Birmingham: Shot Of The Day (Saturday)
CoCo Vandeweghe has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
CoCo Vandeweghe has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
Barbora Strycova had Sunday’s shot of the day at the Aegon Classic.
An interview with Timea Bacsinszky before her opening round match at the Aegon International.
Steffi Graf won her second straight Wimbledon final against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1996.
16-year-old Martina Hingis became the youngest Wimbledon winner since Lottie Dodd in 1887, but did so at the expense of good friend and doubles partner Jana Novotna, who was playing her first major final since her heartbreaking loss to Steffi Graf in 1993 at the All England Club.
But Novotna finally won her Wimbledon trophy one year later in 1998, upsetting Hingis in the semifinals and defeating Nathalie Tauziat in the championship match.
Lindsay Davenport ended Steffi Graf’s hopes for a 23rd Grand Slam title by winning her second major in under a year and defeating the German in her final Wimbledon appearance.
Venus won the first of her five Wimbledon titles to kick off the new millennium, knocking out Hingis, sister Serena, and defending champion Davenport for her long-awaited first Grand Slam title.
Venus repeated the feat in 2001, becoming the first woman to win two Wimbledons in a row since Graf in 1996, defeating a young Justine Henin, who was playing her first major final, in three sets.
Venus and Serena played the first of four all-Williams Wimbledon finals in 2002, with younger sister coming out on top for her first victory at the All England Club, which became the second leg of her 2002-2003 Serena Slam.
The sisters met again in 2003 for an epic three-set final that saw Serena capture her fifth Grand Slam title in six appearances.
Wimbledon at 17: Maria Sharapova toppled Serena Williams in straight sets to capture her first major title, catapulting her to the top of the women’s game in 2004.
Seeded No.14, Venus Williams overcame all kinds of adversity to up-end Davenport for her first major title since 2001, saving a match point and winning the longest women’s final in Wimbledon history back in 2005.
Less than six months after her first major title, Amélie Mauresmo struck gold at Wimbledon, denying Henin of the Career Grand Slam to clinch her first Wimbledon title in 2006.
Ranked outside the Top 30, Venus became the lowest ranked and lowest seeded woman in Wimbledon history to capture the Venus Rosewater dish, taking out surprise finalist Marion Bartoli for her fourth title at the All England Club.
Venus made it two in a row once more in 2008, earning her first win over sister Serena in a Grand Slam final since 2001 for her fifth Wimbledon title.
Serena got her revenge in 2009, defeating Venus in straight sets for her second major title of the season.
Serena defended her Wimbledon title for the second time in her illustrious career, defeating Vera Zvonareva in straight sets.
Petra Kvitova became the first woman born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam, surprising Maria Sharapova to win her first of two Wimbledon titles in 2011.
After a harrowing two-year odyssey dealing with injuries and illness, Serena won her first major title since 2010, surviving a second-set fightback from Agnieszka Radwanska in the final. Serena came back to the All England Club three weeks later to win a pair of Olympic Gold medals.
Marion Bartoli made her Grand Slam dream come true in 2013, stunning Sabine Lisicki in straight sets as the Frenchwoman won her first major title before retiring a few weeks later.
Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title in 2014, playing emphatic tennis over the fortnight leading up to a brilliant display in the championship match against Eugenie Bouchard.
Serena’s sixth Wimbledon title may have been her most special, as it helped her clinch her second Serena Slam. The World No.1 will nonetheless be in the hunt for title No.7 next week at the All England Club.
EASTBOURNE, England – 2013 champion Elena Vesnina got her Aegon International Eastbourne campaign off to a winning start, storming past British No.2 Heather Watson in straight sets for a spot in the second round.
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The Russian needed just over an hour to oust the home favorite 6-2, 6-3, and grab her first grass court win of the season.
“It was really a nice atmosphere on the court because a lot of people came to watch our match,” the Russian said. “It was really tough conditions: windy, smoggy at the end. I’m really happy that I won this difficult match.”
Despite the conditions, Vesnina was in full flight against the Brit in the overcast Eastbourne. After starting out in a deadlock, Vesnina left Watson reeling when she rattled off four games in a row to snap up the first set 6-2. Watson continued to struggle in the second set before giving up a late break to hand Vesnina the match.
Vesnina won 71% of points behind her first serve and not facing a break point in the entire match. She struck 24 winners to 16 unforced errors, compared to Watson’s 13 and 17. Vesnina was especially dominating at the net, winning 12 of her 14 net points.
“I’m really happy to be back in Eastbourne,” Vesnina said after her win. “It’s bringing me some good memories from winning the title here in 2013. Of course, it’s tough to play Heather here in England again with everyone supporting her.”
Nevertheless, the win is a good omen for the Russian: in 2013, Vesnina beat out Watson in the second round on her way to the title.
After ousting the home favorite in commanding fashion, Vesnina will next look to thwart Belinda Bencic’s happy homecoming to Eastbourne. Bencic, the defending champion, kicked her 2015 season into high gear at the Aegon International last year and already has a semifinal appearance at the Ricoh Open under her belt.
