2019 WTA YEC: Barty Defeats Svitolina To Win Biggest Paycheck in Tennis

Ash Barty this weekend won the biggest paycheck in women's tennis history when she won US$4.42 million for winning the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen by defeating 2018 WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina. Barty has had an amazing 2019 tennis season (which technically is over because she is playing in the 2019 Fed Cup final next weekend against France in Perth, Australia). In 2019, after never being ranked higher than #15 in the World or reaching a major semifinal, she won the 2019 Roland Garros title and ascended to World #1, eventually earning the end-of-year #1 ranking for 2019.

At the WTA Finals (which she qualified for the first time this year, becoming one of the very few players to win it in their debut) she was able to come from behind against World #2 Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals to win 4-6 6-2 6-3 (as I predicted). Svitolina  had a  lot more trouble with Belinda Bencic than I expected, with the Swiss player becoming the 4th(!) to withdraw from the tournament, following the heels of Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and  Kiki Bertens. Bencic won the first set 7-5 against Svitolina but then had an injury in the second set, lost that 6-3 and finally withdrew from the match and tournament trailing 1-4 in the third.

I suspect Barty's year will come to a perfect end when she powers Australia past France in the Fed Cup.

2019 WTA YEC: Barty versus Pliskova, Svitolina versus Bencic

The semifinals of the WTA Year-End Championships, now called the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, are set for Saturday. They feature World #1 Ash Barty versus current World #2 Karolina Pliskova and 2018 defending champion Elina Svitolina versus Belina Bencic. Svitolina is now 8-0 in the last two year-end championships; she has never lost in the tournament so far and she is the first player to reach the semifinal stage without dropping a set since Serena Williams achieved that feat in 2014. Svitolina has beaten Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova and (2nd Alternate) Sofia Kenin all in straight sets to reach the knockout stage.

Barty leads Pliskova 3-2 and Bencic leads Svitolina 2-1 in the head-to-head matchups.

MadProfessah's predictions: Svitolina defeats Bencic (in 3) and Barty beats Pliskova (in 2).

TENNIS TUESDAY: Murray Wins 1st Title With Metal Hip; WTA Elite 8 Set; Shapo Wins First Title

ANDY MURRAY DEFEATS STAN WAWRINKA IN BATTLE OF COMEBACK KIDS
Former World #1 and 3-time major champion Andy Murray defeated 3-time major champion Stan Wawrinka 3-6 6-4 6-4 to win his first title since March of 2017. The tournament win is notable because both Murray and Wawrinka had extended departures from the tour due to injury, with Murray having a "hip resurfacing surgery" in January of this year which most people expected to completely end his competitive tennis career.

BENCIC GRABS LAST SLOT IN WTA TOUR FINAL BY WINNING KREMLIN CUP
Belinda Bencic continued her excellent 2019 season by grabbing the final slot in the Elite 8 season-ending WTA Tour Finals by winning the Kremlin Cup title over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Bencic only needed to reach the final to claim the berth but came back from a set to win her 4th career title.

SHAPOVALOV REACHES FIRST ATP TOUR FINAL IN 8 TRIES AND  WINS IT!
Denis Shapovalov of Canada had lost his first 7 ATP tour semifinals but at the Stockholm Open he reached the final and surprisingly won it with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Yuichi Sugita. The 20-year-old Canadian rejoins the Top 30 and gets bragging rights over his 19-year-old countryman Felix Auger-Aliassime who is higher ranked on the tour but has yet to win an ATP tour title despite reaching 2 finals this year.

ELITE EIGHT OF WTA TOUR FINAL SET (SERENA DOESN'T QUALIFY)

The competitors in the WTA Tour Finals (now called the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzen) are set: Ash Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova Belinda Bencic and Elina Svitolina.

2019 US OPEN: Women's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Serena Williams (USA) [8] vs Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15]

Here are my predictions for the women's final between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships. I will also predict the men's final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 1 of 2 men's semifinals,  4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I incorrectly predicted Serena Williams would defeat Naomi Osaka.

