Tokyo: Final Preview
Caroline Wozniacki will take on Naomi Osaka in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Caroline Wozniacki will take on Naomi Osaka in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
THE WINNERS
2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open champion Caroline Wozniacki overcame injury and withstood a late charge from rising star Naomi Osaka, 7-5, 6-3 to win her first title of 2016.
“It’s the last match of the tournament, and I just wanted to go out and enjoy it,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “It’s the final and both of us had great weeks. We both wanted to go out there and play well.”
Read match recap & watch highlights. | WTA Insider: Wozniacki on her Tokyo title.
Lara Arruabarrena won a topsy-turvy Korea Open Tennis final against Monica Niculescu on Sunday to capture her second WTA title.
Four years on from her only other WTA silverware, on the clay of Bogotá, Arruabarrena mastered the cement – and Niculescu’s unorthodoxy – to triumph, 6-0, 2-6, 6-0, in just under two hours.
Read match recap.
Lesia Tsurenko edged past defending champion and No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to claim the title at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open.
Playing Guangzhou for the second time in her career, Tsurenko capped off her trip to the sprawling Chinese port city by taking home her second career title after a nearly two-hour-and-thirty-minute clash against Jankovic.
“I think today I played really good tennis, except maybe in the second set when I felt a little bit tired,” Tsurenko said in her post-match press conference. “But I said to myself that I have to give it all in the final set, and I was fighting for each point. I had to give 100 percent to win this title.”
Read match recap.
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of September 26, 2016.
Lara Arruabarrena (ESP), +29 (No.90 to 61): Arruabarrena owns the week’s biggest ranking jump and rises to a career high of No.61 after claiming her second WTA title in Seoul.
Lesia Tsurenko (UKR), +27 (No.80 to 53): Tsurenko continued her career-best week at the US Open with another big move, taking home the title at Guangzhou and sitting just outside the Top 50.
Naomi Osaka (JPN), +19 (No.66 to 47): 18-year-old Osaka delighted her home crowd with a run to her first career final in Tokyo. She rises to No.47 – a career high – and becomes the youngest player ranked inside the Top 50.
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), +6 (No. 28 to 22): Just a few weeks ago, Wozniacki entered the US Open ranked No.74. A lot can change in those few weeks, with Wozniacki now back within striking distance of the Top 20 after capturing her first title of the year in Tokyo.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
2016 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open
Wuhan, China
Premier | $2,288,250 | Hard
Sunday, September 25 – Saturday, October 1
Defending champion: Venus Williams
Tashkent Open
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 26 – Saturday, October 1
Defending champion: Nao Hibino
China Open
Beijing, China
Premier Mandatory | $5,424394 | Hard
Saturday, October 1 – Sunday, October 9
Defending champion: Garbiñe Muguruza
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Angelique Kerber – Wuhan, Beijing
2. Serena Williams
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Wuhan, Beijing
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Wuhan, Beijing
5. Simona Halep- Wuhan, Beijing
6. Karolina Pliskova – Wuhan, Beijing
7. Venus Williams – Wuhan, Beijing
8. Carla Suárez Navarro – Wuhan, Beijing
9. Madison Keys – Wuhan, Beijing
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Wuhan, Beijing
11. Victoria Azarenka
12. Dominika Cibulkova – Wuhan, Beijing
13. Johanna Konta – Wuhan, Beijing
14. Timea Bacsinszky – Wuhan, Beijing
15. Roberta Vinci – Wuhan, Beijing
16. Petra Kvitova – Wuhan, Beijing
17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Wuhan, Beijing
18. Elina Svitolina – Wuhan, Beijing
19. Samantha Stosur – Wuhan, Beijing
20. Elena Vesnina – Beijing
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Serena Williams (USA) – September 26, 1981
Simona Halep (ROU) – September 27, 1991
Monica Puig (PUR) – September 27, 1993
Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR) – September 28, 1989
Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) – September 28, 1970
Paula Ormaechea (ARG) – September 28, 1992
Martina Hingis (SUI) – September 30, 1980
WUHAN, China – Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki hit another career milestone on Tuesday, winning her 500th career WTA match after defeating Katerina Siniakova, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Wozniacki is currently on a seven-match winning streak, having come to Wuhan less than 48 hours after winning the Toray Pan Pacific Open title, her first of 2016.
