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Kasatkina Delights Home Crowd With Win Over Bencic In Moscow

Kasatkina Delights Home Crowd With Win Over Bencic In Moscow

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MOSCOW, Russia – No.8 seed Daria Kasatkina gave fans at the Kremlin Cup a lot to cheer about after her straight sets victory over Belinda Bencic.

Watch live action from Moscow this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!

Russian players have always thrived at the year’s last Premier-level event in Moscow, with at least one Russian reaching the semifinals or better at nine of the last 10 editions of the tournament. Kasatkina looked set to add her name to that list as she needed just 61 minutes to dispatch Bencic 6-4, 6-1.

“It was a great win, especially in front of the home fans here,” Kasatkina said after the match. “Belinda is a tough opponent, a former Top 10 player, so it’s nice to get the victory and start the week here in Moscow playing well.

“I just want to keep putting in performances like this and finish the season strongly.”

Bencic got off to a roaring start early in the match, dragging Kasatkina from alley to alley and ripping a 150 kph overhead winner to bring up the first break for a 4-2 lead in the opening set. But Kasatkina clawed her way back as the unforced errors began to fly from Bencic’s raquet, with a wild forehand drifting wide to hand the break back to the Russian and level the match.

Kasatkina reeled off seven straight games to take the opening set and go up a break in the second. A double fault from Bencic – her fifth of the match – gave Kasatkina the final break and the Russian player closed out the match 6-4, 6-1.

No.9 seed Timea Babos will join Kasatkina in the second round after she took out 2014 finalist Irina-Camelia Begu in a two-and-a-half hour battle to advance 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-5.

Also in action today, Kremlin Cup qualifying wrapped up with Lesia Tsurenko, Katerina Siniakova, Anna Blinkova and Nicole Gibbs earning main draw berths.

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Monica Puig Shakes Things Up

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Monica Puig shook up tennis’ pecking order this summer by winning an historic gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Now the Puerto Rican is shaking things up off the court. Watch to find out how to make a great on-the-go snack or a quick, nutritious breakfast with just five ingredients – and a packet of USANA MySmart Shake Whey Protein.

USANA is the Official Vitamin & Supplement Supplier of the WTA, and over 170 Athletes – including 8 out of the Top 10 and 15 out of the Top 20 use USANA products. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, Eugenie Bouchard, and Madison Keys are among several USANA ambassadors, and 2016 marks the 10th Anniversary of the USANA-WTA partnership.

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Confident Keys Brings Rock Island Swagger To Singapore

Confident Keys Brings Rock Island Swagger To Singapore

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
SINGAPORE – Madison Keys has always been a prodigious talent. It would be impossible to ignore her 120mph serve and booming forehand, two of the biggest shots in the women’s game. The 21-year-old had shown gradual improvements with each year she spent on tour but two key elements consistently plagued her: inconsistency and ill-timed injury. Could her young body withstand the grind of the tour? And could she learn to harness her power game to be a steady force on the tour?

Keys answered both questions decisively in 2016: Yes, she can.

Keys capped off an achievement-laden season by becoming the seventh player to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. While her two breakout results last year, where she made the Australian Open semifinals and Wimbledon quarterfinals, grabbed bigger headlines, Keys’ 2016 campaign was a truer encapsulation of her talent and potential. Starting the season at No.18, Keys proceeded to make the second week of all four Slams, becoming one of just four women to pull off the feat this season. Outside of the Slams she made the quarterfinals or better at eight of 12 events, highlighted by finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and the Rogers Cup in Montréal. By comparison, Keys made just two quarterfinals last year.

Keys also picked up another title on grass by winning the Aegon Classic. With the Birmingham title, Keys became the first American woman to make her Top 10 debut since Serena Williams in 1999. When the dust settled, Keys finished the regular season with a 46-15 record, an impressive improvement over her 31-18 tally in 2015 and 27-22 in 2014.

“Sometimes it just takes a little bit of time for things to click and sink in,” Keys said. “Sometimes it’s just how someone words something one time, then it just makes sense to you. I definitely think working with Thomas [Hogstedt] has been a huge benefit for me.” Keys hired Hogstedt, who previously coached the likes of Li Na, Maria Sharapova, and Caroline Wozniacki, earlier this spring.

