WTA Tour Championships Day 4
photo credit: Jet Magbanua
Day 4 of the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in Doha was the final day of round robin matches where 3 of the remaining 4 semi-final spost would be decided. The pressure was on as 5 players were vying for a spot in the final 4 of the year-end championships.
(6) Victoria Azarenka fell to the pressure after being close to a straight sets win for the 2nd match in a row by retiring at 6-4, 5-7, 1-4 handing the 1.72m Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland a win in the only match she played in Doha. Their head-to-head series is now levelled at 2 wins each. Radwanska replaced Vera Zvonareva who withdrew with a right ankle injury. Both players take home 200,000 US dollars for winning 1 match in the round robin.
Azarenka lost her chance to push Caroline Wozniacki out of the semi-finals if she could defeat fellow 20 year old Radwanska. Azarenka has the game to challenge for the big titles and top rankings if she can learn to control her mental and emotional state on the biggest stages.
(3) Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated compatriot (5) Elena Dementieva without losing her serve for the whole match. Kuznetsova won 6-3 6-2 to improve her head-to-head record to 7 wins from 11 matches. More importantly for the 2009 French Open women’s singles champion her streak of 8 straight losses in the past 3 years of WTA Tour Championships is broken. Both players earned 200,000 US dollars.
Kuznetsova’s victory elevated Venus Williams into the semi finals due to the fact that Venus had the best record of these 3 players who are all tied on 1 round robin win. The 29 year old American won 4 sets overall, Kuznetova won 3 sets and Dementieva won just the 2 sets in her 3 matches.
(4) Caroline Wozniacki and (8) Jelena Jankovic both finished with 2 match wins after as predicted, Wozniacki struggled obviously not recovering well enough from leg cramping problems in her previous match. Jankovic (pictured above), won 6-2 6-2 to go 3-0 in head-to-head battles with the Dane. Jankovic claimed the No.1 spot in the white group due to the fact that she lost only 2 sets from her 3 matches as compared to Wozniacki’s 4 sets.
The draw for Centre Court for the semi-finals on Saturday 31 October at not before 4:30pm is in the 1st semi-final: the No.1 performer from the white group (8) Jelena Jankovic up against (7) Venus Williams who finished as No.2 in the maroon group.
At not before 7:30pm the 2nd semi-final is between the No.1 performer in the maroon group and the only undefeated player in Doha with 3 wins (2) Serena Williams versus (4) Caroline Wozniacki who was No.2 in the white group.
For further details about this event on this tennis website click this link -> WTA Tour Champion 2009: Oct 27-Nov 1.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
WTA Tour Championships Day 3
photo credit: Carlos Andrés Restrepo
Day 3 of the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in Doha confirmed 1 of the 4 spots in the semi-finals. With 3 places still to be decided the final day of round robin matches has plenty at stake. Who will claim the final 3 berths in the semi-finals?
Azarenka, Woziniacki and Jankovic all have a chance in the white group to claim 2 of those spots whereas in the maroon group Venus, Kuznetsova and Dementieva are all battling it out for 1 spot. It all comes down to day 4’s matches!
Serena Williams continued her great form to complete her round robin matches undefeated with 3 wins. Serena has qualified an No.1 from the maroon group and will play whoever finishes as the No.2 player from the white group in the semi-finals.
(2) Serena defeated (5) Elena Dementieva 6-2 6-4 after winning 8 of the 1st 10 games to register a lead that Dementieva could not recover from. Serena now leads their head-to-head battles 7-4 and winning the decider in 2009 to stand at 3-2 from their battles this year.
(7) Venus Williams fought at a tough win over (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova to equal their head-to-head history at 4 wins each. Venus won 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 to keep her hopes of making the semi-finals alive. Venus overcame her disappointment in not closing out the match in straight sets to focus on what really counted, the deciding 3rd set.
Venus has lost 2 extremely close matches and is now relying on Kuznetsova to defeat Dementieva, in which case Venus qualifies despite having 1 match win. Dementieva would qualify if she wins by claiming a 2nd match win. To date though Kuznetsova has the edge over her fellow Russian winning 6 of their 10 matches.
