Australian Open: Mirza/Strycova vs Rae/Smith
Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova take on Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith in the first round of the Australian Open.
Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova take on Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith in the first round of the Australian Open.
The penultimate stop-off on wtatennis.com’s trip down Olympics memory lane is the 2008 Games in Beijing, which saw a clean sweep of the medals from tennis’ new world order…
Beijing, China, 2008
Olympic Green Tennis Center
Hardcourt
For a Russian athlete there is no greater prize in sport than an Olympic gold medal. It is fitting therefore that for Elena Dementieva, so often the bridesmaid at tennis’ biggest events, the site of her greatest triumph was the Beijing Games.
Eight years after announcing herself to the tennis world with an unexpected silver medal in Sydney, Dementieva went one better in Beijing – a surprise winner in a tournament full of surprises.
A regular figure at the business end of majors, Dementieva enjoyed a smooth passage through the opening rounds and into a quarterfinal with Serena Williams.
Five previous encounters with Williams had brought just one win, but in Beijing Dementieva was a woman on a mission, producing a stirring comeback to triumph in three.
Meeting her in the semifinals was compatriot Vera Zvonareva, who had taken advantage of No.1 seed Ana Ivanovic’s 11th hour withdrawal to advance from the top section.
She was no match for an inspired Dementieva however, who, with the draw now shorn of many of her tormentors in chief, was not about to take her eye off the ball.
And so to the final where another Russian, Dinara Safina, was lying in wait.
Coming into the Games, Safina was in the form of her life and looking to add a golden finish to a summer that had already seen her pick up silverware in Berlin, Los Angeles and Montréal.
A round earlier Safina had dashed China’s dreams of a home gold medalist by knocking out Li Na and when she took the opening set in the final it looked like she would be putting paid to her teammate’s too.
Then midway through the second set, Safina began to lose her way. Whether it was magnitude of the situation playing on the mind or just an arduous summer schedule finally catching up with her is uncertain. What was certain is that it left the door ajar for a Dementieva comeback.
From then on, it was less about forehands and backhands and all about who wanted it more. There was only ever going to be one winner.
After nicking an error-strewn second set, the momentum was now with Dementieva and she was not about to hand it back. As the match edged towards the two and a half hour mark, Dementieva arrived at match point.
One crisp forehand down-the-line winner later and she sunk to her knees an Olympic champion.
“It’s a huge moment for Russia,” Dementieva said. “I know we were expecting and planning some medals from our team. But I don’t think anyone could expect three medals.”
“This is a dream for every athlete, just to be here. But to be an Olympic champion, this is the top of the career.”
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Olympic Memories: Athens
Olympic Memories: Sydney
Olympic Memories: Atlanta
Olympic Memories: Barcelona
Olympic Memories: Seoul
Britain’s No.1 Johanna Konta fought through a tricky opening match against Kirsten Flipkens to move into the second round of the Australian Open.
CoCo Vandeweghe hits the practice court and gives us a taste at life in the Olympic Village on this episode of CoCo’s Olympic Video Blog!
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.1 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic put together a dominant performance in their first match of 2017 to move into the second round of the Australian Open.
Despite not playing together since their heartbreaking defeat in last year’s Fed Cup final, the French duo showed no signs of rust and cruised past Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh 6-1, 6-2.
Garcia and Mladenovic have a shot at becoming co-No.1s in doubles at the end of this fortnight, and they definitely played like it as they comfortably broke twice to climb ahead to a 4-1 lead. Bencic’s backhand caught the net time and time again, giving the French duo plenty of free points.
Bencic and Konjuh finally got on the board with a strong Bencic service game, but it didn’t make a dent in the French team’s momentum and they served out the opening set with ease. Another pair of back-to-back breaks of serve gave Garcia and Mladenovic their first victory of 2017 after just 47 minutes.
Also through to the second round are the No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova. They survived a late wobble to advance 6-1, 7-5 over Nicole Gibbs and Chuang Chia-Jung.
Currently the World No.1 doubles player, Mattek-Sands is likely breathing a sigh of relief, as her and Safarova’s road to the final has cleared up considerably following the withdrawal of potential third-round opponents Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
“I was hoping to have the capacity to play both events here, but at this point I just need to be careful and just try to maintain myself,” said Venus, citing an elbow injury.
FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil – Irina-Camelia Begu produced a stirring fightback to defeat Timea Babos and win the Brasil Tennis Cup on Friday.
After looking out of sorts in the first set, Begu dragged herself back into the contest to halt Babos’ charge in the second. A break in the ninth game saw her take the match the distance and despite falling 2-0 behind in the decider she rallied once more to win, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
“During the match I didn’t start really well – I was a little bit tense and focusing too much on the negative rather than the positive things I was doing. Then I realized I had to make the most of the situation, if the forehand wasn’t working I needed to use the backhand more,” Begu said. “I think it was more mental because I really wanted to win the title.”
