Muguruza Stutters Into Second Round
No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza overcame a stuttering start to defeat qualifier Elise Mertens on the opening Monday of the US Open.
No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza overcame a stuttering start to defeat qualifier Elise Mertens on the opening Monday of the US Open.
No.3 seed Julia Goerges overcame a shaky start to put away Anett Kontaveit at the Hungarian Ladies Open while local wildcard Fanny Stollar thrilled her home crowd with a huge upset.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Tied at six matches apiece, the rivalry between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki is among the most underrated in tennis.
Meeting for the 13th time in the second round of this year’s US Open, the pair differs in almost every way. The Russian’s power game contrasts the Dane’s wall-like defenses. Kuznetsova’s flashes of brilliances have been rewarded with two Grand Slam titles, while Wozniacki’s maddening consistency earned her the No.1 ranking for 67 weeks – the ninth largest total in WTA history.
Two of their most high-profile meetings have come in Flushing Meadows; the first was all the way back in 2009, when Kuznetsova was a reigning French Open winner, while Wozniacki was a star on the rise. The Dane took the match in three tense sets to make it all the way to her first major final. Two years later, it was Wozniacki who was on top of the world, taking on a feisty veteran Kuznetsova, who was eager to earn her way back into the upper echelons in the game.
“She’s been playing well, and we’ve had a lot of grueling matches, like 7-6 and 7-5 in the third,” Wozniacki told press after her first round win over Taylor Townsend. “It’s a match I’m looking forward to. I’m just going to have fun out there and enjoy every moment.”
“It’s another match,” Kuznetsova echoed after her 6-1, 6-2 victory against Francesca Schiavone. “She’s a great opponent, a great player. It’s going to be another tough one. I just have to go out there and play my best; that’s it.”
The tides have turned yet again, and Kuznetsova is back in the Top 10 with her best season since 2009 already in the books, while Wozniacki is at a nine-year low at No.74 after months of injury woes.
“It hasn’t been a good season, because I’ve been injured for most of it,” Wozniacki mused. “That’s something you can’t really do much about other than keep working and keep trying to get your body in check. I’m just happy to be here and happy to get another match.”
Wozniacki christened the new Grandstand court with a titanic match against Townsend, who battled through three rounds of qualies and was a set away from unseating the former No.1.
“It was really difficult, with her lefty spin serves. I like to say I’m one of the better returners on tour, but that did not show and so that was really frustrating. Once we kind of got going in the rally, I felt ok, but I’m just happy to be here.
“It was a little windy, and I wasn’t sure which way the wind was going, but I was just like, ‘Ok, especially on the return, just get it in – anywhere!'”
The gambles paid off against the young American, but an even tougher test looms against Kuznetsova, who defeated her in straight sets just two months ago at Wimbledon.
“I don’t take much from Wimbledon, to be honest. Hardcourts are a completely different game. At this point, I’m just happy when I’m healthy, and that’s been my focus this year, just trying to get back healthy and feeling 100% body-wise. It’s been a struggle, and I feel like I’m there now, and make the most of it for the rest of the year.”
Kuznetsova can relate to ups and downs; she calls them a career.
“Tennis players, we get affected by the press, by the people, by the parents, by the country, and by the federation. What you start to learn is to not be affected by the idea that everyone wants something from you, because I’m not a dollar. There’s no way everyone’s going to like me!
“I’ve had to get comfortable within myself, and so if you don’t like me, it’s not my problem. I’m trying to be a better person to everyone else, and a better player every day. That’s important for me, and I just leave other things behind that I cannot change. I was letting myself down because of the expectations of other people, but it’s more important for me not to let down my own expectations.
“When you start to focus on that, you get a different perspective of everything.”
It’s a perspective she’ll need to earn the winning edge in their storied head-to-head, but not one that can be earned overnight.
“It’s all about work, day by day. That’s why I said, I can’t let myself down, because if you let down after you lose, you miss a good strike of days. Days count by days and accumulate, and then you get better. It’s many days of work, and not one day, where I had a dream or something.”
Kuznetsova and Wozniacki play for a spot in the third round on Wednesday.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
DUBAI, UAE – Caroline Wozniacki has won six of her last seven matches in the Middle East, dispatching Swiss youngster Viktorija Golubic, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Fresh off her Monday night win over Daria Kasatkina, Wozniacki began even more emphatically against the reigning Gstaad champion, racing out to a 5-2 lead to start the match. Though the Dane was broken serving for the opening set, she broke to love to reclaim the momentum.
The final stages of the match proved the most dramatic, as Golubic saved four match points on her own serve before the 2011 champion converted on her fifth and book her spot in the round of 16 after nearly two hours.
Up next for the the former No.1 is either No.9 seed Barbora Strycova or resurgent Chinese veteran Peng Shuai.
Earlier in the day, Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh scored another big win in her young career, ousting No.12 seed and former US Open champion Samantha Stosur, 6-4, 6-3, breaking the Aussie’s serve four times in the 83 minute match.
No.8 seed Elena Vesnina earned a decisive win over Japan’s Misaki Doi, 6-2, 7-5, and will play Konjuh for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig continued her winning ways in the Middle East, upsetting No.15 seed Caroline Garcia, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, to book a potential Rio rematch against top seed Angelique Kerber, who plays later today.
It was a great day for the Americans, as Lauren Davis, Christina McHale, and Catherine Bellis all won on Tuesday, defeating Kristyna Pliskova, Naomi Osaka, and Laura Siegemund, respectively.
The player party at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is one of the hottest parties in tennis – DDF ambassador Ana Ivanovic takes you inside the action.
