Tennis News

EASTBOURNE, Great Britain – Coming off her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2012, former World No.4 Samantha Stosur told press at the Aegon International that she will be working with Andrew Roberts, official hitting partner for the Australian Fed Cup team, after parting with longtime coach David Taylor.

“He’s coming here and Wimbledon and then we’re going to assess what we want to do from there,” she said on Tuesday. “Other than that, that’s the arrangement.”

Stosur had announced earlier in the season that she and Taylor would separate after the French Open, citing the latter’s desire to travel less. The 2011 US Open champion described how the connection with Roberts came about just after the French Open.

“We had spoken a little bit, and I actually spoke to him on the phone the day before the French Open started. Then once I finished there, then it was kind of like, ‘All right, what is the plan?’

“It’s very hard to think about things when you’re obviously so involved in a tournament. So, yeah, It was kind of last minute. Then it was possible for him to be able to come over.

“That was really good for me that he was able to come over on short notice and come.

“We will just see how it goes from here.”

Stosur lost her first match of the grass court season, 6-2, 6-1, to former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Ashleigh Barty says the world is seeing her best performances on a tennis court so far as she celebrated a day of double delight at the Alya Malaysian Open.

First she secured a spot in the singles quarterfinals by beating fellow qualifier Miyu Kato, 6-0, 6-3 – and then she went one better in the doubles alongside Casey Dellacqua, progressing to the semifinals as they defeated Nao Hibino and Varatchaya Wongteanchai 6-4, 6-0.

“We have to say this is my best start, best career performances to date,” the 20-year-old told the press afterwards. “We’re happy to be playing well and enjoying our tennis.” 

.@AshBar96 books a spot in @alyawtamo Quarterfinals!

Races past Kato 6-0, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/Muq7rPmwBL

— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017

The Australian returned to tennis a year ago following a break during which she turned her sporting skills to cricket, playing in the first-ever Women’s Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat. She thinks that the time off has served her well.

“My tennis game this time is a continuation from my last career – I’m a little bit older, a little bit more wise, more mature, so I think that’s helped my game immensely,” she revealed.

That isn’t to say that putting her racquet down was an easy thing to do.

“I certainly missed playing tennis,” she admitted. “It’s what I’ve done since I was five years old. It’s been a part of my life for so long. It’s what I am born to do.”

Barty is proving that with her recent form, and she has an extra incentive to win – her best friend and doubles partner Dellacqua.

“I really am loving being out here, getting to play singles and enjoy some success, and then of course to be on the court with my best friend for doubles is a bonus as well – it’s nice to be back out here with Case and to see her happy as well,” she added.

World No.2 Garbiñe Muguruza lifted her first major title just two weeks ago at Roland Garros and the 22-year-old Spaniard is set to return to Wimbledon where she finished as runner-up last year. But just how far can she go? The question was put to Chris Evert during an ESPN conference call with reporters on Tuesday.

“I mean, who is going to be next, the next No.1 player, after Serena is gone? You’ve got to put your money on Muguruza because first of all, you have to have power in today’s game.”

While Muguruza became the third consecutive first-time Grand Slam winner, it’s the Spaniard’s power, Evert contends, that separates her from the field of rising WTA stars.

“When I look at the next three, I look at Radwanska, Kerber and Halep. I don’t think either of those three are going to end up No.1 in the world. They don’t have that sort of overwhelming power. Muguruza does have it, very much like Serena, following in her footsteps.

“Muguruza, she still has to mature a little bit. She’s still young. She still has to probably get a little more consistent with her results in the smaller tournaments. But when I look at winning Grand Slams, you’d have to say Muguruza, you’d have to look at Madison Keys, Victoria Azarenka, and Petra Kvitova – the power players more now more so than the consistent counter-punchers.”

While the expectations remain lofty for Muguruza, Evert also tempered expectations, citing the difficulties of making the immediate adjustment from clay to grass. There’s a reason why only seven players have won the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. Muguruza played one grass court tournament before Wimbledon, losing in the opening round to former Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens at the Mallorca Open.

“She’s come a long way,” Evert said. “I think she’s going to have a tough Wimbledon. It’s very hard to carry that momentum. Very few people have won the French and Wimbledon back-to-back, especially at that young of an age.

“That will be a real curiosity for me if she can carry that momentum and confidence and do well, think about last year reaching the finals, or is she going to have a hard time resetting, especially in dealing with people’s expectations.”

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko will take on Kristina Mladenovic in the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel after top seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire after trailing 0-5 in the first set.

“I was really shocked on court when she decided to retire,” Tsurenko said after the match. “I wish that she feels better. I’m pretty happy to be in the final, but shame that she’s not feeling well.”

Lucic-Baroni had been in imperious form this week in Acapulco – her first event since her dream run to the Australian Open semifinals – and she hadn’t dropped a set all tournament long. 

