Olympics: Bouchard Interview
An interview with Eugenie Bouchard before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
An interview with Eugenie Bouchard before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
Kirsten Flipkens tops Venus Williams in a three-hour epic: No.5 seed Venus Williams just couldn’t put Kirsten Flipkens away. Over the course of this three hour and 15 minute long tug-of-war match, Flipkens found a way to force Venus into playing on her terms. The Belgian’s backhand slice was effective into the corners and she used her guile to get Venus out wide and out of position before executing a pitch-perfect dropshot. It was a pattern Venus saw often and early, but one from which she struggled to break.
It was a disappointingly early exit for Venus, who also lost in the first round of doubles with Serena to the Czech duo of Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova. We know how much the Olympics means to her, and in many ways the event has been the buoy for her career whenever she was struggling and needed that bit of extra motivation.
What can I say.. Where should I start.. Rio, Brazil, u r AMAZING!! Goosebumps from the 1st untill the last second.. Which is actually 1/3
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
But this was also an incredible feel good moment for Flipkens. The 30-year-old missed out on the 2012 Olympic tennis event after her ranking slipped due to being diagnosed with blood clots in her legs. Outside the Top 200, her struggles worsened when the Belgian Tennis Federation revoked her funding. Left to go about her career alone, she rebuilt her team, and a year later she was into the Wimbledon semifinals.
quite long.. 11.580 sec 🙂 Best crowd ever.. Together with my quarter final match in Wimbledon '13 the most epic match of my carreer 2/3
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
Her career hasn’t reached the same highs since, but this win over Venus, in her Olympic debut, had to taste so sweet given her rollercoaster ride to Rio.
“I was already thinking in the third set that it was one of the most epic matches I’ve ever played,” Flipkens said in a television interview. “My dream was to come to Rio but to beat one of the greatest champions, that’s a second dream coming true.”
Ill never forget this match & experience. Enjoyed it so much to play on centre against one of the biggest champions ever. #thankfull #rio16
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
The biggest upsets did not come in singles: While the focus may naturally fall on the singles competition, the most surprising results of the weekend came in doubles, where the top two seeds and medal favorites bowed out. On Saturday it was Japan’s Misaki Doi and Eri Hozumi stunning No.2 seeds and French Open champions Carolina Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic 6-0 0-6, 6-4. No one saw this result coming – let alone that wacky scoreline. The French team were a heavy medal favorite before the competition.
Then on Sunday it was the veteran Czech pair of Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova who ousted top seeds and defending gold medalists Venus and Serena Williams, winning, 6-3, 6-4. The weekend also saw India’s team of No.1 Sania Mirza and Thombare Prathana lose to China’s Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai. The losses open up a doubles draw that was always tough to call. It should be a very exciting week.
Asian tennis had a big weekend: In addition to Doi and Hozumi’s doubles upset, two of the biggest singles upsets also came at the hands of Asian players. China’s Zheng Saisai stunned a flat and frustrated No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 7-5, and Zhang Shuai saved three match points to upend No.12 seed Timea Bacsinszky, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7). Doi and Nao Hibino also scored solid singles wins, with Doi beating Yaroslava Shvedova and Hibino ousting Florianopolis champion Irina-Camelia Begu.
These are two crushing losses for Radwanska and Bacsinszky. I tapped both women at having a good look at the medal rounds after the soft draws they were dealt. For Radwanska, a combination of her three-day journey from Canada to Rio (via…Lisbon?), combined with a slow, gritty court that plays to the opposite of her strengths, spelled her doom.
Bacsinszky will also be kicking herself after playing three passive points on match point to surrender her lead in the third set tiebreak. Unlike Radwanska, her tournament continues. She rebounded later in the evening to score a win in doubles with Martina Hingis.
