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: Andreescu Wins 1st Major, Delaying Serena's Quest For 24

Defying my prediction, Bianca Andreescu defeated Serena Williams in the women's final of the 2019 U.S.Open 6-3 7-5 to win her first major final. The 19-year-old Canadian became her country's first major title winner (of any gender) and the first player born since 2000 to win a major title. (There is still no player born in the 1990s or the 2000s who has won a major title on the ATP tour.)

HOW THE TITLE WAS WON

For the fourth time in a row that she has played in four major finals since returning after getting married and having a baby, Serena was unable to play her best tennis. Despite winning the first point with an ace, Serena still got broken in her very first service game, by hitting a double fault on breakpoint. In fact, this was an augur of things to come, because Serena had an awful serving performance today, with only 44% of her first serves going in (compared to 66% of Andreescu's). But even from the back of the court, Andreescu was able to match (and at time, outmatch) Serena's power, and most definitely consistency. For the second US Open in a row, Serena played a player more than a decade younger who had won the Indian Wells tournament and who was completely unfazed by playing in her first major final. Some people say that Serena lost these matches to Osaka and Andreescu because the younger players played the "best match of their lives." I strongly disagree. They played well, but not extraordinarily so. Andreescu is always aggressive and today was no different. After losing in the first round of qualifying last year (and the year before), the 19-year-old won the entire tournament in her first maindraw appearance. In fact, she has won her first 8 matches against Top 10 players and will make her debut in the Top 10 herself at #5 on Monday. How many more majors will Andreescu win? Time will tell, but she appears to be the multi-slam winner women's tennis has been waiting for.

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 CANADA: Rafa Wins 35th Masters Title; Bianca Wins Canada As Serena Sobs

19-year-old Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian woman in 50 years to win her country's Canadian Open tennis championship when Serena Williams retired down 1-3 in the championship match on Sunday. Williams said she had had back spasms the night before and that "she couldn't move" and started sobbing on the court. Later, she went to Cincinnati for the Western & Southern Financial Open tournament but withdrew from her match there. Presumably the next time we will see Serena will be at the 2019 S Open which starts August 26. Andreescu is now #14 in the rankings, achieving the amazing feat of having her ranking be less than her age in record fashion. he has won her first 7 matches against Top 10 opponents. Many expect her to be in the Top 10 soon herself, and she is considered (by some) to be "in the mix" for the US Open. Naomi Osaka (despite losing in straight sets to Serena) regained the World #1 ranking due to Karolina Pliskova's loss to Andreescu early in the tournament.

Rafael Nadal won his 5th Rogers Cup title in Montreal, demolishing Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-0 in about 70 minutes. Amazingly, it was the first time in his career that Nadal had defended a hard-court (non-clay court) title, since he had won the 2018 Rogers Cup in Toronto last year. It's Nadal's 35th Masters series shield, increasing his lead over his rivals (Novak Djokovic has 33 and Roger Federer has 28). Nadal is the first player to win 2 Masters titles this year (having also won in Rome), while Federer won Miami and Djokovic won Madrid.

2019 CANADA: Serena In 1st Non-Major Final In 2 Years; Faces Bibi Andreescu (19YO)

For the first time in nearly two years Serena Williams is in the final of a regular tour-level tournament after reaching 3 major finals (2018 Wimbledon, 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Wimbledon) in that period. She will face 19-year-old hometown heroine Bianca (Bibi) Andreescu who is playing in her 3rd final of 2019 in the Rogers Cup final in Toronto, Ontario.

Serena has been playing excellent tennis in Canada. In the quarterfinals she finally got her first win over Naomi Osaka (in straight sets!) on Friday 6-3 6-4. Defending champion Simona Halep retired against Marie Bouzkova after losing the first set, Serena was forced to win a 3-set semifinal 1-6 6-3 6-3 against the Czech qualifier.

Andreescu is the first Canadian woman in 50 years to reach the final of the Canadian Open. She has made incredible strides and will be in the Top 20 on Monday for the first time.

2019 MIAMI OPEN: Osaka, Zverev, Kerber, Thiem Lose; Venus, Federer Move On, Serena Withdraws

Serena Williams had a tough 3-set match in her first match at the Miami Open and then withdrew with a right knee injury before withdrawing from her second match. She joined numerous other high profile entrants in the tournament who left early, including World #1 Naomi Osaka (who lost to the incredibly frustrating Hsieh Su-Wei), Angelique Kerber (who lost to 2019 Indian Wells champion Bianca Andreescu for the second time in 6 days!), Elina Svitolina, Garbine Muguruza and defending champion Sloane Stephens also have been bounced from the tournament.

On the men's side Roger Federer had a scare in his first match but survived in three sets against  Radu Albot, while Indian Wells champ Dominic Thiem was not so lucky and was defeated by Hubert Hurcazc in straight sets. Similarly, Sasha Zverev continues his underwhelming season after ending 2018 on a high by losing to soon-to-be-retired David Ferrer after reaching the final in Miami last year. 2018 Miami Open champion John Isner's title defense is off to a solid start by winning his first match in straight sets.

2019 INDIAN WELLS: Andreescu and Thiem Win Their Biggest Titles In Thrilling Upset Over Major Champs

Defying the predictions of many observers (including yours truly) Bianca Andreescu and Dominc Thiem won the women's and men's championships at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday. Andreescu received a wildcard into the event, becoming the first wildcard to win the title and the youngest player since Serena Williams won it at age 17 in 1999. Andreescu beat 3-time major champion Angie Kerber 4-6 6-3 6-4 in a very compelling contest which was decided by the 18-year-old Canadian's power and determination to win against her opponents guile, stamina and defense.

In the men's championship, Roger Federer won the first set and looked to be extending his streak of winning finals after having won the first set from 20 to 21 when Thiem raised his intensity and the power of his strokes to simply overpower the 100-time ATP singles champion. The 25-year-old Austrian was the tour leader in 2018 with the average speed of his groundstrokes on both wings (depsite a one-handed backhand) and in the final with Federer he exceeded his 2018 average in the match. The final score was 3-6 6-3 7-5. At 4-5 30-30 Federer came within 2 points of his 101st title when he approached the net on a good, deep cross-court approach shot only to find Thiem blasting a backhand directly at him which was too much to handle. A quick service winner later and Federer was unable to hold his serve at 5-all, getting his service broken and allowing Thim to serve out the championship with little hesitation.

Both youngsters came from behind in the match to win their biggest titles of their career. Of the two, Andreescu's was the more surprising result. Thiem has been known as a clay-court specialist, having reached (and lost) two Masters 1000 finals in Madrid and the 2018 Roland Garros final but with  a signature win over Federer (playing in his 9th Indian Wells final) on a hard court, Thiem showed he is  developing into an all-court player. Andreescu was playing in only her second WTA tour-level final and career earnings of $300,000; she earned $1.3 million on Sunday. There were echoes of last year when now World #1 Naomi Osaka was unseeded and won her first career title and then went on to win two consecutive hardcourt majors.