Tennis News

With the Australian summer in the books, Serena Williams is firmly in control of the tour, having won her 23rd Grand Slam title to surpass Stefanie Graf. Looming on the schedule is the Middle East swing, featuring tournaments in Doha and Dubai; can former No.1 Angelique Kerber reassert herself as the one to beat? How will Australian Open semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe follow up her big week Down Under?

In the first edition of the WTA Insider Heat Index, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen and Web Editor David Kane weigh in on who’s hot and who’s not after the first month of the season.

For more on the Heat Index and the methodology behind it, click here.

Courtney’s Picks:

1. Serena Williams (Rank: No.1; RTS No.1): Serena’s run to her record-breaking 23rd major title at the Australian Open was one of the most dominant runs of tennis in the last three years. If she continues to stay healthy and play with the relaxed attitude she displayed in Melbourne, the field is going to have a tough time against her.

2. Johanna Konta (Rank: No.10; RTS No.3): With wins already over Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki, Daria Kasatkina, and an in-form Eugenie Bouchard, Konta has flown out of the gates in 2017. The British No.1 has already compiled a 12-2 record on the season, won the Apia International Sydney, and has won 20 of her last 22 sets of tennis. Those two lost sets came at the hands of Serena in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

3. Karolina Pliskova (Rank: No.3; RTS No.4): Much like Konta, Pliskova’s start has been near-perfect. She’s lost just one match under new coach David Kotyza, compiling a 9-1 record to start the year. She blew away the field to win the Brisbane International without losing a set and came within a few games of booking her spot in yet another major semifinal at the Australian Open. Pliskova may fall away when the tour turns to clay in April, but these first few months on hardcourts should be right in her wheelhouse.

4. Garbiñe Muguruza (Rank: No.7; RTS No.7): She was blasted off the court by a red hot CoCo Vandeweghe at the Australian Open, but Muguruza’s January showed marked improvements over how she finished 2016. At the season’s biggest events so far she made the semifinals of Brisbane and the quarterfinals in Melbourne, the first time she made it past the fourth round of a Slam since winning the French Open. With a Top 10 win under her belt against Svetlana Kuznetsova and a 7-2 overall record, Muguruza is back on track.

5. Agnieszka Radwanska (Rank: No.6; RTS No.17): Radwanska’s lackluster 6-3 record, with losses to Alison Riske (Shenzhen Open SF), Johanna Konta (Sydney Final), and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Australian Open 2R) belie her form. After a racquet switch during the off-season she’s getting more pace on the ball without sacrificing her feel and all three losses came to precisely the type of players she’s most vulnerable against: big, flat hitters. But she’s still made the quarterfinals or better at seven of her last eight events.

6. Angelique Kerber (Rank: No.2; RTS No.22): It’s been a slow 4-3 start for the former No.1, but her losses have not been bad ones, losing to Svitolina, Kasatkina, and Vandeweghe. She’s not far from her standard level and a good run in the Middle East should put her back on track. One shot to keep an eye on her: her serve. It hasn’t been there for her so far this year.

7. CoCo Vandeweghe (Rank: No.20; RTS No.5): The American is the lowest-ranked player on this week’s list but her blistering run to her first major semifinal in Melbourne was undeniable, scoring wins over Roberta Vinci, Bouchard, Kerber, and Muguruza. Vandeweghe’s average rank of opponent in 2017 is 35, which is the best of any player on this list (the next best is Konta at 52, Serena at 53). We have to see whether Vandeweghe can back up the result – she lost to then No.103 Duan Ying-Ying a week before Melbourne – but she’s the hot hand on tour.

8. Elina Svitolina (Rank: No. 13; RTS No.8): The Ukrainian is knocking on the door of her Top 10 debut, having started her year with a win over Kerber and then winning her fifth title of the season last week at the Taiwan Open. Svitolina is 10-2 on the season, though her win over Kerber is her only win over a Top 30 player so far this season.

9. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rank: No.8; RTS No.10): Her 7-4 start to the year includes two quarterfinals in Brisbane and St. Petersburg and a Round of 16 appearance at the Australian Open. She also finished 2016 having made the semifinals or better at four of her last five tournaments. Always one to march to the beat of her own drummer, it seems Kuznetsova has rediscovered her consistency.

