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Photos | WTA Tennis English

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Elena Vesnina poses at the famous graffiti laneway Hosier Lane in Melbourne on Day 1 of the 2017 Australian Open. (Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia)

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News | WTA Tennis English

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza survived a scare in her opening match against Marina Erakovic to move into the second round at the Australian Open in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.

“Marina and I played a couple of times and it’s always a tough match,” Muguruza said in her on-court interview. “I’m happy, even with my body, that I won. It was very tough.”

Earlier in the season in Brisbane, Muguruza was forced to retire from her semifinal against Alizé Cornet due to a right thigh injury, and it seemed like the pain still lingered in her Melbourne opener.

Despite taking a close opening set, Muguruza’s movement appeared to be hampered and she struggled with her timing, her usually powerful groundstrokes at times lacking their bite.

The Spaniard’s problems multiplied in the second set, as Erakovic took every opportunity Muguruza’s condition handed her and went up a 4-1 lead.

“It was very tough. You’re playing, then suddenly you start to feel pain in your body,” Muguruza explained. “Obviously I was nervous, so I just tried to be calm, to have a good attitude and keep fighting for the match.”

The New Zealander wasn’t able to hang on to that lead for very long, as Muguruza – with great effort – came roaring back. Erakovic seemed to lose her confidence as Muguruza climbed back up the scoreboard, finally rattling off five straight games to take the match.

Through to the second round in the Australian Open for the fifth straight time, Muguruza awaits the winner of the match between Samantha Crawford and ASB Classic champion Lauren Davis.

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News | WTA Tennis English

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

There’s a fresh face on the scene at this year’s Australian Open, as 17-year-old Jamiee Fourlis impressed home fans in a convincing first round win.

While Australia’s headlines focused on friend and rival Destanee Aiava, the Melbourne-born Fourlis had an agenda of her own, knocking out former World No. 50 Anna Tatishvili of the United States in straight sets.

“I tried to stay in the moment, tried to keep everything on court. There was nothing to lose today,” Fourlis told reporters post-match. “Winning your first match in a Grand Slam doesn’t come every day. At the moment I’m still trying to take it all in. But it’s an amazing feeling.”

Fourlis lost the 18/U Australian Championships to Aiava just weeks ago, and was able to play qualifying for the year’s opening Grand Slam thanks to a strong run at the annual Wildcard Playoff in late December.

After watching her compatriot Aiava bow out on Day 1, the 17-year-old kept a cool head to advance to the second round in her grand slam debut.

“She handled herself really well under the pressure of playing at home in her first Grand Slam,” childhood coach Kane Dewhurst told wtatennis.com. “She has a lot of support behind her, so it was no surprise to see her play consistently well throughout.”

Dewhurst first worked with the World No. 414 since the age of five, and was certainly impressed with what he saw in Melbourne on Monday.

“Jaimee has always been a clean ball striker. She has weapons on both sides, and it’s now just a matter of understanding when to use them. She has great variety in her game as well, and that’s why she has plenty of growth and development ahead of her.”

Fourlis fought back from an early break down in the second against Tatishvili to close out the match, 6-4 6-3, where she will meet the experienced No.8 seed and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Dewhurst, the owner of Vida Tennis, believes that while the obvious step up in class will be difficult, Fourlis has plenty of upside and could cause an upset.

“Kuznetsova will be a huge step up in class and a massive challenge, but if she can settle early, there is absolutely nothing to lose. The sky is the limit, so I’ll tell her to just get out there and go after it.

“I don’t think we should put any limits on anyone, and there is no reason she can’t cause an upset.”

She certainly has a tough assignment on her hands, but in the shadows of the MCG, home to her beloved football team, the Collingwood Magpies, Fourlis wants all the support she can get in the second round.

“Hopefully some Collingwood players can come and watch!”

Adriano Del Monte, wtatennis.com contributor.

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Kerber Blasts Past Begu

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Top seed Angelique Kerber eased into the Volvo Car Open semifinal with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!

Kerber had lost two of her three encounters with the big-hitting Romanian in 2015, but Begu had a much tougher road to reach the quarterfinals, saving a match point to defeat Monica Puig in a third set tie-break on Thursday night.

“I think I was mentally there,” the Australian Open champion told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I was trying to focus on myself because it’s always tough to play against her. Sometimes you lose your rhythm against her, so that’s what I was focusing on: just trying to go for it, move good on clay and just win the match because I remember the last match against her, I lost! So I was trying my best to win the match.

“I feel the love. The people here are so nice, so I’m just feeling welcome here. You have the best food here and I have so many great memories from last year, so it gives me confidence to play good tennis.”

Begu tried her best to force in the issue in the second set, hitting 23 winners to 18 from Kerber overall, but 35 unforced errors proved her undoing as Kerber hit only nine through the 72 minute match – four in the second set alone.

“I’m feeling better and better on clay. I think I’m getting used to it and it’s just so great to be back in the semis. I love Charleston and I’ve had a great week so far, so I’m just enjoying it here and hoping to have two more matches!”

