As It Happened: Kuznetsova Roars Into White Group Lead In Singapore
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, relive Svetlana Kuznetsova’s thrilling win over Karolina Pliskova in three grueling sets.
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, relive Svetlana Kuznetsova’s thrilling win over Karolina Pliskova in three grueling sets.
The two top seeded teams – Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova and Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic – had little trouble reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
SINGAPORE – Out of the 16 semifinal scenarios that could have come to fore in the Red Group, only one involved No.7 seed Dominika Cibulkova reaching the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in her debut appearance. By knocking out No.3 seed Simona Halep, 6-3, 7-6(5), she did all she could do to make that lone scenario happen on Thursday, outlasting the Romanian and playing her best tennis of the week to keep herself in semifinal contention.
With Angelique Kerber’s straight-set win over Madison Keys, Cibulkova advances into her first Singapore semifinal after a statement victory from the Slovak.
Read how the match unfolded in the WTA Insider Live Blog.
– Cibulkova shows off her refined mental toughness.
The second set was crucial for both women. Win it, and remain in contention for the semifinals; lose it, and book your first ticket home.
Cibulkova admitted she very nearly did that before taking the court on Thursday.
“I was like, ‘Okay if I lose today, tomorrow we fly for holidays.’ So we booked…well, no, we didn’t book the flight, but it was like, ‘Okay, if I lose today we fly tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. to holidays.’
“So I just give everything into this match today. I knew it could be possibly the last. All the circumstances made me play really well today.”
Perhaps the mind game helped her stay focused through the tensest set of the week, but even that is a symptom of a successful tenure with a sports psychologist, whom she began working with last year.
“I was playing such good rallies, and then somehow she’d put the ball back again. There were few situations I was like, ‘Okay, I want to leave the court. This is unreal.’
“That’s what made me so strong, the mental toughness, that I knew I cannot lose even one point. I had to just think about what I want to do on the next point. That’s what made me win the second set. It was extremely tough mentally and physically, but tennis-wise, it was such a high level.”
Out of challenges is @Cibulkova, as she didn't realize that. What drama! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/QuEF6CDaEp
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
Out of challenges late in the second set, Cibulkova refused to be rattled, and gamely won the last three points of the second set’s sudden death.
“The pressure of me winning in two sets, that’s what made me like, ‘Okay, breathe and just forget it.’ Because I saw the ball was in. I think I have a good eye. I knew it was in.
“Maybe in a different match, different time, it would make me go crazy and I could lose two, three points likes this and the set would be over. I knew I cannot do this right now. I just had to refocus. This is what I’m talking about, the mental strength I had today.”
– Halep ends the season how she started.
Injuries and illness plagued the start of Simona Halep’s 2016, to the point where she hardly thought it possible to return to Singapore in the spring. Sporting a left knee strapping against Cibulkova, there were some clear movement issues for most of the match, which, while it made her fight all the more impressive, it kept her from taking the aggressive stance necessary to take the second set.
“I think she saw that backhand is not very strong because of the leg,” Halep said in press. “It was not easy for me to push.”
Not wanting to talk too much about the injury, Halep heads into the off-season with plenty of positives: another Premier Mandatory title at the Mutua Madrid Open, a return to the Top 3 after dropping as low as No.7, all under the umbrella of a successful tenure with coach Darren Cahill.
“You're doing a hell of a job!” @Darren_Cahill tells @Simona_Halep! #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/imCRrVkiu4
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
“This tournament was a bonus for me. At the middle of the year I said that I cannot qualify because I was very far after four months, tough four months.
“But once I qualified I say that it’s a bonus, and I have just to give everything I have. I didn’t have enough to qualify in the semis, but it was a good experience again, third year in a row, so it’s a good thing.”
Heading back to Romania to visit her newborn niece, Halep plans to revamp her pre-season with a trip to Australia with Cahill.
“The plan is to go to Australia in December. Before he is coming to Romania, so we will mix. I wanted to change something and get used to that time, weather before Shenzhen and before Australia.”
“Danke, Domi!” – @AngeliqueKerber, probably. pic.twitter.com/b8hM69GUr1
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 27, 2016
– Core team key to Cibulkova’s success.
A tennis player is often only as good as his or her team, and Cibulkova has spent years bonding with hers, headed by longtime fiance – now husband – Michal Navara.
“He’s really important. He’s there for me. Sometimes when there are tough, tough times he can make me see the other side. You know, he always says, ‘Okay, the life is not that bad, you know.’
“He can make me sometimes be more relaxed. Even if I lose a match, he can make me see different things. That’s what really helps me. There are so many things that he’s helping me with, but this is one of them.
“He’s really one of the biggest positive energy in our team.”
