Championship Sunday In Cincy
WTA Insider | It’s finals day at the Western & Southern Open; stay tuned for all the action as Angelique Kerber goes for the No.1 ranking on the latest WTA Insider Live Blog.
WTA Insider | It’s finals day at the Western & Southern Open; stay tuned for all the action as Angelique Kerber goes for the No.1 ranking on the latest WTA Insider Live Blog.
Angelique Kerber became the second player to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Highlights from the second round action at the Connecticut Open.
Petra Kvitova takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals of the Connecticut Open.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Serena Williams has her work cut out for her to start the 2016 US Open. The top seed, aiming for a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title, plays Ekaterina Makarova in a rematch of their 2014 semifinal encounter. No.2 seed Angelique Kerber opens against Polona Hercog and is projected to have a tricky second round against either Alizé Cornet or Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
Serena leads a loaded first quarter anchored by No.5 seed and Rogers Cup champion Simona Halep. Her projected opponents also included No.29 seed and former No.1 Ana Ivanovic in the third round, and 2011 champion Samantha Stosur in the fourth round. Stosur defeated Serena in that final, one of the American’s only two losses in Flushing in the last five years.
Halep’s early draw:
1R: Kirsten Flipkens
2R: Gavrilova/Safarova
3R: Babos
4R: Vesnina/Suarez Navarro.Could face Serena in QF.#USOpen
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 26, 2016
Kerber is slated to face 2015 finalist and No.7 seed Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, but not before getting through the likes of 2012 semifinalist Sara Errani and two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in the third and fourth rounds.
Muguruza is seeded third following a solid week at the Western & Southern Open; the French Open champion landed in Kerber’s half of the draw, with No.8 seed Madison Keys anchoring her quarter. The first seed that the Spaniard could face is Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig, who defeated her just two weeks ago at the Olympic tennis event. Her fourth round opponent is projected to be Bank of the West Classic champion and No.13 seed Johanna Konta.
Radwanska rounds out the Top 4 seeds and is Serena’s possible semifinal opponent. The Pole could play two-time US Open champion and former No.1 Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, and has Caroline Garcia and Timea Bacsinszky in the third and fourth rounds.
Serena-Halep quarter: Brutal.
Aga-Venus quarter: Big opp.
Keys-Garbi quarter: Balanced.
Kerber-Vinci quarter: Petra/Domi could upend.— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 26, 2016
Notable 1Rs: Kvitova-Ostapenko, Kuznetsova-Schiavone, Stosur-Giorgi, Halep-Flipkens, Konta-Mattek Sands. #USOpen
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 26, 2016
Defending champion and recently retired Flavia Pennetta was on hand to help with the draw ceremony:
“I’m relaxed and retired! Every day’s a vacation” she joked with Chris Evert.
“I’d like to be involved in tennis; ir’s my life. It’s something that I really love, and maybe I can help coach a new generation to come out of Italy. It’s something I’ve always wished to do.”
Ciao @flavia_pennetta! pic.twitter.com/pssEqBTooj
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 26, 2016
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Before main draw play begins on Monday, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will have already seen four days of hotly contested play during the US Open’s annual qualifying competition. Open to the public, US Open qualifying always features a fascinating mix of the game’s past, present, and future, all of whom have equal opportunity to win the three matches required to gain access to the final fortnight of the 2016 season.
Here’s a taste of some of the buzz from around the grounds last week:
Laura Robson goes from ashes to Ashe: The former World No.27 had already considered her summer a success when she swept the singles and doubles of an ITF Challenger in Landisville, Pennslyvania – her first titles of any kind since 2008. With her protected ranking given after her left wrist injury expired, she was ranked below the US Open qualifying cut-off, and so planned an Italian vacation with the hope of earning a late wildcard fading by the day.
