Venus Williams season review

It has been an incredible year for the 37 year-old Venus Williams,  who has reached two Grand Slam finals and the final of the WTA Finals as well! Take a look at my Season Review for the legendary American here at VAVEL USA.

https://www.vavel.com/en-us/tennis-usa/851908-2017-season-review-legendary-venus-williams-shows-age-is-nothing-more-than-just-a-number.html

US Open: Svetlana Kuznetsova defeats Marketa Vondrousova

Take a look at my match recap of Kuznetsova's amazing win against the talented Marketa Vondrousova!

Citi Open draw predictions

This is a list of my daily predictions at the Citi Open held in Washington, with many quality players participating! World number two Simona Halep (Roland Garros finalist, was thrice a win away from No.1), Kristina Mladenovic and Ekaterina Makarova headlines the draw. Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig is unseeded in the draw.

Bank of the West Classic draw predictions

Hello guys! You can find my daily predictions of the Bank of the West Classic here! Notable players participating are Garbine Muguruza (2017 Wimbledon ), Maria Sharapova (5-time Grand Slam champion, Former No.1), Petra Kvitova (2-time Wimbledon Champion), Madison Keys (Former Top 10 player)!

Wimbledon

Hello guys! Do take a look at my articles for VAVEL USA during the Wimbledon Championships, and do follow that page too!

Charleston Match Recap: Angelique Kerber vs Francesca Schiavone

Angelique Kerber suffered a huge scare against veteran Francesca Schiavone in the opening round of the Monterrey Open, eventually coming through in three sets as she progressed to the second round where she would face Mandy Minella.

Charleston Draw Predictions

This article would consist of all my predictions of the matches at the Volvo Car Open, and please leave your own predictions in the comments too!

Charleston Match Recap: Daria Kasatkina vs Danka Kovinic

Russian Daria Kasatkina stopped her four-match losing streak at the Volvo Car Open as she defeated another struggling player in Danka Kovinic, whose losing streak got extended to eight matches. It was truly an excellent performance from Kasatkina, who sealed a meeting with Monica Puig in the second round.

Daria Kasatkina in action at Dubai | Photo: Tom Dulat/Getty Images Europe

Charleston Daily Recap: Naomi Osaka and Jelena Jankovic notable victors

The first day of action at the Volvo Car Open was filled with excitement and good matches as half of the first round matches were completed, before rain halted play for the rest of the evening which caused a total of 5 matches to go uncompleted entering the second day.

A notable match is definitely between Laura Siegemund and Lesia Tsurenko, which was decided in a final set tiebreak that went in the favour of the German. Tsurenko was visibly affected by an injury but she persevered on and managed to lead by a break in the final set before crumbling to an inspired Siegemund.

Naomi Osaka got through a huge scare against Johanna Larsson in three sets after losing the tight opening set in a tiebreak. She managed to regain her composure and bounce back from the disappointment by comfortably winning the next two sets, sealing a place in the second round.

Jelena Jankovic looked to be playing her best as she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets in her opening round match, which included a bagel in the first set. Jankovic looked solid throughout the match, breaking serve six times in the process of sealing a blockbuster meeting against Samantha Stosur in the second round.

There was a bittersweet ending to the match between Katerina Siniakova and Monica Puig as the Czech was forced to retire at 1-4 in the final set due to an unfortunate injury which has been troubling her since the start of the second set after winning a tight first set 6-4. Puig would then face either Kasatkina or Kovinic in the second round.

Other results include Andrea Petkovic comfortably winning her match against Lara Arruabarrena in straight sets, while Alison Riske suffered a huge scare against the dangerous wildcard Kayla Day, eventually triumphing in three sets. Lucky-loser Ons Jabeur also made good use of her second chance as she strolled to a routine victory over Marina Erakovic, losing just five games in the process. Jelena Ostapenko and Kateryna Bondarenko were the other winners of the day.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #1 Dominika Cibulkova vs Agnieszka Radwanska

Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, 7-5, 7-9 Dominika Cibulkova (Wimbledon R4)

The rivalry between Dominika Cibulkova and Agnieszka Radwanska continued into 2016, meeting for 4 times this year with all the meetings going to 3 sets. They met in Indian Wells, where Radwanska saved match points to come out victorious, Madrid, where Cibulkova came from a break down in the final set to win, and in Eastbourne where Cibulkova came out victorious despite being a set and a break down.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #2 Angelique Kerber vs Petra Kvitova

Angelique Kerber 7-6 (12-10), 5-7, 4-6 Petra Kvitova (Wuhan Open R3)

Kerber came into the match as the big favourite, especially when she just won the US Open and became the World No.1, defeating Kvitova along the way. This was Kerber’s first tournament as the new World No.1, and she would want to cement her position at the top with a strong showing in Wuhan.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #3 Sloane Stephens vs Dominika Cibulkova

