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  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seed Simona Halep barreled into the fourth round of the Miami Open, conquering Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit, 6-3, 6-0.

“I think I played my best match of the year,” Halep told WTA Insider after the match. “I was confident, and knew what I had to do: push and make her run. I hit some winners, which was very good for me. I was moving well, so I think everything went pretty well for me tonight.”

The Romanian has been plagued by knee issues throughout the 2017 season, forced to pull out of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and the Middle East Swing to heal the injury.

Coming into Miami, the former French Open finalist had yet to win back-to-back matches this year, but struck down that stat in decisive fashion on Sunday night, rolling past Kontaveit in 55 minutes.

“I felt good when I came to site, and was sure that it was going to come together because I work every day. At one point, it has to come.

“I felt the best that I have this year. I can move without pain or anything, and I’m confident, which is the most important thing.”

Kontaveit is a talented youngster in her own right, a former junior Slam finalist who knocked out No.32 seed Ekaterina Makarova en route to the third round, but had no answers to her opponent’s unstoppable form, her 17 winnes undone by 24 errors in total.

“My first match here was close,” she said of her opener against Naomi Osaka. “I had some trouble in the first match. After that, I saw that I could resist and stay strong. Today, everything was flowing. I didn’t plan anything, and I won’t plan anything else. I just want to go there and give my best.”

Incredibly aggressive under the lights, Halep struck 19 winners to just 13 unforced errors and broke serve five times to book a round of 16 match-up with 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur.

“It’s going to be a tough match, for sure. I know how I have to play, because she’s very dangerous. Her forehand is strong, and so is her serve. I’m here to do my job, and to try to win because that’s what I want.

“Nothing special. I just expect a tough one and I’ll go there to fight.”

Halep and Stosur last played at Roland Garros 10 months ago, when the Aussie won on a wet and rainy day in Paris, locking up their head-to-head at four wins apiece.

The former World No.2 has won their last four hardcourt matches, though two of those three required a third set. But Halep might have a secret weapon.

“Something is waiting for me already, a Nutella crepe. I’ve eaten one every day, and maybe that’s why I’m winning!”

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Azarenka Turns Up The Heat In Brisbane

Azarenka Turns Up The Heat In Brisbane

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BRISBANE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka survived some tense moments early on but then absolutely powered through to the quarterfinals of the $1,000,000 Brisbane International on Wednesday.

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Facing unheralded lucky loser Ysaline Bonaventure, who replaced Simona Halep in the draw, Azarenka had some trouble early on – she dropped serve in the opening game and then, a few games later, had to battle for more than 16 minutes to break back, but she eventually did, evening it to 2-all.

From there the Belarusian ruthlessly powered past the Belgian, reeling off 10 of the next 13 games – and winning 12 of the last 13 points of the match – to prevail in an hour and 27 minutes, 6-3, 6-2.

“I think the beginning was definitely really tough,” Azarenka said after the match. “She played very well, and it’s also a little bit of a moment of adaptation when you don’t know who you’re playing. But I’m glad I could stay strong and turn it around at the beginning. It wasn’t going my way at first, for sure.

“Just to feel the momentum shift in the match was important, in the beginning of the year, and for me especially since I haven’t played in a while. It’s good to go through those moments. I’m happy the way I was looking for a solution, trying to stay in the moment, and fighting to take control back to me.”

Awaiting Azarenka in the quarters will be No.8 seed Roberta Vinci, who won through on Tuesday.

Azarenka has beaten Vinci in straight sets in all three of their previous meetings, but they haven’t played since 2012, and Vinci is on fire – she’s gone from No.43 to No.15 in the last four months.

“We’ve played quite a few times, but it’s been a while since we last played,” Azarenka said of the US Open finalist. “She’s still a very aggressive player. I think she has a lot to offer, and variety, and the slice is only one component of her game. It’ll be important to really just focus on my own game.”

