Coco Gauff ousts Johanna Konta for her first French Open win

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Johanna Konta was not up to speed in her quest to run through the French Open for a second year Sunday night. The Brit faced a relentless Cori Gauff who had troubles of her own but was fast on the returns and in place for the points that gave her a 6-3, 6-3 win on Suzanne Lenglen Court at Roland Garros. 

The Brit faced off with the young American for the first time with the opportunity to pull off a big upset in Paris. In her first entry into the main draw, the 16-year-old with her short run on the clay courts would try to outduel last year’s semifinalist. With such a major push, Konta wanted nothing more than to repeat her success of recent and go big into the tournament. Control of her path against Gauff would put questions aside and bring her the advancement she expects. 

Expectations don’t always go as planned as Gauff projected on serve. Despite going to deuce, the teen denied Konta a shot for the AD point, locking it down herself. The American added a break in the second and consolidated both wins with a third straight. Finding herself in a big hole Konta fought through every point in the fourth that led them to deuce but captured the first AD point. 

Though she was on the board, Gauff remained focused to come out of the fifth with another service hold, forcing errors from the Brit. Rallying back from 40-15, the 16-year-old saved break points making it 4-1. Konta tried to get another service game from going to the way of the American but her forehand was causing the issues to her vulnerability. She went to deuce but managed to gain and score the win on the AD point cutting the margin in half. 

Gauff didn’t let anything on the other side of the court bother her, holding serve in the seventh to go for the break that could give her the lead. The win wasn’t coming on a break but with a shot in the ninth, her effort had the potential to pay off. Konta didn’t want that and forced deuce, leading to a long fight for the win. They played eight breaks with Gauff racking up the double faults that saved set points for Konta but somehow held to win the first in 53 minutes. The American had seven double faults with 14 unforced errors in tow. With the victory, the 16-year-old knew that she would have to remain focused to pull another set against the ninth seed. 

Gauff found herself in a hole as Konta came out with a hold of serve in the first and broke the American to love in the next. She made it onto the board in the third with a break back and held to consolidate and level at two-all. A chance to break in the fifth came early for Gauff but an error foiled a quick finish and instead led to a long extension. The fight for the game went deep as eight minutes and a tug of war for the AD point ensued. After five breaks and 11 minutes elapsed a sudden lob from Konta was answered by Gauff, who sliced it back getting the victory. 

It was soon 4-2 for the teen as she consolidated with a hold, putting Konta in a tough spot. An attack in the seventh didn’t help the 29-year-old as Gauff forced errors from the Brit to reach two breakpoints. Konta saved one but a long ball behind the baseline brought her comeback to a halt. With the 5-2 stand, Gauff was on the verge of upsetting the ninth seed with her serve left to accomplish. A second double fault didn’t help her efforts to close it out, and with Konta attacking the point she earned the break back. 

Her service in the ninth didn’t help extend the match but instead, give Gauff the chance to end it. A short lob rally went sour for the Brit as the teen was in place on court to make the best responses for match points. She rescued one point but not the second as the American won on a forehand error from Konta. It took her 1 hour and 41 minutes to notch her fourth Top 20 win of the season a perfect way to begin her French Open career.

Victoria Azarenka finishes quick in opening round of the French Open

Embed from Getty Images Victoria Azarenka battled with the elements at the French Open but made it through the first round on a rainy Sunday. After a rain delay with temperatures in the 50s, the tenth seed rallied in her return defeating Danka Kovinic 6-1, 6-2 on Suzanne Lenglen Court. 

The two met four years ago at the Australian Open with the Belorussian easily winning against the Montenegrin. Azarenka met her match at the Italian Open when she ran out of gas and let Garbine Muguruza dictate her way to the final four. Despite the defeat, her three-game winning streak that went along with her US Open Final appearance was an impressive achievement. In her 13th main draw at Roland Garros, the 31-year-old would no doubt pick up where she left off. Kovinic was back for the fifth time in her career, looking to pull off an upset that would give her an advance for the first time in five years. 

They each held serve through three games even though the temperatures were unlike what they’re normally used to. After three service holds, Azarenka called the court supervisor and expressed her anger about playing in cold light rain. After pressing the issue, the 31-year-old got her wish, having play suspended for a time. 

After 50 minutes, they returned to action with Kovinic serving the fourth. Gaining breakpoints, Azarenka took the game with a break to love on the Montenegrin before picking back up with her service. The next two games went the way of the Belorussian who took advantage of her opponent’s troubles on serve. It was 5-1 with the 31-year-old serving for the set which led her to a couple set points. Another error from Kovinic brought the set to a close in 28 minutes. The Montenegrin had four double faults and 13 unforced errors and eight forced. 

