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Cincinnati Friday: Queen City Quarters

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – And then there were eight! It’s quarterfinal Friday at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Chris Oddo previews the match-ups for wtatennis.com.

Friday, Quarterfinals

Center Court
[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. [9] Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 4-3

Key Stat: Kerber could ascend to the No.1 ranking with the title in Cincinnati.
Angelique Kerber is focused on the day-in, day-out aspects of being a top WTA pro. The rest of us? We’re curious to see if the German has what it takes to end Serena Williams’ remarkable 183-week reign atop the WTA’s rankings. Kerber could achieve that milestone with a title run, but it’s the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. While we watch the story unfold on Friday when Kerber meets Carla Suárez Navarro for a spot in the semis, the World No.2 will be concentrating on process. “On the court I’m really trying to focus and play my best tennis,” she said on Thursday after defeating Barbora Strycova in straight sets. “And my goal is always to go on court and win the match. Of course I mean it’s a goal to be one day the No.1, but let’s see if it happens, when it happens, whatever. I will not be putting this pressure on myself – I’m just trying to play step by step.” It’s the best way to proceed for Kerber, and so far in Cincinnati she has been able to deflect the pressure and play the type of tennis that got her to this point. Will she be able to continue her rise against the feisty Spaniard who defeated her earlier this summer in Birmingham? Or will Suárez Navarro, already one of three Premier 5 titlists this season, make her own story unfold?

Pick: Suárez Navarro in three

[3] Simona Halep (ROU #4) vs. [5] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #5)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 5-4

Key Stat: Halep stretched her win streak to 12 with a straight-sets victory over Daria Gavrilova on Wednesday.
Red-hot Simona Halep is loving life in Cincinnati. And why shouldn’t she be? The Romanian is well-rested, suited aptly for the fast-playing conditions at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, and gaining confidence with each successive victory. Halep made it 12 in a row on Thursday when she rolled past Aussie qualifier Daria Gavrilova, and afterwards she cited her legs as the biggest contributor to her recent success. She says her recent training block with Gil Reyes, former trainer of Andre Agassi, has helped her fitness immensely, and she also confirmed that the injuries that sabotaged her play early in the season are behind her. It all adds up to a very formidable Halep, one that is looking more and more like a title contender each day. She’ll have to be formidable on Friday if she is to get by No.5-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska. Radwanska reached her fourth Cincinnati quarterfinal in five years on Thursday by coming from behind to defeat Johanna Konta in three sets. Will Radwanska be able to stop the run of surging Halep in their 10th meeting, or will the Romanian’s scorching form prove too much to handle yet again?

Pick: Halep in three

Grandstand
[7] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10) vs. [15] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #17)
Head-to-head: First meeting

Key Stat: Kuznetsova improved to 15-4 in deciding sets this year with her win third-round win over Timea Bacsinszky.
It has been a fantastic season for 31-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova. She achieved her first win over a reigning world No.1 since 2009 in Miami when she snapped Serena Williams’ 20-match winning streak at the event. And that’s not even the half of it. Kuznetsova, now the top-ranked Russian and inside the Top 10 for the first time since 2010, has won 30 matches, claimed her 16th career title, and been a threat to go deep in every draw she has played. Occupying the 10th spot in the Road to Singapore standings, the Russian is playing for valuable points in the next months, and she’ll look to continue pushing her momentum forward when she meets 15th-seed Karolina Pliskova for the first time on Friday. The bomb-serving Czech still hasn’t made her mark at the Slams but she has been lethal elsewhere, with four semifinals, two finals and a title to her name this season. Here in Cincinnati, she has yet to drop a set in two matches.

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3) vs. [Q] Timea Babos (HUN #41)
Head-to-head: Muguruza leads, 3-0

Key Stat: Their last two battles have gone to three sets.
There is fire in the eyes of Garbiñe Muguruza this week in Cincinnati, and that’s bad news for her competitors. The Spaniard had an understandable dip in level after winning her maiden Grand Slam in Paris this year, but she appears to be very determined to put that behind her as she prepares to ramp up her game ahead of the year’s final major. Muguruza has yet to drop a set in Cincinnati and though she was pushed at times by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Thursday, she played a very solid match, particularly from the service stripe where she saved six of seven break points and won 31 of 41 first-serve points. On Friday she’ll face one of the tour’s most improved players in 23-year-old Timea Babos. The Hungarian produced an upset on Thursday in defeating eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova. It was the Hungarian’s biggest win of the year rankings-wise, but she’s 1-10 against the Top 10 lifetime and 0-3 against Muguruza. She’ll need something magical to push past a resurgent Muguruza on Friday.

