Charleston: Shot Of The Day (Sunday)
Sloane Stephens had Sunday’s shot of the day at the Volvo Car Open.
Sloane Stephens had Sunday’s shot of the day at the Volvo Car Open.
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LUCERNE, Switzerland – Barbora Strycova will begin the Czech Republic’s bid to reach a third consecutive Fed Cup final when she takes on Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky on Saturday afternoon.
With the lynchpin of his all-conquering side, Petra Kvitova, absent, Petr Pala will look to Strycova and Karolina Pliskova to pave the way to yet another victory. Both players have been part of the Czech set-up for several years now and even teamed up for the decisive doubles victory in last year’s final against Russia.
Although Strycova has tasted defeat in her last three singles rubbers, she will take comfort in her fine record against her opening day foe; in three career meetings against Bacsinszky, Strycova has never conceded a set, winning the most recent of these, at last year’s US Open, for the loss of just five games.
“I don’t know if it’s a huge confidence [boost] but it is a little bit because last year I played her,” Strycova said. “The other two matches were many years ago so I don’t count that. It’s going to be a different match tomorrow because the whole crowd are going to push her to play her best tennis. I have to be ready for that.”
Pliskova, meanwhile, takes a near-perfect Fed Cup record into her singles meeting with World No.129 Viktorija Golubic. In eight Fed Cup matches, Pliskova’s sole defeat came at the hands of Maria Sharapova, and in February’s first-round tussle with Romania she dealt with the contrasting challenges of Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu before claiming the crucial third point alongside Strycova in doubles.
Eight hundred kilometers away, in Trélazé, France will play host to the Netherlands in the weekend’s other semifinal. Despite their impressive victory over Russia in the previous round, the Netherlands will start as underdogs against a strong French side attempting to reach its first final since 2005.
French captain Amélie Mauresmo has elected to open the tie with Caroline Garcia, who will face Dutch No.1 Kiki Bertens. Garcia sits over 50 places higher in the rankings than Bertens, and the gap in the second singles rubber is even wider, pitting World No.28 Kristina Mladenovic against No.139 Richel Hogenkamp.
After their heroics in Moscow, Mauresmo is wary of looking past the Dutch: “It [the Dutch winning in Moscow] was definitely a surprise and it keeps us on our toes,” Mauresmo said.
Mauresmo’s team also includes Alizé Cornet and the in-form Pauline Parmentier, who are scheduled to play together in Sunday’s doubles. “I’m very lucky in this tie,” Mauresmo added. “In some ties I had easier choices to make. The four girls came into this week either with a lot of wins behind them, great confidence on the surface or coming out of doubles wins.”
BOGOTA, Colombia – No.5 seed Irina Falconi captured her first WTA title in historic fashion, becoming the first American woman to win the Claro Open Colsanitas as she recovered from a break down in the final set to defeat Sílvia Soler-Espinosa, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
Playing in her first career WTA final, Falconi had already earned the biggest win over the week when she took out No.4 seed Lara Arruabarrena in the semifinals, and looked on course for a seamless victory when she took the first set. But Soler-Espinosa, who had only won one WTA main draw match before Bogota, wouldn’t go down without a fight, leveling the match with a 6-2 set of her own and engineering an early break in the decider.
Six points from defeat down 3-4, 0-30, Falconi earned the break back and broke serve to win the title on her third championship point.
Starting the week at No.92, Falconi is tentatively set to return to the Top 70, close to her career-high ranking of No.64.
More to come…
STUTTGART, Germany – Petra Kvitova made a flawless start to her clay court campaign, dismissing Louisa Chirico in 55 one-sided minutes to secure a spot in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
In recent years, Stuttgart has not been the happiest of hunting grounds for Kvitova, who has stumbled at the first hurdle on her past two visits. This time, though, she delivered a near-perfect performance, dishing out a 6-0, 6-0 defeat to set up a meeting with Monica Niculescu or Caroline Garcia.
A display decorated with 29 winners – and offset by just 11 unforced errors – began with a salvo of thumping groundstrokes and a quick-fire hold. In the next game the No.5 seed displayed the other side of her game, a beautifully disguised drop shot leaving Chirico wrong-footed and an immediate break behind.
Chirico came close to getting on the scoreboard on several occasions, but each time she threatened to do so, Kvitova found the perfect response. The final stand came at 3-0 in the second set, Kvitova having the final say in a 10-minute game Kvitova thanks to another delightful touch around the net.
Moments later she put the American out of her misery, skipping around a second serve to unleash one final winner.
