2018 US Open already gave us a major shock in the first round. Simona Halep, currently top-ranked female tennis player in the world, was eliminated by 44th ranked Kaia Kanepi. This is the first time since professional era began in 1968 that the top-seeded female tennis player exited the tournament in the first round.

For Simona Halep, on the other hand, it isn’t the first time that she leaves Flushing Meadows early. She was also eliminated in the first round of 2017 US Open by Maria Sharapova.

“Maybe the noise in the crowd,” – Halep said after 2-6, 4-6 defeat. “The city is busy. So everything together. I’m a quiet person, so maybe I like the smaller places.“

“Even when you are there in the top, you feel the same nerves. You are human. For me, it’s more difficult in the first rounds, because I’m more emotional. That’s why I need a good start.” – the 26-year-old added.

While Simona Halep doesn’t seem to enjoy New York, Kaia Kanepi loves it in the Big Apple.

“I think the courts suit my game,” – said Kanepi after this big win. “I like the atmosphere at the tournament and in the city. And I like the weather: hot and humid.”

After eliminating Halep, Kanepi has a great chance to make a deep run in the tournament. Her next opponent is Jil Teichmann, who is currently ranked 168th in the world.

There were no other significant upsets in the women’s singles of the 2018 US Open since Serena, and Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza all made it into the second round.

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Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep are the winners of 2018 French Open. Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem in men’s singles final for his 11th Roland Garros title, while Halep won the women’s singles final in a match against Sloan Stephens for her first Grand Slam title.

Rafael Nadal never lost a French Open final, and it wasn’t anything different this year. He never gave Thiem a chance and finished the job in three sets to claim 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory. Although this was a dominant win for Nadal, he faced some challenges along the way. In the third set, he suffered cramps in his middle finger to the extent that he couldn’t straighten it.

“I was not able to move the hand, the finger,” – said Nadal after the game. “I was not [in] control of my finger.“

The 32-year-old Spaniard then took a break halfway through the third set and with the help of his trainer managed to take care of the issue. After getting back into the match, Nadal strolled through the set and claimed his 17th career Grand Slam.

“If you tell me seven, eight years ago that I will be here … having this trophy with me again, I will tell you that is something almost impossible,” – said Nadal. “But here we are.“

In 2018 French Open women’s singles finals, the No.1 ranked female tennis player in the world, Simona Halep, was looking for her first career Grand Slam title again 10th seeded Sloane Stephens. It didn’t start well for Halep, who lost the first set 3-6 and it looked like Stephens is on the way to win her second Grand Slam, after claiming the US Open title in 2017. The odds were against Simona Halep since tennis player who won the first set had managed to get the title in 43 out of the last 46 women’s Grand Slam finals.

“When I was down a break in the second set,” – said Halep after the match. “I thought, ‘Everything is gone. I’m going to start to relax and enjoy the match.‘”

Still, Halep managed to turn things around and won the two remaining sets with 6-4 and 6-1 and have her first Grand Slam title. She became only the fourth female tennis player who won her first major title after being ranked No.1.

Sloane Stephens, on the other side, has become the first American tennis player other than Serena and Venus Williams to play in French Open final since 2001.

“Not the trophy I wanted,” – said Stephens about her runner-up plate, “but it’s still beautiful.”

The post Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep win 2018 French Open Titles appeared first on SportzBonanza.

On Tuesday we witnessed another major upset at US Open 2017. Last year’s US Open Women’s Singles champion, Germany’s Angelique Kerber has ended her journey to defend the title by being eliminated in the first round by Japan’s Naomi Osaka. On the WTA World Ranking, Kerber is ranked 6th but is on her way out of the top 10 for sure while Osaka is currently ranked 45th and will see an improvement in her ranking after US Open is completed. Kerber is the first defending champion in the last 12 years to be eliminated so early. Something like this didn’t happen since 2005 when Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Ekaterina Bychkova.

Majority of the matches on Tuesday were canceled because of the rain but the match between Kerber and Osaka was completed. It probably helped that the Japanese tennis player was swift and finished the job in 2 sets beating Kerber 6-3, 6-1. Kerber looked powerless while Osaka strolled through their 65-minutes match.This was also the first time that Osaka has managed to beat a top 10 tennis player.

Compared to the last year, when she was number one ranked female tennis player in the world, 2017 isn’t shaping well for Angelique Kerber. In 2016, besides US Open, she won the Australian Open as well and even managed to reach Wimbledon final. This year, Kerber suffered multiple blows, including elimination from the French Open where she was No. 1 seed. That was the first time in the tournament’s history that No. 1 seeded player was eliminated in the first round.

Now, 4 out of the top 10 seeded tennis players in woman’s singles are out of the US Open. The 9th seeded Venus Williams is pregnant and doesn’t participate in the tournament. The 2nd seeded Simona Halep was eliminated by Maria Sharapova while 7th seeded Johanna Konta suffered a defeat in her match against WTA 78th ranked Aleksandra Krunic.

The post US Open Defending Champion Angelique Kerber Defeated by Naomi Osaka appeared first on SportzBonanza.

