Birmingham: Watson vs. Giorgi
Heather Watson takes on Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Aegon International Birmingham.
Heather Watson takes on Camila Giorgi in the first round of the Aegon International Birmingham.
No.9 seeded American Madison Keys sealed the perfect comeback to action with a hard-fought straight-sets victory over Mariana Duque-Mariño at the BNP Paribas Open.
Petra Kvitova takes on Lucie Safarova at the Aegon International Birmingham.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.28 seed Kristina Mladenovic kept up her blistering form in the California desert, willing through a late wobble against No.4 seed and 2015 champion Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open.
“We always had very tough battles,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I was actually up in our head to head, 2-1. That’s not very often against a Top 5 player!”
“I think that match was a big win for me, physically. I was there solid and hanging in there and putting sometimes balls back and being brave. I perfectly played the game plan I had. Solid at times, make her play balls and making her take some risk at the time. Sometimes when I had the shorter one, like, stepping in it, playing my heavy shots with the forehand, and I think that worked pretty well today.”
.@KikiMladenovic on ?! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/nvwisgGaHS
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2017
Mladenovic came to Indian Wells after a breakthrough month that saw her capture her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and reach another final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel – not to mention earning a win over Karolina Pliskova at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in between.
Halep, by contrast, had sat out most of the month to tend to a left knee injury, and though she showed signs of her best, the Romanian proved too rusty against the surging French star, who advanced through in one hour and 42 minutes to earn her second Top 5 win in two months.
How did @Simona_Halep win this point?! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/OuykeWlE9p
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2017
“Based on how much I was able to practice before this event, I’m happy to have made the third round,” a wry Halep said after the match. “She’s playing well and has confidence, but I missed a lot. After the first set, my legs were gone. My tennis legs aren’t back yet, so I need to work a lot. But I’m ok; I don’t want to make a drama.
“I was very sore after the first match, and couldn’t walk too much. Yesterday was ok; I practiced for an hour. But the heat was killing me because I wasn’t used to being out there that long yet. I had a headache, my feet were burning and my muscles were gone.”
The toughest moment came toward match’s end as Mladenovic served for it having just earned a set and double break lead. Throwing in two double faults on her first two match points, Mladenovic engineered a third only for Halep to save it and break back, converting her third of 22 opportunities in the match.
.@KikiMladenovic knocks out 2015 @BNPPARIBASOPEN champ Halep!
Wins 6-3, 6-3 to set up @LaurenDavis93 clash! pic.twitter.com/2VvoZaaKyv
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2017
It only prolonged the inevitable, however, and the reigning French Open women’s doubles champion broke for a sixth and final time to earn a career-best result at the BNP Paribas Open.
Standing between her and a spot in the last eight is a similarly surging force in the women’s game, as American Lauren Davis continued her impressive run of form with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Julia Goerges.
Davis began the season with the win at the ASB Classic, and has already amassed 16 wins in main draw and qualifying matches. Mladenovic won their only prior meeting at the 2013 French Open.
Big win today against Simona! Happy to be into the fourth round here ????? @BNPPARIBASOPEN #MyGame #forza pic.twitter.com/L6aL9kSKnZ
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) March 13, 2017
Follow Garbiñe Muguruza as she walks us through her pre-party routine at the Mallorca Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Chinese qualifier Peng Shuai turned the tables on one of the most cerebral players in the game, using all the variety in her arsenal to upset No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open, 6-4, 6-4.
Peng came into the matchup with two wins over the World No.6, and needed an hour and twenty-six minutes to score another one, defeating Radwanska 6-4, 6-4 in her first Top 10 win since 2014.
“She’s a really good player and we’ve faced each other many times – sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but I’m really happy I won today,” Peng said in her on-court interview.
“I’m really happy that I can come back and play this tournament again – after my back surgery [in 2015] I almost ended my career. But I spent a lot of time and fight hard to be here.”
The Chinese player had a long road to the third round; she made it through two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw, then dispatched Lesia Tsurenko and ousted No.31 seed Ana Konjuh to bring up the matchup with Radwanska. She racked up a total of six hours and 20 minutes on court; Radwanska, by contrast, had spent just one hour and 43 minutes.
That battle-readiness showed for Peng as she kept pace with the 2014 finalist, trading breaks twice in the opening set. Peng gave Radwanska a taste of her own medicine, changing the pace and bringing out the variety that Radwanska herself is usually known for and drawing out the errors.
The pair wrestled with the momentum for much of the opening set before a late wobble from Radwanska gave Peng the opening. Radwanska’s first serves abandoned her at the worst time, and Peng broke to take the set.
She jumped out ahead to a 5-2 lead before Radwanska regained her footing; the Chinese player was a point away from bringing up match point on Radwanska’s serve when a netcord point breathed new life into the Pole’s game. She found her range to cut down on Peng’s lead, but it was too little too late as Peng broke again to take her spot into the BNP Paribas Open round of 16.
Peng will take on Venus Williams in the next round for a spot in the quarterfinals. She won the pair’s most recent encounter last year, beating the former World No.1 in straight sets at the China Open.
“I remember our last match in Beijing,” Peng said. “I had been back on the tour [from back injury] for half a year and then I beat her at the China Open.
“She’s an amazing player, so I just hope to keep going and try to fight and play some good tennis next round.”