(4) Caroline Wozniacki defeated (9) Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 after having a 6-0 5-2 lead. Zvonareva saved 2 match points at 5-6 and had Wozniacki in trouble in the final set before the Danish star played through strong leg cramps to record her 2nd match victory.
Wozniacki’s great results warrant a spot in the semi-finals but her struggle yesterday forecast that she may have trouble to move well enough to beat Jankovic tonight. If Jankovic registers a win to keep her perfect record against the Dane, which currently stand at 2 wins, she will qualify for the semi-finals. If Wozniacki can stand up to the leg work required then Azarenka (pictured above), will join also qualify in the white group.
The draw for Centre Court on day 4 (Friday 30 October), at 5pm in Qatar follows this order:
- (4) Caroline Wozniacki versus (8) Jelena Jankovic
- (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova versus (5) Elena Dementieva
- (6) Victoria Azarenka versus alternate Agnieszka Radwanska.
Stay tuned for more coverage of Doha as we update you with round robin results, who qualifies for the semi-finals and the women’s singles final, plus who claims the mantle of 2009 WTA Tour Champion.
For further details about this event on this tennis website click this link -> WTA Tour Champion 2009: Oct 27-Nov 1.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
WTA Tour Championships Day 2
After the 2nd day of play at the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in Doha all four spots in the semi-finals are still up for grabs. Plenty of action, excitement and dramas are unfolding as the round robin matches continue.
We got we wanted when the Williams sisters battled out a tight 3 set match which went as close as it can go. (7) Venus Williams held a match point at 6 games to 5 in the final set despite trailing by 4-1 earlier in the set. (2) Serena Williams played aggressively from that point on to reversed last year’s result in Doha and win the final set tie-break by 7 points to 4. Serena now leads their head-to-head battles 12-10 after her 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 win over elder sister Venus.
Serena has now moved to the top of the table in the maroon group with 2 match victories to her credit. Current World No.1 Dinara Safina retired in her 1st match of the tournament against (8) Jelena Jankovic at 1 game all in the 1st set. Safina couldn’t handle the pain from her lower back injury any longer and has pulled out of the event.
Serena with her great results thus far will be crowned the 2009 WTA Tour Champion by ending the year as the World No.1 ranked player for the 2nd time in her career. The American achieved this feat for the 1st time in 2002.
Jankovic’s record is now 1 win 1 loss in the white group. Vera Zvonareva who missed the 8 player cut-off by just 5 ranking points replaces Safina in the draw. Zvonareva was the runner-up in this event last year and will play Wozniacki and then Azarenka.
(4) Caroline Wozniacki defeated (6) Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-4 7-5 in the white group in her opening match. Azarenka had won both matches against Wozniacki this year and steamrolled the Danish star in the 1st set. Azarenka hit her stride again in the 3rd set and served for the match at 5-3.
Azarenka’s frustration in not converting her opportunities including a match point at 5-4 got out of control. 1st she received a warning for smashing a ball out of the stadium then she was penalised a point for smashing her racquet, which resulted in Wozniacki taking a 6-5 lead. The US Open finalist served out the match and her big match experience held her focus in fighting despite trailing almost the entire match.
The draw for Centre Court on day 3 (Thursday 29 October), at 5pm in Qatar follows this order:
- (4) Caroline Wozniacki versus alternate Vera Zvonareva
- (2) Serena Williams versus (5) Elena Dementieva
- (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova versus (7) Venus Williams.
Stay tuned for more coverage of Doha as we update you with round robin results, who qualifies for the semi-finals and the women’s singles final, plus who claims the mantle of 2009 WTA Tour Champion.
For further details about this event on this tennis website click this link -> WTA Tour Champion 2009: Oct 27-Nov 1.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
WTA Tour Championships Day 1
Day 1 of the biggest event of the year in women’s tennis, the 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha is over. There are 3 more days of round robin matches which will decide who qualifies for the semi-final knock out matches. This event peaks on Sunday with the women’s singles final.
(6) Victoria Azarenka defeated (8) Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-3
One of 2 debutant’s in this event Azarenka, turned the tables on Jankovic with a convincing straight sets win over the former World No.1. The 20 year old improved her head-to-head record with the Serbian to 2 wins and 3 losses by playing far more consistently, committing 15 unforced errors to her opponents 33.
