Muguruza Returns To Roland Garros QFs
Garbiñe Muguruza outplayed 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova on Philippe Chatrier to return to the quarterfinal of Roland Garros for the third straight year.
Garbiñe Muguruza outplayed 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova on Philippe Chatrier to return to the quarterfinal of Roland Garros for the third straight year.
Peng Shuai was a few months removed from a US Open semifinal appearance when a back injury took her out of the game for almost a year.
“For me, two years ago, I was at a peak level,” Peng said at the China Open. “I could choose whether I would like to play or not. Actually, my friends and family did not agree with my surgery, because it’s too risky. Now I’m near 30 years old.”
The former Chinese No.1 agreed to have surgery, and was determined to get back to playing her best tennis.
“After the surgery, no one could guarantee I could come back to the court. What if I have more injuries if I come back to the court? I’d like to thank them for their support and care. I was a little bit stubborn to have the surgery. My friends and family supported me to undergo this surgery. It was quite a challenge for me.”
Peng began showing flashes of brilliance at home, upsetting former World No.1 Venus Williams in Beijing before finally adding a WTA title to her illustrious resume, winning the Tianjin Open.
Just shy of the Top 100 heading into 2017 (from a low of No.768), Peng is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!
Final Results for October’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Peng Shuai (70%)
2. Johanna Konta (23%)
3. Daria Gavrilova (8%)
2016 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners
January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
June: Elena Vesnina
July: Kristina Kucova
August: Karolina Pliskova
September: Naomi Osaka
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
In a special rain delay edition of CNN Open Court, Pat Cash discovered the art of making the perfect clay court – and it doesn’t involve any clay!
Samantha Stosur takes on Simona Halep in the fourth round of Roland Garros.
Serena Williams takes on Elina Svitolina in the fourth round of Roland Garros.
And then there were four. Who will be left standing in Paris for Saturday’s Roland Garros final? We preview today’s semifinal action right here on WTATennis.com.
Friday, Semifinals
[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Kiki Bertens (NED #58)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Bertens has won 12 matches in a row to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Serena Williams has won 10 matches in a row. Kiki Bertens has won 12 matches in a row. Something will have to give on Friday as the tour’s two hottest players collide with a spot in Saturday’s final on the line in Paris. Bertens prolonged her magical run on Thursday when she defeated Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets to become the first Dutchwoman to reach the Roland Garros semifinals since 1971. But the 24-year-old will have to steady herself for one of the toughest challenges in tennis when she takes the court against top-seeded Serena Williams on Friday. Williams, arguably the best big-match player of all-time, owns a 26-4 record in Grand Slam semifinals and has won 12 of her last 13. Bertens, who hits an extremely heavy ball, will have to go big or go home against Williams. After suffering an injury to her left calf during the win over Bacsinszky, she’ll likely take a more aggressive approach against Williams, hoping to get the World No.1 on the run early and often. “I have some problems with my calf,” she admitted on Thursday. “I’m just gonna prepare again for tomorrow, do everything what I can with the physios, and we will see how it is.” Williams was disappointed with her effort against Yulia Putintseva in Thursday’s quarterfinal, and was quick to admit that fact in press. “I just was not playing my best,” Williams said. “I kept missing, just misfiring. Honestly, at one point I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Williams scraped through the second set and then dominated the third in vintage fashion to advance. She knows she’ll need a more Williams-like effort to survive Bertens’ bullets on Friday. “Obviously she has a big serve and a big forehand,” Williams said. “She really moves the ball around well… I have to do something better and different if I’m going to stick around.”
Pick: Williams in two
[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. [21] Samantha Stosur (AUS #24)
Head-to-head: Stosur leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Stosur owns a 2-2 record in Grand Slam semifinals
2010 Roland Garros runner-up Samantha Stosur has found her groove in Paris in what will be her last event with her longtime coach David Taylor in her box. Can the 32-year-old Aussie prolong Taylor’s coaching career for one more day? To do so she’ll have to get past a scorching-hot Spaniard who is looking more and more impressive with each passing round. Garbiñe Muguruza has won her last ten sets on the terre battue and is wearing the calm, collected expression of a champion in the making. Already a Wimbledon finalist, the Spaniard is hungry to prove that she’s an all-surface maven this weekend. Muguruza overcame a slow start to defeat Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, but is well aware that another slow start could mean the death of her dream in Paris. “I need to dictate play from the very beginning of the match,” Muguruza said afterwards. “I know that my opponent started in full swing; I shouldn’t wait for my opponent to dictate play.” Stosur hasn’t been this deep at a major since she reached the semis at Roland Garros in 2012, but the 32-year-old has demonstrated remarkable poise throughout the fortnight, weathering difficult conditions, a tricky draw and an injured left wrist to reach the final four. Now she knows the margins are thin and the intensity will be high, but it’s a challenge she appears more ready to accept than ever. “I probably have more belief in some ways now than what I did then,” Stosur said, referring to her lone Grand Slam title in 2011, after defeating Tsvetana Pironkova in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. “You don’t know if you can do that. Now I know I have done that. I know I can do it.”
