Tennis News

MADRID Spain – The seeds in the lower half of the draw will make their 2016 BNP Paribas debut on Saturday at Indian Wells, including 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

Saturday, First Round

[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #17) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #43)
Head-to-head: Svitolina leads 1-0 
Key Stat: Svitolina’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came last year on clay at the French Open.

A solid start to Svitolina’s season – one that saw her capture her fourth career title in Kuala Lumpur – came to a thudding halt in a rain-interrupted opening round loss to Alexandra Panova in Bogota. Nonetheless, the Ukranian youngster will look to rebound against 2009 US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. Wickmayer reached the third round of the Miami Open, taking out Lucie Safarova en route, and her best result came in Acapulco, where she reached the semifinals – falling to eventual champion Sloane Stephens.

Both have yet to win a match on clay, but their only previous meeting came on the terre battue last spring, when Svitolina dropped four games on the Belgian en route to the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Svitolina is the steadier of the two, but the conditions in the Caja Magica could lend themselves better to the fiery Wickmayer’s aggressive play.

Pick: Svitolina in three

[16] Sloane Stephens (USA #21) vs. Teliana Pereira (BRA #84)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Stephens has gone on to win the title at every tournament in which she has won a match.

Sloane Stephens has had a season full of highs and lows to start 2016; despite earning three titles in Auckland, Acapulco, and Charleston, the American went out in the opening round of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami. Stephens will try to get on another title-winning roll in her first match in Madird. Clay courter Teliana Pereira enjoyed a hugely successful season in 2015, one where she won her first WTA title in Bogota and earned a career-high ranking of No.43 last October.

Olympic pressure may be starting to get to the Brazilian, who lost her in the first round of her title defense to qualifier Catalina Pella in three grueling sets.

Pick: Stephens in two

Around the grounds: An all-Italian battle will take place on Court Manolo Santana as No.15 seed Sara Errani takes on Camila Giorgi, while Manhattan-born Spanish wildcard Paula Badosa Gibert opens the night session against Alizé Cornet. Badosa Gibert won last year’s junior French Open, perhaps an auspicious sign given how quickly 2014 champion Daria Kasatkina has come into her own in the year following her title run. In doubles, No.5 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic begin their quest for a third straight title against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and CoCo Vandeweghe.

RABAT, Morocco – Timea Bacsinszky saved some of her best tennis for Saturday’s final against Marina Erakovic; the Swiss star faced few problems against the former World No.39, 6-2, 6-1, to capture her first title of 2016 at the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem.

Watch live action from Prague & Rabat this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Bacsinszky reached the semifinals of last year’s French Open, and appears to be settling into similar form after racing through Rabat – losing just one set in five matches. Against Erakovic, she played a near-perfect match over the course of an hour and seven minutes, winning 75% of the Kiwi’s second serve points without facing a break point off her own delivery. Her fourth career WTA title, the only WTA tournament in Africa Bacsinszky’s first on red clay – all three of her previous victories came on hardcourts.

It might not have been the ideal finish for Erakovic in the final, but it was still an awe-inspiring week from the qualifier, who had nearly dropped outside the world’s Top 200 due to various injuries. Taking out Fed Cup hero Kiki Bertens in three grueling sets, the 28-year-old jumps up nearly 60 spots to within spitting distance of the Top 100.

More to come…

NÜRNBERG, Germany – Kiki Bertens dealt a blow to Roberta Vinci’s French Open preparations by triumphing in their second-round meeting at the NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP on Wednesday.

Early exits in Madrid and Rome meant Vinci arrived in southern Germany short of match practice, and her hopes of playing herself out of this funk were dashed by Bertens in an hour and 20 minutes.

Vinci looked to be sending the contest into a third set, only for the qualifier to batten down the hatches and complete the upset. Bertens’ 6-4, 7-6(4) victory sets up a meeting with Irina Falconi, who fought back to see off No.6 seed Misaki Doi, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

“I’m really happy with the win today, of course. I’m always happy to have a few matches before Paris and I think my level was okay today,” Bertens said.

