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Insider Notebook: Qatar Kicks Off

Insider Notebook: Qatar Kicks Off

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

– Roberta Vinci ends the seed drought: On the day she makes her top 10 debut, No.9 seed Vinci snags the first win for a seed in the Middle East this year, beating Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Qatar Total Open.

– Eight is not enough: 18-year-old Ana Konjuh saved eight match points against No.13 seed Caroline Wozniacki, but eventually lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in Doha. It was a much needed win for Wozniacki, who fell out of the Top 20 on Monday. She plays Daria Gavrilova in the second round.

– Rankings news in Doha: A few notes on what’s at stake in Doha (read our full preview here):
– Angelique Kerber will remain at No.2 unless Agnieszka Radwanska wins the title.
– Simona Halep and Garbiñe Muguruza need to advance to the final for a chance to move to No.3.
– Muguruza will overtake Halep if she finishes one round better.
– Maria Sharapova will be at No.6 unless Belinda Bencic makes the quarterfinal, Petra Kvitova makes the QF, Vinci makes the semifinal, or Carla Suárez Navarro makes the final.
– Defending champion Lucie Safarova needs to make the final for a chance to get back into the Top 10.
– Caroline Wozniacki needs to make the final for a chance to return to the Top 20.

– Dark horse doubles: Could Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina be a dark horse doubles team for Russia in Rio? Vesnina has not been playing doubles with Ekaterina Makarova and has paired up with Kasatkina with good success over the last few months. Keep an eye on them.

– Who’s on first?: Here’s a confusing, but ultimately telling exchange between Wozniacki and a reporter in Doha:

Q. If the world ends tomorrow, what tennis match would you chose, to play or to see?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: If I had to choose a match.

Q. To play or to see a tennis match?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: To play.

Q. Who?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Who?

Q. Yeah.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: What game I would like to play?

Q. Yeah.
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: The US Open finals.

Q. Against?
CAROLINE WOZNIACKI: Someone I beat. So if I win, I don’t care who I play against. Doesn’t matter.

– Tricky conditions in Doha: Here’s how Vinci saw it after her opening round win: “So windy. The court is little bit strange. Sometimes it’s fast. Sometimes it’s slow. Completely different than Dubai the last week.”

Eugenie Bouchard

– How “open” is “open”?: Agnieszka Radwanska was asked about the perceived parity in the women’s game right now. “Of course Serena is always there, especially last year, but other years totally different,” Radwanska said in Doha. “She’s definitely dominating if she’s on fire. When she’s playing her best tennis, she just playing unbelievable and too good, but otherwise it’s open.”

– Radwanska and Halep planning for Fed Cup: Both women told reporters in Doha that they were planning to play in their respective April ties in hopes of keeping their countries in World Group I. Halep’s Romanian side takes on Germany at home. “Yeah, I can say 50/50,” Halep said, when asked to handicap the tie, before joking “And 51 for us.”

– Experience matters: Garbiñe Muguruza has been very conscious of the perils of early success. Just weeks after making he first Slam final at Wimbledon last year, she was already telling me how worried she was about a let-down. Six months later, you can still tell it’s on her mind.

“I don’t think there’s an age to reach the top,” she said in Doha. “I think it’s great when you’re playing good. But being young and also having success, it can be very good and it can be very bad.

“We’ve seen some cases, you’re young and you’re like, I’m playing good, I’m doing a lot of things. But it’s also hard because you’re not as mature. Like Angelique Kerber said, she can maybe handle more or she’s used to more.

“It’s a very thin line there keeping that balance. With time, you can deal better with that.”

– Steve Tignor for Tennis.com on last week’s “Decimation in Dubai.”

Where some see chaos, we see an opportunity to watch lesser-known favorites get a shot at a title and gain some momentum. To me, Strycova, with her mix of melodrama and resourcefulness, is an underrated entertainer; maybe she can build on this run. If you’re interested enough, there’s always a storyline to follow.

On balance, I find upsets exciting, and I like a tour where rank-and-file players aren’t scared to challenge the elite. But I also like to see an elite. The two losses in Dubai that were dispiriting were those of Halep and Muguruza.

– Bustle.com has a nice look back on how women’s tennis has changed through the years.

– Victoria Azarenka’s dispatch for SI.com on the Super Bowl and understanding the pressures of being an elite athlete.

– Tweet of the Week: It’s still early, but this exchange between Andrea Hlavackova and Jiri Fencl (coach of Hlavackova’s doubles partner Lucie Hradecka) was wonderful:

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Silent Hs Have Strong Start At US Open

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Two-time finalists and 2013 champions Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka rebounded from a disappointing finish to their Olympic tennis event with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Denisa Allertova and Anna-Lena Friedsam in the first round of the US Open.