Daria Gavrilova’s spirited effort: She was outmatched on nearly every metric, but hat tip to Gavrilova, who scored the unlucky fate of being Serena’s first round opponent. The slow surface kept her in the rallies and she whooped the Center Court crowd into a frenzy with her tenacious defense. It ended in a 6-4, 6-2 loss, but that scoreline is a bit unfair. It was a great match and the perfect opening round test for Serena.
Slow and steady wins the race: Aside from the results themselves, the story of the weekend was the speed of the courts at Barra Olympic Park. They were described as being slower than the Rogers Cup, and after observing just a handful of early points it was clear it was a slow, high-bouncing court, not unlike the BNP Paribas Open, but with heavier balls and conditions. It’s not going to be easy to hit through this court, though the straight set wins by Serena Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys, and Petra Kvitova may indicate the big hitters can tee off.
Wardrobe Malfunction: After her disappointing loss in doubles, Kristina Mladenovic took to Twitter to explain the team’s frazzled state on court. According to Mladenovic, she and Garcia were ready to take the court when officials told them they could not wear kits of different colors. Luckily, Mladenovic had a second dress and Garcia wore – inside out, for sponsorship reasons – that so that they matched. But the entire ordeal was not the ideal match preparation.
Sloane Stephens bows out to Eugenie Bouchard: The Canadian won, 6-3, 6-3 to notch her first win as an Olympian. She will face Angelique Kerber in the second round. Kerber notched a scratchy opening win over Mariana Duque-Mariño, rallying from 2-5 in the second to win 6-3, 7-5.
First #Olympics win! ?? pic.twitter.com/ocGAKrpHlM
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) August 7, 2016
As for Stephens, after starting the year at 17-3 with three titles, she is now 5-7 since. Perhaps playing on home soil will get things back on track.
To Opening Ceremony or not: It’s always a tough decision to make for any tennis Olympian: Should I go to the Opening Ceremony or should I rest? For some, the schedule makes the decision for them. Those who did not have to play until Sunday jumped at the chance to walk out with the compatriots on Friday night.
In the end, there really is no science to the matter. Madison Keys went to the Opening Ceremony on Friday night and was first up on Saturday. She won. Heather Watson also went and she won both her singles and doubles matches on Saturday. Andrea Petkovic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Venus Williams opted out. They lost the next day. Reading too much into the decision is a waste of time.
But this tweet was one of the best of Friday night:
When you're not at the #OpeningCeremony ???? #swissteam #Rio2016 ??? pic.twitter.com/dfSu4hj5AO
— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) August 5, 2016
Second round matches to watch: All second round matches will be played on Monday. Here are the one’s we’re paying particular attention to: Serena Williams vs. Alizé Cornet, Petra Kvitova vs. Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber vs. Eugenie Bouchard, Madison Keys vs. Kristina Mladenovic, Johanna Konta vs. Caroline Garcia, Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Monica Niculescu, Daria Kasatkina vs. Zheng Saisai, and Barbora Strycova vs. Sara Errani.
There in spirit: Simona Halep is not in Rio for the Olympics but that doesn’t mean she’s not celebrating the Olympic spirit. In her own way.
.@simona_halep practicing for the Perfect 10 with the @nadiacomaneci10 app ? https://t.co/R55RwRLrek pic.twitter.com/4e06KrJSTh
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) August 6, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Johanna Konta won a marathon encounter with Svetlana Kuznetsova on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics.
After just over three hours on court a weary Kuznetsova tugged the ball wide to hand Konta a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory.
“That’s the longest match I’ve had for ages! I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some spectacular matches in my career and that definitely ranks up there because it’s my first Olympics,” Konta said.
Konta has been playing the tennis of her life this summer, but for the first hour against Kuznetsova it looked like this hectic schedule was finally catching up with her.
Trailing 2-0 in the second set, Konta’s punchy groundstrokes finally began to penetrate her opponent’s defenses, a run of four straight games hauling her back into the contest. Despite surrendering this advantage, the Briton hit back to level the match and then forge ahead in the decider.
