Stuttgart: Kerber Interview
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
You see their names on the scoreboard week in and week out, but how well can you spell out the names of the WTA’s top players?
We challenged Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Belinda Bencic and Angelique Kerber to spell out the toughest names on the tour – from Mladenovic to Pavlyuchenkova and more.
How well did they do? Check out the video above to find out if they passed the WTA Spelling Quiz!
STRASBOURG, France – World No.6 Karolina Pliskova will open the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup defense against Kristina Mladenovic on Saturday afternoon.
The draw, held at Maison de la Region and carried out by Paralympic wheelchair doubles champion Nicolas Peifer, contained few surprises, pairing Czech No.1 Pliskova and French No.2 Mladenovic in the first rubber, with Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia facing off in the second.
The Czechs have dominated the Fed Cup in recent years, lifting the trophy in four of the past five years. Is it a record that compares favorably with many of the other dominant sides in the competition’s history. Indeed, should Pliskova and Kvitova spearhead them to victory over a gifted French side, then they will cement their place alongside the great Australian and United States teams of years gone by.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Australians reigned supreme, Margaret Court and company winning seven of the first 12 titles. This was followed by the golden age of American tennis, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King integral to a group that won the cup on seven consecutive occasions.
Check out photos from the draw for the #FedCupFinal on our Facebook page: https://t.co/ntiKRdmxNX pic.twitter.com/yG4Di4BL8e
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) November 11, 2016
Fast forward to the 21st century and Czech captain Petr Pala has forged another dynasty, founded on tremendous team spirit and no little talent. And even away from the fortresses of Prague and Ostrava, they are a formidable proposition.
Pliskova has enjoyed the best season of her career, winning a couple of titles and reaching the US Open final to cement a place in the Top 10. Despite being overtaken in the rankings by Pliskova, two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova remains an integral cog, arriving in Strasbourg fresh from dominant victories at the big Asian events in Wuhan and Zhuhai. She will be further buoyed by her record against, Garcia, whom she has beaten in two of their three meetings.
The Czechs are not the only ones playing for a piece of history. French captain Amélie Mauresmo is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Court, King and Evert by winning the Fed Cup as both player and captain, and certainly has the players to spring an upset.
? Très contente d'être à Strasbourg pour la finale de #FedCup #TeamFranceTennis #J-2 pic.twitter.com/eJFSKuUadE
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 10, 2016
Garcia has enjoyed a quietly impressive year on tour, titles in Strasbourg and Mallorca helping her close in on the Top 20. Alongside Mladenovic she enjoyed an even more impressive doubles campaign, highlighted by a memorable victory on home soil at Roland Garros, forging an understanding that could prove decisive should the tie reach the decisive doubles rubber on Sunday.
Pliskova and Garcia, who have split their two career encounters, will step out in front of an expected capacity crowd at the 6,077-seat Rhénus Sport indoor arena at 2pm.
After a week of firsts at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup, Cagla Buyakakcay created one more piece of history on Monday morning by becoming the first Turkish player to break the Top 100.
Bizarrely, given her assured play when under the spotlight, Buyakakcay had never previously won a match at her home event – a run stretching back a decade. But roused by the partisan crowd, the 26-year-old reeled off five in six days to become Turkey’s maiden WTA title winner.
Long the standard bearer for tennis in her homeland, two years ago in Kuala Lumpur Buyakakcay became the first Turk to reach a WTA quarterfinal. However, despite solid showings on the ITF Circuit, a double-digit ranking – not to mention a Grand Slam main draw debut – had proven elusive.
Until now, that is: “I wanted to cry after the match, because it’s very important for Turkish tennis. I will be in the Top 100, which will be the first time for Turkish tennis. Probably, I will also be in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time in my career – and also in Turkish history. So that’s why I was so emotional at the end,” said Buyakakcay, who rose from No.118 to No.82 thanks to her triumph.
“For this I was very motivated because of the crowd. And I was very happy that there were so many kids, too, as they were so excited and sharing my excitement.”
Buyukakcay, though, is not the only player on the rise:
Laura Siegemund (+29, No.71 to No.42): Stuttgart finalists Angelique Kerber and Laura Siegemund may be separated by just a couple of months in age, but until recently they have existed in different worlds on the tennis circuit. Should the latter continue her recent form, this may not be the case for much longer. At the Porsche Arena she upset former Grand Slam finalists Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska before running out of gas against Kerber. Her reward was a career-high payday, 330 ranking points and a Top 50 debut.