Silver medalists at the Olympics four years ago, Hlavackova and Hradecka were a point away from the finals in Rio when Hlavackova was hit at net, causing an eye injury that affected them not only as their lead slipped away in the semifinals against eventual Silver medalists Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky, but also in the ensuing Bronze medal match later.

But Hlavackova spoke of her full recovery to wtatennis.com, and the pair faced few problems against Allertova and Friedsam on Thursday, breaking serve four times to take the match in 55 minutes.

“I feel 100%, and I’m very happy about it,” she said. “I’ve been practicing at 100% for the last six days. I’m very happy we had the latest possible start to gain that extra day, and I’m happy things are going in the right direction.

“I’ve had some rough days, but it’s not a pain where you can’t do anything. It’s quite fine for what it is, and I’m very happy that I can be here.”

Defeating Venus and Serena Williams en route to the title in 2013, the Czechs employed their signature aggression to book a second round encounter with Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Maria Sanchez, who defeated Belinda Bencic and kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 6-4.

“We started very good in the beginning of each sets, playing aggressive and trying to move towards the net.” Hradecka said. “It worked!”

Hlavackova and Hradecka reunited at the end of the 2014 season after nearly 10 months apart; a strong season helped them qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where they reached the semifinals. They took that momentum into the Australian Open in January, falling in the championship match to then Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. With Hingis and new partner CoCo Vandeweghe in their quarter of the draw, Hlavackova and Hradecka have good memories from being previous champions, and are hoping for one more strong result to end the year.

“It’s a very nice feeling to be here, of course,” Hlavackova said. “It’s been a while since the year we won, but every Grand Slam is special and this is the last one of the season. That’s a big motivation and we’ll try to do our best.”

Hingis and Vandeweghe recovered from a one-set deficit to defeat former No.1 Kveta Peschke and Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. No.3 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova also advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 win over American wildcards Catherine Bellis and Julia Boserup.

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Makarova & Vesnina Advance In Thriller

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.5 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina faced down the barrel of five match points – three in a row during the second set tie-break – to turn the tables on Sam Stosur and Zhang Shuai to reach the third round in women’s doubles, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4.

Winners in their last two events at the Rogers Cup and Olympic tennis event, Makarova and Vesnina were pushed to the limit by Stosur and Zhang, leading by a set and a break as Stosur held two match points.

“We hadn’t been able to break her the whole match, and then I remember it was 5-4, 40-15 on her serve,” Vesnina said. “It was a crazy match, and they really played well. We played against them at the French Open, and they really played much better here than there.

“Today was a great atmosphere on the court. It was a full stadium on Court 5; so many people came to watch doubles, which was really nice. We just really had fun today on the court as well; the atmosphere was amazing.”

Makarova and Vesnina raised their level to force a tie-break, but the unseeded duo again took an early lead, and the 2011 US Open champion had the chance to serve out the upset twice more before the Russians rebounded.

“They played really good volleys today, reacting so well,” Makarova added. “I can’t say we were missing a lot but the game was really good and they were really good today.”

Playing their first full match since winning the Gold medal, the pair hopes their career-defining achievement will help them hit even bigger results.

“We’re really happy to be playing here at the US Open,” Vesnina said. We have great memories from winning the title here in 2014. Of course, after Rio, we’re just really happy and motivated even more to do well here at a Grand Slam.”

The 2014 champion in women’s doubles two years ago alongside Vesnina, Makarova was more than happy to still be in the tournament after bowing out in the first round of singles to World No.1 Serena Williams. Vesnina has posited that sticking around for doubles is especially helpful if a player’s singles event ends earlier than she’d like, and it was a sentiment with with her partner was in complete agreement.

“I don’t even remember that I lost so early.It was upsetting for me, but doubles helps me still be at the tournament, fighting for the title, practice some other things. Doubles really helps me for singles for sure.”

Around the grounds, top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Japanese alternates Kurumi Nara and Naomi Osaka, while No.12 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova were equally efficient, defeating Lara Arruabarrena and Olga Savchuk, 6-4, 6-1.

No.2 seed Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching ended up on the losing end of a topsy-turvy second round against Alla Kudryavtseva and Sabine Lisicki. Playing just their second match as a pair, Kudryavtseva and Lisicki recovered from a second set bagel to knock out the 2015 quarterfinalists, 6-2, 0-6, 6-3.

