New Haven: Svitolina Interview
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her win in the Connecticut Open.
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her win in the Connecticut Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinal action at the Connecticut Open.
The US Open draw is out and it’s a doozy. With No.1 Serena Williams chasing Steffi Graf in the record books and No.2 Angelique Kerber chasing down Serena in the rankings, here’s how the draw shook out.
At a glance:
Where did the top seeds land?
Top Half: No.1 Serena Williams, No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska, No.5 Simona Halep, No.6 Venus Williams.
Bottom Half: No.2 Angelique Kerber, No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza, No.7 Roberta Vinci, No.8 Madison Keys.
Potential Round of 16: Serena Williams vs. Samantha Stosur, Simona Halep vs. Carla Suárez Navarro, Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Timea Bacsinszky, Venus Williams vs. Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Johanna Konta, Roberta Vinci vs. Dominika Cibulkova, Angelique Kerber vs. Petra Kvitova.
Potential Quarterfinals: Serena Williams vs. Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Madison Keys, Angelique Kerber vs. Roberta Vinci.
Seven Thoughts on the Draw:
Tough opener, tough draw for Serena Williams: Earlier this week I took stock of Serena’s chances at this year’s US Open, which sees her come into the tournament with just three singles matches under her belt since winning Wimbledon and nursing a right shoulder injury. Despite the questions surrounding her lead-up getting a soft early draw might allow her to play into form in the first week.
That’s not the draw she got.
Serena opens her tournament against one of the toughest unseeded players in the draw in World No.36 Ekaterina Makarova. Two years ago this was a semifinal here in New York, which Serena won 6-1, 6-3 en route to the title. Makarova has beaten Serena at a Slam back in 2012 at the Australian Open.
“She’s a big fighter,” Serena said during media day on Friday. “She never really stops. I think one thing I think that’s pretty impressive is she gets a lot of balls back. You think she’s not super quick, but she is.”
From there the draw gets no easier for Serena. She’s in a quarter that includes last year’s semifinalist Simona Halep, who has lost just one match since Wimbledon, along with Wimbledon semifinalist Elena Vesnina, Carla Suárez Navarro, Sam Stosur, Daria Kasatkina, and Camila Giorgi. Potentially looming in the semifinals: Her sister. Venus Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Western & Southern Open champion Karolina Pliskova look to be the favorites to get out of the second quarter.
Simona Halep’s uphill climb: Of all the top seeds, No.5 Halep got the “draw loser” of the day. The World No.5 was a win away from securing a Top 4 seed last week in Cincinnati. She ended up losing to the only woman who has beaten her since the French Open, Angelique Kerber; as luck would have it, she may have to beat Serena to equal her semifinal result from last year.
The road to get to the quarterfinals will be a tough one, and Halep will need to be sharp from her first match, where she opens against Kirsten Flipkens, who is coming into New York with some confidence after making the quarterfinals at the Connecticut Open. Halep could then face either Lucie Safarova or Daria Gavrilova in the second round, with Timea Babos looming in the third round. That’s not an easy first week if those players play near their best.
Angelique Kerber has good look at No.1: Aside from a potential second round match against Alizé Cornet and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, this is a good draw for the German, who has a chance of taking over the No.1 ranking from Serena after the US Open. She opens against World No.116 Polona Hercog, but then has very winnable potential match-ups against Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova or Elina Svitolina (both are still playing in New Haven) in the Round of 16, with a struggling Roberta Vinci or Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Madison Keys anchor a balanced quarter: Muguruza and Keys headline the third quarter which is most notable for the number of Americans landing in this section as well as the overall youth and rising stars. No.8 Keys will have to go through two Americans in her first two rounds, as she opens against Alison Riske and Madison Brengle or wildcard Kayla Day in the second round. She could face a third American in the third round in No.28 seed CoCo Vandeweghe.
