Acapulco: Kristina Mladenovic Interview
An interview with Kristina Mladenovic after her victory in the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
An interview with Kristina Mladenovic after her victory in the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
Lesia Tsurenko takes on Kristina Mladenovic in the final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
DUBAI, UAE – Roberta Vinci caps a spectacular six months that saw her reach the US Open final, qualify for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, and capture the biggest title of her career at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy with one incredible 33rd birthday present. Next Monday, Vinci will become the oldest woman (at 33 years, four days old) and fourth Italian in WTA history to debut in the World’s Top 10.
“Yes, well, it was an incredible month for me, incredible end of the season, and incredible ranking right now,” Vinci said after reacing the semifinals in Zhuhai, which helped her finish 2015 ranked No.15.
A former No.1 in doubles, Vinci completes a quartet of a most impressive generation of Italians that includes Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, and Sara Errani – all of whom have reached the Top 10 and the finals or better at a Grand Slam in singles. Vinci paired with Errani to form one of the most dominant doubles pairs of the decade, winning five major titles together and completing a career Grand Slam at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
The veteran had previously peaked at No.11 for ten weeks in 2013 after reaching back-to-back quarterfinals at the US Open, but it was her most recent fortnight in Flushing – six weeks after being ranked as low as No.58 – that will prove unforgettable. Playing her first Grand Slam semifinal, she halted World No.1 Serena Williams’ own history-making bid to become the first to achieve the Calendar Year Grand Slam in 1988. Eliminating the American in three arduous sets, she then took part in the first-ever all-Italian final against eventual champion and childhood friend, Flavia Pennetta.
“I won a lot of matches,” Vinci told WTA Insider in Wuhan. “I reached one final in a Grand Slam for the first time, I beat Serena, I beat Petra. So of course now is my time, no? I’m close to the Top 10, so now I have to push more, I think.”
She began 2016 with a career-best Australian swing – reaching the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International and the third round at the Australian Open for the fourth time in her career – and a clear goal in mind for what she initially considered to be her last season.
“Well, of course I’m confident right now,” she said in Brisbane. “I’m 15 in the world right now and will try my best to reach the Top 10. This is my goal. I know it’s not easy, but I would like to enjoy this year, no pressure, try my best, improve every single day, every single tournament everything.”
Vinci all but clinched that goal a month later when she won her first Premier-level title at the inaugural event in St. Petersburg, defeating another Top 10 debutante Belinda Bencic in the final.
“It’s a lot for me. It’s an amazing moment. I’m not young,” she said on the WTA Insider Podcast. “I’m almost done. I’m really happy. I always tried to my best. It’s not easy to practice every single day. For me this tournament was a fantastic moment.”
Here is a look at the oldest players to make their Top 10 debut after the rankings made its debut in November 1975:
|
PLAYER (NATIONALITY) |
DATE OF TOP 10 DEBUT |
AGE |
|
Roberta Vinci (ITA) |
22-Feb-16 |
33 years, 4 days |
|
Betty Stove (NED) |
2-Oct-76 |
31 years, 100 days |
|
Francesca Schiavone (ITA) |
7-Jun-10 |
29 years, 349 days |
|
Julie Halard-Decugis (FRA) |
23-Aug-99 |
28 years, 347 days |
|
Ai Sugiyama (JPN) |
10-Nov-03 |
28 years, 128 days |
|
Lucie Safarova (CZE) |
8-Jun-15 |
28 years, 124 days |
|
Paola Suárez (ARG) |
7-Jun-04 |
27 years, 349 days |
|
Li Na (CHN) |
1-Feb-10 |
27 years, 340 days |
|
Sandrine Testud (FRA) |
7-Feb-00 |
27 years, 310 days |
|
Flavia Pennetta (ITA) |
17-Aug-09 |
27 years, 173 days |
NEW HAVEN, CT, USA – Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska dropped just two games in a clinical 6-1, 6-1 defeat of defending champion Petra Kvitova at the Connecticut Open. She’s set to play against No.10 seed Elina Svitolina for a chance at the title. The Ukrainian youngster powered past lucky loser Johanna Larsson 6-4, 6-2 on her way to her first Premier-level final.
Watch live action from New Haven this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I didn’t really expect that quick matches, for sure,” Radwanska said in her post-match press conference. “Everything was working for me tonight. I was really playing great, solid tennis from the beginning till the end.