The Belarusian is continuing her best season on the WTA tour and needs one more match win to qualify for the semi-finals. Jankovic is playing her 3rd consecutive WTA Tour year-end Championships.
(5) Elena Dementieva defeated (7) Venus Williams 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-2. Venus continued her run against Dementieva having won their last 6 encounters, by winning the 1st set 6-3 and then going up a break of serve and leading 3 games to 1 in the 2nd set.
Dementieva was due for a win against Venus and said after the match that, “I was trying to fight for every point. I was trying to stay positive”. The 28 year old Russian who is pictured above served it up to the 2008 champion in Doha and came back to win the tie-break in the 2nd set.
Venus was so close to winning the match in straight sets and obviously could not put her disappointment in missing that opportunity behind her in the final set.
(2) Serena Williams defeated (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (8-6) 7-5. Serena after being down double set point so, 4 points to 6 in the 1st set tie-break reeled off 4 straight points to steal the 1st set from Kuznetsova. The 28 year old Serena fought out a tight 2nd set to improve to 6 wins to 2 losses against her younger Russian opponent.
This win bolstered Serena’s prospects of qualifying for the semi-finals and if she can maintain her advantage with her superior serving she will have a great chance to achieve her goal of being the 2009 WTA Tour Champion.
Stay tuned for more coverage of Doha as we update you with round robin results, who qualifies for the semi-finals and the women’s singles final, plus who claims the mantle of 2009 WTA Tour Champion.
For further details about this event on this tennis website click this link -> WTA Tour Champion 2009: Oct 27-Nov 1.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
WTA Tour Year-End Finals: Doha
The 2009 WTA Tour Championships in Doha are underway with the world’s best female players going battling it out against each other. The year end women’s singles World No.1 ranking is up for grabs, opportunities to achieve career high rankings and the chance to finish in the top 4 are on the table. A top 4 ranking boosts your chances at the 2010 Australian Open in January.
The draw for Centre Court on day 2 (Wednesday 28 October), at 5pm in Qatar follows this order:
- (4) Caroline Wozniacki versus (6) Victoria Azarenka
- (1) Dinara Safina versus (8) Jelena Jankovic
- (2) Serena Williams versus (7) Venus Williams.
In the 1st match: Azarenka leads Wozniacki in their previous matches with 2 wins to 1 loss. The 1.80m Azarenka has won both matches this year and has the edge in height and age. Her 19 year old opponent from Denmark is 1.77m tall and also plays right handed and also uses a double handed backhand.
Both players achieved their career high rankings in the latest rankings (as at 26 October), so are at the top of their games. This year is the first time that either player has qualified for the year-end finals. Wozniacki made the final of the US Open this year so has the edge in big match experience. Will that be enough?
The 2nd match: acts as a decider between Jankovic and Safina with both players holding 3 victories each in their head-to-head battles. The 23 year old Russian is playing her 1st match this week. The only match played this year resulted in the Cincinnati title for Jankovic 6-4 6-2.
The taller Safina at 1.82m will be doing everything in her power to show the world that she deserves her World No.1 ranking. Safina is pictured above demonstrating her forehand volley, she will need to take on her opponents and consistently attack to stamp her authority on this event.
In the 3rd match: Serena leads sister Venus 11 wins to 10 losses in the final match of the day. This year they are squared at 1 win each Serena won in Miami and Venus winning in Dubai. The taller and elder sister at 1.85m will be looking to repeat her round robin win over Serena here last year. Serena has a 10cm height disadvantage coming in at 1.75m but more than makes up for it with determination and her great fighting spirit. Let’s hope this one is decided by a close 3 set match.
Stay tuned for more coverage of Doha as we update you with round robin results, who qualifies for the semi-finals and the women’s singles final, plus who claims the mantle of 2009 WTA Tour Champion.
For further details about this event on this tennis website click this link -> WTA Tour Champion 2009: Oct 27-Nov 1.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
THE WTA World Championships: Doha
The 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha are the pinnacle of the tennis calendar, with all events this year building to this showdown between the world’s best female players. The year end women’s singles World No.1 ranking is up for grabs. In no other tournament are you required to beat at least 4 if not 5 of the world’s top 8 ranked players to win the title!
