TennisToday

Jamie Hampton Gains Her 1st Ever WTA Final - At Eastbourne

WTA Eastbourne - Women's Semifinal

Q Jamie Hampton d 5 Caroline Wozniacki - 67(8) 75 63

Jamie beat Caro once in the juniors now she can boast an official WTA win.

The win will push Jamie to new heights - the top 30.

Her qualifying days will now be a thing of the past.

And hello American hopeful pressure.

Poat match: I didn't come just to play the qualifying. I try to enter every

tournament & think to get deep in the tournament, & look to win the title.

So coming off my Roland Garros run I had a good amount of confidence,

and I was hoping to get deep into this tournament this week too.

***

US hopeful vs US hopeful: Jamie just drew Sloane in Wimby 1st round.

So there's that bummer US hopeful news from London today.

Caroline Wozniacki into Semifinals at Eastbourne

WTA Eastbourne - Women's Quarterfinals

5 Caroline Wozniacki d Ekaterina Makarova - 46 60 63

The '09 champ is still in the hunt for her 1st title of the year.

She will face American Jamie Hampton for the 1st time.

Well 2nd, they played against one another in the 2005 US Open juniors.

Hampton won that one. Caro doesn't even remember it. LOL

Caro: I'm not sure - I mean, I've played so many matches before,

so I don't remember.

I don't know why that really strikes me as funny. But it does.

Prolly cuz you know Jamie tells anyone who'll listen.

I would.

Caroline Wozniacki Suffers 4th Straight Opening Match Loss - This Time at Brussels

Brussels WTA - Second Round

Jie Zheng d 1/WC Caroline Wozniacki - 62 64

Caro has yet to win a match on European clay this season.

And 3 of those 4 matches have been in straight sets.

Ouch.

So's who has her winning in Paris in a couple weeks?

And... Who's thinking Rory is to blame?

 

Maria Sharapova Wins Title at Indian Wells

WTA Indian Wells - Women's Final

2 Maria Sharapova d 8 Caroline Wozniacki - 62 62

It only took Maria 7 years to win a second title in the Cali desert.

And the win moves her back up to #2 in the rankings.

Post match: The scoreline makes the match look a lot easier than it was -

it was a tough match, a tough battle, and there were a lot of games that

went to deuce and long games.

Those games could have easily swung the other way,

especially some opportunities she had in the second set.

Hmmmm, it seemed kinda easy to me.

Maria Sharapova Moves into 3rd Final at Indian Wells

WTA Indian Wells - Women's Semifinal

2 Maria Sharapova d 13 Maria Kirilenko - 64 63

The '06 champ will try to make it 2 titles at Indian Wells.

She failed to do so in last years final against Vika.

She will need to get thru '11 champ Caroline Wozniacki. H2H: 4-2/Maria.

I'd bet the house on Maria winning this one.

With the Sf win she'll pass Vika and move up to the #2 ranking on Monday.

Post match: Am I? That's great - yeah, it's nice. It's better than #3, right?

I love when players pretend they don't know stuff.

 

Caroline Wozniacki Upset at Wimbledon - What on Earth is Going on with Her?

Wimbledon - Ladies First Round

Tamira Paszek d 7 Caroline Wozniacki - 57 76(4) 64

Caro squandered 2 match points in the second set.

But to be fair, Paszek just won the tune-up at Eastbourne.

Seriously tho, the wheels have completely come off the Caro game.

I mean, she was the #1 ranked player in January.

She is currently #7 but will sink further with this 1st round loss.

This is her 4th 1st round loss on a year that sees a W/L of 22-11.

Caro hasn't won a title since New Haven last August.

Post match: There are some matches it's really great to win...

But also really suck to lose.

And this one especially after having two match points and not taking them...

It's not a nice feeling. It was a good match and good tennis...

But that doesn't really help me. I still lost in the first round today.

No one will remember how great a match it was, they'll remember who won.

Hmm, I'm blaming this Rory thing.

Photo: Getty Images

What has Happened to Caroline Woes-niacki?

Caroline has suffered another early loss. This time at Stuttgart.

At the hands of up-and-comer Angelique Kerber 61 62 in the 2nd round.

Made all the more shocking by that dismal scoreline.

Remember Caro was #1 in January - she's tumbled all the way down to #6.

She is 18-8 on the year. No titles yet and only one final.

