Bellis Makes Confident Start In Hawaii
No.4 seed Catherine Bellis made a confident start to the Hawaii Open with a straight-set victory over Zhang Nan-Nan.
No.4 seed Catherine Bellis made a confident start to the Hawaii Open with a straight-set victory over Zhang Nan-Nan.
In 2015, Anastasija Sevastova came out of retirement. A year later, she scored the biggest win of her career – and one of the biggest upsets of 2016 – over No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza at the US Open.
Sevastova was a rising star back in 2011, reaching a career-high ranking of No.36 at 20 years old. But injuries soon sapped the desire away from the young Latvian, who hung up her racquets two years later, and was off the tour for two years more. After a few stints in coaching and studying, she decided to give tennis another go.
What brought her back to the sport?
“This one, this stage,” she said, gesturing to the enormous Arthur Ashe Stadium after her second round stunner. “I mean, look at that. It cannot get bigger.”
It doesn’t get much bigger than Arthur Ashe, and they don’t get much bigger than French Open champion Muguruza.
Sevastova, who started out the year ranked No.110, played well above her ranking and took a tight opening set at 7-5 before racing out to a 5-1 lead in the second.
With the finish line in sight, she faced a bit of a mental wobble as Muguruza clawed her way back up to 5-4 with the Spaniard serving to even the score.
In 2015, she came out of retirement. Tonight, she beats a GS champ. #Sevastova d. #Muguruza 7-5, 6-4. @MBUSA #usopen https://t.co/a5xfmjm8XC
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2016
“I stopped thinking. I was thinking too much at 5-2, 5-3. Then I said, ‘Okay, I have one more chance at 5-4. She’s serving. I broke her before enough times, so I will try this one more time,'” Sevastova explained.
“And still, even then it’s only 5-5. It’s still an open match like the first set.”
That positivity took the Latvian over the finish line, breaking serve to love to clinch the biggest upset of the US Open thus far – and the biggest win of her career – winning 7-5, 6-4.
But after the match, Sevastova was the first to keep her feet firmly on the ground.
“It still hasn’t settled in,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I mean, I’m tired mentally and it’s late. Normally I go to sleep at this time.
“It feels great, but it’s still not like I won the tournament. It’s only second round.”
Sevastova would go on to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal – knocking out No.14 Johanna Konta along the way – but her colossal second round victory over the reigning Roland Garros champion clocks in as the No.5 biggest upset of 2016.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Who’s your favorite player, what was your favorite match of the year and of course who took the best selfie this year? Click here to vote for those and many more!
Angelique Kerber and the doubles team of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic were named 2016’s ITF World Champions following Grand Slam-winning seasons.
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.12
Year-End Ranking: No.15 (Career-High No.9, 5/16/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Rabat, SF at Miami
Best Major Result: QF (French Open)
15 Days until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/OBNhWd6KB3
— WTA (@WTA) 17 de diciembre de 2016
2017 Outlook
Is it still called second season syndrome when you’ve been on tour for 12 years?
After a meteoric rise in 2015 – which saw her start the year ranked around the Top 50 and end with two titles, two finals, a Grand Slam semifinal, and a Top 10 ranking – Timea Bacsinszky’s season this year looked to have hit a plateau.
After a lingering knee injury led to a frustratingly slow two months, the Swiss player still put together a run to the Miami Open semifinals – knocking out big names like Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep along the way – then backed it up with a title in Rabat, quarterfinal in Rome and a return to the French Open quarterfinals.
And while she did reach her career-highest ranking of No.9 back in May, Bacsinszky admits that 2016 didn’t end up being all it could be.
“This year was kind of particular because started it with a bit of delay,” she told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “And I was trying so hard to come back, because it’s tough to be Top 10 and ending up losing quite easily in the first few tournaments of the year.
“The will to do well was there, but really I didn’t have enough in my hands and enough in my legs. Mentally, I was prepared, so I just looked forward and told myself, ‘It’s going to come. Sooner or later, it’s going to come.'”
Looking ahead to 2017, Bacsinszky will be looking to translate all of that desire into results and bring her trademark creative style onto the big stage. With a second consecutive Top 20 finish under her belt, the Swiss will be eager to keep rising and prove she belongs among the big names.
Petra Kvitova
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.6
Year-End Ranking: No.11
Season Highlights: Wuhan, Zhuhai Champion, Luxembourg RU
Best Major Result: 4R (US Open)
2017 Outlook
Kvitova had plenty of reasons to feel optimistic after a heady finish to 2016, winning the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the Huajin Securities Elite Trophy Zhuhai to finish the year just outside the Top 10 at No.11. A difficult first half of the season saw her ranking take a tumble and split with longtime coach, David Kotyza.
An emotional medal-winning performance at the Olympic tennis event – where she won Bronze in Rio de Janeiro – reignited her on-court precision, and helped her reach the second week of a major tournament for the first time all year. Losing a close match to eventual champion Angelique Kerber in Flushing, Kvitova took the momentum to Asia, where she avenged the loss to the World No.1 en route to the title in Wuhan, and roared to the win in Zhuhai without dropping a set.
“I’ve always loved to play tennis, but it can get tough when I’m not feeling confident, and not playing as well as I should,” she told WTA Insider after winning her final match of the season. “These couple of matches that I’ve won in the last couple of weeks have really helped my confidence. I did find myself, and that means I’ve found my game again. I’m not afraid to go for my shots, even if I miss them sometimes. I’m still trying to go for it, serve better, and put pressure on my opponent. That’s something I don’t think I was really doing at the start of the season. Of course, there were other small things also happening in my life, as well.
“But sometimes it’s just important to go through all of these things to find yourself.”