“It’s been clicking for me, probably for about a month and a half now,” she said in her post-match press conference. “Even before the US Open, for about a month, I felt really good during practice. It just took me a little bit to get that out when I was playing matches.
“Obviously I still got small injuries here and there. That’s just kind of frustrating.
“It clicked for me at the US Open and I’m happy that it’s clicking for me now. I’m just trying to keep pushing through.”
The Dane will go for win No.501 against rival and longtime friend, Agnieszka Radwanska, whom she defeated in the semifinals of Tokyo last week.
“We’ve known each other for 15 years or something, so I’m pretty sure we know each other’s game by now. If we don’t, then we have a problem. I think we know what to expect. It’s just who can execute best tomorrow.”
Celebrating my 500th career win today! @wuhanopentennis #china pic.twitter.com/N4cd4wpMlK
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) September 27, 2016
Photo courtesy of Caromphoto/Wuhan Open.
WUHAN, China – No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska scored an important win as the chase for the final six spots in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global heats up, ousting friend and former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-2, at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Watch live action from Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I’m just very glad to win this match in two sets,” she said during her on-court interview. “Obviously, it’s never easy against Caroline and, well, I was just playing very good tennis tonight and I’m very happy for the win.”
Radwanska and Wozniacki had met 13 times coming into Wednesday night’s encounter, and played a thrilling three-setter just last week at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, which Wozniacki won from a set down en route to the title.
But the Pole made no mistake tonight, skillfully converting on her one-set lead and recovering from a break down to win the final five games of the match. In all, the former World No.2 played flawless tennis, hitting 23 winners to just 12 unforced errors, while Wozniacki, who appeared to be dealing with physical issues in her eighth match in 10 days, hit 18 winners to 24 unforced.
While some of her fellow competitors dealt with lengthy rain delays, Radwanska’s match was only impeded by the late finish of Petra Kvitova’s exciting win over World No.1 Angelique Kerber.
“It’s great to have a roof here, especially when it’s raining. It was a long match before us, and I’m glad you all stayed with me,” she said, addressing the crowd.
Up next for Radwanska, who could book a return to Singapore with a title run in Wuhan, is another longtime rival in Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Russian knocked out defending champion Venus Williams in straight sets earlier in the day.
“We’ve played so many times against each other, everywhere and on every surface. We’ve known each other so long. It’s another great challenge because she’s in really great form right now, playing good tennis.
“I think I have nothing to lose, and hopefully I can play the same tennis I played today.”
Currently ranked No.4 on the WTA rankings, Radwanska is one win away from securing the No.3 ranking at the end of the week; Simona Halep is also in contention, but would not only have to win Wuhan, but Radwanska would also have to lose on Thursday to Kuznetsova.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Nao Hibino is back into the finals of an event that kickstarted her career; the No.4 seed dispatched Denisa Allertova, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the Tashkent Open final for a second straight year.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said after the match. “I was nervous, and wanted to make the final at any cost. I focused on every point and it helped.”
Hibino cracked the Top 100 for the first time in her career by taking the title in Tashkent a year ago, and the Japanese star has held onto that momentum in 2016, reaching the final once more without dropping a set.
“I started my Top 100 journey in Tashkent,” she recalled. “I realized what I was trying in my game for the last year has started working here this week. I think the Tashkent Open is lucky for me; I like the courts here because they suit my game .
“I feel like this is my second home and would like to stay for longer. If possible, I could take back home the court from here!”
The ensuing transition onto the WTA tour had been a struggle; after winning Tashkent last fall, she went on a five match losing streak in the spring but showed signs of turning things around at the Olympic tennis event, where she upset Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round of Rio after reaching the quarterfinals in Florianopolis.
