Western & Southern Open | 2020 Cincinnati

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Western & Southern Open | 2020 Cincinnati Aug 24, 2020 21:44:55 GMT

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Post by Admin on Aug 24, 2020 21:44:55 GMT

It’s trial-run time in the bubble. Before the women put it on the line at the US Open, they’ll get used to the conditions and the competition at the Western & Southern Open. The Grandstand will serve as center court—Arthur Ashe Stadium will be saved for the Open itself—but the fields in both tournaments will be largely the same.

Six of the WTA’s Top 10 are missing, but somehow the “Cincy” draw doesn’t feel depleted. Here’s a look ahead at it.

FIRST QUARTER
With the WTA’s top two, Ash Barty and Simona Halep, choosing to stay home, Karolina Pliskova will take over as the No. 1 seed at both New York events. Is the easygoing Czech ready for the expectations that will come with that status? Probably: She takes pretty much everything in stride. Whether or not she’s ready to win her first major is another story.

Pliskova has won in Cincy, and made the final at the US Open. She also started 2020 well, with a title in Brisbane, and she has spent this season working with another new coach in Dani Vallverdu, who typically gets results at the beginning of his partnerships. Pliskova will begin her tournament against Ajla Tomljanovic or Veronika Kudermetova; the other seeds in this section are Aryna Sabalenka, Elise Mertens and Alison Riske.

But it’s a non-seed who may be of greater interest this week: 37-year-old Kim Clijsters will make her return to Flushing Meadows for the first time since her most recent retirement, in 2012. She’s won the Open three times; if she plays as well as she did in World TeamTennis last month, she may have a chance at a fourth. Unfortunately for the Western & Southern Open, Clijsters will start this week against Jen Brady, an American who just won a title in Kentucky and looks primed to make her own deep runs in New York.

First-round matches to watch: Clijsters vs. Brady; Riske vs. Amanda Anisimova; Anastasija Sevastova vs. Kiki Mladenovic

Semifinalist: Brady

*****

SECOND QUARTER
Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova played a classic Australian Open final last year. This week they could meet in the quarterfinals. Osaka has saved some of her best tennis for the Big Apple; can she find more of it at the Western & Southern Open, when the stakes aren’t quite as high? We haven’t seen a lot of Osaka on court over the summer. She’ll try to shake the rust off against either Karolina Muchova or a qualifier.

Kvitova, who took part in some exhibitions in the Czech Republic, will open against either Marie Bouzkova or a qualifier. Kvitova would seem to be a player who is well-positioned to take advantage of the depleted field and win her first US Open this year.

First-round match to watch: Venus Williams vs. Dayana Yastremska. Venus is twice Yastremska’s age, but she looked as spry as ever in Lexington last week.

Semifinalist: Kvitova

THIRD QUARTER
When we’ve talked about Serena Williams this summer, we’ve mostly talked abut her chances of winning her 24th major at the US Open. And that’s obviously what matters most to her. But she’s in the Western & Southern Open as well, and she could probably use a few wins after her loss to Shelby Rogers last week in Lexington. Serena, who has moved up to No. 3 in the seedings, will start against either Alison van Uytvanck or a qualifier. The other three seeds in this section are Jo Konta, Maria Sakkari and Marketa Vondrousova.

First-round match to watch: Sakkari vs. Coco Gauff

Semifinalist: S. Williams

*****

FOURTH QUARTER
If any player had reason to lament the lockdown, it’s Sofia Kenin. In January, she won her first major, at the Australian Open, and she won again in Lyon, in her last event, to move up to No. 4 in the world. But she played her share of matches this summer, in Charleston and in World TeamTennis, and you know she’s gunning to win her home Slam in a few weeks, where she’ll be the No. 2 seed.

As far as the Western & Southern goes, Kenin is in a potentially tricky quarter. She could face another talented young American, Caty McNally, in her opener, and could face Madison Keys in the quarters.

Player to watch: Elena Rybakina. Like Kenin, the young Kazakh was on a roll to start 2020.

