Wimbledon qualies start today but for those that don’t need them (or those who have chosen not to try for a spot this year), the third and final week of grass tournaments is here. Last week Feliciano Lopez made his second straight final and this time won at the prestigious Queen’s and Federer made short work of A. Zverev for his 9th title in Halle.
The first grass week has gone quickly and we managed to secure a small profit (Kontaveit won the tournament in Netherlands with odds of 11) and now the tournaments are getting bigger: 2 ATP World Tour 500 (instead of 250 last week) and 2 WTA (one Premier and one International). Let’s take a closer look:
With the French Open coming to a close, grass season is upon us. The first grass challenger has already started (Surbiton) and on Monday we’re looking at a total of 4 ATP and WTA grass tournaments starting, if the rain gods will allow it. Let’s attempt to make a recap of last year, a quick preview of this year and then specifically of next week’s tournaments.
ESPN network execs in the United States must’ve thrown their cell phones against the wall when Karolina Pliskova beat Serena Williams. Now, they have the tough sell of a US Open Finals match between the little known Pliskova, from the Czech Republic, against Angelique Kerber, from Germany, who just (sort of) became a household name earlier this year, going against numerous College Football games in the 4:00 pm EDT time-slot.
Novak Djokovic vs. Mikhail Youzhny
The big story of the day will be how Novak Djokovic looks after getting a much needed walkover into the third round when Jirí Vesley withdrew due to injury. Djokovic was noticeably struggling in his first round match against Jerzy Janowicz, an opponent that an in-form Djokovic would’ve beat with ease.