Tennis News

Ready? Set. Go! It’s Round of 16 time at the Miami Open and we’re previewing all eight must-see matchups right here at WTATennis.com.

Monday

Round of 16

[2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [15] Barbora Strycova (CZE #20)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Pliskova leads the tour with 175 aces in 22 matches thus far this season.

Karolina Pliskova took over the WTA lead with her 21st win of the season this weekend, and the 25-year-old is happy that she’s finding ways to win even when she isn’t playing her best tennis. She had to battle the ever feisty Yulia Putintseva and a three-hour rain delay on Saturday, eventually emerging with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

“I’m happy that I went through, and think I need these matches, the hard ones,” she said after the match. “Not only to win easy matches, but also the ones were I don’t feel really well like today.”

Will she have another tough one on Monday when she faces fellow Czech Barbora Strycova? The 30-year-old has been steady all year, but has lost her last eight against the Top 10.

Pick: Pliskova in three

[4] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #4) vs. Lucie Safarova (CZE #36)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads, 5-2
Key Stat: Cibulkova has won just four of nine three-set matches in 2017.

A pair of proven WTA commodities will look to sail into the quarterfinals on Monday when Dominika Cibulkova and Lucie Safarova square off for the eighth time. Cibulkova has held sway over the pair’s head-to-head, but since 2014 they’ve split their four meetings. Cibulkova breezed past Kirsten Flipkens in straight sets on Saturday while Safarova rolled past Ajla Tomljanovic behind six breaks of serve in eight return games. It is the Slovakian who carries the higher ranking into this meeting but don’t sleep on Safarova; the former World No.5 has racked up 15 wins already this season, and it feels like her best has yet to come.

Pick: Cibulkova in three

Dominika @Cibulkova did not let the three hour rain delay slow her down! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/tCrz3x4jlU

— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2017

[26] Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO #29) vs. [WC] Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA #158)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Lucic-Baroni is tied for the WTA lead in Top-10 wins in 2017.

Two surprising veterans are making big waves at this year’s Miami Open, but one of them will be sent packing on Monday as Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will match wits for the first time with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. Mattek-Sands entered this year’s draw without a single tour-level win to her name in 2017. Three rounds later she has a Top 10 and a Top 20 scalp under belt.

Meanwhile, Lucic-Baroni’s fine form in 2017 continues. She blasted past No.5-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska behind 38 winners on Saturday to improve to 3-1 against the Top 10 this season and 11-4 overall.

Pick: Lucic-Baroni in three

[6] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #6) vs. [12] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #14)
Head-to-head: Muguruza leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Muguruza has gone 7-1 in deciders this season (was 8-7 in 2016).

Like Karolina Pliskova, Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza is taking comfort in her most difficult victories. At this year’s Miami Open she has already had a pair of them. She saved a match point on Friday to defeat Christina McHale and on Saturday she battled back from a set down to knock off China’s Zhang Shuai. While grueling, the wins have left Muguruza feeling confident about her abilities.

“Since I’ve started the year, I’ve had a lot of matches like this, and I’m expecting that every time I go on court,” Muguruza said. “A win is a win, I don’t wish to have matches this tough every day, but I’m very happy with the way I’m facing them.”

On Monday she’ll face another woman who knows a thing or two about grinding out hard-fought triumphs in No.12-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane comes in hot, having notched her 20th win of the season on Saturday night and should make life difficult for Muguruza yet again.

Pick: Muguruza in three

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs. [Q] Risa Ozaki (JPN #87)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kerber improved to 9-0 vs. players outside the Top 50 with her win over Shelby Rogers on Sunday.

Could it be that Angelique Kerber is starting to find that certain je ne sais quoi in her game? The World No.1 fought past American Shelby Rogers in straight sets and will look to continue her run against a surprise Round of 16 participant from Japan. 22-year-old Risa Ozaki qualified for the main draw and had to win two three-setters in a row before taking out Julia Goerges in straight sets on Sunday. On Monday her reward is her very first match against a Top 10 player. How will she handle the pressure? Whatever the outcome, Ozaki stands to benefit tremendously in the experience category from her run in Miami.

