Various Tennis Boxing Stories

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Vassago
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Various Tennis Boxing Stories Aug 16, 2016 11:44:03 GMT -6

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Post by Vassago on Aug 16, 2016 11:44:03 GMT -6

This is a round-up of various tennis boxing stories based on real-life matches from the WTA tour earlier this summer:

From Eastbourne, England: Samantha Stosur (Australia) vs Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)

From Washington, D.C.: Camila Giorgi (Italy) vs Eugenie Bouchard (Canada)

From Cincinnati, Ohio: Donna Vekic (Croatia) vs Ana Ivanovic (Serbia)

Vassago
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Various Tennis Boxing Stories Aug 16, 2016 11:45:10 GMT -6

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Post by Vassago on Aug 16, 2016 11:45:10 GMT -6

Event: Aegon International
Venue: Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club
Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK

BEFORE: Neither of these two players are known for their grass court play but Caroline Wozniacki has conquered Eastbourne before when she was still considered a hot prospect for the future. That was back in 2009 but a lot has changed since then and the Danish blonde's career suffered several setbacks along the way, the latest of which are injury related. The same can't be said about Samantha Stosur who reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2011 when she won the US Open but remains a Top Twenty performer at age 32 and is poised to outlast Wozniacki's career at the sharp end of WTA rankings. Yet she's never done well in grass events and even an injury-plagued Wozniacki can still knock her out regardless of her recent slump.

Samantha Stosur wears a white sports bra, matching hotpants and black gloves. Light brown hair tied in a thick bun at the back of her head. Caroline Wozniacki wears a beige basque top, matching knickers and red gloves. Long blonde hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Neither woman shows much aggression in the early going and while that's almost natural for Wozniacki, the Aussie veteran's lack of movement eventually opens the door for a steady Danish attack over the top. Stosur tries to respond in a similar fashion but find no way through the bulletproof guard and eats a couple of piercing hooks on the liver area that make her wince in pain and fuel Caroline's offensive plans. The blonde rips more shots to the body and leans heavily on her cumbersome opponent that only tries to clinch herself out of trouble but the Danish attack keeps rolling along and backs Stosur into the ropes come the final minute. Wozniacki stays on top of action as she moves up to split Samantha's gloves and wobbles her into a shrieking struggle when she knocks more clean punches to the face; the Aussie looks completely out of sorts on her boxing debut against a younger rival with plenty of outright experience to boot.

Round 2:
The Eastbourne crowd seems to favor the Danish girl and she drops her laid-back approach from the bell based on that opening round success. Samantha's footwork leaves a lot of room for improvements and it's one of Caroline's strongest assets regardless so she squares up to the Aussie easily and triggers instant close range assault that dissects the high guard much quicker than any WTA pundit would have expected. Stosur reels back on her heels under the initial contact and misses her response over the top which enables Wozniacki to land more crisp punches on the counter. She makes Samantha yelp in pain before another hectic escape sends the older woman onto the ropes but there's nowhere to hide in the ring and Wozniacki zips past her ailing guard with a brutal hook that finds the nose and shuts Stosur's eyes off. The Aussie wobbles into a quick hook on the temple and drops the cover for good with the blonde rocking her head back & forth thereafter with additional strikes. Nobody saw this coming but Samantha is pummelled into a standstill in the closing seconds and Caroline must feel a little annoyed that she runs out of time to send her opponent down for the count. The clock expires on the Danish rout just as Stosur's legs hit the jelly mode and the ref hauls the 26 year old from her prey when only two of three extra punches would be enough to pull the plug on the Australian resistance.

