Bencic Out Of Olympics
Still suffering the effects of a left wrist injury that derailed her Wimbledon campaign, Belinda Bencic has opted to withdraw from what would have been her Olympic debut in Rio.
Still suffering the effects of a left wrist injury that derailed her Wimbledon campaign, Belinda Bencic has opted to withdraw from what would have been her Olympic debut in Rio.
It’s time to vote for October’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, November 11.
October 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Dominika Cibulkova: Cibulkova needed to win the Generali Ladies Linz to qualify for her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Slovak did just that, defeating Viktorija Golubic in straight sets in the final and clinching what became a winning berth in Singapore. From 0-2 down in round robin play, Cibulkova stunned 2014 finalist Simona Halep and outgutted Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals before putting on a masterclass against World No.1 Angelique Kerber to win the biggest title of her career.
Angelique Kerber: Kerber didn’t walk away with the title in Singapore, but nonetheless impressed as she clinched the Year-End No.1 ranking. Undefeated in round robin play, she brushed aside defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska before falling to Cibulkova in a high-quality final.
Agnieszka Radwanska: The Pole ended another solid season with a Premier Mandatory title at the China Open, where she defeated Johanna Konta in the final. Playing to defend her Singapore crown, Radwanska put down a pair of quality wins in round robin play, ultimately bowing out to World No.1 Kerber in the semifinals.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
CoCo Vandeweghe hosted her Twitter Q&A session, #AskVandey, yesterday evening, but things got interesting when her fellow Team USA high-jacked the chat – see all the highlights here!
MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber was made to fight once more at the Rogers Cup, needing three sets to overcome an inspired effort from No.17 seed Elina Svitolina, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I think the match was a little bit crazy,” Kerber told press after the match.
“Actually the whole match was a lot of up and downs.”
Kerber struggled beneath the pace of big-hitting Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in her opening round on Wednesday, and started slowly against Svitolina on Thursday, losing six straight games after breaking to begin the match.
“The first set I was just playing, like I make too many mistakes. I was going for it, not playing my game actually. I was not feeling my rhythm. I was not on the court. It was a little bit tough, the first set.”
The Ukrainian youngster has been coached by former No.1 and recent International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee Justine Henin this week in Montréal, and appeared spurred on by her high-caliber mentor as she continued to punish the Kerber serve, breaking four times in the second set and twice serving for the match.
But the reigning Australian Open champion would not be denied, duly breaking back each time and recovering from a dismaying Hawkeye challenge to to win the final five points of the tie-break.
“The second set, I was trying to find my rhythm, find my game again. She was serving twice for the match. I was just trying to not thinking too much, just trying to playing the points. The tie-break was also a little bit crazy.”
Maintaining her momentum through most of the decider, Kerber broke serve one last time in the ninth game of the match and held on for dear life when it came time to serve for the match, saving three break points and clinching the win in two hours and 18 minutes.
“For sure I’m not happy about my game, how I was playing, because I really not playing my best tennis today. It’s like more I’m happy that I won the match. I don’t know how. It was a crazy match.
“But it’s good to be still in the tournament, still have the chance tomorrow. The next challenge, the next match, trying to play a better tennis tomorrow.
“So a lot of emotions right now.”
Up next for Kerber is rising Russian Daria Kasatkina, who avenged a heartbreaking Qatar Total Open defeat to No.7 seed Roberta Vinci, 7-5, 6-3.
“I saw a few matches. But, I never played against her yet. I know it will be not easy. I think she played a good match today against Vinci.
“She has nothing to lose. I know she will play good tennis tomorrow. I know that I have to improve, playing better than today to win the next match.
“I’m confident to go out there tomorrow and play good tennis again.”
“I am not happy about my game, it wasn't my best. But it's good to still be in the tournament.” – @AngeliqueKerber pic.twitter.com/mt9fuqDV04
— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) July 29, 2016
The injury that caused Simona Halep to miss Brisbane is feeling better now – how does she feel about Sydney? Who’s her first opponent? Want to see her build a tower?
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
STRASBOURG, France – World No.6 Karolina Pliskova will open the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup defense against Kristina Mladenovic on Saturday afternoon.
The draw, held at Maison de la Region and carried out by Paralympic wheelchair doubles champion Nicolas Peifer, contained few surprises, pairing Czech No.1 Pliskova and French No.2 Mladenovic in the first rubber, with Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia facing off in the second.
The Czechs have dominated the Fed Cup in recent years, lifting the trophy in four of the past five years. Is it a record that compares favorably with many of the other dominant sides in the competition’s history. Indeed, should Pliskova and Kvitova spearhead them to victory over a gifted French side, then they will cement their place alongside the great Australian and United States teams of years gone by.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Australians reigned supreme, Margaret Court and company winning seven of the first 12 titles. This was followed by the golden age of American tennis, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King integral to a group that won the cup on seven consecutive occasions.
