Tennis News

HONG KONG, SAR – Angelique Kerber will be forced to dig deep to reach the quarterfinals of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open after a gutsy second-set performance from Louisa Chirico.

The World No.1 and top seed breezed through the first set, which she eventually won 6-2 after a series of unforced errors from the 20-year-old allowed the German to race into a 4-1 lead.

However, Chirico returned with renewed vigour in the second set and Kerber did not look the same after a brief rain delay. An error-strewn service game at 2-3 gave Chirico the break and she held on to her lead, only for rain to strike at 40-30 when she was serving for the set. After a lengthy delay, she held her nerve to force a decider, despite being dragged into an epic 37-shot rally.

Kerber’s out-of-sorts form continued in the first three games of the third set, which remains on serve although Chirico was set to defend a break point when the bad weather returned, forcing the postponement of play until Thursday.

Jelena Jankovic continued her defence of the tournament with a routine straight sets victory over fellow Serb Aleksandra Krunic.

Having held her own against the former World No.1, the 23-year-old faltered on serve at 4-4, with two double faults and two weak shots into the net giving Jankovic a first-set lead she did not surrender.

The two compatriots exchanged two breaks apiece at the start of the second set but, serving for a 4-3 lead, Krunic sent a wayward drop shot wide and a backhand into the net to give Jankovic the advantage. The 31-year-old made no mistake from there, holding and breaking once more to book her place in the next round.

Eighth seed Daria Gavrilova’s match with Katerina Siniakova fell victim to the rain with the Australian leading 6-2, 1-0, with a break of serve in the second set. Venus Williams’ match with Alizé Cornet was postponed due to the bad weather.

Victories from Ekaterina Makarova, Elina Svitolina and Francesca Schiavone headlined a dizzying opening day of Fed Cup action in World Group II.

Here’s how the ties stand after day one:

Russia 1 – 1 Chinese Taipei

Ekaterina Makarova found herself leading a group of young talented Russians this weekend, with two of her teammates making their Fed Cup debut and the average team age just 20 years old.

“It’s a totally different situation because every time I was playing I was one of the young players, even when I had a good ranking. But it was someone like Elena Vesnina in the team every time teaching me,” Makarova told FedCup.com before the tie.

“Now there are two girls who are debutants and it’s a good experience for me. We have a great atmosphere the girls are very nice. We’re looking forward to this weekend.”

The 28-year-old survived a scare to defeat Lee Ya-Hsuan 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 and put Russia ahead in front of a delighted Moscow crowd.

But Chang Kai-Chen put Chinese Taipei back on track, brushing away Fed Cup debutant Anna Blinkova, 6-3, 7-5.

Romania 0 – 2 Belgium

Hosts Romania were stunned on day one as Yanina Wickmayer and Kirsten Flipkens’ brace of victories put Belgium firmly in control of the tie.

Without Simona Halep and Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania struggled in singles as Flipkens dominated the opening rubber against Monica Niculescu, 6-3, 6-4.

“I knew I had to be patient and wait for the right moment to move forward,” Flipkens told press after the victory.

“It would have been a lot more difficult against Simona Halep as she is a top five player. Against Monica, I was confident going forward as I created my chances and took them when they came.”

Cirstea had a golden opportunity to rescue a point for her side, leading 5-2 in the opening set but Wickmayer came roaring back to edge through in a tight battle, 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5.

Ukraine 2 – 0 Australia

The hosts Ukraine are in full control over Australia after Elina Svitolina and Lesia Tsurenko notched wins on day one.

Tsurenko opened proceedings with a comfortable win against Daria Gavrilova, easing past the Australian 6-2, 6-3.

“I’m very pleased with my game today,” Tsurenko explained to FedCup.com. “After the first games, the captain asked me to play deep. Don’t try to hit flat. That was the key. To play deep and wait for the right moment, and stay focused in the point whatever happened.”

Svitolina had a harder time against Barty, whose game made a mockery of her No.156 ranking as the Australian quickly took the opening set. Svitolina hit back just as strong, and finally tamped down the resistance to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

“I’m happy about today, although not about the score,” Barty said afterwards. “Elina is a tough player, with a lot of experience. She raised her level. The score of the second and third set doesn’t reflect how close the games where.”

Italy 1 -1 Slovakia

Fed Cup veteran Francesca Schiavone and Slovakian debutante Rebecca Sramkova left their countries level in Italy to close out day one.

At home and on clay, Schiavone fought past Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3, 6-1 to give Italy an early lead.

“I have to speak with my body, it’s not easy to handle three hours like before – but today I enjoyed my one hour and a half and I’m happy to bring the point to my national team. It’s my last Fed Cup so there are some big emotions,” said Schiavone, who will retire from professional tennis at the end of this season.

No.116 Sramkova took on Sara Errani, and came back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“I was nervous in that first set but I just said to myself ‘I’m going to win it’. I just changed my thinking,” Sramkova told FedCup.com after the victory.

Photos courtesy of FedCup.com

HONG KONG, SAR – There were contrasting emotions on display after Alizé Cornet beat Venus Williams 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in Hong Kong.

Cornet could not have been more delighted to reach the quarterfinals by beating a player who had always bested her previously.