Three more players snapped up quarterfinal berths at the Premier-level event during the day session, most notably No.4 seed Angelique Kerber, who cruised past Madison Brengle in 61 minutes, 6-3, 6-0.

Other winners were Andrea Petkovic, who edged fellow former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5, 6-4, and American qualifier Samantha Crawford, who surprised No.7 seed Belinda Bencic, 7-5, 7-5.

Crawford – who hit 13 aces in the match – didn’t just score her first Top 20 win over the No.14-ranked Bencic, it was actually her first Top 50 win (she had never beaten anyone higher than No.59 before).

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CoCo Back On Road To Olympics

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CoCo Vandweghe’s Olympic dream took an unexpected turn when the American injured her right ankle during her Bank of the West Classic quarterfinal against Alison Riske.

Not long after retiring from the match, Vandeweghe expressed an unwavering desire to be ready to play doubles with fellow BNP Paribas Open winner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but glad the fall looked worse than it was,” she said on Monday. “Back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”

Vandeweghe soon learned that the fall looked much worse than it was, and all doubt was laid to rest after confirming that the injury was, in fact, just a sprain. CoCo took to social media to show her rehab already underway.

“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but happy to say it’s just a sprain,” she said on Monday. “I’m back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”

Vandweghe’s coach, Craig Kardon, also tweeted out one of their workouts:

With two weeks to go for her Olympic debut, the 24-year-old is back in Rancho Santa Fe training with more fire and heart than ever, making it crystal clear that there is no way she will be missing the Rio Games.

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Montréal Wednesday: 2014 Redux

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Two years after doing battle for the Rogers Cup title in 2014, Agnieszka Radwanska and Venus Williams take center stage in Montréal once more. Who else will be in action? 

Wednesday, Second Round

Central
[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. Monica Niculescu (ROU #61)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads 3-1
Kicking off play on Wednesday on Court Central is Radwanska, champion from 2014 and among the most consistent hardcourt performers of the last 12 months. Radwanska brought the form that helped her win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall to the start of the season, reaching the semifinals or better at her first four tournaments – including the Australian Open. Inconsistencies followed on clay and grass, where the Pole found herself outgunned all too often by rival Dominika Cibulkova.

In a low-pressure part of the season with few points to defend, Radwanska will seek to maintain her hardcourt mastery of the always-tricky Niculescu, who won their only meeting on grass. The Romanian veteran used all of her guile and cunning to frustrate young Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in three sets on Tuesday, but can she surprise fellow trick shot queen Radwanska with something new in her arsenal?

Barbora Strycova (CZE #22) vs. [6] Venus Williams (USA #6)
Head-to-head: Venus leads 3-0
Following a slow start to 2016, Venus has played vintage tennis since the tour turned to grass. Reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2010, the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion all but perfectly transitioned onto the hardcourts at her beloved Bank of the West Classic, where she narrowly lost to an on-fire Johanna Konta in three sets.

Strycova is no stranger to the faster surfaces herself, having reached two WTA finals of her own in 2016 in Dubai and Birmingham. Another crafty veteran, the Czech’s head-to-head with the elder Williams sister is deceptive, given that their last two matches went the distance – including their hardcourt meeting at the Qatar Total Open in 2015. Can Strycova notch her first win over a Venus who appears back in orbit?

Stat to watch: Venus is back up to her highest ranking since February 2011.

Also on court…
Kicking off the night session will be Canada’s own Eugenie Bouchard, who will seek to replicate her thrilling three-set win over Eugenie Bouchard against a familiar foe in No.11 seed Dominika Cibulkova, who won their most recent meeting at Wimbledon. Following that dynamic duo is No.2 seed and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, who faces the always-dangerous Mirjana Lucic-Baroni for a spot in the third round. An all-American battle is on offer between No.10 seed Madison Keys and Madison Brengle on Court Banque Nationale, while Russians Alla Kudryavtseva and No.9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova face off on Court 5.

