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Chirico First Into Madrid Semifinals

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MADRID, Spain – Qualifier Louisa Chirico continued her run at the Mutua Madrid Open, coming out on top in Thursday’s quarterfinal encounter with fellow surprise package Daria Gavrilova.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!

Prior to the start of the tournament World No.130 Chirico was not even sure she would make it into the qualifying draw, but after sneaking in thanks to a couple of late withdrawals she has grasped her opportunity with both hands.

Considering the American was contesting only her second WTA quarterfinal – and first at a Premier event – she cut a remarkably relaxed figure throughout, finishing strongly to close out a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory.

“It’s been pretty cool from the beginning really,” Chirico said in her post-match press conference. “I actually wasn’t in the draw. I don’t know – yeah, I wasn’t in qualies when I landed in Madrid.

“We landed at 10 minutes to 4pm, which is when the cut closes. We were like, ‘Can you call the supervisor? Am I in?’ Lucky enough to make it in and then qualify and get to where I am now. So it’s been a really exciting ride so far, but I’m not finished.”

Having profited from late withdrawal of Victoria Azarenka in the previous round, Chirico’s freshness told as the contest wore on. In the first set tie-break, the 19-year-old played the more assured tennis and in the second upped the ante, finding the lines with increasing frequency – she finished with an impressive 27 winners – to canter towards the finishing post.

Chirico is the first American teenager to make the last four of a Premier clay court event since Ashley Harkleroad at Charleston in 2003. There she will face either Dominika Cibulkova or Sorana Cirstea.

Regardless of the result in that match, Chirico is guaranteed a place in the Top 100 next week. Although for the time being her attention is on the here and now.

“I haven’t actually looked at any of the rankings or the points yet, so I usually don’t do that in the tournament until afterwards,” she added. “But, yeah, so I am just focusing on what I have to do for my next match really. All that stuff will take care of itself – afterwards I’ll enjoy that.”

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WTA Breakthrough Of The Month: Buyukakcay

WTA Breakthrough Of The Month: Buyukakcay

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Cagla Buyukakcay

Cagla Buyukakcay rewrote enough pages of WTA history to fill a whole book. The Turkish star became the first from her country to reach a WTA semfinal, final, and capture a title – all in one week in front of her home country at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.

“It’s an incredible week for me to win the title at home, to break into the Top 100 with this tournament, to play against someone with my crowd,” she said after the match. “It was an amazing atmosphere today. I was playing better and better every day, but of course every day is another day, so I didn’t expect to win at the beginning of the week. I’m so excited and so happy for today.

The winning week at home also helped her become the first Turkish woman to enter the Top 100, and earned her the most fan votes for April’s WTA Breakthrough of the Month with over 40,000 votes.

For all of those reasons, Buyukakcay is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!

Final Results for April’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month

1. Cagla Buyukakcay (92%)
2. Laura Siegemund (5%)
3. Irina Falconi (3%)

2016 Breakthrough Player Of The Month

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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Cibulkova & McHale Talk Tennis Fashion

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Fashion and sports go hand in hand when it comes to women’s tennis attire, so it’s no surprise that when the popular street style blog Who What Wear needed some tennis fashion advice they turned to the experts: Christina McHale and Dominika Cibulkova.

The WTA-stars-turned-fashion-experts gave Who What Wear their best tips for on court fashion.

“For me, it’s not so much the color combination that makes me feel confident in my outfit, but rather it’s the way the outfit fits me that makes me feel good in it,” McHale said on the outfits that inspire her.

You can find all of Cibulkova and McHale tennis attire right here on Tennis Warehouse.

 

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Cibulkova Marks Birthday With SF Win

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MADRID, Spain – Dominika Cibulkova marked her 27th birthday with a brilliant display against qualifier Louisa Chirico in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!

Midday showers in the Spanish capital forced the roof to be shut on Manolo Santana and Cibulkova found the change much to her liking. While Chirico was getting used the unfamiliar conditions, Cibulkova was busy building a lead.

In Chirico’s first service game, the Slovak earned an immediate break point, which she converted when she skipped around to crack a fizzing forehand. She soon stretched her advantage to 5-0 and while the American belatedly got on the scoreboard, it was too little too late, Cibulkova closing out the set with a delicate drop shot.

The second set was a similar story, Cibulkova embroidering a heavy-duty baseline assault with some feathery touches around the net. As the on-court clock approached the hour mark she arrived at match point, rounding off the 6-1, 6-1 triumph by thumping a 24th winner past the helpless Chirico.

Considering the one-sided nature of the encounter, Cibulkova was surprisingly emotional as she saluted her camp: “Of course I’m always more emotional when I win. Even during the match. So it’s part of me. But I was really, really happy, because today’s match was not easy. I made it look easy.

“But I was playing just really well. I was dominating on the court and I was mentally very strong.”

This strength has been on full display this week, the former Australian Open finalist coming through a series of grueling encounters.

“I started today’s match in the best way – I was really aggressive,” she added. “I know what I want to play and I was just going for it. I didn’t wait what’s going to happen on the court.

“I really know the beginning will be really important because she’s new in this situation, so I want to take advantage of it, to be ready for it. That’s what I did perfectly. You know, even I had some chances today, I was just really, really solid. I had my plan and I was really doing what I had to do.”

Cibulkova has never previously reached the final of a Premier Mandatory event, and there she will face either Simona Halep or Samantha Stosur.

“We’ll see. This is the best way. I know I’m in the finals and the opponent is going to play so I can watch them a little bit. Either way I don’t like to choose opponent. It’s going to be whoever plays better tonight.

“I’m just ready. I’m playing good tennis and I want to keep going and playing this way. Doesn’t matter who’s on the other side.”

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