Lauren Davis' Practice Session In Dubai
Watch Lauren Davis hit the practice court ahead of the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch Lauren Davis hit the practice court ahead of the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her third round win at the Miami Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the round of 16 at the China Open.
DUBAI, UAE – No.10 seed Caroline Wozniacki willed her way past surprise semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova, dispatching the Latvian, 6-3, 6-4, to reach her first final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships since winning the event in 2011.
“I really love coming back here and playing on this court,” she said on court after earning a 22nd career match win in Dubai – the most of any at this event. “It’s amazing. The crowd is always supporting me; you guys are amazing and make this tournament special.
“Being an ambassador for Dubai Duty Free just makes it all the more sweet, playing well here every year. I’m just thrilled to be in another final.”
.@CaroWozniacki's backhand ? #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/H9FMS4qVuW
— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017
Coming off a run to the final of a particularly rainy Qatar Total Open, Wozniacki dealt with a few more delays in her semifinal to advance into back-to-back finals for the first time since 2014, when she finished runner-up at both the US Open and the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
? @CaroWozniacki!
What a way to save break point! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/Bawyuqd7OW
— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017
“I’m kind of used to the rain by now; for the last two weeks it’s been on and off, but I thought we played good quality tennis so I’m extremely happy to be through.
“It’s been a good couple of weeks for me,” she later explained in her post-match press conference. “Very happy with how I have been playing. Very happy how I have managed to get through these two weeks, because it’s been very tiring mentally. The fact that I have just been staying in there and keep grinding, I’m kind of proud of that.”
Wozniacki and Sevastova last met in the quarterfinals of the US Open, where Sevastova earned a career-best Grand Slam result but twisted her ankle early on, allowing the Dane to ease into her first major semifinal in exactly two years. Sevastova was far fitter on Friday night, pushing the former World No.1 through two tough sets, each of which came down to the wire.
“She definitely was a tricky opponent. I knew going into it that she was going to be difficult. She mixes the pace up. She really tries to break your rhythm.
“I was really pleased with how I was playing. I tried to stay aggressive and tried to mix it up, as well.”
Sevastova claims this 30-shot rally with a lob! ? pic.twitter.com/Cq1f0ekYzY
— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017
By match’s end, the Dane had struck 17 winners to 20 from the resurgent Latvian, but almost half as many unforced errors – 17 to 31 – and maintained an impressive 70% first serve percentage to clinch victory after one hour and 26 minutes on court.
Up next for Wozniacki is the winner of the second semifinal between top seed Angelique Kerber and her nemesis, No.7 seed Elina Svitolina.
Second Final in two weeks!@CaroWozniacki defeats Sevastova 6-3, 6-4 for a spot in @DDFTennis Final! pic.twitter.com/q7Wx2vkHuM
— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017
“I’m just happy to play against either. They’re both great competitors and great opponents. I lost to both of them the last time we’ve played so it’s not going to be easy but I’m just thrilled to be in the final and I’m going to give it a good battle.”
Victoria Azarenka takes on Magda Linette in the third round of the Miami Open.
Zhang Shuai takes on Simona Halep in the third round of the China Open.
ZHUHAI, China – Asian No.1 Zhang Shuai has received a wildcard for the second edition of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
The wildcard is result of a highly impressive campaign, which has seen Zhang fly up the rankings. This week, the 27-year-old upset Simona Halep and Samantha Stosur en route to the quarterfinals of the China Open, a result which guarantees she will break into the Top 30 in Monday’s new rankings
Zhang, who contemplated walking away from tennis 12 months ago, began the season ranked No.133. However, at the Australian Open she ended her long-running Grand Slam hoodoo by making it through qualifying and into the quarterfinals.
The Chinese player’s sole WTA singles title came three years ago in Guangzhou, but she has threatened to add to her collection in recent weeks, reaching the semifinals in Seoul and Tokyo, following an encouraging third-round run at the US Open.
“We are delighted to announce Zhang Shuai as our singles wildcard at this year’s Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai,” Peter Johnston, the Tournament Director of Huajin Security WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai 2016, said. “She has been in fantastic form this year and throughout her career has been a great ambassador for women’s tennis in China. I am sure the fans in Zhuhai are going to welcome her here to see her compete against the best of the best on the WTA Tour.”
Zhang was equally excited about the opportunity: “It’s an honor to be awarded the wildcard for 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, especially as a Chinese player. I’m very happy to get to play in my homeland in front of all Chinese fans. I heard that last’s first edition of WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was a great success. I can’t wait to play 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and meet the fans from Zhuhai there!”
BEIJING, China – Johanna Konta upset Madison Keys to reach the final of the China Open and become the first British player in 32 years to reach the Top 10.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
This summer in Montréal, Konta had the chance to reach the Top 10 only to slip to a surprise defeat at the hands of World No.121 Kristina Kucova. However, this time she rose to the occasion magnificently, withstanding a mid-match comeback from Keys to complete a 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4 win.
“I’m definitely enjoying my time here. It’s my first time in Beijing and I hope to play many more times here. It’s an amazing atmosphere, such a beautiful stadium, it’s a real pleasure to play here,” Konta said in her on-court interview.
Keys had produced one of the performances of her career 24 hours earlier to defeat Petra Kvitova, but failed to scale those heights against Konta, committing 47 unforced errors in their two and a half hours on court. Nevertheless, she still had her chances and looked to be headed for victory when she skipped around a return to break in the first game of the deciding set.
Instead it was Konta that took charge, drawing level immediately and threatening further breaks. Keys’ serve bailed her out on several occasions, but she finally buckled at 5-4 to send Konta into her first Premier Mandatory final.
“I don’t really think there was a secret [to winning],” Konta added. “She’s such a high-quality player, has such a weight of shot -I’m pretty sure I was cleaning the back of the court there! I just tried to run down as many balls as I could and tried to take the chances I got.”
Konta can now look forward to a meeting against 2011 Beijing champion Agnieszka Radwanska.
“It’s really special. As I said I’m just enjoying being here and trying to prolong it as long as possible and I feel very blessed to be coming back tomorrow for the final.”
On Monday she will also become the 121st different player to reach the Top 10 since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975. She is the fourth Briton to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and, most recently, Jo Durie (August, 1984).
Watch Eugenie Bouchard and ATP player Juan Martin del Potro take to Pie de la Cuesta beach in Acapulco and play a beach tennis match!
Oediv siht ni no gniog s’tahw tuo erugif uoy nac? Sreyalp ruo morf egassem laiceps a raeh ll’uoy nac uoy fI…