Brisbane: Shot Of The Day (Thursday)
Samantha Crawford has Thursday’s shot of the day at the Brisbane International.
Samantha Crawford has Thursday’s shot of the day at the Brisbane International.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Kristina Kucova’s fairytale run continued in Montréal, where she fought back from a set down against home favorite Eugenie Bouchard to reach her first Premier-level quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It’s unbelievable, I’m very happy,” said Kucova, currently ranked No.121. “Also I’m very tired. But it’s a very good feeling.This is my best moment so far in my tennis career.”
Starting out the match, though, it didn’t look as bright for the Slovakian qualifier as she went down a double break against a Bouchard bolstered by her home crowd. Although she would go on to lose the set 6-3, Kucova showed her grit in the final two games of the set as she fought off five break points before bringing up three of her own.
Dropping the first set has turned out to be a good omen for Kucova as both of her previous main draw matches in Montréal have gone to three sets – against Yanina Wickmayer and then against Carla Suárez Navarro.
“I must give credit to my fitness coach because I feel very good on the condition preparation,” Kucova explained after the match. “I changed fitness coach in the beginning of the year. We worked very hard.
“I feel now on the court that when it’s coming to the third set, I still have energy for that.”
Kucova brought all that energy into the latter stages of the match, where she was able to pounce as Bouchard’s trusty forehand began to repeatedly sail out. The Slovak’s signature two-handed forehands and backhands kept her shots well-disguised, often leaving the Canadian wrong-footed. Now able to read Bouchard’s game and having adjusted to the conditions – a balmy night match on the stadium court, in front of a roaring Canadian crowd – Kucova quickly turned the tables to take the second set.
“I just felt I maybe panicked a little bit, tried to finish the points too soon,” Bouchard said of her dip after the first set. “She was getting a lot of balls back.
“I think it would have been better if I was just a bit calmer mentally. But it happens and I have to learn how to deal with this.”
Kucova kept her momentum going in the third set, where she picked up the crucial break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead before closing out the match after more than two hours. She struck 16 winners to 28 unforced errors, while Bouchard hit 45 winners and 68 unforced errors.
Up next for Kucova – who is on track to break the Top 100 after reaching her career best result – is British No.1 Johanna Konta. The Brit dispatched lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-2 to reach her sixth quarterfinal of 2016.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her semifinal win at the Brisbane International.
Madison Keys takes on Venus Williams in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
Victoria Azarenka has Friday’s shot of the day at the Brisbane International.
HOBART, Australia – No.2 seed Camila Giorgi had a tough battle to start her week at the Hobart International, but the big-hitting Italian had few problems against rising Japanese star Nao Hibino to reach her first WTA quarterfinal of the season, winning, 6-2, 6-3.
Play in Hobart suffered a slight delay to start as rain threatened to wash out the opening matches. Known for her effortless power, Giorgi made up for lost time in style against Hibino, maintaining a healthy 68% on first serves, and only dropping serve once per set.
“Every match is different,” Giorgi said after the match. “The conditions are different. The important thing is to go on so you can get better.”
Hibino had been looking strong to start the season, having already made the quarterfinals of the ASB Classic, but Giorgi – who pushed Angelique Kerber to three sets at the Brisbane Internaitonal – was too strong over the one hour, 11 minute match.
Giorgi next plays the winner of the second round match between No.8 seed Alison Van Uytvanck and Eugenie Bouchard, who lost just three games in her first round match against former nemesis Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
“It’s just a match, so it doesn’t matter who I play. I will be focused on me, like always.”
More to come…
MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber’s Rogers Cup challenge continued to gain momentum after a dominant quarterfinal victory over Daria Kasatkina.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
In an intergenerational battle it was Kerber’s experience that held sway, sweeping aside her teenage opponent, 6-2, 6-2 in exactly an hour.
Kerber arrived Canada with fitness concerns – an elbow injury forced her to pull out of last week’s Ericsson Open – and has used the rounds to play herself into form and fitness. Against Kasatkina, she got off to an inauspicious start, erring on a couple of forehands to drop serve in the opening game.
She did not trail for long, though, the young Russian ballooning a wild forehand long to immediately hand back the initiative.
The swirling wind and her opponent’s precise returning intensified Kasatkina’s service struggles. Kerber meanwhile was into her groove, rattling off the final three games of the first set before forging ahead in the second.
When the World No.33 thumped away a frustrated drive volley to finally hold serve at 4-1 it elicited sympathetic applause from the crowd. Unfortunately for the young Russian, there was little compassion from down the other end, Kerber taking the final two games to quash any hope of a comeback.
“She played a great tournament and she’s really dangerous,” Kerber said. “I think I played really well today and it’s really nice to be in the semis for the first time in Montréal. I was trying to focus on my game because it was the first time I met her and it worked!”
Next up is No.5 seed Simona Halep in a rematch of the Wimbledon quarterfinals. “It’s going to be tough. We’ve played a lot of good matches in the past. I’m sure the crowd will support both of us so I’m really looking forward to playing her tomorrow.”
Selfie d'après-match de notre 2e demi-finaliste @AngeliqueKerber avec les Petits As Banque Nationale. #CoupeRogers pic.twitter.com/HoFGrKErxt
— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) 29 July 2016
Angelique Kerber, who’s back at No.7 in the world after a brilliant week in Brisbane, battled through scorching conditions to make a winning start in Sydney on Monday.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.