10. Venus Williams (Rank No.11; RTS No.2): Given her inspired run to the Australian Open final, it may be surprising to see Venus down at No.10. Feel-good story aside, she did not beat a Top 25 player to make the final and faced only one seeded player (Pavlyuchenkova), so it’s difficult to gauge whether her form was lightning in a bottle or sustainable. She was understandably out of gas by the time she arrived in St. Petersburg, losing quickly to Kristina Mladenovic. We’ll have a better sense of her form when she returns at the BNP Paribas Open in March.

11. Dominika Cibulkova (Rank No.5; RTS No.14): Her four losses have all come to players ranked outside the Top 30 (Alizé Cornet, Bouchard, Ekaterina Makarova, and Yulia Putintseva) and her only Top 20 win has come against Elena Vesnina. Cibulkova is still stuck in second gear to start the season, but she’s not far off from a solid level.

12. Barbora Strycova (Rank No.17; RTS No.12): The Czech is one of the most dangerous floaters in most tournament draws these days. She’s 8-3 to start the season, with two of those losses coming to Serena (Australian Open) and Radwanska (Sydney). Meanwhile she’s racked up good wins over quality opposition, including Vinci, Caroline Wozniacki, Andrea Petkovic, and Caroline Garcia.

David’s Picks:

1. Serena Williams (Rank: No.1; RTS: No.1): The American stormed into the history books in emphatic style, winning the Australian Open without dropping a set and reclaiming the No.1 ranking. Even at 35, Serena is in a class of her own, and her newfound on-court serenity should make her all the more frightening through the spring.

2. Karolina Pliskova (Rank: No.3; RTS: No.4): Pliskova made a booming start in Brisbane, and put to rest any doubts about her Grand Slam consistency by reaching another second week in Melbourne. A former finalist in Dubai, the Czech powerhouse has been on the ascendency since last summer, and has all the weapons to continue doing damage in either the Qatar Total Open, or the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – or both.

3. Johanna Konta (Rank: No.10; RTS: No.3): There’s been no sophomore slump thus far for Konta, who is quickly making a career of efficiently beating those ranked below her. Her domination of Radwanska in the Sydney final was encouraging, but the Brit will need to rack up more of those wins to rise further up the rankings. A solid force on hardcourts, she’s nonetheless untested in the Middle East – set to make her debut in Dubai after opting out of Doha to play Fed Cup.

4. Garbiñe Muguruza (Rank: No.7; RTS: No.7): Muguruza showed us a little bit of everything in Australia: her devastating power, her flair for the dramatic, and her open admission that the she’s still figuring it all out since winning her maiden major title at the French Open. The Spaniard has grown leaps and bounds since her post-Paris slump to start 2017, and has few points to defend at events that have the kind of courts on which she can comfortably dictate.

5. Angelique Kerber (Rank: No.2; RTS: No.22): It hasn’t been all roses for the former No.1 in 2017, who saw herself stunned by an inspired Vandeweghe in Melbourne. Kerber looks fitter than ever, but is still adjusting to her role as the one to beat if losses to Elina Svitolina and Kasatkina are any indication. Strong runs in Doha and Dubai could see her return to the top spot, but look for the Middle East as an opportunity for the German to get back to basics with Indian Wells and Miami on the horizon.

6. CoCo Vandeweghe (Rank: No.20; RTS: No.5): Recency bias aside, Vandeweghe’s excellent advanture Down Under was objectively the biggest revelation thus far this season. Barreling through Kerber and Muguruza in back-to-back, high-stakes matches takes some doing, and it will be interesting to see whether the American, who posted solid results in the Middle East last year, can keep up that intensity in Doha and Dubai.

7. Dominika Cibulkova (Rank: No.5; RTS: No.14): The reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion has had an understandably slower start after her breakneck finish to 2016, but will have plenty of opportunity to kickstart her season in the Middle East after a solid week in St. Petersburg. With little to defend between now and the clay court season, the Slovak can easily find herself in the Top 3 by Miami.

8. Agnieszka Radwanska (Rank: No.6; RTS: No.17): Radwanska began 2017 looking for answers, switching racquets with the hope of adding a more powerful dimension to her off-court game. Ironic, then, that her three losses to start the season came against big-hitters in Shenzhen, Sydney, and Melbourne. A semifinalist last year in Doha, the Pole is certainly capable of building up a consistent foundation in the Middle East, but this more long term strategy may see more short term losses before the tour turns moves stateside.

