Svitolina achieves strong finish over Barthel at BNP Paribas Open

Elina Svitolina sets up for a big forehand shot during her match against Germany's Mona Barthel at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Elina Svitolina had the experience and focus to come out a winner at the BNP Paribas Open Saturday afternoon. The fourth seed dealt with the drop shot skills of Mona Barthel to bring in an offensive gear that gave her the 6-4, 6-3 straight sets win at Stadium Four at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

This was the fourth time they met one another with Svitolina winning against the German prior to her first premier title. It was the third win she got over Barthel with the hope of doing well once again in the desert. She made the round of 16 twice with the hopes of advance further than ever with the rank of fourth in the world.

The first game saw the players creating unforced errors that led the two to deuce where Barthel landed an ace for the AD point then completed the first game with a winner. Svitolina created an easy start to her service game putting top spin on the forehand that led to her victory. They remained on serve through the third until a double fault and errors on Svitolina’s backhand gave Barthel the opening break.

Adding a drop shot point win and focus in the fifth, the Ukrainian rallied to break the German staying within reach. She put together a good set of ball placement that held back Barthel leveling the score at three all. The fight for control of the set was heavy as Barthel landed a net shot drop that forced deuce with the world number four. They watched game an AD point chance but had the difficulty of closing it out. After three breaks, it was the drop shot that gave the German the service hold to remain in front.

Svitolina began to show good focus which gave her a hold in the eighth pressuring Barthel to falter in the game with a struggling second serve and return. The ninth was another fight for control which in the end stayed well with Svitolina. Her focus on a rally at deuce gave her a big point that brought the German’s esteem down a few points. After the third break, the world number four locked down her first break to serve for the set.

She got the first in the bag holding a set point to her name and ending 41 minutes with the 6-4 win. While the first serve was not entirely at its best, the fourth seed had a stronger offense that she could roll forward while her opponent needed improvements in order to compete stronger. Barthel and Svitolina opened the second set with a hold but battled back the Ukrainian in the third who hunted down an early break. Barthel saved four break points before bringing back the drop shot that helped her hold.

They remained in course through six where the German used her drop shot technique while Svitolina had her experience making her service games easier. She won the seventh game despite blowing two break points and getting charged for a foot fault. With the lead in hand, it was up to 27-year-old to recover from the small deficit. She could not recover as the errors began to rise for Barthel. She somehow got herself to deuce on long ball from Svitolina. The two went to three breaks where a net error by the German gave Svitolina the 5-3 setup to play for the match.

The world number four eyed an early ending reaching double match point that gave her the victory in 1 hour and 22 minutes to advance to the third round. The 23-year-old finished with a 72 percent first serve land 15 of 25 on the second serve. The key to her victory came with Barthel’s struggling return game that the Ukrainian pounced on to finish strong. It was a great match,” Svitolina said during her on court interview. “I was just trying to stay focused on my game and keep it in two sets.”

She will get no time to rest as her third round will pit her between the winner of Su-Wei Hsieh and Carla Suarez-Navarro on Monday.

Vickery continues her knockout of big stars at BNP Paribas Open

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Garbine Muguruza did not have the skills to get through her opening round match at the BNP Paribas Open Friday night. The hunger to win by American Sachia Vickery gave her a lot to be proud of in a three set win over the third seed 6-2, 5-7 6-1 on Stadium One at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

This was their first meeting with the American getting the opportunity to pull off an early upset in the round of 64. The 22-year-old took down the popular Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets to set up a pivotal match against the world number three. It was the Spaniard’s sixth appearance in the tournament with the hope of besting her quarterfinal finish last year.

Both opened with a hold of serve followed by the first break in the third game. It was the first sign of aggression from the 24-year-old who attacked with the forehand but faced some adversity in the fourth. It was there that Muguruza got the victory to take a 3-1 lead in the set. Vickery managed to hold in the fifth to stay close with the third seed but watched as she answered with a service hold that opened the margin to a pair of games.

She made it 5-2 pressuring Vickery to make mistakes on the returns that set up the 24 year old with a shot at taking a lead in the set. She opened a 40-0 run on the American who could not keep up with the speed of her service that ended things in 37 minutes. Muguruza landed 14 of 20 on the first serve and the second that was working well enough to make it a tough night for the 22-year-old. Vickery’s return game had trouble all around that would make it a challenge for her to dictate going into the second set.

Muguruza was well settled into the match where she opened the set with a break of Vickery in the first. After the hold in the second, she gained a double break of Vickery making the night a breeze for her sitting halfway from the match win. The fourth showed Vickery losing her cool as she battled a 30-shot rally in the game only to find herself struggling. Three breaks went into play until a challenge on a return from Muguruza was challenged by the 22-year-old that saved her from being shutout.

