WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Five thoughts on the Brisbane draw, where World No.1 Angelique Kerber reached the final last year and a stacked field battles for the new season’s first Premier title.
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, relive Svetlana Kuznetsova’s thrilling win over Karolina Pliskova in three grueling sets.
No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova delivered a clinical performance in her first match of 2017, needing just over an hour to defeat Yulia Putintseva and move into the second round at the Brisbane International.
SINGAPORE – Out of the 16 semifinal scenarios that could have come to fore in the Red Group, only one involved No.7 seed Dominika Cibulkova reaching the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in her debut appearance. By knocking out No.3 seed Simona Halep, 6-3, 7-6(5), she did all she could do to make that lone scenario happen on Thursday, outlasting the Romanian and playing her best tennis of the week to keep herself in semifinal contention.
With Angelique Kerber’s straight-set win over Madison Keys, Cibulkova advances into her first Singapore semifinal after a statement victory from the Slovak.
Read how the match unfolded in the WTA Insider Live Blog.
– Cibulkova shows off her refined mental toughness.
The second set was crucial for both women. Win it, and remain in contention for the semifinals; lose it, and book your first ticket home.
Cibulkova admitted she very nearly did that before taking the court on Thursday.
“I was like, ‘Okay if I lose today, tomorrow we fly for holidays.’ So we booked…well, no, we didn’t book the flight, but it was like, ‘Okay, if I lose today we fly tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. to holidays.’
“So I just give everything into this match today. I knew it could be possibly the last. All the circumstances made me play really well today.”
Perhaps the mind game helped her stay focused through the tensest set of the week, but even that is a symptom of a successful tenure with a sports psychologist, whom she began working with last year.
“I was playing such good rallies, and then somehow she’d put the ball back again. There were few situations I was like, ‘Okay, I want to leave the court. This is unreal.’
“That’s what made me so strong, the mental toughness, that I knew I cannot lose even one point. I had to just think about what I want to do on the next point. That’s what made me win the second set. It was extremely tough mentally and physically, but tennis-wise, it was such a high level.”
Out of challenges is @Cibulkova, as she didn't realize that. What drama! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/QuEF6CDaEp
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
Out of challenges late in the second set, Cibulkova refused to be rattled, and gamely won the last three points of the second set’s sudden death.
“The pressure of me winning in two sets, that’s what made me like, ‘Okay, breathe and just forget it.’ Because I saw the ball was in. I think I have a good eye. I knew it was in.
“Maybe in a different match, different time, it would make me go crazy and I could lose two, three points likes this and the set would be over. I knew I cannot do this right now. I just had to refocus. This is what I’m talking about, the mental strength I had today.”
– Halep ends the season how she started.
Injuries and illness plagued the start of Simona Halep’s 2016, to the point where she hardly thought it possible to return to Singapore in the spring. Sporting a left knee strapping against Cibulkova, there were some clear movement issues for most of the match, which, while it made her fight all the more impressive, it kept her from taking the aggressive stance necessary to take the second set.
“I think she saw that backhand is not very strong because of the leg,” Halep said in press. “It was not easy for me to push.”
Not wanting to talk too much about the injury, Halep heads into the off-season with plenty of positives: another Premier Mandatory title at the Mutua Madrid Open, a return to the Top 3 after dropping as low as No.7, all under the umbrella of a successful tenure with coach Darren Cahill.
“You're doing a hell of a job!” @Darren_Cahill tells @Simona_Halep! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/imCRrVkiu4
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
“This tournament was a bonus for me. At the middle of the year I said that I cannot qualify because I was very far after four months, tough four months.
“But once I qualified I say that it’s a bonus, and I have just to give everything I have. I didn’t have enough to qualify in the semis, but it was a good experience again, third year in a row, so it’s a good thing.”
Heading back to Romania to visit her newborn niece, Halep plans to revamp her pre-season with a trip to Australia with Cahill.
“The plan is to go to Australia in December. Before he is coming to Romania, so we will mix. I wanted to change something and get used to that time, weather before Shenzhen and before Australia.”
“Danke, Domi!” – @AngeliqueKerber, probably. pic.twitter.com/b8hM69GUr1
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 27, 2016
– Core team key to Cibulkova’s success.
A tennis player is often only as good as his or her team, and Cibulkova has spent years bonding with hers, headed by longtime fiance – now husband – Michal Navara.
