Rebeka Masarova Upsets Maria Sakkari in US Open First Round to Earn First Win Against Top 10 Player

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rebeka Masarova is celebrating an important win…

The 24-year-old Swiss-born Spanish tennis player picked up her first Top 10 win with a 6-4, 6-4 upset victory over Maria Sakkari in the first round of the US Open on Monday.

Masarova, ranked No. 71 in the world, had previously been 0-4 against Top 10 opponents, but took her chances by converting all three break points created to dispatch the No. 8 seed after 87 minutes.

The last time Masarova won an outdoor hard-court match in the main draw of a tour-level event? January 7, when she beat Ysaline Bonaventure to make her maiden WTA final in Auckland. Masarova’s US Open preparation saw her fall in the first round of Cincinnati qualifying before picking up a pair of wins at the WTA 125 in Chicago.

For Sakkari, her 2023 at the majors ends with three straight opening-round exits. One could understand her Roland Garros departure at the hands of eventual finalist Karolina Muchova, who had also won their encounter at the Paris major a year earlier. The same can’t be said for Wimbledon, where she bageled Marta Kostyuk in the first set only to lose 7-5 in a decider. Worth reminding that like Masarova, Kostyuk had never beaten a Top 10 opponent with a 0-14 mark going into that encounter.

Sakkari came into Flushing Meadows at No. 13 in the Race to the WTA Finals. A year after a run to the WTA 1000 Guadalajara title match clinched the final berth to the season finale (held in Fort Worth, Texas), the former world No. 3 will need an even bigger fourth quarter boost to get back to the prestigious year-end event.

Sara Sorribes Tormo Outlasts Ekaterina Alexandrova to Win Tennis in the Land Title

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Sara Sorribes Tormo is a lucky loser and winner…

The 26-year-old Spanish professional tennis player, who received a lucky loser berth into the tournament, captured her second career singles title with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over fourth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia at Tennis in the Land on Saturday.

Sorribes Tormo, ranked No. 95 in the world, overcame a 4-2 deficit in the second set and trailed 4-3 in the third before storming back. She broke No. 22 Alexandrova twice to close out each set, finishing the 2-hour, 27-minute match on her fourth match point at the WTA 250 event.

“I knew I was close to losing the match, so I was thinking that I have to find the solution,” she said. “My family always tells me to fight and always stay in the match, and that’s what I tried to do. I know I can run and I used that to my advantage.”

The championship was the final stop on an emotional roller coaster for Sorribes Tormo, who was “almost crying in the players’ lounge” at the Nautica Entertainment Complex after being eliminated in the qualifying round.

When Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania became the sixth player to withdraw from the 32-woman main bracket, she informed Sorribes Tormo that four additional spots were now available. She subsequently picked her own name in the raffle for the first bid.

Sorribes Tormo became the sixth lucky loser in WTA history to win a singles crown. It was her first title since 2021 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

“One week ago, I was out of the tournament, and today I am here,” she said, smiling. “Someone told me they call this Believeland. It must be true.”

Alexandrova, the lone seed to advance past the quarterfinals, fired all four aces in the match but was broken in her last three service games. She failed to score a point in one of them and committed two of her 14 double faults in the finale.

“Sara had an amazing week and played an amazing match today,” Alexandrova said. “It was quite an enjoyable week for everyone.”

Anett Kontaveit of Estonia won the inaugural Tennis in the Land title in 2021, and Liudmila Samsonova of Russia was the defending champion. All matches were played outdoors on a hard court, in a temporary downtown stadium, for the first time this year.

Rebeka Masarova Upsets Mayar Sherif to Earn First Victory at Wimbledon

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rebeka Masarova has earned her first Wimbledon victory…

Playing in only her second tournament at the All England Club, the unseeded 23-year-old Swiss-born Spanish professional tennis player defeated No. 31 seed Mayar Sherif in the first round.

Masarova, currently ranked No. 66 in the world, her highest ranking to date, outlasted Sherif 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (6) in a hard-fought match.

Masarova will next face either Camila Osorio or Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the second round.

Earlier this year, Masarova reached her first WTA final at the Auckland Classic, losing to Coco Gauff 1-6, 1-6.

Carlos Alcaraz Earns No. 1 Seed at Wimbledon

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz is heading into the All England Club as the top seed…

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis player, not four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic was seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon on Wednesday, as expected, because the All England Club adhered to the ATP and WTA rankings.

Alcaraz overtook Djokovic atop the men’s standings on Monday. Djokovic hasn’t played since collecting his men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open on June 11 and slid to No. 2, while Alcaraz rose one spot after winning a grass-court tuneup tournament at Queen’s Club on Sunday.

Djokovic has won the championship at Wimbledon each of the past four times it was held — and seven times overall — but he did not benefit from a ranking boost in 2022 because the ATP and WTA withheld all points to protest the All England Club’s decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Those athletes are allowed to compete this year, and Russian player Daniil Medvedev is seeded No. 3 in the men’s field.

The draw to set up the singles brackets will be Friday. The tournament begins Monday.

