Birmingham: Shot Of The Day (Tuesday)
Angelique Kerber has Tuesday’s shot of the day at the Aegon International Birmingham.
Angelique Kerber has Tuesday’s shot of the day at the Aegon International Birmingham.
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.
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Belinda Bencic in the first round of the Aegon Classic.
Eight quarterfinal spots are on the line on Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Open and we’re previewing each sweet sixteen matchup right here at wtaennis.com.
Tuesday
Round of 16
[2] Angelique Kerber (GER # 2) vs. [14] Elena Vesnina (RUS #15)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Kerber will begin her 21st week at No.1 on the Monday after Indian Wells.
Angelique Kerber had her back against the wall on Monday as she fell behind in-form Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 4-1 in the deciding set. Was Kerber going to fall prey to the upset bug again? No way. The German mounted an inspiring rally to head off Parmentier at the pass, clinching a satisfying 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory. What made the difference for Kerber? “I was starting to believe in myself again and trying to taking this challenge and trying to playing point by point and not thinking what has happened before,” she told reporters. “Just going for it and trying to move in good, bring a lot of balls back, and going for it when I have the chance.” It was enough to get by Parmentier, but Kerber will need to be even better when she faces Russia’s Elena Vesnina for a spot in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Will she be up for the challenge? “I’m still in the tournament,” she said. “That’s what counts.”
Pick: Kerber in three
[28] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #26) vs. Lauren Davis (USA #38)
Head-to-head: Mladenovic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Mladenovic is 4-1 in three-set matches thus far in 2017.
Is promising Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic ready to take her game to the next level in 2017? It’s starting to look that way. The 23-year-old knocked off No.4-seeded Simona Halep with a gritty display on Tuesday, saving 19 of 22 break points faced to improve to 3-1 lifetime against the Romanian. Mladenovic improves to 2-0 with the victory and 14-5 on the season. But she’ll have to be careful with her next opponent, because American Lauren Davis is playing some of the best tennis of her career. She’s 13-3 with a title in Auckland, and will certainly try to pull Mladenovic into another physical match. Will Mladenovic be up to the task or will it be the American who emerges as a surprise quarterfinalist?
Pick: Mladenovic in three
[12] Venus Williams (USA #13) vs. [Q] Peng Shuai (CHN #49)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Williams reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier at Indian Wells twenty years ago in 1997. It was her second main draw appearance here.
Another big event and another big surprise from 36-year-old Venus Williams. The American legend never ceases to amaze and wherever she goes there are legions of fans who are there to support her, just as they were two decades ago. She had the home crowd behind her today as she raced past Lucie Safarova, and she’ll have them with her on Tuesday when she faces qualifier Peng Shuai. Williams has won two of three against Shuai, but it was the Chinese, an inspirational figure herself, who came out on top when they met in Beijing last fall.
Pick: Williams in three
[9] Madison Keys (USA #9) vs. [13] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #14)
Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Keys is bidding for her first BNP Paribas Open quarterfinal.
She missed the first two months of the season to rehab from off-season wrist surgery, but for those who watched Madison Keys power through her first two matches at the BNP Paribas Open, it was hard to detect any lingering rust. Keys was in fab form on Monday when she sailed past Naomi Osaka on the strength of eight aces and four break points saved out of four. On Tuesday she’ll come up against a much sterner test in Caroline Wozniacki. The three-time finalist and 2011 BNP Paribas Open champion walloped Katerina Siniakova in straight sets to improve to 29-9 lifetime at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Pick: Wozniacki in three
[3] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [15] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #17)
Head-to-head: Bacsinszky leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Pliskova improved to 17-2 on the season with her third-round win over Irina-Camelia Begu.
Timea Bacsinszky is playing with house money after saving five match points to slip by Kiki Bertens in a three-hour and 22-minute marathon on Sunday. “She played her heart out,” Bacsinszky said after outlasting Bertens to book her third consecutive trip to the BNP Paribas Open’s round of 16. “I did too.” Next up for the talented, unconventional Swiss will be another supreme power player, Karolina Pliskova. The World No.3 edged Irina-Camelia Begu to keep her run of fine form alive at Indian Wells and she will bid to reach the quarterfinals for the second straight year. Contrasting styles will square off in a match that will depend on how well Pliskova can execute first strikes—and how cleverly Bacsinszky can combat them.
Pick: Pliskova in three
[10] Elina Svitolina (UKR #10) vs. [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Tied, 2-2
Key Stat: Svitolina has won 15 consecutive matches in a career-best streak that has seen her win two titles.
