Google Play App Download

Tennis News

From around the world

Pliskova Saves Match Point To Stun Muguruza In Singapore

Pliskova Saves Match Point To Stun Muguruza In Singapore

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SINGAPORE – Karolina Pliskova marked a memorable debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by defeating Garbiñe Muguruza from match point down on Monday.

Watch live action from Singapore on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

A couple of hours on from Svetlana Kuznetsova’s back-from-the-brink victory over Agnieszka Radwanska, Pliskova produced an even more unlikely turnaround to triumph, 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5.

“Inside I’m still in shock that I won this one. Inside I still believed that I could win, but she was playing so well in the second and third sets,” Pliskova told BT Sport after stepping off the court. “There’s always a chance in tennis until it’s done, so I’m really happy with the win today.”

No.4 seed Pliskova was quick out of the blocks, dropping only seven points on serve en route to the first set. When she then broke at the start of the second, a comfortable victory looked on the cards. However, Muguruza, making her second appearance at the Finals, made a better fist of the second set, drawing level before recovering from 3-0 down to take a scrappy tie-break.

With confidence now coursing through her game, Muguruza surged 4-0 ahead in the decider. Try as she might, though, the Spaniard could not find the knockout blow, dropping serve in a 15-minute sixth game to leave the window ajar for a comeback.

At 5-2 she arrived at match point, only to snatch at a routine volley. The mistake proved costly as Pliskova found a second wind, rattling off 15 of the last 19 points to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Despite being broken five times, Pliskova still struck 14 aces in her two and a half hours on court, taking her annual tally to 522. This number is nearly 200 more than her nearest competitor on tour, Serena Williams (324), or at the WTA Finals, Madison Keys (277).  

Pliskova will next play on Wednesday, taking on fellow comeback queen Kuznetsova.

Official WTA Finals Mobile App, Created by SAP

Source link

Life Of A Hustler: The Svetlana Kuznetsova Story

Life Of A Hustler: The Svetlana Kuznetsova Story

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SINGAPORE – “If you could turn the last week you’ve had into a movie, what would you name it?”

That was the question posed to an exhausted, punchy Svetlana Kuznetsova after yet another epic three-set comeback victory at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, this time over big-serving Karolina Pliskova.

“The Life of a Hustler: the Nonstop Life,” she laughed in her post-match press conference.

“I’m just, I don’t know, a workaholic I guess. But I do love this life and enjoy it, and I feel I’m really blessed to be here and to be able to win matches.”

Given the nonstop, rollercoaster past few weeks that Kuznetsova’s had, the name makes perfect sense.

Last to arrive, first to advance.

It’s been seven years since the last time Kuznetsova competed at the WTA Finals, and after ending the long drought the Russian made sure that her return was fittingly dramatic.

She snagged the eighth qualification spot on the last possible day – the very last day of the WTA season, in fact – with her win in the final of the Kremlin Cup. Her victory also knocked out Johanna Konta, who was waiting in Singapore and would have qualified by default if Kuznetsova hadn’t won the title.

Now, Kuznetsova continues to tear through the draw in Singapore and is already breaking new ground: she’s 2-0 in the group stage and, as a result of Agnieszka Radwanska’s win over Garbiñe Muguruza, she’s through to the semifinals at the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. She’s the first player to secure a semifinal spot, too.

17,086 miles, 1600+ minutes.

If Kuznetsova looks a little tired on court, it’s only understandable.

Her journey to Singapore was anything but straightforward, taking her from New York to Wuhan, and then to Beijing, Tianjin and Moscow before she landing in the Lion City. Along the way she racked up a dizzying 17,086 miles (27,497 kilometers) of travel.

She played for four weeks straight while chasing a qualifying spot for the WTA Finals, and spent more than 27 hours on court (more than 1600 minutes).

Those 27+ hours weren’t easy, either; Kuznetsova has played 30 three-set matches this year and recorded a WTA-leading 22 three-set victories. In fact, 46.6 percent of her matches in 2016 have been decided in three sets, including six during her post-US Open campaign.

So how much energy does Kuznetsova have left in the tank? How far can she go in Singapore?

Your guess is as good as hers:

“If I would know, I would answer that,” Kuznetsova joked during the press conference. She looked completely exhausted, but that was fine – that’s off the court.

“I can be tired now, it’s okay. Sometimes it’s okay.”

Take a nap, Sveta. You’ve earned it.

