Andy Murray admits that he is using his friend and rival Novak Djokovic as the template to aspire to as the Scotsman rises to number three in the world rankings after victory in the Shanghai Masters.
Murray is now ahead of 15-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in the world list, after beating David Ferrer 7-5 6-4 in Sunday’s final.
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Former world number two Michael Stich says tennis players “want to earn more money” but are “willing to give less than they should” after Andy Murray says they may consider going on strike over their playing schedule.
British number one Murray said on Monday that players want “a few less tournaments a year”, but Stich believes the complaint is not valid and the events are what provide them with a job.
Michael Stich was speaking to Victoria Derbyshire who broadcasts weekdays 1000 to 1200 on Radio 5 live.
To hear more Radio 5 live highlights, please visit the best bits page.
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Andy Murray says a strike by players over a packed tennis calendar is a “possibility”.
The British number one adds that players want changes to happen “sooner rather than later”, ahead of a meeting in Shanghai next month to plot their next move.
Murray argues that the current calendar is “gruelling” on the body.
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Britain’s Oliver Golding says he is “amazingly happy” after winning the US Open boys’ title with victory over the junior world number one.
The 17-year-old came from a set down to win 5-7 6-3 6-4 against his former doubles partner and top seed from the Czech Republic Jiri Vesely.
The 13th seed follows in the footsteps of fellow Briton Andy Murray who also won the boys’ title at Flushing Meadows back in 2004.
A long-awaited off-season is on hold for an elite squad from the Czech Republic, who fly to France in the hopes of winning a fifth Fed Cup title in the last six years. Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova lead the team through what will be one last ride following a full fall schedule in Asia.
“It’s the last two matches of the year. There is no other choice,” Pliskova said after playing her last round robin match at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “I’ll just get ready. There is one week between, so I’ll just rest a little bit and forget about tennis for few days.
“Then back to the work for that last week of tennis this season.”
It was even less of a break for Kvitova, who captured her second title of the season at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
“I don’t think I’m that tired,” she told WTA Insider in the latest edition of Champions Corner. “I just feel my entire body is sore, so I’ll need to take a few days off to get ready for the Fed Cup tie. I’m really looking forward, but it’s a little bit difficult. I’m a little bit tired, but winning always helps me recover faster.
“I’ll be flying to Prague, and then taking a car to go to Strasbourg, so that’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to seeing the team. We have a great team, so I can’t wait to be with them over there. It’ll be the last week of the season, so it’s great to have it then, as well.”
Kvitova was in Zhuhai alongside countrywoman Barbora Strycova, and both discussed that special bond the team has forged throughout the week.
“All the Czech players, we know how to be teammates in the week where there is Fed Cup,” Strycova said. “Three weeks a year we are so close together. I can’t describe it because it’s like a routine for us that we do everything together in those weeks.”
Coached by Petr Pala, the Czechs have won 15 of 16 ties dating back to 2011, when the team won their country’s first Fed Cup trophy since 1988.
“I’m looking forward to the final,” Kvitova said. “I love playing Fed Cup and playing for my country. The final is always special; we’re playing away, which isn’t great for us, since France will have the home crowd advantage. We know how to play, and that the fans will support them. It’ll be about us, and whichever team is better prepared will win.
“I think we’re only small favorites to win the tie; they have a great doubles team, and even the singles players, Kiki and Caro, are playing well. It’ll be a difficult tie, but we do have a more experienced team, from all the finals we’ve played. The motivation is always there.”
The teams have faced off just twice in the last ten years, with the Czechs winning the most recent encounter in 2015. Caroline Garcia leads a French contingent captained by former World No.1 Amélie Mauresmo, and is well-aware of just how formidable the Czechs can be in this format, joking that the country could easily field two teams based on its strong roster.
“Caro is funny! I never really thought like that,” Kvitova said with a smile, before breaking down their secret to success.
“I think we’re not only good players, but also good people. We’re never fighting with each other; we act as a team, and I think that’s very important. None of us make trouble, and we all work well together. If one of us needs to schedule a massage, we talk all talk and decide who gets to go first; it’s the same with practice schedules.