Kuznetsova has enjoyed an enviable career, yet has failed to end either of her previous Olympic campaigns on the podium. And even when the cause appeared lost, her desire for this missing medal ensured a tense finale.
Serving for the match at 5-3, Konta came within two points of victory only to falter. This saw the momentum swing back towards the Russian and in Konta’s next service game she carved out three more break points.
Back came the World No.13, a sequence of fearless ball striking enabling her to edge ahead once more. With the finishing line within reach once more, Konta’s nerves reappeared, squandering three match points closing out a famous victory at the fourth time of asking.
Konta, who was ranked outside the Top 200 four years ago, is making her Olympic debut and has found it hard not to become swept up in the spirit of the Games: “Well once you get on court it’s about the opponent, it’s about yourself, it’s about competing. But I do think there are slight differences especially this year there are no ranking points. A lot of players play inspired when it comes to their country and that’s how it should be.”
In the last eight, Konta will face either No.2 seed Angelique Kerber after she brushed aside Samantha Stosur, 6-0, 7-5.
That's what it meant to Johanna Konta!#Rio2016 https://t.co/wd8dFDsc5h pic.twitter.com/TMyXjwdVlo
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) 9 August 2016
The World No.1 team of Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza have split, according to multiple reports. Mirza and Hingis – self-dubbed “Santina” – dominated the doubles tour for over a year, having joined forces for the first time at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open. Together the pair won 13 titles over a 16-month span, including three consecutive majors at 2015 Wimbledon, the 2015 US Open, and 2016 Australian Open, as well as the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall.
But ever since their 41-match winning streak was snapped in February at the Qatar Total Open by Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, the team never fully recovered. After their lightening start to 2016, winning their first four tournaments of the year, Hingis and Mirza have won just one title since. As defending champions they lost in the second round at both the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open this spring and lost back-to-back finals at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and Mutua Madrid Open to the No.2 team of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
After winning their first title in nearly three months at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Hingis and Mirza took two surprising straight-set exits at the French Open and Wimbledon. In all, they failed to make it past the quarterfinals of their last four events.
So what does this mean for Hingis and Martina going forward?
Who will they play with now?
According to reports out of India, Hingis will pair with CoCo Vandeweghe and Mirza with Barbora Strycova. Mirza will link up with Strycova at next week’s Western & Southern Open before partnering with Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the Connecticut Open. The plan is to re-team with Strycova at the US Open.
What about the No.1 ranking?
The pairing was a milestone launcher for Mirza. She became the first Indian woman to hold the No.1 ranking after the pair won their third straight title last year at the Volvo Car Open and she won her first major doubles title at Wimbledon a few months later. The two became joint No.1s in January of this year and they will continue to hold the top spot through the US Open unless one of them either reaches the Cincinnati final or wins New Haven.
What does this mean for the WTA Finals in Singapore?
Hingis and Mirza were the first doubles team to qualify for this year’s WTA Finals. Despite their struggles over the last four months they still sit atop the Road to Singapore. Under WTA Rules, Hingis and Mirza can still play as a team in Singapore, but if one of them qualifies with another partner, that player may then choose which team she competes with for the WTA Finals. The player she chooses not to complete with will then be ineligible unless that player has also qualified as part of another team.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Angelique Kerber dodged the upset bug going around the Australian Open, grinding past Alexandra Dulgheru as the second round wrapped up at the Happy Slam Thursday.
The No.7-seeded Kerber had beaten Dulgheru in straight sets in both of their previous meetings and this one went much the same way as she beat the Romanian in an hour and 13 minutes, 6-2, 6-4.
Kerber, who was ranked No.7 in the world when the seeds were made but moved up to No.6 earlier this week, is now just two wins away from completing a Grand Slam quarterfinal set – she’s been to the quarterfinals or better at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open, but never the Australian Open.
