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Wimbledon Friday: All-American Girls

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Serena Williams features on Centre Court, while a host of other second and third-round matchups will take place on Friday. We preview the must-see Day 5 matchups at Wimbledon here, courtesy of wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo.

Friday

Second Round and Third Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Christina McHale (USA #65)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Williams has compiled an 80-10 record in her 17 Wimbledon appearances.

After a three-day rain-induced rest, Serena Williams will get back to the business of defending her Wimbledon title against fellow American Christina McHale in second-round action. Williams has already faced the Teaneck, New Jersey native twice this year, and though she’s come away with two victories the contests have been far from simple. After her three-set victory over McHale in Miami this March, Williams was quick to offer up some kind words about her vanquished foe. “She’s an unbelievably sweet girl,” she said of McHale. “I’ve had the opportunity to play with her on Fed Cup, and we always have such a good time. I think she did a really good job. She can, should, and will be very proud of herself in this match.” The pair would meet again in Rome with Williams winning in straights, but needing a first-set tiebreaker to get through. Naturally Williams will come in as the heavy favorite, but if McHale comes out swinging this could turn into another good battle between compatriots.

Pick: Williams in two

[10] Petra Kvitova (CZE #10) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #35)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads, 4-3
Key Stat: Kvitova won 25 of 27 of her first-serve points in her first match at Wimbledon.

Can you say brutal draw? Fans of Petra Kvitova and Ekaterina Makarova surely can, as these two hard-hitting bona fide talents are set to square off in round two. That’s way too early for talents of this level, but as the cliché reads, it is what it is. Makarova certainly does not have the grass pedigree that two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova has, but the Russian is a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist who missed being seeded at Wimbledon by a whisker this year. She also owns five Top 10 wins on grass, including one against Kvitova at Eastbourne in 2012. But when they met at Wimbledon in 2013, it was Kvitova who came through with a three-set triumph. Kvitova was in devilish form in her opening-round victory over Sorana Cirstea, but she’ll have to keep it up to get past Makarova, who is consistently formidable on grass and at the majors.

Pick: Kvitova in three

[8] Venus Williams (USA #8) vs. [29] Daria Kasatkina (RUS #33)
Head-to-head: Kasatkina Leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Five-time Wimbledon champion Williams leads all active players with 90 main draw matches played at Wimbledon.

One of the more eye-opening victories of the 2016 WTA season came in January, when Daria Kasatkina stunned defending champion Venus Williams in Auckland for her first Top 10 win. Kasatkina, ranked in the 70’s at the time, battled from 3-1 down in set three to win that match and afterwards paid Venus some big-time respect. “She’s an amazing tennis player and I respect her so much,” she said. “It was an unbelievable match for me.” Given that Kasatkina is making her Wimbledon debut, she’s proved to be quite a quick study on grass by reaching round three. But how will she fare against one of the most legendary grass-courters that the game has ever known? An upset at an Australian Open tune-up is certainly notable, but Friday’s task will surely be more daunting for the 19-year-old Russian. And Williams may be the oldest woman in the draw, but she’s making her intentions very clear at SW19. “I want to win,” she said on Thursday after winning her singles and doubles rounds. “I’m not here to not win. What’s the point of being here?”

Pick: Williams in two

Around the Grounds: Many of Thursday’s second-round winners on the lower half will be back in action on Friday. No.9 seed Madison Keys will take on France’s Alizé Cornet. Keys leads the head-to-head 2-0 but the pair have not met since 2014. Will Sabine Lisicki produce another memorable Wimbledon run? The German squares off with former Golden Set winner Yaroslava Shvedova on Court 16. No. 5 seed Simona Halep will meet No.26 seed Kiki Bertens in the last match on No.2 court. Bertens, who produced a career-best semifinal appearance at Roland Garros, is playing the third round at Wimbledon for the first time.

By the Numbers:

21 – Sabine Lisicki’s ace count in her first two rounds. The German is four aces behind Karolina Pliskova for the tournament lead.

