Bacsinszky, Bouchard Book Round 2 Clash
No.8 seed Timea Bacsinszky overcame a wobbly start against Sílvia Soler-Espinosa to advance to the second round of Roland Garros, where she’s set to clash with a resurging Eugenie Bouchard.
No.8 seed Timea Bacsinszky overcame a wobbly start against Sílvia Soler-Espinosa to advance to the second round of Roland Garros, where she’s set to clash with a resurging Eugenie Bouchard.
PARIS, France – No.15 seed Madison Keys unlocked a spot in the round of 16 for the first time at the French Open, surviving a tense opening set to dispatch Monica Puig, 7-6(3), 6-3.
Keys reached the third round one year ago, but has hit new heights on what she previously deemed her least favorite surface, having made the final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia two weeks ago.
Taking on Puig, the WTA’s top-ranked Puerto Rican, Keys was made to battle through much of the opening set, including a titanic tenth game that featured eight deuces and forced Puig to save three set points on her own serve. Following up that momentum by breaking serve in the next game, Puig couldn’t sustain and Keys raced through the ensuing tie-break from a 1-3 deficit.
The youngsters exhanged breaks to start the second, but Keys ultimately proved too strong, breaking one last time to seal the win in one hour and 37 minutes. Keys finished with an impressively positive differential despite her attacking game, hitting 30 winners to 29 unforced errors, while Puig managed 17 winners of her own, but was undone by 28 errors.
Up next for Keys is Kiki Bertens, who satisfied her country’s Olympic eligibility requirement by reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament by dismissing No.29 seed Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 3-6, 10-8. Kasatkina saved five match points on her own serve and served for the match twice herself before the Dutch powerhouse advanced in a grueling two hours and 48 minutes.
More to come…
SINGAPORE – Before taking the court at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, we grabbed Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis, Kristina Mladenovic, Carolina Garcia and more doubles partners for a hilarious challenge.
They might be serious competitors on the court, but off of it, who can keep a straight face against their doubles partner in a staring contest?
Check out the video below to find out, and look out for Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ sure-fire strategy for making Lucie Safarova laugh!
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her round-robin defeat at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Boxing, much like tennis, is a uniquely solitary sport, and so when the news broke that American boxing legend Muhammad Ali had passed away at the age of 74, tennis players were quick to take to Twitter to show their respect and condolences.
Here’s what the WTA players and legends had to say as they mourned the passing of Ali, one of the world’s greatest athletes.
The true GOAT. What a sad day for everyone to loose someone so great and kind and someone who… https://t.co/OIyNfGPuTs
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 4, 2016
RIP Muhammad Ali ?? greatest sportsman ever .. You will be missed ..
— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) June 4, 2016
An inspiration. A legend. Forever a champion. RIP Muhammad Ali. ? pic.twitter.com/2TAlKmAOM8
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) June 4, 2016
Thank you for inspiration, motivation & legendary quotes. RIP #MuhammadAli you influenced so many great athletes! Never another like you!
— Shelby Rogers (@Shelby_Rogers_) June 4, 2016
Thinking of #MuhammadAli and remembering a man who was not afraid to take a stand and who was committed to being his authentic self.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) June 4, 2016
RIP Muhammad Ali…we will miss your spirit and humanity. You were shunned,excoriated and jailed for the same reason that made you a hero…
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) June 4, 2016
'Don't count the days, make the days count' – RIP ?? #MuhammadAli
— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) June 4, 2016
#MuhammadAli #TheGreatest #TheLegend. A Mark of Respect!
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) June 4, 2016
#Legend #MuhammedAli #RestInPeace pic.twitter.com/pm9hWI6URq
— Sara Errani (@SaraErrani) June 4, 2016
Rest in Peace Legend ❤ float like a butterfly…. https://t.co/95JRDEfdIA
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) June 4, 2016
Rest in peace, legend. #MuhammadAli pic.twitter.com/n0OOOHMIrF
— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) June 4, 2016
Champions are made from sth they have deep inside them- a desire, a dream, a vision…But the will must be stronger than the skill #RIPChamp
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) June 4, 2016
Rip Muhammad Ali??The https://t.co/kzzeA7Uow1 in peace. pic.twitter.com/046DAk18J5
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) June 4, 2016
He is the greatest example! RIP … https://t.co/sKKVm2EPsI
— Svetlana Kuznetsova (@SvetlanaK27) June 4, 2016
Sad evening here in Phoenix as @MuhammadAli passed away. What a great man in and out of the ring, raised over $100million for charity!