Elina Svitolina has been unstoppable since the Australian Open, winning titles in Tapei and Dubai, and she doesn’t appear to have lost a step here in the desert. The Ukrainian has reached the round of 16 at Indian Wells for the second time in three years, but awaiting her is a formidable foe that has her eyes on the prize. Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza has dropped two straight matches to Svitolina and she’d like nothing more than to turn the tide in their rivalry by notching a critical win on Tuesday. That said, the Spaniard knows she’ll be facing a player that becomes more dangerous with each passing season. “I think she’s playing very good,” Muguruza said. “She’s going to be a very tough opponent. She just got to the Top 10 as well. That’s a sign. It’s going to be difficult.”
Pick: Muguruza in three
[5] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #5) vs. [19] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #21)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads, 5-2
Key Stat: Pavlyuchenkova already has two Top 10 wins this season, but is 0-1 vs. Cibulkova in 2017.
Dominika Cibulkova has proven why she is one of the WTA’s ultimate warriors in her first two rounds. She scraped by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in her first match and in an epic on Sunday night she battled from a set and break down to rally past Kristyna Pliskova, 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4). The Slovakian showed tons of grit to book her spot in the round of 16 at Indian Wells for the third time, but it comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched the brave, boisterous Cibulkova ply her trade on the tour over these last few seasons. “This win means a lot,” she told WTA Insider on Sunday night. “I’m still processing that I won this match. I was down 1-4 after 15 minutes and I was feeling like this wasn’t my day because it was so hard to play her.” Cibulkova will need whatever energy she has left when she squares off with the powerful Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday. The Russian has not dropped a set in her first two rounds and will hope to stay hot and end a personal three-match losing streak against Cibulkova.
Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in two
[21] Caroline Garcia (FRA #25) vs. [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #8)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Since reaching back-to-back BNP Paribas Open finals in 2007 and 2008, Kuznetsova has not reached the quarterfinals.
Svetlana Kuznetsova was one of the biggest comeback stories of the 2016 season. She broke the 40-win barrier for the first time since 2009, won two titles, upset World No.1 Serena Williams in Miami and climbed into the Top 10 for the first time since 2010. And, from the looks of things she hasn’t skipped a beat in 2017. Since reaching back-to-back finals at Indian Wells in 2007 and 2008, Kuznetsova had failed to get back into the round of 16—until this year. Now she’s gunning for the quarterfinals, but she’ll have to get past the talented Caroline Garcia to get there. The No.21-seeded Frenchwoman has dropped two in a row to Kuznetsova, but she’ll come in confident after pulling an upset on No.11-seeded Johanna Konta on Sunday.
Pick: Kuznetsova in three
By the Numbers:
29 – Number of lifetime wins amassed by Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki at Indian Wells. Only Lindsay Davenport (47) and Maria Sharapova (38) have more.
6 – Caroline Wozniacki broke serve in six of seven return games in her third-round win over Katerina Siniakova.
3-3 – Kerber’s record in three-set matches this season. Last season it was 23-5.
Johanna Konta and Petra Kvitova took one of Birmingham’s canals by storm during one of the Aegon Classic’s many rain delays.
Kvitova takes to one end of the Birmingham canal to engage in a light-hearted rally with the Brit on the other side.
Kvitova and Konta learned a net isn’t necessary after all when playing canal tennis.
Meanwhile, doubles starlet Andrea Hlavackova took a tour of Cadbury World to learn the ins and outs of chocolate production.
Lucie Safarova shows off one of her delicious creations.
Hometown favorite Heather Watson tried her hand at sweet fashion by making a chocolate shoe.
The WTA stars showing off their finished products.
Hlavackova, Safarova, and Watson got to leave Cadbury World with quite the souvenir they helped make themselves.
Tara Moore and Andrea Petkovic took a trip to Villa Park, the local football stadium in Aston.
Petkovic showed off some of her fancy footwork with a powerful kick.
Not to be outdone, recent Nottingham quarterfinalist Moore tried her own kick of the ball.
Later on, Moore and Petkovic received signature jerseys in the colors of the Aston Villa Football Club.
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.”
MALLORCA, Spain – Former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic enjoyed one of her most emphatic wins of the season, dismantling Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-1, 6-0, to reach the quarterfinals of the Mallorca Open.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Playing against her childhood idol, the 19 year old was overawed on the Center Court in Mallorca, lasting just 51 minutes against the 2008 French Open champion, who was hoping to turn around a disappointing season with a second WTA quarterfinal appearance.
