Indian Wells Buzz: Dancing In The Desert
With the BNP Paribas Open underway in Indian Wells, players have been busy sharing their thoughts on social media – with Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands leading the way.
With the BNP Paribas Open underway in Indian Wells, players have been busy sharing their thoughts on social media – with Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands leading the way.
Highlights from first round action at the Brisbane International.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Karolina Pliskova brought her signature dry wit to a late night chat after a dramatic win over Monica Puig at the BNP Paribas Open.
Belinda Bencic takes on Sara Errani in the first round of the Brisbane International.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.28 seed Kristina Mladenovic kept up her blistering form in the California desert, willing through a late wobble against No.4 seed and 2015 champion Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open.
“We always had very tough battles,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I was actually up in our head to head, 2-1. That’s not very often against a Top 5 player!”
“I think that match was a big win for me, physically. I was there solid and hanging in there and putting sometimes balls back and being brave. I perfectly played the game plan I had. Solid at times, make her play balls and making her take some risk at the time. Sometimes when I had the shorter one, like, stepping in it, playing my heavy shots with the forehand, and I think that worked pretty well today.”
.@KikiMladenovic on ?! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/nvwisgGaHS
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2017
Mladenovic came to Indian Wells after a breakthrough month that saw her capture her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and reach another final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel – not to mention earning a win over Karolina Pliskova at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in between.
Halep, by contrast, had sat out most of the month to tend to a left knee injury, and though she showed signs of her best, the Romanian proved too rusty against the surging French star, who advanced through in one hour and 42 minutes to earn her second Top 5 win in two months.
How did @Simona_Halep win this point?! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/OuykeWlE9p
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2017
“Based on how much I was able to practice before this event, I’m happy to have made the third round,” a wry Halep said after the match. “She’s playing well and has confidence, but I missed a lot. After the first set, my legs were gone. My tennis legs aren’t back yet, so I need to work a lot. But I’m ok; I don’t want to make a drama.
“I was very sore after the first match, and couldn’t walk too much. Yesterday was ok; I practiced for an hour. But the heat was killing me because I wasn’t used to being out there that long yet. I had a headache, my feet were burning and my muscles were gone.”
The toughest moment came toward match’s end as Mladenovic served for it having just earned a set and double break lead. Throwing in two double faults on her first two match points, Mladenovic engineered a third only for Halep to save it and break back, converting her third of 22 opportunities in the match.
.@KikiMladenovic knocks out 2015 @BNPPARIBASOPEN champ Halep!
Wins 6-3, 6-3 to set up @LaurenDavis93 clash! pic.twitter.com/2VvoZaaKyv
— WTA (@WTA) March 13, 2017
It only prolonged the inevitable, however, and the reigning French Open women’s doubles champion broke for a sixth and final time to earn a career-best result at the BNP Paribas Open.
Standing between her and a spot in the last eight is a similarly surging force in the women’s game, as American Lauren Davis continued her impressive run of form with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Julia Goerges.
Davis began the season with the win at the ASB Classic, and has already amassed 16 wins in main draw and qualifying matches. Mladenovic won their only prior meeting at the 2013 French Open.
Big win today against Simona! Happy to be into the fourth round here ????? @BNPPARIBASOPEN #MyGame #forza pic.twitter.com/L6aL9kSKnZ
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) March 13, 2017
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her second round win at the Brisbane International.
No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova is through to the final eight at the BNP Paribas Open after Timea Bacsinszky found herself forced to retire from their match, citing a left wrist injury.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Julia Goerges powered through to the ASB Classic final on Friday, but the second semifinal – pitting Caroline Wozniacki against Sloane Stephens – was stopped due to rain.
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The first semifinal wrapped up before the skies opened, though Goerges did serve up a storm against Tamira Paszek – the German lost just six points in her first seven service games, eventually dropping serve mid-way through the second set but regrouping to close out the Austrian qualifier, 6-4, 6-2.
With the win, Goerges moves through to a WTA final for the first time in almost four years – her last WTA final came at Dubai in 2012 (falling to Agnieszka Radwanska). She’s 2-3 lifetime in WTA finals.
“I must say it feels very good to be in a final again after such a long time,” Goerges said. “But overall it was a very, very good match from my side – played very aggressively, served decently in the first set. Second set wasn’t a good first serve percentage, but it was a very, very good match from me.”
The former World No.15 will have to wait until Saturday morning to find out her opponent in the final, though, as the second semifinal – pitting No.3 seed Wozniacki against No.5 seed Stephens – was cancelled for the day due to rain. Stephens had opened up a 5-2 lead when the rain started to fall.
Here’s a taste of what Stephens was bringing to the table, courtesy of the WTA Twitter account:
Passingggg Shot! #WTA pic.twitter.com/QNEXyIkTC2
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2016
Sloane in the zone! @SloaneStephens hitting all the shots right now. #WTA pic.twitter.com/G1YfcgwEWy
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2016
And then there were eight! It’s quarterfinal time at the BNP Paribas Open and the top half of the draw will get things started. We preview all of today’s action right here at wtatennis.com.
Wednesday, Quarterfinals
[3] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Pliskova leads, 5-1
Key Stat: Muguruza ended Elina Svitolina’s 15-match winning streak with a three-set victory over the Ukrainian on Tuesday.
