Cincinnati: Vekic vs. Ivanovic
Donna Vekic takes on Ana Ivanovic in the first round of the Western & Southern Open.
Donna Vekic takes on Ana Ivanovic in the first round of the Western & Southern Open.
Monica Niculescu earned a historic win for Romania following Simona Halep’s surprise loss, while Richel Hogenkamp edged past Svetlana Kuznetsova to make Fed Cup history.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – There are few, if any, nationalities quite so fiercely patriotic as the Russians.
This pride manifests itself in all walks of life, from politics to arts to sports. Take Svetlana Kuznetsova’s unexpected – and emotional – surge to last year’s Kremlin Cup, the famous old Olimpiyskiy indoor arena whipped up in nationalistic fervor for her all-Russian final with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
It is a pity, then, that – aside from the occasional Fed Cup tie – this tournament has provided the sole opportunity for Russia’s golden generation to shine on home soil.
This year, though, has seen a second event, in the country’s old capital St. Petersburg, added to the calendar.
While several of the country’s leading lights – including World No.6 Maria Sharapova – have elected against making the trip home, the presence of Pavlyuchenkova, Margarita Gasparyan and Daria Kasatkina ensured the home nation was well represented in Saturday’s draw.
Two more home-grown talents, at very different stages of their respective careers, are also present in the 28-strong field: Elena Vesnina and Natalia Vikhlyantseva.
For 18-year-old Vikhlyantseva the tournament offers the opportunity to showcase her talents on a bigger stage, while Vesnina will be looking to use it as a springboard back to the top.
Less than three years ago, Vesnina, playing the tennis of her career, was knocking on the door to the Top 20. A shoulder injury and loss of form halted this rise, and Vesnina, who faces Alizé Cornet in the first round, knows the tournament represents an opportunity.
“The WTA is hard; you’re practicing every single day and we’re travelling all over the world, far away from our families,” Vesnina told wtatennis.com. “So it’s great to leave at the end of the week with the trophy and know that it’s all worth it.”
Despite being raised in Sochi, Vesnina is familiar with Russia’s second city from her childhood and excited about her return – this time on business.
“It’s very special. And it’s very special because it’s in St. Petersburg, that’s one of the most beautiful cities in Russia and I’ve really loved the city since childhood – I was coming here with my family to visit the historical parts – and I know the city really well.
“It’s great to have another event in Russia because we have so many young players and upcoming stars and it’s great they have the opportunity to play at home, gets some points and maybe get their first title here. That’s just wonderful and I’m really looking forward to play my first match here.”
DUBAI, UAE – Three WTA stars brought out their best pick-up lines ahead of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, hoping to earn your affections on Valentine’s Day before play begins.
2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbiñe Muguruza tried on her best Eartha Kitt impression, while former World No.2 Petra Kvitova was hoping for some directions into your heart.
Check out the video and some more WTA Valentines on wtatennis.com!
CoCo Vandeweghe discusses her quarterfinal win over Garbine Muguruza in a press conference at the Australian Open.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – No.2 seed Roberta Vinci won the battle of youth vs. experience at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, defeating 18-year-old Belinda Bencic – who is poised to crack the Top 10 next week – 6-4, 6-3 for her 10th career title, and her first on the WTA Premier level.
Vinci had overcome a thrilling quarterfinal encounter against the big-serving Timea Babos and turned around a lop-sided head-to-head against former No.1 Ana Ivanovic just to reach the final, but the 32-year-old showed few signs of fatigue on Sunday, hitting 32 winners to just 12 errors.
By winning her semifinal against former junior rival Daria Kasatkina, Bencic was assured of a Top 10 debut heading into the championship match, and though she struck 17 winners of her own, she only converted two of six break point opportunities, and was undone by Vinci’s 25 forays to the net – 17 of which ended in favor of the Italian.
“Roberta played amazing today and throughout this tournament,” Bencic said, addressing the champion. “I gave everything I could but today you were much better!”
“It wasn’t easy,” Vinci said during her on-court interview. “It was a tough match; Belinda is a great player, so it’s tough to play against her. She only missed a few balls, so I had to stay focused every single point.
“But I served so good today, so I think that was the key to my victory.”
Having earned a career performance at last year’s US Open – where she ended World No.1 Serena Williams’ quest for the Calendar Year Grand Slam to reach her first major singles final – Vinci had previously announced her intention to make 2016 her last season, but with another title under her belt, the veteran was singing a slightly different tune when asked if she planned to play a few more years.
“No, two, three years, no. One more, but maybe. Why not?”
Venus and Serena Williams are in the final of the Australian Open, the first all-Williams Grand Slam final since 2009. So how did we get here? Take a look back at the best photos of the fortnight!