“It’s difficult to adjust from more of a doubles player to more of a singles player,” Kudryavtseva told WTA Insider after their first round win. “But Sabine has great volleys; she’s not a typical singles player where she doesn’t know what to do at the net. She knows where she is, where to stand. She’s looking to cross. I’m happy with my choice.”

The Russian doubles star later paired with Scott Lipsky to win another match in mixed doubles, upsetting No.8 seeds Lucie Hradecka and Marcin Matkowski, 7-5, 6-7(3), 11-9.

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Kerber Kicks Off US Open Weekend

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WTA Insider | Angelique Kerber headlined Friday night while young Americans Madison Keys and Catherine Bellis fought for glory in the latest WTA Insider Live Blog.

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Radwanska Eases Into Fourth Round

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska had little trouble overcoming Caroline Garcia in a tidy straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the fourth round of the US Open for the fourth time.

“To be honest, I expect, as always, a long and tough match against her,” Radwanska said of her No.25-seeded opponent. “I know what to expect. We know each other for a while. What can I say? Just very happy I could win that match that quick.”

Radwanska had Garcia overwhelmed from the word go, immediately breaking the Frenchwoman’s serve to start the match. Despite Garcia getting the break back right away, she wasn’t able to pressure Radwanska enough after that. The Pole employed her tricky game of slicing and dicing her way through points, breaking Garcia two more times to quickly take the opening set.

The second set unfolded much like the first, with Garcia unable to produce her usual tennis against her No.4-ranked opponent. The Frenchwoman hit 34 unforced errors against Radwanska’s five, and produced only 14 winners to Radwanska’s nine. One last backhand error from a frustrated Garcia sent Radwanska into the last 16 after an hour and twelve minutes.

With the win, Radwanska keeps her bid for the WTA’s World No.1 ranking alive. After Garbiñe Muguruza crashed out earlier in the week, Radwanska is now one of three women who could emerge at the top spot at the end of the fortnight, although she faces the daunting task of needing to reach at least the US Open final for the first time in order to do so.

The Pole has yet to make a quarterfinals at this tournament in her previous 10 appearances, and she will face the on-the-rise Croat Ana Konjuh for another chance to try.

“Obviously against Konjuh I played at Wimbledon kind of a drama match, it was not really that long time ago,” Radwanska recalled in her press conference. “For sure she make huge progress last couple of months and she’s really playing good tennis at the moment.”

“Well, just very happy to be in the fourth round, and we’ll see what’s gonna happen.”

 

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DOHA, Qatar – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the only winner on Tuesday at the Qatar Total Open, moving through a rainy Valentine’s Day to dispatch former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 6-4, and advance into the second round.

“It was quite a long day, but I’ll take it,” she said after the match. “I’m happy to be one of the first ones done today, and it’s a nice present for myself, as well.”

Pavlyuchenkova came in hot after a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, completing a career set of last eight appearances at major tournaments. But stormy weather threatened to cool off the big-hitting Russian, who was set to open play against Jankovic, one of the most dangerous qualifiers in recent memory.

“I haven’t such a good start to a season before, but it’s exciting, and I’m just trying to take it tournament by tournament.”

Jankovic had to battle through three rounds of qualifying for the first time since 2004 (Filderstadt), but after a year full of injuries, the 2008 US Open finalist discussed the need for more matches to help ease her back into competitive play.

“I’m feeling good but I need to get my game up there and of course my confidence and just being comfortable in the matches, being in those situations all over again, match in, match out, day in, day out, compete and fight and find my way,” she said on Monday.

Even with multiple rain delays, the Serb ultimately had few answers against Pavlyuchenkova, who hit 23 winners to just 14 unforced errors while Jankovic went 0/5 on break point opportunities.

“I didn’t do much,” Pavlyuchenkova said of how she spent the time between play. “I was just talking with my coach, and some players as well. But I tried not to expend too much energy so I could keep as much as I could for the court. I don’t know how i managed, so I’m happy to finish this match.

“I guess I was calm,” she continued later on in a post-match interview, “and that’s the main thing, to accept the weather conditions. We were both in the same position, waiting for play to resume. I just tried to do my best.

“I haven’t done so well in the past at this tournament. I’ll try to go as far as I can and hopefully I can show some good tennis and have a great result.”

The Valentine’s Day victory reminded her of another from a few years ago at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, where she fielded a proposal from an excited fan.

“I’d won a quarterfinal match in Monterrey, and he got on one knee with a ring. That was the last thing I expected, but it’s nice.

“At least somebody wants to marry me!”

Up next for the Russian is No.3 seed and reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Dominika Cibulkova.

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