Stuttgart: Radwanska Interview
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova take on Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
STUTTGART, Germany – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber outlasted rival and former World No.2 Petra Kvitova to advance to a second straight final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, ousting the two-time Wimbledon winner, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
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The reigning Australian Open champion trailed in her overall head-to-head with Kvitova 3-4 before their semifinal, but won their most recent encounter at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Kerber looked on course for a similarly efficient victory as she raced out to a 4-1 double break advantage – behind some stirring play and surprising double faults from her opponent.
“It’s a little bit different,” Kerber told press when asked about playing a fellow lefty. “The serve is a little bit different when it comes from a left-hander. I was warming up today with a lefty so that was maybe good for me. But still it’s always tricky to play against a lefty as well. I mean today after like the first few games I got used to it. But it’s always not so easy and a little bit different.”
Kvitova, who opted out of the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup semifinal as no to interrupt her clay court preparation, showed off her signature shotmaking to reduce the deficit, and while Kerber served the opening set out to love, it was still anyone’s game in the second set.
Things stayed level until the tenth game, when Kvitova broke through and converted her third break point of the set (she would have 13 overall). Kerber needed a lifeline that came in the form of German pop singer Helene Fischer’s “Atemlos,” which played over the loudspeaker much as it did one year earlier in the final against Caroline Wozniacki.
“The crowd really gave me a lot of energy today. They really pushed me to my limits, because I was a little bit down after the second set and then I was just trying to focus again and pushing myself. The crowd gives me so much energy to do that, and with the song and with the support of all of them, they gave me the chance like to start very well in the third set.”
Undaunted, Kerber immediately reclaimed the advantage with a break of her own, ultimately racing out to a 5-2 lead in the final set; saving three break points when serving for the match, she only needed one match point to defeat the No.5 seed in just over two hours.
“I knew how she’s playing; she’s playing really hard and aggressive and also the serve is always good. So, I was trying to move good and mentally be ready to have a great battle against her and taking this challenge. I think I was mentally ready for the match.”
A high quality match throughout, Kvitova maintained an impressive differential in winners to unforced errors (47 to 33), but hit nine double faults by match’s end – nearly doubling her total from her first three matches combined. Kerber, by contrast, kept things far more even with 17 winners to 14 unforced errors, and convered five of her 10 break point chances.
Looking to defend her title in front of a home crowd, Kerber will have to defeat either top seed Agnieszka Radwanska – who took back the No.2 ranking from Kerber last week in Charleston – or countrywoman Laura Siegemund, who is in the midst of a career-defining week after emerging through the qualifying to defeat Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci en route to the semifinals.
“I think it will be a good semi; Laura has nothing to lose. So, she will for sure go out there and try to beat Aga. But Aga will try to get into the final here as well. So, I think it will be a good match from both of them and I will be watching the match on the TV.”
BRISBANE/AUCKLAND/SHENZHEN – The new year has barely begun, but the 2017 WTA season has begun in earnest, with a trio of tournaments taking place across the globe. World No.1 Angelique Kerber is one of four Top 10 players at the Brisbane International, while 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams take to the ASB Classic in Auckland. Farther north in China, defending champion and World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed at the Shenzhen Open, drawn opposite to Simona Halep.
Check out the biggest storylines in the first week of the 2017 season:
1) Angelique Kerber begins her defense of top ranking.
The two-time Grand Slam champion ended her breakthrough season as No.1 in the world, and heads back to Brisbane to begin taking on challengers to her throne atop the sport. Kerber could open against wildcard and comeback kid Ashleigh Barty after a first round bye, with the likes of Eugenie Bouchard, No.6 seed Elina Svitolina, and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova all looming in the top half of the draw.
Excited to finally return to Australia ?? with @ThaiAirways. See you Down Under ? #TeamAngie #IflyThai pic.twitter.com/O7jM0tlUZn
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) December 30, 2016
2) Kerber could book a Singapore rematch with No.2 seed Cibulkova.
The 2016 season ended with Dominika Cibulkova stunning Kerber to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Up to a career-high ranking of No.5, the Slovak is seeded No.2 in Brisbane, and will open against either Laura Siegemund or Zhang Shuai after a first round bye. No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, and No.7 seed Elena Vesnina are all in her half.
3) Kuznetsova aims to keep up late-season momentum.
Speaking of Kuznetsova, the Russian bookended her 2016 with titles in Sydney and Moscow, the latter helping her book the final ticket to Singapore. Kuznetsova begins her first season in the Top 10 since 2010, and opens against young American Louisa Chirico.
4) Serena returns in Auckland.
Over in New Zealand, World No.2 Serena Williams plays her first tour-level match since the US Open at the ASB Classic. As the top seed, Serena takes on Pauline Parmentier in the first round, and could play No.4 seed Barbora Strycova in the semifinals.
5) The Williams sisters doubles feature.
On the other half of the draw is Serena’s sister Venus, a champion in Auckland back in 2015, who opens against local wildcard Jade Lewis. Along with the hopes of an all-Williams final, Venus and Serena are set to play doubles together for the first time since the Olympic tennis event.
6) Wozniacki opens against good friend Nicole Gibbs.
Caroline Wozniacki narrowly lost to Venus in Auckland’s championship match two years ago, and the former World No.1 aims to build on the late season surge that took her from World No.74 all the way back into the Top 20. Wozniacki drew Nicole Gibbs in her first round; the two spent a week together over the off-season to play an exhibition event:
Beautiful island ✅
(Nearly lethal) drone ✅
Amazing people ✅ pic.twitter.com/V2DBmz8PJO— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) November 18, 2016
7) Radwanska kicks off title defense against hometown favorite.