Sloane Stephens 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) Dominika Cibulkova (Acapulco Final) 

This match was Stephens’ 2^nd final of the year, having previously winning the title in Auckland earlier in January. Stephens is unbeaten in finals, having won all 2 of her finals in her career. Cibulkova, who is ranked 66^th, was a member of the Top 10 and have reached the Australian Open final in 2014 before suffering from an Achilles injury that kept her out of action for close to half a year.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #4 Serena Williams vs Angelique Kerber

Serena Williams 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 Angelique Kerber (Australian Open Final)

Serena Williams comes into the match as the big favourite, as she goes for her 22^nd Grand Slam title against a left-handed opponent in Angelique Kerber, whom she has a 5-1 head to head record advantage over. The only time Williams faced a left-handed player in a Grand Slam final was against Lucie Safarova at the 2015 French Open, and she faced a lot of problems against Safarova. Would it be the same against Kerber? Would Kerber, participating in her 1^st ever Grand Slam final, feel the pressure?

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #5 Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Agnieszka Radwanska

Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 Agnieszka Radwanska (Singapore WTA Finals RR)

These two players had had some tough matches in the past, with their most recent encounter being in Wuhan where Kuznetsova prevailed in a 2 hours and 51 minutes thriller after saving a match point. Their head-to-head may come to as a surprise to some people, as it stands at 12-4 to Kuznetsova’s advantage. In 2 of their past 3 meetings, the winner have saved match points and won the match. Radwanska knew that in order to win this match, she had had to be more offensive and attack on the slow second serves of Kuznetsova. For Kuznetsova, it would be tough to adapt to the conditions of the Singapore Indoor Stadium Court as she only arrived in Singapore on Sunday after she triumphed in Moscow to be able to qualify for this event. However, Kuznetsova, known for her agility and good stamina, has won the most 3 set matches on the WTA Tour this year despite her age, and thus fatigue should not be of a major problem for her.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #6 Roberta Vinci vs Agnieszka Radwanska

Roberta Vinci 6-3, 2-6, 3-6 Agnieszka Radwanska (Doha QF)

This match is definitely 1 of the best matches in the year, with both players winning more than 60 net points combined in the match, which can be considered very impressive. Both players also had more winners than unforced errors, making it feel like the points were being won than being lost.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #7 Karolina Pliskova vs Venus Williams

Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 Venus Williams

This match was a thriller between 2 big servers and hard-hitters, with both players able to hit serves that go faster than 115 mph. Their previous encounter was in Zhuhai, where Venus Williams prevailed in a tough 2 sets battle that ended 7-5, 7-6 to capture the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy and secure her place in the Year-end Top 10 rankings last year. 

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #8 Daria Kasatkina vs Venus Williams

Daria Kasatkina 5-7, 6-4, 8-10 Venus Williams

It was a battle between youth and experience, with Kasatkina being a newbie on tour and Venus being a veteran having won 7 Grand Slams in her career. They met only once previously, with Kasatkina upsetting Venus in 3 sets at Auckland for her 1st ever Top 10 win in their first match of 2016. 

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #9 Monica Puig vs Angelique Kerber

Monica Puig 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Angelique Kerber

Monica Puig managed to create history when she won the Olympics final against World No.2 and heavy favourite Angelique Kerber, becoming the first Puerto Rico woman to ever win a medal at the Olympics, and the first person from Puerto Rico to win a gold medal.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #10 Karolina Pliskova vs Krisitna Mladenovic

Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 6-4, 14-16 Karolina Pliskova (Fed Cup Final Rubber 1)

Many were shocked when the French Tennis Federation chose to play on indoors hard courts, instead of indoors clay courts, which the French players have an advantage on. The courts in Strasbourg looked pretty fast as compared to the rest of the hard court events on the tour, and that gave an advantage to Czech Republic as their crucial players like Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova are hard hitters and prefer fast surfaces. Nevertheless, the French team also has hard hitters like Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, which makes this tie even more exciting.

The draw was conducted in a local parliament the day before, and it saw Kristina Mladenovic, the French No.2 start against the Czech No.1 and her good friend Karolina Pliskova. Following that match is the French No.1 player Caroline Garcia facing Czech No.2 and recent Zhuhai Elite Trophy winner Petra Kvitova.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Match of the Year #11 Monica Puig vs Kristyna Pliskova

Monica Puig 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 9-7 Kristyna Pliskova (Australian Open R2)

Monica Puig comes into this match as the favourite, coming off her career best performance at the Sydney International, reaching the final only to suffer a one-sided loss to Svetlana Kuznetsova. While Puig has her career best performance, Kristyna Pliskova has come into the match with a shock victory over home favourite Samantha Stosur in straight sets.