My Performance: Elina Svitolina
Elina Svitolina talks through her win over Mandy Minella in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.
Elina Svitolina talks through her win over Mandy Minella in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her win in the final of the Taiwan Open.
An interview with Alison Riske after her quarterfinal win at the Bank of the West Classic.
Elina Svitolina thanks the fans after her win in the final of the Taiwan Open.
Highlights from quarterfinal action at the Bank of the West Classic.
Former World No.1 Maria Sharapova has picked up one of the wildcards for May’s Mutua Madrid Open as she plans her WTA comeback.
“Sharapova requested an invitation to play in the tournament and after considering it, we decided to give her a wildcard,” said Manolo Santana, the tournament director, in a statement.
“Maria is one of the best players of the last 15 years and also a past winner of our tournament. In Madrid she always plays well and I’m sure she will come back to the courts highly motivated and hoping to do well in her first tournaments.”
Sharapova, 29, last won the event in 2014, beating Simona Halep, 1-6 6-2 6-3, in the final.
“Sharapova is one of those players that all tennis fans want to see,” added Mutua Madrid Open CEO and President Gerard Tsobanian. “Her presence in the Caja Mágica is great news for the tournament, for the fans and also for the city of Madrid.”
The Russian makes her return to the tour in Stuttgart in April following her positive test for a banned substance in 2016.
Tickets and season tickets for the Mutua Madrid Open can be purchased at www.madrid-open.com and entradas.com.
BRISBANE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka wasted little time getting her 2016 season up and running with a brisk win over Elena Vesnina in the first round of the Brisbane International.
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In a merciless display, former champion Azarenka broke six times to wrap up a 6-2, 6-0 win and set up an intriguing second round meeting with top seed Simona Halep.
The previous meeting between the two came at last year’s US Open. On that occasion Halep came out on top in three thrilling sets and she is expecting another stern examination from the former World No.1
“Very tough. Yeah, I’m looking forward to start this year. I’m excited. I know that that’s not easy, because every time the first match of the year is difficult mentally as well and physically,” Halep said.
“It will be a nice match I think. Will be very hard and a big challenge for me. Again, I played against her in US Open, so I’m looking forward to play against her and to see how good I can play in the first match of the year.”
Vesnina, who had to come through three rounds of qualifying to secure her first round berth, started brightly enough, a couple of smart winners helping her break to love in the second game. This, however, would be the last time she troubled the scoreboard.
She was not able to hang onto this lead for long, Azarenka flicking an angled backhand to hit back immediately. From this point she moved through the gears effortlessly, barely putting a foot wrong over the next hour, threading one final backhand past Vesnina to add the final flourish to a near immaculate display.
The statistics as well as the scoreline made pleasant reading, the Belarusian complementing an impressive serving display – she struck four aces and a healthy 74% first serve percentage – with a typically polished display from the baseline, producing 22 winners and just seven unforced errors.
“I was happy to be on the court. It’s been a while since I’ve been out there playing an actual match. It’s been a lot of practice, so I was just happy to go out there and play and be in front of the crowd and just compete,” Azarenka said. “So I was happy to be able to do that and play well.”
Venus Williams takes on Alison Riske in the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
Highlights from first round action at the Brisbane International.