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Checking In With Konta, Stosur Ahead Of WTA Elite Trophy Debuts

Checking In With Konta, Stosur Ahead Of WTA Elite Trophy Debuts

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ZHUHAI, China – Azalea Group action begins in earnest on Wednesday at the Huajin Securities Elite Trophy Zhuhai. Top seed Johanna Konta is fresh from her stint as first alternate at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and the Brit admitted that Zhuhai already feels more like home.

“What can I say? I like China!” she joked with WTA Insider. “We get treated very well here; every hotel is always really beautiful, as is every venue. They really put a lot of effort into the immediate things that surround us as tennis players, the things we experience at every event.

“They definitely make us feel quite comfortable.”

Konta had a chance to get comfortable on the first day of round robin play in Zhuhai, fielding questions in All-Access hour that ranged from tennis to fashion – one in particularly about the dress she sported at Singapore’s draw ceremony.

“I was not expecting that question!” she told reporters. “I’m very flattered. I do enjoy fashion. I do get some help though, so it’s not all me. Thank you for noticing.”

Johanna Konta

All eyes have been on the Brit as she blew the roof off her 2016 season with stellar performances, including one just three weeks ago at the China Open, where she reached the final.

“I still feel very much in this season, and I’m really happy and looking forward to playing my last event here in Zhuhai. I’m looking forward to stepping out on the court, competing finally.

“I like to be at events that I’m competing in, mainly!”

She’ll certainly have to compete in her first match as she takes on No.8 seed and former US Open champion Samantha Stosur. The Aussie arrived a day earlier than Konta, allowing her more of a chance to explore the city.

“We’ve gone out for some great meals every single night. I have an opportunity – by not playing tonight – to go out and see something else.

“Then, I’ll probably just be busy with the tournament. But we’ve been very well looked after and it’s been a very enjoyable week.”

Samantha Stosur

It’s been a stabilizing week for the former World No.4, who recently announced Josh Eagle as her full-time coach; the ex-ATP professional was with Stosur during the Emirates Airline US Open Series, and are together in Zhuhai for the first time since Flushing.

“I’m looking forward to starting the year with him, and hopefully getting a level of consistency with the people around me. That will help my game as well. There’s never been a bad relationship with anyone I’ve had this year, but when you’re chopping and changing all the time, it makes it difficult.

“If that’s all in the past, then I’ll be very happy next year!”

Stosur parted with longtime coach David Taylor after this year’s French Open, where she earned her best Grand Slam result in four years by reaching the semifinals, and is looking forward to having a new voice to help her adapt to an ever-changing game.

“You can’t say the one way you’ve done it for so long is the only way to do it. I think you have to be a little bit open to change or even just hearing new ideas.

“That’s just different; I wouldn’t say it’s good or bad, but you have to get used to it when you’ve gotten set in your routines, the way you communicate with someone and how they might tell you to do something.”

The up-ended routines have helped her in practice – Stosur says she’s hitting as good as ever – and she hopes to use the week in Zhuhai to begin translating that onto the match court.

“Sometimes it only takes one or two matches and then you feel really good about things, and then, all of the sudden, you can get on a little bit of a roll. Who knows? I feel like I’m in a decent spot now; this is kind of a bonus extra tournament for all of us to be at, and given the Asian Swing that I had, it’s probably a good thing to win a couple before I finish the year.”

With one week left to the season, both women will be keen to end the season on a high note, which ought to inspire some scintillating tennis as they go head-to-head in second on Zhuhai’s Stadium court.

All photos courtesy of the WTA Elite Trophy.

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Zhuhai Thursday: Svitolina & Vesnina Lead Battle For Semifinal Spots

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ZHUHAI, China – Three of the four semifinal spots at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai could be decided as Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina and Sam Stosur take the court on Day 3. Preview all the singles action right here on wtatennis.com!

Thursday

Camellia Group

[13/Alt] Timea Babos (HUN #25) vs [12/WC] Zhang Shuai (CHN #28)
Head-to-head: Babos leads 1-0 (first meeting at tour level)
Stat: Zhang can advance to semifinals if she wins four games

The two lowest-ranked players at the WTA Elite Trophy will meet on Thursday with the same goal in mind, but facing very different scenarios. Last-minute singles alternate Timea Babos sits at the bottom of her group after suffering a straight sets defeat against Timea Bacsinszky, but she would have to pull off a massive performance in to advance to the semifinals. Her opponent, Zhang Shuai, needs to win just four games in order to clinch the Camellia Group semifinal spot. And considering the way China’s Zhang was able to leverage the support of her home fans in her 6-1, 6-1 thumping of Bacsinszky, Babos seems to be facing an uphill battle.

