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Radwanska Books A Spot In Final Four

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – World No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska booked her spot in the Australian Open semifinals for the second time, winning over Carla Suárez Navarro 6-1, 6-3 in the first match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.

The match was billed as a meeting of two of the more cerebral players on tour – both rely on craftiness and shot variety to win in an era dominated by big hitters. The pair had faced each other before, with Radwanska winning three of the four encounters but Suárez Navarro – who was looking for a spot in her first Grand Slam semifinal – won their most recent match.

“We had really tough matches in the past,” Suárez Navarro stated in the previous round’s post-match press conference. “I know it will be tough for me. I know that because of her style, you have to run a lot, you have to think every point what to do.”

Suárez Navarro and Radwanska had fought through tough and emotional fourth round matches, where both had to come back from a set down to advance. But at the quarterfinal stage, their matchup was much more straight forward.

Radwanska took the lead from the start, breaking Suárez Navarro’s serve in the first game then winning the next five out of six to close out the set, 6-1. The Spaniard gave more of a pushback in the second set; she broke Radwanska’s serve twice and hung tight at 3-3. But from then it was all Radwanska, who won the next three games and the match at 6-3.

Suárez Navarro found herself unable to keep pace with Radwanska’s all court game – she hit 45 unforced errors while Radwanska, who is typically stingy with the errors, hit just 13.

The Polish No.4 seed has now won 22 of her last 23 matches and is through to the semifinals, where she’s set to face the winner of the blockbuster quarterfinal match between Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams. She trails both players in their head-to-head, 0-8 to Williams and 2-13 to Sharapova, so she’s approaching Thursday’s match by not letting the pressure weigh her down.

“Right now I don’t really have anything to lose,” Radwanska told Rennae Stubbs after the match. “It doesn’t matter who I’m going to play against.

“I’m going to have a good rest and hope I can play my best tennis. Otherwise I’m going to be in big trouble.”

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Mattek-Sands & Sock Capture Mixed Gold

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a thrilling encounter between two tough American teams, Bethanie Mattek-Sands partnered Jack Sock to take out four-time gold medalist Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram, 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7 and win gold in mixed doubles of the Olympic tennis event.

“I’m still pretty emotional,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “I think, going into this final, we knew the American national anthem was going to be played either way, but I was actually kind of surprised I was so emotional. It’s my first Olympics, first time being up on the podium. It’s hard to describe it in words, but I’m so excited having this guy next to me, we played awesome. It was a lot of fun this whole week.”

After disappointing results in singles and doubles with sister and fellow four-time Olympic Gold medalist Serena Williams, Venus and Ram were late additions to the mixed doubles squad and played incredible tennis to reach the final. With Venus hoping to become the first tennis player to win gold medals in all three disciplines, they took the first set over Mattek-Sands and Sock, a team playing their first Olympic Games.

But Mattek-Sands and Sock are experienced doubles players in their own right, each a former Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles. Roaring through the second set, they recovered from a 3-6 deficit in the match tie-break to clinch the gold medal.

“I was feeling pretty down and out after singles, but I just wanted to enjoy the experience and get the most out of it,” said Sock, who fought off a bout of walking pneumonia to win medals in mixed and men’s doubles with Steve Johnson. “To come away with two medals, one being gold, I’m speechless. It’s a surreal moment for both of us.

“I had a blast with Bethanie all week; she definitely carried me through every match, but it was a ton of fun and it’s going to be something I have with Bethanie for the rest of our lives.”

Overcoming multiple injuries in the latter part of her career, Mattek-Sands was understandably emotional in her post-match interview.

“After a couple of hip surgeries and all of the months I’ve been out where you’re watching all of this happen on TV. Standing on the podium, I was just thinking of everything I’ve gone through to be here.”

Gracious in defeat, Venus nonetheless took home her fifth Olympic medal in her fifth Olympic appearance, and took great pride in being part of an all-American Gold medal match.

“It’s been an honor to play at so many Olympic Games. We’ve had a blast this whole tournament and it was awesome to see two US teams on the podim. We’re just on Cloud 9 today.”

Ram echoed his partner’s sentiment.

“It’s fantastic. To play the final against our teammates, it was a great match and they were just a little better than us. It was just an unbelievable experience to play with Venus at the Olympics and get a medal.”

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Vote: January's Player Of The Month

Vote: January's Player Of The Month

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

It’s time to vote for January’s WTA Player of the Month!

Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, February 8.

January 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists

Angelique Kerber: As the No.7 seed, Kerber stunned the tennis world by defeating both pre-tournament favorites in Victoria Azarenka and World No.1 Serena Williams to capture her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Kerber faced a match point in her first round against Misaki Doi, and after having – in her words – “one foot on the plane back to Germany,” Kerber played with renewed confidence through the first week. Facing Azarenka in the quarterfinals, the German turned around a 0-6 head-to-head and won five straight games to dismiss the Brisbane International champion and two-time Australian Open winner in straight sets. Seeing off surprise semifinalist Johanna Konta to reach her first major final, Kerber played stellar tennis and held her nerve against Williams, stopping her from tying countrywoman Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles. Her win takes her to a new career-high ranking of No.2 and puts her at the top spot on the Road to Singapore standings.