2018 US Open already gave us a major shock in the first round. Simona Halep, currently top-ranked female tennis player in the world, was eliminated by 44th ranked Kaia Kanepi. This is the first time since professional era began in 1968 that the top-seeded female tennis player exited the tournament in the first round.

For Simona Halep, on the other hand, it isn’t the first time that she leaves Flushing Meadows early. She was also eliminated in the first round of 2017 US Open by Maria Sharapova.

“Maybe the noise in the crowd,” – Halep said after 2-6, 4-6 defeat. “The city is busy. So everything together. I’m a quiet person, so maybe I like the smaller places.“

“Even when you are there in the top, you feel the same nerves. You are human. For me, it’s more difficult in the first rounds, because I’m more emotional. That’s why I need a good start.” – the 26-year-old added.

While Simona Halep doesn’t seem to enjoy New York, Kaia Kanepi loves it in the Big Apple.

“I think the courts suit my game,” – said Kanepi after this big win. “I like the atmosphere at the tournament and in the city. And I like the weather: hot and humid.”

After eliminating Halep, Kanepi has a great chance to make a deep run in the tournament. Her next opponent is Jil Teichmann, who is currently ranked 168th in the world.

There were no other significant upsets in the women’s singles of the 2018 US Open since Serena, and Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza all made it into the second round.

The post Simona Halep, No. 1 Female Tennis Player in the World, Eliminated from 2018 US Open appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep are the winners of 2018 French Open. Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem in men’s singles final for his 11th Roland Garros title, while Halep won the women’s singles final in a match against Sloan Stephens for her first Grand Slam title.

Rafael Nadal never lost a French Open final, and it wasn’t anything different this year. He never gave Thiem a chance and finished the job in three sets to claim 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 victory. Although this was a dominant win for Nadal, he faced some challenges along the way. In the third set, he suffered cramps in his middle finger to the extent that he couldn’t straighten it.

“I was not able to move the hand, the finger,” – said Nadal after the game. “I was not [in] control of my finger.“

The 32-year-old Spaniard then took a break halfway through the third set and with the help of his trainer managed to take care of the issue. After getting back into the match, Nadal strolled through the set and claimed his 17th career Grand Slam.

“If you tell me seven, eight years ago that I will be here … having this trophy with me again, I will tell you that is something almost impossible,” – said Nadal. “But here we are.“

In 2018 French Open women’s singles finals, the No.1 ranked female tennis player in the world, Simona Halep, was looking for her first career Grand Slam title again 10th seeded Sloane Stephens. It didn’t start well for Halep, who lost the first set 3-6 and it looked like Stephens is on the way to win her second Grand Slam, after claiming the US Open title in 2017. The odds were against Simona Halep since tennis player who won the first set had managed to get the title in 43 out of the last 46 women’s Grand Slam finals.

“When I was down a break in the second set,” – said Halep after the match. “I thought, ‘Everything is gone. I’m going to start to relax and enjoy the match.‘”

Still, Halep managed to turn things around and won the two remaining sets with 6-4 and 6-1 and have her first Grand Slam title. She became only the fourth female tennis player who won her first major title after being ranked No.1.

Sloane Stephens, on the other side, has become the first American tennis player other than Serena and Venus Williams to play in French Open final since 2001.

“Not the trophy I wanted,” – said Stephens about her runner-up plate, “but it’s still beautiful.”

The post Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep win 2018 French Open Titles appeared first on SportzBonanza.

On Tuesday we witnessed another major upset at US Open 2017. Last year’s US Open Women’s Singles champion, Germany’s Angelique Kerber has ended her journey to defend the title by being eliminated in the first round by Japan’s Naomi Osaka. On the WTA World Ranking, Kerber is ranked 6th but is on her way out of the top 10 for sure while Osaka is currently ranked 45th and will see an improvement in her ranking after US Open is completed. Kerber is the first defending champion in the last 12 years to be eliminated so early. Something like this didn’t happen since 2005 when Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to Ekaterina Bychkova.

Majority of the matches on Tuesday were canceled because of the rain but the match between Kerber and Osaka was completed. It probably helped that the Japanese tennis player was swift and finished the job in 2 sets beating Kerber 6-3, 6-1. Kerber looked powerless while Osaka strolled through their 65-minutes match.This was also the first time that Osaka has managed to beat a top 10 tennis player.

Compared to the last year, when she was number one ranked female tennis player in the world, 2017 isn’t shaping well for Angelique Kerber. In 2016, besides US Open, she won the Australian Open as well and even managed to reach Wimbledon final. This year, Kerber suffered multiple blows, including elimination from the French Open where she was No. 1 seed. That was the first time in the tournament’s history that No. 1 seeded player was eliminated in the first round.

Now, 4 out of the top 10 seeded tennis players in woman’s singles are out of the US Open. The 9th seeded Venus Williams is pregnant and doesn’t participate in the tournament. The 2nd seeded Simona Halep was eliminated by Maria Sharapova while 7th seeded Johanna Konta suffered a defeat in her match against WTA 78th ranked Aleksandra Krunic.

The post US Open Defending Champion Angelique Kerber Defeated by Naomi Osaka appeared first on SportzBonanza.