Venus Rises Into Last Eight In Australia
Former World No.1 Venus Williams reached her second Australian Open quarterfinal in the last three years with a decisive win over qualifier Mona Barthel.
Former World No.1 Venus Williams reached her second Australian Open quarterfinal in the last three years with a decisive win over qualifier Mona Barthel.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.6 seeded Venus Williams extended her perfect record against Barbora Strycova after sailing past the Czech in straight sets to earn a spot in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
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Williams enjoyed a successful start after the quick turnaround from the Bank of the West Classic last week in Stanford, three time zones away from Montréal. While her last encounter with the tricky Strycova was a nearly-three hour, three set battle, today’s encounter went decidedly smoother for the American as she wrapped up the 6-3, 6-0 match in just 58 minutes.
“It was definitely more straightforward I think than all of our other matches,” Williams said after the match. “I didn’t mind that, especially after playing a lot last week, just to be able to come out and hopefully advance to the next round.
“It’s been intense. Usually I don’t play this much back-to-back. But I knew what I was going to do going into the year, what it was going to take. I never sign up for anything that I don’t think I can achieve.”
Strycova seemed to struggle under the balmy conditions after a tightly drawn first set. Her unforced errors count climbed to 36 – Williams struck 19 – and her frustration mounted as she brought up only one break point in the match even while the American struggled with her serve in the second set. Williams broke three times to zoom through the second set and into the third round.
“I had issues,” Williams admitted after the match. “I don’t like to really get into, you know, what’s going down. But I had some issues. I definitely do like to serve a lot bigger.”
“I hope to be better for the next match.”
Next up for Venus Williams is young American Madison Keys, who battled past Madison Brengle 6-4, 6-3 for a spot in the third round.
Also looking for a spot in the last 16 are No.7 seed Roberta Vinci and No.12 seed Petra Kvitova, who were both put through their paces on their way to the third round. Vinci battled back from a set down in an all-Italian derby against Camila Giorgi before advancing, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Kvitova overcame a surging Andrea Petkovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
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The two top seeded teams – Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova and Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic – had little trouble reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.
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MELBOURNE, Australia – Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe looks to back up her win over the WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber with another big upset, this time against No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza. Venus Williams hopes to stay on course to another all-Williams final, but a tricky opponent stands in her way. Who will grab the first two spots into the semifinals?
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Tuesday, Quarterfinals
CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #35) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads 2-1
Key Stat: Vandeweghe is the first American (other than Serena Williams and Venus Williams) to defeat a WTA World No.1 since Jennifer Capriati defeated Martina Hingis at 2001 French Open
Unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe is making her Australian Open quarterfinal debut in style, upsetting World No.1 Angelique Kerber in a commanding straight-sets performance.
The battle-tested Vandeweghe also comes into her quarterfinal matchup with an extra bit of confidence, having already defeated her next opponent Garbiñe Muguruza two times previously.
But both of those wins came on grass – Vandeweghe’s favored surface – and both came back in 2014, before the Spaniard rocketed up the rankings and claimed her maiden Grand Slam title.
“It’s an interesting matchup because [Muguruza] holds a different aspect to a playing style of she’s an aggressor, as well.She is going to play that way, and no other way,” Vandeweghe assessed after her win over Kerber.
“For me it depends on if I can match it, as well as if I can beat her to that punch of getting first strike, first play.”
Muguruza struggled with form earlier in the season, but in Melbourne she looks locked in. After overcoming her usual slow starts, Muguruza has rediscovered her lethal aggression, winning matches more decisively and as a result, hasn’t dropped a set all tournament long.
[13] Venus Williams (USA #17) vs [24] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #27)
Head-to-head: Venus leads 3-2
Key Stat: 2017 Australian Open marks Venus’ 73rd Grand Slam main draw appearance – the Open Era record
The oldest woman in the draw is turning back the years as Venus Williams is back into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the ninth time. And on the other side of the draw sits Serena Williams, with the sisters looking on course for yet another all-Williams final.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, because standing between Venus and a semifinal berth is No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Venus leads the pair’s head-to-head 3-2, with Pavlyuchenkova’s last victory coming in 2009.
