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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – After more than a week of compelling tennis, Johanna Konta and Caroline Wozniacki are the last two standing at the Miami Open, as both women look to raise the trophy for the first time at the WTA Premier Mandatory event.

Here are 10 things to know before Saturday’s championship showdown.

Johanna Konta (GBR #11) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #14)
Head-to-head: Konta leads, 1-0

1) Maiden (in) Miami.
Both players will break new ground in their careers when they set foot on court on Saturday, as each is competing in her first-ever final at the Miami Open. Playing in Miami for the 10th time, Wozniacki’s best result previously came in 2012, when she reached the semifinals. Konta is playing in Miami for just the second time in her career, and reached the quarterfinals in her 2016 debut.

2) Wozniacki Goes Four for Four.
Wozniacki has reached the final of all four Premier Mandatory events in her career with her success in Miami this week. The former World No.1 first was runner-up at the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open; won the BNP Paribas Open in 2011; and won the China Open in 2010. Konta will contest her second final at Premier Mandatory level out of her last three, finishing runner-up to Agnieszka Radwanska in Beijing last fall.

3) Comebacks – and upsets (on paper).
Over the course of the week, both women have recorded wins over higher-ranked players en route to the final. Konta ousted No.3 seed Simona Halep in a marathon quarterfinal match, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2, after the Romanian served for the match in the second set, and was two points away from victory. Wozniacki also rallied from a set down to defeat No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova in Thursday’s semifinals.

4) Third Time’s the Charm?
While Miami marks both Wozniacki and Konta’s first Premier Mandatory final of the season, both players have already reached finals this year. Wozniacki will contest her third final of 2017 after Doha and Dubai, the most on tour this season. While the Dane is looking to win her first title of the year, Konta is appearing in her second final after winning the Apia International Sydney.

5) Lucky Number…45.
With this result, Wozniacki becomes just the fourth active player to reach 45 career finals on the WTA Tour; the 26-year-old has reached at least one final every year since the 2008 season.

6) Recent History, Down Under.
The two have only met once before just two months ago at the Australian Open. In the third round match, Konta broke serve four times en route to a 6-3, 6-1 victory in one hour, 17 minutes.

7) Top 10 Implications.
Regardless of Saturday’s result, Konta is assured of returning to the WTA Top 10. With a victory, the Brit will rise to a new career-high of No.7, bettering her previous of No.9 from last fall. For Wozniacki, only a victory in the final will get her back inside the Top 10 for the first time since 2015, with a rise to No.8 in the rankings.

8) The Road to the Final.
Combined, both players have dropped three sets this week. Konta had a battle on her hands in her first match of the week against qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich before her quarterfinal comeback against Halep. By contrast, Wozniacki rolled through her first four matches without losing a set until the semifinals.

9) A Bit of British History.
Konta is looking to become the first British woman to not only win the title in Miami, but also win a WTA Premier Mandatory event.

10) Singapore Shakeup.
A win for Wozniacki would see her rise to No.1 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, ahead of Karolina Pliskova and Serena Williams, while Konta would sit in fifth.  Should Konta win the title, she will sit behind Pliskova in second, while Wozniacki will rise to third.

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Around The Grounds In Cincinnati

Around The Grounds In Cincinnati

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
Simona Halep addressed the media before the start of the Western & Southern Open. The No.3 seed is on a 10 match winning streak after back to back titles in Bucharest and Montréal.

Simona Halep addressed the media before the start of the Western & Southern Open. The No.3 seed is on a 10 match winning streak after back to back titles in Bucharest and Montréal.

Garbiñe Muguruza, the No.4 seed, is looking to get back to her winning ways after her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

Garbiñe Muguruza, the No.4 seed, is looking to get back to her winning ways after her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

Meanwhile, Madrid Open semifinalist Louisa Chirico fielded questions at the Western & Southern Open’s High School Day.

Meanwhile, Madrid Open semifinalist Louisa Chirico fielded questions at the Western & Southern Open’s High School Day.

She was joined by ATP player Taylor Fritz and they handed out signed tennis balls to all the fans.

She was joined by ATP player Taylor Fritz and they handed out signed tennis balls to all the fans.

Belinda Bencic was popular at Kids Day, signing autographs for young fans. She’s hoping to make a deep run here in Cincinnati, her first tournament back from injury since Wimbledon.

Belinda Bencic was popular at Kids Day, signing autographs for young fans. She’s hoping to make a deep run here in Cincinnati, her first tournament back from injury since Wimbledon.

Karolina Pliskova also made sure to leave young fans happy with some signed tennis balls.

