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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.14 seed Elena Vesnina served out a gutsy three-set win over five-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams to win, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, and reach her first-ever semifinal at the BNP Paribas Open.

“I’m in the semifinal of BNP Indian Wells tournament, one of the biggest tournaments. I guess I’m on fire,” Vesnina said in press, calling back to her on-court interview. “I’m enjoying myself on the court, and I’m really happy with my wins here.

“This win today against Venus really means a lot for me. It’s never easy to play against her. She’s a great champion and always fighting till the end.

“I’m really happy that I pulled it out.”

Venus was playing at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for just the second time since 2001, and had shown tremendous heart through a pair of tough victories over rival Jelena Jankovic and Peng Shuai to reach the last eight.

On the other side of the net was Vesnina, already in the midst of a career-best run at a Premier Mandatory tournament, who lead the American in their overall head-to-head and beaten her in their last previous encounter at the Miami Open.

“I’ve played against Venus, I don’t know, four times. I kind of knew the way she’s playing, hitting, serving, and today was totally different story. Today she was playing totally different match.”

Taking advantage of the veteran’s slow start, the Russian raced out to a quick 3-0 lead and never looked back in the opening set, winning her sixth set over the former No.1 with the loss of two games or less.

“She looked tired and slow on the court. Then, all of a sudden, she started moving around, hitting great shots, winners from all over the place. And in this momentum, I kind of lost my rhythm, because I didn’t know what to expect.”

Things only got more tense from there, as Venus made up for a subpar serving day with phenomenal groundstrokes, pushing Vesnina farther back and drawing errors from last year’s Wimbledon semifinalist to help level the match at one set apiece.

“It was not easy. When she won the second set, I was thinking how I’d seen previous matches where she was down with match point or set point, and I was like, Uh-Oh, it’s happening again. I’m going to be another victim of Venus. I don’t want that. I want to win this. I want this match.”

Shaking off a frustrating first game in the decider, Vesnina buckled down and broke back, winning five of the next six games to tee the Indian Wells crowd up for the tensest of endings. Venus valiantly staved off three match points on her own serve, and held a whopping six break points in the hopes of clawing back even.

“I was actually very proud of myself, how I held my nerve. I was 0-40 down, but, like, I didn’t even think about that. It was point by point, trying to create a good rally, trying to move her around.

“I was struggling with the first-serve percentage in the end of the third set, so I started serving with a little bit less power, and a bit more pace.

“Couple of kind of big points she gave me unforced error, but I stuck to my game. I was like, ‘I’m never gonna lose this game.’ I was really fighting like it’s the last game of my life.

Vesnina displayed impressive mental fortitude to save all six – including three in a row at 0-40 – to convert her fourth match point and one of the biggest results of her career after two hours and 11 minutes on court.

“Maybe this kind of tactic helped me to win this last game. Because otherwise it would have been 5-4, she would serve for 5-5, and you never know. She could come back again.”

Employing solid aggression throughout, the Russian finished the match with seven more winners and nine fewer errors than her illustrious opponent, and made 15 charges to net, winning 10.

“I’m a little bit tired. Of course, it was not an easy match, especially mentally, because when you’re set up and then down with a break, it’s never easy coming back again.

Standing between her and the biggest final of her career is No.28 seed Kristina Mladenovic, who stunned another former No.1 in Caroline Wozniacki earlier in the day.

“Kiki is having a great season. She’s on fire. She won her first maiden title in St. Petersburg and then she made final in Acapulco. It’s going to be tough match. We played couple of times, but two, three years ago, and it’s totally different story now.

“I need to think how I need to play against her, because I have couple of thoughts on my mind. She’s a great doubles player, as well. She can come into the net. She’s using the dropshots, slices.

“So it’s going to be difficult match, but on the other hand, it’s very exciting to play the semifinal match here in Indian Wells.”

But first, the Russian has a doubles semifinal to take care of; the No.2 seed partners with Ekaterina Makarova to take on Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova after a suitable rest.

“I have doubles coming in few hours. So I need to win that match, and then tomorrow I will be ready for the semifinal. I know how to recover. I’m not the new player on the tour. I know that I need to recover, and how to recover right and fast for that.”

