Tennis News

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska sailed into the third round of the Miami Open with a straight set win over Alizé Cornet on Thursday afternoon.

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In a typically polished display, Radwanska pulled out all the usual party pieces to wrap up a 6-0, 6-1 victory in 68 minutes.

“I’m just very happy with that win, maybe the score was not showing everything that was happening on the court,” Radwanska said. “But I think it was a great start and a couple of tight games at the beginning of both sets was the key.”

Cornet’s appearance at Crandon Park came as a surprise to most, having announced only last month that she was set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. And Radwanska certainly gave the Frenchwoman’s fitness a thorough examination, pulling her to all corners of the court.

By the start of the second set, Cornet cut a beleaguered figure. When she ballooned a forehand long to drop serve early on, it was a case of damage limitation. Radwanska was in no mood for charity, racing through the final four games to register her 18th win of the season.

“The first match [of the tournament] is always tricky and it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, that’s why I’m very happy to have such a good first match. Here today the conditions were really hot and humid. We all have to prepare for that and it’s not going to be easy in the next few days,” Radwanska added.

In the third round the Pole will face Madison Brengle, after she upset No.28 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 7-5, 6-4. “I think we’ve never played before so that’s always a challenge. I saw a bit of her matches this year and last year – a couple of good results for her.”

Also advancing in their section were Ana Ivanovic, who eased past Teliana Pereira, 6-3, 6-0, and Timea Bacsinszky, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Margarita Gasparyan.

MIAMI, FL, USA – A former World No.21 and perennial doubles threat, Elena Vesnina needed to fight through qualifying just to reach the main draw of the Miami Open, but the veteran Russian caused one of the biggest shake-ups of the event thus far, outsteadying No.10 seed and former No.1 Venus Williams, 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-2.

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“That was a great match, great fight,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “It’s always an honor to play against Venus. She’s a great champion. We played many times against each other and it’s always been a pleasure to play her and it’s always been a tough match-up.

“I’m really happy that I won today.”

Far from the typical underdog, Vesnina came into the match with a solid week at the Qatar Total Open – where she earned back-to-back wins over Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki and ended Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak in doubles – and an even head-to-head against the illustrious American. Landing 74% of her first serves to start, she took advantage of a flat opponent to race through the opening set without losing a game.

“I honestly was a little bit shocked after the first set, thinking, ‘Ok, what’s going on?'”

The second set was a more even affair; though Vesnina took what appeared to be a decisive break in the seventh game, Venus broke back at the eleventh hour, saving a match point on the Russian’s serve at 5-4.

“Even when I was up 5-3, I felt Venus was playing better and better and she raised her level up.”

Pushing the second set into a tie-break, the momentum swung back and forth before Venus swept the final two points, ensuring that the crowd would see a final set.

“She was serving incredibly; on the tie-break she played at a very high level of tennis.”

Undaunted – and perhaps aware that she won their only prior three-set match at the Western & Southern Open back in 2013 – Vesnina raced out to another 3-0 lead; though Venus pegged her back to within a game of level terms, the reigning Australian Open mixed doubles champion ultimately hit more winners (35 to 28) and fewer errors (35 to 39) to clinch the victory.

“Even though I lost the second set, I still believed in myself, and I knew everything could happen. It was a pleasure to play on this center court.”

Up next for Vesnina is No.24 seed and Australian Open semifinalist Johanna Konta, who defeated Danka Kovinic, 6-4, 6-2. With No.6 seed Carla Suárez Navarro out at the hands of American CoCo Vandeweghe, the highest seed left in this quarter of the draw is BNP Paribas Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who is ranked in the Top 10 but seeded No.13.

Vesnina is also in the doubles draw, set to play her first round with 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina, with whom she ended the Santina Streak. Kasatkina started the year with a win over the elder of the Williams sisters at the ASB Classic, and could be seen supporting her partner from the stands.

“She told me a couple of things before the match, but she said, ‘That’s Venus; you have to expect everything,'” Vesnina said when asked whether her countrywoman had given her any advice. “It was great to have her in my player box alongside my husband and my dad.