“I think I was just feeling very good on court, very confident, very loose. I was serving much better than the other days.
“Well, what can I say? I’m just so glad I could win a match in that kind of style.”
Kvitova had led Radwanska 6-4 in their overall head-to-head heading into the final four, and was looking to reach a fifth straight final in New Haven (winning three of the last four years).
But the Czech star had been dealing with a cold, which appeared to catch up with her against the World No.4, who has now won their last three meetings. Playing in her first semifinal since Stuttgart, Radwanska blitzed Kvitova in cool 79 minutes to reach her second final of the season.
Kvitova took the defeat in stride, but now faces a race against the clock to be healthy in time for the US Open.
“It’s a long time since I’ve sat here as the defeated player, right?” she joked in press. “It’s not the best, but I think that I played good tournament here. I was in the semifinal. After a tough season for me so far, it’s always great result to play good tennis.
“I’m really glad how I played here, even today. I got everything back. I was just running out with my steam. It’s been a tough three weeks for me with Rio and week off between Rio and here. So I’m really glad that I played good.
“I’m still sick. I don’t know how long it’s going to take. I’m playing Monday on US Open. I hope I will be better at that time.”
Radwanska will play Svitolina for a first New Haven title; the Ukrainian youngster began the afternoon with a decisive win over Johanna Larsson.
“It’s a great feeling to be in the final again,” she said after the match. “It’s the first in a premier event for me, so it’s special one. I’m looking forward to this challenge.
Svitolina began the season by taking on former No.1 and Class of 2016 International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee Justine Henin as a coaching consultant, and though she trails Radwanska 0-2 in their previous two meetings, the first was a grueling three-set affair at the Miami Open back in 2014.
Too good tonight @ARadwanska – see you tomorrow @usopen ✌ pic.twitter.com/9KFZtv8Pre
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) August 27, 2016
After picking up titles in the Middle East, Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina seem to have all the momentum as the tour heads to Indian Wells and Miami. But how do their performances stack up against the year’s other top performers?
In this edition of WTA Insider Heat Index, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen weighs in on who’s hot and who’s not after a fortnight in Dubai and Doha.
For more on the Heat Index and the methodology behind it, click here.
1. Serena Williams (Rank: No.1; RTS: No.1; Previous HI: 1)
2017 record: 8-1
Titles: Australian Open (January)
Recent activity: None.
Key Stat: Did not lose a set in Melbourne.
Serena has not played an event since winning her record-setting 23rd major title at the Australian Open in January, but given her propensity for party crashing some public courts, I’m guessing she’s still healthy and in good spirits. That bodes well for the upcoming Sunshine Double swing through Indian Wells and Miami.
2. Karolina Pliskova (Rank: No.3; RTS: No.3; Previous HI: 2)
2017 record: 15-2
Titles: Brisbane International (January), Qatar Total Open (February)
Recent activity: Doha champion.
Key Stat: The first woman to win two titles this season.
The World No.3 has looked virtually unbeatable in 2017. When it comes to quality wins, no one has been better. Two months into the season and Pliskova already has wins over Dominika Cibulkova, Caroline Wozniacki, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Elina Svitolina.
3. Elina Svitolina (Rank: No.10; RTS: No.2; Previous HI: No.8)
2017 Record: 17-2
Titles: Taiwan Open (February), Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (February)
Recent activity: Taiwan Open champion, Dubai champion.
Key Stat: Currently on a 13-match winning streak since the Australian Open.
This is what we were waiting for. After tallying five career titles on the International level and improving her year-end ranking year over year, Svitolina put it all together in Dubai to win the biggest title of her career and make her Top 10 debut. With her third straight win over Angelique Kerber, she ended the German’s quest to retake the No.1 ranking and followed it up with a cool performance to beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
4. Caroline Wozniacki (Rank: No.14; RTS: No. 5; Previous HI: Unranked)
2017 record: 15-5.
Titles: None.
Recent activity: Runner-up in Doha and Dubai.
Key Stat: Wozniacki already has 15 wins this year. Her 15th match win last year came at the US Open in September.
Is Woz back? It sure does seem that way. The Dane made back-to-back finals in February in Doha (l. Pliskova) and Dubai (l. Svitolina) and she’s continued the fantastic run of form that’s kicked in since the start of the US Open last fall. In fact, if you isolate the ranking points earned since the start of the US Open, Wozniacki is at No.3 behind Kerber and Pliskova. Wozniacki has beaten just one Top 10 player so far this season, a win over Agnieszka Radwanska in Doha, but with less than 200 points to defend from no until the US Open, there’s no doubt a return to the Top 10 — Top 5? — is coming soon.
