Tennis News

SINGAPORE – Svetlana Kuznetsova produced a stunning comeback to upset defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska in a thrilling round-robin encounter at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

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As the match entered the home straight, Kuznetsova’s arduous route to the start line looked to have taken its toll. Yet somehow she willed her ailing limbs back into life, recovering from match point down to win, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5. 

Kuznetsova only secured her place in Singapore with victory in Saturday afternoon’s Moscow final and for the first 15 minutes she looked off the pace, quickly falling 4-1 behind. Perhaps drawing confidence from her fine record against the Pole, Kuznetsova managed to drag herself level then pinch the set.

Radwanska, though, came roaring back, dominating the second set then moving a break ahead in the decider when Kuznetsova fired long. At the next changeover, the Russian hacked off her ponytail in a stunning move.

The new-look Kuznetsova promptly broke back and while not level for long, she refused to surrender. As she struck the ball with more conviction, Radwanska retreated into her shell, frittering away a match point at 5-4 with a nervous backhand into the net.

Sensing her moment, Kuznetsova continued to probe, restoring parity then moving ahead with a confident hold. A brilliant double-fisted backhand down the line brought the finishing line in sight and as the clock ticked towards the three-hour mark Radwanska found the net to finally surrender.

In Wuhan, she also came from match point down to defeat Radwanska. Talking to the press afterwards, though, she was at a loss to explain the hold she has over the World No.3: “I mean, I don’t know. I know that I won last two matches in last month against Aga being match point down both matches, so it’s very hard to say.

“I’m just trying my best when I play her. She’s really tough. She’s No.3 or 4 in the world, so, I mean, you better maybe ask her about it. I don’t know. I mean, we always have tough matches, but I guess somebody has to win and more times it’s for me.”

Kuznetsova has now won 21 three-set matches in 2016 – more than any other player on tour. “Sometimes it’s not easy, and sometimes you’re pulling through. I put aside that I’m tired, put aside the emotions, the jet lag – I didn’t want to think about it,” Kuznetsova said in her post match press conference. “We came here to fight, let’s put everything else to one side.”

Appearing in her sixth WTA Finals, Kuznetsova has never been beyond the round robin stage. Next she will face the winner of Monday’s other White Group match between Karolina Pliskova and Garbiñe Muguruza.

SINGAPORE – World No.1 Angelique Kerber laid down a marker at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global with an impressive straight-sets win over Simona Halep on Tuesday.

Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!

After edging a closely contested opening set, Kerber raced through the second, wrapping up a 6-4, 6-2 victory in an hour and 22 minutes.

“I’m feeling very good here. I’m really enjoying being back here on the center court and playing my best tennis,” Kerber told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “I think we played a great match today.

“I try every time I step on court to give my best. Of course every match here is tough – it’s the best eight players in the world – and I’m just trying to focus on my game.”

Kerber’s concentration wavered only briefly in a high-quality opening set, surrendering an early lead to allow Halep to edge 4-3 ahead. The following game she found herself in further bother, Halep threatening another break only to be denied by a pin-point forehand pass.

This proved to be the turning point, the German breaking the next game before calmly serving out the set. She rammed home her dominance in the second set, breaking twice more and committing just three unforced errors to wrap up victory.

Kerber, who also won her first match, will next face Madison Keys. Should she take at least a set from the American on Thursday, she will be guaranteed a place in the semifinals. Even if Kerber fails to do so, she would still advance unless Halep defeats Cibulkova in straight sets. 

SINGAPORE – There may have been no final set haircut, but Svetlana Kuznetsova underlined her box office status at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global on Wednesday evening with a thrilling victory over Karolina Pliskova.

Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!

Kuznetsova withstood a spirited late comeback from No.4 seed Pliskova to eventually prevail, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6), and confirm her place in the semifinals.

“After my journey here, and all the support of the fans and my team, I couldn’t let everybody down,” Kuznetsova said to Andrew Krasny in her on-court interview. “It’s from my heart. I have not been at my best these past years, but something just changed this year.

“I enjoy my game, I enjoy the crowd, I’m playing against the best players in the world and I really appreciate and am blessed to be here today.”

This rediscovered joie de vivre has been evident for all to see in recent weeks as Kuznetsova embarked on an improbable late push for a Finals place. The Russian went from Asia to Russia in a desperate scramble for points, and so far her body is standing up to the arduous schedule.

Against Pliskova she started slowly, struggling to keep up with a blistering baseline assault. A couple of double faults gift-wrapped the decisive break in the first set, and when she fell behind in the second her prospects looked bleak.

This setback merely roused her into life, a more subtle approach starving the Czech of pace and sparking a run of four straight games. Skipping around second serves and buzzing to all corners of the court, the World No.9 levelled the match with another break before surging ahead in the decider.

