Tennis News

THE WINNERS

Simona Halep won her third title of 2016 with a decisive 7-6(2), 6-3 victory at the Rogers Cup over No.10 seed Madison Keys, moving up to No.3 in the world and increasing her winning streak to 10 straight matches.

“I like being here in Montréal a lot. It feels like being in Europe, like I’ve said many times,” Halep said. “With all the Romanians, I felt like I was at home. Many people were coming every day, not just today. It was an amazing atmosphere down there.

“The man that announced us on the court today said two words in Romanian, so that motivated me a lot. I said that I have to win.”

WTA Insider Live Blog: point-by-point analysis. | Watch highlights here.

Two-time Grand Slam champions Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina reunited after nearly a year apart at the start of the European clay court season, winning their first title of the season at the Rogers Cup, knocking out singles champion Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu, 6-3, 7-6(5).

The Russians, who are a part of the delegation competing at the Olympic tennis event in Rio, are using Montréal as a testing ground for their renewed partnership. The duo has combined for two Grand Slam titles in the past, and now have their sights set on Olympic gold.

“Hopefully it’s going to help us in Rio for sure,” Vesnina said. “We’re playing here in Montréal because everyone wants to get match rhythm, get some wins and some confidence. Doubles is always tricky so it’s good to have some big wins ahead of Rio.”

Read the match recap here.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of August 1, 2016.

Simona Halep (ROU) +2 (No.5 to 3): With her win at the Rogers Cup, Halep inches up two ranking spots to No.3. She started out the year at No.2 and dipped as low as No.7 following a string of disappointing midseason results.

Daria Kasatkina (RUS) +6 (No.33 to 27): The 19-year-old’s breakthrough continued in Montréal last week, where she reached the quarterfinal to climb to a career high ranking of No.27.

Camila Giorgi (ITA) +9 (No.77 to 68): Italian qualifier Giorgi reached the second round at Montreal, bumping her up to No.68.

Kristina Kucova (SVK) +44 (121 to 77): Kucova’s Cinderella run from qualifying to her first WTA Premier-level semifinal in Montréal earned her the week’s biggest ranking jump to a career high spot at No.77.  

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Brasil Tennis Cup
Florianopolis, Brazil
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Sunday, July 31 – Friday, August 5

Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open
Nanchang, China
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 1 – Sunday, August 7

Olympic Tennis Event
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– | $0 | Hard, Outdoor
Saturday, August 6 – Sunday, August 14

Western & Southern Open
Cincinnati, USA
Premier | $2,503,250 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 15 – Sunday, August 21

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Olympics
2. Angelique Kerber – Olympics, Cincinnati
3. Simona Halep – Cincinnati
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Olympics, Cincinnati
5. Agnieszka Radwanska – Olympics, Cincinnati
6. Venus Williams – Olympics
7. Victoria Azarenka
8. Roberta Vinci – Olympics, Cincinnati
9. Madison Keys – Olympics
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Olympics, Cincinnati
11. Dominika Cibulkova – Cincinnati
12. Carla Suárez Navarro – Olympics, Cincinnati
13. Johanna Konta – Olympics, Cincinnati
14. Petra Kvitova – Olympics, Cincinnati
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Olympics, Cincinnati
16. Belinda Bencic – Cincinnati
17. Karolina Pliskova – Cincinnati
18. Samantha Stosur – Olympics, Cincinnati
19. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Olympics, Cincinnati
20. Elina Svitolina – Olympics, Cincinnati

NANCHANG, China – Duan Ying-Ying fought back to knock out No.8 seed Han Xinyun and book a spot in the quarterfinals of the Jiangxi Open on Thursday.

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

Long-time rivals on the ITF Circuit, this was the first time the players had met at a WTA event, and it was Han that reacquainted herself the quicker. However, after dropping the first set Duan slowly came back into contention in the second, pinching it after getting the better of a flurry of late service breaks.

She rode this momentum into the decider, opening up an early lead before reeling off the final three games to close out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory. 