Muguruza, meanwhile, could see a rematch of her Olympic loss to Gold Medalist Monica Puig, who slid into the No.32 seed after Sloane Stephens was forced to withdraw with a foot injury. Those two could face off in the third round. Muguruza’s potential Round of 16 opponent is No.13 seed Johanna Konta. The Brit has a nice draw into the second week, though her opening round against Bethanie Mattek-Sands could be tricky depending on the American’s post-Olympic comedown.
Spoiler Alert: In total, the bottom half of the draw is fairly balanced and drama-free, but there are four veteran women who look primed to cause some upsets. No.9 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No.18 Barbora Strycova could derail Keys’ quest for a breakthrough run on home soil, while No.14 seed Petra Kvitova and No.12 seed Dominika Cibulkova could be the ones who knock Kerber out early.
Karolina Pliskova could finally snap her Slam slump: No.10 seed Pliskova tore through the draw in Cincinnati last week, easily beating both Muguruza and Kerber for the biggest title of her career. But she’s never made the second round of a Slam…anywhere. Her best result here was the third round in 2014. That should change this year.
Pliskova was drawn into a soft quarter with Radwanska, who has never played particularly well in New York, and Venus Williams, who can be a wildcard on any given day. Pliskova could face Venus in the Round of 16 and Radwanska in the quarterfinals.
The Olympic Effect: For players like Monica Puig, Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, Elena Vesnina, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, can they translate their Olympic success into Slam success? Kvitova is the only one to have played since Rio and she is already into the semifinals of New Haven. Understandably, Puig will be under the spotlight in New York. As the first athlete ever to bring a gold medal home to Puerto Rico, everyone will be looking to see if she can back it up with more strong play in front of a partisan crowd.
First Round Matches to Watch:
Top Half: Serena Williams vs. Ekaterina Makarova, Camila Giorgi vs. Samantha Stosur, Lucie Safarova vs. Daria Gavrilova, Simona Halep vs. Kirsten Flipkens, Eugenie Bouchard vs. Katarina Siniakova, Julia Goerges, Yanina Wickmayer.
Bottom Half: Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Francesca Schiavone, Petra Kvitova vs. Jelena Ostapenko, Alizé Cornet vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Johanna Konta vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Madison Keys vs. Alison Riske, CoCo Vandeweghe vs. Naomi Osaka, Barbora Strycova vs. Monica Niculescu, Yulia Putintseva vs. Sabine Lisicki.
Opening Day at the US Open is always backed with action – here’s a look at everything that happened during a busy Round 1.
Arthur Ashe Stadium debuted a brand new look, as the world’s largest tennis venue now has a retractable roof overhead.
Arthur Ashe Kids’ day brought fun for everyone as hundreds of children packed the site for games, music and tennis.
A pair of Olympic medalists were on hand to teach the kids some tennis, including Monica Puig and Venus Williams.
Gold and silver medalist swimmer Simone Manuel was also in attendance.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay kicked off the first-round in historic fashion: besides grabbing her first win in her US Open main draw debut, she also recorded the first victory of the tournament.
A few minutes later, last year’s finalist Roberta Vinci recorded the tournament’s first win on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Two-time finalist Caroline Wozniacki inaugurated the new Grandstand court with a three set battle.
Wozniacki came back from a set down against Taylor Townsend to advance to Round 2.
WTA Legend and two-time US Open champion Monica Seles also surprised fans at an on-site activity.
She answered lots of questions, as well as gave a few tennis tips.
As the sun set, the first night session of the US Open was inaugurated with a spectacular Opening Ceremony.
Phil Collins provided the night’s musical entertainment, along with Leslie Odom Jr.
And we finally got to see the roof in action. (Thankfully, there was no rain in sight, just lights!)
The roof was back open for Madison Keys and Alison Riske, who made history by finishing just shy of 2 a.m., the latest finish ever recorded in a women’s match.
The stars were out in full force at the US Open, including fashion icons like Vera Wang and Anna Wintour.