She picked up a second straight victory gaining some control on the return game where she blasted shots to achieve a strengthening of offense to battle the Spaniard. She pulled off the comeback needed in the eighth delivering a beating on Muguruza who saw her night being extended. The American took over the set with another hold to lead 5-4 with the 24-year-old on the ropes. Muguruza struck back with a heavy break that kept her alive with Vickery still in charge. She took a 6-5 lead going for the win with a good forehand hit to end the extended rally.

The 12^th became a critical moment for the two players as deuce came into play at the hands of the 22-year-old who wanted the set more than anything. Every rally turned into a staring match with each getting the better of the other. In the end, after six breaks, four set point attempts, Vickery got it done with an error from Muguruza that set up a deciding third set after 1 hour 42 minutes had elapsed.

Vickery picked up where she left off winning the opening game of the third set that put Muguruza on notice. Not wanting to get back into a hole against the American, the third seed held her ground on serve playing an aggressive style. It was still an uphill fight for her as Vickery was on a mission to get an upset to become reality. She and the Spaniard went at it in the fourth until a key winner by Vickery gave her a 3-1 hold.

The 22 year old non seed delivered a big hit in the fifth pulling off the serve to love with Muguruza’s return falling long of the baseline. The third seed expressed her troubles to Sam Sumyk who came on court during the break to help her remedy the situation. Matt Evans kept Vickery motivated to close things out with just two games to get it finished. A triple break point win for the American set her up to dictate the seventh on her terms. Vickery shaped up two match points that ended the 2 hour and 11 minute bout that ended in a big moment for her young career on the WTA tour.   

With the tournament slowly opening for any name, the young American would look ahead and face Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round Sunday.

Azarenka ends late night with straight sets win at BNP Paribas Open

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Victoria Azarenka had a tough night on court but somehow pulled off the win before Friday morning at the BNP Paribas Open. Her 6-4, 6-3 win at Stadium One against Heather Watson

gave her a win in 2018 after coming back to the sport since July 2017. The two sets on court had dramatic moments that led to lengthy service games but a result in the end.

This was their seventh meeting with the series leaning heavily in the Belorussian’s favor. In her last tournament at Wimbledon, Azarenka battled Diyas in a three setter to win her third round. It was her second to last match played last season and due to personal reasons has been away from action. Watson would have a difficulty on her hands as usual but the pressure would be against the former number one as she had a lot riding on performing well.

She came out with the hold despite seeing some tactics from the Brit who had good returns but not enough to get the opening break. Watson attempted to control her offense adding a couple of drop shots but fell flat giving Azarenka a 2-0 lead. Despite some errors in the third, she stopped Watson from opening the door herself and slammed it shut winning the AD point. Watson took a chat with coach Morgan Phillips who told her to bring some points to go her way and execute on her offense.

It did not come in the fourth either as mistakes let Azarenka win easy points that had her struggling to keep in it. She fought on deuce where after the second break, a win came to the Brits hands ending the shutout on court. The two were back on serve through five with the Belorussian inching her way to taking a hold of the set. it as 5-1 for the former number one as Watson’s errors were getting out of hand. She committed a dozen by the sixth game that it looked hopeless of her recovering from the issues.

A break to love was the save Watson needed as Azarenka’s game vanished in the seventh. The 25-year-old tried getting a grip on her offense for a moment to gain another win. The comeback looked very possible as the Brit earning another victory on the break put her a game down of the 28-year-old. A couple of errors in the tenth game allowed Azarenka some breathing room to focus on her returns against the Brit who fell under pressure to end the set in 44 minutes. Both had double digit errors in their games with the second serve well under performing. Very little came from their returns leaving the game to be won on the first shot which the Belorussian did.

Skills on handling drop shots led Azarenka to victory in the opening game of the second set where she served to love against Watson. The win gave her a winning streak that saw her beating Watson whose errors were coming long of the baseline and off tempo. She somehow pulled out a win in the fourth ending Azarenka’s four game winning streak but watched as the 28-year-old held serve regaining a large margin.

The gap was cut to two games with the Brit holding Azarenka in the sixth not wanting to give in despite the late hour. She battled on deuce with the Belorussian that went more than four as the 28-year-old missed on two smash attempts. It allowed Watson to play better tennis but the fight for the AD point remained elusive. After 12 deuces and 18 minutes of action that saw the two have a 24-shot rally, the 2016 champion gained the win that put Watson on the chopping block serving to extend the match. The Brit had match point saved with an error from Azarenka sending the game to deuce. After three breaks and three attempts for the Belorussian, the former number one got it done after 1 hour and 43 minutes finishing 15 minutes before midnight.

“it truly means the world to me to be able to be here and play and enjoy myself doing what I love to do,” Azarenka said to Andrew Krasny after the match. With the win under her belt, she’ll prepare for her second-round match against reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens on Saturday.