Agnieszka Radwanska kicked off 2016 on an impressive winning streaking, winning the Shenzhen Open and roaring into the Australian Open semifinals. Hoping to begin 2017 in similar style, the Pole needs to get past wildcard Duan Ying-Ying, with last year’s runner-up No.8 seed Alison Riske looming in the quarterfinals.
8) Halep takes on Jankovic to kick off her season.
On the other half of the draw is 2015 champion Simona Halep, who has the unenviable task of taking on a former No.1 in Jelena Jankovic to start her season. Jankovic suffered through an injury-addled 2016 season, but showed off some solid tennis last fall, reaching a final in Guangzhou.
Favourite #Christmas song? @JoKonta91 tackles our Christmas quiz! pic.twitter.com/M6OJxve1mb
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) December 24, 2016
9) Can Jo Konta make new milestones?
Johanna Konta is the third Top 10 player in Shenzhen, and the Brit plays her first tournament since hiring new coach Wim Fisette. Konta scribbled her name throughout the record books in 2016, and aims to continue at that high level in her first match against Cagla Buyukakcay.
10) Mirza pairs with No.1 rival Mattek-Sands in Brisbane.
The top doubles stars converge on Brisbane, with World No.1 Sania Mirza playing with former partner Bethanie-Mattek Sands. Mattek-Sands fell one match shy of unseating Mirza for No.1 in Singapore, losing in the final to Brisbane’s No.2 seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. In an ironic twist, the American has a shot to take No.1 again this week, but will need Mirza’s help to do it – by winning the title.
World No.1 Serena Williams turned heads away from the tennis court on Saturday night, as she was featured heavily in Beyoncé’s latest longform music video, entitled, “Lemonade.”
Appearing during the song “Sorry” off of Beyoncé’s long awaited new studio album, the two pop culture icons share the screen as the Grammy Award-winning musician pays homage to Williams’ Sports Illustrated Sports Person of the Year cover photo.
Learn more about the song here and check out some footage from the video below:
Serena Williams better twerk next to Bey! #Lemonade pic.twitter.com/sBJlNgwS3S
— Essence Magazine (@essencemag) April 24, 2016
Yup ☺️ https://t.co/AU7Zjgk468
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) April 24, 2016
We all got throne for a loop tonight. #Lemonade #Serena #Beyonce pic.twitter.com/c2v5pFJnmu
— Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9) April 24, 2016
BRISBANE, Australia – No.6 seed Elina Svitolina opened her 2017 season with a comfortable straight sets win over Monica Puig, easing into the second round at the Brisbane International.
Svitolina is enjoying a career-high ranking of No.14 and, with a new coaching team behind her, has already seen the benefits in the New Year. She needed an hour and 17 minutes to complete her 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Olympic champion.
Perfect passing shot from @ElinaSvitolina! ? #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/6qHlQKCV2G
— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017
Puig showed flashes of her world-beating form throughout the encounter, but played overly aggressive, trying to end the points too quickly and was waylaid by her own unforced errors. She hit 36 errors to Svitolina’s 17 over the course of two sets, compared to 13 winners against Svitolina’s 15.
Svitolina rode out the assault and replied with her brand of pace and defensive skills, breaking twice in each set and never looking to be in too much trouble.
.@ElinaSvitolina slides past Puig 6-3, 6-3 in @BrisbaneTennis first round! pic.twitter.com/1mtZSewJWD
— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017
Awaiting Svitolina in the second round is Shelby Rogers, who opened her Brisbane account yesterday with a win over Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.
More to follow…
Petra Kvitova takes on Garbiñe Muguruza in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Venus and Serena Williams kicked off the 2017 season in Auckland, but their first match at the ASB Classic went a little differently than usual as they took on a pair of rugby stars, the All Blacks’ Julian & Ardie Savea.
A sellout crowd gathered at the ASB Tennis Arena to watch the two sibling duos battle it out for a good cause.
Ardie gamely swapped out the rugby ball for a tennis racquet…
…while Julian opted for a jumbo racquet to even out the competition.
“I couldn’t stop laughing!” Venus said.
The brothers admitted to being “kind of star struck” before the event, which included No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki.
After taking on the Savea brothers, the Williams sisters took to opposite sides of the court for a doubles face off.
Serena said: “I’ve never been in Auckland and so I’ve never had an opportunity to be first in the world to welcome in this New Year, so this is a new experience for me. The fact that I’m still having new experiences this deep into my career makes me feel really good.”
The siblings plus Wozniacki commemorated the match with a selfie with the ASB Tennis Arena crowd.
All the fun and games went toward a good cause, with $65,000 being raised to help with earthquake relief efforts for the people of Kaikoura.
Serena, Caroline and Venus are set to play their first matches of the season on Tuesday.
Serena will take on Pauline Parmentier, Caroline will take on Nicole Gibbs and Venus will take on New Zealand’s Jade Lewis.
Angelique Kerber takes on Petra Kvitova in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Before taking to the court at the ASB Classic, some of the WTA’s biggest names glammed up and stepped out for the official player party on Monday.
Check out the video above to go behind the scenes at the Auckland Player Party with Venus Williams, Nicole Gibbs, Caroline Wozniacki, Lucie Safarova, Mandy Minella, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and more WTA stars!
And then check out some of the best photos from the red carpet, courtesy of Tennis Auckland:
