Articles: Tennis

“Novak is crazy because he is old.” Daniil Medvedev was laughing when he said it. He wasn’t entirely joking. Djokovic arrives at Monday’s Beijing semifinal after consecutive matches lasting nearly three hours, including Sunday’s 2-hour, 35-minute fight with Alexander Zverev. Two days earlier, Djokovic required medical treatment against Bu Yunchaokete and then disclosed that an […]

Mirra Andreeva already knows where the problem begins. “Leylah, I feel like she likes to take the ball early; she’s aggressive, she likes to go for it as well.” That first part matters more than the rest. Leylah Fernandez has beaten Andreeva in both of their hard-court meetings, most recently 6-1, 6-4 in Toronto last […]

Iva Jovic has saved 19 of 20 break points across her last two matches. Read that again: Nineteen of twenty. It sounds like evidence for the -333 favorite until somebody asks the less flattering question: why has the defending champion offered Magdalena Frech and Cristina Bucsa 20 opportunities to break her in the first place? […]

Liudmila Samsonova has lost three sets in Guadalajara. Peyton Stearns has lost none. Samsonova has needed consecutive deciding sets. Stearns has beaten all three opponents in two. And yet Samsonova enters Friday’s semifinal as the -143 favorite. Perhaps the market has identified the more dangerous player. Perhaps it has become too impressed by Samsonova’s escape […]

Cristina Bucsa has spent three Guadalajara matches making opponents play on her terms. Iva Jovic may give her less time to establish them. Bucsa arrives after eliminating Sara Bejlek 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, adding another three sets to victories over Bianca Andreescu and Panna Udvardy. Jovic required only 75 minutes to beat Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-2 […]

Peyton Stearns has found a forehand Guadalajara reward. Sloane Stephens has spent two rounds denying opponents the separation that shot is supposed to create. Stearns struck 17 forehand winners against Diane Parry, while Stephens has won four straight sets despite repeatedly falling behind. Thursday turns on whether Stearns can convert her heavier first strike into […]

Marta Kostyuk reaches the Guadalajara quarterfinal without having played a point. Liudmila Samsonova reaches it after more than five hours on court and two victories. That creates Thursday’s strange trade. Kostyuk owns fresh legs but no competitive feel for Guadalajara’s conditions. Samsonova has already spent two matches adjusting to them, including three sets and two […]

Iva Jovic beat Magdalena Fręch two weeks ago. Guadalajara has changed the part of the matchup Fręch disliked most. After their US Open meeting, Fręch described the New York court as unexpectedly slow and said she struggled to find her timing. She arrives at Thursday’s rematch having won four straight sets in conditions where she […]

Sara Bejlek has lost only eight hard-court matches this year. Cristina Bucsa owns the most recent one. Thursday’s Guadalajara quarterfinal comes only 17 days after Bucsa beat Bejlek 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 at the US Open. The useful question is not whether that result repeats. It is whether Bucsa can again prevent Bejlek from turning the […]

Eight days ago, Marta Kostyuk said she wanted to stop playing through wrist pain. Wednesday, she returns against an opponent who can make that wrist answer quickly. Kostyuk revealed after the US Open that an ultrasound indicated an overload problem that had bothered her since Cincinnati. By New York, some strokes caused acute pain, and […]