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Falling Short Never Fun, Says Frustrated Venus

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Venus Williams admitted that she was frustrated to fall short at the quarterfinal stage of the BNP Paribas Open, losing in three sets to Elena Vesnina – but said she had given her utmost to the cause. Carrie Dunn reports.

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Bertens Shocks Vinci In Nürnberg

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NÜRNBERG, Germany – Kiki Bertens dealt a blow to Roberta Vinci’s French Open preparations by triumphing in their second-round meeting at the NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP on Wednesday.

Early exits in Madrid and Rome meant Vinci arrived in southern Germany short of match practice, and her hopes of playing herself out of this funk were dashed by Bertens in an hour and 20 minutes.

Vinci looked to be sending the contest into a third set, only for the qualifier to batten down the hatches and complete the upset. Bertens’ 6-4, 7-6(4) victory sets up a meeting with Irina Falconi, who fought back to see off No.6 seed Misaki Doi, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

“I’m really happy with the win today, of course. I’m always happy to have a few matches before Paris and I think my level was okay today,” Bertens said.

“I didn’t start [the second set] so good, I was 4-1 down. But then I started to be a little more patient – trying to hit the ball in the court! – and from there be more aggressive, and that worked pretty well today.

There were mixed fortunes for the German contingent, Julia Goerges easing past Yulia Putintseva, 6-4, 6-2, while Varvara Lepchenko ended the hopes of No.5 seed Sabine Lisicki, 6-2, 7-6(5).

“It was a tough one. Obviously Sabine’s the favorite and she’s the home player. And she’s a great player! So I knew she wasn’t going to give me anything for free and I’d really have to fight for it and that’s what I was looking for,” Lepchenko said.

“In the second set I had a lot of opportunities that I let slip. I lost my focus a bit there and I was all over the place a bit there, and once I got back into it, it was more even and I was able to push through.”

In doubles, Annika Beck and Anna-Lena Friedsam warmed up for their singles quarterfinal against one another by teaming up to beat Chan Chin-Wei and Demi Schuurs, 6-0, 6-4.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – After the dust cleared from a thrilling fortnight at the BNP Paribas Open, it was two Russians who prevailed in the California desert. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Vesnina are both vying for their first Indian Wells title, but which will come out on top on Sunday’s showdown?

Here’s 10 things to know before the championship match.

[8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #8) vs [14] Elena Vesnina (RUS #15)
Head-to-Head: Tied 1-1

1) “Thirty is the new twenty in tennis!”
Vesnina joked about it in her post-match interview, but now the players are starting to believe it.

At 31 years and 297 days old, Kuznetsova was the seventh oldest player ever to reach the Indian Wells final, while at 30 years and 231 days, Vesnina is the ninth oldest.

Also, it’s the second time this season that two players over 30 meet in a final. Last time it happened? Serena Williams vs Venus Williams in the Australian Open.

2) Vesnina is gaining momentum.
It’s been a bumpy road to the Indian Wells final for Vesnina. She opened the 2017 season with back to back first round exits, falling to Alizé Cornet at the Brisbane International and retiring against CoCo Vandeweghe at the Apia International Sydney.

She regrouped at the Australian Open, where she posted a third round appearance and backed it up with a quarterfinal run at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Now, she’s through to her first ever Premier Mandatory final at Indian Wells.

3) Kuznetsova keeps consistent.
On the other hand, consistency has been the name of Kuznetsova’s game.

The veteran Russian player has now reached the quarterfinals or better at six of her last eight tournaments: 2016 Tianjin Open (semifinals), 2016 Kremlin Cup in Moscow (champion), 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global (semifinals), 2017 Brisbane International (quarterfinals), 2017 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy (quarterfinal) and now the 2017 BNP Paribas Open (final).

4) Russians ruling the desert.
With both Kuznetsova and Vesnina through to the final at Indian Wells, they’ve set the second all-Russian final in tournament history, and the first in over 10 years.

The last time two Russians met at this stage was back in 2006, when Maria Sharapova braved high winds to defeat Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2 and claim her 11th career title.

5) Third time’s the charm for Kuznetsova?
After a nine-year gap, Kuznetsova back into the Indian Wells final for the third time in her career. She posted back-to-back finals appearances, finishing as runner-up in 2007 (l. Daniela Hantuchova) and 2008 (l. Ana Ivanovic).

Will she finally go one better and take home the Premier Mandatory title?

6) Vesnina seeking new heights.
In addition to being the biggest title of Vesnina’s career, a win in the final would boost her ranking to No.13 – this would surpass her current career-high ranking of No.15, earned on February 6, 2017 following a run to the St. Petersburg quarterfinals.

7) Full circle moment for Vesnina.
A year ago, a No.86-ranked Vesnina fell in the first round of Indian Wells qualifying. A year later, she’s into the final.

“That was a big turnaround now for me, from first round of qualies and now being in the final. This is a dream,” Vesnina said in her post-match press conference.

“I hope it’s a great example for other players, you know, that everything can happen if you’re believe in yourself, you know that you have the game. Even when nothing is going your way and you’re losing in the first round of qualification, what can be worse?

“Don’t put yourself down and keep building these wins. Because last year, actually, I played a lot of tournaments from the quallies and it helps me. These kind of things give you belief that you’re almost there. Your ranking is not there, but your game is there. I think this is the most important.”

The last player to fall in Indian Wells qualifying then reach the final in their next appearance was Serena Williams (l. qualifying in 1997, won the title in 1999 – did not play in 1998).

8) Marathon woman Kuznetsova putting in the hours.
Kuznetsova has amassed an exhausting seven and a half hours on court throughout the fortnight, coming off a tight encounter with World No.3 Karolina Pliskova and earlier in the tournament posting wins over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Caroline Garcia, Roberta Vinci and Johanna Larsson.

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because Kuznetsova has made a reputations of gritting through marathon matches throughout her career.

“I haven’t been worrying about two sets or three sets,” Kuznetsova said after her close, straight sets win over Pliskova. “I just feel great, you know, because I have been fighting for every ball.

“If she managed to win one of the sets and then we go for third, I would still be fighting and still playing every ball. If she manages to win me, I would say great job. But it doesn’t change my attempt in the match.”

9) But Vesnina’s got her beat.
After fighting past Shelby Rogers, Vesnina took down Budapest champion Timea Babos in three sets, before rallying to upset soon-to-be World No.1 Angelique Kerber and posting another three-setter against former World No.1 and Australian Open finalist Venus Williams.

Her heroics against arguably the tougher draw have accrued her almost nine hours on court – will she be able to recover in time to defeat her countrywoman?

10) Here’s where you can tune in.
Vesnina and Kuznetsova will battle it out on Sunday, March 19 at 11:00 am PST (14:00 EST, 18:00 GMT).

Click here to select your country and tune into the BNP Paribas Open final.

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Ivanovic, Muguruza Headline Mallorca Launch

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Just one month away from the first edition of June’s Mallorca Open, Ana Ivanovic tried for the first time the centre court of the grass tournament along with Carlos Moyà and Toni Nadal during an event held at the Country Club Tennis Academy Santa Ponsa, the tournament’s venue.

The former Wprld No.1, one of the favorites to win the title, practiced on the new grass court with Carlos Moyà, a former ATP No.1, as well as Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and coach.

“It is a big event for Mallorca, with big names and a hard draw,” said Ivanovic after practicing for over 10 minutes on a grass that has been tested and supervised by the All England Lawn Tennis Club. “It is a pleasure for me to prepare Wimbledon in a place I feel like at home,”

Ivanovic also unveiled one of the surprises of the event, a giant tennis ball made of 600 ensaimadas, a typical majorcan pastry.

Apart from Ivanovic, the Mallorca Open will have a great line up, full of grass court specialists. Garbiñe Muguruza, Eugenie Bouchard and Sabine Lisicki all reached the Wimbledon final in the last three years, and will try to become the first champions on the inaugural edition of the event. Other big names with the likes of former No.1 Jelena Jankovic, Sara Errani, Kristina Mladenovic, Annika Beck and Julia Goerges.

A few months ago Muguruza was the selected player to put the first stone on this centre court.

“I am very excited and I can’t wait for this tournament to start” she said at the itme. “I am really happy because this surface is one of my favorites. In Spain we have a clay tradition but I think this novelty is great news. I’ll be there in a few weeks, excited to play another tournament in Spain, in a very special place like Majorca.”

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RG Draw Ceremony: Watch It Here

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Want to see the French Open draw unfold right before your eyes? Look no further – watch the live broadcast of the draw ceremony right here on wtatennis.com!

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