Wimbledon is well in the past and the summer hard court season is already here with the main draws in San Jose and Washington set to start on Monday. I’m looking forward to this stretch of the season up towards the US Open. There will be a few posts this week but probably not totally on it until Canada and Cincy. Read on for 12 stories in Sunday’s Set Points catching up on the highlights from the past two weeks.
Kerber & Djokovic dance
The Monday morning after Wimbledon is always a tough one. The videos of Angie and Novak dancing at the Champions Ball definitely cheered me up. I’m obsessed with the song they danced to – it’s by Ofenbach and is now on my Spotify playlist!
Kerber celebrates back home
There were some lovely photos of Angie at the Porsche Museum with her Wimby trophy taken by Jimmie48.
Kerber for Sydney
No surprises as Kerber has already committed to defend her Sydney International title. I think I am going to feel sad when the 2019 Australian summer of tennis comes around. Visiting Australia is the highlight of my year.
Kasatkina jumping backhand drop shot winner
Daria Kasatkina called the jumping backhand drop shot winner she hit in her quarter-final against Kerber as her shot of the day. I was delighted to see Wimbledon post a video of it on their Twitter page last week.
Cornet & Sevastova triumph
In the week immediately after Wimbledon, Alizé Cornet and Anastasija Sevastova won Gstaad and Bucharest respectively. I would have probably watched some of Gstaad if it had actually been streamed on WTA TV.
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Danilovic and Wang Qiang win first titles
Moscow was all about the up and comers as Olga Danilovic, Anastasia Potapova and Tamira Zidansek all reached their first ever WTA semi-finals. It was a final between two 17-year-olds (!) and one of the better ones of 2018. Danilovic missed a match point in the second set with a big double fault, but then came from a break down in the decider to beat Potapova, 7-5 6-7(1) 6-4 in two hours and 19 minutes.
I’ve seen Potapova play before but this was my first viewing of Danilovic. The forehand stands out as a weapon. Most impressive, was her ability to reset after disappointment. Yet another one to watch! In Nanchang, which I only just realised today was an International, Qiang Wang won her first WTA title with a 7-5 4-0 retirement win over Zheng Saisai.
Sachia Vickery
As part of a new series on WTA posts on their website, I enjoyed this article on Sachia Vickery.
US Open
We’re heading towards the US Open so it’s a good time to share my guide to visiting Flushing Meadows. I visited the US Open back in 2016. I didn’t expect to love the US Open so much and can’t wait to go back. The access to all courts and excitement of the night matches were the highlights. I’d go as far to say that it is my favourite of the four Slams to attend. If you’ve got any questions, happy to answer!
Louis Armstrong Stadium
The new Louis Armstrong stadium looks stunning. Keep an eye on Ash Marshall on Twitter for all US Open related information. One of my favourite follows on Twitter.
San Jose Main Draw
When I prepared this post I originally wrote Stanford! The tournament has moved this year to San Jose with a stunning line-up that includes Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. The highlight of the first round will see Serena play Johanna Konta – a rematch from last year’s Australian Open quarter-final. There’s also the possibility of a Muguruza-Azarenka second rounder. I’ve ended up with a Muguruza-S.Williams final in my Draw Challenge.
Washington Main Draw
Despite a spate of late withdrawals, Washington still has a decent draw with Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens topping the draw. It’s nice to see two Brits, Katie Swan and Katie Boulter, in the top quarter of the draw. I’ve ended up with a Wozniacki-Kuznetsova final.
Baking
I’d planned to do a lot of baking over the last two weeks but the weather wasn’t really conducive as we’ve been experiencing a heatwave in the UK. Finally we had some rain and cooler weather this weekend so i’ve enjoyed an all-out baking weekend trying lots of new things. Today, my two hobbies collided as I made a Paris Brest. Normally this choux pastry showstopper is in the form of a bicycle. I made it into a tennis racquet with accoompanying profiteroles. Quite happy with how it turned it out!
Moo's Tennis Blog 
WTA web site is improving little by little. I like the 100 club series they have started.
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Washington — Allie Kiick(23y/o) through qualifying and into the 2nd round. Her career was delayed by skin cancer and knee injuries. Kiick is the daughter of famous American football player Jim Kiick(71y/o), who played in the 1970s. At the end of his career Kiick was released from his club, his house burnt down and his wife divorced him all on the same day…..Hey, I stubbed my toe last week!
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Tennis Abstract was down yesterday and it made me realise how dependent I am on it for WTA stats! There are some decent posts on the WTA website but I still rarely use it.
Oh I didn’t know know that about Allie’s dad. Big opportunity in the next round for Kiick and Boulter to reach a WTA level QF.
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Unfortunately things got worse for Jim Kiick. He is now living in an assisted care facility due to brain damage from playing American football.
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😦
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