Sydney: Kuznetsova vs Halep
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Simona Halep in the semifinals of the Apia International Sydney.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Simona Halep in the semifinals of the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Petra Kvitova before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
WTA Insider David Kane | After a comprehensive win over Timea Babos, Timea Bacsinszky began her press conference on a lighter note by showing off a WTA Elite Trophy souvenir.
Svetlana Kuznetsova has Friday’s shot of the day at the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Venus Williams before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
Elina Svitolina wins the Rose Group after her straight sets victory over Elena Vesnina to return to the semifinals at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza continued to play incredible tennis in her debut at the Olympic tennis event, defeating Nao Hibino, 6-1, 6-1, to reach the third round.
Playing her first tournament since Wimbledon might have put pressure on the No.3 seed, Muguruza has dropped a combined six games in her first two matches, wrapping up her win over Hibino in just under an hour.
Hibino had kicked off her Olympic campaign by knocking out Irina-Camelia Begu, but had no answers for Muguruza’s mix of pace and precision, dropping serve five times in the straight set decision.
Up next for Muguruza is Monica Puig, who upset No.14 seed and Wimbledon quarterfinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-2.
.@GarbiMuguruza needs just 56 minutes to defeat Japan's Nao Hibino 61 61 + set up a 3rd round match v Puig #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/S8Hesxb8fH
— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 8, 2016
More to come…
ZHUHAI, China – Asked what she would take with her from 2016, Petra Kvitova gave a sleepy smile.
“I would like to take myself,” she told WTA Insider after advancing into the semifinals of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
“I think, somehow, I found myself this season. Maybe being without a coach was important to help me do that.”
Kvitova kicked off her season by splitting with David Kotyza, her coach of seven years. She turned around a tough year at the Olympic tennis event, winning a Bronze medal that foreshadowed a fantastic fall swing.
“I have so many great memories of the Olympics, not only from tennis, but also from getting to meet new friends, athletes, and people in the Village and Czech House. They’ll stay forever in my heart, and it was great to be part of it.
“I played good in the second half of the season without a coach. I think that’s very interesting. I think I’m more relaxed right now and that’s how I’ll also try to be next season.”
The two-time Wimbledon winner does plan to take on a new coach before the end of the off-season, having parted with Frantisek Cermak following the US Open. For Kvitova, chemistry is key.
“To be honest, it’s hasn’t been really easy,” she said of her search. “For me, personality is important. I’m probably a little bit of a different player; I just need someone who is relaxed, who knows how to have fun and has a similar sense of humor.
“He has to understand me, but he also has to be a good tennis coach. It’s really not easy to find someone like this, but I’m really looking hard. We’ll see; we still have a little bit of time. I need to find one soon!”
Kvitova is looking to form a bond much like the one she finds within the Czech Fed Cup team, which plays France in next week’s final.
“We’re not only good players, but also good people. We’re never fighting with each other; we act as a team, and I think that’s very important. None of us make trouble, and we all work well together.
.@Petra_Kvitova gets through to the #semifinals of 2016 #WTAEliteTrophy , tops #Strycova in 6-1,6-4!?✨??#PeonyGroup pic.twitter.com/FJzC9bQ2Bk
— WTA Elite Trophy (@WTAEliteTrophy) November 4, 2016
“For example, if one of us needs to schedule a massage, we talk all talk and decide who gets to go first; it’s the same with practice schedules. Communication is very important for a team.”
The four-time Fed Cup champion went head-to-head with teammate Barbora Strycova – winning, 6-1, 6-4 – on Friday, and next plays Chinese No.1 Zhang Shuai for a spot in the Zhuhai final.
“It’s never easy to play someone like Barbora; she’s a great player, and playing a teammate is always extra difficult – especially when we’re playing together next week.
“I came to China with the goal of qualifying for Zhuhai. It has been a kind of funny season for me; after a not so great first half, I started to play well. Having this tournament is great; with the Fed Cup final next week, I was happy to qualify and play more matches before that.