“It’s been a while since I last played her so it took me some time to get used to her game, especially because she’s a lefty,” Duan said. “I lost the first set but changed strategy in the second and third and it worked.

“I’m happy with my performance today. And felt quite lucky that I won in the end. She moves very well on court. It’s quite difficult to play her.”

Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for the Chinese contingent; Liu Fangzhou provided further home cheer with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Jang Su Jeong, while Misa Eguchi ended the run of qualifier Zhu Lin, 6-4, 6-2.

NANCHANG, China – Risa Ozaki overcame a nervous start to shock No.3 seed Francesca Schiavone in Friday’s Jiangxi Open quarterfinals.

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

Competing in just the second WTA quarterfinal of her career, the occasion appeared to overwhelm Ozaki at first, Schiavone taking full advantage to rattle off four unanswered games. But as the contest wore on, Ozaki found her rhythm and a foothold.

While it was too late to salvage the first set, Ozaki turned the match on its head at the start of the second, surging into a 4-0 lead as she emphatically leveled the match. The Japanese player carried this momentum into the decider, building an early advantage before withstanding the inevitable Schiavone comeback to close out a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory.

“It’s not easy to play Schiavone. She was a great player who won a Grand Slam before,” Ozaki said. “I was nervous in first set, but refocused at the start of the second. I think I moved very well in the third set but my serve was not ideal. Anyway, I won in the end, which is the most important thing so I’m very happy.”

Meeting Ozaki in her maiden WTA semifinal will be No.6 seed Vania King, who defeated Zhang Kai-Lin, 6-0, 6-4.

In the bottom half of the draw, Duan Ying-Ying continued her terrific week by knocking out No.2 seed Kurumi Nara, 6-1, 7-5. Earlier in the day, Nara had returned to complete her rain-delayed second round with Chang Kai-Chen in two tight sets. Against Duan, these exertions, and the sweltering on court conditions, contributed to a sluggish start from which she never fully recovered.

Duan faces another Japanese player in the semifinals after Misa Eguchi brushed aside Liu Fangzhou, 6-1, 6-2.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova backed up their upset over No.1 seeded team in the last round with another victory, coming back from a set down to oust the Canadian team of Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 at the Olympic tennis event.

Strycova and Safarova are a regular pairing when playing doubles in Fed Cup, and once again their games clicked together for the Czech Republic as they took on Bouchard and Dabrowski in the second round.

Fresh off of pulling off a straight-sets stunner against three-time doubles gold medalists Serena Williams and Venus Williams, the Czech duo had more trouble getting past the Canadians. The two teams traded breaks twice in the opening set to send it to a tiebreak, where Dabrowski’s monumental effort at the net gave them the edge. But the Czechs recovered from the early deficit and broke twice to take the second set and even up the score.

After trading breaks once more to start off the final set, Safarova and Strycova earned the decisive one for a 4-3 lead and consolidated after a fierce battle. They marched into the quarterfinals after a two-hour and 11 minute encounter.

More to come…

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – No.11 seed Petra Kvitova kept up her world-class form in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tennis event, soaring past Elina Svitolina, 6-2, 6-0, to reach the final four in Rio.

Playing in her second Olympics, Kvitova edged closer to a first medal with a strong win over Svitolina, who was fresh off an upset of World No.1 Serena Williams in the third round.

Converting the only two break points of the opening set, the two-time Wimbledon winner raced through the opening set, and didn’t face a break point throughout the 48 minute contest. In all, Kvitova hit 18 winners to just two from the Ukrainian youngster, and hit 11 unforced errors to 16 by match’s end.

Czech Republic's @Petra_Kvitova books her place in the last 4 at #Rio2016 with 62 60 win against @ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/hUVLuqgyil

— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 11, 2016

Into her first Olympic semifinal, the former World No.2 will face Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig for a spot in the final; Puig was equally emphatic in her quarterfinal demolition of Germany’s Laura Siegemund, 6-1, 6-1.

