You Or Me: Charleston Stars Quiz Each Other Off The Court
From the best cook to the selfie queen, how well do the stars of the Volvo Car Open know each other off the court?
From the best cook to the selfie queen, how well do the stars of the Volvo Car Open know each other off the court?
Highlights from first and second round action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Angelique Kerber is gunning for the No.1 ranking in Cincinnati, but the German isn’t the only one with designs on the Western and Southern Open title. Chris Oddo previews Saturday’s semifinals right here at wtatennis.com.
Saturday, Semifinals
Center Court
[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. [15] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #17)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Pliskova leads all players in the ace category in 2016 with 394 through her first three rounds in Cincinnati.
Karolina Pliskova had the upper hand on Garbiñe Muguruza when they met head-to-head in 2015, defeating her in Dubai and then again a month later at Indian Wells, but it is Muguruza who has proven to be more comfortable on the big stage since the pair last met. The Spaniard is a Grand Slam winner and a Top 5 player now, while Pliskova has still to reach the second week of a major. But don’t be fooled by the Czech’s lack of Slam success. The 24-year-old is progressing steadily and it’s just a matter of time before she has her day in the sun. Will it be Saturday? Pliskova will need to serve effectively to win for the third consecutive time against Muguruza, and she knows she’ll have to make more first serves than she did on Friday in her quarterfinal win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. She only managed a 44% first-serve percentage in her three-set win over the Russian, but was pleased to earn her second Top 10 win of the year nonetheless. “I can serve big in the important moments which is good, but I have to get high with the percentage,” Pliskova said. “Still happy with the serve. I think it’s still winning the matches for me, so still the biggest weapon.” Speaking of weapons, the powerful Muguruza is not lacking in that department. She knows she’ll have to use her full arsenal to change her fortunes against the dangerous Pliskova. “She’s playing well,” Muguruza said on Friday after defeating Timea Babos in the quarterfinals. “I think this surface helps her a little bit with her style of game.” Muguruza has been focused and in the zone all week, and it has shown on the scoreboard. She’ll take a confident air with her on the court and let the chips fall where they may. “I’m satisfied the way I’m fighting and my spirit and energy on the court, so hopefully I can keep this until the US Open,” she said.
Pick: Muguruza in two
[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. [3] Simona Halep (ROU #4)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 4-2
Key Stat: Kerber could ascend to the No. 1 ranking for the first time with the title in Cincinnati.
Two steps from a career-changing milestone, Angelique Kerber continues to wear the blinders and deflect all pressure about climbing to the top of the WTA rankings. “I’m not feeling more pressure, to be honest,” she said after coming back from a set down to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro in the sweltering Cincinnati heat on Friday. “I learned a lot from last tournaments and last matches about pressure, and when I put the pressure too much on myself, I mean, that’s not the way I would like to play my tennis.” Though Kerber struggled early against the Spaniard, she drew upon a reservoir of confidence and found her second wind to win on Friday. It’s been a recurring theme for the German, and as the wins pile up, the confidence grows. “I knew I’m really fit and I worked a lot in the last few months and years to go out and try to play matches like that,” she said. “Of course when you win the matches you have much more confidence and you can do it and turn around matches and go for three sets after you lose the first one. That gives me for sure more confidence also for the next challenges.” The challenge will be a big one on Saturday, as Kerber will square off with the scorching-hot Simona Halep. The Romanian notched her 13th consecutive win on Friday night, taking down Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets, and she is playing her best tennis of the season at the moment. Like Kerber, Halep fell behind early but stormed to the finish, taking 13 of the final 15 games from Radwanska. Will Halep be able to continue her run and rain on Kerber’s parade in Cincinnati, or will the German edge ever closer to a colossal milestone?
Pick: Halep in three
By the numbers…
1 – Number of singles semifinalists still alive in the doubles draw (Pliskova and partner Julia Goerges face Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe).
20-2 – Halep’s record since the start of Roland Garros this year.
46 – Kerber’s 2016 win total – more than any other player on tour.
183 – Number of consecutive weeks that Serena Williams has held the No. 1 ranking, which is second-most all time behind Graf (186).