“I’ve had tough year on the tour,” Hibino said, reflecting of the time since winning her maiden WTA title. “I didn’t do well at all because it was tough playing very good players when I had no experience and didn’t get the results I was expecting.
Awaiting Hibino in the final is Kristyna Pliskova, twin sister to US Open runner-up Karolina. Pliskova came to Tashkent having already won a WTA 125K Challenger event in Dalian to start the month, and will be a favorite against Hibino, by the Japanesewoman’s own admission.
“I have played against Pliskova twice and have lost both times. I will be the challenger tomorrow, but I will be looking forward to break the Tashkent jinx of a player never having won the title for the second time by winning here tomorrow!
“I hope this second year as Top 100 player will be good one for me and I will have some good results.”
Pliskova was the first to make her Top 100 debut of the sisters, but has been on the outside looking in as Karolina rose to a career-high ranking and beat both Williams sisters to reach her first Grand Slam final. But even as Karolina turned heads in Flushing, Kristyna was plugging away in Dalian with the help of a new coach, and is now into her first WTA final.
“It feels great to be in my first ever WTA tour event final,” she said after beating Kateryna Kozlova. “It was a tough first set; she was playing well and didn’t give me many chances. It was also very cold, and so the balls were heavy. I’ve played her before and knew she’d make some mistakes. So, I waited for my chance; I called my coach at 2-5, and he pepped me up and told me to be calm. That helped me a lot.
“Before I came here didn’t have too many expectations beyond earning enough points so I can play the main draw at the Australian Open, but this result will take me to my highest ranking.”
Indeed, Pliskova is set to crack the Top 80 for the first time in her young career.
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the final of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza before her first round match at the China Open.
Wuhan champion Petra Kvitova opens her China Open account on Day 4, along with Simona Halep. Chris Oddo previews Tuesday’s key matchups in Beijing right here at wtatennis.com.
Tuesday
Second Round
[14] Petra Kvitova (CZE #11) vs. [Q] Wang Yafan (CHN # 143)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kvitova has lost five times to players ranked outside of the Top 100 since July of 2013.
A few days after triumphantly bagging her second Wuhan title, No.14-seeded Petra Kvitova will look to keep the momentum rolling in Beijing in her second-round tilt with Chinese wild card Wang Yafan. Kvitova has won 20 of her last 25 matches, and she’s finally sustaining the type of consistency that can move her back into the Top 10. But the 26-year-old warns that it isn’t going to be easy for her to maintain the jaw-dropping level she hit in Wuhan. “I need this kind of consistency all year, which to be honest, I don’t think I can really do that,” Kvitova said after pummeling Dominika Cibulkova for her 18th career title on Saturday in Wuhan. “I’m probably the player who has up and downs. Of course, I am going to try to be better in the downs. But I don’t really think that I can be consistent all season. I’m just how I am probably, and I can’t really change it.” Kvitova may have to accept a certain amount of deviation in form due to her reliance on power and precision rather than margin, but she’s just happy to have turned her season around with some sparkling tennis over the last two months. “I’m happy that my ups, they are really high, which I love of course,” she said. “The downs are very low, but that’s how it is.” Will Kvitova stay high in Beijing and keep her hopes for a late run at a Singapore slot alive? Or will she fall prey to inconsistency against an unknown Chinese commodity? Wang, 22, has claimed seven ITF titles but has never broken into the Top 100 on tour. That said, she defeated Ana Konjuh to qualify for the main draw and knocked off World No.72 Madison Brengle in straight sets to reach the second round.
Pick: Kvitova in two
[4] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #56)
Head-to-head: Wickmayer leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Wickmayer has lost her last 16 sets against the Top 10.
