2019 US OPEN: Thiem, Tsitsipas, Khachanov, RBA, Stephens, Kerber Lose 1R

The first round of the U.S. Open is complete and there have been numerous shock exits on the men's side of the draw. 4 Top 10 seeds have lost: Dominic Thiem(4), Stefanos Tsitsipas(8), Karen Khachanov(9) and Roberto Bautista Agut(10) which is a lot! On the women's side of the draw the biggest names to go out are 2017 US Open champ Sloane Stephens, 2004 US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova and 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova and 2016 US Open champion Angelique Kerber. Additionally, 2-time major champ Garbine Muguruza(24) lost as well.

Of the first rounds to watch I mentioned in my 2019 US Open preview post, this is what happened:

• S. Williams (8) defeated M. Sharapova 6-1 6-1
• A. Sabalenka (9) defeated V. Azarenka
• S. Kenin (20) defeated C. Vandeweghe 
• D. Shapovalov defeated F. Auger-Aliassime (18)
• R. Opelka defeated F. Fognini (11)
• S. Tsitsipas (8) lost to A. Rublev
• N. Kyrgios (28) defeated S. Johnson

I'll be at the US Open all day this Sunday so I hope I see some good matches!

2019 WIMBLEDON: Women's Quarterfinals Preview and Predictions

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.  I have also predicted the men's quarterfinals. Last year I predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly and 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly. 

Ashleigh Barty (AUS) [8] Alison Riske (USA) vs. Serena Williams (USA) [11]. Alison Riske is one of the closest things tennis has to a grass-court specialist. Her winning percentage on grass is 20+ higher than it is on all other surfaces. She has the most grass court wins of any player (14!) on the WTA tour this year. So it was an upset but not exactly a surprise that the 29-year-old American was able to oust the #1 seed Ash Barty from the tournament today. It hasn't been easy for Riske; all 4 matches she has won have gone three sets. excellent tennis. Serena has (again!) played her way into excellent form in a major again, and her last two matches have demonstrated the qualities which always make her a threat at SW19: best serve of all time in the women's game and her overwhelming power combined with deadly accuracy. Happily for Serena she played Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the Round of 16, a player who has lost every set the two have played, never having won more than 3 games in those sets. Serena won 6-2 6-2 this time. Riske and Serena have never played before, but the two do know each others games, somewhat, having played doubles together. I do think Serena will have much more trouble with Riske than Suarez Navarro, but I don't see her losing a set on her way to yet another major semifinal. PREDICTION: Williams.

Johanna Konta (GBR) [19] vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE).  Johanna Konta is Great Britain's great hope to win a major on the women's side. She is coming off of a semifinal run at Roland Garros, which since it is her worst surface, should provide her great confidence that she can at least reach that level here at her home major. Mental toughness is becoming a hallmark of Konta's resurgence. She has won 14 of the last 15 three-set matches she has played, including two against two major champions in Sloane Stephens in the 3rd round and Petra Kvitoba in the 4th. To reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time in 3 years she will need to outlast the tenacious Barbora Strycova who likes grass and has defeated Elise Mertens and Kiki Bertens, two seeds, in the last two rounds. Hometown advantage should prevail. PREDICTION: Konta.

Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [2] Karolina Muchova (CZE) vs. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [8]. Elina Svitolina has reached 5 major quarterfinals but has never been able to win a match to reach a major semifinal. She will be facing a first-time major quarterfinalist in Karolina Muchova who won an epic match of the Czech Karolinas by defeating #3 seed (and 2019 Eastbourne champion) Karolina Pliskova 13-11 in the third-set. This is Svitolina's best chance to finally breakthrough at a slam, and I suspect she will make it count. PREDICTION: Svitolina. 

Simona Halep (ROU) [7] vs. Shuai Zhang (CHN). Halep finally ended the fairy tale run of 15-year-old American Coco Gauff who made the round of 16 in her major tournament debut, becoming the youngest player to reach this far in well over 20 years. Halep won relatively easily, 6-3 6-3, and is now the highest seed remaining in the draw. She earlier dismissed 2-time major champion Victoria Azarenka surprisingly easily, in a match many observers expected her to lose. Shuai Zhang has completed multiple upsets, having beaten Caroline Wozniacki and Caroline Garcia in straight sets earlier in the tournament. I doubt that she will be able to complete another one and expect Halep to reach her second semifinal at Wimbledon. PREDICTION: Halep.

2019 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview (and Predictions)

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

Naomi Osaka (JPN) [1] Madison Keys (USA) [14] vs. Ashleigh Barty (AUS) [8]. Although it may seem surprising, Madison Keys actually plays some of her best tennis on clay courts. She reached the semifinals in Paris last year (where she was again not able to play her best tennis against her best friend on tour Sloane Stephens in another huge match). Both of these players have not been talked about much this year while 4/5ths of the World top 5 was crashing out in the early rounds (#1 Naomi Osaka and #2 Karolina Pliskova lost early  while #4 Kiki Bertens and #5 Petra Kvitova withdrew) but both have reached the business end of the tournament playing excellent tennis. Curiously, their head-to-head is tied at 1-apiece with Barty having won their last match (in Fed Cup) but Keys having won the one time that played on clay (two years ago). I'm going with Maddy. PREDICTION: Keys.

Simona Halep (ROU) [3] vs. Ananda Anisimova (USA).  This is Anisimova's major second week debut, which is pretty amazing for a 17 year old. The American phenom becomes the first person, male or female, born in the 21st century to reach a major quarterfinal. Halep completely destroyed her opponent in the previous round and is the defending champion here. I believe she will reach the final again, although I do think the youngster will acquit herself well. PREDICTION: Halep.

Kiki Bertens (NED) [4] Johanna Konta (GBR) [26] vs. Sloane Stephens (USA) [7].  This may be the most exciting of the four quarterfinals. Konta has never won a match in the main draw of the French Open before (is she going to try and pull a feast-or-famine performance reminiscent of 2017 winner Jelena Ostapenko?) while Stephens was in last year's final. Konta has been getting reasonably good results on clay, however, and has beaten Sloane twice this year (just a few weeks ago, on clay, in Rome as well as in Brisbane. However, I think that Sloane's game is bigger and more flexible that she can find different ways to win, which is really not true of Konta. PREDICTION: Stephens. 

Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [2] Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) vs. Petra Martic (CRO) [31]. Yet another teenaged phenom in the final 8 of a major. Czech lefty Marketa Vondrousova has been one of the hottest players on tour all year long. Curiously, these two have already an established rivalry going, with Martic up 4-0 in the head-to-head, including in the final of the clay court tournament in Istanbul a month ago. Sometimes a bad matchup is a bad matchup. PREDICTION: Martic.

2019 FRENCH OPEN: Draw Analysis and Predictions

The 2019 French Open in Paris starts tomorrow. A year ago I was on my vacation and attended the opening day session (and was in the 2nd row to watch Venus Williams lose to Qiang Wang and Sasha Zverev demolish ). The defending champions are Rafael Nadal (d. Dominic Thiem) and Simona Halep (d. Sloane Stephens). However, the top seeds are World #1 Novak Djokovic  and Naomi Osaka, who have both won the last two major tournaments (2019 Australian Open and 2018 U.S. Open) while Djokovic is going for his second career "Nole Slam"!

The draws have been released and these are the projected quarterfinals

MEN'S DRAW

• N. Djokovic [1] versus A. Zverev [5]
• D. Thiem [4]     versus J. Del Porto [8]
• R. Federer [3]  versus S. Tsitsipas [6]
• R. Nadal [2]     versus K. Nishikori [7]

WOMEN'S DRAW

• N. Osaka [1] versus A. Barty [8]
• K. Bertens [4] versus S. Stephens [7]
• S. Halep [3] versus P. Kvitova [6]
• Ka. Pliskova [2] versus  A. Kerber [5]

FIRST ROUNDS TO WATCH

• Aryna Sabalenka [11] versus Dominika Cibulkova
• Victoria Azarenka versus Jelena Ostapenko
• Venus Williams versus Elina Svitolina [9]
• Feliciano Lopez versus Ivo Karlovic
• Mischa Zverev versus Richard Gasquet
• Taylor Fritz versus Bernard Tomic

PREDICTIONS:

Men's Final: Djokovic d. Nadal.

Women's Final: Halep d. Kerber.

2019 MIAMI: Federer-Isner, Barty-Pliskova Finals Set

The finals of the 2019 Miami Open are set. In the women's draw, World #5 Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic will face World #11 Ash Barty of Australia for their biggest title. The two have a 2-2 head-to-head and both have played well in Miami to reach this spot. Barty beat Petra Kvitova in her draw while Pliskova beat World #2 Simona Halep. With a win Pliskova will rise to World #2 and Barty will enter the Top 10 regardless of the outcome. I saw their last match, which was in the 4th round of the 2018 US Open, won by Pliskova in two tight straight sets. Madprofessah's pick: Barty.

