Dubai: Shots Of The Week
Check out all the best shots from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Check out all the best shots from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Cagla Buyukakcay has Monday’s shot of the day at the Alya WTA Malaysian Open.
BEIJING, China – Friday’s China Open draw placed Agnieszka Radwanska on a last 16 collision course with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.
Over the past fortnight, Radwanska and Wozniacki have crossed paths in Tokyo and Wuhan, and should both clear the opening couple of hurdles in the Chinese capital another showdown awaits. Wozniacki came back from the brink to win in Tokyo – where she went on to lift the title – before the Pole gained revenge this week in Wuhan to reduce her arrears in the career head-to-head to 5-9.
Radwanska, the No.3 seed, begins the calendar’s final Premier Mandatory event against Wang Qiang, with the winner of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova lying in wait in the second round. Wozniacki, the 2010 champion, is unseeded and was paired alongside CoCo Vandeweghe first up. Victory over the big-serving American could see her meet No.13 seed Roberta Vinci.
New Word No.1 Angelique Kerber begins her challenge against a qualifier, while No.2 seed and defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza faces Irina-Camelia Begu.
Muguruza has endured a disappointing second half of the season and is in need of a good run in Beijing to confirm her return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Her hopes of doing so were done no favors by the draw, which placed Petra Kvitova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys in her quarter.
The prospect of meeting Kvitova in the third round will be particularly daunting, given her spectacular form in Wuhan, while Kuznetsova and Keys are both looking to secure a place in Singapore. Whoever is left standing after running this gauntlet is likely to face No.4 seed Simona Halep for a place in the final.
In the top half, Kerber finds herself in a section that also includes Barbora Strycova, Elina Svitolina and No.6 seed Venus Williams.
Draw @ChinaOpen is out. 1R highlights: Wozniacki-Vandeweghe, Pliskova-Safarova, Stosur-Zhang, Mladenovic-Jankovic. pic.twitter.com/Rsz6DFuCbl
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) 30 September 2016
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The weather may have prevented a full day’s play on Wednesday at the Alya WTA Malaysian Open but the rain would not have dampened the spirits of Netherlands’ Lesley Kerkhove, who reached her first WTA quarterfinal.
The 25-year-old overcame Sabina Sharipova, 6-4, 6-4, in an hour and 19 minutes on centre court. Sharipova, 22, led 4-1 in the first set but Kerkhove was unfazed. “She didn’t make any mistakes until 4-1 but it was only one break,” she said. “I held my serve to 4-2 and then broke her back. From then on I played really aggressive, good tennis.”
.@LesleyKerkhove makes first #WTA Quarterfinal!
Downs Sharipova 6-4, 6-4 at @alyawtamo! pic.twitter.com/mvFivSNJN4
— WTA (@WTA) March 1, 2017
Dutch qualifier Kerkhove upset No.7 seed Elise Mertens in the first round in Kuala Lumpur, 6-4, 7-6 (4), on Monday and next faces Nao Hibino, who lies 89 places higher in the WTA rankings, after the Japanese received a walkover against Elina Svitolina. However, the World No.195 said she relishes being the underdog.
“I’ve played only higher-ranked players here. I’m No.195, I’m not that high. So every player is better ranked than me. I like to be the underdog, it’s nice to play like this.”
In the opening singles match on day three, China’s Zhang Kai-Lin defeated Japan’s Risa Ozaki, 6-2, 6-4. Zhang’s impressive first serve – she won 64% of points off the back of hers in contrast to 35% for her opponent – proved decisive in her first main draw win of the year.
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the final of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Ashleigh Barty grabbed her place in the quarterfinals of the Alya Malaysian Open, brushing aside fellow qualifier Miyu Kato, and then with Casey Dellacqua booked a semifinal spot in the doubles.
An interview with Madison Keys before her first round match at the China Open.
ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.2 seed Kristina Mladenovic suffered no letdown after her three hour thriller against Heather Watson, dispatching Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the final four at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
“I’m very happy,” the French star said after the match. “I had great sensations when I woke up this morning; I was very satisfied with my effort last night because the work is paying off for me to win a three and a half hour battle and wake up pretty fine. My physio did a good job as well.
“We finished very late, but the advantage of playing here in Acapulco is getting to have most of the next day to work and rest. I came out very strong and didn’t even warm-up today – just fitness after three and a half hours of tennis.”