Round 3:
Stosur keeps shaking her head during the interval and it's rather obvious she's surprised by the rough treatment Wozniacki gave her thus far but she remains glued to the blonde's ruthless jabs early in the third again and finds no success with her own jabbing assault. She bounces off Caroline's guard and eats a scything cross on the nose again that wobbles her back on the spot before the former rankings' leader catches her on the fly with a right cross on the mouth. Stosur almost trips over her own feet but is rescued by the ropes... not for long though as Wozniacki jumps in with a head hunting barrage and rattles the Aussie confidence straight out of the window... Samantha wilts under the facial assault and can't defend herself anymore as the Dane homes in with a bruising fury that leaves visible cuts on the older woman's face... the eyes bellow out into the orbit and Stosur's rendered into a training dummy come the half-way mark of the round which forces the ref into immediate rescue mission.. HE HALTS THE DANISH BEATDOWN before Stosur gets knocked out unconscious! TKO3 Caroline Wozniacki!!!

AFTER: Stosur's relieved to make it through her boxing debut in one piece (minus two deep gashes under the left eye) but she was completely overwhelmed by the occassion. This isn't 2011 anymore indeeed but the famed Aussie grit was probably lost on it's way to the airport.... on the other hand, Wozniacki keeps is strictly business like IT IS 2011 again... the moment when the entire WTA tried to derail the Danish streamroller... on a moment like this all the injuries and subsequent ranking slide doesn't hurt so much... heck, even Rory McIlroy can't win a damn thing this season to provide the ultimate karma. The sun is poised to shine on Wozniacki's parade again but fellow hungry peers like Sloane Stephens or Monica Puig want to bet this result as a mere fluke.

Final result: Caroline Wozniacki def. Samantha Stosur TKO3.

Vassago
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Various Tennis Boxing Stories Aug 16, 2016 11:46:18 GMT -6

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Post by Vassago on Aug 16, 2016 11:46:18 GMT -6

Event: 2016 Citi Open
Venue: William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center
Location: Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C., USA

BEFORE: Camila Giorgi wants to finally break through into the WTA elite but her ultra aggressive style has lacked the consistency required to make the leap onto the next level. With former US Open champion Flavia Pennetta now officially retired, the Italian tennis' hopes hinge on veterans Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani but Giorgi remains poised to take over as the nation's leader in the order of merit; she just has to deliver the results though!

Meanwhile Eugenie Bouchard enjoyed her elite staus back in 2013 & 2014 which peaked with the Wimbledon final appearance but the lanky Canadian has suffered a massive drop down the rakings over the past 18 months which questioned her mental approach and actual playing skills in first place. It's naive to think that Bouchard lucked into a Top 10 status but she's been accused of being a "confidence" player and right now she simply struggles to intimidate her opponents and often crumbles under pressure when she's expected to win. There were signs of improvement over at Wimbledon earlier this month but Washington is one place where she'd be a betting favorite to take home the trophy a couple of years ago yet right now some pundits pick Giorgi to blow her off court in style regardless.

Camila Giorgi wears a silver bikini top, matching knickers and red gloves. Blonde hair tied in a high ponytail. Eugenie Bouchard wears a turquoise bikini top, white knickers and black gloves. Blonde hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Giorgi is all power and she tries to catch the fellow blonde with immediate jabbing galore but Bouchard has that tactics covered and fends off the Italian storm in mid distance. She loops single hand response just to keep the older girl wary of her skills but Camila just doesn't care much about her defense at this early stage of the fight and keeps coming forward. She lacks the precision required to put Genie under enough pressure though and settles into a measured attack over the top down the stretch but the Canadian guard easily withstands the hectic challenge and allows Bouchard to stand tall while exploring the single-handed counterpunching until the bell.

Round 2:
Another Italian charge bounces off the high guard and Genie just refuses to blow her gasket at this stage as she wraps the older blonde into a lenghty clinching struggle afterwards. Giorgi spikes her foe on the ribs in order to shove her back but gets slammed on the temple instead and drops back towards the ropes with Bouchard flexing her muscles and shutting down the potential response. Camila can't stretch her elbows in this phone booth-like stance and allows Genie to drag her against the turnbuckle where the Canadian romps her to the gut and smacks across the lips in a frantic effort to get on the scorecards. Giorgi's defense is always a reason for concern and she emerges from the skirmish in the corner with a visible lump under her left eye as Genie turned up the heat late, somewhat against the odds.

