Australian Open: Svetlana Kuznetsova vs Jamiee Fourlis
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Jamiee Fourlis in the second round of the Australian Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Jamiee Fourlis in the second round of the Australian Open.
An interview with Samantha Stosur after her first round win at the Volvo Car Open.
SINGAPORE – Ahead of the defense of her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title, wtatennis.com runs down 10 need-to-know facts about Poland’s finest, Agnieszka Radwanska…
1) Champion returns
Radwanska returns to Singapore for the sixth consecutive year – the longest active streak on the tour. Last year she finished the season in the best way possible, facing off against Petra Kvitova to win the WTA Finals championships match, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
2) Rank outsider
It might seem incredible, but right up until the US Open, Radwanska was still in with a shout of taking the World No.1 spot if she’d won the tournament. She arrives in Singapore as World No.3 after another year characterized by its consistency.
3) Early exit
Radwanska doesn’t have a great track record at the US Open, and this year was no different – she fell in the round of 16 at the hands of Ana Konjuh. She’s put a positive spin on that, though: she thinks that the early exit from the Slam gave her additional time to prepare for the Asian Swing, in which she once again excelled.
4) Cool in China
That’s been the case this year. Radwanska reclaimed the China Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta, crowning a dominant week in which she did not lose a single set. It was her 20th career singles title, third of the year.
5) Success in Asia
Asia has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Radwanska, who has won half of her 20 career titles there, including five of her last six.
6) Difficult defense
Radwanska is very well aware that it will be difficult for her to retain her title. “It’s the goal of everyone to qualify for the WTA Finals, and I’m happy to be returning to defend my title,” Radwanska said. “I’ve played at Singapore for a few years now, and qualifying again this year means I’ve had a great season – to be in the Top 8. It won’t be easy to defend my title, but that’s the goal. It will be exciting and a challenge to see different names and faces in this year’s field.”
7) Fabulous in fall
History is on her side, though – her tour record in the past five years shows that after the US Open she is the most difficult opponent to beat. Last year she went 17-4 in the Asian swing, winning all three WTA titles of the year in that stretch – and boosting her ranking from No.13 to No.5.
8) Five star
That meant she maintained her proud record as a fixture in the top five ranking slots – she dipped out in 2014, when she finished the year as World No.6.
9) Mandatory magic
After her win in Beijing this year, Radwanska became the fourth active player with three or more Premier Mandatory titles, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.
10) Major performer
Radwanska is one of four players to have reached the round of 16 at all four majors this year (along with Serena Williams, Madison Keys and Carla Suárez Navarro).
Carla Suárez Navarro will be away from the competition for a few weeks nursing a right shoulder injury, the Spaniard announced in a Facebook message to her fans.
An interview with Venus Williams after her win in the second round of the Volvo Car Open.
SINGAPORE – Set to enter the Centre Court arena for her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut is Karolina Pliskova, the Girl on Fire.
“It’s crazy, because that month in the States really changed everything,” she told WTA Insider after clinching qualification at the China Open. “I don’t know how far down I was on the Road to Singapore leaderboard before Cincinnati – pretty far, I think!
Down at No.17, to be exact, Pliskova was on no one’s Singapore short list in early August. But the Czech youngster quickly began cutting that ranking in half thanks to a blistering run at the Western & Southern Open, where she blitzed future No.1 Angelique Kerber for her second title of the season, and the biggest of her career.
“With my style, things can change a lot if I win a tournament or two.”
The winds of change blew at gale force speeds two weeks later. Rolling into the second week of a major tournament for the first time, she saved a match point to oust Venus Williams at the US Open, and became the fourth woman to beat both Williams sisters at the same Slam.
Roaring into her first Grand Slam final with a straight-set win over top seeded Serena, she finished second to Kerber in one of the best matches of the year, all but clinching the spot in Singapore she so narrowly missed 12 months ago.
“Last year was totally different,” she recalled with a wry smile. “I spent the whole season on the Road to Singapore, by the end, I was playing badly. So I didn’t make it.”