But the veteran former No.1 understands that, at this stage of the tournament, everyone is a threat – especially the younger players.
“Today I played a qualifier, and she hardly ever missed. So it doesn’t matter who you come up against, they are coming and they want to win, too,” Venus told press after her win against Mona Barthel.
“They have nothing to lose. I’m going to be focused on winning one round at a time and focus on doing what it takes to be there.”
Around the Grounds…
The doubles tournament is heating up as the top seeded Frenchwomen Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are back in action in the quarterfinals, eying their first Australian Open title – and the doubles No.1 ranking. But they’re up against their biggest test of the tournament as they take to Rod Laver Area against the all-Aussie duo of Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. The Australians harnessed all the home support in their second-round upset of No.5 seeds Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, and will look to strike again on the tournament’s biggest stage.
Also in action, No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova take on No.11 seeds Raquel Atawo and Xu Yifan, and No.3 seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina square up against No.12 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Kristina Kucova’s fairytale run continued in Montréal, where she fought back from a set down against home favorite Eugenie Bouchard to reach her first Premier-level quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
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“It’s unbelievable, I’m very happy,” said Kucova, currently ranked No.121. “Also I’m very tired. But it’s a very good feeling.This is my best moment so far in my tennis career.”
Starting out the match, though, it didn’t look as bright for the Slovakian qualifier as she went down a double break against a Bouchard bolstered by her home crowd. Although she would go on to lose the set 6-3, Kucova showed her grit in the final two games of the set as she fought off five break points before bringing up three of her own.
Dropping the first set has turned out to be a good omen for Kucova as both of her previous main draw matches in Montréal have gone to three sets – against Yanina Wickmayer and then against Carla Suárez Navarro.
“I must give credit to my fitness coach because I feel very good on the condition preparation,” Kucova explained after the match. “I changed fitness coach in the beginning of the year. We worked very hard.
“I feel now on the court that when it’s coming to the third set, I still have energy for that.”
Kucova brought all that energy into the latter stages of the match, where she was able to pounce as Bouchard’s trusty forehand began to repeatedly sail out. The Slovak’s signature two-handed forehands and backhands kept her shots well-disguised, often leaving the Canadian wrong-footed. Now able to read Bouchard’s game and having adjusted to the conditions – a balmy night match on the stadium court, in front of a roaring Canadian crowd – Kucova quickly turned the tables to take the second set.
“I just felt I maybe panicked a little bit, tried to finish the points too soon,” Bouchard said of her dip after the first set. “She was getting a lot of balls back.
“I think it would have been better if I was just a bit calmer mentally. But it happens and I have to learn how to deal with this.”
Kucova kept her momentum going in the third set, where she picked up the crucial break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead before closing out the match after more than two hours. She struck 16 winners to 28 unforced errors, while Bouchard hit 45 winners and 68 unforced errors.
Up next for Kucova – who is on track to break the Top 100 after reaching her career best result – is British No.1 Johanna Konta. The Brit dispatched lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-2 to reach her sixth quarterfinal of 2016.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Sloane Stephens did double duty at the ASB Classic on Saturday, completing a semifinal victory over Caroline Wozniacki and then defeating Julia Goerges for the title.
Stephens was leading Wozniacki 5-2 in the first set when rain stopped play on Friday, and when they resumed play on Saturday morning the American held on, edging the No.3-seeded Dane, 6-2, 7-6(3).
And she continued her winning ways later in the day in the final – Stephens, the No.5 seed, reeled off nine of 11 games from 4-5 in the opening set to run away with it against Goerges, 7-5, 6-2.
She held all 10 of her service games in the match, fighting off the only two break points she faced.
“You can never prepare for playing a set and then rain, then finishing the match the next morning and coming back again in the afternoon. You just have to keep going and do your best,” Stephens said.
“Julia had been playing some really great tennis all week, but I knew if I just kept playing solid I could do it. I was pleased the way I was able to pull myself together and come back and play well.