They packed the stands to see World No.1 Serena Williams begin her 2016 US Open campaign with a straight sets win over Ekaterina Makarova.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Venus Williams began her record-breaking 72nd Grand Slam campaign with an eventful win over Kateryna Kozlova on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Father time remains undefeated, or so the saying goes. However, a couple of months on from her 36th birthday, Williams continues to defy the aging process, taking the best part of three hours to defeat Kozlova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
The tennis landscape is much changed since a teenage Williams – accompanied by beads and garish outfit – made her Grand Slam bow against Naoko Sawamatsu at the 1997 French Open. Remarkably, the American, now an iconic figure in the sport, remains a threat at its four flagship events.
Last year, quarterfinal appearances at both the Australian and US Opens – backed up by no little success elsewhere – propelled Williams back into the Top 10. And this campaign she has maintained the momentum, reaching the semifinals at the site of her greatest triumphs, the All England Club.
At Wimbledon, Williams matched Amy Frazier’s Open Era record of 71 Grand Slam appearances, marking the occasion with rollercoaster victories over several of the game’s brightest young talents. Against Kozlova – who was just three years old when Williams made her US Open debut – she was once against forced to draw on her wealth of experience.
Venus Williams: Improves to 18-0 in US Open 1st round. Only Chris Evert (19-0) has a better record in the 1st round at US Open (Open Era)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) 30 August 2016
The 2000 and 2001 champion has never lost an opening round match at Flushing Meadows, a statistic that looked in little danger when she pocketed the first set and moved 4-2 ahead in the second.
Kozlova, though, had other ideas, silencing the partisan crowd by rattling off five of the next six games to take the match the distance. A similar story looked to be unfolding in the decider, the Ukrainian falling 5-2 behind only to produce an unerring down-the-line backhand to break back in the ninth game. This time she was unable to complete the comeback, erring on the backhand to succumb the following game.
Despite a messy afternoon the No.6 seed, who finished with 63 unforced errors, was characteristically upbeat afterwards. “The errors told the story today,” Williams said. “Once you’re at this level everyone can play. Today I had to hit a lot of balls and I think that will help me going into the rest of the tournament.”
NEW YORK, NY, USA – This season has provided plenty of ups and downs for World No.5 Simona Halep. To coin an overused sports-writing cliché, it could even be described as a roller coaster.
Over the coming fortnight in Flushing Meadows, Halep hopes to scale the highest peak by lifting her maiden Grand Slam title. Her next obstacle comes in the shape of former Roland Garros finalist Lucie Safarova, but before then the Romanian took a break from the tennis talk to discuss a recent trip to Cincinnati’s Kings Island theme park with the US Open press corps…
“[In]Cincinnati. I tried a roller coaster. First time in my life and never again!
“I felt that I’m dying. Darren [Cahill] said he was going on all the machines, and I said I’m not going to do that. But he said it was a white one, and I didn’t see completely. Like I just saw the end, and the end was straight. He said, Come on. It’s pretty easy. It’s the lightest one.
“I said about what is that? He said, just the speed, but straight. I said, Oh, I love speed, so I can go. When I went there and that machine was going down, I felt that I’m dying. I said, Darren, never again. He was laughing when I said. It was tough, but it was nice. Good experience.”
So how did Halep respond to her white-knuckle experience?
“I did nothing. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t breathe. No, I didn’t scream.”
NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber closed out a drama-free Friday night with a 6-1, 6-1 win over American qualifier Catherine Bellis to reach the second week of the US Open in 55 minutes.
“It was a great atmosphere,” she said after the match. “I mean, the fans and the crowd, it’s just amazing. Of course, to playing against an American, it was really special.
“I was enjoying playing tonight out there.”
In pole position to become the first German to become No.1 in the world since Stefanie Graf in 1997, the reigning Australian Open champion put on a masterclass for Bellis, the tournament’s most impressive young talent.