“The center court atmosphere was really amazing. Even though I felt like Venus was the favorite and everyone really wanted her to win, there will still some people cheering for me, so that was really nice. It’s great when you can have a big team behind you, supporting you and believing in you.”

DUBAI, UAE – Last week, historic rainfall wreaked havoc on the Qatar Total Open schedule, where former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki reached the final.

Now it’s looking like the bad weather has followed her across the Gulf all the way to Dubai, where it delayed the start of her quarterfinal against CiCi Bellis.

Wozniacki, whose nickname is “Sunshine,” has figured out the culprit behind all of Dubai’s weather woes:

“At this point, I was just, it’s me. I’m bringing the rain,” she laughed in her post-match press conference.

“You know, even in Doha and in Dubai, I come and it’s raining. I step on the court and it’s raining. I was, like, this is deja vu from Doha last week!”

But Wozniacki probably doesn’t mind the rain too much. After all, it’s bringing out some of her best tennis.

“I have a winning record with this rain. Just bring it on. I’m ready for it.”

Waiting for the rain to stop… ?☔️ pic.twitter.com/t04KiqURvx

— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2017

MIAMI, FL ,USA – Three of the top five seeds at the Miami Open will be in action on a busy Saturday at Crandon Park. We preview the must-see match-ups here.

Saturday, Third Round

Stadium
[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) vs. Madison Brengle (USA #60)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Radwanska leads the WTA in match wins in 2016 with 18.
Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 Miami Open champion, was flawless in her second-round trouncing of France’s Alizé Cornet, and that’s pretty much been the case for the Pole in all her early-round matches in 2016. The WTA’s match win leader has reached the semifinals at each event she has played this year and she’ll look to maintain this consistency against Delaware’s Madison Brengle. Brengle backed up her first-round win over Italy’s Camila Giorgi by notching a 7-5, 6-4 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Thursday to reach the third round at the Miami Open for the first time. “I think we’ve never played before so that’s always a challenge,” Radwanska said when asked about facing 25-year-old Brengle for the first time. “I saw a bit of her matches this year and last year – a couple of good results for her.” Brengle has indeed developed into a solid WTA-level player over the past 12 months, but she’s struggled to make ends meet against the tour’s top dogs, going just 3-17 lifetime against the Top 20.

Pick: Radwanska in two

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Zarina Diyas (KAZ #97)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Williams dropped just two games in the pair’s one and only encounter.
Serena Williams found herself in a spot of trouble in the second round on Thursday, but the World No.1 managed to gut out the win against Christina McHale in three tough sets. Adjusting to the slower conditions in Miami after two weeks in the California desert is never easy, but with a hard-fought win under her belt Williams should be better acclimated when she takes on Zarina Diyas on Saturday. Diyas upset Daria Gavrilova in straight sets on Thursday, and has dropped just nine games in her first two matches this week, but in order to keep up the pace the 22-year-old will have to find a way to flummox the best player in the history of this tournament. Williams owns a 65-5 career record at Miami, and has a knack for getting better as the tournament progresses.

Pick: Williams in two

Grandstand
[8] Petra Kvitova (CZE #7) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #31)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads, 4-2
Key Stat: Kvitova made her best result in Miami in 2014 when she reached the quarterfinals.
After a poor start to 2016 is Petra Kvitova finally hitting her stride stateside? The World No.7 has claimed four of five matches since starting the season at a 2-6 clip, and she’ll search for one of the biggest wins of her season against a proven entity in Ekaterina Makarova. While Kvitova is finding her form, her fellow southpaw from Russia seems to be headed in the opposite direction. Makarova has gone just 2-5 since reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open, with four of those losses coming in straight sets. When it comes to performing in Miami, however, Makarova has been steady in the past. The Russian has reached the round of 16 in three of the last four years here, while Kvitova has only been past the third round once in Miami.