“Honestly, grass is not my favorite surface,” the Serb said in her post-match press-conference, “but I’ve loved playing in Mallorca. I really hope I can keep playing well to stay long. The courts and crowd are really nice, so it’s a good feeling.
“I remember the first time I played the Williams sisters; you’re a little bit overwhelmed playing someone you used to look up to. But she’s very young still, and had some good strokes. Hopefully she can get better and move into the top of the game.”
Dropping just seven points behind her first serve, Ivanovic convered five of nine break point opportunities to set up a match against No.6 seed Caroline Garcia.
“I think we’ve been lucky to have perfect weather here; I know they’ve been struggling in Birmingham. I’ve actually had fun playing here. Yesterday, we had fun in doubles too, with Kirsten Flipkens.
“Garcia won the last three times we played, but it’s a different surface, and I’ll have to be extra focused and low on my shots. I have to go into the match knowing it’s going to be close, and look for my opportunities.”
.@AnaIvanovic impone su ley en el #MallorcaOpen. ¡Sólida victoria ante @sara_sorribes 6-1, 6-0. ?? pic.twitter.com/IOP61qYPYQ
— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 16, 2016
Garcia played earlier in the day and survived a nail-biter of a second set tie-break against unseeded German Anna-Lena Friedsam, advancing, 6-4, 7-6(4).
“It’s good weather and I like when it’s hot. It was two tight sets, but you need a lot of energy on grass and a lot of focus. So every point is very important; I’m happy to be through in two sets.
“Maybe I played the important points better, but it was very tight. That’s grass also, and why you have to stay focused on every point. It’s a very different game, but good to have it for a month – just a month though!”
The Frenchwoman has won her last three matches against Ivanovic – all of which occurred in the spring of 2015 – but the pair have never met on a grass court.
“It’s not very natural for me,” she told press of the surface. “I have to say that the grass here is drier than it usually is in England, so it’s a little bit more comfortable for me. I feel safer on the court and the ball is bouncing higher, especially on my second serve. For your first tournament on grass, you don’t expect much, but I hope to keep going.”
Playing in the inaugural Mallorca Open meant opting out of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, a tournament plagued by rain delays and poor weather.
“I’ve seen all the news on twitter about interruptions and suspensions. It’s frustrating because you can’t practice; you have to go indoors or the gym. When you want to go on grass, you want to at least be practicing. There’s a chance to do this here. Even when you’re done with a match, you can still practice. So I’m very happy with my choice!”
¡Accede a los cuartos de final del #MallorcaOpen @CaroGarcia! Victoria 6-4, 7-6 ante Friedsam. ?? pic.twitter.com/ZYtsnulUdt
— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 16, 2016
More to come…
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.14 seed Elena Vesnina earned the first Top 3 win of her career on Tuesday night, shocking No.2 seed and next week’s World No.1 Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-3, to reach her first quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Open.
“I think I played a really good match,” she said in her on-court interview. “Angie will be No.1 again next week, so congrats to her; she’s an amazing player who has had an amazing season. She’s such a great competitor and fighter.”
“I felt quite good today on the court, from the beginning of the match,” she added to WTA Insider. “I felt my shots, I felt my serve. Angelique brings a lot of balls back and is one of the best defenders on tour. Going into this match, I knew she hasn’t had the best season, but you have to take the match from a top player because they’re never going to give it to you. I tried to be aggressive, with enough pace to move her around.
“Everything worked well today.”
Both women had to battle just to make it into the fourth round; Kerber was a game from defeat against Pauline Parmentier while Vesnina fought off dizziness and an in-form Timea Babos from a break down in the final set.
.@EVesnina001 in control of the rally! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/pibliRwQue
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Swiftly breaking to start the match, Vesnina never trailed her higher-ranked opposition, holding off a late surge from Kerber when she took a set and double break lead.
“There were a few big games on my serve that I knew I couldn’t lose, because she’s a fighter and can regroup well enough to take control. I was trying to dictate and stay one step ahead of her. It wasn’t easy; I had a couple of tight moments.”
In all, the Russian struck an impressive 28 winners to 21 unforced errors, and broke hte Kerber serve five times in the match; as the two-time Indian Wells semifinalist threatened a comeback, Vesnina held to love to reclaim the momentum the break for the biggest win in her career after one hour and 24 minutes on court.
“I was a little nervous at the end of the match,” she said of Kerber winning eight of nine points to close the gap from 4-1 to 4-3, “but my dad came out on court and told me some simple things, reminded me to stick to the game plan I had before. I had a good first serve percentage in key moments, and I think my net game helped as well; it allowed me to put pressure on her by coming in.”