Bellis backed up her breakthrough week in 2014, where she became the youngest woman to win a match at the US Open in 18 years, by making it through qualifying and notching solid wins over Viktorija Golubic and Shelby Rogers to earn her best-ever Grand Slam finish.
“She’s a great young, really talented player. For sure she will have a great future. I’m really sure it will be a good one.”
What champions are made of: No. 2 @AngeliqueKerber grounds 17-yo CiCi #Bellis, 6-1, 6-1 to move into R16. #usopen pic.twitter.com/FWSlVQbWSi
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2016
But Kerber proved a bridge too far for Bellis as the German hit 17 winners to 18 unforced errors, not only dictating play but also playing the cleaner match compared to Bellis, who hit 11 winners and 21 unforced errors.
“I think it’s important to my game, being aggressive, but also being defensive. Your opponent’s playing sometimes really aggressive, so there are different ways to win. You have to play your own game. This is what I’m trying.”
Up next for the World No.2 is a former No.2 in Petra Kvitova, as the No.14 seed survived a second set surge to dispatch No.22 seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4, earlier in the day on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“Petra with a three, it’s not working so far, which is good,” the Czech said after the match, jokingly referring to her P3tra nickname derived from her tendency to play three-setters. “I’m saving some energy.
“The important is the win. But of course, with saving energy it’s always better.”
Kvitova was two games from victory after racing out to a set and 4-0 lead, but Svitolina, a Connecticut Open finalist, won four games of her own to level the set.
“It was a little difficult at the end of the second set. It was a big fight, the last game.”
.@Petra_Kvitova puts up a strong finish to move into the fourth round. #usopen https://t.co/W2Cj4b1yx6 pic.twitter.com/ls5yP24MZH
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2016
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Who is the lowest-ranked player left at the US Open? Which player’s serve has been on song? And how many hours has Madison Keys spent on court?
With the field at Flushing Meadows now whittled down to 16, wtatennis.com and SAP thought it time to go looking for answers…
320 – Keys has spent 320 minutes on court thus far – the most of any remaining player.
307 – Serena Williams’ third-round win over Johanna Larsson was her 307th at a Grand Slam tournament, overtaking Martina Navratilova for sole ownership of the Open Era record.
99 – World No.99 Lesia Tsurenko is the lowest-ranked player left in the draw, closely followed by No.92 Ana Konjuh.
85 – The percentage of first-serve points won by Serena Williams in her opening three matches – the best among the 16 players left in the draw.
50 – In 2016, no WTA player has won more matches than Angelique Kerber, who notched up number 50 by seeing off CiCi Bellis in the previous round.
36 – At 36, Venus Williams is the oldest player to reach the last 16 at a major since Martina Navratilova, then 37, at Wimbledon in 1994.
31 – Serena has unsurprisingly hit more aces, 31, than anyone else en route to the fourth round. Following closely behind is Keys with 25.
18 – Konjuh, 18, is the youngest player left in the draw. It is the third year in succession a teenager has reached the fourth round.
13 – The number of nations represented in the last 16. Countries with multiple players are USA (Keys, Serena and Venus) and the Czech Republic (Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova).
12 – Kvitova has dropped fewer games, 12, than any other player en route to the fourth round.
7 – Seven of the Top 10 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard are still in contention for the US Open title: Serena, Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Carla Suárez Navarro, Keys, Simona Halep and Pliskova. The only absentees are Dominika Cibulkova and Garbiñe Muguruza.
5 – An unseeded player has reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows on each of the past three years. Konjuh, Anastasija Sevastova, Yaroslava Shvedova, Tsurenko and Caroline Wozniacki are all bidding to keep this run going.
4 – Madison Keys, Agnieszka Radwanska, Carla Suarez Navarro and Serena Williams have all advanced to the fourth round at all four Slams this year – the only four players to do so.
3 – Three players – Konjuh, Karolina Pliskova and Tsurenko – are through to the last 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time
1 – For the last eight years, at least one Italian has reached the US Open quarterfinals. Roberta Vinci, the 2015 runner-up, looks to make it nine when she takes on Tsurenko. The Americans have been even more dominant: 1993 was the last time a home player failed to make the last eight (Lindsay Davenport and Navratilova fell in the last 16).