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Danka Kovinic has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the rankings in the last 12 months, but was made to work in the first round of the Rio Open; the No.3 seed beat American Sachia Vickery, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in just over two hours.
“It was so tough to play,” a tired Kovinic admitted after the match. “It’s very humid and hot here, and I came from Serbia, where it’s very cold. For me, it was very hard to play; I felt like I didn’t have energy, but somehow I found a way to finish the match.
“I really don’t feel good right now.”
At a career-high ranking of No.50, the 21-year-old Montenegrin next plays the winner of veterans Romina Oprandi and Sílvia Soler Espinosa for a spot in the quarterfinals and the chance to pocket valuable ranking points that can help her return to Rio later this summer for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
“I’ll try to do the best to earn as much points as I can; I really need them for the Olympic games. That’s my goal for this year.”
Earlier in the day, No.5 seed Polona Hercog took out qualifier Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 6-2, and resurgent American Shelby Rogers upset No.8 seed Andreea Mitu, 6-2, 6-2. Mitu’s countrywoman Ana Bogdan defeated local wildcard Gabriela Ce, 6-2, 6-3, while Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg recovered from a set down to defeat Anna Tatishvili, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3.
An intriguing first round match concerns a pair of wildcards in Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia and former World No.21 Sorana Cirstea, who is playing her first WTA event since last fall in Tokyo; despite a rain delay in the second set, Cirstea emerged victorious, 6-2, 6-1.
Roberta Vinci takes on Ana Konjuh in the second round of the Connecticut Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – The bottom half of the Australian Open draw concludes the quarterfinal match-ups in Melbourne, featuring the much-anticipated clash between six-time champion Serena Williams and Johanna Konta, the in-form semifinalist from last year. No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova also hopes to continue her unbeaten run in 2017 against Cinderella story Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who is into her first major quarterfinal in nearly two decades.
We preview all the Day 10 matchups right here on wtatennis.com.
Wednesday, Quarterfinals
[5] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #5) vs Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO #79)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 3-2
Key Stat: Both Pliskova and Lucic-Baroni are playing in their second Grand Slam quarterfinals (Pliskova, 2016 US Open, Lucic-Baroni, 1999 Wimbledon).
Pliskova made her first 17 Grand Slam appearances without making the second week, but the Brisbane International champion is making up for lost time in her second straight major quarterfinal since reaching the US Open final.
It was a much longer drought for Lucic-Baroni, who needed 18 years to back up her breakthrough run at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships after a mix of personal and financial problems kept her off the tour for almost a decade.
The 34-year-old veteran takes on Pliskova for the first time since the 2015, when the two split their two meetings that season; Lucic-Baroni lost their most recent encounter in a third-set tie-break at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Pliskova has dropped just two sets all season, emerging victorious from a 10-8 final set against Latvian youngster Jelena Ostapenko to brush aside No.22 seed Daria Gavrilova in front of her home crowd.
Can Lucic-Baroni win the battle of big hitters to continue her fairytale run, or will Pliskova continue her newfound dominance at majors and reach another semifinal?
[9] Johanna Konta (GBR #9) vs [2] Serena Williams (USA #2)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Konta has dropped serve twice in four matches (tournament leader).
With defending champion Angelique Kerber out at the hands of CoCo Vandeweghe, Serena Williams suddenly found herself in a solid position to reclaim the No.1 ranking from her rival. To do it, she’ll also need to take home the Open Era record of 23 Grand Slam titles and her seventh Down Under.
Standing between her and the semifinals is an unfamiliar foe in Johanna Konta, the fastest rising force in women’s tennis since her initial 16-match winning streak in the summer of 2015.
Konta has been ruthless through four rounds, knocking out former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and 2015 semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova en route to her second straight quarterfinal in Melbourne.
Serena has taken out on-fire opponents in the past; can she solve the unflappable Brit on Rod Laver Arena, or will Konta keep up her potentially Slam-winning form into the final four?
Around the Grounds…
The women’s and mixed doubles events are rounding into form, and both feature doubles No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The American rejoins Lucie Safarova to take on the unseeded Japanese duo of Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato. Meanwhile, top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic will need to turn around from their three-set thriller over Aussies Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua to play No.12 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai, who dispatched reigning Olympic champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in two tight sets on Tuesday.
In mixed, No.2 seed Sania Mirza will partner Ivan Dodig for a second day in a row as they try to reach a second straight Australian Open semifinal; aiming to stop them are an unseeded pair in Gabriela Dabrowski and Mirza’s countryman, Rohan Bopanna.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.