Tennis News

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – No.2 seed Roberta Vinci won the battle of youth vs. experience at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, defeating 18-year-old Belinda Bencic – who is poised to crack the Top 10 next week – 6-4, 6-3 for her 10th career title, and her first on the WTA Premier level.

Vinci had overcome a thrilling quarterfinal encounter against the big-serving Timea Babos and turned around a lop-sided head-to-head against former No.1 Ana Ivanovic just to reach the final, but the 32-year-old showed few signs of fatigue on Sunday, hitting 32 winners to just 12 errors.

By winning her semifinal against former junior rival Daria Kasatkina, Bencic was assured of a Top 10 debut heading into the championship match, and though she struck 17 winners of her own, she only converted two of six break point opportunities, and was undone by Vinci’s 25 forays to the net – 17 of which ended in favor of the Italian.

“Roberta played amazing today and throughout this tournament,” Bencic said, addressing the champion. “I gave everything I could but today you were much better!”

“It wasn’t easy,” Vinci said during her on-court interview. “It was a tough match; Belinda is a great player, so it’s tough to play against her. She only missed a few balls, so I had to stay focused every single point.

“But I served so good today, so I think that was the key to my victory.”

Having earned a career performance at last year’s US Open – where she ended World No.1 Serena Williams’ quest for the Calendar Year Grand Slam to reach her first major singles final – Vinci had previously announced her intention to make 2016 her last season, but with another title under her belt, the veteran was singing a slightly different tune when asked if she planned to play a few more years.

“No, two, three years, no. One more, but maybe. Why not?”

MIAMI, FL, USA – With the tennis about to get underway in Miami, we take at how the players are preparing for the week ahead as well as relaxing after another successful BNP Paribas Open.

Ana Konjuh sets out on a morning run along one of Miami’s many glorious beach fronts.

Morning run??‍♀️ @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/t30K4aiduT

— Ana Konjuh (@anakonjuh) March 20, 2017

Carina Witthoeft is all smiles after taking a dip in the ocean.

#afterworkfun @ Miami Beach pic.twitter.com/2hPsED0jHA

— Carina Witthöft (@WitthoeftCarina) March 20, 2017

Garbiñe Muguruza goes samba style on the pier at Key Biscayne.

Hello Key Biscayne!! ??
Happy with my double practice today…
Doble sesión de entrenooo…@MiamiOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/41JE7kZqEw

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) March 19, 2017

Monica Puig takes time out to cuddle her dog after practice.

Play time after practice with my cutie pie ? pic.twitter.com/vAvpIZNzdb

— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) March 19, 2017

Tsvetana Pironkova is yet another player to take advantage of the beautiful Miami beachlife.

Beach vibe ??????? #miami pic.twitter.com/9k6a3POW3z

— Tsvetana Pironkova (@TPironkova) March 19, 2017

And Dominika Cibulkova and Christina McHale kept a close eye on the Miami draw ceremony.

.@ChristinaMcHale and @Cibulkova are on hand for the @MiamiOpen draw ceremony! pic.twitter.com/osb7ezfPgU

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 19, 2017

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Danka Kovinic has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the rankings in the last 12 months, but was made to work in the first round of the Rio Open; the No.3 seed beat American Sachia Vickery, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in just over two hours.

“It was so tough to play,” a tired Kovinic admitted after the match. “It’s very humid and hot here, and I came from Serbia, where it’s very cold. For me, it was very hard to play; I felt like I didn’t have energy, but somehow I found a way to finish the match.

“I really don’t feel good right now.”

At a career-high ranking of No.50, the 21-year-old Montenegrin next plays the winner of veterans Romina Oprandi and Sílvia Soler Espinosa for a spot in the quarterfinals and the chance to pocket valuable ranking points that can help her return to Rio later this summer for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

“I’ll try to do the best to earn as much points as I can; I really need them for the Olympic games. That’s my goal for this year.”

Earlier in the day, No.5 seed Polona Hercog took out qualifier Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 6-2, and resurgent American Shelby Rogers upset No.8 seed Andreea Mitu, 6-2, 6-2. Mitu’s countrywoman Ana Bogdan defeated local wildcard Gabriela Ce, 6-2, 6-3, while Paraguay’s Veronica Cepede Royg recovered from a set down to defeat Anna Tatishvili, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3.

An intriguing first round match concerns a pair of wildcards in Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia and former World No.21 Sorana Cirstea, who is playing her first WTA event since last fall in Tokyo; despite a rain delay in the second set, Cirstea emerged victorious, 6-2, 6-1.

