Venus On Recovering From Disappointment In Auckland
Venus Williams talks about how she recovered from her disappointment in Auckland to bounce back to the Australian Open final.
Venus Williams talks about how she recovered from her disappointment in Auckland to bounce back to the Australian Open final.
LONDON, Great Britain – No.12 seed Carla Suárez Navarro survived a scare in her Wimbledon opener against Shuai Zhang, overcoming a mid-match wobble to advance 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
The last time the pair played was at this tournament and at this stage, with the Spaniard easing past Zhang in a comfortable straight sets back in 2014. Today’s match was decidedly more competitive, with the Chinese No.1 breaking twice to take the second set and going up a break in the third.
But the Spaniard, who reached the semifinals of the Aegon Classic Birmingham earlier in the grass season, roared back in the third to reach the second round.
No.14 seed Samantha Stosur also moved into the second round after putting an early wobble behind her to defeat 24-year-old Magda Linette 7-5, 6-3.
“Not much to be disappointed about with that match,” Stosur said afterwards. “I felt like I was in control.
“There’s always things you want to get a little bit better at but for the most part I thought I played well and really solid. I served well. A couple little things on my forehand. Apart from that, I was happy.”
The Australian’s next opponent will be the big-serving Sabine Lisicki, who was off to a roaring start at Wimbledon and needed only 52 seconds to win her opening game against Magda Linette before taking the match 6-1, 6-3 in 59 minutes.
Meanwhile, Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova scored the biggest win of her career over No.23 seed Ana Ivanovic, knocking out the former No.1 in her Wimbledon main draw debut, 6-2, 7-5.
The Serb took no credit away from her No.223-ranked opponent but pointed to a lingering wrist injury as a factor in her first round exit.
“It was very tough. I mean, since two weeks I struggle with my right wrist,” she said “It was very hard to accelerate on my forehand. I tried to do everything possible to be fit and recover and tape it and so on.
“I feel like it caused me a lot of miss hits. My forehand was hard to control her fast shots. I thought she played really well and served very good. Especially in the first set, she was not missing many first serves.”
Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands put their friendship aside in their first round battle. Regular doubles partners, this time they stood on opposite sides of the net as Mattek-Sands looked to deal an upset to her No.28-seeded friend. She nearly managed it two times – the American held match point once in the second set and twice in the third – before Safarova closed her out 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 7-5.
Also through to the next round is No.17 seed Elina Svitolina, who advanced comfortably against British player Naomi Broady, 6-2, 6-3. Perhaps surprisingly, Svitolina has never made it past the second round of Wimbledon – she’ll hope to do so for the first time against Yaroslava Shvedova.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Unseeded and looming Daria Gavrilova enjoyed a strong start at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, dispatching Russian wildcard Anna Kalinskaya, 6-4, 7-5, to reach the second round.
“It was a tough match,” the Aussie said after the match. “I felt like I didn’t play my best tennis but I’m happy with the way I fought. I got the win but I think that I need to up my level.”
Gavrilova burst onto the scene as a junior prodigy, winning the 2010 girl’s singles title at the US Open and the Youth Olympic Gold medal; it was a full circle moment then for the now-22-year-old to face Kalinskaya, a runner-up at 2015’s junior Wimbledon.
“She’s four years younger than me. I didn’t actually know before that the gap was that big – I asked her and was surprised.
“I asked around because didn’t know how she played, which isn’t very easy. I asked a few girls but they didn’t give me much! My coach watched some videos and gave me some notes.”
Coming off another run to the second week of the Australian Open, Gavrilova battled through several long games to seal a 52-minute opening set, and recovered from a 3-5 deficit in the second to win the final four games and book a meeting against No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
“It’s not easy but I felt that I should be confident with my game. I had some long matches in Australia so I was feeling pretty confident.”
Gavrilova last played Kuznetsova last fall in Russia, where she made the final of the Kremlin Cup in singles and doubles; this is her first time the Moscow native is playing in St. Peterburg, which celebrated its inaugural event last year.
“I actually don’t remember when I was last in St. Petersburg. But I’m really enjoying being here and the organizers and sponsors did well with the hotel – it’s one of the best I’ve stayed in.”
Earlier in the day, Andrea Petkovic booked her spot in the main draw with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Anastasiya Komardina, while Kirsten Flipkens needed three sets to dispatch Donna Vekic, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
LONDON, Great Britain – Svetlana Kuznetsova is a good mood these days. And why shouldn’t she be?
At 31 years old the two-time Slam champion is playing some of her best tennis in years. Currently at No.14, Kuznetsova’s seen her ranking peak this year at No.12, her highest since 2011. She has a title under her belt, winning the Apia International Sydney in January, and made the final of the Miami Open, beating defending champion and World No.1 Serena Williams en route.
After all the ups and downs of her career, Kuznetsova was outspoken last year about wanting to just enjoy her tennis, knowing that if she did the results would come. The change in mindset has led to a more positive mindset and it has freed up her game and led to a level of consistency she has not seen in years.