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Good friends and doubles partners Daria Kasatkina and No.9 seed Daria Gavrilova did battle for well over two hours at the Volvo Car Open, with Kasatkina emerging victorious, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to reach her second straight quarterfinal in Charleston.
“Today was very tough to play,” she said in her post-match press conference. “You go on court, you are tossing the ball for the serve and it goes in the tribune, you know. It was very difficult, and I was playing against my very good friend, so it was like double portion of toughness, but it was I think a good match, so I’m happy that I won.”
The pair’s last singles match came at the 2015 US Open, which Kasatkina won as a lucky loser in her Grand Slam main draw debut. Since then, the two have become fast friends and nearly upset Sania Mirza and Andrea Hlavackova earlier this week in doubles.
“Every tournament we are talking like, ‘Ah, imagine we play against each other.’ When the draws come out, we’re like, ‘For sure we play against each other first round,; and it never happens. And today we’ll go for dinner.”
.@DKasatkina kisses the line with the backhand! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/Q4nf2iqEna
— WTA (@WTA) April 6, 2017
On the singles court, it was the Russian who made the better start on a windy Thursday on stadium court, taking the opening set and breaking serve at the start of the second.
.@Daria_Gav makes the smash through the wind! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/WJHgMcOwf9
— WTA (@WTA) April 6, 2017
Gavrilova is three spots shy of the career-high ranking she first earned last fall, and battled through the blustery conditions to win four straight games to put the match nearly on level terms.
We're going all the way!@Daria_Gav takes the second 6-4! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/RPig9zJmv1
— WTA (@WTA) April 6, 2017
Kasatkina regained her rhythm from there, breaking the Aussie as she served for a decider, and engaged Gavrilova in a lengthy tenth game on her own serve before the No.9 seed took it on her fifth set point.
Still, the unseeded Russian took momentum into the third, breaking serve in the opening game and raced to a 5-0 lead, winning one last epic battle and converting the two hour, 17 minute victory of a service winner.
“In the second set my coach came on the court. He told me I was start to play quite soft, and I stopped moving. He was right, because in the third set I pushed myself to play more aggressive, to start to move with the legs, and I did the job.”
.@DKasatkina is flying through the final set! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/ZPV1PZzXjC
— WTA (@WTA) April 6, 2017
There were no hard feelings at net for the two combatants, showing off a choereographed handshake after a tough match.
“She was like, ‘Okay, let’s do the weird handshake. And I said, ‘Let’s go like fake handshake!’ So we just were trying to make some fun.”
“I had a few tough months. I couldn’t win a match,” she added, discussing a tough season that nonetheless saw her earn two wins over World No.1 Angelique Kerber. “So I came here with not a lot of expectations for sure. I was just happy that I came back on the clay so I can play my favorite tennis, and I’m happy that I’m moving on and I’m in the quarters here.”
Up next for Kasatkina is No.10 seed Irina-Camelia Begu, another 2016 quarterfinalist who stunned 2010 champion Samantha Stosur to start the day in Charleston.
“She will be very motivated because she lost our last two matches. For sure she will try to do her best, and she’s better on the clay for sure. All her best results are on the clay. And I lose our only clay court match in Rome last year. “So for sure I have to prepare well to show my best tennis tomorrow.”
When it’s over and you’re still buds. @DKasatkina @Daria_gav @VolvoCarOpen. pic.twitter.com/tWByGIzw1a
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 6, 2017
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Carina Witthoeft in the second round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – At the beginning of January few would have pegged Angelique Kerber as the player most likely to overthrow Serena Williams atop the rankings. This number would have dwindled further when she stood match point down against Misaki Doi in the opening round of the Australian Open.
What happened next will go down in tennis folklore, Kerber somehow negotiating her way out of this cul-de-sac and going on to lift her maiden Grand Slam trophy. A wonderfully consistent summer has built on this career momentum, establishing Kerber as a rival to long-time World No.1 Williams at the game’s summit.
