Charleston: Bencic Interview
An interview with Belinda Bencic before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
An interview with Belinda Bencic before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
DUBAI, UAE – No.10 seed and 2011 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winner Caroline Wozniacki kept up her Middle East momentum on Monday, moving past rising Russian Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 7-5 to advance into the second round.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Wozniacki said during her on-court interview. “She mixes up the pace a lot and she has great hands and serves well. For me, it was important to play my own game and speed things up. I was pleased with my win.
“It’s much different conditions here,” she continued in her post-match press conference. “The ball is flying. The court is faster than in Doha.
“I didn’t really know how I was going to play to start off with. Generally, I was pleased with my game. Some serves were flying a little bit. I kind of have to adjust that for tomorrow.”
From WAY BEHIND the baseline to the net @CaroWozniacki! ?? #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/VHTbHkYPDc
— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017
Kasatkina has been one of the players to watch over the last 12 months, and the Russian has backed up the hype with a pair of wins over Angelique Kerber at the Apia International Sydney and last week at the Qatar Total Open.
“I was watching her play last week during my rain delay and she was still playing a bit. I thought, ‘Gosh, she’s so young!’ I remember when I was 19, I thought I was all grown up, but she definitely has a great career ahead of her.”
.@DKasatkina with the jumping backhand! ? #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/Dw46MDQ3Nd
— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017
Coming off a run to the Qatar Total Open final, Wozniacki’s experience and consistency proved too much for the flashy Kasatkina, hitting 17 winners to just 20 unforced errors – compared to 43 from the Russian teenager.
“I feel I can generate a lot of pace on these courts. I get to a lot of balls, too, which I think is frustrating for the other players that I can kind of go from defense to offense and really hurt them with that when they play a short ball.”
The Dane saved her best tennis for the key points, converting five of seven break point opportunities en route to the 90 minute victory.
“I won her back in 2011, and I’ve made many semifinals here, so I’ve had great matches here. It’s a lot of fun for me to be back; I was sorry to miss last year because of injury, but that makes coming back even better!”
Up next for the former World No.1 is Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, who ousted Turkish wildcard Cagla Buyukakcay in three tough sets on Sunday.
“I saw her name at a tournament somewhere last year at the end of last year,” she said of the Gstaad champion. “I think she played the finals, but that’s basically it.
“I know how she looks like, but I don’t know anything about her game. I will have to just scout some matches and go from there.”
.@CaroWozniacki happy to be back at @DDFTennis! pic.twitter.com/YhEYAbveOt
— WTA (@WTA) February 20, 2017
Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber, a pair of former Volvo Car Open champions, traded the green clay for the sand at Charleston’s Iconic Photoshoot.
Against the backdrop of Charleston’s beautiful scenery, Petkovic and Kerber tried their hand at beach tennis.
Petkovic won Charleston in 2014 and Kerber in 2015, but how would they fare on sand?
Petkovic was confident in her beach tennis skills…
…and she gave defending Charleston champion Kerber quite a battle in their set of sand-tennis.
Charleston is known for a lot of things – delicious food, rich culture, historic architecture – but today it was its incredible nature on display.
Who will lift a second Charleston trophy? They both look ready for it after their iconic preparations.
After a fierce and scenic battle, the pair faced the press like true champions.
Despite being beach tennis rivals, the Germans are good friends off court as well as Olympic doubles hopefuls.
Charleston is a favorite stop on the tour for Petkovic and Kerber, pictured here with Bob Moran, Volvo Car Open tournament director.
With beach tennis under their belts, Kerber and Petkovic are all set to reclaim their titles in Charleston.
DUBAI, UAE – When not playing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Caroline Garcia has been able to take in some of the sights the city has to offer. The Green Planet offered plenty for the Frenchwoman to see, and more than a handful of rare insects to touch!
Green Planet is an indoor vertical rainforest in Dubai, home to a collection of creatures Garcia got a chance to meet, and tweet about on social media:
Great experience in the #GreenPlanet ! Really something to do while you are in Dubai ! ????????????#DDFtennis #SelfieChallenge pic.twitter.com/CprksFZsB9
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) February 20, 2017
What did she make of some of Green Planet’s creepiest crawlers? Check out the full video right here on wtatennis.com!
