Tennis News

It has been a bizarre few months for Polish No. 1 Agnieszka Radwanska and she will look to put it all behind her when she begins her campaign at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix event in Stuttgart. She will begin her week against Italy’s Sara Errani. She has faced her Italian adversary on nine previous occasions and leads the head-to-head series 7-2. However, their clay court h2h is 2-2 and it will be interesting to see if the Polish star can bring an end to her turbulent few months on the tour.

After alternating between wins and losses for the first three tournaments of the season all the way up to the Miami Masters, it was clear that Radwanska was far from her usual self. Even though she was armed with a part-time coach in Martina Navratilova, the Polish star was unable to get a foothold in many of her matches and began suffering surprising losses, such as a 6-4, 6-4 fall to Heather Watson. She managed to reach the fourth round in Miami and the semi-final stage in Katowice, but it was not enough to turn the tide in her favour. Katowice was a tournament tailor made for her success and she was still unable to win the title on home soil.

Most recently, Radwanska suffered a bizarre 6-1, 6-1 loss to Timea Bacsinszky at the Poland vs. Switzerland Fed Cup tie after beating Martina Hingis on Saturday 6-4, 6-0.

While Sara Errani’s 2015 WTA season has not been anything to write home about, she has not been struggling as much as her Polish counterpart. She reached the semi-final stage in Monterrey and the quarter-final round in Charleston. Most recently, she defeated Lauren Davis in the Italy vs USA tie. She then lost to Serena Williams in three sets on Saturday.

This marks the 10th time that Radwanska and Errani will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Pole leading the series 7-2. Radwanska won their most recent meting nearly two years ago in Toronto, while Errani won their most recent clay court meeting at the 2013 French Open. Given the recent trajectories for both players, it is safe to assume that Errani, the better clay court player, will have the advantage this time around.

Following an entertaining day of semi-final action, two competitors stand tall in the wake of Saturday night’s contests, as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Czech No. 1 Tomas Berdych cross paths for the 21st time on the professional tour. Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 18-2 and has not lost to Berdych in nearly two years.

In a blockbuster semi-final encounter, Novak Djokovic was able to outplay Rafael Nadal in a thrilling encounter to edge out a close straight sets victory. Djokovic suffered from a slow start and was down a break early on but rarely faced much trouble from that point onwards. He did pay some impressive, high-quality tennis with his greatest adversary, though. Eventually, he won the match 6-3, 6-3.

“I did have a slower start than he did in the match,” admitted Djokovic. “He started very aggressive, playing good, serving well, having a break point for a double break. I played a good point there. I won a very important game not to allow him to have the advantage of 3-0.”
While many anticipated a more competitive semi-final, Tomas Berdych breezed into the Monte Carlo final for the first time in his career with a straight sets victory against Gael Monfils. He defeated the Frenchman 6-1, 6-4 in a match that lasted just 67 minutes.

“This year is going pretty well,” said Berdych. “It’s going almost the way we set it up. We’re missing a trophy yet as a team and me personally, but it’s another chance tomorrow. I think I’m going to try to put myself [to be] in the best possible position to be ready for it.”

This marks the 21st time that Djokovic and Berdych will meet on the professional tour, with the top seed holding a dominant 18-2 record against his adversary. In 2014, Djokovic demolished Berdych 6-2, 6-0 in the China Open final to hand the Czech his most embarrassing victory ever. He then followed up with 6-2, 6-2 victory at the World Tour Finals to put an emphatic finish to their series for the season. However, this season was a little different: Berdych was able to take a set off Djokovic in their semi-final encounter in Dubai but still managed to lose a bagel set in the process. He could take into consideration that his last victory against the Serb took place on clay at the Rome Masters, but Djokovic is a far different animal on this surface now.

For the first time in 2015, Djokovic and Nadal took part in a professional encounter. They had not stepped across the net from each other since their last official meeting back in Roland Garros. The blockbuster affair was one that many anticipated for Saturdy’s main attraction, and while the final score may indicate a mild contest, it certainly had its high points.

Djokovic suffered from a slow start and was down a break early on but rarely faced much trouble from that point onwards. He did pay some impressive, high-quality tennis with his greatest adversary, though. Eventually, he won the match 6-3, 6-3.

“When you get to play somebody who has won so many times, so many matches on clay courts, he’s no doubt the best player that ever played the game on this surface, you got to use the opportunities. You have to be able to step in. This is the only way I was going to win against him or any other match that I play against him, especially on this surface, is to be aggressive and play my style of the game. I was aware of that.

“I’m just very pleased with the performance, honestly. Other than the first three games that I was getting into the match, it was a really, really solid performance.”

In the earlier contest of the day, Tomas Berdych breezed into the Monte Carlo final for the first time in his career with a straight sets victory against Gael Monfils. He defeated the Frenchman 6-1, 6-4 in a match that lasted just 67 minutes.

“This year is going pretty well,” said Berdych. “It’s going almost the way we set it up. We’re missing a trophy yet as a team and me personally, but it’s another chance tomorrow. I think I’m going to try to put myself [to be] in the best possible position to be ready for it.”

Djokovic and Berdych will next take part in their 21st encounter on the AP World Tour to determine the 2015 champion at the Monte Carlo Masters.