Beggars belief in Beijing with upsets galore
THREE of the four Round of 16 matches in Beijing produced a trio of massive upsets overnight, with the only one not following suit being a mid-match retirement to former number one Naomi Osaka. The Japanese star was a set and a break up on young gun and fellow Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff, before […]
Best local hope breezes into Beijing third round
WORLD number seven Qinwen Zheng wasted no time asserting her authority on the second round match at her home WTA 1000 tournament, defeating Russian lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova in an hour and 15 minutes, dropping just two games along the way. It was Zheng’s first career win at the event with plenty of support cheering […]
No Ruse here, Romanian ousts Wimbledon winner
REIGNING Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova is out of the US Open after the Czech went down to Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the second round overnight. Coming off a successful run at the major grasscourt event, Krejcikova has struggled since making a quarter final at Flushing Meadows three years ago, with just two wins in the […]
2024 US Open preview: Women’s singles
LAST year’s US Open threw up plenty of surprises for the women’s singles, with American young gun Coco Gauff riding a wave of support to claim her first Grand Slam title in a come-from-behind victory. Can she go back-to-back or will another top star stand up and lift the trophy aloft? Top eight seeds Gauff […]
Qinwen in seventh heaven, reaches Olympic final
AFTER half a dozen losses to Iga Swiatek, Chinese Top 10 talent Qinwen Zheng found the winning formula to defeat the world number one and reach the 2024 Paris Olympics Gold Medal Match. In a match that was riddled with errors and breaks of serve early, it was Zheng who kicked away in the second […]
Czeched out: It’s Schmiedl-ova for Wimbledon champ
GIANT-KILLING Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova is the major surprise packet through to the 2024 Paris Olympics medal matches with a straight sets victory over ninth seed and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. Already a Olympic gold medalist in doubles, Krejcikova’s quest for a singles medal is over at the final step, losing in the quarter finals. […]
Schmiedlova scorches Paolini to defy ranking
THE SURPRISES keep on coming in the women’s singles draw at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with fourth seed Jasmine Paolini the latest seed to fall. The Italian proved to be no match for Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, with the Slovak winning 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. It was a match littered with double faults, with Paolini serving seven […]
Svitolina shocks Pegula but others have an easier time
NOT too many seeds have fallen yet in the women’s singles yet at these Olympics, but American Jessica Pegula added her name to that list after Elina Svitolina beat her 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. In a match that lasted an hour and 47 minutes, once Svitolina got going she progressively got through the sets at a […]
Barbora battles valiant Tormo but ultimately prevails
NINTH seed Barbora Krejcikova was certainly made to work for her first round win at Roland Garros, but ultimately prevailed 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(3) over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo to progress to the second round. In a match that lasted just under three hours, the Spaniard defied her world ranking of in the 80s for much […]
2024 Paris Olympics draw talking points
LAST night the 2024 Paris Olympics took place and there was no shortage of talking points coming out of the draw. Here is some of those talking points from the men’s and women’s singles. MEN’S SINGLES: Novak vs Rafa one last time? Speculation pre-draw was whether or not the two most successful Grand Slam winners […]