WOMEN'S SEMIFINALS REVIEW

Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15] d. Belinda Bencic (SUI) [13] 7-6(3) 7-5.  This was the first meeting between these two players and the score doesn't reflect the level of drama that resulted. Bencic was the better player for most of the first set; she had 6 break points to go ahead but Andreescu was able to win all of these pivotal points. Then in the tiebreak Bencic had her one double fault--a devastating mental error. However she rebounded strongly in the second set, quickly racking up a 4-1 (double break) lead. But in the very next game she inexplicably got broken at love and although she was able to break Andreescu again, the 19-year-old raised her game and from 2-5 down she was able to win 5 consecutive games (three service breaks!) to reach the US Open final in her major draw debut.

Serena Williams (USA) [8] d. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [5] 6-3 6-1. Serena continued the focused, destructive play she showed in her 6-1 6-0 quarterfinal to dismiss the World #5. The pivotal point of the match was the very beginning, when Serena fought off three break points to hold serve and then a 9-minute tussle occurred on Svitolina's serve which resulted in a 2-0 lead for Serena. Fron that point on the tension from the match was removed as Svitolina's shoulders slumped and Serena's eyes glittered with menace at the inevitable victory.

WOMEN'S FINAL PREVIEW

This is the fourth major final Serena has reached in the last 6 majors played; she has lost the 2019 Wimbledon final (lost to Simona Halep), the 2018 US Open final (lost to Naomi Osaka) and the 2018 Wimbledon final (lost to Angie Kerber). Since she returned to the tour after getting married and having her daughter Olympia Ohanian she has not won a single tournament and has been so overwhelmed by emotions she has been unable to player anyway near her best tennis in these finals and has yet to win a single set! I believe that will change today, but she it may be that for the first time in one of these finals she may be considered the underdog! That seems insane when you compare the 37-year-old 23-major champion facing a 19-year-old playing in her first major final but it is true. Bibi Andreescu has played 7 Top 10 players in her career and has won all 7 of them; Serena will be her 8th, and both will be in the Top 10 when the rankings come out on Monday. A year ago, Andreescu was not yet in the top 100 and since then she has won Indian Wells and Cincinnati. The last time she lost a completed match was in March!

All that being said, I think Serena will finally be able to play her tennis unencumbered by emotional baggage and in that scenario I still give her the edge against any active player.

MadProfessah's pick: Serena.

2019 US OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships.  I will also predict the men's semifinals. This year I predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals correctly and 2 of 2 women's semifinals correctly. 

Belinda Bencic (SUI) [13] vs. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15].  Bianca Andreescu is the real deal. The Canadian teenage phenom is playing in her first major draw at the US Open and is in to the semifinals without playing her very best tennis. How? She has a big game, and she is incredibly mentally tough. She outlasted Angie Kerber to win the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells in March and she won another major tournament in her hometown of Toronto when Serena retired with a back injury. Speaking of injury, Andreescu will jump from outside the Top 100 to the Top 10 on Monday despite being injured for nearly 4 months this year! Bencic has her own amazing story. She reached the quarterfinals of the US Open way back in 2014 when she was even younger than Andreescu is now and a horrible sequence of injuries generally prevented her from achieving the results that were expected. The two have never played each other before so it is hard to know what will happen. Bencic has the guile and tennis IQ of  a Latter-Day Hingis but Andreescu has a supernova-hot desire to win and a powerful game to back it up. It should be an incredible match. PREDICTION: Andreescu.

Serena Williams (USA) [8] vs. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [5].  Serena was devastating in her 6-1 6-0 demolition of Wang Qiang in her quarterfinal match, while Svitolina was just a bit better on the big points to ease past Jo Konta 6-4 6-4 in her quarterfinal. Serena and Svitolina have played 5 times and Serena has only lost once, but it was the last time they played, at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Svitolina is a much better player since then, and is playing in her second consecutive semifinal. Serena is playing in her 13 US Open semifinal and has a 9-3 record at this stage. I am hoping that she is mentally prepared for this match, because Svitolina is similar to Halep (whom Serena lost badly to in the 2019 Wimbledon final) with great movement and the ability to not make errors while retrieving a lot of attempted winners. Hopefully Svitolina will not be affected by the fact that her boyfriend Gael Monfils lost his chance to reach another major semifinal in a soul-sucking 5th set tiebreak due to not one but two double faults against Matteo Berretini. It should also be noted that Svitolina beat Venus Williams in the second round, so if she were to beat Serena she would be one of the rare people to beat both sisters in the same major tournament. Regardless, if Serena is focused and patient, which she has basically looked in every match (except for the Round of 16 against Petra Martic) she should prevail. PREDICTION: Williams.