What an angle from @AngeliqueKerber ?? #VCO2016 https://t.co/iJfpIzPAwX

— WTA (@WTA) April 8, 2016

Kerber needs to defeat Sloane Stephens to hold onto the No.2 ranking – which she briefly lost to WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska after Indian Wells – but the win over Begu has already guaranteed her return to the top of the Road To Singapore leaderboard, ousting Sunshine Double winner Victoria Azarenka.

“Sloane, she’s a great player, I know, and I played a few times against her already,” she said after the match. “I will just try to go out against her and try to take the challenge, playing a good match. So just enjoy it against her.”

Stephens won a marathon encounter with Kasatkina, who was in her first Premier level quarterfinal on clay courts. Rolling through the opening set, things were tight in the second as Kasatkina snuck away with a late break of serve to level the match. Down a match point, the young American caught fire once more, winning the final 11 points to book an ecounter with Kerber on her 37th winner.

“You guys were awesome,” she said after the match, addressing the crowd. “I’m so excited to be in the semis. it’s my best result in six years, so it’s about time I won some matches here!

“I was just fighting for every point. Obviously the conditions were really tough and I was playing a really good player. She’s had some really good results, so I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a battle. The wind and we’re on clay court were a lot of factors, so I’m happy I stayed calm and played my game.”

Semifinal for @SloaneStephens! Saves a match point to defeat Kasatkina, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5. #VCO2016 https://t.co/kXUmZidHaJ

— WTA (@WTA) April 8, 2016

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Wozniacki Hot Streak Continues In Luxembourg

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Caroline Wozniacki’s excellent run of form continued as she overcame Madison Brengle 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open.

The Dane, who has lost just three matches since the US Open and won the Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Hong Kong Open in recent months, suffered a slow start to the match, dropping serve in the opening game.

However, Brengle’s lead was short-lived, with Wozniacki finding her range and winning six games in a row to take the set. She carried her good form into the second set, skipping into a 5-0 lead and though she dropped serve and was unable to complete the bagel, she recovered to book her place in the next round.

Top seed Petra Kvitova also cruised through her opening encounter, beating Su-Wei Hsieh 7-5, 6-0.

The two-time Wimbledon champion went ahead early, breaking the World No.81 in her second game but she was unable to consolidate her advantage. Hsieh had the chance to serve for the set at 5-4, but was broken to love and lost serve again when trying to force a tiebreak.

From then on, Kvitova was well on top and did not lose a single game in the second set.

Kristyna Pliskova had to battle from a set behind to beat Oceane Dodin 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The Czech broke in the opening game of the match but her advantage was short-lived as she saved seven break points before eventually succumbing to the pressure on the eighth. Dodin subsequently broke to love to move ahead and was able to serve out the set.

In a tight second set, Pliskova eventually went ahead in the penultimate game and held her nerve to level the match. After being broken in the first game of the decider, Dodin failed to get back on level terms and exited the tournament.

Meanwhile, Misaki Doi’s defence of her Luxembourg title came to a premature end at the hands of American qualifier Lauren Davis, who emerged with a highly creditable 6-1, 6-2 victory.

The No.6 seed never found her feet and slipped to a 4-0 deficit before she won her only game of the first set.

She began the second in better form, moving a break up in the first game but she soon four successive games. Davis made no mistake from there and the World No.85 emerged from the match with a famous scalp.

Kiki Bertens had no such problems in progressing, though she had to overcome a plucky Annika Beck to secure her 6-4, 6-4 victory.

The Dutchwoman had led 5-2 and seemed to be cruising in the first set but the German got back on terms, only to lose her serve once more. Bertens let a break slip again in the second set but, with Beck serving to stay in the match, the No.3 seed broke to book her place in the second round.

Meanwhile, Mona Barthel cruised past Carina Witthoeft 6-1, 6-4, Johanna Larsson brushed Pauline Parmentier aside 6-4, 6-2, Tereza Smitkova defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 6-3 and Andrea Petkovic survived a scare to defeat Mandy Minella 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.

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Australian Open: Alison Riske vs Zhang Shuai

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Alison Riske takes on Zhang Shuai in the second round of the Australian Open.

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Cibulkova Charges To Katowice Title

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KATOWICE, Poland – Dominika Cibulkova captured her first WTA final since 2014 at the Katowice Open, taking out three-time finalist Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-0.

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

Giorgi had reached her third straight Katowice final, but her hopes of a first title in Poland took an immediate hit as Cibulkova raced out to a 4-0 lead. The 2014 Australian Open finalist served for the opening set at 5-2 when Giorgi’s signature firepower briefly lit up the stadium, nabbing one of the two breaks back and holding break points to level the contest at five games apiece.

Cibulkova was in her second final of 2016 – having narrowly missed out on the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title to Sloane Stephens – and managed to hold her nerve to serve out the set on the second time of asking, and promptly proceeded to win the final seven games of the match.

“Thank you for coming and supporting me all week,” Giorgi said in her runner-up speech. “It was really nice to be here this year again, and I hope to come back next year.”

