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Hingis & Mirza: Longest Streak Since '94

Hingis & Mirza: Longest Streak Since '94

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BRISBANE, Australia – Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won their 10th WTA doubles title together in Brisbane and have now won 26 matches in a row – the longest doubles winning streak in 22 years.

Saturday’s final was a tight affair early on, as Hingis and Mirza’s opponents in the final, Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic, rebounded from a 2-0 deficit with four games of their own to build a 4-2 lead. But the No.1-seeded Swiss-Indian combo flipped the script completely from there, rattling off 11 of the last 13 games of the match to get by the German wildcard pairing in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.

“They’re obviously very good players, so we knew we had to come out and play our best,” Mirza said. “We let the lead go a little bit after 2-0, and we were both trying to find our form again on the court. It was big we broke on the deuce point at 6-5, and after that the tide really changed in our favor.”

Though she came out on the losing end, Kerber still made history – she’s the first player in the tournament’s history to reach both the singles and doubles finals. She was runner-up in singles too.

“It wasn’t my night tonight. I lost two finals,” she said at the trophy ceremony. “But it was still a great week, and congratulations to Sania and Martina – you are the best, good luck in Melbourne!”

And so, Hingis and Mirza’s winning streak lives on – at 26 matches in a row it’s the longest doubles winning streak since Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva won 28 matches in a row together in 1994.

Hingis and Mirza also hit double digit WTA doubles titles together – Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Wimbledon, US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and WTA Finals in 2015, and now Brisbane.

Even more impressive? Hingis and Mirza are actually 10-1 in WTA doubles finals together.

They’re playing again this week coming up, at the Apia International Sydney – again as top seeds.

“Every match at the beginning of the season is a good match, just trying to get that confidence going,” Hingis said. “It’s great we already have this Brisbane title in our pockets, and we’re really looking forward to Sydney. We’ll get a couple days off before we play and then we will start again.

“I always have such great support in Australia so I really look forward to the next tournaments.”

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Keys Knocks Out Venus In Montréal

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.10 seed Madison Keys edged past Venus Williams in a tight three sets to snap up one of the last quarterfinal spots in the Rogers Cup.

Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Keys has looked dominant in all of her matches so far in Montréal, her first tournament since her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon. Although she went into the match against Williams trailing 2-1 in their head to head, she had the added confidence of splitting their last two matches on hard courts – both of which were three-set battles.

“I’m excited,” the 21-year-old said yesterday at the prospect of playing Williams. “It’s always tough playing her.She’s obviously a great player.

“She did well last week, so it’s going to be a tough match. But I’m looking forward to it.”

Williams started out shaky in the opening set as her service woes reared their head once again. She’s struggled with normally trusty shot all tournament long, and in the first few games barely managed to crack the 90 miles per hour mark. Keys, a strong returner, took advantage of the lapse and stayed aggressive to take the opening set 6-1 in just 20 minutes.

“Her first serve was definitely slower than normal,” Keys acknowledged after the match. “But it was funny, her second serve was a lot slower, but because of the court it was bouncing a lot higher than normal. So while her first serve was a little easier to return, her second serve was really tough.”

Williams looked in trouble again in the second set as she quickly went down a break, but the 2014 champion shook off the disappointing start. Keys allowed more errors to spray from her racquet as Williams backed up her vulnerable serve with pinpoint groundstrokes – especially off of the forehand wing. She dominated the tiebreak to force a deciding set.

But after the enormous effort it took to get back on course, it just didn’t look like Williams had any more left in the tank for the final set. She couldn’t maintain her level, allowing Keys to get back to her attacking ways. Keys broke early on in the set and relied on her serve to keep her nose ahead until she took the match 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-3.

She’s set to face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the next round, whose monumental effort against Agnieszka Radwanska earned her a spot in the quarterfinals.

“It’s going to be a tough match,” Keys said of her always-aggressive Russian opponent. “She’s always tricky because she definitely fights till the end and she’s going to hit a lot of winners.