Round 3:
Bouchard operates on supreme confidence and she's gained enough of it during the second round to warrant a proper leather bash in mid range which spins the Italian's ponytail back & forth until Giorgi simply has to take cover and yield real estate in the proccess. Genie wants to track her down afterwards but lands too many single punches to make it happen however keeping Camila's aggression at bay is enough for the Washington audience to support her actions. Giorgi tries a little fake move downstairs to perhaps throw the Canadian off guard but gets blasted on the jaw with a late hook instead and slumps on the ropes with Genie ripping more strikes to the midriff before the ref has to pull her back at the bell.

Round 4:
Suddenly it's all Bouchard here in D.C. as she whoops Giorgi from point-blank range across the nose and bends her into aching spasms. She keeps the pressure by wading in on the body and it's clear the Italian didn't expect that as she slumps into a clinching survival. But there's no stopping Genie's confident approach anymore and she rips more brutal hooks against the liver area to make the fellow blonde shriek in pain and just accept her fate at this stage. Genie pounds the aching foe back to the ropes as she shows supreme strenght again and nails her on the jaw to set up a quick switch on the guts Giorgi is never able to embrace. Another uppercut on the jaw shatters the Italian guard and Bouchard completes the demolition rally by bursting Camila's lips into a swollen mess WHILE SENDING HER DOWN ON HER SIDE in the proccess!! What a monster drive that was from the blonde Canuck! Giorgi remains down on all fours while soaking up the count but eventually is back on her feet at eight however Bouchard is all over her after the command and rips more vicious punches to the body to dump Camila under all sorts of bother... the Canadian rout only stops when the clock expires and allows the busted up Giorgi to finally catch a much-needed respite.

Round 5:
Eugenie goes for the kill but Camila's escape mode allows her to bide some time in mid distance while soaking up only singles punches on the fly. One thinks any proper combo would have send the Italian down and out for keeps but Bouchard's footwork is a little exposed here and she just can't enforce her evil plans against someone who looks only to survive the next couple of minutes. The Washington crowd is fully behind the taller blonde here but Bouchard wisely backs off from the fruitless pursuit since she's miles ahead on the points now and doesn't need to risk a sudden clubbing counter-attack that would have derailed her lead within a blink of an eye. Giorgi's defense is mediocre at best however she still has that devastating punch in her which keeps her alive in this contest even if only by the skin of her teeth.

Round 6:
Giorgi's suffered too much damage in the previous few minutes to warrant another aggressive blast from the gate but she keeps losing the mid distance tangles as well as Bouchard slowly but surely picks her off again and shuts her down behind a high earmuff in the center of the ring before a quick switch on the guts wobbles the older blonde into another aching struggle. Camila tries to home in a classic haymaker now but skims off the Canadian's forearms and eats another hooking drive on the temples that dumps her on the ropes where Genie bursts into her breadbasket with raw power and tries to chop her down in half for good. Giorgi bravely hangs on but just can't find any solution to break Bouchard's power assault and slumps against her shoulders with the taller blonde screaming out in delight while pounding the ribcage into a bruised mess. Once again the clock expires before the Italian can concede the fight but the Washington crowd is well aware Giorgi is on her last legs here and just getting mauled into exhaustion.

Round 7:
Camila is running on empty here and doesn't have the speed to avoid a hooking blast from the left side that shatters her high guard and finds the temple. Genie pours in with more facial approach moments later and traps the older blonde in a leather frenzy that adds more cuts to Giorgi's face and slumps her against the turnbuckle down the stretch as she can only backpedal to the corner under the brutal Canadian pressure. Nothing comes back from the roughed up Italian anymore and when Genie shuts her eyes with a double uppercut combo, the gloves simply fall by the wayside and signal the end of Camila's challenge. Thankfully the ref notices it right away and pulls Bouchard off to safety before she hands the Italian a very brutal knockout. TKO7 Eugenie Bouchard!!!