“It will be a nice end of the season.”
.@Petra_Kvitova feeling good ahead of the @WTAEliteTrophy semifinals pic.twitter.com/beI5y6W7Qf
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 4, 2016
All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Maria Sharapova shone in her first match of the 2016 season, serving up a straight set victory over Japanese up-and-comer Nao Hibino under the lights of Margaret Court Arena.
There were question marks surrounding Sharapova’s health after she withdrew from her only lead-up event in Brisbane due to a left forearm injury suffered in practice, but there were no ill effects on Monday night as the No.5-seeded Russian powered past Hibino in an hour and 13 minutes, 6-1, 6-3.
“It was just nice to get on court and face the opportunity of playing a first match,” Sharapova said afterwards. “No matter how much you train, it’s always different when you walk out onto the court.
“It’s definitely a relief to get that first one out of the way.”
Sharapova was also told she’s Hibino’s idol and that the Japanese has posters of her on her wall.
“She’s got to take those off! It’s time to put her posters up there,” Sharapova said.
“I actually hadn’t heard much about her, and I hadn’t seen too much of her game before I went on the court today. She actually likes the pace and takes the pace quite well. For a first Grand Slam performance I thought she was there till the end. That’s impressive. She never let in, never gave up.
“I mean, experience is priceless for anyone, but especially for someone that’s just starting out in their Grand Slam experience,” Sharapova added. “I’m sure she’ll have a great future ahead of her.”
Sharapova has now won 46 of her last 47 Grand Slam first round matches – her only loss in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2003 came at the hands of Maria Kirilenko at the 2010 Australian Open.
The other Top 8 seeds in action also advanced in straight sets, with No.1 seed Serena Williams edging Camila Giorgi in a tight two-setter, 6-4, 7-5 (read more here), No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska outfoxing Christina McHale, 6-2, 6-3 (read more here) and No.6 seed Petra Kvitova overpowering Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum, 6-3, 6-1, revenge for losing to her in the same round two years ago.
There were a slew of upsets among the lower seeds, though, most notably No.16 seed Caroline Wozniacki falling to Yulia Putintseva in a thriller, 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 (read more about that match here).
Other upsets saw Margarita Gasparyan edge No.17 seed Sara Errani, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, Elizaveta Kulichkova take out No.22 seed Andrea Petkovic, 7-5, 6-4, Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang outdo No.24 seed Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-3, Lauren Davis outlast No.26 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Daria Kasatkina dispatch the No.27-seeded Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-3, 6-3.
The night match saw Czech qualifier Kristyna Pliskova send No.25 seed Sam Stosur out, 6-4, 7-6(6).
No.10 seed Carla Suárez Navarro, No.12 seed Belinda Bencic, No.13 seed Roberta Vinci, No.23 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.28 seed Kristina Mladenovic and Eugenie Bouchard all moved through.
Hello 2016!! So nice to be back at the @AustralianOpen #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/HoceAzkdm1
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) January 18, 2016
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova backed up their upset over No.1 seeded team in the last round with another victory, coming back from a set down to oust the Canadian team of Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 at the Olympic tennis event.
Strycova and Safarova are a regular pairing when playing doubles in Fed Cup, and once again their games clicked together for the Czech Republic as they took on Bouchard and Dabrowski in the second round.
Fresh off of pulling off a straight-sets stunner against three-time doubles gold medalists Serena Williams and Venus Williams, the Czech duo had more trouble getting past the Canadians. The two teams traded breaks twice in the opening set to send it to a tiebreak, where Dabrowski’s monumental effort at the net gave them the edge. But the Czechs recovered from the early deficit and broke twice to take the second set and even up the score.
After trading breaks once more to start off the final set, Safarova and Strycova earned the decisive one for a 4-3 lead and consolidated after a fierce battle. They marched into the quarterfinals after a two-hour and 11 minute encounter.
More to come…