But on Friday night against Tsurenko, the Croat was noticeably subdued from the start, moving sluggishly and her usually booming strokes lacking bite. Tsurenko broke three times and, after a visit from the trainer and tournament doctor, Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire citing gastrointestinal illness.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni retires in the opening set.@LTsurenko advances to @AbiertoTelcel Final! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/R3w2AjPf8n

— WTA (@WTA) March 4, 2017

“I was really unlucky; I picked up a virus, I vomited just before I went on the court,” Lucic-Baroni explained. “I tried. Because I’m not the type to retire, ever. I’ll just put on more tapes and play, and I can play through anything really.

“But I just felt extremely dizzy and like I was going to vomit all the time, and I just couldn’t continue. I’m really upset, because this is such a great tournament and I’m playing so well.

“It’s just a crappy way to end a really good tournament.”

For Tsurenko, this puts her through to her first final of the year; earlier in the season she made a run to the semifinals at the Hobart International. In fact, it’s her first final since September 2016 when she won the title at Guangzhou.

She’s set to take on Kristina Mladenovic, who came through in three sets against Christina McHale.

“I watched their match, it was really tough match for both of them,” Tsurenko acknowledged. “But this is not always a big advantage for me; sometimes when you play a long match you get stronger and feel the surface better.

“We’ll see tomorrow. I hope I’ll be fresher physically.”

LONDON, England – On Thursday morning The All England Club announced the seeds for the most historic tournament on the tennis calendar, Wimbledon. Here is the full list:

Updated 6/23/16 to reflect the withdrawal of No.6 seed Victoria Azarenka (knee injury):

(1) Serena Williams (USA #1)
(2) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #2)
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3)
(4) Angelique Kerber (GER #4)
(5) Simona Halep (ROU #5)
(6) Roberta Vinci (ITA #7) 
(7) Belinda Bencic (SUI #8)
(8) Venus Williams (USA #9) 
(9) Madison Keys (USA #10)
(10) Petra Kvitova (CZE #11) 
(11) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #12)
(12) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #13)
(13) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #14)
(14) Samantha Stosur (AUS #16)
(15) Karolina Pliskova (CZE #17)
(16) Johanna Konta (GBR #18) 

(17) Elina Svitolina (UKR #19)
(18) Sloane Stephens (USA #20)
(19) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #21)
(20) Sara Errani (ITA #22)
(21)Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #23)
(22) Jelena Jankovic (SRB #24)
(23) Ana Ivanovic (SRB #25)
(24) Barbora Strycova (CZE #26)
(25) Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #27)
(26) Kiki Bertens (NED #28)
(27) CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #29)
(28) Lucie Safarova (CZE #30)
(29) Daria Kasatkina (RUS #31)
(30) Caroline Garcia (FRA #32)
(31) Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #33)
(32) Andrea Petkovic (GER #34)

There are some dangerous floaters among those to have missed the cut, including Caroline Wozniacki and former finalists Sabine Lisicki and Eugenie Bouchard.

Qualifying at Roehampton’s Bank of England Club finishes later this week, with main draw action starting on Monday June 27.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – It was twice as nice for Ashleigh Barty in Kuala Lumpur as she won the doubles title with Casey Dellacqua – adding that to the singles crown she had secured earlier in the day.

The Australian pair beat Nicole Melichar and Makoto Ninomiya 7-6(5), 6-3, coming back from 5-1 down in the first-set tiebreak to lift the trophy in straight sets.

“I feel great – very tired but great,” said Barty afterwards. “It’s been a monster week for me. I don’t think I could have physically have played any more matches. I’m very happy to come away with two titles today, but even if we didn’t it would have been a fantastic tournament anyway. Now it’s just an absolute bonus.”

Congrats @ashbar96 & @caseydellacqua #alyawtamalaysianopen #wta #alyakl #tpckl #mme #mymajorevents pic.twitter.com/XJWyHFEz2L

— AlyaWTAMalaysianOpen (@alyawtamo) March 5, 2017

Her partner Dellacqua admired the way that their opponents had played, giving them a tough time in the first set. 

“They were playing really good tennis, really good doubles,” she said. “We just had to play each point as best we could. That’s all we did, we just applied ourselves really well for each of those points in that tiebreak especially.

“In tennis, you’re never out of it, I think that was pretty crucial to get that first set, and then just to get a break in the second, to space that lead out a little bit. That tiebreak, we did really well after being 5-1 down.”

Dellacqua is enjoying her time on court with her good friend Barty, and was delighted that she won the singles title – even if she was not actually able to watch it.

