The Bank of West Classic - Day seven

Day seven of The Bank of West Classic and in the final Serena Williams beat Angelique Kerber in the straight sets. 

Shocking part of this win was that a Serena was five games to one in the first set down but still managed to win this set by seven games to five. 

To be fair Serena probably played the whole match in third gear and still managed to win with ease. 

Whilst Angelique played out of her skin to hang with Serena and didn't even manage to take set. 

However Angelique is having a good year and can take pride in the fact that she is the first German to reach the final in over twenty years. 

For Serena she has retained her title and hopefully it be a good start to a successful hard court season. 

The Bank of West Classic - Day six

Day six at The Bank of West Classic and it is semi-finals day and Serena Williams best Andrea Petkovic in straight sets.

The first set was reasonably competitive but the second set was all Serena and she completely bossed the game. 

Serena put on a real display and this should hopefully have silenced her critics for at least another day. 

The second semi-final Angelique Kerber Varvara Lepchenko in three sets. I was expecting Angelique to have a rather more routine win. 

It shows Vavara has really developed her game because this time last year she was getting knocked out in round one. 

Angelique has had a good year too has made it to finals of key tournaments and has now established herself as top ten player. 

The Bank of West Classic - Day five

Day five at The Bank of West Classic and Andrea Petkovic beat Venus Williams in three sets. Venus had several opportunities to win this match but she simply ran out of energy. 

Once her energy levels dropped she was   unable to compete at the highest level and this situation ultimately led to Andrea winning the third set and the match. 

Angelique Kerber beat Garbine Muguruza in straight sets and this was good win for Angelique and she is now hoping to be the First German to win this title in over twenty years. 

Serena Williams beat Ana Ivanovic in three sets. This was a good win for a Serena chance for her to retain her title. 

Varvara Lepchenko beat Sachia Vikoery in three sets and this was good experience for Sachia who can hopefully build on it. 

Citi Open - Washington - Day three

Day three at the Citi Open and Kristina Mladenovic beat Taylor Townsend in straight sets. Taylor had been having a good summer so I was half expecting her to win this match. 

But the reality is she probably needs to be a little more experienced on the tour before Taylor can really start making her mark on the tour. 

Bojana Jovanovski beat Sorana Cirstea in three sets and Sorana has been having a bad year she was once ranked as the top Romanian player but things are not going well for at the moment. 

The Bank of West Classic - Stanford - Day four

Day four of the Bank of West Classic and Venus Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. This was a good solid win for Venus beating Victoria who is good player. 

This win will also help Venus to continue to rise back up the rankings and she should now be on the cusp of being a top twenty player again. 

I hoping she will become a top ten player by the US Open and then be eligible to play in the end of year tournament taking place in Singapore. 

Ana Ivanovic beat Carol Zhao in straight sets and this was another good win for Ana who faces tougher opposition when she plays Serena Williams in the next round. 

Angelique Kerber beat Coco Vanderweghe in three sets and this was a topsy turvy match in which Coco bagled Angelique in the second set but somehow managed to lose the third set. 

Bank of West Classic - Stanford - Day three

Day three at The Bank of West Classic and Andrea Petkovic beat Naomi Osaka in straight sets. As Naomi best Samantha Stosur in the first round I was expecting this match to be a little more competive. 

But it was not meant to be, Naomi is only sixteen years old and will hopefully have many more years on the tour to get the big wins. 

Sachia Vickery beat Monica Puig in three sets and this was a big win for Sachia who had to play three tough qualifiers to make it to the main draw. 

Sachia is still only a teenager so is gaining valuable experience with every round. 

The shock of the day was Vavara Lepchenko beating Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets. Before this match Vavara had only recorded one win against Agnieszka in there six meetings.

This was a bad loss for Agnieszka who has had a bad year and I don't think the year will get any better for her unless she changes her game strategy and plays a more attacking game. 

Serena Williams beat Karolina Pliskova in straight sets and this was Serena first match back since Wimbledon and it was a good solid win. 

I hoping that she can retain the title she won last year and this would be excellent preparation for the defence of her US Open title.  

Citi Open - Washington - Day four

Day three of the Citi Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Kirsten Flipkens in straight sets. To be honest after Kirsten tough first round match with Heather Watson I wondered how much she would have left in the tank to compete in this competition. 

So I was not overly suprised that Kirsten lost in straight sets plus Svetlana is a Grand Slam winner and can beat anyone on a good day. 

Ekaterina Makarova beat Lauren Davis in straight sets and this was a good win for her as she is seeded second is somewhat favourite to in the title.