“I played my final on a Sunday, and none of us thought there was any chance of me getting a wildcard here,” she told a small press room after knocking out Tatjana Maria, 7-6(5), 6-1, to reach the main draw. “I was on the phone with Max [Eisenbud], and he wasn’t getting good vibes from the USTA, either. He was telling me to go ahead and go on vacation.
“The next morning, I was thinking, ‘I’m supposed to get on this flight. Should I go?’ Everyone told me to, that there was only a 10% chance of a wildcard. It was one of those things where I sort of knew in the back of my head that it was going to happen, because as soon as you plan for it not to…”
Like forgetting your umbrella on a rainy day, Robson got the news soon after landing in Italy with her friends: New York was calling.
“We landed in Italy at 9AM, went to Vesuvius and a little bit of Pompei, and went straight back to the airport!” she joked. “I dropped my friends off at the villa, and I was there maybe seven hours. I was panicking a little bit, but my main priority was just to get back to London and then take the next flight here. My friends were helping me pack, not that I unpacked that much at that point.
“We’d already had a shared iCloud album, so all week, I’ve been getting photos of them on a sunset cruise and having the best time, but they’re all very happy for me.”
.@laurarobson5 `s match point reaction was a mix of relief and disbelief. She made the MD, starting with a WC. pic.twitter.com/mCwceK2RUu
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) August 27, 2016
Winning all three of her matches in straight sets, the young Brit wouldn’t be denied, even as her sudden change of plans were compounded by a bout with pink eye.
“It was actually a shocker though, because when I landed here, with all the travel I’d been doing, I got conjunctivitis. You’ve never seen an uglier eye, and I couldn’t come in on Friday because I was still contagious, so they sent me to a specialist. It was swollen shut, and you know when people will say, ‘Oh, it’s not so bad,’ but you know it is? Yeah.
“They obviously don’t do requests for Slams, but I saw Laura [Ceccarelli], the referee, and I was like, ‘Anything you could do to get me a Wednesday start?’ She took one look at my face and said, ‘We’ll do our best.'”
It has been a long road for for one who has been largely off the tour since the start of 2014 dealing with multiple surgeries on her left wrist. Playing qualifying at a major tournament for the first time since 2012 brought back plenty of memories, particularly of her first two attempts to make the main draw in New York.
“I had two matches when I was 15 and 16, where I was up in the third in the last round of qualies both times and almost had panic attacks. I put so much pressure on myself trying to qualify and it was such a big deal at the time. The third year, I qualified, but honestly I’ve just been happy to be here. I don’t know how it looks from the outside, but I feel like that’s been projecting as well. I feel a lot more confident. Today was a tough first set, and we had a long timeout in the second, but I’m not panicking about it. I’m just a lot more relaxed.”
Robson will play fellow Brit Naomi Broady on Tuesday for a potential second round match with No.4 seed and Connecticut Open champion Agnieszka Radwanska.
.@JaksicJovana in action at the @usopen today pic.twitter.com/8HXQ7Ox63O
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) August 25, 2016
Jaksic gives back: Jovana Jaksic was close to making her Top 100 debut at the end of 2014 when a back injury forced her to start all over again. The Serb has had to rebuild her ranking from a low of No.244 and appears back on her way to a strong finish to her season after a solid performance in qualies, where she narrowly lost to eventual qualifier Nadia Podoroska in the second round.
But before her week in New York could begin, Jaksic took time to help raise money for Manhattan’s Serbian Church of St. Sava. A fixture of the Flatiron section of the city since the mid 1800s, the church suffered a four-alarm fire back in May. A benefit was held last Monday at the New York Athletic Club, one that Jaksic didn’t think twice about missing.
“My Serbian friends organized an auction for raising money to rebuild the church,” she told WTA Insider. “I was a part of it and grateful to be so because I really believe in God. What happened, it was terrible to see the church burn down. But they did an amazing job organizing. I was really thankful to be invited and part of it.”
