Sydney: Kerber Interview
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the first round of the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the first round of the Apia International Sydney.
It’s time to crown July’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!
The winner will be announced Friday, August 5.
How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Following her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam triumph at the Australian Open, newly re-crowned World No.1 Serena Williams sat down with a small pool of reporters after her non-stop media duties, reflecting on her fortnight and look ahead at what’s to come:
Q: Setting aside Slam No.23, World No.1, how do you assess your two weeks here in Melbourne? How do you feel it sets you up for 2017?
Serena: I feel like my game is good. I was thinking yesterday on the practice court, ‘Gosh, I’m playing better than I have, maybe ever.’ I’m moving better – I’ve always been a fast mover, but I kind of stopped moving in the middle [of my career] thinking, ‘I don’t really have to move.’ But I was like, man, I’m hitting pretty well. So it felt pretty good to know that I’m playing better. I’m here to take this game pretty seriously.
Q: What’s the key difference? Is it a physical thing or a mental thing?
Serena: I don’t know. Every year I sit down with Patrick, and look at the things I want to improve. I want to do something better, and so we sat down this year to do the same thing. We said we wanted to do better, and we did better; we don’t want to stop, we want to continue to do better.
#SAPStatOfTheDay: @SerenaWilliams wins SIXTH Grand Slam without dropping a set all tournament! First time at the #AusOpen! pic.twitter.com/qpIhS4MiTy
— WTA (@WTA) January 28, 2017
Q: Did being No.2 motivate you at all to want to get back here and play your best? Did it piss you off?
Serena: It didn’t piss me off. I didn’t deserve to be No.1; I think Kerber played unbelievable. She was the most consistent, and she definitely deserved to have that position. That’s one thing about me, that when credit’s due, you have to give a person credit. She absolutely deserved it; it looked weird, because I never felt like No.2, but I think she definitely deserved to be No.1, she played well.
Q: We saw the genius of your father expressed this week. What was so special about him? What did he bring to your family, and as a dad?
Serena: Well, he’s brought everything. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him; this was his vision. It’s literally his vision, and he wrote this. He knew this would happen, us playing each other for yet another Grand Slam. He gave us the best games possible, that we could always build on; he gave us the best techniques possible. It’s crazy, really crazy. Another thing that’s so great is how our family is so important, and realizing that above all, we have to put each other first, way in front of a tennis ball. I think that’s something that I’ve always been able to appreciate. The older you get, the more you appreciate this.
Q: This is still very fresh, but after a performance, like that, how many more Slams do you think you can win?
Serena: I don’t think about that any more. At the next Grand Slam, I’m going to request you guys not to ask me about it again, because I just have to take it a day at a time [laughing].
What is a champion?
World No.1 and 23x Grand Slams, @SerenaWilliams! #MakeHistory pic.twitter.com/bUkH5Tbyto
— WTA (@WTA) January 28, 2017
I’ve been saying this since this tournament began: this is a bonus for me. I don’t have anything to prove; I don’t have to win another match. I can just relax, and that’s what I’m doing now. I’m going out there, relaxing and playing hard. I’m just enjoying my time, like this little fly over here [Note: A fly was buzzing around the small interview room].
Q: Talking about the last couple of years, you’ve been saying you have nothing to prove, and playing with house money. It seems like this tournament has been the one where you really lived that, as opposed to the last few tournaments where you’ve felt the tension.
Serena: I’ve been trying to live it for quite some time, but I definitely agree. I was really able to do it at this tournament. I’ve been trying to do it, and trying and trying. I don’t know why it worked now. I think having to play those matches in the first two rounds, I was like, ‘I have no choice but to be better.’
I was really just ok with, not losing, but I knew that I didn’t have to win here to make my career. For whatever reason, that settled with me this time. I don’t know why; I wish I could tell you, but I want to know because I definitely want to do it again next time. I need to figure that one out.
.@SerenaWilliams 23 Grand Slams!
7x @AustralianOpen ?
3x @RolandGarros ?
7x @Wimbledon ?
6x @USOpen ? pic.twitter.com/s5Bwpl35VG— WTA (@WTA) January 28, 2017
Q: By regaining the No.1 spot, do you think trying to stay No.1 will be more of a priority, and will you play extra tournaments outside of the regular schedule?
Serena: I don’t know. I honestly was thinking, ‘I should go to Dubai and try to get my No.1 ranking back.’ I had no idea I was going to be No.1 after this. I was thinking about it, but I’m enjoying my time on the court, my game, the style I’m playing. It’s been kind of refreshing, and I definitely want to keep the momentum going. I don’t know; I’m going to go home, take a deep breath, and then start from there.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the final of the Rogers Cup.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Unseeded and looming Daria Gavrilova enjoyed a strong start at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, dispatching Russian wildcard Anna Kalinskaya, 6-4, 7-5, to reach the second round.
“It was a tough match,” the Aussie said after the match. “I felt like I didn’t play my best tennis but I’m happy with the way I fought. I got the win but I think that I need to up my level.”
Gavrilova burst onto the scene as a junior prodigy, winning the 2010 girl’s singles title at the US Open and the Youth Olympic Gold medal; it was a full circle moment then for the now-22-year-old to face Kalinskaya, a runner-up at 2015’s junior Wimbledon.