5. Johanna Konta (Rank: No.11; RTS: No.6; Previous HI: No.2)
2017 record: 15-3
Titles: Apia International Sydney (January)
Recent activity: Went 3-1 in Fed Cup (l. to Konjuh)
Key stat: Konta’s win over Radwanska in the Sydney final was her first over a Top 5 player in over a year.
Konta took her good form into Fed Cup and helped earn Great Britain a chance at promotion to the World Group. A foot injury prevented her from making her debut in the Middle East in Dubai, but with plenty of rest before the upcoming hard court swing, Konta should be in good form.
6. Angelique Kerber (Rank: No.2; RTS: No.9; Previous HI: No.6)
2017 record: 7-5
Titles: None
Recent activity: Dubai semifinalist.
Key stat: Kerber is 0-5 vs. Top 35 players.
After a disappointing January, Kerber showed signs of life in Dubai, playing cleaner, more aggressive tennis to make her first semifinal of the year. The quality was a step in the right direction. I still maintain it’s too early to write off the woman who won two hard court Slams last year. Now, if she continues to struggle through March…then it’s time to have the discussion.
7. Dominika Cibulkova (Rank: No.5; RTS: No.5; Previous HI: No.11)
2017 record: 8-6
Titles: None
Recent activity: Doha semifinalist.
Key stat: Made back-to-back semifinals in St. Petersburg and Doha.
The Middle East swing was a mixed bag for Cibulkova. She lost to eventual champion Pliskova in Doha, but in Dubai she was confounded once again by Ekaterina Makarova, who also beat her at the Australian Open. But much like Kerber, the level of tennis she played was an improvement on what we saw in January and she’s put in extra work with her mental coach to help her deal with the expectations of being a Top 5 player. She started to feel like herself again after Doha, and that’s good news for her tennis.
8. Agnieszka Radwanska (Rank: No.6; RTS: No.16; Previous HI: No.5)
2017 record: 7-5
Titles: None
Recent activity: Lost in Round of 16 in Doha (l. Wozniacki) and Dubai (l. Bellis)
Key stat: Has not won back-to-back matches in her last three events.
After solid outings in her first two tournaments of the year, the World No.6 has struggled to find her confidence and feel. Remember, this is a player who made the semifinals or better of her first four events last season. Her inability to solve 17-year-old CiCi Bellis in Dubai was a shocker. She’s frustrated and searching.
9. CoCo Vandeweghe (Rank: No.22; RTS: No.7; Previous HI: No.7)
2017 record: 8-3
Titles: None
Recent activity: Went 2-0 at Fed Cup; first round loss to Alison Riske in Dubai.
Key stat: Vandeweghe beat Kerber and Muguruza at the Australian Open. It was just the second time in her career she’s beaten two Top 10 players at a tournament (2014 Rogers Cup, Ivanovic and Jankovic).
The question for Vandeweghe after the Australian Open wasn’t whether she had Slam-winning tennis inside her — the quality during the Melbourne fortnight was top-notch — but whether she could maintain a consistent level. Indian Wells and Miami should serve as better litmus tests.
10. Kristina Mladenovic (Rank: No.30; RTS: No.14; Previous HI: Unranked)
2017 record: 8-4
Titles: St. Petersburg
Recent activity: Beat Pliskova in Dubai, semifinalist in Acapulco (tournament ongoing).
Key stat: Her win over Pliskova was her first Top 5 win since 2015.
Mladenovic will be the first to tell you her tennis can reach the highest of highs and, at times, head-scratching lows, but it makes her game all the more compelling. After winning her first title in St. Petersburg, Mladenovic scored a big win over Pliskova only to lose to No.76 Wang Qiang in straight sets the next day. Regardless, she’s been consistently dangerous early this season.
11. Garbiñe Muguruza (Rank: No.7; RTS: No.10; Previous HI: No.4)
2017 record: 9-5
Titles: None
Recent activity: Went 1-2 during Middle East swing.
Key stat: Two of her four tournaments this season has ended in a retirement.
The primary reason surrounding Muguruza’s notable drop in the Heat Index is injury related. She picked up a left Achilles injury in Doha, which forced her to retire from a match in Dubai for the second time this season. In January she retired from the Brisbane semifinals due to an abductor injury. It’s a disconcerting trend for the Spaniard, just two months into the season.
