Tennis News

TOKYO, Japan – Caroline Wozniacki overcame a mid-match blip to defeat 2015 runner-up Belinda Bencic in the opening round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

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Continuing the form that took her to the US Open semifinals, Wozniacki raced through the first set before building a commanding lead in the second. However, with the finishing line in sight, Wozniacki, who lifted the title in the Japanese capital six years ago, wobbled before recomposing herself in the deciding set to close out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory.

The result ended a run of four straight defeats for Wozniacki against the Swiss, including in the Tokyo semifinals 12 months ago, and her reward is a second-round meeting with No.4 seed Carla Suárez Navarro.

A strong serving display from Wozniacki, who backed up her usual metronomic groundstrokes with 10 aces, provided further reminder of her ability to contest at the business end of the WTA’s flagship events. The only cause for concern came when victory was in sight.

Leading 5-2, the former World No.1 came within two points of victory only to see Bencic escape this game, then pounce on a couple of inviting second serves to break back. As the Dane retreated into her defensive shell, Bencic prowled around the court with intent, clubbing a drive volley to move 6-5 ahead before serving out to love.

This was the signal for Wozniacki to take a bathroom pit-stop and when she returned so too did her focus. A resilient hold was followed by a break, Bencic ending a lengthy exchange with a forehand into the tape. This time there would be no coming back, a run of four unanswered games emphatically quashing her young opponent’s hopes.

Also advancing in the bottom half of the draw were Barbora Strycova and Magda Linette. Strycova ruthlessly ended the run of qualifier Varatchaya Wongteanchai, 6-1, 6-1, while Linette, a qualifier herself, fought back to defeat teenage wildcard Olesya Pervushina, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

SEOUL, South Korea – No.5 seed Monica Niculescu was the only seeded player to advance on Day 6 at the Korea Open Tennis after a spate of upsets saw defending champion Irina-Camelia Begu, Kirsten Flipkens and Kristina Mladenovic bow out in the second round.

Niculescu faced off against Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova for a spot into the Seoul quarterfinals. The Romanian had little trouble seeing off Schmiedlova, breaking her serve three times in each set to advance in an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 victory in just over an hour and a half.

But the rest of the field wasn’t so lucky, and chaos reigned after Niculescu left the court at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center.

Patricia Maria Tig dodged all of Kirsten Flipkens’ Seoul-ful hot shots on her way to a 6-4, 6-4 upset over the No.6 seed. She books a quarterfinal clash with Sara Sorribes Tormo, who came back from a set down to upset No.4 seed Kristina Mladenovic 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The day of surprises ended with the biggest shock of the day, as the No.102 ranked Jana Cepelova ousted the defending champion and top seed Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

The WTA’s all-star cast battle it out for wins, titles and ranking points all year long – but who is getting the most clicks? This week, wtatennis.com will count down the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2016.

Kicking off the list will be No.50 to No.41! Find out who made the cut…

50] Andrea Petkovic (GER)
Petkovic may have finished the year ranked outside the Top 50 for the first time since 2012, but as one of the WTA’s most charismatic players she remains as popular as ever.

49] Monica Niculescu (ROU)
Niculescu enjoyed one of her most successful campaigns to date, finishing off in style with a final in Seoul and derailing the in-form Petra Kvitova to lift the trophy in Luxembourg.

48] Sara Errani (ITA)
A ninth career title, at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, highlighted an up and down year for the always-entertaining Errani.

47] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ)
Putintseva was one of the breakthrough stars of the French Open, making it all the way to the quarterfinals, her ranking – and popularity – soaring as a consequence.

46] Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
Former World No.1 Jankovic continues to entertain her legions of fans across the globe, particularly in Asia where she finished runner-up in Guangzhou and made the last four in Hong Kong..

45] CoCo Vandeweghe (USA)
Vandeweghe’s star continued to rise in 2016, victory on the grass of ‘s-Hertogenbosch helping her break the Top 30 for the first time.

44] Sloane Stephens (USA)
Injury may have curtailed Sloane Stephens’ season prematurely, but not before she had collected a trio of trophies – in Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston.

43] Heather Watson (GBR)
British No.2 continues to be a firm favorite at home and abroad, particularly after her popular triumph in the Wimbledon mixed doubles final alongside Henri Kontinen.

42] Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)
Begu impressed on the clay, going deep at Roland Garros, Rome, Madrid and Charleston, however, it was on the cement of  Florianopolis that she lifted her third career title.

41] Elena Vesnina (RUS)
This year, Vesnina enjoyed a return to prominence stunning a number of higher-ranked rivals to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, while in doubles she was victorious alongside Ekaterina Makarova at both the Olympics and WTA Finals.

Come back to wtatennis.com on Tuesday for No.40 to No.31 on the list.