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Safarova Beats The Rain In Paris

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

PARIS, France – No.10 seed Lucie Safarova made the most of an interrupted schedule on Sunday to defeat the recently returning Vitalia Diatchenko, 6-0, 6-2, to reach the second round of the French Open. Not long after the 2015 finalist’s win, play was canceled due to rain.

Safarova was one of only five women to complete their first round matches, joining Petra Kvitova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Viktorija Golubic and Hsieh Su-Wei before stormy weather held serve and kept top seeds like Simona Halep and Garbiñe Muguruza from making their 2015 French Open debuts.

“It’s nice to have the match finished,” said Safarova, who won the first seven games of the match before the first wave of inclement weather covered the clay courts. “Obviously now I have two days off, which I can train, hopefully, and get back to my routine.

“But I don’t think it does a huge impact in the draw results. I mean, obviously today it’s tough conditions because of the rain and delays and the balls are quite heavy, but it’s same for everyone.”

Diatchenko was playing her first major tournament since having to retire in the first round of the US Open due to an Achilles injury; the Russian returned last week to win a Challenger doubles title with Galina Voskoboeva, but was still struggling with her rhythm on Sunday, hitting 27 unforced errors and nine double faults.

“It’s really nice to be back,” the defending doubles champion with Bethanie Mattek-Sands remarked in her post-match press conference. “I’m excited. Obviously a lot of great memories from last year. To be back here on-site, playing on the same courts, brings a lot of nice feelings.”

Playing a clean match with 11 winners and 12 unforced errors, Safarova enjoyed her second win since food poisoning forced her to pull out of the Mutua Madrid Open; her season had already gotten off to a late start due to injuries and a bacterial infection causing a bout with reactive arthritis.

“I had a lot of health issues last half year, so I’m just really happy to be playing and to be here. Each match I face, I will try to win and we will see.”

Safarova advanced under the wire on Court Suzanne Lenglen, as a drizzle threatened to send her off court a second time, but the former World No.5 duly served out the match and booked a second round meeting with Golubic, who needed three sets to take out Alison Riske, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2.

Play is set to resume on Monday and will feature No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska as she takes on Bojana Jovanovski, Muguruza and Halep, and the completion of three matches which were rained out, including Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nicole Gibbs, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who lead Yaroslava Shvedova, Heather Watson, and Cagla Buyukakcay, respectively.

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Rogers Bolts Into Second Round

Rogers Bolts Into Second Round

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

PARIS, France – Shelby Rogers woke up on Monday morning full of excitement and adrenaline. Sure, the 23-year-old South Carolina native was looking forward to taking on No.17 seed Karolina Pliskova in the first round of the French Open, but that wasn’t what she was amped about.

Rogers is a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan and she woke up to the news her boys were a game away from the Stanley Cup Final.

“My Bolts are doing so well right now!” Rogers said, as she lit up at the mere mention of the NHL playoffs. “They’re going home with a 3-2 lead [over the Pittsburgh Penguins]. I’m so pumped.”

Rogers’ Monday would only get better. Ranked No.108, she pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the day at Roland Garros, beating Pliskova 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the second round in Paris for the second time in her career. Rogers falls into the growing category of young Americans who are loving European red clay, and she was happy to avenge a tough loss to the Czech earlier this year in Indian Wells.

“I definitely like my chances better on clay, that’s for sure,” Rogers said.

Shelby Rogers

“I think it helps my kick serve for sure. Moving is really fun on it. The points are always a little more versatile, you do a lot of different things. It’s a little bit slower so I do think I can hit through the court but I have a little bit more time to pick my shots.

“It’s a lot of fun, for sure.”

So how closely has Rogers been keeping tabs on the Lightning while she’s been in Europe? She’s doing as much as she can.

“I can’t watch the games because they’re so late,” she said. “They’re like at 3AM and that’s not very good match prep.

“But I woke up this morning and I was all fired up because they got the win in overtime. I was retweeting all the goals. I’m such a nerd. They’re probably like, ‘This girl needs to stop stalking us.'”

But how does a South Carolina native who now trains in Los Angeles become such a rabid Tampa Bay fan?

“I trained at [the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida] for about a year when I was younger,” Rogers explained. “That was the only thing I did there that was fun. I became a huge fan. I love hockey. I think it’s one of the best sports [to watch] live. It’s so much fun and I’ve just been a fan every since.”

“I just love the aggression of it. I love the atmosphere at the games. I love that you can get rowdy and shout and the players love that. It’s just a really fast paced fun sport to watch. I grew up going to a lot of games. We have a team in South Carolina called the Sting Rays, and I grew up going to those. It’s just something different, something unique.”

Rogers plays No.49 Elena Vesnina in the second round. Vesnina beat Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round.

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Radwanska Rolls Past Garcia

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

PARIS, France – World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska fought off Caroline Garcia and a voracious French crowd to advance into the third round of the French Open, 6-2, 6-4.

“I think I play really good two matches. Especially this one. I think this was really a tough one,” Radwanska said in her post-match press conference.

“I’m just very pleased that I could close that match in two sets, that’s for sure.”

All three of Radwanska’s previous encounters with Garcia had gone the distance, but the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion recovered from an early break to race out to a set and 4-1 lead before Garcia began sinking her teeth into the match.

Breaking serve twice to get within a game of leveling the set, Garcia threw in back-to-back double faults to throw a lifeline to Radwanska, who gladly took it to advance in 95 minutes.

