Tennis News

MONTERREY, Mexico – World No.1 Angelique Kerber needed an hour and twenty-three minutes to see off the defending champion Heather Watson in straight sets and book her spot into the semifinals of the Abierto BNP Seguros, 6-4, 6-4.

“I think it was a good match, especially at the end,” Kerber assessed in her post-match press conference.
“We both struggled a little bit but I’m happy to be in the semis right now.

“I tried to play my game aggressive, and it’s always tough to play against Heather, especially because she was the defending champion here. But I’m happy I’m through it.”

First set ? @AngeliqueKerber!

Leads 6-4 in the opening set vs Watson! pic.twitter.com/zVWJO5D4YN

— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017

Although Kerber, a runner up here in 2013, drew first blood early on by grabbing an early break, Watson kept pace with the World No.1 for much of the opening exchanges. The Brit’s backhand was on song throughout the match, despite being the constant target of Kerber’s booming forehand.

Watson kept Kerber under constant pressure – she brought up five break chances to try to erase the German’s lead, but Kerber held on to her serve after a mammoth struggle.

She opened the second set with another comfortable break of the Watson serve, but the defending champion kept herself within touching distance, needing a nearly 10-minute game to hold serve and avoid going down a double break.

World No.1 @AngeliqueKerber knocks out defending champ Watson 6-4, 6-4!

Makes @Abierto_GNP Semifinals! pic.twitter.com/9snfVzUS52

— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017

But despite being able to hang with the World No.1 in the baseline exchanges, Watson was never able to break down the Kerber serve. She went 0/8 on break opportunities – two of these chances coming while Kerber served for the match.

Carla Suárez Navarro lies in wait in the next round for Kerber – the No.4 seed ousted Alizé Cornet in straight sets, dropping just two games in the 6-1, 6-1, 57-minute demolition.

“I’ve played against Carla a lot of times before, and we always have tough battles. I think it will be another good match tomorrow, I know I will have to play good tennis.

“But the goal is just to try to enjoy the semis and try, of course, to win the next match.”

Every week on wtatennis.com we bring you 10 Things To Know about the week – who is playing, where and much more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through Stanford, Washington DC and Bastad…

1. Vintage Venus Williams is Stanford top seed.
No.1 seed Venus Williams, two-time champion (2000, 2002) and five-time runner-up (1998-1999, 2004-2005, 2009) at Stanford is back in action after coming off a semifinal finish at Wimbledon.

2. Newlywed Dominika Cibulkova seeks a second crown…
2013 Champion and No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova is back to earth after her fairytale fortnight at Wimbledon. She’s looking to make another deep run in Stanford, following a nine-match winning streak by clinching the title at Eastbourne and reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

3. …while British No.1 Johanna Konta makes her Stanford debut.
At this time last year, Britain’s Johanna Konta was ranked in the 120s and playing ITF events leading up to her big breakthrough later in the fall. Now, she sits at a career-high ranking of No.18 and is making her Stanford debut.

4. Kerber makes her Bastad comeback…
World No.2 Angelique Kerber returns to Bastad for the first time in five years. The German is coming off her second Grand Slam final appearance at Wimbledon. She gets Swedish wildcard Cornelia Lister in the first round.

5. … but three former champions are also back in the hunt.
Three former Bastad finalists are back in this year’s main draw: Mona Barthel (2014 champion, 2015 runner-up), Polona Hercog (2011, 2012 champion), Johanna Larsson (2011, 2013 runner-up, 2015 champion).

6. And Kiki Bertens is still red hot.
No.3 seed Kiki Bertens will be looking to continue her clay-court success in Bastad, as the 24-year-old Dutch woman won her second WTA title at Nurnberg before reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros. She’s also fresh off a run to the final in Gstaad.

7. Cagla Buyukakcay looks to make her mark.
Turkey’s No.1 Buyukakcay is one to watch in Bastad: she won her first WTA career singles title at her home tournament in Istanbul this year, also qualifying her for her first Grand Slam main draw at Roland Garros, reaching the second round

8. Can Sloane Stephens make it four?
Defending champion and No.2 seed Sloane Stephens returns to Washington DC where she captured her first WTA title in 2015. Now, the American has won three more titles – Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston – all this year. Can Stephens defend her title and make it four titles in 2016?

9. Another young American looms in the draw…
Unseeded Shelby Rogers is sitting at a career-high ranking of No.59 after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros, where she took out three seeds (No.17 Pliskova, No.10 Kvitova, No.25 Begu).

10) Find out where you can watch live action this week.

BIEL/BIENNE, Switzerland – The inaugural Ladies Open Biel Bienne will commence on Monday at the Swiss Tennis Center in Roger Federer Allee, Biel, Switzerland.

While the new indoor hardcourt event is attracting many of the top players- Carla Suárez Navarro, Roberta Vinci, Karolína Pliskova are all confirmed, among others, it is the Swiss who are particularly excited.

At the Biel draw, Belinda Bencic explained that it has always been her dream to play in Switzerland. As a youngster, she would watch Martina Hingis play at the Zurich Open, before it shut down ten years ago. Now, she is being given the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd, herself.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be here’, Bencic said. “I’m glad to have a tournament in Switzerland where I can finally play at home and it’s absolutely amazing. The new stadium looks amazing. I will definitely enjoy my first match. I’m familiar with the conditions and I think it’s definitely an advantage for us home players’.

“I was so sad when it [the Zurich Open] stopped being there because it was my dream to play in Switzerland. I used to watch Martina Hingis from as long as I can remember so I’m very thrilled that there is now a tournament in Switzerland.”

Rebeka Masarova is a rising Swiss start with a history of playing well in her home country, having made an impressive tour debut at the Ladies Championship Gstaad last year, making the semifinals at just 16 years old and as the World No.797. Masarova was also excited to be playing at home again and hopes Biel will bring her similar success.

Viktorija Golubic knocked countrywoman Masarova out of the Gstaad semifinal last summer en route to the title, said that it means a lot to her to have two tournaments in Switzerland and that she enjoys the pressure of playing at home.

Bencic will play Carina Witthoeft in the first round, Masarova will face Annika Beck and Golubic has drawn against Laura Siegemund. The full draw can be found here. The tournament will run from 10-16th April.