Tennis News

ZHUHAI, China – Huanjin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Ambassador and 22-time Grand Slam champion Stefanie Graf had a front row seat to the rise of World No.1 Angelique Kerber.

“She would take little breaks in the year and come to Las Vegas to train and prepare herself,” she told WTA Insider during a media Q&A on Sunday. “I had a chance to watch and help a little but, but she’s the one doing the hard work. She’s the one showing that determination and commitment.

“I felt she always had the talent and the strengths; she’s been working hard. She just needed that one win to get her mindset changed to where she could start believing in herself. She was really able to do that in the last year or two, where she started realizing that she can beat top players. That belief really changed her game around; she’s been playing with a lot more confidence, and you can see that she’s a different player on the court. With each victory, it seemed like she got stronger and more comfortable with herself on the court.”

With Kerber leading a strong German contingent – one that already includes Julia Goerges, Andrea Petkovic, Sabine Lisicki, and Laura Siegemund – Graf is hopeful for a surge in national interest in the sport she once dominated.

“I think we’ve had such strong talent in Germany over the past few years; we had a lot of great players pushing each other. For her to push through has been really important for German tennis because where we’ve seen a lot of growth here, we’ve seen fewer tournaments in Germany where we used to be really strong.

“For her to have that success, and a lot of the other players being strong behind her, that should hopefully strengthen tennis in Germany and Europe again.”

Graf wouldn’t count out former No.1 Serena Williams, who matched her Grand Slam total this year at Wimbledon, as Kerber’s biggest challenge in 2017.

“With Serena, she’s definitely had a little bit of a harder year; she wasn’t able to play as many tournaments as she might have wished to be ready for the Grand Slams. But she’s too incredible of a player to be underestimated in the coming year.

“Consistency is what we’re all striving for on the court; it’s difficult with different surfaces, different time zones and different climates. It’s a long year in tennis.”

Serving as WTA Elite Trophy Ambassador at the end of the season proved to be an easy decision for Graf; the German had never before traveled to China and has thoroughly enjoyed taking in the sights throughout the region. She arrived late Friday night and was greeted by a throng of fans at her hotel, and has since participated in several clinics with junior players, a trip to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge with Caroline Garcia, and the coin toss for the final between Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina.

“The desire has always been there to come visit China. I can say I’ve traveled the world, but there’s a few places I haven’t been but have the wish to go. I love to travel and experience different cultures. Tennis is such a great and growing sport in China; to be part of it, and hopefully help just a little bit bring the sport to our young talents, it’s a great opportunity.

“I do enjoy a coastline, and even having the possibility to drive around and get the chance yesterday to be playing a little bit of tennis on the longest bridge in the world. That was an incredible sight. The city has a lot of beautiful parts I’ve seen just by driving along, but also looking at little mountains and hills. We’ve enjoyed taking walks in the morning, jogging along the water and seeing people on early strolls of their own.

“You have so many possibilities here, so it seems like a vibrant city everyone can enjoy.”

Check out more quick hits from Graf on what she makes of the tournament, how tennis can continue growing in China, and even what she makes of new ATP World No.1 Andy Murray.

What an honor to meet & play with the Legend, Steffi Graff! And why not do it on the longest cross sea bridge in the World! #WTAEliteTrophy pic.twitter.com/LzFOGlqGtN

— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 6, 2016

On the Zhuhai venue…

I’m looking at an incredible facility right now. The center court couldn’t be nicer; I got a chance to play a little bit on the outside courts yesterday, and they play beautifully. In terms of the environment – from locker rooms, to physiotherapy to massages – I thought the organization has been exceptional. I feel there’s a strong passion for tennis here, and you can feel a high level excitement from everyone on the grounds. Everyone has been so accommodating and able to help whenever you have questions. There’s a really cute conversation card in the tournament transportation vehicle, where if a driver doesn’t completely understand you, there’s a list of different questions you could have in different languages. It’s all extremely well thought through. I’m sure all the other players will agree that the organization has been top notch.