2019 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships.  I have also predicted the men's quarterfinals. Last year I predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly. 

Naomi Osaka (JPN) [1] Belinda Bencic (SUI) [13] vs. Donna Vekic (CRO) [23].  Belinda Bencic has now completed a hat trick of victories in 2019 over 2-time major champion (and current World #1) Naomi Osaka. For some reason, Bencic's clever all-court game just matches up well against Osaka's power. The implications of this win are many: We are guaranteed a new US Open champion, there will be four different winners of the last four Grand Slams this year and Ash Barty will return to World #1 despite losing to Wang Qiang in the fourth round. Vekic plays similarly to Osaka (but doesn't move as well) but has also been having good results this year. Bencic has a slight 2-1 head-to-head lead over Vekic is playing in her first major quarterfinal, Bencic in her second. PREDICTION: Bencic.

Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15] vs. Elise Mertens (BEL) [25]. Andreescu is playing in her very first main draw of the US Open and has made it into the quarterfinals. She overpowered Taylor Townsend 6-1 4-6 6-1 in the fourth round, ruthlessly dispatching the tournament's feel-good story with power and resolve. There are only 8 players in the history of the tournament have achieved this feat and some of them have surnames like Williams, Evert and Austin. Brad Gilbert has picked the 15-seed to win the tournament and after watching that match I'm starting to become a Bibi-liever. PREDICTION: Andreescu.

Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [3]  Johanna Konta (GBR) [16] vs. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [5].  I was courtside on Louis Armstrong court on Sunday when Johanna Konta upended her 1-6 career head-to-head against World #3 Karolina Pliskova to score a tough 3-set win and reach her 3rd consecutive major quarterfinal of 2019. Svitolina is also playing in her 3rd major quarterfinal of the year and 9th of her career. Prior to Wimbledon she had previously lost every major quarterfinal she played in. This will be an even tougher ask for Konta than the Pliskova match because she has an 0-4 record against Svitolina but I think her game matches up well. This should be the best match of the four. I want to say that  I think Konta will win but somehow I think the fact that both Monfils and Svitolina are doing well simultaneously in New York will carry them both over the finish line. PREDICTION: Svitolina.

Serena Williams (USA) [8] vs. Wang Qiang (CHN) [18]. Serena won her fourth round in straight sets but roller her ankle during it. It was a rolled ankle (while holding match point) which led to a colossal collapse in Australia against Pliskova earlier this year (losing from 5-1 up in the 3rd set!) However, now she has had two days to recover and even with 75-80% physical fitness as long as she is mentally tough Serena should be able to win. She's now the only player remaining in the draw who has ever even been to a major final, making this a great opportunity to win another major title, her first as a mother. PREDICTION: Williams. 

2019 INDIAN WELLS: Federer-Thiem and Kerber-Andreescu Finals

The finals of Indian Wells are now set. Sadly, Fedal39 ended up being a bust because Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament (and, eventually, the Miami Open) a few hours before his semifinal clash with Roger Federer. Bizarrely, after getting a walkover from Gael Monfils in the quarterfinal, Dominc Thiem defeated Milos Raonic 6-4 in the 3rd set to reach his first final in the Desert. So Federer and Thiem will compete for the first Masters series title of the year. The two have a 2-2 head-to-head record, but both of Federer's wins have occurred on hard courts. Federer is playing in his 9th final in Indian Wells, but last year he lost the final here (after having match point!) against Juan Martin del Potro. I suspect that won't happen this year. MadProfessah's prediction: Federer.

The women's side of the draw has been the more interesting tournament. After Belinda Bencic continued her incredible win streak by taking out World #1 Noami Osaka and Karolina Pliskova before falling to Angelique Kerber in the semifinals. Venus Williams had a resurgence in form, reaching the quarterfinals, winning one of the best matches of the tournament against Petra Kvitova. However, the biggest story of the tournament was the performance of 18-year-old Canadian wildcard Bianca Andreescu. She is in the final of her first WTA premier mandatory tournament on the strength of beating Garbine Muguruza 6-0 6-1 in the quarterfinals and outlasting Elina Svitolina in the semifinals (6-4 in the 3rd set). However, she will face Kerber, who has shut down the two other red-hot players in the tournament already (Venus and Bencic) and can probably do it a 3rd time. MadProfessah's pick: Kerber.

