Vondrousova pens massive defeat of Konta to enter French Open final

Marketa Vondrousova was on a mission to become a finalist at the French Open Friday. The 19-year-old who was in her third year of competition on the clay courts, pulled off another major victory taking down 26^th seeded Johanna Konta her sixth straight sets victory 7-5, 7-6(2) on Court Simone Mathieu on the grounds of Rolland Garros. It marked the first time the Czech had ever made it to a major final and stood tall as a high contender for a slam championship.

In what was the penultimate match of their careers was also their third meeting and second this season. Konta went the distance against the 19 year old in Rome where she ran away with the victory on Rome’s clay courts. Showing so much strength on the surface, Konta marked her second career semifinal in a major and the one she hoped would send her to Saturday’s final.

Vondrousova had never gone anywhere close to this level of competition in any of the big tournaments during the regular season. With her yet to have dropped a set, the Czech teen wanted nothing more than to keep that up as she faced the British number one. With a guarantee of a new French Open champion, it would be up to both of them to determine who from their end would enter the final match in Paris.

The teen earned first dibs at serving but was quickly broken due to back to back double faults. The British number one consolidated a serve to love to take a quick one way run of the set. Before she could get comfortable with her offense, the 28-year-old faced Vondrousova pushing back with a hold in the third. The fourth was the most highly contested as the young Czech looked to keep Konta in reach. The Brit forced deuce saving the first of five break points but couldn’t lock down an AD point.

The failure of losing ground was made up as she managed to break back Vondrousova quickly in the fifth. The set began to quicken with both handling serve that lasted three games and Konta standing with a 5-3 lead. In an effort to avoid giving away the set on serve, Vondrousova saved two set points to force deuce. The 19-year-old avoided a third before getting her own chance to lock down the game.

The Brit served for it a second time but drew errors twice to hand the Czech break point. She leveled it at five-all with her 16^th winner to send the set deep with the ball in hand. She pressured Konta to err for consecutive points before easily putting the 11^th game to rest. She kept the assault on Konta’s game running to reach a break chance for the set that ended with the Brit trying to set up for the return but instead watched the ball catch the inside of the court to end 55 minutes. Vondrousova outscored Konta by a minimal amount but had the better serve output that got her in position to gain more control.

She held serve to start the second but lost the next two with Konta converting a break in the third. The short break was all that occurred through seven games as each held firm through the next four giving up no more than one or two points to the returner. With the break in hand, Konta continued to lead but had Vondrousova at her heels looking for a shot at leveling back. Konta avoided that from happening to push the Czech to the baseline where she erred on Deuce to hand the Brit her shot at forcing the decider.

The Czech denied her that key break in the ninth and pushed her to either do it on her own or send the two nearer to a set tiebreak. Vondrousova responded well on the return side that included a great stance near the net where she gave it right back to the Brit that ultimately sent them into extra frames. The 19-year-old secured the hold in the 11^th to serve for the match just as the rain began to fall harder. Konta refused to go down in flames and started the 12^th with a well-placed lob at the net.

Pressing the issue at hand, Konta drew errors from the Czech before scoring a line drive winners that gave her a chance to force a third set with the tiebreak left to contest. Vondrousova got the first two points before Konta got on the board. When the Brit gained her second, the 19-year-old already had the lead at 3-2. Her two points would be the last the 28-year-old would win at Roland Garros as Vondrousova went on to take the next three straight for match point which she didn’t let get away ending another brilliant run that took her 1 hour and 45 minutes to do.

 “It was a very tough match today,” Vondrousova said during her on-court interview. “I’m happy that I kept my nerves at the end and I’m just so happy with everything here.” She will take on Australian powerhouse Ashleigh Barty who stopped the final from becoming an all-teen matchup with her three-set win over American Amanda Anisimova.

Azarenka ends Svitolina's title defense at Italian Open

​

​

Elina Svitolina’s title defense came to a sudden halt at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia late Tuesday night. Victoria Azarenka was a relentless force that she couldn’t stop and with a long rain delay that did not help her gain back control, the fifth seed was sent packing 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Centrale Court at Foro Italico.

The two got together for the third time and the first on clay with the two time defending champion challenged right off the racket. The Belorussian did well to show her strengths against Shuai Zhang on Monday to prepare herself for to add to the two wins she has against the Ukrainian. The downside for Svitolina is the minute amount of competition on the clay courts this season. With that being a major issue and whether her knee is at 100 percent leaves the unknown thought of whether she can make it through the first set. The Belorussian has shown no signs of such physical injuries giving her a heavy advantage before the first ball toss.

Azarenka chose to test the serve of Svitolina who did well by allowing the Belorussian just one point before securing the game. Azarenka followed suit with a good fight that let her edge the Ukrainian for the service hold. Svitolina went along with the pace she set and quickly reeled in the first break as the unforced errors were racking up for her opponent. To avoid a wide gap, Azarenka battled hard to hold Svitolina off for the break in the fifth putting her a game down.

