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Wimbledon Asks: If This, Then What?

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

What would Garbiñe Muguruza and Petra Kvitova do if they could prank any player, if they could have any super power and if they could lift any trophy? Find out in Wimbledon’s If Series.

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Halep Soars Over Schiavone

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Simona Halep hit the ground running after lengthy rain delays, dropping just two games to former French Open champ Francesca Schiavone to race into the third round at Wimbledon.

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Radwanska Escapes Konjuh Upset

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska had to dig deep in her second round match against Ana Konjuh, saving three match points to narrowly dodge an upset bid from the 18-year-old Croat.

With No.2 seed Garbiñe Muguruza bowing out in a shock second-round upset, British No.1 Johanna Konta falling against the resurgent Eugenie Bouchard and Belinda Bencic retiring earlier in the day, it seemed like the 2012 finalist would be the next big name on the chopping block. But Radwanska dug deep to save three match points and deny Konjuh the biggest win of her career, 6-2, 4-6, 9-7.

Despite Radwanska going down in her opening service game, it looked like it would be a routine win for the Pole, who broke three times and made just one unforced error in the first set to get ahead comfortably.

But Konjuh, who last year became the youngest WTA title winner in almost a decade when she lifted her maiden trophy at the Aegon Open Nottingham, rallied back valiantly and put Radwanska down a break for a 3-2 lead. She cut her unforced error count by almost half – 19 in the first set to just 10 – and improved her court movement, coming up to the net more and cutting off Radwanska’s angles.

Konjuh held on to that narrow lead and fought off seven break points to take the second set and level the score against the World No.3. Under pressure, Radwanska struggled to put pace on the ball as uncharacteristic errors began to fly from her racquet.

Konjuh held her first match point at 5-3 on Radwanska’s serve, but the 18-year-old’s nerves reared their ugly head as she buried it into the net. She had two more in the next game but a heart-stopping net cord ball fell on her side, denying her the match once again as Radwanska broke back.

At 7-7 with Radwanska serving ahead 40-15, Konjuh picked up a nasty injury after rolling her right ankle while chasing down a drop shot. She was back on court after a lengthy medical time out, but her movement was visibly hampered and she struggled to find power on her serve as well as run down Radwanska’s shots. Radwanska completed her great escape and took the match 6-2, 4-6, 9-7.

Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic awaits Radwanska in the third round. Siniakova came back from a set down to topple the No.30 seed Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

More to come…

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Svetlana Kuznetsova will be looking to end her runner-up jinx when the Russian heads to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 19.

The 31-year-old, who is currently enjoying a rich vein of form having recently retained her Moscow title as well as reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, has climbed into the top ten in the world rankings for the first time since 2010.

Talking to the Gulf News, Kuznetsova says she is in a confident frame of mind approaching a tournament in which she has been the bridesmaid on three previous occasions, losing out to Justine Henin in 2004, Elena Dementieva in 2008 and Caroline Wozniacki in 2011.

“People see me differently now because I’m a Top 10 player again,” she admitted. “Players will only see you by the ranking, and ranking reflects everything. You can’t cheat the ranking, that’s for sure. All players want to beat me.

“Of course, everyone expects good tennis from me and that can be hard to deal with. But I feel confident, I feel happy and healthy. Those are the main things and I love the game. I enjoy it.

“I would love to take some of the consistency into this season. In the last few years, I haven’t been so good,” she added. “I was always there, but couldn’t quite flip the switch. I would love to stay with the switch on, because it’s the key for me.

“I feel that I’m playing as well as the best in the world, and I have a chance to beat them and be ranked among them everywhere I go. It’s a great feeling because I worked really hard to be there.”

The WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runs from 19 February. Click here for tickets.

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Insider Podcast: Q&A With Anne

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – Anne Keothavong has seen it all as a pro, and now calls the shots from the sidelines as a BT Sport commentator. WTA Insider goes in depth with the former British No.1 live on the grounds of the All England Club in a no-holds-barred chat on the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast.

Check out some of the highlights:

On the “unique” challenge of being a British tennis player:
The media are brutal, my goodness! For all the British players, obviously, you want to do well here at Wimbledon more than any other place in the world. You want to show people what you can do, how well you can play, because here is where British players receive the most exposure. Everyone’s aware of that. It’s tough. Obviously there’s a mixture of excitement and nerves.

For me, personally, playing on grass – which was never my favorite surface to play on – was always a tough experience in some ways. When Wimbledon was over, I was relieved more than anything. I thought, ‘Oh well, that’s all over for another twelve months. Okay, lots of nice things were said about me, and lots of horrible things. Probably more horrible things were written about me!’ But you learn to let it go.

On taking on a commentator role at BT Sport:
I guess it was all kinda planned out. I knew, looking ahead, I was kind of planning my future. I knew tennis wasn’t going to be forever.My ranking had dropped as I struggled with injuries.

My last year or two on the tour, I was trying to gain experience wherever possible whether that was here at Wimbledon or at other tournaments. Or just offering to chip in and help whenever anyone needed it, whether it was commentary or in the studio or just hanging out behind the scenes.

I’m very fortunate that when I retired there was something for me to move into immediately. I didn’t receive any specific training – I don’t think anyone really receives any training. They throw you in! I feel like I’ve still got lots to learn, but they haven’t fired me yet so I guess I’m going okay.

It’s nice to feel like you’re still part of the tour without directly being involved. I can take a bit more of a backseat and enjoy it more.

Players who impress her the most:
This year I’ve been really impressed by Daria Kasatkina. She’s fun to watch. She plays with variety and it’s always easier to commentate on someone who plays with variety as well. I really think she has a bright future ahead of her.

