Tennis News

MOSCOW, Russia – Ekaterina Makarova is looking forward to Russia’s Fed Cup tie against Chinese Taipei this weekend for a very special reason.

It’s hosted at the Druzhba Sport Complex, in Moscow – the venue in her hometown where she first began playing tennis herself.

“It’s in the stadium where I grew up,” she told the official Fed Cup site. “I was practicing for 12 years there – I took my first steps in tennis in that stadium so it’s a special place.”

Makarova, 28, is the senior player in a young Russia squad; this will be her eighth appearance in the competition. It is an experience she enjoys.

“I love to play for a team, for Russia,” she added.

The World No.39 comes into the tie after losing to good friend and doubles partner Elena Vesnina 6-3 6-1 in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy round of 32. The pair were the 2016 doubles champions at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

They were seeded third in this year’s Australian Open doubles competition, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai, 7-5 7-6.

In the singles competition, Makarova boasted a stunning win against Dominika Cibulkova in the third round, coming through 6-2 6-7 6-3, before falling at the hands of Johanna Konta, 6-1 6-4.

The dust has settled after a breakneck first day of Fed Cup World Group action, with Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Bacsinszky among the day’s winners.

Here’s how the World Group ties stand after the end of today’s action:

Czech Republic 1 – 1 Spain

Spain faced a huge challenge in their first round match going up against the Czech Republic at home in Ostrava. The defending champions haven’t lost a tie since 2013, and haven’t lost at home in even longer with their last home defeat coming in 2009.

Spain’s No.1 Muguruza set out to break that streak though, defeating Barbora Strycova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 to silence the home crowd.

“I think I started really, really good, playing a great level,” Muguruza told FedCup.com afterwards. “I think Barbora started a bit slow, but then in the second set she came playing amazing.

“I was expecting a very tough match, I knew the 6-0 was a little bit strange.”

Spain captain Conchita Martinez told press earlier that a win in the opening match was crucial against the imperious Czech team, and Muguruza took the message to heart.

“I definitely felt a lot of pressure in this match. I mean, I’m the one on the team and I just had to go for my matches. That’s what I’m trying, to just give my best to the team.”

Spain’s lead was short-lived as Karolina Pliskova overpowered Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 7-5 to level the tie.

Switzerland 1 – 1 France

In Geneva, Timea Bacsinszky and Kristina Mladenovic notched a win apiece to leave things between Switzerland and France.

Bacsinszky gritted out a hard-fought win over Alizé Cornet 7-5, 6-4 to put the home side ahead in the tie.

“The whole match was pretty tight and I think we were both just playing amazing tennis,” Bacsinszky told FedCup.com after her victory. “We’re both big fighters so you know you’re going to get some interesting points when we’re playing a match against each other.

“I don’t have such a good win average against Alizé, so I’m really proud of how I managed to be more aggressive.”

In the second rubber, good friends Kristina Mladenovic and Belinda Bencic faced off. The Frenchwoman, fresh off her first WTA singles title at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy last week, continued with her great form and emerged victorious, 6-3, 6-4 to rescue a point for her side.

Belarus 1 – 1 Netherlands

Last year, it was Victoria Azarenka’s monumental effort in singles that took Belarus into the World Group, but even without the two-time Grand Slam champion they proved they could compete among the big names as they held the Netherlands to one win apiece.

Entering the tie decidedly as the underdogs, the hosts stunned the Dutch team with Aliaksandra Sasnovich defeating Michaela Krajicek 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the opening rubber.

They were one point away from a stunning 2-0 lead, with 18-year-old Aryna Sabalenka holding match point against World No.24 Kiki Bertens, but the Dutch player came back from the brink to win 6=3, 7-6(6), 6-4 and level the tie.

“I remember my first singles [in Fed Cup] and I was like crying before and throwing up because I was so nervous and she was not,” Bertens told FedCup.com afterwards. “For [Sabalenka] it was really good that she could just go out there and swing and go for her shots. If she can play like this again she will make it very difficult for a lot of players.”

