AND THEN THE RAINS CAME – CINCY TENNIS WEDNESDAY ROUND-UP AND RESULTS

Written by: Global Chick on 19th August 2015

Novak Djokovic - Western & Southern Open

AND THEN THE RAINS CAME – CINCY TENNIS WEDNESDAY ROUND-UP AND RESULTS

Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a return shot to Benoit Paire of France during their second round match in the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 19 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

BY ROS SATAR @BritwatchSports

The two World No, 1s got to do their stuff and in almost comic time on both occasions, the rains came. No – the heavens opened in almost biblical rage that these puny mortals would dare wave their tennis racquets about.

Serena Williams of the US in action against Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria during their second round match at the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 19 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

First up was women’s defending champion Serena Williams, who was pushed hard in her first match after being upended by Belinda Bencic (still on a winning run, by the way). Tsvetana Pironkova showed that when she puts her mind to it she can be a very tricky character to get around.

For Williams it was a test of how fit she was, having been troubled with a dicey elbow. And of course with all the pressure of topping ‘Serena Slam 2.0’ with a Grand Slam, she sought to deflect as much of that as possible.

“I don’t necessarily want to hear about, Oh, this history and that history, because, you know, I just want to be able to do the best that I can. I want to be able to win and I don’t want any distractions. That’s how I’m going to handle it.”

Serena will face Karin Knapp in the third round.

Meanwhile Novak Djokovic started his bid for the one Masters title that eludes him with a very entertaining match against Benoit Paire. The crowd were loving the playfulness of the Frenchman as he slapped his shots and pulled the elastic Serbian this way and that – but after a tight first set, it was Djokovic in complete control. By his own admission though, there was still room for improvement.

“You couldn’t really predict what kind of shot comes your way. You know a slow spin ball or fast flat? I had to stay alert all the time.

“Also I wasn’t playing my best. It’s the first match in Cincinnati which holds different conditions than in Canada, so it took me time to really adjust. This wasn’t a first‑round opponent I really wanted, but, again, it was a satisfying match, and hopefully I can do better tomorrow.”

Benoit Paire of France hits a return shot to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their second round match in the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 19 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Now – back to this rain! While some truly hardy souls sat put and waited it out, we were treated to quite a light and sound show as the ominous dark clouds let forth with thunder and lightning.

The night session matches (and indeed some of the leftover day session matches) finally got back underway some two and a half hours later – and we’ll be recapping the pick of those with our peanut butter and banana bagel on Thursday.

As luck would have it though, I had managed to succeed in the American food challenge – and we found a hit with the sliders, having started the day with some fish tacos.

Graeter’s of the Day

Of course today’s flavour was a sublimely creamy cookie dough and chocolate chip and this time I spied the options of butterscotch toppings (which would never have worked with the signature Black Raspberry and Choc Chip).

I was however devastated to see that the Candy Floss/Cotton Candy had disappeared from the concession I had made my home. I did spy it in the main parlour, so I may have to abandon my new found friends in the food court, purely in the name of research.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Benoit Paire, Cincinnati Update, Cincy Tennis, Novak Djokovic, Ros Satar, Serena Williams, Sports, Tsvetana Pironkova, Western & Southern Open, Wta

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10sBalls_com says:

August 19, 2015 at 8:29 pm

AND THEN THE RAINS CAME – @CincyTennis WEDNESDAY ROUND-UP AND RESULTS- http://t.co/KkPakSKjEE #Cincinnati #Tennis #CincyTennis @rfsatar
ElenaFoundation says:

August 20, 2015 at 1:39 am

RT @10sBalls_com: AND THEN THE RAINS CAME – @CincyTennis WEDNESDAY ROUND-UP AND RESULTS- http://t.co/KkPakSKjEE #Cincinnati #Tennis #CincyT…