Doha: Shot Of The Match (Radwanska)
Agnieszka Radwanska had the shot of the match in the quarterfinals at the Qatar Total Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska had the shot of the match in the quarterfinals at the Qatar Total Open.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – There is little doubt that in New York Caroline Wozniacki has found a home away from home.
Born in Denmark to Polish parents, like all players, Wozniacki’s professional calling has left little time for setting down roots. However, there is something about the Big Apple that the former World No.1 has found very much to her liking.
Professionally, the city has provided plenty of moments to cherish – most notably runs to the US Open final in 2009 and 2014 – while off the court the Dane moves to a New York beat, attending fashion shows, sports events and even running the marathon.
It is no surprise then that this fortnight on the tennis calendar has coincided with Wozniacki’s return to form.
After a campaign hampered by a nagging ankle injury, Wozniacki has provided a timely reminder of her considerable talents; indeed, counterpunching masterclasses against first Svetlana Kuznetsova and then Madison Keys were as impressive as anything produced during her pomp.
Owner of an apartment in downtown Manhattan, Wozniacki, enjoys home comforts not available to most during the tour’s fortnightly visit to Flushing Meadows.
“I just can cook – or I don’t cook, actually; my mom has been cooking,” Wozniacki told the press after a fourth round upset of No.8 seed Madison Keys. “She does my laundry, as well.”
While many of her rivals jet off to sunnier climes to practice between tournaments, Wozniacki is eager to spend as much time in her adopted home as possible – even if it takes her a little off the beaten track.
“We travel so much, so I don’t get to spend as much time here as I want. But when I’m here lately I have been training at the McEnroe Academy on Randall’s Island. Sometimes I go to the Westside Highway; it’s public courts. They usually let me in and let me in and train for as long as I want. I kind of like being there, because I feel like a proper New Yorker.
“I actually haven’t ever waited [for a court] because people have been so sweet that they’ve let me in. But if I had to wait, I would. What can I do? I have to follow the rules, right?”
Her past accomplishments and ties to the city ensure Wozniacki is never left wanting for support. In fact, aided by the sizeable Polish expatriate community, even against American No.3 Keys, Wozniacki was a popular winner. “Well, there are a lot of Polish people living here. Obviously there is a big fan base from Poland here.
“I was born in Denmark and feel Danish, but I have some Polish blood in me. It’s nice I can take the best of both worlds. Also I have a big part of the New York crowd with me. It’s a great combination here.”
A segment of these same fans will be torn, though, when she steps on court for her next match, a semifinal against World No.2 Angelique Kerber. Like Wozniacki, Kerber, whose father is Polish, has close links to the motherland, where she trains and owns a house.
Down the years, the two have engaged in several titanic struggles – Kerber edges the head-to-head, 7-5 – and Wozniacki is expecting more of the same on Thursday. “We are similar in that we are both hard working. I think that, you know, hard work pays off. She’s obviously very passionate. She loves what she’s doing and it shows.
“Obviously I have had tough matches against her in the past. She’s a great competitor. She looks fit, so it’s going to be a tough one.”
MELBOURNE, Australia – Taking stock of the first two rounds of play at the Australian Open, where Serena Williams leads a class of players who look primed for a title run.
Fit and ready to fight.
Through the first two rounds of play, here are the players who look in-form and ready to make a real run at the Australian Open title.
Serena Williams
No one had a tougher draw in the first two rounds than Serena and she passed with flying colors, beating Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova in straight sets. Her win over Safarova on Thursday night was particularly impressive. Serena fired 15 aces and a total of 35 winners to 23 unforced errors and she was clutch when she needed to be. Serena faced down six break points and saved them all to win, 6-3, 6-4.
And you know it was good if she says it was good. Serena’s her harshest critic, which explains why she didn’t have much patience for anyone finding fault in her performance.
“Scrappy?”
Serena put in a top-notch performance tonight. So you can understand this response. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/PJrvI4AAVH
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) January 19, 2017
Karolina Pliskova
Through two matches against, as she said, soft opponents, the World No.5 has lost just four games, dropping two bagel sets along the way. She has yet to be tested in the tournament, but she’s been striking the ball well and has been broken just once.
Johanna Konta
Konta continues her incredible form that was on display in her run to the Apia International Sydney title last week. She has not lost a set, beating Kirsten Flipkens and Naomi Osaka handily, and her level has been outstanding. If she wasn’t in Serena’s quarter of the draw she’d be a more than justifiable pick to make the semifinals, if not the final. That’s just how good Jo is playing right now.
Dominika Cibulkova
The No.6 seed has not lost a set but she’s been made to fight on court to beat Denisa Allertova and Hsieh Su-Wei. There have been some wobbles, but the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion has yet to panic, a true sign of her growing confidence. Cibulkova did not come into the tournament with many matches, and she may need a few more to fully round into form. But she’s been solid early.
