Vinci Manages Riske At Wimbledon
No.6 seed Roberta Vinci moved into the second round of Wimbledon for the first time in two years after a hard-fought win over Alison Riske.
No.6 seed Roberta Vinci moved into the second round of Wimbledon for the first time in two years after a hard-fought win over Alison Riske.
Kristyna Pliskova takes on Roberta Vinci in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Caroline Wozniacki discusses her next match after her win in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch Angelique Kerber hit the practice court ahead of the start of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch Angelique Kerber and Mona Barthel’s 26-shot rally in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
DUBAI, UAE – Kateryna Bondarenko is through to the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after No.5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza was forced to withdraw due to a left achilles injury while trailing 4-1 in the opening set.
“It’s good that I’m through, but it wasn’t really a win,” Bonadarenko said after the match. “She retired.”
Muguruza suffered a shock defeat last week Doha to Zhang Shuai, and looked to be struggling with her timing early on, double faulting to hand her opponent the immediate break.
At the first changeover, Muguruza called for the physio but opted not to take an injury timeout before being broken again.
“When I finished in Doha, because of the rain, a lot of people played two matches, including me,” Muguruza explained. “The second one was very tough, and I remember that as soon as I went, after the match, to my room, I started to have a pain in my left Achilles.
“The next morning was even more painful. I have been carried this since that day. And here, I have been training but on and off, honestly, because of the pain. Some days it was a little bit better, some days it was a little bit worse. It was just hard for me to serve, especially, and to just move side to side today on the court.
A lack of mobility clearly apparent, Muguruza decided that the best way back into the match was to hit her way out of trouble. But with the score at 4-1 in the first set, she decided that it wasn’t worth continuing.
“I can’t see anything right now. I have to do some kind of MRI.
“Personally, I don’t think it’s like something big, hopefully, but it’s very irritated and it’s really bothering me every time I have to run on the court.”
.@GarbiMuguruza retires in the opening set.
Kateryna Bondarenko advances to @DDFTennis Round of 16. pic.twitter.com/zVW98VFLPo
— WTA (@WTA) February 21, 2017
Muguruza’s retirement means that Bondarenko, who has never been past the second round, will now face either Viktorija Golubic or Caroline Wozniacki.
Click here to learn more about Muguruza’s injury courtesy of WTA Insider.
Ekaterina Makarova caused the latest upset at this year’s Wimbledon by knocking out two-time champion Petra Kvitova in straight sets.
DUBAI, UAE – Elina Svitolina made it through to her third quarterfinal of 2017 so far after a titanic tussle with Christina McHale.
The Ukrainian triumphed 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to set up a clash in the next round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with Lauren Davis.
“It was really tough today – I was in and out today mentally, I was a little bit losing my focus in the first set,” she said in her on-court interview after the match.
“In the end I was just trying to fight for every ball, and I think that’s why I won.”
.@ElinaSvitolina reaches third Quarterfinal of 2017!
Tops McHale 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at @DDFTennis! pic.twitter.com/0WdyLoSLVh
— WTA (@WTA) February 22, 2017
McHale pushed Svitolina right to the end, forcing her to serve for a match which lasted two hours and 22 minutes, and saving the first of three match points.
She could not delay the inevitable for too long, though, as the 22-year-old’s grit saw her through.
Svitolina was already thinking about her next opponent, the American Davis.
“I’ve played against her a couple of times…but it’s always going to be tough in any quarterfinal,” she said.
Take a look inside the glamour and excitement of the Dubai Player Party with Dubai Duty Free Ambassadors Caroline Wozniacki and Zhang Shuai!
LONDON, Great Britain – No.8 seed Venus Williams recovered from a slow start to knock out Spanish rival Carla Suárez Navarro, 7-6(3), 6-4, to reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinal since 2010.
The former No.1 has had a busy fortnight thus far at the All England Club, surviving tense matches with Donna Vekic, Maria Sakkari, and Daria Kasatkina just to reach the second week. All that play – plus doubles with sister Serena – appeared to leave the American reeling to start against Suárez Navarro, who raced ahead by a double break.
Williams eventually got her footing, breaking the No.12 seed as she served for the opening set and, despite another ill-timed rain delay, managed to escape with the first set tie-break, eventually clinching victory in one hour and 35 minutes.
Playing consistent tennis from all areas of the court, the five-time Wimbledon winner struck 24 winners to 20 unforced errors and ventured to net 21 times – winning 14 of those points, and five of six in the second set.
“It was so tough for me,” said Suárez Navarro after the match. “On the grass today, I didn’t feel really good. I mean, it was difficult in another courts. But, yes, I have the opportunities or the chance to win more points with her second serve, but I didn’t take it. That was the big problem for me.:
Standing between Venus and her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2010 is World No.96 but former No.25 Yaroslava Shvedova, winner of the infamous Golden Set at the 2012 Championships over Sara Errani. Shvedova took out her second seed of the fortnight by ousting No.28 seed Lucie Safarova, 6-2, 6-4.
Venus becomes the oldest player to reach the #Wimbledon QF since Navratilova in 1994, beating Suarez Navarro 7-6 6-4 pic.twitter.com/RWaU7FV2WN
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2016
More to come…