In the men's draw, John Isner is the defending champion and has surprisingly made it back to the final, for only the 5th time in a Masters Series 1000 event (1-3 record). He will be playing Roger Federer who is playing in his fiftieth(!) Masters final (27-22 record) and second consecutive final. He lost to Dominc Thiem in a tough 3-set match two weeks ago. He has a 5-2 head-to-head advantage against Isner, but the last time they played the big man won a 3rd set tiebreak in the Paris Indoors. That being said I think Federer will figure out a way to claim his 101st career title. MadProfessah's pick: Federer.

2018 WTA YEC: Svitolina Wins Her Biggest Title, Outlasting Stephens 36 62 62

Elina Svitolina won the biggest title of her career by defeating 2017 US Open champion and 2018 French Open finalist Sloane Stephens 3-6 6-2 6-2 to win the 2018 WTA BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore. Svitolina still has not reached a major final despite being in the Top 10 of the WTA tour for well over a year; her win here leaves her at World #4 for the 2018 season. Both Svitolina and Stephens were undefeated in round robin play to reach the semifinals, with Stephens defeating Karolina Pliskova (despite losing the first set 6-0!) and Svitolina outlasted the surprise semifinalist Kiki Bertens in three sets to reach the most important match of the year.

2018 WTA YEC: Draw Is Set (Halep Withdraws); Osaka, Kerber, Stephens in Same Group

The WTA Year End Championships is starting in Singapore this weekend. Participation is restricted to the Top 8 performers on the WTA tour, which usually (but not always) includes the winners of the 4 Grand Slam tournaments through out the year. This is the last year the

Last year's winner was Caroline Wozniacki who used that momentum to win her first major at this year's Australian Open. This year's French Open winner (and year-end #1) is Simona Halep but she had to withdraw, giving a chance to Kiki Bertens to become the first Dutch player in over two decades to make the Elite Eight. 2018 Wimbledon champion Angie Kerber and 2018 US Open champion Naomi Osaka round out this year's honor roll of major champions. However, there are two other major champions in the draw, Sloane Stephens, 2017 US Open champ, and Petra Kvitova, 2-time Wimbledon champion.

The final 8 are placed into 2 groups of 4 each and then play round-robin tournament to identify the top two in each group, who then play elimination semifinals against members from the other group to reach the final.Last year, Wozniacki defeated Venus Williams.

The two groups are:

• Red Group 

• [1] Angelique Kerber 

• [3] Naomi Osaka 

• [5] Sloane Stephens 

• [8] Kiki Bertens 

• White Group 

• [2] Caroline Wozniacki 

• [4] Petra Kvitova 

• [6] Elina Svitolina 

• [7] Karolina Pliskova

The Red Group in my opinion is the tougher group. Interestingly, Steohens has the head-to-head edge here, while Kvitova has the edge in the White Group (these are problematic names, by the way, why not use names of famous former champions, like the men do?).

I predict that Wozniacki and Kvitova will emerge from the White Group and Stephens and Osaka will emerge from Red Group. Singapore is a relatively slow indoor hard court, which I would give a slight edge to Kvitova overall.

2018 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the US Open for 2018. Last year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 2 of 4 men's quarterfinals.  I also have  a prediction for the men's quarterfinals.

Serena Williams (USA) [17] Simona Halep (ROU) [1] vs. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [8]. First I would like to recognize Kaia Kanepi, the hard-hitting veteran Estonian who took out my pick for the 2018 US Open title and played a nerveless, entertaining match against Serena Williams in the 4th round on Sunday despite losing the first set 6-0 in under 19 minutes. I believe that was exactly the match Serena needed to prepare her for this showdown with Karolina Pliskova who last beat her on this court just two years ago, in the 2016 US Open semifinals, just a few rounds after beating Venus Williams. last meeting in Stuttgart this year and they also split their 2 hard court matches. I saw Pliskova overwhelm Ash Barty the round before and she actually moves better than I expected (she's no Lindsay Davenport!) But Serena hates to lose to players in consecutive matches so she will be well prepared for this match. In some sense, her tough draw may actually have helped her raise the level of her game, which is approaching the level she was at pre-pregnancy. It's somewhat surprising these two have only played twice, so Serena has not really been active on the WTA tour as Pliskova became World #1 (briefly) and remains ensconced in the Top 10. As others have noted, one blaring hole in Serena's comeback to the tour this year has been her inability to win against Top 10 players this year and Pliskova will be her first she will be facing in New York. Despite that, I think Serena will find a way to reach yet another semifinal in New York.  PREDICTION: Williams.