“But I also think it’s a process. It’s being ready to handle the situation has been a big thing for me. I think I’m putting myself in those positions and handling them a lot better. That just gives me more confidence. The more I’m in those tough situations, the better I feel about them.”

Indeed, her ability to come through in tough matches has been the biggest improvement in her season. Keys is 17-5 in three-set matches this season, compared to a sub-.500 mark of 6-10 last year. She still struggles with her rhythm and decision-making in matches, but this year she’s been able to limit the dips to brief spells.

“You look at my scores and there’s lulls and stuff but I feel like before it would spiral really quickly,” Keys said. “Now I’m stopping it and getting better at that. I think it’s that confidence of knowing ‘Don’t panic, you can do this.’ I think the biggest thing is knowing that those thoughts of panic are probably going to go into your brain and just accepting it. So that’s been the biggest thing. Not fighting it and trying to think I’m going to have the perfect mentality the entire time. That’s not going to happen. So just knowing it and accepting it has been a huge thing for me.”

After starting the season with a left forearm injury, Keys has seen the hard work in the gym and on the practice court pay off. She is stronger and faster than she’s ever been and the body that would let her down has stood tall throughout the season. The ability to trust her body has freed her up to focus on her game, which continues to improve as she matures. There’s a self-assuredness about Keys this season, a swagger that wasn’t there before. Winning matches and winning them on a consistent clip breeds belief.

“I feel like I’ve definitely gained confidence in myself,” Keys said. “I think especially that I’ve had a lot of matches this year where I wasn’t playing my best tennis, and I was in some bad spots, but being able to figure that out. I think that’s given me just a lot of personal confidence.”

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Kuznetsova Survives Moscow Scare, Edges Closer To Singapore Qualification

Kuznetsova Survives Moscow Scare, Edges Closer To Singapore Qualification

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MOSCOW, Russia – Svetlana Kuznetsova survived a mid-match wobble to defeat Timea Babos in the Kremlin Cup quarterfinals and move one step closer to a return to the WTA Finals.

In a contest that ebbed and flowed throughout, top seed and defending champion Kuznetsova harnessed the home crowd support to eventually triumph, 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2, after a fraction over two and half hours on court.

The result keeps alive the 31-year-old’s hopes of appearing at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Russian, who was a fixture at the season-ending showpiece for much of her early 20s, has not qualified since 2009, but will return should she lift the title in Moscow. If she fails in her quest, Johanna Konta will take the final spot in the eight-player draw.

Babos’ battling performance ensured that the outcome remained in the balance until the last. In the second set, she displayed particular character to break twice with her opponent serving for the match. A flawless tie-break ensured the match went the distance, and despite falling behind in the decider, another comeback looked on the cards when she reduced her arrears to 3-2.

However, a thigh injury halted this revival – and the match – allowing Kuznetsova to regroup during a length injury timeout. On the resumption, the Russian took control rattling off the final three games to set up a semifinal with No.4 seed Elina Svitolina.  

“Where to start? My coach and Nastia [Myskina] said in the locker room that the points were very short, from one to three rallies. I didn’t run much. I think I was good for me that I had a third set even when I felt a little bit tired,” Kuznetsova told the Russian press. “In the third set I let the situation go and played better.

“It has prepared me a base for tomorrow’s match because the way I played during last two matches, the last four sets: yesterday’s and the first two from today…It won’t get me far.”

Elina Svitolina

Earlier in the day, Svitolina delivered a clinical display to swat aside lucky loser Ana Konjuh, 6-1, 6-1. Svitolina has been in terrific form during the second half of the season, reaching the semifinals or better in three of her past five tournaments.

“It was a good match for me, I was serving well and seeing the ball good. This was a good game and I’m really happy that it’s another semifinal for me,” Svitolina told wtatennis.com.