She served herself into a hole giving the Ukrainian three break points in the sixth but saved them with errors from across the court. Svitolina erred just enough to let her off the hook and level the score at three apiece. A light rain began to fall during the seventh with the 24-year-old struggling with the first serve notching her second double fault. Azarenka got in position for the break win but a line drive return fell wide to force deuce.

Each got a chance with the AD point but with the Belorussian erring on her chance to gain leverage, she handed Svitolina one more to put it away and take point. Andrew Bettles came out to have a few words with the fifth seed telling her to be strong with the second serve and go after the opportunities that Azarenka brought on the return. None came during the Belorussian’s service game as she improved with terrific groundstrokes and key backhanders that caused the fifth seed trouble.

​

​ 

Despite committing her fourth double fault, she managed to lock down a 5-4 hold with Azarenka serving to stay in the set. Svitolina sensed her moment to take the break and achieved the goal with a forceful return game that ended things in 47 minutes. The near two dozen unforced errors from Azarenka was the main reason for Svitolina to gain the lead in the match.

Rain fell down heavily at the start of the second set which didn’t give Svitolina much pleasure as she lost the opening game to Azarenka with a fifth double fault. Before play resumed, officials suspended play as the rain fell harder sending everyone off the court. After a 15-minute delay play resumed with Azarenka serving only to be blanked by Svitolina who came out warmed up for the break back.

Three breaks of serve were in the books before they took another rain delay that lasted five minutes. When they resumed, Azarenka managed to hold the fourth and gain a two-game buffer. The delays were becoming a problem for the Ukrainian as she struggled to focus playing in the rain to hand Azarenka a triple break to lead 4-1. Rain started to fall down even harder which ultimately caused the match to be suspended for a second time with the covers going over the court.   

The play was delayed for more than 90 minutes with some moments where it didn’t look as if the match was going to continue. The time off court helped the Ukrainian who came out fresh and get herself mentally in check sitting three games down. The serve began in the hands of the Belorussian who drew more unforced errors from Svitolina who was trying to be aggressive.

Instead of vying for a break, the fifth seed found herself facing a decider with the nerves returning on serve. The Ukrainian was attacked on the second serve racing for the quick returns in the exposed court. A long return handed the Belorussian the set and a shot at keeping the pressure on Svitolina.

The Ukrainian wouldn’t let that happen at the start of the third and came out fighting for every point against Azarenka. With plenty of force, she edged the Belorussian on serve and secured the break to be ahead. The 29-year-old went after the second serve of Svitolina’s only to see her counterattack and hold in the second. Looking to maintain authority on court, the 24-year-old scored the double break that had her up 3-0 with the goal on the horizon.

​

 

Even after Azarenka found a way to hold serve against the Ukrainian, the fifth seed was on fire blasting away the ball so well to produce another victory and regain her three-game margin. When it looked as if the former world number one was almost out, she scored a key break that cut Svitolina’s lead in half. The fifth seed answered back by painting the lines with precision to take a penultimate 5-2 stance.

Serving for the match, Svitolina got behind with Azarenka getting the jump on her in the eighth. The 24-year-old even things out with more shots near the lines to reach match point. She blew a smash return to bring the Belorussian to deuce and saw it get away from her with Azarenka scoring the AD point on a line drive.

With the big point, she took care of her serve and shutout Svitolina in the ninth to continue fighting. The 24-year-old needed a strong first serve but got into trouble running down balls during the rally. It wasn’t until the final point where she got the last laugh with a return winner. They got even at 30-all with the next point being huge for both. Azarenka got it with great court position to smash it and reach another break point. The Ukrainian denied her with an ace but erred with a long crosscourt.

Azarenka showed no mercy when she put the ball where she wanted resulting in a victory after two breaks setting up more tennis. On serve in the 11^th, Azarenka conducted an outstanding position inside the court only to err on game point to force deuce. After three breaks, the game went to the Belorussian with a chance at making it her match. Svitolina was on the edge of defeat and despite saving two match points, the victory went to Azarenka who had enough energy left in the tank to conclude a thriller that took 2 hours and 16 minutes to finish.

After a total of 175 points played, both Svitolina and Azarenka had extreme numbers in the unforced errors to winners ratio. In the end, Azarenka’s qualities managed to get her out of trouble and into the third round where she’ll await the winner between Garbine Muguruza and Danielle Collins on Thursday.

Andreescu scores massive win to make BNP Paribas Open Final

Bianca Andreescu proved that she belongs in the BNP Paribas Open Final. Despite an immense amount of fatigue, the young Canadian came through to win a tight three-setter against Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 on Stadium One at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Friday night. The victory gave the 18-year-old a humungous advance to her first WTA premier mandatory final and second of the season.

