Djokovic avenges Alcaraz for Wimbledon, Gauff title and Svitolina injury

The US Open ended the penultimate week before the start of 2023. The best tennis players on the planet played on Cincinnati courts. Ukrainians also participated in the Western & Southern Open tournament, but the performances of our athletes cannot be called successful. On the contrary, Ukrainian athletes repeated the “success” of Montreal…

WTA 1000 Cincinnati

3 Ukrainians played in Cincinnati: Lesya Tsurenko, Marta Kostyuk and Angelina Kalinina. Lesya started qualifying against Taylor Townsend. The Ukrainian player lost to the American in three sets, although he was considered the favorite before the meeting began. Previously, Tsurenko withdrew from the tournament in Montreal due to an elbow injury. We hope that the 34-year-old Ukrainian will come to the US Open in good physical shape.

Marta Kostyuk was burned again. Surrender destructively to Jasmine Paolini (2:6, 1:6) who has no advantage in serving, you should be able to do that. After the race in Washington, where Marta beat Andreescu and Garcia to the quarterfinals on her way, it looked like she would approach the heights and be a dangerous opponent for everyone, but unfortunately … Qinwen’s defeat at first in Montreal, which could at least somehow be justified But the fiasco with Paolini raises more and more suspicions that Kostyuk will one day reach a high level and claim big titles. Although of course the potential is huge and lacks character. He’s only 20, ahead of the US Open, and the season isn’t over yet. We will continue to believe in Marta, what needs to be done…

Angelina Kalinina is slowly returning. It seems that the finale in Rome was an accident, but not entirely. There was clay in Italy, and here Angelina falls hard from tournament to tournament. In Cincinnati, Kalinina defeated the tough Zhu Lin in the first round and then had every chance to win against Ons Jaber, but lost to him in a tie-break where the third set was leading 3-0 by two timeouts. Again, just a little was not enough. Perhaps after Cincinnati, Angelina should have rested before the USO, but she showed up in Cleveland, where she took 5th place. Let’s wait for the result, in such tournaments Kalinina can give a good game.

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Angelina Kalinina

Our first racket, Elina Svitolina, was also supposed to play in Cincinnati. In the first round, the famous Ukrainian player was able to play against Caroline Wozniacki, who returned to the field, but tennis fans did not see the struggle of the two legendary athletes. Eli said he felt pain in his legs after Wimbledon before the match started. Soon, Svitolina posted a photo with an orthosis on her right leg. An orthosis is an external medical device designed to alter the structural and functional features of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems: unloading, stabilizing, activating and restoring the functions of a damaged joint or limb.

It is not known what specifically worried Elina, but the Ukrainian actress promised to “rest and recover for the US Open.” It is hoped that Eli will make it to the American Major in good physical form like Tsurenko, as Svitolina has restored the love of tennis to Ukrainian fans. We believe!

Instagram. Elina Svitolina

Corey Gauff won the Cincinnati championship. In the final, the American defeated Karolina Muchova and in the semifinals Iga Sventek. In the end, Koko won a really big trophy. A great future is foreseen since she was 15 years old, they call her the second Serena Williams…

Maybe the success in Cincinnati will give him more confidence and in the near future we will see a truly new contender for the title of the world’s first racket.

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Karolina Muchova and Corey Gauff

ATP 1000 Cincinnati

It looks like a new classic in men’s tennis is emerging. Carlos Alcaras and Novak Djokovic, among the best of the tournament, faced each other in the Masters final and again played incredible tennis in terms of both level and emotion. Carlos took the first set, won the second set 4-2, but Nole resurrected and made it to the finals in 3 hours and 50 minutes in three games.

Charlie and Nole had their 4th game. Score 2:2. Previously, the Spaniard had defeated Novak in five sets in the Wimbledon final. Again in Cincinnati, tennis players met in the final. Is it worth waiting for a repeat of this nice trend at the US Open (if you don’t count the cotton daddy Novak)? There are a lot of people who can stop them on the grid, but if both Carlos and Novak are ahead, it’s almost impossible.

