Social Buzz: Monterrey And Charleston
All the best from the world of social media as the week begins with tournaments in Monterrey and Charleston.
All the best from the world of social media as the week begins with tournaments in Monterrey and Charleston.
While some stars are still working hard on the tennis court, others are enjoying a well-deserved break…and some amazing gifts.
Defending champion Heather Watson is using her time off at the Abierto GNP Seguros wisely – by sitting in the stands and recording the performance of her friend and Great Britain Fed Cup teammate Naomi Broady.
Ace ace baby ? Thanks to bae @heatherwatson92 for the video
Alizé Cornet is having fun in Mexico.
Thanks to those who came out in the heat yesterday to support me ? ! Always a thrill to play in Mexico ! Next match tomorrow vamos ?? pic.twitter.com/8JqNOPLzia
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) April 5, 2017
Elsewhere, thrillseeker CoCo Vandeweghe is in deep water.
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And new World No.7 Johanna Konta is ready for a very special delivery…of her favorite food.
I can't wait for my present!! #anxiouslywaiting https://t.co/nJFwY5PCvt
— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) April 6, 2017
Check out Daria Kasatkina’s shot of the day against Daria Gavrilova at the Volvo Car Open.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA — Caroline Wozniacki won all four sets she played as day turned to night on Thursday in Charleston, as the 2011 champion ousted Anastasia Rodionova, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals for the fifth time at the Volvo Car Open.
“It was tough conditions to play in this wind, a little chilly tonight as well and then playing someone who doesn’t give you any rhythm,” Wozniacki assessed at the close of her second match of the day. “Obviously she plays a lot of doubles, so she was coming in, doing drop shots and hitting the ball hard and then slow. She was definitely trying to break my rhythm up, and it was difficult. But I managed to pull through.”
The No.5 seed defeated Annika Beck in straight sets earlier on Thursday, and showed no ill effects of having to play two matches in the span of a few hours. The Dane has never lost before the quarterfinals in five career appearances in Charleston, and advances to face Jelena Ostapenko in Friday’s quarterfinals.
The former World No.1 won 15 straight points over the first four games of the match to take command before the qualifier got on the board and a foothold in the match. The Australian broke and held serve in a lengthy game, saving five break points in total, to close the deficit to 4-2, but Wozniacki held on from there to take four of the next five games to lead by a set and a break.
.@CaroWozniacki wraps up the first set 6-3! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/Kfr7lvkXQK
— WTA (@WTA) April 6, 2017
Rodionova saved a trio of break points in the fifth game of the second set, and broke the Wozniacki delivery at love to level the match. Nonetheless, the qualifier who scored upsets against Duan Ying-Ying and Sara Errani to reach the third round was unable to conjure another stunner as the Dane secured the final three games to move safely through to the last eight.
Second Round ✅
Round of 16 ✅
Advances to @VolvoCarOpen Quarterfinals ✅All in a days work for @CaroWozniacki! ? pic.twitter.com/NZbsHpckpX
— WTA (@WTA) April 7, 2017
Looking ahead to Friday night, Wozniacki lost the only match she’s played against the Latvian teenager at the Connecticut Open last year, as she attempts to reach the semifinals in Charleston for the first time since raising the trophy in 2011.
“I think I’m well-prepared for tomorrow. I got some clay tennis in today and feel like I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do my best and see how it goes,” Wozniacki said. “I’m just playing right now. I had one practice session before the tournament started for me, and that was it. I just kind of run on experience and try and figure it out.”
Three-time champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was made to work at the Abierto GNP Seguros, surviving Timea Babos in three sets to face Caroline Garcia for a spot in the final.
Daria Kasatkina takes on Jelena Ostapenko in the final of the Volvo Car Open.
How did Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard feel about glamming up for the Shenzhen Open player party? See highlights from the big night here.
The clay season is underway in Bogota, where defending champion Irina Falconi will fight off a determined field led by Kiki Bertens. But for those still not ready to switch surfaces, the inaugural Ladies Open Biel Bienne – staged on indoor hardcourts – kicks off with a world-class field including Barbora Strycova and Carla Suárez Navarro.
Here’s what’s on tap for this week on the WTA:
CURRENT TOURNAMENTS:
Claro Open Colsanitas – Bogota
Tournament Level: International
Prize Money: $226,750
Draw Size: 32 main draw/24 qualifying
Surface: Clay, Outdoors
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, April 8 – Sunday, April 9
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, April 10
Singles Final: Saturday, April 15, NB 1:30 pm COT
Doubles Final: Saturday, April 15, 11:00 am COT
Top-ranked players: Kiki Bertens, Katerina Siniakova, Johanna Larsson, Lara Arruabarrena
Defending Champion: Irina Falconi
TALKING POINTS:
– Reigning Claro Open Colsanitas champion Irina Falconi is back after winning her first WTA singles title here in 2016. She’s joined by two other former Bogota champions: Lara Arruabarrena (2012) and Mariana Duque-Mariño (2010).
