Tennis News

TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – Samantha Stosur overcame a stern second round test against Slovenian qualifier Dalila Jakupovic, needing to come back from a set down to reach the quarterfinals of the Taiwan Open.

The No.146-ranked Jakupovic was two games away from sealing the upset in the second set, but Stosur stormed back to close out the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

“I didn’t feel like I was playing too bad, because I had lots of chances to win many of the games,” the Australian explained in her post-match press conference. “I earned many break points but wasn’t able to convert them, and every time she had one chance she took it.

“It felt like I should have been leading in the first set, so it was tough to start out the second set thinking about how I was going to convert all these chances. By the third set, I feel like I was playing my best tennis.”

Perfect drop shot from @BamBamSam30!! ? #TaiwanOpen pic.twitter.com/NMeZfxLVGT

— WTA (@WTA) February 2, 2017

Stosur let four break chances go by before Jakupovic grabbed an early lead, breaking three times to take the opening set. The Australian finally converted to start the second, wrestling with the momentum as Jakupovic surged back to level the match at 5-5. Stosur grabbed the decisive break to close out the set with Jakupovic two games away from victory.

The Australian was in full flight in the final set, rattling off four straight games to make her way into the quarterfinals after two hours and sixteen minutes.

Her next opponent will be Peng Shuai, who knocked out the No.5 seed Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-3.

“We’ve played each other a few times, but not for many years,” Stosur said. “She hits the ball very hard, very flat – it really comes through the court. I know it’s going to be very difficult, and I’m sure she’s feeling very confident after her quick win today.”

.@BamBamSam30 overcomes Jakupovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3!

Meets Peng in @WTA_Taiwan_Open Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/iqNO5heSoQ

— WTA (@WTA) February 2, 2017

Traditionally the start of the grass court season is the time for surprises, the well-manicured lawns paying scant regard to the reputation of tennis’ great and good.

This year’s opening two events, the Aegon Open Nottingham and the Richo Open, proved no different, throwing up a number of eye-catching results. Coming through the wreckage to lift the silverware were two a the game’s biggest servers: Karolina Pliskova and CoCo Vandeweghe.

Their success has resulted significant moves on the Road To Singapore leaderboard. Nottingham champion Pliskova, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for last year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, is up to No.18, while ‘s-Hertogenbosch winner Vandeweghe leapt from No.84 to No.43.

With many of the leading contenders for Singapore waiting until Birmingham and Mallorca to begin their grass court preparations, much of the movement was restricted to lower down the leaderboard. Belinda Bencic made a successful return from the back injury that forced her out of the French Open, reaching the semifinals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a result that took her from No.34 to No.27.

Bencic’s conqueror Kristina Mladenovic was rewarded for her eventual runner-up finish with a jump from No.70 to No.49 on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Alison Riske, the runner-up in Nottingham’s rain delayed final is up to No.55 from her previous position of No.72.

Wimbledon preparations continue apace this week in Birmingham and Mallorca, where Garbiñe Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber are all competing.

RTS Ranking Movers

Karolina Pliskova: No.26 to No.18 (+8)
Monica Puig: No.21 to No.19 (+2)
Belinda Bencic: No.34 to No.27 (+7)
CoCo Vandeweghe: No.84 to No.43 (+41)
Kristina Mladenovic: No.70 to No.49 (+21)
Madison Brengle: No.64 to No.54 (+10)
Alison Riske: No.72 to No.55 (+17)

Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Nottingham and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Maria Sharapova has filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport seeking to annul or reduce her two-year suspension for a failed drug test at the Australian Open in January. The parties have agreed to an expedited track for the case, which will allow CAS to issue its decision no later than July 18th, 2016.

Last week, an independent tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Federation found that Sharapova committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, and imposed a period of ineligibility of two years. Under the tribunal’s decision, Sharapova would be allowed to return on January 27, 2018.

According to a statement from CAS regarding Sharapova’s appeal, “Ms. Sharapova seeks the annulment of the Tribunal’s decision to sanction her with a two-year period of ineligibility further to an anti-doping rule violation. Ms. Sharapova submits that the period of ineligibility should be eliminated, or in the alternative, reduced.”

CAS further confirmed the parties have not decided whether or not a hearing would be held on appeal. However, “at the request of the parties, this arbitration procedure will be kept confidential and the CAS will not comment any further on this matter.”

TALLINN, Estonoia – A straightforward 6-2 6-3 win for the British No.1, Johanna Konta, over Jelena Ostapenko gave Great Britain an unassailable 2-0 lead over Latvia in the 2017 Fed Cup.

It was comfortable for the 25-year-old, with just one minor setback when Ostapenko, 19, broke back after Konta had taken two games against serve in the second set. But the Brit, who won a remarkable 100 per cent of points from her second serve in the match, recovered to close out.

Earlier, Heather Watson comfortably beat Diana Marcinkevica, 6-3 6-0, to put Great Britain 1-0 up.

“We knew coming in today that Latvia was going to be a strong team,” said Konta. “It’s never easy, whichever match you’re playing in. I’ve always said that in the Fed Cup players raise their level and play without inhibition so it can be tricky out there. I know the scoreline doesn’t suggest it was as difficult as I felt, for sure. Because it was hard.

“She is one of the young ones on the tour but she has a big game. She can go through phases in matches where you really don’t have much of a say. I knew going into it that I needed to stay patient and stay as solid as I possibly could, and also when the opportunities presented themselves to really go for them.”

The world No.10 also spoke about the enjoyment she derives from playing for her country. “Last year, the Olympics was one of the best experiences of my life. So whenever I get an opportunity to represent Great Britain in a team environment I look to take it.”

“I'm really enjoying it” @JoKonta91 chats after another strong performance in the @FedCup! #BackTheBrits ?? #GoJoKo pic.twitter.com/FgCOSIBrTV

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 9, 2017

Watson, ranked 72nd in the world, took just 61 minutes to see off the world No.307, Marcinkevica, continuing the fine form that has seen her lose just five games across her two Fed Cup 2017 matches. Yesterday, she cruised to a 6-1 6-1 win over Ines Murta as Anne Keothavong’s team beat Portugal 3-0.

“I’m happy with the win today,” said the British No.2. “I thought I played better than yesterday; I think I had a tougher opponent today as well. I moved better, I struck the ball cleaner. All round I thought I played well, I played positive and aggressive.”

Watson is enjoying the Fed Cup experience, adding: “Last night, we played ‘Heads up’, which is one of my favorite games. It’s a lot of fun, we’re playing a lot of games. There’s a lot of banter flying about, so I’m enjoying it.”

Great Britain will face Turkey on Friday as they bid to top their group and qualify for Saturday’s promotion play-offs.