Mladenovic recovered well from playing the second longest match of the season, hitting 21 winners to just 13 unforced errors in the 82 minute match.
Solid slice from @KiKiMladenovic ? #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/dssgWkzPzp
— WTA (@WTA) March 3, 2017
“It was similar conditions today, and I think I played really good. I fixed the big problem I had on my serve yesterday, when I hit 20 double faults! Only five today! I think overall it was a great match; I had to be very consistent but also aggressive because Kirsten has a lot of variety, and it’s not easy to control her slices here.
“The ball is flying here, but I think I did a good job playing aggressive but also being patient with her tricky game. I’m just very happy to come back after yesterday’s tough win.”
The St. Petersburg champion earned big leads to start each set, winning the first three games of the match and racing out to a quick 4-0 lead to start the second set, but Flipkens – a 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist – gave Mladenovic all she could as the match headed to a dramatic conclusion.
Powerful backhand shot from @KiKiMladenovic ? #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/cywlI0Zhc3
— WTA (@WTA) March 3, 2017
“The first was very close, and I continued on the same path. She might have wanted to change her game at the start of the second, so she tried going for more and ended up giving me a few more unforced errors that made the difference.
“It gave me a big lead, but she kept fighting until the end, and came up with some incredible shots at the end. I had to really dig deep there, especially at 4-2 on my serve. I was in danger most of the game, but I survived and held, which was very important because had I lost serve, it would have been a different match.
JUST clips the line! ?
Impressive stuff from @FlipperKF! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/H19v2cohLX
— WTA (@WTA) March 3, 2017
“The last game wasn’t easy to close out either; I could feel like she was playing freely at that point and she was going for her shots. It’s obviously a great feeling to be in the semifinals here, especially after such an epic match. It feels like I’ve been in the office all day long.”
.@KiKiMladenovic defeats Flipkens 6-4, 6-3!
Sets @AbiertoTelcel Semifinal vs @ChristinaMcHale! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/nNfA4kVQzP
— WTA (@WTA) March 3, 2017
Up next for Mladenovic is Christina McHale, a 2014 finalist in Acapulco who ousted reigning Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig in straight sets in the first quarterfinal. The pair last played at this very tournament, with McHale winning en route to the final.
? & a ? from @KiKiMladenovic! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/JccEXKygn9
— WTA (@WTA) March 3, 2017
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza before her first round match at the China Open.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Magda Linette will play Nao Hibino for a place in the Alya Malaysian Open final after seeing off Duan Ying-Ying in three sets, winning 7-6, 4-6, 6-1.
An extremely tight opening set saw not a single break point against the serve and it was no surprise to see it decided by a tiebreak. And it was the Pole who grabbed the opening mini-break before a piece of extraordinary luck saw her shot, going well wide, grip the net cord and divert back in court.
First Semifinal since 2015!@MagdaLinette edges Duan 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1 for a spot in @alyawtamo Semifinals! pic.twitter.com/lkq9ZXIDYp
— WTA (@WTA) March 3, 2017
Despite her first serve percentage teetering at around 50%, Linette made the most of her good fortune to take the breaker 7-3 and with it the set as Duan fired long.
The pair had met just once previously, Linette coming out on top in straight sets in the 2015 Wuhan Open. But this was a much tighter affair and it was the fifth seed who grabbed the opening break of the match, sufficient for the Chinese to take it all the way.
Although the momentum was seemingly turning towards Duan, it was Linette who took the initiative in the decider, breaking twice in the final set to make only her second WTA final and perhaps even go one better than in the 2014 Tokyo Open.
During the match, Linette appeared to be irritated by a series of close calls that seemed to go against her and after the match she apologised for not reacting in the way she should have.
“It was difficult to stay focused, it was very late,” said Linette after the rain-interrupted tussle. “You go onto the court and then you go off the court. You think maybe you’re not going to play the match. It’s never easy like this and you could see I was very nervous and I was not behaving well but I’m glad that after the second set I could start from the beginning and actually show my best tennis at the end and make up a little bit for my bad behaviour.”
She next faces the challenge of Japan’s Hibino, a 7-6, 6-3 victor over qualifier Lesley Kerkhove.
“I haven’t played her before so I don’t know how she plays,” said Hibino. “I will talk with my coach and figure out a game plan.”