Despite the struggles in the first, Kovinic managed to begin the second set with a strong service hold over Azarenka. The tenth seed answered with a serve to love, followed by a break of Kovinic to consolidate. A second service hold widened the gap for the Belorussian who added a double break to her success in the set. The second serve of Kovinic was not up to speed as she let it open the door for her opponent to dictate. 

The sixth game saw the players get into a close battle where it looked as if Kovinic would get her first break point against Azarenka. The tenth seed denied her that chance with a game point opportunity due to a 15 shot rally. She went on to hold serve, giving Kovinic one last chance to extend the match. The Montenegrin shut out Azarenka who at times put too much on the ball during her returns. 

Despite the missed chance to end it with a break, the 31-year-old served for the match getting into a deep rally with Kovinic on the first point. She took the first on a ball that stayed inside the baseline before quickly reaching three match points. It was all said and done with a lob rally ended with Azarenka tapping it away from the 26-year-old to complete her win in 61 minutes.

Elina Svitolina rallies to win her place in the final at Strasbourg

Elina Svitolina in action during the semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka at the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Friday. 

Elina Svitolina played in a very competitive semifinal to come out with the win at the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Friday. The double faults from Aryna Sabalenka beat down her offense and surge back in the sets but ultimately fell 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 on Patrice Dominguez Court at the Strasbourg Tennis Club. 

The two last met in Wuhan two years ago, where the Belorussian struck big in the third set to win their second-round match there. With a historical leg up on the world number five and a spot in the final up for grabs, the 22-year-old eyed getting another one. Svitolina shook off the rust in her run at Strasbourg and took the last remnants off in her straight-set victory against Jil Teichmann Thursday. As her game got well into gear, the Ukrainian had her offense prepared for action. 

She opened service to begin the match but fell behind in the game. She caught up to force deuce, holding the first break played. Sabalenka took control of service just as the rain began to start in a drizzle. Svitolina forced deuce then gained the advantage just as the rain fell harder bringing a suspension to play that lasted 45 minutes. Sabalenka resumed service but double-faulted, giving up the early break. Svitolina fell behind in yet another game but recovering was not something the Belorussian wanted to happen. It took her two break points to get it locked down hoping to consolidate going forward. 

Despite going to deuce once again, Sabalenka held serve to level at two-all. The Ukrainian was under threat in the fifth with the 22-year-old delivering tough crosscourt shots holding her way back to the lead. A break to love for the second seed gave her a 4-2 lead and later dealing with a fightback from Sabalenka only to deny her a move up in the score. With the fourth seed running three games behind, she served to extend the set but double-faulted to start the eighth. 

She recorded another for her fourth of the set that brought up deuce. Two breaks were played when Sabalenka went for a drop shot attempt that went bad as Svitolina returned it nicely ending the set in 38 minutes. Svitolina had just five winners to Sabalenka’s 12 but minimizing the errors was easy for the second seed. She committed five to the Belorussian’s 13. The 22-year-old took advantage of the set break leaving the court to recover. 

The two opened the second set with serves to love, followed by another one from Svitolina to make it three. With such a quick start to the set, it was up to Sabalenka to keep up with her opponent. She held to love once more, making it 16 consecutive service points combined. It was put to rest when Sabalenka scored on a drop shot return in the fifth. She let out a scream of frustration after committing a mistake on the second point. An error gave Svitolina leverage that led to her holding in the fifth. 

Sabalenka held once more to make it six between the players, right before she caught a chance in the seventh that led to a break of Svitolina. The attempt to hold looked good for Sabalenka as she had a lead on the Ukrainian. However, the surge from the second seed got her to deuce where the fight for the AD point was on. Sabalenka brought out her tools of crosscourt winners and drop shots that broke Svitolina to hold serve and consolidate. 

With a 5-3 lead, Svitolina served to stay in the set and held giving the Belorussian one more chance before she would be forced to work harder for it. Despite recording her fifth double fault and the first in the set, the 22-year-old got the win to force her way into a third after 38 minutes. The fourth seed still had more winners and unforced errors but the eight that she made were lower than the first, and having only one double fault, the improvement paid off. 

Svitolina knew she had a match on her hands and made sure to hold serve to begin the deciding set. She broke for a 2-0 and made it three in a row with a serve to love. The 22-year-old got on the board with a serve to love in the fourth before breaking back to sit a game down after five. A hold to love squared her up with Svitolina, who watched her lead dissolve before returning to serve. 

