! It was no surprise to see another warm embrace. The umpire, Mariana Alves also came down from her chair to hug Vinci which i’ve never seen before! Krunic apologised to the crowd with an “i’m sorry” to each side. The end of the match is linked below in the WTA’s highlights package.
Roberta memories
I remember first watching Roberta play in Birmingham back in 2012 when she took on Zheng Jie (blast from the past!) in the quarter-finals. Roberta was one of the first players I asked a question to in press at Eastbourne. She was so nice! Her big moment was at the 2015 US Open when she beat Serena Williams and gave one of the best post-match interviews. It was funny to read back my post from that match. I’m going to miss her backhand slice and i’m going to miss her smile. All the best, Roberta 😊😊😊.
Osaka d. Azarenka (Rome, R1)
In the best match-up from the first round, Naomi Osaka stormed past Victoria Azarenka, 6-0 6-3 in just 73 minutes! I was shocked at the scoreline as I had been really impressed with Vika in Madrid. I watched back some of the match this evening. Obviously it wasn’t Vika’s best day but Naomi was hitting the ball beautifully. She was doing a great job at getting Azarenka out wide with not just power but angles.
It’s clear to see from her results that Naomi likes the big stage. I wrote on my match thoughts page about Azarenka being more comfortable on the clay but i’m not sure I agree with my statement there! While lacking experience, Naomi moves pretty well and clay can be helpful for the big hitters as it allows them time to set up. Osaka’s draw doesn’t get any easier in the second round as she will take on the world number one, Simona Halep on Wednesday.
Gavrilova d. Vikhlyantseva (Rome, R1)
Daria Gavrilova came from a set down to improve her record in Rome to 14-3 with a 5-7 6-4 6-3 victory over Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Gavrilova always seems to enjoy making life difficult for herself! You can never doubt her commitment or fighting spirit though as she managed to wear down Vikhlyantseva in the end with a helping of moonballs. A good week for the Vik who had toughed out some big wins in qualies and is steadily building this season after a slow start.
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Cibulkova d. Schiavone (Rome, R1)
Francesca Schiavone won a rare set against Dominika Cibulkova who eventually came through for a first win since February, 6-1 6-7(5) 6-2. Fran’s still a joy to watch (see point below).
Kontaveit d. Vandeweghe (Rome, R1)
Anett Kontaveit thrashed CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-1 6-1 in just 54 minutes. It was another confident and assured display from Anett who is one to watch as a dark horse in this draw. For CoCo, she’s going nowhere with this attitude on clay.
Stephens d. Strycova (Rome, R1)
This match was a pleasant surprise – the first set was brilliant! Sloane Stephens rallied from a set down to beat Barbora Strycova, 6-7(4) 6-3 6-1. Strycova played an aggressive opening set but backed off in the second and then tailed off spectacularly with an avalanche of errors in the decider. I think Stephens needed a hard fought match like this and it sets her up well for the rest of the tournament. It was sad to see Barbora so sad at the end as she’s currently riding an eight match losing streak.
Tuesday’s OOP
The remainder of first round matches will be played on Tuesday in Rome including Sharapova vs. Barty. Two second round matches will be played with Svitolina vs. Martic and Ostapenko vs. Zhang.
Moo's Tennis Blog 
How does Coco go from the way she was playing in Stuttgart to this?! Do you think one year she’ll sort of pull it all together a La Stan Wawrinka? Or will she be a perennial underperformer?
I’m just so thrilled to finally be satisfied by Novak Djokovic in a match this year. I would love him to go on a tear now!
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I feel like CoCo could do a lot better on clay. Yesterday she seemed to go in defeated vs. Kontaveit with her attitude to the conditions.
My ATP knowledge is now dreadful but looks a decent draw in Rome for Novak?
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It’s her temperament, she plays as she feels. From her past performances, I reckon she does love the European swings of the tennis tour, but a bit of a personality. Having seen her performance at peak, she can win basically any tournament. But, as always, it must be on Ms. Vandeweghe own terms. Maybe so she can say to herself, ‘I did it my way’. The tour is actually open for such a run.
Speaking of Novak and the ATP, I do like the idea of the timer/shot clock. Just wish it didn’t have to come to that. Could have simply given the umpire a timer, upon which he can ask an infringing player to serve immediately or penalty. Ah well, what I hope they can stop is injury, toilet breaks, medical timeouts being used to break an opponent’s momentum. That hurts the spirit of the game.
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I wonder what Pat said to her after the match, bearing in mind that he apparently said, “Have you finished playing crap?” when she played Aga (and lost).
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She definitely has the potential for greatness, even though I really dislike her personality. Maybe she’ll be a Julia Goerges and hit her prime later in her career.
It’s funny because if you think about the players who have won Slams in the past few years, all winners bar Kerber, Penetta and maybe Wozniacki have those A+ games where they are pretty much unplayable when at their best (Kvitova, Serena, Muguruza, Ostapenko, Stephens).
So you would think players like Goerges and Coco have more than a chance, should they get into a groove and really get momentum.
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Goerges has to be near the top of best players who have never made it to a Slam QF. Hope she can do it!
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“[Vinci’s] big moment was at the 2015 US Open when she beat Serena Williams and gave one of the best post-match interviews.”
I want to second that. It’s moments like that interview which really add to my enjoyment of tennis. As well as the match itself, of course. I didn’t know Vinci was planning on retiring now. I understand why she has, but it’s a shame.
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Roberta definitely seems content with her decision. It’s always sad to see players retire! That US Open match vs. Serena was one of the most memorable moments since I started watching tennis, will never forget it!
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Agreed James. Absolutely no one thought Roberta was going to win that match (not even Roberta herself), but she did, and it’s the one match she’ll understandably be remembered for. I must admit I hadn’t really taken any notice of her before that match, but I certainly did afterwards. Hope she has a long and happy retirement.
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Vinci’s tennis is the kind I can watch for hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Surely, there are going to be players like her again.
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Krunic is like Vinci minus ten years, A little girl battling in the land of giants.
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I’ve loved Krunic since she beat Petra at the US Open a few years back, she’s such a refreshing player and she’s got a sweet personality.
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Dear Pliskova, she completely lost her cool ( set the cat among the pigeons). I knew she had been wronged, but it may have been one of those days too. One of those ‘ish happens’ situations!
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I think Pliskova was completely robbed, it was outrageous for the umpire not to check for the mark herself and see that there was a mark inside the baseline where Pliskova insisted it landed. The mark was clearly visible.
To say that this didn’t unfairly tip the match in favour of Sakkari, who played a great match, is absolute BS.
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