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) June 4, 2016
Rest in peace, champ #MuhammadAli pic.twitter.com/OTdKteb7Bn
— Irina Falconi (@IrinaFalconi) June 4, 2016
SINGAPORE – Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska returned to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by continuing her mastery of Karolina Pliskova.
Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!
Following a slow start, Radwanska found her range to prevail, 7-5, 6-3, in a topsy-turvy encounter and set up a semifinal against World No.1 Angelique Kerber.
“She definitely served brutal today. All I could do was just wait for the break point,” Radwanska told on-court interviewer Andrew Krasny afterwards. “A very tight match and I’m just happy I could do my best at the important moments.
“You’re just waiting and praying that the first serve is not going to be in. She’s definitely one of the best or even the best server on tour and every break matters.”
Radwanska went into the contest having never lost a set to Pliskova in six previous meetings. However, it was the Czech that made the early running, surging into a 4-2 lead and holding a point for an insurance break, only to fire fractionally wide.
The next game, demons of past encounters came back to haunt her, an errant forehand presenting the Pole with the chance to draw level. She gratefully accepted, springing up to punch an inviting second serve down the line. Soon afterwards her comeback was complete, the No.2 seed producing another pin-point return to wrap up the set.
A glorious forehand return gives @ARadwanska set 1, 7-5 #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/AUdcHpDSRx
— WTA (@WTA) October 28, 2016
These momentum shifts continued into the second, Pliskova pegging back an early Radwanska surge. At 3-3, she had the opportunity to consolidate her dominance only for the Pole to stave off the threat of a break with some cat-like reflexes at the net.
This proved to be Pliskova’s last stand, an errant smash the following game giving Radwanska the opportunity to serve for the match. It was a gift she gratefully accepted, setting up a Saturday showdown with Kerber.
“It’s the semis so I really have nothing to lose, especially as I’m going to play the best player of this season,” Radwanska added. “She’s been playing amazing tennis all year, on every surface. Hopefully I can play even better than today.”
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her semifinal win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
An interview with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova after their semifinal win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
World No.1 Angelique Kerber admitted she was disappointed to miss out on the WTA Finals title – but she is already looking ahead to more exciting opportunities next year.
“I am a little bit disappointed after the loss, but for sure I gave everything,” she said in her post-match press conference at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“It was a tough year with a lot of matches. When I’m looking back it was one of my best years. When I go home now I will think about the best moments and the positive emotions.”
Kerber admitted that she had not played her best tennis, and praised the aggression of Dominika Cibulkova, who beat her 6-3, 6-4.
She agreed that 2016 had been physically and mentally grueling, with a packed schedule, but, as she pointed out, she also had plenty of highlights.
“I had a lot of matches, a lot of tough matches – but also a lot of great finals, a lot of great memories [that] I received this year,” she said, before adding with a smile: “Of course, now I’m ready for the vacation.”
After a short break, she will be ready to begin her 2017 campaign – when she will be defending her top-ranking status against a returning Serena Williams.
“I am looking forward to next year, for sure,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to playing again against Serena – and against all the other tough opponents.”
SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova stunned World No.1 Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 to win the biggest title of her career at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The win vaults the 27-year-old to a career-high No.5 in the rankings and snapped a five-match losing streak to the German.
Three thoughts on a dramatic end to the WTA Finals:
– In a season defined by small margins, Dominika Cibulkova proved the poster-child.
The 2016 season kicked off in earnest when Kerber, then-ranked No.6, survived match point down to Misaki Doi in the first round of the Australian Open, only to go on and stun No.1 Serena Williams to win the biggest title of her career.
Then comes Cibulkova, who survived the group stage in the rarest of circumstances, needing to beat Simona Halep in straight sets in her final match while also needing Kerber to beat Madison Keys in straight sets to put her through. It was the only scenario out of 16 on that day that would move the Slovak into the knockout phase and she pulled it off.
From there Cibulkova battled her way through the title, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in three tough sets and then play her best match of the tournament to outplay Kerber, winning both matches on let-cord winners.
In a dramatic final game, Cibulkova nervously squandered two Championship Points from 40-15 up only to engage in jaw-dropping rally after jaw-dropping rally.