“After Beijing I had one week off and I was at home, just trying to recover fast. These last two tournaments – here and in Zhuhai – are very important and I’m just trying to stay focused.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – In the first all-teen WTA final since 2009, Daria Kasatkina knocked out former junior colleague Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 6-1, to win her first WTA title at the Volvo Car Open.

“It’s very difficult to describe my feeling now,” she said in her post-victory press conference. “I feel I’m just sleeping and everything is not real. I’m so happy. Really.”

Kasatkina and Ostapenko took back-to-back Grand Slam titles back in 2014, the Russian winning the girls’ French Open while the Latvian swept the junior Wimbledon Championships, and the two have been on a collision course since making their WTA debuts the following year.

Ostapenko was in her third career final after finishing runner-up at the Tournoi de Québec in 2015 and the Qatar Total Open in 2016, and won their only previous tour-level meeting last year at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.

But Kasatkina proved far more at home on clay after earning wins over Olympic champion Monica Puig, good friend Daria Gavrilova, No.10 seed Irina-Camelia Begu, and clay court specialist Laura Siegemund en route to her first final.

“Yesterday evening and all night I couldn’t sleep. I woke up during the whole night like two or three times. I was so nervous, you cannot imagine. I was feeling like, I want to just go on the court and everything, let’s finish, play. I cannot feeling this anymore. But now it was worth it.”

The pair exchanged early breaks to start the match; Ostapenko won a long sixth game to level the opening set only to see Kasatkina run away with the contest from there, losing just one more game in the 66-minute match.

“I was ready to be on the court five, six hours. Because it’s a final, I have to be ready for everything, but I’m happy that I finished it in, let’s say, an easy way. So I am very happy and proud of myself.

“When I won the last ball, everything like closed and I just feel like I’m dreaming.” 

Playing clean, consistent tennis, Kasatkina struck just six winners to the Latvian’s 25, but also only seven unforced errors to Ostapenko’s 38, and converted five of seven break point chances over two sets.

“Today, the tactic was to be a little bit more defensive, go back, spin, slice the ball because it’s clay, and she’s playing really aggressive. Usually she beats aggressive players because she likes this type of game, everything. So we decided that I have to go back and make her tired. It was a good tactic, I think.”

“I was playing good all the days this week,” Ostapenko said after the match. “I beat some great players, but today was really not my day, and I just didn’t feel the ball that well. I was missing too much, and because she was defending during the whole match. It was just probably not my day.

“I think I got a bit more consistent on clay, and I think I improved my serve and I’m moving better, but I still have a lot of things to work on. I think it’s pretty good because now I can climb in the ranking.”

The Russian will move back into the Top 30 after the win as she aims to return to Roland Garros as a seed for the second straight year, while Ostapenko returns to the Top 50 following her impressive week and wins over former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki and Australian Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

Kasatkina joins an illustrious list of former champions, including Stefanie Graf, Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, and Venus Williams. None of that had quite sunk in with the 19-year-old so soon after the match.

“I need to prepare for these things. It never happened to me before. So little bit makeup for the pictures!” she said when asked about a post-victory portrait.

“I don’t realize it yet, so I’m just enjoying it every moment, every second. And really, when I was on the court after the last point, I just wanted the moment to stop because it was one of the best moments in my life.”

Earlier in the day, World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands took her third title of the year, and second with partner Lucie Safarova, overcoming a tough test from BNP Paribas Open finalists Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 4-6, 10-7.

All photos courtesy of the Volvo Car Open.

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Svitolina Stunned In Bogota

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Top seed Elina Svitolina appeared on course for a regulation comeback when her Tuesday match with Alexandra Panova bled into Wednesday due to inclement weather. But the Russian, a 2012 finalist at the Claro Open Colsanitas, had other ideas as she saved a whopping five match points – three in a row in the third set tie-break – to oust the Ukrainian youngster, 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(6).

“I’m always happy to come back,” she said after the match. “It’s been my sixth year, probably. I like it here; I have lots of support and I play a good game here.

“Every point was very important because it was very close. Same as yesterday in the first set and today the final set was very close. I had to fight for everything, be aggressive, be prepared for everything because it could change very quickly.”