“I didn’t start [the second set] so good, I was 4-1 down. But then I started to be a little more patient – trying to hit the ball in the court! – and from there be more aggressive, and that worked pretty well today.

There were mixed fortunes for the German contingent, Julia Goerges easing past Yulia Putintseva, 6-4, 6-2, while Varvara Lepchenko ended the hopes of No.5 seed Sabine Lisicki, 6-2, 7-6(5).

“It was a tough one. Obviously Sabine’s the favorite and she’s the home player. And she’s a great player! So I knew she wasn’t going to give me anything for free and I’d really have to fight for it and that’s what I was looking for,” Lepchenko said.

“In the second set I had a lot of opportunities that I let slip. I lost my focus a bit there and I was all over the place a bit there, and once I got back into it, it was more even and I was able to push through.”

In doubles, Annika Beck and Anna-Lena Friedsam warmed up for their singles quarterfinal against one another by teaming up to beat Chan Chin-Wei and Demi Schuurs, 6-0, 6-4.

Tennis fans @ #NVC2016 like to watch doubles just as much. E.g. @BeckAnnika & AL Friedsam advancing to semis! pic.twitter.com/Hcbjuc88lN

— Nürnberger Cup (@NuernbergerCup) 18 May 2016

Just one month away from the first edition of June’s Mallorca Open, Ana Ivanovic tried for the first time the centre court of the grass tournament along with Carlos Moyà and Toni Nadal during an event held at the Country Club Tennis Academy Santa Ponsa, the tournament’s venue.

The former Wprld No.1, one of the favorites to win the title, practiced on the new grass court with Carlos Moyà, a former ATP No.1, as well as Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and coach.

“It is a big event for Mallorca, with big names and a hard draw,” said Ivanovic after practicing for over 10 minutes on a grass that has been tested and supervised by the All England Lawn Tennis Club. “It is a pleasure for me to prepare Wimbledon in a place I feel like at home,”

Ivanovic also unveiled one of the surprises of the event, a giant tennis ball made of 600 ensaimadas, a typical majorcan pastry.

I am so excited to play the @MallorcaOpen later this summer. Their new grass Centre Court is slick! Who's coming? pic.twitter.com/eNNhw0U6pN

— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) May 18, 2016

Apart from Ivanovic, the Mallorca Open will have a great line up, full of grass court specialists. Garbiñe Muguruza, Eugenie Bouchard and Sabine Lisicki all reached the Wimbledon final in the last three years, and will try to become the first champions on the inaugural edition of the event. Other big names with the likes of former No.1 Jelena Jankovic, Sara Errani, Kristina Mladenovic, Annika Beck and Julia Goerges.

A few months ago Muguruza was the selected player to put the first stone on this centre court.

Las pistas de hierba del @wtamallorca toman forma!! Grass courts at Mallorca Open are looking good!! See you there! pic.twitter.com/sercwC1JOW

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) May 15, 2016

“I am very excited and I can’t wait for this tournament to start” she said at the itme. “I am really happy because this surface is one of my favorites. In Spain we have a clay tradition but I think this novelty is great news. I’ll be there in a few weeks, excited to play another tournament in Spain, in a very special place like Majorca.”

I wish there was a confetti flying from the sky after every good serve! ? @MallorcaOpen pic.twitter.com/gNk7fYp1P7

— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) May 18, 2016

World No. 1 Serena Williams begins her quest for a fourth Roland Garros title on Tuesday as the top half of the draw contests its first-round matches. We preview all the action here at WTATennis.com.

Tuesday, First Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK #77)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Williams is one of nine Grand Slam winners in the main draw, and has four more major titles (21) than the other eight major winners combined (17).