She made sure that despite the attacks from Sabalenka, that she held her game and take the lead. That was exactly what the Ukrainian made happen as they inched closer to one of them going into the final. Three errors from Sabalenka on serve gave the second seed a break for 5-3 and the opportunity to serve for the match. The Belorussian chose to use another racket and scored a well-played defense to break back. 

Serving to move the decider into further frames, Sabalenka made her opponent run left and right before striking the point winners. It led her to three-game points, but a double fault ended the shutout. A second one brought Svitolina to 30-40 with a deuce close at hand. A forehand error gave Svitolina life to fight for a match point which came on a long ball from Sabalenka. A ninth double fault brought a heartbreaking end for the Belorussian who gave the victory to Svitolina that ended the day in 1 hour and 53 minutes. 

“I was expecting a really tough one,” Svitolina said during her on-court interview. “I knew that Aryna would come up and play really good tennis. It was a little bit of plus and minus for me and for her. I think she regrouped well after the first set and it was a really good battle. “ 

This was the first win for Svitolina against a Top 20 player this season with one step before playing for her chance at a title. She’ll go into Saturday’s final facing Elena Rybakina in their first meeting. “I saw a little bit of the way she has played but it will be an exciting final,” she said.

Elina Svitolina ups her game to advance at Strasbourg

Elina Svitolina gives the crowd a wave after her win against Jil Teichmann at Strasbourg

Elina Svitolina had a better performance coming out of her game at the Internationaux de Strasbourg Thursday. The Ukrainian reeled in the victory on Patrice Dominguez defeating Jil Teichmann 6-4, 6-3 to advance at the Strasbourg Tennis Club. 

This marked the first time they met and for the second seed, she would need her quarterfinal in Strasbourg to go well against the Swiss. In her opening round against Magda Linette, the Ukrainian needed a tiebreak to hold the first and the entirety of the second to advance. It was clear that her skills were rusty having little competitive action since the shutdown. 

Teichmann had yet to drop a set in her two matches making her just another threat for the 26-year-old. Teichmann pulled off an impressive break of the world number five and consolidated it with a strong hold in the second. Svitolina got on the board to avoid going deeper against the Swiss, but couldn’t close the gap in the fourth. Through five games, Teichmann stayed ahead, until Svitolina found her moment to strike. From 40-15 down, the second seed rallied to force deuce and win the first point that was played on it. 

With an important hold in the seventh, she took the lead from Teichmann but found herself back in a stalemate. Despite giving up a point, Svitolina held the ninth and went for broke with a push in the tenth. Gaining a breakpoint at 30-all, the second seed earned her opportunity to take the set in 41 minutes with Teichmann returning the ball wide of the line. Svitolina served 72 percent from the first serve with four aces in tow. While she had seven winners and unforced errors, the ten that Teichmann had on both sides showed that the small mistakes cost her in the end. 

After a hold to start the second set, Svitolina captured a break to love, opening the gap on Teichmann who had work to do. She held the third and captured a key break that released a lot of her frustrations. She made it three in a row with the double break on Svitolina, but the world number five ended her slide with a break back to level. The battle for the lead in the seventh became the longest game of the match with Teichmann forcing deuce. She blew her break point chance on the second AD point, leading Svitolina to lead 4-3. 

A challenge for the second seed came in the eighth when getting a gap on her opponent was quite a task. Teichmann saved a breakpoint to bring up deuce and went four breaks with her. Unfortunately, the costly error handed Svitolina the 5-3 lead with the chance to serve for the match. Showing a lot of comfort, the second seed easily reached three match points against a struggling Teichmann, punching her ticket to the semifinal with a shot near the back of the court ending the day in 1 hour and 22 minutes. 

“ It was a good fight from Jill,” Svitolina said about her matchup. “I think both of us play at a really good level and those kinds of matches give you confidence.” Avoiding the sets to go further was a big accomplishment as she dictated the last couple of games while minimizing the errors. With the move into the final four, she’ll await the winner between Katerina Siniakova or fourth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka.

Jelena Ostapenko performs well in Strasbourg with straight sets win over Lauren Davis

Jelena Ostapenko did all the right things to move on at the Internationaux de Strasbourg Monday. The Latvian played very well on the clay courts against Lauren Davis winning 6-2, 6-3 on Patrice Dominguez at the Strasbourg Tennis Club. It was the first singles win for the Latvian since February 25 back in Doha. 

