OTW Extra Email Archive - April 2020
Action in Germany - and Iga eager for success...
Thursday 30th April 2020
In your Ones to Watch EXTRA email today:
Iga eager for success…
Last month I emailed you the progress report for our ‘Ones to Watch in 2020’ players.
One of the youngest names on our list is 18-year-old Iga Swiatek…
There may be no tournaments for Iga to compete in right now, but the signs are good for this Polish teenager in the months and years ahead.
I’ve been impressed by Swiatek every time I’ve seen her play. She has the physical power. And she looks to have the tough mentality and fighting instincts needed to cut it at the top level of the game, too.
At the Australian Open in January, the teenager reached the 4th round - one match off the quarter finals - and was only edged out by the more experienced Anett Kontaveit, in a 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 nailbiter.
We can expect more to come from Iga Swiatek, both on the main WTA Tour, and in the annual Grand Slam events…
Swiatek also made the 4th round at the French Open last year, only stopped by 2018 French Open winner and current World No.2, Simona Halep. This Polish teenager appears to have a taste for the bigtime.
On court, Iga has a confidence and flow to her game that suggests she will prove to be the real deal as her career progresses. Swiatek has already broken into the top 50 in the world rankings. Still just 18 years of age, she looks well set up to move much higher in the future - be that later in 2020, or beyond…
Already this season we’ve seen one of our One to Watch in 2020 players, Sofa Kenin, lift the Australian Open at odds of 50/1. Kenin is 21 years old, and up to No.4 in the world. Swiatek’s coach Piotr Sierzputowski reckons his young charge could be making similar waves by the time she hits 21...
“She is an achiever. She is a person who is really hungry to go farther and farther. If she is going to stay focused and consistent with what she is doing she can go much higher than she is already, because of that hunger…
I’m not going to say that I’m dreaming—I know that Iga can win Grand Slams. I don’t know when. In my plan in two three years she will achieve the top level of her abilities. I think she will be mature enough.”
Make no mistake, Iga Swiatek is one to watch.
Action in Germany...
Considering we’re on lockdown and the pro tennis tours are suspended until July, we’re having a pleasingly busy week over on my members-only Ones to Watch service…
The inaugural Mutua Madrid Virtual Open Pro has provided a bit of entertainment. This online Esports tournament concludes today, with the semi finals and then the finals.
At the start of the week I flagged up young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas as one to look out for in the men’s event. Tsitsipas is through to the semi finals.
According to the bookies, the Greek youngster will face Andy Murray in the final. That’s if the results follow the odds, anyway…
Murray and Tsitsipas have both proved to be pretty decent with a Playstation this week, both dropping just two games each so far in the tournament. Murray’s scores have been: 3-1, 3-0, 3-0 in the group stage, then 6-1 in the quarter finals. Tsitsipas’ have been equally dominant: 3-0, 3-0, 3-0 and 6-2.
Tennis Point Exhibition Series - starts tomorrow...
We also have some real-life tennis to look forward to…
Germany has been dealing with the coronavirus well; so much so, in fact, that some degree of professional sport is back on the calendar already.
The top-flight German football league are expecting an announcement later today. And in the tennis world, the newly-formed Tennis Point Exhibition Series is set to start on Friday…
This event will feature eight local players (to avoid travel issues), and be played behind closed doors with no fans. Dustin Brown is the headline name. He’s got a massive serve, and is always fun to watch - diving around the court and pulling out trick shots.
A total of 32 matches will take place, with a round-robin stage followed by playoffs. The action will be screened live online.
Matches will be played using the ATP Next Gen Finals format using mini sets, which are the first to 3 games, with a tiebreak at 3-3. And no Advantage played at deuce.
This exhibition event will take place in the Rhineland-Palatinate state in the west of Germany, and played on clay courts, and will run over the course of the weekend.
Play starts Friday morning. There are no betting markets up as I write, but I expect that to change come this evening or first thing tomorrow (the first match is scheduled for 8am, UK time).
P.S
Get some Vitamin D...
I’ll leave you with a simple equation today. Everyone’s on lockdown. We can’t go out as much as we’d like…
Not going out = less time in sunlight.
Less sunlight = less Vitamin D.
My health writer pal Ray Collins has got lots of interesting points on the subject. Now more than ever, we all need to make sure we’re getting a healthy amount of Vitamin D. Ray shines more light on the matter here.
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson