Beijing: Kvitova vs. Wang
Petra Kvitova takes on Wang Yafan in the second round of the China Open.
Petra Kvitova takes on Wang Yafan in the second round of the China Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Looking to become the first woman since Kim Clijsters in 2005 to win the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double, Victoria had few issues on Easter Sunday as she breezed past Magda Linette, 6-3, 6-0.
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Azarenka enjoyed her big breakthrough in Miami back in 2009, upsetting World No.1 Serena Williams in the final for the first of four victories in her rivalry with the 21-time Grand Slam champion. Linette reached the third round after a right shoulder injury forced former No.1 Jelena Jankovic to retire from their match just five points into the contest, and struggled to combat the Belarusian’s firepower in difficult conditions – hitting only nine winners to 14 from the No.13 seed.
As a cool breeze swept through Crandon Park late in the second set, so too did Azarenka, who raced through the ultimate stages of the match without losing a game, wraping up the victory in 70 minutes.
“It was only in the last two games, but it feels much better with a little bit of wind and breeze,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I hope you guys are enjoying the tennis; I know it’s really hot but stay hydrated!”
In the midst of a career renaissance, Azarenka has already captured two titles in 2016 en route to a much-anticipated return to the Top 10; with another win over Williams at the BNP Paribas Open – her first since 2013 – to capture her first Premier Mandatory title since 2012 (Beijing), Azarenka is eligible to become the third different woman to capture the elusive “Sunshine Double” by winning both Indian Wells and Miami in succession.
But from her post-match comments, it’s clear she is taking things one match at a time, refusing to underestimate any player across the net.
“She’s a grinder and whenever she has opportunity, she will take it; she has a lot of great hands and showed a lot of variety. She’s a young player with such a bright future, but I’m glad that I took advantage and I stayed on top of her.
“Playing in a tournament like Miami, you don’t expect players to give up and not try, whatever the scoreline is,” she added after the match in her press conference.
“I just wanted to stay aggressive, keep going for all my shots, and also not give her an opportunity to come back. Because once you do that, anybody can come back. I’m happy that I stayed focused. I took my opportunities and kept applying pressure.”
Up next for Azarenka is No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza who raced past American Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-0. Azarenka has yet to play the Spaniad on the WTA circuit.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be watching the match,” she told members of the media. “Maybe a little bit. I’m sure my coach will. That’s more important for him to watch for me.
“We’ll see. I don’t like to predict who I want to play. I don’t care. But I don’t know, whoever wins, I’m going to play.”
First set ? @Vika7 Azarenka!
Grabs the opening set vs Linette 6-3! #WTA https://t.co/Jkcx8hCpu7
— WTA (@WTA) March 27, 2016
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the China Open.
Kirsten Flipkens had Thursday’s shot of the day at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Who is the lowest-ranked player left in Miami? Whose famous footsteps is Serena Williams looking to follow? And how many hours has the indefatigable Irina-Camelia Begu spent on court?
With the field at the Miami Open now whittled down to 16, wtatennis.com and SAP thought it time to go looking for answers…
381 – Irina-Camelia Begu has spent 381 minutes on court thus far, more than any other player in the tournament.
69 – World No.69 Heather Watson is the only player left in the draw ranked outside the Top 50.
21 – At 21 years old, Madison Keys is the youngest player left in the draw. It is the first time in the tournament’s 32-year history a teenager has failed to make it to the fourth round.
20 – Serena Williams is on a 20-match winning streak going into her encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova; her last loss came to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2012 quarterfinals.
15 – Fifteen of the 16 remaining in the draw have won a WTA singles title. The odd one out is Johanna Konta, who, at No.24, is also the highest-ranked player on tour not to have reached the winner’s circle.
11 – The number of different nationalities represented in the fourth round – Romania leads the way with three players.
10 – Ten of the remaining players have never reached the quarterfinals in Miami (Timea Babos, Timea Bacsinszky, Begu, Keys, Konta, Ekaterina Makarova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Monica Niculescu, Elina Svitolina, Watson)
9 – Eight-time Miami champion Serena Williams remains on course to become only the third player to lift the same WTA even nine times or more, after Martina Navratilova (Chicago, Eastbourne, Wimbledon, Washington, Dallas) and Steffi Graf (Berlin).
8 – Eight of the of leading 16 seeds reached their appointed fourth-round slots.
7 – Of the players left in the draw, seven have been ranked either No.1 or No.2.
5 – The No.1 seed has reached the quarterfinals (or better) in each of the past five years – Caroline Wozniacki was the last to fail, losing to Andrea Petkovic in the fourth round in 2011. The top seed has lifted the title on 13 occasions.
4 – Four former champions are still in contention: Williams (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015), Kuznetsova (2006), Victoria Azarenka (2009, 2011) and Agnieszka Radwanska (2012).
3 – For the third straight year, three unseeded players have made it through to the last 16: Babos, Begu and Watson.
2 – Azarenka remains on course to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double. Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005) are the only players to achieve the feat.
1 – Watson received one of the tournament’s eight wildcards; only once in the past five years has a wildcard failed to reach the last 16 in Miami.
0 – Konta and Watson are bidding to become the first British player to reach the quarterfinals in Miami. Jo Durie (1988) also reached the fourth round.
BEIJING, China – No.8 seed Madison Keys completed a spectacular comeback against Svetlana Kuznetsova to become the first to advance to the quarterfinals of the China Open.
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Down 2-5 in the first set and facing set point, Keys rallied to turn the match around and win 7-6(2), 6-2 in an hour and thirty-six minutes.
Keys is one of several players on the Singapore bubble, wrestling for a spot in her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. She even can qualify this week as long as she reaches the final in Beijing; she took one step closer tonight against Kuznetsova.
“Some days I use it as my motivation to try harder, but sometimes it makes me more nervous and puts pressure on me,” Keys told WTA Insider of her potential to qualify for Singapore.
“I’m that close, I want to put myself in the best position possible and be able to walk away, whether I qualify or not, knowing that I did everything I could to get there.”
But Singapore looked a long ways away when Kuznetsova broke Keys’ serve to start out the match, keeping the American on the run and returning deep into the court to leave her opponent scrambling. Some loose forehands have Kuznetsova a second break for a 5-2 lead, and suddenly Kuznetsova was serving for the set.
The Russian held a set point and looked set to close it out, but a pair of double faults put Keys right back in it and the American ripped a backhand down the line to begin her comeback.
“I was 5-2 up and serving for the set two times, but then in a couple games Madison went for her shots and she made them,” Kuznetsova said after the match. “There was a couple of netcords unlucky, too, and then the game was equal.”
“She got her game on, and I lost mine, a little bit. That’s basically what changed.”
Keys broke back once more to level the match at 5-5 and the pair held firm to send the match into a tiebreak, where Keys allowed Kuznetsova just two points on her way to clinching the opening set.
“It just seemed like I was trying to figure out her serve and how she was playing, but I wasn’t executing well,” Keys explained to WTA Insider. “I was maybe just going for too much on my shots.”
“I just – well, I just told myself a bad word and said, ‘Get it together!’ And after that I played a good game and got some confidence back.”
The American broke Kuznetsova three more times in the second set to complete her comeback, taking the first spot in the quarterfinals.
Keys’ road to the Beijing final won’t get any easier, though; she will face Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova for a shot at the China Open semifinals after the Czech swept past defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza later in the day.
ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.4 seed Monica Puig is into the quarterfinals at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel for the second time after a victory over Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-4.
“Today I felt a lot better on court than I did yesterday,” Puig said after the match. “I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my game during the past few days.
“And that’s really my goal, to improve every match and not feel pressure, and just go out on court and play the best I can.”
Hantuchova is currently ranked No.244, a position which belies the quality the former World No.5 can produce, and she employed her all-court game against the Olympic champion.
? ? ?
Powerful backhand from @MonicaAce93! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/5HeWxwyEMu
— WTA (@WTA) March 1, 2017
Puig shook off a sluggish start in the opening set against Hantuchova, grabbing the lone break at 4-3. She had trouble closing out the set – a struggle she had yesterday against Francesca Schiavone as well. The Puerto Rican had two set points on Hantuchova’s serve, but was unable to convert. She fought off two breaks of her own before sending down a booming serve down the T to take the opening set.
“I’ve had a lot of matches these past few weeks, so having a bit of tension is normal,” Puig explained in her post-match press conference. “The body gets a bit tense after so many matches.”
The Puerto Rican’s big-hitting game clicked together in the final set, weathering five breaks of serve in the first six games to come away with the lead.
A trio of errors from Hantuchova gave Puig a look at three match points, but Hantuchova wasn’t ready to let go. She put together a massive effort to deny Puig five times with gutsy baseline play – and even earned a break point – but Puig took the match on the sixth time of asking for a spot in the Acapulco quarterfinals.
.@MonicaAce93 advances to @AbiertoTelcel Quarterfinals!
Tops Hantuchova 6-4, 6-4! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/GgL3uiJeQ9
— WTA (@WTA) March 1, 2017
Puig will take on Christina McHale for a spot in the semifinals after the American knocked out her countrywoman Taylor Townsend 6-1, 7-6(5) earlier in the day.
“Christina is a very good friend of mine, we train together a lot,” Puig said. “It’s going to be a tough match for sure. She’s been playing really well lately, and I expect a great match; I just hope to bring my best tennis.”
Also in action today, Kirsten Flipkens moved into the quarterfinals after her opponent Ajla Tomljanovic – author of yesterday’s stunner over No.6 seed Eugenie Bouchard – was forced to retire after the first set due to a right shoulder injury.
No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko advanced in similar fashion; she was leading 6-1, 2-0 against Julia Goerges before the German was forced to retire due to heat illness.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber needed three sets, but dispatched young Hungarian Timea Babos in emphatic style, striking a screaming forehand passing shot to win, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, and complete the quarterfinal line-up at the Miami Open.
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Kerber appeared well in control of the contest as she took the opening set, but Babos, buoyed by a strong on-court coaching session with Thomas Drouet, leveled the match and led by a break in the third before the reigning Australian Open champion recovered the plot – capturing five of the final six games to reach the last eight in Miami and reclaim the No.2 ranking from Agnieszka Radwanska.
“Timea was playing very well,” the German told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I started the match good and I played a good first set but she came back stronger.
“I was trying to fight until the last point; I was down in the third set and I was just believing in myself that I could turn it around.”
The two hour and eight minute match bled into Tuesday, but Kerber is no stranger to the lateness of the hour, once battling to 3:10am to outlast Daria Gavrilova at last year’s Apia International Sydney.
“I won it and to be in the next round is just a great feeling – after midnight, but it’s good to be still in the tournament.”
SHOT! Angie Kerber. Tracks down a drop shot from Babos and hits a great curler for a winner. #MiamiOpen
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 29, 2016
With Radwanska and World No.1 Serena Williams bowing out in the fourth round, Kerber is the highest-ranked woman left in the draw, and is looking close to the level that took her to the title in Melbourne just two months ago – hitting 20 winners and converting seven of eight break point opportunities.
“I wasn’t thinking about this on court,” she said when asked about the upsets. “I’m just trying to play my game and focus on me, improve my tennis playing round to round. It’s good to be back here in Miami; it’s amazing you guys stayed here until this time, thank you so much!”
Up next for Kerber is No.22 seed Madison Keys, who strolled into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Irina-Camelia Begu. The two last played in the finals of the Volvo Car Open, which the German narrowly won in three tight sets.
“Madison is a great young player; she plays great matches against me and we’ve had tough battles in the past. I’m looking forward; she’s at home here, and I will just try to take the challenge against her and play a good match.”
.@AngeliqueKerber backhand down the line coming right at ya! #WTA pic.twitter.com/T9TlBylaZf
— WTA (@WTA) March 29, 2016
Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki’s third meeting in as many weeks will highlight an exciting sextet of Round of 16 tilts on Thursday in Beijing. We preview the action, courtesy of WTATennis.com contributor Chris Oddo.
Thursday
Round of 16
[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #22)
Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads, 9-5
Key Stat: Wozniacki has won 14 of her last 16 matches.
They’ve always been good friends off the court and intense rivals on, but never before have Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska played three times in the same tennis season – let alone three weeks in a row. That will change on Thursday in Beijing when the pair meet for the third time in three weeks with a spot in the China Open quarterfinals on the line. Wozniacki has turned around her season with an electrifying run that included a win over Radwanska in the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, but the Pole hit back last week at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, ending Wozniacki’s seven-match winning streak with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over the Dane in the round of 16. 2011 Beijing champion Radwanska improved her career record at the China Open to 23-7 with a straight-sets win over Ekaterina Makarova in the second round, but she’ll face a tougher challenge in Wozniacki. The Dane owns a 7-5 lifetime record against Radwanska on hard courts, and she has won four of the last five against Radwanska overall.
Pick: Radwanska in three
[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs. [16] Elina Svitolina (UKR #18)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 5-2
Key Stat: Kerber owns 20 Top 20 wins in 2016.
22-year-old Elina Svitolina notched two consecutive victories over Angelique Kerber two years ago at Wuhan and Brisbane, but since then the German has taken the power back, winning three straight over the World No.16. But Svitolina has played Kerber tough, taking her to three sets in each of their last two contests. In fact, Svitolina has always played the Top 10 tough. The Ukrainian owns three Top 10 wins in 2016, including a massive upset of then World No.1 Serena Williams at the Olympic tennis event. Can she produce a similar shock against the current No.1? Kerber comes in confident and ready for battle, having won 22 of her last 26 matches including her second Grand Slam title at the US Open, so the onus will be on Svitolina to produce inspired tennis. That’s what it takes to defeat Kerber these days. Svitolina has the capability to produce it but she’ll need to ratchet up her aggression and take her chances, because Kerber is as stingy as they come – and opportunistic, too.