Garbiñe Muguruza
The Spaniard insists that her abductor injury is getting better as time goes on, and her ability to pocket tough straight-set wins in the early going will only help. She did not have dominant wins over Marina Erakovic and Sam Crawford, but she’s shown the same resilience she showed at the Brisbane International to start the year. Muguruza is battle-tested and she’s playing well. The only question is whether her body holds up during the tournament.
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Much like Pliskova, the No.8 seed has yet to face a real test, losing just one game to Mariana Duque-Mariño and handling Aussie teenager Jamiee Fourlis easily.
Venus Williams
As I wrote before the tournament, Venus has a great draw to make the second week and possibly the semifinals. Through two matches she has looked far better than expected given the right arm injury she’s been managing. Much like Muguruza, we’ll be keeping an eye on how she’s doing physically – she withdrew from doubles so as to not aggravate the injury – but so far, so good for Venus.
The Dark Horse
Eugenie Bouchard looks primed to play spoiler in her section of the draw. Bouchard has been playing confident tennis in Melbourne and faced CoCo Vandeweghe on Friday. Get through that match and she could earn a shot at defending champion Angelique Kerber, who is still trying to find her form.
The Surprises
Jennifer Brady, Maria Sakkari, Nicole Gibbs, Mona Barthel, Ashleigh Barty, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Sorana Cirstea probably aren’t names many penciled into the third round.
Quote of the Day: “Sometimes people think you play a top player and you’ll go in there relaxed like you have nothing to lose. I don’t see it that way at all.”
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni pulled off the upset of the day, routing No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2 in just 66 minutes. The 34-year-old fired 33 winners to just 20 unforced errors, and she left Radwanska playing the role of bystander. “Shooting – not playing – is the right word for that game,” Radwanska said. “In or out. That’s it. It went so quickly.”
“Sometimes people think you play a top player and you’ll go in there relaxed like you have nothing to lose,” Lucic-Baroni said. “I don’t see it that way at all. I know I have the game to beat top players so I came in there with a gameplan today to win the match. I didn’t go to see the court and enjoy. I’m way too old and I’ve been around way too long to just gain experience. I came there to win the match.”
It took the Croat 19 years to win her second match ever at the Australian Open, which came in the first round. Now, 48 hours later she scored her third.
“Feelings like tonight are incredible on court,” Lucic-Baroni said. “You can’t replicate it anywhere else in life.”
Jennifer Brady saves five match points to beat Heather Watson.
The American qualifier, ranked No.116, is playing just her second main draw at a Slam. Thanks to some clutch serving, she saved five match points to beat Watson, 2-6, 7-6(3), 10-8 in 2 hours and 43 minutes. She’ll face No.14 seed Elena Vesnina next. The Russian has a chance to make the second week without facing a player in the Top 100.
Brady told reporters she had no expectation of still being in the tournament in the third round. “I booked my hotel through the 20th,” Brady said. “Gotta change that now.”
Brady’s friends are pretty excited for her:
Spot the brat in the 3rd rd of @AustralianOpen!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/N07XJ7uqxG
— Grace Min (@GraceMin56) January 19, 2017
SakkAttack!
Greece’s Maria Sakkari won her first main draw match at a Slam here in Melbourne last year. Twelve months later she’s into her first third round, beating No.28 seed Alizé Cornet, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1. With the massive Greek support here in Melbourne, Sakkari was left speechless when asked what this result means to her.
“I still cannot believe it. It’s a dream. I grew up watching all these players that I’m playing now and I could not imagine when I was young that I would be here in the third round playing against these players.”
“It’s something that not many people can do, around the world. I still cannot believe it so I cannot tell you what it feels like.”
Johanna Konta and Caroline Wozniacki set for a big third-round clash.
Both women won through easily on Thursday, setting up a must-watch match on Saturday. Clear your schedules. That’s the biggest third-round showdown of the tournament. It will be the first meeting between the two.
Dominika Cibulkova on the mental game.
Cibulkova started working with a sports psychologist in February of 2015 and she credits all the hard work they’ve done over the last two years for her on-court improvements. But she admits that she wasn’t sure about it when they first began working together.
“In the beginning I didn’t believe this was something that would help me achieve what I want,” she said. “But I started to work with him and I saw the results. So I started to believe once I tried it myself.”
Earlier in the week, CoCo Vandeweghe said she had tried working with a sports psychologist years ago but stopped because she found it too invasive. I asked Cibulkova why more players don’t work with a sports psychologist, especially in a high-pressure game like tennis.
