Bencic Powers Past Pironkova, Earns First WTA Win Of 2017 At BNP Paribas Open
Just before her 20th birthday, Belinda Bencic scores her first WTA main draw win of the season, ousting Tsvetana Pironkova to advance in Indian Wells.
Just before her 20th birthday, Belinda Bencic scores her first WTA main draw win of the season, ousting Tsvetana Pironkova to advance in Indian Wells.
Annika Beck battled back from a set down to oust Eugenie Bouchard from the BNP Paribas Open and book a second-round clash with Kristina Mladenovic.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Sloane Stephens made a confident start to both the season and her latest coaching partnership with a straight set victory over Polona Hercog.
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It was not all plain sailing for Stephens, who frittered away early leads in both sets before eventually prevailing, 6-3, 6-3.
“I think I was just trying to make it harder in myself! But it was good practice, so that’s good,” she said in her on-court interview.
However, the No.5 seed admits she and new coach Kamau Murray still have plenty to work on ahead of the upcoming Australian Open.
“I think the main thing we should focus on is that I won today and anything else will just wait for another day,” she added.
Stephens’ next outing will come on Wednesday when she takes on Carina Witthoeft, a 6-2, 7-6(3) winner in her all-German clash with Tatjana Maria.
Also advancing at the ASB Tennis Centre was Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose opening outing of the new season was cut short after just 49 minutes when her opponent, Mona Barthel, retired through injury. No.4 seed Kuznetsova, who was leading 6-2, 1-1 at the time, will face either Francesca Schiavone or qualifier Tamira Paszek in the second round.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Reigning French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza came through a tense finish against Kirsten Flipkens, 6-2, 6-3, in her opening round match at the BNP Paribas Open. Up next for the No.7 seed is 17-year-old Kayla Day, who stunned Australian Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets.
“I think it was a difficult match,” she said during her post-match press conference. “I think she’s very talented and she can hit some critical shots and she can be tricky. I’m happy because it was not a first, easy match, like a first round. I don’t know. It was a big win for me, actually.”
Muguruza had split her first four meetings with the 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist, losing both of their meetings on grass. But hardcourts have proved more fertile ground for the Spaniard, who won her third straight match against her rival on concrete after 90 minutes on court.
.@GarbiMuguruza makes a flying start against Flipkens! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/6H7n5UdXfv
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
“I think grass is a very tricky surface; you never know what’s gonna happen,” the 2015 Wimbledon runner-up said during her on-court interview. “I just played my game; sometimes she plays better, sometimes I do – that’s what tennis is! – but I played better today.”
Racing out to a set and 5-0 lead, things got more complicated from there as Flipkens forced her way into the second set. Ultimately, Muguruza broke through for the sixth and final time in the match, striking 24 winners to 28 unforced errors, and came to the net an impressive 33 times – winning 21 of those points.
.@GarbiMuguruza at her very best! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/qLGNiLERle
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
“It’s always difficult to close out your first match. She’s a very talented player, unbelievable, with a very different game. I got nervous!”
Muguruza is making her fifth appearance in Indian Wells, and hopes to make the quarterfinals; her previous result came on her 2013 debut, when she reached the fourth round as a qualifier.
.@GarbiMuguruza picks up 10th win of 2017!
Downs Flipkens 6-2, 6-3! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/sEqGkQHwFk
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
“I never know my expectations for the tournament. I believe every time I play the tournament I see myself holding a trophy, for sure. I want to believe I’m one of these women that can win the tournament.
“After that, I could lose in third round. I just want to go out there, my next match, and try to play well, try to do my game.”
What a win for the 17 year old!!@kaylaeday upsets Lucic-Baroni 6-4, 5-7, 7-5! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/HQWlw3JoxY
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
Standing between her and a second round of 16 run is Day, the American teenager who survived No.32 seed Lucic-Baroni, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
“This means a lot to me,” Day told press. “I was really grateful to get offered this wildcard into the tournament, and it really means a lot that I can be able to see that I can play with some of the best players in the world.”
Lucic-Baroni retired from her last tournament due to a GI illness, but nonetheless served for the match in the final set.
“It was a really close match throughout the entire match. I think I started to really believe I could win at 6-5 in the third. It was still a really tough game, because I was a little bit tight to close it out. But my serve had been giving her a lot of problems, so I knew if I stuck to my game it might work out.”
Day turned heads last summer when she took home her first Grand Slam title at the US Open girl’s singles event, and withstood the Croat’s firepower to win the final four games of the match and book a meeting with Muguruza.
“She’s such a great player. I’m really excited to go out there and play her, one of the greatest in the game right now, so it should be really fun and a great experience for me.”
An interview with Carla Suárez Navarro after her first round win at the Brisbane International.
Venus Williams rallied back from a set down and fought off three match points to emerge victorious against Jelena Jankovic and move into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Petra Kvitova and Alison Riske tried their hand at traditional Chinese calligraphy before the Shenzhen Open kicked off – how did their scripts turn out? Find out here.
No.2 seed Angelique Kerber survived a topsy-turvy tussle with Pauline Parmentier; the No.1-to-be next plays No.14 seed Elena Vesnina who had her own marathon in Indian Wells.
Andrea Petkovic takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the Brisbane International.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – 2011 BNP Paribas Open champion Caroline Wozniacki eased past American Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the last eight in Indian Wells and complete the quarterfinal line-up at the season’s first Premier Mandatory event.
Wozniacki came from the Middle East swing on a strong run of form, having reached back-to-back finals at the Qatar Total Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Keys, by contrast, was playing her first event of the season after missing the first two months of the year recovering from left wrist surgery. The American had nonetheless played solid tennis to start her comeback, knocking out young rival Naomi Osaka in straight sets to reach the round of 16.
.@CaroWozniacki makes the most of a tumble! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/Cdpj7BP6jX
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
“It’s always tough to play her, she has so much power and she can play some incredible shots from far behind the baseline and out wide,” said Wozniacki afterwards. “You just have to be ready for it and I was happy with how I managed to return quite a few serves back, get those extra balls back, and I think it frustrated her a little bit.”
The No.9 seed lost their only previous encounter to Wozniacki last summer at the US Open, and that experience likely assisted the Dane on Tuesday night as she advanced by a near-identical score despite some tough games in between.
“This is the furthest I’ve ever gotten at Indian Wells, funnily enough. So, go me!” Keys joked after the match. “I’m still pretty happy I was able to play three matches, and Caroline played really well. I feel like it was pretty tight for someone who’s played 20 matches against someone playing their third.”
In all, Wozniacki struck 16 fewer winners than her more aggressive opponent, but also eight fewer unforced errors, and gave the American a taste of her own medicine on match point, smacking a backhand down the line to clinch her spot in the quarterfinals.
.@CaroWozniacki secures last spot in @BNPParibasOpen Quarterfinals!
Beats Keys 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/qz8hrQRmhQ
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Standing between Wozniacki and her first Indian Wells semifinal since 2013 is surging Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic. The St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy winner earned another convincing victory against Lauren Davis, herself a fast-improving player, in the fourth round.
.@KikiMladenovic completes 6-3, 6-3 win over Davis!
Reaches her first @BNPParibasOpen Quarterfinal! pic.twitter.com/SqkvQA1j7k
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
“It’s not going to be an easy one – I played a tough one against her in Hong Kong, in the final,” said Wozniacki at the prospect of facing Mladenovic. “I’m expecting another tricky one, but I’m looking forward to it.”