Stuttgart: Kerber vs. Siegemund
Angelique Kerber takes on Laura Siegemund in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Angelique Kerber takes on Laura Siegemund in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Angelique Kerber takes the Parking Challenge at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The Mutua Madrid Open announced that flu has forced top seed and two-time champion Serena Williams to withdraw from this year’s tournament.
MADRID, Spain – The Mutua Madrid Open draw is out. Here are our biggest questions as the tour turns to the biggest clay court tournament before the French Open.
1. How will Agnieszka Radwanska do as the top seed?
It’s no secret Radwanska isn’t in love with this part of the season. Asked during All-Access Hour where she would rank clay as a surface, she smiled ruefully. “Third,” she said with a laugh. “But that’s still good, right?”
With Serena Williams’ withdrawal, Radwanska is indeed the top seed in Madrid, a turn of events that she jokingly referred to as “weird”. She sits atop the top half of the draw, which includes Victoria Azarenka and defending champion Petra Kvitova.
Radwanska opens against No.38 Dominika Cibulkova. Radwanska leads their head-to-head 7-3 but this will be their first meeting on clay in a decade. Given Cibulkova’s prowess and confidence on clay – she was the 2009 French Open semifinalist and 2012 quarterfinalist – and Radwanska’s lack of confidence on the surface, this is as tricky a first rounder as Aga could have been handed. The winner gets another challenge in either Caroline Garcia or Johanna Konta in the second round.
2. Will Victoria Azarenka pick up where she left off?
Madrid sees the return of Azarenka, who has not played a WTA event since completing the Sunshine Double by winning Indian Wells and Miami. Her 24-1 record remains the standard on tour and she told reporters her training block after Miami introduced some new elements to her clay court game.
“It was my first real preparation on clay with my new team so there were a few new things and tips that I learned a little bit for my movement that were insightful,” Azarenka told reporters during All-Access Hour on Friday.
“Fed Cup was in the middle of my preparation but I felt like the little adjustments were already working. I was just trying to play them through the matches. I felt the last week or so after Fed Cup, I spent a good [amount of time] playing on clay. But you never know. Sometimes you have great preparation and it doesn’t work and sometimes you don’t have any preparation and you play well.”
Azarenka opens against Laura Robson, who is into the main draw with a protected ranking.
3. Can Kerber keep it going?
Success during the early part of the clay season isn’t new for Kerber. Sustaining that momentum into the big events is. After winning Charleston and Stuttgart last year, Kerber lost in the first round of Madrid, the second round of Rome, and the third round of the French Open.
“I mean, it just can be better than last year,” Kerber said during All-Access Hour. “I’m looking forward. I’m feeling good, I’m practicing a few days here. I’m healthy so that’s the most important thing for me.”
Kerber has never made it past the quarterfinals in Madrid but she is relaxed and full of confidence after her Stuttgart win. She opens her tournament against Barbora Strycova. Kerber has won all eight sets they’ve played, so the match-up has been one that’s favored her. They played recently at the Miami Open, where Kerber dropped just two games.
4. Can Petra Kvitova steady herself for a third Madrid title?
There’s a lot at stake for Kvitova in Madrid. The defending champion has 1,000 points to defend and the World No.6 could fall out of the Top 10 depending on her results. But Kvitova has shown her propensity to find her best tennis at the tournaments she’s won in the past and there is no clay court more suitable to her flat-hitting style than Madrid.
But will we see that pure flat-hitter this year? It’s not clear.
“We are trying to play a little but more [variety], probably I what showed in Stuttgart,” Kvitova told reporters at All-Access Hour. “Drop shots, slice, these things. He wants me to still play aggressive from the baseline and really push the opponent. That’s what I’m trying.”
5. Is Garbiñe Muguruza poised for a breakout run on home soil?
Yes. Muguruza has shown glimpses of her 2015 run this year but she just hasn’t been able to get that one big win to unlock her confidence and get her on a roll. Her draw in Madrid is set up for her to show her Spanish fans she’s ready to to challenge in Paris.
Muguruza opens against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who has struggled to win matches this year. She could then face either Eugenie Bouchard or Irina Camelia-Begu, a possible third round against Karolina Pliskova. From there she could face Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber. That’s a draw that should give her a few matches under her belt before taking a crack at some of the game’s best.
6. Can Simona Halep find her clay-court mojo?
Halep’s season has been a curious one. From her injury and illness affected start to the season, to signs of life on the US hardcourts after making back-to-back quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Miami, only to be derailed by a stressful Fed Cup weekend and early exit from Stuttgart, where she won just three games off Laura Siegemund in the second round. Halep admits she isn’t thinking about titles at the moment. She just wants matches.
“Now I feel ok. I have nothing to defend I’m all good for this next period,” Halep said with a laugh. “I just want to play, to feel again my game on court, to feel confident. I’m just waiting to win matches, if that’s possible again.”