.@Cibulkova with her #WTAFinals Kids Fan Club! pic.twitter.com/EGx9IaSbQw
— WTA Finals Singapore (@WTAFinalsSG) October 27, 2016
Accenting her team this week in Singapore is the addition of both parents – Cibulkova typically travels with just one or the other to any given tournament – and it’s clear the Slovak’s passion and determination is genetic.
“My father, after my win today, he jumped down and again the security took him away. He’s a little bit emotional. You can see me on the court. I get emotions. Maybe probably it’s from him I get these emotions.
“Do you remember Stanford when he jumped down on the court? Yeah, today he didn’t get on the court but he jumped down from the stands.
“Mostly I’m looking in my box. My coach, they are more calm. But I’m happy my parents are here with me and they can see me playing a great tennis at the WTA Finals in Singapore. When I was starting playing tennis it was never, never in our dreams to be here.”
MELBOURNE, Australia – Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe looks to back up her win over the WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber with another big upset, this time against No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza. Venus Williams hopes to stay on course to another all-Williams final, but a tricky opponent stands in her way. Who will grab the first two spots into the semifinals?
We preview all the Day 9 matchups right here on wtatennis.com.
Tuesday, Quarterfinals
CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #35) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads 2-1
Key Stat: Vandeweghe is the first American (other than Serena Williams and Venus Williams) to defeat a WTA World No.1 since Jennifer Capriati defeated Martina Hingis at 2001 French Open
Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe is making her Australian Open quarterfinal debut in style, upsetting World No.1 Angelique Kerber in a commanding straight-sets performance.
The battle-tested Vandeweghe also comes into her quarterfinal matchup with an extra bit of confidence, having already defeated her next opponent Garbiñe Muguruza two times previously.
But both of those wins came on grass – Vandeweghe’s favored surface – and both came back in 2014, before the Spaniard rocketed up the rankings and claimed her maiden Grand Slam title.
“It’s an interesting matchup because [Muguruza] holds a different aspect to a playing style of she’s an aggressor, as well.She is going to play that way, and no other way,” Vandeweghe assessed after her win over Kerber.
“For me it depends on if I can match it, as well as if I can beat her to that punch of getting first strike, first play.”
Muguruza struggled with form earlier in the season, but in Melbourne she looks locked in. After overcoming her usual slow starts, Muguruza has rediscovered her lethal aggression, winning matches more decisively and as a result, hasn’t dropped a set all tournament long.
[13] Venus Williams (USA #17) vs [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #27)
Head-to-head: Venus leads 3-2
Key Stat: 2017 Australian Open marks Venus’ 73rd Grand Slam main draw appearance – the Open Era record
The oldest woman in the draw is turning back the years as Venus Williams is back into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the ninth time. And on the other side of the draw sits Serena Williams, with the sisters looking on course for yet another all-Williams final.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, because standing between Venus and a semifinal berth is No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Venus leads the pair’s head-to-head 3-2, with Pavlyuchenkova’s last victory coming in 2009.
But the veteran former No.1 understands that, at this stage of the tournament, everyone is a threat – especially the younger players.
“Today I played a qualifier, and she hardly ever missed. So it doesn’t matter who you come up against, they are coming and they want to win, too,” Venus told press after her win against Mona Barthel.
“They have nothing to lose. I’m going to be focused on winning one round at a time and focus on doing what it takes to be there.”
Around the Grounds…
The doubles tournament is heating up as the top seeded Frenchwomen Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are back in action in the quarterfinals, eying their first Australian Open title – and the doubles No.1 ranking. But they’re up against their biggest test of the tournament as they take to Rod Laver Area against the all-Aussie duo of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. The Australians harnessed all the home support in their second-round upset of No.5 seeds Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, and will look to strike again on the tournament’s biggest stage.
Also in action, No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova take on No.11 seeds Raquel Atawo and Xu Yifan, and No.3 seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina square up against No.12 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai.
Venus Williams talks about her celebration on reaching the Australian Open final – and praises the game of opponent CoCo Vandeweghe.
These WTA stars definitely know each other’s game, but can they spell each other’s name? Find out if your favorite players passed the WTA Spelling Quiz!
RABAT, Morocco – Top seed Timea Bacsinszky righted a mid-match wobble to advance to her second WTA quarterfinal of the year at the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem.
Bacsinszky was facing her first big test of the tournament against 22-year-old Kateryna Kozlova, an opponent who took her to three sets in their last encounter at Nottingham.
“This was a tough one for sure,” Bacsinszky said in her post match interview. “Kozlova is playing better and better every week, so this was a tough match.”
The rapidly rising Kozlova might be ranked No.117 but she sits at No.75 on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard due to her impressive results this year. In St. Petersburg she turned heads with her run through qualifying to the quarterfinals – beating Laura Siegemund and Elena Vesnina along the way – and last week she notched a semifinals appearance in Istanbul.
