Birthday Girl Kerber Survives Witthoeft Blitz To Advance
World No.1 Angelique Kerber survived another second-set hiccup on her 29th birthday to overcome Carina Witthoeft in straight sets at the Australian Open.
World No.1 Angelique Kerber survived another second-set hiccup on her 29th birthday to overcome Carina Witthoeft in straight sets at the Australian Open.
On this episode of Behind The Tour, see how the WTA communications team keeps players’ press conferences, media commitments, and ACES activities all in order.
Catch up with all of the second-round results from Day 4 of the Australian Open.
TIANJIN, China – Svetlana Kuznetsova kept up her pursuit of a place at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by beating Donna Vekic, 7-5, 6-4, in the second round of the Tianjin Open.
The Russian currently sits at No.11 in the Road to Singapore and has an outside chance of qualifying the tournament for the sixth time in her career, and the first time since 2009.
The match began in frenetic fashion, with Vekic, who had won the pair’s only previous encounter, breaking Kuznetsova to love in the second game, only to surrender her advantage immediately.
Kuznetsova went on a four-game winning streak and though she was later broken when serving for the set, she recovered her advantage to take a decisive lead.
Vekic failed to hold her serve in the opening game of the second set, and though she got back on level terms, she was broken once more in the penultimate game of the match, with the 31-year-old serving out the match to secure a hard-fought win.
“I’m really happy to win the match, I think that Donna played very well,” Kuznetsova said after her victory.
“It was a very good match and I’m happy with the result. I was broken in the second game of the first set but, as I said, Donna played very well, she went for her shots and it took me time to figure out the tactics to play against her. It was a really competitive match.”
Kuznetsova, seeded second in Tianjin, will meet Naomi Osaka, who overcame Lucie Hradecka, 6-2, 7-6, in the next round.
Watch Svetlana Kuznetsova ride a rollercoaster at Melbourne’s historic amusement park, Luna Park!
TIANJIN, China – Agnieszka Radwanska stunned Tianjin when she withdrew from the tournament with a right thigh injury – shortly after showing just why she was the top seed.
The defending champion had taken Evgeniya Rodina apart, 6-1, 6-1, to progress to the quarterfinals, where she was to face Peng Shuai.
The Chinese wildcard had earlier beaten qualifier Chang Kai-Chen of Taipei 6-3, 6-2.
Radwanska is also the defending champion at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “It’s the end of the season – I guess everyone is struggling with something,” she said afterwards.
She added that the injury had worsened over time and that she had decided to withdraw in order to give herself the best chance of recovering in time for Singapore.
“I’m very sorry I had to withdraw…I just hope I can see my fans [here] next year — it was a pleasure to come here again,” she said.
Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig had a straightforward time of it, beating Lara Arruabarrena of Spain, 6-4, 6-2.
Alison Riske also progressed in straight sets – but Poland’s Magda Linette did her utmost to take it to a decider, eventually losing out on a tie-break, 6-3, 7-6(2).
CoCo Vandeweghe discusses her support system and former mentor Vic Braden in her post-match press conference at the Australian Open.
LINZ, Austria – Madison Keys made short work of Océane Dodin to sprint through to the semifinals of the Generali Ladies Linz.
She beat Dodin, 6-3, 6-3, in just under an hour – and will now face Garbiñe Muguruza.
“I’m not feeling great, but I’m happy I got the win today,” admitted Keys. “[Dodin] is a tough player, she can hit some really, really good shots.”
Earlier, Carla Suárez Navarro fought through against Denisa Allertova, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
In a match that lasted just under two hours, the Spaniard had moments when she looked a little nervy – and that led to her losing the second set as her opponent hit back. But she regrouped to take the decider to secure herself a match with Dominika Cibulkova.
“I think I played really good at the end of the match,” reflected Suárez Navarro afterwards. “I like the court – I like everything of the tournament.”
MELBOURNE, Australia – 2016 semifinalist Johanna Konta raced through a much-anticipated collision with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, 6-3, 6-1, to return to the second week at the Australian Open.
