THE WINNERS
Simona Halep won her third title of 2016 with a decisive 7-6(2), 6-3 victory at the Rogers Cup over No.10 seed Madison Keys, moving up to No.3 in the world and increasing her winning streak to 10 straight matches.
“I like being here in Montréal a lot. It feels like being in Europe, like I’ve said many times,” Halep said. “With all the Romanians, I felt like I was at home. Many people were coming every day, not just today. It was an amazing atmosphere down there.
“The man that announced us on the court today said two words in Romanian, so that motivated me a lot. I said that I have to win.”
WTA Insider Live Blog: point-by-point analysis. | Watch highlights here.
Two-time Grand Slam champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina reunited after nearly a year apart at the start of the European clay court season, winning their first title of the season at the Rogers Cup, knocking out singles champion Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu, 6-3, 7-6(5).
The Russians, who are a part of the delegation competing at the Olympic tennis event in Rio, are using Montréal as a testing ground for their renewed partnership. The duo has combined for two Grand Slam titles in the past, and now have their sights set on Olympic gold.
“Hopefully it’s going to help us in Rio for sure,” Vesnina said. “We’re playing here in Montréal because everyone wants to get match rhythm, get some wins and some confidence. Doubles is always tricky so it’s good to have some big wins ahead of Rio.”
Read the match recap here.
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of August 1, 2016.
Simona Halep (ROU) +2 (No.5 to 3): With her win at the Rogers Cup, Halep inches up two ranking spots to No.3. She started out the year at No.2 and dipped as low as No.7 following a string of disappointing midseason results.
Daria Kasatkina (RUS) +6 (No.33 to 27): The 19-year-old’s breakthrough continued in Montréal last week, where she reached the quarterfinal to climb to a career high ranking of No.27.
Camila Giorgi (ITA) +9 (No.77 to 68): Italian qualifier Giorgi reached the second round at Montreal, bumping her up to No.68.
Kristina Kucova (SVK) +44 (121 to 77): Kucova’s Cinderella run from qualifying to her first WTA Premier-level semifinal in Montréal earned her the week’s biggest ranking jump to a career high spot at No.77.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
Brasil Tennis Cup
Florianopolis, Brazil
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Sunday, July 31 – Friday, August 5
Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open
Nanchang, China
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 1 – Sunday, August 7
Olympic Tennis Event
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– | $0 | Hard, Outdoor
Saturday, August 6 – Sunday, August 14
Western & Southern Open
Cincinnati, USA
Premier | $2,503,250 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 15 – Sunday, August 21
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Olympics
2. Angelique Kerber – Olympics, Cincinnati
3. Simona Halep – Cincinnati
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Olympics, Cincinnati
5. Agnieszka Radwanska – Olympics, Cincinnati
6. Venus Williams – Olympics
7. Victoria Azarenka
8. Roberta Vinci – Olympics, Cincinnati
9. Madison Keys – Olympics
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Olympics, Cincinnati
11. Dominika Cibulkova – Cincinnati
12. Carla Suárez Navarro – Olympics, Cincinnati
13. Johanna Konta – Olympics, Cincinnati
14. Petra Kvitova – Olympics, Cincinnati
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Olympics, Cincinnati
16. Belinda Bencic – Cincinnati
17. Karolina Pliskova – Cincinnati
18. Samantha Stosur – Olympics, Cincinnati
19. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Olympics, Cincinnati
20. Elina Svitolina – Olympics, Cincinnati
