Tennis News

For Johanna Konta, the opening weeks of the new season could hardly have gone any better. Picking up from where she left off at the end of 2016, Konta has continued to rack up the wins and on Friday evening collected her second career title thanks to a dominant victory over World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska at the Apia International Sydney.

Success in Sydney will have tasted particularly sweet for Konta, who was born in Sydney and learnt the game in the nearby suburb of Collaroy before moving to Britain as a teenager.

Her return to Australia’s cultural capital has afforded plenty of time to catch up with old friends and family, including elder sister Eva, who is married to AFL player Shane Mumford.

“I’m just really happy I get to stay here a little bit longer,” Konta said after her quarterfinal win over Daria Kasatkina.

“I think it’s more just about prolonging my stay here, more than anything, because I get to spend a bit more time with my sister.”

#SAPStatOfTheDay: @JoKonta91 did not drop a set ALL week en-route to @SydneyTennis Title! pic.twitter.com/AFZXwPPLua

— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017

However, with one piece of silverware in the bag the 25-year-old’s focus is now firmly set on the Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals 12 months ago. Friday’s draw handed her a first-round date against Kirsten Flipkens, with Caroline Wozniacki and Dominika Cibulkova also lurking in her quarter.

The last British player to win the tournament was Virginia Wade in 1972, and on current form, the Briton will fancy her chances against all-comers. Ever the consummate professional, though, she is taking nothing for granted: “I’m really pleased with just the amount of matches I have been able to play. Obviously how I have done here, I take it as a really positive thing, as a nice reward along the way for the hard work that myself and my team have put in every day.

“But it’s not a reflection of how next week will go, how the rest of the year will go. It’s back to everyday hard work, because that’s what dictates how I do.”

Perfect backhand down the line from @JoKonta91! ?

Wins @SydneyTennis Final Shot of the Day! pic.twitter.com/G6k8xrlTwx

— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017

A meticulous approach to each and every aspect of her game has characterized Konta’s rapid ascent of the tennis ladder. As impressive as her shotmaking is at times, her mental fortitude is arguably the cornerstone of her game.

During the off-season Konta parted ways with Esteban Carril, the coach who helped chart her passage from the outer extremities of the Top 100 to the game’s elite. Impressively, the changes behind the scenes – which also included the death of sports psychologist Juan Coto – do not seem to have jolted Konta from her unerring path to the game’s summit.

She is now working with the much-respected Wim Fissette, who looks to have successfully harnessed the career momentum that has helped her win 22 of her past 27 matches.

Fissette, who has worked with Sabine Lisicki, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka and most famously Kim Clijsters, has a fine track record. In Konta he has another potential success story on his hands.

Very happy with winning the title @SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/9RLwNPun4h

— Wim fissette (@wimfissette) January 13, 2017

The next step for his charge is Grand Slam glory. She has tasted it briefly, reaching the US Open fourth round twice, as well as last year’s run at Melbourne Park, and her consistency bodes well for another good showing over the coming fortnight.

“I do feel with myself that I am playing a good level. And the way it’s coming through, so far, is it’s been consistent over the last two weeks,” Konta said after beating Radwanska.

“But like I said, it’s no reflection of how the Australian Open will go… There are so many things that are a factor, and most importantly, I will continue to look at my health, happiness. And again, that will give me the best shot at trying to be consistent, like Aga. That’s pretty hard.”

She will begin her campaign on Tuesday, offering sufficient time to recover from her Sydney exploits. The conditions in Melbourne are likely to be every bit as brutal as they were in Sydney, where the WTA’s heat rule came into play on several occasions.

Konta began refueling for the battles ahead in the moments following the trophy ceremony, a British favorite getting her ready for the Antipodean press pack. “Because it’s quite late, I’m not too sure [what to eat]. I had a ham-and-cheese toasty, which was amazing!”

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Already one of the most-followed WTA players on Twitter, Caroline Wozniacki reached a big milestone on Wednesday when she became one of the few tennis players to cross the one million followers mark.

There are only five active WTA players to reach 1 million Twitter followers:

1. Serena Williams – 6.07 million
2. Sania Mirza – 3.4 million
3. Maria Sharapova – 1.98 million
4. Venus Williams – 1.37 million
5. Caroline Wozniacki – 1 million

Wow!! 1 million followers!! Thank you for all the support! ❤️❤️❤️?? pic.twitter.com/y7jxbW2scX

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 10, 2016

On Twitter, Wozniacki does a great job of showing fans a glimpse into her life behind the scenes through photos, videos and of course, selfies. Check it out!

