Indian Wells: Bouchard Interview
An interview with Eugenie Bouchard after her second round win at the BNP Paribas Open.
An interview with Eugenie Bouchard after her second round win at the BNP Paribas Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
– Round of 16 set: It’s an “all-skate” on Tuesday, as the schedule gets reset and the entire Round of 16 is in play. In the top half of the draw: Serena Williams vs. Kataryna Bondarenko, Barbora Strycova vs. Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Jelena Jankovic, Nicole Gibbs vs. Petra Kvitova.
In the bottom half: Magdalena Rybarikova vs. Roberta Vinci, Victoria Azarenka vs. Sam Stosur, Daria Kasatkina vs. Timea Bacsinszky, and Karolina Pliskova vs. Johanna Konta.
– Gretzky’s orders: Timea Bacsinskzy overcame a bad fall that left her scraped and bruised to beat Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, to advance to the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open for the second straight year. She’ll play Daria Kasatkina on Tuesday. Bacsinszky looked in control of the match until she slipped and fell forward early in the second set and landed flush on her hip, the gritty court surface leaving her covered in bleeding cuts that required an 11-minute medical timeout.
Bacsinszky said her hip was left bruised by the fall, but taking the fall just 40 feet from the great Wayne Gretzky left an even bigger bruise on her ego. Just a few days earlier she was able to get a photo with The Great One, which left her Canadian boyfriend Andreas fuming.
“He knows all the statistics of Gretzky, NHL, NFL, he loves it,” Bacsinszky said. “It’s his hobby. We talked at dinner and he said the only one he would love to take a picture with is Wayne Gretzky. The next day I met him in the lounge!”
“I just told him, ‘Hey the three last letters of my last name are the same as yours’. He laughed. He was really really nice. As a legend he’s one of the biggest sportsmen for me, of any sport. He’s so humble, he’s super nice.
“Today he was eating and I didn’t recognize him and he said, ‘Hey! Good luck!’ I was like, hey my boyfriend didn’t talk to me for two hours yesterday – this is true. He was really pissed. Then Gretzky told me is he here? Tell him to come! And I said, yeah he’s too shy he would never ask, I know him. And he said, ‘No it’s an order. You have to tell him to come.’ So he came and they took the picture.”
– Karolina Pliskova’s mental vacation: Pliskova played the heaviest schedule of any top player last year and she continued to play through the off-season, signing up for a full exhibition schedule. But after Australia she was mentally fried and confessed to needing a week away from the courts after going winless in the Middle East. Pliskova got some much needed R&R in Monaco, where she now has a residence; the rest seems to have paid off. She’s into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Ana Ivanovic. She plays Johanna Konta for a spot in the quarterfinals.
“The draw was good to me because I know Ana and I know Shelby,” Pliskova told WTA Insider. “Against Ana I won all of the matches so I was pretty confident in this match and I knew if I played at the level I played in Australia I could beat her. I definitely feel well and I rested a little bit so mentally I feel fine. That’s the main thing.”
– Daria Kasatkina saves match point to advance: The 18-year-old continues her trend of making debuts to remember. In her first trip to Indian Wells she’s into the Round of 16 after beating Monica Puig, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), saving match point along the way.
“From the first practice I feel like my spins are flying and the balls are good,” Kasatkina told a small group of reporters while breathlessly cooling down on an eliptical machine after the match. “I like to play here because it’s a surface for me I think.”
– Belinda Bencic’s desert dry spell: While the court may suit a junior French Open champion like Kasatkina, it has flummoxed junior Wimbledon champion Bencic. The No.7 seed bowed out 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to Magdalena Rybarikova.
“First of all, I didn’t have my game, second of all I really don’t like to play her,” Bencic said. “She plays really tricky for me. I cannot [use] the power from her. Especially with these conditions it’s not really the best for me. It bounces high for me, it’s slow, it’s just weird. Last year I played good here but also had my trouble. It’s not like grass where I come and just play great.”
– Jelena abandoned: Jelena Jankovic has a tough task on Tuesday, facing No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska. The Serb hasn’t had the best start to the season but seems to be finding her form here in the desert, where she made the final last year. Jankovic said her off-season preparation was poor and she’s playing catch-up with her fitness.
“During the off-season my fitness trainer he had to go train someone in the soccer team,” Jankovic told WTA Insider. “It was during the off-season when I needed to train physically and I didn’t do that very well, I didn’t prepare very well. Since Dubai I hired a new one from Thailand. He used to work with Srichiphan. I’m happy I have him with my team and I’m working hard to get physically fitter.”
