Svitolina & Garcia Through To Round Two In Taipei City
Top seeds Elina Svitolina and Caroline Garcia had little trouble in their Taiwan Open debuts, both easing through their opening matches in straight sets.
Top seeds Elina Svitolina and Caroline Garcia had little trouble in their Taiwan Open debuts, both easing through their opening matches in straight sets.
Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Eugenie Bouchard or Svetlana Kuznetsova – who will win January’s WTA Shot Of The Month? It’s up to you – vote now!
An interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova ahead of her participation in the Western & Southern Open.
Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Martina Hingis and more WTA stars danced the night away in Russia at the spectacular Player’s Gala Dinner at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Donna Vekic had Monday’s shot of the day at the Western & Southern Open.
TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – WTA players have been taking time out of their packed schedules at the Taiwan Open this week to meet some of the local young people in Taipei City.
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur spent the morning inspiring the next generation, running a tennis training clinic for youngsters – the photos show just how much fun it was for everyone.
Meanwhile, World No. 93 Mandy Minella and Taiwan’s own Chuang Chia-Jung visited the Taipei Chang Gung memorial hospital, chatting to the young patients there.
All photos courtesy of Taiwan Open.
EILAT, Israel – Even without their new star Johanna Konta, Great Britain had few problems securing a place in this weekend’s Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I promotion play-offs.
Singles victories for Heather Watson and Katie Swan helped Britain to a 2-1 win over Georgia in their final Group B outing. The result sets up a meeting with Belgium on Saturday to determine which nation will advance to the World Group II play-offs this spring.
In the absence of some of Britain’s more experienced campaigners, most notably Australian Open semifinalist Konta, 16-year-old Swann has stepped up magnificently, easing past Georgian No.2 Ekaterine Gorgodze, 6-3, 6-3, for her second win of the week. Watson then put the tie beyond Georgia’s reach by swatting aside Sofia Shapatava, 6-2, 6-0, in an hour.
“I wouldn’t call it easy at all, I don’t think any match is easy, I only have to focus 100% and be prepared for anything,” Watson said.
Sterner tests lie ahead, in the shape of a talented young Belgium side, which extended their perfect record this week with a 3-0 success over Bulgaria.
Ysaline Bonaventure got the ball rolling with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Elitsa Kostova, before Alison Van Uytvanck and Tsvetana Pironkova put their unbeaten records this week on the line.
In the end it was Van Uytvanck that prevailed, edging a see-saw opening set before cantering through the second, wrapping up an impressive 6-4, 6-2 victory with an ace.
“I think they did a great job. They all have a little bit of experience now in Fed Cup, only one rookie this year,” Belgium captain Ann Devries said. “Everybody wants to go for it, everybody wants to win, and not just the players who are playing but everyone in the team.”
The other play-off at Eilat’s Municipal Tennis Centre will see the Ukraine take on home nation Israel.
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While Great Britain and Belgium are battling it out to climb another rung on the Fed Cup ladder, over in Europe the heavyweights will duke it out for a spot in the World Group semifinals.
In Leipzig, Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber is hoping to inspire Germany to the semifinals for a third straight year when they take on neighbors Switzerland. Friday’s draw paired Kerber with Timea Bacsinszky, while in the opening rubber Andrea Petkovic takes on Swiss No.1 Belinda Bencic.
In Cluj, Romania make their return to the World Group when they meet defending champions Czech Republic. Romania, who last appeared at this stage in 1992, will be lead by Simona Halep, but face an uphill battle against the nine-time champions. Halep postponed nasal surgery to lead the home nation and opens the weekend against Karolina Pliskova. Petra Kvitova and Monica Niculescu will meet in Saturday’s second singles rubber.
The other two ties see 2008 champions Russia host the Netherlands, in Moscow, and Italy travel to Marseille to take on France.
Dominika Cibulkova speaks after her win over Donna Vekic.
Roberta Vinci talks through her performance in her second round victory at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – No.1 seed Elina Svitolina is through to her first final of 2017 after a comfortable straight sets win over Mandy Minella at the Taiwan Open, 6-3, 6-2.
Svitolina found herself under pressure at the onset, with Minella drawing first blood and breaking Svitolina after a rollercoaster game for a 3-1 lead. But Ukraine’s No.1 didn’t let her keep the lead for very long.
“I was trying to be aggressive on the return, because she has a big serve,” Svitolina said in post-match press. “I wanted to put more pressure on her, and I think this worked really well. She had a good start, but I was fine with it. I was just focusing on my strategy. I stayed quite solid.”
.@ElinaSvitolina races past Minella 6-3, 6-2!
Sets @WTA_Taiwan_Open Final vs Peng Shuai! pic.twitter.com/y33pIzY4EY
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
The strategy paid off, with Svitolina quickly breaking twice to reel off five straight games and take the set. Minella couldn’t find her way back into the match, surrendering two more breaks to send Svitolina through to the final after just over an hour.
Awaiting in the final will be the resurgent Peng Shuai after the Chinese knocked out birthday girl Lucie Safarova in straight sets.
“She’s ranked No.71 now but I know she was much higher before she was injured,” Svitolina said. “She’s playing really confident, and she’s also in the final in the same situation as me.
“I’m looking to the final with a positive mindset. I’m gonna bring my game to the table and be focused. It’s the last match of the tournament, so you never know what’s gonna happen. I will just try to be 100% and give everything that I have, and hopefully it will be a win.”
Peng, who at 30 years old took home her maiden WTA title late last year in Tianjin, has been making her way back to the top after a long injury layoff. The Chinese player underwent major back surgery in 2015 after the French Open to treat recurring injuries and prolong her career.
“The doctors told me I should think twice before taking this operation and surgery,” Peng said after her victory in Tianjin. “They said no one can make sure that the operation could be successful, 100%. The doctors performed this operation on me and told me there was a 50% possibility I could come back to the court.
“After the surgery, I needed to do a lot of training and practicing. Something I could do in the past, maybe I could not do it today after the surgery. I need to take gradual steps to improve myself after the surgery. I think more important for me is to stay healthy and fit, otherwise I cannot continue my professional career.”
Peng Shuai advances to @WTA_Taiwan_Open Final!
Scores an impressive 6-4, 6-2 win over Safarova! pic.twitter.com/Q9RfpBg5G0
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
Ranked at a career-high No.14 in 2014, Peng’s ranking dipped as low as No.768 in 2016 before her breakthrough on home soil in Tianjin. Now, less than three months later the Chinese player is back in a WTA final, just her second since her return to the game.
“I didn’t think too much on court, just tried my best to fight for it,” Peng said after her victory over Safarova. “It’s hard to predict how well you can play, either in singles or doubles, I’ll just play match by match. I’m very happy to be able to get into the final.”