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By: Matt DeCorso
Hello everyone! Tennis is taking its victory lap around the
world and lands in Zurich, Switzerland. With such talents as Maria
Sharapova, Venus Williams, and Vera Zvonareva the field is impressive. Even
though Zurich is devoid of Serena, Amelie, and Lindsay, scintillating tennis
has already been played. Big kudos go out to Venus Williams for playing
spotless tennis to crush Karolina Sprem. Sprem, who had conquered Venus at
Wimbledon, seemed to be lacking her usual tenacity and Venus was firing from
all angles. Congrats also goes out to Daniela Hantuchova for making a great
start in Zurich by dismissing Russian Douchevina. Dani's win sets up a mouth
watering second round clash with Wimbledon teen queen...Maria Sharapova.
That match will probably contain dazzling attire and backhands. If I had to
choose a winner in that match, I'd pick Sharapova in a tight two setter.
Ladies and gentleman the Swiss Miss 2 has arrived. Timea Bacsinszky is a
talented 15 year from Lausane who is starting to make a name for herself.
While not making a jump in the senior ranks, she has improved her junior
rank and ITF showings. If she can build her ranking up, she can start
competing at more than just Swiss senior events. Good luck in the future
Timea! Enjoy.
Tatiana Golovin versus Ana Ivanovic
Nicole Vaidisova has already won two titles this year. Timea
Bacsinszky was a finalist at the junior European Championships. What about
the Frussian Pastry and her opponent the newly christened junior Wimbledon
finalist. Another interesting fact is, 7 of the 8 women who made it to the
finals of the qualifying are in the main draw! Weird eh?
Tatiana Golovin has showed great progress throughout the year
and reached a career high of 29. In order for Tatiana to make that push into
the upper echelon of tennis, she has to win the big matches and dominate the
less important ones. In other words, she has to excel in the Slams and also
post at least semis and finals at the other Tiers. She is only 16 remember
but already has tons of points to defend next year. 2 fourth round showings
at Grand Slams and 1 final at a Tier 2 is plenty to keep her busy. Golovin
made it through the qualifying beating the likes of Adriana Barna and Emilie
Loit. She had to summon all of her maturity and skill to get past Panova but
she is here in the main draw. In this match look for her first serve to be
at a high percentage. If she's "on" she'll be hitting aces and her whole
game comes together.
Weakness: Second serve
What can I say about Ana Ivanovic. She is the Serbian
sweetheart with deadly ground strokes. Her record in ITF and WTA matches is
37-3. Her losses to Frazier in Vienna, Barna in Birmingham, and Skavronskaia
have been tough bouts but interestingly, all in WTA matches. She has already
won 5 ITF titles, with notable wins over Myskina's US Open conqueror Anna
Chakvetadze and Top 100 stalwart Saori Obata. I haven't even mentioned the
qualies! She dropped 10 games in three matches with wins over Weingartner,
Koukalova, and Kostanic. The first two women have each reached a WTA final
this year. She also bagelled twice! I know that she has instilled fear and
anxiety in Golovin and so she should. Ana was the most decisive woman in the
qualifying and who's to say she can't do it. Tatiana's most recent loss was
to Czech phenom Nicole Vaidisova. Ana has also had a pretty good year in the
juniors. In her first event, she won the whole tournament (Grade 1
event-just below Grand Slams). In the finals she stunned future Aussie Open
champ Shahar Peer and went all the way to the quarterfinals in Melbourne
before losing to Vaidisova. Her next event was her last...Wimbledon. It is
every tennis players' dream to perform on the lawns of Wimbledon and this
year, Ana did just that. A quarterfinal win against Alisa Kleybanova
launched her into possibly the best third set of a junior girls match at
Wimbledon. Viktoria Azarenka was her victim and she squeaked past the
Belarussian Bombshell 12-10! The win looked out of reach but Ana played
perfect tennis for two sets against Katerina Bondarenko but lost an easy
third set and the crown. With career junior wins over infamous girls such as
Karatantcheva, Kutuzova, and Peer, Ivanovic has displayed she is a star on
the rise.
Weakness: I haven't seen much of her but her backhand is a little weaker.
Who has the Edge?
Serve- Golovin
Groundies- Golovin
Movement- Ivanovic
Intangibles- Ivanovic
Volley- Golovin (she is playing doubles with Dechy this week)
This match between the two 16 year olds is a very
interesting one. Tatiana seems nervous while playing fellow teens, and it
showed during losses to Sharapova and Vaidisova. For Tatiana, it is
imperative to get a good start because Ana has nothing to lose. Make sure a
high percentage of first serves are going in. For Ana, play with all your
craft and strength and keep fighting. Look to move Golovin around.
Matt's Pick: I picked Golovin over Nicole last week and I think I'll pick
her again, with an emphatic 6-4 7-6 triumph over Ana Ivanovic!
Thanks
GOOD LUCK GIRLS!!!!!!!
Visit the Andy Roddick's page here
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