St. Petersburg: Dominika Cibulkova Interview
Dominika Cibulkova speaks after her win over Donna Vekic.
Dominika Cibulkova speaks after her win over Donna Vekic.
Roberta Vinci talks through her performance in her second round victory at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – No.1 seed Elina Svitolina is through to her first final of 2017 after a comfortable straight sets win over Mandy Minella at the Taiwan Open, 6-3, 6-2.
Svitolina found herself under pressure at the onset, with Minella drawing first blood and breaking Svitolina after a rollercoaster game for a 3-1 lead. But Ukraine’s No.1 didn’t let her keep the lead for very long.
“I was trying to be aggressive on the return, because she has a big serve,” Svitolina said in post-match press. “I wanted to put more pressure on her, and I think this worked really well. She had a good start, but I was fine with it. I was just focusing on my strategy. I stayed quite solid.”
.@ElinaSvitolina races past Minella 6-3, 6-2!
Sets @WTA_Taiwan_Open Final vs Peng Shuai! pic.twitter.com/y33pIzY4EY
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
The strategy paid off, with Svitolina quickly breaking twice to reel off five straight games and take the set. Minella couldn’t find her way back into the match, surrendering two more breaks to send Svitolina through to the final after just over an hour.
Awaiting in the final will be the resurgent Peng Shuai after the Chinese knocked out birthday girl Lucie Safarova in straight sets.
“She’s ranked No.71 now but I know she was much higher before she was injured,” Svitolina said. “She’s playing really confident, and she’s also in the final in the same situation as me.
“I’m looking to the final with a positive mindset. I’m gonna bring my game to the table and be focused. It’s the last match of the tournament, so you never know what’s gonna happen. I will just try to be 100% and give everything that I have, and hopefully it will be a win.”
Peng, who at 30 years old took home her maiden WTA title late last year in Tianjin, has been making her way back to the top after a long injury layoff. The Chinese player underwent major back surgery in 2015 after the French Open to treat recurring injuries and prolong her career.
“The doctors told me I should think twice before taking this operation and surgery,” Peng said after her victory in Tianjin. “They said no one can make sure that the operation could be successful, 100%. The doctors performed this operation on me and told me there was a 50% possibility I could come back to the court.
“After the surgery, I needed to do a lot of training and practicing. Something I could do in the past, maybe I could not do it today after the surgery. I need to take gradual steps to improve myself after the surgery. I think more important for me is to stay healthy and fit, otherwise I cannot continue my professional career.”
Peng Shuai advances to @WTA_Taiwan_Open Final!
Scores an impressive 6-4, 6-2 win over Safarova! pic.twitter.com/Q9RfpBg5G0
— WTA (@WTA) February 4, 2017
Ranked at a career-high No.14 in 2014, Peng’s ranking dipped as low as No.768 in 2016 before her breakthrough on home soil in Tianjin. Now, less than three months later the Chinese player is back in a WTA final, just her second since her return to the game.
“I didn’t think too much on court, just tried my best to fight for it,” Peng said after her victory over Safarova. “It’s hard to predict how well you can play, either in singles or doubles, I’ll just play match by match. I’m very happy to be able to get into the final.”
BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain & MALLORCA, Spain – The official draw ceremonies for the Aegon Classic Birmingham and the Mallorca Open took place Saturday morning, and the stacked fields produced some exciting early matchups as some of the top players look to take their first steps on grass courts.
Click here to view the full Birmingham draw! | Click here to view the full Mallorca draw!
This year’s top seed at Birmingham is Agnieszka Radwanska. Last year, she skipped Birmingham in favor of Nottingham, but the Pole’s game loves the grass courts, and it was at this stage last year that Radwanska found her form and reignited a flagging season.
