Recaps
Tournament Recaps
General Descriptions of Selected Tourneys
Australian Open: Grand Slam. Completed 2/1
(Selected Matches.) Women's 3rd Rd, #1 Sabalenka barely got by Potapova 7-6, 7-6. Young American Iva Jovic defeated Paolini, 6-2, 7-6. Reversing her previous loss in '25 at Indian Wells. Jovic now faces Putintseva in the 4th Rd Sat. Men's 3rd Rd, Aussie De Minaur over American Tiafoe in 3 sets. 4th Rd Sat, #1 Alcaraz faces American T Paul. Some play was delayed per extreme heat. Forecasts were 40+ C, which is 104+ F.
Men's 4th Rd. Alcaraz over American T Paul in 3 sets. Alcaraz now faces De Minaur in the Quarters. (Alcaraz won in 3 sets.) Djokovic got a walk over win over Mensik and faces Musetti in the Quarters. Men's Quarters. Zverev ended American Tien's run in 4 sets. Top seeded Sinner faces American Shelton. Women's Quarters, Sabalenka downed American Jovic in straight sets, and faces Svitolina the Semi's. Evitolina defeated American Gauff in straight sets. Also in the Quarters, American's Pegula and Anisimova square off. Pegula holds a 3-0 match advantage over Anisimova, but Anisimova's considered the favorite.
Finals. Mens Singles; #1 Alcaraz - #4 Djokovic. In the semi's, Djokovic downed #2 Sinner in 5 sets. Can he recover? (Add-Alcaraz needed 5 sets to best Zverev in the semi's, so it depends on how you look at it.) Doubles; the lone American Harrison teaming with Stupski #6, against Aussie's Kubler/Polmans. Women's Singles; #1 Sabalenka - #5 Rybakina. The latter is playing well again. Doubles; #7 Danilina/Krunic - #4 S Zhang/Mertens. We were hesistent of calling the upset in the quarter's of #1 Townsend/Siniakova, but we'll call it here with Danilina/Krunic in 3 sets? We've seen Danilina play, and only seen Krunic practice in the past, but she was impressive. Check the Official Site for Updates; www.ausopen.com and www.tennis.com
Tournament Winners; Men's Single's; #1 Alcaraz over #4 Djokovic, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. Giving Alcaraz a career Singles Grand Slam. Men's Doubles; #6 (American) Harrison/Stupski in straight sets. Women's Singles; #5 Rybakina in 3 sets. Women's Doubles; #4 S Zhang/Mertens in straight sets.
Barnes Open/San Diego Open: Completed 2/1
See San Diego Open Gallery
Hard court. Challenger and ITF. Men's and Women's. Qualifying starts 1/26, Mon. Main Event 1/27-2/1 (Tue-Sun.) Former #15 ATP, Sebastian Korda enters on a main event singles wild card. Former #13 WTA, Jennifer Brady enters on a main event singles wild card. This was a wonderful event and we thank them for allowing us to photograph. We like this center and look forward to another event.
1/30-Fri; We just visited the Center, and it's very quaint with Up Close Viewing. Fri also has General Adm which includes 2 outer courts and there (was) standing areas near Stadium Ct the other day. Later matches today are mostly Doubles, which are fan favorites.
Tournament Winners; Men's Single's; #4 Zachary Svajda. Women's Singles; #5 Elvina Kalieva. Men's Doubles; #3 T Hinderbrand/M Kiger. Women's Doubles; #2 K Cross/A Smith.
BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells: Completed 3/14
See BNP Paribas Open Gallery
Hard Court. ATP 1000, WTA 1000. Mens's and Women's. We're down to the final 2 days. Saturday's lineup: Men's Semi Singles; #4 Zverez - #2 Sinner and #1 Alcaraz - #11 Medvedev. Women's Doubles Final; #3 Townsend/Siniakova - #5 Danilina/Krunic. Men's Doubles Final; Guinard/Andreozzi - Vacherot/Rinderkench. Mixed Doubles Final; #1 Dabrowski/Glasspool - Cobolli/Bencic.
Medvedev was playing well, so we'll see how that translates vs Alcaraz. One of our favorite Doubles team is Danilina and Krunic, so they'll have a chance to earn a win against the tough duo of Townsend and Siniakova. We'll find out.
Finals Sun. Women's; #1 Sabalenka - #3 Rybakina. Men's; #11 Medvedev - #2 Sinner. Sabalenka is a slight favorite over Rybakina. But, the latter beat her in the Australian Open, and past tournaments on Google shows Rybakina winning 3 of the last 4 meetings. Sinner has been cruising and is a fairly strong favorite over Medvedev.
Tournament Winners; Men's Single's; #2 Sinner. Men's Doubles; Guinard/Andreozzi. Women's Singles; #1 Sabelenka. Women's Doubles; #3 Townsend/Siniakova. Mixed Doubles; Cobolli/Bencic.
Slow hard courts rewards patience. Tourney offers plenty of sunshine and top players. One of the busiest times is the 1st Weekend. The Center Gardens area is a great place to hang out, and so are the practice cts. Tips; Digital Ticketing, you'll need a mobile device. Clear bag policy. Bring sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat. Stay hydrated; there's drinking fountains near restrooms, and you can refill water bottles. There's also concessions and a cashless venue. Visit their site for Order of Play, Practice Cts and Draws. www.bnpparibasopen.com
Credit One Charleston Open: Hard Court. WTA 500. Completed 4/4
Tournament Winners; Women's Singles; #1 Jessica Pegula. Women's Doubles; D Krawczyk / C McNally
www.creditonecharlestonopen.com
MonteCarlo Masters: Clay court event. ATP 1000. Competed 4/12
Tournament Winners; Men's Singles; #2 Jannick Sinner. Men's Doubles; #6 K Krawietz / T Puetz
www.montecarlotennismasters.com
Roland Garros (French Open): Grand Slam. Clay court event.
Tournament Winners; ?
www.rolandgarros.com/en-us
Wimbledon: Grand Slam. Fast grass rewards first strike tennis and slice variety.
US Open: Grand Slam. Hard court event in New York. Features Day and Electric Night atmospheres.
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