9. Venus Williams (Rank: No.11; RTS: No.2): Venus undoubtedly turned back the clock in Melbourne. It wasn’t against the strongest field, but the former No.1 fed off her superior fitness and experience to roar into her first major final in seven years. Her performance in St. Petersburg immediately after showed her lacking in the former, and sitting out Doha and Dubai is likely a wise decision as she readies for what could be a grueling March. With the clay swing just around the corner, she’ll have fewer chances to advance up the rankings before Wimbledon.

10. Elina Svitolina (Rank: No.13; RTS: No.8): Svitolina is one of the next generation’s most enigmatic players. The Ukrainian can string together title runs at WTA Internationals, earn big wins at Premiers, but can rarely combine the two for a truly noteworthy week. Fresh off a title in Taiwan, she could solve the mystery in Doha and Dubai, having made the semifinals last year at the latter.

11. Barbora Strycova (Rank: No.17; RTS: No.12): Strycova has stealthily earned the most consistent results of the season, and is on the road to becoming a fixture at the business end of big tournaments. Last year’s Dubai runner-up earned two Top 20 wins en route to the semifinals in Sydney, and pushed Serena to two tough sets in Melbourne; can she take that extra step in the Middle East?

12. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rank: No.8; RTS: No.10): Kuznetsova could have found herself higher on the list were it not for kryptonite Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who knocked her out of back-to-back events in Australia. Still looking confident after her nearly flawless end to 2016, the Russian took a precautionary withdrawal from Doha and could be poised for a big run in Dubai, where she thrice reached the final.

Summary:

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

DOHA, Qatar: Former World No.1 Angelique Kerber is aiming to get back to winning ways in Doha – and she is not letting herself get distracted by thoughts of reclaiming the top spot.

“For me it’s really important to play good tennis and to try to improve my game – that is actually my goal always,” she said before the beginning of her tournament.

“I will do my best in the next few weeks, few months. If you play good tennis, then you have results. This is actually for me the most important thing, to win matches again, getting the confidence back. Then we will see what happens in the next few months.”

The 29-year-old revealed that she had enjoyed her short break from tennis after her early departure from Melbourne.

“After Australia I went back home and I spent few days at home, doing nothing actually, just being at home,” she admitted.

“It was very cold. But then I started practising again. I came here to Doha little bit earlier to get ready and to get used to the courts and the weather conditions. I’m feeling ready to play again because it’s, since Australia, a long time since I played matches. It’s great to play again here and then in Dubai next week.”

And she now feels fully prepared to fight for trophies again.

“I think it was not bad to get a bigger rest, to get ready for these two tournaments,” she added.

“I’m feeling good. The first rounds are always a little bit tougher because you have to get used to the tournament feeling again, to the match things. But I think that I’m ready. I am really enjoying my tennis right now on the practice court.”

PARIS, France – Three years after receiving an automated email from the WTA informing her she was still eligible for qualifying at Roland Garros in 2013, Timea Bascinszky is back into the Round of 16 for the second consecutive year in Paris. The surprise semifinalist of 2015 advanced on Saturday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over France’s Pauline Parmentier.

Despite being one of the best players on clay the last two years and putting together a strong clay season this year, the 26-year-old from Lausanne has been under the radar throughout the first week in Paris. She has not lost more than four games in any given set and has breezed through the early rounds, which included a strong win over Eugenie Bouchard in the second round.

And Bacsinszky has been dazzling both on court and off. One of the best talkers in the game, the World No.9 has been holding court in the interview room as well, touching on all topics. Whether discussing strategy and tactics or food and fun, Bacsinszky has a gift with with words.

Here are some highlights:

On her tactics against Pauline Parmentier:

“Her forehand was so strong today that I had to find solutions to neutralize this forehand and then I had to play my game. And then when the balls were changed, her forehand was again very strong. It’s one of the forehand shots on the courts that’s the strongest of all. It’s her biggest weapon.

And then I thought that afterwards if I play long rallies, if she’s to make an extra effort, then maybe I’ll be able to win a few points here and there, either to make her run or because she would make a mistake.

So this is what I decided to focus on, to be very consistent, to show her that she would have to fight for each point, and that I would change the game, that is, change the speed, change the angles, change the returns and my serves.

I think that during the first set I was very solid, very efficient to finish the first set. I didn’t really feel I was brilliant or anything like that in the last game of the first set. But tactically speaking I managed to show her that she would have to understand what to expect from me. You know, I was showing her I am ready for this match.”

