Beijing: Konta vs Keys Highlights
Johanna Konta takes on Madison Keys in the semifinals of the China Open.
Johanna Konta takes on Madison Keys in the semifinals of the China Open.
Angelique Kerber takes on Madison Keys in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – On this special Dropshot Edition of the podcast, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen and WTA Web Editor David Kane preview the Miami Open final featuring the hottest player in 2016 in Victoria Azarenka against resurgent Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova. The match starts at 1pm EST on Saturday.
Can Azarenka make history by becoming the first woman since 2005 to complete the Sunshine Double by winning both Indian Wells and Miami? Or will history repeat itself, with Kuznetsova once again stopping a bid for the double by winning Miami. She did it once in 2006. A decade later, she could do it again.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova capped off a fairytale reunion on Sunday afternoon with victory over Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in the final of the Miami Open.
In 2015, Mattek-Sands and Safarova came to the fore as one of the WTA’s outstanding pairs, winning the Australian and French Opens along the way. However, Safarova’s well-documented battle for fitness forced them to park their partnership for the opening months of the new campaign.
It did not take long for the spark between the two to reappear in Miami, a succession of potentially tricky opponents dispatched with increasing authority. In the final they were particularly impressive, breaking their opponents’ intimidating serves five times to round off a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Having sauntered through the draw without dropping a set, the No.3 seeds appeared on course for another remarkably straightforward victory when they took the first set and opened up a 4-2 advantage in the second. However, they were given a late scare when Babos and Shvedova drew level at 4-4 before eventually getting over the finishing line.
The result was particularly significant for Mattek-Sands, who, after triumphing in Indian Wells alongside CoCo Vandeweghe, now joins Martina Hingis and Natasha Zvereva as the third player to win both events in the same year.
Women's doubles champs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova have a special message for their fans. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ZibcZlUNTN
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) April 3, 2016
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued over the last two weeks at the Miami 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 Caroline Wozniacki, Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig, Zheng Saisai and Alizé Cornet hit 34 of the 511 aces in Miami – raising a grand total of $2,725 over the fortnight.
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 Volvo Car Open in Charleston. Last year there was a total of 241 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit in the desert 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
• Charleston deadline is April 6th at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced April 11th
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.
An interview with Belinda Bencic before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber, a pair of former Volvo Car Open champions, traded the green clay for the sand at Charleston’s Iconic Photoshoot.
Against the backdrop of Charleston’s beautiful scenery, Petkovic and Kerber tried their hand at beach tennis.
Petkovic won Charleston in 2014 and Kerber in 2015, but how would they fare on sand?
Petkovic was confident in her beach tennis skills…
…and she gave defending Charleston champion Kerber quite a battle in their set of sand-tennis.
Charleston is known for a lot of things – delicious food, rich culture, historic architecture – but today it was its incredible nature on display.
Who will lift a second Charleston trophy? They both look ready for it after their iconic preparations.
After a fierce and scenic battle, the pair faced the press like true champions.
Despite being beach tennis rivals, the Germans are good friends off court as well as Olympic doubles hopefuls.
Charleston is a favorite stop on the tour for Petkovic and Kerber, pictured here with Bob Moran, Volvo Car Open tournament director.
With beach tennis under their belts, Kerber and Petkovic are all set to reclaim their titles in Charleston.
Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka began the month of March ranked outside the Top 10 and heads into April back inside the Top 5 for the first time since 2014, having captured back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open.
Gritting out several tough three-setters in Indian Wells, Azarenka enjoyed a comprehensive upset of top seed and 21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams for her fourth career victory over the American and second title in the California desert. She followed up the feat by winning Miami, becoming the third woman in WTA history to win the prestigious and elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double.
“It’s been a really long month and to be able to contain this determination and that intensity throughout all the matches is definitely not an easy task,” Azarenka told WTA Insider in the latest Champion’s Corner.
“The last couple of days especially have been a lot of expectations and pressure from the outside to complete the Sunshine Double and so I’m very proud that I kept myself present, kept myself really focused and focused on the job before anything else.”
Focused and intense throughout the Miami fortnight, Azarenka didn’t drop a set en route to her third Miami title; the win increased her 2016 total to three WTA titles and brought her up to the top spot on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard.