6-0, 6-0 – Carina Witthoeft’s double-bagel loss to Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon last year marks the only time she has lost a tour-level match without winning a game. She’ll get a chance for revenge on Friday as she meets Kerber for the second straight year at SW19.

2 – Simona Halep has only won back-to-back matches two times at the All-England Club. The other time was 2014, when she reached the semifinals.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Six years after her four-hour epic against Francesca Schiavone at this very tournament, No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova came out on the winning side of Friday’s titanic three-setter against former No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-4, 5-7, 9-7, to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open.

“It was crazy,” Kuznetsova admitted in her inimitable way after the match. “I was up set and 4-1 with a double break. Then I found myself down 3-0 and 15-40 on my serve in third set.

“It was a bit insane, but it’s a tennis match, anything can happen; it’s never done until you shake the hand.”

Kuznetsova is no stranger to long matches in Australia, having narrowly lost to Schiavone, 6-4, 1-6, 16-14 in what remains the longest Grand Slam match in WTA history back at four hours and 44 minutes in 2011.

There were few signs from the outset that her encounter against Jankovic would approach that duration, as the Russian raced out to a set and double break lead, serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set. Jankovic turned the tables on Kuznetsova at the 11th hour to win the final three games of the second set and force a decider.

Serving second in the final set, the No.8 seed twice fell behind a break as Jankovic served for a 5-2 lead. Kuznetsova promptly broke back and earned a chance to serve out the match; not to be outdone, Jankovic leveled proceedings at five games apiece and kept things on serve until the fateful 15th game.

“It’s so tough, especially after three and a half hours of playing, that one of us had to lose,” Jankovic said after the match. “Unfortunately, it was me. I’m quite disappointed after such a battle, and it’s not easy to accept. I had my chances and I gave myself the opportunity to win the match.

“After 3-0, I wasn’t making as many first serves in; I don’t know if it was because I got tired spending a lot of hours out there. I haven’t competed much, and my percentage of first serves went down, so I couldn’t hold my serve for a while.

“I still have to work hard to get back to my best level, but at the end, Sveta was fitter than me in the end. I tried so hard, but I couldn’t move anymore and she was the one still standing.”

The third time proved lucky for the three-time Australian Open quarterfinalist, who served out the win on her first match point after three hours and 36 minutes on court.

Up next for Kuznetsova is No.24 seed and compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who earned the biggest upset thus far on Day 5 by knocking out No.11 seed Elina Svitolina in three sets.

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Cibulkova Outguns Bouchard

Cibulkova Outguns Bouchard

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Dominica Cibulkova

LONDON, Great Britain – No.19 seed Dominika Cibulkova moved on to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2011 after a comprehensive win over former finalist Eugenie Bouchard.

“Today I was 100 percent sure I could win and I stayed calm, played brave in tough situations and went for my shots,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “The things I’ve been working on, especially the serve have really helped me.”

Cibulkova smelled success early on, getting the first break in the fourth game of the match. Despite facing break points in her opening service game, the Slovak’s speed around the court and powerful groundstrokes, especially off the forehand wing, were clicking together and she was able to see off the challenge.

She held three set points on her serve at 5-3 when Bouchard finally roared back to get her first break of the match. Her delight was short lived, however, as Cibulkova put away the set on her next chance.

Bouchard got broken once more in the second for a 4-1 lead to Cibulkova and her frustration was clear, receiving a point penalty for throwing her racquet after yet another of her usually-reliable groundstrokes sailed long.

“I definitely was a bit emotional out there,” Bouchard said. “It’s frustrating to feel like you’re not playing your best tennis at Wimbledon. You know, sometimes when I get it out, I can turn it around and play a bit better. It didn’t really happen this time, though.”

After an hour and twenty-six minutes, Cibulkova became the first player in the top half of the draw to punch her ticket into the fourth round, and she celebrated the occasion with a mighty roar of elation.