“It’s always challenging to play someone for the first time and I didn’t know exactly what to expect,” said the No.4 seed. “It was a slow start from my side but I’m just happy to win my first match here in two sets. The first match is always tough. These are tough conditions and a little windy so the ball is flying everywhere but hopefully, match by match, it will be better.”
.@ARadwanska races into @DDFTennis Round of 16!
Sails past Mertens 6-3, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/wngfR5wYUA
— WTA (@WTA) February 21, 2017
Mertens, who upset Tsvetana Pironkova in the opening round, gained the immediate break in the opening game to gain confidence at the start of the first meeting between the pair. But from then on, it was all Radwanska, the Pole surging back to take the opening set 6-3 before clinching the second set 6-2.
Radwanska, who won the tournament in 2012, will next face teenager Catherine Bellis who backed up her opening round win over Yulia Putintseva with another straight sets win over Laura Siegemund.
“It’s always great to go back to a place where you’ve won before and I’m going to do everything in my power to hold this trophy again,” added Radwanska. “It’s now a meeting with someone I haven’t played before so another change for me. Another young and very talented player so I hope I can win the first game and we’ll see how it goes.”
Elina Svitolina takes on Christina McHale in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
In today’s SAP Stat Of The Day, 17-year-old CiCi Bellis’ victory over Agnieszka Radwanska set a record in more ways than one.
Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka began the month of March ranked outside the Top 10 and heads into April back inside the Top 5 for the first time since 2014, having captured back-to-back titles at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open.
Gritting out several tough three-setters in Indian Wells, Azarenka enjoyed a comprehensive upset of top seed and 21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams for her fourth career victory over the American and second title in the California desert. She followed up the feat by winning Miami, becoming the third woman in WTA history to win the prestigious and elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double.
“It’s been a really long month and to be able to contain this determination and that intensity throughout all the matches is definitely not an easy task,” Azarenka told WTA Insider in the latest Champion’s Corner.
“The last couple of days especially have been a lot of expectations and pressure from the outside to complete the Sunshine Double and so I’m very proud that I kept myself present, kept myself really focused and focused on the job before anything else.”
Focused and intense throughout the Miami fortnight, Azarenka didn’t drop a set en route to her third Miami title; the win increased her 2016 total to three WTA titles and brought her up to the top spot on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard.
“Pressure is something that I want to go after, something that I want to face, and the challenge I always want to face.
“I’m never going to be the type of person who runs away from a challenge, no matter how hard it is, because that’s what gets me excited and a hardened competitor.”
With more challenges ahead of the Sunshine Double winner, Azarenka appears ready to move even higher as March’s WTA Player Of The Month!
Final Results for March’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Victoria Azarenka (70%)
2. Svetlana Kuznetsova (17%)
3. Serena Williams (13%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
DUBAI, UAE – Caroline Wozniacki is only 26 years old – so she was taken by surprise to hear her quarterfinal opponent at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships say she had admired her since childhood.
“Both [Agnieszka] Radwanska and Wozniacki have been, you know, my idols since I was really young and watched them play on the TV since I was five years old,” revealed 17-year-old CiCi Bellis after beating the Pole 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Wozniacki’s win over Kateryna Bondarenko, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, set up a clash between the current WTA World No.15 and her teenage admirer.
“Obviously we have been on tour for so long and played so many matches and been on TV for a lot of years,” said the Dane. “I think sometimes you just don’t realize how young these girls are that are coming up.
“But we were one of them, too. Aga and I were both really young when we broke through. You know, it’s my 12th year on tour now, so, you know, we have been here for a while – although I still feel young at heart.”
Wozniacki reminisced about her own time as a teenager breaking through – and those senior stateswomen of the game who welcomed her
“Someone like Kim Clijsters was always nice,” she recalled. “Venus was one of the first ones, as well. She asked me to play doubles with her in Qatar, actually, when I was 17. So that was huge for me. And then Serena was really nice.