USA – Germany (In Progress)

More to follow…

MADRID, Spain – When Louisa Chirico’s plane landed in Madrid on Thursday, she and a slew of fellow players on her flight fired up their phones and waited for their roaming cell phone data plans to kick in. Just a few hours earlier Chirico hopped on a plane in Prague, where she lost in qualifying at the J&T Banka Prague Open a few days earlier, and flew to Madrid hoping that by the time she landed she would hear she whether she had actually got into the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I wasn’t originally inside the cut,” Chirico told WTA Insider. “We found out the day before I came here. I was entered in another tournament just in case and then switched our flight. I was three out of qualifying and then I moved in at the last minute. So very happy and lucky but trying to do my best to use the opportunity.”

Chirico was originally entered in another ITF tournament for this week, but as more withdrawals came in Madrid she soon saw herself very close to making the cut. After losing in the final round of qualifying in Prague, she and coach stayed there to practice and wait until it was time to head to their next tournament.

“I wasn’t planning on playing a match until Monday at the other tournament and then found out we might be in here and I had to play the next day on Friday,” Chirico said. “Obviously I want to play here, it’s the biggest tournament right now. That wasn’t a question. But the travel and everything, planning the weeks ahead can be difficult. Everyone has to go through it. You just have to make the adjustments and make the best of it.”

Chirico did make the best of it. Ranked No.133, the 19-year-old American beat Irina Falconi and Mariana Duque-Mariño without losing a set to qualify for her first Premier Mandatory event. Her successful qualifying campaign in Madrid continues what has been a strong run of form for the New York native.

Since the tour has turned to clay she made good on a wildcard into the Volvo Car Open to make the Round of 16, beating Lucie Safarova and Naomi Osaka en route. Then came a strong qualifying run in Stuttgart, where she qualified for the main draw with wins over Barbora Krejcikova, Daniela Hantuchova, and Camila Giorgi – again, without losing a set. Last year she won the USTA French Open wildcard play-off to earn her first Grand Slam main draw appearance.

Chirico’s comfort on clay stems from growing up playing on green clay. It’s not often you hear an American player say they wished the clay season was longer.

“Extending the clay season as much as possible? I’m all about it.”

“For me it’s always been natural to move [on clay] because I grew up playing most of the summers on green clay,” Chirico said. “So it didn’t even come into my mind until I came out here and noticed people didn’t really like playing on clay. I guess that gives me an advantage going in. I think it suits my game pretty well. Hopefully I can stay on the clay as long as possible, play as many matches on it as possible.

Get to know the 19-year-old from Westchester, New York. Just don’t call her Lil Weezy.

Q: So let’s back up. How did you first start playing tennis?
A: Actually I played a lot of sports when I was younger. I played soccer pretty seriously, I played basketball, a little bit of figure skating, and ice hockey. I was all over the place. I always loved playing sports. I was always running around and staying active.

My mom enrolled me in a clinic one day and from that moment I just loved it and decided to keep playing. I ended up choosing between tennis and soccer. Those were the two sports that I was most serious about.

Q: What position did you play in soccer?
A: Sweeper. Middle defender. I decided around 12 or 13 that I only wanted to play tennis. And the rest of it is history. I loved it right away.

Q: Speaking of those two sports, soccer is obviously a team sport and tennis is completely individual. Why choose tennis over being with a team?
A: I think the cool thing about tennis is that it is individual so it’s you out there. It’s solving the puzzle by yourself. Obviously you have your coach and your team at the side of the court but when you’re out there they can’t help you. It’s a battle against another persona and you’re countering their moves as well. You never know what is going to happen so it’s like boxing. I think that’s a really cool aspect and I enjoy that.

hello again red clay ? #favoriteseason pic.twitter.com/m9aPJYLEhv

— Louisa Chirico (@Louisa_Chirico) April 16, 2016

Q: So you chose tennis over soccer. At one point did you think you could actually play tennis for a living?
A: It was once I started playing some of the bigger events in juniors, going against the best juniors around my age at the ITFs or junior Slams. That’s when I realized maybe I can do this as a career and really pursue it. I really wanted to but I had to gauge where I was. I was in regular school so I was only playing in the US or locally so I had no idea. There are so many players in other countries.

So once I started playing at the highest level and I had some success in the lower level Futures and stuff, that opened my eyes a little bit and I thought I could do this as a career.

Q: You’re 19-years-old, traveling the world playing sports for a living. Your friends are probably all in college. When you talk to them, what’s the biggest misconception they have about your life?
A: Geez, I don’t know. I think the funniest thing I get is “So what do you do for food?” I’m like, well…I still eat regular food [laughs]. I guess with the diet and the sleeping everyone thinks we’re robots and on a schedule. Obviously we have to be professional and on a schedule. It’s funny to hear those questions.

