Beijing: Muguruza Interview
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her second-round match at the China Open.
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her second-round match at the China Open.
ORLANDO, FL, USA – On-the-rise American Christina McHale took a break from her off-season preparations to take WTA fans on an exclusive tour of the new USTA National Campus in Orlando, set to open in early 2017.
“It’s just a really great environment to be in,” said McHale, who was in town for a practice session on the Team USA Player Development courts.
Dubbed “the new Home Of American Tennis,” the National Campus will serve as the home base of USTA’s Player Development and USTA’s Community Tennis divisions as well as host USTA Pro Circuit events. Formerly in New York at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which hosts the US Open, the new Orlando facility is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.
Check out the video above to follow McHale on a first look at the brand new facility!
Fast Facts About The USTA National Campus:
· With 64-plus acres and 100 lighted tennis courts, the National Campus is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.
· The USTA National Campus will open January 2, 2017 with the first tournament scheduled for January 6th.
· The Campus will host over 80 tournaments and events in 2017 with approximately 30,000 participants.
· An expected 80,000-100,000 attendees will visit the Campus in 2017.
· The USTA’s Community Tennis and Player Development divisions will be headquartered at the National Campus. It will also be home to the national training center for USTA-certified officials.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the second round of the China Open.
Doubles World No.1 Sania Mirza is closing in on 90 weeks at the top of the rankings, but she’s still got unfinished business to take care of in 2017.
The Indian star ended the season as the world’s top doubles player for the second straight year, capping off a stellar run which saw her win three Grand Slams in a row, go on a 41-match winning streak and rack up an incredible 15 titles with four different partners.
But despite the impressive trophy haul, there’s still one title missing from her resume, and in 2017 Mirza intends to make things right on the red clay of Paris.
“In 2017, I would love to win a Grand Slam,” Mirza said, speaking at a promotional event in India. “If that [winning the French Open] does happen, it would be amazing. I won’t kill myself, if I don’t [win the French Open].
“It would be amazing for me to have three back-to-back years with at least one Grand Slam. So, that would be my goal really and everything else follows.”
Mirza came close to lifting the French Open doubles trophy in 2011 when she reached the final with then-partner Elena Vesnina, but six years down the road the World No.1 is heading to Paris in search of her first Coupe Simone-Mathieu and the Career Slam.
MIAMI, FL, USA – 2012 Miami champion Agnieszka Radwanska battled through Saturday’s intense heat and humidity to swat aside Madison Brengle for a spot in the Miami Open fourth round.
Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
The match, which started just after midday on one of the balmiest days in Key Biscayne, proved to be as much of a test of fitness as it was a test of Brengle and Radwanska’s tennis.
“Today was really hot. And yes, we both kind of have to get used to [the humidity],” Radwanska said after the match. “Today was a really tough day, and I knew that since this morning.
“You just try everything to stay cool, especially during the changeovers.”
It was Brengle, the unseeded American making her Miami third round debut, who kept her cool first, breaking Radwanska’s serve early and consolidating for a 3-1 lead.
But her efforts weren’t enough to trouble the World No.2, who quickly got the break back and leveled the score. A handful of well-crafted points finished at the net gave Radwanska the advantage, and she grabbed the next three games to take the set.
First set ? @ARadwanska!
Grabs the opening set vs Brengle 6-3! #WTA https://t.co/RuGGFrCWxZ
— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2016
The pair hung tight to start off the second set, trading holds and breaks of serve for 2-2. But the heavy conditions began to take their toll on the American, whose shots misfired on the important points allowing Radwanska to rattle off four straight games for a comfortable win, 6-4, 6-2.
Radwanska is into the Miami fourth round for the eighth time in her career, and she’s seeking to extend her impressive run of reaching the semifinals or better in eight of her last nine events, a streak dating back to October of last year.
Though after an hour and 13 minutes in this intense heat, Radwanska is looking forward to a more immediate reward:
“One second after the match point, all I’m thinking is: the ice bath!”
Aga Radwanska? More like Aga Rad-WIN-ska.
She moves on after winning straight sets against Madison Brengle. #MiamiOpen
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 26, 2016
Radwanska’s opponent in the fourth round is Timea Bacsinszky, who took a big step on her road to regaining her 2015 form by downing No.16 seed Ana Ivanovic, 7-5, 6-4.
In a see-saw opening, Ivanovic recovered from losing four games on the trot to hold a set point at 5-4. However, a wild forehand let Bacsinszky off the hook as the momentum swung again. The following game, the former World No.1 wavered, double faulting to surrender her serve and ultimately the set.
After struggling at the start of the year, Bacsinszky has been quietly playing herself into form in recent weeks, reaching the last 16 in Doha and Indian Wells, and despite a late rally from Ivanovic she held on the extend this streak.
Also advancing in this quarter were Simona Halep and Heather Watson. No.5 seed Halep withstood some early resistance before easing past Julia Goerges, 6-4, 6-1, while Watson dug deep to overcome Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in a match lasting over two and a half hours.
Petra Kvitova takes on Wang Yafan in the second round of the China Open.
Watch all the best moments from WTA All Access in 2016, from Andrea Petkovic meeting the man of her dreams to Angelique Kerber trying the Porsche Parking Challenge!