Pick: Kerber in two

[11] Venus Williams (USA #12) vs. [7] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #7)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 5-4
Key Stat: Williams is bidding for her 60th Miami Open win today.

It has been a decade since Svetlana Kuznetsova won her lone Miami title in 2006 and more than fifteen years since Venus Williams won the last of her three Miami Open titles in 2001, but these two legends of the game are still gunning for the game’s most coveted hardware, and very much in the running to win it all. On Monday they will meet for the tenth time and just the second time in the last seven years. Kuznetsova recorded a straight-sets win over Williams at Wuhan last year, and the Russian also took the pair’s only meeting in Miami in 2008. Is it time for Williams to take a bit of revenge, or will last year’s runner-up keep rolling in Miami?

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

[3] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [14] Sam Stosur (AUS #19)
Head-to-head: Tied, 4-4
Key Stat: Halep has won back-to-back matches for the first time all season here in Miami.

It hasn’t been a banner year for Simona Halep or Sam Stosur – yet – but each could change the tone of their season significantly with a win on Monday when they clash for the ninth time. The pair have split their eight previous meetings – with Halep holding the 3-1 edge on hardcourts, where she has won the last three meetings.

But more importantly, both Halep and Stosur could really use a nice run in Miami to kickstart the remainder of their season. Stosur went 0 for Australia and is 3-5 against the Top 50 this season, but she notched a gritty three-set win over Peng Shuai on Sunday. Halep has won back-to-back matches for the first time this season in Miami and says she is pain-free and beginning to feel her game. With a prestigious quarterfinal on the line, it will be interesting to see which player comes up with the goods and claims a big win.

Pick: Halep in three

“I played my best tennis this year” -@Simona_Halep #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/HNTVf8WywX

— WTA (@WTA) March 27, 2017

[10] Johanna Konta (GBR #11) vs. Lara Arruabarrena (ESP #72)
Head-to-head: Arruabarrena leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Konta improved to 15-3 in 2017 with her third-round win over Pauline Parmentier.

Great Britain’s Johanna Konta has quietly put up a very impressive record in 2017. In just five events she has already racked up 15 wins, a title in Sydney and a quarterfinal at the Australian Open. In short, Konta appears to be prepared to back up her breakout 2016 with another wildly successful campaign. She’ll look to continue her positive momentum when she meets Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena for the first time since 2011. The Spaniard, who upset No. 8-seeded Madison Keys on Sunday, won that meeting (at an ITF event on clay), but it is Konta who will come in as the heavy favorite, based on her impressive run of play for 52 weeks and the fact that she will meet Arruabarrena on her favorite surface this time.

Pick: Konta in two

By the Numbers

4 – Number of unseeded players to reach the round of 16. 1

58 – Mattek-Sands, a former World No.30, is the lowest-ranked player remaining in the draw.

2010 – The year in which a wildcard made the best ever run – Justine Henin reached the semifinals.

36 – The age of the oldest player in this year’s draw, Venus Williams.

7 – The number of thirtysomethings into the round of 16 in Miami (Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Sam Stosur, Barbora Strycova, Lucie Safarova)

Not much has changed for Nicole Vaidisova. The former World No.7 is still traveling the globe, discovering new countries and cultures to explore.

But these days, the two-time Grand Slam semifinalist leaves her racquets at home.

“Ever since I decided, ‘This is it,’ I just wanted to take a breather and just really enjoy life,” she told WTA Insider. “It’s definitely different, going from the tour – where you’re on a set schedule and you know your whole year is going to be mapped out – to deciding what you want to do and feeling like doing and want to see.