 Anastasja Sevastova (LAT) [16] Elina Svitolina (UKR) [4] vs. Sloane Stephens (USA) [3]. This is a rematch of last year's quarterfinal which was quite a barnburner. Stephens had to come back from 1-3 down in the final set. Sevastova clearly plays her best tennis in New York and is completely unafraid of big stages. I saw her demolish the #7 seed Elina Svitolina in the relative obscurity of the Grandstand court on Saturday (winning 6-0 in the final set). We are no longer surprised by Stephens success in big matches, as her World #3 ranking and 2 major finals in the last 12 months have demonstrated. How the defending champ takes care of someone who gave her so much trouble last year will tell us a lot about whether Stephens will be able to defend her title as she most likely will face the ultimate test in Serena Williams. I believe she will beat Sevastova, but I don't think it's going to be easy. PREDICTION: Stephens.

Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) [30] Maria Sharapova (RUS) [22] vs. Madison Keys (USA) [15].  It's a quirk  of fate that Suárez Navarro's birthday falls in early September, so she has often had to play very important matches in her career on this date. 5 years ago when she turned 25 she famously lost to Serena Williams without winning a single game. Things did not look good when she was scheduled to play Maria Sharapova at night in Arthur Ashe stadium, where the 5-time major champion was 23-0. However, Suárez Navarro  was undeterred and although it was not a pretty match (both players were serving horrendously) it was quite entertaining. The Spaniard is mostly known for her clay court prowess but she has reached multiple quarterfinals at all the slams but Wimbledon. She has a one-handed backhand and is a great mover. The result was that she was able to end Sharapova's streak and dismiss the Russian in straight sets. Her opponent will be another big hitting, big serving player who moves a bit better: Madison Keys. Keys continued her domination of Dominika Cibulkova who looked a bit tired after her upset of Angie Kerber on Saturday in three sets. The fact that Keys is undefeated against Cibulkova is mysterious; the Slovak is too good a mover to be blasted off the court, but typically this is what happens in their matches, because Cibulkova likes to do that to her opponents, and with Keys she faces someone who goes for broke even earlier than she does. Keys is 3-0 against each of the players she could face to reach her second consecutive US Open final: Suárez Navarro, Osaka or Tsurenko. Will she do better dealing with the mental expectations of success this year than last year? I hope so. PREDICTION: Keys. 

Naomi Osaka (JPN) [20] vs. Lesia Tsurenko (UKR). It looks like 2018 may finally be the year for the breakout by the biracial 20-year-old Naomi Osaka into the big leagues of women's tennis. She won Indian Wells in a battle of the youngsters by defeating Daria Kasatkina (and a bevy of Top 10 players). However the rest of her season has been pretty quiet until reaching New York where she has been making a lot of noise by cutting through the draw like a scythe, losing only 7 games in the first three rounds. In the 4th round she faced a fellow youngster, 20-year-old Aryna Sabalenka who has been the hottest player on tour for most of the American summer hard court season. The two played a see-saw match which involved multiple breaks of serve and swings of momentum in the deciding set and ended on a double fault. (Happily I was in the stands at Louis Armstrong watching with delight.) The tennis was tension-filled because both players knew that they would have to face an unseeded player in their quarterfinal to reach the 2018 US Open semifinal. It looked that opponent would be 19-year-old lefty Marketa Vondrousova from Czech Republic but somehow 30-year-old Lesia Tsurenko was able to battle back and survive the brutal sun and humidity yesterday on the Grandstand court to deny the youngster. I don't think she'll be able to do that again.  PREDICTION: Osaka. 

2018 US OPEN: Draw Preview and Tournament Predictions

The 2018 US Open, the last major of the year, starts tomorrow on Monday August 27. I will be attending the tournament, as I often do, in the middle weekend this Saturday to Monday. I'm looking forward to seeing the new Louis Armstrong stadium. Hopefully neither roof will be necessary while I'm in New York.

The defending champions are Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens. Interestingly, both reached the final of the French Open this year, with Nadal winning his 11th title in Paris and Stephens losing her first ever tour final against Simona Halep. Halep is the #1 player in the world and the #1 seed, as is Nadal.

Women's Draw (Preview and Predictions)
Serena Williams was seeded #17 and is in the same quarter as her sister Venus, which could lead to a 3rd round match-up. I doubt that will happen though, because Venus, who reached the semifinal last year before losing to the eventual champion, will face an in-form Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round. Other first-round matches to watch are Garbine Muguruza versus Zhang Shuai (who upset Venus in the French Open first round this year), Johanna Konta versus Carolina Garcia, Maria Sharapova versus Patty Schnyder (blast from the past!) and Andrea Petkovic versus Jelena Ostapenko. The expected  women's quarterfinals (if seedings hold) are:

• Simona Halep ROU [1] versus Karolina Pliskova CZE [8]
• Sloane Stephens USA [3] versus Elina Svitolina UKR [7]
• Angelique Kerber GER [4] versus  Caroline Garcia [6] 
• Carolina Wozniacki DEN [2] versus Petra Kvitova [5]

However, I am picking my semifinalists to be Halep versus Stevens, and Ostapenko versus Kiki Bertens, with a Halep-Ostapenko final and a Halep win.

