US Open 2019 First Round Picks, Featured Matches

[Williams S.] (8) vs. Sharapova M.  -- Wattage. Bright lights. Maria Sharapova will be fresh and this is her best chance to beat Serena Williams. Serena needs to be focused and not expect to use this match to shake off rust.

WTA Finals 2016 Singapore

Since the US Open ended six weeks ago, WTA players have been on the “Asian Swing”, the Road to Singapore. These six weeks of tournaments make up the end of their ten-month season and lead to the WTA Finals Singapore.

Unlike other WTA tournaments, Singapore is not single-elimination, but a round-robin for two groups of four Singles players. Each player plays three matches, and the top two players in each group face off against the other group in two semi-final matches and an eventual championship match.

WTA US OPEN 2016 Finals Wrap-up

Angelique Kerber captured the world #1 ranking on her way to her second grand slam title and first US OPEN championship. She did it while only dropping one set in seven matches. That lone set loss came in the Finals against Karolina Pliskova, who defeated Serena Williams in the Semifinals. Pliskova had beaten Kerber the previous week to win the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

My WTA US OPEN 2016 - Finals Pick, BRACKET FOUR

BRACKET FOUR

7 R. Vinci – Roberta plays the role of crafty veteran so well. She knows most players want to stand behind the baseline and hit away. I had Vinci losing to Christina McHale because Vinci has played a lot of tennis this past year. In recent outings, it seemed fatigue might have gotten to her. The amount of play has paid off because she has won enough to boost her points to keep her into the Top 10 in the rankings. This, in turn, has helped her avoid a seeded player this far into the tournament.

My WTA US OPEN 2016 - Finals Pick, BRACKET THREE

BRACKET THREE

8 M. Keys – I had Madison losing to Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals. Now, that moves her to a potential matchup against Angelique Kerber, provided she reaches the appropriate level of focus. She has dodged two losses in the first three rounds and can no longer press her luck.

My WTA US OPEN 2016 - 4th Round Picks, Bracket Four

Bracket	Player	Player	Player	Player
FOUR	C. McHale	21 I. Begu	14 P. Kvitova	2 A. Kerber

C. McHale is ready for that next step. To get there, she likely has to get through 7 R. Vinci and S. Lisicki.

My WTA US OPEN 2016 - 4th Round Picks, Bracket Three

Bracket	Player	Player	Player	Player
THREE	8 M. Keys	9 S. Kuznetsova	A. Petkovic	3 G. Muguruza

8 M. Keys should get through this part of the bracket but there's potential for dramatic matches against A. Riske, M. Brengle and N. Osaka who might upset 28 C. Vandeweghe, who is coming off an ankle injury.

WTA Wimbledon 2016 Finals Wrap-up

When it comes to Tennis, picking the favorite to win a grand slam title is easy. I had Serena winning Wimbledon 2016, yet I was one match away from picking her opponent. Angelique Kerber solidified her Top 2 ranking. She, Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka are three bona fide opponents who will stand in Serena’s way as she tries to reach the ultimate record of 25 women’s grand slam singles titles.

My WTA Wimbledon 2016 Finals Pick

The biggest disappointment was Garbine Muguruza losing in the second round. She lost early in the Mallorca Open but that could be seen as the hangover from her winning the French Open. What she learned in this Wimbledon is that other players see her as their potential “biggest” victory and are bringing their best.

A quick look at the numbers: 5 of the top 8 seeds made it to the Round of 16; only 3 of the next 8 seeds made it. That is where we get the two additional surprises, in addition to the two upsets I picked. Funny enough, the two slots did produce upstarts, just not the ones I picked.  I ended up with a 56% output of picks correctly selected.