“We have played many times and I was losing in straight sets. Now I can beat her in Hong Kong!” the French player enthused. “It means I used a good tactic, I played a very good match, and I believed in it.”

Her American opponent, unsurprisingly, was very downcast.

“My opponent played well, there wasn’t much I could do against her,” said Williams. “You work hard to win matches – it’s always disappointing [to lose].”

Cornet will face Jelena Jankovic next up — and is anticipating a very difficult match.

“I’m expecting a really tough battle,” she admitted. “She has a really solid baseline game. I expect some good rallies from both of us.”

Describing her current mood as “great, tired, happy”, Cornet said that she still had some trouble with the same heel issue that has plagued her for the past four years — but that she would be running with just as much energy in the morning.

She added that she was enjoying her time in Hong Kong — the city and the tournament.

“The welcome is really amazing and the city is great,” she said. “For me, every match [on tour] is the same intensity.”

Earlier in the day, Caroline Wozniacki took less than an hour and a half to secure her quarterfinal spot, beating Great Britain’s Heather Watson, 6-3, 6-3.

Neither player looked solid on her serve – Watson won three of her four break points, but Wozniacki broke her six times in return. Next up for Wozniacki is Wang Qiang, who received a walkover after Johanna Konta withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.

HONG KONG, SAR – On Thursday the race for the final qualifying spots at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global took another twist when Johanna Konta withdrew from the Hong Kong Tennis Open.

Konta currently occupies the final qualifying berth for Singapore, just 10 points ahead of Dominika Cibulkova. However, after pulling out of Hong Kong with an abdominal injury Konta may now be left relying on other results to go her way if she is to reach Singapore.

“Obviously it’s never the ideal way to finish a tournament, and definitely never the intention when you come to play,” Konta said. “I really enjoy playing here in Hong Kong and I was really looking forward to making this week last as long as possible. Unfortunately it wasn’t as long as I would have liked but I need to look after my body first – I’ve only got one – so I really have to make sure I make the right decisions for my health.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully coming back next year and making it a full week here.”

Three places at the season-ending showpiece remain up for grabs. Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys and Konta are in sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively, while Cibulkova, Carla Suárez Navarro and Svetlana Kuznetsova remain hot on their heels.

All six contenders entered tournaments this week, and with Cibulkova and Carla Suárez Navarro also scheduled to play next week’s Kremlin Cup, in Moscow, for the second year in a row the battle is likely to go down to the wire…

• Cibulkova would need to reach the final in Linz this week to pass Konta
• A semifinal for Cibulkova in Linz would put Konta and Cibulkova in a tie*
• Cibulkova’s 16th best result is currently 100 points, so she would need to reach the semifinals at Moscow to add any points to her total
• Suárez Navarro can also pass Konta, but will need to add points in both Linz (where she is through to the quarterfinals) and Moscow
• If Cibulkova loses in Linz and Muguruza can qualify for the WTA Finals by beating Monica Niculescu on Thursday

* When two or more players have the same number of ranking points, the first tie-break is the player with the most combined points from Grand Slams, Premier Mandatory, Premier 5 and WTA Finals (as outlined on pg.215 of the Rule Book). In this regard, Konta (2685) has the edge over Cibulkova (2180)

MOSCOW, Russia – World No.8 Svetlana Kuznetsova will make one final push to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, taking a last-minute wildcard into next week’s Kremlin Cup. Kuznetsova is the defending champion. Anna Kalinskaya also received a wildcard into the Moscow main draw.

Last year, Kuznetsova surged into a qualifying spot for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai with her Moscow triumph. This year a deep run at her hometown tournament could boost her into her first WTA Finals since 2009. Kuznetsova, who has advanced to the semifinals of this week’s Tianjin Open, currently sits at No.11 on the Road to Singapore. Only the Top 8 players at the end of the season will qualify.

The Premier-level Kremlin Cup will be the last significant opportunity for top players to earn big ranking points and bolster their qualification campaigns. In addition to Kuznetsova, other players looking to qualify for Singapore in Moscow are Dominika Cibulkova and Carla Suárez Navarro.

At the International-level BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open, wildcards have been awarded to 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, local favorite Mandy Minella, and France’s talented teenager Oceane Dodin. Petra Kvitova remains the top seed.

Tianjin, China – Shuai Peng claimed the first WTA singles title of her career by beating Alison Riske at the Tianjin Open.

Peng, who has slipped to No.182 in the WTA Rankings because of injury problems, took a wildcard from the tournament and emerged victorious in the final by beating a player ranked almost 130 places ahead of her 7-6, 6-2.

It was Riske who made the early running but Peng proved to be obdurate opposition, saving nine break points before eventually succumbing to the American.

However, her advantage was short lived, with Peng breaking back immediately. Riske went up a break one more to give herself a chance to serve for the set at 6-5, but history repeated itself and Peng forced a tiebreak, which she eventually won.

Riske had a hangover heading into the second set, falling a break behind in the first game. Peng doubled her advantage soon after and closed out the match to confirm a stunning upset.

“The match was really tough for me today,” Riske said after the match. 

“I had a really tough day in general, playing Kuznetsova earlier, I did the best I could, Peng had a great match, she was the better player today.

“I think this year was huge for me, I finished in the top 50. I take a lot of pride in it and confidence from my season, I look forward to what 2017 brings.”