“For example, I’ve always wanted to see Iceland; obviously there’s no tournament there, and it was really nice to be able to plan a trip, see something for the first time, and get my mind off tennis. It was a good time for me.”

There hadn’t been too many good times in the months leading up to her choice to conclude her second career. Close encounters with Ana Ivanovic and Simona Halep had gotten her close to the Top 200 in early 2015, but chronic injuries stunted her progress at every turn. For the 27-year-old, it began to feel as though there was little to life beyond fixing a broken body.

“It’s been a long time coming because I was dealing with so many injuries – repeat injuries – and I had to spend so much time at doctor’s offices and rehab facilities, trying new and different things that would end up not working.

“It got to the point where I was so worried about every pain and I said, ‘This is it.’ I don’t want to put my body through any more radiation or surgery, or any more poking and prodding. There’s only so much a person can take.

“It was just a vicious cycle.”

So…This has been one of the hardest words for me to write.After months and months of thinking and agonizing about this, I have decided to retire from professional tennis.It has been one of my hardest and most emotional decisions of my life.As many of you know,I have been struggling with various injuries on/off for the better part of the last 2 years and it has gotten to the point where I have spent more time in hospitals,physical therapy and doctors offices then on the court,playing the sport I love.This has been painful and exhausting,not just on my body,but on my mind as well and I have reached the point where I did not want to put my body throught it anymore.Coming to this final decision took me months,as even through all the ups and dows,it is a game I grew to love for what it is.Ever since I decided to come back 3 years ago,it has been a roller coaster ride of huge highs and lows,on and off the court.I am forever grateful and feeling so incredibly lucky to have had the unwavering support and uncoditional love of my family,friends,Daniel,as well as my medical and tennis team.Without them,it would have been imspossible to come back.My tennis career has been anything but ordinary,but above every opinion,comment and what ifs,I can proudly say it has been MINE.I do not regret any decision,good or bad,as it has made me the person I am today.As I close this chapter of my life,I look back in amazement at everything I was able to do.I am proud to have been able to compete with the best athletes in my sport and represent the Czech Republic,the country I love,in many fed cups and Olympics,it has been an honor.Finally,I can never thank all of you enough for all the support and words of encouragement that I have received over the years,it has meant the world to me and kept me going when I wanted to give up.Thank you,from the bottom of my heart,I will never be able to express enough gratitude to every single one of you,I am so honored. 20 years ago, this little girl had a dream,and today, I can say it has come true ❤️

A photo posted by Nicki Vaidisova (@nicolevaidisova) on Jul 20, 2016 at 2:57am PDT

The cycle began not long after the Miami Open, where she pushed Halep to three sets and appeared poised to rise up the rankings the way she did as a teenager, before a shoulder surgery took her off the tour in 2010. A second surgery proved necessary to kick start her comeback in 2014.

“The shoulder has always been in the back of my mind, because after two surgeries, it’s never going to be 100% again. I also don’t think it helped that I stopped for such a long time. Going from zero to 100, I don’t think my body reacted to it that well. I think all of the injuries after the shoulder had to do with that.

“But it was also a little bit of bad luck. I was feeling good about Miami and was practicing when I tore a tendon in my ankle, basically a week after. The same thing happened later with my wrist.

“The last two years was me playing for a couple of months, getting injured, and then trying to build back up from zero – going through rehab and getting back into shape again. It just takes so much out of a person to feel like you’re continuously starting over.”

A pattern of stops and starts gave way to more permanent pain, leading Vaidisova to reassess and, ultimately, retire.

“Bone spurs in my heels were basically the nail in the coffin, because they keep coming back – in both heels. Any athlete who’s had to deal with this knows it’s such a pain because you’re walking on them every day. I went from having therapy to having radiation on it. They weren’t really helping, and it became a cycle of getting rid of one, which would take six months, and then another would grow back on my outer heel.

“Even though I stopped playing, I still have to get laser treatments because growths on heels are so hard to get rid of. It affects you on a daily basis because you’re walking every day. I can’t really go running because that aggravates it.

