Sydney: Stosur vs. Hantuchova
Samantha Stosur takes on Daniela Hantuchova in the second round of the Apia International Sydney.
Samantha Stosur takes on Daniela Hantuchova in the second round of the Apia International Sydney.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Simona Halep capped off a strong week in Canada by winning her third title of the season, beating Madison Keys, 7-6(2), 6-3, to win the Rogers Cup. Her win over Keys extended her current win streak to 10 matches and moves her up to No.3 in both the rankings and the Road To Singapore leaderboard.
Hear from Halep as she discusses her week in Montreal, her plans for the upcoming weeks without the Olympics, and why she never, ever, skips a good dessert.
On doing double duty: “It was very different because I’m not used to playing doubles. I got a little bit tired in the end. But it also helped me to play some doubles matches because I practiced the return, the serve. That helped me a lot in singles; I had tough opponents there. It’s been a great week in both singles and doubles. I am dead, but I have a few days break, and I will be fresh against for Cincinnati.”
On managing frustration on court: “My physio Dragos is new and he doesn’t know tennis very well. He asked Darren during the match where I had a set and 5-0, ‘Why is Simona angry at this moment?’ I don’t know how to answer, because it happens. It’s coming from inside where I get frustrated because I’ve missed a ball. I always want perfection; I know that doesn’t exist, but I’m looking for it a lot anyway. I don’t know if I’ll ever find out why I do this, but if I do, I will change it because I really want to change this and be more patient and positive with myself.”
On the summer hardcourts: “I think I play better tennis on hardcourts here at the US Open Series because the courts are faster and I started to play well on this surface. I feel more confident because I had a great result last year at all the tournaments, so I’m looking forward to the next tournament because I feel confident that I can win some more matches. I just have to be careful with my body, to take a rest and recover, and then to work again.”
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DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina is into the biggest final of her career after upsetting top seed Angelique Kerber in straight sets at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday; standing between her and her sixth career title is none other than 2011 champion and former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.
Check out everything you need to know about this high-stakes affair right here on wtatennis.com!
1. Svitolina can crack the Top 10 if she wins on Saturday.
Svitolina has been on the cusp of making her Top 10 debut for quite some time, and the Ukrainian youngster can close the deal should she beat Wozniacki in the final.
2. The Ukrainian is riding an 11-match winning streak.
Svitolina recovered from a third round upset at the Australian Open in impressive fashion, picking up her fifth career title at the Taiwan Open, leading her country to a Fed Cup victory over Australia, and reaching the final in Dubai.
3. Wozniacki is definitely at home in Dubai.
A Dubai Duty Free ambassador, Wozniacki overtook former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic’s record total of match wins in Dubai on Friday, winning a 22nd match in seven appearances. She last reached the final in 2011, when she beat Svetlana Kuznetsova for the title.
4. The Dane is surging in 2017.
Wozniacki began this season much like she ended last; since reaching the semifinals of the US Open, she’s been on fire, reaching back-to-back finals in Doha and Dubai; the last time she did that was in 2014, when she reached two straight finals in Flushing and Tokyo at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
5. The No.2 spot on the Road to Singapore leaderboard is on the line.
Not only can Svitolina earn a career-high ranking, but a win on Saturday will also send her shooting up the RTS leaderboard, all the way to No.2. The runner-up will also be in the Top 8, ranked No.5. Svitolina would make be making her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, while Wozniacki qualified four times, most recently in 2014.
6. Svitolina saves her best for the game’s best.
The No.7 seed not only defeated Kerber for the second time this season, but also owns a three-match winning streak on the former No.1, dating back to the China Open in Beijing. She also knocked then-No.1 Serena Williams out of the Olympic tennis event; in her last three encounters with World No.1s, Svitolina’s won two.
7. Wozniacki aims for Miami Open revenge.
Wozniacki and Svitolina played just once before, in the third round of the Miami Open; Svitolina recovered from a set down to defeat the Dane, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1) in a late-night match.
8. Svitolina is one win from her biggest title yet.
Svitolina has already racked up five titles in her young career, but all on the International level. She finished runner-up at the Connecticut Open and the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai to Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova, respectively, and reached the final four last fall in Beijing.
9. Wozniacki returns to the big time.
Barring the US Open final, Wozniacki hadn’t reached a Premier Mandatory or Premier 5 final since 2013 at the BNP Paribas Open. This would be her biggest title since beating Naomi Osaka in the Tokyo final last fall.
10. The final takes place after a rousing doubles championship match.
Before Wozniacki and Svitolina hit the courts, new Road to Singapore leaderboard No.1s Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai face Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. The Russians are into their second final of the season while Hlavackova are in their third, including the Australian Open.
Watch Caroline Wozniacki hit the practice court ahead of the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Monica Puig after her win in the quarterfinals at the Apia International Sydney.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Last April, Teliana Pereira became the first Brazilian in 27 years to lift a WTA title when she won the Claro Open Colsanitas, in Bogotá. A second, and more emotional, triumph followed a few months later, Periera departing Florianopolis for her home up the coast in Curitiba with the trophy – and a Top 50 ranking – safely secured.
