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Radwanska Rolls Past Wozniacki, Reaches Last Eight In Wuhan

Radwanska Rolls Past Wozniacki, Reaches Last Eight In Wuhan

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

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.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – The first Grand Slam of the year is almost here as the Australian Open kicks off in Melbourne on Monday. The doubles draw is out, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands reunites with Lucie Safarova in hopes of defending her No.1 ranking against a trio of challengers.

But Serena Williams and Venus Williams threaten to blow the draw right open as they will take the court together to compete in doubles for the first time since the Olympic Games.

Click here to see the full singles and doubles draws.

POTENTIAL QUARTERFINALS:

[1] Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic vs [5] Martina Hingis / CoCo Vandeweghe
[3] Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina vs [7] Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova
[8] Vania King / Yaroslava Shvedova vs [4] Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova
[6] Chan Yung-Jan / Chan Hao-Ching vs [2] Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova

Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic

STORYLINES TO WATCH:

Garcia & Mladenovic are making their 2017 debut: The No.1 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are set to play together for the first time in 2017 at the Australian Open. The reigning French Open champions have always been adamant that their focus was on the singles competition, and at times seemed almost baffled by their continued doubles success. But the pair are back together for the first major of the year, and even have a shot at becoming co-No.1s.

“As we repeated well enough, we are singles players, our priority is singles,” Mladenovic told WTA Insider at the WTA Finals, where they reached the semifinals. “[But] even if we are singles players, just to be able to say that you’ve been No.1 in the world in doubles, is such a pride.”

The French team will play Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh in the first round.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

The No.1 ranking could change hands again: Newly-crowned World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands has barely had time to savor her rise to the top before her ranking is back into play. Garcia, Mladenovic and Elena Vesnina all have a shot at becoming World No.1 by the end of the fortnight.

Of course, should Mattek-Sands and Safarova take home the Australian Open title, the ranking will stay with the American. But that’s easier said than done….

Serena Williams and Venus Williams join forces: Looming in Mattek-Sands and Safarova’s side of the draw are Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The veteran doubles team is joining forces for the first time since the Olympic tennis event, where they lost in the first round to Czech duo Safarova & Strycova. Between the two of them they’ve amassed 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles, making them a veritable threat in any major tournament.

Seeded No.15, they could potentially book a third-round clash with Mattek-Sands/Safarova, throwing a wrench in the works for Mattek-Sands’ defense of her newly-gained top ranking.

– Photos courtesy of Getty Images

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Cibulkova, Strycova Complete Wuhan QF Line-Up

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WUHAN, China – Barbora Strycova won the first of two scheduled matches after getting rained out on Wednesday, recovering from a set down to defeat Guangzhou runner-up Jelena Jankovic, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Strycova will play No.10 seed and WTA Finals darkhorse Dominika Cibulkova, who roared past No.5 seed and US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, 6-2, 6-2.

Watch live action from Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It’s great to have the roof because we got to play,” the Czech veteran said in her on-court interview. “I’m very happy to be through to the quarterfinals. It was a very tough match for me, with a lot of ups and downs, but I’m happy to get the win.”

Strycova had reached the round of 16 in her last two Wuhan appearances, but was in trouble early on against Jankovic, a former No.1 overcoming an injury-prone season to reach a final at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open just last week.

“You have to find the motivation all the time if you want to compete and bring a good level. The first set wasn’t really the way I wanted to play. I didn’t move well, so I started to move better, put more balls into the court. That helped me get my rhythm.”

Strycova overcame a few moments of frustration to level the match, but Jankovic made a battle of it in the end, saving a match point in the tenth game of the decider, but ultimately succumed on Strycova’s second match point after two hours and 21 minutes.

“At the end, I was able to win a few more points than her, and that made the difference.”

While Strycova struggled through three grueling sets, Cibulkova charged past Pliskova in an hour and 15 minutes, dropping just four games to keep her hopes of making her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global alive.

“This was my first match on Center Court against such a big-serving player. It was tough to play but I was really focused, mentally ready, and playing my good tennis. I’m really happy to be into the quarterfinals here.”

The roof remained closed in Wuhan, even as the rain abated on the outer courts.

“Last week, I played in Tokyo in similar conditions, and I play at home under a closed stadium. We’re professionals, so we have to be prepared to play in any situation.”

Cibulkova will play Strycova for the first time, as she aims to earn as many points as possible to remain inside the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard by week’s end.

“It’s going to be another tough match, a different one. Two matches in one day isn’t easy, but I want to be ready for it.”

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Defending Champ Hibino Plays Pliskova For Tashkent Title

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

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.

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