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Muguruza Outpaces Babos

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DOHA, Qatar – No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza played some of her best tennis of the year to dispatch Hungary’s Timea Babos, 6-2, 7-5, to reach the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.

“I think it was very tough,” she said during her on-court interview. “The second set, we were fighting like crazy. Timea started to play better and by the end of the match we were both very tight.

“But hey, I’m happy to win!”

Babos came into their third round encounter as the tour-leader in aces, but Muguruza stole the show on serve, hitting 10 aces of her own and 31 winners to just 22 unforced errors. Babos kept her side of the stat sheet even – 21 winners and 21 errors – but missed out on an opportunity to force a second set tie-break in the final game of the match, putting Muguruza into the last eight in Doha.

“Timea serves very strong, so I knew I had to be focused on my serve and hers as well. It was definitely one of the keys.”

Playing in Doha for just the second time in her career, Muguruza will play Andrea Petkovic for a spot in the semifinals; Petkovic closed out CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-3, 6-4.

“I think the city is super fine. Doha looks great, and I’m really happy to be here and playing, finally!”

Earlier in the day, Elena Vesnina backed up her win over No.2 seed Simona Halep with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 win over former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki; the win put Vesnina into her first Premier-level quarterfinal in nearly three years (Eastbourne 2013) and was just her second win over the Dane in eight prior encounters.

The last match of the day took place between No.9 seed Roberta Vinci and Turkish wildcard Cagla Buyukakcay; Vinci maintained her focus through a feline interruption to win, 7-5, 6-1.

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TBT: Venus Becomes World No.1

TBT: Venus Becomes World No.1

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

PALM BEACH GARDENS, USA – It had been building for a few years – she won her first two Grand Slams at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2000, and then repeated at both in 2001 – but it all came together for the first time as Venus Williams finally got to No.1 fourteen years ago today in February 25, 2002.

After a 12-month period that saw her win 56 of 61 matches and nine titles – Miami, Hamburg, Wimbledon, San Diego, New Haven and the US Open in 2001, and Gold Coast, Paris and Antwerp in 2002 – Williams rose from No.2 to No.1 on February 25, 2002, overtaking Jennifer Capriati.

Venus Williams

She became the 11th player to hold the top spot on the WTA computer rankings, but the achievement was even more special as Williams was also the first ever African-American player – male or female – to rank No.1 in the world in tennis.

“When you’re on a professional tour, you don’t aspire to be No. 3 or No. 2,” Williams said 14 years ago when asked about the milestone. “Normally you do your best to become the best. At this point, I am the best in the world, so that’s exciting and it’s going to be mine at least a week.”

“I think the best part is that I’ve enjoyed myself along the way and that I have not limited myself just to playing tennis or made myself believe that that’s the only thing in life. I’ve always been doing things at the same time and having a career. For me, that’s the best part.”

She would eventually spend a total of non-consecutive 11 weeks at the top spot in 2002 and claim a whopping 49 WTA singles titles to date in her career, including the Taiwan Open earlier this year.

Venus Williams

A few more throwbacks to February 25, 2002…
No.1 song on Billboard Hot 100 singles: Always On Time by Ja Rule & Ashanti
No.1 album on Billboard 200 albums: J To Tha L-O!: The Remixes by Jennifer Lopez
No.1 movie at US Box Office: Queen Of The Damned
No.1 men’s tennis player: Lleyton Hewitt

 

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Acapulco: All About The Kids

Acapulco: All About The Kids

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
Over 300 kids and their families packed the Mextennis Stadium for the 23th edition of the annual AMT Kids’ Day.

Over 300 kids and their families packed the Mextennis Stadium for the 23th edition of the annual AMT Kids’ Day.

Victoria Azarenka was in the middle of all the action, having stayed in Acapulco despite having to bow out of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel due to injury.

Victoria Azarenka was in the middle of all the action, having stayed in Acapulco despite having to bow out of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel due to injury.

She was joined on court by a colorful cast of characters including Spongebob Squarepants’ Patrick…

She was joined on court by a colorful cast of characters including Spongebob Squarepants’ Patrick…

…as well as Spongebob himself!

…as well as Spongebob himself!

Vika was also joined by David Ferrer, meaning the children got the chance to hang out with both the WTA and the ATP top seeds.

Vika was also joined by David Ferrer, meaning the children got the chance to hang out with both the WTA and the ATP top seeds.

Azarenka and Ferrer were recognized as Agents of Change for making a difference by being a positive example to the youth.

Azarenka and Ferrer were recognized as Agents of Change for making a difference by being a positive example to the youth.

The 300 children present came from local tennis schools and several area youth programs.

The 300 children present came from local tennis schools and several area youth programs.

The players led the kids through drills and exercises, as well as gave them an unforgettable experience with their heroes.

The players led the kids through drills and exercises, as well as gave them an unforgettable experience with their heroes.

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Petkovic Moves Past Muguruza

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DOHA, Qatar – Andrea Petkovic played some of her best tennis of the year to maintain a perfect head-to-head record against No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open.

Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It’s very special,” Petkovic said of her first Top 5 win in three years. “It was so tough; Garbiñe is such a talented and dangerous player who put me under pressure.

“I was a little lucky in the end, but I’m just happy to be through.”

Each woman hit 29 winners, but while the German played cleanly throughout – hitting just 16 unforced errors – Muguruza had more issues with consistency, hitting 38.

“I’ve been playing really well the past few weeks. Everything is coming together and I’m getting my match focus again,” Petkovic continued.

“I’m really happy I’m on the right path and really looking forward to the whole season.”

Up next for the former World No.9 is teen sensation Jelena Ostapenko, who dispatched China’s Zheng Saisai in the first quarterfinal of the day.

“I watched both of her matches, and she’s been playing great. I had her on the radar, before. I saw her in Linz qualifying and thought this girl is really good.

“She’s showing her talent, and hopefully I can recover well from today’s match and put on a good performance tomorrow.”

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