Lesia Tsurenko and Lara Arruabarrena got main draw proceedings underway in Stanford in what was my first experience of WTA TV! It was a scratchy start from both in their first matches on hard courts since Wimbledon. It was third time lucky for Tsurenko in consolidating a break of serve in the first set and…
Simona Halep has taken a late wildcard into the Citi Open in Washington D.C. and heads up the 2017 edition of the tournament. The field contains four top 50 players, as well as a pair on their continuing return from injury, Sloane Stephens and Sabine Lisicki, who will be playing their first hard court tournaments…
Camila Giorgi snapped a four match losing streak and earnt a first ever win over Eugenie Bouchard, 7-5 6-4 in Tuesday’s opening match of the day in Washington. It was a reasonably solid display from Giorgi who kept Bouchard off-balance with her aggressive depth and pounced at the end of each set with the Canadian…
As the Olympics looms on the horizon, the US tournaments are coming thick and fast with the calendar bunching up over the next few weeks. Washington and Stanford are both a week early, thus reducing the Wimbledon blues! The draw for Washington has held up pretty well and is arguably more inviting than Stanford. Let’s take a…
It’s a busy weekend of tennis… as qualifying is well underway in Toronto, we still have two finals to look forward to in Stanford and Washington. Unfortunately both finals are at the same time tonight (*sarcastic clapping*). In Stanford, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova will play each other for the third time this year. It’s…
Sloane Stephens will be bidding to reach her first ever WTA final on Saturday when she takes on Sam Stosur in the semi-finals of the Citi Open in Washington. Stephens has been on a real rollercoaster ride these past few years but she finally seems to be performing well on a consistent basis. In a…
1. Sloane Stephens v Louisa Chirico (Washington, QF) The surprise package this week in DC has been Louisa Chirico who set up an all-American quarter-final against Sloane Stephens in DC. Chirico followed up her first round win over Heather Watson with a super victory over Alizé Cornet, 7-5 4-6 7-6(4) in a match that lasted…
*Since writing this preview (booo) Kuznetsova has pulled out of Washington* The most compelling match on Thursday’s Washington schedule will feature last year’s champion and number four seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova up against Sloane Stephens. Sloane was the first player to miss out on a seeding and will be one to watch this week. When I…
1. Alizé Cornet v Louisa Chirico (Washington, R2) The first result from the 2015 Citi Open yielded a surprising outcome as the 19-year-old, Louisa Chirico scored her first ever WTA main draw with a comprehensive 6-3 6-0 victory over Heather Watson. The Brit’s last match had been on Centre Court at Wimbledon against Serena Williams…
The Citi Open in Washington DC always produces one of the best line-ups for a WTA International event. This year is no different with the top eight seeds all in the top 35. The draw could have been stronger though if it hadn’t been for the late withdrawals of Victoria Azarenka (shoulder), Eugenie Bouchard (abdominal)…
