Wuhan: Thursday Highlights
Highlights from the quarterfinals action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinals action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
WUHAN, China – Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova captured the Wuhan title on Saturday to secure their return for the second year in succession to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Despite starting the week in seventh place on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, Mattek-Sands and Safarova’s seventh title together saw them become the fourth team to secure a spot at the season-ending showpiece.
“Singapore last year was awesome. It’s the year-end championships, the best of the best. Only the best teams get to go, so I think it’s an honor to make it there in the end,” Mattek-Sands said. “I think everyone at this point is fighting for a spot because the rankings were pretty close.”
It is testament to the American-Czech’s partnership that they have managed to secure their place in Singapore from so few appearance; injuries and scheduling conflicts have restricted them to just seven tournaments together this year. However, when they have been on court, it has not taken long to rekindle the magic.
In their first event of the year, the Miami Open, they romped to the title without dropping a set, following this up with another final in Charleston. They lost out on the silverware there to fellow Singapore qualifiers Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic and suffered further disappointment at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, falling at the first hurdle on each occasion.
With their Finals hopes hanging by a thread, a big performance was required at Flushing Meadows. And they certainly delivered, gaining revenge on Garcia and Mladenovic to add the US Open crown to the majors titles won at the Australian and French Opens the previous year.
The current Road to Singapore leaderboard as follows (as of October 1, 2016):
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the China Open.
Petra Kvitova had Tuesday’s shot of the day at the China Open.
BEIJING, China – Petra Kvitova put on a stunning performance to close out Wednesday’s night session at the China Open, decisively dispatching defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-1, 6-4, to not only reach the quarterfinals in Beijing, but also preserve her hopes of earning a late berth to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Kvitova came into the match on a seven-match winning streak, having won the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open for the second time in three years. Playing emphatic tennis throughout the 72 minute encounter, the Olympic Bronze medalist struck 27 winners to just 15 unforced errors against Muguruza, the 2015 winner, who hit only five winners of her own.
“I’ve played eight matches in 10 or 11 days, and I’m still going!” Kvitova joked with WTA Insider. “For sure, I’m feeling it; I do feel a few spots, but when I’m standing on the court, the adrenaline is there. I’m feeling very mentally tough right now, and that’s my strength, for sure.
“I know my game is there, which helps a lot with confidence; I just have to hit it how I can, and that’s most important.”
Breaking serve three times, the former World No.2 saved the only break point she faced to book a rematch with No.8 seed Madison Keys, whom she defeated for the bronze medal in Rio.
“That was a great match, for sure. It was a great battle, and both of us had a great level of game last time. I think it’ll be the same when we play again. I know she’s serving well, so that’ll probably be key for me to stay on my serve and wait for my chances and return – somehow!
“I think she’s similar to Garbiñe, or even me, so that helps.”
A WTA Finals champion in 2011, Kvitova was looking like a longshot to make her sixth career appearance at the year-end championships before catching fire after the Olympics, making the second week of the US Open – where she fell to eventual champion and future World No.1 Angelique Kerber – and blitzing the field in Wuhan, avenging the loss to Kerber and dropping a combined five games against Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova to win the title.
Should she win a second title in two weeks, the two-time Wimbledon winner would enter the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, but rest and recovery will be the main priority during a well-deserved day off.
“I’ll probably just go to the gym tomorrow; I’ve had a lot of hours of play, and even my racquets and shoes are tired. They need a rest!”
September was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.
In the end, it was Kirsten Flipkens, who played a key role in the rally Agnieszka Radwanska won to clinch August’s Shot Of The Month, after showing off more of her signature variety at the Korea Open in Seoul. On her way to beating Kristyna Pliskova in three tough sets, the Belgian pulled out all the stops to beat her powerful opponent, including a behind-the-back backhand stab to pass Pliskova at net.
Click here to watch all of September’s finalists.
Final Results for September’s WTA Shot Of The Month
1. Kirsten Flipkens (47%)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (39%)
3. Simona Halep (6%)
4. Caroline Wozniacki (4%)
5. Angelique Kerber (3%)
2016 WTA Shot of the Month Winners
January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Monica Niculescu
May: Simona Halep
June: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
August: Agnieszka Radwanska
How it works:
Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
ZHUHAI, China – Asian No.1 Zhang Shuai has received a wildcard for the second edition of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
The wildcard is result of a highly impressive campaign, which has seen Zhang fly up the rankings. This week, the 27-year-old upset Simona Halep and Samantha Stosur en route to the quarterfinals of the China Open, a result which guarantees she will break into the Top 30 in Monday’s new rankings
Zhang, who contemplated walking away from tennis 12 months ago, began the season ranked No.133. However, at the Australian Open she ended her long-running Grand Slam hoodoo by making it through qualifying and into the quarterfinals.
The Chinese player’s sole WTA singles title came three years ago in Guangzhou, but she has threatened to add to her collection in recent weeks, reaching the semifinals in Seoul and Tokyo, following an encouraging third-round run at the US Open.
“We are delighted to announce Zhang Shuai as our singles wildcard at this year’s Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai,” Peter Johnston, the Tournament Director of Huajin Security WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai 2016, said. “She has been in fantastic form this year and throughout her career has been a great ambassador for women’s tennis in China. I am sure the fans in Zhuhai are going to welcome her here to see her compete against the best of the best on the WTA Tour.”
Zhang was equally excited about the opportunity: “It’s an honor to be awarded the wildcard for 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, especially as a Chinese player. I’m very happy to get to play in my homeland in front of all Chinese fans. I heard that last’s first edition of WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was a great success. I can’t wait to play 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and meet the fans from Zhuhai there!”
Naomi Osaka has the dubious honor of setting a new all-time lowest record on the WTA Frame Challenge – see how she did right here on wtatennis.com!
There’s three spots still up for grabs at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and just 10 days to go until the start of the action.
Who has already booked their ticket to Singapore:
Five singles players have already qualified for the WTA Finals – Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova.
The doubles field was set last week in Beijing: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, and Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova will all be heading to Singapore for the season finale.
Who is next in line to qualify?
All six players in contention for the final three spots in Singapore continue to advance. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Tianjin) and Carla Suárez Navarro (Linz) have already advanced to the quarterfinals this week.
Madison Keys, Dominika Cibulkova and Garbiñe Muguruza are all in action tomorrow in Linz.
That all said, if Konta AND Cibulkova lose tomorrow, Muguruza can qualify for the WTA Finals with a win over Monica Niculescu.
Konta is scheduled to play the first match of the day in Hong Kong at 3pm local time against Wang Qiang in a second round match. Cibulkova will play Annika Beck in Linz
Regardless of other results, Muguruza can also secure qualification this week in in Linz if she wins the title, but she can also qualify by reaching the final with Cibulkova not winning the title.
Here is a round-by-round look at how this week will affect the WTA Finals qualification:
How you can follow all the action straight from your smartphone:
Download the official WTA Finals App created by SAP, available on the Apple App Store right here and Google Play right here!
The WTA Finals App features live streaming of exclusive behind-the-scenes moments, virtual replays, scores and stats, notifications on your favorite players, and lets you explore the host city Singapore, straight from your phone.