“He’s really important. He’s there for me. Sometimes when there are tough, tough times he can make me see the other side. You know, he always says, ‘Okay, the life is not that bad, you know.’
“He can make me sometimes be more relaxed. Even if I lose a match, he can make me see different things. That’s what really helps me. There are so many things that he’s helping me with, but this is one of them.
“He’s really one of the biggest positive energy in our team.”
.@Cibulkova with her #WTAFinals Kids Fan Club! pic.twitter.com/EGx9IaSbQw
— WTA Finals Singapore (@WTAFinalsSG) October 27, 2016
Accenting her team this week in Singapore is the addition of both parents – Cibulkova typically travels with just one or the other to any given tournament – and it’s clear the Slovak’s passion and determination is genetic.
“My father, after my win today, he jumped down and again the security took him away. He’s a little bit emotional. You can see me on the court. I get emotions. Maybe probably it’s from him I get these emotions.
“Do you remember Stanford when he jumped down on the court? Yeah, today he didn’t get on the court but he jumped down from the stands.
“Mostly I’m looking in my box. My coach, they are more calm. But I’m happy my parents are here with me and they can see me playing a great tennis at the WTA Finals in Singapore. When I was starting playing tennis it was never, never in our dreams to be here.”
Simona Halep has many gifts on the court, as she proved with her battling season-opening win over Jelena Jankovic, but she has a few hidden talents off the court too.
Asia Muhammad was born into a family of athletes. Her parents played basketball; her brother Shabazz plays for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. Muhammad chose tennis, and almost instantly became a star on the junior circuit.
“I started having really good results, beating the top college players,” she told WTA Insider after beating Donna Vekic for just her second career WTA main draw win at the Brisbane International. “When I was younger, they had the rankings, and I started to beat them pretty badly. I started to think, “Why not? School is always going to be here.” My dad went to USC, and so that’s where I was going to go; it was always a dream, but if I want to do this, I need to start now.
“People sometimes ask me if I regret not going to school, and I honestly say no. My best friend went to USC, so I’ve still gone there to hang out, but I don’t regret it at all.”
At her last two junior tournaments, Muhammad earned wins over the likes of Heather Watson and Kristina Mladenovic, but the American admitted her all-court game took time to develop as she transitioned onto the senior level.
“In the beginning, I was always tall, so I was more of a power player. When I was 10, my coach Tim Blinkiron – who’s in Vegas and is Australian – right from the beginning, he had me volleying. Now, I’m so thankful for that, because the older you get, the tougher it is to try and do that. He’s always had me volleying, playing mini-tennis against boys, just for my hands.
“He’s always known what he wanted my game to be; I’ve trailed behind, not really trusting in it. But now, I’m getting to that stage where I know what I need to do and working on it. It’s there, but I just need to trust in it and do that.”
At 25 years old, Muhammad sees herself as a late bloomer in the vein of Samantha Stosur, one whose early investments could pay off big in the next few years.
“I think a lot of players who play like me had their successes later too, and it came with doubles first. I think doubles is a huge part of helping my singles with all the volleying.”
Muhammad is already a Top 50 doubles player, winning two titles in the last two years, and ended the 2016 season partnering Nicole Gibbs to reach the final of a WTA 125K in Hawaii. The pair joined up with other rising Americans like Shelby Rogers and Kayla Day for a pre-season bootcamp in Carson, California – courtesy of the United States Tennis Association.
“This was definitely my best pre-season of my career so far. Nicole and I would do fitness every day together and really push each other. That was very crucial to my pre-season training. I wasn’t in Vegas – that’s where I live – and I just knew I wanted something with a lot of structure, and that’s what you’re going to get there. We played a lot of tennis, had fitness every day, had amazing fitness trainers and physios helping us. It had everything there, and that helped a lot.
“That was the biggest difference, knowing myself and that I need to have structure, and then finding that and staying and sticking with that.”
Getting to know herself as a player and athlete has already paid dividends in Australia, where Muhammad enjoys ordering the local lattes.
“It’s definitely been up and down,” she said looking back on her career thus far. “I was one of the up and coming juniors, doing really well. I got stuck a little, trying to figure things out with my game. I try to move forward, and do a lot of different things. I think that takes a little bit longer to put all of that together because there’s a lot of moving parts.