“She’s four years younger than me. I didn’t actually know before that the gap was that big – I asked her and was surprised.
“I asked around because didn’t know how she played, which isn’t very easy. I asked a few girls but they didn’t give me much! My coach watched some videos and gave me some notes.”
Coming off another run to the second week of the Australian Open, Gavrilova battled through several long games to seal a 52-minute opening set, and recovered from a 3-5 deficit in the second to win the final four games and book a meeting against No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
“It’s not easy but I felt that I should be confident with my game. I had some long matches in Australia so I was feeling pretty confident.”
Gavrilova last played Kuznetsova last fall in Russia, where she made the final of the Kremlin Cup in singles and doubles; this is her first time the Moscow native is playing in St. Peterburg, which celebrated its inaugural event last year.
“I actually don’t remember when I was last in St. Petersburg. But I’m really enjoying being here and the organizers and sponsors did well with the hotel – it’s one of the best I’ve stayed in.”
Earlier in the day, Andrea Petkovic booked her spot in the main draw with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Anastasiya Komardina, while Kirsten Flipkens needed three sets to dispatch Donna Vekic, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
SYDNEY, Australia – No.8 seed Belinda Bencic survived a second set hiccup against 2015 Australian Open semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova, 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, to reach her first semifinal at the Apia International Sydney.
Bencic, who won her first two WTA titles last season at the Aegon International Eastbourne and Rogers Cup, displayed some of her now patented efficiency in the opening set, dropping just 12 points against the Russian, who is playing just her second tournament since cutting her season short due to a lower leg injury. Rallying to force a decider, Makarova exchanged breaks with Bencic but the Swiss Miss proved too tough when it counted, converting two of her three break point opportunities to clinch victory in under two hours.
“We were very even with the level in the third set so it was a close match,” Bencic said in her post-match press conference. “Then it was about who gets more nervous and stays more mentally tough. So, I’m happy I won.”
Looking for her first Sydney final ahead of the Australian Open, Bencic plays a resurgent Monica Puig, who beat hometown favorite Sam Stosur for the first time in her career, 6-4, 6-4, to reach her first Premier semifinal.
“It’s a very important win for me, coming through three rounds of quallies and obviously coming through in the main,” Puig admitted after the win. “I’ve lost to her before, so it was a pretty big win for me today considering the amount of times I played her.”
Puig made waves back in 2013 when she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon, but has struggled for consistency since.
“I’m just trying to enjoy every single moment I’m out on the court. Rule number one for me this season is just to have fun out there. I get to play tennis for a living, and that’s pretty cool.”
Earlier in the day, Sara Errani looked in complete control against Svetlana Kuznetsova when the Italian opened up a 5-1 lead to start their quarterfinal encounter. Kuznetsova, a former No.2 and two-time major champion, caught fire from there, losing just one more game to oust Errani, 7-6(1), 6-0.
Always a character in press, the enigmatic Russian traced back her run of good form back to a last minute decision to play her home tournament at the Kremlin Cup.
“Moscow got my confidence going at the end of the year. I still remember the feeling playing good and comfortable against players on the court, but I didn’t even want to play Moscow. I was in China three, four weeks. I was just like, ‘Oh, my God. I can’t wait for this season to be over.’
“But then I came back home and I was like, ‘Okay, it’s one of my favorite events. I would like to play it.’ At the last moment, I decide, ‘Okay, I’ll play.’
“Then when I get there, it was like win and win and win. When I won the tournament, they offered me to go to Zhuhai to play. I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll go to Zhuhai.’ So in end of year I was just going with the flow.
“Whatever way the wind was blowing I was going.”
Kuznetsova will nonetheless have her hands full in the semifinals, where she plays current World No.2 Simona Halep, who opened the day with a two-set win over Karolina Pliskova.
From the youngest Grand Slam champion ever to the original “Serena Slam,” take a look back at ten WTA stars winning the Happy Slam for the first time.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – With the latest WTA rankings comes the news of the official seeding list for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Three of the World’s Top 4 are set to compete, including defending champion and four-time Olympic Gold medalist Serena Williams, reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber and French Open winner Garbiñe Muguruza. Sydney Gold medalist and fellow four-time Gold medalist Venus Williams rounds out the Top 5.
Check out the full list of seeds below:
Singles
(1) Serena Williams (USA #1)
(2) Angelique Kerber (GER #2)
(3) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4)
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #5)
(5) Venus Williams (USA #6)
(6) Roberta Vinci (ITA #8)
(7) Madison Keys (USA #9)
(8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10)
(9) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
(10) Johanna Konta (GBR #13)
(11) Petra Kvitova (CZE #14)
(12) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #15)
(13) Samantha Stosur (AUS #18)
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #19)
(15) Elina Svitolina (UKR #20)
(16) Barbora Strycova (CZE #21)
Doubles
(1) Serena Williams / Venus Williams (USA)
(2) Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
(3) Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan (TPE)
(4) Garbiñe Muguruza / Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
(5) Timea Bacsinszky / Martina Hingis (SUI)
(6) Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
(7) Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina (RUS)
(8) Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci (ITA)