2019 INDIAN WELLS: Djokovic(1),Osaka(1),Halep(2),Bertens(7),Cilic(10) All Lose!

Major upsets in the Desert today! Both World #1's lost. Novak Djokovic lost 6-4 6-4 to Philip Kohlschreiber while Naomi Osaka lost 6-3 6-1 to Belinda Bencic. Other seeds who lost included World #2 Simona Halep, World #10 Marin Cilic, World #7 Kiki Bertens among others.

Winners included Venus Williams  and Garbine Muguruza (reaching the quarterfinals).

TENNIS TUESDAY: Bencic, Tstisipas Win Titles; Federer Seeks #100; FAA Reaches 1st ATP 500 Final; Monfils Beats Stan To Win Title

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME REACHES FIRST ATP 500 FINAL IN RIO
18-year-old Canadian phenom Felix Auger-Aliassime (or FAA) became the youngest player to ever reach an ATP 500 final by playing in the Rio Open final against Laslo Djere. 23-year-old Djere won 6-3 7-5, but both players are now at career highs: FAA is at #60 and Djere shot up 53(!) slots to #37.

BELINDA BENCIC DESTROYS FIELD EN ROUTE TO WINNING IN DUBAI
Reminiscent of her historic 2015 breakout win in Montreal, Belinda Bencic, now 21, won the title in Dubai by defeating four Top 10 players along the way: Aryna Sabalenka, (defending champion) Elina Svitolina, World #2 Simona Halep and World #3 Petra Kvitova. Bencic beat 2019 Australian Open finalist Kvitova in the final, 6-3 1-6 6-2.

ROGER FEDERER IS CHASING ATP CAREER TITLE #100 THIS WEEK IN DUBAI
The men's tournament in Dubai starts this week and Roger Federer will be seeking his 100th career title in a field with Marin Cilic (who lost to Gael Monfils), kei Nishikori and Karen Khachanov (who also lost). Federer bear Phillipp Kohlschreiber and will face Fernando Verdasco for a quarterfinal slot.

STEFANO TSISTIPAS AND GAEL MONFILS WIN TITLES
NextGen phenom (and 2019 Australian Open semifinalist) Stefanos Tsiptsipas won his second career title this week by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin in Merseilles in straight sets. Gael Monfils won his 8th career title last week by outlasting Stan Wawrinka in Rotterdam 6-3 1-6 6-2. La Monf has an atrocious record in finals (8W-21L) so this was a good result for the 32-year-old Frenchman.

2018 WIMBLEDON: Kerber Outplays Serena To Win 3rd Major

Upending most observer's predictions including my own, Angelique Kerber outplayed Serena Williams 6-3 6-3 to win her 3rd major title and first Wimbledon title (on her second attempt).

The 30-year-old German became the first of her countrywomen to hold up the Venus Rosewater dish as Wimbledon champion since 22-time major champion Steffi Graf won the last of her 7 Wimbledon titles in 1996. By doing so, she denied Serena her 24th major and extended the American's quest to match (and then exceed) Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 major single titles won. The 36-year-old amazed many by returning to a major final in just her 4th match back from a year-long absence from the tour due to a successful pregnancy and difficult aftermath. Due to a historic flurry of upsets, the 25th seed did not have to face anyone in the Top 50 of the WTA until the semifinal, when she dispatched  Top 15 player Julia Goerges in straight sets. Meanwhile, Kerber did not drop a set despite facing a slew of talented and up-and-coming youngsters: 2017 French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko, Belinda Bencic, Daria Kasatkina and 2018 Indian Wells champ Naomi Osaka. This disparity in the competition was one reason some people suspected Kerber might win, but very few would have thought that Serena would fail to win a set in the final. Her loss brings her record to 23-7 in major finals and Kerber becomes the first woman (other than Venus Williams) to beat Serena in two major finals.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Kerber Soars To #2; Venus Returns To Indian Wells; Federer Has Knee Surgery

KERBER SOARS TO #2 FOLLOWING 2016 AUSSIE OPEN TITLE
After winning her first major title by surprisingly defeating Serena Williams in 3 tight sets in the 2016 Australian Open women's final on Saturday January 27th, the #7 seed jumped to World #2 in the rankings. The German player became the first woman from her country since Steffi Graf to win a major title, and the first to reach so high in the rankings. Her win also denied Serna her chance to match Graf's career major title haul of 22.