Despite hitting 24 winners to Cibulkova’s 17, it was Bouchard’s unforced error count that cost her in the important moments, hitting 16 to Cibulkova’s 19. The Canadian also failed to capitalize on her break point chances, converting just one of four while Cibukova put away three of nine.

With the victory, Cibukova has now won eight matches in a row on grass courts, a streak extending back to her run to the title at the grass court tune up event in Eastbourne. Cibulkova also grabbed her first win over Bouchard, having lost to her in three sets in both of her previous matches.

This marks the first time since Cibulkova’s quarterfinal run in 2011 that she’s reached the second week at Wimbledon, and she awaits the winner between Agnieszka Radwanska and Katerina Siniakova.

“It’s all coming together,” Cibulkova said. “Here we are, I won Eastbourne and now I’m in the fourth round here and it feels great. I just want to keep going.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – The second week is about to get underway at the Australian Open, and World No.1 Angelique Kerber and French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza headlining Day 7 Down Under.

We preview all the day’s biggest matchups right here on wtatennis.com.

SundayFourth Round

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #35)
Head-to-head:
Kerber leads, 2-0
Key Stat:
Vandeweghe is one of four Americans in the Round of 16.

After two tough matches to start her title defense, Kerber looked much stronger in an emphatic third round win over Kristyna Pliskova. The top seed faced down the Czech youngster’s intimidating serve by winning more than half of her points on return as she advanced into the second week for the second straight year.

Her next opponent is into the second week of a major tournament for just the second time in her career, as CoCo Vandeweghe recovered from 4-2 in the final set against Eugenie Bouchard to pull off the win. Vandeweghe hit 11 aces and won 85% of her first serve to topple the former World No.5, and will need a similarly efficient serving day against the defending champion.

Can Kerber keep her hopes of a third Grand Slam title alive?

Sorana Cirstea (ROU #78) vs [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Cirstea is enjoying her best Grand Slam finish since the 2009 French Open.

Muguruza’s first week in Melbourne could well serve as a microcosm of her ups and downs since winning her maiden major title last spring. While the Spaniard hasn’t dropped a set through three wins, she still had a scare halfway through her first round, when she took a medical timeout for fear of exascerbating the right thigh injury that forced her to retire at the Brisbane International.

Despite the hiccup, Muguruza has played her best tennis at a major tournament since last year’s Roland Garros, and will be a tough out for Cirstea, a former World No.21.

The Romanian appeared to be at the height of her career just three years ago when she roared into the Rogers Cup final, but a shoulder injury stunted her progress and led her to re-work her service motion. Winning her first matches in Melbourne since 2014, Cirstea bettered her previous best finish Down Under with wins over Irina Khromacheva, No.10 seed Carla Suárez Navarro, and an in-form Alison Riske.

Can Cirstea cause the first big upset of the second week?

Around the Grounds…

Starting off Day 7 on Rod Laver Arena is an all-Russian affair between No.8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and rival No.24 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who stunned No.11 seed Elina Svitolina in three sets. No.13 seed Venus Williams follows on Laver against qualifier Mona Barthel.

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Insider Podcast: Serena-Angie Rematch

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – Six months after Angelique Kerber’s stunning win over World No.1 Serena Williams at the Australian Open, the two face off once more in a major final, as the rivals each captured emphatic semifinal victories to compete for the Venus Rosewater Dish on Saturday.

Combined, the two women have dropped just one set throughout the wet and wild fortnight at the All England Club, but the stakes are as high as ever for Serena, who is aiming to capture her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title. For Kerber, a second major title would not only solidify her status among the game’s highest echelons, but would also prevent the American from tying countrywoman Stefanie Graf’s record, a role she deftly played in Melbourne

WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen is joined by wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo as the two preview what promises to be an exciting ladies’ final and the fruition of a burgeoning rivalry between Williams and Kerber:

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or on any podcast app of your choice to ensure you never miss an episode when they go live. Reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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