On the city’s plan to further integrate tennis into the Zhuhai landscape…

I just learned quite a bit last night and this afternoon, sitting down with some of the CTA members, as well as the mayor and vice-mayor. Just from those discussions, it seems that there’s a lot of vision already in hand, where they’re already in the second and third stages of development. They’re talking about developing a tennis academy as well as increasing the amount of tennis played in schools. It seems that there’s a lot of planning going on. With the interest and passion that I’ve seen around this tournament, I believe that there’s going to be fast growth.

It seems that everyone is very enthusiastic about it. I think from what I hear, it’s still a very new sport, because for long periods, China couldn’t watch a lot of tennis on TV. The enthusiasm is there, and just seeing the growing tournaments over the last few years has been great. During my career, we didn’t have a big women’s tournament here, so the growth in this sector is clearly immense. So the industry and fans are here; I believe that from what has already been done that we all need to be on the lookout for even more growth.

On Andy Murray ascending to World No.1…

I didn’t even know until you told me just now! It happened last night, so I hadn’t caught the news. It’s the result of some incredible tennis that he’s been playing over the last few years, and so it’s well deserved. When you look at men’s tennis, the level has been so phenomenal for such a long time; it’s still a tight race with Djokovic, players like Federer and Nadal. It’s fascinating to watch men’s tennis with how close it is. How long will he be able to hold on? I don’t know, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing what next year will bring.

On the importance of consistency throughout a long season…

Consistency is what you strive for. It’s pretty difficult to achieve in the world of tennis. There are very few sports played all year long. In my career, it was an 11-11.5 month long season; now it’s gotten a little short, more like 10 months. But it’s really difficult to hold the highest level throughout the year. Ideally, you try to pace yourself through it, meaning you pick and choose your tournaments, and take time in between. With Angie, she did a fantastic job peaking at the big tournaments this year, with strong showings at the Grand Slam tournaments.

On the next generation of players…

I think it’s important for everyone to find their individual way, their presence, and their style. I think in terms of my style of play, it’s not around so much anymore with one-handed backhand slice, and keeping the ball low. That’s a very unusual thing; I think tennis has changed quite a bit through the last few generations. But the good thing is that everyone finds their own way to become who they are.

.@WTAEliteTrophy Ambassador Stefanie Graf was on hand for a fan activity and Media Q&A in Zhuhai pic.twitter.com/ndblZTBc5y

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 6, 2016

All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.

Wading through the sea of champions set to be featured at the International Tennis Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony and watching from the sidelines was a quietly tall figure, but a former No.1 all the same.

Dinara Safina came to Newport in support of brother Marat Safin, the other half of the sport’s only sibling tandem to reach the top of the ATP and WTA rankings.

“There’s lots of history here, and it’s a really beautiful museum,” she told WTA Insider. “I’ve never seen anything close to it, really. What impressed most me was this wall here, with the ball cans. I really liked those.”

Asked whether he or his sister was the better tennis player, Safin didn’t mince words.

“What a stupid question,” he blurted out at the press conference alongside Justine Henin and Amélie Mauresmo. “Of course, sister!”

Beaming from her seat was Safina, who once called big brother “her God” in a 2004 interview they conducted with one another for L’Équipe.

“When you play, I love watching you,” she said at the time. “When you lose, I’m even sadder than when I lose. When you’re hurt, I suffer. When you talk to me, I drink your words. When you come to see me play, I’m beside myself with joy. I hate hearing or reading something bad about you. I know you are hard-working and that you do everything you can to be No.1.”

The two-time French Open finalist expressed a similar sentiment on Saturday when she recalled playing Hopman Cup with him shortly before his 2009 retirement.

“It wasn’t easy because, for me, I have so much respect for him and I tried to do as well as I could. I had a close match in the final that I lost, but I still had a lot of fun and it was a great experience.”

The two might have spent nearly a decade together on tour, but both look back and admit that they couldn’t have been further apart.

“We never really saw each other. First, he was living in Spain, and when I moved to Spain, he was on the tour. We’d only see each other a few weeks out of the year, at Grand Slams and a few of the Masters events.”

“It’s really a pity that we didn’t spend enough time together and couldn’t understand each other,” Safin added in press. “We didn’t know each other, and at some point we didn’t even feel like brother and sister because we were separated for quite some time. Now we’re having a great time; finally I’m getting to know her.