VENUS WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES RETURN TO INDIAN WELLS!
One year after her sister Serena returned to the second largest tennis tournament in America, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA, Venus Williams has announced that she will also be ending her unofficial boycott of the tournament. The two had last played the tournament in 2003 when they were scheduled to play each other in a semifinal and Venus withdrew a mere 30-minutes before the scheduled start time and the crowd got ugly (and racist). Anyway, Serena went on to win the tournament but the two vowed to never play their again. Since the William Sisters are from Southern California it has always been troubling for many that they have been a no-show at the tournament that is closest to their hometown. Anyway, that is over, because both Williams Sisters will be in the draw for the 2016 edition of the tournament. I expect I will be attending!

FEDERER INJURES KNEE HANGING OUT WITH HIS KIDS, WILL MISS 2 TOURNEYS
Roger Federer has undergone knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered the day after his devastating loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2016 Australian Open men's semifinals. He will miss the indoor hard court tournament in Rotterdam and the Dubai Duty Free Open (where he beat Djokovic to win his 84th major ATP title) but he will play Indian Wells.

CZECH FED CUP HERO IS KAROLINA PLISKOVA!? SEMIFINALS SET
The Fed Cup quarterfinals were played this weekend and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic kept the defending champs hopes alive with a gutsy doubles win with Barbara Strycova after also winning both of her singles matches against Romanians Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu. The semifinals are now set, with Czech Republic playing Switzerland and France playing the Netherlands. Switzerland took out Germany in a tough 3-2 match where Belinda Bencic was responsible for all 3 points, including defeating Kerber in straight sets. France took out Italy 4-1 and the Netherlands surprisingly dismissed Russia 3-1.

TENNIS TUESDAY: WTA Awards Announced, Fedberg Ends, Swiss Sweep Doubles In Rio?

WTA AWARDS ANNOUNCED AND WILLIAMS SISTERS WIN BIG
The WTA Awards were announced today and for the seventh time in her career Serena Williams was named the WTA Player of the Year. Other big awards announced were Doubles Team of the Year (Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza), Most Improved Player of the Year (Timea Bacsinszky), Newcomer of the Year (Daria Gavrilova) and Comeback Player of the Year (Venus Williams).

ROGER FEDERER ENDS COACHING RELATIONSHIP WITH STEFAN EDBERG
Roger Federer announced that Stefan Edberg will not be part of his coaching staff in 2016. Former ATP pro (and Federer friend) Ivan Ljubicic will join the team, with Severin Luthi remaining as head coach of Team Federer. Ljubicic had been coaching Milos Raonic for the last two years,

DOUBLES PAIRINGS FOR 2016 RIO OLYMPICS COMING INTO FOCUS
Federer has agreed to play Mixed Doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Martina Hingis, who is part of the current Best Doubles Team of the Year. Federer famously won the Men's Doubles With Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, so one would think that they would have a good chance in 2016 now that the team has 19 major singles titles between them. Additionally, the Women's Doubles team of Belinda Bencic (or Bacsinsky) with Hingis would be hard to beat. Could Switzerland sweep the doubles medals next year?

SHOCK! Serena Announces End of Her 2015 Season, Withdraws from China Open and WTA YEC

Serena Williams announced today that she was withdrawing from the China Open in Beijing and the WTA Year-End Championships in Singapore, bringing her 2015 professional tennis season to an early close. Despite losing her chance to accomplish the career grand slam by losing in the semifinals of the 2015 U.S. Open, the World #1 still won 3 major titles (Australia, Roland Garros and Wimbledon) winning 53 matches and losing 3 (to Roberta Vinci, Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic).

Serena's statement in full is below:

"It's no secret I've played injured most of the year -- whether it was my elbow, my knee, or, in the final moments after a certain match in Flushing, my heart. 

"I'm a fierce competitor. And I want to compete as well as I can, for as long as I can. So I am taking a proactive step and withdrawing from tournaments in Beijing and Singapore to properly address my health and take the time to heal. 