In sports mad Brazil, her fairytale journey from humble beginnings to a place at the upcoming Rio Olympics has captured the public’s imagination. In the build-up to the Games, CNN Open Court tracked down Brazil’s leading player to hear her incredible story first-hand.
DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina took home her second title of 2017 – and the biggest one of her career – at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
Playing in her first Premier 5 final, Svitolina showed no sign of nerves as she outhit the former World No.1 to claim the victory 6-4, 6-2 after an hour and 10 minutes.
“It’s very special for me [to win such a big tournament],” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “I’ve played very amazing tennis this week and I’m happy it happened in Dubai.
“It’s the first trophy for me at such a big tournament, so it’s very special for me.”
“I dreamed for all my life to be in the Top 10” -@ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/T4CooJ6Nw3
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
With the title, Svitolina will rise from WTA No.13 to No.10, making her the 120th player to make her Top 10 debut since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975.
“I’ve dreamed for all my life to be in Top 10. It’s a very amazing feeling to enter Top 10, and do it by winning the tournament! I’m very excited for the season and very excited I could win this tournament.”
The 22-year-old Ukrainian entered the matchup against Wozniacki with a 1-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, with their only meeting coming last year in Miami where Svitolina came within two points of defeat before winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1).
This time in Dubai, it was a more comprehensive affair, with Svitolina injecting pace into her groundstrokes to break down Wozniacki’s rock-solid defense.
.@ElinaSvitolina captures @DDFTennis Title!
Defeats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/TA3LibF8zn
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
A pair of inch-perfect passing shots left Wozniacki wrong-footed and gave Svitolina the lone break in the first set at 3-2. But the Dane refused to fade away, batting away a pair of Svitolina set points at 5-4 with some bold tennis – including a second-serve ace – to force the Ukrainian to serve it out.
Wozniacki let three break points slip by that would have leveled the score, and instead Svitolina held serve from 0-40 down to take the opening set.
Svitolina continued her momentum into the final set; after trading breaks to start, Svitolina played more aggressive to chip away at Wozniacki’s defense as the Dane’s unforced error count continued to build. Svitolina rattled off the last five games in a row to close out the match and biggest title of her career.
“It’s been a good two weeks, @DDFTennis is a special tournament for me.” -@CaroWozniacki pic.twitter.com/xVVyG0fmXK
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
Despite the disappointing loss, Wozniacki is taking away positive signs from her Middle East fortnight, which saw her reach back-to-back finals.
“It’s been a good two weeks for me – two finals, lots of matches,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “Making another final here [in Dubai] is definitely great, and I’m already excited to be back.”
Another piece of good news for Wozniacki? The Dane is inching closer to her return to the WTA Top 10: with her run to the final she’ll move to No.14, and is defending just 145 points until the US Open.
SYDNEY, Australia – Top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza were trailing by a set and a break when rain interrupted their semifinal match with Yaroslava Shvedova and Raluca Olaru, but turned the tables upon resumption to win, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 to capture a 29th straight match.
Team SanTina have not lost a match since the Western & Southern Open late last summer, and the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions have now surpassed Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva’s 1994 record of 28 straight victories and have now begun to chase an even bigger record. Back in 1990, the dynamic duo of Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova won a whopping 44 matches in a row.
“This is something that I dreamed about and I was hoping for,” Hingis told press after the match. “I can only say it over and over again: It’s something that’s a priority. When I was playing singles, singles was the priority. I became No.1 there. For a time, I was No. 1 in both.
“Now I put 100% or 120% into this, and I think I that’s what makes us this great doubles team. The chemistry is amazing. We don’t always play super tennis, but we come out and find a solution. I think that’s what makes us right now the best doubles in the world.”
“Today the girls we were playing, they were playing probably the best I’ve seen them play,” Mirza added. “Slava has won Slams before, and Olaru was playing really well. We had to really put everything that we had and really come out with our A Game when we needed to, especially in that supertiebreak.
“It’s not like because we’ve been winning so much we take it for granted really. We try every time. We’re the hunted. Everyone plays their best against us, and we have to keep playing our best as well to win.”
With titles at the Apia International Sydney and the Australian Open, SanTina could move their streak up to 36 straight, and would likely need at least another two titles to come close to passing such an elusive record.
In the meantime, the top seeds will face the winner of the second semifinal between No.3 seeds Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, and the No.2 seeds, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan. The Chan sisters are the last women to defeat Hingis and Mirza together in Cincinnati, but have fallen to the pair four times since then.
The singles matches, however, weren’t able to survive the ensuing rain storms that soaked Sydney. Top seed Simona Halep led Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-4 while qualifier Monica Puig had a massive 4-0 lead on Belinda Bencic before both matches were canceled – to resume on Friday.
“It's good to have a tough test like this this going into a Grand Slam” #Hingis on match today #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/nNFqKi8Yne
— Apia Intl Sydney (@SydneyTennis) January 14, 2016
The draw for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro has been released; where have your favorite players landed? Find out right here on wtatennis.com!
The story of the tournament from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.