“Communication is very important for a team. We also have great people around us; they’re all boys, so there’s always a lot of fun throughout the week. Our stringer is DJ, and they’re all doing what they can to keep things relaex. The practices are very easy and never too stressful.
“Everything is working when you’re playing well, and everything is easier than when you’re not. We’re on a good way right now and I hope we continue like that.”
When that off-season finally does come, Kvitova plans to spend a vacation with none other than teammate Lucie Hradecka, who will likely be on hand for a potentially decisive doubles rubber against France.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova win the deciding doubles rubber for the second straight year, capturing a fifth Fed Cup title in the last six years over home team France.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – WTA Doubles Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza maintained their perfect start to 2016 – and their still-unbroken winning-streak – in the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, winning their 40th straight match over Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova, 6-3, 6-1.
Dropping just one set through four more victories in Russia, “SanTina” are now within striking distance of surpassing the longest winning streak since 1990, when Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova won 44 in a row; the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions still have a way to go to break the ultimate record of 109 – held by Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver in 1983.
“We’re obviously very happy to win another title but now that we’re coming closer and closer to the next target of 44, we can’t help but think about,” Mirza said after the final.
“But it’s not something we really want to think about; we’re really excited ot be at 40! We didn’t think in our wildest dreams that this was going to happen. I think I can speak on behalf of both of us that we’re going to play every match on merit and try to get to 44.”
Hingis and Mirza were the talk of the pressroom during their week in St. Petersburg, and though they’re trying not to look too far ahead, Mirza hopes to be back next year to defend their title.
“I definitely think it’s an amazing tournament, and I feel the hospitality made it so comfortable. I also think you should give them especially because it’s the first year of the tournament, and to put up such a tournament any year is never easy, so I’d love to come back.”
COMPTON, CA, USA – Former World No.1s Venus Williams and Serena Williams returned to their hometown of Compton, California last weekend to strengthen childhood ties to the city where they first played tennis.
“You always remember those places, like where we went to elementary school, the courts we practiced at, even our old home,” Venus told the LA Times. “And just places you used to go. And of course things change over time. Places move. Shops close. Streets change. But it’s still the same place.”
The Williams sisters made use of their eponymous charity fund to bestow a five-year endowment on what will be the Yetunde Price Resource Center, which will help those affected by violence and trauma. The center was named for their eldest sister, who was killed in 2003.
“We definitely wanted to honor our sister’s memory because she was a great sister, she was our oldest sister and obviously she meant a lot to us,” Serena said. “And it meant a lot to us, to myself and to Venus and my other sisters as well, Isha and Lyndrea, that we’ve been wanting to do something for years in memory of her, especially the way it happened, a violent crime.”
Saturday was dedicated to the refurbishing of Lueders Park tennis courts henceforth known as the Venus & Serena Williams Court of Champions.
Check out a full interview with the Williams sisters here, along with some of the best photos from the weekend below:
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Taiwan Open top seed Venus Williams survived a topsy-turvy opening set against the always-dangerous Misaki Doi to defeat the Japanesewoman, 6-4, 6-2, to win her 49th career title.
“I’ve had so much success in Asia,” Williams said after the match, having won her last two titles at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “I feel like it’s very lucky to play here.”
The American appeared to have things under control from the outset, but Doi, who held a match point against eventual Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in their Melbourne first round, rebounded in style to win four straight games and lead Williams by a break.
“My opponent was incredible today. I was leading in the first set and then suddenly she was leading!”
That proved to be the last major momentum swing, however, as the former No.1 swept the final three games to take the first set and drop just two more to win the final in just under 90 minutes.
“It’s fun to win a final that was such a challenge, and I appreciated her game.”
Williams didn’t lose a set through five matches in Kaohsiung, and will hold on to her current ranking of No.11 by virtue of winning the title. A fan favorite in Taiwan, she was happy to be celebrating Valentine’s Day at a tournament where she could truly feel the love.