MIAMI, FL, USA – Looking to become the first woman since Kim Clijsters in 2005 to win the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double, Victoria had few issues on Easter Sunday as she breezed past Magda Linette, 6-3, 6-0.
Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Azarenka enjoyed her big breakthrough in Miami back in 2009, upsetting World No.1 Serena Williams in the final for the first of four victories in her rivalry with the 21-time Grand Slam champion. Linette reached the third round after a right shoulder injury forced former No.1 Jelena Jankovic to retire from their match just five points into the contest, and struggled to combat the Belarusian’s firepower in difficult conditions – hitting only nine winners to 14 from the No.13 seed.
As a cool breeze swept through Crandon Park late in the second set, so too did Azarenka, who raced through the ultimate stages of the match without losing a game, wraping up the victory in 70 minutes.
“It was only in the last two games, but it feels much better with a little bit of wind and breeze,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I hope you guys are enjoying the tennis; I know it’s really hot but stay hydrated!”
In the midst of a career renaissance, Azarenka has already captured two titles in 2016 en route to a much-anticipated return to the Top 10; with another win over Williams at the BNP Paribas Open – her first since 2013 – to capture her first Premier Mandatory title since 2012 (Beijing), Azarenka is eligible to become the third different woman to capture the elusive “Sunshine Double” by winning both Indian Wells and Miami in succession.
But from her post-match comments, it’s clear she is taking things one match at a time, refusing to underestimate any player across the net.
“She’s a grinder and whenever she has opportunity, she will take it; she has a lot of great hands and showed a lot of variety. She’s a young player with such a bright future, but I’m glad that I took advantage and I stayed on top of her.
“Playing in a tournament like Miami, you don’t expect players to give up and not try, whatever the scoreline is,” she added after the match in her press conference.
“I just wanted to stay aggressive, keep going for all my shots, and also not give her an opportunity to come back. Because once you do that, anybody can come back. I’m happy that I stayed focused. I took my opportunities and kept applying pressure.”
Up next for Azarenka is No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza who raced past American Nicole Gibbs, 6-1, 6-0. Azarenka has yet to play the Spaniad on the WTA circuit.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be watching the match,” she told members of the media. “Maybe a little bit. I’m sure my coach will. That’s more important for him to watch for me.
“We’ll see. I don’t like to predict who I want to play. I don’t care. But I don’t know, whoever wins, I’m going to play.”
First set ? @Vika7 Azarenka!
Grabs the opening set vs Linette 6-3! #WTA https://t.co/Jkcx8hCpu7
— WTA (@WTA) March 27, 2016
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the China Open.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Who is the lowest-ranked player left in Miami? Whose famous footsteps is Serena Williams looking to follow? And how many hours has the indefatigable Irina-Camelia Begu spent on court?
With the field at the Miami Open now whittled down to 16, wtatennis.com and SAP thought it time to go looking for answers…
381 – Irina-Camelia Begu has spent 381 minutes on court thus far, more than any other player in the tournament.
69 – World No.69 Heather Watson is the only player left in the draw ranked outside the Top 50.
21 – At 21 years old, Madison Keys is the youngest player left in the draw. It is the first time in the tournament’s 32-year history a teenager has failed to make it to the fourth round.
20 – Serena Williams is on a 20-match winning streak going into her encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova; her last loss came to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2012 quarterfinals.
15 – Fifteen of the 16 remaining in the draw have won a WTA singles title. The odd one out is Johanna Konta, who, at No.24, is also the highest-ranked player on tour not to have reached the winner’s circle.
11 – The number of different nationalities represented in the fourth round – Romania leads the way with three players.
10 – Ten of the remaining players have never reached the quarterfinals in Miami (Timea Babos, Timea Bacsinszky, Begu, Keys, Konta, Ekaterina Makarova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Monica Niculescu, Elina Svitolina, Watson)
9 – Eight-time Miami champion Serena Williams remains on course to become only the third player to lift the same WTA even nine times or more, after Martina Navratilova (Chicago, Eastbourne, Wimbledon, Washington, Dallas) and Steffi Graf (Berlin).
8 – Eight of the of leading 16 seeds reached their appointed fourth-round slots.
7 – Of the players left in the draw, seven have been ranked either No.1 or No.2.
5 – The No.1 seed has reached the quarterfinals (or better) in each of the past five years – Caroline Wozniacki was the last to fail, losing to Andrea Petkovic in the fourth round in 2011. The top seed has lifted the title on 13 occasions.
4 – Four former champions are still in contention: Williams (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015), Kuznetsova (2006), Victoria Azarenka (2009, 2011) and Agnieszka Radwanska (2012).
3 – For the third straight year, three unseeded players have made it through to the last 16: Babos, Begu and Watson.
2 – Azarenka remains on course to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double. Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005) are the only players to achieve the feat.
1 – Watson received one of the tournament’s eight wildcards; only once in the past five years has a wildcard failed to reach the last 16 in Miami.
0 – Konta and Watson are bidding to become the first British player to reach the quarterfinals in Miami. Jo Durie (1988) also reached the fourth round.