Karolina Pliskova also made sure to leave young fans happy with some signed tennis balls.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows in Cincinnati. Clouds rolled in on Monday and the inclement weather stopped play for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows in Cincinnati. Clouds rolled in on Monday and the inclement weather stopped play for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Once the sky cleared, Cincy’s tireless ballkids were out in full force to make sure the courts were dry and ready for play.

Once the sky cleared, Cincy’s tireless ballkids were out in full force to make sure the courts were dry and ready for play.

They got a sweet reward for their hard work, in the form of a visit from No.9 seed Carla Suárez Navarro.

They got a sweet reward for their hard work, in the form of a visit from No.9 seed Carla Suárez Navarro.

One lucky ball girl even won a hat autographed by Suárez Navarro, too!

One lucky ball girl even won a hat autographed by Suárez Navarro, too!

Not to be outdone, Halep took over the tournament’s autograph booth and doled out signed card after card.

Not to be outdone, Halep took over the tournament’s autograph booth and doled out signed card after card.

With 15 of the WTA’s Top 20 all vying for the title at the Western & Southern Open, there’s sure to be a lot more action in store at the last big event before the US Open!

With 15 of the WTA’s Top 20 all vying for the title at the Western & Southern Open, there’s sure to be a lot more action in store at the last big event before the US Open!

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Strycova Dampens Bouchard's Spirits

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Barbora Strycova maintained her composure to defeat Eugenie Bouchard in their rain-affected first-round encounter at the Western & Southern Open.

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

A match scheduled second on the order of play eventually finished under the floodlights, Strycova making light of several interruptions from the weather to complete a 6-4, 6-0 victory.

“I’m not sure how I stayed focused through all of it. I think the first set was the deciding point – I was holding serve all the time and then I broke her at 3-3. I believed in myself and I’m happy that I did it,” Strycova said in her on-court interview.

Despite defeating Bouchard handily in Rome earlier in the season, there was no danger of complacency on Strycova’s part; the Canadian is a different proposition on hard as proved by impressively qualifying for the main draw.

And she started their rematch confidently enough, firing a forehand into the corner to carve out the first break point. Strycova, though, managed to repel this early danger and was soon presented with a chance of her own. Bouchard fired wide and it proved a costly error as the Czech hung onto this slender advantage to take the set.

As the clouds began to gather menacingly overhead, Strycova hurtled towards the finishing line, playing the tidier tennis to open a 5-0 lead in the second set. Another lengthy downpour halted her progress temporarily before returning to rattle off the final four points of the match.

“I felt good today and Eugenie is such a good player that you always have to stay focused,” Strycova, who finished with 15 winners and 19 unforced errors, said. “That’s what I did today and I think that was the key.”

Strycova turned 30 earlier this year but is arguably playing the best tennis of her career; finals in Dubai and Birmingham have helped propelled her back into the Top 20, while in doubles she teamed up with Lucie Safarova to win Olympic bronze.

In the next round she will play another of the tour’s elder stateswomen, former US Open champion and No.14 seed Samantha Stosur.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MIAMI, FL, USA – The British media celebrated Johanna Konta’s win at the Miami Open with plenty of print space and air time – and are hoping she’ll rise even further up the rankings than her current career high of No.7.

Konta said in her post-match press conference that she hoped her journey in the tournament would garner lots of attention for the sport.

“If the coverage has been good then it’s great for us,” said the British No.1. “It’s promoting tennis, and hopefully promoting more people to play.”

And so it has proved – starting with a front-page splash in the Sunday Times. 

Comparisons are inevitably being drawn with Virginia Wade, Britain’s last female singles Slam winner – but Konta has played that down, although she admitted she would love to win Wimbledon.

The Daily Mail reported that she said: “It does sound quite monumental but winning Wimbledon is a dream and hopefully one day I will get an opportunity to play for such a title.” 

The Daily Telegraph’s tennis correspondent Simon Briggs assessed Konta’s chances of a Slam title thus: “How much further, then, can this late-blooming champion climb? Two years ago, Konta was ranked around the 150-mark, which did not even earn her a spot in the qualifying tournament here. Now she stands alongside Pliskova and world No 1 Angelique Kerber as one of the women most likely to worry Serena Williams.”

In the Guardian, Kevin Mitchell wrote: “Konta was clearly the better player in this match as well as the one in Melbourne. That was such a clear indicator of how far the British No1 has come in a relatively short time. There would not have been many takers backing Konta to beat Wozniacki even a couple of years ago. Now she has to set her sights higher.”

And of course Konta’s Fed Cup teammates were also thrilled for her – Naomi Broady and Heather Watson were straight on Twitter to publicly congratulate their friend.

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