She’s even holding impromptu Q&As with fans on Twitter. And no matter what’s going on in her life or on the court, Sveta just can’t help being Sveta:
I sat down with Kuznetsova at Wimbledon after her strong first round win over Caroline Wozniacki for a fun discussion about the state of her game, the hilarious circumstances surrounding her first round draw against Caroline, and why she considers herself “an artist” on the court.
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No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova rounded out St. Petersburg’s last eight line-up with a decisive win over Donna Vekic to book a quarterfinal encounter with No.5 seed Elena Vesnina.
Sam Stosur was impressive in Taipei City – check out her shot of the day as she moved into the quarterfinals at the expense of Dalila Jakupovic.
Despite the degrees of separation, Elena Vesnina proved most prescient prior to the Wimbledon fortnight when expecting a boost in form thanks to Ivan Lendl.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Yulia Putintseva made another thrilling comeback at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, shocking BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion and No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. The Kazakh’s first Top 5 win helps reach her first WTA final where she’ll face Kristina Mladenovic, who also triumphed in three sets against Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
“It’s unbelievable,” Putintseva said after the match. “I’m very happy that the crowd was behind me this time around. Yesterday they supported more Svetlana and today they cheered for me. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
Putintseva was playing her first Premier-level semifinal and coming off her third career Top 10 win over No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, giving the more experienced Cibulkova the upper hand from the start. The Slovak worked through a few tense opening games to edge ahead by a break and take the opening set with the help of nine winners.
A well-executed drop shot by @PutintsevaYulia! ? pic.twitter.com/dJmVkAx15E
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
Cibulkova fell behind a break to start the second, but after winning three straight games to level the set, a first final of 2017, a career-high ranking of No.4, and a 399th career win all appeared on the cards for the reigning WTA Finals champion.
But the unseeded 22-year-old had other ideas, holding and breaking serve in quick succession to level the match, cleaning up her side of the stat sheet with 12 winners to only eight unforced errors; Cibulkova maintained an almost exact inverse, hitting eight winners to 13 errors.
.@PutintsevaYulia is pumped ? ? pic.twitter.com/W6ZBkZdqVB
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
The final set was reminiscent of Friday’s quarterfinal between Putintseva and Kuznetsova, as the World No.5 twice led by a break, getting within two points of a 5-3 lead.
“I never give up and always try to dictate my game no matter what. And this is what I was trying to do throughout this match.
But Putintseva continued to play her best tennis when her back was up against the wall, winning four straight games to book her first-ever WTA final in two hours and 19 minutes.
First #WTA Premier Final!
Knocks out Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/1qCILGIjIG
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
By match’s end, it was clear that consistency had gotten the job done for Putintseva, who matched Cibulkova in winners (27 each), but hit 11 fewer errors (43 to 32).
“It’s my first WTA final, but actually I don’t feel any pressure here. I am enjoying every moment I spend on the court.”
Waiting for her in the championship match will be Mladenovic, herself enjoying a career-best run that began with an emphatic win over Australian Open runner-up Venus Williams. The Frenchwoman back up the upset by dethroning defending champion Roberta Vinci and remained composed after losing the first set to Vikhlyantseva, a rising Russian set to make her Top 100 debut after reaching her first semifinal at a WTA Premier event.
“She’s really powerful, and all credit to her in the first set,” Mladenovic said after the match. “I was like, ‘Geez, this is going very fast.’ She was playing very heavy with her groundstrokes, and hitting a lot of winners.
“I just dug really deep and I was trying to stay positive. I said to myself that if she managed to maintain this high energy and intensity for the whole match, good job. But I’m very happy to have stayed in the match long enough to turn it around.”
Superb slice by @KiKiMladenovic! ? pic.twitter.com/pgmFWGqdDx
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
An unfamiliar opponent to many, Vikhlyantseva had previously pushed Mladenovic to three sets in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last summer, helping the unseeded Frenchwoman prepare for what became a three set battle.
“I think it was a very good match, high intensity from both of us. I think the difference today was my ability to maintain that intensity from first point to last. I felt that way mentally the whole match, but I could sense her start to drop her level physically, be it with footwork, and the legs. She became less precise, and because she takes so many risks from the baseline, she started to make more unforced errors.
.@KikiMladenovic advances to @Formula_TX Final!
Makes 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win over Vikhlyantseva! pic.twitter.com/uvDMsiXKr8
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
Mladenovic and Putintseva have played four times before, splitting their head-to-head at two wins apiece; Putintseva won their most recent meeting last year at the BNP Paribas Open in straight sets.
“She’s in great form, playing really well. She’s a big fighter, who runs down a lot of balls. I’ll have to keep playing the same way I have all week, being aggressive, coming forward, and trying to dictate play with my forehand. I’ll try to find angles and try to find my game towards the net.”
“I feel well, I feel fresh. I think that's a big improvement on my side.” -@KiKiMladenovic pic.twitter.com/bmxzehRxoV
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
St. Petersburg champ Kristina Mladenovic is within striking distance of the Top 30 while Russian teenager Natalia Vikhlyantseva made her Top 100 debut; who else moved up the WTA rankings?
Kristina Mladenovic talks about the significance of winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.