#WTA 2021: Garbiñe Muguruza annexes Chicago

Several hours ago at Chicago, world number nine Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain annexed her second title of the year via a 3-setter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in an hour and 45 minutes.

The match was a see-saw affair for the first two sets as both players took a set each until a decider was played that only showed the class of Muguruza, and the limitations of Jabeur.

Slices are just no match against power strokes unless you keep them low and not place the ball on the same spot or manner ‘all the time’.

The Value of Coaching Chemistry

While it’s understandable to seek coaches with experience at the highest level (as many top players also do), as we have previously said, ‘player-coach chemistry’ is hard to find. The fall of many promising players including Grand Slam winners and aspirants is proof that success is more than just wisdom (or experience) — it’s about chemistry.

An experienced coach may know how to maneuver in certain situations but if s/he doesn’t know how to push the right buttons (including motivating, understanding and sincerely caring for ‘the person’) — you guys may not get the right results, so much so, through the long haul.

Tennis is not rocket science, so it doesn’t matter if your coach is your father. In fact, it’s so much better than having a traditional coach, again, for chemistry reasons. What’s important is he understands the sport, the work it takes, and the competition you have; thence, he could create the best tactics, offer the right advices, provide the needed training and inspire you all at the same time.

Stability: Having a good ‘father-coach’ is one of the advantages that Leylah Fernandez has.

If traditional coaches (even the best ones) are indeed the way to go, then why do top players keep changing their coaches? Even funnier is that many ‘top’ coaches has even transferred from one top player to another. Why? If you believe you already got the best, why change or get someone who has even been ‘discarded’? See. The difference between playing at the highest level and a so-so level simply lies in ‘intensity’. Nothing else.

Playing in the final or in a Grand Slam is what makes the air intense. If you’re not yet in the final or it’s not a Grand Slam, playing against top players is how things become intense. If you’re not playing a top player, playing under an inspiring coach helps you be intense and focused.

That’s the value of a ‘great’ coach. He helps you bring out your best whether you’re in a Grand Slam or not, whether you’re in a final or not, and whether you’re playing against your neighbor or Naomi Osaka.

#WTA 2021: Elina Svitolina grabs Chicago

The weekend finals was a day of hard fought tennis, both in Chicago and Cleveland, as Ukrainian Elina Svitolina upended Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in a wrenching Chicago final, 7-5, 6-4; while Estonian Anett Kontaveit willed her way against Romanian Irina Begu, 7-6(5), 6-4 to claim Cleveland.

Incidentally, both finals hovered around two hours of tennis with sort of similar statistics, from the final tally to its breakdown as while the losers had better results in their first serves, the winners made the difference in the second serve. Here, just about everything in both matches were a close call that either of players took, that the only storyline in their stats was actually the total points won in favor of the winners.

Can Anett Kontaveit bring her Cleveland fighting spirit to the US Open?

Of course, unless you didn’t see either of the matches as how they were played, then you must have missed some good weekend action in women’s tennis.

US Open Developments

Meantime, in case you haven’t heard it yet, the US Open would be missing Sofia Kenin who caught the virus and the Williams’ sisters, Venus and Serena, both of which are harbouring injuries. While Kenin would surely be back in the coming majors, could this be end for the legendary sisters?

Still, even with their absence, this final Grand Slam is loaded and with every top player checking in. It’s now a matter of who are truly ready. And just as we mentioned in our previous article, don’t be surprised if most of the top players themselves exit even before the quarterfinal.

Is Coco Gauff still too green (and so, predictable) to win this year’s US Open?

Tennis is changing — and more than style, it only favors the truly hungry.