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Bouchard Impresses The Great One

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Whisper it quietly, but Eugenie Bouchard is beginning to resemble the player who took the tennis world by storm two years ago.

While the player herself has been quick to downplay her revival, there is no denying that some of the swagger of old can be seen in the Canadian’s game. On Saturday evening she came out on top in her eagerly anticipated clash with childhood sparring partner Sloane Stephens to reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Remarkably, Stephens is the highest-ranked player Bouchard has beaten since September 2014, and the significance of the result was not lost.

“It’s important to me because it’s kind of on my comeback as I have kind of called this year,” Bouchard said in her post-match press conference. “It gives me confidence looking forward. You know, I don’t want to look back or don’t want to think about 2014 or 2015 really, so this one is important. It’s kind of a step forward, and I just want to keep going.”

Bouchard may not have wanted to dwell on those two campaigns, but the tennis world felt differently, conducting a thorough post-mortem.

With Thomas Hogstedt now in her corner, a refreshed and revitalized Bouchard has gone about proving the naysayers wrong by doing what she does best: winning matches.

In fact, the 22-year-old has already posted more victories in the opening two and a half months of this campaign (13) than in the whole of 2015 (12). And with this success comes the confidence so vital at the game’s summit.

Unfortunately for Bouchard, it also attracts the odd celebrity admirer.

“Actually, as soon as I saw him I lost a game and played pretty bad and I was wondering if he would leave or whatever,” Bouchard said when quizzed on the appearance of ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, in her box. “I was thinking, I have to get my game up a little. I know his daughter is an aspiring tennis champion. It’s cool that they are really into it and supportive.”

Should she get past Timea Bacsinszky in the next round, the clamor for a spot in the Canadian’s corner will only intensify. So, having been unnerved by Canadian sporting royalty last time out, whose face could send her over the edge?

“The prime minister? The president? Yeah – that would make me nervous!”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The 2017 BNP Paribas Open is right around the corner and the season’s first Premier Mandatory event has announced a stacked field headlined by World No.1 Angelique Kerber and the returns of former No.1s Serena Wiliams and Venus Williams.

Kerber is tentatively slated as the top seed in what will be her seventh main draw appearance in Indian Wells. The German reached back-to-back semifinals in 2012 and 2013 – losing a classic three-setter to Caroline Wozniacki in the latter – but will be aiming to build on opening-round losses since.

Not far behind Kerber is World No.2 Serena, who could well be back atop the WTA rankings by the time the tour heads West to California. The American ended a 12-year absence from Indian Wells in 2015, and the two-time champion has brought some of her best tennis to the tournament, reaching the final last year.

Venus returned last year, and the seven-time Slam champion’s career has been on a definite upswing of late, reaching two semifinals at the last three major tournaments.

Joining Kerber and the Williamses is a full slate of Top 10 opposition, including 2015 champion Simona Halep, who defeated 2010 winner Jelena Jankovic in a three-set final. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will also be in attendance; the Dane lifted the trophy back in 2011.

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka won’t be back to defend her title due to the recent birth of her first child.

The remaining spots in the draws will be filled by winners of the Qualifying tournament (March 6-8) and Wildcards, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

To purchase tickets, visit www.bnpparibasopen.com!

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MIrza, Strycova Claim Tokyo Doubles Crown

MIrza, Strycova Claim Tokyo Doubles Crown

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TOKYO, Japan – No.2 seeded Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova took home their second doubles title of the year, handily defeating the unseeded Chinese duo of Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-1, 6-1, in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“We were playing great from the beginning to the end,” Strycova said in their post-match press conference. “We actually didn’t make any errors in the first set and we felt great on the court. I think it was one of the best matches we played together.”

Mirza and Strycova, who first teamed up in Cincinnati and won their first title at the Western & Southern Open, overcame a tough draw which saw them face off against home favorites Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara in the first round. After edging past the Japanese duo 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-8, Mirza and Strycova cruised against Kato Miyu and Xu Yifan before battling past Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez to reach the final.

Liang and Yang faced a tougher road to the Tokyo final, needing to battle past two seeded teams – the No.1 seeded Chan Hao-Ching and Chan-Yung-Jan in the first round, then the No.3 seeds Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears before booking a clash against the No.2 seeded Mirza and Strycova.

“It’s great to play your best tennis in the final, we were happy to do that,” Mirza said. “We played very solid, and we kept our concentration the whole match. Like [Barbora] said, it was one of the best matches that we played.”

The victory puts Mirza and Strycova one step closer to a potential spot in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Entering Tokyo the duo sat at No.19 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard, trailing the Top 8 by about 500 points. With 470 points now in the bag, the team received a major boost in their standings.

WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

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