Cilic Advances To Quarter-finals Basel 2017
Cilic Advances To Quarter-finals Basel 2017
Oct262017
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British number two Kyle Edmund booked his spot in the last eight of the Erste Bank Open but only after he was given a stiff test by qualifier Dennis Novak.
The world number 63 was taken to three tie-breaks by the Austrian, ranked 284 in the world, eventually winning 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-3).
Edmund, 22, was broken in the first set but recovered and won the tie-break.
Novak levelled but a poor drop-shot in the deciding set tie-break gave Edmund a mini-break en route to victory.
Edmund will next face German world number 51 Jan-Lennard Struff, who recorded a 6-7 (7-5) 6-2 7-6 (7-1) win over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
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World number one doubles player Martina Hingis has announced she will retire from tennis after the WTA Finals.
The Swiss, 37, originally retired as a 22-year old in 2003 and then again in 2007 after a brief comeback.
Returning in 2013, she won this year’s Wimbledon and US Open mixed doubles with Britain’s Jamie Murray, part of a total of 10 Grand Slam doubles crowns.
“It’s the right time for me. It’s better to stop at the peak and say I had a very good time,” Hingis said.
“The successes I’ve had over the past three years have been great and it’s going to be hard to beat. And my priorities change, too, of course.”
Hingis gained international recognition as a 16-year-old, becoming world number one and winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 1997.
She went on to win a further two further Grand Slam singles titles, both of which were in Australia.
Retiring in 2003, Hingis said that a return to competition was “unforeseeable” and that she had “no plans to ever return.”
However, Hingis made a comeback on the singles circuit in 2006 before retiring for a second time a year later.
After being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Hingis returned to the doubles circuit in 2013.
She has since brought her tally of career Grand Slam titles to 25.
Hingis and her doubles partner Chan Yung-jan play in the last eight of the WTA Finals in Singapore on Thursday.
Venus Williams beat Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza in straight sets to reach the last four at the WTA Finals, ending the Spaniard’s hopes of finishing the year as world number one.
The American, 37, won 7-5 6-4 in Singapore to secure second place in the White Group behind Karolina Pliskova.
Czech Pliskova had already qualified, but ended the round-robin stage with a 6-3 6-1 loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
Williams will play Caroline Wozniacki or Caroline Garcia in the semis.
Denmark’s Wozniacki has guaranteed a semi-final place with two wins, and will win the White Group with victory over French eighth seed Garcia on Friday.
World number one Simona Halep of Romania then takes on Ukraine’s fourth seed Elina Svitolina, with both women still able to reach the semi-finals heading into the final group matches.
Muguruza proved too strong in the Wimbledon final in July. but three months later it was Williams who prevailed in straight sets.
Both players struggled to hold serve in a see-saw opening set which was eventually won by Williams.
Leading 6-5, the American took advantage of a loose game from Muguruza in which the Spaniard drove a forehand long with the court wide open.
Before the second set, Muguruza’s coach Sam Sumyk urged her to commit more to her shots, instructing the Wimbledon champion to “miss on your terms”.
The words seemed to have an effect on Muguruza, who stepped inside the baseline to break in the opening game of the second set.
Muguruza could not sustain her advantage, however, and was pegged back instantly.
Williams took advantage of further errors from Muguruza to seal the match and reach the fifth WTA Finals semi-final of her career.
“I played an amazing opponent who has had an amazing year so I was so happy to win the last point,” Williams said.
| White Group | Matches W-L | Sets W-L | Games W-L |
| Karolina Pliskova (Cze) Q | 2-1 | 4-2 | 28-20 |
| Venus Williams (US) Q | 2-1 | 4-3 | 37-38 |
| Garbine Muguruza (Spa) | 1-2 | 2-4 | 25-32 |
| Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) | 1-2 | 3-4 | 36-36 |
Earlier on Thursday, French Open champion Ostapenko convincingly overcame Pliskova, who produced an error-strewn display.
Ostapenko said: “It was my last match here today. I really tried to enjoy every moment. I think I was playing quite relaxed, and I just showed my best today.”
Pliskova hope to regain the form she showed in her opening two matches when she takes on the runner-up from Red Group in Saturday’s semi-finals.
| Red Group | Matches W-L | Sets W-L | Games W-L |
| Caroline Wozniacki (Den) Q | 2-0 | 4-0 | 24-4 |
| Simona Halep (Rom) | 1-1 | 2-2 | 14-18 |
| Caroline Garcia (Fra) | 1-1 | 2-3 | 25-27 |
| Elena Svitolina (Ukr) | 0-2 | 1-4 | 17-31 |