Author: Michael Dickens

Svitolina 5-0 In Clay Finals After Winning Strasbourg Title

WASHINGTON, September 26, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina, both Top 20 stars, met for the first time on a chilly, wet Saturday afternoon in northeastern France with the Internationaux de Strasbourg singles title riding on the outcome. […]

Roland Garros: When Rafa Speaks, The Media Listens Up

WASHINGTON, September 26, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Friday was French Open Media Day at Stade Roland Garros. When it was time for 12-time champion Rafael Nadal to take center stage, the media listened up. The much-admired King of Clay had plenty […]

Svitolina Battles Rain, Sabalenka To Reach Strasbourg Final

WASHINGTON, September 25, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) When rain suspended Thursday’s Internationaux de Strasbourg quarterfinal match between No. 4 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic, it meant that whomever won when they resumed play on Friday […]

Japan’s Hibino Continues To Be The Surprise In Strasbourg

WASHINGTON, September 25, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) As the WTA Tour’s Internationaux de Strasbourg reached the quarterfinal round, just three of the original eight seeds remained: No. 2 Elina Svitolina, No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 5 Elena Rybakina. All were in action […]

Roland Garros Women’s Draw: Danger Lurking Everywhere

With World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, the reigning Roland Garros singles champion, not returning to defend her title due to coronavirus concerns, and newly crowned US Open titlist and No. 3 Naomi Osaka recovering from a hamstring injury suffered two weeks […]

Ostapenko Looking To Regain The Old Grand Slam Magic

WASHINGTON, September 24, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) World No. 8 Kiki Bertens posted a tour-best 17-5 win-loss record on clay last year and six of her 10 career WTA singles titles have come on red dirt. Until the No. 3 seed […]

A Change Of Scenery Good For Teichmann And Svitolina

WASHINGTON, September 23, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Sometimes, a change of scenery does a player good. Take Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann, for instance. After a disappointing first-round loss on clay last week in Rome, Teichmann has returned strong on the terre battue in […]

Rybakina, Cornet Finding Positive Results in Strasbourg

WASHINGTON, September 21, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Elena Rybakina reached four WTA finals at the start of the season, compiled a 21-4 win-loss record and won a hardcourt title at Hobart. Yet, a month after the tour’s relaunch, the 18th-ranked Russian-born […]

Djokovic Ends Schwartzman’s Dream Week In Rome

WASHINGTON, September 20, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) One of the challenges of winning an ATP Masters 1000 singles title is that it requires both energy and determination – and the ability to beat a stacked draw filled with talented players. […]

Halep Wins First Rome Title After Pliskova Retires

WASHINGTON, September 21, 2020 (by Michael Dickens) Top-seeded Simona Halep came out ready to play when she stepped out on Centrale for her Internazionali BNL d’Italia final against Karolina Pliskova Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the defending champion […]