The fiery Slovak was forced to miss five months of 2015 after having surgery on her Achilles – addressing a bone spur issue that had been bothering her for the better part of three years. A former World No.10, Cibulkova saw her ranking fall as low as No.62, but Sunday’s title returns her back into the Top 40 with a chance to be seeded for the upcoming French Open.

Love my fans ❤️ #DOMI #POME at @KatowiceOpen_ #SlovakTennis
Prava fanusicka ❤️ #krasnypocit pic.twitter.com/8Q0NZhuO8f

— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) April 10, 2016

“I would like to thank the city of Katowice for making such a friendly event for us,” Cibulkova said in her victory speech, adding, “Especially for me, it was very nice to drive three hours for a title!

“I was really surprised playing for the first time in Poland, it feels like home. I really appreciate it, so thank you.”

Cibulkova finished her speech dedicating the win to her team, particularly her father, who was celebrating his birthday on Sunday.

“I think this is the best gift!

Equally ebullient in press, the Slovak discussed how she turned around an 0-2 head-to-head and a difficult swing in Indian Wells and Miami, where she lost tight matches to Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbiñe Muguruza.

“I would say today I was prepared very good for Camila. My tactic was to go for it, and I was doing it 100%. I was just playing really solid, going for the shots really strong and I was reading her game really well. When I had an easy shot, I always made it, and this was very important today. In the second set, I was going for it even more, and that’s why I won today. I wasn’t afraid.

“You have to go by small steps, and this is just a small step for me to get to where I want to be. I proved that through the last matches – how I finished them – that I’m a really good player and this is how I want to play.

“I would say this my top level of tennis and this is why I worked so hard to get here. I want to go further for sure and after some bad matches in Indian Wells and Miami, this gives me really positive energy.

“When you lose tight matches, it’s not the same as when you win them.”

In the doubles final, Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato survived a match tie-break against Russians Valentyna Ivakhnenko and Marina Melnikova, 3-6, 7-5, 10-8.

#KatowiceOpen 2016 Finalists @GiorgiCamilla @Cibulkova #WTAKatowice #KO2016 pic.twitter.com/VxJAcsgxso

— Katowice Open (@KatowiceOpen_) April 10, 2016

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Muguruza Aims For High Risk, High Rewards In Singapore

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Learning to peak at the right times is skill that takes years to learn in tennis. Garbiñe Muguruza has already shown she’s light years ahead of schedule. The 23-year-old Spaniard earned her reputation as a big stage player last season when she made her first major final at Wimbledon — on her worst surface, no less — and then proceeded to roll through the Asian swing to win her biggest title at the China Open, and back it up with an undefeated run through group play at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, to make the semifinals in her tournament debut.

“I think the important tournaments are the ones you’ve got to play well, the ones that really count, the ones that really take you to the top level,” Muguruza said. “Last year I’m like, Well, I did a final in Grand Slam; I won the China Open. But they’re important, so that means a lot of points and a lot of to the top level.”

This season she did one better.

Muguruza’s dominating two weeks in Paris was the definition of “peak”. After overcoming a few nerves in the first set of her first match, she would reel off 14 consecutive sets, including a 7-5, 6-4 win over then-No.1 Serena Williams in the final, to win her first major title at Roland Garros. This was the type of run you dream about as a kid, tennis’ equivalent of the 10-year-old hitting imaginary buzzer-beating three-point shots at the playground.

After hitting pitch-perfect lob winner on Championship Point, not even Muguruza could believe it. “Did I win Roland Garros?” she said, recounting her unbelievable shot on match point. “What happened? When [the umpire] said, ‘Game, set, and match’, I was like, ‘No way. I won.’ It was amazing.”

Muguruza’s Parisian fortnight launched her to a career-high No.2 and cemented her ability to beat anyone on any given day. The affable Muguruza will be the first to admit her season had its ups and downs. Outside of Roland Garros she struggled with her consistency throughout the season — Paris was her first and only final of the season — though the signs were there during the clay season that something special was in the works. Two weeks before the French Open, Muguruza earned her best result at the time, making the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where she lost to Madison Keys.

“I just have a very aggressive game. I go for my shots with no regrets, even if I play to the fence,” Muguruza said.

It’s a strategy that can win Slams, and yes, the plural is intentional. One need to look no further than two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who’s game is also built on a high-risk, high-reward mentality. But Muguruza’s game is also built for all surfaces, fast and slow alike. Her CV has proved it, having won the French Open, made the final at Wimbledon, and making the semifinals in Singapore last year. The slower courts, as is the one laid down at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, may suit her the best, as she has the time she needs to set up her powerful groundstrokes as well as attack the net (Muguruza made the doubles final in Singapore last year with Carla Suárez Navarro).

That is what makes Muguruza an exciting young player. She may have become the youngest player since Victoria Azarenka to win a major title, but she’s still a work in progress. Her potential for growth and improvement is vast, which means she’s a massive threat every time she takes the court.

“I feel nothing can be sad this year after winning a Grand Slam,” Muguruza said last month at the Wuhan Open. “No matter what happens for me, is an incredible year already.”

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

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