12. Venus Williams (Rank: No.13; RTS: No.4; Previous HI: No.10)
2017 record: 7-2
Titles: None
Recent activity: None
Key stat: This time last year, Venus was also 7-2. She lost in the first round of Auckland and the Australian Open before winning seven straight matches at Fed Cup and en route to the Taiwan Open title.
With the surges from Wozniacki and Mladenovic into this edition of the Heat Index, Venus drops two spots. She did not play a tournament in February, so I’m looking forward to seeing how she’s feeling in Indian Wells next week. If it’s anything like what we saw in Melbourne, it will be a treat.
January 27, 2016
It’s semifinal day Down Under, and Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber and Johanna Konta are in action seeking a spot in the year’s first Grand Slam final. wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo makes his picks.
FOREST HILLS, NY, USA – Led by WTA stars Shelby Rogers and Darija Jurak, the San Diego Aviators took home the Billie Jean King Trophy with a 25-14 (1-1 in Extended Play) win over Nicole Gibbs and Alla Kudryavtseva’s Orange County Breakers in the Mylan World TeamTennis Final.
Rogers and Jurak are in the midst of career-best seasons in singles and doubles, respectively, and helped the Aviators win three of the five sets played in women’s singles, doubles, and mixed to help their team clinch victory at the West Side Tennis Club on Friday.
A French Open quarterfinalist back in May, Rogers was set to make her Mylan WTT debut a year ago, but a debilitating knee injury not only kept that from happening, but essentially derailed her entire 2015 season.
“Having this be my first full season of World TeamTennis, I couldn’t have asked for a better team,” Rogers told WTA Insider after the Final. “I couldn’t have asked for a better result. The memories and friends I’ve made will last forever. Everything was perfect; you get the nerves from your team and want to perform well for them. That was really cool tonight; I’m glad we could come through, and this is such a great moment for us.”
The young American will head into the US Open just shy of the career-high ranking of No.50 that she earned last week; defeating Gibbs 5-2 in women’s singles and partnered with Jurak to win the women’s doubles set by the same score, Rogers hopes to take some of the tactics she learned from Billie Jean King’s co-ed professional league into her WTA matches.
“World TeamTennis is great at helping you learn to play the big points well, and teaches you to not be so distracted by little things. You have to play through whatever, and the crowds are great. They really get into it and give us energy that helps us through the tough times. Our home matches in San Diego were the best; our fans were so loyal and it’s been a blast.”
Jurak joined the league as a substitute back in 2013, and credited new WTA partner Anastasia Rodionova – who helped the Kastles to many of their record-setting six straight Mylan WTT trophies – with inspiring her to new heights in her second season with the Aviators.
“Nastya said a lot of things about World TeamTennis,” the doubles specialist said of her co-winner in Eastbourne and co-finalist in Stanford. “She’s a four-time champion – and she set a good example; I learned from her a lot because she’s been playing this league and on the WTA tour for so long and I’m fortunate that I can play with her.
“I can’t explain how happy I am that we won today. This team effort is amazing, and I’m really happy that we have such good chemistry, which is almost everything here. Without that, it’s impossible to win, because we have to really be a team.”
The @WorldTeamTennis champs @SDAVIATORS pic.twitter.com/0sdAC1DXEd
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 26, 2016
Finishing a close second to the Aviators, Gibbs and Kudryavtseva had another season to remember in Mylan World TeamTennis, reaching their second straight final with two different teams. Rookie of the Year in 2015, Kudryavtseva paired Gibbs to become top women’s doubles team in the league and win seven straight matches to reach the championship match in New York City.
“It was really fun to have the chance to develop what we had done last year and progress as team,” said Gibbs, who was awarded Female MVP after combining her doubles prowess with the second highest winning percentage in women’s singles.
“I always give all the credit to Alla in the doubles. She’s the one telling me what to do and I’m just kind of occupying space out there, and letting her do her thing.”
“And that’s why I like to play with her, obviously,” Kudryavtseva added with a laugh. “She gives me all the credit; even when she’s over there hitting aces, she’ll say, ‘Well done! You gave me good direction!'”
The 41st season of Mylan World TeamTennis came to a close with the spirit of King’s vision of men and women working together in harmonious equality completely on display within both teams not only on display, but also standing in stark contrast to the increasingly polarized climate in which the league presently exists.