“I think it will be similar to today, you know, kind of deciding when to just get the ball back in a good, neutral spot, or when to kind of pull the trigger and be a little bit more aggressive.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Kristina Mladenovic was one of the best players yet to win a WTA title. The French star had already taken home major titles in women’s and mixed doubles, but success on the singles court eluded her – that is, until she arrived at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Mladenovic roared through the draw in Russia, ousting Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and defending champion Roberta Vinci en route to the final, where she hit a stunning 62 winners to survive an inspired Yulia Putintseva in what will likely go down as one of the best matches of the season.

“I feel just amazing,” she told WTA Insider in her Champions Corner interview. “That was my first title. I lost three finals before that, always playing well but had a better opponent. It’s also a Premier event, so it’s even more special.

“The wait was definitely worth it and if you asked me whether to change the past or something I would probably not because this tournament as a first title is absolutely insane. I’m not saying that because I won it, but I think the atmosphere, the show, the organization, it’s just an amazing event. It’s probably the best WTA event during the season, really. They’re treating us so well and everything is super nice. So to hold this trophy here and have it as my first title, for sure it’s going to stay forever in my best memories heart for my career and maybe more.”

Her breakthrough month continued at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she stunned good friend and reigning Qatar Total Open winner Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, and ended on another high after reaching the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

“I’m really a hard worker. I guess all the players are on tour. It’s no secret that to achieve such a high level and get the results, you have to. I’m just very positive, working very hard every day, and having this fighting spirit it helps me to go through these tough moments.”

Looking to build on her career-high ranking of No.26, Mladenovic is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!

Kristina Mladenovic

Final Results for February’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month

1. Kristina Mladenovic (56%)
2. Elina Svitolina (26%)
3. Ashleigh Barty (12%) 
4. CiCi Bellis (6%)

2017 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners

January: CoCo Vandeweghe

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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Why Australia Could Be Radwanska's First

Why Australia Could Be Radwanska's First

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – After winning the biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals at the end of the 2015 season, Agnieszka Radwanska made a big declaration – that she would do everything in her power to win a Grand Slam title in 2016 (check out the full interview with CNN Open Court here).

But Radwanska hasn’t just been talking the talk of a future Grand Slam champion – she’s been walking the walk, big time. Since losing early at the US Open she’s been doing a heck of a lot of winning, capturing four of the six tournaments she’s played – Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Tianjin, the WTA Finals in Singapore and Shenzhen this past week – and putting together a more than impressive 22-4 record.

And by winning Shenzhen, Radwanska also secured a rise from No.5 to No.4 on the WTA Rankings, meaning she’ll have a Top 4 seed at the Australian Open, which, in turn, means she won’t have to play Serena Williams until at least the semifinals – a good break given she’s 0-8 against the World No.1.

But the question remains: Why could the Australian Open be Radwanska’s first Grand Slam title?

Well, there’s actually a very good reason Radwanska could make her breakthrough at the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific – she’s won 10 of her 18 career WTA titles in the Asia-Pacific**:

2016 – Shenzhen
2015 – Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Tianjin, WTA Finals [Singapore]2014 – Montréal
2013 – Auckland, Sydney, Seoul
2012 – Dubai, Miami, Brussels
2011 – Carlsbad, Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Beijing
2008 – Pattaya City, Istanbul, Eastbourne
2007 – Stockholm

Radwanska was asked why she always does so well in the Asia-Pacific during her week in Shenzhen.

“That’s a good question – I’m not sure!” she replied. “I’m always feeling good on the court here, and I’m always playing great tennis. And you can’t ignore the results – that’s really a lot of tournaments.

“Hopefully there will be even more tournaments to play in the Asia-Pacific in the future!”

Many would pick Wimbledon to be Radwanska’s best major – she reached her first Grand Slam final there in 2012, after all – but she’s been to the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open just as many times as at Wimbledon (five). Her best result in Melbourne was the semifinals back in 2014.

Can the World No.4, a former World No.2, go all the way this time? Stay tuned on wtatennis.com!

** The general definition for Asia-Pacific is East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania

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Pliskova Aces Ivanovic In Sydney

Pliskova Aces Ivanovic In Sydney

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SYDNEY, Australia – Playing her first WTA match of the season, Karolina Pliskova was in fine form against wildcard Ana Ivanovic; the Czech star hit a whopping 14 aces to oust the former No.1, 6-4, 6-2.