"This is a very difficult decision but one ultimately made because of the love of the game. 

"I plan to return to practicing and participating in exhibition matches later this year. And when I do, l will focus and focus and focus so I can continue my journey in this beautiful game."

Serena's withdrawal could cost her financially. She will lose $450,000 in potential bonus money because she did not end up playing the four mandatory Premier tournaments in 2015.

Even by ending her season in September Serena's list of accomplishments in 2015 is impressive.  She will end the year at World #1 for the fifth time in her career and next week, Serena will rise to #3 in the all-time list of most weeks at #1 (behind Steffi Graf at 377 and Martina Navratilova at 332) when she enjoys her 261st week at the top. She currently has such a huge lead at #1 that she will be #1 at least through the start of the 2016 Australia Open, where she will begin her quest to match Graf's gaudy total of 24 major career titles.

TENNIS TUESDAY: Davis Cup Final of GBR vs BEL Set For Clay; Jo Wins 3rd Metz; Aga Wins 2nd Pan-Pacific

DAVIS CUP FINAL BETWEEN BELGIUM AND GREAT BRITAIN SET FOR INDOOR CLAY NOVEMBER 27-29 IN GHENT
As expected when it became clear that the final two teams this year would be Great Britain led by 2-time major champion Andy Murray and Belgium led by Top 20 stalwart David Goffin, it was announced on September 23rd that the tie would be held on indoor clay, Murray's worst surface (and Goffin's best). Murray had initially said that he might skip the most lucrative and prestigious event of the year, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals held at the O2 Arena in London, in order to prepare for winning the Davis Cup for Great Britain, but is now reconsidering that idea.

JO-WILFRIED TSONGA WINS ALL-FRENCH BATTLE WITH GILLES SIMON TO CLAIM THIRD MOSELLE OPEN TITLE IN FIVE YEARS
The Moselle Open in Metz, France has been very good to French players. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has made the final there four out of the last five years. Last year David Goffin of Belgium beat Joao Sousa of Portugal. This year Tsonga faced Gilles Simon and he prevailed in three sets, 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-2 to win his 3rd title in Metz and his twelfth career title overall. This was his first title since his bravura performance last year in Montreal to win his 2nd ATP Masters title by defeating four Top 10 players (including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray).

AGGIE RADWANSKA BEAT BELINDA BENCIC TO WIN THE PAN-PACIFIC OPEN AND RETURN TO THE WTA TOP 10
Aggie Radwanska of Poland defeated Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the finals of the Pan-Pacific Open 6-2 6-2 to win her first title of 2015. Radwanska got revenge for a loss earlier in the season in the finals of Eastbourne against the teen phenom, who would have reached the Top 10 for the first time if she had won. Instead, with this win Radwanska returns to the Top 10 instead.

FLAVIA PENNETTA REACHES WORLD #6  DESPITE NOT PLAYING SINCE WINNING US OPEN
Things just keep on getting better and better for Flavia Pennetta. After fulfilling her dreams by winning a major title in New York City Pennetta returned to the Top 10, landing at #7. This week she rises one spot to #6 thanks to Caroline Wozniacki falling one spot. If she gets to the Top 5 she will join just two other Italian players, Sara Errani (who reached #5) and Francesca Schiavone (who reached world #4), who have ever been ranked that highly.

2015 ROGERS CUP: Serena Suffers 2nd Loss of Year (to 18yo Belinda Bencic)

I'm in San Diego playing in a tennis tournament myself so I have limited access to my blog. However, I was able to catch most of Serena's match in the semifinals of the 2015 Rogers Cup in Toronto last night against 18 year-old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.

Clearly Serena's elbow injury is real and it is impacting her serve. Serena lost to Bencic 3-6 7-5 6-4 in a taut, drama-filled encounter. Serena was on in the second set until the 8th game when she inexplicably got broken. Bencic had a set point serving at 5-3 and threw in a very nervous double fault. Serena pounced, broke back and then held serve for 5-all. But then, Serena had 0-40 on Bencic's serve and somehow failed to convert on any of those break points as well as a few others and the Swiss teenager held serve. Then Serena had to hold serve at 5-6 and started missing multiple serves (I think at one point she missed FIVE in a row) and got broken to lose the second set. She immediately demolished her racquet.