– Nicole Gibbs’ key to success: The American qualifier is putting together her best career result after coming through qualifying to beat Alexandra Dulgheru, Madison Keys, and Yaroslava Shvedova to earn a shot against Kvitova in the fourth round. Since teaming up with Roger Smith after the US Open, Gibbs’ results in 2016 have seen a marked improvement. She’s won 10 of her last 11 matches.
“He’s a really supportive person, just really, really positive,” Gibbs said. “He kind of complements my personality really well. We get along really well, which hasn’t always been the case with my coaches in the past. I can be really stubborn. I can be a little difficult sometimes. He’s been really great in that sense.
“And then he just knows the game so well. Sees it so well. Gives me unbelievable game plans. You know, we have just been working really hard on making me more of an all-court player and a little bit less defensive.”
The gritty court seems to be favoring Gibbs’ game too. “I have been hitting the ball a little bit heavier, which I think picks up well on the slower courts,” she said. “Maybe I’m throwing people’s timing off, I’m not sure, but I have been enjoying the conditions out here. I think it plays fast through the air but kicks up off the court, which is nice for me.”
– No dream team for Kvitova: When Kvitova split with David Kotyza the first name on everyone’s lips was Martina Navratilova. Oh well:
Q. If Martina came in that door right now and said, I’ll coach you, would you consider her?
PETRA KVITOVA: Probably no.
– Former WTA CEO Stacey Allaster returns to tennis: Allaster announced that she will be joining the United States Tennis Association to become the new Chief Executive of professional tennis; the post is tailor-made for the one who spent nearly 10 years with the WTA.
“I worked 28 years straight, hard between the Ontario Tennis Association, Tennis Canada and the WTA, and that was a mistake,” Allaster said by telephone Friday from a wellness retreat in California. “There needs to be these scheduled breaks. Academics do it. A lot of law firms do it. Nike does it. It just rejuvenates you physically, mentally and emotionally and brings you back stronger. And I am at that place and super excited to join the U.S.T.A.”
– Hear from Steve Simon and Agnieszka Radwanska: Both are great, insightful guests on the new episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:
– Top half of the draw holds up: Seeds may have fallen early but the projected quarterfinals held up in the top half. No.1 Serena Williams cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kateryna Bondarenko, while No.5 and defending champion Simona Halep advanced via a retirement from an ill Barbora Strycova, who pulled the plug down 6-3, 1-0. The two will face off for the first time since the 2015 Western & Southern Open final, which Serena won 6-3, 7-6(5). It will be the first real test for both women, as they’ve cruised through the early rounds without dropping a set.
“I really like her game,” Serena said. “I like how she’s aggressive. She’s a fighter. She killed me at one point, so I definitely have to be ready. It’ll be a really good match I think for both of us to kind of see where we want to be at this point in the year.”
“I’m happy that I am again in the quarterfinals,” Halep said. On Wednesday she’ll be playing her biggest quarterfinal since the US Open. Finally healthy after an injury and illness addled start to the season, Halep has found some of her best tennis in a long time here in the desert.
“I feel good here. I started to feel my game. I started to feel very well on court. I move well. It’s the most important thing. Of course the matches, it’s important to win a match, but it’s better to feel that you are like strong on court and then to think about winning a match.”
The day’s other quarterfinal sees No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.8 seed Petra Kvitova face off for the first time since the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global final last fall, which Radwanska won, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. A win on Wednesday would move Radwanska up to No.2 in the rankings.
“I just remember it was very, very tough match,” Radwanska said when asked to recall that Singapore match. “Long, tight, everything was tighter, every game, point by point. A little bit different surface, different conditions, definitely.
“I think always against her you really have to play good tennis and be careful definitely on her serve. She’s really using her left hand very good for that. Well, but I just hope we can play on the same level as we played in Singapore.”
Radwanska was able to move past Jelena Jankovic in straight sets to advance but Kvitova found herself once again mired in a long, grueling three set match, beating Nicole Gibbs, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. It was the third consecutive three-set match she played this week. After skipping the tournament last year, Kvitova joked she was just trying to give fans more bang for their buck. She’s had an off day after each of her matches but will have less than 24 hours to recover for Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
“The last match we played in Singapore was different conditions, definitely, playing indoor compared here,” Kvitova said. “Weather should be very warm and outdoor. Aga is playing really good game. I just probably will need, you know, playing really good way, tactically well, playing aggressively, going for it.