0 – The number of times Shvedova has beaten Serena in four career meetings. She did famously come within a couple of games of doing so four years ago at Wimbledon.
DALIAN, China – Aleksandra Krunic suffered a tough first round loss after qualifying for the US Open, but the Serb is back in action at the Dalian Women’s Tennis Open, knocking out local wildcard Lu Jia-Jing, 6-1, 6-2.
Krunic reached the fourth round in Flushing back in 2014, and needed just 61 minutes to dismiss Lu in straight sets, booking a possible second round meeting with No.2 seed Duan Ying-Ying. Duan reached the second round of the US Open before falling to Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
Russia’s Anastasia Pivovarova also advanced on Tuesday with a 7-6(6), 6-2 win over Hiroko Kuwata, and could play No.7 seed Misa Eguchi in the second round. A former World No.93, Pivovarova made her major breakthrough back in 2010 when she reached the third round of the French Open, but has been snakebitten by various injuries throughout her career. Playing her first US Open in six years, Pivovarova lost in qualifying to American Jennifer Brady in a third set tie-break.
In that moment of life, when all I need is a hug… ? #USopen #tennis photo by @spiritbuffalo pic.twitter.com/STvBXfRyCQ
— Anastasia Pivovarova (@A_Pivovarova) September 2, 2016
China’s Wang Qiang is the top seed in Dalian after upsetting No.23 seed Daria Kasatkina to reach the second round of the US Open, and will open her tournament against Nigina Abduraimova.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Top seed Serena Williams reached her sixth straight US Open semifinal with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over No.5 seed Simona Halep.
“I feel great. I’m glad I got tested,” she told press after the match. “I think her level really picked up in the second, but I had some opportunities that I didn’t take.
“So what I gather from that is I really could have played better in that second set and maybe had an opportunity to win in straights.
“I think if anything, that’s the biggest silver lining I take.”
Playing the last of the ladies quarterfinals, Serena enjoyed a strong start against Halep, racing out to a 3-0 lead and edging out a long sixth game to take the opening set in just over a half hour. Halep, however, has been playing some of her best tennis this summer with a win at the Rogers Cup and a semifinal showing at the Western & Southern Open, and saved a stunning 12 break points in the second set to level the match on her fifth set point.
Serena began the decider saving a pair of break points of her own, converting the comeback into a 4-1 lead and didn’t look back as she served out her spot in the semifinal in 134 minutes.
“I think there is a huge enjoyment in the three-set matches, but I just feel like you don’t get that appreciation until later. Obviously in the moment you want to win fast and you want to win easy and win in straights. You really feel that appreciation much later.”
In all, the American hit 50 winners to 43 unforced errors, and the serve proved particularly potent on Wednesday night with 18 aces. For her part, Halep kept a positive differential of her own with 20 winners to 17 unforced errors, but was only able to break serve twice in three sets.
“I think it was a good match,” Halep told press. “I played well. I could play better in those moments when I had chances. But I think the level was pretty high.
“I’m ok with the way that I was fighting till the end. It’s something normal now for me, so it’s a good thing. She played really well. She is the best player, so her serve was huge today.
“It was tough. I’m a little bit sad, but I have just to take the positives, because I have a lot going ahead.”
Up next for the World No.1 is No.10 seed and Cincinnati champ Karolina Pliskova, who is playing her first Grand Slam semifinal, in the first match of Thursday’s night session.
“I haven’t even gotten that far yet, actually,” Serena admitted. “I’m still trying to just get over this match. I’m sure Venus will tell me something, but I’ll be there. I’ll be ready tomorrow.”
After over 2 hours of tennis, 18 aces and 50 winners @serenawilliams beats #Halep to move on. #usopen https://t.co/58PNxuxl7t
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2016