The draw for Centre Court on day 1 ( Tuesday 27 October), at 5pm in Qatar follows this order:
- (6) Victoria Azarenka versus (8) Jelena Jankovic
- (5) Elena Dementieva versus (7) Venus Williams
- (2) Serena Williams versus (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova.
In the 1st match: Jankovic leads Azarenka in their previous matches with 3 wins and 1 loss, however the 20 year old Azarenka from Belarus has won more WTA tour titles than her 24 year old Serbian opponent in 2009. The younger Azarenka won her first WTA Tour title this year and a further 2 since then so she has proven that she can win the big matches.
Jankovic’s confidence will be buoyed from the fact that this was where she was awarded her greatest achievement in her career thus far. Jankovic was the year end World No.1 for 2008 (so 2008 WTA Tour Champion).
The 2nd match: sees Venus with a 9 wins to 2 losses lead over Dementieva in their head-to-head battles. The 28 year old Russian is due for a win since she has lost 6 in a row to Venus and has been in better form over the past 3 months. Last year these two had a tight 3 set match in the 1st round of the same event, which the 29 year old from the United States won.
Venus is under pressure as she has many WTA ranking points to defend from her victory here in 2008. The Williams sisters are the only 2 players in this year’s event that have won this title before. Let’s see if Venus can perform under pressure.
In the 3rd match: Serena leads Kuznetsova 5 wins to 2 losses in the final match of the day. The 28 year old Serena has had a lot of ups and downs this year, not to mention her most recent controversy at the US Open, but will be very determined to have the final word by winning this event. The American would love to take home the title of 2009 WTA Tour Champion, to silence her critics.
Her 24 year old Russian opponent has had arguably her best year on tour and won her 2nd Grand Slam title at Roland Garros where she defeated Serena. Kuznetsova is pictured above and will be trying to dominate with her forehand as much as she can. These two power hitters will be ready to rumble and fight for this decider because so far in 2009 they are tied at 1 win each.
The white group is:
- (1) Dinara Safina
- (4) Caroline Wozniacki
- (6) Victoria Azarenka
- (8) Jelena Jankovic
The maroon group is:
- (2) Serena Williams
- (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova
- (5) Elena Dementieva
- (7) Venus Williams
Stay tuned for more coverage of Doha as we update you with round robin results, who qualifies for the semi-finals and the women’s singles final, plus who claims the mantle of 2009 WTA Tour Champion.
For further details about this event on this tennis website click this link -> WTA Tour Champion 2009: Oct 27-Nov 1.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha
photo credit: CB Photography
The 2009 season ending tournament is called the Sony Ericsson Championships and is being held in Doha, Qatar for the 2nd straight year. This event is a Tour Championship category event which means it is the pinnacle of the tennis calendar, as the year end World No.1 ranking can and will be determined at this tournament.
The event is structured so only the best players in the world of women’s tennis can qualify for the 8 spots in the draw. This creates a race to make the end of year finals. Each year is termed a tennis season. The player who finishes with the World No.1 ranking after the final match at the Sony Ericsson Championships is played, is declared the champion for that season.
Who do you think will be the 2009 WTA Tour Champion?
4,550,000 US dollars is up for grabs with the winner of the women’s singles event pocketing 1,550,000 US dollars if she remains undefeated. The runner-up takes home 780,000 US dollars. The event is held from Tuesday October 27 through to the final on Sunday November 1. The WTA Tour rankings as at October 26 will be used for seeding the players.
Last year Venus Williams (pictured above), won the WTA Tour year-end Championship Final by defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final 6-7 (5-7) 6-0 6-2. Both players were undefeated and had won 4 matches in a row going in to the final. The 2008 WTA Tour Champion was Jelena Jankovic which means the Serbian finished the year ranked as the World No.1.
The event begins in a round robin format with 2 groups of 4 players, a white group and a maroon group. The colour for the groups are chosen according to the colours of the Qatari National flag. This tournament will also be held in Doha at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex in 2010 before it heads to Istanbul in Turkey for the following 3 years 2011 to 2013.
In the first 4 days of this 6 day tournament each of the 8 women will play against all 3 members of her group. Throughout the round robin matches the world’s best women try to achieve a place in the semi-finals by finishing in the top 2 spots in their own group. On Day 5 the semi-finals are held where the players who finish at No.1 in their group play the player who finishes No.2 in the other group.