In 5 of those 8 tournaments she failed to get to the semifinals.

Not the Caro that finished #1 the last two years.

In fact, you have to go all the way beck to New Haven in August for a title.

What has changed in her life for her to suddenly crumble?

The only thing that comes to mind... is Rory.

I'm not begrudging her a love life but she clearly needs to manage it better.

She's very young - she'll sort it out.

Photo: Getty Images

Weekend Winners for April 15, 2012

ATP 250 Houston - Final

4 Juan Monaco d 2 John Isner - 62 36 63

Juan wins his 5th career title and 2nd of the 2012 season.

In the effort he has matched his ranking high of #14.

He is a clay court specialist with very few points to defend this clay swing.

If Juan plays his balls right he could quite well be a top 10 player by June.

That quest will begin this week at Monte-Carlo.

ATP 250 Casablanca - Final

3 Pablo Andujar d 7 Albert Ramos - 61 76(5)

Pablo wins his 2nd ATP title - both coming at Casablanca ('11).

The win propels him 19 spots to a ranking of #39 - one short of his high.

He will pop-over to Monte-Carlo this week where he's never played before.

He also has no matches to defend in Madrid and Rome.

If Pablo plays his balls right he could find himself seeded at Roland Garros.

WTA Copenhagen - Final

2 Angelique Kerber d 1 Caroline Wozniacki - 64 64

Ang wins her second WTA title - both coming this season.

She enjoys a rankings bump up to #14.

Ang prevented Caro from a hat-trick of titles at Copenhagen.

Caro seems to be, well... slipping.

She was #1 just a few months ago - she's currnetly ranked #6.

WTA Barcelona - Final

7 Sara Errani d 3 Dominika Cibulkova - 62 62

Sara wins her 4th WTA title and 2nd on the 2012 season.

As a result of her efforts she enjoys her highest ranking of #28.

She also took the doubles title yesterday with Roberta Vinci.

Serena & Venus Both Out in Quarterfinals at Miami

WTA Miami - Quarterfinals

4 Caroline Wozniacki d 10 Serena Williams - 64 64

5 Agnieszka Radwanska d W Venus Williams - 64 61

Strange to see both Williams sisters go out back-to-back without a set.

Venus looked exhausted from ball one - but it was nice seeing her return.

As for Serena - she was completely outplayed by Caro when it mattered.

Silver lining: Serena will move back into the top 10 next week.

We will be seeing more of S & V this season. Why? One word:

Olympics.

Venus has stated she really wants a spot on the team.

She is currently the 9th ranked American - she needs to be top 4 to qualify.

So she says she's going on a point-gobble tour in the coming months.

And of course they must play Fed Cup. They are.

I wonder how the doubles selection will be handled for London. Stay tuned.

Photos: Getty Images

Ana Ivanovic Sinks the Sinking Caroline Wozniacki at Indian Wells

WTA Indian Wells - Fourth Round

15 Ana Ivanovic d 4 Caroline Wozniacki - 63 62

The '08 Indian Wells champ dethroned the defending champ.

And Ana was jack-knifing that arm all over the place.

She even got her leg in on it too. I haven't seen her this 'jacked' in ages.

But I guess at this point in both careers it was a big scalp.

She'll get (7) Marion Bartoli next.

If she can win it'll be her first significant Sf in 3 years (IW '09 - a win).

Adje, Ana. Adje.

***

As for Caro. Someone needs to find her game.

These days its stuck in a sand trap. (See what I did there?)

Photo: Reuters

Caroline Wozniacki Wins Squeeker at Indian Wells

WTA Indian Wells - Third Round

4 Caroline Wozniacki d Sofia Arvidsson - 36 75 62

Caro was a just few points away from being shown the door.

Yea, I forgot too: She is the defending champion.

It does not feel like she will repeat.

Well, unless everyone catches that bug hitting the Palm Springs area.

Photo: Reuters

Rory McIlroy Steps in for Caro and Wins Point against Maria in NYC Last Night

Great fun.

Roger Federer is in NYC Y'all

Roger with the self-portrait! He posted this on Facebook today captioned:

Just landed in New York City from Dubai! Very excited to be in the Big Apple

For the exo tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden.

'Tis true. Roger is playing an exo match against Andy Roddick.

They've met a couple times before in NYC - both US Open wins for Rog.

