Dubai: Karolina Pliskova Interview
An interview with Karolina Pliskova before her opening round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova before her opening round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $2,000,000
Draw Size: 28 main draw (4 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, February 13 – Monday, February 15
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, February 15
Singles Final: Saturday, February 20, NB 7.00pm GST
Doubles Final: Saturday, February 20, 5pm GST (before singles final)
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@DDFTennis – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #ddftennis and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Simona Halep has accepted a wildcard to defend her Dubai title.
· There have been five different champions in the past five years in Dubai. There are two returning champions in the field this year – Halep (2015), Petra Kvitova (2013).
· For the complete draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Simona Halep (ROU), Petra Kvitova (CZE), Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
WITHDRAWALS:
Angelique Kerber (right thigh injury), Agnieszka Radwanska (left leg), Lucie Safarova (bacterial infection), Serena Williams (illness), Caroline Wozniacki (left knee injury)
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber has looked better and better throughout a tough week at the Western & Southern Open, and stands just one win away from not only clinching her first Cincinnati title, but also the No.1 ranking.
Hear from Kerber and fellow finalist Karolina Pliskova, along with vanquished semifinalists Simona Halep and Garbiñe Muguruza, on their throughts from a wet and windy day in Cincinnati, and whether Kerber’s felt the burden of potentially becoming the oldest woman to ever debut atop the WTA Rankings:
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DUBAI, UAE – No.38-ranked American Alison Riske took out her compatriot and No.11 seed CoCo Vandeweghe in straight sets to move into the second round at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, 6-4, 6-4.
Playing in their first match since teaming up for Fed Cup, the pair squared off for the eighth time (across all levels) with Riske leading 1-0 in their WTA head-to-head record.
“It can be difficult [to play a friend], especially we just had the best week together at Fed Cup. So it was unfortunate that we played each other first round,” Riske told press after the match.
“But at the end of the day you have to focus on you, and there are so many Americans now in the top. We are all friends, or at least I feel like we are.
“We’re going to beat each other week in and week out, and it’s something that we’ve got to get used to.”
First set ? @Riske4rewards!
Leads Vandeweghe 6-4! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/mPvseYCyFJ
— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017
Riske kept the Australian Open semifinalist out of her comfort zone throughout the match, taking the pace off the ball and absorbing Vandeweghe’s powerful shots, redirecting it all back at the No.21-ranked American.
Vandeweghe gave up the first break of the match with a double fault – one of the 11 she’d hit during the match – to give Riske a 4-3 lead. Riske weathered back to back breaks of serve as the pair wrestled for momentum towards the end, before taking the opening set on her serve.
The frustration continued to mount for Vandeweghe, who dropped her serve to start the second set and give Riske another early lead. The No.38-ranked American kept her nose in front after a flurry of four straight breaks, comfortably serving out the match to love – aided by a pair of Vandeweghe’s 58 unforced errors.
.@Riske4rewards shocks Vandeweghe 6-4, 6-4 in @DDFTennis First round! pic.twitter.com/p69r3mRHJl
— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017
“I think she was having a little difficulty with her first serves,” Riske assessed. “But she was starting to get back in rhythm in the second set there. I feel if I had let up just a little bit, things could have changed.
“I was definitely proud of myself for staying in there and still dictating as best I could and not giving her an inch to come back.”
Awaiting Riske in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will be Anastasija Sevastova, who cruised past Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets.
An interview with Belinda Bencic after her quarterfinal win at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Understandably, given the potentially seismic shift at the top of the rankings, Karolina Pliskova’s mightily impressive progress through the draw at last week’s Western & Southern Open went largely unnoticed. Unnoticed that is until she scuppered plans for Angelique Kerber’s World No.1 coronation with a flawless display in the final of the Premier 5 event.
Having enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2015 – reaching six finals and threatening to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global – Pliskova has found success harder to come by this time around. There have been flashes of her explosive brilliance – most notably in Indian Wells, where she reached the last four, and on the grass of Nottingham and Eastbourne – but consistency has remained elusive.
This past weekend, the Czech proved once more that her place at tennis’ top table is very much warranted, outplaying Garbiñe Muguruza then Kerber to take home the sixth and most prestigious title of her career. The result bumps Pliskova several places up the rankings from No.17 to 11. Not only is Pliskova now certain to be among the leading 16 seeds for the US Open, she is also within touching distance – a measly 55 points, to be precise – of reclaiming the Top 10 spot she held briefly last season.
A more pressing concern is fulfilling her undoubted potential at the Grand Slams, where she is yet to make it beyond the third round. Her ranking rise has aided hopes of a good showing at the US Open, which begins next Monday.
Pliskova, though, was not the only player to receive a potential seeding boost.
Timea Babos (+8, No.41 to No.33): Also performing well in Cincinnati was Babos, whose first quarterfinal at an event of this stature was rewarded with a career-high ranking and a possible seeding at the US Open.
Alizé Cornet (+11, No.58 to No.47): It has been a testing campaign for Cornet, injuries precipitating a slide down the rankings and, in Cincinnati, forcing her to qualify for a WTA event for the first time since April 2012. She came through the test, going on to upset Kiki Bertens in the first round to edge back into the Top 50.
Alison Riske (+11, No.70 to No.59): Another player to come through qualifying was Riske, and while she was unable to capitalize on a bright start to upset Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, the points earned ensure she continues to close in on a return to the Top 50 for the first time since last September.