“I’m very sorry,” a despondent Garcia said after the match. “I’m very sorry that I couldn’t really play the way I wish I would have played. I was able to play a few balls, but most of the match I just wasn’t there. Not enough. I wasn’t able to hit the ball. I wanted to hit it, and, well, just not the right game.

“I’m disappointed. I can play better. But it was a wonderful moment. It was very emotional. The public supporting me helped me coming back in the match when I thought it was over.

“I think they believed more in me than I believed in myself.”

Up next for the No.2 seed is No.30 seed Barbora Strycova. The Czech veteran is in the midst of a career year, having already reached the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Despite losing her last nine main draw matches at Roland Garros – dating back to 2004 – Strycova edged out clay court specialist Polona Hercog 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round on the terre battue for the first time in her career.

Radwanska has yet to drop a set against Strycova, though all four of their matches were on hardcourts, and the last was a little under two years ago at the Rogers Cup.

“I think I’m not really thinking about expectations or second week,” Radwanska said when asked about looking ahead to her next match. “I think taking match by match, and I’m just very happy to be in the third round.

“Of course now it’s not going to be easier. She’s playing great tennis, especially on clay. For sure another tough match.

“I’m healthy, in one piece, and I’m just ready for the next one.”

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Venus Cruises Past Chirico

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Former No.1 Venus Williams faced few problems against American qualifier and Mutua Madrid Open semifinalist Louisa Chirico to reach the third round at Roland Garros.

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Top 10 Prize Money Leaders

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Angelique Kerber racked up the most prize money of any WTA player during 2016, and she did so in historic fashion. Find out who else made the prize money leaders list, right here!

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2016 Season Review: Kerber On Top Of The World

2016 Season Review: Kerber On Top Of The World

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

As the tennis world headed stateside for the summer, an intriguing sub-plot was developing amidst the hunt for trophies.

Serena Williams had reigned supreme atop the rankings since February 2013, however, she faced an unexpected challenge to due to the rapid emergence of Angelique Kerber. At Wimbledon, Williams kept the upstart in check, yet maintaining the status quo over the summer months proved an altogether sterner test.

Monica Puig

Golden Girl Puig

This was by no means the only story of the summer. The Rio Olympics produced a tennis tournament befitting the world’s greatest sporting stage and a gold medalist who made waves far beyond the Copacabana.

Monica Puig went into the Games on the back of a quietly impressive year on tour. What followed, though, must have been beyond her wildest dreams. Playing the tennis of her young career, the Puerto Rican swept into the semifinals – taking out Garbiñe Muguruza for the loss off two games along the way – where she produced a rousing finale to see off Petra Kvitova in three rollercoaster sets.

With the most improbable of victories – no Puerto Rican athlete had ever won Olympic gold – now within reach, Puig would not be denied, powering past Kerber, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, to create history.

Angelique Kerber

New Queen In Queens

In Cincinnati, Kerber tasted further disappointment, narrowly missing out on claiming the No.1 ranking after losing to an on-song Karolina Pliskova in the final. If this smarted with the German, she hid it well at the US Open, where she cantered through the early rounds to raise the possibility of a final showdown with Serena for all the marbles.

Surprisingly, it was Serena that faltered, failing to make the date when she was outgunned by Pliskova in the semifinals. This ensured Kerber would rise to the summit of the rankings, regardless of the result in the final. The German marked her coronation in fitting fashion, lifting her second Grand Slam with a thrilling 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory on Arthur Ashe.

“It’s always tough to play against her,” Kerber afterwards. “I was trying to stay in the moment, be aggressive, I was just trying to enjoy the final. It’s an amazing stadium. It means a lot to me. When I was a kid, I was always dreaming to be the number one player in the world and to win Grand Slams, and today’s the day.” 

WTA 

Elsewhere…

Interspersed between Wimbledon and the start of the North American hardcourt stretch was the chance for success at a couple of tennis’ less celebrated venues. Simona Halep, Viktorija Golubic and Laura Siegemund were among those to grasp the opportunity for silverware, triumphing in Bucharest, Gstaad and Badstad, respectively.

As usual, the US Open build-up began in Stanford, where Johanna Konta took home the trophy after defusing Venus Williams in an entertaining final. Over in Washington DC, Yanina Wickmayer delivered a reminder of her potential, before the WTA headed across the border for an entertaining – and unpredictable – Rogers Cup, eventually won by a resurgent Halep.

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Vote Now: 2016 Shot Of The Year

Vote Now: 2016 Shot Of The Year

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

It’s time to crown the 2016 WTA Shot Of The Year. It started with all the WTA Shot Of The Month winners and the fans narrowed it down to the four best, two from each group.

     • Final Group voting opens Tuesday, November 22 and ends Monday, November 28 at 11:59pm ET
     • The 2016 WTA Shot of the Year winner will be announced Tuesday, November 29

Final Group

January: Caroline Wozniacki
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
September: Kirsten Flipkens

SOTY 2016

Group A Results

1. March: Agnieszka Radwanska (38%)
2. January: Caroline Wozniacki (30%)
3. May: Simona Halep (19%)
4. April: Monica Niculescu (10%)
5. February: Agnieszka Radwanska (4%)

Click here or below to watch Group A shots

Group B Results

1. July: Simona Halep (42%)
2. September: Kirsten Flipkens (27%)
3. June: Agnieszka Radwanska (19%)
4. October: Angelique Kerber (6%)
5. August: Agnieszka Radwanska (6%)

Click here or below to watch Group B shots

How it works:

Each Shot of the Month winner is placed into one of two groups.
The two shots from each group that received the most were placed into a final group.
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.

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