St. Petersburg: Venus Williams' Practice Session
Watch Venus Williams’ practice session on Day 3 of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Watch Venus Williams’ practice session on Day 3 of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Venus Williams made a disappointing exit in St Petersburg – but she reassures fans that she loves tennis, and will always give everything in every match.
Elina Svitolina had Saturday’s shot of the day at the Taiwan Open.
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her win in the final of the Taiwan Open.
Former World No.1 Maria Sharapova has picked up one of the wildcards for May’s Mutua Madrid Open as she plans her WTA comeback.
“Sharapova requested an invitation to play in the tournament and after considering it, we decided to give her a wildcard,” said Manolo Santana, the tournament director, in a statement.
“Maria is one of the best players of the last 15 years and also a past winner of our tournament. In Madrid she always plays well and I’m sure she will come back to the courts highly motivated and hoping to do well in her first tournaments.”
Sharapova, 29, last won the event in 2014, beating Simona Halep, 1-6 6-2 6-3, in the final.
“Sharapova is one of those players that all tennis fans want to see,” added Mutua Madrid Open CEO and President Gerard Tsobanian. “Her presence in the Caja Mágica is great news for the tournament, for the fans and also for the city of Madrid.”
The Russian makes her return to the tour in Stuttgart in April following her positive test for a banned substance in 2016.
Tickets and season tickets for the Mutua Madrid Open can be purchased at www.madrid-open.com and entradas.com.
Fed Cup stalwarts Barbora Strycova and Karolina Pliskova clinched an unassailable 3-1 lead for defending champs Czech Republic over Spain.
Here’s a full run down of the World Group I ties as they unfolded on Day 2:
?? is into the #FedCup semis! It won in front of its fans who always make a huge difference & are the 5th team member! #WeAreCzechRepublic pic.twitter.com/SR3qIncW4K
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Czech Republic 3-1 Spain
Pliskova kicked off the first reverse singles rubber against Garbiñe Muguruza after both emerged victorious in their opening matches on Saturday.
Playing at home in Ostrava, Pliskova had plenty of reason to feel confident after winning four of her last five matches over the reigning French Open champion.
After an hour on court, the Czech powerhouse put down the hammer on Muguruza, winning almost twice as many points and breaking serve five times for a 6-2, 6-2 win.
“My tennis was much better than it was yesterday so I enjoyed it more today,” said last year’s US Open runner-up. “I think she [Muguruza] doesn’t like a fast game because she likes to dictate.
“I was serving well and you cannot do much about it if someone is serving well.”
#CZEESP @BaraStrycova celebrates after sealing ??'s place in the 2017 #FedCup semifinals pic.twitter.com/nxqluv1spZ
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Next up was Strycova, who played a critical role in clinching the Czech team’s third straight Fed Cup title over France. Up against Lara Arruabarrena, the veteran smacked a whopping 33 winners to just 21 unforced errors to assure victory with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph.
“This one was very tough for me,” Strycova said after the match. “I was leading 5-2 and two match points; I felt like I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I couldn’t take the extra step. I tried some different things at the end and it worked!”
“I’m very glad that we got through,” remarked Czech captain Petr Pala. “Even in the first match the score looked quite easy but it was quite tight in the beginning and Karolina put in a great performance and showed she is a great Fed Cup player.
“The second match was tighter. Barbora was using the crowd and the crowd helped us a lot. It wasn’t an easy decision for us to play her today because normally she would play doubles.”
Standing between the Czechs and a fourth straight final will be either the USA or Germany.
BELARUS WINS!!! Aryna #Sabalenka defeats #Krajicek 76(5) 64 and ?? is into the #FedCup semifinals for the first time in its history! pic.twitter.com/kTkFmwOsYq
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Switzerland 3-1 France
Timea Bacsinszky turned the tables on St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy champion Kristina Mladenovic to help lead Switzerland into a second straight Fed Cup semifinal.
#SUIFRA @TimeaOfficial knows how to handle pressure on-court, but how will she deal with our reporter @eliweinstein's quickfire questions? pic.twitter.com/Vesy4uGoY9
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Bacsinszky recovered from a tumble to keep Mladenovic from a second straight win over the weekend with an impressive 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5 win to make the Swiss team anything but neutral.
“I looked really unlucky this week with the medical timeouts, but I fell and injured my knee,” she said after the match. “That took me away from tennis for three months last year and so I needed an extra check. In the moment, it’s tough becuase you care about your health, see the whole year and don’t want to be injured. But I’m ok.
