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INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – What makes a rivalry? Is it a close head-to-head record? Is it compelling matches? Is it facing off time after time with big titles on the line? Or can it be as simple as star power vs. star power?

WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen and WTA Web Editor David Kane preview the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells, which will see Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka renew their rivalry for the 21st time. Can we call Vika a proper rival when she’s only won three of their matches? Courtney and David debate.

Kane: “I think the word rivalry is a loaded term because I think over the years – dating back to the days of Chris Evert and Martina Navritilova – we’ve see the definition of a rivalry take shape in the minds of tennis fans. I think what constitutes a rivalry is this idea of two players, ideally of the same generation but not necessarily, who have contrasting styles, who are high profile, who are top ranked and have won many major titles, who meet consistently in the latter rounds of tournaments but also major tournaments, and are players who are contesting for major titles. That gives a rivalry the gravitas because it’s not just two players competing for dominance over each other but it’s also two players competing for dominance on the biggest stages. So when you think of a rivalry you have to tick off as many of those boxes as possible. In some ways Serena and Azarenka do.”

Nguyen: “There is much to be said when you look at the matches, the scorelines, the situations Vika has been able to put herself in – winning positions – against Serena time and time again, that she is the closest of the rest of the field in terms of being someone who can consistently challenge Serena in big matches.”

Kane: “I think the tension could be from the outside, from everybody saying, ‘This is your biggest rival.’ I think that could get in Serena’s head a little bit. If everyone is coming to you saying, ‘This is your big rival,’ it does create a different dynamic for Serena because it’s the only player anyone really feels that way about coming into a match.”

Nguyen: “I absolutely agree with [Azarenka] when she says the big difference between her and the rest of the field is that she has no fear. She is full of belief, which is great. But I think that desire to win, she’s a hyper-competitive person, that can be her kryptonite in tight moments. When she feels it slipping away, when Serena has one of those [comeback] moments, Vika is so familiar with them because it’s happened to her so many times that she can feel it slipping away. You can sense moments of panic and stress because she wants it so badly.”

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Tennis players are a superstitious bunch. And so, too, it turns out are many coaches.

Among their number is Torben Beltz, coach to World No.1 Angelique Kerber. “I think I’m more superstitious than her maybe,” Beltz told CNN’s Open Court after his charge lifted the US Open title earlier this month.

The current ritual, which began during her New York run, leaves Beltz in danger of departing Asia looking even more hirsute than usual: “When she’s winning, I’m not shaving.”

And for this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, Beltz has upped the stakes, agreeing with the new World No.1 that he would sport a mustache for the remainder of the season should she lift any further silverware during the Asian leg of the tour.

“In the past when I was playing I didn’t shave, and I still keep on doing this as a coach,” Beltz said. “If she keeps on winning for two weeks like here it’s getting really big my beard.”

In the latest edition of Open Court, Kerber and Beltz discussed rising up the ranking, the secret behind their close bond and, of course, shaving habits…

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Before capturing the BNP Paribas Open doubles title with fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, native Californian CoCo Vandeweghe took CNN Open Court’s Pat Cash on a tour of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Upsetting No.16 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the third round in singles, Vandeweghe won a thrilling match tie-break with Mattek-Sands to take out Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 4-6, 6-4, 10-6, at a tournament she has been visiting since birth.

“There’s great viewing access for the fans that come out,” the American explains. “So it’s really interesting in this tournament to have all the fans be close-knit and be able to watch you practice and pretty much do everything!”

Check out the full video below:

Quarterfinal action begins on Thursday in Wuhan with a pair of Top 10 clashes headlining the bill. Chris Oddo previews the matchups right here at wtatennis.com.

Thursday
Round of 16 and Quarterfinals

[4] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [8] Madison Keys (USA #9)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Halep will qualify for a third straight appearance at the WTA Finals in Singapore with a win over Keys.