Carlos’ main problem is poor implementation of breakpoints. Before the final in Cincinnati, the Spanish player played 4 games and lost one set each. Well-known public TSH Tennis couldn’t get over it and posted just such a picture:

Alcaraz creates difficulties for himself and then fights with the character. Thompson, Paul, Purcell, Hurkach… Not a single tennis player in the top 10 and only plus or minus Hubert, although Tommy is higher in the rankings than Pole, but Carlitos played with them. 634 minutes in total on the field! 10.5 hours in 4 days! Novak also does not have a single set, Fokina, Monfils, Fritz and Zverev are closed and only 302 minutes in duration. In fact, Djokovic made up for the age gap with Carlos with a game time gap. But despite this, Alcaraz was close to victory.

Back to the breaking points. In 5 matches in the tournament, Carlos did not transform 45 b-p! This is 45 hits from the opponents. Imagine how fast the Spaniard’s games would end… But what about Novak? 19 unrealized breakpoints, 13 of which were saved by Carlos in the final.

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic

Reception and Carlitos still need to work. But still, he is currently the best tennis player on the planet on par with Djokovic. Improve this component of the game – and the Spaniard will be almost invincible. Practically speaking, because we must not forget about the injuries that Alcaraz suffered by the time he was 20.

If Alcaraz is worth ripping out and poking around at its unfinished qualities, then it might rejoice for 36-year-old Novak if (again, returning to the above) isn’t his cotton daddy. The tennis legend is already making outstanding comebacks, taking his 95th career trophy and 39th Masters.

Sobolev and Oleinikov updating personal records

Do not let Anastasia and Alexandra shine, but it is always pleasant to write only about girls with a pro-Ukrainian position, especially when there is a reason.

Soboleva performed in 25,000 unpaved races in Leipzig, where she advanced to the semi-finals. There, the Ukrainian met with the 17-year-old Czech candidate Nikola Bartunkova. The Czech tennis school is the strongest in the world, so its representatives should not be upset after a defeat. Anastasia played well in the tournament, after which she moved up to 370th place in the WTA rankings and updated her personal record.

Alexandra played on 40,000 unpaved tracks in Wroclaw. There the Ukrainian could have claimed more of the quarterfinals because she was seen as the favorite against the 4th seeded Gergana Topalova. However, Oleinikova lost to Bulgar in three sets. However, a good performance in Poland allowed Alexandra after Anastasia to update her personal record and move up to 464th place in the standings for the first time.

Krinzh from Prikhodko, where it is a shame to separate a paragraph

It’s a shame but necessary because not everyone knows about it. Oleg may not be a supporter of the “Russian world” (we do not know for sure), but:

• his girlfriend is a russian athlete
• He especially wants Russian athletes to play in tournaments, he has openly declared that he wants to see them in the Olympics.

Back to the girl… The lady’s name is Ksenia Laskutova. He liked the posts of Russian-haired propagandists, wrote insults to the Sport.ua journalist not only in his own direction, but also to Serhiy Stakhovsky, Marta Kostyuk and Dayana Yastremskaya, and in principle, he is not distinguished by his wit and quick wit . These photos confirm this:

And, apparently, Oleg himself is fine. Prikhodko has a Ukrainian passport, thanks to which he can compete in tournaments abroad, receives support from the organizers, but at least he does not care about moral principles.

Monfils is back but Djokovic…

Gael deserves special mention. The 36-year-old Frenchman has always put on a show on the field despite suffering from injuries. And now the results have come. After the Masters in Toronto, where he reached the quarterfinals, Gael also performed well in Cincinnati, beating Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaura.

But then Elina met with Svitolina’s husband, Novak Djokovic. H2H got even scarier – 0:19… Maybe in the 20th personal meeting, Nole will still let his peers win, but so far it’s only in dreams.