Cornet & Garcia Stay On Limoges Collision Course
Top seeds Alizé Cornet and Caroline Garcia battled past a pair of tricky opponents to reach the quarterfinals at the Engie Open Limoges, staying on track for a finals day clash.
Top seeds Alizé Cornet and Caroline Garcia battled past a pair of tricky opponents to reach the quarterfinals at the Engie Open Limoges, staying on track for a finals day clash.
BEIJING, China – World No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza kicked off her Beijing title defense with a hard-fought win over Irina Camelia Begu, emerging victorious from the early test to move into the second round of the China Open.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Though a spate of unforced errors from the forehand wing left Muguruza vulnerable and allowed Begu to grab the first set, the Spaniard recovered and notched a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory after an hour and fifty minutes.
“I think it’s very, very satisfying when you go to a tournament where you know you played well, you feel welcome,” Muguruza said after the match. “But honestly, this was last year. Nobody really is thinking about who won last year. It’s all about who is going to win this year, who is winning.
“I’m just going for my match, just concentrating the next one.”
Muguruza also kept her bid for Singapore on track as she eyes a return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“Definitely Singapore was a great motivation to try to find my spot,” Muguruza admitted. “Well, Beijing is one of the biggest tournaments we have, so for sure I have a great opportunity to do it well and qualify.”
Also into the second round, Belinda Bencic advanced past Annicka Beck in straight sets. In a match that featured 10 breaks of serve, it was Bencic who edged through 6-3, 6-2 after an hour and 17 minutes.
Wildcard Sabine Lisicki had a more straightforward path, powering past Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 6-2. Yulia Putintseva and Yanina Wickmayer are also through, with Putintseva weathering a stern challenge from 19-year-old wunderkind Jelena Ostapenko to advance 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. Meanwhile, Wickmayer added to Monica Puig’s post-Olympic woes, beating the Puerto Rican 6-2, 6-0 and handing her the worst defeat since the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
Serena Williams hit a lot of hot shots on her way to making history with a record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam title – which one her best shots of 2016 was your favorite?
Welcome to WTA Finals month. Here are the updated scenarios after 24 hours to digest the Beijing draw for singles and doubles…
ROAD TO SINGAPORE UPDATE – Saturday, October 1st
SINGLES:
While Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska are next in line to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, Garbiñe Muguruza, Dominika Cibulkova and Madison Keys round out the Top 8 of our live Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Carla Suárez Navarro is next in line followed by Svetlana Kuznetsova, Johanna Konta, and Petra Kvitova. Four of these – Muguruza, Keys, Kuznetsova, and Kvitova are all in the same quarter of the Beijing draw, creating some exciting early round matchups at the China Open.
Potential R16 Match-Ups in Beijing
Interesting to note this round could have a huge say in the final qualification spots if these eight players reach this stage:
Pliskova (#4 RTS) vs Konta (#11 RTS)
Cibulkova (#6 RTS) vs Suárez Navarro (#9 RTS)
Keys(#8 RTS) vs Kuznetsova (#10 RTS)
Kvitova (#12 RTS) v Muguruza (#5 RTS)
Click here for the complete China Open draws.
Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep
Next In Line (Current Top 8)
How can they qualify in Beijing ?
Pliskova – qualifies by reaching 3r OR one of the following
·Keys fails to reach 3r AND Suárez Navarro fails to reach SF
·Keys fails to reach 3r AND Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final nor Kvitova wins title*
·Suárez Navarro fails to reach SF AND Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final nor Kvitova wins title*
*all three are in the same half so only one of these is possible
Radwanska – qualifies by reaching QF OR one of the following
·Keys fails to reach 3r AND Suárez Navarro fails to reach SF
·Keys fails to reach 3r AND Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final nor Kvitova wins title*
·Suárez Navarro fails to reach SF AND Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final nor Kvitova wins title*
*all three are in the same half so only one of these is possible
Muguruza – qualifies by reaching final
Cibulkova – qualifies by winning title
Keys – qualifies by winning title
Suárez Navarro could qualify by winning title but would also need Keys not to reach QF AND Konta nor Kuznetsova to win title
It is mathematically possible for Kuznetsova or Konta to qualify this week by winning the Beijing title BUT this would have to be accompanied by early defeats for Keys, Cibulkova, Suárez Navarro, and Muguruza.
Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3137)
DOUBLES
QUALIFIED: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina, Mattek-Sands/Safarova
NEXT IN LINE:
|
Shvedova/Babos |
3975 |
1r v Savchuk/Wang |
|
Hlavackova/Hradecka |
3775 |
1r vs Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova (Sun) |
|
Chan/Chan |
3760 |
1r bye |
|
Goerges Pliskova |
3270 |
1r vs Aoyama/Ninomiya (Sun) |
How do they qualify in Beijing:
Babos/Shvedova qualify unless Mirza/Strycova, Atawo/Spears or Xu/Zheng win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing SF
Hlavcakova/Hradecka qualify unless Mirza/Strycova reach Beijing final, Atawo/Spears or Xu/Zheng win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing SF
Chan/Chan qualify unless Mirza/Strycova or Xu/Zheng reach Beijing final or Atawo/Spears win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing Final
Goerges/Pliskova qualify by advancing to the same round or better than Mirza/Strycova, Atawo/Spears and Xu/Zheng and if Klepac/Srebotnik don’t win Beijing title
Remaining Teams in Possible Contention (points behind current cut-off)
|
Atawo/Spears |
-575 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention* |
|||
|
Xu/Zheng |
-600 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention* |
|||
|
Mirza/Strycova |
-885 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention* |
|||
|
Klepac/Srebotnik |
-1130 |
8th at best, must win Beijing to stay in contention and depend on other results |
|||
*this will change and require a better result if Goerges/Pliskova advance.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her second-round match at the China Open.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the second round of the China Open.
Petra Kvitova takes on Wang Yafan in the second round of the China Open.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her win in the second round of the China Open.
BEIJING, China – No.8 seed Madison Keys completed a spectacular comeback against Svetlana Kuznetsova to become the first to advance to the quarterfinals of the China Open.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Down 2-5 in the first set and facing set point, Keys rallied to turn the match around and win 7-6(2), 6-2 in an hour and thirty-six minutes.
Keys is one of several players on the Singapore bubble, wrestling for a spot in her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. She even can qualify this week as long as she reaches the final in Beijing; she took one step closer tonight against Kuznetsova.
“Some days I use it as my motivation to try harder, but sometimes it makes me more nervous and puts pressure on me,” Keys told WTA Insider of her potential to qualify for Singapore.
“I’m that close, I want to put myself in the best position possible and be able to walk away, whether I qualify or not, knowing that I did everything I could to get there.”
But Singapore looked a long ways away when Kuznetsova broke Keys’ serve to start out the match, keeping the American on the run and returning deep into the court to leave her opponent scrambling. Some loose forehands have Kuznetsova a second break for a 5-2 lead, and suddenly Kuznetsova was serving for the set.
The Russian held a set point and looked set to close it out, but a pair of double faults put Keys right back in it and the American ripped a backhand down the line to begin her comeback.
“I was 5-2 up and serving for the set two times, but then in a couple games Madison went for her shots and she made them,” Kuznetsova said after the match. “There was a couple of netcords unlucky, too, and then the game was equal.”
“She got her game on, and I lost mine, a little bit. That’s basically what changed.”
Keys broke back once more to level the match at 5-5 and the pair held firm to send the match into a tiebreak, where Keys allowed Kuznetsova just two points on her way to clinching the opening set.
“It just seemed like I was trying to figure out her serve and how she was playing, but I wasn’t executing well,” Keys explained to WTA Insider. “I was maybe just going for too much on my shots.”
“I just – well, I just told myself a bad word and said, ‘Get it together!’ And after that I played a good game and got some confidence back.”
The American broke Kuznetsova three more times in the second set to complete her comeback, taking the first spot in the quarterfinals.
Keys’ road to the Beijing final won’t get any easier, though; she will face Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova for a shot at the China Open semifinals after the Czech swept past defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza later in the day.
You’ve probably heard their voices during a match, but how much do you know about the WTA commentators that call all the action?
In this episode of WTA’s Behind The Tour, go inside the booth with Mikey Perera and Pete Odgers, the men behind the mic at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“It’s a pretty special and privileged position to be in, to be watching sport for a living,” Odgers said. “But not only watching sport, but to be watching it with legends and people you’ve looked up to as a child.”
Perera added, “I just like to have fun, because after all, it’s sport. It’s entertainment; it’s supposed to be fun and that’s what I try to get into my commentaries.”
Want to hear more from WTA World Feed commentator Mikey Perera?
Check out our exclusive WTA Insider Q&A right here!