RTS Update: Lucic-Baroni Returns To Top 8, Kerber, Kasatkina Edge Ahead
Volvo Car Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni rose back into the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard while World No.1 Angelique Kerber isn’t far behind.
Volvo Car Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni rose back into the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard while World No.1 Angelique Kerber isn’t far behind.
The WTA World No.1 Ranking will be on the line at this year’s US Open. Can Serena Williams extend her stay atop the WTA Rankings and make history?
Only 21 players have occupied the No.1 ranking since the computer rankings were introduced in November 1975. Will we see a new player take hold of the No.1 spot for the first time in three years?
wtatennis.com breaks down the No.1 scenarios ahead of the US Open:
Serena Eyes Another Record: Williams enters the US Open as the WTA World No.1-ranked player, a distinction she has held since February 18, 2013. Through the two weeks at the US Open, Williams will extend her streak to 186 consecutive weeks, tying the WTA record for most consecutive weeks at No.1 held by Stefanie Graf (186 weeks, August 17, 1987 through March 10, 1991).
Williams currently holds a 190-point advantage over Kerber in the rankings. However, to break the record, Williams will need to at least reach the semifinals and possibly advance further. Williams is defending 780 points at the US Open as she advanced to the semifinals last year before Roberta Vinci stopped her run.
As Kerber progresses, though, Williams will need to advance further:
– If Kerber reaches the quarterfinals at the US Open, then Williams will need to reach the final to have a chance at keeping the No.1 ranking.
– If Williams wins the US Open, she will secure the No.1 ranking, regardless of any other results.
– A championship match showdown between Williams and Kerber, the Top 2 seeds, would see the winner walk away not only with the trophy, but the No.1 ranking.
Williams’ ranking points have come from seven tournaments in the last 52 weeks – 2015 US Open (780), Australian Open (1300), Indian Wells (650), Miami (120), Rome (900), Roland Garros (1300) and Wimbledon (2000).
What Will It Take For Kerber To Become World No.1?: Angelique Kerber is bidding to become the 22nd player to hold the WTA World No.1 Ranking since the computer rankings were introduced in November 1975. The German came within one win of unseating Williams at No.1 in Cincinnati, but fell short in the final against Karolina Pliskova.
Last year, Kerber lost to Victoria Azarenka in the third round at the US Open and as a result is only defending 130 points in Flushing Meadows.
Kerber will have a 460-point advantage from the start of the tournament. An early exit would not necessarily prevent her from moving to No.1.
Kerber consistently has reached the final four at the tour’s biggest events with six finals appearances this year, winning the title at Australian Open and Stuttgart, finishing as runner-up at Brisbane, Wimbledon and Cincinnati. (She also reached the final at the Olympic Games, although that does not count towards ranking points). As a result, Kerber’s ranking has been on a steady incline after finishing 2015 at No.10.
Muguruza Also Has A Chance: One of three Grand Slam champions this year, Muguruza will need to reach the final at the US Open to have a chance of overtaking the No.1 ranking. Should she win her second Grand Slam title of the year, the Spaniard would take claim to the No.1 spot unless Kerber also reaches the final.
First Grand Slam Title Could Vault Radwanska To The Top: To have a chance at moving to No.1, Agnieszka Radwanska would need to win the US Open, although if she is able to win the title in New Haven this week, a run to the finals could potentially be enough.
Petra Kvitova has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Connecticut Open.
BIEL/BIENNE, Switzerland – 17-year-old Czech qualifier Marketa Vondrousova put together a commanding performance to stun Kristyna Pliskova, 6-2, 7-5 and reach the first WTA semifinals of her career at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Earlier in the week, Vondrousova was named to the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup squad, set to make her debut as the defending champions take on the United States in World Group semifinals. Now Vondrousova’s backed up yesterday’s upset over Annika Beck with a win over a player ranked spots above her to prove why team captain Petr Pala made the right choice.
“It’s so super, because I didn’t even know I could play that good!” Vondrousova said after the victory. “I’ve had a great season so far, and I played qualies here and I’m so glad I made it through and keep playing so good.