The Romanian’s draw is set up perfectly for her to get those matches. She opens against Misaki Doi and would play either Margarita Gasparyan or Karin Knapp in the second round. From there she could play either Andrea Petkovic or Timea Bacsinszky (the two former French Open semifinalists drew each other in the first round).
7. Which matches did we circle?
Pop your popcorn for these first round clashes:
– Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Dominika Cibulkova
– Caroline Garcia vs. Johanna Konta
– Daria Gavrilova vs. Yulia Putintseva (pictured above, following their 2010 US Open girl’s singles final, won by Gavrilova)
– Petra Kvitova vs. Lara Arruabarrena
– Timea Bacsinszky vs. Andrea Petkovic
– Lucie Safarova vs. CoCo Vandeweghe
– Angelique Kerber vs. Barbora Strycova
Save some of that popcorn for these possible second round clashes:
– Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Eugenie Bouchard
– Sloane Stephens vs. Daria Kasatkina
– Angelique Kerber vs. Madison Keys
– Roberta Vinci vs. Jelena Jankovic
– Petra Kvitova vs. Jelena Ostapenko
Main draw play begins on Saturday.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
MADRID Spain – On a maquee day in Madrid, all eight of the top seeds will be in attendance to play their first round at the Mutua Madrid Open. Which matches are must-sees?
Sunday, First Round
[1] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) vs. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #38)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads 7-3
Key Stat: Two of their last three encounters have gone three sets.
Giant-killer Dominika Cibulkova has been in search of a big win to reassert her standing among the best players in the world after an Achilles injury took her off the tour last spring. Narrowly missing out on upset opportunities over Agnieszka Radwanska in Indian Wells (where she held a match point) and Garbiñe Muguruza in Madrid, she gets another crack at Radwanska on the World No.2’s least favorite surface. The Pole won their only clay court meeting, but that was back in 2006, when the two were fighting for a main draw spot in Budapest qualifying.
Showing some encouraging signs of consistency, Cibulkova battled her way to her first title of the season at the Katowice Open – Radwanska’s home tournament, from which she withdrew citing a right shoulder injury. As for Radwanska, the former Wimbledon finalist grew up on red clay, and acquitted herself well at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix before falling victim to Laura Siegemund’s miracle run in the semifinals.
Pick: Cibulkova in three
[WC] Lara Arruabarrena (ESP #76) vs. [5] Petra Kvitova (CZE #6)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Madrid is Kvitova’s most successful clay court tournament, winning it twice (2011, 2015)
Defending champion Petra Kvitova surprised many when she opted out of her country’s Fed Cup semifinal against Switzerland because it would interrupt her preparation for the clay court swing, but the two-time Wimbledon champion silenced doubters when she showed some of those much-needed improvements in Stuttgart, where she reached the finals and pushed eventual champion Angelique Kerber to three tough sets.
Her next big test comes in the form of dirtballer Lara Arruabarrena; the hometown favorite turned heads in a three-set thriller she played against Kerber in Charleston, and with her maddening consistency, is precisely the type of player to bother Kvitova on clay. The former World No.2 is hardly impervious, having narrowly avoided an early round loss to Monica Niculescu during her otherwise solid run in Stuttgart, but how much better will the Czech powerhouse look with two more weeks under the tutilege of new coach Frantisek Cermak?
Pick: Kvitova in three
Around the grounds: Top ranked Spaniards Carla Suárez Navarro and Garbiñe Muguruza will each be in action on Manolo Santana Court; Suarez Navarro takes on Rabat semifinalist Timea Babos while Muguruza looks to win a fourth straight match against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova – a player in the midst of a sophomore slump. Sunshine Double winner Victoria Azarenka will play her first WTA match since winning Miami against former British No.1 Laura Robson, who entered Madrid with a protected ranking. No.6 seed Simona Halep could have another long day on her hands as she takes on the always dangerous Misaki Doi to open the evening session, while No.2 seed Angelique Kerber takes on Barbora Strycova, against whom she only lost two games en route to the semifinals of the Miami Open.
Finally, there will be no rest for either of the Prague or Rabat finalists entered in Madrid; champions Lucie Safarova and Timea Bacsinszky both play their first rounds against CoCo Vandeweghe and Andrea Petkovic, respectively, while Prague runner-up Samantha Stosur takes on Spanish wildcard Sara Sorribes Tomo Sunday evening.
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Victoria Azarenka in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her win in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
With the French Open just days away, the WTA Insider team got to wondering: Is there really such a thing as a clay court specialist anymore?
Not since Francesca Schiavone’s French Open triumph in 2010 has a player won the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen with what would be considered a traditional clay court style. The slicing, the dicing, the grinding, have all given way to more powerful players, ones who already excel on other surfaces. The last four French Opens have been won by either Serena Williams or Maria Sharapova, with Sharapova in particular redefining what a clay court specialist looked like.
We sought to isolate the clay court results over the last three years to see who the best clay court players have been recently. To do that we looked at a player’s results at Premier-level events or higher over the last three seasons, using 100% of their points earned in 2016, 75% earned in 2015, and 50% earned in 2014.
