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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – When we think of fairytales, we think of magic. Fairytales are, after all, an attempt to explain the unthinkable. To do so they dip into the supernatural – glass slippers, fairy godmothers, conjured spells and potions – all to explain why, despite the odds against them, good things happen to good people.

Fairytales are nice, but the real thing is better. So much better. And tennis, a sport that gives you a chance for redemption every week, has offered up a story that not even Disney could inspire.

On Wednesday, 34-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni scored her second Top 5 win of the Australian Open, beating No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to advance to her first Slam semifinal in 18 years. With a left leg bearing rounds of tape and a rosary around her neck, Lucic-Baroni made good on her promises that she had more to do in tennis. And she did it not with the help of magic or spells, but by pure, unadulterated hard work.

“It’s just perseverance,” Lucic-Baroni said. “It’s just kind of ignoring everything and just pushing forward and kind of going through the wall. It’s not going but you keep pushing and you keep pushing, and nothing is working, and you keep pushing. That belief that eventually it will change.

“I think that’s what perseverance is, and I feel like that’s what helped me get here.

“This is what I’ve been dreaming about, this is what I’ve been training for. At 34 years old, like I said before, I have a wonderful home. I’m happily married. I would be perfectly okay being at home enjoying my family.

“But I really knew deep down in my soul that I have these results in me. To now be here and actually live these moments, it’s incredible.”

What does that feel like, to have that belief at your core that there is still greatness within you? It’s easy to understand that conviction when you’re young. The eyes are brighter, the heart full of optimism and hope. The world has not yet had the time to cruelly sap it out of you and turn you cynical and jaded. The body feels fresh and ready to jump at every chance, on any command. Ambition is easy when the failures are few.

“When I was younger, I just believed because I won a lot and it was that confidence you simply have because you’re winning all the time,” Lucic-Baroni said.

She would know. Lucic-Baroni was a two-time junior Slam champion by the time she was 14-years-old, won two matches in her Grand Slam debut at 15 years old, and was into the Wimbledon semifinals at 17. She was a prodigy in an era of prodigies. And then it was taken away from her for reasons not in her control.

“When you stop winning as much and you don’t play for a long time, you definitely lose it a little bit,” she said. “Not even lose it, you forget it. You forget deep down kind of who you are on the court. That has happened to me a little bit, where I struggled for a few years. And I’m really glad that I remembered.”

The circumstances surrounding Lucic-Baroni’s fade during the early 2000s due to her abusive father have been well-documented. Though there has been rampant speculation regarding the details, she has opted not to discuss it.

“A part of it is I just want to say because people assume a lot, and people don’t know,” she explained. “That irritates me when people assume things like injuries and things like that and people write about it. I understand it’s your guys’ job to write about it. A lot of it is speculation.

“At other times I really want to keep those things to myself, and I don’t want to tell anybody anything, and I don’t want to focus so much on that.

“I kind of want to be known as amazing fighter, a person who persevered against everything, against all odds. And that’s what I take pride in.”

There was no more poignant moment during her emotional post-match interview than when a tearful Lucic-Baroni was asked what her two weeks in Melbourne – which was already a feel-good story after she won her first round match, her first Australian Open win in 19 years – has meant to her.

“I know it means a lot to every player to reach the semifinals but to me this is overwhelming,” she said through the tears. “This has truly made my life and everything bad that happened, it has made it ok. Just that I was this strong and it was worth fighting this hard, it’s just really incredible.”

Incredible is the word. Lucic-Baroni has gone from a cautionary tale to one of the game’s inspiring pillars. She has every right to be bitter in the face of her tragic history. But there are no dark clouds around her. She has a sunny disposition, eager to discuss her tennis and on-court struggles, while offering a wise perspective to her career. She has no clothing sponsor. She’s not on Twitter. There is no air of self-pity or entitlement. There is only a purity of desire and defiance, to take back what was taken from her and show the world that she has what it takes. That she always had what it takes.