“I’m just trying to focus on every match, every point, and just play like I have nothing to lose. I am calm and I feel confident.”
17 year old qualifier Marketa Vondrousova makes first #WTA Semifinal!
Beats Pliskova 6-2, 7-5 at @WTABielBienne! pic.twitter.com/SpAMUXUGBg
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
Playing in her first WTA quarterfinal, Vondrousova wasn’t cowed by the occasion or by the big Pliskova serve. She set the tone early on, breaking in Pliskova’s opening service game and keeping her under pressure through the match. She brought up 12 break opportunities across both sets and converted five to put away her countrywoman in an hour and 20 minutes.
She joins Anett Kontaveit and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the semifinals and awaits the winner between top seed Barbora Strycova and No.7 seed Julia Goerges,
Earlier in the day, Kontaveit survived a complicated three-set battle against the fast-rising Elise Mertens to advance 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1.
Kontaveit was two points away from the match while serving at 5-4 in the second set when Mertens came roaring back to force a tiebreaker and a deciding set. But the Estonian stayed calm to break three times and reel off six games in a row in the final set to shut down the comeback and move into the Biel/Bienne semifinals.
Anett Kontaveit is first through to @WTABielBienne Semifinals!
Outlasts Mertens 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1! pic.twitter.com/X4US4Co2kS
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
Also through to the semifinals is Belarusian qualifier Sasnovich, who diffused the fast-paced Camila Giorgi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
The Italian led by a break in each set – she was up 3-1 in the first and 4-2 in the second – but couldn’t hang on to the lead. Her eight double faults proved costly, coming at crucial times and allowing Sasnovich to break six times during the match.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich reaches @WTABielBienne Semifinals!
Tops Giorgi 6-4, 6-! pic.twitter.com/DcHCt8uZ8O
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
More to follow…
NEW HAVEN, CT, USA – Defending champion Petra Kvitova kept her bid for a fourth Connecticut Open title firmly on track as she powered past Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-2 to book a spot in the quarterfinals.
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Much like in her previous match, it took a few games for Kvitova to get going and find her rhythm against Bouchard. The Czech surrendered the first break to give Bouchard a 3-1 lead in the first set. But losing serve first just served to galvanize the No.6 seed, who broke back immediately and reeled off 10 straight games to put herself up a set and 5-0.
Kvitova closed out the match after just over an hour and advanced to her fifth consecutive New Haven quarterfinal. It was also Kvitova’s tenth win in a row in New Haven, improving her record at the tournament to an impressive 17-2.
With the win Kvitova sets up a quarterfinal clash with Ekaterina Makarova, an opponent she’s all too familiar with. This will be the fourth time they’ll have met this year, with Makarova owning wins at Miami and Wimbledon and Kvitova getting her revenge at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
“I feel like I meet Ekaterina every week, it’s really funny,” Kvitova said of the matchup. “I remember one year we played here as well and I beat her. So I hope that I can take some of the good memories from here and try to play my best again.”
Fencing with water bottles is how we recover ? See you tomorrow @connecticutopen ? pic.twitter.com/3X6HrKIxjQ
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) August 25, 2016
BIEL/BIENNE, Switerzland – Top seed Barbora Strycova is into her second semifinal of the season after No.7 seed Julia Goerges was forced to retire one game into the third set of their quarterfinal at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne, with the Czech prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (ret.). Strycova will face fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in Saturday’s semifinals.
The 31-year-old rallied from a set down with some gritty defending and resilience in the second set. After holding in a 15-minute game at 2-all in the second set, Strycova slowly grabbed the momentum back her way to take the second set.
Goerges, who had seen her forehand misfire regularly throughout the latter half of the second set, called the trainer after the second set and took a medical timeout to get her right arm massaged. Strycova won the first game after the changeover and the German was forced to call it a day, citing a right wrist injury.
“We had always tough matches against each other,” Strycova said. “It’s very tough to play against Julia because we know each other very well, we used to play doubles together, and we are going to play again a little bit. It’s never easy, but we both want to win.