Official WTA Finals Mobile App, Created by SAP

Source link

Insider Draw Analysis: Can Konta Overcome Kvitova To Win In Zhuhai?

Insider Draw Analysis: Can Konta Overcome Kvitova To Win In Zhuhai?

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai is the final event of the season, and the completed draw revealed four exciting groups, with the winner of each advancing into the semifinals. World No.10 Johanna Konta leading a stacked field of 12 that includes two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai, the latter two presiding over Monday’s draw ceremony.

WTA Insider broke down the four round robin groups; click here to check out the full singles draw.

Azalea Group: (1) Johanna Konta, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Garcia
Both Konta and Garcia head to Zhuhai direct from the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Konta served a first alternate while Garcia, top seed in alongside Kristina Mladenovic, earned a semifinal finish in doubles.

Konta enjoyed a strong finish to her breakout season with a run to the China Open final, and is playing her second tournament since becoming the first British woman to crack the Top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984.

Stosur had her best Grand Slam finish in four years when she upset 2015 finalist Lucie Safarova and 2014 runner-up Simona Halep en route to the French Open semifinals, falling to eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza.

Garcia not only came within one match of finishing Co-No.1 in doubles, but the youngster also continued to build on her burgeoning singles career, winning two titles on two different surfaces in Strasbourg and Mallorca.

Camellia Group: (2) Carla Suárez Navarro, Timea Bacsinszky, Zhang Shuai
Second alternate in Singapore, Suárez Navarro came perilously close to the WTA Finals for a second straight season, and will look to make her first semifinal in Zhuhai after falling in the round robin stage in 2015.

A knee injury kept Bacsinszky out of Zhuhai last year, but the Swiss star put on a stunning performance to start 2016, winning another title in Rabat and winning back-to-back matches against Agnieszka Radwanska and Halep to roar into the semifinals at the Miami Open.

Rounding out the Camellia Group is one of the most compelling stories of the season in Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai. Close to retirement, the veteran won her first-ever Grand Slam main draw match in emphatic style, knocking out then-World No.2 Halep as a qualifier before her run ended in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Zhang continued to play high-level tennis throughout the year, beating Halep again to roll into the last eight in Beijing.

Petra Kvitova

Peony Group: (3) Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Barbora Strycova
One of the game’s biggest hitters goes head-to-head with a pair who rely on guile and cunning in the Peony Group as Petra Kvitova takes on Roberta Vinci and Barbora Strycova in her Zhuhai debut.

Kvitova began showing signs of her best tennis at the height of the Asian Swing. The Olympic Bonze medalist decimated an impressive field to win the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. In Beijing, she defeated Muguruza in straight sets before taking a narrow loss in the last eight.

Her countrywoman, Barbora Strycova, had a breakthrough season of her own, moving up to a career-high ranking of No.19 and a pair of Premier finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Aegon Classic. Kvitova and Strycova will meet again in a few weeks for the upcoming Fed Cup final against France.

Vinci became the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut four days after her 33rd birthday, and bookended her season with solid results, winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and returned to the second week of the US Open a year after stunning then-World No.1 Serena Williams to reach the final.

Rose Group: (4) Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina, Kiki Bertens
Svitolina headlines the final round robin group in Zhuhai alongside a pair of comeback kids in Elena Vesnina and Kiki Bertens.

The rising Ukrainian star qualified for the WTA Elite Trophy for the second year in a row; pairing up with 2016 International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee and former No.1 Justine Henin, she kicked off her season with a title run in Kuala Lumper – surviving a thriller against Eugenie Bouchard. But her best results have come at the end of the season, making the semifinals or better at four of her last six tournaments, including the Toray Pan Pacific Open and China Open.

Vesnina was ranked outside the Top 100 a short nine months ago, but rebounded spectacularly from a low of No.122 to a career-high of No.19. Claiming wins over the likes of Halep, Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki, she qualified into the final of the Volvo Car Open before taking her best major result by dismantling Dominika Cibulkova on her way to the Wimbledon semifinal.

A cancer scare nearly took Kiki Bertens out of the game, but the Dutch powerhouse showed off some of her obvious potential in Paris, upsetting Bacsinszky to find herself in her first Grand Slam semifinal. The run also helped her clinch a berth on the Olympic team.

Zhang Shuai

The doubles teams were split into two groups before the singles draw was made with help of Kvitova and Zhang:

All photos courtesy of Getty Images and WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Source link