Leading 5-2 in the final set, Mladenovic quickly leveled the decider but the Olympic Silver medalist closed the door in front of her home fans.
“I was just telling myself how privileged I am to play a match like this, and wasn’t focused on who was going to win. I’m just so lucky to be playing tennis in front of my country, carrying the Swiss flag.
“It could have gone either way because she played so well at the end. But we both deserved to win because it was such high quality.”
In the critical fourth rubber, Belinda Bencic dismissed substitute Pauline Parmentier, 6-3, 6-4, to book an encounter against surprise semifinalists, Belarus.
#emotions ?????? pic.twitter.com/1OvyN5q92f
— Swiss Tennis (@swiss_tennis) February 12, 2017
Belarus 4-1 Netherlands
In a battle of underdogs teams, Belarus roared through the final three rubbers of the tie oust the Netherlands for an emphatic win in Minsk.
After Kiki Bertens helped level the tie on Saturday, Aliaksandra Sasnovich stunned the 2016 French Open semifinalist, 6-3, 6-4 to turn the tie on its head.
#BLRNED #Sasnovich takes the opening set 63 against #Bertens! Can she push on and give ?? a 2-1 lead in the tie? pic.twitter.com/oSQirdlgZq
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
Armed with the momentum, Belarus played Aryna Sabalenka, a 19-year-old playing in just her second Fed Cup tie – and only her second singles rubber. Recovering from her loss to Bertens, Sabalenka dispatched Michaella Krajicek, 7-6(5), 6-4 to clinch her country’s first semifinal in Fed Cup history.
BELARUS WINS!!! Aryna #Sabalenka defeats #Krajicek 76(5) 64 and ?? is into the #FedCup semifinals for the first time in its history! pic.twitter.com/kTkFmwOsYq
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) February 12, 2017
More to come…
Christina McHale and Madison Brengle are flying the flag for the USA in Doha, both through to the main draw of the Qatar Total Open.
A look at the different surfaces the WTA tournaments have to offer, starting the the Plexicushion during the Australian summer hardcourts.
An interview with Daria Kasatkina after her victory in the second round of the Qatar Total Open.
DOHA, Qatar – No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova put together a dominating performance over Caroline Wozniacki to take home her eighth career title – and her second of 2017 – at the Qatar Total Open.
The Dane went into their final matchup with a 3-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, but Pliskova didn’t read the script and overpowered the former World No.1, 6-3, 6-4.
“I think I’m having a great start to the year, which is always important,” Pliskova said after the match.
“To beat players like Cibulkova and Wozniacki is something amazing. I’ve never beat them before, but I was trying really hard this week so I’m really happy with my wins here.”
Unbelievable tennis from @KaPliskova! ?? pic.twitter.com/S7zVMZ9F3W
— WTA (@WTA) February 18, 2017
The Czech was in charge from the start, not showing any signs of fatigue after playing two matches on the same day on Friday, where she set a personal record for most aces in a single match. She continued her momentum against Wozniacki, employing her trademark controlled aggression to surge ahead a double break and take a 4-0 lead.
Wozniacki changed up her strategy to get on board and halt her opponent’s momentum, stepping into the court and running Pliskova from side to side to target the Czech’s biggest weakness: her court movement. But after dropping three straight games, Pliskova got right back on track to reel off the final two and pocket the opening set.
The pair stayed on par in a tightly drawn final set, Pliskova brushing aside Wozniacki’s lone break chance to stay on course. The Czech finally got her chance in the final game, flicking over a short, low-floating forehand which Wozniacki buried into the net to give Pliskova the match.
.@KaPliskova captures @QatarTennis title!
Beats Wozniacki 6-3, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/28rO130GKX
— WTA (@WTA) February 18, 2017
Pliskova’s dominating performance is reflected in the numbers: despite Wozniacki hitting a meager five unforced errors during the entire match, she was only to hit nine winners – just a third of Pliskova’s 27. The Czech’s serve was in full swing too, winning 69% of first serve points and hitting four aces.
“It’s been a great week, despite the tough conditions for all of us,” Wozniacki reflected at the trophy ceremony. “To be here in the final is something to be really proud of, the way I’ve been playing this week.
“I’m very disappointed with the loss but Karolina was playing really well. She deserved this one, but I’m going to try to get my revenge next time.”
With the victory, Pliskova will jump to No.2 on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard, leapfrogging Australian Open finalist Venus Williams.