Serena Williams: Entering the Australian Open under an injury cloud, Williams erased all doubts as to her form her first match in Melbourne, racing into the final without dropping a set. Her semifinal against No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska was particularly dominant; the World No.1 needed only 20 minutes to win the opening set over the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion, going on to hit 42 winners to just 18 errors in the two-set match. Though she fell to Kerber in the final, the American remains just one major away from tying Graf’s Open Era record for most Grand Slam titles won, and is firmly behind Kerber at No.2 on the Road to Singapore standings.

Victoria Azarenka: Azarenka began the season hoping to make 2016 her comeback year. Looking in impeccable shape, she romped through the Brisbane International draw, losing just four games to eventual Australian Open champion Kerber in the final. In Melbourne, she was equally dominant through the first week, tying the record for fewest games lost in her first three matches. Despite losing to Kerber in the quarterfinals, the Belarusian still had chances to level the match, serving for the second set at 5-2 and holding three set points at 40-0.

Agnieszka Radwanska: The WTA Finals champion has only lost one match in 2016, the Australian Open semifinal to Serena Williams. Radwanska began her year at the Shenzhen Open, where she won the title, and looked in solid form through five matches in Melbourne before running into a World No.1 playing some of her best tennis.

WTA January POTM

How it works:

Four finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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First Round Of Fed Cup Kicks Off

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

After a rollercoaster first month of WTA play Down Under, players have scattered across the globe to play for their countries in Fed Cup. The international team competition’s World Group and World Group II first-round ties are set to take place on February 6 and 7, and players have been tweeting up a storm as they’ve reunited with their national teammates.

Here’s who is in action for their country this week (all quotes provided by FedCup.com): 

Romania vs Czech Republic

“We are all enjoying the week as we have a great team and the people around us, the doctors, physios and everyone,” said the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova. “It’s something different a few times in a year.

“So we are always looking forward to this week and I hope it can continue like this and the girls will stay in the team.”

Romania: Simona Halep, Monica Niculescu, Andreea Mitu, Raluca Olaru

Czech Republic: Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova, Barbora Strycova, Denisa Allertova

 

Germany vs Switzerland

“This is obviously very big for us,” said Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic. “For sure we want to do big things now in Fed Cup and I think we can, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Well obviously they have a great team also for many years, they’ve been having great results. Of course it will be very difficult but I think now we also have a very good team and for sure it will be even.”

Germany: Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, Annika Beck, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Anna-Lena Friedsam

Switzerland: Belinda Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky, Viktorija Golubic, Martina Hingis

 

Russia vs Netherlands

“It will definitely be a tough match as always,” said Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova. “Team tennis is always different to a normal tournament. Different emotions, different games from the players.

“We normally do everything by ourselves and there, for one week, we are a little bit more close to each other. We all have a good communication.”

Russia: Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ekaterina Makarova, Daria Kasatkina

Netherlands: Kiki Bertens, Richel Hogenkamp, Cindy Burger, Arantxa Rus

 

France vs Italy

“We’re really proud of where we are right now,” France’s Kristina Mladenovic said. “We definitely started to believe in our chances. We’re trying to stay humble, but we also have high expectations and goals for this year.”

France: Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Garcia, Pauline Parmentier, Oceane Dodin

Italy: Sara Errani, Camila Giorgi, Francesca Schiavone, Martina Caregaro

 

Also in action…

Spain:

Serbia:

Great Britain:

United States:

Puerto Rico:

India:

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WTA Shot Of The Month: Wozniacki

WTA Shot Of The Month: Wozniacki

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

January was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.

In the end it was Caroline Wozniacki, who played a stupendous rally against Danka Kovinic at the ASB Classic. Restarting the point with an out-of-nowhere pick-up lob, the Dane showed off all her spee and anticipation when Kovinic tried a drop shot – taking home this month’s top votes.

Click here to watch all of January’s finalists.

Final Results for January’s WTA Shot Of The Month

1. Caroline Wozniacki (42%)
2. Simona Halep (28%)
3. Eugenie Bouchard (16%)
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova (8%)
5. Victoria Azarenka (6%)

Caroline Wozniacki

2015 WTA Shot of the Month Winners

Shot of the Year: Agnieszka Radwanska
October: Agnieszka Radwanska
September: Agnieszka Radwanska
August: Simona Halep
June: Ana Ivanovic
May: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Angelique Kerber
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
February: Simona Halep
January: Maria Sharapova

How it works:

Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

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