This was their first meeting and in a huge semifinal that both worked hard to get to, the match would be heavily serious for the Ukrainian to control. The last two matches extended into three sets where they combined for five hours on court. With her game at a higher level than the young Canadian, the 24-year-old eyed to quickly be in form and take over the match. While being underestimated, Andreescu hasn’t yet faced anyone who played at their best. With Svitolina in her crosshairs, the 18-year-old looked to pull off a full court press and continue her odyssey.  

Nerves got the best of her opening serve as she committed errors to give Svitolina the break. The 24-year-old contained a hold of serve before breaking the Canadian to gain a comfortable 3-0 stance. Andreescu saw the trouble that she was in and blasted out a triple break opportunity in the fourth. The Ukrainian saved one but couldn’t force deuce as her grip of the match lessened.

The Canadian started showing comfort on serve that allowed her to secure a service hold in the fifth. With two consecutive wins under her belt, Andreescu went for a third to earn a double break and level the score. She clearly had the momentum taking a fourth straight which led the world number six to take a chat with her coach Andrew Bettles. The need to gain back control was the main subject of his conversation and how to attack Andreescu’s forehand to gain back control while the opportunity was there.

The chances to counter didn’t come as Andreescu got creative on her ball placement which put her ahead in the eighth. Svitolina rallied to deuce where a drawn error from the teen opened the door but was slammed shut by a double fault. A second straight gave Andreescu the AD point which she won on a crosscourt winner.

With five straight and Svitolina running out of time, Andreescu served for the set with a full shutout to sweep through the set in 32 minutes. Despite not having a strong serve, the ten winners that she had did a number on the sixth seed who only had two and suffered on the first winning just 33 percent from it.

When it looked as if Svitolina would be able to turn things around, Andreescu came in to ruin it with a serious break that made it seven straight games. The teen’s winning streak finally came to a halt as the world number six found a way to break back and get on track. Doing so was not an easy task as she had a two-point buffer but made bad shots to get Andreescu to deuce. A missed opportunity for the 18-year-old allowed the Ukrainian to hold serve and be ahead for the first time since the third game of the previous set.

Andreescu wanted to get even in more ways than one but her efforts were a challenge on serve in the fourth where Svitolina was determined to win. After two long breaks of deuce, it was the 24-year-old with another break to lead 3-1. The Canadian tried to go for a break back but was unsuccessful as the sixth seed found her mark and slammed a crosscourt winner to widen the gap further. They both held serve through two games until Svitolina went for the set in the seventh that was challenged by Andreescu to hold. They went to deuce briefly before an error from the Canadian secured a deciding set for the Ukrainian to play after 41 minutes.

Svitolina had improved on the serve scoring nearly 70 percent which beat down Andreescu’s down to 33 as she racked up 18 unforced errors which took a toll on her second serve at 42 percent success. With that part of the match going her way, the Ukrainian wanted more but Andreescu was there to make it tough. She forced Svitolina to play deuce where drawn errors gave the 18-year-old the early break.

A consolidation of the hold made it 2-0 for the Canadian but gaining a third was out of the question as Svitolina played hard for the hold and had help from Andreescu’s errors. The 18-year-old had trouble again on serve but despite the pain she was feeling came out with the hold to recapitalize the two-game buffer. A serve to love was Svitolina’s first of the match which is what Bettles told her to keep up the energy and rip the forehand.

Andreescu’s coach Sylvain Bruneau tried to keep the 18-year-old confident by telling her that she was the better one out there. During the sixth, it was clear that Svitolina was the better of the two as she racked up seven straight points before Andreescu got a point. She picked up a second but fatigue played a role in the teen losing strength against the Ukrainian who showed little in being tired.

Andreescu somehow broke the sixth seed to gain back the lead but it wasn’t safe as she had to hold to become a major threat. She erred too many times in the eighth but rallied every break point to force deuce and land another crosscourt winner to take a pivotal 5-3 stand. Svitolina faced elimination and served the ninth gaining a 40-0 run before erring twice.

 A critical error got Andreescu to deuce opening the door for match point attempts. She got it on a line drive but lost it on a shot just long of the baseline. It was the only one she’d see in the game as Andreescu erred three times to give Svitolina the win. It was up to the 18-year-old to get it done on her own and went to deuce with the 24-year-old after coming back from 15-40. Despite losing two more match points, a fourth one came that ended a tense rally with a victory as Svitolina hit one more into the net ending the match in 2 hours and 12 minutes.  

“This is so incredible,” Andreescu said to Andrew Krasny after the match. “This past week has been a dream come true.” She thanked the fans and a number of people close to her as she had the stage to show her gratitude. She had 36 winners and 57 unforced errors that were truly brought out by Svitolina who pulled out all the stops in her defeat.

With a massive victory in her career, she will no await her opponent on Sunday as Belinda Bencic and Angelique Kerber fight for the right to go for the title.