Bacsinszky drew first blood early on, breaking Kozlova’s in the first game of the match and again to go up to a 4-1 lead. The Swiss’ heavy high-bouncing forehands kept Kozlova back on her heels and out of position. Kozlova broke Bacsinszky’s serve to start mounting a comeback in the final games of the set, but the top seed quickly broke right back close out the set.
Kozlova found her pace in the second set, and put together the play that has impressed throughout the year. She overpowered Bacsinszky from the baseline and took the set to level the match. But the Swiss player put the mid-match dip behind her and won the deciding set after two hours and twenty minutes.
“She raised her level in the second set,” Bacsinszky said. “She was pushing more against me and had me more on defense. It was hard to hit winners against her.
“But I found my way to change things in the third set and in the end I was lucky enough to win the last point.”
Bacsinszky’s opponent in the quarterfinal is Johanna Larsson, who knocked out Teliana Pereira 6-4, 6-4.
Elsewhere, New Zealand qualifier Marina Erakovic had a bittersweet entry to the quarterfinals – she was up 6-4 against the No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko when the Ukrainian was forced to retire due to pain in her right thigh from an injury sustained during fitness training.
“It’s always tough when you win like that,” Erakovic said afterwards. “You never want to see your opponent injured – I feel sorry for Lesia and hope she’s okay.
“But, you know, good for me. I’ve got through five matches here, which is great. I’m gradually playing better and better each match which is what you want.”
She sets up a quarterfinal clash against Aleksandra Krunic next round, who earlier ousted the No.2 seed Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2, 6-2 in the day’s biggest upset.
“I’ve never played her before but I know her,” Erakovic said. “It’s another challenge, another match, another chance to compete and keep improving my game. That’s what I’m thinking about.”
“Here in Rabat every day is a nice day – the sun is always shining, so tomorrow should be a good day.”
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Former World No.9 Andrea Petkovic had a whirlwind start to her week at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, but is thoroughly enjoying her first visit to Russia’s cultural capital, into the second round as a qualifier.
“I just came back from Australia on Wednesday, and I had to get a Russian visa from Germany,” she explained before making the main draw. “I got it Friday at 1PM, and didn’t arrive to St. Petersburg before 11PM last night. I couldn’t practice here, so everything was a little fast.”
The German hasn’t dropped a set through four matches, all without new coach Sasha Nensel, who was held up due to visa issues. Traveling with her mother, Petkovic is instead drawing inspiration from seeing Mirjana Lucic-Baroni reach the semifinals of the Australian Open; the pair played doubles in Melbourne, reaching the semifinals.
“I feel like I still have so much more in me, and I think it was important for me to make a new commitment with a new coach to show I still want it. He’s really hard on me, and I haven’t had this before, so it’s a new thing for me. I like it so far, and we’ll see where it takes me.”
The 29-year-old has used the surge of veteran success as primary motivation of late, crediting another doubles partner, good friend and former World No.1 Angelique Kerber as the first to reignite her passion for the game.
“I didn’t know where my place was, but I kept going half-heartedly,” she said of an emotional end to her 2015 season. “When Angie won the Australian Open and started playing so well, I saw what an achievement it was and how happy it made her.
“It’s a different story from when you see Serena winning Slams, because she’s so far away from me. But Angie and I are good friends; we played doubles so many times, and it made me think about how if she can do it, I can do it.”
There would be no better place for Petkovic to start doing it than St. Petersburg, a city that played a prominent part of her childhood.
“One of my favorite authors is Dostoyevsky. I feel like I know the city very well; I’ve just never been here before. When we arrived, my mother saw the river and said, ‘Look at the water, what kind of river is it?’ I answered, ‘That’s the Neva,’ and she was like, ‘How do you know that?’ I said, ‘I read it, I know it!’
“It’s difficult because I came so late and I have to play, but I really hope that I can catch a day or afternoon to see the Hermitage. One day, when I’m done with tennis, I want to come back here as a tourist because this is one of the cities I’ve always wanted to visit. I have a picture of it in my mind, because I’ve never actually seen it!”
Her love for Dostoyevsky runs deep, citing Rodion Raskolnikov – the protagonist to Crime and Punishment – as her “first crush.”
“I always struggle because I really like The Brothers Karamazov but the first book I read of his was Crime and Punishment; I read it several times. I think I like Brothers Karamazov more.”
Her comfort on court in St. Petersburg was particular evident when she brought back some familiar dance moves after beating Begu – perhaps inspired by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova.
“Their dancing was so professional. I used to do a few dance moves but they had a choreographer! They were so in sync that I’d be a little afraid to be in competition with them.”
Regardless of choreography, Petkovic undoubtedly appears in rhythm ahead of her next match against No.6 seed, defending champion Roberta Vinci.
.@AndreaPetkovic dancing her way into the second round! ? pic.twitter.com/2ePW8Rrsak
— WTA (@WTA) January 31, 2017
All photos courtesy of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2017
Venus Williams speaks to the media before her opening match at the St Petersburg Ladies Open.
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…