Pick: Muguruza in two

By the numbers…
306 – Number of weeks that Serena Williams has held the No. 1 ranking, which is third-most all time behind Martina Navratilova (332) and Steffi Graf (377).ber of consecutive weeks that Serena Williams has held the No. 1 ranking, which is third-most all time behind Martina Navratilova (332) and Steffi Graf (377).
41 – Babos’ position in the world rankings – the lowest of the draw’s eight remaining players.
19-2 – Halep’s record since the start of Roland Garros this year.
7 – Number of seeded players that have advanced to the quarterfinals in Cincinnati.

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#tbt: Vesnina Marries In Moscow

#tbt: Vesnina Marries In Moscow

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Doubles star Elena Vesnina has won three Grand Slams in doubles – most recently a maiden mixed doubles trophy at the Australian Open with Bruno Soares – but the former No.3 in doubles (No.21 in singles) hit an extra-special milestone over the off-season when she married fiance Pavel Tubanstov in Moscow.

Joined by bridesmaid and longtime doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova – with whom she won the 2013 French Open and 2014 US Open – and a plethora of Russia’s tennis elite, Vesnina enjoyed a fairytale wedding in the Russian capital.

Back in her home country to play the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Vesnina reached the second round of the singles event as a wildcard, and will try to snap Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 37-match winning streak in doubles alongside rising Russian star, Daria Kasatkina.

Until then, check out some of the best photos from Vesnina’s November nuptials below:

Elena Vesnina

Elena Vesnina

Elena Vesnina, Pavel Tabuntsov

Elena Vesnina, Ekaterina Makarova

Elena Vesnina, Pavel Tabunstov

Elena Vesnina, Pavel Tabunstov

Pavel Tabunstov, Elena Vesnina

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Kerber Closes In On No.1 Ranking

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Angelique Kerber fought back to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro at the Western & Southern Open and move within touching distance of claiming the No.1 ranking.

Watch live action from Cincinnati this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

By winning the title in Cincinnati, Kerber will end Serena Williams’ 183-week reign as World No.1, and she kept the dream alive with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory on Friday aftrnoon.

Earlier this summer Suárez Navarro edged Kerber in a high-quality encounter in Birmingham. While the rematch failed to scale these heights, for a set and a half it looked like the result would go the same way.

The chase for top spot has now seen Kerber play 21 matches since the start of June, and at times against Suárez Navarro she appeared to be running on empty. Her usual consistency from the back of the court conspicuous by its absence, the No.2 seed committed 17 unforced errors in dropping the opening set.

Fortunately for the German, the soaring temperatures and a leg injury caused her opponent to fall away spectacularly, struggling in vain to keep fatigue at bay. The turning point came midway through the second set, a scrappy game giving Kerber a 4-2 and some much-needed momentum.

Willing herself forward, she hung onto this lead, swinging a serve out wide and beyond Suárez Navarro’s reach to level the match. This positivity continued into the decider, a brilliant angled backhand bringing an immediate break as she hurtled towards a semifinal meeting with either Simona Halep.

“I think I changed a little bit my game in the second set: I was trying to go for it when I have the chance and to making the rallies a little bit shorter,” Kerber said. “I was still thinking that I can turn around the match even after losing the first set and going down a break early in the next set.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Venus Williams is through to her first Australian Open semifinal since 2003 without dropping a set after powering past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-4, 7-6(3).

“It’s wonderful to be here to start the year out with this,” an emotional Venus told the crowd on Rod Laver Arena. “I want to go further! I’m not happy just with this, but I’m just happy to be in the position to go further.”

Venus was made to work for every point by the No.24-seeded Pavlyuchenkova, who was into her first Australian Open quarterfinal and looking for a career-first Grand Slam semifinal appearance.