Watson wasn’t the only local who took a tumble in the first round. Of the four Brits in the main draw, three lost today as Tara Moore and Naomi Broady were sent crashing out.
Monica Puig played through a thick fog in her 6-1, 6-1 against Broady, and admitted that the blustery conditions were difficult to adjust to.
“Just keeping my focus was the main key, Puig said. “I knew the points weren’t going to be long, so I just had to be very aware of what was going on.
“I’ve never played in a sea mist before. It was really something, it was tough to see the ball!”
Joining Vesnina and Puig in the second round are Eugenie Bouchard, Andrea Petkovic and Ekaterina Makarova.
Whoops! ? Nice to get the win today with some pretty tough conditions as you can probably see! ? On to the next!! ? pic.twitter.com/MaxJlQqcB2
— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) June 20, 2016
Highlights from all of Tuesday’s action on Day 3 of the Brisbane International.
EASTBOURNE, England – Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki stormed into the round of 16 at the Aegon International Eastbourne with an emphatic win over No.7 seed Sam Stosur, 6-2, 6-1.
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Back in early April, Wozniacki suffered an ankle injury that sidelined her for the clay season and saw her dip to No.35 in the rankings, her lowest ranking since May 2008. But after two matches at Eastbourne, it seems like the worst is behind the Dane: she’s dropped serve just once and no more than three games a set all tournament long.
Against Stosur, 2009 champion Wozniacki scored her first Top 20 win of the year, and she did so in commanding fashion.
“I feel good. The ankle is feeling good,” Wozniacki assured in her post-match press conference. “As long as I’m stable and moving well, it feels good.
“I’m pleased with the way I have been playing.You know, the first match I played quite well, but today I feel I played even better. Hopefully there is more tennis to come.”
Wozniacki got off to a roaring start against the Australian, staying aggressive and targeting Stosur’s second serve.
She broke Stosur early on to climb to a 4-1 lead before closing the set, 6-2, after 37 minutes. She didn’t let up in the second set, breaking twice to climb to a 5-0 lead and winning 80% of her second serve points to Stosur’s 17%. Despite a fierce tug-of-war in the last game, Wozniacki sent Stosur packing in straight sets.
Despite the one-sided score line, Wozniacki is pleased with her progress and
“In the end of the day, some results might look easy on the grass but it never is,” Wozniacki said. “You always have to focus and take advantage of the break points you get.
“I mean, Sam is a big server, so I was really pleased about the way I was able to return today.”
Also in action today, Andrea Petkovic backed up her round of 16 appearance at Birmingham by scoring an upset win against No.13 seed Sara Errani. She overcame a mid-match wobble to advance 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, notching her career-first Top 30 win on grass against the No.22 Errani.
Joining Wozniacki and Petkovic in the round of 16 are Ekaterina Makarova and local favorite Johanna Konta. No.11 seed Konta fought through a sluggish start against Lesia Tsurenko to advance 7-6(4), 6-1, while Makarova scored the upset of the tournament by coming back from a set down to knock out the No.2 seed Roberta Vinci 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
First Top 20 win of 2016 for @CaroWozniacki at the #AegonInternational–> https://t.co/MYHk2uF6xl pic.twitter.com/BwYxz8Ng66
— WTA (@WTA) June 21, 2016
Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska was joined by Simona Halep, Johanna Konta and many more for the glamorous Shenzhen Open player party.
EASTBOURNE, England – Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska advanced at the Aegon International Eastbourne when Mirjana Lucic-Baroni retired from their second-round encounter on Tuesday.
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Radwanska, who was leading 6-4, 2-1 when Lucic-Baroni retired with gastrointestinal illness, will now face Eugenie Bouchard for a place in the quarterfinals.
“It was still a tough match – she was playing really good tennis – and I’m happy I could get some time on the grass, but we’re all hoping she gets better soon,” Radwanska said.
Since making her debut a decade ago, Radwanska has been an ever-present at Devonshire Park, lifting the title in 2008 and finishing runner-up to Belinda Bencic in 2015. This time she is top seed and following an early exit in Birmingham is in need of time on grass ahead of Wimbledon.
“I really like these courts and I’m always feeling great here – it’s my 10th time here!”
Not every day you buy tickets from @ARadwanska! See Aga in #AegonInternational action at https://t.co/JtHMBtT7rU pic.twitter.com/TNrP3yms0K
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) 21 June 2016
Her next opponent, Bouchard, is also no stranger to success on grass, reaching the Wimbledon final two years ago. Since then, Bouchard has endured an up and down time on tour, but is eager to rediscover the form that fueled her initial rise up the rankings.
“I’ve had some results that I wasn’t satisfied with, so coming into this week I really kicked myself in the butt,” she said. “I told myself to go after it and not have any regrets.”
There were certainly no regrets against No.15 seed Irina-Camelia Begu, whom Bouchard brushed aside, 6-3, 6-1.
Also springing an upset in the top half were Kristina Mladenovic, who saw off No.4 seed Timea Bacsinszky, 6-1, 7-5, and Kateryna Bondarenko, a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 winner over No.6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
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.