Danka Kovinic (+13 No.60 to No.47): Danka Kovinic grew up idolizing fellow Balkan girl Jelena Jankovic. While she has some way to go if she is to emulate Jankovic’s feats, the future is looking bright. In Istanbul, she avoided the upset beg sweeping round her fellow seeds to reach the final, a run that has catapulted her back into the Top 50.
Anastasija Sevastova (+10, No.96 to No.86): In Istanbul, Anastasija Sevastova continued her slow but steady re-ascent up the ranks with another solid week, knocking out No.8 seed Johanna Larsson before falling to Kateryna Kozlova in the last eight.
STRASBOURG, France – Karolina Pliskova overcame France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the longest set in Fed Cup final history to give the Czech Republic the first victory, 6-3, 4-6, 16-14.
“I heard that it’s the longest one!” Pliskova told FedCup.com after the record-setting match. “I was just looking at the score and just counting the games and we were still continuing.
“Unbelievable match from both of us. My tennis was maybe not 100 percent, but it still counts as a win. Really happy that we got the first point.”
Walking into the first rubber of the 2016 Fed Cup final, Pliskova and Mladenovic’s head-to-head record was split at one win apiece and the pair had to set their long friendship aside in hopes of giving their team the early advantage.
Watch how Karolina Pliskova won the first set in the first rubber of the 2016 #FedCupFinal! pic.twitter.com/2IV046sEFk
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) 12 de noviembre de 2016
Mladenovic suffered a break of serve in the nerving opening game, misfiring a backhand and later double faulting to hand Pliskova the first lead. The surface seemed to suit Pliskova as well, as the Czech enjoyed the high bounce of the court at the Rhenus Sport Arena to wreak havoc with her big serve.
After Mladenovic leveled the set at 3-3, Pliskova found another gear and dropped just one point on her serve as she broke twice to take the first set 6-3.
The Frenchwoman had the home crowd roaring as she charged back in the second set. Mladenovic earned the first break at 4-3, and then weathered two consecutive breaks to emerge with the edge and the set.
Pliskova wrestled the momentum away as she quickly climbed to a 5-2 lead in the final set. Mladenovic was two points away from losing the match as Pliskova continued to hammer her vulnerable second serve and run her around the court, but she fended off the assault to claw her way back into the match and get back on serve.
With her back against the wall, Mladenovic rallied the French crowd and kept herself in the match time and time again and, with no final set tiebreak in Fed Cup, the match continued. Mladenovic fought past fatigue and cramping – and saved two match points with a gutsy dropshot and a zinging crosscourt backhand – to hold for 9-9, but the final set was barely getting started.
WHAT A THRILLER! ?@KaPliskova edges Mladenovic 6-3, 4-6, 16-14!
Gives Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over France! #FedCupFinal pic.twitter.com/qp1KRJjcyJ
— WTA (@WTA) 12 de noviembre de 2016
Pliskova stayed cool despite it all, trading breaks at 12-12 as the pair broke the Fed Cup final record for longest set ever played. After a monumental three hours and forty-eight minutes (two hours and 23 minutes in the final set), Mladenovic finally blinked in the last game, being broken to love to but an end to the thrilling match and hand the Czech Republic a vital 1-0 lead.
“I feel fresh, actually! But no it’s my longest match that I’ve played ever, so I’m really happy with the way I ended,” Pliskova laughed afterwards, speaking to FedCup.com.
“I was really waiting for my chance. And she was serving so well in the third set that I didn’t really have that many chances. I’m just happy with the win.”
– All photos courtesy of Getty Images
Monica Puig’s unlikely run to winning Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medal inspired the world, and now she’s received the ANOC Award for Best Female Athlete at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
RABAT, Morocco – Top seed Timea Bacsinszky showed off some of the grit that saw her reach the semifinals of last year’s French Open in the semifinals of the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, taking out Timea Babos, 6-4, 7-5.
Watch live action from Rabat & Prague this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
The Swiss has been impressive all week in Rabat, but withstood a fierce challenge from the No.5 seed, who leveled the second set at love as theLo former World No.10 tried serving for the match. Bacsinszky made no mistake in her second chance, earning her first WTA final berth of the season in an hour and 46 minutes.
Her opponent in Saturday’s final will be New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic; saving a match point in the second set tie-break, the World No.186 outlasted Dutch powerhouse Kiki Bertens, 2-6, 7-6(7), 7-5. Edging ahead 5-3 in the final set, Bertens engineered one last twist in the topsy turvy match, saving two match points of her own and pushing perilously close to another tie-break before Erakovic converted on her third match point.
