Tennis News

STUTTGART, Germany – Petra Kvitova made a flawless start to her clay court campaign, dismissing Louisa Chirico in 55 one-sided minutes to secure a spot in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

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In recent years, Stuttgart has not been the happiest of hunting grounds for Kvitova, who has stumbled at the first hurdle on her past two visits. This time, though, she delivered a near-perfect performance, dishing out a 6-0, 6-0 defeat to set up a meeting with Monica Niculescu or Caroline Garcia.

A display decorated with 29 winners – and offset by just 11 unforced errors – began with a salvo of thumping groundstrokes and a quick-fire hold. In the next game the No.5 seed displayed the other side of her game, a beautifully disguised drop shot leaving Chirico wrong-footed and an immediate break behind.

Chirico came close to getting on the scoreboard on several occasions, but each time she threatened to do so, Kvitova found the perfect response. The final stand came at 3-0 in the second set, Kvitova having the final say in a 10-minute game Kvitova thanks to another delightful touch around the net.

Moments later she put the American out of her misery, skipping around a second serve to unleash one final winner.

More to follow…

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Players are making themselves at home in the desert as they prepare for the BNP Paribas Open which gets underway at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday. Famous for the surrounding mountain ranges and its hot climate, the BNP Paribas Open is the first WTA Premier Mandatory tournament of the year.

While some players have been enjoying the practice courts under the palm trees and Californian sun, others have been taking in views of a different kind as they soak up the sights of the Golden State.

Chan Yung-Jan admired the view over downtown Los Angeles while exploring the Griffith Observatory.

Amazing view from #GriffithObservatory #americandays ??????? pic.twitter.com/PDL5OqVo2v

— ???~YungJan Chan (@YungJan_Chan) March 6, 2017

Daria Kasatkina experienced colder climes at the top of this mountain.

Quite high pic.twitter.com/XeRZYE739i

— Daria Kasatkina (@DKasatkina) March 6, 2017

With a stunning mountain range in the background, Belinda Bencic enjoyed her practice.

Nowhere is a better place to Tennis???? #thedesert @bnpparibasopen#autosternzürichsee #mercedesbenz #wädenswil #picstars pic.twitter.com/tkNYLoaLS8

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) March 6, 2017

Alison Riske was up early to hit the courts.

early mornings have never been better???? #indianwells ?? pic.twitter.com/WNZ2ngVP2k

— Alison Riske (@Riske4rewards) March 5, 2017

)>Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is excited to be back at the BNP Paribas Open.

Hi Indian Wells???? pic.twitter.com/izCosDjBOK

— A. Pavlyuchenkova (@NastiaPav) March 6, 2017

Julia Goerges and Elena Vesnina were all smiles after their practice.

Thanks for the great practice @EVesnina001 ???? @BNPPARIBASOPEN #suchagreatevent #beautifulplace pic.twitter.com/HkspD2GlLj

— Jule Goerges?????? (@juliagoerges) March 6, 2017

Roberta Vinci basked in the early morning sun on Monday.

Good morning, Indian Wells!
Early mornings couldn't be better!! ?☀️?? @BNPPARIBASOPEN pic.twitter.com/kdeJ6EzSJp

— Roberta Vinci (@roberta_vinci) March 6, 2017

Tsvetana Pironkova is also happy to be back at the BNP Paribas Open.

Hello @BNPPARIBASOPEN ???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/HLKWo2d1kR

— Tsvetana Pironkova (@TPironkova) March 5, 2017

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – CiCi Bellis will be looking to continue her meteoric rise to tennis superstardom as the American teenager enters a star-studded field at this week’s BNP Paribas Open.

Following on from some impressive victories of late, including a win over Agnieszka Radwanska to become the youngest quarterfinalist at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships since 2001, Bellis has climbed to No.55 in the WTA rankings and a certain Chris Evert thinks it won’t be long before the precocious talent rises even higher.

“There are a handful of players who are going to overpower her right now, but by the end of the year I wouldn’t be surprised if she was Top 20,” Evert said in a recent interview with the NY Times.

“Her legs are rock hard. I think the off-court training has helped her a lot. Two years ago, she would counterpunch and would sort of absorb power from her opponent, and now she’s giving it.”

.@cicibellis99 doing her thing at the Tennis Channel shoot today ? pic.twitter.com/zZ5onxHUQX

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 7, 2017

It’s hard to believe that Bellis will only turn 18 on April 8. But Evert, who has been mentoring Bellis through a USTA program, has been impressed with a maturity and willingness to learn that could take her to the very top of the game.

“I’ve been so impressed by her maturity and self-reliance and just the hunger she has to learn. Her eyes are wide open to any information that you can give her. Bottom line is no drama. Some of these other girls, when they are practicing, it’s yelling and up and down and emotions and body language, and with her, it’s steadfast.”

Bellis is set to play Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens in the opening round of her first Indian Wells and, if successful, will face French Open Champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Monica Puig dropped just two games against American wildcard Danielle Collins on her way to the second round at the BNP Paribas Open.

Puig put together a dominant performance against Collins to advance 6-0, 6-2 after just under an hour and ten minutes.

“I always like playing on center stage, I guess it’s where I feel most comfortable,” Puig said in her post-match interview. “I’m always happy to play in Indian Wells, it’s one of my favorite tournaments.”

It was a different story for Collins, who was playing in just her third main draw match of her career. She found herself outhit and out of her depth as she fell to the Olympic champion.

The 23-year-old American – a two-time NCAA singles winner at the University of Virginia – showed flashes of promise against Puig as she targeted the Puerto Rican’s backhand high over her shoulder. But she allowed Puig to dictate the pace and dominate the rallies.

.@MonicaAce93 cruises past Collins 6-0, 6-2!

Plays @KaPliskova next in @BNPPARIBASOPEN Second round! pic.twitter.com/nUyuWZWBq7

— WTA (@WTA) March 9, 2017

After being shut out of the first set after just 24 minutes, Collins rallied back to earn a confidence-boosting first break of the match to start the second set. But the joy was short lived as Puig came roaring back, grabbing the break right back to level the score before reeling off the last four games in a row for a spot in the second round.

“You never know what to expect – I used to play against [Collins] when I was like, ten years old. I haven’t played her in a few years so I needed some time to feel her out a bit. I found my groove and finished off strong,” Puig said.

Waiting in the second round is No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova – it was originally Serena Williams before she announced her withdrawal from the tournament and caused a reshuffling of seeds. Puig trails the Czech 0-3 in the pair’s win-loss record.

“For me it’s not really a huge change,” Puig said of having to play Pliskova instead of Serena. “I was already waiting on a difficult opponent if I made it to the second round, and I still got a difficult opponent in the second round.

“It doesn’t really change much; I’m familiar with Pliskova and I’ve played her a few times. Lost a few times, too. She’s near the top of the game right now because she’s an amazing player.”