Check out photos from the draw for the #FedCupFinal on our Facebook page: https://t.co/ntiKRdmxNX pic.twitter.com/yG4Di4BL8e
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) November 11, 2016
Fast forward to the 21st century and Czech captain Petr Pala has forged another dynasty, founded on tremendous team spirit and no little talent. And even away from the fortresses of Prague and Ostrava, they are a formidable proposition.
Pliskova has enjoyed the best season of her career, winning a couple of titles and reaching the US Open final to cement a place in the Top 10. Despite being overtaken in the rankings by Pliskova, two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova remains an integral cog, arriving in Strasbourg fresh from dominant victories at the big Asian events in Wuhan and Zhuhai. She will be further buoyed by her record against, Garcia, whom she has beaten in two of their three meetings.
The Czechs are not the only ones playing for a piece of history. French captain Amélie Mauresmo is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Court, King and Evert by winning the Fed Cup as both player and captain, and certainly has the players to spring an upset.
? Très contente d'être à Strasbourg pour la finale de #FedCup #TeamFranceTennis #J-2 pic.twitter.com/eJFSKuUadE
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 10, 2016
Garcia has enjoyed a quietly impressive year on tour, titles in Strasbourg and Mallorca helping her close in on the Top 20. Alongside Mladenovic she enjoyed an even more impressive doubles campaign, highlighted by a memorable victory on home soil at Roland Garros, forging an understanding that could prove decisive should the tie reach the decisive doubles rubber on Sunday.
Pliskova and Garcia, who have split their two career encounters, will step out in front of an expected capacity crowd at the 6,077-seat Rhénus Sport indoor arena at 2pm.
Alizé Cornet gritted out a tight victory over up-and-coming Denisa Allertova, while No.2 seed Camila Giorgi was made to battle against Zarina Diyas at the Hobart International.
An interview with Kristina Kucova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
STRASBOURG, France – Karolina Pliskova overcame France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the longest set in Fed Cup final history to give the Czech Republic the first victory, 6-3, 4-6, 16-14.
“I heard that it’s the longest one!” Pliskova told FedCup.com after the record-setting match. “I was just looking at the score and just counting the games and we were still continuing.
“Unbelievable match from both of us. My tennis was maybe not 100 percent, but it still counts as a win. Really happy that we got the first point.”
Walking into the first rubber of the 2016 Fed Cup final, Pliskova and Mladenovic’s head-to-head record was split at one win apiece and the pair had to set their long friendship aside in hopes of giving their team the early advantage.
Watch how Karolina Pliskova won the first set in the first rubber of the 2016 #FedCupFinal! pic.twitter.com/2IV046sEFk
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) 12 de noviembre de 2016
Mladenovic suffered a break of serve in the nerving opening game, misfiring a backhand and later double faulting to hand Pliskova the first lead. The surface seemed to suit Pliskova as well, as the Czech enjoyed the high bounce of the court at the Rhenus Sport Arena to wreak havoc with her big serve.
After Mladenovic leveled the set at 3-3, Pliskova found another gear and dropped just one point on her serve as she broke twice to take the first set 6-3.
The Frenchwoman had the home crowd roaring as she charged back in the second set. Mladenovic earned the first break at 4-3, and then weathered two consecutive breaks to emerge with the edge and the set.
Pliskova wrestled the momentum away as she quickly climbed to a 5-2 lead in the final set. Mladenovic was two points away from losing the match as Pliskova continued to hammer her vulnerable second serve and run her around the court, but she fended off the assault to claw her way back into the match and get back on serve.
With her back against the wall, Mladenovic rallied the French crowd and kept herself in the match time and time again and, with no final set tiebreak in Fed Cup, the match continued. Mladenovic fought past fatigue and cramping – and saved two match points with a gutsy dropshot and a zinging crosscourt backhand – to hold for 9-9, but the final set was barely getting started.
WHAT A THRILLER! ?@KaPliskova edges Mladenovic 6-3, 4-6, 16-14!
Gives Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over France! #FedCupFinal pic.twitter.com/qp1KRJjcyJ
— WTA (@WTA) 12 de noviembre de 2016
Pliskova stayed cool despite it all, trading breaks at 12-12 as the pair broke the Fed Cup final record for longest set ever played. After a monumental three hours and forty-eight minutes (two hours and 23 minutes in the final set), Mladenovic finally blinked in the last game, being broken to love to but an end to the thrilling match and hand the Czech Republic a vital 1-0 lead.
“I feel fresh, actually! But no it’s my longest match that I’ve played ever, so I’m really happy with the way I ended,” Pliskova laughed afterwards, speaking to FedCup.com.
“I was really waiting for my chance. And she was serving so well in the third set that I didn’t really have that many chances. I’m just happy with the win.”
– All photos courtesy of Getty Images