Other high-profile winners included No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, who out-hit Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 6-2 (read more here), No.14 seed Victoria Azarenka, who continued her perfect start to the year with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Danka Kovinic (read more here), No.15 seed Madison Keys, who outlasted Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3, No.20 seed Ana Ivanovic, who beat Latvian qualifier Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-3 (read more here), and No.21 seed Ekaterina Makarova, who beat Tatjana Maria, 6-4, 6-2.
Azarenka has now lost just 20 games in seven matches this year – an average of one game a set.
“I’m just really trying to stay in the moment,” Azarenka told reporters after the match. “I do want to keep improving from match to match, but from now on it’s only going to get tougher, so I really want to keep that focus and that intensity and that determination. Really that’s what I’m looking for right now, to keep applying the same effort, and paying attention to the details in preparation before the match.”
It wasn’t a perfect day for the seeds by any means, though, with No.11 seed Timea Bacsinszky going down to Annika Beck, 6-2, 6-3, No.18 seed Elina Svitolina falling to Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-4, No.19 seed Jelena Jankovic losing a heartbreaker to Laura Siegemund, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, and No.30 seed Sabine Lisicki succumbing to big-serving Czech upstart Denisa Allertova, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Karolina Pliskova, the No.9 seed, downed Julia Goerges in the feature night match, 7-6(5), 6-1.
With 18 seeds out already, the 2016 Australian Open has set the record for most seeds to go out before the third round of a Grand Slam since the majors switched to 32 seeds at 2001 Wimbledon.
The third round will kick off on Friday, with Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Sharapova among those in action – check back on wtatennis.com for all the latest from Melbourne!
.@KaPliskova clinches the last spot in @AustralianOpen third round! Defeats Goerges 7-6(5), 6-1! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/8uAaAj6ZWZ
— WTA (@WTA) January 21, 2016
Serena Williams never misses a chances to show off her dance moves, and a major social media milestone is no exception. The World No.1 just crossed the four million followers mark on Instagram, and she debuted a move that she dubbed the “4 million follower dance.”
So how exactly does one react when reaching that many million followers?
Click right here to find out!
MELBOURNE, Australia – Top seed Serena Williams withstood a tense first set and a late match charge to take out Maria Sharapova, defeating the No.5 seed for an 18th straight time, 6-4, 6-1.
Sharapova came out firing to start, taking an early 2-0 lead on Australia Day, but Williams worked her way into the match in style, saving break points at 4-4 and winning seven games in a row at one stage.
“It was super intense,” the American told Rennae Stubbs during her on-court interview. “She’s an incredibly intense, focused player who was No.1 and won so many Grand Slams for a reason.
“When you’re playing someone who’s so great, you have to come out with a lot of fire and intensity.”
Looking ill at ease with the doctor on court after the first set, Williams was nonetheless ruthless in the second, getting close to a shutout before Sharapova pulled back, even earning two break points for 5-2 as the top seed served for it.
“I’ve been playing this whole week aggressively, but I didn’t start out playing that way today.
“I just knew after the first set that I wanted to start playing the way I have been, that got me to the quarterfinals, so I was just trying to do that.”
Up next for the World No.1 is No.4 seed and BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion, Agnieszka Radwanska.
“She’s a great defender and a great girl. I’m going to do my best, and I have nothing to lose,” she said, then addressing the crowd, “Thank you guys for coming out; I hear you all, and it means a lot to me!”
Looking to tie Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles, Williams is also after a seventh Australian Open title, her first coming back in 2003 to complete her first Serena Slam.
“I’m here all the time; I have so many friends here. This is one of the few stadiums where I feel so welcome.”
Serena on Maria: When I play her, I know automatically I have to step up my game. I think that makes me play better pic.twitter.com/WVYCLVkiNn
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2016
October was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.
In the end, it was Angelique Kerber, who played an incredble squash shot against perennial Shot Of The Month winner Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Undefeated en route to the championship match, the World No.1 used her uncanny ability to turn defense into offense, taking out the defending champion in straight sets.
Click here to watch all of October’s finalists.
