Tennis News and Trends

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Sloane Stephens v Marion Bartoli July 2, 2013

Sloane Stephens is chasing her second slam semi-final of 2013 after French Open. Can former runner-up Marion Bartoli stop her at Wimbledon?

Stephens came of age at the Australian Open, cementing her status as one of the most talented youngsters in the game by reaching the last four and after a successful French Open, she's once again in the latter stages at Wimbledon.

The draw is wide open and Serena Williams says that Stephens is capable of going all the way. She's really had to dig deep this fortnight coming through three desperately tight matches. She saw off Andrea Petkovic (who used to be ranked in the top ten) 8-6 in the third in round two before winning a topsy-turvy battle with Petra Cetkowska and then battling past another talented youngster in Monica Puig 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

But in Marion Bartoli she's up against an opponent with a wealth of experience. Bartoli stunned Justine Henin in the semi-finals back in 2007 to reach the Wimbledon final, her first and so far only Grand Slam final. The Frenchwoman ended her coaching relationship with her father earlier this year and she's currently playing her best tennis for quite some time. She's through to the last eight without dropping a set and Stephens told the press that it's going to be a very tough match.

"She hits really flat, really hard. She goes for all of her shots. It's tough playing someone who is going for it all the time. You kind of have to adjust, you know, just do your best really." Stephens style is quite different. She's capable of hitting a big ball from the back of the court but her main strength is her athleticism and she will be hoping to wear Bartoli down eventually.

Sloane Stephens v Marion Bartoli Live Stream

Wimbledon 2013 | Sabine Lisicki v Kaia Kanepi July 2, 2013

Who anticipated this at the beginning of the Wimbledon? Sabine Lisicki will face Kaia Kanepi in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 2013.

Manic Monday certainly lived up to its billing at Wimbledon 2013, with world No. 1 and undisputed Wimbledon 2013 favourite Serena Williams falling to a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 defeat against Sabine Lisicki. The German grass court specialist fell behind by a break twice in the third set but kept on digging deep and incredibly managed to overturn the Serena momentum.

With the victory Lisicki set up a quarter-final showdown with Kaia Kanepi. The powerful Estonian managed to hold her own despite having the crowd against her when she took on Laura Robson in round four. There was no booing or impolite cheers for double faults, but the crowd were evidently desperate to see Robson reach the last eight. Kanepi eventually ground out a 7-6, 7-5 win, shaking off the nerves to finally claim victory on her fifth match point. Lisicki and Kanepi should provide an entertaining matchup. Both players have games well suited to grass.

Also, they're both considered as the best servers in the WTA. Kanepi perhaps has the superior power game but Lisicki is good at rushing the net, and as we saw against Serena, she's lightning quick across the court. This showdown will be the first competitive meeting between Lisicki and Kanepi. With so much up for grabs it's hard to pick a winner. It could simply come down to who holds their nerve. If it's not such a tentative affair, we're going to see a very exciting display of attacking tennis.

Sabine Lisicki | Wimbledon 2013

Kaia Kanepi | Wimbledon 2013

Wimbledon 2013 | Agnieszka Radwanska v Na Li July 2, 2013

The Ladies' Singles Quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2013 will start at 1 PM on Centre Court with the match between Agnieszka Radwanska and Na Li.

Polish Agnieszka Radwanska is currently seeded 4 and Chinese Na Li is seeded 6.

With Serena Williams out, there's a huge amount riding on this match as the winner will have a great shot at the title. For Radwanska, this could be her best opportunity to win a Grand Slam title. The Pole made the final last year and she's at her best on the grass. She hasn't been especially impressive so far, needing three sets to overcome Madison Keys and Tsvetana Pironkova, but at this stage of a slam you really have to take it one match at a time and Li is also into the last eight without ever really producing her best.

The Chinese star has never been past the quarter-finals of Wimbledon and she really had to battle to see off Klara Zakopalova in a tense third round match on Saturday, edging through 4-6 6-0 8-6. However, she rebounded to demolish Italy's Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-0 in the last sixteen on Monday afternoon.

Matches between Li and Radwanska are always a classic clash of styles. Li looks to dominate from the baseline, unleashing fierce, flat shots off both wings with a relentless intensity while Radwanska prefers to sit back and counter-punch using her speed and anticipation to frustrate opponents before catching them out with delicate lobs or angled passing shots.

However apart from Wimbledon 2012, it's been a strategy which hasn't really worked out for the Pole when it comes to the latter stages of the majors. Li has won six of their ten career matches, beating her three times on hard courts last year. Radwanska scored a 6-3 6-4 victory in the Sydney semi-finals at the start of the year but Li won the one which counted - 7-5 6-3 in the quarters of the Australian Open.