Pick: Kerber in three
[4] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Zhang Shuai (CHN #36)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Zhang stunned Halep in the first round of this year’s Australian Open for her first career Grand Slam win.
Zhang Shuai’s fairy tale 2016 kicked into high gear with a first-round upset of Simona Halep at the Australian Open that left the Chinese in tears at Margaret Court Arena. It was her long awaited maiden Grand Slam main draw victory and it marked the beginning of a stunning turn in fortunes for Zhang. Nearly ten months later the Chinese No.1 is 100 spots higher in the rankings and has seven Grand Slam wins under her belt. Zhang, making her first appearance in the round of 16 at Beijing in seven years, will look to produce another epic upset against Halep on Thursday, but this time the Romanian will be gunning for a shot of revenge. Halep had nothing but kind words to say after the loss in Melbourne, but she also felt she could have played with more gusto against Zhang. “She didn’t have fear,” Halep told reporters after the match. “She hit all the balls… but I think I let her play her best tennis. I didn’t hit very strong and I didn’t hit with good strength. So, yeah, it happened and she was better today.” Halep has been one of the best players on tour since Wimbledon, and one of the most consistent. She has gone 26-4 since Wimbledon and reached at least the quarterfinals of every event she has played in that span. Can Zhang shake Halep’s tree again on home soil in Beijing, or is it Simona’s turn to spoil the party?
Pick: Halep in three
[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #6) vs. [11] Johanna Konta (GBR #14)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 5-0
Key Stat: Konta has won four of her last six against Top 10 opposition.
With slim Singapore hopes still alive, Great Britain’s Johanna Konta will bid for another Top 10 upset on Thursday in Beijing when she faces Karolina Pliskova. The Czech is playing with house money after saving match point and surviving an epic battle with Russia’s Daria Kasatkina on Wednesday. That type of cliff-hanging win for the powerful yet poised Czech doesn’t come as a surprise. Pliskova has been a pillar of belief since late this summer. It started with her first Premier title in Cincinnati and continued when she finally reached the second week of a major at the U.S. Open. Pliskova raced all the way to the final at New York and though she didn’t win a hard-fought final with Angelique Kerber, she has clearly hit her stride as a big-match player. Will she continue her fine form with a sixth consecutive victory over Konta? The pair’s lifetime head-to-head might appear lopsided to the casual observer but Konta has forced Pliskova to a deciding set in each of their last four meetings. Will Thursday be the day she finally conquers the Czech?
Pick: Pliskova in three
Around the Grounds: A pair of Frenchwomen – Caroline Garcia and Alizé Cornet – will bid for quarterfinal slots on Thursday in Beijing. Cornet will bid to reach her first quarterfinal since she won the Hobart title in January when she takes on Yaroslava Shvedova for the third time. Garcia will look to win for the first time in three tries against Aussie Daria Gavrilova.
ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.5 seed Christina McHale put on an emphatic display to defeat No.4 seed Monica Puig, 6-2, 6-2 to become the first semifinalist at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match going in; she’s got a lot of power,” she said after the match. “I was just trying to defend well because she’s really tough when she’s in control of the points.
“I think I served well today, which helped a lot.”
McHale last played Puig in 2010, and the Puerto Rican star has grown by leaps and bounds since then, becoming the first from her country to claim a gold medal at the Olympic tennis event. But the American, herself fluent in Spanish, acquitted herself well on Thursday, converting all four of her break point opportunities and striking four aces to ease past Puig in just over an hour.
Beautiful backhand cross-court winner from @MonicaAce93! ? #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/acfuPPQ1Ye
— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017
The No.5 seed is into her third semifinal in Acapulco – her best result coming in 2014, when she reached the final – and will play No.2 seed Kristina Mladenovic in the next round.
.@ChristinaMcHale races through the opening set vs Puig 6-2! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/MTPWENiZlL
— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017
Before she gets there, however, she is due back on court later today for a round of doubles; McHale is the No.4 seed with partner Chuang Chia-Jung and takes on Veronica Cepede Royg and Mariana Duque-Mariño to make two semifinals in the same week.
“I was just focusing on the match, and I’m really happy to be in another semifinal. This is one of my favorite tournaments. I’m excited to be back on court for doubles later.”
.@ChristinaMcHale is first through to the @AbiertoTelcel Semifinals!
Knocks out Puig 6-2, 6-2! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/iLFJfXBfeq
— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017