“I think I just kept trying to find my game in the first set,” the former No.39 said after the match. “I felt like I was lacking a little bit of rhythm, but I just kept trying and trying. In tennis, anything can happen, so you just keep working. Kiki is playing well, and it was a good level of tennis. It’s nice to win today but it’s also nice to win matches like these where you fight very hard and it pays off.”
Into her fifth career WTA final, Erakovic is enjoying her best week since a knee injury curtailed her progress at the end of last year.
“I really like Morocco. It’s a great place; I’ve come here before and I really enjoyed it. It’s great to be in another final, especially since I had a very tough year last year and I’ve been trying very hard to come back and to rehab all of the injuries. It’s nice to see these kinds of things after that.”
The doubles final brought Friday’s play to its conclusion as No.4 seeds Aleksandra Krunic and Xenia Knoll upset top seeds Tatjana Maria and Raluca Olaru, 6-3, 6-0.
Congratulations doubles team of Xenia #Knoll & @KrunicAlex for their 2016 win in #Rabat pic.twitter.com/SiRQZBgqAu
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) April 29, 2016
More to come…
On this Dropshot Edition of the podcast, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen previews the Mutua Madrid Open draw. Will Victoria Azarenka pick up where she left off and assert her dominance on clay? Or will it be the tour’s Road to Singapore leader Angelique Kerber build on her title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to breakthrough in Madrid’s altitude? If the two most dominant players on tour this season don’t end up with the final, who is poised to play the spoiler?
Joining the podcast to help preview the action is René Denfeld, contributing writer for The Tennis Island, who is also in Madrid for the week.
Nguyen on Azarenka’s clay court preparation: All eyes are on Victoria Azarenka, 24-1 on the season. I was encouraged by what she said today during All-Access Hour, how this was her first clay court preparation with her new team, and hearing some new advice from her team – new voices. I think the numbers through the season on the hardcourts have shown that she is playing some of her best tennis. She’s serving better than she ever has in her career, and on return she’s right up there alongside the numbers she was posting in her peak years of 2012 and 2013. In all ways, you think this is Azarenka’s season, which is a weird thing today when Angelique Kerber has won Stuttgart and the Australian Open.
Denfeld on comparing Azarenka’s season to Kerber’s: Kerber put in a tremendous run at the Aussie Open, taking out the two biggest favorites along the way, and backing up a title for the first time in her career. What Kerber’s done really well over the last six months is learn from experiences in terms of dealing with pressure. But in terms of consistent performance over the last four months, I put Victoria Azarenka ahead of her, and everyone in Germany is going to throw rocks at me when I come back!
Nguyen on Agnieszka Radwanska’s confidence on clay: It’s interesting because when I’ve talked to Aga about her clay issues, it’s always a curious thing because she says, ‘I grew up on clay; this was the surface I played on.’ But then once she started to play on tour, 90% of the tournaments were on hardcourts. She made those adjustments and faster courts became her strength. When I ask her to drill down on the adjustments she made or what makes clay a challenge for here, she never points to the power deficiency issue, or the technical issue, that the ball sits up. She always points to movement; she’s said, ‘I like sliding on hardcourts, but for some reason, I don’t like sliding on a clay court. I need to be able to run to win matches, and if you take the ability to run away from me, it exposes my game.’
Denfeld on Simona Halep: Of all the seeds, I think this might be the most key tournament for Halep, because I’m a little confused as to the state of Simona at the moment. She said she felt fine and that her ankle felt good; I’m just curious what this tournament holds for Halep. She says she has no expectations, and for me that’s tough to judge, because with no expectations, what does a first round loss mean? She had some good results in the US, and then that curious end against Laura Siegemund, having breathing problems. It created more questions than answers, but it would be good to see some results to resolve them.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app of your choice and reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.
Being World No.1 certainly has its perks. Angelique Kerber capped a career-best season with a once-in-a-lifetime selfie with US President Barack Obama.
Kerber tweeted about meeting the 44th President of the United States:
A dream come true!! What an honour to meet President Obama for lunch today. pic.twitter.com/0AU6HUeuqV
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) November 17, 2016
It’s already been a busy off-season for Kerber, who won a pair of Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open, and reached the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The year-end No.1 also held a kid’s clinic, giving advice to the next generation of players:
the next tennis generation is really cute ? pic.twitter.com/6c1xTyzkAI
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) November 16, 2016
Top seeds Caroline Garcia and Alizé Cornet are one win away from an all-French final at the Engie Open de Limoges after fighting past a pair of tough quarterfinal battles.