“Pressure is something that I want to go after, something that I want to face, and the challenge I always want to face.
“I’m never going to be the type of person who runs away from a challenge, no matter how hard it is, because that’s what gets me excited and a hardened competitor.”
With more challenges ahead of the Sunshine Double winner, Azarenka appears ready to move even higher as March’s WTA Player Of The Month!
Final Results for March’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Victoria Azarenka (70%)
2. Svetlana Kuznetsova (17%)
3. Serena Williams (13%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Sloane Stephens is into her first WTA singles final on clay after the defending champion Angelique Kerber saw herself forced to retire, 6-1, 3-0, in the semifinals of the Volvo Car Open.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
“It’s been a little tough out here but I’m happy to be through to the final,” Stephens said. “It’s sad that it had to be that way. It’s not the way I’d wanted it.
“I wish Angie a speedy recovery – she’s a really nice girl and a really great player.”
Stephens, who already has two titles in 2016 with wins at Auckland and Acapulco, took the first set after a dominating 24 minutes, outhitting a sluggish Kerber. The American scored 10 winners and hit just two unforced errors, while the out-of-sorts Kerber hit just seven winners to 10 unforced errors.
After consulting with the trainer and doctor, Kerber took the court again after a lengthy break trailing a set and 2-0. She was forced to retire from the match after one more game due to viral illness, sending Stephens into the Volvo Car Open final.
“When I was warming up this morning, I felt a little bit like something is wrong,” Kerber said afterwards. “I was thinking that when I’m going on court, the energy will come back and I will feel okay.But after the first few games in the first set I was feeling that, yeah, something is not good.”
Back into a WTA final, Stephens is putting a rough four-week stretch behind her. Despite the roaring start to her 2016 season that saw her claim two titles, she lost in straight sets at the last two tournaments she’s played before heading to the green clay at Charleston.
“Making a final is making a final, but I think there’s kind of a buildup to that,” Stephens said. “It wasn’t just because of today she wasn’t feeling well.I think the matches I played previously, like yesterday I was down a match point and things like that.
“Today I was just looking forward to getting out there, and the same I’ll do tomorrow, just looking forward to getting back on the court.”
Reach a first #VCO2016 final: ✔️
Make fans happy: ✔️
Smile like a toothpaste model: ✔️Goals. @SloaneStephens pic.twitter.com/on1G8RwwNk
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2016
Joining Stephens in the Volvo Car Open final is Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina, who’s into her first WTA singles final since 2013 after battling past Sara Errani 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Vesnina had a tough 2015 season, recording 13 first-round losses (across all levels), but 2016 has seen her come up from the qualifying rounds to score consistent main draw wins. Playing in her first semifinal of the year, former No.21 Vesnina found herself up against Errani, a clay court heavyweight – seven of the Italian’s nine titles have been won on clay, along with 12 of her 19 finals appearances.
“I had some great memories from being in that final five years ago, and I knew that I can do that again,” Vesnina said. “But of course, I knew that it was going to be very difficult coming from the qualifying.I was just thinking match by match, to improve my game on the clay.
“I’m pretty impressed with my game level, today as well because Sara is a clay court specialist. She had most of her wins on this surface and she really understands the strategy on this surface.”
Errani applied her tried-and-true clay court prowess early on, breaking Vesnina’s serve to go up a 3-1 lead. Vesnina got the break back to level up the score at 4-4, and her sudden changes of pace gave the Italian trouble, winning the first set with a drop shot that barely edged over the net.
A drawn out battle at 3-3 in the second set changed the momentum for Errani, giving her a lead to take back the second set. In the decider, Vesnina was more focused and sharper on the big points; she created and converted more break chances – three conversions for five chances – than Errani.
“It’s going to be a little bit different match tomorrow against Sloane because Sloane is playing in a different style than Sara,” Vesnina said. “It’s going to be difficult to show the same level in the final, and in general in the finals it’s really difficult to show your best tennis.
“You need to be solid.You need to be consistent.You need to come on the court and you have to know what you have to do there.
“So you have to be ready, and hopefully tomorrow it will be a great match between me and Sloane.”
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— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2016
Simona Halep gives a sneak preview of the player lounge and more after arriving in Singapore for the WTA Finals.