“She understands tennis much more than me – a hundred times more than me – and she’s a better person.”

Safina has put that knowledge to good use since her own retirement in 2014. From an administrative position at the Kremlin Cup, the Russian worked with young compatriot Anna Blinkova last summer, and has been a mentor figure to recent junior Wimbledon champion Anastasia Potapova.

“We’re in contact and I’m always talking with her; I’m really proud that she won a Grand Slam. I think she’s going to be good.”

Our pride: Lena, @Dinarik27 & @verazvonareva @ITF_Tennis pic.twitter.com/NJOJYGVrni

— Vladas Lasitskas (@VladasLasitskas) July 6, 2016

Safina led a Golden Era for Russia, on top of the world at a time when she and her countrywomen held a near-monopoly on the Top 10. Looking to the future, she has high hopes for the new wave that features Daria Kasatkina, Margarita Gasparyan, and Elizaveta Kulichkova.

“Kasatkina, for me, I’m really impressed with her. I really love the way she plays. She’s very smart, very intelligent, with a very good feeling for the court and the ball.

“Gasparyan is struggling this year, but I really like her one-handed backhand and she has a different game. It’s a new generation; they still have to work hard to get higher in the rankings. But I like Kasatkina; she’s on the right track and I like the team she has.”

Part of the all-Russian podium from the 2008 Olympic Games, the 30-year-old recently reunited with fellow medalists Elena Dementieva and Vera Zvonareva for an ITF photoshoot, and has fond memories of their wild week in Beijing.

“After eight years, you realize what you achieved and what it was really like, but I would say, I don’t know if we’ll ever see what we were able to do again, sweeping the podium. We set a high bar for the next generation.

“With Elena and Vera, we’re always in contact. They’re beautiful girls. I’ve known Elena since I was a year old; she’s an amazing person.”

I just ran 17,0 km @ a 6'07''/km pace with Nike+. https://t.co/FEs2w5exzA #nikeplus pic.twitter.com/WLzep2w2MJ

— Dinara Safina (@Dinarik27) July 13, 2016

By summer’s end, Safina hopes to make a new life in New York; the Olympic silver medalist was seen jogging through Central Park before heading north to Newport. But there’s a sense she’d trade a crowded city for a crowded stadium in a heartbeat.

“I miss my fans and the crowds, that feeling you have on the court when you have a full crowd behind you and supporting you – whether you win or lose, especially when you win, that’s nice.

“I miss the traveling and all of the girls on the tour; even though we were competitors, we were like a family and had a really nice group of people. I really enjoyed it.”

Sitting on a set of pre-modern Wimbledon benches, Safina mused on whether she might one day return to the museum with her brother as a fellow Hall of Famer, but ever the awed younger sister, she resolved not to look too far in the future.

“Of course, it would be an amazing thing if I could join him one day. But for me, today is about being his sister, and I’m really proud of him. He deserves it. I know the way he was working to get to No.1 from where he started. I’m really happy for him.”

Follow Dinara on Twitter @Dinarik27 and Instagram @dinarasafina2704!

All photos courtesy of Dinara Safina and Getty Images.

It’s time to vote for October’s WTA Player of the Month!

Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, November 11.

October 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists

Dominika Cibulkova: Cibulkova needed to win the Generali Ladies Linz to qualify for her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Slovak did just that, defeating Viktorija Golubic in straight sets in the final and clinching what became a winning berth in Singapore. From 0-2 down in round robin play, Cibulkova stunned 2014 finalist Simona Halep and outgutted Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals before putting on a masterclass against World No.1 Angelique Kerber to win the biggest title of her career.

Angelique Kerber: Kerber didn’t walk away with the title in Singapore, but nonetheless impressed as she clinched the Year-End No.1 ranking. Undefeated in round robin play, she brushed aside defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska before falling to Cibulkova in a high-quality final.

Agnieszka Radwanska: The Pole ended another solid season with a Premier Mandatory title at the China Open, where she defeated Johanna Konta in the final. Playing to defend her Singapore crown, Radwanska put down a pair of quality wins in round robin play, ultimately bowing out to World No.1 Kerber in the semifinals.

2016 Winners

January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com