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Radwanska Rallies Past Strycova, Olympic Champ Puig Next In Tokyo

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TOKYO, Japan – No.2 seed and defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska was one game from elimination against the always-dangerous Barbora Strycova, but the Pole turned things around to advance into the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“The first match is always tricky, especially at a really strong tournament like here,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview. “You’re playing someone in the Top 20, Top 30, so it’s never easy. I’m just very happy with that match; it wasn’t easy, but I was just better in a couple of points.”

Radwanska last played Strycova at the French Open, where the former World No.2 survived a three-setter on the terre battue, and it quickly became clear it would be a similar struggle on Wednesday as the Czech veteran raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set despite dropping the first.

“I’ve known her for a long time, so I know she’s a great player with great hands. She can do everything on court, with great touch and is very often at the net. She made some incredible shots, so I’m very glad the last point was mine!”

Strycova is in the midst of a career-best season after reaching the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and came into Tokyo just two spots shy of her career-high ranking of No.19 – earned in late August. Thrice up a break in the decider, she served for the match at 5-4, but Radwanska gamely broke back and saved break points of her own in the next game to engineer victory in two hours and 16 minutes.

“I know it’s late but thank you for staying. Hopefully I will see even more of you the day after tomorrow!”

It is sure to be quite a quarterfinal match-up come Friday as the No.2 seed is set to take on Olympic tennis event champion Monica Puig; the Puerto Rican knocked out former Tokyo champion Petra Kvitova in three sets to earn her best result since becoming her country’s first-ever Olympic Gold medalist. Former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki also looms as a possible semifinal opponent, making the fight for the Toray Pan Pacific Open trophy likely a photo finish.

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Flawless Pliskova Sails Into Last 16

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.18 seed Karolina Pliskova needed less than an hour to take her place in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open, producing a dominant display to swat aside former champion Ana Ivanovic.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

After an even start, Pliskova’s game clicked into gear in spectacular fashion, a sequence of 10 uninterrupted games helping her to a 6-2, 6-0 victory.

Ivanovic, who lifted the Indian Wells title eight years ago, came into the contest nursing a knee injury that hampered her movement throughout. A string of uncharacteristic errors saw her broken to love in the opening game and while she drew level soon after, it was clear that her game lacked its usual zip.

Pliskova, on the other hand, was having no difficulty getting the ball through the court, forging ahead and wrapping up the set with a fierce backhand drive. The winners continued to flow in the second, the Czech eventually finishing with 18 as she romped to the finishing line.

Pliskova had won all three of her previous encounters with Ivanovic, including earlier this year in Sydney. “We’ve played a few times already and I’ve always won. But I think I played really good tennis today and I’m happy that I made [the next round] so fast,” Pliskova said.

The one-sided scoreline was all the more surprising given the players’ respective form heading into the tournament; Ivanovic had made the semi and quarterfinals in St. Petersburg and Dubai, while Pliskova had suffered a couple of early exits in the Middle East.

“Last year I didn’t lose any first rounds. Now I’d lost twice in a row so I’m just happy to have some matches and looking forward to the next one,” Pliskova added.

That next outing will come against Johanna Konta, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over No.2 seed Angelique Kerber’s conqueror, Denisa Allertova.

Also emerging triumphant from Monday’s afternoon session were Roberta Vinci and Magdalena Rybarikova. Vinci continued her fine start to the year by outclassing Elina Svitolina, 6-1, 6-3, while Rybarikova caused the tournament’s latest shock, dumping out No.7 seed Belinda Bencic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Former WTA World No.3 (in both singles and doubles) Nadia Petrova has announced her retirement from professional tennis after a 19-year career.

“Tennis has given me so much,” Petrova told WTA Insider. “It’s given me a career, shaped me as a person, allowed me the opportunity to travel the world, make friends internationally and learn about many cultures. My opportunities have become endless and for that, I’m forever grateful.”

The 34-year-old from Russia concludes a career which saw her clinch 13 WTA singles and 24 WTA doubles titles, reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal, advance to two Grand Slam doubles finals and win the WTA Finals doubles title on two occasions.

Check out Petrova’s full statement below and click here to read WTA Insider’s exclusive interview with the two-time French Open semifinalist.

Tennis has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. It was pretty much everything I did on a daily basis and the little time I had off, I would spend with my loved ones. I suppose when the time comes to say goodbye, it becomes bitter sweet. It’s confusing, somewhat painful, scary yet also gratifying. I’ve decided to turn the page and move on to another stage in my life and I’m ready to do it. Tennis has given me so much. It’s given me a career, shaped me as a person, allowed me the opportunity to travel the world, make friends internationally and learn about many cultures.