AFTER: That was one of the best performances from the blonde Canuck this year and she looks genuinely happy about it! She showed her evil nature against a classic swarmer who never kicked into a higher gear and was woefully exposed on the defensive side. When someone's able to pound Giorgi around the ring like that, it's no longer a matter of who wins the fight but when however the 24 year old Italian remains a heavy threat if allowed to dominate the pace and range instead. Genie made sure she stayed on top of her though and executed her own plans to perfection which secured her a solid Beatdown Of The Year candidate and just perhaps she's on her way up the rankings again. The WTA pin-up girl status is wide open right now with Maria Sharapova absent from the tennis courts and Eugenie was always destined to become heiress apparent to the Russian-occupied throne once Caroline Wozniacki suffered from her own lack of results over the past couple of years. Watch this space!

Final result: Eugenie Bouchard def. Camila Giorgi TKO7.

Vassago
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Posts: 2,425

Various Tennis Boxing Stories Aug 16, 2016 11:47:34 GMT -6

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Post by Vassago on Aug 16, 2016 11:47:34 GMT -6

Event: Western & Southern Open
Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

BEFORE: It's the classic Serbian vs Croatian battle royale here in Cincinnati where former WTA #1 Ana Ivanovic tries to return into any kind of winning form after a terrible 2016 season up to date. When a marriage to footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger becomes the highlight of the past several months then even the most loyal fans question whether the Serbia's most poplar female player still has what it takes to remain in contention for tournament wins or has she drifted to the point teenage upstarts can scratch her as the biggest scalp on their short career resume. Journeywoman ending to a Grand Slam winning tennis adventure just doesn't seem right but Ivanovic refuses to address the retirement talk and vows to blow the doors off Vekic as we enter the American hard court summer.

Meanwhile Donna Vekic made the headlines for all the wrong reasons last year when her relationship with fellow tennis player Stan Wawrinka was revealed to the public. That came at a prize of the Swiss Grand Slam winner's marriage but the 20 year old blonde dismissed the bad press that followed even though her actual tennis results suffered a massive nose-dive in the proccess. Croatia's been palying second fiddle to Serbia in the tennis world for more than a decade and now there's a huge chance that Vekic actually scores the most prestigious victory available with Ivanovic slumping so badly in recent months.

Donna Vekic wears a white bikini top, turquoise knickers and matching turquoise gloves. Blonde hair tied in a long ponytail. Ana Ivanovic wears a violet bikini top, white knickers and black gloves. Long dark brown hair tied in a braid. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Ivanovic wastes no time in stalking the blonde with a high jabbing assault; she's usually the aggressor on court but struggles with accuracy lately which is the main reason behind her slump. No such problems early in the fight against the Croatian youngster and a solid double combo on the mouth really puts Vekic off her stance. Ana loops a couple of hooks shortly afterwards and sends her foe into defensive circles which only adds to the Serbian advantage. However Ivanovic just can't land that really big punch in the opening round and reverts to her fear factor to stay on top of Vekic. The blonde girl seems a little overwhelmed by the occasion as well and settles for a late clinch to survive the brunette's repeated attacks.

Round 2:
Ivanovic keeps coming forward and lands more shots upstairs but allthough she reels Vekic into another high earmuff defense, she lacks the neccessary precision to really switch the blonde off completely. Indeed, after a wasted jabbing effort in close range Ana gets nailed to the body as the Croatian finally shows some aggression and engages in a frantic exchange that leaves the older girl a little surprised. Ivanovic misses more punches to the face, skims off the shoulders and eats a belting hook on the liver area that enables Vekic to clean out the brunette's breadbasket thereafter. Ana winces in pain yet looks more annoyed down the stretch, she shoves the blonde away from close range but leaves her feet too far behind to mount a strong response and both women see out the clock in staredown circles instead.