“Of course, I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a win; that’s the best way! I made so many wonderful moments and memories that I’ll be bringing a lot of love back with me to the States.
“The last five days were so exciting, just to feel the enthusiasm and to play great tennis every day. It was perfect week for me and the tournament did an amazing job with everything; the players and fans felt so welcome, so it was perfect.”
Doi had come into the match hoping to win her second career titles – having won her first last fall at the BGL BNP Luxembourg Open – but nonetheless finds herself just outside the Top 50 thanks to her run in Taiwan.
In doubles, hometown favorites Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching won their first title of 2016, defeating Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato, 6-4, 6-3. The Chan sisters roared into the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last year as Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s closest competitors, and remain the last team to defeat Santina, who currently ride a 40-match winning streak – the longest since 1990 (Jana Novotna, Helena Sukova).
More to come…
Top seed at the St. Petersburg ladies Trophy, Belinda Bencic not only walked away with the runner-up trophy to 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci, but the Swiss star became the 116th player in WTA history to make her Top 10 debut.
With her semifinal win over former junior rival and fellow ranking mover Daria Kasatkina, Bencic moved up to No.9 in the world less than three years after capturing back-to-back junior Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, and a little over two years after her WTA-level breakthrough at the 2014 US Open, where she upset former No.1 Jelena Jankovic to reach the quarterfinals.
With six different players made their Top 10 debut in 2015, Bencic is the first to do so this year, and the youngest by four years to join a club where the average age is 26.7.
Bencic is also the fifth Swiss woman to earn a Top 10 WTA Ranking, joining Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, Martina Hingis, Patty Schnyder, and Timea Bacsinszky – who entered the Top 10 last fall. While Maleeva-Fragniere cracked the Top 10 in May 1984 while representing Bulgaria; she later changed nationalities in 1990 when she was also ranked in the Top 10.
In the last 20 years, 10 players have made their Top 10 debut before their 19th birthday:
|
PLAYER |
TOP 10 DEBUT |
AGE |
|
Belinda Bencic |
February 15, 2016 |
18 |
|
Caroline Wozniacki |
May 18, 2009 |
18 |
|
Nicole Vaidisova |
August 7, 2006 |
17 |
|
Maria Sharapova |
July 5, 2004 |
17 |
|
Svetlana Kuznetsova |
June 7, 2004 |
18 |
|
Jelena Dokic |
October 8, 2001 |
18 |
|
Kim Clijsters |
June 11, 2001 |
18 |
|
Serena Williams |
April 5, 1999 |
17 |
|
Anna Kournikova |
June 22, 1998 |
17 |
|
Venus Williams |
March 30, 1998 |
17 |
|
Martina Hingis |
October 7, 1996 |
16 |
Who else made great strides last week in St. Petersburg and Kaohsiung?
Daria Kasatkina (+18, No.63 to No.45): Despite losing to Bencic in the semifinals, the 2014 French Open junior champion continues her stellar start 2016, taking out Kirsten Flipkens and Dominika Cibulkova to break the Top 50 for the first time in her young career.
Hsieh Su-Wei (+16, No.81 to No.65): The two-time doubles Grand Slam champion and former World No.23 in singles had an impressive week at the Taiwan Open, reaching the semifinals and losing to eventual champion Misaki Doi.
Laura Siegemund (+10, No.87 to No.77): Out to prove her run to the third round of the Australian Open was no fluke, the German veterean pulled off a dramatic upset over Kristina Mladenovic to reach the round of 16 in St. Petersburg as a lucky loser.
Misaki Doi (+9, No. 61 to No.52): The woman that nearly derailed eventual Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the first round, Doi reached the final in Taiwan, pushing Venus Williams in a hard-fought opening set en route to a career-high ranking.
Anastasija Sevastova (+8, No.103 to No.95): The comeback continues for the former World No.36, who returned to tennis at the start of 2015 after nearly two years away; Sevastova returns to the Top 100 for the first time since January of 2012.