Tokyo: Best Shots Of The Week
Watch all of the best shots from the Toray Pan Pacific Open – right here!
Watch all of the best shots from the Toray Pan Pacific Open – right here!
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
The WTA’s longtime queen of hot shots Agnieszka Radwanska was back at it again in 2016, bringing out all the magic from her bag of tricks – watch all her best shots of the year right here!
Halep Books Return to Singapore
Just two days after celebrating her 25th birthday, Simona Halep secured her spot in Singapore for the third consecutive year by reaching the semifinal with a win over Madison Keys. Halep joins Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams in the Singapore lineup with the final five spots up for grabs.
Cibulkova, Kuznetsova Deliver Under Pressure
Dominika Cibulkova delivered in a big way with wins over Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova on Thursday to set up a semifinal match against Svetlana Kuznetsova. The victories position her among the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard and also confirm her return to the WTA Top 10 when the latest rankings are released after Wuhan.
Kuznetsova, who now sits at No.10 on the Leaderboard, has enjoyed a late-career resurgence as she will reach her highest ranking since the 2010 French Open after Wuhan. Both players are jockeying for position on the Leaderboard, and a semifinal win will add 235 points to their totals.
Cibulkova has a chance this week to move as high as No.6 on the Leaderboard, overtaking French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza. Kuznetsova, on the other hand, has a chance to climb into the Top 8 if she can capture the title in Wuhan.
Late Season Push for Kvitova
Petra Kvitova scored a win over current WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the third round, which, arguably, could be considered the WTA match of the year.
Kvitova entered the week at No.21 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard. Projected to climb to No.18 with her results so far, a run to a second Wuhan final – she was the inaugural Wuhan champion in 2014 – would push her to around No.12. If Kvitova, also a finalist in 2014 at Beijing, could complete a Wuhan/Beijing double, she would vault into the Top 8 and be in position to qualify for the WTA Finals for the sixth straight year.
WTA FINALS – ROAD TO SINGAPORE UPDATE – Thursday, September 29th
SINGLES:
Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep
Next to Qualify: No more qualifiers this week. All eyes will be on Beijing
Current Projected Top 8 (Remaining 5 Spots)
Contenders for Top 8 in Action:
(Current projected cut off is 3,137; points trailing the current projected cutoff)
DOUBLES:
Qualified: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina
Next to Qualify: It is possible for two of three teams to qualify this week – Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova will qualify if they defeat Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova in quarterfinal, and either Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan or Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova will book their ticket to Singapore with the title
Current Projected Top 8 (Remaining 5 Teams)
|
Babos/Shvedova |
3975 |
QF vs. Mirza/Strycova |
|
Hlavackova/Hradecka |
3775 |
lost 2R vs Bondarenko/Chuang |
|
Chan/Chan |
3760 |
SF vs winner of Babos/Shvedova & Mirza/Strycova |
|
Mattek-Sands/Safarova |
3676 |
No.5 seed, SF vs McHale/Peng |
|
Goerges/Pliskova |
3270 |
lost to Atawo/Spears in 2R |
Contenders for Top 8 in Action:
(Current projected cut off is 3,270; points trailing the current projected cutoff)
|
Atawo/Spears |
-575 |
lost to Chan Sisters in QF |
|
Xu/Zheng |
-600 |
lost Atawo/Spears in 1R |
|
Klepac/Srebotnik |
-1130 |
lost No.2 seed Chan Sisters in 2R |
|
Mirza/Strycova |
-1280 |
QF vs Babos/Shvedova |
Petra Kvitova takes on Dominika Cibulkova in the final of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
An interview with Venus Williams before her first round match at the China Open.
Petra Kvitova cut a troubled figure for much of 2016, searching in vain for the form that took her to two Wimbledon victories.
A quietly impressive summer on the North American cement suggested a corner had been turned, but even then few could have forecasted just how brilliant the Czech would be during the home stretch.
The catalyst came at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, where Kvitova inflicted the first defeat of Angelique Kerber reign as World No.1 in an absorbing third-round encounter.
Under the roof at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Kvitova set the tone in the first set, recovering from an early break to move 4-2 ahead. However, Kerber refused to wilt in the face of this baseline assault, fending off a set point with a trademark crouched backhand before pinching the tie-break when Kvitova sent a wild forehand long.
WOW! ?
41 shot rally!! #WuhanOpenTennis pic.twitter.com/T9Kzy9LERc
— WTA (@WTA) September 28, 2016
This ebb and flow continued into the second, the Czech edging her way ahead only to be reeled back in on each occasion. Eventually her persistence paid off, as she bludgeoned herself level before unleashing a fizzing backhand as she broke to love at the start of the decider.