Casper Ruud is No. 4 of the 32 men’s seeds, followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. Nick Kyrgios, the runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon a year ago, is seeded 31st.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is ranked 39th and is not seeded.

Swiatek has been ranked No. 1 since April 2022 and owns four Grand Slam titles, most recently at the French Open. She has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon.

In the women’s field, Iga Swiatek is the No. 1 seed, while Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 women’s champion at the All England Club, is No. 3 among the women’s 32 seeds, followed by Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Ons Jabeur, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, two-time champion Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova.

From 2002 to 2019, the All England Club based its seedings for the men’s draw on a formula that took into account results on grass at Wimbledon and elsewhere. But after that, the tournament opted to simply follow the rankings to determine all seeds.

Carlos Alcaraz Returns to No. 1 in ATP World Rankings, Expected to Earn No. 1 Seed at Wimbledon

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz is officially back on top…

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis player has replaced Novak Djokovic at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, meaning he’s expected to have the top seeding at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz, the reigning US Open champion, is coming off the first grass-court title of his career, which he won on Sunday by beating Alex De Minaur in the final at Queen’s Club in London, and that helped him rise one spot from No. 2.

Djokovic, who picked up his men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open this month, chose not to play any tune-up tournaments on grass ahead of Wimbledon and slid down one place.

It is the sixth time the No. 1 ranking has switched in 2023, the most since it happened seven times in 2018.

Play begins at Wimbledon on Monday, July 3.

The All England Club will announce the men’s and women’s seeds Wednesday and is expected to simply follow the ATP and WTA rankings for those 32 berths in each 128-player singles draw. That would put Alcaraz and the leading woman, Iga Swiatek, in the top line of each bracket.

Swiatek remained at No. 1 — as she has for every week since first climbing to that position in April 2022 — on Monday, a little more than two weeks after she won the French Open for the third time. Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka kept her hold on No. 2, and defending Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is at No. 3. Jessica Pegula moved up to No. 4, switching with new No. 5 Caroline Garcia.

Wimbledon’s seedings used to be based on a formula that took into account players’ recent success there and at other events contested on grass courts. But with only the rankings mattering now, there is the unusual situation of even last year’s results at the All England Club not mattering — because the ATP and WTA chose to withhold all rankings points that would have been earned at Wimbledon in 2022 to protest the club’s decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine.

That war continues, but the club is allowing Russians and Belarusians to compete this time.

Djokovic has won Wimbledon each of the past four times it was held — in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022; the tournament was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic — and seven times in all.

“I mean, Novak is the main favorite to win Wimbledon. That’s obvious,” Alcaraz said. “But I will try to play at this level, to have chances to beat him or make the final at Wimbledon.”

If they are indeed seeded Nos. 1 and 2, Alcaraz and Djokovic could meet only in the championship match on July 16. At Roland Garros, Alcaraz was the No. 1 seed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time; Djokovic was No. 3, and they were drawn to meet in the semifinals. The first two sets were terrific, but then Alcaraz faded because of full-body cramps he attributed, at least in part, to tension, and Djokovic took the last two sets 6-1, 6-1 on the way to the trophy.

There was no other major change in the men’s rankings Monday, with Daniil Medvedev still at No. 3, followed by Casper Ruud at No. 4 and Stefanos Tsitsipas at No. 5. Taylor Fritz, who is from California, and Frances Tiafoe, who is from Maryland, were at Nos. 9-10, remaining the first pair of American men in the top 10 in more than a decade.

Marina Bassols Ribera Reaches First-Ever WTA Final at Valencia Open

Posted on June 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Marina Bassols Ribera has reached her first-ever WTA final…

The 23-year-old Spanish tennis player came from one set down to defeat Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch to reach the finals of the Valencia Open at the Valencia Tennis Club.

The unseeded Bassols Ribera, who defeated No. 3 seed Sara Errani in the quarterfinals, defeated Korpatsch 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the final round.

Bassols Ribera will face No. 1 seed Mayar Sherif of Egypt in the final of the WTA 125 tournament.

Beatriz Haddad Maia Becomes First Brazilian Woman to Reach Top 10 of the WTA Rankings

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Beatriz Haddad Maia’s French Open dream run may have fallen short of a title, but it still lead to a piece of history.

The 27-year-old Brazilian professional tennis player has become the first Brazilian woman to reach the top 10 of the WTA rankings after reaching the semifinals at Roland Garros.

Haddad Maia beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals in Paris to become the first Brazilian woman in 55 years to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

She was beaten by eventual champion Iga Swiatek.

Brazilian women’s tennis has had precious little success since the days of Maria Bueno, who won seven Grand Slam titles between 1959 and 1966 — long before the WTA rankings were introduced in 1975.

Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten reached No. 1 in the men’s ATP rankings in 2000.

Haddad Maia will take a ranking of No. 10 into the grass-court season in which she impressed last year and will feature in this week’s Nottingham Open as buildup to Wimbledon begins.