Tough weeks in Tokyo and Wuhan delayed the inevitable, but even after cementing her place among the Elite Eight, Pliskova was still ready to play, battling past young rival Daria Kasatkina in a tense third set tie-break.
“I was just praying to make it through one or two rounds because I knew I’m on the cut and only need a few points to get it. There’s always pressure, but I’m happy I made it, and able to win today after finding out last night. It confirms that I belong there.”
The tour’s ace leader will not only make her WTA Finals debut in singles, but also in doubles alongside partner Julia Goerges. Playing a sparse schedule but peaking at big events, Pliskova’s doubles season mirrors her singles, even if her approaches to the two disciplines are radically different.
“You can always improve things in doubles if you’re not feeling it in singles. I would maybe practice a few serves anyway after singles, so it can be a big help, where you can make improvements and practice there.
“I’m always in for doubles, and as long as it’s fun, and we’re winning, it’s good.”
Under the roof and away from the elements at the Singapore Sports Hub, her laser-like swings and unapologetic offense should be well suited to the indoor conditions. The 24-year-old knows where her strengths lie; playing for her first WTA Finals crown, she won’t be afraid to use them.
“For me, I still have one plan to play; I have to be aggressive otherwise I don’t have any chance to win.”
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.2 seed Serena Williams put together some high-quality tennis against Lucie Safarova to make her way to the third round and avoid the upset bug sweeping through the Australian Open on Thursday night.
Even to her own high standards, her 6-3, 6-4 victory in the pair’s rematch of their French Open final was impressive, which explains why Serena didn’t have much patience for anyone finding fault in her performance.
Case in point, here’s an exchange between the six-time Australian Open champion and a reporter at her post-match press conference:
Q. Looked a little bit of a scrappy performance. A few more unforced errors, a few double-faults.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think that’s a very negative thing to say. Are you serious?
Q. Just my observation.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, you should have been out there. That wasn’t very kind. You should apologize. Do you want to apologize?
Q. I do. I’m sorry.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Thank you very much. That was a great performance. I played well. She’s a former Top 10 player. The last time we played together was in the finals of a Grand Slam.
You know, it’s not an easy match. She’s a really good player. You have to go for more, which obviously makes a few more errors.
So, yeah, I think it was overall a really good match, on both of our ends.
Moral of the story: Don’t tell Serena Williams she played badly. Especially when she played great.
Sara Errani takes on Samantha Stosur in the third round of the Volvo Car Open.
Zuhai, China – The 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai (WETZ) announced it’s first three qualifiers today — two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci and rising Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina.
This is the second edition of the premium event which will be staged from November 1-6 in the coastal city of southern China. The 12 player event is mandatory for singles players ranked from No.9 to No.19 on the WTA rankings.
Peter Johnston, Tournament Director of WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai sent his congratulations to the three qualifiers: “Our congratulations to Petra, Roberta and Elina on being the first confirmed qualifiers for this year’s WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. These women are some of the WTA’s biggest stars and great ambassadors of the women’s game. Our fans are going to love watching them play live in Zhuhai.”
Winning the Wimbledon title in both 2011 and 2014, Petra Kvitova has been ranked amongst the WTA’s top players for a number of years. She has had a good record over the years in China, winning the singles title at the Wuhan Open twice in her career.
Kvitova had a tough start to 2016, but she has rediscovered her form recently, winning the Olympic bronze medal at Rio, before capturing the title in Wuhan and reaching the quarterfinal at the China Open in Beijing.
“I’m really looking forward to making my debut in Zhuhai this year,” said the 26-year-old Czech. “It’s always exciting to play a new tournament for the first time and I just had a great two weeks of tennis in China so I know how much support we will get over there! I’m looking forward to some competitive matches and have heard lots of positive things about the tournament and overall experience.”
Svitolina qualified for Zhuhai last year and reached the semifinal before losing to Karolina Pliskova. The Ukrainian achieved her career-best ranking of No.14 in March this year. Besides winning the championship at Kuala Lumpur and reaching the final at New Heaven, she stunned the world by becoming the first player to defeat reigning world No.1 twice this year, beating Serena Williams in Rio and new world No.1 Angelique Kerber in Beijing.