“How I try to play takes a lot of guts, so I would get stuck not doing it, and then trying. That would make me feel all over the place. But this year, I just want to have consistent plays, doing the right things on the court no matter what.
“Maybe it’s taken me until 25 to really figure that out, but there’s nothing wrong with that; I’m only competing against myself. I’m really happy, healthy, and in a really good spot now. Everything that’s happened so far, I feel like that’s helped me get to where I need to get.”
Muhammad takes on World No.6 Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday morning.
More quick hits from Muhammad…
On growing up in a family of athletes…
It’s good because my mom and dad played basketball, my brothers played basketball. My brother Shabazz, who plays in the NBA, is so supportive. He’s literally my biggest fan; when he comes to watch me play, he gets so into it and wants me to do so well. But it’s also good because when I’m away from tennis, I can watch him play, and it’s a break. My whole family play sports, and so they understand the life and are really supportive.
From a young age, we were all so competitive. I used to play basketball against my brothers, and back when I was taller than them, I could beat them and push them around. But we went from being really competitive at a young age to just being so supportive of one another. We want each other to do well, like if I have a good win and Shabazz has a good game, it’s such a great day for us to be able to do it as a team even if we’re not playing the same sport.
On debating individual vs. team sports with her family…
We’ve definitely had disagreements with that, because, just for example, when you’re playing the first set of a match and get nervous or struggling, you can’t time out, sub, or do anything like that. I tell them how lucky they are to be able to do things like that, and that I’m out there by myself. Luckily, you have a partner to help you in doubles, but we’ve disagreed about things like that. I tell them, ‘You can go sit on the bench for a little; I can’t!’
On playing tennis with Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf in Las Vegas…
I think the thing that really helped was that my cousin and I were both living in Vegas, and we both started playing at the Andre Agassi Boys and Girls Club. Andre and Steffi would come out and were so nice; they would hit with us and everything. I just like the environment and the people around. It was a really good vibe.
On who she calls for dinner at tournaments…
Lately it’s been the American girls; I’ve been hanging out with Christina McHale a lot because we’re playing doubles. I also hang out with Samantha Crawford, Nicole Gibbs. We’ll do dinners and it’s just easy. We want each other to do well, and so it’s easy to hang out and talk about things. They understand; not only did I spend the pre-season with most of them, I grew up with them as well. Christina and I grew up traveling together in juniors. It’s crazy.
On the last song she listened to…
Can I look? Let’s see. It was Starboy by The Weeknd.
All photos courtesy of Tennis Photo Network and Getty Images.
BRISBANE, Australia – World No.6 Karolina Pliskova made quick work of American qualifier Asia Muhammad, winning in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals at the Brisbane International for the first time.
The 25-year-old American, who scored just the second WTA main draw win of her career in the last round against wildcard Donna Vekic, fought gamely against Pliskova but couldn’t find a way through, falling 6-1, 6-4.
It was Muhammad’s first match against a Top 10 player – in fact, it was the first time she’d faced a player ranked inside the Top 50 – and it showed during the big moments. Her all-court game kept her in the points with Pliskova, but she couldn’t manage to bring up a break point against the Czech’s booming serve in the first set.
A little smirk from @KaPliskova after that finish ? #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/zxwG0GXGap
— WTA (@WTA) January 3, 2017
The American found her footing in the second, staying within touching distance of the World No.6 for much of the set. But the big-hitting Pliskova found her way through, slowly but surely chipping away at Muhammad and cutting off her angles until the Czech got the break to serve for the match at 5-3.
Muhammad took advantage of an uncharacteristically loose service game from Pliskova – a pair of errors to fall behind 0-30 and a double fault on break point – to wrench the advantage away.
Her heroics were short-lived, however, as the always-cool Pliskova calmly broke once more to take the match after an hour and fourteen minutes on court.
Pliskova awaits the winner between No.8 seed Roberta Vinci and Misaki Doi.
Also in action today in Brisbane, Australia’s own Destanee Aiava thrilled the local crowd by dealing a huge upset to American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The 16-year-old Australian, ranked No.387 and also a qualifier, shocked Mattek-Sands 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round.
Meanwhile, Alizé Cornet is through to the quarterfinals after a tidy victory over Christina Mchale, 6-2, 6-1.