The top 8 players in the world for 2009 are:
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Dinara Safina who qualified as the No.1 player by winning the most ranking points on the WTA Tour in 2009 with 7,731.
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Serena Williams qualified 2nd with 7,576 WTA points.
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Svetlana Kuznetsova qualified 3rd with 5,772 points.
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Caroline Wozniacki qualified 4th with 5,475.
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Elena Dementieva qualified 5th with 5,415.
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Victoria Azarenka qualified 6th with 4,451.
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Venus Williams qualified 7th with 4,397.
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Jelena Jankovic sealed the last spot days ago and by only 5 points by winning 3,555 points.
Vera Zvonareva who won through to last years singles final in this event ended 2009 in 9th place with 3,550 and Agnieszka Radwanska was 10th with3,340. Zvonareva and A.Radwanska are on standby as alternates should any player pull out with an injury, even if they do not play they will earn 50,000 US dollars each!
Stay tuned for more coverage of Doha as we update you with round robin results, who qualifies for the semi-finals and the women’s singles final, plus who claims the mantle of 2009 WTA Tour Champion.
For further details about this event on this tennis website click this link -> WTA Tour Champion 2009: Oct 27-Nov 1.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
Help Make TENNIS No.1 in the World
photo credit: bovinemagnet
In the first 3 and a half months since OnCourt Advantage began, our tennis website has had visitors from 92 different countries. We have covered Hong Kong recently because it rates No.1 thus far. Help make your country the best. Whichever country is No.2 by the end of December will be covered next.
Strength lies in numbers so we need to enlist your support to help increase our world wide exposure. Please help us by visiting the site often, subscribing and becoming our Facebook fan and of course by recommending your friends and contacts to do likewise.
The greater number of times that this website is opened, the more Facebook fans we have and the more email subscribers of OnCourt Advantage there are, means the greater amount of information, functions and future services we can provide to YOU.
Two examples of these future services are analysis and correction of YOUR VERY OWN strokes through the use of video. As well as supplying YOU with the ultimate winning tactics including exactly why, where, how and when to use them in THE ultimate tennis book.
The following is the list of 92 countries and they are ranked in order of the most visitors, subscribers and Facebook fans. Listed next to the country is whoever holds the highest singles ranking male or female in that nation. When no player holds a Pro ranking then the ITF Junior ranking is used.
If you know people in any of the countries NOT listed here please forward them a link to www.OnCourtAdvantage.com to help us promote tennis all around the world.
- Hong Kong – Ling Zhang WTA No.331
- Australia – Samantha Stosur WTA 13
- United States - Serena Williams WTA 2
- United Kingdom- Andy Murray ATP 4
- Canada – Aleksandra Wozniak WTA 30
- India – Sania Mirza WTA 58
- Germany – Tommy Haas ATP 17
- Belgium – Kim Clijsters WTA 8
- Czech Republic – Radek Stepanek ATP 14
- Brazil – Thomaz Bellucci ATP 43
- Singapore – Celina Goetti ITF girls 220
- Argentina – Juan Martin Del Potro ATP 5
- Italy – Flavia Pennetta WTA 11
- Malaysia – Jawariah Noordin WTA 961
- France – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ATP 8
- Turkey – Marsel Ilhan ATP 151
- Slovakia – Daniela Hantuchova WTA 24
- Serbia – Novak Djokovic ATP 3
- Thailand – Tamarine Tanasugarn WTA 114
- Netherlands – Thiemo De Bakker ATP 111
- Poland – Agnieszka Radwanska WTA 10
- Denmark – Caroline Wozniacki WTA 4
- Switzerland – Roger Federer ATP 1
- Venezuela – Marina Giral Lores WTA 283
- Romania – Victor Hanescu ATP 37
- Lithuania – Lina Stanciute WTA 221
- Philippines – Cecil Mamiit ATP 449
- Slovenia – Polona Hercog WTA 70
- Russia- Dinara Safina WTA 1
- Indonesia – Ayu Fani Damayanti WTA 275
- Japan – Ayumi Morita WTA 74
- South Africa – Kevin Anderson ATP 123
- Trinidad & Tobago – Vaughn Wilson ITF boys 680
- New Zealand – Sacha Jones WTA 208
- Chile – Fernando Gonzalez ATP 11
- Portugal – Frederico Gil ATP 70
- Hungary – Melinda Czink WTA 39
- Spain – Rafael Nadal ATP 2
- Sweden – Robin Soderling ATP 10
- Ukraine – Katernya Bondarenko WTA 29
- Greece – Eleni Daniilidou WTA 167
- Columbia – Alejandro Falla ATP 95
- Finland – Jarkko Nieminen ATP 116
- China – Li Na WTA 15 (her career best ranking) & is pictured above.