“Just kind of going with the flow – that was pretty much it. Pretty basic.”
Stephens, who has played some of the best tennis of her career during the Australian season in the past – she was a semifinalist at the Australian Open in 2013, after all, famously upsetting Serena Williams along the way – now has two WTA titles, her first coming in Washington DC last summer.
“We have a really long season – I have to play all the way until October – so to win a tournament in the first week of the year is amazing,” Stephens said. “But I’m going to have many more opportunities throughout the year, and I’m looking forward to all of them. It’s easier to look at it that way.”
The American was asked if she was surprised how well she did for the first week of the season.
“I wouldn’t say surprised – I wouldn’t use that word. But the first week of the year you don’t really know what to expect. I felt good coming into the tournament. I was excited – I think that really helped.”
The doubles final took place later in the day, with Belgian duo Elise Mertens and An-Sophie Mestach taking out the Montenegrin-Czech pairing of Danka Kovinic and Barbora Strycova, 2-6, 6-3, 10-5.
2nd #WTA career title for @SloaneStephens! ? https://t.co/ZkqpJIvrTk
— WTA (@WTA) January 9, 2016
Madison Keys takes on Venus Williams in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
SYDNEY/HOBART, Australia – With the Brisbane International and ASB Classic in the books, one week stands between the WTA stars and the Australian Open, giving fans the chance to see how their favorites are shaping up ahead of the first major tournament of the year at the Apia International Sydney and the Hobart International.
Sydney’s top seed is Simona Halep; the World No.2 led the field at the Brisbane International, but was forced to withdraw before her heavily-anticipated second round match with Victoria Azarenka due to a recurring Achilles injury. Looking strong in practice with coach Darren Cahill at the helm, Halep will have to hit the ground running in Sydney, with her first match of the year against Caroline Garcia. Garcia has yet to lose a match in 2016, winning her opening round on Sunday against compatriot Kristina Mladenovic to go with three wins at the invitational Hopman Cup.
Halep’s hopes of coming into the Australian Open with a title under her belt went up significantly when news of Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska’s withdrawals hit. Kvitova is still struggling with the GI illness that took her out of Shenzhen while Radwanska, who went on to win the tournament in China, is opting not to push a lower leg injury sustained in practice.
Looming for the Romanian in the quarterfinals, however, is the big hitting Karolina Pliskova. The Czech boomed 14 aces in her first round against wildcard and former No.1 Ana Ivanovic, 6-4, 6-2, and played Halep tough in the final of last year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Experienced veterans in Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic are also in Halep’s half of the draw, as well.
The bottom half of the draw features the young and talented Belinda Bencic, who outlasted Halep in the final of last year’s Rogers Cup after defeating World No.1 Serena Williams in the semifinals. A potential quarterfinal opponent for Bencic is Angelique Kerber, who comes to Sydney after a successful week in Brisbane that saw her reach the final. Look out for another youngster in Daria Gavrilova; the hometown favorite just won Australia’s first Hopman Cup title since 1999 with the help of Nick Kyrgios, beating Elina Svitolina in the final.
Over in Hobart, the women’s draw lost top seed Sloane Stephens, who came down with a viral illness after winning her second career title at the ASB Classic, but nonetheless sports several names to know. No.2 seed Camila Giorgi is a threat on any given day with her booming ground game; the Italian is already in the second round after surviving Zarina Diyas in three sets.
In her half of the draw is Dominika Cibulkova; the 2014 Australian Open finalist is still getting her rhythm back after leg surgery took her off the tour for much of last year. She’ll be in for a tough battle against Johanna Konta in the first round; Konta was one of the biggest stories of the second half of the season, rising from relative obscurity to make the second week of the US Open and take out Halep at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Though unseeded, Eugenie Bouchard played some of her best tennis in months to reach the quarterfinals of last week’s Shenzhen Open. Feeling no pressure, the Canadian is just happy to be back on the court after missing much of the fall due to a concussion.
Which WTA star will gain precious momentum heading into Melbourne?