– Former Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone, playing her last season on tour, received one of the three main draw wildcards
– One to Watch: Sara Sorribes Tormo is the latest Spaniard to start making waves on tour, winning a handful of main draw matches – including over former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova at Indian Wells – and recently breaking into the Top 100 for the first time
Ladies Open Biel Bienne
Tournament Level: International
Prize Money: $226,750
Draw Size: 32 main draw/32 qualifying
Surface: Indoor Hard
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, April 8 – Monday, April 10
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, April 10
Singles Final: Sunday, April 16, NB 3:00 pm CEST
Doubles Final: Sunday, April 16, 12:00 pm CEST
Top-ranked players: Barbora Strycova, Carla Suárez Navarro, Timea Babos, Roberta Vinci, Laura Siegemund
Defending Champion: None, first staging
TALKING POINTS:
– This is the tournament’s inaugural staging, joining Switzerland’s other event, July’s Ladies Championship Gstaad, on the WTA calendar
– Eight players ranked in the Top 50 are competing at the 2017 Ladies Open Biel Bienne – No.18 Barbora Strycova, No. 25 Carla Suárez Navarro, No.30 Timea Babos, No.34 Roberta Vinci, No.37 Laura Siegemund, No.44 Alizé Cornet, No.46 Julia Goerges and No.47 Monica Niculescu
– Swiss No.1 Timea Bacsinszky is not competing in singles but will team up with compatriot and multiple Grand Slam winner Martina Hingis in doubles
-Former Top 10 player Belinda Bencic required a wildcard to play in Biel, having slipped to No.130 following an injury-affected 2016
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS:
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – Stuttgart
Premier | $710,900 | Indoor Clay
Monday, April 24 – Sunday, April 30
Top-ranked players: Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska
Defending champion: Angelique Kerber
TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup
International | $226,750 | Clay
Monday, April 24 – Sunday, April 30
Top-ranked players: Elina Svitolina, Timea Babos, Yulia Putintseva, Irina-Camelia Begu, Eugenie Bouchard
Defending champion: Cagla Buyukakcay
Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Rabat
International | $226,750 | Clay
Monday, May 1 – Saturday, May 6
Top-ranked players: Timea Bacsinszky, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Caroline Garcia, Timea Babos, Daria Gavrilova
Defending champion: Timea Bacsinszky
J&T Banka Prague Open
International | $226,750 | Clay
Monday, May 1 – Saturday, May 6
Top-ranked players: Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, Barbora Strycova
Defending champion: Lucie Safarova
TOP 20 PLAYERS’ SCHEDULES:
1. Angelique Kerber – Stuttgart
2. Serena Williams
3. Karolina Pliskova – Stuttgart, Prague
4. Dominika Cibulkova – Stuttgart
5. Simona Halep – Stuttgart
6. Garbiñe Muguruza – Stuttgart
7. Johanna Konta
8. Agnieszka Radwanska – Stuttgart
9. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Stuttgart
10. Madison Keys
11. Caroline Wozniacki – Prague
12. Venus Williams
13. Elina Svitolina – Istanbul
14. Petra Kvitova
15. Elena Vesnina – Stuttgart
16. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Rabat
17. Samantha Stosur – Stuttgart, Prague
18. Barbora Strycova – Biel, Stuttgart, Prague
19. Kristina Mladenovic – Stuttgart
20. Kiki Bertens – Bogota, Stuttgart
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Risa Ozaki (JPN) – April 10, 1994
Elizaveta Kulichkova (RUS) – April 12, 1996
Richel Hogenkamp (NED) – April 16, 1992
Taylor Townsend (USA) – April 16, 1996
BRISBANE, Australia – Just days into the new season and they’ve already hit another milestone – Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won their 25th match in a row at the Brisbane International on Friday.
Watch live action from Brisbane, Shenzhen & Auckland on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Hingis and Mirza, the No.1-ranked team in the world and top seeds at the Premier-level tournament, faced some resistance – Andreja Klepac and Alla Kudryavtseva, the No.4 seeds, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and, after dropping the first set, were a game away from winning the second set up 5-4.
But Hingis and Mirza did all the right things at all the right times and closed it out, 6-3, 7-5.
“I think we’re off to a great start in the new season,” Hingis said. “We never really felt like we finished in 2015 – I played the Indian league and Sania played IPTL, so we still kind of kept our routine.
“We’re really happy to have the possibility to be in another final, and win another title.”
Hingis and Mirza’s 25-match winning streak, which has brought them five titles in a row at the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and the WTA Finals, is the longest winning streak since Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci’s 25 in a row in 2012 – the Italians also won five titles in a row, at Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, the French Open and ‘s-Hertogenbosch (the winning streak was snapped at Wimbledon).
“It’s been a long time since we’ve lost, but it’s never easy to start a new season, especially when you’re coming off such a great season. Everyone’s gunning for us – we’re the hunted,” Mirza commented.
“We’re just taking it one match at a time, staying positive, and picking up from where we left off.”
To find the last doubles team to win more than 25 matches in a row you have to go all the way back to the 1994 season, when Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva rattled off 28 victories in a row.
The other semifinal, which took place later in the day, saw German wildcards Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic take out Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, 2-6, 6-3, 10-2.
Hingis and Mirza will face the all-German team for the first time in the final Saturday night.
.@MHingis & @MirzaSania extend winning streak to 25 matches–> https://t.co/gW3guYjfnJ #WTA pic.twitter.com/SkIb8MUNVr
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2016
Players are taking to social media to show just how much they’re enjoying their stay in Switzerland for the Ladies Open Biel/Bienne.