The two met back in 2017 where Davis bested the soon to be French Open champion of that year. As they met on clay the week before the rescheduled major in Paris, the Latvian wanted to get more time in on clay after her run in Rome didn’t pan out. The forehand serve of Ostapenko’s still wasn’t fine-tuned as she gave up too many points to Magda Linette in Rome. With a loss already against the American, the 23-year-old eyed a difference maker to light up her skills with a week before the open. 

She got into a good form in the opening match with people in the stands clapping for her. The Latvian took the break in the second game but on her return in the third, a double fault came out putting her into a hole. She rallied back to the lead, showing patience before making her returns that allowed her to take a 3-0 hold on Davis. The Latvian had the double break in hand as the American wasn’t up to par with her offense. 

The 23-year-old served very strong with her confidence and score against Davis rising. When she finished the fifth, the Latvian had Davis on the edge of the first as she served to stay in it. A strong service helped the 26-year-old avoid the bagel and a triple break. She consolidated it with a break as insects caused Ostapenko some troubles that brought out a fourth double fault and errors along the way. 

Turning that around, she put together a number of groundstrokes that sent Davis left and right to earn three set points. A double fault from the American, brought the first to a close in 29 minutes. Despite having some hiccups on serve, Ostapenko won 77 percent of points from the serve and all three of her break point opportunities. With her best foot forward, the 23 would try to move that into the second. 

She put together another fine serve but the bar set high was cleared by the American in the second, who went on to take a break from the Latvian. Showing frustrations from her troubling service game, Ostapenko brought the heat to Davis in the fourth who not only battled her opponent back but the bugs near the baseline. It forced deuce for the 23-year-old who settled in, waiting for the fifth deuce to notch the AD point and level back. 

A third game was broken in the set as Ostapenko couldn’t hold back the errors from the forehand. Having handed Davis the double break, the Latvian got one of her own in a third straight lengthy deuce draw. The American was under pressure from Ostapenko, but saved breakpoint to force deuce. They played through four more before the 23-year-old notched a double break as well. 

 Holding came as a reward for Ostapenko as she got her game under control and fired away with the forehand. She broke Davis in the eighth for the triple break, giving her tons of confidence to await the finish. She held the 26-year-old back to gain two match points where the second brought her day to a successful close in 1 hour and 17 minutes. 

A major improvement to her game  saw her win 66 percent on first serve points and returning better from the second. Outscoring the American 69-48 was a huge statement that she could do much more with the focus in hand. A challenge in the second round awaited her in third seeded Kiki Bertens who would get her second match in the books since the shutdown.

Marketa Vondrousova stuns Elina Svitolina in straight sets at Rome Masters

Marketa Vondroussova had her game on fire at the BNL Internazionali D'Italia defeating fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina in straight sets

Elina Svitolina got the shock of her season at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia on Saturday night. The two-time champion looked for another win against Marketa Vondrousova but fell in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 on Stadio Pietrangeli at Foro Italico. 

The two marked their second meeting on clay and fourth match overall with Svitolina winning every one of them. Their battle in Stuttgart went three sets which left the Czech with the idea that she could pull that feat off and change the result. Her three wins to date in Rome brought her back to the last eight for the second year in a row. Despite facing heavy adversity, the 12th seed would give her best early and fight for control. 

Fighting was exactly how the match got started as Vondrousova’s served the first game. From 15-40, the Czech canceled Svitolina’s break point chances to force deuce and win on the third break. The Ukrainian held her end a little better but was hungry for an early lead in the set. The third went exactly like the first with Vondrousova climbing out of a hole to force deuce. It took another three breaks to hold serve but knew that something had to change to strengthen the serve. 

A break in the fourth helped her out, gaining an edge on the fourth seed who got to deuce but let the AD point convert for the Czech. Consolidating the hard work gave Vondrousova a 4-1 gap on Svitolina It was nearly 5-1 for Vondrousova as she had a break to love in place but let the fourth seed come back. When deuce was secured, it took Svitolina a pair of breaks to hold and get within two games. 

The 12th seed didn’t want the Ukrainian any closer and made it 5-2 with a hold in the seventh. Going for the break was something Svitolina didn’t want occurring and dug in on deuce to make sure her tough shots made it effective. The Czech served for the set reaching three set points to put the first away in 50 minutes. Aside from having four double faults, she outnumbers Svitolina on winners and fought for the points through those nine games. 

Vondrousova was making Svitolina work hard in the first that led to the break and a short winning streak. It was soon up to three as Vondrousova held to consolidate the early serve. A double break for the Czech made it 3-0 as the Ukrainian was being outdone on the court. It was quickly 5-0 as Vondrousova ran away with the triple break, forcing Svitolina into submission. She reached a match point in the sixth but a surge from the Ukrainian got her to deuce. 

