The Saif Space

Kerber is out, and I'm not surprised. Sakkari lost to Tatjana Maria, and honestly, I'm not moved by it, and you definitely shouldn't be either. Ons Jabeur stays winning, Kaja Juvan dissapoints and in turn Watson impresses. Marie Bouzkova moving quiet and will be tasked with beating a red-hot Caro Garcia. What's good?

Iga won't win Wimbledon, surely not, right? Okay, but who will? Elena Rybakina will, say it with me. You can just feel that we are just one or two days (one round) away from things getting REALLY REALLY good and interesting. Watch out for Kaja Juvan.

Saiffers Ones to Watch: 1. Kvitova 2. Pegula 3. Rybakina 4. Simona Halep 5. Kaja Juvan

Bencic, BHM, Collins, Serena out. Swiatek doesn't look too comfortable, Kvitova passes a huge test. Andreescu and Rybakina through comfortably. Ons jabeur has the draw wide the fuck open for her, and same for Kontaveit, and Simona Halep looks scary. Kaja Muchova is no longer, in more than one way!!! All eyes on Raducanu, Kontaveit, Kaja Juvan today.

Raducanu, Bencic, Kaja Juvan (and not BHM), Kontaveit, Ons Jabeur, and Bouzkova. Top performers of the day, in an action-packed day one. Hear all about it, as well as a preview of tomorrow's slate!!! Ones to Watch 1. Kvitova  2. Bencic 3. Rybakina 4. Kontaveit 5. Kaja Juvan

HERE. WE. GO. Grass court power rankings:  1. Kvitova 2. BHM 3. Ostapenko 4. Jabeur 5. Andreescu

1. BHM with a much needed day off. That's the good the news. The bad news: She gets Petra Kvtirova next, and she's in the mood. 2. Movement in the 'washed player' power rankings.  3. Caro Garcia and Alize Cornet beat Sabine Lisicki and Angie Kerber respectively? Yeah, okay.

Two things haven't changed in my short absence: 1. BHM stays winning 2. Sakkari and Badosa are still god-awful A lot to recap and to catch up on, and a lot to discuss and to look forward to, so I'll just leave you with this: Sabine Lisicki

Overlap of the two weeks. Coco Gauff's character got tested today and she failed miserably. Today we got a chance to see what she was all about, and (spoiler art) it was not much. Bencic x Jabeur final, rematch of Charleston final and the third meeting of the year. Maria Sakkari thinks she's good and that is a huge problem for the world. Two really good draws and 1R action starting on a Sunday. An...

BHM can't be stopped, and looks like she won't stop. Her SF clash vs Simo Halep is a HUGE test for both players, just to see what they are really about. Coco Gauff looks good and is surely a contender to be the first American woman to win a title in Germany since Davenport in 2005. Despite Bencic's good results, she is still on fraud watch, and her match tomorrow vs Sakkari will tell us everything...

Weird stuff has been going on on the grass this week, so it's time for me to get weird myself. Some of the best grass players from last week, BHM, Alexandrova, Martincova, Riske, McNally (?) are no more. Tomorrow, we will know who is really about it from this weeks contestants, who are mostly all fresh faces on the grass this season. As always, I do a full recap of R2 (Wednesday and Thursday) and...

Muguruza lost, again. She now has 10 losses on the season, and only 7 wins. Is she finished? Who is more finished, her or Kvitova? Where they do they rank amongst their colleagues Vika, Kerber, in terms of finishedness? Is that even a word? Now it is. What do you make of Kudermetova's win over Sabalenka? BHM stays winning!!! So does Alexandrova, I can't believe she's not playing Wimbledon. McNally...

A bit of an interesting day 1 of week 2 of grass season. A lot of players are making their grass szn debuts, and it sure looks like it. Andreescu did not impress today but somehow. Kaja Juvan is on fraud watch (although I think that is harsh, but I don't make the rules). Jilly Teichmann (formerly on fraud watch (quite generously, might I add)) is now officially finished. Belinda Bencic is on fraud...