- Angola – Nicolau Monteiro ITF boys 1680
- Austria – Jurgen Melzer ATP 35
- Korea – Kyu Tae Im ATP 163
- Pakistan – Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi ATP 549
- Georgia – Anna Tatishvili WTA 179
- Ireland – Louk Sorensen ATP 337
- Kenya – Nikita Nitin Dawda ITF girls 736
- Panama – Elizabeth Tapia ITF girls 641
- Bahrain – nil
- Honduras – Alejandro Obando ITF boys 579
- Montenegro – Goran Tosic ATP 338
- Uruguay – Pablo Cuevas ATP 49
- Morocco – Reda El Amrani ATP 328
- Iran – Mohammed Mohazebnia ATP 1023
- Vietnam – Thuy-dung Nguyen WTA 1031
- Saint Lucia – Kevin Deligny ITF boys 710
- Macau – nil
- Nigeria – Abdul-Mumin Babalola ATP 1007
- Saudi Arabia – nil
- United Arab Emirates – Faisal Bastaki ITF boys 1341
- Moldova – Andre Gorban ATP 522
- Malawi – nil
- Rwanda – nil
- Armenia – Tigran Martirosyan ATP 406
- Luxembourg – Mandy Minella WTA 237
- Senegal – Daouda Ndiaye ATP 1751
- Jordan – Faisal Al Tal ITF boys 1698
- Israel – Shahar Peer WTA 32
- Bolivia – Maria Fernanda Alvarez Teran WTA 197
- Mexico – Santiago Gonzalez ATP 176
- Macedonia - Aleksandra Josifoska WTA 485
- Norway – Erling Tveit ATP 776
- Qatar – Hamad Al Mulla ITF boys 1865
- Croatia – Marin Cilic ATP 13
- Bulgaria – Tsvetana Pironkova WTA 99
- Cyprus – Marcos Baghdatis ATP 41
- Costa Rica – Pablo Nunez ITF boys 253
- Dominica – nil
- Kuwait – Mohammad Ghareeb ATP 450
- Lebanon – Bassam Beidas ATP 898
- Antigua & Barbuda – Shani Williams ITF girls 1452
- Aruba – Stephanie Marchena ITF girls 1017
- Peru – Bianca Botto WTA 336
- Taiwan – Yen-Hsun Lu ATP 98
- Tunisia – Selima Sfar WTA 282
- Cambodia- nil
- Laos – nil
- Egypt – Karim Maamoun ATP 292
Today’s POST is dedicated to Finn Thomas who turned 7 years old today (happy birthday Finn!) and Rafferty James both of whom are World No.1 champions to us here at OnCourt Advantage. We wish that every day both of you : laugh, are happy, smile, have fun, love and be loved, share, cuddle and kiss, always keep learning and be the best you can be! 
Learn How to Volley in Tennis
In order to dramatically improve your volleys or learn how to play the volley you need to simplify these shots by following these Golden Rules for every single volley you play.
To maximise your chances of finishing off the point with a volley you REALLY need to relax. Your anxiety and reservations about going for volleys is a huge factor that prevents you from making great improvements. Therefore, look to take as many volleys as you can and whilst playing doubles expect that every ball is yours to volley.
Another huge limiting factor almost without fail, is what you have been taught to do when you volley! The best thing you can do is wipe all of these things you have been advised to do from your mind and make the commitment to ONLY FOCUS on the following advice.
“THE” GOLDEN RULES:
Rule No.1 – For every single volley…Always FOCUS on the ball. To learn more about exactly how to focus on the ball click this link -> How to Concentrate and Achieve FOCUS.
