[SurreyHills]

Simona has entered both Birmingham and Bad Homburg the following week thus having potentially two tournaments before Wimbledon where she can get some wins and add some points.
Good luck Simona!

The draw for Birmingham currently looks like this:

J. Ostapenko (1) v R. Marino (Q)
D. Yastremska v M. Linette
E. Ruse v Q. Wang
J. Fett (Q) v S. Zhang (8)

E. Mertens (4) v C. McNally (Q)
C. Vandeweghe (Q) v D. Vekic (Q)
A. Tomljanovic v P. Martic
S. Rogers v S. Cirstea (6)

P. Kvitova (5) v B. Haddad Maia
N. Parrizas Diaz v M. Frech
L. Davis v K. Juvan
T. Martincova v C. Giorgi (3)

A. Riske (7) v K. Boulter
C. Garcia v V. Golubic
H. Dart v C. Osorio
L. Tsurenko (Q) v S. Halep (2)

 

[SurreyHills]

Simona is also in the doubles draw:

E. Mertens/S. Zhang (1) v C. Harrison/S. Santamaria
M. Niculescu/E. Ruse v V. Heisen/S. Murray Sharan
S. Aoyama/H. Chan (4) v E. Appleton/A. Collins
S. Halep/D. Vekic v L. Chan/S. Stosur

K. Kawa/K. Piter v H. Dart/S. Grey
A. Barnett/O. Nicholls v L. Hradecka/S. Mirza (3)
L. Davis/C. McNally v K. Juvan/M. Linette
N. Kichenok/A. Krunic v L. Kichenok/J. Ostapenko (2)

 

[NMQ]

H2h against Tsurenko says a good first round, but these days who knows. I saw Simona just started training on grass this weekend, let's how fast she adapts.

 

[cuuckoo]

Simona has entered both Birmingham and Bad Homburg the following week thus having potentially two tournaments before Wimbledon where she can get some wins and add some points.
Good luck Simona!

It's wise to avoid a stronger field I think.

Simona is also in the doubles draw:
S. Halep/D. Vekic v L. Chan/S. Stosur

Vekic? Interesting. I'd be more than happy if they beat $$£ Chan but it'll be one round trip for them.

H2h against Tsurenko says a good first round, but these days who knows. I saw Simona just started training on grass this weekend, let's how fast she adapts.

Actually I was waiting for Simo to draw Vandeweghe, Marino, or Mcnally for an exciting 1st round.
...and yes even it's Tsurenko, these days who knows

 

[NMQ]

That was NID, a strong first set, then her typical blip and Tsurenko cut her rythm a bit with the MTO. But solid overall. Interesting match against Dart now. Simona beat her easily in the Australian Open, but she can do better in grass.

 

[SurreyHills]

Good win for Simona today, her first on grass in nearly three years. A pity she couldn't maintain the ponytail for the whole match though.

 

[SurreyHills]

That's a good win from Simona today. Some fine winners and some of her serves registered over 110 mph. Dart had been playing some good tennis last week. I could see Dart was getting frustrated with line calls and/or umpire interventions, but that's what you get if you don't have Hawkeye (which they used to have at this tournament before they downgraded it to a 250, perhaps Dart should blame the cheapskate LTA).
Simona's next opponent is Boulter, another Brit who's just grazed the top 100, but also played at Nottingham. There should be plenty of video of Boulter's recent play to study.

 

[cuuckoo]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1537115567722831875

When Mouratoglou isn't in her box, she plays well.

 

[SurreyHills]

At the start of the match it looked like Simona was struggling to return the serve of Boulter, whose errors helped keep Simona level in the score. Simona's returning got better and better and she played some better serving games in the second set too.
She didn't seem happy with her performance in the interview, but kept her composure.
At least she has played both of her potential semi-final opponents before.

PS. The weather forecast is not encouraging for tomorrow, we may have to pray for heavy rain tonight to clear it out of the way.

 

[NMQ]

That was the ugliest set won I've ever seen. Zero winners and 33% 1st while not being broken. Crazy stuff. Gotta do better next time, cause the opponent on the other side of the net won't be that kind.

 

[SurreyHills]

So play has just been cancelled for today (Saturday). Whoever wins this tournament will have a hard task ahead of them.

 

[cuuckoo]

So play has just been cancelled for today (Saturday). Whoever wins this tournament will have a hard task ahead of them.

I'm more worried about Simona. If she beats HM she'll have to play two matches in one day. If she loses she may still withdraw from Bad Homburg?
BTW it will be a bit chilly and humid tomorrow (15° -17°). Is it good for Simo?

 

[SurreyHills]

My recollection of Simona at her best, you can look at Doha in 2014, Madrid in 2016, 2017, RG 2018, and her last three matches at Wimbledon 2019 as examples, was that she was able to maintain her high standard of play for prolonged periods and get a lot of straight sets wins. At the moment, she is just too patchy. Haddad Maia was a much better opponent than her previous ones here, but I thought sloppy serving games, regularly coughing up the easy re-break, cost Simona a possible win.
I think she will probably pull out of Bad Homburg, which may have always been a contingency for an early Birmingham exit. Simona has had four matches and should get a bit of rest before going to Wimbledon and hoping for a kind draw to help her find some form there.

 

[cuuckoo]

A disappointing loss. However for me it's a big relief that Simo doesn't need to play the final in 2 hrs-- who knows it's saving her from a potential disaster.
No time to rest well though(right leg) Now wait for her Bad Homburg decision.

 

[Goalie30]

Is she injured? I saw she had a big fall in the first set

 

[cuuckoo]

She slipped twice.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1538475767943860224

 

[Goalie30]

Did it look like she was hampered in the second and third set?

I really hope she is healthy for Wimbledon

 

[cuuckoo]

Did it look like she was hampered in the second and third set?

I really hope she is healthy for Wimbledon

Didn't look obviously hampered to me, but I think she was bearing some degree of "discomfort" to keep playing.
Just saw Bencic hurt herself a while ago...
Well I believe if Simo played the final the risk for her health would be a lot higher.

 

[SurreyHills]

Last time I looked Simona (and Belinda Bencic) were still in the draw for Bad Homburg, and the round of 32 matches there have already started. Hopefully common sense will prevail and a couple of lucky losers will get their chance.

 

[cuuckoo]

Last time I looked Simona (and Belinda Bencic) were still in the draw for Bad Homburg, and the round of 32 matches there have already started. Hopefully common sense will prevail and a couple of lucky losers will get their chance.

I didn't watch the final...and Zhang retired too. Haddad Maia the champion.