“I’m not saying everybody, but I think the older players back in the day really appreciated us having that respect towards them. Not on the court, obviously. We wanted to win. But we were always very respectful of them and their achievements at the same time we were fighters and competitors.”
That means that Wozniacki will not be taking the young American lightly.
“I think she obviously tries to dictate with the forehand,” she said. “You know, it’s a player with a lot of energy. I just need to be out there and just show my presence – and try and stay aggressive.”
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Sloane Stephens is into her first WTA singles final on clay after the defending champion Angelique Kerber saw herself forced to retire, 6-1, 3-0, in the semifinals of the Volvo Car Open.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!
“It’s been a little tough out here but I’m happy to be through to the final,” Stephens said. “It’s sad that it had to be that way. It’s not the way I’d wanted it.
“I wish Angie a speedy recovery – she’s a really nice girl and a really great player.”
Stephens, who already has two titles in 2016 with wins at Auckland and Acapulco, took the first set after a dominating 24 minutes, outhitting a sluggish Kerber. The American scored 10 winners and hit just two unforced errors, while the out-of-sorts Kerber hit just seven winners to 10 unforced errors.
After consulting with the trainer and doctor, Kerber took the court again after a lengthy break trailing a set and 2-0. She was forced to retire from the match after one more game due to viral illness, sending Stephens into the Volvo Car Open final.
“When I was warming up this morning, I felt a little bit like something is wrong,” Kerber said afterwards. “I was thinking that when I’m going on court, the energy will come back and I will feel okay.But after the first few games in the first set I was feeling that, yeah, something is not good.”
Back into a WTA final, Stephens is putting a rough four-week stretch behind her. Despite the roaring start to her 2016 season that saw her claim two titles, she lost in straight sets at the last two tournaments she’s played before heading to the green clay at Charleston.
“Making a final is making a final, but I think there’s kind of a buildup to that,” Stephens said. “It wasn’t just because of today she wasn’t feeling well.I think the matches I played previously, like yesterday I was down a match point and things like that.
“Today I was just looking forward to getting out there, and the same I’ll do tomorrow, just looking forward to getting back on the court.”
Reach a first #VCO2016 final: ✔️
Make fans happy: ✔️
Smile like a toothpaste model: ✔️Goals. @SloaneStephens pic.twitter.com/on1G8RwwNk
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2016
Joining Stephens in the Volvo Car Open final is Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina, who’s into her first WTA singles final since 2013 after battling past Sara Errani 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Vesnina had a tough 2015 season, recording 13 first-round losses (across all levels), but 2016 has seen her come up from the qualifying rounds to score consistent main draw wins. Playing in her first semifinal of the year, former No.21 Vesnina found herself up against Errani, a clay court heavyweight – seven of the Italian’s nine titles have been won on clay, along with 12 of her 19 finals appearances.
“I had some great memories from being in that final five years ago, and I knew that I can do that again,” Vesnina said. “But of course, I knew that it was going to be very difficult coming from the qualifying.I was just thinking match by match, to improve my game on the clay.
“I’m pretty impressed with my game level, today as well because Sara is a clay court specialist. She had most of her wins on this surface and she really understands the strategy on this surface.”
Errani applied her tried-and-true clay court prowess early on, breaking Vesnina’s serve to go up a 3-1 lead. Vesnina got the break back to level up the score at 4-4, and her sudden changes of pace gave the Italian trouble, winning the first set with a drop shot that barely edged over the net.
A drawn out battle at 3-3 in the second set changed the momentum for Errani, giving her a lead to take back the second set. In the decider, Vesnina was more focused and sharper on the big points; she created and converted more break chances – three conversions for five chances – than Errani.
“It’s going to be a little bit different match tomorrow against Sloane because Sloane is playing in a different style than Sara,” Vesnina said. “It’s going to be difficult to show the same level in the final, and in general in the finals it’s really difficult to show your best tennis.
“You need to be solid.You need to be consistent.You need to come on the court and you have to know what you have to do there.
“So you have to be ready, and hopefully tomorrow it will be a great match between me and Sloane.”
? ? ? pic.twitter.com/dCcUMulD3u
— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2016