2015 US Open: Bethanie Mattek-Sands - Sixth Time is the Charm!

Veteran American player Bethanie Mattek-Sands (#101) makes a breakthrough in the 2015 US Open by getting into the third round of this slam for the the first time ever!  This is her 6th try and this time, she had a convincing win over Coco Vandeweghe (#45) 61 62.

Her first round triumph was over Kateryna Kozlova (#209) of Ukraine 64 63.

This is also the sixth time she has reached the third round or deeper in all the slams.  

Her best results have been fourth round appearances in Roland Garros (2013) and Wimbledon (2008).

It will be a difficult ask for her to make it a third time here in the US Open as she will next meet Serena Williams (#1) in the third round.

But well, anything can happen!

Wimbledon 2015: Coco Vandeweghe Rises to the Occasion

I don't quite remember the occasion when I first saw the raw talent of Coco Vandeweghe, but I knew it was a few years ago. I think she was playing against Serena Williams and she did not look intimidated at all.  It was then that I knew she would make inroads into the grand slam soon enough.  

However, it did not happen overnight, as I saw her, get defeated in the earlier rounds of many many grand slams.  Then, in the Australian Open this year, she broke into the third round of a grand slam for the first time.

She makes a better account for herself in Wimbledon 2015 by making it into the quarterfinals of a grand slam for the very first time in her career!  To do it, she had wins over some really good players like Karolina Pliskova, Samantha Stosur and Lucie Safarova.  For the first time in her career, Coco Vandweghe is finally showing the world what she can really do.

She just ran into Maria Sharapova in the quarters but still pushed the Russian into three sets.  I believe that as Coco gains more experience into the second week of a slam, she would become more battle weary and experienced.

Elite Women's Team Award for 2015 Wimbledon - UNITED STATES

The United States wins the Elite Women's Team Award for Wimbledon 2015 by putting four players into the fourth round of this tournament.  They were led by Serena Williams (#1), sister Venus Williams (#16), Coco Vandeweghe (#48) and Madison Keys (#21).

This award is given to the country with the most number of players in the round of 16.

Agnieszka Radwanska Has Another Good Chance of Winning Wimby 2014

Already a finalist here in Wimbledon before, the luck of the draw has once again come to Polish player Agnieszka Radwanska.  I don't know how 100% Victoria Azarenka is, but I don't think she'd be able to go deep in the draw for this grand slam, especially that Agi Radwanska, Coco Vandeweghe, Dominika Cibulkova and Bojana Jovanovski are in her part of the draw.  

That part actually is left wide open, and I choose Coco Vandeweghe to make it to the quarters and possibly meet Agi Radwanska.

Agi also has her share of potentially dangerous opponents like grasscourt specialist Tsvetana Pironkova, 2-time grand slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova and Australian Casey Dellacqua before she reaches the quarters, but I still choose her to prevail over them.

US Open 2011 Featured Player: Coco Vandeweghe

Coco Vandeweghe (#113) of the US has been flying under the radar for the past few seasons but has always managed to reach at least the second round of a Grand Slam.  I hope she can have more consistency with the other tournaments so she can rank inside the Top 100.

She won over Alberta Brianti (#56) of Italy in the first round 75 63, but lost to eventual champion, Samantha Stosur (#10) 36 46, in the second round.

Coco reenters the Top 100 at #97, for her efforts here, but she has actually gone as high as #89 April this year.

Coco Vandeweghe - WTA Players Who Should Break Out in 2011

The USA has two entries in my list of break out hopefuls this year.  One of them is collegiate champion, Coco Vandeweghe, who showed a lot of promise this year, during her run to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka, and along the way, won over Aravane Rezai and a host of players ranked higher than her - Zakopalova, Goerges, Groth and Garbin.  This was the tournament which made me really take notice of her.  She has the height for the game which could help her serve.  Currently ranked at #116, she should be able to enter the Top 100 before the French Open.  Let's hope she gets into the main draw in the coming Australian Open.

Breakout Player in the Tokyo 2010 Open: Coco Vandeweghe

She's ranked #172 but reached the quarterfinals where she lost to Victoria Azarenka.  Along the way, she dispatched Julia Goerges (#42), Aravane Rezai (#18) and Klara Zakopalova (#38), players way above her in the rankings!  I do hope her rankings rise in time for the Australian Open 2011. If she does not make it into the Top 128, she can always qualify.  I think if she does not get injured and continues to play well, she should reach the Top 50 by the US Open next year.  She just needs a good showing in one of the Slams for her rankings to rocket. 

Tokyo 2010 Open Surprise Success: Coco Vandeweghe

I've been hearing about Coco Vandeweghe for a while now, especially during the hard court season.  At this year's Tokyo Open, she becomes the lowest ranked player (at #172) to reach the quarterfinals, beating Aravane Rezai and Julia Goerges in the earlier rounds.  Next in line is Top 20 player, Victoria Azarenka.  If Coco wins over her, it would really catapult her to higher heights and really introduce her to top rate women's tennis!  Good luck girl!

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