On Wednesday Simona Halep braved difficult conditions and cruised past hard-hitting Yaroslava Shvedova to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in Wuhan. On Thursday she’ll look to lock up a Singapore bid when she faces No.8-seeded Madison Keys for the third time this season. Halep has given the American nightmares in their 2016 meetings, forcing Keys into longer rallies and negating the American’s lethal serve. In their last match, Halep won 49 percent of the points against Keys’ first serve and broke the American five times. Halep comes in to the pair’s fifth overall meeting with confidence, having dropped just three of her last 23 matches. “I’ve played really well this year and I’m really happy with the way I played in the big tournaments,” she said on Wednesday. “I feel good here and that I have a chance to play until the end.” Keys wants to focus on her game and let the chips fall where they may against the Romanian. “I mean, she’s always tough,” the 21-year-old said of Halep after defeating Daria Kasatkina in three sets on Wednesday. “I definitely don’t think I played my best tennis in Montreal where we played last. I think I was thinking ‘I want to win this match,’ instead of doing what I needed to do process-wise. I think focusing a lot on just what I need to do, how I need to play, is going to be a big thing.” Keys, who improved to 15-6 in deciders this season with her win, can bolster her Singapore hopes with a victory as well. She began the tournament just one point out of the No.8 spot, which is currently held by Carla Suárez Navarro.

Pick: Halep in three

[14] Petra Kvitova (CZE #16) vs. [11] Johanna Konta (GBR #13)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Konta reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier last year at Wuhan.

Fresh off a grueling three hour and 20-minute victory over World No.1 Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova will hope for a quick recovery so that she may use some of the confidence gained from her biggest win of the season on Thursday when she meets Johanna Konta for a spot in the semifinals. Kvitova says the win over Kerber has given her clear proof that she still has that je ne sais quoi that once made her one of the most daunting power players in the game. “From Montreal I just feel better on the court,” Kvitova said on Wednesday after winning for the 17^th time in her last 22 matches. “I am just really trying to find myself. This match probably showed me a lot about how good I can play again and how I do feel inside and how I can still be strong mentally. I think these are very good signs.” If there’s one big advantage for British No.1 Johanna Konta on Thursday, it’s that she was able to conserve some energy during her straight-sets win over Carla Suárez Navarro on Wednesday. Konta saved six set points in the second set to notch her fifth Top 10 win of the season. “I was fully prepared to obviously play a third if need be,” said Konta after the match. Will Kvitova recover in time to avenge her loss (and third-set bagel) to Konta earlier this season at Eastbourne or will it be Konta who adds another impressive victory to her 2016 cache?

Pick: Kvitova in three

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. [9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 11-4
Key Stat: Kuznetsova owns a 16-6 record in three-set matches in 2016.

Svetlana Kuznetsova confidently knocked off defending champion Venus Williams in straight sets on Wednesday, and the Russian is looking very much like she is ready to make a run at qualifying for the 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The 31-year-old Russian, less than 400 points out of contention for the last Singapore slot, notched her third Top 10 win of the season and improved to 34-17 in 2016. She had pep in her step from start to finish on Wednesday and will head into her 16^th career meeting with Radwanska with burgeoning belief. “I’ve been confident and I’ve been playing well,” she said after defeating Williams in 70 minutes behind five of six break points saved. But the same could be said of her opponent on Thursday, World No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska. The Pole snapped Caroline Wozniacki’s seven-match win streak on Wednesday with a straight sets takedown, and Radwanska says she’s happy to be feeling fresh at a time when many other players are worn-down after a grueling Grand Slam season. “I didn’t play as much as the other years,” Radwanska said when describing how she has learned over time to pace herself for the WTA’s Asian swing. “That is really helping.” But Radwanska will need more than fitness to erase a rough run of form against Kuznetsova. She has lost six of seven against the Russian, and 11 of 15 overall.

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

Around the Grounds: Held over from Wednesday due to rain were two round of 16 matchups. No.5-seeded Karolina Pliskova will square off with No.10-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the first match on Court 1, while Jelena Jankovic will face Barbora Strycova in the first match on Centre Court. The winner of these two matches will meet in Thursday’s fourth quarterfinal, which will be the final match of the night session. See Thursday’s complete order of play here.

