Stuttgart: Vinci vs Goerges
Roberta Vinci takes on Julia Goerges in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Roberta Vinci takes on Julia Goerges in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her round-robin win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova was riding high off the biggest title of her career on Monday, going through the media rounds to discuss her stunning run to the title at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Less than 24 hours after the win, the new World No.5 was still on Cloud 9 after beating No.1 Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 to win the WTA Finals and finish off an incredible comeback season.
WTA Insider caught up with Cibulkova to reflect on her Singapore win and her evolution as a gritty on-court battler:
WTA Insider: What are you most proud of that you accomplished here?
Cibulkova: That after the two losses I had, I didn’t get down on myself. They talk about me as a fighter and I proved that I am really a big fighter, because it wasn’t easy to go out there after two losses and to play against Halep in the situation it was. So this is [what] I’m really proud about. And, of course, the way I played in the final – it was really high-level tennis.
WTA Insider: Was the final your best match all week?
Cibulkova: I think I also played really well against Halep, but I think against Angie was the best match I played the whole week.
WTA Insider: You told reporters after your match that you believe in yourself now. Why? Why didn’t you believe in yourself before?
Cibulkova: Because I was never that kind of player that came on tour and was winning tournaments. I always needed, you know, proof. I needed to beat a Top 20 player, a Top 10 player – I was taking small steps to get where I am now. And I always thought that winning a Grand Slam was something unreal, it’s impossible. But by winning this, I want to achieve another dream, and that’s winning a Grand Slam.
WTA Insider: Did it mean more to win yesterday than to reach the Australian Open final a couple of years ago?
Cibulkova: Oh yes. To play finals is an amazing feeling. But to win the whole thing, you cannot compare these two things.
WTA Insider: You’ve had good results everywhere. Which major do you think you have the best chance of making a charge?
Cibulkova: We’ll see. I dunno, we’ll see. As you said, I can play on all the surfaces. [I’m most comfortable at] Roland Garros, or maybe Australian Open, too. But hard court and clay court for me is the top. The grass it’s like for one tournament I made the quarterfinals, and that’s amazing. This year is the breaking year in my career, if you know what I mean. Before every tournament you feel your form, how you feel the court and everything has to come together to win such a big event.
WTA Insider: Typically, a player of your size would rely on speed and defense to win matches. Obviously you’re an offensive-minded player. Has anyone ever tried to convince you to play with more feel, rather than your power game?
Cibulkova: No, it was actually it was the other way around. When I was little, or younger, it was always I was just a defensive player; I was just running to the fence and putting the balls back. I think I had a lot of coaches in my career and every single coach taught me something different that now I use now. I remember it was maybe five or six years ago, I had a coach who pushed me to play really aggressive. And since then I’ve known this is the way I’m going to play. This coach I’m with right now, we’ve been together more than three years and I’d say he’s the best coach I ever had in my career.
WTA Insider: How hard was it to buy into this aggressive strategy?
Cibulkova: It was a really hard, but it was a long process. You know, it was maybe 10 years or longer, and inside of me I’m was never a killer on the court, I was never the one that was winning. Now I’m the one that’s going to kill you on the court. This is something I had to learn and this is something that put me in the Top 5. I learned this killer instinct and I just went for it, because in the important moments before I was always afraid to go for my shots, or I wanted the opponent to make a mistake. And this is not how champions play.
WTA Insider: Do you believe that the big titles nowadays go to the big-hitters?
Cibulkova: Yes, of course I believe that. I mean Aga Radwanska she’s a defensive player and she also won WTA Finals, but I see it this way: if a big-hitting girl is playing her best tennis, no one can do anything. You see me playing great yesterday and I didn’t let Angie into the match.
WTA Insider: What prompted you to hire a mental coach?
Cibulkova: My coach. He convince me. He said, ‘You know, Dominika, it’s not only about how many hours you spend on the court but for you the most important thing is how many hours you spend thinking about tennis off the court,’ Because I always thought that I was working more than 100% on the court, and then it’s over for me. But he told me that I needed my head to be there and to be strong. It wasn’t easy convincing me, because sometimes I can be stubborn, but after a while I really started to believe in it and now it’s a part of me and I can’t imagine to play tennis without this thing.
WTA Insider: Do you talk to you mental coach just about what’s going through your mind during those tight moments?
Cibulkova: Yes, exactly, and for me the most important thing is to hold my emotions together, because I’m really emotional on the court. So when I get angry or miss something, I cannot live in the past. This is the biggest change. I handle these situations now. Even this week, you could see against Halep, I survived so many tight moments. I think in the past I couldn’t handle a match like this, even yesterday after the two match points I missed…
WTA Insider: You smiled after you missed those first three match points…
Cibulkova: This is something we also tried to work on. I was so frustrated; this was like my worst moment on the court, I couldn’t describe how bad I felt on the court in that moment when I missed the forehand. This isn’t happening! I didn’t miss a forehand like that in the whole match. But I knew I had to hold it together, I had to forget, leave it in the past and think about what I had to do next.
WTA Insider: I assume the thing you want to do next is to relax. You’re going on vacation next. So you’re going to just chill out?
Cibulkova: You can ask my husband. I’m the laziest person in the world. Really, I just can do nothing. I have my book and I’m just lying there in the shade saying, ‘This is good, this is good!’ I think because I spend so much time working that when I’m off, it’s nothing.
STUTTGART, Germany – The giant-slaying run continued for Germany’s Laura Siegemund; the qualifier took out World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first career WTA final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
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The qualifier won her seventh match of the week – and her 14th straight set since coming to Stuttgart – and had all the answers against the top seed, who lost five games in a row from a 3-1 advantage in the opening set.
“Maybe I’m a similar type like her to other players,” Siegemund said after the match. “I didn’t focus on beating her with her own weapon or anything like that. I was focussing on my game which has been working well the whole week and didn’t find the switch to play aggressive that well. I was playing a little bit short at the beginning which gave her a lot of options but managed to fix the problem and found my game, a little bit later than the other matches but I found it.”
Serving at a stunning 90% off her first serve, Siegemund played a near-perfect match against Radwanska, hitting 34 winners to just 17 unforced errors – racing past the Pole’s own stats of 13 winners and 15 unforced. Converting a double break lead on her fifth break point opportunity of the fifth game of the second set, all looked clear for Siegemund when Radwanska enjoyed a brief resurgence, breaking back and making the veteran fight for the finish line.
“I felt like I’m in the flow and I don’t need to think, I’m going to make the right decisions. Sometimes you feel you’re not in the flow and then it’s good to have a good strategy every single point. But today I stood up of the break and I knew I had to trust my intuition and it worked well. Sometimes you get up from the bench differently. It’s very individual in that situation. But I was very focussed, I was very calm. If it was 5-5, I had a plan as well. So, I felt good.”
In the midst of a breakthrough season that has already seen her reach the third round of the Australian Open and quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open, Siegemund dutifully broke serve one last time and served out her spot in the final after one hour and 23 minutes.
“My tennis was not good enough, that’s for sure today,” Radwanska told press after the match. “Well, I think with that kind of game she is playing, the first shot is very important. And she was playing pretty much all in and every time she got the ball I think she had nothing to lose, so she just took the risk.
“I can’t complain; I had a really good start of the year, a couple of good results as you said, a couple of semi-finals and so far so good. Well, I hope I can keep going that way.”
Siegemund defeated three Top 10 players this week – Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci in addition to Radwanska – and her stellar run could have major implications on the German Olympic team; tentatively up to a new career-high ranking just outside the Top 40, Siegemund has leapfrogged countrywomen Sabine Lisicki, Anna-Lena Friedsam, Julia Goerges, and Mona Barthel to become the No.4 German behind Angelique Kerber (who she plays in the Stuttgart final), Andrea Petkovic, and Annika Beck. Kerber and Siegemund will be meeting for the first time, but the reigning Australian Open champion will be keen to defend the title she won for the first time in 2015.
In doubles, co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza appear to have gotten their groove back; Santina had struggled through early exits in Indian Wells and Miami, but are back in their first final since winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Against Lisicki and Lucie Safarova, the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions made a solid case for completing the Santina Slam at the French Open with a 6-4, 7-5 win in the semifinals.
No.2 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won their first title of 2016 in Charleston, and got past former No.1 Kveta Peschke – who is playing her first tournament in over a year – and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the second semifinal later on Saturday, 7-5, 5-7, 10-4. They will play Santina for a second straight title to bookend their Fed Cup heroics.
Siegemund’s Stuttgart run, punctuated by her 64 62 win over Radwanska today. 7 wins. pic.twitter.com/qmZ4Ed7adH
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 23, 2016
ZHUHAI, China – No.12 seed and wildcard Zhang Shuai rang in the start of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai in impressive style, defeating No.6 seed Timea Bacsinszky, 6-1, 6-1, to take the early lead in the Camellia Group.
“I am very happy to win, actually just to play in my home country and win the first game here,” she said after the match through translation. “I cannot say how happy I am about this.
“It’s been three weeks since the China Open, and during that time it was a bit tough for me. Without game I kind of don’t know what to do with my life! Even though continuous game and competition makes me tired. I like playing even more.”
Zhang is in the midst of a career-best season, one that has seen her rise from outside the Top 100 to a high of No.27 after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and China Open just three weeks ago. Playing Bacsinszky, a former Top 10 player whom she narrowly beat at the Olympic tennis event, Zhang blistered past her Swiss opposition in 57 minutes, dropping just three points behind her first serve.
.@zhangshuai121 delivering her post-win press conference @WTAEliteTrophy pic.twitter.com/CYedNrwyrE
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 1, 2016
“It’s been three months since the Olympics by now, and I did see my progress in the performance. I have to say this is not a coincidence. I am pretty confident in myself now.
“I just watched some of the video parts of me playing Bacsinszky during the Olympics and I can see that after that and after all the games in Beijing and Japan and Wuhan and Korea I really improved a lot. I believe that if I can make the best out of my training I can play even better game. I also do enjoy my home court advantage here. It was great game for me.”
Hoping to reach the semifinals in her Zhuhai debut, Zhang will have to get past first alternate Timea Babos, who entered the Camellia Group after No.2 seed Carla Suárez Navarro withdrew due to a right wrist injury.
“I am physically doing very well. After Beijing I took three weeks off and I well adjusted myself. I’m fully recovered now.
“I can say that I’m at my best at this moment. “That is one of the reasons why I played well.”
In the second match of the day, Elina Svitolina overcame a slow start to defeat Kiki Bertena, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“I think she started playing really well and I was bit in and out with my attitude and with my game,” Svitolina said after the match.
“But then I was just waiting for my chances, and I think in the second set I took my chances. In the end I think just playing solid was the key for me today.”
.@CarlaSuarezNava has withdrawn from @WTAEliteTrophy due to the right wrist injury sustained in Moscow. Babos next in. Statement from CSN: pic.twitter.com/btQA3S4tgI
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 1, 2016
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Petra Kvitova continued her terrific end of season form with a dominant victory over Roberta Vinci in her opening round-robin match at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Laura Siegemund takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
ZHUHAI, China – The fairytale continues for Zhang Shuai in Zhuhai.
The wildcard won a second straight match at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, guaranteeing her a place in the semifinals and a first career finish inside the Top 25.
“It’s amazing because I never thought I could play this tournament, and now I’m in the semifinals,” she told WTA Insider on Thursday. “I prepared a lot for this week, so I’m really happy.”
Her storybook season began in Australia by way of Tokyo. Zhang was ranked just inside the Top 200 when she won an inaugural ITF 100K Challenger there last fall – foreshadowing what was to come Down Under. The Chinese No.1 plans to return to the Tokyo tournament next week, where she will be top seed.
“I have a lot of good memories there and want to go back. I also have a lot of friends in Japan and Tokyo; they’re waiting for me already, so it’s very exciting!
“The tournament has good food, good hotel, and good courts. I always look forward to going to Tokyo.”
Zhang’s season won’t end there. Her final stop of 2016 brings her to Hawaii, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
“I’ve never had the chance to go. I’m already ranked in the Top 50, so I couldn’t enter a WTA 125K event, so I have to thank the tournament for giving me a wildcard.”
She found out about the wildcard into Zhuhai three weeks ago in Beijing; she had just defeated Simona Halep for the second time in nine months, the first coming in that fateful first round in Melbourne.
“She’s a really great player. My coach always says I have to learn from her, because she plays really beautiful tennis. I like her as a person too; she’s a very nice girl.
“It was amazing, even after the Australian Open, I didn’t think I could beat her again. But I’ve since been able to not only beat her, but also other Top 20 players like Timea Bacsinszky and Samantha Stosur.
“Now I believe I can do anything.”
That limitless mentality has helped her achieve a career-best season after a year in the tennis wilderness. It was just two years ago that Zhang was ranked in the Top 30 and seeded at Grand Slams, but until beating Halep, she had never won a major main draw match in 14 previous attempts.
“Now I’m more focused on the court, focused on myself. I don’t think…anything, really! I’m not thinking about ranking or points; I just try my best, trying to play my tennis and my style. I don’t really care about whom I’m playing, or how they play. I just go!”
Zhang plans to roll into the off-season with similar gusto, hoping to maintain the momentum gained from her Asian Swing surge and bring it back to Australia for an encore performance.
“I don’t think I’ll change much about my pre-season. I’ll just try to train hard, give 100% of my heart and focus on tennis. We’re always trying to make improvements, so we’ll try to do that, too.
“But this year, I played really well, so I think I’m doing things the right way. I just want to keep going.”
Forward motion is a recurring motif from Zhang, which certainly makes sense; if you were living her dream, would you want to wake up?
“This whole year has been filled with so many amazing memories. I can’t pick just one, but of course, I can’t forget the Australian Open. I’ll remember that week forever. I also made the quarterfinal at the China Open, now the semifinals here in Zhuhai.
“This year has been a dream come true.”
All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.