Hot Shot Roundup 2015
Hot Shot Roundup 2015
It is a shame that a season finale that promised so much turned out to be a bit of a damp squib for Elena Svitolina.
Having started knocking on the door to the Top 10 over the summer months, Svitolina entered the home stretch with an outside chance of joining the elite.
Unfortunately for the Ukrainian, it was not to be. A dip in form on the tour’s whistle-stop visit to Asia saw her chances fade, and then disappear with a one-sided defeat to fellow WTA Rising Star Karolina Pliskova in Zhuhai and an opening round exit at the WTA 125K Series event in Limoges.
This minor setback failed to take the shine off a campaign that saw her register 40 wins, a third WTA title and victories over two Top 10 members. In fact, worryingly for those ahead of her in the pecking order, she is hungrier than ever to take the next step up the tennis ladder.
“Of course this is my best season. I finished this season Top 20. I am happy,” Svitolina said after her loss to Pliskova. “Of course there are some things that I want to change not only in my game, but also in preparation.
“I think I need to work more physically to be stronger for the whole season and of course plan the tournaments smarter. There are some small details which matter if you are to play at such a high level. The small things are so important.”
In the quest to add further layers to her game, Svitolina has tweaked her support team. This weekend she started limbering up for the new season, registering a win for the Punjab Marshalls over Flavia Pennetta in the Champions Tennis League.
“I’m going to do a few weeks in Abu Dhabi for the off-season this year, just to prepare for the heat and open courts. Other than that, there are not really any changes. The same coach. I am having a new physical coach for next year with who I’m starting with this off season.”
While the changing of the guard at the top of the game may still be a few years off, there is no denying that Svitolina is one of a growing band of young players – five of the Top 20 are currently 23 or younger – challenging the established order. And the 21-year-old believes that the healthy completion that exists amongst her peers is driving them all to new heights.
“There are many upcoming players, and everyone I think, in my opinion, has something special in their game. That’s why there is all the time a small competition between us.” she said when asked about the generational rivalry on tour. “That keeps us going and keeps us pushing for better results.”
Celebrating with a team!! ?#CTL2015 @punjabmarshalls @marcosbaghdatis @GregRusedski1 @MyneniSaketh pic.twitter.com/cAYDBdgHL8
— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) November 28, 2015
“Just try,” urges Flavia Pennetta. “Sometimes you know you are not one hundred percent, you are just four percent, so you have to play with that. You don’t have a lot of chance there. So at least you can try. Just stay there and play every point, you never know.”
The Italian has left behind the struggles of the pro tour, but the competitor in her still comes brimming to the surface. The hazel eyes glinting in the midday sun that filters into the café of the luxury hotel in Mumbai. She is here for the Champions Tennis League; an opportunity for a lap of honor in this part of the world before she finally bows out. She sports a plain grey tracksuit and a friendly smile, nothing to announce that we have a Grand Slam champion in our midst. Her tanned face though speaking of contentment; contentment at bringing her career to a logical end.
After 49 attempts, Pennetta won a Grand Slam trophy at this year’s US Open. At the age of 33, she was the oldest first-time winner of a major in women’s tennis history.
“Every player wants to win a Grand Slam, but the truth is few people do,” she says.
“It was something that was my dream but I never thought it could be a reality. It came at a moment when I was expecting nothing. This was the key. Because when you expect a lot, it doesn’t happen. You put so much pressure on yourself, it doesn’t work. But we are human, this is how we think. We hope and we prepare and we want it.”
There were times, she admits, when it was difficult to do all those things. At 18, in the year she turned pro, she was diagnosed with typhus, a bacterial disease. In 2006, she had to undergo wrist surgery. Almost the whole of 2007 was spent recovering from not just the wrist injury but a broken heart. In 2012 another wrist injury kept her out of the game for nine months.
“That year [2007] was the worst year,” she recalls. “Wrist, love everything together. I thought everything was over. But then I find something inside me that I never knew I had and started over from nothing.” She was angry after her relationship with fellow tennis player Carlos Moya had ended in difficult circumstances.
“But the human being can get used to everything. Even when you are upset, you have to stay on the road,” she says with the same degree of poise she displayed on the tennis court.
“I had a love problem, everyone has it. Tennis was really important for me at that time. It was my way to not think about him. So I have to thank him for what he did. Maybe my life would have been completely different. After so many years, I have to say thanks to Carlos for everything. If it wasn’t for that, maybe I wouldn’t have been here, wouldn’t have been a Grand Slam champion. Everything happens for a reason.”