First week of grass szn is in the books, and we have two champions who both played amazing tennis throughout the week. Unfortunately, only one of them will be playing in Wimbledon, but oh well. Onto our two new tournaments. Plethora of bangers in the first round across both tournaments, and some bigger names, as well as some new faces that can make some noise. LETS HAVE A WEEK!!!

Ajla Tomljanovic is dead to me, and Belinda Bencic is on fraud watch. Harriet Dart just isn't that girl, and British tennis fans definitely need one (this is a low blow aimed towards Emma). There were some good performances today: Kudermetova, Alexandrova, Martincova, Riske. Sabalenka clutched a 3S tiebreak against the Ostrich, in a match that shouldn't have been that complicated. Alexandrova look...

Today we talk about Emma Raducanu, and every match from today, of course. I find myself talking about Ajla Tomljanovic, again and again. McNally unsuspectingly good so far, Alison Riske the same, except less unsuspectingly. I talk about my 'list' and why Elena Rybakina's spot is at stake. Bencic has a chance to showcase what she's got against Kudermetova, a non-participant at Wimbledon. Alexandrov...

Well, we didn't get much tennis today. But there was still some good and some bad. Martincova and Watson, respectively, in case you were wondering. A reoccurring theme this week, rain delays and suspended matches. A look to look forward to in what should be a pretty stacked day, if we are to see the full slate of matches.

Our first full, REAL day of grass szn. It was an interesting one. Lack of overall quality, which is to be expected on the first couple of matches on the grass, which is the most specialized surface. Daria Saville was the worst thing I saw today. Some really good matchups tomorrow for tennis fans, and even better betting spots for us bettors. Enjoy the good stuff.

Clay season has reached it's conclusion. And onto the good stuff we go (grass). I talk about Iga Swiatek, the WTA tour, and Coco Gauff. I also talk about Rafa, Djokovic, and Ruud. I preview the 'grass season', and discuss the surface and what sort of players/play styles should excel or enjoy success on the grass. I give a list of 3 WTA players to watch out for this grass szn, who I think will impr...

Iga's win streak is extended to 34 matches, and she will face Coco Gauff in the final, who put an end to Trevisan's win streak. Can she end two win streaks in a row? Yeah, probably not. The men's matches tomorrow are very promising, and I dig into them and discuss my thoughts on the lines and how they will play out. Should be good!!!

The HUGE difference between quality, competitiveness, and overall level of the WTA/ATP in these matches is HUGE. Rublev x Cilic was sensational, and Rune x Ruud was quite good. Out of the 4 QFs, that was the weakest one, but overall it has been GIVING! Cilic is looking dangerously good, and I like him to make the final. He has certainly been one of the best players this fortnight and would be wort...

I think Novak Djokovic will agree, but I was stunned by Nadal's level to start the match. Nadal gets one back over Novak, bringing their H2H to 30-29 in favor of Nole. Zverev with a very good win, and gets Nadal next; I like an upset there. Coco Gauff beats Sloane, and Martina Trevisan keeps winning. I like an upset there too, that's our first WTA SF. Iga x Pegula tomorrow should be very good, sam...

Holger Rune is the second teenager to have his coming out party vs Stefanos at a grand slam. The other teenager was 18 year old Carlitos at last year's USO. Cilic plays the best match of his life, Casper Ruud somehow keeps winning. Qinwen Zheng, my first love, took a set off Iga, and really gave her a big test that Iga didn't quite pass in the first set. Pegula is quietly through to the QF, same w...

Djokovic yet to drop a set, and the long awaited QF matchup against Rafa is set for Tuesday, who beat Felix's bum ass in 5 sets today (4 hr 22 min). Sloane won 12 games in a row for the second time this week. Trevisan has now won 9 matches in a row, and 16 sets in a row. Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff aren't worth talking about, but I still spent an extended amount of time talking about them. Car...

I spend the first 18 minutes or so talking about Elena Rybakina. I also spend an extended period of time talking about 'limit-testing' and discuss the possibility that that was what Iga Swiatek was doing today. I also, as always, recap EVERY match from today, and I preview THE ENTIRETY of the 4th Round, for the men and women.