The result secures Begu the third title of her career, reaffirming a love affair with the country which played such a crucial role in her comeback from a serious shoulder injury.
“This country is really special for me. In 2014, I was around 130, 140 [in the rankings], I don’t really remember, and I started with the small tournaments, then Florianopolis and Rio,” Begu said. “Being here for five weeks I got to see that the people are really nice, the food is great, too. I was also doing well, winning some of the tournaments, the $25Ks, so it was a nice comeback for me. If I have the chance I will come back again!”
Victory also provides the perfect send-off ahead of the Romanian’s trip up the coast to Rio where she will compete in her second Olympics, beginning her challenge against Nao Hibino. Babos, whose four-year wait to add to her solitary WTA title continues, meanwhile has a day to lick her wounds before a first-round meeting against Petra Kvitova.
“It was a difficult final emotionally, especially as I felt I had it in my hands, then only at the end I realize I’ve lost,” Babos said afterwards. “Of course I was playing against a very good player – she was fighting all the way – but I thought that I was playing better and I had many, many, many opportunities, so obviously I’m sad to lose this final.”
Angelique Kerber takes on Carina Witthoeft in the second round of the Australian Open.
NANCHANG, China – Duan Ying-Ying capped a winning week at the Jiangxi Open with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 upset over No.6 seed Vania King to win her first-ever WTA trophy.
Watch live action from Nanchang this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Playing in the biggest final of her career, Duan recovered from a slow start against the two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, who spent the first eight months of 2015 off the court due to a back injury, to strike gold at home in a two-hour epic.
“I’m very happy to win my first ever WTA singles title, especially with my low back injury and the hot weather here,” Duan said after the match.
“Vania played really well in the first set. My coach gave me some advice during the second set. He asked me to improve my speed a bit and I did so. It worked.”
Down a set and a break, Duan immediately broke back and saved another six break points in her next three service games to put her in position to take a lead of her own and level the match.
“I didn’t expect so many fans to come today. I was really glad to have them cheer for me; their support helped me get through.”
The final set proved decisive for Duan, who broke serve to start and never looked back, serving out her first title to love.
“Winning this title boosted my confidence a lot. I hope to keep up the form and play well at US Open. It’s a really well-organized event this year. I hope to come back next year.
“I might go to see a movie tonight to celebrate!”
In the doubles final, unseeded Chinese pair Liang Chen and Lu Jing-Jing won tense battle against Japanese duo and No.2 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Makoto Ninomiya, 3-6, 7-6(2), 13-11.
Thanks for your fantastic performance in the past week.??See you next year in #Nanchang !#DuanYingYing @queen_v21 pic.twitter.com/LjfYvVoBVy
— Jiangxi Open (@JiangxiOpen) August 7, 2016
Serena Williams discusses what civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr would have been like on Twitter at her Australian Open post-match press conference.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Czech dynamos Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova played pitch perfect doubles to dispatch reigning Wimbledon winners and three-time Olympic gold medalists Venus Williams and Serena Williams, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Olympic tennis event.
The Williams sisters came to Rio with a perfect 15-0 record in Olympic doubles, having captured three gold medals in Sydney, Beijing, and London. But the top seeds faced stiff opposition in the Czechs, who have won four of the last five Fed Cup titles – including last year’s championship, where Strycova helped win the decisive doubles rubber.
Safarova and Strycova recovered from an early break to win six of the final seven games of the opening set, setting the stage for a titanic second set that saw both teams face massive swings in momentum. The Czechs appeared to clinch the necessary advantage by breaking in an almost endless fifth game, but the sisters immediately struck back, saving another break point to get within two games of a deciding set.
Saving three break points of their own, the unseeded duo broke serve one last time to serve out the biggest upset of the tournament in just over 90 minutes.
For Venus, the loss marks what could be the end of a disappointing Olympic outing – unless she opts to participate in the mixed doubles event – losing in the opening round of both singles and doubles.
There'll be no Olympic medal of any color for Venus & Serena. Lose for FIRST TIME at Olys, out in 1R 63 64 vs. Safarova/Strycova #Rio2016
— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) August 7, 2016
With No.2 seed Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic losing their first round on Saturday, the doubles draw is wide open, with a host of talented teams capable of grabbing a medal in Rio. Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe dropped just two games in their first round against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, 6-1, 6-1. Chinese duo Xu Yi-Fan and Zeng Saisai were equally emphatic against the Kichenok twins from Ukraine, defeating Nadiia and Lyudmyla, 6-0, 6-3.
Former No.1s Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci made their long-awaited reunion at the Olympic tennis event, dispatching Germans Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber, 6-2, 6-2.
On court action from our first match at the #RioOlympics2016 !! ??????? @CoCoVandey @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/H9mVi8U32g
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) August 7, 2016