1. Karolina Pliskova v Timea Bacsinszky (Rome, R1) This match-up would have barely made an impact last year but Karolina Pliskova and Timea Bacsinszky have been on an absolute tear through 2015. To demonstrate how much Pliskova and Bacsinszky have improved over the last year, the pair’s only previous meeting was in August last year…
1. Angelique Kerber v Alize Cornet (Rome, R1) The last time Angelique Kerber and Alize Cornet met on the WTA tour, fun was had by all. Kerber saved match points to beat Cornet in a quality contest in Eastbourne. It also delivered on the drama front thanks to Alize. The Frenchwoman hadn’t beaten a top…
1. Flavia Pennetta v Elina Svitolina (Rome, R1) In a menacing section of the draw, Flavia Pennetta takes on Elina Svitolina with the winner set to play Venus Williams or Garbine Muguruza in the second round. Both players suffered early exits in Madrid; Pennetta lost in the first round to Andrea Petkovic in straight sets,…
After last weekend’s festivities, Moo’s Tennis Blog is back with a full tournament preview and accompanying first round previews (tomorrow) for the 2015 Internazionali BNL D’Italia in Rome. The tennis in Madrid has been superb this week, but the tournament bugs me big time with their scheduling and general lack of respect for the WTA. …
Well hello smiling Petra… Petra Kvitova produced an irresistable performance to defeat an under-the-weather, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-1 6-2 in just 66 minutes. Kuznetsova had a medical time-out at the end of the first set and also ran off the court before the final game due to a stomach complaint. It was a real shame that…
A marvellous week in Madrid will conclude for the women with an unlikely, yet rather fabulous final line-up featuring Petra Kvitova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Before this tournament, I don’t think many, if any, had Petra or Svetlana on the radar. Kvitova had been out for over a month, taking time away from the tour citing…
1. Maria Sharapova v Svetlana Kuznetsova (Madrid, SF) The first of the WTA semi-finals will be an all-Russian affair featuring Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. As to be expected, Kuznetsova’s victory over Lucie Safarova was a pretty painful watch for moi. Huge credit must go to Kuznetsova for the way she has battled through this…
Thursday’s blockbuster match-up will see Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki reignite their rivalry with a first encounter in 2015. Tennis has killed it today and I feel so behind in catching up with everything that has happened! It’s been arguably, the best day of the year so far. In the first match of the day,…
In another fascinating WTA match in Madrid, Carla Suarez Navarro sealed her first ever win against Ana Ivanovic and extended her three set record in 2015 to 14-3 with a 7-5 1-6 6-4 victory in two hours and four minutes. Although the quality didn’t quite rival their cracking quarter-final in Rome last year, it was…
1. Maria Sharapova v Caroline Garcia (Madrid, R3) If you haven’t seen the third set of Caroline Garcia‘s victory over Karolina Pliskova then i’d definitely recommend it. Garcia defeated Pliskova, 6-2 4-6 6-1 in a high quality second round match that featured 69 winners. Garcia finished with 40 winners to 18 unforced errors, which is…
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