All my friends are interested and they’re like have you played Serena or Sharapova yet? They don’t really get the tiers of the tour. So when I tell them I’m playing qualifying for a tournament they’re like, “So you’re playing a tournament to get into another tournament?”

But they’re all really supportive and I’m really lucky to have friends that are that supportive of me. I think it’s really important to have friends outside of tennis so you’re not always consumed with it. Sometimes you just need to relax and get a break. It’s nice to not talk about tennis 24/7. Because when we’re out here I do enjoy talking tennis. I think we all do. It’s what we do. We love it. But it’s nice to have a couple friends who don’t know anything about the game.

Q: So what do you do to get your mind off tennis?
A: I like to read. I like to sketch and draw a little bit. It’s the artistic outlet, I guess. I love music. You’ll always see me with my headphones in. I like to hang out with my friends. I like to keep it social.

Q: So what are you listening to these days? What’s on repeat?
A: I’m pretty into house music so I was really excited coming to Europe. I always leave Europe and I have a whole new playlist! Currently on repeat is the new Calvin Harris song that came out with Rihanna. It’s really good. I recommend you listen to it.

“Is it snow?” @goofa01 pic.twitter.com/5rTtvFR2BF

— Louisa Chirico (@Louisa_Chirico) April 30, 2016

Q: Alright, I’m going to fire off some quick-hit questions now.
A: Oh boy.

Q: Would you rather have a night out or an evening in?
A: Evening in.

Q: Extroverted or introverted?
A: Extroverted.

Q: TV or book?
A: TV.

Q: TV or movie?
A: Movie.

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
A: I saw Concussion in the theater. It was really good. Interesting story.

Q: Twitter or Instagram?
A: Instagram.

How I feel when I see that @LamorneMorris followed me back!? ? #lifemade #winniethebish @NewGirlonFOX pic.twitter.com/3VgbxWrUsj

— Louisa Chirico (@Louisa_Chirico) February 26, 2016

Q: Would you rather swim in a pool or the ocean?
A: Ocean.

Q: Name three things you would take to a desert island?
A: My phone, a book, and a friend.

Q: If money were no object, what would you do all day?
A: Play tennis.

Q: Did you always want to be a professional tennis player?
A: When I was younger and I played soccer I wanted to be Mia Hamm.

Q: Do you have any nicknames?
A: Lou. My trainer calls me Lil Weezy. He’s the only person who can do that. I wouldn’t really respond to anyone else yelling that.

Q: I have this theory that everyone has an X-Men power. Something you naturally do better than anyone else that is your gift as well as your curse. What’s yours?
A: I always have energy. I don’t drink coffee, I don’t need caffeine. I always have energy and for what we do that’s an advantage. So…Energizer Bunny over here.

Q: What’s your favorite family tradition?
A: Christmas every year. I have a pretty big family. My dad’s side of the family all lives in New York. My mom’s side lives half in Korea and half in California. But my dad’s side is in New York and we all get together every Christmas. It’s the one time of the year everyone is together. It’s really nice. We go around the table and talk about what we’re thankful for. It keeps you grounded. It’s really special to me.

Q: Do you still sit at the kids table?
A: I am now old enough that I no longer have to sit at the kids table.

Sizzling forehand from @Louisa_Chirico #tennisgifs #VCO2016 pic.twitter.com/ctKob1hwRb

— Tennis Captions (@tenniscaptions) April 8, 2016

Q: How many languages do you speak?
A: Fluently? English. I took a little bit of Spanish. I took 3 years of Mandarin in school but I wouldn’t say I’m fluent.

Q: So you’re not Christina McHale (McHale speaks Mandarin)?
A: No, I’m not Christina. I didn’t go to Asia last year but this year hoping to so I’ll brush up on my Chinese.

Q: Do you speak Korean?
A: No, actually. Just hello and stuff.

Q: Do you have a Starbucks name?
A: I’ve given Rihanna. Because I just love her.

Q: She’s your girl?
A: She’s my girl.

Q: If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
A: Ellen Degeneres. I think she’s hilarious and I would love to be on her show.

Q: Well if you make a deep run at the US Open…
A: Exactly. That’s the goal, right? But I’ll settle for coffee with her.

Follow Louisa on Twitter @Louisa_Chirico!