Highlights from the first round action at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova is through to the final eight at the BNP Paribas Open after Timea Bacsinszky found herself forced to retire from their match, citing a left wrist injury.
MALLORCA, Spain – Daniela Hantuchova received an extra boost of Slovak power at the Mallorca Open, where she grabbed her first main draw win of the year and got the news that she’d been awarded a wildcard into Wimbledon.
Earlier this week a very special cheering squad made the trip to the Mediterranean: 12 Slovakian Miss Universe contestants travelled to Mallorca to enjoy a bit of world class tennis at the inaugural event. The contestants’ first stop on their tour of the Balearic Island? A meet and great with former World No.5 Hantuchova, whose own tennis has flourished on the Spanish grass courts this week.
Earlier in the week, Hantuchova grabbed her first main draw win of the year in the opening round of the Mallorca Open when she defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1, 6-3. In fact, it was her first main draw win since last year’s Istanbul Open, where she defeated Turkish trailblazer Cagla Buyukakcay in the first round.
The Slovak’s spirited Mallorca victory also earned her an even sweeter prize: a main draw wildcard into Wimbledon, and a big career milestone.
This year’s Championships will be Hantuchova’s 60th appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, putting her at No.8 in the elite list of players with the most appearances in the Open Era.
Open Era: Grand Slam Main Draw Appearances
71 Amy Frazier
70 Venus Williams
67 Martina Navratilova
64 Conchita Martinez
63 Ai Sugiyama
63 Serena Williams
62 Francesca Schiavone
60 Daniela Hantuchova
Hantuchova made her Grand Slam main draw debut over 15 years ago in the 2001 Australian Open, and she’s been a main draw staple ever since, only missing out on two occurrences (French Open 2008 and 2012).
Here’s a list of all the singles wildcards awarded so far for the 2016 edition of The Championships.
2016 Wimbledon Ladies Singles Wildcards
1. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
2. Marina Melnikova (RUS)
3. Tara Moore (GBR)
4. Laura Robson (GBR)
5. Katie Swan (GBR)
6. To be announced
7. To be announced
8. To be announced
No word yet on whether the Slovakian Miss Universe contestants will follow Hantuchova all the way to London.
Click here for a complete list of all the wildcards announced so far at Wimbledon.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Reigning French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza brought No.10 seed Elina Svitolina’s 15 match winning streak to an emphatic end with a 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-0 victory at the BNP Paribas Open to book an intruiging match-up with No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals.
“I think it was a very difficult match today,” she said in her post-match press conference. “It was like a test, because she has been winning, like, 15 matches in a row, and she just getting to Top 10, as well.
“I was, like, okay, it’s going to be a tough match and she has a very difficult game, as well. I’m pretty happy about my match. It wasn’t easy at all.”
Svitolina has quickly become the player to beat after back-to-back titles at the Taiwan Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – with wins in Fed Cup in between – helping her become the first Ukrainian women to crack the Top 10.
.@GarbiMuguruza seals the first set 7-6 (5)! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/ePXybe9roE
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Muguruza, by contrast, came to the California desert with question marks after a left achilles injury forced her to retire from her opening round in Dubai, and was a set from defeat against 17-year-old wildcard Kayla Day on Sunday.
Still, the Spaniard raced out to a 5-2 lead to start and survived a late surge to hold off Svitolina in the ensuing tie-break.
“I felt like I almost had to control the match. Not really the second set. I think she played very good in the second set. But in that first set, I started very well, and I knew that that match can turn around so easily, you know. It’s going to be a battle.
“I accept it that she came back. Then I kept fighting until the tie-break, and it was, like, two points’ difference!”
.@ElinaSvitolina at the top of her game! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/sZvjVITtE3
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Undeterred, the Ukrainian youngster took the momentum from the end of the first set into the second, roaring to a decider, dropping just five points on her first serve and converting all three break points to level the match.
“Today was a bit of a mental struggle,” Svitolina told WTA Insider. “When I woke up this morning, I was feeling tired, and I needed to fight through the fatigue. It was up and down, but I needed to fight through it and I was feeling like I did the right things, and that I had my chances throughout the match.
“But there are a lot of positives I can take from a match like this, and I can be proud of myself that I’d been able to fight through so many days like today. I’ve had some incredible matches and I can be proud of those and move forward.”
.@GarbiMuguruza is flying through the final set! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/TJvhDgYgj5
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
The first three games of the final sent would go to deuce, but Muguruza would win each one and never looked back, converting the bagel on her second match point.
“I think I can play in a number of different ways. And today I knew it was going to be difficult, because even though you try different things, you are playing against a Top 10 player and you can, you know, not win.
“I was just trying to do my game today, basically, because I think that was the way to win.”
.@GarbiMuguruza snaps Svitolina’s 15 match win streak 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-0!
Plays @KaPliskova next in @BNPParibasOpen Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/R32raGRMaF
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Up next for Muguruza is Czech nemesis Pliskova, who has won their last five matches of their head-to-head after losing their first meeting at the 2013 French Open.
The pair most recently played ta Fed Cup, where the No.3 seed triumphed in straight sets, though Muguruza pushed Plisova to three sets in their round robin match at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“I think it’s one of the toughest matches I can have now. I think she’s playing very good. She has been very consistent, and I have been watching her.
She has her game, which is very aggressive with good serve. So I’m just going to go out there and try to do my game, try to be concentrate. I know it’s a tough match.
“I cannot do more than give it all there.”