It’s no surprise that the WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party presented by Dubai Duty Free is the biggest party in all of tennis. But what might surprise you is what Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki revealed when we caught up with them on the big night.
Who is a dedicated thrill-seeker and who has a huge sweet tooth? Find out in this party-themed episode of Dubai Duty Free: Full Of Surprises!
With the first full weekend at Wimbledon on the menu since 2004, check out the best matches set to take place as the first week comes to a close.
LONDON, Great Britain – The first to play on this rare People’s Sunday at the Wimbledon Championships, No.27 seed CoCo Vandeweghe clinched a spot in the second week for the second year in a row, ousting No.6 seed Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 6-4.
Vandeweghe reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at this very tournament one year ago, and has only gotten more comfortable on the grass courts since, winning a second Ricoh Open title and reaching the semifinals of the Aegon Classic with a win over World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska.
She played another emphatic match against the Italian on Centre Court, dropping just four points behind her first serve and hitting 21 winners to 17 unforced errors to earn the upset in just over an hour.
Along with the Williams sisters and Madison Keys, Vandeweghe became the fourth American woman to reach the second week at this year’s Championships.
Pavlyuchenkova Propels Into Round Four
Standing between the American and a second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal is No.21 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who surprised No.11 seed and 2015 quarterfinalist Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3, 6-2.
Heading into the Wimbledon fortnight, the Russian had never been past the third round, and hadn’t won back-to-back matches on grass since 2012, but overcame tough battles against Hsieh Su-Wei and Yulia Putintseva to play some of her best tennis against Bacsinszky to claim victory on her 25th birthday.
Maintaining a positive winner to unforced error differential at 24 to 20, Pavlyuchenkova had a stellar serving day of her own, winning 82% first serve points and missing just 14 first serves in the one hour and 18 minute encounter. The two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and former World No.13 lost her only previous match with Vandeweghe back at the 2014 Miami Open, though the match was played over two tight sets.
Makarova Meets Vesnina In Singles Face-Off
Backing up her big win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in an endlessly rain-delayed second round, Ekaterina Makarova showed no signs of a let down against 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinalist and Aegon Classic runner-up Barbora Strycova, knocking out the No.24 seed, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.
Makarova’s superb start to the 2015 season had been derailed by a lower leg injury; unseeded at a major tournament for the first time in four years, the Russian veteran has played phenomenal tennis since reuniting with doubles partner Elena Vesnina at the Mutua Madrid Open.
It’s only right then, that the two have a full circle moment in the round of 16 at the All England Club. In the midst of her own singles reurgence, Vesnina began the year playing Grand Slam qualifying after 40 straight main draw appearances, but after a season of solid wins over Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Belinda Bencic, and Caroline Wozniacki, the Russian veteran is back in the Top 50 and into the second week of a major for the first time since the 2013 Australian Open.
Vesnina has never beaten her doubles partner in a WTA match, losing 12 straight sets to Makarova – including four in their two 2015 matches.
Four Russians through to R16 (Kuznetsova, Makarova, Pavlyuchenkova, Vesnina) the most at #Wimbledon since 2009
— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) July 3, 2016
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Karolina Pliskova produced a clinical display on Friday night, swatting aside Elina Svitolina to take her place in the final of the Brisbane International.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | After advancing to the Brisbane final, Alizé Cornet took a moment to pay tribute to a man who always reminded her to be thankful for her lot.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sania Mirza produced a near flawless display to overwhelm Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, 6-2, 6-3. The result ensures that Mattek-Sands will replace Mirza as the World No.1 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Highlights from all of Saturday’s finals action at the Brisbane International.
SYDNEY, Australia – No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova began her title defense at the Apia International Sydney with a decisive 6-1, 6-4 win over Irina-Camelia Begu.
“I started the year quite good with the feeling on court,” she said in her post-match press conference. “Sometimes the results don’t go with how you’re feeling, but I feel very good at the start of the year.”
It was a year ago that Kuznetsova came to Sydney to begin what would become her best season in nearly six years, but shrugged off the pressure of going for a second straight victory.
“I’m not thinking about defending my title. The trophy is at home and nobody can take it away from me. This is another year and another opportunity to play. I always feel like I need a lot of matches at the start of the year. I remember going to Auckland and not winning a single match. Then I came here and it gave me matches, confidence.
“If I played five weeks in a row at the end of last year, I can do three or four weeks here.”
The Russian veteran showed off similar form for much of the match against Begu, who struggled through the 31 minute opening set.
.@SvetlanaK27 has found her range early! pic.twitter.com/Gie2qUY2z3
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2017
Winning 10 of the first 12 games, the former World No.2 was on course for a seamless victory before the Romanian mounted a mini-comeback, drawing even at 4-4 in the second.
“What happened? What typically happens in a tennis match. I think I started to play more defensively, and she felt like she had nothing to lose. I got too passive.