SHENZHEN, China – Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska eased into the Shenzhen Open quarterfinals with a quick-fire win over Sorana Cirstea on Tuesday.
The previous evening Radwanska had come perilously close to a shock defeat against wildcard Duan Ying Ying, but endured no such scare this time around, wrapping up a 6-0, 6-3 victory in an hour and 19 minutes.
“After a match like yesterday, there’s always less pressure today because you know you could have gone home already,” Radwanska said. “I think I was playing much better today, more confident and everything was smoother on court and that’s why the score was like that.”
Radwanska and Cirstea have known each other since their early teenage years, and were meeting each other for the eighth time in the professional ranks. After cantering through the opening set, Radwanska found herself trailing 3-0 in the second. And she as forced to delve into her bag of tricks to avoid falling further behind before steadying the ship to chalk up a sixth win over the Romanian.
Cool as you like from @ARadwanska to save break point! pic.twitter.com/LMMCCpjaNJ
— WTA (@WTA) January 3, 2017
“I know Sorana for a long time, since junior days, so of course it’s different than when you play someone for the first time. Her ranking was up and down for a long time, but I know it doesn’t matter what her ranking is she can play very good tennis – she hits the ball very hard from both sides – and I prepared for that.
“The first set I was a bit lucky – it could have been a totally different score – and in the important moments I was taking my chances, and didn’t let go. At the beginning of the second set I lost some concentration, but it’s good that I came back.”
In the last eight, Radwanska will meet Alison Riske, whom she defeated in last year’s final. Riske was equally impressive in her 6-1, 6-1 second-round victory over Tsvetana Pironkova.
These WTA stars definitely know each other’s game, but can they spell each other’s name? Find out if your favorite players passed the WTA Spelling Quiz!
RABAT, Morocco – Top seed Timea Bacsinszky righted a mid-match wobble to advance to her second WTA quarterfinal of the year at the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem.
Bacsinszky was facing her first big test of the tournament against 22-year-old Kateryna Kozlova, an opponent who took her to three sets in their last encounter at Nottingham.
“This was a tough one for sure,” Bacsinszky said in her post match interview. “Kozlova is playing better and better every week, so this was a tough match.”
The rapidly rising Kozlova might be ranked No.117 but she sits at No.75 on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard due to her impressive results this year. In St. Petersburg she turned heads with her run through qualifying to the quarterfinals – beating Laura Siegemund and Elena Vesnina along the way – and last week she notched a semifinals appearance in Istanbul.
Bacsinszky drew first blood early on, breaking Kozlova’s in the first game of the match and again to go up to a 4-1 lead. The Swiss’ heavy high-bouncing forehands kept Kozlova back on her heels and out of position. Kozlova broke Bacsinszky’s serve to start mounting a comeback in the final games of the set, but the top seed quickly broke right back close out the set.
Kozlova found her pace in the second set, and put together the play that has impressed throughout the year. She overpowered Bacsinszky from the baseline and took the set to level the match. But the Swiss player put the mid-match dip behind her and won the deciding set after two hours and twenty minutes.
“She raised her level in the second set,” Bacsinszky said. “She was pushing more against me and had me more on defense. It was hard to hit winners against her.
“But I found my way to change things in the third set and in the end I was lucky enough to win the last point.”
Bacsinszky’s opponent in the quarterfinal is Johanna Larsson, who knocked out Teliana Pereira 6-4, 6-4.
Elsewhere, New Zealand qualifier Marina Erakovic had a bittersweet entry to the quarterfinals – she was up 6-4 against the No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko when the Ukrainian was forced to retire due to pain in her right thigh from an injury sustained during fitness training.
“It’s always tough when you win like that,” Erakovic said afterwards. “You never want to see your opponent injured – I feel sorry for Lesia and hope she’s okay.
“But, you know, good for me. I’ve got through five matches here, which is great. I’m gradually playing better and better each match which is what you want.”
She sets up a quarterfinal clash against Aleksandra Krunic next round, who earlier ousted the No.2 seed Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2, 6-2 in the day’s biggest upset.
“I’ve never played her before but I know her,” Erakovic said. “It’s another challenge, another match, another chance to compete and keep improving my game. That’s what I’m thinking about.”
“Here in Rabat every day is a nice day – the sun is always shining, so tomorrow should be a good day.”