On friendships on tour:

“I’m not looking for any type of conflict with any player whatsoever. It’s totally useless. So I’m really in favor of peace. If there is one of them who doesn’t want to speak to me, I’m not going to come to her and speak to her. That’s the way I am.

But then if I feel there is a feeling with some players, then, yeah. For instance, Pauline, well, if we’re at the same hotel, sometimes, for example, in Rabat we played, both of us, and in the morning at breakfast I was alone and she asked if she could sit and have breakfast with me. And of course we did that. We had breakfast together.

And Pauline, I have known her for years. We have played many matches as in the same team or against one another, together also during doubles. So I have been seeing her for a long while. So we are close.

But I wouldn’t say this is deep friendship. I know some things about her. She knows some things about me. But my friends in Switzerland, it’s totally different. I have a group of friends. That’s different type of friendship, and with the players, it’s not as deep.

On how friendships can affect a match:

“Knowing someone well is something that helps you understand their tactics during the match. For instance, if someone is well organized in life, I don’t think that this person on a court will do anything and everything, you know?

There is a Ukrainian player who is amazing, a Ukrainian player — Dolgopolov. That’s the name. I don’t think in life he’s very organized. I don’t know.

What happens on a tennis court is something that mirrors the person you are. These are the little things that you can see in the locker rooms. If a girl folds her towels away, et cetera, everything is clean and neat, if during a match you can break her game, maybe she’s going to be lost.

I don’t know. These are ideas I have that come to my mind. So to have deep friendships in tennis is okay, but, you know what we want to do, tennis is our bread and butter. We want to win. We can’t give too much space to others. So we have to find the right balance, I think.”

On playing on the major show courts:

“I think for a tennis player what’s important is that, if you don’t like playing on a big court, you aren’t doing the right job, I think. The higher you go in the rankings, the more tournaments you play, the more you’re given this honor. I take it this way. It’s an honor to be able to play on the biggest courts.

This is what people expect. They want a show. It really is status enhancing. We practice sometimes in the dark when no one is looking at us, when we’re doubting. And all the sports people will tell you the same.

You know, if the career is going up all the time, no, no, this never happens. It has ups and downs. So if you’re on the central court anywhere in the world, then this is a moment to remember, a moment you will remember. It’s always something special to play on a big court.

I’ll never be fed up with that except the day I decide to withdraw altogether. But that’s not what I intend to do.”

On recent complaints about the coverage of women’s tennis in France:

“What I expect is not to be in the spotlight. To be in the spotlights, you have to deserve it. I’ll never think, Okay, why are they talking more about Stan and Rog when I’ve just won a match? Look at all the titles they have. I have perhaps something like 10% of Rog’s titles or wins. This would be my dream.

I don’t know about the French. I don’t know if the French, if the Frenchmen are, how can I say, have results that are a lot better than women’s results. I don’t know.

But I have always wondered about this. And again, it’s me talking to myself: If you want people to talk more about yourself, play better. Be better. You can’t expect anything else.

Being ranked 50th in the world, I wouldn’t expect anybody to praise my games. You know, it’s very nice to be 50, to be around 50. It’s really good. 50th in the world. It’s so big, so huge.

But then some people are doing better than that, so if there is less buzz, less buzz about women’s tennis, I don’t know what the reason is. It’s been the case for years and years. So what’s the point in fighting and struggling and saying, Okay, we shouldn’t talk about women’s tennis this way. We should change — no, it’s a fact. Either you accept it or not.

People talk about men’s tennis. You know, I don’t want to go against this trend. I’m trying to do my best. And that’s about it.

Then if people talk about me, that’s good. If nobody talks about me, what’s the saying, I think in French we say, to live happily you have to live in the dark. That’s good for me. I don’t want to always be in the spotlight.”

On her tactics against Eugenie Bouchard:

“I couldn’t get my bearings on a big court. There is a lot of space around the court. Even though I warmed up 30 minutes in the morning, I couldn’t get the groove, and she had different tactics in comparison to the last time I played against her.

She expected me to put a lot of variation in my game, so I had to find another game plan in order to get the upper hand. I was down 3-Love, but I was not really concerned. Not worried. Because she was not head and shoulders above me.

It was just a matter of adaptation. And when I managed to change my game plan, my tactics, my game intentions, things went differently, and I managed to hit balls inside the court. So I got the upper hand slowly but surely until the start of the second set.”
…
“Last time I played against her, I changed the pace. I changed the tempo with more variation. Last time I played against her two-and-a-half months ago, it was on a hard court with high bounces. It was quite hot. The court was different.