A lingering foot injury looked to derail some of her off-season preparation, but nothing like the shocking events that unfolded on Tuesday. Kvitova fought off a knife-wielding would-be robber in her home in Prostejov, but not without sustaining major injuries to her left and dominant hand.
The two-time Wimbledon winner underwent a nearly four hour surgery to repair lacerations and nerve damage, and is now in a cast for the next six to eight weeks; she won’t be able to bear weight on her left hand for at least three months.
It’s unclear if or when Kvitova will be back on the court, and the start of 2017 won’t be the same without her unique power and competitive spirit.
Karolina Pliskova
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.11
Year-End Ranking: No.6
Season Highlights: Nottingham, Cincinnati Champion, Singapore RR
Best Major Result: RU (US Open)
2017 Outlook
Everything you need to know about Pliskova’s season happened in the space of three weeks, where runs to the Western & Southern Open title and the US Open final changed the course of her season – and perhaps her career.
“This year, I’ve had some ups and downs while last year was more solid,” she told WTA Insider after stopping Angelique Kerber from ascending to No.1 in Cincinnati. “It was different, but this year I’ve played bigger tournaments and bigger matches. I won a few, lost a few, and this one is just the biggest of my career so far.
“I’m just happy that it happened this year, because so many people were saying this year has been so bad, and, ‘You have been playing so bad,’ and everything like this. So I’m just happy even for those people, that they can see I can still win something.”
The 2016 ace leader came into the US Open as an undoubted darkhorse, but surpassed all expectations as she saved a match point to defeat Venus Williams in one of the best matches of the year. She followed that win up with an even more emphatic victory over then World No.1 Serena Williams, becoming the eighth woman to beat both Williams sisters at the same tournament – the fourth at a Grand Slam.
“There is not more than to beat both sisters in one tournament in New York,” Pkiskova said after the semifinal. “I’m really excited about those two wins.”
Pliskova narrowly lost the final to Kerber, and finished 2016 by making her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Czech youngster is eager to make even greater strides in 2017.
“With me, everything takes time,” she said in Singapore. “Next year maybe I will go out of the group. Right now I know how is it here to play. I got used to it, the system, and I’ll be more experienced next year.
Hopefully I’ll be back.”
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $1,000,000
Draw Size: 30 main draw/32 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Friday, December 30- 12 pm AEST
Qualifying Dates: Friday, December 30 – Sunday, January 1
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, January 1
Singles Final: Saturday, January 7- 7 pm AEST
Doubles Final: Saturday, January 7- following singles
MUST-FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@BrisbaneTennis – official tournament handle
WHERE TO WATCH:
Click here to select your country and find broadcast details for the Brisbane International.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
– There have been six different champions crowned at Brisbane since its first staging in 2009: Victoria Azarenka (2009, 2016), Kim Clijsters (2010), Petra Kvitova (2011), Kaia Kanepi (2012), Serena Williams (2013, 2014) and Maria Sharapova (2015).
– With defending champion Victoria Azarenka away from the completion after giving birth to a baby boy and with no former champions in the draw, a new champion will lift the Brisbane trophy this year.
– One to watch: Entering the tournament as a wildcard, Australian Ashleigh Barty returned to tennis in 2016 after a stint in cricket as an all-rounder for the Brisbane Heat. Her return has been highlighted by a quarterfinal run at Nottingham, and she’s also been granted a wildcard into the upcoming Australian Open.
PLAYER FIELD:
Click here for complete singles and doubles draws.
The Brisbane International serves as the only Premier event of the first week of the season and the field is packed with five of the Elite Eight from the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. A finalist last year, Angelique Kerber leads the field along with Singapore champion Dominika Cibulkova, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elina Svitolina, and Elena Vesnina.
Also in Brisbane is Roberta Vinci, who recently announced her intention to play through another season, as well as the Gold Coast’s own Samantha Stosur, Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig, China’s top-ranked player Zhang Shuai and Eugenie Bouchard.
WILDCARDS:
Ashleigh Barty (AUS), Donna Vekic (CRO)
Simona Halep has many gifts on the court, as she proved with her battling season-opening win over Jelena Jankovic, but she has a few hidden talents off the court too.
BRISBANE, Australia – World No.6 Karolina Pliskova made quick work of American qualifier Asia Muhammad, winning in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International for the first time.
The 25-year-old American, who scored just the second WTA main draw win of her career in the last round against wildcard Donna Vekic, fought gamely against Pliskova but couldn’t find a way through, falling 6-1, 6-4.
It was Muhammad’s first match against a Top 10 player – in fact, it was the first time she’d faced a player ranked inside the Top 50 – and it showed during the big moments. Her all-court game kept her in the points with Pliskova, but she couldn’t manage to bring up a break point against the Czech’s booming serve in the first set.
A little smirk from @KaPliskova after that finish ? #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/zxwG0GXGap
— WTA (@WTA) January 3, 2017
The American found her footing in the second, staying within touching distance of the World No.6 for much of the set. But the big-hitting Pliskova found her way through, slowly but surely chipping away at Muhammad and cutting off her angles until the Czech got the break to serve for the match at 5-3.
Muhammad took advantage of an uncharacteristically loose service game from Pliskova – a pair of errors to fall behind 0-30 and a double fault on break point – to wrench the advantage away.
Her heroics were short-lived, however, as the always-cool Pliskova calmly broke once more to take the match after an hour and fourteen minutes on court.
Pliskova awaits the winner between No.8 seed Roberta Vinci and Misaki Doi.
Also in action today in Brisbane, Australia’s own Destanee Aiava thrilled the local crowd by dealing a huge upset to American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The 16-year-old Australian, ranked No.387 and also a qualifier, shocked Mattek-Sands 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
Meanwhile, Alizé Cornet is through to the quarterfinals after a tidy victory over Christina Mchale, 6-2, 6-1.