Angelique Kerber continues her quest for No.1 as the bottom half of the draw contests its second-round matches in New York on Wednesday. We preview a busy slate at wtatennis.com.
Wednesday
First Round
[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO #57)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Kerber will ascend to the No.1 ranking if Serena Williams does not reach the semifinals in New York.
Playing the No.2 seed in the first week of the US Open may seem like a daunting task, but Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni has history on her side when it comes to this. She famously defeated Simona Halep in the third round here in 2014 and went on to reach the second week at a major for the first time in over fifteen years. It was an emotional high point of that year’s US Open and the Croatian hopes to create more magic when she meets Angelique Kerber on Day 3. But the German has been rock-solid all season, and it is hard to imagine anybody knocking her off at this stage of a draw. Kerber leads the WTA in wins, Top 10 wins and hardcourt wins this season and she was highly effective in her first-round encounter with Polona Hercog, winning all seven games before the Slovenian retired due to injury. “I played the first set really good, so this is what I will take from this match, that I’m playing my tennis,” Kerber said on Monday. “For me, it’s always tricky the first few rounds. So it’s always good to have the first round done. Just now focusing on the next rounds.” Will that focus enable her to roll past an upset-minded Lucic-Baroni, or does the Croatian have another stunner in her?
Pick: Kerber in two
[24] Belinda Bencic (SUI #26) vs. Andrea Petkovic (GER #43)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Petkovic has failed to reach the second week at a major in her last nine appearances.
Germany’s Andrea Petkovic has not won back-to-back matches since the grass-court season and she hasn’t reached the quarterfinals in a main draw since February. But the 28-year-old can put those old worries behind her by knocking off Belinda Bencic on Wednesday. Bencic, who survived a three-setter with American Samantha Crawford on Day 1 in New York, is still in search of her game after missing a big chunk of the season due to injuries to her back and wrist. Bencic struggled to find her form against Crawford, and let her frustration show, before coming back to win in three. The former world No.7 says that in the end playing three sets was probably good for her in terms of getting match tough. “I think it’s normal after the injury to have [struggles],” she said. “I mean, in the moment I was very frustrated, but I had nothing left, just to fight and win the next two sets. That’s what I did.” She’ll have to fight much harder to eliminate the steely Petkovic. Though she has struggled to go deep at the Slams of late, Petkovic showed good form in defeating Kristina Kucova in straight sets on Day 1.
Pick: Petkovic in three
[9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #74)
Head-to-head: Tied, 6-6
Key Stat: Both players have earned 30 or more wins at the US Open and reached the final twice here.
The throwback tour for Svetlana Kuznetsova continues at the US Open. In the first round she swept by fellow veteran Francesca Schiavone in their fourth meeting at a major. On Wednesday the 31-year-old Russian will look to continue her fine form when she faces Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki for the fifth time at a major. The pair have split their four major meetings but Wozniacki holds the edge on the big stage in New York. Wozniacki defeated Kuznetsova in round of 16 tilts in 2009 and 2011 at the US Open and in general the Dane has played her best tennis in New York. She reached the final in 2009 and 2014 and owns a 30-9 lifetime record in Queens. But 2004 US Open champion Kuznetsova snapped a three-match losing streak in New York on Monday and has been in much better form than Wozniacki all season. Is it the Russian’s time to make more waves in the Big Apple?
Pick: Kuznetsova in two
[3] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT #48)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Muguruza is bidding to reach the US Open’s third round for the first time.
Garbiñe Muguruza stormed the tennis world when she rolled to the Roland Garros title this spring, defeating Serena Williams in the final. Now she’s trying to take baby steps in New York. Well-suited for the fast courts here at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the Spaniard has needed time to get accustomed to the hustle and bustle that characterizes the year’s final major. Muguruza says it is different to play in New York, but that she likes it. “I felt there’s more movement, more noise, more stuff,” she told reporters on Monday after her first-round win over Elise Mertens of Belgium. “But it’s well known also because of the environment and the crowd and the vibes, I don’t know, that feeling that brings New York. I think it’s also special to feel… There’s a lot of people. They’re watching you. Maybe it’s not as silent as Wimbledon, that everybody is like this, but I enjoy a lot also.” Can Muguruza silence the noise in her head so that she can stir up noise at this year’s Open? She’ll bid for her first trip to the third round on Day 3 when she faces tricky Latvian Anastasija Sevastova. The 26-year-old has been on a good ride in 2016. She has climbed from outside of the Top 100 to her current rankings perch of 48 on the strength of 17 wins and two final appearances.
Pick: Muguruza in two
Around the Grounds:
No.8 seed Madison Keys will take on the youngest player in the draw, 16-year-old American Kayla Day. In her Grand Slam debut, Day reached the second round with a win over Madison Brengle. British No.1 Johanna Konta will look to reach the third round for the second consecutive year at New York when she faces the tricky Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova. Last year’s runner-up, No.7-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy, will square off with New Jersey Native Christina McHale.
By the Numbers:
13-4 – Keys improved her record to 13-4 in three-setters this season (career three-set record: 32-29) with her win over Alison Riske on Monday.
30-8 – Angelique Kerber’s hardcourt record this year.
2012 – The last time a player won Wimbledon and the US Open back-to-back. It has only happened four times since 1998, with Venus Williams achieving the feat twice (2000, 2001) and Serena winning it twice (2002, 2012).
CiCi Bellis takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
No.2 Angelique Kerber tamped down a late challenge from the tricky Mirjana Lucic-Baroni to continue her US Open campaign, 6-2, 7-6(6).
Angelique Kerber has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Roberta Vinci after her win in the first round of the Qatar Total Open.