Stanford: Venus Interview
An interview with Venus Williams after her semifinal win at the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Venus Williams after her semifinal win at the Bank of the West Classic.
Johanna Konta enjoyed a different kind of serving as she sampled some of the food on offer at Taste of Tennis.
BRISBANE, Australia – Simona Halep met the press at All Access Hour at the Brisbane International on Monday, and one of the hot topics was her potential opening match against Victoria Azarenka.
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A few hours later, Azarenka turned potential into reality with an impressive win over Elena Vesnina.
“It’s very tough,” Halep told reporters. “I think it will be a nice match. It will be very hard. It will be a big challenge for me. I played against her at the US Open, so I’m looking forward to playing against her again in Brisbane to see how well I can play in that match, in my first match of the new year.
“I’m looking forward to starting this year. I know it won’t be easy, though, because the first match of the year is always difficult mentally as well as physically, and I haven’t played since Singapore.”
That US Open match, a quarterfinal, was one of the matches of the tournament, with both WTA stars littering the stats sheet with winners – Halep finished with a beefy 40 winners to 19 unforced errors.
The Romanian eventually rallied from 2-0 in the third set to edge the Belarusian, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“I remember that the rain helped me – I cannot forget that,” Halep recalled, referring to a rain delay as she served at 1-2, 40-15 in the third set. “It was a good point that the rain came and we stopped the match, because I was getting too nervous in the third set and I couldn’t manage the emotions.
“But she’s very strong. She’s hitting the ball strong. And she doesn’t give up. I have some good experience against her. She beat me in the past, and I beat her, so it’s good timing to play again.
“I need strong matches and strong opponents to be ready for the Grand Slams.”
Speaking of strong opponents, Halep was also asked about her chief rival – Serena Williams – who is competing in Hopman Cup this week. The World No.1 had to withdraw from her first match, however.
“I didn’t know she withdrew,” Halep said. “But, you know, she’s strong. I know that she can come and play good tennis as always. She’s prepared for that. She has the experience and knows how to manage all the situations. She’s the best player in the world. I just have to relax when I play her.
“But I believe players from the Top 10 can beat her. Many players are playing really good tennis right now. Muguruza as well, and I think I can say Bouchard will come back because she has the game, and she knows how to play in the top, because she was there. So it will be an interesting year, I think.”
Halep and Azarenka are scheduled to play their second round match in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Azarenka leads Halep in their overall head-to-head, 2-1, and is looking forward to the duel too.
“I think it’s going to be a very good test for me,” the former World No.1 said. “In general playing against top players, you always put yourself in a situation where you have got to push yourself.
“To be the best you’ve got to beat the best, so I’m looking forward to that match.”
Johanna Konta has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Bank of the West Classic.
The boldest decision of Agnieszka Radwanska’s life was one with which many people will sympathise. It came when she was 19 years old -and decided to leave her parents’ house for a home of her own.
“The toughest decision in my life was moving out from home,” she revealed in an exclusive WTA interview. Looking back, she believes it was a great choice, which helped her to learn to become more independent.
“When I moved out I started a new life and made my own decisions in my own home,” she added.
Radwanska’s reflections mark the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day – ‘Be Bold For Change’.
The WTA World No.6, who celebrated her 28th birthday on Monday, is on a run of six consecutive WTA Top 10 year-end finishes. She soared up the rankings after turning pro in 2005 and enjoyed success at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in 2015. In addition, she was a finalist at Wimbledon in 2012 and has accumulated 20 WTA singles titles.
International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year, and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
An interview with Belinda Bencic after her first round win at the Brisbane International.
A preview of the Bank of the West Classic final between Venus Williams and Johanna Konta.
Wednesday was Media Day at the BNP Paribas Open, and all the top seeds were on hand for a medley of interviews. How many WTA players can you spot in this photo?
Agnieszka Radwanska took to the rooftop at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for a series of video interviews.
Dominika Cibulkova is ready for her close up…
…while all eyes are on Angelique Kerber, who is set to return to World No.1 after Indian Wells.
Simona Halep is thrilled to be back on the tennis court after being on the sidelines with an injury.
Inside the media center, No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova answered questions from the media during All-Access Hour.
No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza comes to Indian Wells hoping to put an Achilles injury behind her.
No.5 seed Dominika Cibulkova was all smiles during All-Access Hour.
Radwanska, a runner up here in 2014, is hoping to do one better and claim her 21st WTA title at Indian Wells.
No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova made back-to-back finals at Indian Wells in 2007 and 2008.
The Russian kept the press room in stitches with her trademark dry wit.
2015 champion Halep is thrilled to be back in Indian Wells after a left knee injury kept her away from tour for almost a month.
“I tried not to think that much about tennis,” Halep said. “I tried to be different but it’s not easy. I am addicted a little bit to this sport. When I don’t have competition, it’s tough to live.”
The most in-demand player by far was No.2 seed Kerber, who earlier this week found out she’d return to WTA World No.1 at the end of the tournament.
“I’ve been there already, but at the end, of course it feels good to reach the spot again,” Kerber said. “But for me I came here to really focus not on becoming No.1 or the ranking.”
The two-time semifinalist is looking to snap a four-match losing streak in the California desert, having lost her opening match here the last three years.
World No.1 Serena Williams was forced to cut short her first match of the season, retiring down a set at the US Hopman Cup match against Australia.
An interview with Sam Stosur after her win in the first round of the Rogers Cup.