WTA Frame Challenge: Elina Svitolina
Elina Svitolina takes on the WTA Frame Challenge, but can she topple Alize Cornet and become the new leader? Find out on wtatennis.com!
Elina Svitolina takes on the WTA Frame Challenge, but can she topple Alize Cornet and become the new leader? Find out on wtatennis.com!
WTA Insider | The Insider team rings in the new year by taking one last look back at the Top 25, counting down the most outstanding performances of 2016.
An interview with Aliaksandra Sasnovich after her second-round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
SHENZHEN, China – Top seed and defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska came back from the brink to defeat an inspired Duan Ying-Ying in the first round of the Shenzhen Open.
Having romped through the opening set, Radwanska looked on course for a straightforward outing against the World No.103. However, it proved to be anything but, the Pole eventually scraping through, 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5, after saving three match points.
“It was not my best tennis, but I’m very happy that I got the win, and on the important points I was doing a good job, which was the most important thing today,” Radwanska said.
“The match points were of course big moments, but also the tie-break in the second set. I came from 4-1 down that set but in the tie-break I didn’t play good enough and it slipped away. I was still on court for another hour after that.”
Duan, who required a wildcard into the main draw, grabbed her opportunity with both hands, recovering from the loss of the opening four games to gradually overwhelm the World No.3. In the final set it looked like she would claim a famous victory, breaking in the ninth game to serve for the match.
To the disappointment of the upset-hungry crowd, she could not find the finishing blow, three times coming within a point of victory only to be denied each time.
.@ARadwanska is fighting with all her might and has now saved three match points! pic.twitter.com/kej2g35CZ7
— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017
Radwanska made the most of her escape, taking the next two games to book a meeting with Sorana Cirstea.
“It’s always tough to play someone for the first time – I didn’t know what to expect. But she’s a very powerful player and solid from the back,” Radwanska said. “She also served very well and had nothing to lose. It was a very close match, even at the beginning.”
Elsewhere there were contrasting fortunes for her fellow seeds, Timea Babos and Anastasija Sevastova, both of whom slipped to surprise defeats. Babos failed to make the most of a flying start, losing 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, to Nina Stojanovic, while Sevastova fell to Kristyna Pliskova, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), despite holding a couple of match points in the tie-break.
An interview with Caroline Wozniacki after her quarterfinal at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
WTA Insider | In the first WTA Insider Live Blog of 2017, 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams defeats Pauline Parmentier in the first round of the ASB Classic.
Victoria Azarenka takes on Zhang Shuai in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova scored her 600th match win yesterday at the Brisbane International – here’s how she celebrated the milestone!
Highlights from the third round action at the BNP Paribas Open.
Karolina Pliskova takes on Asia Muhammad in the second round of the Brisbane International.