“I think the best players, they work with a mental coach, they just don’t talk about it,” she said. “They just want to keep it for themselves. Who would want to say, ‘I’m doing this extra and it will help you too’?
“Three years ago I thought if I give 100% on the court then off the court it’s my time off and I don’t have to think about tennis and do other things. Now my coach led me to this mental coach and he said, ‘Domi, you need this because your game is so good but you need your head to be more stable and more strong.'”
Nicole Gibbs gets back to basics.
Gibbs is into the third round of a Slam for the first time since the US Open in 2014, and for just the second time in her career. She came through an All-American derby, beating Irina Falconi in straight sets.
Watching Gibbs early this season it’s clear that she’s been working on being more aggressive and looking to hit forehands with more pace and placement. Gibbs credits a racquet switch during the off-season, trading in her Wilson Burn for the new Wilson Blade. But she’s also getting back to the fundamentals of her game, which she felt she went away from last year.
“When my dad built my game he kind of modeled me after Justine Henin,” Gibbs said. “He wanted me running around backhands, looking for my forehand everywhere. His only regret was not giving me a one-handed backhand.
“That was the basis of my game and for the first time in a long time I have a coach that sees it that way as well. So we’re getting back to the foundational principles that my game was built around and I think that’s going to take me to the highest potential peak of my game.”
Naomi Osaka bows out.
For the first time in five Slams, Osaka failed to reach the third round, though in this case you can blame a tough draw against Konta. Asked about her goals for the season, the 19-year-old was pretty clear.
“Goals for the season, I wanted to get into the Top 20, win a tournament, and then get to the quarterfinals of a Slam.”
Serena is just…Serena.
“Overall I played really well. But unfortunately, Serena played…Serena.”
That was Lucie Safarova after playing a great match and still finding herself on the losing end of a straight-set loss to Serena.
“She’s not someone you see in a second-round match. I know that [French Open final against Safarova] was a tough three-set match. She never gives up. Like she’s just always fighting to come back. So I knew that I wanted to jump out in the lead.
“I knew that I wanted to just be Serena. That’s what I’m good at doing, is being Serena.”
So what exactly does it mean to “be Serena”?
“To me, it’s being a champion, but not only by the way I play, but the things I do off the court as well,” Serena said. “I know that being Serena on the court is in a way being calm, which is in my name, but always having that fire as well. I think, most of all, being confident. I should be confident ’cause there’s no other Serena. I mean, I’m Serena. Maybe there is another one, but she’s not in tennis.
“So I think sometimes I forget. I try to be so humble that I forget I have accomplished so much. I really wanted today to just have confidence when I was out there.”
Day 5 Matches to Watch:
Eugenie Bouchard vs. CoCo Vandeweghe (1st match, Rod Laver Arena)
Angelique Kerber vs. Kristyna Pliskova (2nd match, Rod Laver Arena)
Elina Svitolina vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (1st match, Margaret Court Arena)
Venus Williams vs. Duan Ying-Ying (3rd match, Margaret Court Arena)
Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Anastasija Sevastova (2nd night match, Margaret Court Arena)
Jelena Jankovic vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova (1st match, Hisense Arena)
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Carla Suárez Navarro takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open.
Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic eased into the US Open final with an impressive straight set win over Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe on Thursday afternoon.
Svetlana Kuznetsova discusses her third-round victory at the Australian Open.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – No.3 seed Sabine Lisicki overcame energy-sapping conditions and a stubborn opponent to secure a place in the second round of the BMW Malaysian Open.
Watch live action from Monterrey & Kuala Lumpur this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Twelve months ago, Lisicki fell at the first hurdle in the Malaysian capital, but despite never quite finding her best tennis she dug in to defeat Magda Linette, 6-4, 7-6(5), on Monday.
In a match of contrasting styles, Linette’s resolute defense tested both Lisicki’s patience and fitness. The first of these seemed to be wearing thin during a dramatic conclusion to the second set, the German’s radar malfunctioning to gift Linette a 5-2 lead in the tie-break.
But with temperatures threatening the 100ºF mark, Lisicki was in no mood for a third set, rattling through the final five points to set up a second-round meeting with qualifier Barbora Krejcikova.
“She’s a tough opponent, especially for the first round, because she gets a lot of balls back,” Lisicki said. “She started pretty well and I think I needed to get my rhythm. Very tough conditions – very hot and humid – so I’m happy to be through in straight sets.”
Lisicki, who arrived in Malaysia with only two wins to her name in 2016, hopes the extra time on court will help shake off any lingering rustiness.
“You always have some ups and downs and I was very happy that I was able to play well from 2-5 in the tie-break,” she added. “I missed quite a few easy balls [earlier] but the most important thing is that I kept my concentration and got five points in a row – which is not the usual thing!