“Right now, I’m not feeling so much of a time crunch where I need to fix it right this second just to compete, so I want to take a gentler approach where I can get rid of it over time and not really do anything invasive.”

Few would have predicted Vaidisova’s story would end this way, certainly not a 12 years ago, when she began her career as the sixth youngest WTA titlist in Vancouver, aged just 15.

Within a year of that initial breakthrough, the talented ballstriker was among the most consistent forces in tennis, winning three titles in three weeks, and getting within a game of the French Open final in 2006.

“I was so young,” she said of the fornight that saw her claim wins over Amélie Mauresmo and Venus Williams en route to the semifinals. “It was just so surreal. I couldn’t even believe it myself that I was there.

“I was just a young girl who couldn’t believe how far I’d come, and the players I’d beaten.”

A second semifinal appearance soon followed at the Australian Open, before injuries and inconsistencies caused a crisis of confidence.

“I think at that time, I really didn’t know myself, to be honest. I was really frustrated, not only being injured, but on the court, a lot of things in my personal and family life were not going good. I just wasn’t a happy person on the court, and it was making me miserable. I just needed to get away, and I didn’t know in that moment if I was going to come back or not.”

Three years of soul-searching led her back to the game; this time, it would be on her terms.

“When I was growing up as a child, it was just a given. This is what I did. I played tennis, and you don’t really think about what else could be out there, or if you really love it or not because this is just what you’re doing. You also get a little lost in the mentality where winning is everything, and moving on, wanting to do better from one tournament to the next, with better scores and better results.

“When I went through my surgeries and I didn’t play, I realized I missed it. I missed the game and really wanted to get back to playing. Through that, you realize if you really do love the game or not.”

Vaidisova plans to pursue new passions in the fall when she enrolls in university, but has an eye on remaining a part of the game in one way or another. Resolved not to regret, she hopes the next group of prodigies takes time to enjoy the view, even as they aspire to the tour’s more dizzying heights.

“I did what I could to really get myself healthy, fit, and ready to compete on that level, and it’s not always a fairytale. Sometimes things are just not meant to be.

“I just wish, that because it was so new, and everything was so intense, that I had more time to really enjoy it. I never really looked back and appreciated the moments where I was winning tournaments or doing well at the Grand Slams. In the moment, you’re going 100 miles an hour, and I was too young to really appreciate it for what it was in the way that I do now that I’m older.

“The field has gotten tougher overall; the girls are more athletic, and you have so many young girls charging up the rankings. It’s hard to step back and appreciate things when you’re younger and have a team, especially when a lot of them are family members. But I really wish I could say that to them – along with my younger self – to just enjoy and remember those moments.”

Photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Madison Keys is in the midst of the best season of her career, becoming the first American woman to break into the Top 10 since Serena Williams and constantly putting herself in contention for the game’s biggest prizes. But she doesn’t just want to make an impact on the court. Now it’s time to make an impact off the court.

The 21-year-old has signed on to become the ambassador of FearlesslyGIRL, an international organization dedicated to empowering young women in their local schools and communities. Founded by in 2004 by Kate Whitfield, the organization takes its message straight to the next generation of young women, holding summits for teenage girls to encourage an open dialogue to foster a sense of community and support during a time when their confidence and self-esteem is at its most critical.

“I think it’s so important that we help younger girls get rid of the ‘Mean Girl’ mentality,” Keys told WTA Insider. “You can be a positive, nice person, but still go out and kick butt.”

WTA Insider spoke to Keys about the partnership and why she feels the adolescent years are the best time to help girls prepare for a world full of self-doubt, sexism, and opportunity.

WTA Insider: How did you decide to partner with FearlesslyGirl?
Keys: After reading about it, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of it any way that I could. I just think that’s it’s so special. I feel like I’m going to be able to help younger girls through that difficult time of transitioning and getting through high school. I know that’s a tough time for all of us, so being able to help in any way that I can meant a lot to me.