“It’s pretty nice to play with someone that’s just come off and won the singles, that’s always good!” laughed the 32-year-old. “I’m just stoked that I’m back. I wouldn’t be out here and enjoying it as much if it wasn’t playing with Ash, so yes, I feel good, I feel very happy that I was here to witness her, even though I didn’t get to watch, win her first title. I know that there’ll be many more to come. For us to win the doubles is an extra bonus. It’s pretty exciting.”

The pair burst into laughter when they were asked post-match whether they intended to continue playing doubles together.

“No, I don’t want to play with her again!” grinned Dellacqua.

“We’re done!” added Barty.

Once the hilarity subsided, Dellacqua gave a more serious response.

“Yes, of course. Ash has got a big load, she’s playing singles, so we’ll play whenever we can. When we do play we always enjoy it, and we go out there to do our best.”

Winning a Grand Slam title, of course, remains their ultimate goal.

“It’s a big dream to win [a Slam doubles title],” agreed Dellacqua. “We’ve made three Grand Slam finals together and we’ve never won one, but we don’t talk about it too much any more!

“If that happens, it happens. It’s about each week, each journey, just trying to get the best out of ourselves this week, and if that comes along, we’ll certainly be trying our best to win.”

The grass court season has been a time of respite and opportunity for Agnieszka Radwanska. This year she comes into Wimbledon with less pause and more purpose. The World No.3 limited her clay court schedule this year, an aggressive signal that the 27-year-old is more about quality than quantity these days. Her focus now is to take advantage of the surface that has always been good to her.

The 2012 Wimbledon finalist has made the semifinals or better at two of her last three trips to the All England Club. While she grew up playing on fake grass back home in Poland, she did not step foot on the real thing until 2005. That year she would go on to win Junior Wimbledon.

“I was really comfortable on that from the first day,” Radwanska said. “Since then I had this feeling I feel really good on the surface. I feel really comfortable and I can do whatever I want there. It hasn’t changed since then.”

Heading into Wimbledon, Radwanska has played 10 events this year (including Fed Cup), four fewer than in each of her last two seasons and her fewest since 2011. And yet she’s in the midst of one of her strongest 12-month runs, winning four tournaments, including the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and making the Australian Open semifinals.

“If you ask me five years ago I would say, Yeah, it’s very scary [to play less] and I would feel weird not to play hundred matches,” Radwanska said. “Here it’s a different story.

“Every year you have a different experience and now when you’re older then you really have to think [about] it twice. So I really feel much better. It’s still not over, it’s just half the season. There’s still a few months to go with the Olympics and two Grand Slams so you you really need to think about the whole season.”

As a result, Radwanska has been the healthiest she’s ever been at this point of the season. As she joked in Paris, she’s not being held together by tape and she’s been able to play freely without much concern. This week she’s already into the quarterfinals at the Aegon International, where she was finalist last year, and will go into Wimbledon with a few quality matches under her belt. Regardless of whether she wins the title in Eastbourne, Radwanska has rediscovered her comfort level on grass.

“Sometimes I lost in the first round at Eastbourne and then I made the finals and semifinals at Wimbledon, not once but three times,” she said. “But I really want to take advantage of the fact that I really like grass. It’s good to have a couple matches before the Grand Slams.”

Click here to read more about this year’s Wimbledon Contenders, courtesy of WTA Insider.

EASTBOURNE, England – Dominika Cibulkova rounded off a busy afternoon at the Aegon International Eastbourne by brushing aside Monica Puig to book her place in the final.

Watch live action from Eastbourne this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Having begun the day with a stirring comeback win over top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, Cibulkova could have been forgiven for showing a few signs of physical and mental fatigue when she stepped back on court just a few hours later.

However, if the Slovak was feeling the effects of the backed-up scheduling, she hid it well, easing to a 6-2, 6-1 victory in little over an hour on court.

Peppering Puig’s baseline with her flat groundstrokes, Cibulkova threatened to break on a couple of occasions before finally striking in the sixth game, following up a well-disguised drop shot with a thumping forehand winner.

Desperately searching for a response to her opponent’s brilliance, Puig was forced out of her comfort zone, surrendering the set on the back of a couple of uncharacteristically errant backhands. 

The second set was even more one-sided, Cibulkova rattling off the final three games to reach her first grass court final. “I would say this is my best day on a grass court,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “I’m extremely happy – I’m playing so well. She was really tough to play against because she’s playing completely different tennis to Radwanska, she played well today but I was just better.”

On court, Cibulkova’s fiery style starved Puig the opportunity to find any rhythm. And a similarly frenetic approach served her well in dealing with the quick turnaround: “I stretched, went to the ice bath and then I had to warm up again. It was a really quick one!”

In the final, she will face Karolina Pliskova after she defeated home favorite Johanna Konta, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3.

And this is how I feel at @AegonTennisEB!!! ?????????????? ?????????? the best feeling!! pic.twitter.com/ghKKhCod2b

— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) June 24, 2016