Playin' tennis, takin' names, breakin' rules. #heretocreate @adidas pic.twitter.com/NcY65eBgXK

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) January 31, 2016

Caption this..?? @DjokerNole @milosraonic @AustralianOpen #kidsday #behindthescenes pic.twitter.com/eHqIHd2xuN

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) January 16, 2016

It's cooold out! #mood pic.twitter.com/f8cGnpaQDQ

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) January 25, 2016

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Karolina Pliskova secured the first spot in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open with a three-set win over No.7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova on Friday afternoon.

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

Breaks at either end of the final set propelled Pliskova to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory and a meeting with Garbiñe Muguruza.

A typically heavy-duty forehand brought Pliskova an early break, and despite surrendering this advantage immediately she struck twice more to confidently close out the set.

However, on a balmy day, the Czech suffered an understandable dip at the start of the second set, flicking a forehand into the net to fall an early break behind. Kuznetsova made the most of her opponent’s charity, holding on to this slender advantage to force a decider.

Any suggestion that Pliskova, who is also still alive in the doubles draw, would wilt physically in the decider was given short shrift. With the winners flowing from her racquet, she gave Kuznetsova the runaround to advance into her fifth semifinal of the season.

“It wasn’t easy today, she played some good tennis and me as well, I was happy with how I played, especially in these conditions – it’s pretty hot today,” Pliskova said. “In the first set I tried to play aggressive and not give her time to dictate the game.

“My serve wasn’t that good today in the first two sets, but in the third it improved a lot.”

This week has ushered in a timely return to form for Pliskova ahead of the US Open. Although she is wisely refusing to look too far ahead.

“Any semifinal is great because you have the chance to get to the final, so I’ll just do my best to prepare for the next match – I have doubles so wish me luck!”

Muguruza secured her place thanks to a comfortable win over qualifier Timea Babos. Since winning her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, Muguruza has struggled for consistency but impressed against the big-serving Babos, breaking three times to complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Angelique Kerber is gunning for the No.1 ranking in Cincinnati, but the German isn’t the only one with designs on the Western and Southern Open title. Chris Oddo previews Saturday’s semifinals right here at wtatennis.com.

Saturday, Semifinals

Center Court
[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. [15] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #17)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 2-1

Key Stat: Pliskova leads all players in the ace category in 2016 with 394 through her first three rounds in Cincinnati.
Karolina Pliskova had the upper hand on Garbiñe Muguruza when they met head-to-head in 2015, defeating her in Dubai and then again a month later at Indian Wells, but it is Muguruza who has proven to be more comfortable on the big stage since the pair last met. The Spaniard is a Grand Slam winner and a Top 5 player now, while Pliskova has still to reach the second week of a major. But don’t be fooled by the Czech’s lack of Slam success. The 24-year-old is progressing steadily and it’s just a matter of time before she has her day in the sun. Will it be Saturday? Pliskova will need to serve effectively to win for the third consecutive time against Muguruza, and she knows she’ll have to make more first serves than she did on Friday in her quarterfinal win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. She only managed a 44% first-serve percentage in her three-set win over the Russian, but was pleased to earn her second Top 10 win of the year nonetheless. “I can serve big in the important moments which is good, but I have to get high with the percentage,” Pliskova said. “Still happy with the serve. I think it’s still winning the matches for me, so still the biggest weapon.” Speaking of weapons, the powerful Muguruza is not lacking in that department. She knows she’ll have to use her full arsenal to change her fortunes against the dangerous Pliskova. “She’s playing well,” Muguruza said on Friday after defeating Timea Babos in the quarterfinals. “I think this surface helps her a little bit with her style of game.” Muguruza has been focused and in the zone all week, and it has shown on the scoreboard. She’ll take a confident air with her on the court and let the chips fall where they may. “I’m satisfied the way I’m fighting and my spirit and energy on the court, so hopefully I can keep this until the US Open,” she said.