“I usually get used to the heat pretty quickly and I like it when it’s hot and humid – but here it’s a little bit extreme. It’s good preparation and I’ll try and get as many matches as possible and see how far I can go.”
Also advancing in Lisicki’s section of the draw was Kurumi Nara, who won an early evening marathon with Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(10). The match, in which both players saved multiple match points, lasted three hours and 20 minutes, making it the longest on tour this season.
Elsewhere, Hsieh Su-Wei improved her fine record at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jana Cepelova. “I think the weather is better for the Asian players, so to play at two o’clock was good for me,” Hsieh said. “It’s very hot and we are used to this more.”
Four years ago, Hsieh came through qualifying to lift her first WTA title and has since reached another quarter and semifinal. Seeded No.7 this time, she will meet Kristina Kucova next.
On Thursday evening, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova produced some of the finest tennis of their respective careers to move within touching distance of US Open glory.
Around the same time they were adding the finishing touches to impressive victories over Flushing Meadows favorites Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams, one of the tournament’s most popular champions received her nomination to join the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
At the dawn of the millennium Kim Clijsters battled it out with Amélie Mauresmo, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and the Williams sisters for domination of a golden era in women’s tennis.
After years of playing the role of bridesmaid, on September 10, 2005, Clijsters finally enjoyed her own big day, defeating Mary Pierce in the US Open final to lift her maiden Grand Slam title.
Despite being just 22 at the time, this victory had been a long time coming; Clijsters, and her entertaining brand of athletic, all-court tennis had been entertaining crowds since she slid onto the scene as bubbly teenager in the late 1990s.
The Belgian’s big breakthrough came a few years later, in 2001, where she reached the final in both Indian Wells and the French Open. Unfortunately for Clijsters, both occasions ended in runner-up speeches, a scenario that would become all too familiar over the coming years as she lost out in four further major finals.
Once she had rid this monkey from her back in 2005, though, there was no looking back. Clijsters won three further Slams – all of which came after the birth of her first child – and a whole host of other silverware to prove once and for all that nice girls can indeed finish first.
“I’m very honored to be on the ballot for International Tennis Hall of Fame induction,” Clijsters said. “The women who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame are great champions who I have always admired. It’s an honor to be considered to be part of that incredible group of athletes, and I’m grateful for this acknowledgement of my career.”
Tennis journalists and authors will cast their votes in the ballot over the coming months, culminating with an announcement early next year of the International Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The Class of 2017 Enshrinement Ceremony will be hosted on Saturday, July 22, 2017 during the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.
Angelique Kerber faced Kristyna Pliskova in the third round of the Australian Open.
How many minutes did it take Kurumi Nara to overcome Daniela Hantuchova in their recent Malaysian marathon? Which nation is best represented in the Top 100? And who has hit the most aces in 2016? These are just a few of the questions answered in the latest installment of wtatennis.com’s By The Numbers.
200 – The number of minutes needed by Kurumi Nara to defeat Daniela Hantuchova in the first round of the BMW Malaysian Open, making it the longest match of the season. The previous record was Heather Watson and Monica Niculescu’s 194-minute marathon in Hobart.
84.6 – Despite having a delivery that rarely breaks the 90mph mark, Sara Errani succeeded in winning 84.6% of the points on her first serve in February.
76 – The WTA-leading number of aces struck by, no, not Serena Williams or Karolina Pliskova, but Timea Babos, who credits a change in technique with improved power and consistency behind her booming delivery. Number two on the list for the year is Julia Goerges (61), who, as chance would have it, teamed up with Babos for doubles through the Middle East Swing..
45 – Doha finalist Jelena Ostapenko was the most upwardly mobile of any player currently ranked in the Top 100 in February, rising 45 places (from No.86 to 41).
33 – Based on the rankings from February 29, 2016, there are currently 33 nations represented in the Top 100, led by the USA (12), Germany (10) and Russia (8).
13 – Unlucky for some, Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska and Carla Suárez Navarro have all played 13 matches in 2016, more than any other player.
3 – Kerber still leads the way in the Road To Singapore leaderboard with 2,361 points. Three of the current Top 8 on the leaderboard have never competed in singles at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
2 – Sloane Stephens became the first player to win multiple singles titles in 2016 with victory in Acapulco on Saturday. It was her third career title (after Washington DC, in 2015 and Auckland this January). Stephens played 83 tournaments before advancing to her first WTA singles final and has now won three titles in her last 11 events.
1 – Looking ahead to Indian Wells, Simona Halep will follow in the footsteps of greatness should she reclaim the title; Martina Navratilova (1990, 1991) is the only woman to successfully defend her title at the event
0 – Number of wins by seeded players in Dubai.