Final Results for October’s WTA Shot Of The Month
1. Angelique Kerber (74%)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (11%)
3. Dominika Cibulkova (6%)
3. Daria Gavrilova (6%)
5. Madison Keys (3%)
2016 WTA Shot of the Month Winners
January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Monica Niculescu
May: Simona Halep
June: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
August: Agnieszka Radwanska
September: Kirsten Flipkens
How it works:
Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The field for the 2016 BNP Paribas Open has been announced; the list of big names, which already included World No.1 Serena Williams and defending champion World No.2 Simona Halep, now features former No.1 Venus Williams. The seven-time Grand Slam champion and four-time Olympic Gold medalist returns to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years.
Other names in the field include World No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza, 2014 finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, 2006 and 2013 champion Maria Sharapova, two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, and Lucie Safarova.
Buy tickets to the tournament right here.
The BNP Paribas Open is a combined two-week Premier Mandatory event running from March 9-20 held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in sunny Indian Wells, California.
Venus joins sister Serena, who returned to Indian Wells last year and reached the semifinals before a knee injury ended her shot at the title she won in 1999 and 2001, the last time either sister played at the Premier Mandatory event.
“We are thrilled that Venus Williams, one of the greatest women’s players in the history of the game, is returning to play in the BNP Paribas Open,” said Indian Wells CEO Raymond Moore. “Our fans embraced Serena last year, and we expect nothing less for Venus when she returns to compete at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.”
“The fans will be thrilled to see Venus compete again in Indian Wells at the BNP Paribas Open,” adds WTA CEO and former Indian Wells Tournament Director and COO, Steve Simon. “I’m delighted to see Venus take her place in this year’s stellar line up of WTA and ATP players. This event keeps going from strength to strength and remains a clear fan and player favorite. I’m confident Venus will enjoy playing there again as much as we will enjoy seeing her on court.”
Halep defeated 2010 champion and former No.1 Jelena Jankovic in three gritty sets to win last year’s final, and fell two matches short of the elusive Indian Wells-Miami double when she lost to Serena in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
Muguruza made the round of 16 in her BNP Paribas Open debut back in 2013, qualifying and upsetting Ekaterina Makarova before losing to eventual semifinalist Angelique Kerber in two tight sets.
BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore by SC Global champion Radwanska rounds out the Top 4 and is currently contesting in her second Australian Open semifinal; the Pole had her best Indian Wells finish in 2014, when she took out Jankovic in the quarters and Halep in the semis, losing to future US Open champion Flavia Pennetta in the final.
Chasing the field will be two-time BNP Paribas Open champion Sharapova; the Russian first captured the Indian Wells title in 2006, later going on to win her second Grand Slam title at the US Open that same year. She struck gold again in California three years ago, defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
This year, the BNP Paribas Open has launched a #TennisParadise Sweepstakes; win a VIP trip for two to this year’s tournament by posting an image with the hashtag #TennisParadise on Twitter or Instagram. The contest runs from January 25-February 5.
Last summer, Johanna Konta embarked on a 16-match winning run, which began at a lowly ITF Circuit event in Granby, Canada, and ended in last 16 of the US Open.
This proved to be the catalyst for a rapid ascent up the tennis ladder, a maiden WTA title, in Stanford, and deep runs at the Australian Open, Beijing, Montréal, Eastbourne, Miami and Zhuhai securing Konta a year-end ranking inside the Top 10 – the first Briton to achieve the feat since Jo Durie in 1983.
It is a list of accomplishments that saw Konta deservedly pick up the WTA’s Most Improved Player Of The Year award. The 25-year-old, however, is no overnight success story.
“On paper I suppose it looks a lot different to how I experienced it, how my team experienced it; only because, although it may seem like a sudden rise, it was a lot of years of work put in. Years and years and years!” Konta told BT Sport’s David Law during her final event of the year, in Zhuhai. “So really I didn’t live through it as such a dramatic change.”
Watch the full interview above to hear Konta discuss her remarkable journey and what the future may hold in store.