“It’s always a privilege to get to play in a league founded by Billie Jean King and really delivers her message,” Gibbs said. It’s really special for both of us, especially as individuals who are vocal about equality; we’re walking the talk by playing World TeamTennis and making ourselves available in this part of the year.
“We’re in the midst of a contentious election in the US, and so people are probably more vocal than normal about some of these topics. I just hope that equality is something pushed as an agenda item.”
.@Shelby_Rogers_ reacts to winning the King Trophy with @SDAVIATORS in the #MylanWTTFinals. Congrats, Shelbs! pic.twitter.com/ec2pcuYKev
— Mylan WTT (@WorldTeamTennis) August 27, 2016
Qualifier Ashleigh Barty’s party rolled on as she beat Nao Hibino to win the ALYA Malaysian Open – her first singles title.
Traditionally the Connecticut Open is a time for dotting i’s and crossing t’s, providing a stage for its invariably impressive cast of performers to fine tune their game ahead of the year’s final major, the US Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska grasped the opportunity with both hands, strolling through that draw and to the 19th title of her career. The result elevated her to fourth place on the Road To Singapore leaderboard and closer to qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, which she so famously won last autumn.
With many of the other leading contenders for Singapore resting up or travelling early to New York, other movement was restricted to lower down the leaderboard. Elina Svitolina produced some of her best tennis of 2016 to reach the final, a result that took her from No.30 to No.20.
One of Radwanska’s victims, another former WTA Finals champion Petra Kvitova, was rewarded for her semifinal run with a jump from No.33 to No.25 on the leaderboard, while Elena Vesnina is up to No.14 from her previous position of No.15.
The campaign’s final major usually has a significant say in who will be Singapore-bound, with Garbiñe Muguruza, Radwanska and Simona Halep all hoping secure their spot alongside the first two qualifiers, Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber.
RTS Ranking Movers
Petra Kvitova: No.33 to No.25 (+8)
Elina Svitolina: No.30 to No.20 (+10)
Elena Vesnina: No.15 to No.14 (+1)
Agnieszka Radwanska: No.5 to No.4 (+1)
Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following New Haven.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.11 seed Petra Kvitova overcame a losing head-to-head record against 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko to win 7-5, 6-3 in her opening round match at the US Open.
Kicking off the day’s action on Court 12, the two-time Wimbledon champion was dealt a tricky opening match against the young Latvian. Ostapenko has defeated Kvitova twice already in 2016, notching three-set wins at Doha and Birmingham.
“I knew that I had to return better, especially on her second serve, which I did today at the end of the match,” Kvitova explained in post-match press. “I was struggling a little bit at the beginning, kind of tight and couldn’t really move. I know that she hits big and fast, and I was trying to eliminate that.”
Ostapenko has been on the rise all year: she started out the season ranked No.84 and now at No.36, she just narrowly missed out on getting a US Open seeding. And against Kvitova, whose bronze medal at the Olympic tennis event has been the highlight of an otherwise quiet season, the Latvian’s big hitting always spells out big trouble.
Ostapenko kept to the script out on Court 12 today as well, breaking Kvitova twice to power ahead to a 3-0 lead. The Czech rallied to grab a break back, playing consistent tennis to force the errors to leak from the 19-year-old’s backhand wing. Kvitova finally leveled the set at 5-5, and rattled off the next two games to take the opening set.
Kvitova continued her romp into set two, where she tamped down three of Ostapenko’s break opportunities to roll to a straight sets victory. The Czech hit just six winners to five unforced errors during the match, but overall kept her margins cleaner than Ostapenko’s four winners and 11 unforced errors.
“I feel like I had a breakthrough here at the US Open,” Kvitova said. I didn’t really like it before; I don’t know why, but I feel the courts aren’t as fast as I wish they’d be. But I made a great success last year, and I hope it’s not the end. I know how difficult it is with the air and the humidity is not the best for me, but today I played good and didn’t have any troubles with that.”
She’ll face Turkey’s No.66 Cagla Buyukakcay in the second round, who recorded the first win of the day when she knocked out No.75 Irina Falconi in her US Open main draw debut.
“I haven’t played her yet, but it’s nice that someone is making stories like she is,” Kvitova said of the Turkish trailblazer. “It’s nice that she’s showing her tennis to Turkish people so more people play there.”