Yanina Wickmayer takes a 3-1 lifetime record into her second-round battle with Simona Halep, but the Belgian earned each of those three wins more than three years ago, and Halep has become a vastly improved, elite player since then. Halep demonstrated her superiority over Wickmayer when they last met in 2015 at the Australian Open’s round of 16, defeating her in straight sets. It’s been a mixed back for Wickmayer since she claimed the Citi Open title in late July. Since then she’s lost six of eight and only recently regained her form. On Saturday Wickmayer blasted past Monica Puig, 6-2, 6-0, and she should be confident on the heels of that strong result. But Halep is fresh off a semifinal appearance at Wuhan and she has won 24 of her last 28 matches dating back to the first week of Wimbledon. Halep was handed a lopsided defeat by Petra Kvitova in the Wuhan semis, but the Romanian’s confidence hasn’t suffered because of it. “I played semis, the best result here in China,” she said last week. “I played good matches, good tennis. Even today I’m not negative. I cannot be. I played tough matches in the last months, and all were very, very good. So I’m okay.”
Pick: Halep in two
[13] Roberta Vinci (ITA #16) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #22)
Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads, 3-2
Key Stat: Wozniacki has won the last three hardcourt meetings against Vinci.
2010 Beijing champion Caroline Wozniacki has turned her season around in the span of a red-hot month. On Tuesday she’ll look to keep the good vibes rolling when she faces No.13-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci for a spot in the sweet 16. Vinci owns 23 hardcourt wins this season and she’s always a tough out on the surface, but Wozniacki has defeated the 33-year-old in all three of their meetings on hardcourts. Can Vinci use her eclectic style to throw Wozniacki’s game off saddle, or is Wozniacki, winner of 13 of her last 15 matches and six of her last seven deciders, simply too strong at this phase of the season to be denied?
Pick: Wozniacki in two
[11] Johanna Konta (GBR #14) vs. Timea Babos (HUN #26)
Head-to-head: Konta leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Babos is bidding for her 5th Top 20 win of 2016 on Tuesday.
Two players in the midst of breakout seasons will vie for a spot in the round of 16 on Tuesday, as Johanna Konta and Timea Babos meet for the second time and the first time in more than four years. Konta, ranked No.14 this week, was outside of the Top 200 when she first met Babos, who was then No.59. Four years later both players are firmly inside the Top 30 with Konta now knocking on the door of the Top 10 and entertaining hopes of making a last-ditch run at WTA Finals qualification. But Konta will have to hurry if she wants to make it to Singapore. She’s nearly 400 points behind No.8 Madison Keys on the RTS leaderboard and Beijing could be her only chance to make up the difference. Konta started her Asian swing with a quarterfinal performance at Wuhan last week, and she actually played Petra Kvitova pretty tough despite falling to the scorching-hot Czech in straight sets. Konta has won 18 of 23 matches since Wimbledon and continues to impress with her consistent level and supreme focus. The British No.1 doesn’t ever lack intensity or purpose on the court, and that should serve her well when she meets Babos, who is still learning to compete at the elite level and can go off the rails at times.
Pick: Konta in two
By the Numbers:
23 – All but three of Wozniacki’s 26 wins have come on hardcourts this season.
133 – Zhang Shuai’s ranking at this year’s Australian Open. The 27-year-old is currently the Chinese No.1, ranked at 36. She faces Alison Riske in second-round action on Tuesday.
4 – Previous champions remaining in the draw (Wozniacki, Kuznetsova, Radwanska and defending champion Muguruza).
0 – Number of successful China Open title defenses that have occurred. Garbiñe Muguruza is bidding to become the first.
ZHUHAI, China – After an action-filled week at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai welcomes a new face into the leaderboard: Petra Kvitova.
Kvitova’s big win in Wuhan puts her at the No.12 spot on the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai leaderboard, but she’s not the only big name to join the fray. Madison Keys and Carla Suárez Navarro switched spots, making the Spaniard the top seed for the season-ending event.
Meanwhile, only a handful of points separate the next two players in contention, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Johanna Konta, so a good result at this week’s China Open could create more major shifts.
The year’s final tournament will take place in Zhuhai and will run from November 1 to 6. Like last year, the singles draw will feature 11 of the top ranked players and one wildcard, with the winner collecting 700 rankings points.
Here’s the latest leaderboard update for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai as of October 3, 2016:
Zhang Shuai takes on Simona Halep in the third round of the China Open.