Men's Draw (Preview and Predictions)

The men's side should be exciting with all of the Big 4 (or 5) competing in the same tournament for the first time in nearly two years. Andy Murray will be playing his first grand slam match since Wimbledon 2017 against Jamie Duckworth of Australia. Amazingly, for the second major in a row, Stan Wawrinka will meet Grigor Dimitrov [8] in the first round. This time when the Swiss wins it will not be considered an upset, because his level of play has risen since Wimbledon while Dimitrov's has fallen. Other mouthwatering first-round matchups include: Frances Tiafoe against Adrian Mannarino, Felix Auger-Aliassime versus Denis Shapovalov, and two all-Spanish matchups: Nadal versus David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez versus Fernando Verdasco.

The expected men's quarterfinals (if seedings hold) are:

• Rafael Nadal ESP [1] versus Kevin Anderson RSA[5]
• Juan Martin del Potro ARG [3] versus Grigor Dimitrov BUL [8]
• Sascha Zverev GER [4] versus  Marin Cilic[7] 
• Roger Federer SUI [2] versus Novak Djokovic [6]

My predictions are for the semifinals to be Nadal versus Del Potro (like last year!) and Cilic versus Djokovic, with a Nadal-Djokovic final and a Djokovic victory.

MadProfessah championship predictions: Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep.

2018 CINCY: Finals are Halep-Bertens, Federer-Djokovic XLVI

The finals of the 2018 Western and Southern Financial Open in Cincinnati are set. The ATP Masters  tournament has two players remaining: 2018 Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and 2018 Australian Open champion Roger Federer. This is an epic showdown that is occurring for the 46th time in their careers (with Djokovic leading their head-to-head 23-22) and for the fourth time in the Cincy final. Federer won the three previous meetings which have occurred like clockwork every 3 years since 2009. Djokovic has won all of the other 8 ATP Masters tournaments and would become the first man to win all 9 ATP Masters shields in his career (Miami, Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Canada, Cincinnati, Paris, Shanghai). Both Nadal and Federer have only won 7 of the 9. Nadal is 0-5 in Miami finals and Djokovic is 0-5 at Cincinnati finals. Nadal has the record for the most ATP Masters shields with 33 (Djokovic has 32), and won one last week when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals of Canada's Rogers Cup in Toronto.

On the women's side, Simona Halep is facing Kiki Bertens in the Cincy Open final, one week after she outlasted Sloane Stephens in a thrilling 3-set reprise of the 2018 French Open final. If Halep wins today, then the 2018 French Open champion would become the first woman to win the Canada/Cincinnati double. She is currently on a 9 match winning streak. Bertens is having a remarkable 2018, having already beaten 9 Top 10 players, including Venus Williams at Wimbledon and Petra Kvitova yesterday in Cincinnati and last week in Montreal, Canada. The Dutch player had been known as a "clay court specialist" but has been having remarkable results on grass and hard courts this year.

MADPROFESSAH'S PREDICTIONS

Federer d. Djokovic.
Halep d. Bertens.

2018 Wimbledon: Venus, Serena, Roger Win; Sloane (4), Svitolina (5), Dimitrov (6) Upset in 1R

The first day of Wimbledon brought few surprises. Defending champion Roger Federer won his match easily. He did manage to create headlines, mainly by his attire. He walked on court wearing an outfit by UNIQLO, not Nike, for the first time in well over 15 years. He still has Nike shoes. Apparently, Federer has agreed to a deal which pays him $30 million every year for the next 10 years (regardless of whether he plays tennis or not!) to serve as their "worldwide brand ambassador."

There were some upsets on the court: Donna Vekic beat 2018 French Open finalist and #4 seed Sloane Stephens in straight sets, and then her boyfriend, Stan Wawrinka beat #6 seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets. Also, 2018 Halle champion Borna Coric lost a first-round tussle with fellow NextGen star Daniil Medvedev, opening up Federer's draw.

Both Venus and Serena won their first round matches. Venus lost the first set in a tiebreak but then won the last two sets easily. Serena struggled against a good grasscourt player Arantxa Rus but managed to win two tight sets. However she got some good news when the #25 ranked player had the Top 8 seed in her quarter (#5 seed Elina Svitolina) of the draw removed in 3-sets by Tatjana Maria.

Some of the interesting first round matches I mentioned in my 2018 Wimbledon Draw analysis post occurred.

