Serena Williams: "It's Important Not To Underestimate Anyone"
After correcting a misguided reporter who thought she was playing sister Venus in the semifinals, Serena Williams looks ahead to her match against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
After correcting a misguided reporter who thought she was playing sister Venus in the semifinals, Serena Williams looks ahead to her match against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Undaunted by home pressure, Angelique Kerber could find no better place to win her first title since clinching her maiden major title in Melbourne than the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Kerber was coming off an abrupt semifinal finish at the Volvo Car Open, where she came within four sets of defending that title before a viral illness halted her progress. Emerging victorious in three sets over countrywoman Annika Beck in her opening round, the German never looked back, capturing a second straight title in Stuttgart.
“It’s really important for me because it is always a special week, a special tournament for me and to defend a title is like much more special for me,” Kerber told press after defending a title for the first time in her career.
Taking part in the first all-German final in Stuttgart’s history, Kerber dismissed Laura Siegemund in straight sets for her ninth career title and third on clay.
“I think for me it’s really the best season I have played so far. I mean to win my first Grand Slam and then winning here in front of my home crowd that is the best start ever.
“It’s so special to win after a Grand Slam also the tournament here at home because everybody is here, I know all the faces and playing in front of this crowd is always amazing.
“That’s why it’s much more special this year to win this tournament.”
With a second title of 2016 already under her belt, Kerber will certainly be one to watch through the clay court season as April’s WTA Player Of The Month!
Final Results for April’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Angelique Kerber (54%)
2. Laura Siegemund (27%)
3. Sloane Stephens (19%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Surprise contender Mirjana Lucic-Baroni takes on world No.2 Serena Williams in the semifinal of the Australia Open. We preview the match.
MADRID, Spain – Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic extended their perfect start to the clay court season with victory over Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the Mutua Madrid Open semifinals.
Arriving in the Spanish capital brimming with confidence after back-to-back titles in Charleston and Stuttgart, Garcia and Mladenovic have looked untouchable. After cruising through the rounds, the No.5 seeds put down a marker with their showing against former French Open champions Makarova and Vesnina, wrapping up a 6-2, 6-3 victory in little over an hour.
“It was a tough match and we fought really well,” Mladenovic said. “We’re on a great run but whoever we face in the final won’t be easy, so we’ll play our own game regardless. Clay is being great to us this season and me and Caroline are really playing great as a pair.”
A shot at Olympic glory prompted the union between Garcia and Mladenovic, who had previously been in successful partnerships with Katarina Srebotnik and Timea Babos, respectively. And while the Frenchwomen took a few tournaments to fully gel, they have now well and truly found their feet on the terre battue.
Victory over Makarova and Vesnina extends their unbeaten streak to 12 matches and sets up a rematch against the world’s leading pair: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza.
The teams met a fortnight ago in the Stuttgart final, Garcia and Mladenovic overcoming a disastrous start to pinch it on a match tie-break. Hingis and Mirza secured their final berth thanks to an even more impressive showing, dismantling Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-2, 6-0, in 51 minutes.
“It’s obviously awesome – our second consecutive final of the clay court season. I don’t think either of us had ever made it to the final in Madrid before, so it’s a good feeling to already be doing better than last year and we’re looking forward to playing Garcia and Mladenovic again,” Hingis said.
Despite their dominance atop the rankings, Hingis insists they are the underdogs going into the final: “They are definitely the team to beat on clay, so if we want to be competitive at the French Open we know we’ll have to test ourselves against them.”
.@NickKyrgios and @keinishikori on their way to the court bump into @mhingis and @MirzaSania!!!! ? ? #MMOPEN https://t.co/IiAIpR2HvC
— Mutua Madrid Open (@MutuaMadridOpen) May 6, 2016
Simona Halep has Friday’s shot of the day at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Venus Williams never thinks the next tournament might be her last…
Simona Halep takes on Dominika Cibulkova in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open.
A preview of the 2017 Australian Open final between Serena and Venus Williams.
An interview with Petra Kvitova before her opening round match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Before the start of the Taiwan Open – which kicks off right on Lunar New Year – players got a chance to celebrate at WTA Taiwan Welcome Party!
Elina Svitolina, Lucie Safarova and Jelena Jankovic were some of the stars of the night.
Some of Asia’s biggest names in tennis were in attendance too, including last year’s finalist Misaki Doi of Japan and last year’s doubles champions, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan of Taiwan.
Keeping with the theme of tennis and Taiwanese culture, many of the desserts were local favorites with a tennis twist.
Looks tasty!
The Ws paid homage to the W Hotel in Taipei City, which was the party’s venue.
A master chef was on hand to instruct Francesca Schiavone, Sam Stosur, Hao-Ching, Jung-Jan and Svitolina in making Chinese dumplings – which are very popular in Taiwan during the Lunar New Year.
Also as a part of the holiday, each player was given a red envelope. It’s local tradition to put money in red envelopes and give them away to people, which brings good luck and fortune.