Miami: Day 5 Roundup
All the action from Day 5 of the Miami Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
Highlights of the match at the Miami Open between Angelique Kerber and Shelby Rogers.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
HONG KONG/TIANJIN/LINZ – The Road to Singapore kicks into high gear as three spots remain in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Who will join Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, and Karolina Pliskova among the tour’s Elite Eight? Six of the seven women still in Singapore contention battle it out at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, the Tianjin Open, and the Generali Ladies Linz…
Click here to check out the most updated RTS scenarios.
1) The Road to Singapore leaderboard heats up.
Johanna Konta flipped the script on the RTS leaderboard by reaching the biggest final of her career at the China Open. The result brought the Brit up to No.8 – bumping Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova down to No.9. Konta is the No.3 seed in Hong Kong, while Cibulkova took a wildcard in Linz; the two begin their weeks against Naomi Broady and Belinda Bencic, respectively.
2) Kuznetsova shoots for Singapore from Tianjin.
The Russian reached the semifinals of Wuhan – saving a match point to defeat China Open champ Agnieszka Radwanska en route – but will likely need to win the tournament this week and play either Moscow or Luxembourg to remain in contention. Radwanska clinched her return to the WTA Finals last week, and is top seed in Tianjin.
3) Muguruza next in line.
French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza looked like a lot to secure her place in Singapore earlier in the Asian swing, but tough losses over the last few weeks bring her qualification hopes down to the wire. Top seed in Linz, Muguruza opens against Cagla Buyukakcay, and could play No.3 seed Madison Keys in the semifinals.
4) Keys also aims for WTA Finals debut.
Speaking of Keys, the American has a tough opener against former Linz finalist Camila Giorgi, but has enjoyed a solid swing through Wuhan and Beijing – reaching the semifinals of the latter – and should feel comfortable on Austria’s indoor courts.
5) Call on Carla…
Carla Suárez Navarro narrowly missed out on qualifying for Singapore last year, and heads into the final stretch of the season ranked No.10 on the RTS leaderboard; the Spaniard is seeded No.4 in Linz and opens against Mona Barthel.
6) Pavlyuchenkova out to defend Linz trophy.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ended her year on a high, winning nine straight matches to win in Linz and reach the final of the Kremlin Cup. The Wimbledon quarterfinalist recently parted with coach Dieter Kindlmann, and opens against US Open quarterfinalist Anastasija Sevastova as the No.5 seed.
7) Vesnina gets Rogers rematch.
Elena Vesnina came into the French Open having reached the Volvo Car Open final as a qualifier, but fell in the second round to eventual quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers. Seeded No.3 in Tianjin, Vesnina plays Rogers to start the week, and is in Radwanska’s half of the draw.
8) Jankovic on tough title defense.
Jelena Jankovic stunned Singapore hopefuls Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber to win the title in Hong Kong last year, and may well have to replicate the feat this year as the No.7 seed. The former No.1 is projected to play Venus in the quarterfinals and Kerber in the final.
9) Kerber edges closer to clinching Year-End No.1.
Finalist last year in Hong Kong, World No.1 Angelique Kerber is top seed after bowing out in the third round of Beijing to Elina Svitolina, and opens against Maria Sakkari.
10) Find out where you can watch the action from Hong Kong here!
Simona Halep reflects on her performance at the Miami Open.
An interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova after her win in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Relive the game-by-game updates of the 2016 China Open final as former champ Agnieszka Radwanska took on history-making Johanna Konta.
MIAMI, FL, USA – World No.1 Angelique Kerber steamrolled past Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki in barely an hour to move into the Miami Open quarterfinals for the third time in her career.
Kerber broke the Ozaki serve six times and hit 17 winners to Ozaki’s seven on her way to the 6-2, 6-2 victory.
“I think that she’s played a good tournament,” Kerber praised her opponent in post-match press. “She came through the qualies, she beat good players. I was ready for it.
“I talked with my team and I know that she’s moving good and bringing a lot of balls back. I was trying to play my game and be aggressive.”
.@AngeliqueKerber wraps up the set 6-2! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/UOBifNUCYj
— WTA (@WTA) 27 de marzo de 2017
After a tentative start, with both players feeling each other out in their first encounter, it all went the German’s way as her powerful game started to click together. She dictated with the forehand, breaking Ozaki twice for a 4-1 lead. The 22-year-old Japanese earned one of the breaks back, but it wasn’t enough to halt Kerber’s momentum as she steamrolled to the opening set.
The same pattern emerged in the final set; Kerber rolled ahead to a 5-0, triple break lead, but faltered for a moment against Ozaki’s slices and the Japanese grabbed one of the breaks back. Kerber stayed solid, though, and wrapped up the match moments later.
Despite the result, 22-year-old Ozaki will still have reason to celebrate. After reaching the main draw in her Miami Open debut, Ozaki is set to rise to a career-high ranking on Monday, projected to land inside the Top 75.
Moving on!@AngeliqueKerber books a spot in @MiamiOpen Quarterfinals! Cruises past Ozaki 6-2, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/bIMObErLu7
— WTA (@WTA) 27 de marzo de 2017
For Kerber, the challenge continues in the next round as she’ll face the winner between WTA veterans Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova for a spot in the semifinals.
“I think it doesn’t matter against who because they are both amazing players,” Kerber said. “Playing against Venus, I’m looking forward [to it] if it’s Venus. But as well if it’s Sveta, she’s played great tennis in the last few weeks. She reached the final in Indian Wells. She’s on fire, but also Venus, she played amazing this year so far.
“I’m looking forward to playing against them. We’ll see tonight.”
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in Beijing for the China Open, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit 32 of the 312 aces in Beijing – raising a grand total of $1,820 throughout the week. Keys hit the most with 23 aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Last year there was a total of 106 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Beijing deadline is October 18 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced October 24th
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.