Ivanovic was coming into Sydney after taking a surprisingly early loss at the ASB Classic; looking for some extra match play ahead of the Australian Open, the Serb came up against a red-hot Pliskova whom she had never beaten in two previous encounters. Though she managed to exchange breaks with Pliskova in the opening set, the 2008 French Open champion was unable to convert any of the four break point opportunities she had in the second, and fell in just under an hour and 20 minutes.

Up next for Pliskova is either qualifier Lara Arruabarrena or the unseeded and looming Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who reached the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International last week.

Earlier in the day, Caroline Garcia won her first WTA match of the season, but came in buoyed by three match wins earned at last week’s Hopman Cup. Garcia won an all-French encounter on Sunday, edging past Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(4), 6-4. She’s slated to face top seed Simona Halep, who was forced to withdraw from Brisbane with an Achilles injury.

Two veterans also emerged victorious on Sunday; two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised past local wildcard Tammi Patterson, 6-2, 6-0, in just over an hour.

“I felt a bit tense, but in the end I was better,” the famously blunt Kuznetsova told press after the match.

“I have to be really prepared to play an opponent who you’ve never seen and don’t know how they play. I try to think that it’s interesting to try to figure the player out.

“I prefer to know at least a little bit, but when you know a little bit, the coach will tell you how she hits this shot, or that shot, and you’ll have this, but when you go to the court and she plays completely the opposite. I don’t have to choose!”

Kuznetsova could potentially play former No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals; the Serb took out Coco Vandeweghe, 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s the beginning of the season and I just want to get match tough again,” Jankovic said after the match. “I feel a little bit rusty. I have so many options in my head – I should play this or that – but it gets better over time, and it’s normal after not competing for a month and a half.

A Sydney finalist in 2007, the Serb had lost her last three matches to the American, having last beat her at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open.

“I lost to Coco the last few times we played; she has a big game and she doesn’t really let me play my game. If I’m able to absorb her power and move the ball around and not really give her two of the same ball, I’m in good shape.”

Jankovic will have a completely different opponent in the next round, one of Sara Errani or Carla Suárez Navarro.

2014 Sydney champion Tsvetana Pironkova was in fine form, defeating Lesia Tsurenko, 7-6(6), 6-2, and will play either No.8 seed Belinda Bencic or qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The only seed to lose on Sunday was No.6 seed Timea Bacsinszky, who faded after a strong opening set against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Johanna Konta made a successful comeback from the left foot injury that kept her out of the Middle East Swing with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow Brit Heather Watson at the BNP Paribas Open.

“I think it’s definitely challenging to adapt to these conditions,” she said  the air is a bit drier and the ball travels a bit quicker. When the wind picks up, that can also complicate things. But it’s a beautiful center court to play on, so I hope to extend my stay here as long as possible!”

Konta had been forced to sit out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to what she described as an “irritated nerve” after a strong start to the season – winning her second career title at the Apia International Sydney and reaching a second straight Australian Open quarterfinal – and had to shake off the rust early on against Watson, who earned a hard-fought win over Nicole Gibbs earlier in the week.

“I think there is definitely an adjustment period,” she added in her post-match press conference. “I hadn’t played a tour match since the Australian Open and Fed Cup was about three weeks ago. It’s not that long of a time, but in terms of the tour, it’s a bit of time.

“I think there were definitely some moments there I will definitely try to get better and better at as the tournament goes on, and hopefully I will get more opportunities to get more and more match fit.”

The countrywoman recently paired up to lead Great Britain into Fed Cup’s World Group II Play-Offs in February, but were all business in the California desert on Friday, trading blows from the back of the court throughout the 94 minute affair.

“We get along great off court. We actually recently spent quite a bit of time together because of Fed Cup. We had a great Fed Cup in Estonia. We had a little bit great experiences quite recently together.

“I think both of us went with the intention of giving our best and trying to do what we can to come through in the end. I was fortunate enough to come out on top today.”

The typically aggressive Konta maintained a fairly clean stat sheet – 20 winners to 21 unforced errors – and held on for a tense ending after Watson threatened to come back from 5-1 in the second set.

Up next for the British No.1 is No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, who ende the run of lucky loser Evgeniya Rodina, 6-3, 6-3.

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