More to follow…
Garbiñe Muguruza
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.3
Year-End Ranking: No.7
Season Highlights: Title at Roland Garros, semifinals in Rome and Cincinnati
Best Major Result: Champion (French Open)
2017 Outlook
World No.7 Garbiñe Muguruza’s 2016 season was a study in contrasts.
Following up and down results at the start of the year, the 23-year-old peaked at the right time to stun the world and claim her maiden major at the French Open.
But she didn’t advance past the third round at any other Grand Slam, and didn’t reach a WTA final all year long, with her best results coming in the form of semifinals appearances at Rome and Cincinnati.
The mercurial Spaniard was the first to acknowledge the mental toll of her season’s extreme highs and lows.
“Winning Roland Garros has been the best and worst part of the year,” Muguruza admitted to Marca in October ahead of the WTA Finals. “It might sound strange but it was like a double-edged sword.
“I won Roland Garros, but at other tournaments it was hard for me to play at the same level… I felt more responsibility, more pressure, more eyes on me, more of a feeling that you have to win because it’s what is expected of you.”
Looking ahead to 2017, Muguruza will look to step off the rollercoaster and regain the one aspect missing from her world-beater game: consistency.
“[My objective after winning Roland Garros] is to never believe that at 25 years old you will have achieved everything that you want, because in the end no player reaches their highest level at 22.
“I’ll take my time with everything. And if it doesn’t come next year, well, so it goes. That’s how I try to reassure myself.”
Tenis. Tennis. Tenis. Tennis….¡Trabajando duro! Working hard! https://t.co/JO4k6DixaC pic.twitter.com/HDtiM1la2G
— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) December 9, 2016
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – Ana Ivanovic announced today that she is ending her memorable 14-year career and retiring from professional tennis. The winner of 15 WTA singles titles, a Grand Slam champion and the first Serbian player to hold the top ranking in the world, Ivanovic concludes a career that saw her become one of the best and most respected players in the history of the WTA.
“I’ve decided to retire from professional tennis. It has been a difficult decision, but there is so much to celebrate,” Ivanovic told fans in a message via her Facebook page. “I began dreaming of tennis when I was five and saw Monica Seles play on TV. My parents backed me all the way, and by the time I was ranked No.1 in the world and won Roland Garros in 2008, I’ve seen the heights I’ve never dreamt of achieving.”
“I won 15 WTA titles, played so many memorable matches – I would say not bad for a tiny slip of a girl from Serbia!”
She added: “Seeing those heights in any professional sport requires top physical form, and it’s well-known that I’ve been hampered by injury. I can only play if I can perform up to my own high standards, and I can no longer do that. So it’s time to move on.”
The 29-year-old exits the game having been one of only 21 players to have ever held the WTA World No.1 ranking, ascending to the top spot on June 9, 2008. Ivanovic held the No.1 ranking for a total of 12 weeks, from June 9 – August 10, 2008 for 9 weeks before capturing the top spot again for three more weeks until September 7, 2008.
Ivanovic recorded her career best season in 2008 when she claimed the Roland Garros title, catapulting her to the WTA World No.1 ranking. She also won titles at Indian Wells and Linz and was runner-up at the Australian Open that same season.
Ivanovic turned professional in 2003 and won her first WTA title in 2005 at Canberra. In addition to her 15 career WTA singles titles, she held eight runner-up trophies including 2007 Roland Garros and 2008 Australian Open. In 2014, Ivanovic won a WTA-leading 58 matches highlighted by a single-season best four singles titles, with her 15th and final WTA title coming at Tokyo (Pan Pacific). The Serbian holds 480 career match wins and qualified for the WTA Finals on three occasions – in 2007, 2008 and 2014.
Off the court, Ivanovic has served as UNICEF National Ambassador to Serbia since 2007, specializing in child safety in schools. She has been recognized with numerous awards surrounding her accomplished career, including the 2008 Jerry Diamond WTA Aces Award recognizing off court participation, the WTA’s Most Improved Player in 2005 and 2007, nominated for U.S. Secretary of State’s 2007 International Women of Courage Award, and named one of the “30 Legends of Women’s Tennis: Past, Present and Future” by TIME Magazine in June 2011.
“Ana is a true champion and a great ambassador for the sport of women’s tennis,” said Steve Simon, WTA CEO and Chairman. “She has contributed greatly to the entire sport, both in her home country of Serbia and across the globe. She will certainly be missed on our tour as she is not only one of a very select few that achieved the WTA No.1 ranking but is also one of the most respected players on Tour.”
Ivanovic played her last professional match at the 2016 US Open, falling in the first round and subsequently hampered with a recurring wrist injury which prevented her from competing the rest of the season.
Highlights from the first round action at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.