WUHAN, China – No.4 seed Simona Halep slid past young American Madison Keys, ousting the No.8 seed, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the final four of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, and officially qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Watch live action from Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It was a great match for me,” she said during her on-court interview. “I played really well; I knew she would be very tough because she’s strong and serves really well. But I was moving well and I enjoyed my time on court.”

Halep had won her last three encounters with Keys, including two in 2016, but twice had to battle back from an early break before finding her rhythm and using the American’s power against her to hit 10 winners and 15 unforced errors. Keys, by contrast, managed 17 winners but 24 unforced errors, and found herself unable to break serve after the first set, falling in an hour and 11 minutes.

While Keys’ own chances of qualifying for Singapore took a hit, Halep secured her spot by reaching the semifinals. The Romanian has made it to the WTA Finals every year since the year-end championships moved to Singapore in 2014, when she reached the final and earned her first career victory over then-World No.1 Serena Williams in round robin play; the pair met again in the final, when Williams emerged the winner.

“I knew before the match that I’d qualify if I won today. I’m really happy that I did it. It’s amazing to be playing three years in a row in Singapore. I hope this year I do better than last, that I enjoy my time on court, and that I’m happy, because when I’m happy I play well.

Up next for Halep is either No.14 seed Petra Kvitova, who won a WTA classic to defeat new World No.1 Angelique Kerber, or No.11 seed Johanna Konta, who is in the hunt for Singapore and a Top 10 ranking.

“I'm really happy to qualify for #WTAFinals. It's amazing to play three years in a row!” -@Simona_Halep pic.twitter.com/OLFA9z7sZC

— WTA (@WTA) September 29, 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia – World No.2 Serena Williams kicked off her quest for a seventh Australian Open crown with a decisive 6-4, 6-3 victory over Belinda Bencic to ease into the second round.

“I think it was pretty good,” Serena said of the match in her post-match press conference. I mean, she’s a really good player. So I think I was able to start out well.”

Serena came to Melbourne with an outside shot of reclaiming the No.1 ranking from defending champion Angelique Kerber – the American must reach the final to remain in contention – but first had to take care of Bencic, a former World No.7 who had beaten her in their last encounter at the 2015 Rogers Cup.

“I feel like she definitely has a lot more power. Obviously she beat me in Canada the last time we played, but I really don’t remember much about that match.”

Bencic used that winning week in Canada as a springboard towards becoming the youngest Top 10 debutante since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009, but injuries almost immediately stunted her progress and caused her to be unseeded ahead of the Australian Open.

#Serena: “Right now I have nothing to lose. I get to travel the world and do what I do best.”

??❤️#ausopen pic.twitter.com/Sf0oOofSRe

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017

Knowing this wasn’t a typical first round, Serena put on a solid display throughout the one hour, 21 minute match, though the affair was hardly without its hiccups. The 22-time Grand Slam champion drew first blood to earn a 3-1 lead, only to see Bencic fight back and hold onto level terms until the all-important tenth game, when Serena surged ahead to beak for the set.

The second appeared to be a foregone conclusion as the No.2 seed rode the wave of momentum out to 5-0, but Bencic had one last comeback in store, narrowing the lead to 5-3 before Serena sealed the deal on her second match point.

“I just wasn’t as aggressive as I was during those games. She started playing better. I made a few errors on some key points, but for the most part, I still was going for everything and I was able to close it out.”

Keeping her side of the stat sheet as clean as she could, the former World No.1 hit exactly 30 winners to 30 unforced errors; she looked especially strong on serve with eight aces to four double faults.

Up next for the six-time Australian Open champion is another former rival in Lucie Safarova, who saved a whopping nine match points to defeat Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 7-6(9), 6-1 to book a rematch of the 2015 French Open final.

“I knew I had to be really strong.” #Serena through to 2R #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Z70iPL2JpH

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2017