An error from the fourth seed gave Vondrousova a second shot at the match but wasn’t able to execute. The third one on a lob return was the charm as the Czech got her on a lob rally, flowing one over the fourth seed’s head to finish her night in 1 hour and 20 minutes. With the huge victory, the 21-year-old would take all the good that came from her end and go against the winner between Karolina Pliskova and Elise Mertens in the semifinal.

Garbine Muguruza bests Victoria Azarenka in three sets at Rome Masters

Garbine Muguruza wins her way back to a third semifinal at the BNL Internazionali D'Italia against Victoria Azarenka on Saturday.

Victoria Azarenka ran out of gas on the clay courts of the BNL Internazionali D’Italia Saturday. In a tough match with Garbine Muguruza who gave plenty of energy but had to enough for a three-set match that had the ninth seed into the semifinal 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Stadio Pietrangeli at Foro Italico. It marked the third time in the 26-year old’s history where she made the semifinal in Rome and did well to accomplish it. 

This was a fourth clash between the two superstars and the second straight in the eternal city. The Belorussian took that win suddenly in the second set when Muguruza retired from play. Azarenka recently had a déjà vu moment when she was two points into a tiebreak, Daria Kasatkina suffered an injury that forced her out of the match. While neither one was going to let that happen, the two powerhouses who were at their best would go for the coveted spot in the semifinal. 

Azarenka opened service in the match and held despite facing adversary from the ninth seed. The Spaniard’s defense switched over and notched a serve to love showing a stronger response. A double fault came from the world number 14 along with a couple errors that brought up deuce for Muguruza. Gaining break point chances wasn’t an easy task for the 26-year-old who had an AD point on the first deuce but failed to convert it. Azarenka had her chance but an error opened the door for the ninth seed. 

A second attempt didn’t go well which led Azarenka to counter on the 12th point of the game and held. A break was gifted by Muguruza as unforced errors came late in the fourth to open the gap. Unfortunately for Azarenka, a second double fault brought back the unforced errors. With the 30-0 lead, she struck for three break points landing a line drive out of Azarenka’s reach. The 31-year-old climbed back with help from the ninth seed bringing up deuce. She took the first AD point, pulling off an incredible comeback to hold the fifth. 

Muguruza called out the trainer during the sit down to apply new tape to her right foot while Azarenka asked for a new chair because she was sitting too high. When play resumed, Muguruza trailed slightly but managed to hold, cutting the margin in half. The Belorussian returned to her three-game lead with a service hold in the seventh, earning her chance at taking the net. With new balls in hand, Muguruza ran into trouble with errors on her end that forced deuce. 

A mistake on the backhand return from Azarenka brought up a game point that resulted in a hold for Muguruza as a forehand return went long. She made up for her mistakes and in the ninth, Azarenka defended her serve, earned set point, and closed the Spaniard out in 47 minutes. The keys to victory were the serve percentage and her ability to win a breakpoint while Muguruza failed on three tries. 

A second breakpoint converted by the 31-year-old got the second set underway. The Spaniard brought together a triple breakpoint in the following game and recorded her first of the match. The run of breaks lasted four games right before Muguruza contained a strong service, leading the Belorussian 3-2. The Spaniard converted the double break that followed a second one from Azarenka. With six games broken in the set, Muguruza added another for good measure to serve for the set. The world number 14 handled the pressure well as she forced deuce on Muguruza, but a late error on the last point gave the ninth seed the set in 44 minutes. she had more winners and a couple fewer errors than Azarenka, having attained control. 

She continued the momentum into the third, breaking the Belorussian whose game lost consistency. Azarenka broke back but the lead stayed with Muguruza who kept the breaks of serve going. She converted the hold in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead on her opponent who wasn’t at the speed of the Spaniard. Despite the response, Azarenka pulled together back to back winners before drawing an error that later resulted in a hold of serve. 

Her attempts to break Muguruza and level went to deuce on the Spaniard’s winner but after two breaks, she made the breakpoint count. A hold in the seventh turned the tide of control for Azarenka who gained her footing to pressure the ninth seed. Muguruza answered a challenge from the 31-year-old whose court position strategy fell apart when deuce was forced. A key moment allowed the 26-year-old to hold serve and level at four-all. 

A break to love on the Belorussian set up the Spaniard for a good finish where she gained three match points, lost two of them, and came out on top in 2 hours and 18 minutes. With such a strong finish, she'll need that and more going against Simona Halep on Sunday.