Tennis News

BEIJING, China – Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki kept up her impressive fall form with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win over CoCo Vandeweghe, to reach the second round of the China Open.

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“I’ve been healthy,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I’ve been able to train well. I’ve been playing well. It’s a combination of that. It’s the end of the year. I have a few more tournaments left, so I’m going to try to do my best.”

Ranked No.74 in the world heading into the US Open, the Dane has lost just twice since then, reaching the semifinals in Flushing and winning her first title of the season at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. Against Vandeweghe, Wozniacki raced out to a 5-1 lead in the decider before the American began to come back.

“It’s hard. I mean, she serves big. Her first and second serve is pretty big. It’s not like you think, ‘Okay, she missed a first serve, now I have a good chance to attack on the second.’

“She’s just a tough player to play because you get no rhythm. It’s the first match. You want to get into the tournament. A combination of that is tough.”

Serving for the match for a second time, Wozniacki shook off missing out on two match points in the previous game to hold at love, booking a second round meeting with No.13 seed Roberta Vinci.

“I started off pretty well, could return quite a few of her serves, put her under pressure. Then in the second set she started serving a bit better. That got me a little bit too much into the defense. Then she went for some shots and broke me. All of a sudden I had to keep trying to fight back.

“In the third set, again, I managed to return pretty well. I think that made the difference.”

Vinci will represent a complete contrast from Vandeweghe, a challenge Wozniacki looks forward to solving in Beijing.

“It’s another uncomfortable player. She mixes it up. She plays the flat forehand. Mix of pace. I’m ready for it. I’m just going to go out there and enjoy.”

Kicking off the day’s action was No.8 seed Madison Keys, who currently rounds out the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

“It’s definitely in the back of your mind every match; it’s just another thing to try to deal with,” Keys said after the match. “I’m happy to be in this position because it means I’ve had a good year. It’s a welcome stress!”

Hoping to clinch her WTA Finals debut, the young American can qualify outright by winning the title this week, but had some struggles against local wildcard Duan Ying-Ying, eventually coming through, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.

“I had a really good first set, and she was probabaly a little bit nervous playing in front of her home crowd; I don’t think she played her best tennis. But in the second set, she played better and my level dropped. In the third, I was just trying to focus on keeping my energy up to get back into the match. Once I got some momentum, I was able to hang onto that.

“It’s definitely tough conditions, really humid out here. It’s not the hottest, but it’s not always easy to breathe out there with the humidity. That’s just where your fitness comes in, and focusing on doing your best.”

Up next for Keys is Kristina Mladenovic, who outlasted Jelena Jankovic, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4); the pair last played at the Olympic tennis event, which also went to a third set tie-break.

“I’ve played Kiki a couple of times this year; the last time was in Rio and that was quite a thrilling match. She’d be a tough opponent.”

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

BEIJING, China – World No.1 Angelique Kerber overcame a spirited rearguard effort – and some inspired shotmaking – from Barbora Strycova on Wednesday to take her place in the third round of the China Open.

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In an entertaining conclusion, Kerber twice failed to serve out the match before finally completing a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory. The German will now face Elina Svitolina for a place in the quarterfinals.

“The match was on a really high level at the end of the second set. We run a lot, both of us. I think we both have a great return, so I think that was also the key from both of us to breaking back,” Kerber said. “She breaks me back, and then I break her back.

“The games were still close. It was not like I lost my serve to zero or 15. There were still good points during my service games.”

After dominating their first four meetings on tour, Kerber has found Strycova a more difficult nut to crack this year. In Madrid, the Czech ran out a surprisingly comfortable straight-set winner, before threatening to repeat the upset in Cincinnati.

Once again, Kerber found Strycova in combative mood, testing her nerve as the finishing line beckoned. Several times the top seed looked to have broken her opponent’s will, yet each time she was unable to deliver the final blow.

Even with a commanding lead in the tie-break, Strycova continued to chase down lost causes, reducing her arrears to 4-3 before finally succumbing when she pulled a weary forehand wide.

“It was back and forth. In the final tie-break, I was just trying to forget about everything that happened before, just being in the tie-break, starting from zero,” Kerber added. “I was 4-0. She came back again. It was actually an up-and-down tie-break as well. But finally I won it, so it was a good match at the end for me.”

Naomi Osaka has saved some of her best tennis for the major tournaments in 2016, reaching the third round at three of the four Grand Slams this season.

“I’m happy with the way I play at slams, because they’re very important to me,” she said at the US Open, addining, “but I kind of wish I could transfer the feeling like to the other tournaments, you know.”

The Japanese teenager’s wish came true at home; playing at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Osaka rolled into her first WTA final, dismantling former Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova along the way.

“I don’t really feel pressure here since the first match, since everyone is ranked higher than me,” she said after knocking out Elina Svitolina in three sets. “I’m a wildcard, so I just try to do my best. But this, for sure, it’s my best tournament.”

This remains my favorite quote from the US Open. Naomi Osaka on whether experience matters: pic.twitter.com/TBG96lBLkS

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 25, 2016

Up to a career-high ranking of No.46, Osaka is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!

Final Results for September’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month

1. Naomi Osaka (45%)
2. Kristyna Pliskova (40%)
3. Oceane Dodin (9%)
4. Christina McHale (6%)

2016 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
June: Elena Vesnina
July: Kristina Kucova
August: Karolina Pliskova