Pick: Muguruza in two

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. [3] Simona Halep (ROU #4)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 4-2

Key Stat: Kerber could ascend to the No. 1 ranking for the first time with the title in Cincinnati.
Two steps from a career-changing milestone, Angelique Kerber continues to wear the blinders and deflect all pressure about climbing to the top of the WTA rankings. “I’m not feeling more pressure, to be honest,” she said after coming back from a set down to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro in the sweltering Cincinnati heat on Friday. “I learned a lot from last tournaments and last matches about pressure, and when I put the pressure too much on myself, I mean, that’s not the way I would like to play my tennis.” Though Kerber struggled early against the Spaniard, she drew upon a reservoir of confidence and found her second wind to win on Friday. It’s been a recurring theme for the German, and as the wins pile up, the confidence grows. “I knew I’m really fit and I worked a lot in the last few months and years to go out and try to play matches like that,” she said. “Of course when you win the matches you have much more confidence and you can do it and turn around matches and go for three sets after you lose the first one. That gives me for sure more confidence also for the next challenges.” The challenge will be a big one on Saturday, as Kerber will square off with the scorching-hot Simona Halep. The Romanian notched her 13th consecutive win on Friday night, taking down Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets, and she is playing her best tennis of the season at the moment. Like Kerber, Halep fell behind early but stormed to the finish, taking 13 of the final 15 games from Radwanska. Will Halep be able to continue her run and rain on Kerber’s parade in Cincinnati, or will the German edge ever closer to a colossal milestone?

Pick: Halep in three

By the numbers…
1 – Number of singles semifinalists still alive in the doubles draw (Pliskova and partner Julia Goerges face Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe).
20-2 – Halep’s record since the start of Roland Garros this year.
46 – Kerber’s 2016 win total – more than any other player on tour.
183 – Number of consecutive weeks that Serena Williams has held the No. 1 ranking, which is second-most all time behind Graf (186).

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – At the beginning of January few would have pegged Angelique Kerber as the player most likely to overthrow Serena Williams atop the rankings. This number would have dwindled further when she stood match point down against Misaki Doi in the opening round of the Australian Open.

What happened next will go down in tennis folklore, Kerber somehow negotiating her way out of this cul-de-sac and going on to lift her maiden Grand Slam trophy. A wonderfully consistent summer has built on this career momentum, establishing Kerber as a rival to long-time World No.1 Williams at the game’s summit.

Victory over Karolina Pliskova in Sunday’s final of the Western & Southern Open will not only give her more silverware but also the No.1 ranking. Should she do so, it will end one of the most dominant reigns in WTA history. So to mark the potential changing of the guard, wtatennis.com has picked out some notable numbers…

38,473,935 – Williams’ sixth and current spell at the top of the rankings began on February 18, 2013. Since then she has amassed $38,473,935 in prize money – nearly half her career total of $80,899,060.

4,880,887 – Not including her earnings this week, Kerber has already accumulated a career-best $4,880,887 this season.

6,355 – At the start of 2016, then No.10 Kerber trailed Williams by 6,355 points in the rankings.

306 – Williams is currently enjoying her 306th career week at No.1 (third-most weeks at No.1 in WTA history after Steffi Graf’s 377 and Martina Navratilova’s 332).

183 – Of the above total, 183 have come in her latest reign. Williams is spending her 183rd straight week at No.1 (the second-longest streak at No.1 in WTA history after Graf’s 186). Her previous longest streak was 57 (between July 8, 2002 and August 10, 2003).

47 – Kerber has already notched up 47 wins this season, a record not matched by any other player on tour. Williams has posted 33.

34 – Thirty-four-year-old Williams is the oldest No.1 in WTA history, a record she first set when returning to No.1 on February 18, 2013

28 – At 28, Kerber would be the oldest first-time No.1. Her closest competition is Jennifer Capriati, who was 25 years and seven months old.

22 – Kerber is bidding to become the 22nd woman to reach the summit of the rankings.

18 – Williams’ win-loss record in this latest stint at the summit is a staggering 204-18.

12 – When a 20-year-old Williams reached No.1 for a first time in July 2002 she was the 12th different woman to scale the top of the rankings.

2 – Kerber is hoping to become the second German, after Graf, to be ranked No.1. Other nations to have multiple No.1s are the United States (Chris Evert, Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, Capriati, Venus Williams, Serena), Serbia/Yugoslavia* (Seles, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic), Belgium (Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin) and Russia (Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina).

* Before her change of citizenship Seles, who was born in the Serbian city of Novi Sad, represented Yugoslavia