Victory over Karolina Pliskova in Sunday’s final of the Western & Southern Open will not only give her more silverware but also the No.1 ranking. Should she do so, it will end one of the most dominant reigns in WTA history. So to mark the potential changing of the guard, wtatennis.com has picked out some notable numbers…
38,473,935 – Williams’ sixth and current spell at the top of the rankings began on February 18, 2013. Since then she has amassed $38,473,935 in prize money – nearly half her career total of $80,899,060.
4,880,887 – Not including her earnings this week, Kerber has already accumulated a career-best $4,880,887 this season.
6,355 – At the start of 2016, then No.10 Kerber trailed Williams by 6,355 points in the rankings.
306 – Williams is currently enjoying her 306th career week at No.1 (third-most weeks at No.1 in WTA history after Steffi Graf’s 377 and Martina Navratilova’s 332).
183 – Of the above total, 183 have come in her latest reign. Williams is spending her 183rd straight week at No.1 (the second-longest streak at No.1 in WTA history after Graf’s 186). Her previous longest streak was 57 (between July 8, 2002 and August 10, 2003).
47 – Kerber has already notched up 47 wins this season, a record not matched by any other player on tour. Williams has posted 33.
34 – Thirty-four-year-old Williams is the oldest No.1 in WTA history, a record she first set when returning to No.1 on February 18, 2013
28 – At 28, Kerber would be the oldest first-time No.1. Her closest competition is Jennifer Capriati, who was 25 years and seven months old.
22 – Kerber is bidding to become the 22nd woman to reach the summit of the rankings.
18 – Williams’ win-loss record in this latest stint at the summit is a staggering 204-18.
12 – When a 20-year-old Williams reached No.1 for a first time in July 2002 she was the 12th different woman to scale the top of the rankings.
2 – Kerber is hoping to become the second German, after Graf, to be ranked No.1. Other nations to have multiple No.1s are the United States (Chris Evert, Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Capriati, Venus Williams, Serena), Serbia/Yugoslavia* (Seles, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic), Belgium (Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin) and Russia (Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina).
* Before her change of citizenship Seles, who was born in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, represented Yugoslavia
Injury kept Risa Ozaki from making her Miami Open debut in 2016, but the Japanese youngster made it count this spring, earning her career-best result at a Premier Mandatory tournament.
Qualifying for the main draw with a win over Julia Boserup, her tournament began with a win over Mutua Madrid Open semifinalist Louisa Chirico, and took a dramatic turn in a second round thriller against No.16 seed Kiki Bertens.
Playing well into the night thanks to rain delays, Ozaki outlasted Bertens in three tough sets to reach the third round. Keeping up that momentum, she pulled off one last upset against Julia Goerges, this time in straight sets.
Those wins earned her the right to battle World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the round of 16, where she ultimately fell in two.
Still, it was a banner week for the the 23-year-old, and looking to build on her new career-high ranking of No.72, Ozaki is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!
Final Results for March’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Risa Ozaki (55%)
2. Kayla Day (45%)
2017 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners
January: CoCo Vandeweghe
February: Kristina Mladenovic
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $2,000,000
Draw Size: 28 main draw (4 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, February 13 – Monday, February 15
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, February 15
Singles Final: Saturday, February 20, NB 7.00pm GST
Doubles Final: Saturday, February 20, 5pm GST (before singles final)
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@DDFTennis – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #ddftennis and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Simona Halep has accepted a wildcard to defend her Dubai title.
· There have been five different champions in the past five years in Dubai. There are two returning champions in the field this year – Halep (2015), Petra Kvitova (2013).
· For the complete draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Simona Halep (ROU), Petra Kvitova (CZE), Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
WITHDRAWALS:
Angelique Kerber (right thigh injury), Agnieszka Radwanska (left leg), Lucie Safarova (bacterial infection), Serena Williams (illness), Caroline Wozniacki (left knee injury)
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber has looked better and better throughout a tough week at the Western & Southern Open, and stands just one win away from not only clinching her first Cincinnati title, but also the No.1 ranking.
Hear from Kerber and fellow finalist Karolina Pliskova, along with vanquished semifinalists Simona Halep and Garbiñe Muguruza, on their throughts from a wet and windy day in Cincinnati, and whether Kerber’s felt the burden of potentially becoming the oldest woman to ever debut atop the WTA Rankings:
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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.”