After beating No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round, Lucic-Baroni made it clear that she wasn’t out here just to have fun. She was still toiling away with a purpose. “I didn’t go to see the court and enjoy,” she said. “I’m way too old and I’ve been around way too long to just gain experience. I came there to win the match. Feelings like tonight are incredible on court. You can’t replicate it anywhere else in life.”

Regardless of what happens over the next few days, she will rise to a career-high ranking on Monday, surpassing the No.32 she peaked at nearly two decades ago. When she faces Serena on Thursday, the two will be facing off for the first time since Wimbledon back in 1998.

“I’m really happy for Mirjana,” Serena said. “I was there when she first started. To see her be able to never give up actually is super inspiring to me. It’s a wonderful story.”

Perserverance has been the theme of the 2017 Australian Open. Along with Venus Williams and Serena Williams, this has been a tournament carried by prodigies-turned-veterans, who continue to reset the perceived age barrier in tennis. While Serena continues to chase history and grapple at the top of the game, Venus has now made the semifinals in two of her last three Slams.

After making her first Australian Open semifinal since 2003 on Tuesday, Venus was asked why she’s still in the game at age 36. “I have a lot to give,” she said. “I have a lot to give to the game. I feel like I have a lot of great tennis in me. So any time you feel that way, you continue.

“Why not? I have nothing to lose, literally.”

“This time, it’s incredibly special, especially since it’s been so long since the last time I’ve been in semifinals,” Lucic-Baroni said. “And the struggle has been so much bigger, and nobody in this world thought I could ever be here again, beside my closest family, my coach, and my brothers, my sisters, my husband, my mom. Beside my little circle, I don’t think anybody believed that I could do it. And it’s really fun.

“It’s fun to prove everybody wrong, and it’s fun to enjoy this for myself and live these incredible moments. It’s more special this time, for sure.”

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Hlavackova, Hradecka Reach Miami QF

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.5 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka stayed cool in the hot and heavy conditions of the Miami Open, needing only 66 minutes to dish out ice cold revenge on Qatar Total Open finalists Sara Errani and Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4, 6-3.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The 2012 Olympic Silver medalists and two-time Grand Slam champions had a bright start to 2016 with a run to the finals of the Australian Open and a semifinal finish in St. Petersburg, but fell to Errani in each of their last two events – first with Suárez Navarro and again last week with Oksana Kalashnikova.

“We lost to these girls in Doha, and lost to Errani last week in Indian Wells, so we were very motivated ot get this first win this year against her,” Hlavackova said after the match. “We played very well. They are a very solid and very good team and also played very well today, so it was a good match an we’re very happy to be through.”

Through difficult conditions, Hlavackova and Hradecka not only had to deal with extreme heat, but also a strong breeze that kept things interesting throughout.

“It was so humid, and a bit windy,” Hradecka said.

“Very windy,” Hlavackova added.

“I think we handled the conditions very well,” Hradecka continued. “We played aggressively. With the wind, we played unbelievably well. but even against the wind, we still had the power.”

Up next for the “Silent Hs,” who reunited at the end of 2014 and saw their first full season back together rewarded with a run to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall, are two formidble teams in the recently reunited No.3 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova and Russians Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, who ended Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak in Doha. 

“We’re definitely looking forward to playing one of these teams,” Hlavackova said. “We’re going to watch tomorrow; it’s actually good they play tomorrow so we can

We stick together as a team. We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.

It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court; I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.

It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect. Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!

 scout a little, because we haven’t seen Kasatkina play. We’re very much looking forward because we feel very well here on the court, since we have two wins!”

Earlier in the day, Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva – the only other team to defeat Hingis and Mirza since last summer last week at the BNP Paribas Open – reached their third straight quarterfinal in their third outing as a team with a 6-0, 7-6(1) win over Anastasia Rodionova and Galina Voskoboeva, who is only playing her second WTA tournament since a pair of foot injuries sidelined her two years ago.