First-round matches to watch: Sloane Stephens vs. Caroline Garcia; Donna Vekic vs. Victoria Azarenka; McNally vs. Alizé Cornet

Potential second-round match to watch: Keys vs. Ons Jabeur

Semifinalist: Keys

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Western & Southern Open | 2020 Cincinnati Aug 26, 2020 20:12:30 GMT

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Post by Admin on Aug 26, 2020 20:12:30 GMT

After relinquishing another lead and exiting the Western & Southern Open in the third round in New York, Serena Williams sounded a bit like 'Sex and the City' author Candace Bushnell, whose alter-ego Carrie Bradshaw chronicled the lives and loves of people she knew in the Big Apple.

"I put myself in a bad situation," Williams told reporters. "It's like dating a guy that you know sucks. That's literally what I keep doing out here. It's like I have to get rid of this guy. It just makes no sense. It's frustrating."

Williams has pulled off her share of stunning comebacks in a remarkable 20-plus year career but the American is more used to closing out opponents in fairly routine fashion.

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Western & Southern Open | 2020 Cincinnati Aug 27, 2020 5:32:02 GMT

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Post by Admin on Aug 27, 2020 5:32:02 GMT

Professional tennis player Naomi Osaka announced Wednesday evening that she would sit out a semifinals match scheduled for Thursday in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

“Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman. And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis,” Osaka said in a statement posted on Twitter. “I don’t expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction.”

Osaka decried the “continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police,” adding “I’m exhausted of having a new hashtag pop up every few days and I’m extremely tired of having this same conversation over and over again. When will it ever be enough?”

Osaka is the latest athlete to announce she will sit out a game or athletic event to draw attention to the Blake case. The Milwaukee Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers both sat out games Wednesday. The NBA announced three playoff games scheduled for Wednesday will be rescheduled, with the WNBA following suit shortly thereafter.

Last Edit: Aug 27, 2020 5:32:37 GMT by Admin

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Western & Southern Open | 2020 Cincinnati Aug 27, 2020 20:30:19 GMT

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Post by Admin on Aug 27, 2020 20:30:19 GMT

Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said Thursday she will play her semifinal match at the Western Southern Open in New York, a day after she said she would boycott to protest racial injustice and police brutality.

Osaka, the No.10-ranked player in the world, rallied Wednesday to defeat Estonia's Anett Kontaveit and was scheduled to play in the semifinals on Thursday against Elise Mertens. Hours after the 22-year-old Osaka, who is of Japanese and Haitian heritage, announced her boycott, tournament organizers said that the entire Thursday slate of men's and women's matches would be postponed.

The pause in play satisfied Osaka.

"After my announcement and lengthy consultation with the WTA and USTA, I have agreed at their request to play on Friday," she told The Guardian. "They offered to postpone all matches until Friday and in my mind that brings more attention to the movement. I want to thank the WTA and the tournament for their support."

Tennis was put on hold Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their playoff game near Orlando in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black 29-year-old man, in Kenosha, Wis. That resulted in a domino effect that led to the postponement of games across the NBA, WNBA and MLS. Three MLB games also were postponed.

The U.S. Tennis Association released a joint statement with the ATP and WTA on Wednesday night that read, "As a sport, tennis is collectively taking a stance against racial inequality and social injustice that once again has been thrust to the forefront in the United States. The USTA, ATP Tour, and WTA have decided to recognize this moment in time by pausing tournament play at the Western Southern Open on Thursday, August 27. Play will resume on Friday, August 28."

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Western & Southern Open | 2020 Cincinnati Aug 28, 2020 20:19:45 GMT

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Post by Admin on Aug 28, 2020 20:19:45 GMT

Johanna Konta's bid to make the Western & Southern Open final in New York came to an end at the hands of the experienced Victoria Azarenka on Friday.

Konta will be involved in an all-British tie with Heather Watson at the US Open next week where she will be chasing her maiden Grand Slam triumph, but the British No 1 had other things on her mind before the start of the tournament at Flushing Meadows, namely trying to reach her ninth WTA final.

After play was suspended on Thursday in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake, Konta stepped out onto Court 10 in good spirits ahead of her second semi-final of the year, having made the last four at Monterrey, Mexico, in March - before tennis was suspended due to the pandemic.

But two-time major winner Azarenka proved to be a step too far for Konta, despite winning the opening set, as she fell to a 4-6 6-4 6-1 defeat.