Key Takeaways: What We Learned in Montreal and Cincinnati

Sorry Iga Swiatek if she’s looking for a break heading into the US Open while many of us are enjoying our summer vacation. But the world No. 1 is crushing.

“From my point of view I would say my tank is pretty empty,” she said Sunday in Cincinnati. “Honestly, I won’t be too upset because I’m happy to have a day off.”

Sviatek played 18 matches over six weeks and won 15 of them. There was a place in Warsaw. But in consecutive WTA 1000 matches in Montreal and Cincinnati. She fell victim to an American in the semi-finals in Canada, Jessica Pegula, followed by Coco Gauff in Ohio.

in fact They cornered the market with momentum heading into next week’s US Open. Goff and Pegula won three of Hardcourt’s biggest titles of the summer.

Champions Corner: Pegula beat Montreal | Goff beat Cincinnati

But Swiatek’s consistency remains undisputed. The Poles are unbeaten before the quarter-finals since January. Does she have enough gas in the tank to defend her title in New York?

Swiatek asks fans to be more compassionate and supportive of the players.

Here are five ideas to come out of the two WTA 1000s over the summer in Montreal and Cincinnati:

Coco Goff feels that way.

She’s been a key player since reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon four years ago (at 15), but her progression to climb the tennis ranks hasn’t been fast enough for some, which is ridiculous.

Which player on tour can match Coco Gauff’s speed?

Gauff, 19, is the only teenager ranked in the top 40. She’s ranked fifth at the WTA Finals and sixth overall. She won two of three tournaments and 11 of 12, losing only to Pegula in Montreal. Gauff defeated Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova in Canada and reigning French Open champion Swiatek in Cincinnati.

Some context: Goff is the third youngest player to win the WTA 1000 since 2009 and the first player to win five titles as a teenager. since caroline Wozniacki in 2009 as well

She understood the prevailing expectations. But she didn’t give up.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that everyone’s path for you is not the real thing. It’s not something that’s going to happen,” she said after winning her first WTA 1000 title last Sunday. “Even the path you wished for yourself might not happen.

“I believe in giving my best. That’s all you can do. I’m going to give it my all in the US Open.”

In this case, be careful.

The `competition’ is heating up.

The top 8 finalists at the end of the regular season will qualify for the Hologic WTA Tour’s prestigious year-end tournament, and the competition is starting to take shape.

Vondrusova, Wimbledon champion, advances to WTA Finals

Aryna Sabalenka sits 1st in the Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard with 6,910 points. She is by a narrow margin over Swiatek (6,665), followed by Elena Rybakina (5,346), Pegula (4,165) and Gauff (3,675) Caro. Lina Mushowa, Cincinnati finalist defeated Zabalenka in the semi-finals. And jumping to No. 8, Musovova joins fellow Czech players Vondrousova (No. 6) and Petra Kvitova (No. 9) in the top 10.

Compete against the WTA Finals leaderboard.

Not only is No. 1 able to maintain balance at the US Open once again. But the final Major of the season also offers a huge opportunity to lock in place for year-end tournaments.

onwards and up

Good news: Ons Jabeur has reached finals in three of the past five Grand Slam singles events. Downside: She lost to Rybakina last year at Wimbledon, Swiatek at the US Open, and most recently to Vondrousova at Wimbledon.

“I had to take a few days – days off – to recover, but it wasn’t enough,” she said in Cincinnati. Quite difficult. For me, I try to reflect a little bit about the finals. But for now, I’m honest, it’s still hard to think about it again.”

Inspired by legend, Jabeur heals heartbreak at Wimbledon

Jabeur lost her third match to Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. She looked sharp all week until she was forced to recuperate due to a problem with her right leg during that match.

Venus hopes to play in US Open

Venus Williams pulled out of Cleveland’s Tennis in the Land tournament, citing a knee injury. But she is doing everything she can to prepare for the US Open.

How Venus Williams still finds joy in competition

“Unfortunately, my knee is not showing properly,” she said in the video. “It just doesn’t encourage me to be on the pitch right now, it’s really bad… but I’ll deal with it myself. try to collect yourself so that I could be at [US] Open and hope to come and play too. [Cleveland] next year.”

The US Open will be Williams’ seventh of the year. In Cincinnati, she tallied her top-20 win of the year by beating Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets before bowing out to Zheng Qinwen in third.

looking for some competition

Top seeds in Cleveland, Caroline Garcia and Barbara Krajzikova, hope to put together a positive performance in New York. Garcia was a US Open semi-finalist last year.

No.7 Garcia lost her first game in Washington D.C., Montreal and Cincinnati. She is defending champion No. 12 Krejcikova, who suffered a leg injury at Wimbledon. Has made just one appearance since then, losing to Victoria Azarenka.

In his first win in six weeks Garcia manages Linda. Fruh Vertova 6-3, 6-2 In Monday’s first round, Krejcikova fell to Clara Thauson 6-4, 6-1. Krejcikova, the 2021 Roland Garros champion, made two errors. Six times and broken four times