Panova hadn’t played a WTA tournament since the BMW Malaysian Open, which Svitolina went on to win, but a quarterfinal appearance at an ITF Challenge in Croissy-Beaubourg set her up in good stead against Svitolina, who won eight more points overall in a match that suffered multiple rain delays before it was finally postponed.

“Of course, it’s very difficult. We had two stops. The first one was pretty early, so it was almost like starting the match from the beginning. At the second stop it was getting dark, and it was not playable.”

Another upset happened earlier in the day, as former Swiss star Amra Sadikovic continued her second career by winning her first WTA main draw match since 2013, turning the tide against 2010 champion Mariana Duque-Mariño, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Sadikovic announced her retirement in the middle of 2014, and spent 14 months as a tennis coach before deciding to return to competition last summer.

“I had to play my best to beat her,” she said after the match. “For me, it was special to get to play on the center court, just awesome. I went out on court kind of nervous in the beginning, just trying to stay in there and play point by point and I ended up winning the match.

Undaunted by the vociferous local support, Sadikovic held her nerve to convert her only break point opportunity in the final set and clinch the upset in over two hours.

“When I play back home in Switzerland, everyone cheers for me. I was expecting that and I prepared myself. I talked to my coach who said, ‘Just try to stay in the moment and play point by point.’ It all worked out.”

As first round play came to its belated conclusion, half of the draw’s quarterfinalists were also decided on Wednesday. No.4 seed Lara Arruabarrena is the highest ranked woman remaining in the draw, and a second emphatic win – this time a 6-1, 6-0 defeat of Anne Schaefer – brought her into the last eight. Rio Open quarterfinalist Paula Cristina Goncalves earned another of the day’s upsets by eliminating No.6 seed Tatjana Maria, 6-4, 6-3. Qualifier Catalina Pella backed up her win over No.2 seed and defending champion Teliana Pereira by beating Elitsa Kostova, 6-3, 6-2, while No.5 seed Irina Falconi survived a tense second set tie-break to oust French veteran Sherazad Reix, 6-3, 7-6(2).

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The WTA’s Top 9 stayed the same after a week of action on the green clay of Charleston, where Daria Kasatkina took home her maiden title at the Volvo Car Open, and in Monterrey where Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova powered to a fourth Abierto GNP Seguros title.

The only major change in the Top 10 is the return of Madison Keys, who knocked out Venus Williams and leapfrogged Caroline Wozniacki to rise from No.11 to No.10.

Wozniacki was a win away from returning to the Top 10 for the first time since September 2015, but she was denied the chance by an inspired Jelena Ostapenko in the Charleston quarterfinals.

Here are the biggest ranking movers this week after Charleston and Monterrey:

Jelena Ostapenko +16 (No.66 to No.50): 19-year-old Ostapenko reached the third final of her career – and her first final on clay – at the Volvo Car Open this week. She took down a pair of seeds along the way, knocking out No.5 Caroline Wozniacki and No.11 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. As a result, she’s earned herself a spot back inside the WTA’s Top 50.

Daria Kasatkina +13 (No.42 to No.29): Not only did 19-year-old Kasatkina reach her first WTA singles final in Charleston, but she also went all the way and took home her maiden WTA after a commanding win over Ostapenko. Her impressive performance sends her rocketing up the rankings, landing inside the Top 30 at No.29.

Shelby Rogers +3 (No.52 to No.49): It was an emotional week for Charleston native Rogers. She entered her home tournament with just one main draw win under her belt and admitted to struggling in front of her home crowd. But all that changed this week, where she put together an inspiring run to the quarterfinals, posting back-to-back wins over top seed Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka along the way. She lands at No.49, just one spot removed from her career-high of No.48.

Carla Suárez Navarro +2 (No.25 to No.23): After spending the last few years inside the WTA’s Top 20, Suárez Navarro’s ranking took a hit when a shoulder injury forced her off the tennis courts at the start of 2017. The Spaniard missed the Australian and Middle Eastern swings, and found herself outside the Top 20 for the first time since 2013. She turned it all around in Monterrey, halting her slide down the rankings with an impressive run to the semifinals.

Click here to check out the updated WTA rankings as of April 10.

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