Just remarkable drama and stuff from both players. #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/Mfmo3L0aJg
— WTA (@WTA) October 30, 2016
Jaw dropping stuff! @Cibulkova saves break point. #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/OPnFEZDmmo
— WTA (@WTA) October 30, 2016
In the face of Kerber’s relentless defense, Cibulkova did what she had done all week. She gripped and ripped and hit through her nerves. Her bravery was finally rewarded on her fourth Championship Point, when she fired a desperate forehand that ticked the top of the net. The ball was suspended in air for what felt like seconds as both women waited to see which side of the net it would favor.
What a way to end! @Cibulkova is the @WTAFinalsSG champion for 2016 #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/vCsPM8D0qy
— WTA (@WTA) October 30, 2016
It fell on Kerber’s side of the court. Cibulkova fell to the ground in disbelief. As the old cliché goes, fortune favors the brave. And there was none braver in Singapore than the smallest woman in the field.
– Cibulkova turns the page on a nervous past.
Cibulkova is a veteran of the tour, part of the generation of players that includes Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, and Agnieszka Radwanska. Watching her over the years the tension would be a constant during her matches and the nerves would kick in at the most inopportune time.
That was old Domi. Welcome the new Domi.
“On the court I put a lot of emotions, and emotions just affect me,” Cibulkova explained. “This is something I started to learn how to deal with emotions and not let down myself; just to keep focused, and this is all about. I really work hard on it.
“Now I see this mental part for me, it’s like going to practice and actually practice on the court. As I practice on the court I practice on these things. As you can see, it’s working.
Cibulkova’s 2016 has been all about conquering the mental side of the game. She’s always been, pound for pound, the biggest hitter in the game. But her emotions could get the best of her and the rest of the locker room knew. She often wanted it too much and would strangle the life out of potentially career-defining wins.
Cibulkova tried to address the issue by hiring a mental coach a year and a half ago. The question was simple: how can she balance her ambition without being blinded by it? Over the last 16 months she has proven her mettle, whether it was getting the best of Radwanska in an epic three-set battle at Wimbledon, or coming through in her Singapore qualifying campaign by making the Dongfeng Wuhan Open final, winning the Generali Ladies Linz in a must-win campaign, or scrapping through to advance to the semifinals in Singapore.
The nerves looked like they might get the better of her in her first two Championship Points in the final. Instead of panicking after her shock misses, she shot a smile both to her box and to herself. That moment of relaxation allowed her gutsiest tennis to come through in the end.
“I don’t blame myself that I got a little bit nervous on the first two match points, because I think only very, very few people wouldn’t get when you have a match point for the biggest tournament of your career.
“But the way I handle it after, it shows that I really change. I belong there and I’m really, really strong.”
– Kerber comes up short but Singapore was still a breakthrough.
Before this year, Kerber had never made it out of the group stage at the WTA Finals. She conquered that milestone by going undefeated in the Red Group this year. In a high-pressure match against No.2 seed and defending champion Radwanska, she lost just three games. But on a day when she did not have her best, she finally ran into an inspired opponent.
This is not the first time this has happened to Kerber this season. In two big finals this season, at the Rio Olympics and Western & Southern Open, she looked to be cruising towards victory before the nothing-to-lose swinging of her opponent felled her.
“She has the best defensive game for now in the world,” Cibulkova said. “But I knew I have my shots that I can beat her with; that was my forehand today. My serve today, I was serving really, really well. Few games I played with my serve and I then was going for my forehand.
“I just knew what I have to do. I think I didn’t let her into the match really today with my aggressive game. I had just one goal. I was going after it. I think it was tough for her to do something on the court today.”
But despite the loss, Kerber finishes her 2016 season with another message to the field. She won more majors and more matches than any other woman this season. She was the tour’s most consistent winner and her balance of counter-punching and defense made her the toughest out in tennis.
To beat her in a big match you have to seize the match from her vice-like grip, hope she’s off her game, and play one of the best matches of your career. That’s precisely what Cibulkova did on Sunday night in Singapore. And there was nothing more for Kerber to do than tip her cap.
“I gave everything,” Kerber said. “I mean, it was a tough year with a lot of matches, so I give everything on court today, the rest energy I had left.
“Of course when I’m looking back it’s one of my best years. I think when I will go home now I will just think about the best moments and the positive emotions.”