“I’m happy that I won, but not in this way because it’s always very hard to see someone injured and have to walk off from the match.”
Heavy hitting from @juliagoerges and @BaraStrycova to start their quarterfinal @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/fhuW407oFo
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
It was a bad luck ending to a great week for No.46 Goerges, who dominated much of the match against Strycova before succumbing to injury. The 28-year-old fired 18 winners to just 6 unforced errors in the first set, smothering Strycova with her heavy hitting despite the retirement, finished with 33 winners to 21 unforced errors. Strycova hit 8 winners to 11 unforced errors for the match.
Who says serve and volley is dead? Not @BaraStrycova @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/SachkSbU6C
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
Despite being besieged by Goerges’ offense, Strycova found a way to problem-solve the match, throwing in a good amount of variety with dropshots, slices, and the occasional serve and volley to keep the German uncomfortable.
.@BaraStrycova caps off a scrambling rally with the perfect drop shot. pic.twitter.com/esn7Phjua3
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
“It feels nice,” Strycova said. “The court is very comfortable to play on, the ball is coming to you very nice. It took me some matches to get used to it but I feel good.”
After nearly being down a double-break, @BaraStrycova is battling back. Level at 3-3. pic.twitter.com/B7OA0o8gK4
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
Next up for Strycova is her 17-year-old compatriot Vondrousova.
“Another young gun from Czech! I saw her play here already and she’s playing very well,” Strycova said. “She’s playing from the qualifying so she has a lot of matches under her belt. It will be a tough one because she’s young and she wants to play the best tennis she can so I have to be ready so I have to play my best tennis as well.”
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza before her opening round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Julia Goerges after her win in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Nicole Gibbs is feeling pretty good about her score in the WTA Frame Challenge! Find out how she did right here on wtatennis.com.
DUBAI, UAE – World No.47 Barbora Strycova employed her brand of unpredictable tennis to power past Caroline Garcia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and reach her sixth career WTA final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch live action from Dubai & Rio de Janeiro this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
She was up against a very familiar opponent in the day’s second semifinal: Strycova and Garcia have played each other four times, with Strycova winning their last three matches in straight sets, including a first-round encounter earlier this year at the Australian Open.
The players started out this encounter very evenly-matched – and they stayed that way for most of the match.
Garcia played her trademark aggressive all-court game, sending Strycova on the defensive early on until the Czech grabbed the first break of the match at 3-2. Garcia used all of her weapons – even throwing in some serving and volleying – but Strycova’s unpredictable style was just too full of surprises, a two-handed backhand slice drop shot throwing Garcia completely off kilter and bringing up the break.
Strycova went on to win the next five games to take the opening set at 6-2 and go up 2-0 in the second.
Not to be outdone, the Frenchwoman held her nerve – and came up with some incredible service games – to win six of the next seven games to take the set 6-3 to level the match.
In the final set, the two were toe-to-toe, neither woman giving an inch: when Garcia broke to start the match, Strycova broke her right back; when Garcia held her serve at love, Strycova held serve at love in reply. They stayed deadlocked until Strycova finally broke for 5-3 – Garcia saved two break points to bring it to deuce, but after a 22-shot-rally Strycova emerged victorious. Serving for the match, Strycova erased both of Garcia’s break opportunities and sealed the match with an ace.
“I kept telling myself play your game and go for it – you have nothing to lose,” Strycova said after the match. “I wasn’t serving well the whole match but in that last game it was important that I pull it through.”
“That last game I was like, ‘Okay, pull something through. And then I made good serves. I’m so happy about it because it wasn’t easy match for me. But to be in the final it’s great.
Awaiting Strycova in the final is 2013 Dubai finalist Sara Errani, winner of the day’s first semifinal against Elina Svitolina. Errani leads their head-to-head record 5-1.
“We always have tough matches with Sara,” Strycova said of her opponent in the final. “Last time I lost from two match points.
“But it’s a final so I will enjoy it. Or I’ll try to enjoy it, actually.”