Today it was different. Clay was slow. So I played against her on big center court, so there was a lot of space. But she expected me to have a lot of variation in my game. She expected me to deliver lots of dropshots, so the first dropshot that I hit, she managed to chase it down. So I said to myself, Let’s change the tactic.

What is good is to have lots of game plans under your belt. At the start of the match I wanted to open the court to attack and to hit the ball deep, because at the start of the match, I mean, I played short balls.

So when you hit the ball deep in the court, normally you are not attacked. So I tried to change my game plan. So it was a matter of knowing who would take the upper hand first, especially on clay. Then I wanted to make the most of the short balls in order to deliver some deep shots or dropshots.”

After being asked for her opinion on Bouchard’ psychology during their match:

“You should put the question to her. I don’t know if she’s delivered her press conference. I mean, I can tell you about my feelings. I don’t have the power to be in the minds of other people. I’m working on it, but it’s very difficult to have this power. So you need to introduce me to the person who can read in the minds of other people.”

On having NHL hockery player Nino Niederreiter in her player’s box:

“I don’t know him very well, by the way. Switzerland is small country. Through the social networks, you can exchange your views with other Swiss athletes. With Nino Niederreiter, Swiss-German, Thomas Weisel was there for my first match.

So it’s cool. It’s great to have however many personalities, personalities are from sports or from another field. It’s great to have them, especially when they want to watch a match and to watch my match.

I was a little bit late for this press conference. Why? Explain to you. So before taking a shower, I met this person, and I thought that we would talk four or five minutes, and at the end of the day we talked 20 minutes, and it was with two wrestlers. I didn’t know them very well, so we discussed 20 minutes only.

There were so many topics, I mean, to talk about regarding the source of inspiration now. So when you have an unconventional sportsman, it’s a source of inspiration for me. So I would like to thank him and he will turn up on Saturday, so I hope that I will be in a position to talk more with him.”

On her pre-tournament preparation, practicing indoors:

“I didn’t want to waste too much energy and be here at Roland Garros and not be fit enough. Roland Garros is a good way for people to lose a lot of energy. That’s what I want to avoid.

So I will practice on my own without trying to play outdoors, because I have played so many matches on clay. Roland Garros, it’s the most pleasant type of clay in a certain way. All the types of clay I practice on, I know that I practice perhaps even harder because the clay is not as good as here.

But then this affected me, if I can say, had an impact on me during the first games of the match, but after a while, I managed to hit long and heavy points, and that was my cruise speed, I can say.”

On players choosing to skip the Olympics:

“I’m not going to pass judgment on their decisions. They decide their career themselves. I’m delighted to take part in the Olympic Games, but if they don’t want to play in Rio, it is their choice. It is their priority. That’s all.

It’s a matter of priorities. It depends on the importance that you attach to a tournament. For example, Radwanska, she’s decided not to play in Rome. Is it a good choice? Is it a bad choice? It depends on the player. It depends on Radwanska in this case.

It depends on the plans that you have for the weeks to come. And the same goes for the Olympic Games. There are some pros and cons. There are lots of tournaments. It’s very difficult to establish the right schedule.

I have heard that Dominic Thiem is playing all the tournaments. But if a player makes a decision, I mean, we have to respect the decision. It’s a matter of schedule. It’s a matter of priorities. I’m not in a position to tell you whether it’s good or bad. I don’t have any opinion on that.”

On her visit to the Food Truck Festival in Lausanne:

“You know what I love? I love food. It’s something that’s very important for me.

I love discovering so many things. It’s a big problem, there are so many things to eat. They were kind enough to give me arancini from Sicily and then soft shell tacos, a vegetarian meal. Another one was pulled pork. And then a hot dog with French fries. All of this with my best friend, you know. I’d like to say hello to her, by the way. She loves food as much as I love.

She doesn’t know anything about tennis. I don’t know anything about horse riding. But what we love, what unites us is this discovery of food.

Then there is the Hungarian specialty called kurtoskalacs, and, well, I hope the interpreters can understand this, or the typists write this down, it’s called in French gateau d’cheminee, it’s like a chimney or a stack. It’s pastry that’s on a wooden type of base and then it’s dipped into sweet water and then it’s grilled. I suppose you love that but I love talking about this.”

Photos courtesy of Getty Images.