Tennis News

EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Monica Puig enjoyed another stellar win in the quarterfinals of the Aegon International, outlasting Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3, to reach the semifinals in Eastbourne.

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The Puerto Rican starlet needed to qualify just to reach the main draw in Eastbourne, but has played incredible tennis this week, Mladenovic in an over two hour epic.

“I don’t think today was the same quality match as yesterday,” Puig said, referring to her thrilling win over former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday. “I missed a little bit more, there were more double faults, felt like a million to me, but, you know, the most important thing is I was able to put those behind me and just keep focusing on what I had to do next, which is very important.

“I always try to stay as positive as possible, but it definitely does feel good to get this win under my belt and move into the semis.”

Puig was the only one to finish her quarterfinal on a rainy Thursday in Eastbourne. Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska edged ahead by a set and a break over rival Dominika Cibulkova before their match was ultimately washed out, and Karolina Pliskova was on fire to start her quarterfinal against 2013 champion Elena Vesnina – losing three points in the first four and a half games – before their match was also halted.

In another jam-packed order of play, the quarterfinals and semifinals are set to conclude on Friday, leading of with Radwanska and Cibulkova on Centre Court, followed by the quarterfinal encounter between No.11 seed Johanna Konta and Ekaterina Makarova, who finished off Andrea Petkovic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 on Thursday.

DOHA, Qatar – Caroline Wozniacki won her second match of the day in emphatic style, overcoming Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the final of the Qatar Total Open.

“It sounds amazing, but also makes me feel a little old!” she said during her on-court interview, when reminded of her last appearance in the Doha final, back in 2011.

“It’s been a great week, really tough conditions with all the waiting, but I managed to keep focus and play some of my best tennis out there.”

Too good from @CaroWozniacki! ? #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/WLxzClmCjN

— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017

The former World No.1 was the last of field to advance into the semifinals after finishing off Lauren Davis, 7-5, 6-1, while Puig kicked off play on Friday by defeating Daria Kasatkina in a one-set shootout.

Still rolling from her win over Davis, Wozniacki started the quicker of the two despite the late start, roaring out to a 5-1 lead in the first set and never looking back, hitting 12 winners to just four unforced errors and converting five of seven break point opportunities to advance after an hour and 10 minutes.

What a rally! ?

Defense to offense from @CaroWozniacki! ?? #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/bzVehSiT0L

— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017

Up next for the two-time US Open finalist is Karolina Pliskova, the No.2 seed and last year’s runner-up in Flushing. Wozniacki’s never lost to the Czech powerhouse, but their last meeting came in 2014, before Pliskova became a Top 10 player.

“She’s playing really well, serving really well. It’s going to be a great final and I’m excited for it.”

.@CaroWozniacki bests Puig 6-1, 6-2!

Sets @QatarTennis Final vs @KaPliskova! pic.twitter.com/vyJIToTMoV

— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2017

Standing between both of them would be the unpredictable forecast, which forced both of them into playing multiple matches on Friday. Wozniacki was cautiously optimistic of starting Saturday’s championship match on time.

“I don’t want to jinx anything, so let’s just hope there’ll be good weather. I’m just excited to be on the court, and if I have to wait a little bit, I’m used to it by now and I’m feeling good!”

Can World No.1 Serena Williams find that Wimbledon magic and complete her quest to match Stefanie Graf’s Open Era record of 22 major titles? Will No.2 Garbiñe Muguruza set aside any French Open hangover to complete the Channel Slam? Or is there another champion lying in wait?

WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen is joined by Reem Abulleil, tennis reporter for Sport360.com, to dissect the draw and preview the third major of the year.

LONDON, England – Serena and Venus Williams capped off a satisfying day at Wimbledon by teaming up to defeat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in an entertaining doubles encounter.

A busy afternoon for the family began with Venus taking on Yaroslava Shvedova on No.1 Court. No sooner had she secured a place in her first major semifinal since 2010 then the Williams clan were hot-footing it to Centre Court in time to see little sister take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Serena kept her quest for history on track with a straightforward win over the Russian, leaving a couple of hours to ready herself for the evening’s doubles date.

Four summers ago, the sisters overcame Hlavackova and Hradecka in competitive finals at both Wimbledon and the Olympics. Once again the Czechs gave a good account of themselves, and once again they were left disappointed when Venus swatted away a backhand volley to close out a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

“The schedule’s challenging. I won’t deny. Especially with the weather, that sort of thing,” Venus said. “Thankfully it’s been better the last few days. We love the doubles. There’s been so many doubles titles. That’s been very special for us. We’re going to give it everything we got.”

Joining them in the last eight are compatriots Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears. Taking on the gifted yet inexperienced pairing of Daria Gavrilova and Daria Kasatkina, Atawo and Spears were in control throughout, dominating on serve and closing out a 6-3, 6-3 victory in just over an hour.

“We love playing on the grass together, and I think that our strategy of covering the net a bit more than other teams bothered them a bit and they never really got into a groove,” Atawo said.

“We practice these sort of situations a lot. We practice our communication during the points. It really does comes down to practice.”

In the draw’s outstanding second-round encounter, No.4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina returned for a third set shoot-out with Annika Beck and Yanina Wickmayer.

Twenty-four hours earlier Vesnina had edged out her long-time partner in a titanic fourth-round singles battle. Back on the same side of the net, there was no lingering ill-feeling as the Russians completed their comeback win, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

LONDON, Great Britain – Queen B has landed on Centre Court.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were prominently featured in World No.1 Serena Williams’ player box as the top seed attempted to win a record-tying 22nd major title against Australian Open champion and countrywoman to current record holder Stefanie Graf, Angelique Kerber.

The American artist was in London for the United Kingdom leg of her “Formation” tour, performing at Wembley Stadium on July 2-3.

Serena's player box = actual royal box. pic.twitter.com/xs9uJMzYN7

— René Denfeld (@Renestance) July 9, 2016

Serena made a much-publicized cameo in Beyoncé’s “Sorry” music video off the superstar’s latest album, Lemonade.