Radwanska has a tough road ahead if she looking to score her second title of 2016 at the Edgbaston Priory Club. Awaiting her in the first round is CoCo Vandeweghe, a big-serving American whose powerful game just clicks together on grass each season. Vandeweghe comes in to the matchup with plenty of matches under her belt too, having reached the final at the Ricoh Open.
If she gets past Vandeweghe, the top seed will face a qualifier in the second round, then potentially Caroline Wozniacki or Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals, two players against whom she’s got a steep losing head-to-head record. She could run into last year’s finalist Karolina Pliskova – who’s into the final in Nottingham this week – in a potential semifinal matchup.
And of course, potentially awaiting in the final is the No.2 seed and defending Birmingham champion, Angelique Kerber.
The German’s road to the final is similarly treacherous: if she gets past Peng Shuai in the first round, Kerber’s potentially up against dangerous youngster Daria Gavrilova and her penchant for knocking out Top 10 players on the big stage. Possible quarterfinal opponents include Carla Suárez Navarro and Andrea Petkovic, while a matchup with Simona Halep could come in the semifinals.
The host country is well represented at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, with four Brits in the main draw: Heather Watson, Johanna Konta, Tara Moore and Naomi Broady.
Although all eyes are on Johanna Konta, the World No.18 who keeps climbing up the ranks, it’s been Moore whose recent performance has left an impression. She’s fresh off an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Open Nottingham, and has been drawn against Konta in the first round.
Possible Birmingham Quarterfinals:
Radwanska vs Kvitova
Bencic vs Ka. Pliskova
Keys vs Halep
Suárez Navarro vs Kerber
Notable early round matches:
Radwanska vs Vandeweghe (round 1)
Konta vs Moore (round 1)
Safarova vs Halep (round 1)
Wozniacki vs Kvitova (round 2)
Petkovic vs Suárez Navarro (round 2)
Gavrilova vs Kerber (round 2)
In Mallorca, reigning French Open champion and top seed Garbiñe Muguruza is back in action in her home country at the inaugural Mallorca Open. She’s joined by the likes of Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bourchard, and Kristina Mladenovic as they seek to become the International-level event’s first champion.
Muguruza won’t get a moment to rest once she steps onto the court to play her first grass court match of the year, though, because in the first round awaits the seemingly indefatigable Kristen Flipkens. The Belgian amassed an impressive winning streak of 19-3 on clay, but fell in the first round at the Ricoh Open.
Should Muguruza advance past Flipkens, she sets up a possible quarterfinal clash Laura Siegemund, and her semifinal opponents could include Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Garcia.
Mallorca’s No.2 seed is former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic, whose road to the final is loaded with possible landmines. Right out of the gates she’s set to face Ana Konjuh, last year’s Nottingham winner, and if she advances to the second round she gets Francesca Schiavone. Her potential quarterfinal opponents are Yulia Putintseva, Daniela Hantuchova and Yaroslava Shvedova, and in the semifinals she could play 2014 Wimbledon finalist Bouchard or Sabine Lisicki.
Possible Mallorca quarterfinals
Muguruza vs Siegemund
Ivanovic vs Garcia
Bouchard vs Mladenovic
Putintseva vs Jankovic
Notable early round matches
Muguruza vs Flipkens (round 1)
Lisicki vs Mladenovic (round 1)
Schiavone vs Jankovic (round 2)
Click here to learn how you can follow all the action right here on wtatennis.com.
After a rollercoaster first month of WTA play Down Under, players have scattered across the globe to compete for their countries in Fed Cup. Meet the teams in action right here!
Wildcard Jelena Jankovic continued her winning streak over Tsvetana Pironkova as she came out on top after a marathon at the Qatar Total Open.
Dozens of WTA stars have been spreading the love on Twitter today – whether it’s for Valentine’s Day or Taco Tuesday. Check out some of their best tweets here!
Roberta Vinci had Tuesday’s shot of the day at the Qatar Total Open.
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova after her second round victory at the Qatar Total Open.
Dominika Cibulkova has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Qatar Open.