“We stick together as a team,” Kudryavtseva said after the match. “We fight for every point. We’re pretty aggressive and have good communication. So far, it’s been working for us.”

“It’s easy to talk about things on and off the court and we mesh well on the court,” King added. “I think we combine well together really well. Alla has good strength and I’m trying to be crafty and move around at the net. I think we pair well together and anything we feel like we need to work on, it’s easy for us to talk to each other about it and go out and do it.”

First out on Court 7, the Australian Open quarterfinalists followed up on their dismissal of nemeses Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova – who ended each of their runs in Melbourne and Indian Wells – with a 75-minute win that came as a welcome relief from the already-tough conditions.

“It’s hot and humid, but we’re Miami; that’s nothing we didn’t expect,” Kudryavtseva said. “Drink a lot of water, hydrate, put on a lot of sunblock, which I didn’t do today, so I will pay for it tomorrow!”

Up next for King and Kudryavtseva could be a rematch of their Indian Wells encounter with Hingis and Mirza, who have only won two matches since seeing their streak end in Doha.

No.8 seeds Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai also reached the quarterfinals on Sunday, with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 win over Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, while Ekaterina Makarova and Barbora Strycova recovered from a set down to defeat former No.1s Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, 5-7, 6-2, 10-6.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

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.

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].

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.

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.

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Miami Monday: Sweet 16s

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

It’s round of 16 time at the Miami Open. The matchups are set and the stakes are high. Who will get through? We preview the sweet sixteen here.

Monday, Round of 16

Top Half

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [15] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS # 19)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 8-2
Key Stat: The pair have gone the distance in half of their meetings to date.
Fancy an old-school throwdown between former Miami Open champions on manic Monday? Tennis fans will be treated to a battle between two of the more accomplished and entertaining champions in the tournament’s history as Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova square off for the eleventh time. It’s a matchup that has been controlled by Williams but Kuznetsova has had her moments in the rivalry, too. The pair met at the round of 16 here last year, with Williams rolling to a 6-2, 6-3 victory en route to her record eighth career title at Key Biscayne. Will Williams maintain her domination of her elite foe, or will the 2006 Miami Champion produce more magic at Crandon Park?

Pick: Williams in three

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Bacsinszky leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Radwanska has been to the quarterfinals or better five times in Miami.
Agnieszka Radwanska has been red-hot all season, and the World No.2 leads the WTA in wins with 19. Timea Bacsinszky has a spring in her step after an invigorating performance against Ana Ivanovic in the third round in Miami. There couldn’t be a better time for these two special talents to meet. It won’t be the first time. Bacsinszky claimed an important 6-1, 6-1 victory over Radwanska in Fed Cup last April, and the Swiss will likely take confidence in that fact into Monday’s tilt. “I think I just played a really solid match and I made her doubt on what she had to do,” Bacsinszky at the time of her triumph in Poland. That was then, but what about now, against arguably the hottest player in tennis?

Pick: Radwanska in three

[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #16) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #31)
Head-to-head: Makarova leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Makarova has reached the round of 16 at Miami four times, but never the quarterfinals.
Ekaterina Makarova displayed dazzling form in taking down Petra Kvitova in straight sets in the third round on Saturday. It was the type of tennis that fans have come to know the Russian for: Strong, aggressive and confident. Could Makarova finally be rounding into top physical form after a slow start in 2016? She was in the Top-10 for six months last year but struggled and eventually pulled the plug on her season due to a lower leg injury right after the U.S. Open. Now at 31 in the world, Makarova will bid for her first Miami quarterfinal against steely Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. The 21-year-old lost all three battles with Makarova in 2015, and has never taken a set from the Russian. Could Monday be the day?