Pennetta showed up every day, for training and on the court. She broke into the top 10 in 2009. She led Italy to Fed Cup victories in 2009 and 2010. By 2011 she had become an accomplished doubles player, topping the rankings and winning the Australian Open with Argentina’s Gisela Dulko.
She was regularly making it to the second week of Grand Slams in singles, too, the dogged Italian forever lingering but not quite conquering.
“Was not easy,” she says.
“Tennis is a sport that you can play every week. The season is so long, so you cannot pretend to be a 100 percent every time. There are times when you are going down for sure. But I always try to give everything on court, be positive. Sometimes I was also depressed. But you get depressed because you feel alone. When you are winning it is easy, but when you start to lose and you go back in your room and your family is away, you feel alone.
“But I had a good team – that is very important. They are my coaches, trainers, physios, but they are also my friends. It is also strange on the women’s tour to have people that you love for a long time, because women change [support staff] a lot. We try to find a solution to the problem in others. Sometimes the problem is just us. It’s not the racquet, the ball, the umpire, it’s just you.”
After making yet another comeback in 2013 and slugging it out in 2014 the doubts began to creep in. She turned 33 this February and could feel the fire dulling. The decision to make 2015 her last in tennis was gathering momentum.
“What led me to the decision was that I didn’t want to compete every week, be so angry on the court every week. If you don’t do that, you have lost your passion. So why do it?” She had also found stability in her personal life, entering into a steady relationship with fellow Italian player Fabio Fognini.
Even with retirement on the horizon Pennetta refused to put any extra pressure on herself. Having flown under the radar most of her career, she would have been happy to walk into the sunset without the crowning glory of a major.
But the universe was conspiring for her. The US Open was her favorite Grand Slam event; she had made four quarterfinals and a semifinal in New York before. In the madness of the city, even on one-hour long drives from hotel to the stadium, she found a calmness that she strived for in other places. She kept going deeper into the tournament, defeating Simona Halep to reach her first final. In the other semifinal, Roberta Vinci eliminated world No.1 Serena Williams. An all-Italian clash was on, in the first time in history, and Pennetta was the favorite.
“I told my coach on the morning of the finals, no matter win or lose I am going to say that it is going to be my final Grand Slam.” It was also her best.
Pennetta didn’t know. She didn’t expect.
But she was there playing that last point in the last Grand Slam of the year, the last Grand Slam she would ever play. And commanding it. She smacked a forehand for winner, completing a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over her good friend Vinci. After 16 years on the tour, after 16 years of just trying, Pennetta had finally cracked the Grand Slam code.
“Why? How? I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe because you deserve it. Because you have been working so hard and it just happens. You are also lucky, but when you are, you also have to be ready to use that luck.”
Pennetta had seized the day. The good girl had finished great.
The Radwanska sisters – Agnieszka and Urszula – showed the true spirit of the holidays back home in Poland this past week, keeping a very charitable tradition going…
It’s time to crown the 2015 WTA Shot Of The Year. It started with all the WTA Shot Of The Month winners and the fans narrowed it down to the four best, two from each group.
• Final Group voting opens Monday, November 30 and ends Sunday, December 6 at 11:59pm ET
• The 2015 WTA Shot of the Year winner will be announced Monday, December 7
Final Group
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Angelique Kerber
August: Simona Halep
October: Agnieszka Radwanska
Group A Results
1. March: Agnieszka Radwanska (41%)
2. April: Angelique Kerber (29%)
3. February: Simona Halep (19%)
4. May: Agnieszka Radwanska (8%)
5. January: Maria Sharapova (3%)
Click here or below to watch Group A shots
Group B Results
1. October: Agnieszka Radwanska (38%)
2. August: Simona Halep (36%)
3. September: Agnieszka Radwanska (15%)
4. Vote In: Serena Williams (6%)
5. June: Ana Ivanovic (5%)
Click here or below to watch Group B shots
How it works:
Each Shot of the Month winner is placed into one of two groups.
The two shots from each group that received the most were placed into a final group.
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
Ninja, Magician, La Profesora – Agnieszka Radwasnka is known for her hot shots, and she took it to a whole new level in 2015. Here are some of her very best from the year!
A LOOK BACK
Dunlop Srixon World Challenge (Toyota, Japan): Seventh seed Yoshihito Nishioka capped a strong 2015 campaign with a dominant run in Toyota, capturing his second ATP Challenger Tour title 6-3, 6-4 over Alexander Kudryavtsev. The 20 year old is projected to rise to a career-high World No. 117 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, becoming the third-highest ranked Japanese behind only Kei Nishikori and Taro Daniel. Nishioka, who reached the quarter-finals at the ATP World Tour 250 event in Delray Beach and won his first Grand Slam match at the US Open, is the fourth different Japanese player to lift a trophy on the Challenger circuit this year (Daniel, Yuichi Sugita & Go Soeda).
Andria E Castel Del Monte Challenger (Andria, Italy): Ivan Dodig concluded his 2015 campaign in impressive fashion after reaching the doubles semi-finals at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Croat needed a strong finish on the indoor hard courts of Andria to end the year in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings and secure his place in the Australian Open main draw. He would run away with his third title in as many months and sixth overall on the Challenger circuit, downing Michael Berrer 6-2, 6-1 in 65 minutes on Sunday. In September, he won his first title in four years in St. Remy and a month later lifted the trophy in Brest. Projected to rise inside the Top 90, Dodig finishes with his sixth consecutive year-end Top 100 spot.
ATP Challenger Tour Finals (Sao Paulo, Brazil): Inigo Cervantes won his fourth title of the year, saving two match points to defeat Daniel Munoz-de la Nava in Sao Paulo. Read full report
WHAT’S AHEAD
That’s a wrap for the 2015 ATP Challenger Tour season. The circuit will be on a five-week hiatus before resuming with events in Argentina, Thailand, Australia and New Caledonia in January.
Inigo Cervantes survived a thrilling conclusion to the ATP Challenger Tour Finals, saving two match points to defeat countryman Daniel Munoz-de la Nava 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4) on Sunday in Sao Paulo.
“I’m glad that I won such an important and special final,” said Cervantes.
Cervantes became the first undefeated champion in the five-year history of the Challenger season finale, taking home $91,200 in prize money and 125 Emirates ATP Rankings points, which will see him soar to a projected career-high World No. 72. The Spaniard had just entered the Top 100 for the first time last week with a run to the Montevideo final.
Watch Top 5 Final Hot Shots
The Spaniard, who notched his second victory of the week over Munoz-de la Nava after earning a round robin win on Wednesday, is just the third player in ATP Challenger Tour history to claim 50 match wins in a season. His 50-20 win-loss mark puts him in the record books alongside Carlos Berlocq and Boris Pashanski. Berlocq won 57 matches in 2010 and Pashanski captured 51 in 2005.
“These numbers show how excellent my year was. Two years ago I was in a wheelchair without being able to play tennis or walk because of two hip surgeries. Now I have my best ranking. Next year I’ll have even bigger goals and I hope to get better and better.”
MOST MATCH WINS IN A SEASON
|
Player |
Year |
Match Wins |
|
Carlos Berlocq |
2010 |
57 |
|
Boris Pashanski |
2005 | 51 |
|
Inigo Cervantes |
2015 | 50 |
Cervantes looked to be in control from the start, breaking in the first game of the match with a perfectly executed drop shot. Two unforced errors from his compatriot gave the Spaniard a second break for 5-2. He would close out the first set in 30 minutes, behind consistent shotmaking.
Munoz-de la Nava received a walkover in his semi-final match after Guido Pella withdrew with a torn adductor muscle, and the 33 year old’s extra energy showed in the second set. He would break for 3-1 and forced a decider, opening the court with a more aggressive court position.
The third set featured a wild shift in momentum as a forehand winner from Munoz-de la Nava secured a break in the first game and he looked to be in position to run away with the title, reeling off eight straight points to consolidate for 2-0. But the Madrid native took his foot off the gas while serving for the match at 5-4. Cervantes saved two match points and converted his fourth break point of the 12-minute game to draw level. On serve at 5-4 in the ensuing tie-break, Cervantes blasted a forehand winner off a Munoz-de la Nava short ball and captured the title a point later after two hours and 10 minutes.
“We had faced each other four days ago,” Cervantes added. “I think I had to deal with a little more pressure because I had won four matches and he won two, because he didn’t play in the semis.
“Tennis is tough. In the first set it looked like the match would be easy for me, 6-2. I was really calm and Daniel making more mistakes than usual. However, a break in the second turned the match around and I saved match points in the third. But I could recover and win this match, that meant so much to me.”
