Tennis News

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.

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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.

February 3rd marks the 30th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day. NGWSD is a celebration created by the Women’s Sports Foundation, an organization founded by none other than WTA Founder Billie Jean King.

The theme for the 2016 NGWSD is entitled Leading the Way, and “is a nod to all those individuals and organizations who are on the front line for girls and women in sports: the organizations committed to advancing women’s issues, athletes who have overcome barriers, coaches who challenge their teams to succeed, girls who have faith in their own potential, and all those who continue to use the power of example to inspire greatness.”

Click here to learn more about NGWSD, and check out King’s tweet celebrating the day’s 30-year milestone:

Happy National Girls & Women in Sports Day! Join the @WomensSportsFdn in recognizing #girlswithgame across our nation #NGWSD

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) February 3, 2016

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

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – The comeback continued for two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Tamira Paszek on Monday, as the Austrian dispatched 2005 French Open quarterfinalist Sesil Karatantcheva, 7-6(3), 6-4, to reach the main draw of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Once a Top 30 player, Paszek came back to the game last spring and has rocketed up nearly 140 spots in the rankings since last fall. Starting the season at No.172, she had to play qualifying at the ASB Classic and the Australian, going on to reach the semifinals of the former to put herself within striking distance of a Top 100 return.

“The good part about playing qualies is that you get a lot of matches, and you get a good rhythm, which is especially important at the beginning of the year,” the 25-year-old told WTA Insider in January. “I’ve always been the type of person that tries to see the positive aspect of things, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Awaiting the Austrian in the main draw is Carina Witthoeft; the two played once before in French Open qualifying back in 2014, with Paszek winning, 6-0, 6-1.

Joining Paszek in the main draw is Klara Koukalova; the former World No.20, who took out Patricia Maria Tig, 6-4, 6-3.

All four qualifiers will be in action again on Tuesday, along with Fed Cup heroines Monica Niculescu – who nearly led an upset of defending champion Czech Republic with a win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – and Barbora Strycova, who took part in the decisive doubles rubber to defeat Romania, 3-2.

Niculescu begins her tournament as the No.9 seed – so bumped when Anna Karolina Schmiedlova withdrew due to a right ankle sprain – and takes on local wildcard Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Strycova takes on one of the qualifiers, Kateryna Kozlova; Kozlova defeated top qualifying seed Laura Siegemund, but the German nonetheless found her way into the main draw as a lucky loser.

Closing out play on Tuesday will be a pair of Russians, No.5 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and the fast-rising Margarita Gasparyan, who take on Koukalova and Bojana Jovanovski, respectively.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – With less than one week to go until the season’s first WTA Premier Mandatory tournament gets underway, the BNP Paribas Open announced today the recipients for main draw wildcards:

Bethanie Mattek-Sands: won the 2016 BNP Paribas Open doubles title with CoCo Vandeweghe

Nicole Gibbs: advanced to the third round of the 2017 Australian Open

Taylor Townsend: advanced to the third round of the 2014 French Open

Danielle Collins: a two-time NCAA singles winner at the University of Virginia

Irina Falconi: earned her first WTA title in 2016 at Bogota

Kayla Day: 2016 US Open junior champion and USTA Girls’ 18s National winner

Jennifer Brady: made a tremendous run to the 2017 Australian Open Round of 16

Donna Vekic: won the title at Kuala Lumpur at the age of 17

Qualifying wildcards will be announced in the near future. Qualifying rounds will take place Monday and Tuesday, March 6 and 7, with main draw play beginning on Wednesday March 8.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Playing in her home country, No.5 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won a thrilling first round encounter with qualifier and former Top 20 player, Klara Koukalova, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

Down 0-3 to start the match, the 24-year-old won six of the next seven games to take the opening set, but it came down to the wire against the Czech veteran, who had beaten her in their last two meetings.

“She started really well; actually she played really good the whole match,” the Russian said in her on-court interview. “She played three matches in qualifying, so I think that was the key for her. I had a really slow start and didn’t feel in good shape, but the only thing I did was fight.

A new event on the WTA calendar, Pavlyuchenkova was impressed by some of the in-match entertainment, including an intricate light show to announce the players.

“That was amazing. Maybe that’s why I had a slow start,” she said with a laugh. “I was still thinking and looking around.

“The crowd was amazing, as well. I love playing at home. It’s Russia!”

The Russian was equally effusive in her praise of the event before main draw action began at the gala dinner.

“It’s good for Russian tennis and great for Russian fans to have another WTA tournament in this country. St Petersburg is a beautiful backdrop for this event. I’m very happy to be here and proud to welcome players from all over the world to my home country.”

Clocking in at just over two hours, Pavlyuchenkova booked a spot in the second round, where she’ll play German youngster, Carina Witthoeft.

“I’m really old already, 24! But it’s not about age. I think she’s good. She’s fresh, and didn’t have a bad start to the year. I have to be really focused and play a lot better than today.”

Earlier in the day, Witthoeft had dispatched qualifier and former World No.26 Tamira Paszek, 6-3, 6-3. Fellow qualifier Kateryna Kozlova had better luck, upsetting Fed Cup heroine Barbora Strycova, 6-3, 6-4. No.9 seed Monica Niculescu had few problems taking out local wildcard Natlia Vikhlyantseva, 6-0, 6-3, and Yanina Wickmayer set up a second round with No.2 seed Roberta Vinci when she beat Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 6-3.

Rising Russian starlet Margarita Gasparyan played the final match of the night in St. Petersburg, dismissing Bojana Jovanovski, 6-1, 6-2.

In her downtime in Montréal a few weeks ago at the Rogers Cup, Petra Kvitova paid a visit to the WTA Media TV truck to find out a little bit more about the people who broadcast her matches all around the world.

She learned about everything that goes into producing a tennis match, from switching between the eight to 12 cameras per court, keeping match stats, creating slow motion replays, and much more.

“It’s amazing how many cameras there are at the same time on the same court!” Kvitova said. “When I play, sometimes I just see one camera!”

A joint venture between the WTA and Perform Group, WTA Media will produce all main draw singles matches and semifinals and finals of all doubles matches from 2017.