Roberta Vinci also played in Zhuhai last year and reached the semifinal. The Italian is famous among fans because of her classical tennis style and her love of the game which is always on display when she plays. Last year, she stunned Serena Williams in the semi-final of US Open while the reigning No.1 was seeking to collect her fourth Grand Slam of the season. As the oldest player breaking into the Top 10 for the first time, Vinci is still maintaining her place in Top 20 as a 33-year-old player.
According to the current leaderboard ranking, two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2011 US Open winner Samantha Stosur and former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki are still in contention for places in Zhuhai.
As the top mandatory event in south China, the 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy offers a total of $2,210,000 in prize money. Twelve singles players will be divided into four groups of three in a round robin format. One winner in each group will enter the semi-final to fight for the title and 700 ranking points. For doubles, four pairs will qualify together with two wildcards. For more details about the WTA Elite Trophy, please feel free to enter the official website.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Revenge is the name of the game on Day 5 at the Australian Open: No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza is set to face Anastasija Sevastova, who sent her crashing out in the second round of last year’s US Open. Also in action is World No.1 Angelique Kerber, taking on another big-serving Czech, while Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic are facing off for the 14th time in their careers.
We preview all the day’s biggest matchups right here on wtatennis.com.
Friday, Third Round
[32] Anastasija Sevastova (LAT #33) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Series tied at 1-1
Key Stat: Muguruza (No.3) is the highest ranked player Sevastova has ever defeated
When Anastasija Sevastova had her big breakthrough at last year’s US Open, Garbiñe Muguruza was the first one to find out. Then ranked No.48, the Latvian stunned Muguruza in the second round en route to the quarterfinals, her best showing ever at a Grand Slam.
Though the Spaniard eventually got her revenge at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, seeing Sevastova’s name in her corner of the draw has to sting. But this time she comes into the matchup with building rhythm and a pair of hard-fought victories under her belt.
“Honestly, I think every match is completely different,” Muguruza told press after her straight-sets victory over Samantha Crawford. “For sure it helps [having two matches under my belt].
“But my next round is a tricky match, I look forward for it. It helped me, playing two matches. I’m going to try to use that.”
Jelena Jankovic (SRB #54) vs [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10)
Head-to-head: Jankovic leads 8-6
Key Stat: Jankovic holds the longest active streak for consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances (53)
Svetlana Kuznetsova faces her first big test in this Australian Open in the form of long-time rival Jelena Jankovic. Having dropped a combined four games across her previous two matches, Kuznetsova has eased into the third round and conserved precious energy under the draining Aussie summer sun.
But that joyride will get much tougher against fellow WTA veteran and former World No.1 Jankovic as they square up for the 15th time in their careers. Jankovic holds the edge in their head-to-head record at 8-6, but their last match came in 2015 and with Kuznetsova now back inside the Top 10, the Russian is looking to narrow the gap between them.
“My career has been… too long!” Kuznetsova reflected in an on-court interview. “I’ve only been to Australia like 17 times, each January. I just enjoy the game, I have passion for it and still it’s great.”
[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs Kristyna Pliskova (CZE #58)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kerber is bidding to be the first player to defend her Australian Open title since Azarenka in 2012-2013
Angelique Kerber is set to face down the booming Pliskova serve once again, but this time it’s not the one she’s used to seeing. Her third-round opponent is Kristyna Pliskova, twin sister of World No.5 Karolina Pliskova.
Apart from the famously powerful serve that runs in the family, it’ll be a whole different match for Kerber. For one, Kristyna is a lefty (Karolina is right-handed) and, ranked No.58, Kristyna has never reached the same heights that her twin has achieved in her career. Without that giant-killing experience under her belt, it’ll be a tough ask for the Czech to complete the huge upset on Rod Laver Arena.
“I don’t know if it’s weird,” Kerber contemplated the prospect of playing against twins. “I mean, [Karolina] is right and [Kristyna] is left-handed. So this is the difference.
“I know that she has a great serve, as well. So, yeah, will looking forward to play against her.”