Serena Williams will look to resume her march towards history in Paris this week after stumbling in the late rounds at each of the last two majors. The World No.1 sits just one behind Steffi Graf for the all-time Open Era record for major titles, but that fact is something that the 34-year-old American prefers not to dwell on. “I definitely block it out,” Williams said over the weekend in Paris. “I was one off last year, too. If I don’t win [Roland Garros] I’ll still be one off. It took me forever to get to 18. I was so stressed out. I don’t want to relive that at all.” On Tuesday Williams will hope for a stress-free encounter against Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova in the final match of the day on Court Philippe Chatrier. Rybarikova has struggled with a leg injury since reaching the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and the 27-year-old has only played once since then, retiring from a challenger match in Slovakia in the first set.

Pick: Williams in two

[26] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #30) vs. Francesca Schiavone (ITA #95)
Head-to-head: Schiavone leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Mladenovic has notched a Top 10 win in each of her last two Roland Garros appearances.

Kristina Mladenovic’s Roland Garros legend is growing with each passing year as the Frenchwoman has notched some of the grandest, most emotional wins of her career on the terre battue. In 2014 she famously upset 2011 Roland Garros champion Li Na in the first round. Last year Mladenovic took out then-World No.6 Eugenie Bouchard in her opening match. Credit to Mladenovic. She’s embraced the challenge of playing at her home Slam and delivered inspiring performances in two consecutive years. But to do it again this year the 23-year-old will have to get past a woman with a Roland Garros resumé that is far more impressive than her own. Francesca Schiavone’s legend is already as big as it gets in Paris. “La Leonessa” pulled off one of the most magical runs in recent Grand Slam history when she took the title at Roland Garros in 2010, but the 35-year-old will likely need some more of her Paris magic if she is to book her place in the second round.

Pick: Mladenovic in three

[5] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #5) vs. Karin Knapp (ITA #118)
Head-to-head: Knapp leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Knapp dropped just two games in a straight-sets win over Azarenka at Roland Garros in 2007.

Nine years ago, Italy’s Karin Knapp notched one of her best career wins at a major against Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros, dropping just two games in a first-round blowout. But that victory came early in Azarenka’s Roland Garros career, before she had fully acclimated herself to the red clay. These days Azarenka is a much more accomplished clay-courter with seven finals on the surface under her belt and three appearances in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros (including a semifinal in 2013). If Azarenka truly has put the back issues that have plagued her on clay this season behind her, she should be able to assert herself early and often against Knapp on Tuesday.

Pick: Azarenka in two

[3] Angelique Kerber (GER #3) vs. Kiki Bertens (NED #58)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Kerber lost in the first round in both Madrid and Rome.

On Tuesday in Paris Angelique Kerber will play her first Grand Slam match since claiming the Australian Open title in January. How will she handle the challenge? The German has been through her share of ups and downs since that triumph, but by and large she has adjusted to her newfound notoriety with maturity, managing to stay grounded and focused on playing the high-quality tennis that she has become known for. But dealing with fame hasn’t been Kerber’s only challenge this spring. The World No. 5 has also struggled with a shoulder injury that could be a factor when she meets last week’s Nürnberg champion, Kiki Bertens, in her first-round match. “I’ve had a few practice days and that gives me confidence,” Kerber told reporters this weekend about her decision to skip last week’s event in Nürnberg to rest. “I used the days at home to have a lot of shoulder treatments. Physically I’m feeling good again. I was scared to play matches before Paris. Now I can serve and there are not so many pains.”

Pick: Kerber in three

By The Numbers

4 — Williams is bidding for her fourth Roland Garros title this year. If she succeeds she’ll pull even with Justine Henin and Helen Wills-Moody on the all-time leaderboard.

40 – Schiavone is fifth among active players on the Roland Garros win list. The Italian has gone 40-14 in her 15 appearances in Paris.

4 – In the Open Era the No. 1 seed has lost in the first round just four times at a major and never at Roland Garros.

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor