Rome: Serena Interview
An interview with Serena Williams after her win in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
An interview with Serena Williams after her win in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Irina-Camelia Begu takes on Misaki Doi in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
An interview with Serena Williams after her win in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Madison Keys has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Serena Williams takes on Madison Keys in the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
STRASBOURG, France – No.3 seed Samantha Stosur clinched a second set tie-break to sweep aside Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-3, 7-6(3), to join Alla Kudryavtseva in the quarterfinals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Stosur recovered from an early break in the opening set, and the disappointment of missing the opportunity to end the match in the tenth game of the second.
“I served for it at 5-4 then lost serve,” she told wtatennis.com after the match. “You just need to knuckle down and keep focused, think about what had been working in the match and get back to those things.
“It would have been hard having been serving for the match then playing a third set, and I lost serve again at 6-5. Then it was all about a good start in the tie-break.”
Stosur had never dropped a set in her two previous matches against the former doubles No.1; the pattern held in the ensuing tie-break, which the 2011 US Open champion won to clinch the match in an hour and 37 minutes.
“I don’t remember the other encounters with Su-Wei. Just the scores. They were in different conditions. My coach had a look but two years is a pretty long time in tennis.
“It was another good match against a tricky opponent. It was closer than the score looked.”
Up next for the Aussie is No.10 seed Caroline Garcia, who eased past Jil Teichmann, 7-6(5), 6-3.
Kudryavtseva was the first into the final eight with a thrilling 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Zarina Diyas. The Russian hadn’t reached a WTA quarterfinal since her run at last year’s Brisbane International as a lucky loser, and had to recover from a 5-3 final set deficit to defeat Diyas, and set up a match with either Alison Riske or No.4 seed Kristina Mladenovic, whose match was postponed due to darkness.
Elena Vesnina and Sloane Stephens were the last into the second round in Strasbourg on Tuesday; Vesnina was victorious in the fifth longest match of 2016, taking out Zheng Saisai, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5), while Stephens captured a one-set shoot-out with Donna Vekic, completing a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win.
Le soleil revient aux #IS2016 ! pic.twitter.com/SqFj1kB9Ig
— WTA Strasbourg (@WTA_Strasbourg) May 17, 2016
Highlights from all of Tuesday’s action on Day 3 of the Brisbane International.
Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska was joined by Simona Halep, Johanna Konta and many more for the glamorous Shenzhen Open player party.
Reports of her retirement were greatly exaggerated, Roberta Vinci declares after kicking the 2017 season by reaching the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International.
“I’m playing match to match,” she told WTA Insider after her second round win over Misaki Doi. “I saved five match points in my first round, not bad. I played in the heat, and another good match against Doi.”
“I don’t have any special goals, just playing and staying confident in mind and body.”
It was the World No.18 herself who announced at the end of 2015 that 2016 would be her last season, but became more uncertain as she continued earning impressive results like winning her first Premier title in St. Petersburg and becoming the oldest woman in WTA history to debut in the Top 10.
“I had lot of discussions with me, with myself in November after Zhuhai. This life isn’t easy but I want to continue. I love this life, this sport; I’ve had a lot of success, and I have a good ranking. In my mind, I said, ‘Ok, try to play and just enjoy without thinking about ranking. Keep going, and that’s it.'”
How much longer will she keep going? The Italian veteran plans to keep that to herself this time.
“One year, two years, but I don’t want to tell you right now so you won’t start asking me if this is my last!”
The turning point came at the US Open, the site of her greatest career triumph. One year removed from her improbable run to the final – ending Serena Williams’ Calendar Year Grand Slam bid en route – the top ranked Italian came to Flushing with an injured foot and all the pressure in the world to defend the points she’d earned. Defying the odds once more, she roared into the quarterfinals, falling to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.
“I fought a lot, and I probably had something special inside where, even though I wasn’t feeling good with my body, and wasn’t feeling confident, the passion and will took over.
“It gave me a lot of confidence in myself and was a big part of my decision to keep playing. You can’t be perfect every day, in form or body, so sometimes an injury can happen, but you can still win with the passion, fire, forehand, slice!”
Vinci ended a solid 2016 season at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai still uncertain whether she would continue, ultimately announcing her intent to play this season in late November.
Once she cleared up any doubt, it was time to get back on the court.
“The off-season is never enough, but it was nice. I stayed home in Italy with my parents. I had a great pre-season, nothing special, but I feel good, confident. I had two great matches, into the quarterfinals this week.”
Often over-analytic when it comes to ranking points – this was a player who shouted “60 points!” after a first round win at last year’s US Open – Vinci is intent on turning over a new leaf in 2017.
“When I saw the draw, I thought about how a quarterfinal is 100 points, but I’m trying not to think about that anymore. I’m happy.”
With happiness comes a more mature outlook, one the former World No.7 hopes will keep her fresh and healthy in the new year.
“I know it’s hard to work out every day; I’d speak a lot with my coach and say, ‘Today I can’t play. I’m done, finished.’ He’d say, ‘No problem; you have enough experience, and you know your body.’
“I’m happy about this decision. We’ll see from here; there might be some times when I’ll wonder ‘Why?’ but that’s normal. I’m happy, and that’s good. That’s it.”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images and Instagram.