Pick: Makarova in two

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Heather Watson (GBR #69)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Halep needs to reach the quarterfinals to remain in the Top 5 of next week’s WTA rankings.
Simona Halep has eight wins in 2016 and six of them have come at Indian Wells and Miami. That tells us two things: One, Halep has had a difficult start to the season and, two, the Romanian is catching fire in the U.S. With her health concerns from the winter finally behind her Halep has looked like an energized player in the last few weeks. On Monday she will look to reach back-to-back Miami quarterfinals when she faces Heather Watson for the third time. Halep has won the pair’s two previous meetings but the 23-year-old Brit is playing with confidence, having won the Monterrey title in February and reached the round of 16 her for the first time.

Pick: Halep in three

Bottom Half

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #3) vs. Timea Babos (HUN #49)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads 3-0
Key Stat: Kerber is attempting to match her career-best Miami performance by reaching the quarterfinals (2014).
Now that Angelique Kerber has won back-to-back matches for the first time since winning the Australian Open title, can we assume that Kerber is ready to start battling for big titles again? If so, she’ll have to get by a blossoming Timea Babos on Monday. The Hungarian reached the round of 16 at Miami for the first time with a 7-5, 6-0 takedown of Japan’s Naomi Osaka, and the longtime doubles star says she is thrilled to be making strides on the singles court. “Since November, I jumped around 40 spots, so it’s been a consistent improvement and I’m really happy,” Babos told WTATennis.com on Sunday. Babos owns a 1-8 lifetime record against the Top 10, and has dropped all three previous encounters with Kerber, but with a win over Karolina Pliskova under her belt at Miami, she’ll come out confident in her big-match abilities.

Pick: Kerber in two

[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. [13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #8)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Azarenka is one of four former Miami champions in action on Monday.
The long-awaited maiden matchup of one of the game’s rising stars and one of its tried-and-true champions will take place tomorrow on Grandstand, as Victoria Azarenka and Garbiñe Muguruza will meet for the first time. Azarenka, fresh off the Indian Wells title, has won eight in a row and 18 of 19 in 2016, and hopes to become the first woman since Kim Clijsters to capture the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double in 2005. Muguruza has struggled at times this season, but she played unencumbered tennis in cruising past Nicole Gibbs on Sunday night. The Spaniard will look to reach the quarterfinals for the first time against a two-time champion that appears motivated to prove that she’s an elite force to be reckoned with once again. Carve out a few hours, pop your popcorn and be prepared to be entertained!

Pick: Azarenka in three

[24] Johanna Konta (GBR #23) vs. [32] Monica Niculescu (ROU #33)
Head-to-head: Niculescu leads 1-0
Key Stat: Konta is the first British woman to reach the round of 16 in Miami since 1988 (Durie).
Johanna Konta notched her best career performance at a Premier Mandatory by making the round of 16 at Indian Wells two weeks ago. On Monday Great Britain’s No.1 will try to take it a step further when she meets Monica Niculescu for the first time. Konta, ranked No.151 in the world last year, has been on the rise ever since she road a 16-match winning streak into the second week of the US Open last summer. Now the 24-year-old is closing in on the Top 20. But standing in her way is the spin doctor Monica Niculescu. The Romanian will try to throw off Konta’s rhythm with a steady diet of slice and dice. Will her plan work, or will steady Konta keep on rising?

Pick: Konta in three

[22] Madison Keys (USA #24) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #35)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Begu is one of three Romanians in the round of 16; Keys is one of two Americans.
With Mats Wilander sitting in her coaches’ box, Madison Keys put forth one of her most impressive efforts in recent memory in taking down No.9 seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets on Sunday. Keys’ first Top-10 win in over a year featured 41 winners and served to remind everybody watching why the 21-year-old American is so highly touted by peers and pundits alike. Can Keys back up that big win when she faces Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu on Monday? The 25-year-old Romanian entered Miami with an underwhelming 1-4 record and was down 5-0 in the third set against Sabine Lisicki in the first round, but recovered to earn a career-best result here in Miami.

Pick: Keys in two

-Chris Oddo, wtennis.com contributor

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