“We practiced in December because she was also in Dubai; we played a practice match and that was good because I was able to remember her game.
“It’s a different style; she stays farther behind the baseline, not so much inside. She serves good, and it was hard to read.
.@Irina_Begu is on ?!
She breaks again to level the second set at 4-4! #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/FR3QXYMWRy
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2017
Kuznetsova closed the door from there, and served out her spot in the second round, where she’ll meet either 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur or compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
“Overall, I think I did good, except for those four games when I didn’t play so good.”
.@SvetlanaK27 starts @SydneyTennis title defense with 6-1, 6-4 win over Begu! pic.twitter.com/fMeKx8at2m
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2017
SYDNEY, Australia – No.10 seed Caroline Wozniacki survived a titanic tussle against Olympic tennis event winner Monica Puig, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, to advance into the second round of the Apia International Sydney.
“It’s a tough match, because, you know, you kind of feel, like, oh, I’m winning pretty comfortably right now, but then she can go on a streak, starts hitting winners, has such a good serve,” the Dane explained in her post-match press conference. “That’s where it started going in in the second set, and then the third set I tried to stay closer to the baseline and maybe play a little deeper.
“It paid off. But, yeah, win is a win. I’ll take it.”
Wozniacki had just come off a quarterfinal appearance at the ASB Classic, while Puig was looking for her first win of the season, having dropped her opening round match to Elina Svitolina at the Brisbane International. The No.10 seed broke at her first opportunity and held on for dear life to start the match, gutting out a five-deuce game to hold for 5-2 and ultimately serve out the opening set in 47 minutes.
This perfect backhand has helped @CaroWozniacki save three break points! #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/GZaRauEliO
— WTA (@WTA) January 9, 2017
Puig served notice last summer when she took home Puerto Rico’s first ever Olympic gold medal, but was even more impressive off the return in the second set, break serve three times to level the match.
Not a bad way for @CaroWozniacki to save break point! #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/8EX3RtLwTt
— WTA (@WTA) January 9, 2017
Much like the first set, Wozniacki broke early in the third and never let go, even as Puig showed all her mettle to hold in a six-deuce game at 3-1 in the decider.
“I changed up my practice quite a bit. I did a lot of other things, probably spent more time on court than I have in a long time and less time in the gym, actually.
“That was a big change for me, because I have worked so hard on my fitness and worked so hard on trying to prevent injuries.
“But at the end of the day, I think I sometimes need to ease off a little bit. I guess I’m not a spring chicken anymore. Sometimes less is more.”
Clinching victory on her first match point, Wozniacki booked a second-round encounter with Yulia Putintseva.
“I was proud of how I managed to just keep grinding today. I feel pretty good. I’m not nervous about my form. I think it’s going to be fine.”
.@CaroWozniacki starts @SydneyTennis campaign with 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Puig! pic.twitter.com/QwCEg3qz3D
— WTA (@WTA) January 9, 2017
SYDNEY, Australia – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won an all-Russian battle with defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova to advance into the quarterfinals of the Apia International Sydney.
“I’m really happy, not only because she’s defending champion, but also my fellow player,” she said after the match. “She’s Top 10 and has had a really incredible year last year. I knew it’d be a really tough match and I was just trying to play good tennis, and take this as prep for Melbourne.”
Pavlyuchenkova had lost five of her last six encounters with her veteran compatriot, and things seemed to be moving in similar fashion to start Tuesday’s match.
Kuznetsova twice moved ahead by a break of serve to start, and served for the opening set at 5-4, only to see Pavlyuchenkova reel off the last three games to nab just her third set from her fellow Russian.
“I think I did everything well! I wasn’t serving as well as I did yesterday; I was a little upset with that, but I’m so happy that even with a lower first-serve percentage, that I was able to win the match in two sets.”
.@NastiaPav takes a hard-fought first set 7-5! #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/OqEFfSXu2z
— WTA (@WTA) January 10, 2017
The pair exchanged breaks early in the second, with last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalist moving ahead 5-2 after a long service game, eventually clinching the win in one hour and 38 minutes.
“It’s just very different conditions here; last week was my first match of the year, plus it was cold, windy, with fast courts. I had Goerges there and she was just serving bombs so it was difficult for me to get into any rallies.
“I had zero expectations here; I was just trying to enjoy the tennis, but it’s working good so far.”
Up next for Pavlyuchenkova is either Eugenie Bouchard or No.3 seed Dominika Cibulkova.
“Cibulkova had an incredible year last year as well; she won the Masters and is in really good form. She’s a great fighter. I’ve never played Bouchard before. I don’t think we’ve even practiced together. I don’t know what to expect so I think I’ll watch some of their match today.”
.@NastiaPav reaches the @SydneyTennis Quarterfinals!
Beats defending champ Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/ievj8PWCdM
— WTA (@WTA) January 10, 2017