Kvitova has played her best tennis under the Czech flag, leading her country to four Fed Cup wins in the last five years. Jiri Fencl, coach to Kvitova’s countrywoman Lucie Hradecka, noticed the shift in Kvitova’s mental state after her hard-fought third round win over Ekaterina Makarova.

Petra is emotionally in Fed Cup mode. Watch out everyone. #pojd #Rio2016

— Jiří Fencl (@maxav) August 9, 2016

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Simona Halep will put her 10-match winning streak on the line at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday. Chris Oddo previews a jam-packed schedule for wtatennis.com.

Wednesday, First and Second Round

Center Court
[3] Simona Halep (ROU #4) vs. Annika Beck (GER #33)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 3-1

Key Stat: Halep has won her last 10 matches, claiming titles in Bucharest and Montréal.
Can last year’s Western & Southern Open runner-up take it a step further in 2016? That’s the question Simona Halep hopes to answer with a resounding yes this week in Cincinnati, and the Romanian will open her bid for the title with a second-round tilt with Germany’s Annika Beck on Wednesday. Halep will be well-rested after passing on the Olympics due to the threat of Zika virus. It was a difficult decision for the Romanian but one that she hopes will help spur her to great heights this summer. “I was very disappointed that I had to decide not to go there, but it was much better for my health,” Halep said on Monday when she spoke with the media at All-Access Hour. Out of action since the Montréal final more than two weeks ago, Halep will have to get up to speed quickly when she faces the 22-year-old Beck. The German won two qualifying matches to get into the main draw and impressively took down Yulia Putintseva in first-round action on Tuesday.

Pick: Halep in three

Grandstand
[10] Johanna Konta (GBR #13) vs. [Q] Donna Vekic (CRO #121)
Head-to-head: First meeting

Key Stat: Vekic ended a nine-match losing streak at WTA events on Monday when she defeated Ana Ivanovic.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta will continue her pursuit of a Top 10 ranking when she makes her Cincinnati debut on Wednesday against 20-year-old Donna Vekic of Croatia. Konta has been in fine form this summer, winning 10 of 12 on the hard courts and claiming her first career title at Stanford last month. The British No.1 was one match from becoming the first woman from her country to reach the Top 10 in over 30 years in Montréal but fell to Kristina Kucova in the quarterfinals. On Wednesday Konta will face qualifier Donna Vekic for the first time. The former World No.62 has struggled mightily this season, but showed signs of life when she won her first WTA-level match in six months on Monday, stunning Ana Ivanovic in the first round. Will lightning strike twice for the talented Vekic, or will it be the cool, composed Konta who claims her first career victory in the Queen City?

Pick: Konta in two

Court 6
[13] Belinda Bencic (SUI #27) vs. [Q] Timea Babos (HUN #41)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Babos is playing just two spots off her career-high ranking this week.
Injuries have marred what promised to be an incredible year for 19-year-old Belinda Bencic, as she was forced to miss several months due to a back problem and then had to play injured during the grass-court season before finally pulling the plug at Wimbledon with a wrist injury. But Bencic hopes to put her frailties behind her as she returns to action in Cincinnati looking to build some momentum ahead of the US Open. It won’t be easy on Wednesday as the Swiss will have to face one of the WTA’s most improved players in Hungary’s Timea Babos. The 23-year-old is closing in on the 30-win mark this season and reached the Florianopolis final two weeks ago before falling to Irina-Camelia Begu. Though she dropped her only previous meeting with Bencic in straight sets at Australia this year, Babos will benefit from the fact that she’s already logged three matches here in Cincinnati. She won two qualifying matches before easing past American Louisa Chirico in straight sets on Tuesday.

Pick: Bencic in three

Around the grounds…
Several unfinished matches from a rain-plagued Tuesday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center will be played today. Fourth-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza will take on CoCo Vandeweghe, while seventeenth-seeded Elina Svitolina meets qualifier Daria Gavrilova. American qualifier Alison Riske notched her first main draw win at Cincinnati on Tuesday and will meet up with seventh-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in second-round action today. The No.2 and No.5 seeds, Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska, will also be in action on an extremely busy schedule.