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Radwanska To Pass Sharapova For No.4

Radwanska To Pass Sharapova For No.4

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SHENZHEN, China – Agnieszka Radwanska kept her fantastic last few months going Friday, beating Anna-Lena Friedsam for a spot in the Shenzhen Open final – and in the Top 4 on the WTA Rankings.

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After jumping out to a 6-2, 2-0 lead, the No.1-seeded Radwanska faced some resistance from Friedsam, the unseeded German breaking back to even the second set, 2-2. But Radwanska got right back on the horse, breaking one last time for 3-2 then holding the rest of the way to win, 6-2, 6-4.

“I’ve been feeling good from the beginning of the year,” Radwanska said. “I’ve been playing some good tennis, especially here in Shenzhen this week, and now I have one more match to go to win here.”

Radwanska has now won 21 of her last 25 matches, a stretch that started right after the US Open and has brought her titles at Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Tianjin and the WTA Finals, and now a final here.

Radwanska is now into the 25th WTA final of her career – she’s 17-7 in her first 24 WTA finals.

And by reaching this final, Radwanska is projected to pass Maria Sharapova on the WTA Rankings come Monday, going from No.5 to No.4 – a move that has major, major implications, as it’s Monday’s WTA Rankings that will determine the seeds for the Australian Open, and a Top 4 seed is massive.

“Reaching the final here is great preparation for the Australian Open, and that’s a good projection too,” Radwanska, a former World No.2, said after being told of the ranking news. “First I’ll focus on winning here in Shenzhen, and then I’ll just try to play the same tennis in Sydney and in Melbourne.”

But back to Shenzhen, and waiting for Radwanska in the final will be Alison Riske, who won an all-unseeded semifinal against Timea Babos earlier in the day by the exact same scoreline, 6-2, 6-4.

“It was definitely a tough match for me,” Riske said. “Babos is a great competitor and a great player, so I had to be there on every point, and I’m excited that the match came out in my favor in the end.

“I’m also excited to be in the final – it’s a great start to a season to reach a final.”

Radwanska beat Riske in their only previous meeting, in her opening match at Indian Wells last year.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – Lauren Davis secured a quarterfinal spot in her debut appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, staging an impressive comeback to beat Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

“I love playing here – it’s my first time here in an amazing city…just the atmosphere here is so great,” the delighted American said in her on-court interview.

“I’m really happy with my persistence, resilience and how I handled myself despite losing a few games in a row.”

It was an inconsistent display from both players. Makarova made the initial breakthrough in a seesaw first set, but Davis was resurgent in the second, combining exquisite use of the forehand with grit to get herself back on level terms, as her opponent’s game utterly collapsed.

The Russian took an eight-minute bathroom break before the decider, but it did not help her regroup; she remained lackadaisical when it came to capitalising on break points in the final set.

The 23-year-old American took advantage, wrapping up the match in one hour and 57 minutes. Her reward will be a last-eight clash with either Christina McHale or Elina Svitolina.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska’s Dubai campaign was cut short in the round of 16 after suffering one of the biggest upsets of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships against 17-year-old CiCi Bellis.

“I didn’t feel good from the beginning. I didn’t play really great, and I was trying everything. I did what I could today,” Radwanska told press after the defeat.

She added, “For me it was really hard to control the ball and make the angles. And also, my serve didn’t work at all. In those kind of tight matches, you need those things. When you don’t have it and you’re struggling pretty much from the beginning, then you have a problem.

“I was really struggling myself. I was really focusing on myself today, but I just wasn’t good enough.”

Despite playing against an unseeded teenager, experience told Radwanska to be wary, especially with the way Bellis had climbed the rankings and made a name for herself toward the end of last season.

“I never really think of the seeds or unseeded players,” she explained. “In today’s tennis, we don’t have ‘easy draws’ or ‘open draws.’

“Maybe you can say this from an outside [point of view], but on the court, there’s nothing ‘open.'”

Radwanska had only words of praise for Bellis, who is the youngest member of the WTA Top 100 and the youngest player to defeat a Top 10 opponent since Belinda Bencic posted back to back wins over Angelique Kerber and Jelena Jankovic at the 2014 US Open.

“Very solid. Very consistent. She can really play good rallies with good intensity, and I think that’s a really good thing for that kind of young player. I think she was the best today.”

Putting the loss behind her, Radwanska plans to stop by her home in Poland for a couple of days before making the trip to California for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

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