Tennis News

DUBAI, UAE – No.6 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shaui continued their solid start to 2017, knocking out Mandy Minella and Anastasija Sevastova, 7-5, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Peng shook off a disappointing singles loss to Sevastova to pair Hlavackova, with whom she reached the Australian Open final, to get her revenge on the Latvian in doubles.

“It’s not always easy to play after Shuai loses in singles on the same day,” Hlavackova said after the match. “Obviously, you’re sad, but it’s nice that we were able to work as a team and just fight for the doubles anyway. That’s what I felt today. We were just better players but they played very solidly. Sevastova’s having a good week so she was playing unbelievable serves and forehands. It was always close so I’m happy we got through.”

The duo raced out to a 4-1 lead to start, and survived a surge from Sevastova and Minella to clinch the opening set and ride the momentum to a one hour and six minute victory.

“It seems like it’s going well. We always had good results together, so it’s not a huge surprise for both of us. But nothing is guaranteed, so we’ve worked hard for every win.

“We’re looking forward to playing more big events like these. We play very well together.”

Hlavackova is coming off a longterm partnership with Lucie Hradecka, with whom she qualified for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global the last two years in a row. What do Hradecka and Peng have in common? A two-handed forehand.

“Maybe I like their mentality, but whatever happens I guess I need to keep looking for more double-handed players!” joked the Czech veteran.

Up next for Hlavackova and Peng are No.4 seeds Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan, a newly formed team who reached the semifinals just last week at the Qatar Total Open.

Earlier in the day, top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic recovered from 0-4 in the match tie-break to oust Viktorija Golubic and Kristyna Pliskova, 7-5, 4-6, 10-5. Mladenovic had to shake off a singles loss of her own to reunite with Garcia in time to reach the quarterfinals, where they’ll play No.5 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Yaroslava Shvedova, who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu and Daria Kasatkina, 6-3, 6-3.

No.3 seeds Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova also advanced on Wednesday, easing past Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson, 6-3, 7-5; they’ll next face No.7 seeds Abigail Spears and Katarina Srebotnik.

Two years ago inside the Estadio Manolo Santana, the tennis world stood still to mourn the loss of one of its most beloved daughters, Elena Baltacha.

In the early hours of the previous morning, Baltacha had lost her brief battle with liver cancer, leaving the sport in a state of shock.

On the second anniversary of her passing, many of those lucky enough to cross paths with Baltacha paid tribute to her memory. One of the most touching and heartfelt came from the ATP’s Nick Kyrgios, who dedicated his victory over Stan Wawrinka in Madrid to the former British No.1.

I want to dedicate my win today to Elena Baltacha & the @ElenaFoundation as well as anyone else affected by cancer in some way. #RIPBally ??

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) 4 May 2016

Thank you Nick that means allot to us x https://t.co/yVjXe6T6rs

— Elena B Foundation (@ElenaFoundation) May 4, 2016

DUBAI, UAE – 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki put an end to CiCi Bellis’ dream run at the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, notching commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over the 17-year-old American.

Bellis announced herself to the Dubai draw in a big way with her stunning upset over World No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska in the last round to reach her first Premier 5 quarterfinals, but she had no answers against her childhood idol Wozniacki.

“I have been there myself, so I know what it’s like,” Wozniacki said of her young opponent. “I just try to put myself in her shoes.

“For me, it was just very important to stay strong and not show any negative emotions but just stay positive all the time, show that I have the presence on court and really make her play those extra balls and points.

“She would really have to play on a really high level to beat me, because I was going to give that extra ball back. I wasn’t going to just give it to her.”

.@cicibellis99 is ?! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/SrQdj4TNOl

— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2017

The American’s tricky disguised groundstrokes – which troubled Radwanska time and again in the third round – kept Wozniacki second-guessing as the teenager dictated the early rallies. She calmly took the break at 3-1, but it would be the only lead of the match for Bellis as the former World No.1 came roaring back.

Wozniacki kept to her game plan, tracking down every shot and making Bellis play an extra ball to draw out unforced errors. The American’s game plan crumbled, rewarding Wozniacki with the break back to level the match 3-3.

The Dane took full command from there, reeling off nine straight games to grab the opening set and take a daunting 4-0 lead in the second, and she went on to serve out a spot in her sixth straight Dubai semifinals.

The unforced errors count marked the difference between Wozniacki and Bellis: while they were almost evenly matched in winners (12 for Wozniacki to 14), Bellis struck more than twice as many unforced errors with 33 against Wozniacki’s 15.

.@CaroWozniacki advances to @DDFTennis Semifinals!

Cruises past Bellis 6-3, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/GRnNkCy797

— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2017

“She’s just really solid, really solid off the ground and serving well,” Bellis explained after the match. “[She was] more consistent than me today. Moved me a lot. I think all that combined.

“She’s such a great player. It was really fun for me to see what the highest level is.”

Up next the 2011 champion will take on Anastasija Sevastova for a spot in the final. The pair last met in the quarterfinals of the 2016 US Open, with Wozniacki emerging victorious in a comfortable straight sets.

“She’s a player that mixes the pace up quite a bit,” Wozniacki said. “She’s definitely going to try and get me out of my own rhythm. I’m just excited to play and be in the semifinals once again.”

MADRID, Spain – Dominika Cibulkova had to do things the hard way once again to conquer Romanian wildcard Sorana Cirstea, coming back from a set down to find her spot in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!

Cibulkova is no stranger to tough three set matches here in the Spanish capital: every one of her three matches so far have gone the distance, having to come back from a set down in the last two, and adding up to a total of six hours and thirty six minutes on court.

“Actually, I didn’t even realize I’d played all three set matches,” Cibulkova said. “I said to my coach, I feel so good. I don’t feel any pain or nothing. That says how physically good I’m prepared.”

So in keeping with that pattern, the Slovak didn’t panic when she found herself down a set to the Romanian wildcard after conceding an early break.

“Sometimes you win in two sets, sometimes it’s a different story,” she said. “While I’m winning, I don’t care what is the score. It was another great match.”

Cibulkova created more chances for herself in the second set, bringing up four break points before finally converting one at 5-3. The late break seemed to weigh on the Romanian’s mind heading into the deciding set. She had trouble holding on against Cibulkova’s renewed onslaught, dropping serve four times. In the end Cibulkova hit a combined 36 winners to 25 unforced errors against Cirstea’s 28 winners to 19 unforced errors.

With the win Cibulkova puts herself within striking distance of a Top 30 berth. Currently sitting at No.38, she is poised to move into the Top 30 and could climb as high as No.22 if she takes home the title.

And with a Top 30 ranking comes the possibility of a French Open seeding, but that’s not on Cibulkova’s radar just yet.

“Obviously, that would be nice. But if I will not make it, then I will not make it and it was supposed to be like this. Before, every time I was pushing something it never turned out well, so we’ll see.”

Another @MutuaMadridOpen comeback for Dominika @Cibulkova ✅ #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/VKetP9G4TN

— WTA (@WTA) May 5, 2016