Azalea Group

[8] Sam Stosur (AUS #20) vs [11] Caroline Garcia (FRA #23)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Stat: Garcia owns a 1-7 record against Top 20 opponents in 2016

After suffering a straight-sets defeat against Britain’s Johanna Konta, Sam Stosur has one last shot to keep her semifinal hopes alive in Zhuhai. She’s up against Caroline Garcia and needs to win without dropping a set in order to stay alive in the Azalea Group. Stosur is more battle-tested than Frenchwoman, who is making her Zhuhai debut on Thursday, but she can’t afford another slow start against her big-hitting opponent.

“I’m playing another player I have never played before, so that’s I guess kind of unique these days out on tour,” Stosur mused in her post-match press conference. “I know that she plays aggressive tennis, got a big serve, really goes for it. She hits the ball hard.

“In a lot of ways it’s kind of similar to [playing Konta]. I need to, no doubt, get off to better starts. You can’t be giving these girls head starts by four games and expect to be able to come back every single time.”

Rose Group

[4] Elina Svitolina (UKR #14) vs [7] Elena Vesnina (RUS #19)
Head-to-head: Vesnina leads 2-1
Stat: Svitolina needs to win against Vesnina to advance to semifinals

Elena Vesnina is flying high after her doubles victory at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but she’ll have to hit the ground running in her first singles match at Zhuhai. Her opponent, Elina Svitolina, has her work cut out for her; she needs to beat Svitolina in order to advance to the semifinals, but Vesnina could knock her out if she wins in straight sets.

“[Vesnina] of course really confident, I think, at the moment after winning doubles in Singapore,” Svitolina assessed in her post-match press conference. “I will try just to stick to my game. It’s a new match, new challenge. There will be new opportunities. I will try to create of course opportunities for myself.”

Semifinal Scenarios
Camellia Group: Zhang advances if she wins 4 games vs. Babos on Thursday
Peony Group: Winner of Strycova vs Kvitova (on Friday) advances
Azalea Group: Stosur (vs. Garcia on Thursday) needs to win in straight sets to keep chances of advancing alive.
Rose Group: Svitolina advances with a win over Vesnina on Thursday. If Vesnina wins in straight sets, then Svitolina is out, with Friday’s match between Bertens and Vesnina determining the group winner; Bertens would need to win in straight sets to win the group.

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Begu Joins Romanian Charge In Paris

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

PARIS, France – Less than 48 hours after winning the longest match of 2016, No.25 seed Irina-Camelia Begu booked her first career fourth round appearance in Roland Garros with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 win over Annika Beck. With No.6 seed Simona Halep’s third round victory over Naomi Osaka, it marks the first time two Romanians have reached the second week in Paris since 1997.

One of the most consistent forces on clay this season, Begu has had to battle through each of her first three matches – squeaking out wins over Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandewghe to start the week – and it proved no different against Beck, who recovered from losing the first set to force a decider.

“It’s a bit tough because I’ve played all the matches three sets and was longer than two hours,” she told press after the match.

“In the second set I was feeling a little bit down physically, but then I said that I just have to play my game, to be more aggressive, because otherwise I will have no chance.”

“I think I did great in the third set.”

Great would be an understatement; despite losing a long game to begin the final set, Begu roared through the last six, converting the win at love to reach the second week, hitting 36 winners to 18 from Beck in the two hour and five minute contest.

“I’m really happy about my win. Yeah, it was a tough match, but I was prepared for that.

“So I’m just happy that I got through.”

Begu makes up one half of the first Romanian pair through to the second week in Paris for the first time in nearly 20 years, when Irina Spirlea and Ruxandra Dragomir both reached the round of 16 – the latter went on to finish in the quarterfinals.

The Romanian will next play Shelby Rogers, who won an up-and-down 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-0 match against No.10 seed Petra Kvitova.

“She started playing much better in the second,” the American said after reaching the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. “I was just trying to take it point by point, because if I started to think too much, she for sure would have the advantage there. Just one point at a time, one point at a time.

“I don’t know if I could call that a habit yet, but I hope to create one out of it. That would be nice,” she added with a laugh.

On a day of big upsets, Begu and No.13 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova emerged victorious over their opposition, as the 2009 champion blew past No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-1, 6-4.

When asked how she felt about her win, Kuznetsova countered, “I feel about everything,” and discussed a brief hiccup in the second set.

“I got messed up. I was up – I’m not sure how much, 3-1, 40-15, I guess – and then I was down 4-3. I got tense and started to do weird things instead of playing the game I was playing.

“Then at 4-3 I came back to play long rallies and trying to move her around.”

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