Tag: lobandsmash.com

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: Aryna Sabalenka was playing with ease at the onset of her third-round match against Sorana Cirstea at the 2026 Rome Masters. Her opponent is capable of good groundstrokes, but Sabalenka's power was seemingly far too great for Cirstea. The match was trending toward being a short one. –> Aryna Sabalenka was playing…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: Novak Djokovic doesn't play in many tournaments these days. Not that it showed at the beginning of the 38-year-old's second-round match at the 2026 Rome Masters as he played rust-free, brilliant tennis against Dino Prizmic. That would soon change, however. –> Novak Djokovic doesn’t play in many tournaments these days. Not that…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: Alexander Zverev must be hoping that he can just stay healthy for the next few months. With Carlos Alcaraz out with a wrist injury through at least the French Open, and Novak Djokovic rarely playing, the German is clearly the second-best player on the ATP tour after Jannik Sinner. –> Alexander Zverev…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: Aryna Sabalenka left little doubt about the outcome of her second-round match against Barbora Krejcikova at the 2026 Rome Masters. She played intelligently and powerfully, and the Czech had little answer, even though she had previously proven she could play elite tennis by winning two Grand Slams. –> Aryna Sabalenka left little…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: Coco Gauff's second-round match of the 2026 Rome Masters wasn't expected to be difficult. No offense to Tereza Valentova, but she is not of the ilk of the American. Plus, Gauff's best surface is arguably clay, which is what the Italian Open is played on. –> Coco Gauff’s second-round match of the…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: The first-round match between Qinwen Zheng and Anna Bondar would have seemed like a routine warm-up match for the Chinese player for the rest of the Rome Masters. Bondar didn't want that to happen, however. –> The first-round match between Qinwen Zheng and Anna Bondar would have seemed like a routine warm-up…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: As we inch closer to the next Grand Slam event of 2026, the French Open, tennis fans get to watch as players toil through a series of Masters 1000 tournaments. Next up will be the Rome Masters (or Italian Open; whatever you want to call it). –> As we inch closer to…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: The first point of the Mutua Madrid Open final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev appeared to be a lie. With Sinner serving to start the match, Zverev won the point. He wouldn't win the game, nor the next one, nor the next one, nor the one after that. The ATP No.…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: The path has never been more wide open for Jannik Sinner to rack up the titles and put some distance between him and Carlos Alcaraz now that the Spaniard will be sidelined indefinitely.  –> The path has never been more wide open for Jannik Sinner to rack up the titles and put…

<!–qv q:id=6p q:key=vcaa: Even while Marta Kostyuk was playing exceptionally brilliant tennis in the first set of her 2026 Madrid Open final against Mirra Andreeva, tennis fans might have felt that lots of tennis remained to be played. Andreeva has already succeeded too much in her young career to be given up on so easily.…