Cervantes is the seventh player to save at least one match point in a Challenger final this year – four more than in 2014. He takes home his fourth title of the year, in addition to crowns in Ostrava (Czech Republic), Vicenza (Italy) and Marburg (Germany) and sixth overall.
MATCH POINTS SAVED IN A FINAL IN 2015
|
Final |
MP Saved |
Tournament |
|
Tim Smyczek d. Denis Kudla |
4 |
Tiburon |
|
Nikoloz Basilashvili d. Andrey Kuznetsov |
3 | Scheveningen |
|
Inigo Cervantes d. Daniel Munoz-de la Nava |
2 | ATP Challenger Tour Finals |
|
Matthew Ebden d. Denis Kudla |
2 | Surbiton |
| Noah Rubin d. Tommy Paul | 2 | Charlottesville |
| Benoit Paire d. Lucas Pouille | 1 | Mouilleron Le Captif |
| Andrej Martin d. Albert Montanes | 1 | Padova |
Munoz-de la Nava, meanwhile, falls to 3-4 in finals in 2015. He finishes the season with a 46-18 match record. “Congratulations to Inigo for such a great week. He’s a friend on the tour and really had an amazing year. Today’s match could have gone to any of us, but he left with the win and he deserved it.”
CARLSBAD, CA, USA – Yanina Wickmayer, a former Top 15 player, was at her vintage best as she captured the WTA 125K Series title in Carlsbad, edging WTA Rising Star Nicole Gibbs in the final.
The No.1-seeded Wickmayer came storming out of the gates, reeling off five games in a row to surge ahead, 5-0. Gibbs, the No.5 seed, sunk her teeth into the match from there – she won three of the next four games to drop a tight first set, 6-3, then won four of the next five to go up 4-1 in the second.
But Wickmayer has been ranked as high as No.12 in the world for a reason and she lifted her game when she needed it most, breaking back and eventually sneaking past the finish line, 6-3, 7-6(4).
It’s been a strong fall for the Belgian – she recently won her fourth WTA title at the International-level Japan Women’s Open Tennis in Tokyo, and now the WTA 125K Series-level Carlsbad Classic.
“It’s great finishing my year off with a title,” Wickmayer said after the final. “It’s my second title in a very short time, so I’m very excited and very happy to be able to finish my 2015 season in this way.”
Her other season highlights included two more WTA semifinals, at Prague and Guangzhou, as well as a run to the fourth round of the Australian Open – her first second week at a major since 2011.
“This week has been huge for next year,” Wickmayer explained. “It’s a very good start. I’ve been practicing next to my matches, so it’s very nice to see improvement and progress in my game.
“I’m very excited to start the 2016 season off this way as well.”
Gibbs, a former collegiate standout who has been working her way up the WTA Rankings over the last few years, was playing the biggest final of her career. She lives in California too (Santa Monica).
The doubles title went to the all-South American duo of Gabriela Ce and Veronica Cepede Royg, a Brazilian-Paraguayan combo, over top seeds Oksana Kalashnikova and Tatjana Maria, 1-6, 6-4, 10-8.
And so, the WTA 125K Series has officially wrapped up for the 2015 season. Carlsbad was the sixth stop on the circuit, with Jelena Jankovic winning in Nanchang, China, Zheng Saisai winning in Dalian, China, Yaroslava Shvedova winning in Hua Hin, Thailand, Caroline Garcia winning in Limoges, France, Timea Babos winning in Taipei, Chinese Taipei, and finally Wickmayer winning in Carlsbad, USA.
As of now, there are seven WTA 125K Series events scheduled for 2016: San Antonio, Texas, USA; West Hempstead, New York, USA; Bol, Croatia; Hua Hin; Limoges; Taipei; and Carlsbad.
Brit ahead in critical fourth rubber
Andy Murray is about to bring the Davis Cup back to Great Britain. The World No. 2 is leading Belgium’s David Goffin 6-3, 7-5 in the fourth rubber of the Davis Cup Final.
A Murray win would put the tie out of reach, 3-1, and give the visitors their first team title since 1936, when Fred Perry led the way against Australia on the grass of Wimbledon. Belgium and Great Britain last met at this stage in 1904, when the Brits swept the tie 5-0.
If Goffin can rally, then the fifth and deciding rubber will be contested later today.