WTA Insider: You have two younger sisters and you’ve gone through that time yourself. What do you see as the particular issues that affect young girls who are entering high school?
Keys: Your self-confidence is up and down through those years and that’s never easy to go through alone. But all of us go through these issues, and I think we isolate ourselves into thinking, ‘I’m the only one going through it, no one understands me.’ What’s so great about the FearlesslyGirl summits is you sit down and these girls get to talk to each other and realize that she’s going through the exact same thing I’m going through.

I think being able to talk to each other helps lighten that load. But also you’re able to help each other through it and when you have someone else to talk to and relate to it’s so much easier to deal with these things. You get more confident asking for help without seeming weak or feeling vulnerable.

Asking for what you deserve is not being needy or bossy. It’s the typical ‘Oh she’s asking for this, she’s so bossy.’ When a guy does it it’s great leadership.

WTA Insider: Why do you think girls internalize their doubts and insecurities instead of openly talking about them?
Keys: I don’t know why we do that. I still struggle with it right now. You think no one will understand it, but logically you know someone has gone through it as well. If I just talk to someone I’m sure it would be a lot easier to deal with rather than by myself.

I think it’s something I’ve definitely had to get better at. Even small things like being really nervous before a match, hanging on to that and not talking about it and just pushing it down and avoiding it just makes it bigger and harder to deal with, instead of going to Scott [her trainer] or Thomas [her coach] and saying ‘I’m really nervous today, this is what i’m dealing with’. Usually, just talking about it makes it not as big of a deal. Often they actually have advice that can help.

It’s amazing that the feeling of being vulnerable and putting yourself out there and saying you’re not 100% confident right now and I need help — doing that is scary. It’s not easy. So I think talking to girls when they’re younger and getting them more comfortable doing that is really important. Not feeling that asking for help means that you’re weak or you don’t know what you’re doing. Everyone needs help.

So I think talking to these girls during a time when they need help, hopefully if you can get them to open up to each other when they’re younger they become more comfortable doing it later in life, and once they’re older they can help younger girls do it.

WTA Insider: What do you think you being a professional athlete adds to the discussion?
Keys: One of the things I feel like I can bring to the table is that so often we have this girl versus girl mentality. I just want people to know you can be competitive with other girls but still be friends. That’s literally our whole lives. We go out and we play each other and we both want to win this match, but then we come off the court and we know nothing is personal. She can beat me one week and I can beat her the next week and we’re exactly the same.

Learning how to do that is so necessary because you can be competitive with another girl and still want the best for them. I can be on a court and want to beat someone and let’s say they beat me, but then the next day I can say ‘Oh I hope she does well.’ It doesn’t have to be tearing each other down. You can be competitive and you can want to beat someone but you can also be positive and help push other girls to be good.

WTA Insider: So what exactly is your involvement going to look like?
Keys: I’m going to do as many summits as I can next year. It’s fun because there are some in Canada, some in England, and I think they’re trying to get some in Australia Too. So it’s amazing that I can be a part of it wherever I am. I’ll be a part of the summits and get to talk to the girls, which is really what I want to do. I didn’t want to be the face of it and not actually do any of it. If at the end of the day I wasn’t the face of it but I was still doing it, I’d be really happy.

I think Fearlessly Girl is amazing because they bring in these leaders, juniors in high school, and they help run the summits. So they can help the freshmen and the sophomores do it next year. Its tarts with changing middle schools and high schools. You can change the whole high school and those girls go off to college, and the influence continues. Starting small we can do a lot and it spreads.

Keys is set to compete at the US Open starting next week. For more information about FearlesslyGIRL, click here.

Excited to join @FearlesslyGirl and help lead the way for strong young women. #IamFearlesslyGirl #thisgirlcan pic.twitter.com/UoeGa1WUUe

— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) August 24, 2016