“We’ll see. Like I [have to] catch a lot of balls and playing really smart. I have to be ready.”
– Victoria Azarenka the heavy favorite to make the final: In the more unpredictable bottom half of the draw, the 2012 champion held off Sam Stosur, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, to advance to her third quarterfinal of the season. Azarenka is now 14-1 on the season, with that sole loss coming to Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open. A title run here would put her back in the Top 10 for the first time since August 2014, moving up as high as No.7.
Azarenka faces surprise quarterfinalist No.97 Magdalena Rybarikova, who advanced after Roberta Vinci retired with a left foot injury. Coming into Indian Wells, Rybarikova had not won back-to-back main draw matches since the Istanbul Cup last July. This week she’s beaten Laura Robson, Daria Gavrilova, Belinda Bencic, and now Vinci to make the quarterfinals. Azarenka is 2-0 against Rybarikova and has never dropped a set to her.
The last quarterfinal features two of the best young talents on tour, with 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina continuing to build on her blistering 2016 season against No.18 seed Karolina Pliskova. The two have never faced each other.
Playing in her Indian Wells debut, Kasatkina rolled past No.12 seed Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4, 6-2. Kasatkina broke down the Bacsinszky game with a healthy diet of heavy forehands to the Swiss’ forehand, breaking down the weaker wing time and time again. It was a smart, tactical match from the young Russian and the best match of her tournament so far.
Kasatkina on that jumping backhand: “From 12 I started playing like this. All the Russians, Safin, Kuznetsova play this shot! I like it.”
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 16, 2016
– Azarenka goes strength to strength: Azarenka has continued to build on her already stellar return game. She says her forehand return in particular has improved immensely and she’s now able to generate more pace and angle from that side. She’s also seeing her hard work in February pay off on the match court this week.
“I started to be more efficient on my movement, which is big part of my game, to be able to find angles, cut angles, and just overall placement of the ball,” Azarenka said. “I worked a lot on my serve to be able to create easier serving games and going for my shots, developing power speed, and now need to work a little bit more on accuracy.”
– Top 10 rankings watch: Radwanska can overtake Angelique Kerber and can climb to No.2 in if she is able to reach the semifinals…. Garbiñe Muguruza will maintain her current ranking at No.4…. Halep will fall between No.5 and No.7…. Vinci will reach a career-high ranking after Indian Wells…. Azarenka can return to the WTA Top 10 on Monday if she wins the title at Indian Wells (No.7).
– More rankings news: Konta will move into the Top 25 on Monday, the first Brit in the Top 25 since Jo Durie in 1987…. Jelena Jankovic will fall out of the Top 20 on Monday…. Kasatkina will make her Top 40 debut and overtake Margarita Gasparyan as the Russian No.5 and can even overtake the No.4, Ekaterina Makarova, if she makes the final.
– Chapeau, Gibbsy: Nicole Gibbs’ fantastic week finally came to an end against Kvitova but she’ll move up into the Top 80 on Monday and snag a new career-high ranking. Chin up.
Well… $h!+#keepingtheroutine #icebath #recovery #comingforyoumiami ? pic.twitter.com/Oz4RfO2prz
— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) March 15, 2016
– Judy Murray steps down: The news broke this week that Judy Murray will step down as captain of Great Britain’s Fed Cup team after five years.
It won't be the same without you gorgeous @judmoo ?@FedCup pic.twitter.com/pGxT3vArQ6
— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) March 15, 2016
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Victoria Azarenka takes on Magdalena Rybarikova in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Highlights from the semifinal action at the BNP Paribas Open.
No.3 ranked Angelique Kerber – along with the rest of the Miami Open’s top seeds – met the press at All-Access Hour on Tuesday ahead of the start of play.
“I have much more confidence inside of me. It feels a little bit different but at the end, I know that I need to go to work again, going on practice courts, working hard,” said Kerber on how she’s coping with the added pressure of being a Grand Slam champion.
Last year’s Miami Open finalist, Carla Suárez Navarro, is hoping to do one better this year and claim her first title at Crandon Park.
“Always when she’s in the tournament, she’s the favorite,” said Suárez Navarro on top seed Serena Williams, who defeated her in last year’s final. “She’s always the best because she always wants more.”
“It’s great to be around all these champions and great players, and it was very inspiring for me,” said Belinda Bencic, the youngest member of the Top 10. “That’s why I felt quite good here, and I’m starting to really feel like I’m a part of this whole thing.”