My opportunities have become endless and for that, I’m forever grateful. My career has been great, obviously with highs and lows. We all know I was plagued with many injuries which made some of my calendar years challenging. Unfortunately that’s part of an athlete’s life and we all learn how to deal with that. We fall and then we get back up and keep going. Then there comes a time, no matter what you do, say or feel, nothing is ever enough. Your body lets you know it’s had enough. In 2013, when I lost my mother, emotionally I was a mess. On top of that, I was dealing with a hip injury which affected a good portion of the year. I made the decision to take some personal time to heal physically and emotionally. Hopefully that would help me once I decided to step back on court. In February 2014, I tried playing to see how I felt. My mind was still everywhere but on the court and my body was just not responding. It was painful. Painful because I felt useless and the player I was once, was no longer there.

I took more time and when I decided to start training again, my body felt good but once I was aggressively doing court work, it started to break down again. I had to start facing the inevitable and that was that my career had come to an end. To be able to compete at a high level with these top players, I had to be in the best shape and if my hip was not holding up, there was no way I could move on. After many failed attempts of trying to make a come back, I came to the realization that maybe it was time to turn the page and say goodbye to tennis competitively. I would be starting a new chapter in my life, exploring other interest and keeping myself occupied but most importantly spending my time with my loved ones. Making up for lost time.

I said to myself.. “I want to start a family, I want to be home more and I want to enjoy a lot of the things I never had time for while I was on the road”. So although it’s been unfortunate that I was unable to overcome this last injury and compete again, I’m excited for what’s to come and be a part of tennis in the future with other aspects of the sport. I’ve been blessed that Tennis has been such a huge part of my life professionally for the past 15 years. I want to thank every single one of you who has made it possible along the way. Whether that’s been sponsors, tournament staff, WTA, my travel team (which consisted of my coach, trainer, physio and manager), friends and family.. Thank you all. Last but not least MY FANS!! You have been my motivation, my back bone and the reason why I hadn’t given up sooner. Without fans, there wouldn’t be tennis. You all make the sport. Thank you all so much for believing in me and helping me through out my entire career.

Without any further delay, I’d like to make it known that I’m officially retiring from the sport. I plan to stay involved in tennis in the near future. I will be devoting a lot of my time to the sport through charity work which I will make known soon. I may no longer be competing but I will never be far from a court. My heart will always belong there.

Thank you all for making my career so memorable.

Nadia P

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Kerber Handed Tricky Wuhan Draw

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WUHAN, China – If Angelique Kerber thought reaching the top of the rankings would make life any easier at the WTA’s flagship events, she was given a rude awakening at Friday’s draw for the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

Indeed, Kerber’s first event since lifting the US Open and usurping Serena Williams as World No.1 will be far from straightforward after a number of potential banana skins were placed in her path at the Premier 5 event.

As one of the leading eight seeds, Kerber is the recipient of a first-round bye, meeting either Kristina Mladenovic or CoCo Vandeweghe in her opening match.

The German, a quarter and semifinalist in Wuhan’s first two years on the calendar, is projected to face No.14 seed and 2014 champion Petra Kvitova in the third round, with possible showdowns versus Carla Suárez Navarro and Simona Halep lurking further down the line.

In the bottom half of the draw, defending champion Venus Williams faces a slightly less threatening start. Her opening opponent will be either Anastasija Sevastova or Yulia Putintseva, while Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska are likely to lie in wait in should she clear the early hurdles.

Serena Williams’ late withdrawal promoted Garbiñe Muguruza, last year’s runner-up, to No.2 seed, and she will begin against either Daria Gavrilova or former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic. This was not the only eye-catching first round match-up of a draw which also threw together No.16 seed Samantha Stosur and the resurgent Caroline Wozniacki.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SYDNEY, Australia – Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska eased past qualifier Duan Ying-Ying and into the semifinals of the Apia International Sydney on Wednesday evening.

At last week’s Shenzhen Open, Radwanska saved three match points to defeat Duan in a tougher-than-expected season opener. This time around it was a far more straightforward outing, the No.2 seed completing a 6-3, 6-2 victory in an hour and 20 minutes.

“Sometimes you play people two or three weeks in a row, like Caroline and I had last year in Asia, but I’m definitely more happy with this performance than in Shenzhen,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview. “It’s another semifinal here, so I’m very happy with that.

“I was warming up at 4pm and it was still very hot, so I was a little bit lucky to play this evening. I was watching the first match here and it was unbelievably hot – the guys were playing amazingly.”

Despite the more hospitable conditions, both players made heavy weather of holding onto their serve early on. But after a succession of breaks, Radwanska finally put some daylight between the two, opening up a 5-3 lead before calmly serving out the set.

Unlike in Shenzhen, there was to be no Duan comeback, Radwanska rattling off the first four games of the second set to ease her way into the last four.

Radwanska lifted the title in 2012, and standing between her and a return to the final is marathon woman Barbora Strycova. Earlier in the day, Strycova withstood the worst of the midday sun to win an epic encounter against Caroline Wozniacki. “Like I said, she was playing unbelievable tennis and she’s really on fire. Last year she also played amazing tennis. I’m just expecting a good match and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

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