Taking into consideration the players currently entered in the French Open, here are the Clay Court Power Rankings:
Takeaways:
– Serena reigns supreme: When you’ve won two of the last three French Opens, it’s hard to argue that you’re not the best. We did not include Sharapova because she is not entered in Paris, but she was behind Serena at No.2 by a little more than 400 points.
– Halep jumps to No.2: The former French Open junior champion benefits from her fantastic 2014 clay season, where she made the final of Madrid and the French Open, as well as her title-run in Madrid this year. If she can handle any changing expectations after Madrid, she’ll be in good form in Paris.
– Kerber holds firm: Kerber’s clay court power ranking at No.3 is slightly misleading. She has been a steady force early in the clay season in Charleston and Stuttgart, but her results have tended to taper off afterwards. She has made the French Open quarterfinals just once. But there’s no reason the Australian Open champion can’t flip the script this year.
– Radwanska and Azarenka slip: Two of the Top 5 women barely crack the Top 20 of our power rankings. Agnieszka Radwanska, who will be seeded No.2 in Paris, is down at No.20, while No.5 Victoria Azarenka, the most dominant player on hardcourts this season, is down at No.28.
Neither result is particularly surprising given their recent results on clay, which saw Radwanska lose in the opening round in Madrid and skip Rome, while Azarenka’s back injury hampered her clay preparation this year. Radwanska has been to the quarterfinals just once at the French Open, in 2013, while Azarenka’s best result was a semifinal in 2013.
– The Top 10 looks markedly different: Six of the women ranked in the Top 10 of our power rankings will be seeded outside the Top 10 in Paris: Petra Kvitova, last year’s French Open finalist Lucie Safarova, Carla Suárez Navarro, Sara Errani, Ana Ivanovic, and Madison Keys.
– Notable clay court darkhorses: In the Open Era, the French Open has been won by 15 first-time Grand Slam champions – the most of the four majors – something that encourages an extra-critical eye on the tournament’s underdogs. Irina-Camelia Begu, for example, has had a tremendous clay season, making the quarterfinals in Charleston, Madrid, and the semifinals in Rome. She’s up to No.11 in our power rankings, from a ranking of No.28. Daria Gavrilova is another name to keep an eye on, as she surges to No.19 in our power ranking. Elena Vesnina, Laura Siegemund, Christina McHale, and Louisa Chirico also earned big bumps.
Keep up with WTA Insider’s RG Contenders series by clicking here.
Check out the best photos from the opening party for the 2016 French Open at Le Petit Palais here on wtatennis.com!
Stefanie Graf, former WTA World No.1 and 22-time Grand Slam champion, will serve as the Tournament Ambassador for the 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. The tournament is entering its second year on the WTA and is the final event of the 2016 season.
The WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, established in 2015, features 11 of the top ranked singles players along with one wild card and four of the top ranked doubles teams, along with two team wild cards. Held November 1-6 at the Hengqin International Tennis Center, the $USD 2.21 million event with 700 ranking points awarded to the winner, will feature some of the top players in the world, with Venus Williams serving as the defending champion.
“I am so pleased to be the ambassador for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai in 2016,” said Graf. “Such a prestigious event in the beautiful city of Zhuhai will go a long way towards supporting the expansion of women’s tennis. I have heard great reports from the players and through the press about the 2015 event and I can’t wait to visit and be a part of the event this year.”
“It’s exciting to see Stefanie Graf as the official ambassador of WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “Stefanie continues to be one of the greatest and most respected players on the WTA with so many players viewing her as their role model. Getting Stefanie’s endorsement is another solid testament to Zhuhai’s prestigious status. We are confident that WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai will achieve a bigger step forward in 2016 based on their success in the inaugural event last year.”
Graf is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. During her career, she won 107 WTA singles titles, including 22 Grand Slam singles titles, the record for most major wins by a tennis player (male or female) in the Open Era. Graf was the No.1 player on the WTA for a record 377 weeks – the highest total for any player since the WTA (and ATP) began issuing rankings. In 1988, she became the first player to achieve the Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Furthermore, she is the only tennis player to have won each Grand Slam event at least four times. Because of her great achievements and her contributions to the sport of tennis, she was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.
“We are absolutely delighted that Stefanie has agreed to become the Global Ambassador for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai for 2016,” said Tournament Director Peter Johnston. “Throughout her life, Stefanie has displayed the qualities both on and off the court that make her one of the greatest and most respected athletes of all time. As the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai continues to grow and its global profile increases, it is another important milestone to have the endorsement of such a great champion. We look forward to working with her in lead up promotions and welcoming her during the event week.”
Due to its special qualification rules, the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai is a competition mixed with established and rising stars. At its inaugural year in 2015, the event featured three former WTA World No.1 players of Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, and Jelena Jankovic, along with next generation players of Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, and Elina Svitolina. The WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai is managed by the renowned Huafa Group in conjunction with APG.