Tennis News

MALLORCA, Spain – Kirsten Flipkens played some of her most solid, complete tennis to complete the biggest upset of the Mallorca Open, knocking out top seed Garbiñe Muguruza in straights sets for a spot in the second round.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In her first match since winning the French Open and ascending to World No.2, Muguruza just couldn’t get comfortable on the new, faster surface and was struggling with her serve.

“I think it was very tough,” Muguruza said after the match. “I barely had time to actually practice and enjoy the tournament.

“I wanted to play Mallorca so much and I tried, but then I went to the court and obviously I couldn’t find my rhythm. Also, [Flipken’s] game matches grass very well. My performance today was just not what I wanted.”

The Spaniard looked poised to roll through early on in the first set, breaking in the first game and consolidating for a 2-0 lead. But No.61 ranked Flipkens would have none of it, rallying to break back and erase Muguruza’s lead.

Despite Muguruza holding five other break points during the course of the first set, it was the Belgian who broke once again, closing the first set 6-3 against the World No.2. Flipkens marched through the second, getting the decisive break at 3-3.

Muguruza never recovered, and her Spanish homecoming was cut short, 6-3, 6-4.

“I had so many opportunities coming to me that I couldn’t take, and she played really well during those big moments,” Muguruza said. “So the match started slipping away from me little by little.”

“It was great to be back here and playing in Spain, and especially in my first tournament [since the French Open] it was even more special. Hopefully next year it will be better.”

Flipkens’ game loves the faster surfaces: with today’s win over Mugurza, Flipkens notched her fourth career win over a Top 10 player, and her first since 2013, when she shocked the then No.8-ranked Petra Kvitova in Wimbledon. In fact, three of those four Top 10 wins have come on grass courts.

Up next for Flipkens is Monica Puig, who defeated Julia Goerges, 6-4, 7-5.

? ? pic.twitter.com/4oDApw8yb0

— WTA (@WTA) June 14, 2016

BIRMINGHAM, England – Carla Suárez Navarro snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on another rain-interrupted afternoon at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Trailing 5-3 in the final set, Suárez Navarro’s three-day wait to complete her first-round match looked like it would end in disappointment. However, with the rainclouds gathering overhead once more she produced a rousing finale to triumph, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Originally scheduled for Monday, the players did not make it on court until Tuesday, splitting the opening two sets before the last of the day’s showers brought play to a halt with the Spaniard leading 2-1 in the decider.

A sluggish start on Wednesday, though, saw Svitolina take the first three games to build a seemingly insurmountable lead. As Suárez Navarro struggled to find her rhythm – and footing – Svitolina stretched this advantage, coming within two points of victory when serving for the match only to be denied by her opponent’s late show.

In two of the other matches carried over from the previous day, British wildcards Naomi Broady and Tara Moore suffered close losses. Tamira Paszek broke in the penultimate game to end Moore’s spirited effort, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, while Daria Gavrilova eventually defused Broady, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Over on Centre Court, No.4 seed Belinda Bencic’s tournament came to an unfortunate end as a thigh injury forced her to retire from her match with Irina-Camelia Begu. Bencic required treatment after a tumble in the first set and despite bravely battling on eventually admitted defeat trailing 6-4, 4-3.

“I slipped during the first set and injured my thigh. I tried to play on but unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish the match,” Bencic said. “It’s not ideal but being healthy in the long term is the top priority so I had to do the sensible thing.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Svetlana Kuznetsova will be looking to end her runner-up jinx when the Russian heads to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 19.

The 31-year-old, who is currently enjoying a rich vein of form having recently retained her Moscow title as well as reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, has climbed into the top ten in the world rankings for the first time since 2010.

Talking to the Gulf News, Kuznetsova says she is in a confident frame of mind approaching a tournament in which she has been the bridesmaid on three previous occasions, losing out to Justine Henin in 2004, Elena Dementieva in 2008 and Caroline Wozniacki in 2011.

“People see me differently now because I’m a Top 10 player again,” she admitted. “Players will only see you by the ranking, and ranking reflects everything. You can’t cheat the ranking, that’s for sure. All players want to beat me.

“Of course, everyone expects good tennis from me and that can be hard to deal with. But I feel confident, I feel happy and healthy. Those are the main things and I love the game. I enjoy it.

.@SvetlanaK27 is happy to get the win in her hometown! ? pic.twitter.com/myRumeFCIW

— WTA (@WTA) February 1, 2017

“I would love to take some of the consistency into this season. In the last few years, I haven’t been so good,” she added. “I was always there, but couldn’t quite flip the switch. I would love to stay with the switch on, because it’s the key for me.

“I feel that I’m playing as well as the best in the world, and I have a chance to beat them and be ranked among them everywhere I go. It’s a great feeling because I worked really hard to be there.”

The WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runs from 19 February. Click here for tickets.