Tennis News

SINGAPORE – No.2 seeds and defending champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won their first match as a pair since splitting in August, defeating Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching, 7-6(10), 7-5, to reach the semifinals at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and help keep Mirza’s hopes of finishing 2016 at World No.1 alive.

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

“It’s great to be back in Singapore,” Mirza said during their on-court interview. “It’s also great to be back with Martina, and it’s good to get that win.”

The team formerly known as “Santina” started the season as the team to beat, riding a 41-match winning streak into the Middle East Swing and winning their third straight Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Splitting in August, Hingis and Mirza vowed to defend their WTA Finals crown at year’s end, and the two were true to their word come Friday afternoon.

“Our bond is what made us so strong, to win those tough points in the past,” Hingis said. “No matter how you play, or what’s happening on the court, you have to work through the tough moments and get the momentum going. It’s been two months since we were last on court together, and it was great to be back out there with Sania.”

Across the net were the Chan sisters, who came to Singapore having won their third title of the season at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open; a formidable team in their own right, they were the last team to beat Hingis and Mirza before they began their aforementioned winning streak, the longest since Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova’s 44 in 1990.

Vintage rally from #SanTina! ? #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/8sokm9Oc1e

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2016

The Chans pushed the No.2 seeds into a tense first set tie-break, one that saw each team engineer three set points before the defending champions converted to take the opening set in just over an hour.

“They’re a really tough team and we’ve played them a bunch of times,” Mirza said. “But it was so important to win that first set. The momentum was in our favor after that, but it so tough and we had to stay mentally tough. I’m glad we got through.”

Edging ahead an early break in the second, Santina appeared on course for a straightforward victory before the No.6 seeds roared back from a 2-4 deficit, winning three games in a row to get within one game of a match tie-break.

Big forehand from World No.1 @MirzaSania ?#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/HjokXZ6VHK

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2016

Undaunted, Hingis and Mirza won the last three games to advance into their second straight semifinal in Singapore. Awaiting them in the final four will be either Olympic Gold medalists and No.4 seeds, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, or 2012 WTA Finals runner-ups Andrea Hlavackova or Lucie Hradecka.

Battle For Year-End No.1 Continues

Friday’s win keeps Mirza in the hunt to retain her No.1 ranking through the end of the season,

Mirza is up against top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic along with No.3 seed Bethanie Mattek-Sands, all of whom have a change to take the top spot. 

The French must go one round better than Mirza, while Mattek-Sands will have to win the title to unseat the Indian star.

Garcia/Mladenovic and Mattek-Sands (with partner Lucie Safarova) all advanced into the semifinals on Thursday.

.@mhingis & @MirzaSania chat with @AndrewKrasny after a big win!#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/pMCYT75drB

— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2016

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The bottom half of the draw will take the court on Thursday to finish off the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open. We preview the matchups here.

[13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #15) vs. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK #97)
Head-to-head: Azarenka leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Rybarikova is the lowest-ranked player to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells since 2012.
Victoria Azarenka continues to play the type of tennis that elicits strong conviction from pundits that she will one day return to the top of the game. Already one of the best returners, the World No.15 is developing into one of the best servers this season. The former No.1 has only faced six break points in her three matches here in the desert, and credits additional power for improvement of her serve. “I worked a lot on my serve to be able to create easier serving games and going for my shots,” Azarenka said after defeating Samantha Stosur in three sets on Tuesday, a match in which she faced only one break point. “Developing power and speed, and now I need to work a little bit more on accuracy.” Azarenka could make her return to the Top 10 with a title at Indian Wells, but down the road she’d like to achieve a lot more than that. “I think getting to No.1 of course it’s a goal. My main goal is to win Grand Slams,” she said. “That’s what I want really bad and that’s what I’m working towards.”

Meanwhile, Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova is playing some of the best tennis of her career, and has notched her biggest result at a Premier Mandatory event. The 27-year-old former World No.31 has now won three consecutive matches against the Top 10, and four of her last six.