In the third set things went from bad to worse for Serena. She fell behind 1-5 when suddenly she calmed down and steadied her game. She brought it all the way back to 4-5 (breaking Bencic twice in succession) . In the final game Serena started with an ace but good returning by Bencic caused her to get behind in the points early and Serena eventually faced a break point which was also match point.
Bencic returned Serena's second serve well (first serve missed by a mile) and then was able to hit a winner to close out the match for an incredible win.

It was Serena's first 3-set loss of 2015 (now 15-1) and her first loss to a teenager since losing to Sloane Stephens in the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals. It was also Serena's only second loss of the year (now 41-2). She had 59 unforced errors and 64 winners (+5) while Bencic had 5 more errors than winners.

Bencic will face Simona Halep in the 2015 Rogers Cup final.

MadProfessah's prediction: Halep.

2014 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2014. Last year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Flavia Pennetta (ITA) [11].  For the second time in three years one quarter of the U.S. Open quarterfinalists are from Italy. The last time it happened the two Italians faced each other and for the last two years there has been an Italian semifinalist at the U.S. Open. However, I doubt that it will happen a third year in a row. Flavia Penetta has had her best results here in New York, and reached the semifinals last year (losing to Azarenka in two very ugly, error-prone sets). Unfortunately for Flavia, instead of being drawn to face Vika again, she has to play Serena, who, now that she is in the business end of a major for the first time in 2014 is more determined than ever to finally capture Major #18, especially since she is the only member of the WTA Top 10 left remaining in the draw.  PREDICTION: Williams.

Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [17] Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) [7] vs. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [16]. day For the first time in a major all year, the quarterfinals will not be graced with the presence of Genie Bouchard of Canada. Instead the powerful Russian lefty reached the final 8 of her second consecutive major tournament as well as her second consecutive U.S. open quarters here in New York  She did so by controlling her nerves and her shots while the most improved player of the year started wilting in the heat and humidity of Flushing Meadows. This will be Makarova's 5th major quarterfinal but she is 0-4 so far. She'll play Vika Azarenka who is gunning to reach her 3rd consecutive final and return to her place of prominence in women's tennis. Fortunately for Vika, she leads Makarova 3-2 in their career head-to-head including 2 wins on hard courts. PREDICTION: Azarenka.

Shuai Peng (CHN) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [9] Belinda Bencic (SUI). Peng is having a career-best performance in New York. She has already dismissed #4 seed Agnieska Radwanska, #14 Lucie Safarova and #28 Roberta Vinci to reach this far, so surely she won't falter against the unseeded teen sensation that is Belinda Bencic of Switzerland? Bencic, 17, is playing in her very first major quarterfinal, having surprised #9 Jelena Jankovic in a match only she and her coach Martina Hingis thought she could win. But Bencic won decisively. In some sense the Swiss player has had the more impressive road to get to this point, having dismissed two top 10 players (Jankovic and #6 Angelique Kerber). This match means so much to the players that it will almost certainly result in horrible tennis, and in the end it is very unlikely the victor will win their next match to reach their first career final. PREDICTION: Bencic. 

Sara Errani (ITA) [13] vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [10] Maria Sharapova (RUS) [5]. Wozniacki played one of the best matches of her life to absorb and redirect Maria Sharapova's powerful groundstrokes to outlast the 5-time major champion and earn a stunning (and rare) victory over one of the Big Babes of women's tennis. After seeing her ex-fiance' Rory Mcilroy go on to win two major golf championships after ending their relationship, Wozniacki has been playing with increased intensity and verve all summer long, with good results to show for it (like taking Serna Williams to 3 sets in both Montreal and Cincinnati) . With the upset of multiple top seeds from her half of the draw, the Dane is now the highest rated player in her half of the draw and she has always been an expert in beating players she is supposed to beat while coming up short against players with more power and stature than she has. Surprisingly, these two players have only met three times on tour and although Wozniacki leads 2-1 she hasn't played La Grande Sara since the Italian became ensconced in the Top 10 of women's tennis. No matter, this is a golden opportunity for Wozniacki and I would be shocked if she didn't take advantage of it to reach her 2nd major final and a chance to (finally) win her first major title. PREDICTION: Wozniacki.