The outcome, though, remained in the balance until the last. From 5-3 down, Pliskova went for broke, dragging herself back into contention only to fluff her lines when serving for the match at 6-5. In the tie-break, it was Kuznetsova’s turn to get jittery, watching three match points come and go. At 6-6 she carved out another, following a swinging a serve out wide with a forehand into the open court. This time there was no mistake, as she dragged Pliskova out of position just enough to send the next backhand beyond her reach.

For much of her 20s, Kuznetsova was a fixture at the year-end Finals but never made it beyond the round-robin stage. Now, on her sixth visit, the 31-year-old has finally broken her duck after defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska’s victory over Garbiñe Muguruza confirmed she would top the White Group.

On Thursday, Radwanska and Pliskova will battle it out to determine who joins her in the last four.

A long-awaited off-season is on hold for an elite squad from the Czech Republic, who fly to France in the hopes of winning a fifth Fed Cup title in the last six years. Karolina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova lead the team through what will be one last ride following a full fall schedule in Asia.

“It’s the last two matches of the year. There is no other choice,” Pliskova said after playing her last round robin match at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “I’ll just get ready. There is one week between, so I’ll just rest a little bit and forget about tennis for few days.

“Then back to the work for that last week of tennis this season.”

It was even less of a break for Kvitova, who captured her second title of the season at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

“I don’t think I’m that tired,” she told WTA Insider in the latest edition of Champions Corner. “I just feel my entire body is sore, so I’ll need to take a few days off to get ready for the Fed Cup tie. I’m really looking forward, but it’s a little bit difficult. I’m a little bit tired, but winning always helps me recover faster.

“I’ll be flying to Prague, and then taking a car to go to Strasbourg, so that’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to seeing the team. We have a great team, so I can’t wait to be with them over there. It’ll be the last week of the season, so it’s great to have it then, as well.”

Kvitova was in Zhuhai alongside countrywoman Barbora Strycova, and both discussed that special bond the team has forged throughout the week.

“All the Czech players, we know how to be teammates in the week where there is Fed Cup,” Strycova said. “Three weeks a year we are so close together. I can’t describe it because it’s like a routine for us that we do everything together in those weeks.”

Coached by Petr Pala, the Czechs have won 15 of 16 ties dating back to 2011, when the team won their country’s first Fed Cup trophy since 1988.

“I’m looking forward to the final,” Kvitova said. “I love playing Fed Cup and playing for my country. The final is always special; we’re playing away, which isn’t great for us, since France will have the home crowd advantage. We know how to play, and that the fans will support them. It’ll be about us, and whichever team is better prepared will win.

“I think we’re only small favorites to win the tie; they have a great doubles team, and even the singles players, Kiki and Caro, are playing well. It’ll be a difficult tie, but we do have a more experienced team, from all the finals we’ve played. The motivation is always there.”

The teams have faced off just twice in the last ten years, with the Czechs winning the most recent encounter in 2015. Caroline Garcia leads a French contingent captained by former World No.1 Amélie Mauresmo, and is well-aware of just how formidable the Czechs can be in this format, joking that the country could easily field two teams based on its strong roster.

“Caro is funny! I never really thought like that,” Kvitova said with a smile, before breaking down their secret to success.

“I think we’re not only good players, but also good people. We’re never fighting with each other; we act as a team, and I think that’s very important. None of us make trouble, and we all work well together. If one of us needs to schedule a massage, we talk all talk and decide who gets to go first; it’s the same with practice schedules.

“Communication is very important for a team. We also have great people around us; they’re all boys, so there’s always a lot of fun throughout the week. Our stringer is DJ, and they’re all doing what they can to keep things relaex. The practices are very easy and never too stressful.

“Everything is working when you’re playing well, and everything is easier than when you’re not. We’re on a good way right now and I hope we continue like that.”

When that off-season finally does come, Kvitova plans to spend a vacation with none other than teammate Lucie Hradecka, who will likely be on hand for a potentially decisive doubles rubber against France.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

COMPTON, CA, USA – Former World No.1s Venus Williams and Serena Williams returned to their hometown of Compton, California last weekend to strengthen childhood ties to the city where they first played tennis.

“You always remember those places, like where we went to elementary school, the courts we practiced at, even our old home,” Venus told the LA Times. “And just places you used to go. And of course things change over time. Places move. Shops close. Streets change. But it’s still the same place.”

The Williams sisters made use of their eponymous charity fund to bestow a five-year endowment on what will be the Yetunde Price Resource Center, which will help those affected by violence and trauma. The center was named for their eldest sister, who was killed in 2003.

“We definitely wanted to honor our sister’s memory because she was a great sister, she was our oldest sister and obviously she meant a lot to us,” Serena said. “And it meant a lot to us, to myself and to Venus and my other sisters as well, Isha and Lyndrea, that we’ve been wanting to do something for years in memory of her, especially the way it happened, a violent crime.”

Saturday was dedicated to the refurbishing of Lueders Park tennis courts henceforth known as the Venus & Serena Williams Court of Champions.

Check out a full interview with the Williams sisters here, along with some of the best photos from the weekend below:

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.