Rome: Serena Interview
An interview with Serena Williams after her win in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
An interview with Serena Williams after her win in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Madison Keys has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Serena Williams takes on Madison Keys in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
STRASBOURG, France – No.3 seed Samantha Stosur clinched a second set tie-break to sweep aside Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-3, 7-6(3), to join Alla Kudryavtseva in the quarterfinals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Stosur recovered from an early break in the opening set, and the disappointment of missing the opportunity to end the match in the tenth game of the second.
“I served for it at 5-4 then lost serve,” she told wtatennis.com after the match. “You just need to knuckle down and keep focused, think about what had been working in the match and get back to those things.
“It would have been hard having been serving for the match then playing a third set, and I lost serve again at 6-5. Then it was all about a good start in the tie-break.”
Stosur had never dropped a set in her two previous matches against the former doubles No.1; the pattern held in the ensuing tie-break, which the 2011 US Open champion won to clinch the match in an hour and 37 minutes.
“I don’t remember the other encounters with Su-Wei. Just the scores. They were in different conditions. My coach had a look but two years is a pretty long time in tennis.
“It was another good match against a tricky opponent. It was closer than the score looked.”
Up next for the Aussie is No.10 seed Caroline Garcia, who eased past Jil Teichmann, 7-6(5), 6-3.
Kudryavtseva was the first into the final eight with a thrilling 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Zarina Diyas. The Russian hadn’t reached a WTA quarterfinal since her run at last year’s Brisbane International as a lucky loser, and had to recover from a 5-3 final set deficit to defeat Diyas, and set up a match with either Alison Riske or No.4 seed Kristina Mladenovic, whose match was postponed due to darkness.
Elena Vesnina and Sloane Stephens were the last into the second round in Strasbourg on Tuesday; Vesnina was victorious in the fifth longest match of 2016, taking out Zheng Saisai, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5), while Stephens captured a one-set shoot-out with Donna Vekic, completing a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win.
Le soleil revient aux #IS2016 ! pic.twitter.com/SqFj1kB9Ig
— WTA Strasbourg (@WTA_Strasbourg) May 17, 2016
Can Caroline Garcia pull off the upset of the tournament in front of her home crowd against World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska? Check out the Day 4 preview at wtatennis.com.
Simona Halep takes on Naomi Osaka in the third round of Roland Garros.
Highlights of the clash at the Miami Open between Venus Williams and Patricia Maria Tig.
Venus Williams reflects on her performance against Patricia Maria Tig at the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seed Simona Halep was pushed to the brink in a late night epic against Sam Stosur, needing to come back from a set down and save match point to book her spot into the Miami Open quarterfinals.
Halep books a blockbuster battle against Johanna Konta after emerging victorious in the two-hour-and-ten minute thriller, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
“It was a tough match, like I expected,” Halep told press after the match. “But the comeback was pretty good, and I’m really happy about that.
“The last comeback like this for me was in 2014, my first match in Doha against Kanepi. Match point down and I came back. I’m happy about this, shows I can still play some tennis.”
3rd Set!!@Simona_Halep saves a match point to force a decider vs Stosur 4-6, 7-5! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/s103xofKtn
— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017
The Romanian targeted the Aussie’s backhand throughout the early exchanges in the opening set, and was rewarded with an early break. She built up a solid 4-2 lead and looked set to wrap up the opening set, but Stosur had other plans.
Stosur got her heavy topspin forehand going and wreaking havoc on Halep’s game plan, and reeled off four straight games to snatch away the opening set. She went on a tear in the second, recovering from an early break and winning five of the next six games to serve for the match.
She even held a match point, at 5-4 on Halep’s serve, but the Romanian chose that moment to start mounting her epic comeback. A handful of loose errors from Stosur on key moments let Halep back into the set, and she took the next seven games in a row to take the second set and a break lead in the third.
With Stosur flagging and letting her aggression dip slightly, it was Halep who bossed the rallies and dictated play to extend the lead to 4-1. The Aussie didn’t have another comeback left in her, and Halep completed the comeback to move into the Miami quarterfinals.
Comeback Complete✔️@Simona_Halep saves a MATCH POINT to edge Stosur 4-6, 7-5, 6-2! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/0qeasy9VQ4
— WTA (@WTA) 28 de marzo de 2017
“When I was down, I wasn’t thinking about anything, nothing about the score,” Halep said. “I just wanted to fight. I didn’t give up, and I believed in my chance. I was maybe a little bit lucky because I came back from match point down, but still I fought for this.”
Halep will be rewarded for her efforts with another battle in the next round, this time against Britain’s No.1, Konta.
“It will be tough. She’s in a good form now, she’s near Top 10. And she plays great. It’s going to be a tough one, but here every match is tough so I don’t expect an easy one.
“I have my chance here to try my best and try to win, and of course tomorrow will help me to recover. Then I will go on court with confidence.”