Defending champion Serena Williams has reached two finals this year, and the nine-time Miami Open champion hopes familiar ground will lead her to her first 2016 title.
For Williams, Miami is the closest thing to a home tournament: “This is the tournament that I’ve grown up coming to. Being a local it’s so easy for me to go home, come here, and it’s been just so great to tennis for decades.”
Though Simona Halep comes into Miami with no expectations, her objective is clear: “It’s tough to have expectations after three tough months this year. Always, when I go on court, I want to win the match. I fight for it.”
World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, who’s made the semifinals or higher at every tournament since October, is hoping her consistent run of form will help to grab a second Miami Open title this year.
Petra Kvitova is happy to be back in Miami: “I missed it last year, and I’m very happy to be here again. I missed the tournament; it’s just beautiful up here.”
MIAMI, FL, USA – The Miami Open continues on Wednesday, with several youngsters taking center stage.
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Wednesday, First Round
Stadium
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #45) vs. Lucie Hradecka (CZE #85)
Head-to-head: Hradecka leads 2-1
Eugenie Bouchard has largely left a disappointing 2015 season behind as the former World No.5 has already reached two WTA finals in Hobart and Kuala Lumpur this season. At the BNP Paribas Open, she edged past contemporary Sloane Stephens before narrowly losing to Timea Bacsinszky in the third round
Standing between the Canadian and a second round encounter with No.9 seed Roberta Vinci is Czech veteran, Lucie Hradecka. A top-ranked doubles player who reached the semifinals at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall, Hradecka has beaten Bouchard in two of their last three meetings, though the latter emerged victorious in Indian Wells one week ago. Blessed with a booming game, the former World No.41 could pose trouble for the otherwise aggressive Bouchard, but has won just one main draw match all year – an emphatic dismissal of Alison Riske just two weeks ago in the California desert.
Stadium
[WC] Catherine Bellis (USA #219) vs. Monica Puig (PUR #67)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Back in 2014, a then-15-year-old Bellis stole the hearts of the American public when she outlasted former Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova on an outer court at the US Open. The run ended three sets later against Zarina Diyas, but Bellis had become a star, and a name many like Monica Puig already know well.
Puig is a former junior prodigy herself, reaching the girl’s final at the Australian Open in 2011, and has been playing solid ball to start 2016. As a qualifier, she reached the final of the Apia International Sydney, upsetting Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals. Reaching the third round at the BNP Paribas Open last week, she held two match points against Daria Kasatkina, who went on to reach the quarterfinals. With the winner to play reigning Indian Wells winner Victoria Azarenka in the second round, Bellis and Puig provide a good look at the future of the women’s game
Also on court…
Caroline Garcia begins her tournament on the Grandstand, taking on Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, while Abierto Monterrey Afirme champion Heather Watson takes on Petra Cetkovska to kick off play on Court 1. Americans CoCo Vandeweghe and qualifier Samantha Crawford finish last on Court 1 while Dominika Cibulkova and Johanna Larsson are third on Court 2 following Irina Falconi and 2010 French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Heather Watson rose to the occasion on Thursday afternoon, producing some sparking tennis to outclass Sloane Stephens and take her place in the third round of the Miami Open.
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Playing on Crandon Park’s cavernous main court, Watson displayed a few early nerves before settling into the task at hand. A couple of wayward forehands handed the No.20 seed an early break, but from that moment on the Briton was nearly flawless, coughing up just 12 unforced errors as she wrapped up a 6-3, 6-0 victory in a fraction over an hour.
“I thought I played very well today, actually,” Watson said in her on-court interview. “I knew I was playing well. I started off the first few games a little bit shaky but once I started to feel comfortable I played great, which I needed to because Sloane’s such a great player.”
Watson moved to Florida at 12 to train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and since then her career has been intertwined with that of Florida native Stephens. “I’ve played Sloane many times – we came up through juniors together, kind of came up on tour together at the same time – I think I’ve played her more than any other player,” Watson, who has now won five of her seven career meetings with the American, added.
Since returning from a spell out with glandular fever in 2013, Watson has made a concerted effort to play a more aggressive brand of tennis. And her positivity, particularly in the second set, will have pleased the watching Diego Veronelli, whom Watson has recently reunited with.
In the third round, Watson will need to showcase her defensive qualities, too, when she takes on the mercurial Yanina Wickmayer. “Yanina’s a great player. I don’t think I’ve played her for a long time, I’m a very different player now so it should be an exciting match.”