Was so happy to lend my support to the Save Saint Sava Benefit at New York Athletic Club tonight. Wonderful evening? pic.twitter.com/aOFcDJuVuv
— Jovana Jaksic (@JaksicJovana) August 23, 2016
It was a somber start to her stay in what she calls one of her favorite cities in the world.
“I love fast cities. Here, they call it ‘The City that Never Sleeps,’ and that’s something I’m in love with. It just has an energy, positive vibes, and that’s what you want, to come to a town that’s energetic and full of cool people.
“I went with my best friend for sushi afer my first round win because that’s my favorite restaurant. He’s staying in Manhattan, I’m in Queens, but we always end up in Manhattan. I don’t know why. Manhattan just calls out to you; it’s magnetic, and I love New York. There’s so many restaurants, good places to go. I like exploring different food, but sushi is my favorite.”
Jaksic will next play at the Coupe Banque Nationale in Québec.
Wedding Bells for Karatantcheva?: In a season that has already seen wedding celebrations from Ana Ivanovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Vera Zvonareva, and Dominika Cibulkova, former World No.35 Sesil Karatantcheva won’t be following her colleagues down the aisle in 2016, but did start the season by getting engaged to fiancé and former footballer Georgi Dolmov.
“He proposed in February, eight months after we met,” she said after her first round win over Rebecca Sramkova. “He wants us to get married next year, but I still haven’t decided if I want to let go of my freedom! He’s an ex-professional soccer player. Athletes find athletes; don’t get me wrong, I’ve dated non-athletes before, but I feel like another athlete really understands this kind of lifestyle. It’s tougher for a non-athlete to understand all the traveling, the pressure, and the hustle.”
A self-described contrarian, the former French Open quarterfinalist doesn’t feel the difference between team and individual sport is as great as many often believe.
“It’s funny because, to be honest, it’s a pretty thin line. When he tells me about the pressure he was under before matches and the responsibility he’d feel towards his team after a loss, you see it’s not that different. The responsibility isn’t shared between the team the way we think on the outside – especially when they miss penalty shots, it’s a big drama.
“He’s told me, ‘You know when you lose a match point? That’s how we feel.’ It’s good that you know someone is able to relate to your pain; when you win, it’s easy, but when you lose, that’s when the tough part begins.”
Qualifying underway @usopen. Second up on Court 13: Sesil Karatantcheva. pic.twitter.com/jMY7HRWTAP
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 23, 2016
Dolmov traveled with Karatantcheva to New York, a decision that was as much of a relief to him as it was to her.
“I was alone at Wimbledon and he was following my match on live scores, saying, ‘It’s killing me, I cannot look at the points flickering on the screen like this!'”
The tour’s preeminent Spice Girls enthusiast also fields music recommendations from her fiancé; though they might not fight over radio stations, Karatantcheva ultimately prefers her admittedly eclectic taste.
“I’m a big music junkie; you can open my phone and find anything in it. But lately, because my fiancé is into very heavy rock – he really likes Metallica and bands like Nirvana and Blur – and he was telling me, ‘This is the kind of music you need to listen to before your match,’ and I was like, ‘I’m not sure that’s me. I like it, but I’m a little bit more chill than that.'”
Karatantcheva will stay in the States following her second round loss to Elise Mertens to play more ITF Challengers with hopes of ending the season ranked inside the Top 150.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Tied at six matches apiece, the rivalry between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki is among the most underrated in tennis.
Meeting for the 13th time in the second round of this year’s US Open, the pair differs in almost every way. The Russian’s power game contrasts the Dane’s wall-like defenses. Kuznetsova’s flashes of brilliances have been rewarded with two Grand Slam titles, while Wozniacki’s maddening consistency earned her the No.1 ranking for 67 weeks – the ninth largest total in WTA history.
Two of their most high-profile meetings have come in Flushing Meadows; the first was all the way back in 2009, when Kuznetsova was a reigning French Open winner, while Wozniacki was a star on the rise. The Dane took the match in three tense sets to make it all the way to her first major final. Two years later, it was Wozniacki who was on top of the world, taking on a feisty veteran Kuznetsova, who was eager to earn her way back into the upper echelons in the game.