INTERESTING FIRST ROUND MATCHES TO WATCH OUT FOR

• Dimitrov versus Wawrinka (Dimitrov lost in 4 sets)
• Andy Murray versus Benoit Paire (Murray withdrew the day before the tournament started)
• Gael Monfils versus Richard Gasquet (Monfils won relatively easily in straight sets)
• Dominic Thiem versus Marcos Baghdatis
• Jeremy Chardy versus Denis Shapovalov
• Fernando Verdasco versus Frances Tiafoe
• Angie Kerber versus Vera Zvonareva (Kerber won in two tight sets on Day 2)
• Alize Cornet versus Dominika Cibulkova
• Shuai Peng versus Samantha Stosur
• Belina Bencic versus Caroline Garcia
• Svetlana Kuznetsova versus Barbora Strycova (Strycova won in 2 tight sets)

2018 FRENCH OPEN: Simona Halep Wins 1st Major (Over Sloane Stephens)

As I predicted, World #1 Simona Halep of Romania won her first major title today, defeating American Sloane Stephens 3-6 6-4 6-1. This was a seesaw match that resembled last year's final with Jelena Ostaphenko but this time Halep was the one who came back from a set and break down to even the match and then ran away with the deciding set as Stephens seemed to tire and lose focus as she lost the first five games and then avoided the bagel by holding once but lost the match when Halep easily served it out to win the championship.

Halep joins great players like Chris Evert and Kim Clijsters who lost their first 3 major finals and then went on to win multiple majors. She strengthens her case as the best player in the world, having been ranked #1 for most of the last year and is now also a major champion.

HOW THE FINAL WAS WON
The match began with Halep looking extremely tight and making several unforced errors in the first game. One of Stephens' strengths is her metal equanimity and she calmly broke early and consolidated it to go up 3-1. Play stayed on serve with Sloane making very few errors and Halep pressing and overhitting; she lost the set 6-3. She then had the worst possible start to the second set by losing her serve and Sloane again consolidated and went up 2-0. Then, amazingly in the 4th game, serving 2-1 up, Sloane appeared to get nervous and and started making errors to lose the next three games and go down 2-4. However, the plot twists continued because now Halep was unable to maintain her lead and was broken while serving up 4-3 and the score was tied all up at 4-all. Halep then held her serve and in the 10th game earned a breakpoint which was a set point. She won the point and the match was dead even. Stephens definitely looked shaken and Hlep looked determined. She got behind in the first service game of the third set but was able to hold and after that really didn't look back, racing out to a 5-0 lead and eventually won the match 6-1 in the 3rd.

2018 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Simona Halep (ROU) [1] vs Sloane Stephens (USA) [10]

Here is my predictions post for the women's final at the 2018 French Open. Last year I incorrectly predicted that Simona Halep would defeat Jelena Ostapenko. This year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

WOMEN'S SEMIFINALS REVIEW

Simona Halep (ROU) [1] d. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [3] 6-1 6-4.  This was expected to be a tough 3-setter but the World #1 ran away with the first set, doing to Muguruza what she did to Sharapova in her quarterfinal match. The second set was far more competitive, with Muguruza earning an early break but then was unable to maintain the advantage to the end of the set and was broken in the 8th game. The key turning point of the match was the epic 9th game with Halep serving. Muguruza had multiple breakpoints but was unable to convert, despite the fact Halep was missing more than two-thirds of her first serves. However eventually (after 13 minutes) she was able to hold and serving to stay in the match Muguruza faded quickly, succumbing to a love break to lose the set and the match.

Sloane Stephens (USA) [10] d. Madison Keys (USA) [13] 6-4 6-4. This was a closer match than their match at the 2017 US Open final, because this time Madison could actually control some of her emotions and was able to show the hard-hitting tennis that makes her one of the most feared opponents on the WTA tour. But her good friend Sloane, who is just two years older (25 instead of 23) appears to be more than 2 year more mature than Madison and this shows in how they treat big matches. Sloane has only lost 1 set in her 6 tour finals she has appeared in, while Madison has only won 3 titles. Despite all that the match score line ended up being relatively close, even if the result of the match never felt much in doubt primarily due to the lack of unforced errors coming off the Sloane racquet compared to the large number Madison was hitting.