It was an advantage she hung onto doggedly when Kerber staged an inevitable fightback. Somehow she held on, fending off 10 break back points – including seven in one game – as she dragged her weary body towards the finishing line. The drama continued until the very end, Kvitova spurning six match points until she managed to summon a forehand that even Kerber could not track down.
By the time Kvitova belatedly closed out her 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-4 victory, she had been on court for three hours and 20 minutes – the fourth longest match of the season.
Numbery numbers. #WuhanOpen #Kvitova pic.twitter.com/gxjAIFXTC8
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) September 28, 2016
“I won after playing a long time. I feel happy. But as well I feel tired, and the tournament is still going, so I don’t feel that satisfied. I think it was a great match from both of us,” Kvitova said in her post-match press conference.
“I really gave everything today. I think same as her. I think it was really about the few points. It was a great battle. So hopefully the fans enjoyed it as well. I did, for sure. I will feel it tomorrow definitely.”
If this epic ordeal had taken anything out of Kvitova, she hid it well. Over the following three days, Kvitova dismissed Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and then Dominika Cibulkova with increasing degrees of ease to capture the 18th title of her career.
An interview with Peng Shuai after her win in the second round of the China Open.
Catherine Bellis continued her fine run of form with a dominant second-round victory over Usue Maitane Arconada at the Hawaii Open on Thursday.
Road to Singapore leaderboard, Sunday Recap
RTS No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.8 Madison Keys stay on course; RTS No.9 Carla Suárez Navarro crashes out; RTS No.11 Johanna Konta eases into second round
RTS No.6 Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka lose tight opener; RTS No.8 Goerges/Pliskovaadvance comfortably
RTS No.13 Andreja Klepac / Katarina Srebotnik keep Singapore dreams alive by eliminating and ending the hopes of RTS No.9 Raquel Atawo / Abigail Spears
Click here for the complete China Open draws.
Monday Preview
If Keys loses to Kristina Mladenovic (4th match, Lotus, NB 6.30pm) then Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska will qualify for BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, regardless of their own results on Monday.
UPDATED LEADERBOARD
SINGLES:
Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep
Next In Line (Current Top 8):
How can they qualify in Beijing ?
(note: Scenarios will change if those currently in the Top 8 advance)
Pliskova – qualifies by reaching QF OR
· Keys fails to reach 3r (QF if Pliskova advances to 2r) OR
· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final*
*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible
Radwanska – qualifies by reaching QF OR
· Keys fails to reach QF OR
· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final *
*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible
Muguruza – qualifies by reaching final
Cibulkova – qualifies by winning title
Keys – qualifies by winning title
It is mathematically possible for Kuznetsova to qualify this week by winning the Beijing title BUT this would depend on a 2r defeat for Cibulkova.
It is no longer mathematically possible for Konta to qualify this week, even if she won the title.
Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3137)
It is interesting to note that four of the players that are battling for qualification – Muguruza, Keys, Kuznetsova and Kvitova are all in the same quarter of the Beijing draw, creating some potentially exciting matchups in the R16 at the China Open, a stage where Pliskova and Konta could also meet
DOUBLES
QUALIFIED: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina, Mattek-Sands/Safarova
NEXT IN LINE:
|
Shvedova/Babos |
3975 |
1r v Savchuk/Wang (Mon) |
|
Hlavackova/Hradecka |
3775 |
Lost 1r (Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova) |
|
Chan/Chan |
3760 |
1r bye, 2r-King/Niculescu or Xu/Zheng |
|
Goerges/Pliskova |
3390 |
1r d. Aoyama/Ninomiya , 2r vs Hingis/Vandeweghe or Irigoyen/Maria |
How do they qualify in Beijing:
Timea Babos / Yaroslava Shvedova qualify unless Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova or Xu Yi-Fan / Zheng Saisai win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing SF
Andrea Hlavcakova / Lucie Hradecka qualify unless Mirza/Strycova reach Beijing final or Xu/Zheng win the Beijing title
Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan qualify unless Mirza/Strycova or Xu/Zheng reach Beijing final OR by reaching the Beijing Final
Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova qualify by advancing to the same round or better than Mirza/Strycova and Xu/Zheng and if Klepac/Srebotnik don’t win Beijing title**
Remaining Teams in Possible Contention (points behind current cut-off)
|
|
|
|
|||
|
Xu/Zheng |
-720 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**
1r vs King/Nicuescu (Mon) |
|||
|
Mirza/Strycova |
-1005 |
Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**
(same quarter as Goerges/Pliskova)
1r – bye; 2r vs Dabrowski/Martinez Sanchez |
|||
|
Klepac/Srebotnik |
-1230 |
8th at best, must win Beijing to stay in contention and Goerges/Pliskova do not reach SF
1r d Atawo/Spears, 2r vs Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova |
|||
**this will change and require a better result if Goerges/Pliskova advance.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.