“It was actually not my day,” Kerber said in her post-match press conference. “I was doing a lot of mistakes. I was not moving good. But it happens. She played good tennis from the beginning until the end, and she was aggressive. She took the game in her hands.
“I’ll take the positive things from this tournament; I will sit down later with my team and my coach, and we will discuss about the positives and the plan going forward.”
Great work at the net from @EVesnina001! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/wIBvAJcSBP
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Up next for the Wimbledon semifinalist is No.12 seed and five-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams, who recovered from a set down to escape against a surging Peng Shuai earlier in the day.
“I have so much respect for Venus and Serena; they’re great champions. I hope it’s going to be a great match because it’s always an honor to play against her.”
Vesnina leads their head-to-head 3-2, and won their most recent match at last year’s Miami Open, which she won in three sets.
“We’ve had some great battles in the past; she’s won, I’ve won. But it’s a totally different story; it’s Indian Wells and I’m really enjoying my time here.”
Upset complete! @EVesnina001 knocks out Kerber 6-3, 6-3 to set up @BNPPARIBASOPEN Quarterfinal match with @VenusesWilliams pic.twitter.com/B8xbKPAEL2
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
MALLORCA, Spain – Caroline Garcia continued her domination of No.3 seed Ana Ivanovic, dispatching the Serb in a titanic affair in the quarterfinals of the Mallorca Open, 7-6(9), 5-7, 6-3.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Playing in her first-ever grass court quarterfinal, Garcia had plenty of momentum against Ivanovic, having won their last three matches in 2015. But Ivanovic had played some solid tennis of her own in Mallorca, and recovered from an early break to force a first set tie-break against her French nemesis.
“I had so many opportunities, but I stayed positive even when I’d lose my advantage,” Garcia said in her post-match press conference. “It’s good to win matches like this against a big player.
“I was down in the tie-break and had no choice but to go for it and take the opportunity before she could.”
Garcia saved a whopping five set points in the ensuing sudden death – three in a row from 3-6 down – and snuck off with the opening set on her second opportunity. Undaunted, Ivanovic fought back hard in the second set, winning three games in a row to level the contest after being two points from elimination.
“On grass, it’s more mental with so many short points. I was feeling good on the court, and would stay aggressive on the return to put pressure on Ana.
“I think movement is most difficult for me, especially when it’s humid and slippery.”
The Frenchwoman indeed maintained the pressure in the third, racing out to a 3-0 lead and weathering one last Serbian serge to serve out her spot in the semifinals, where she’ll play none other than Kirsten Flipkens, 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist and Ivanovic’s doubles partner.
“It’s a good test for me because she loves grass. I played her a couple weeks ago on clay, so it’ll be much different. She has the shots to play on this surface, so I will have to be aggressive and put the pressure on her.”
.@FlipperKF: “Me he sentido muy bien en la pista”. Congratulations Kirsten! ???? pic.twitter.com/OD1ALyexah
— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 17, 2016
Flipkens edged past Paraguayan qualifier Veronica Cepede Royg, 7-5, 6-3, to reach her second WTA semifinal of 2016, and her first since finishing runner-up in Monterrey.
“It was warm today but I had a good match today,” the Belgian said in her post-match press conference. “I think she started off really well and at the beginning it was really tough to play my game. But I got into the match better and better, serving well.
“For sure, she was in good shape coming out of qualifying, so I needed to see how her game was. She got an early break, so it was important for me to break her back when she was serving for the set. I was always winning the first point on her serve, but it was a matter of getting into those second and third points.
“Once I broke back to 5-5, I felt like I was back in the match.”
With half the season left to go, Flipkens admitted she already achieved her main goal for 2016 – representing her country in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’ve never played there before, so I’m very happy about that.”
No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic and Anastasija Sevastova snapped up the final two semifinal spots of the day; the former No.1 dispatched the resurgent Sorana Cirstea, 6-3, 6-3, while Sevastova recovered from a second set wobble to defeat Mariana Duque-Mariño, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
.@CaroGarcia is happy! ? ¡Ya está en las semifinales del #MallorcaOpen! pic.twitter.com/oF5VfzHjXc
— MallorcaOpen (@MallorcaOpen) June 17, 2016
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Madison Keys’ comeback from wrist injury may not have ended on the note that she wanted, but the 22-year-old considered her Round of 16 run at the BNP Paribas Open a success.
Keys underwent left wrist surgery during the off-season, which ruled her out of the first two months of the year. Playing in her first tournament, she scored two solid wins over Mariana Duque-Mariño and Naomi Osaka, before losing to a steady Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday night.