“She’s been playing well, and we’ve had a lot of grueling matches, like 7-6 and 7-5 in the third,” Wozniacki told press after her first round win over Taylor Townsend. “It’s a match I’m looking forward to. I’m just going to have fun out there and enjoy every moment.”
“It’s another match,” Kuznetsova echoed after her 6-1, 6-2 victory against Francesca Schiavone. “She’s a great opponent, a great player. It’s going to be another tough one. I just have to go out there and play my best; that’s it.”
The tides have turned yet again, and Kuznetsova is back in the Top 10 with her best season since 2009 already in the books, while Wozniacki is at a nine-year low at No.74 after months of injury woes.
“It hasn’t been a good season, because I’ve been injured for most of it,” Wozniacki mused. “That’s something you can’t really do much about other than keep working and keep trying to get your body in check. I’m just happy to be here and happy to get another match.”
Wozniacki christened the new Grandstand court with a titanic match against Townsend, who battled through three rounds of qualies and was a set away from unseating the former No.1.
“It was really difficult, with her lefty spin serves. I like to say I’m one of the better returners on tour, but that did not show and so that was really frustrating. Once we kind of got going in the rally, I felt ok, but I’m just happy to be here.
“It was a little windy, and I wasn’t sure which way the wind was going, but I was just like, ‘Ok, especially on the return, just get it in – anywhere!'”
The gambles paid off against the young American, but an even tougher test looms against Kuznetsova, who defeated her in straight sets just two months ago at Wimbledon.
“I don’t take much from Wimbledon, to be honest. Hardcourts are a completely different game. At this point, I’m just happy when I’m healthy, and that’s been my focus this year, just trying to get back healthy and feeling 100% body-wise. It’s been a struggle, and I feel like I’m there now, and make the most of it for the rest of the year.”
Kuznetsova can relate to ups and downs; she calls them a career.
“Tennis players, we get affected by the press, by the people, by the parents, by the country, and by the federation. What you start to learn is to not be affected by the idea that everyone wants something from you, because I’m not a dollar. There’s no way everyone’s going to like me!
“I’ve had to get comfortable within myself, and so if you don’t like me, it’s not my problem. I’m trying to be a better person to everyone else, and a better player every day. That’s important for me, and I just leave other things behind that I cannot change. I was letting myself down because of the expectations of other people, but it’s more important for me not to let down my own expectations.
“When you start to focus on that, you get a different perspective of everything.”
It’s a perspective she’ll need to earn the winning edge in their storied head-to-head, but not one that can be earned overnight.
“It’s all about work, day by day. That’s why I said, I can’t let myself down, because if you let down after you lose, you miss a good strike of days. Days count by days and accumulate, and then you get better. It’s many days of work, and not one day, where I had a dream or something.”
Kuznetsova and Wozniacki play for a spot in the third round on Wednesday.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
No.2 Angelique Kerber tamped down a late challenge from the tricky Mirjana Lucic-Baroni to continue her US Open campaign, 6-2, 7-6(6).
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Garbiñe Muguruza’s shock exit to Anastasija Sevastova whittled down the number of contestants in the US Open’s No.1 ranking sideshow to three: Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska.
As the tournament enters its opening weekend wtatennis.com updates the state of play in the race for top spot…
Serena Stays On Course: Williams entered the US Open as the World No.1, a distinction she has held since February 18, 2013. Through the two weeks of the US Open, Williams will extend her streak to 186 consecutive weeks, tying the WTA record for most consecutive weeks at No.1 held by Steffi Graf (August 17, 1987-March 10, 1991).
Williams’ reign is all the more remarkable considering the 186 weeks preceding her ascension saw the No.1 ranking change hands nine times, with Dinara Safina, Serena, Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova all spending time at the summit.
