Miami: Halep Interview
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the third round of the Miami Open.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the third round of the Miami Open.
BEIJING, China – Petra Kvitova overcame some early resistance from local favorite Wang Yafan to safely take her place in the third round of the China Open.
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Continuing the dominant form that took her to the title last week in Wuhan, Kvitova required little more than an hour to wrap up a 6-4, 6-1 victory and set up a showdown with defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza.
Beijing resident Wang came through qualifying to take her place in the main draw and even with the roof closed due to rain she looked at ease on court. In fact, it was the World No.143 that broke first, edging 3-2 ahead when Kvitova netted a backhand.
Any suggestion that Kvitova’s recent exertions were in danger of catching up with her were given short shrift. A break to love began a run that would bring her 10 of the next 12 games and place in the third round.
Happy to be through in Beijing! Thanks to my friend Mr Roof 😉 @ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/ZzNePB6CtB
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) October 4, 2016
“I was pretty tired. I had two days off, which I think helped me. For sure, was a good win today. We’ll see how everything is going, like, in the next days,” Kvitova said.
“But I think I still do have motivation. I think it was a great week in Wuhan. I think that gave me more motivation and confidence, which I really needed before. I’m not really struggling with motivation here.”
While Kvitova’s head was ready for Wang, the same could not be said for her hands – a botched grooming session meant she took to the court with her fingers generously taped.
Kvitova with 3 fingernails taped so I ask what happens thinking it's blisters.Nope: manicure gone wrong. “Never do gel”, she said in a laugh
— Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) October 4, 2016
If the Czech keeps winning, she still has an outside chance of reaching the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Muguruza is also in the hunt for a place in Singapore, where last year she defeated Kvitova in an epic round robin encounter.
Kvitova, who avenged this with a three-set victory in Stuttgart, is expecting another tight affair: “For sure will be great match. I think it will be great battle again. I know how we fight in Stuttgart. It was a great match over there.
“I know how dangerous she is. I mean, she’s really playing aggressive from both sides and she’s serving real well and returning as well. That’s why I think I really need to be ready from the first shot which I’m playing.”
World No.1 Angelique Kerber eased into her first WTA Finals championship match, knocking out defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Madison Brengle in the third round of the Miami Open.
ZHUHAI, China – After an action-filled week at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai welcomes a new face into the leaderboard: Petra Kvitova.
Kvitova’s big win in Wuhan puts her at the No.12 spot on the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai leaderboard, but she’s not the only big name to join the fray. Madison Keys and Carla Suárez Navarro switched spots, making the Spaniard the top seed for the season-ending event.
Meanwhile, only a handful of points separate the next two players in contention, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Johanna Konta, so a good result at this week’s China Open could create more major shifts.
The year’s final tournament will take place in Zhuhai and will run from November 1 to 6. Like last year, the singles draw will feature 11 of the top ranked players and one wildcard, with the winner collecting 700 rankings points.
Here’s the latest leaderboard update for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai as of October 3, 2016:
Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina take on Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her third round win at the Miami Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the round of 16 at the China Open.
SINGAPORE – Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova were in high spirits as they reflected on their win over Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, which made them the doubles champions at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“We were coming here so motivated to have this trophy,” Makarova admitted in their post-match press conference. “We came so early, because two years ago we came quite late – we had just two days for practice.”
“Not enough,” Vesnina interjected.
“Yeah, we came one week before [this year’s tournament began], and were ready, and really wanted this trophy,” Makarova continued. “We’re so happy that we did it today.”
They were quick to pay tribute to their vanquished opponents, and the role they played in making the match such a special occasion.
“We [have] always had tough matches against Lucie and Bethanie,” Vesnina said. “We know that it has to be [a] good match from us and we have to… up our level of the game, because otherwise we won’t beat them. It was really good quality tennis today in the final.”
Vesnina and Makarova’s win meant that Sania Mirza finishes the year as Doubles World No.1. The champions wondered whether she might want to thank them for their part in her ranking – or whether she was still smarting from her semifinal loss.
“Congrats to Sania, by the way,” Vesnina said with a smile. “She should give us some gift, I think. We still beat her in the semifinal so she’s upset.”
The new champions were also keen to talk about why they think their partnership works – despite the two players being polar opposites.
“We are different a little bit, but I think that [the partnership] is working because we are different,” Makarova suggested. “Yeah, I’m more quiet and Lena is more –
“I’m talking all the time!” interrupted Vesnina, and her partner agreed. “She’s lefty; I’m a right-hander. Left-handed people, you know that they’re thinking with a different part of the brain and I’m thinking with a different [part of mine]. So that’s why we’re different, but we are still together.”
“Yes – but we are still good to each other,” Makarova added.
Unsurprisingly, the pair are planning a break between Christmas and New Year – but are expecting that they will reunite in January to begin their 2017 campaign.
“For sure we will play Australian Open together, yeah; maybe the tournament before,” Makarova confirmed.
“Now we want to enjoy this moment. We want to have a holiday. She goes to Zhuhai, so her season is not finished yet. We wish you will all big good luck there -same way as here.
“Then definitely, yeah, we will be ready for Australia.”
Victoria Azarenka takes on Magda Linette in the third round of the Miami Open.