WOMEN'S FINAL PREVIEW
For the second time in the last three major tournaments both of these players will be appearing in their secod major final. Sloane at  the 2017 US Open while Halep's was at the 2018 Australian Open. (Halep is also appearing in her 3rd Roland-Garros final). Sloane is definitely the mentally tougher of the two, sporting a perfect 6-0 in WTA tour finals while Halep has a less than stellar 16-14 record in finals. However the two have played 7 times before and Halep leads 5-2. Interestingly, most pundits seem to be giving Stephens the edge in this match up but I'm not so sure. I'll be happy with either player winning, but I think I would be happier if Halep were to finally get that inaugural slam win and cement her standing at the top of the women's game. After all, if she loses her first four major finals that may start reducing the belief that she will actually win one of these eventually. Last year Halep was the prohibitive favorite against Jelena Ostapenko and played like it for a set and a half but when thing started to get tight Halep crumbled and lost after being up a set and a break ahead. I do believe she has learned from these experiences and the fact that Sloane is a known quantity should assist Halep in treating this like a regular tour match, in which case she would win easily. The problem is that it's not just a tour match and as the end of the match approaches I think Halep will have even more difficulty handling the pressure. However, with all that being said, I still give her the edge to (finally) win her first major title. PREDICTION: Halep. 

2018 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2018 French Open. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 1 of 2 women's semifinals, 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals, and 2 of 2 men's semifinals. This year I correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals; I am also going to predict the men's semifinals.

Simona Halep (ROU) [1] vs. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [3]. These two have faced each other 4 times and Muguruza has only lost once; this happened to have been on clay (in 2015). They are facing each other in a major semifinal so of course there is a lot at stake. However, in addition to a berth in the 2018 French Open final, the winner of this match will grab the WTA #1 ranking. Of course, Halep is the current World #1 and is a 2017 French Open finalist so she is trying to defend both of these achievements. Muguruza is a 2-time major champion and won the 2016 French Open title while Halep hasn't won a major title yet but has reached 2 of the last four major finals: 2018 Australian Open and 2017 French Open. Muguruza demolished Maria Sharapova in the previous round, losing only 3 games in just over an hour. Halep was also impressive in her quarterfinal win but in a very different fashion, surviving a 3-hour war of attrition against Angelique Kerber by losing the first set in a tiebreaker and coming back to win the last two sets fairly easily. Muguruza is playing at a very high level, but I believe that Halep has the skills and mental resilience to survive almost anything Muguruza throws at her. PREDICTION: Halep.

Madison Keys (USA) [13] vs. Sloane Stephens (USA) [10].  This is a reprise of the 2017 U.S. Open final. I don't think very many people would have predicted these two players would become the faces of American tennis after the Williams sisters but it is looking like the Keys-Stephens rivalry will be one that will not only be defining American tennis, but very possibly women's tennis, at the very highest level of competition. Curiously the two have only met twice on tour and Stephens has won both matches. An important feature of the 2017 U.S. Open final was the fact that Madison was completely overwhelmed by the occasion and could not  play anywhere near her best tennis and the match turned into a mismatch. I think her coach Lindsay Davenport will be able to prepare her so that this won' happen this time. The problem is that Sloane is simply a better athlete and mover than Madison and this is likely to be rewarded on clay.  Madison is the better server and the (much) harder hitter, so if the match was on grass she would have a distinct advantage, but it's not and she doesn't. PREDICTION: Stephens. 

2018 FRENCH OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the 2018 French Open. Last year I correctly predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals. This year I have also predicted the men's quarterfinals.

Simona Halep (ROU) [1] vs. Angelique Kerber [12] (GER). These two have faced each other 8 times and split the meetings evenly. Kerber has won the one match they played on clay while Halep won their last meeting in a major (the 2018 Australian Open semifinal). This is basically a pick 'em match. PREDICTION: Halep.

Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [3] vs. Maria Sharapova (RUS) [28]. After getting past Serena Williams for the first time in over a decade due to the 23-time major champion's withdrawal in the 4th round, Sharapova's reward is a match with one of the hottest players in the tournament, the #3 seed who is yet to drop a set. Surprisingly, Sharapova has never lost to  Muguruza in 3 matches, but none of their meetings have come since Muguruza broke through and became a major champion herself by beating Serena here two years ago. The two have a very similar style but Muguruza is younger and more athletic. I'd put my money on youth versus experience in this match up.  PREDICTION: Muguruza.

Madison Keys (USA) [13] vs. Venus Williams (USA) [5] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ).  I was in the stands when Venus Williams lost her first round match on the first day. That opened up this section of the draw and the surprise is that the diminutive (but hard-hitting) Putintseva is who was able to take advantage of the opening and reach her first major quarterfinal. Keys has been slipping through the draw under the radar but with her powerful groundstrokes and serve she is a threat on any surface, although one would expect clay would be where her game would be the least effective. However she has not lost a set in 4 rounds. I doubt that will change in this match and so she should reach her first French Open semifinal.  PREDICTION: Keys. 

