This week was FULL of fun tennis. We had an all Swiss final in the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year on clay, along with a WTA International event that featured a young talent’s first title.
Finals this week:
-ATP Monte Carlo: #3 Stanislas Wawrinka def. #4 Roger Federer 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2
-WTA Kuala Lumpur: #95 Donna Vekic def. #10 Dominika Cibulkova 5-7 7-5 7-6(4)
ATP Monte Carlo: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
There was no shortage of story lines in the tournament that I believe represents the real start to the clay season.
Coming into the third Masters 1000 event of the year, I’d say around 95 percent of tennis fans would’ve picked either Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic to take the title. Most would agree they are far and away the two best clay-courters in tennis right now.
However, we were instead treated with an All-Swiss affair, a battle between Davis Cup teammates Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka.
But how did we get there? Nadal played a messy match against compatriot David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, and went out 7-6(1) 6-4. It was Rafa’s earliest exit from Monte Carlo in 11 years.
Djokovic looked to be in outstanding form through his first two matches, dropping only two games en route to the quarterfinals. He then received a test from a streaking Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, but came from a set down to advance.
In the semifinal against Roger Federer, it became apparent something was wrong. Novak’s wrist was heavily taped, and he was showing definite discomfort throughout the match. For a full update on the injury and what Djokovic said after the match, read this article from Ben Kerr here at Last Word On Sports.
Federer advanced to face good friend Stan Wawrinka, who took out David Ferrer in the other semifinal. It would be the 15th meeting between the Swiss men, and Roger was 13-1 in the previous 14 meetings. While Stan has had an absolutely fantastic season, I personally felt like Fed wouldn’t struggle too much to win his first title in Monte Carlo.
My feeling turned out to be incorrect.
While Federer looked in control and took the first set 6-4, Wawrinka seized momentum in the second set tiebreak and dominated the third. Stan won his first Masters event and will keep his title of Swiss #1.
Overall, Monte Carlo brought about a lot of interesting questions heading into the gut of the clay schedule.
Is Rafa more vulnerable on his favorite surface? Probably not. How serious is Novak’s injury? We have no idea. Does Stan really have what it takes to pull off the Aussie-French double to start the year? Looking like it’s possible.
Pay attention to these story lines as Madrid and Rome approach in the coming weeks.
Notable Upsets:
#147 Michael Llodra def. #21 Jerzy Janowicz 6-4 6-2 in 1st round
#38 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. #5 Tomas Berdych 4-6 6-3 6-1 in 3rd round
#6 David Ferrer def. #1 Rafael Nadal 7-6(1) 6-4 in QF
WTA Kuala Lumpur: BMW Malaysian Open
Donna Vekic just won a WTA title, and she’s 17 years old.
Coming into this event ranked 95th, and a 5-9 win/loss record this season, Vekic was definitely not the favorite to walk away with a win. Especially since the field featured #10 Dominika Cibulkova, who has been playing great tennis all year.
Cibulkova did take the first set of the final over Donna 7-5, but the young Croat stormed back to take the second 7-5. Vekic then built up a 5-1 lead in the final set, but was unable to serve it out on two separate occasions and was forced to play a third-set tiebreak for the title.
In a remarkable display of resiliency, Donna won the tiebreak to claim her first title.
Add her to the list of youngsters like Eugenie Bouchard, Madison Keys, and Belinda Bencic that make the future of the WTA so exciting. We’re going to see all of these ladies around for years to come. I hope the ATP can find similar hope.
Notable Upsets:
#95 Donna Vekic def. #46 Shaui Zhang 1-6 6-3 6-4
#95 Donna Vekic def. #10 Dominika Cibulkova 5-7 7-5 7-6(4)
Rankings Watch: This Week’s Big Movers
ATP
Milos Raonic (Monte Carlo QF) +1 to career high #9
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Monte Carlo QF) +6 to #32
David Ferrer (Monte Carlo SF) +1 to #5
Tomas Berdych (Monte Carlo 3R) -1 to #6
WTA
Donna Vekic (Kuala Lumpur Title) +30 to #65
Karolina Pliskova (Kuala Lumpur SF) +7 to #68
Shuai Zhang (Kuala Lumpur SF) +5 to #40
Thanks for joining me in this week’s Around The Post Weekly Wrap-Up! Lots of action on the ATP (Barcelona, Bucharest) and WTA (Stuttgart, Marrakech) this week, so make sure and follow me on twitter @Around_ThePost for updates on what’s going on in the tennis world. See you next week!
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The WTA Stuttgart draw is absolutely epic. Take a look HERE.
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