Svetlana Kuznetsova's Press Conference
Svetlana Kuznetsova discusses her third-round victory at the Australian Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova discusses her third-round victory at the Australian Open.
It’s time to crown June’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!
The winner will be announced Friday, July 15.
How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
Angelique Kerber faced Kristyna Pliskova in the third round of the Australian Open.
Karolina Pliskova discusses her win over Daria Garvilova in her post-match press conference at the Australian Open
Serena Williams discusses Venus Williams’ success and their longevity in tennis in a press conference at the Australian Open.
Venus Williams discusses her longevity and impact on tennis in a press conference in the Australian Open.
Elena Vesnina began the season ranked outside the Top 100, but you’d never know it after six months of impressive results.
“I was not putting any pressure on myself going on the court,” the Russian veteran said after reaching her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon. “I know I’m in good shape, I’m playing good. But it’s always tough when you know you’re in a good shape to build your game from beginning till the end and keep playing the same level.
“So I was just trying to be focused on every single game. I was not thinking about my draw. I didn’t see who I was playing next round. I was trying to enjoy myself on the court.”
Building her ranking back up with wins over the likes of Simona Halep, Venus Williams, and Belinda Bencic, Vesnina went farther than she’d ever gone at a major tournament in singles, breaking her second week duck against doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova and blasting into the final four against another in-form player in Dominika Cibulkova.
“I was watching Dominika’s match yesterday because we were going after this,” she said, referring to the Slovak’s win over Agnieszka Radwanska. “It was up and down, Dominika had match points. I knew she had long match.
“Me too. I had singles and we had to play doubles, as well. We finished quite late.
“I think first thing that I was not thinking about being tired. I was just thinking that this is my chance, and I had to use it.”
She certainly used it to full effect in the quarterfinals, dismantling Cibulkova in what might have been the best match of her career.
“I think it’s coming with experience. You really appreciate what you have now. You really enjoying what you’re doing. I love playing tennis. I’m really enjoying my time on the court, and off the court as well.
“I had really difficult beginning of the year, end of the year. I dropped out of the Top 100. I was playing all tournaments starting from qualifications. I had a lot of matches under my belt. It was not easy, to be honest, because I was in Top 30, then I was like No.120 or something.
“I’m really happy that it didn’t break me up. I think the difficult times, every single player has to go through it because it makes you better, it makes you stronger.”
For all of those reasons, Bertens is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!
Final Results for June’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Elena Vesnina (62%)
2. Madison Keys (31%)
3. Anastasija Sevastova (7%)
2016 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners
January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
MELBOURNE, Australia – 2003 finalist Venus Williams is back into the Australian Open final for the first time in 14 years after coming back from a set down to dispatch fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion celebrated Australia Day in the best way possible, notching a 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 victory to reach her second final in Melbourne Park.
“It means so much to me, mostly because she played so well,” an emotional Venus addressed the crowd at Rod Laver Arena. “She played so unbelievable and I had to play defense the whole time, it feels like.
“There was never a moment of relaxation ever, so to be able to get to the final through a match like this… I’m excited about American tennis!”
“I would love more than anything to see her across the net from me on Saturday.” #Venus on possibly facing #Serena in the final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/LBgBcTPqBq
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 26 de enero de 2017
Vandeweghe, whose power game suited perfectly to the faster court speeds of this year’s event, was enjoying her maiden Grand Slam semifinal appearance after a commanding run, which included a straight-sets stunner against World No.1 Angelique Kerber.
But she was out of her depth against the 36-year-old Venus, who relied on her veteran experience to allow Vandeweghe to take advantage of just one of her 13 break point chances.
“I don’t think I was totally freaking out or anything close to that when I came out there,” Vandeweghe reflected later in press. “I was pretty set on competing and working hard. I think it showed in kind of the tougher points and tougher moments.
“As far as not playing as well as I could have, it goes along with tennis. You’re going to have good days and bad days. You just have to adjust as best you can.”
Thank you #Vandeweghe for your wonderful performance at this year's #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/xxuSL3OQj2
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 26 de enero de 2017
The younger American’s lone break of serve came in the very first game of the match, where she had Venus under pressure from the start. But the lead didn’t last very long, with Venus jumping on some second serves and a double fault – the first of 11 for Vandeweghe – to wrench back the advantage.
The pair stayed on par to take the set into the tiebreak, where Vandeweghe found her dictating form once again and Venus, while not making too many missteps, was left to react. Vandeweghe crushed a Venus second serve with a backhand down the line and took the tiebreak, the first set Venus had dropped in the entire tournament.
Venus was right back on track in the second set, though, switching gears to target the vulnerable Vandeweghe backhand and reel off five straight games for a 5-1 lead. The younger American didn’t cede an inch, bringing up four break points in the marathon, seven-minute seventh game, but Venus stayed in front.
The 36-year-old stayed the course in the third, breaking twice and, after two hours and thirty minutes on court, advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2009 Wimbledon.
.@Venuseswilliams is through to the women's final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3Jdo8Zlag9
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 26 de enero de 2017
With the win Venus becomes the oldest Grand Slam finalist since Martina Navratilova at 1994 Wimbledon, and the 14 years between this and her last Australian Open final appearance sets a new Open Era record.
Awaiting in the final is younger sister Serena Williams, who blew past Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in straight sets to book the first all-Williams final Down Under since their 2003 meeting.
“When I’m playing on the court with her, I think I’m playing the best competitor in the game,” Venus said in her post-match press conference. “I don’t think I’m chump change either, you know. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I get out there and I compete.
“[It] won’t be an easy match. I know that it won’t be easy. You have to control yourself, then you also have to hopefully put your opponent in a box. This opponent is your sister, and she’s super awesome.”
Defending champion Belinda Bencic was forced to withdraw from the upcoming Rogers Cup due to the left wrist injury she sustained at Wimbledon.
BASTAD, Sweden – Johanna Larsson’s defense of her Ericsson Open title gathered further momentum following a brisk win over qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo on Thursday afternoon.
Watch live action from Bastad, Stanford and Washington DC this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
The withdrawal of top seed Angelique Kerber earlier on removed one of the more significant obstacles between Larsson and a second title on home soil. However, in front of an appreciative home crowd she was never likely to take her eye off the ball, running out a 6-0, 6-3 winner in an hour and 20 minutes.
“I don’t feel more pressure, the same thing happened last year, but I don’t really think about it,” Larsson said when asked about Kerber’s unexpected exit. “I try to just focus on my own thing and it’s a very tough match coming up in the quarters so I’m just looking forward to that one.”
Sorribes Tormo has made only fleeting appearances at WTA events this year and her inexperience was laid bare early on, Larsson romping through the first set. In the second set, Sorribes Tormo gave a better account of herself, success in a terrific 23-shot exchange helping break the No.8 seed in the opening game.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, holding onto her own service games continued to be problematic. A couple of double faults handed the break right back, before Larsson put daylight between the two when she slung a serve out wide to register an increasingly rare hold the sixth game.
This cushion proved enough to get Larsson to the finishing line, and ace down the T taking her into a fifth quarterfinal in six years at Bastad Tennis Stadium.
There she is likely to face stiffer resistance, taking on No.4 seed Annika Beck, an impressive 6-2, 6-0 winner over Anastasija Sevastova. In the last second-round match, Julia Goerges fought back to defeat Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Back to back aces, nice finish by Johanna Larsson against @sara_sorribes pic.twitter.com/FC5Xw1hBdY
— Swedish Open Tennis (@swedish_open) 21 July 2016