Round 3:
It's one way traffic early in the third as Ivanovic's aggressive nature gets the better of her and she truly wants to knock Vekic out as quickly as possible however Donna dekes around her jabbing efforts this time before launching a steady jabbing rush from the back foot. She displays the supreme precision and stacks the brunette up in the center of the ring but works on the body damage afterwards and really freezes Ana's efforts from there on. The Serbian girl struggles to soak up the pressure downstairs and it only gets worse when Donna stuffs her on the boobs before blasting a left cross on the temple for a good measure. Ana spins to the side with a loud yelp and spends the rest of the round in retreat with the Croatian blonde flying in with more aerial assault and catching her subdued rival with a nasty hook on the nose right at the bell.

Round 4:
This is a very encouraging performance from the blonde underdog who finally settles into a frontal attack and shows the Serbian no respect whatsoever. Ivanovic gets dragged into a proper mid range slugfest and simply comes out second best when the Croatian scythes her across the lips and whips on her heels. Donna leans on the front (leg) leg and bombs away over the top now that she has the brunette rattled and Ana's jabbing response barely grazes the flesh while another brutal hooks nails her on the chin and sinks on jelly knees along the ropes. There's no escape from there as Vekic traps her under a high-tempo barrage and lands more body shots that bend Ana into painful spasms before a late hook on the temple wrenches her against the turnbuckle to complete the Croatioan rout.

Round 5:
Ana reverts into survival mode and it's obvious she really felt that Vekic leather blast during the past several minutes however the younger girl follows the only possible plan at this stage of the bout and keeps harrassing her aching foe with more high-octane aggression that dissects the Serbian guard repeatedly thereafter. Ivanovic's defense was never of the highest standard and when she's shut down on offense she just looks terrible out there; Donna takes full advantage of that and pummels her back to the ropes before another body assault bends the brunette into another spasming disarray. This only fuels the blonde's determination to wreck the Serbian fort and Ana has no answers, she slumps against the youngster's torso and allows Vekic to drill her guts senseless. The bell eventually comes to her rescue but Ana finds it hard to breathe and drops on her stool with eyes closed looking utterly spend here already.

Round 6:
Donna's eyes glare with disdain ahead of the sixth and she romps into another body assault that exposes Ana's subpar defense. Just too much Croatian wrath for the aching Serbian to handle and Vekic pounds her foe butt-in-ropes before moving upstairs and whacking the slumped brunette on the chin. A nasty hooking follow up slams Ivanovic on the temple for a good measure and the former WTA leader simply gives up the ghost under such a power supply. She drops her guard allltogether so Vekic signs off a terrific boxing debut with a brutal hook on the nose THAT CHOPS ANA FACE-DOWN ON THE CANVAS... and there's no way back from that kind of a shot anymore with Ivanovic living on borrowed life already. KO6 Donna Vekic!!!

AFTER: Donna has all the tools to become the next WTA pin-up girl and challenge Eugenie Bouchard for the big money endorsements however she needs to focus on her sporting career rather than make the tabloid headlines instead. She caught a slumping Ivanovic tonight and took full advantage of the Serbian's woeful defense yet this is only the first step on her road towards ultimate top of the pecking order.

Meanwhile things look extremely bleak for Ana who may never win another tournament again and with her new married life on the horizon one has to question how long will she continue in this shape? She turns 29 this November and seemingly doesn't enjoy the courts anymore. The once so formidable Serbian duo of Ivanovic & Jelena Jankovic is very much in decline with no immediate heirs to the throne available. Thankfully one Novak Djokovic still keeps the national boat afloat on the men's side but it's a small consolation for the legions of Ivanovic fans around the world.

Final result: Donna Vekic def. Ana Ivanovic KO6.