Pick: Muguruza in three
Around the Grounds: The French duo of Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia is the highest-seeded team remaining in the doubles draw. The fifth seeds will take on Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan and Svetlana Kuznetsova for a spot in the doubles final on Friday. The other doubles semifinal will be contested by seventh-seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina and the unseeded Czech duo of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.
By The Numbers
3 – Number of players to own more than three Roland Garros singles titles (Evert, 7, Graf, 6, Henin, 4).
26 – Williams has reached 26 major finals, compared to three for the other three semifinalists, combined.
27 – Bertens is projected to reach a career-high ranking of 27 as a result of her semifinal appearance in Paris. She could go as high as No.10 if she wins in the title.
1977 – The last time a Dutchwoman reached the semifinals of a major (Betty Stove, U.S. Open).
2 – Number of players born in the 1990’s remaining in the draw (Muguruza, Bertens). The only player born in the ’90s to have previously won a major is Petra Kvitova.
-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor
Angelique Kerber hit many a hot shot in 2016 on her way to becoming World No.1 – watch all of her best shots of the year right here!
BOL, Croatia – Former World No.66 Mandy Minella enjoyed a career-best week at the Bol Open, an inaugural WTA 125K Series event, defeating three seeds en route to her first WTA title over No.7 seed Polona Hercog, 6-2, 6-3.
Watch free live streaming from Bol, Croatia all week right here on wtatennis.com!
Minella’s best Grand Slam results have come on the hardcourts of the US Open – where she twice reached the third round and pushed Sloane Stephens to a third set tie-break in 2013 – but Luxembourg’s top ranked talent came to Bol with a pair of doubles titles on clay (both with Timea Babos in 2013). Her week began with a dramatic win over No.2 seed Varvara Lepchenko, and wins over Marina Erankovic and No.5 seed Ana Konjuh (via retirement) soon followed.
Against Hercog, an experienced clay courter who has won two titles on the surface, Minella was in solid form to dispatch the Slovenian star in 83 minutes. Converting six of her eight break points, she dropped just 10 points behind her first serve to capture the biggest singles title of her career.
In doubles, former World No.42 Petra Martic won her first WTA title of any kind on Sunday, pairing with Xenia Knoll to upset top seeds Raluca Olaru and Ipek Soylu, 6-3, 6-2.
More to come…
Former runner-up Chang Kai-Chen returned to the final of the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger with an impressive victory over No.8 seed Marina Erakovic.
‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – No.6 seeded American CoCo Vandeweghe scored another win in her happiest of hunting grounds, having little trouble against Indy de Vroome in her 6-2, 6-4 opening round win at the Ricoh Open.
Watch live action from ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
There’s something about playing on grass that causes Vandeweghe’s powerful game to click together. Right here in the Netherlands, Vandeweghe brought home her first WTA title back in 2014, and last year she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
Vandeweghe hardly needed more than an hour and fifteen minutes to reach the second round against Dutch wildcard de Vroome. The 20-year-old showed a lot of promise against the American; perhaps surprisingly, de Vroome out-aced the big serving Vandeweghe with eight aces to one. But Vandeweghe played more consistently in the important points, grabbing three of the four break chances she created.
Another American notched a victory today, with Madison Brengle scoring a big win against No.5 seed Laura Siegemund. Playing at the Ricoh Open for the first time, Brengle completed a three set upset against Stuttgart finalist Siegemund, coming back from a mid-match deficit to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in just over two hours.
Siegemund wasn’t the only seed that took a tumble today with No.7 Eugenie Bouchard bowing out in straight sets at the hands of Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens. Mertens allowed the Canadian only one break point chance in the whole match and ran roughshod over Bouchard on her way to her 52-minute, 6-2, 6-0 victory, her first WTA main draw win of her career.
The grass is always greener! On to the second round ricohopen ?? https://t.co/36RVMvv4U6
— CoCo Vandeweghe (@CoCoVandey) June 6, 2016