“Funny enough, this is the furthest I got in Indian Wells, so go me!” Keys said after the match. “Obviously it sucks, but I’m happy I could play three matches. Caroline played well tonight. I thought it was pretty tight for someone who has played 20 matches this year and I’ve played three.”
.@Madison_Keys in control of the point! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/m1CjnChreb
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Earlier in the week, Keys said her expectations for her first tournament back were fairly low.
“I was, like, if I get a set, I’ll be happy. It’s always tough to come back and everyone is in the middle of their season. I definitely had really low expectations, which is probably why, when I was up there and serving for the match in the first round, I was, like, ‘Oh, this is exciting. I didn’t think this was going to happen.'”
Keys sustained the left wrist injury at the 2015 US Open but played the entire 2016 season while managing the pain. It ended up being her best season to date, as she broke into the Top 10, made the biggest final of her career at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and qualified for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“I don’t think I really compromised my game,” Keys said, referring to playing last season with the injury. “If anything, it made me play my game better, looking more for forehands, doing what I could, maybe not going for the winner down the line from 16 feet behind the baseline, playing a lot smarter.
“More than anything, I think it made me a lot more mentally tougher knowing it’s going to hurt, it’s going to be tough, but just wanting to make Singapore that badly, I was just going to do everything that I could to get there.
“I think it was after Wimbledon I found out it’s not going to go away and that I was going to need surgery to fix it. So the original plan was, ‘Okay, after US Open, [have the surgery], be ready for Australian Open.’
“And then after US Open, I was 9th in the Race to Singapore. There was no way you’re going to get me off of a tennis court right now. Then it was, okay, we’re going to do everything we can to get to Singapore. And then, if you don’t make Singapore, we’ll call it there. If you do, which I did, I got home on the 30th or the 31st of October and I had surgery November 2nd.”
Keys’ wrist was immobilized in a cast after surgery, but once that cast was removed her panic began to set in.
“For the longest time, I still couldn’t turn my steering wheel and I couldn’t use my left hand doing this and that,” she said. “It was tough, and it was really stressful.
“There were so many times when I’d be fine for, like, a week or a month and then all of a sudden I’d be, ‘Oh, my God, guys. What if I never win a match again? What if it’s over?’
“And that’s when my team was really great about, Take a breath. It is fine. You won matches [in 2016] when every time you hit the ball you were in horrible amounts of pain. You can do this.”
.@Madison_Keys saves break point with the drop volley! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/WUlSBTxbOM
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Part of that team includes Lindsay Davenport, who rejoined Keys’ team during the off-season. The two worked together during the 2015 season and under Davenport’s tutelage Keys made her first major semifinal at the Australian Open. Family commitments led to a split but so far the reunion has been exactly what Keys needed.
“I think we both came to the table knowing what I could give, what she could give, all of that,” Keys said. “I have been lucky that I have also had the help of USTA in Orlando. So the weeks that she can’t do, I have a really good base to go home to and practice there. So that’s been really good. I think we both know what to expect.”
Going under the knife is never ideal for any athlete, but in Keys’ case there may have been a silver lining. In addition to spending time with her family – “It was nice to live a normal life for a bit” – the delayed start to her season also gave her a block of uninterrupted time to work on her fitness and improve her game.
Beautiful slice from @Madison_Keys! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/etTKNa2vLZ
— WTA (@WTA) March 14, 2017
“I worked on my slice a ton, obviously, because I had months where I couldn’t do anything else,” Keys said. “There were a lot of things I got to work on, which was great. And also, I got to work with Scott [Byrnes, her trainer] for the longest period of time without a tournament coming up. We worked on a lot of just little things we haven’t been able to.
“So I feel like I’m in the best shape that I have probably ever been in. Just feeling more comfortable coming to the net, using a slice, all of that. In a lot of ways it was really good to kind of just have the time to work on my game.”
Keys said the wrist is fully healed but she went into the tournament wondering how it would hold up through multiple matches. Under the duress of three matches, those questions were answered positively.
“I’m definitely excited to get back on the grind,” Keys said. “In a weird way I miss losing, because it means I was actually here.
Well that was fun ? thanks for the always amazing tournament @BNPPARIBASOPEN and thanks for all the support. Love you guys ? pic.twitter.com/YdUxxHH9cU
— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) March 15, 2017
“We do get to do what we love. I think that’s really special, and I think sometimes we get really caught up in the winning and the losing and rankings and all of that. At the end of the day, we get to play a sport that we love for our jobs, and just this whole time has made me realize how truly blessed I am to be able to do that.”
Keys’ next event is next week’s Miami Open.