In the opening two rounds, Williams has answered the questions regarding the health of her troublesome shoulder with business-like wins over Ekaterina Makarova and Vania King. To extend her current stint as No.1, Williams, who is defending 780 points, will need to at least reach the semifinals.
The longer Kerber stays in the tournament, though, the further Williams will need to advance:
– If Kerber reaches the quarterfinals, then Williams must reach the final.
– If Kerber falls in the semifinals, Williams would remain at No.1 by reaching the final.
– A championship match showdown between Williams and Kerber would see the winner walk away not only with the trophy, but the No.1 ranking.
Williams’ ranking points have come from seven tournaments in the last 52 weeks – 2015 US Open (780), Australian Open (1300), Indian Wells (650), Miami (120), Rome (900), Roland Garros (1300) and Wimbledon (2000).
What Will It Take For Kerber To Become World No.1?: Kerber is bidding to become the 22nd player to reach No.1 since the computer rankings were introduced in November 1975. In her previous tournament, the German came within one win of unseating Williams at No.1 in Cincinnati, only to fall short in the final against an on-song Karolina Pliskova.
The disappointment does not appear to have lingered, making short work of her opening two opponents, Polona Hercog and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Last year, Kerber lost to Victoria Azarenka in the third round at the US Open and as a result is only defending 130 points in Flushing Meadows. Kerber will have a 460-point advantage from the start of the tournament, therefore even a surprise third-round loss to crowd favorite CiCi Bellis does not rule her out of contention.
Kerber consistently has reached the business end of the WTA’s biggest events with six finals appearances this year, winning the titles at the Australian Open and Stuttgart, finishing as runner-up at Brisbane, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and the Olympics*. As a result, Kerber’s ranking has been on a steady incline after finishing 2015 at No.10.
* There were no ranking points awarded for this year’s Olympic tennis competition.
US Open Title Could Vault Radwanska To Top Spot: Agnieszka Radwanska will need to win the US Open title, to have reach the top spot. However, if Kerber reaches the final, Radwanska could only move as high as No.2.
The Pole came through her first test in the second round, surviving an epic opening set tie-break to eventually defuse the big-serving Naomi Broady. Next up is the gifted, if unpredictable, Caroline Garcia
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Top seed Serena Williams eased to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Connecticut Open semifinalist Johanna Larson to not only advance into the second week of the US Open for the sixth straight year, but also clinch the Open Era record for total Grand Slam matches won, passing Martina Navratilova for 307 victories.
“Wow, that’s pretty awesome, and honestly, there’s no better place to do it than here, where everything first started,” she told ESPN’s Rennae Stubbs in her on-court interview. “That’s great!
“It was something I didn’t even know about until Wimbledon,” she added in her post-match press conference. “I was like, ‘Oh, I have a new goal.'”
Looking as strong as ever through three rounds, the World No.1 donned her “Superwoman sleeves” and shook off the shoulder concerns that plagued her Emirates Airline US Open Series with another decisive win, this time over an in-form Johanna Larsson.
Six sets played, six sets won.@serenawilliams dispatches #Larsson to move safely into week two. #usopen @MBUSA https://t.co/a2JWJ56Rpy
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2016
Larsson had just reached the semifinals in New Haven as a lucky loser, but had no answers to the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s high-octane game. Hitting 24 winners to just 17 unforced errors, Serena struck another six aces and dropped only five points behind her first serve to advance in just under an hour on Saturday.
“It was a really good match for me because she played a different type of game. It was really good for me to have a different type of rhythm and just to move around. Overall, it was pretty good.”
Awaiting Serena in the fourth round will be Kazakh powerhouse Yaroslava Shvedova, who survived a late surge from China’s Zhang Shuai to reach the second week of the Open for the first time, 6-2, 7-5.
Serena has won all four of her previous meetings with Shvedova; though the former World No.25 pushed the top seed to three sets at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, their last two meetings have been one-sided affairs, including a 6-3, 6-1 win at the 2013 US Open.