“Against someone like Caroline, she’s not going to give it to you,” she said in her post-match press conference. “You really do have to earn it and win it till the very last point. I’m just very happy I was able to keep that pressure on.”
Konta rode a seven-match winning streak into the third round in Melbourne, having captured her second career WTA title at the Apia International Sydney last week.
“I think I had a longer streak a couple years ago. Still got awhile to go till then,” she said, referring to a 16 match winning streak she compiled in the summer of 2015 between the ITF and WTA circuits. “But I’m very pleased with how I’ve just been able to problem solve in the last matches that I’ve played, really play myself into matches where I felt I started slowly, and, like today, maintain the level.
“I’ve played against some very good players. To be able to come through that, I’m very pleased.”
Contrasted against the Brit’s meteoric rise was Wozniacki across the net; the Dane had been the model of consistency for much of the last decade before an injury-addled 2016 took her as low as No.74 in the WTA rankings.
A run to the US Open semifinal served as a springboard for the No.17 seed, who returned to the Top 20 by year’s end and was looking to interrupt Konta’s run with a big win to start the season.
The first six games were hotly contested, but each went with serve before the Brit broke through on her third break point of the opening set, winning eight straight games to take a set and 5-0 lead.
“I know this may sound like a broken record, but I do try very hard to always make sure I really take the good and the things I can improve on from every match that I play and reinvest it into the next match. Whenever a similar situation arises, I make sure that’s in my bank and I can use my experience from that.
“I think hopefully I’m getting a little wiser.”
Undaunted, Wozniacki got on the board and pushed Konta through a tense final game before the No.9 seed clinched victory in one hour and 17 minutes.
“She played really well. She served really well, returned deep. She was going for the lines. It was going in. You could see she had the confidence,” the Dane said after the match.
“I’m looking forward to the season. It’s a better start than last year. We just have to go from here, go back and grind and then come back and play again.
“There’s lots of tournaments ahead. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Up next for the top-ranked Brit is 2015 Australian Open semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova; the No.30 seed survived a titanic ecounter with reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion and No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3.
“Every time we play, we have a battle,” Konta said of her Russian rival. “I think last year was 8-6 in the third. I remember that was a high-level match from both of us. That was really a great match to be a part of.
“She had a great match against Dominika Cibulkova. Dominika is not an easy player to beat, and she was able to do that. She’s playing obviously great tennis.
“I think she really enjoys playing here. She always seems to do well on these courts. I’m looking forward to it. We’ll deal with whatever challenges come up the next day.”
Johanna #Konta to play Ekaterina #Makarova in 4R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Vo0kVY08pP
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2017
CHARLESTON, SC – Eugenie Bouchard and Madison Keys hit the center court at the Family Circle Tennis Center for the second installment of Workout With USANA.
Caroline Wozniacki and Sam Stosur hosted the first installment of the Workout With USANA series at Indian Wells, where they showed fans their best resistance and flexibility exercises. This time, USANA brand ambassadors Genie and Madison grabbed a pair of young fans from the crowd and walked them through their go-to shots.
“It was my first experience coaching so I was trying to explain my favorite shot, which is my backhand cross court,” said Genie.
“It was super fun, I hope the kids learned something!”
For Madison, her go-to shot was her booming serve, and she gave fans a step-by-step instruction on how to hit it.
“I love that we were able to bring someone out from the crowd,” she said. “She was very good, I was really impressed!”
Check out the best photos from Workout With USANA, and see how well Genie and Madison did in coaching their young protégés, Paige and Haynes!
USANA is the Official Vitamin & Supplement Supplier of the WTA, and over 170 Athletes – including 8 out of the Top 10 and 15 out of the Top 20 use USANA products. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, Eugenie Bouchard, and Madison Keys are among several USANA ambassadors, and 2016 marks the 10th Anniversary of the USANA-WTA partnership. Check them out on Instagram at @USANAInc.