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [2] Daria Kasatkina (RUS) [14] vs. Sloane Stephens (USA) [10]. Many tennis watchers are entranced by Kasatkina's game, which is reminiscent of that of Martina Hingis in its versatility and virtuosity. She basically dismantled and befuddled the #2 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the round before to reach her first major quarterfinal at age 20. Stephens is the reigning U.S. Open champion but has not really been talked about much as a potential winner here. But her game is well-suited to clay. Interestingly, these two have played twice before and each came away with a win with Stephens having won their (green) clay court meeting while Kasatkina won their meeting on hard courts this year. Stephens has much more experience at this level, so I give her the edge here but Kasatkina seems unfazed by big stages so I think it will come down to who is the better player on the day, and there's no question in my mind the American is the better athlete. PREDICTION: Stephens. 

TENNIS TUESDAY: Rafa Breaks More Records; Fed Cup Final Set; Babies Everywhere

NADAL WINS RECORD 11TH MONTE CARLO MASTERS ; 31ST MASTERS OVERALL
The King of Clay, Rafael Nadal won his 11th Monte Carlo Masters title (in 14 years) by defeating Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-2. Nadal won the title without dropping  a set and basially terrorized the rest of the men's field with his 6-0 6-2 drubbing of the "Prince of Clay" Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals.
Nadal was able to retain his hold on the World #1 ranking by defending his title as World #2 Roger Federer is again sipping the clay court season to improve his chances at winning another Wimbledon title. Nadal nw has 31 ATP Masters shields, 1 ahead of the 30 Novak jokovic has and well ahead of Federer's 27, with two more clay court Masters tournaments to be played this year: Madrid and Rome.

FED CUP FINAL SET: UNITED STATES WILL FACE CZECHIA
The Fed Cup semifinals were last weekend and the United States defeated France 3-2 behind solid wins by Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys while the Czech Republic dominated Germany 4-1 with Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova each eating Angie Kerber and Julia Goerges. The Czech Republic has been in the Fed Cup final.

BABIES, BABIES, BABIES! SPRING IS HERE AND EVERYBODY'S PREGNANT
John Isner announced that his wife Madison McKinley is expecting their first child. Also, Sania Mirza announced on instagram that she was pregnant, and noted tennis umpire Eve Asderaki answered Dasha Kasatkina's question "boy or girl?" while umpiring a Fed Cup match this weekend with "boy."

TENNIS TUESDAY: Stephens, Isner Win Big Titles In Miami; Rafa Returns To #1; Federer Skips Clay (Again); Nole-Agassi Split;

 SLOANE STEPHENS WINS MIAMI OPEN OVER JELENA OSTAPENKO
2017 U.S. Open champ Sloane Stephens beat 2017 French Open champ Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(5) 6-1 to win the second biggest title of her career. Interestingly, this result improves to 5-0 in career finals, which is a very strong indication of the 25-year-old's mental toughness. The win also catapults her up to a career-high ranking; she is at World #9 this week.

JOHN ISNER WINS HIS FIRST ATP MASTERS 1000 TITLE IN MIAMI OVER SASCHA ZVEREV
John Isner played some of the best tennis of his career in Miami to reach his 4th ATP Masters 1000 final. He defeated Juan Martin Del Potro in the semifinal 6-1 7-6(2), snapping the Argentine's 15-match winning streak. His serve was never broken in either match and in fact, by the time he beat Sascha Zverev in the final, Isner had not had his service broken in 46 consecutive service games. Like Stephens, this win catapults Isner to a career-high ranking of #9. Isner now has the best results of any player over the last 12 months: 2018 Miami title, 2017 Rome semifinal, 2017 Paris semifinal and 2017 Cincinnati semifinal.

RAFA RETURNS TO #1 JUST AS CLAY SEASON BEGINS
Thanks to Roger Federer's shock 3-set loss to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the 2nd round of the Miami Open, Rafael Nadal is the new #1 player on the ATP Tour.

FEDERER CONFIRMS HE WILL SKIP ENTIRE CLAY SEASON (AGAIN)
Like he did in 2017, 20-time major champion Roger Federer has decided to skip the 2018 clay court season, including the French Open, resting his 37-year-old body in order to maximize his chances of winning another major championship, either in London or New York City.

DJOKOVIC AND AGASSI ANNOUNCE END TO COACHING RELATIONSHIP
After he lost early at Indian Wells (to Taro Daniels) and Miami (to Benoit Paire) tongues have been wagging about what is ailing 12-time major champion Novak Djokovic as he attempts to regain his position at the top of men's tennis. The news that the coach-player relationship with Andre Agassi has come to an end will definitely not stop the whispers. However, I for one think Djokovic still has a good chance of winning more majors in the future.