Pick: Kvitova in three

[16] Ana Ivanovic (SRB #17) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Ivanovic leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Ivanovic had reached the round of 16 here four years running before losing to Sabine Lisicki in the third round last year.
Both Ana Ivanovic and Timea Bacsinszky are searching for character wins to build on in 2016, and their fourth career battle could be the perfect psychological tonic for Saturday’s eventual winner. Ivanovic and Bacsinszky have combined to go 1-6 against the Top 20 thus far this season, but the winner of this match will surely benefit from a bit of confidence that could spark the beginning of a deep run. The Serb leads the pair’s head-to-head by 2-1, but two of their three encounters have gone the distance. Bacsinszky has done a nice job of turning her season around in the last month. The Swiss has won five of seven after stumbling out of the gates to a 1-6 start. Will it be blossoming Bacsinszky who emerges, or will Ivanovic punch her ticket to the round of 16 with a much-needed win?

Pick: Ivanovic in three

Around the grounds…
Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki will meet for the first time on Saturday. Wozniacki has lost five of her last six matchups against Top 20 players, dating back to Wimbledon last year. Elsewhere, last year’s semifinalist Simona Halep will square off with Julia Goerges, and Svetlana Kuznetsova faces the gifted Caroline Garcia.

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

DUBAI, UAE – No.10 seed Caroline Wozniacki willed her way past surprise semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova, dispatching the Latvian, 6-3, 6-4, to reach her first final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships since winning the event in 2011.

“I really love coming back here and playing on this court,” she said on court after earning a 22nd career match win in Dubai – the most of any at this event. “It’s amazing. The crowd is always supporting me; you guys are amazing and make this tournament special.

“Being an ambassador for Dubai Duty Free just makes it all the more sweet, playing well here every year. I’m just thrilled to be in another final.”

.@CaroWozniacki's backhand ? #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/H9FMS4qVuW

— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017

Coming off a run to the final of a particularly rainy Qatar Total Open, Wozniacki dealt with a few more delays in her semifinal to advance into back-to-back finals for the first time since 2014, when she finished runner-up at both the US Open and the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

? @CaroWozniacki!

What a way to save break point! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/Bawyuqd7OW

— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017

“I’m kind of used to the rain by now; for the last two weeks it’s been on and off, but I thought we played good quality tennis so I’m extremely happy to be through.

“It’s been a good couple of weeks for me,” she later explained in her post-match press conference. “Very happy with how I have been playing. Very happy how I have managed to get through these two weeks, because it’s been very tiring mentally. The fact that I have just been staying in there and keep grinding, I’m kind of proud of that.”

Wozniacki and Sevastova last met in the quarterfinals of the US Open, where Sevastova earned a career-best Grand Slam result but twisted her ankle early on, allowing the Dane to ease into her first major semifinal in exactly two years. Sevastova was far fitter on Friday night, pushing the former World No.1 through two tough sets, each of which came down to the wire.

“She definitely was a tricky opponent. I knew going into it that she was going to be difficult. She mixes the pace up. She really tries to break your rhythm.

“I was really pleased with how I was playing. I tried to stay aggressive and tried to mix it up, as well.”

Sevastova claims this 30-shot rally with a lob! ? pic.twitter.com/Cq1f0ekYzY

— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017

By match’s end, the Dane had struck 17 winners to 20 from the resurgent Latvian, but almost half as many unforced errors – 17 to 31 – and maintained an impressive 70% first serve percentage to clinch victory after one hour and 26 minutes on court.

Up next for Wozniacki is the winner of the second semifinal between top seed Angelique Kerber and her nemesis, No.7 seed Elina Svitolina.

Second Final in two weeks!@CaroWozniacki defeats Sevastova 6-3, 6-4 for a spot in @DDFTennis Final! pic.twitter.com/q7Wx2vkHuM

— WTA (@WTA) February 24, 2017

“I’m just happy to play against either. They’re both great competitors and great opponents. I lost to both of them the last time we’ve played so it’s not going to be easy but I’m just thrilled to be in the final and I’m going to give it a good battle.”