Pick: Azarenka in two

Daria Kasatkina (RUS #48) vs. [18] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #19)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kasatkina already has five more main draw wins in 2016 (12) than she managed in all of 2015 (7).
Clearly, there is something about the thin desert air that 23-year-old Karolina Pliskova enjoys. She improved to 7-2 lifetime at Indian Wells with a takedown of Great Britian’s Johanna Konta on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals here for the first time. Pliskova is tied for the tournament lead in aces and has won 87 percent of her service games over her first three matches. After dropping back-to-back first-rounders in the Middle East, Pliskova retreated to her residence in Monaco to regroup. “Last year I didn’t lose any first rounds,” Pliskova said after defeating Ana Ivanovic in the third round. “Now I’d lost twice in a row so I’m just happy to have some matches and looking forward to the next one.”

Though not widely known, Pliskova’s next opponent promises to provide her most difficult challenge of the week. 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina, the youngest player in this year’s draw, has created quite the buzz around the grounds with her sparkling game and fine mental focus. The young Russian backed up a big three-set win over Monica Puig with an eyebrow-raising straight-sets thumping of No.12 seed Timea Bacsinszky on Tuesday night. Kasatkina dealt with Bacsinszky’s eclectic strokes and world-class defense clinically, peppering the Swiss’ forehand with heavy topspin forehands of her own, patiently waiting for her opportunities to strike. On Thursday she’ll face Bacsinszky’s polar opposite in the hard-serving Pliskova and it will be interesting to see how the Indian Wells debutant handles the challenge.

Pick: Pliskova in three

– Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Four years ago, Victoria Azarenka arrived at this juncture of the BNP Paribas Open feeling invincible.

Riding the crest on a 20-match unbeaten run that had taken her to Australian Open glory and top of the rankings, Azarenka looked set to embark on a period of dominance at the summit of the women’s game.

However, it has not panned out quite like that for the Belarusian, whose status as her generation’s standard bearer has been undermined by a succession of injuries.

Azarenka would go on to defend her Australian Open crown and reach a couple of finals at the US Open – both times coming out on the losing side in classic battles with Serena Williams. Yet problems – of varying severity – to feet, ankles and back soon saw Azarenka spending as much time on the treatment table as the court.

Her absence was keenly felt, robbing the sport of the one player perhaps capable of challenging Williams’ hegemony. After a number of false dawns, this season Azarenka finally looks in a position to resume this rivalry.

Now ranked No.15, Azarenka can return to the Top 10 by reclaiming the title she first lifted during her annus mirabilis. And while her fitness woes have tested her patience, the 26-year-old has never lost sight of the end goal.

“I’m in a different stage of my career. You know, I think getting to No.1 of course it’s a goal. My main goal is to win Grand Slams. That’s that I want really bad and that’s what I’m working towards. I always think that ranking is a bonus that comes with it. Once you have results, you win tournaments, it comes automatically.

“And at first it was something that you just, you want to get there since you’re a kid. You know, it’s a big dream. And once you achieve it, sometimes it brings the level of motivation down. Right now my level of motivation is different. I’m not that kid with a big dream of becoming No.1. I have been there.”

Azarenka started the year like a freight train, romping to the title in Brisbane then cantering through the opening week of the Australian Open. Many tipped her for a third title Down Under, but it was not to be, an inspired Angelique Kerber – whom Azarenka had outclassed in the Brisbane final – dashing the dream.

Worryingly for the rest of the tour, and quarterfinal foe Magdalena Rybarikova, she insists the best is yet to come: “Oh, I don’t think I am close to fulfilling my potential. Just to see what I can do on practice court and physically what I can improve, I’m far from that. That’s what I’m looking forward to improve.”

Perhaps burnt by her experience in Melbourne, or just eager to make up for lost time, the former No.1 is leaving no stone unturned in her pursuit of tennis’ biggest prizes.

“Now I don’t really think ahead. There is a difference between creating a big picture and goals, to set the goals where you work day in and day out towards. But what’s going to happen, I don’t really think about it. I just want to make sure that on every single day I do whatever I can. I think the great quote, you know, anybody can outwork you, but nobody will out prepare me.”