And finally…
Strictly speaking, Sania Mirza did not move up in the rankings last week, but by outperforming former partner Martina Hingis in Cincinnati she now assumes sole ownership of the doubles No.1 ranking. It is her 70th week on top – only Gigi Fernandez (80 weeks), Paola Suarez (87), Sara Errani (87), Roberta Vinci (110), Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario (111), Natasha Zvereva (124), Lisa Raymond (137), Cara Black (163), Liezel Huber (199) and Martina Navratilova (237) have been World No.1 for longer.
Dominika Cibulkova has long played David to a tour of Goliaths. The Slovakian dynamo found fertile soil early in her career and promptly began planting seeds; her garden is a veritable who’s who of the game’s biggest and brightest.
She rode that role right into a Singapore debut, where she broke new ground by winning the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, stunning then-No.1 Angelique Kerber in the championship match.
Starting 2017 in full bloom therefore marks a colossal shift for Cibulkova, who is suddenly tasked with preventing the very chaos she once strived to create.
“I felt good in Australia but this is a new position for me, being World No.5,” she said during All-Access Hour at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. “I really have to work on myself every day, especially mentally.
“There are some players who come onto the court a bit differently against you. They have nothing to lose and want to beat you. This is something I’m really trying to adjust to, that and the expectations – not just my own, but also those of the people around me.”
Expectation undoubtedly bogged her down in Brisbane and Sydney, but it was after a run to the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy that the wilting Slovak decided to reassess, stepping down from her perennial spot on the Fed Cup team.
“I got really negative on the court in St. Petersburg,” she said of her loss to Yulia Putintseva, “and that was my biggest disappointment from that match; maybe the expectation got too big for me.
“It’s good that I didn’t play Fed Cup so I could really have time to prepare for Doha. It helped me a lot and that’s why I played so well there. I’d always feel tired after a tie, but that’s something you have to accept if you decide to play Fed Cup. You have to know you won’t be completely ready for the next tournament.”
Cibulkova has been an absolute stalwart in national competition – playing a whopping 21 ties in 12 years – and admitted the annual decision to compete often adversely affected her schedule.
“It would be easier if the event could all take place at a reasonable date, but, for example, last week Slovakia played Italy on clay. That wouldn’t make sense for my schedule at all.
“Now that I’m older and more mature, I see that my career isn’t going to last forever. Right now, I feel like I can get my best ranking and reach my best results. I have to selfish.”
That desire for further introspection led her to step up her work with sports psychologist Radko Sevcík, who joined her team about two years ago and has been crucial to improving her big match mindset.
“I had my mental coach with me in Doha and we talked a lot about different things, how I should approach practices and matches, and how to be more positive on the court.”
The positivity paid off; Cibulkova reached the final four at the Qatar Total Open – the first of her career – and earned her 400th career match win in impressive style over an old nemesis.
“I felt good on the court. I beat Samantha Stosur, whom I’d never beaten before in my career. That gave me much more confidence, and even though I lost to Karolina Pliskova, it was a great match and I was really close to winning.
“After Doha, I feel like I’m playing really well.”
The first big test of that assertion will come early; Cibulkova will kick off Dubai campaign against Ekaterina Makarova, who won their most recent meeting at this year’s Australian Open.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Highlights from final round action at the Western & Southern Open.
The WTA’s Top 10 stayed in place after a week in Doha, which saw World No.3 Karolina Pliskova take home the title at the Qatar Total Open. But there were plenty of shifts for players right on the bubble, as a pair of former Top 5 players continued to chip away at their rankings.
Here are the biggest ranking movers this week after Doha:
Caroline Wozniacki +3 (No.18 to 15): Former World No.1 Wozniacki continued her comeback during the WTA’s Middle East Swing, storming to the final at the Qatar Total Open and posting wins over Monica Puig and No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska along the way.
The last time Wozniacki was ranked inside the Top 10 was in September 2015 (No.6), and with her strong showing in Doha she’s vaulted up to No.15 and closing in on a return to the game’s highest echelons.
“I feel like I’m playing really good tennis. I can still improve on some things,” Wozniacki told press after the final in Doha. “I’m really feeling positive and confident moving forward, and most of all I’m just trying to stay healthy.
“When I’m staying healthy, I can play great tennis. I can work really hard and improve my game. I’ve really put in a lot of work. It’s shown in the results. Hopefully I can keep up my level and keep improving.”
Samantha Stosur + 2 (No.21 to 19): Earlier in the season at Taipei City, Stosur halted a dismal trend of first round losses dating back to August 2016 that saw her ranking – and her confidence – take a dip. Now, the former Grand Slam champion is back inside the Top 20 after a run to her second consecutive WTA quarterfinal in Qatar.
Monica Puig +5 (No.47 to 42): Olympic champion Puig jumped up five spots to No.42 after an appearance in the semifinals in Doha. The run will do wonders for the Puerto Rican’s confidence: aside from regaining her world-beating form to put together dominating performances over Laura Siegemund and Daria Kasatkina, it’s the first semifinal Puig has reached since her fairy tale run to the gold medal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
Lauren Davis +9 (No.55 to 46): The 23-year-old American continued to back up the form that saw her claim her maiden WTA title earlier in the season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Davis successfully qualified for the main draw at the Qatar Total Open, and went on to stun No.6 seed Elena Vesnina on her way to the quarterfinals, earning her first Top 20 win of the year.
Her season-long consistency has paid off, earning her a ranking jump to inside the Top 50, landing at No.46 – just three spots shy of her career high No.43.
Click here to check out the updated WTA rankings, as of February 6.
World No.1 Serena Williams became the first singles player to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.