DUBAI, UAE – Jelena Jankovic was two games from elimination in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Playing against against No.5 seed Belinda Bencic – who made her Top 10 debut on Monday – the former No.1 survived an onslaught from the 18-year-old to come out on top, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

“I just fought every point,” Jankovic said during her on-court interview. “I tried to hang in there; Belinda was playing so well and I was almost on the edge of losing in the second set but I fought hard and I’m lucky to win.”

Coming to Dubai a mere days after reaching the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Bencic led by a set and a break, and had her chances in the final set as well, saving 14 of 17 break points faced – including three in a row in the eighth game of the third – but Jankovic proved too strong in the end.

“I made a few tactical changes, and my fighting spirit all added up together and it made me win at the end. Belinda is coming from the finals in St. Petersburg; she’s playing very well, she’s in form, and I’m happy to win tonight.”

In a match that had little between the two, the Serb hit 37 winners to 33 from the Swiss, and eight fewer errors than her much younger opponent – 44 to 52.

“When you look at it, I’m like 12 years older than her, almost her whole age!” Jankovic joked. “That was my advantage tonight.”

Up next for the 2008 US Open finalist is good friend Andrea Petkovic; the German had a seamless first round victory over Camila Giorgi 24 hours ago, dropping just three games.

“It’s all with the ‘-ic’ if you look at it,” Jankovic said with a laugh. “Jankovic, Bencic, and Petkovic all on this side of the draw!

“It’s kind of cool, but Andrea is my friend and I know her very well. We just practiced with each other a couple of days ago. We know each other’s games and there’s no secrets.

“It will be another tough match and hopefully I can play well and we’ll see how it goes.”

“When you look at it, I'm like 12 years older than her. I'm almost her whole age!” -@Jelena_Jankovic on Bencic #WTA https://t.co/lMeue1myOq

— WTA (@WTA) February 16, 2016

MIAMI, FL, USA – In one of the most intriguing first round matches at the Miami Open, former French Open finalist Sara Errani survived a tough battle with Former World No.7 Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, to book a second-round clash with No.30 seed Zhang Shuai.

There was more at stake for the pair than just a spot in the second round, though. Bencic came into the matchup with the Italian with a 2-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, but trying to halt a downward trend that has seen her win just one WTA match all year, and just two since the 2016 US Open.

And her opponent Errani was also trying to jumpstart her season after toppling out of the Top 100 earlier in the season due to injury woes, including an adductor injury that kept her out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she was the defending champion.

What a comeback!@BelindaBencic takes the second 6-4 to force a decider! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/FDBm0P8Vu4

— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017

“There was a period that I couldn’t play many tournaments,” Errani, who was out for a month after the Australian Open, recalled. “Of course, when you’re home and there’s good tournaments and you can’t play it’s really tough. It’s worse having an injury than losing matches.”

“I’m just happy to be here and training and improving my fitness and my game, and just having the opportunity to play again.”

Bencic got off to a roaring start under the sun in Miami, pouncing on the Errani serve to break early and build up a 2-0 lead. But once the Italian gained a foothold in the match she came storming back, peppering her tricky game with dropshots to kick the Swiss off guard. After getting the break back, Errani reeled off seven of the next eight games to take the set and open the second with a double break lead.

A strong break to love from the Swiss halted Errani’s momentum and galvanized Bencic into action. The 20-year-old turned the tables on Errani, erasing another break to level the set at 3-3. They wrestled for momentum until Bencic notched another break to love to send the match into a decider.

.@SaraErrani books a spot in @MiamiOpen Second round!

Downs Bencic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/uxVgk302a2

— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017

But despite the strong resistance, Errani got right back on track – Bencic struggled with her serve as Errani broke her four more times, surging to a 5-1 lead. It proved too much to overcome despite Bencic’s attempts at a late comeback, and the Italian fired off a dropshot – backed up by a laser accurate passing shot – to take the match after just over two hours.

“I just tried to play every point and be a bit more aggressive with my serve,” Errani explained to WTA Insider after the match. “And even on the baseline, try to move her. This was my strategy.

“She has good timing on the ball so she took away time for me to play how I want. But I was physically quite good and I’m happy that I moved good today.”

Up next, Errani will take on Zhang for a spot in the third round in Miami.

“She’s a really solid girl, she has improved her game a lot in the past years, so it will be another tough match. But I’m just happy to be able to play it.”