Pavlyuchenkova punished Venus’ vulnerable second serve throughout the match, and the American found herself trailing down a break twice in both sets. But the experience of the seven-time Grand Slam champion showed in the big moments, and she broke back each time as Pavlyuchenkova faltered.

“I just think I wasn’t fresh enough to really go for the serves,” the Russian explained later in press. “I knew that I had to serve good because she’s very aggressive on the baseline and return. I was kind of putting a bit of pressure on myself on the serve. That’s why the percentage went low.”

Venus stayed aggressive throughout the hour and forty-seven minute affair, hitting 35 winners to Pavlyuchenkova’s 17 and striking 29 unforced errors against 32. She was a force at the net as well, winning 81% of the 16 points finished at the net.

Venus Williams

The victory is Venus’ 50th win at the Australian Open, and, at 36 years old, she becomes the oldest player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Martina Navratilova in 1994 Wimbledon.

“I have a lot to give to the game,” Venus said in her post-match press conference. “I feel like I have a lot of great tennis in me. So any time you feel that way, you continue.

“Why not? I have nothing to lose, literally.”

Venus will play the unseeded CoCo Vandeweghe for a spot in the final after the American knocked out No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza in straight sets.

“To have that thought that there’s going to be at least one U.S. player in the final is great for American tennis,” Venus said.

“I’m sure she’s going to want to be in her first final. I’m going to want to be in only my second final here. So it’s going to be a well-contested match.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams is two victories away from a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title and a return to WTA World No.1 after moving into the Australian Open semifinals with a commanding win over Britain’s Johanna Konta, 6-2, 6-3.

With the victory Serena is through to her tenth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, a run stretching back to the 2014 US Open.

An even better omen for the American? She’s never been defeated at this stage of the Australian Open, having advanced to the final in the six previous times she’s reached the semifinals. This time, the promise of a return to the WTA No.1 ranking awaits should she claim her seventh Melbourne crown.

Serena snapped up the last remaining semifinal spot after her much-awaited first-time clash against Britain’s No.1 Konta, who’s been in torrid form throughout the Australian summer.

Konta’s serve had been broken only twice in the entire tournament, but she quickly found herself on the back foot against Serena’s powerful returns, dropping serve twice in the opening set.

“I think it was probably one of the best experiences of my life,” the Brit described playing Serena for the first time. “I think there’s so many things I can learn from that, so many things I can look to improve on, also acknowledge some things that I did well.

“I think, credit to her, she played an almost perfect first set. I felt she really did incredibly well. She just showed and shows why she is who she is.”

Serena Williams

Serena struggled with her own serve throughout the match as her normally powerful first serves – one of the hallmarks of her game – seemed to abandon her, giving Konta the first look at a break point in the third game of the first set. But when the serve failed Serena found other weapons to rely on, outpacing Konta from the baseline with some heavy ground strokes. A timely ace – Serena’s first of 10 in the match – bailed her out of trouble.

“My first serve wasn’t really great, but I’ve really been working on my second serve,” Serena explained later in press. “Hasn’t been great all tournament, so I’ve been kind of relying on my second serve. I’ve been relying on my groundstrokes, forehand, backhand. My returns have really picked up.

“All around, I feel like she’s a great all-around player. So I feel like I had to be on it all around today.”

With that early wobble behind her, Serena was all business as she steamrolled through the opening set, her forehand firing on all cylinders.

The American’s service woes put her in another early deficit in the final set, as Konta roared back from down 15-40 to break and open up a 3-1 lead. But the pressure from the 22-time Grand Slam champion never let up, who quickly broke back to establish parity, rattling off five games in a row to move into her 34th career Grand Slam semifinal.

Standing between Serena and the final is Mirjana Lucic-Baroni after the 34-year-old stunned No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The pair’s last match came almost two decades ago.

“It was in ’98, I remember,” Serena said of their Wimbledon match. “It was on Centre Court. That’s all I remember. I remember winning. I was so excited because I was so young. She obviously was super young, too.

“Honestly, we have totally different games now, the both of us. We both have gone through a lot. We both have survived, and here we are, which I think is a really remarkable story.”

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