And obviously the British players. I try not to be too biased in my commentary, but I want to see the British players do well!

On the rise of Johanna Konta:
It’s incredible. I’ve spoken to Jo herself and her parents and her coach, and I’d be the first to admit to you that I did not see that coming. I would have never thought we’d have Johanna Konta as a Top 20 player.

To do what she’s done over the past 12 months has been incredible. Thinking back to Eastbourne last year when she was ranked No.140-something to this year being a semifinalist and now seeded at Wimbledon, it’s just been fantastic to see and to follow. I always shake my head in disbelief when I see her score another big win. Last night was tough [against Eugenie Bouchard] but she’s headed in the right direction. She’s got a great game.

I used to practice with her all the time in the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton – it’s a completely different person. There’s certain areas of her game that used to crack under pressure, even in practice, but now they hold up so well in terms of the belief she has in her game.

In some ways, I wish I had her coach and her strength when I played.

On on-court coaching timeouts:
Daren Cahill and Nick Saviano are two of my favorites to listen to when they come on for on-court coaching. I feel like I’m listening to [Darren’s] coaching and I’m learning something and think, ‘Oh ok, that’s interesting!’

It’s always weird to see Nigel Sears come on for Ana [Ivanovic], because I think – and I hope he and she don’t mind me saying – she frets a lot. And just knowing Nige, I find it quite amusing some of the things he says to try to keep her calm.

I don’t understand what Dominika Cibulkova says with her coach [Matej Liptak], but they always seem to have a good relationship.

What I really dislike about it is when a coach comes on and reels off a number of things for a player to do without asking the player for her opinion. Just says all these things at a hundred miles an hour. It should be a two-way conversation. I understand some players don’t want to say anything and would just like to listen to their coach, but I do think there’s a certain way of delivering a message which I think would be more productive for the player and looks better on TV.

 

 

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app of your choice and reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – German wildcard Mona Barthel put on a strong display to kick off the first night session of this year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, knocking out former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 6-3. Top seed Angelique Kerber looms in the next round.

“I think I played a really good match,” she said after the match. “Jelena’s a really good player so it’s always tough to play against her. I’m just really grateful that I got the wildcard to even have the opportunity to play here.”

A former World No.23, Barthel spent most of 2016 dealing with a serious of illnesses and injuries, causing her to fall out of the Top 100. She kickstarted the new year with a run to the fourth round of the Australian Open – her career-best result at a major tournament – and brought her signature firepower to Dubai, rolling past the Serb in just under an hour.

“I just went out there wanting to enjoy it. I think I served well and played an aggressive match from the beginning, so that helped a lot.”

Jankovic herself suffered through an injury-addled 12 months, and the lack of matches was evident from the 2008 US Open finalist, who hit an uncharacteristic 28 unforced errors to just nine winners. Barthel, by contrast, struck 18 winners to 15 unforced errors, a solid differential for one who plays with such razor thin margins.

Still, the German was made to work for it in the end; Jankovic leveled the second set after falling behind an early break, and saved the first two match points before booking a second round encounter with her countrywoman and two-time Grand Slam champion.

“The last couple of matches, I had some difficulties closing them out. So I was probably thinking too much about that, but when I got the break I thought, ‘Nope, it’s not going to happen again!’ I was just trying to stick to my gameplan, and not to think too much.”

Kerber and Barthel split their last four encounters, though the most recent came in 2013, which the former No.1 took in straight sets at the French Open. Barthel leads their head-to-head 2-1 on hardcourts.

“It’s such a strong tournament, featuring the best players in the world, so it’s always tough. I’m really happy to have won the first round, and I know playing Angelique won’t be easy. But I have nothing to lose so I’ll try to go out there and just enjoy. I love this city, and have spent a week here preparing. I’m still so thankful for the opportunity, and look forward to being back on the center court.

“It’ll be a great test for me to see where I am right now. It was such a tough year for me last year, so I’m just trying to improve my game every day. I lost a lot of my fitness so I’m still just trying to get back into my rhythm. We’ve had some really good matches the past, but I’ll try to enjoy it.”

Earlier in the day, No.12 seed Samantha Stosur eased past Chinese qualifier Zhang Kai-Lin, 6-3, 6-3.

“I thought it was pretty tricky conditions out there, a bit windy and much faster than what we were playing on in Doha, where it was slow and heavy,” she said after the match. “Here, it’s fast and lively. But overall I’m happy to be in the second round.”

Up next for the Qatar Total Open quarterfinalist is either Zhang Shuai or Ana Konjuh.

“I’m feeling a lot better about my tennis at the moment. I gained a bit more confidence again, and winning matches always helps. For a while, I was hitting the ball really well, but then I was struggling with my shoulder. I feel like I’ve gotten over that hurdle and I’m on the right path again.

Around the grounds, No.15 seed Caroline Garcia knocked out Johanna Larsson, 6-3, 6-3, while two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Ekaterina Makarova dispatched qualifier Zhu Lin, 6-3, 6-1. Japanese hotshot Naomi Osaka advanced over qualifier Chang Kai-Chen, and in the biggest upset of the day, Tunisian qualifier Ons Jabeur stunned No.14 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-4.

Click here to hear more from Jabeur in the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast.

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Twitter Sings Serena’s Praises

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – All the tennis world was watching as Serena Williams claimed her seventh Wimbledon title to tie Steffi Graf’s all-time record of 22 major titles. So when Serena sealed historic achievement on Centre Court, her rivals and peers were quick to take to Twitter to congratulate the World No.1.

Check out all the best tweets below!

 

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