Swiatek, who won her third career French Open title Saturday, and Aryna Sabalenka remained at Nos. 1-2 in the rankings, while Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia each moved up one spot to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. American Jessica Pegula rounded out the top five.

Beatriz Haddad Maia Outlasts Ons Jabeur to Reach French Open Semifinals

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Beatriz Haddad Maia is continuing her historic run at the French Open…

The 27-year-old Brazilian tennis player notched another comeback win at Roland Garros, pulling off an upset win over Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1 on Wednesday to become the first Brazilian woman since 1968 to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

The 14th-seeded Haddad Maia shook off a slow start against the seventh-seeded Jabeur on Court Philippe Chatrier and will next face Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.

After playing nearly four hours to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the fourth round, Haddad Maia won only one service game in the first set. But she saved the only two break points she faced in the second set — both in the 11th game to go up 6-5 — and won the tiebreaker.

Haddad Maia started the deciding set with a double break and a 3-0 lead. A frustrated Jabeur flipped her racket in the air after sending an easy backhand wide on a break-point opportunity while down 4-1. Haddad Maia won the game and served out the match.

“I had to be patient and keep doing the shots because she is a pretty good player, one of the best in the world,” Haddad Maia said. “So I am proud of me and my team today because it is not easy playing her. You think you have another shot to play [in a rally] but then drop shot, winner. I always believed that the match is long.”

Haddad Maia, who in 2019 was provisionally suspended for failing a doping test, is the first Brazilian woman to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros in the Open era. Maria Bueno reached the last four at the 1966 French Open and made the 1968 US Open semifinals.

Haddad Maia’s fourth-round win over Sorribes Tormo, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5, was the longest WTA match of the year, clocking in at 3 hours, 51 minutes. She has dropped the first set in her past three matches and has played three sets in all but her first-round victory.

Entering the French Open, Haddad Maia was 1-11 in Grand Slams when losing the first set.

The last Brazilian player to win a singles title at the French Open was Gustavo Kuerten, who claimed his third championship at Roland Garros in 2001.

Rebeka Masarova Claims First Win Over a Top-50 Player Since 2016

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rebeka Masarova is celebrating a big win…

The 23-year-old half-Spanish tennis player, a qualifier at this week’s ASB Classic, defeated second-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-3, 7-5 (5) on Wednesday as organizers of the WTA Tour event contended with a backlog of singles matches caused by persistent rain.

Matches had to be played indoors and without spectators to ensure the first round of singles was completed.

On a day which was to be notable for the number of American players in action, Stephens struggled to adjust to the indoor setting and fell to the 130th-ranked Masarova in just under two hours.

The match was a holdover from the previous evening; Masarova led 2-1 on serve when play was suspended late Tuesday night. She immediately broke Stephens for 3-1 and, playing behind a strong serve, took the first set 6-3 in 41 minutes.

Masarova took an early 2-0 lead in the second set, but Stephens broke in the fourth game to level at 2-2 and broke again in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead.

But Masarova broke back in the ninth game and came close to doing so again in the 11th game when she had three break points at 0-40 which Stephens was able to save. Masarova went up 6-2 in the tiebreaker and finally sealed the match on her fourth match point to claim her first win over a top-50 player since 2016.

“I thought I played some good points,” Stephens said. “I thought I played well in some moments.

“Obviously, I wish I could have played better and done some things differently but overall, I’m upset but not devastated. It’s the first tournament of year so I have to be realistic and just know there’s stuff to build on.”

Carlos Alcaraz Becomes Youngest Year-End No. 1 in ATP History

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz has another a place in tennis history once again…

The 19-year-old Spanish professional tennis player is the youngest year-end No. 1 in the history of the ATP computerized rankings.

He also joins fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal as the first players from the same country to claim the top two spots at the close of a season since Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996.

The final men’s tennis rankings for 2022 were published Monday, and Alcaraz’s rise from No. 32 at the end of 2021 is the largest single-season jump to No. 1.

Alcaraz, who turned 19 in May, has remained atop the rankings since he won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in September by beating Casper Ruud in the final.

That made Alcaraz the first male teen at No. 1 since the ATP computerized rankings began in 1973.

He’s the first man in 20 years other than Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray — since Andy Roddick in 2003 — to finish at No. 1.

Alcaraz ended his season early after tearing an abdominal muscle while competing at the Paris Masters a month ago.

The 36-year-old Nadal, meanwhile, is the oldest man to finish a year ranked first or second. He also extended his own record by placing in the top 10 at the end of a year for the 18th consecutive season. The recently retired Federer is the only other man with that many top-10 finishes over the course of a career.

Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open to raise his men’s-record Grand Slam total to 22 trophies, one ahead of Djokovic and two ahead of Federer.

Ruud finishes at No. 3, followed by No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 5 Djokovic, No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 7 Daniil Medvedev, No. 8 Andrey Rublev, No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz.

Djokovic couldn’t play at the Australian Open or US Open because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and didn’t earn any rankings boost for his title at Wimbledon because the WTA and ATP stripped that tournament of any points over the All England Club‘s ban on players from Russia and Belarus.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: WTA