Francesca Schiavone on a Good Start

December 9, 2014

Francesca Schiavone finally broke her losing run as in her first match in Open GDF Suez de Limoges; she beat Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania in the straight sets.

This was victory no. 554 for Schiavone. Now, only five active players have more victories on the tour than the veteran Italian.

Schiavone, who is 34 years of age now and is probably in her last season, had been totally out of form since August.

She had come to Limoges losing three matches on the trot, but, some mistakes made by her opponent in yesterday’s match got her going and once she gained her confidence, it was hard for Dulgheru to match her skills.

In the second set though, there was some fight from the Romania international. She was actually able to drag the set in the tie breaker and won some key points there too, but, the experienced Schiavone kept her shape in the crunch situation and won the tie breaker 7 points to 4 to end the contest.

Meanwhile, the young sensation from France Caroline Garcia who had also been on a bit of a losing run managed to get back to winning ways as she got better of Timea Babos in a three setter to make her way to the second round.

Speaking in the post match interview, Garcia said, “I was not in my zone initially. The first half an hour, 40 minutes, it was full of nervousness, but, then, I calmed myself down and tried to play on my strengths and I am thankful to be able to come out on the positive side.”

Garcia is presently ranked 34th in the world. That’s her highest ranking ever. As far as this Limoges tournament is concerned, she has been given the second seed here.

Nadal Unsure About Grand Slam

September 3, 2014

There is no guarantee of Rafael Nadal taking part in this year’s last Grand Slam i.e. the US Open. His coach Toni is not sure whether the injury that the world no. 2 established while practicing a few days ago would heal in time or not.

According to Toni, Nadal will go through a scan 7 or 8 days ahead of the tournament and his participation at Flushing Meadows will depend on the result of that scan.

Talking to a Spanish website the other day, Toni said, “It all depends on MRI. We might go there, we might not go there. We don’t know at this point of time. But, it’s certain that Rafa will participate only if 100% fit, otherwise not.”

Because of this recent injury of his, Nadal has withdrawn from the ongoing Rogers Cup and he is not believed to be going to take part in the upcoming Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament either. He had won both these tournaments last year.

Toni admitted that Nadal’s feeling low after having missed the opportunity to defend his crown in Toronto. He was quoted as saying, “You always get a bit demoralized when you suffer an injury ahead of an important tournament. This injury has come at a very wrong time for Rafa. He won’t be able to go either to Toronto or to Cincinnati and he’s obviously low because of that.”

Nadal who got removed from the world no. 1 position after his early exit from Wimbledon has had a decent 2014 season. He has won a Grand Slam i.e. the French Open, while; he has reached the final in another one i.e. the Australian Open. He would surely be happy to add one more title to his tally this season and there can’t be a better place to do that than Flushing Meadows.