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Radwanska Slices Past Tricky Niculescu

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MONTRÉAL, Canada – 2014 Montréal champion Agnieszka Radwanska came away victorious in a battle of trick shots against Monica Niculescu, dodging three set points to survive a late challenge and advance to the third round of the Rogers Cup, 6-1, 7-5.

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The fans at Court Central were treated to an array of slices, drop shots and variety as the pair of trick shot queens faced off for the third time in 2016. Despite having similar playing styles, Radwanska owns the edge in their head-to-head record, coming into the match up having won all of their previous hardcourt meetings.

Niculescu struggled to meet Radwanska shot for shot early on in the match as her signature forehand slice seemed to be missing from her game. She struck almost twice as many unforced errors as Radwanska – 13 to the Pole’s 7 – and quickly found herself trailing a double break. She got on board at 4-1, but she couldn’t stop Radwanska’s all-out assault as the No.4 seed powered on to take the first set 6-1.

Follow all the action from Day 3 of Montréal at the WTA Insider Live Blog!

But what looked to be shaping up into a straightforward victory for Radwanska got a little more complicated as Niculescu took off in the second set. Whereas in the first set Niculescu couldn’t find a way to pressure Radwanska’s serve, in the second she and Radwanska traded five consecutive breaks of serve as the Pole struggled to win points behind her vulnerable second serve.

Radwanska faced down three set points on the Romanian’s serve at 5-4 as Niculescu looked ready to extend the match. She dodged all three and ultimately earned the break on a drop shot that clipped the netcord and dribbles over. She reeled off the final four games of the match to earn her spot in the third round.

She’s set to play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the last eight after the Russian overcame Christina McHale 6-2, 7-5.

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Olympic Memories: Seoul

Olympic Memories: Seoul

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Next Friday the curtain will be raised on the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janiero. The following 16 days will see in excess of 10,500 athletes compete for 918 medals, at 34 venues, across 28 different sports.

Among those 28 sports is tennis, which will be appearing at the Games for the 15th time this summer.

So to celebrate tennis’ history at the world’s greatest sporting event, over the coming fortnight wtatennis.com will look back at the seven Olympic tennis tournaments since the sport was reinstated in 1988. Starting with Seoul…

Seoul, South Korea, 1988
Olympic Park Tennis Centre
Hardcourt

Tennis made its return to the Olympics after a 64-year absence at Seoul in 1988. And its return proved to be a historic one.

A strong line-up arrived in the Korean capital for tennis’ rebirth as an Olympic sport, headlined by the game’s latest teen prodigy, Steffi Graf, fresh from completing the calendar Slam at the US Open.

All the talk in the build-up to the event was whether she could add a golden finish to this achievement by climbing to the top of the medal rostrum.

In the early rounds, though, the media speculation appeared to be taking its toll on the 19-year-old; after laboring past Leila Meskhi in her opening match, an out of sorts Graf nearly saw her ‘Golden Slam’ dreams dashed by the Soviet Union’s Larisa Savchenko.

However, a three set tussle with Savchenko seemed to liberate the top seed, who produced some of her best tennis of the tournament to rout the United States’ Zina Garrison, 6-2, 6-0, in the semifinals.

On the other side of the draw, another of tennis’ young stars was shining just as brightly.

Were it not for Graf, 1988 could well have been Gabriela Sabatini’s annus mirabilis; the 18-year-old from Argentina had won three titles coming into the Games and was also the only woman to register wins over Graf that season, having triumphed at Boca Raton and Amelia Island in the spring.

However, their most high-profile encounter, the US Open final, had gone the way of the German, who outlasted Sabatini over three absorbing sets.

By comparison, the gold medal match in Seoul proved to be something of an anticlimax as a relaxed and uninhibited Graf swept her way into the history books with a 6-3, 6-3 win.

“I actually had a very good feeling after the first game of the match,” Graf said. “I really liked the way I was playing. I’m very excited. It’s something not many people after me will achieve. It’s amazing”

Steffi Graf

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