Rule No.2- For every single volley…Try to make contact with the ball above the height of the net. By hitting the ball above net height your ability to get greater speed and penetration on your volleys increases immensely. This is because you have intercepted the ball’s flight path whilst the ball is still above the height of the net so you already have net clearance. Now all you have left to do is make sure the ball lands inside your opponents court. This is achieved by keeping the angle of your racquet face pointing towards your intended target area until after you strike the ball.
Rule No.3 – For every single volley…Try to achieve the shortest possible distance between you and the net by the time your racquet and the ball make contact. When you are closer to the net your chances of executing a successful volley increase substantially. One of the many reasons for this is because the closer you are to the net when you make contact with the ball, the greater degree of angle opens up for you to use. This greater degree of angle means you have more of your opponent’s court to hit into. For your opponent that means they have more court to cover and have far less time to reach your volleys.
Pictured above is Roger Federer playing a backhand volley. Notice how Federer follows the Golden Rules. No.1 Federer is focusing on the ball, No.2 he is clearly going to make contact with the ball above the height of the net and No.3 he is leaning forward and continuing to close his distance from the net.
To see other posts about learning how to play tennis and improving your game click this link -> Tennis Tips.
What Tennis Tips do you need? Become a Fan on our Facebook page and register for your free OnCourt Advantage email subscription and and we will post your requests on our tennis website!
©OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
Shanghai Tennis Masters 1000 Results
photo credit: matteo_dudek
The Shanghai Masters 1000 tournament in China concluded on Sunday 18 October and was a great boost for tennis in Asia. On the ATP Tour this was the most prestigious event held in Asia for the whole year.
The best result for a qualifier was making the round of 16 which was achieved by 33 year old veteran Rainer Schuettler who was runner-up in the 2003 Australian Open men’s singles. The other qualifiers were fellow German Florian Mayer, France’s Michael Llodra, Switzerland’s Marco Chiudinelli, Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, Poland’s Lukasz Kubot and Fabio Fognini of Italy.
The wild cards that were awarded to Chinese players resulted in a 1st round defeat of world No.540 Mao-Xin Gong by fellow wild card Marat Safin 6-4 6-4 and a great 1st round victory by world No.312 Shao-Xuan Zeng over world No.44 of Israel Dudi Sela, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 before being knocked out by No.5 (5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2nd round 6-3 6-3.
Only 10 of the top ranked players won through to the last 16 in Shanghai. In the top half of the draw the quarter finals saw (1) Rafael Nadal move through when Ivan Ljubicic retired with a left leg injury. Nadal was trailing 3-6 and at triple break point down, being only 1 point away from being down a break of serve in the 2nd set against an on-fire and huge serving Croatian Ivan Ljubicic. Unseeded Feliciano Lopez defeated (9) Robin Soderling of Sweden 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to set up clash of left handers and fellow Spaniards in the semi-final.
In the bottom half (6) Nikolay Davydenko won 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 against Czech (13) Radek Stepanek whilst in another closely fought 3 set match (2) Novak Djokovic defeated (8) Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. The losing quarter finalists won 77,750 US dollars each and earned 180 ATP ranking points a piece.
In the semi-finals Nadal after leading 6-1 3-0 once again progressed due to the retirement of his opponent from another leg injury. Nadal literally ran his opponent’s off their feet! Davydenko progressed to the final after an enthralling encounter with Djokovic of Serbia by edging his opponent out in the final set tie break 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1). Lopez and Djokovic both won 151,800 US dollars in prize money and collected 360 ATP ranking points each.
Pictured above is Davydenko after making contact with the ball during his service action. The 28 year old Russian really improved his chances of qualifying for 1 of the final 2 spots remaining in the 8 player draw for the year-end ATP Championships by maintaining such a high level of play in Shanghai.
The men’s singles final saw Davydenko extend his unbeaten record in Masters 1000 finals to 3-0 by defeating Nadal for a 2nd time in a Masters 1000 final 7-6 (7-3) 6-3. Nadal won 302,000 US dollars as the runner-up he picked up 600 ATP ranking points. Davydenko was rewarded as the champion with 616,500 US dollars in prize money and more importantly for him, 1000 ATP ranking points.
For more information on this hard court tournament see an earlier post on this tennis website by clicking here -> ATP Major Tournament: Shanghai Masters.
© OnCourtAdvantage.com 2009
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