It was a typically hot sunny day in the California desert two years ago when Garbiñe Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova met in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open. There was an air of what could be surrounding the two rising talents as they slugged serves and pounded groundstrokes while a relatively small crowd looked on. Two years on, both players are stars that are firmly entrenched in the Top 10. Muguruza is a Grand Slam champion and has played in two major finals and Pliskova was last year’s US Open runner-up. Everything we thought these fantastic young ball strikers could be, they are becoming, and they will go toe-to-toe on Wednesday in a match that is sure to be very important for both. But likely more so for Muguruza, who lost to Pliskova on that day in 2015 and has lost to the Czech five times consecutively, and in total. They have had a few close battles, and Pliskova has dominated the Spaniard a few times, but Pliskova does seem to be inside Muguruza’s head a bit at this point in time.
That said, Muguruza is eager for the challenge, knowing that Pliskova has become one of the game’s premier power brokers and understanding what a win against her could mean for her confidence. “I think it’s one of the toughest matches I can have now,” she said. “I think she’s playing very good. She has been very consistent, and, yeah, I have been watching her.”
Can the Spaniard finally shake free of the player that has become her nemesis and make a strong statement about her form in 2017? Or will it be Pliskova who again hands Muguruza another disappointing loss on a grand stage?
Pick: Pliskova in three
[19] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #21) vs. [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #8)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 5-3
Key Stat: Pavlyuchenkova already has three Top 10 wins in 2017, two more than she had all of last season.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is hoping for the hat trick when she squares off with her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova for the third time in three months on Wednesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The 25-year-old took the first two meetings in straight sets, reversing run of dominance for Kuznetsova that saw her beat Pavlyuchenkova four times in their first five encounters. But the Pavlyuchenkova we see today is not the same player we have seen in previous years. The talent, yes it’s similar, but there is more seriousness about her craft, and this is what she believes has made the difference for her this week. “I’m 25. I’ll be 26 in July,” she told reporters after her three-set victory over No.5 seed Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday. “The time is going quick, you know. Tennis life is kind of short. I feel like if it’s not now, then after it’s too late… I just am going to take my chances, try my best, work hard consistently, and see where it can bring me.”
But will Pavlyuchenkova’s newfound sense of purpose be enough to propel her past Kuznetsova for a third consecutive time? Kuznetsova too is a vastly improved player from where she was a few seasons ago. Last year she returned to the Top 10 for the first time in six years and thus far in 2017 she has shown no signs of slowing down. Expect Kuznetsova to come out determined to take the power back from Pavlyuchenkova.
Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in three
By the Numbers:
2009 – Pavlyuchenkova reached the semifinals at Indian Wells on her debut in 2009. This is her first trip back to the quarterfinals since.
2008 – After reaching back-to-back Indian Wells finals in 2007 and 2008, Kuznetsova had not returned to the quarterfinals until this season.
26 – Number of wins that Kuznetsova has earned at Indian Wells, against 13 losses.
152 – Karolina Pliskova’s ace total for 2017. She leads the tour and has 11 in three matches thus far at Indian Wells.
SHENZHEN, China – A day after securing a return to World No.4 – just in time for a Top 4 seed at the Australian Open – Agnieszka Radwanska won the 18th WTA title of her career at the Shenzhen Open.
By reaching the final at the International-level event, Radwanska secured herself of passing Maria Sharapova for No.4 on the WTA Rankings, which guarantees her a coveted Top 4 seed in Melbourne.
And as if that weren’t enough, the No.1-seeded Pole played near-flawless tennis to win the title on Saturday afternoon, cruising past Alison Riske in the final in an hour and 16 minutes, 6-3, 6-2.
“I think Alison was really playing solid tennis today,” Radwanska said. “She has a very powerful game from the baseline – I was really struggling from the baseline. I was really in a lot of trouble there.
“But my serve really helped me today. Also in the deciding points I was a little bit better, and I think that’s why the score was the way it was – it made it look easier than the actual match was.”
Radwanska has now won 22 of 26 matches since the US Open, picking up her 15th through 18th WTA titles at Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Tianjin, the WTA Finals and Shenzhen. She’s now 18-7 in WTA finals.
The former World No.2 is hoping to come back to Shenzhen – and not just to defend the title.
“It was my first time here, but I actually didn’t have much time to see the city. I came here pretty late. Each night I was enjoying different dinners, but didn’t have much time to enjoy the city.
“So I think because of that, I really have to come back here to Shenzhen!”
Radwanska will now head to Sydney for one last round of matches before the Australian Open.
“It’s the beginning of the year, so we’re all fresh compared to the end of the year. I’m feeling good,” Radwanska commented. “Also I have a bye there, so I’ll have a couple of days off right now.”
The doubles final took place afterwards and saw Vania King and Monica Niculescu upset No.1-seeded all-Chinese pair Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai in straight sets in an hour and 11 minutes, 6-1, 6-4.
This was King and Niculescu’s first WTA doubles title together, but they now have 20 WTA doubles titles between them – King now has 15, including two Grand Slams, while Niculescu now has five.
???✈️?????? https://t.co/6wL5Sqi4yD
— Aga Radwanska (@ARadwanska) January 9, 2016