Including a memorable 4-set match in the final.

But wait... it's a double bill: Caro Wozniacki vs Maria Sharapova.

Between Roger, Maria & Brooklyn I'm guessing Anna Wintour is in the chair?

Caroline Wozniacki into 3rd Round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon Women's Second Round

1 Caroline Wozniacki d Virginie Razzano - 61 63

All eyes seem to be on the Williams Sisters - but we have to watch Caro...

One of these days she's going to have a Slam breakthrough.

Wimbledon doesn't seem likely as it's her worst Slam.

She has never advanced past the 4th round and her W/L is 11/4.

And she has a tricky draw - with nemesis Goerges as a possible 4th rounder.

And Sharapova looms large as a likely quarterfinal opponent.

Hmmm.

Photo: Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki Serves Up a Stinker at Roland Garros

Roland Garros - Women's Third Round

28 Daniela Hantuchova d 1 Caroline Wozniacki - 61 63

Now please - do yourself a favor and take a damn week off.

I can't even write about this. I just can't. Except to caption the photo:

She who smelt it dealt it.

Photo: Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki into 3rd Round at Roland Garros

Roland Garros - Women's Second Round

1 Caroline Wozniacki d Aleksandra Wozniak - 63 76(6)

I didn't watch this one but I heard that Caro got a little testy today.

Here's what I do know - this will be her 14th straight Slam 3rd R: 9-4.

Caro: Thankfully I finished it in two sets. It could easily have been three...

I'm just going to take it one match at a time here and we'll see how it goes.

Next match will be a tough one... hopefully I can pull through.

That next match will be against Daniela Hantuchova - H2H: 3-0/CW.

She also cooed on Twitter today that her nails are the same color as her kit.

Mmm-kay.

Photo: Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki, Nicolas Almagro & Andrea Petkovic All Tournament Winners Today

Brussels WTA

1 Caroline Wozniacki d 8 Shuai Peng - 26 63 63

Title #16.

Could this be a bit of foreshadowing? This was her first title on red clay.

She will play twice her age Kimiko Date Krumm 1st R at Roland Garros.

Heading for a certain showdown with Sam Stosur in the Qf's.

***

Nice ATP 250

3 Nicolas Almagro d Victor Hanescu - 67(5) 63 63

This is Nico's 10th career title & 3rd of the year - all on clay.

He must be considered a player who will make a decent run at RG.

Nico will open against Lukasz Kubot & is in the Murray/Melzer quarter.

***

Strasbourg WTA

2 Andrea Petkovic d 1 Marion Bartoli - 64 1-0 ret.

Petko wins her 2nd title and first in nearly two years.

She is certainly a dark horse in Paris.

She will begin her Roland Garros play against Bojana Jovanovski.

She is in the Clijsters/Sharapova quarter.

Maria Sharapova into Final at WTA Rome

Rome WTA - Semifinal

7 Maria Sharapova d 1 Caroline Wozniacki - 75 63

After 2 previous Sf showing Maria will finally play for the title in Rome.

Of her 22 titles she is looking to add a 3rd on clay.

Upward: A win tomorrow will boost her ranking up a spot to #7.

She'll play tough-customer Samantha Stosur - H2H: 7-0/MS.

In fact of their last 3 matches Sam has managed only 11 games.

OUCH.

Photo: Getty Images

Caroline Wozniacki into Semifinal at WTA Rome

Rome WTA - Quarterfinal

1 Caroline Wozniacki d 5 Jelena Jankovic - 63 16 63

People keep bitching about Caro - but you know what guys?

SHE SEEMS TO KEEP PLAYING ON THE WEEKENDS.

Caro has reached the Sf's or better at 7 of the 10 events she played in '11.

Serena is off the tour & Kim is part-time - how is this Caro's fault?

She plays by all the sames rules everyone else does...

Get over it people.

Photo: Getty Images

Julia Goerges Upsets Caroline Wozniacki Again - this Time at Madrid

Madrid WTA - Third Round

Julia Goerges d 1 Caroline Wozniacki - 64 16 63

Hmmm, Julia is suddenly a thorn in Caro's side.

Remember, Julia beat her in the final at Stuttgart 11 days ago.

And you just know...

The draw gods are gonna put them in the same quarter at Roland Garros.

Photo: Reuters