Brisbane: Tuesday Highlights
Highlights from all of Tuesday’s action on Day 3 of the Brisbane International.
Highlights from all of Tuesday’s action on Day 3 of the Brisbane International.
An interview with Caroline Garcia after her win in the quarterfinals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
For tennis fans, snagging a selfie with their favorite player is the ultimate prize. But what happens when it’s a player asking the fans for selfies?
We sent Jelena Ostapenko on a selfie scavenger hunt through the grounds of the Western & Southern Open. Find out what happened when she ambushed fans, volunteers, and more in search of the ultimate selfie prize.
It’s all in the latest episode of Dubai Duty Free: Always Full Of Surprises!
Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska was joined by Simona Halep, Johanna Konta and many more for the glamorous Shenzhen Open player party.
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in New Haven for the Connecticut Open, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit four of the 100 aces in New Haven – raising a grand total of $520 throughout the week. Bouchard hit the most with three aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Last year there was a total of 152 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Eastbourne deadline is September 20 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced September 26th
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
Reports of her retirement were greatly exaggerated, Roberta Vinci declares after kicking the 2017 season by reaching the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International.
“I’m playing match to match,” she told WTA Insider after her second round win over Misaki Doi. “I saved five match points in my first round, not bad. I played in the heat, and another good match against Doi.”
“I don’t have any special goals, just playing and staying confident in mind and body.”
It was the World No.18 herself who announced at the end of 2015 that 2016 would be her last season, but became more uncertain as she continued earning impressive results like winning her first Premier title in St. Petersburg and becoming the oldest woman in WTA history to debut in the Top 10.
“I had lot of discussions with me, with myself in November after Zhuhai. This life isn’t easy but I want to continue. I love this life, this sport; I’ve had a lot of success, and I have a good ranking. In my mind, I said, ‘Ok, try to play and just enjoy without thinking about ranking. Keep going, and that’s it.'”
How much longer will she keep going? The Italian veteran plans to keep that to herself this time.
“One year, two years, but I don’t want to tell you right now so you won’t start asking me if this is my last!”
The turning point came at the US Open, the site of her greatest career triumph. One year removed from her improbable run to the final – ending Serena Williams’ Calendar Year Grand Slam bid en route – the top ranked Italian came to Flushing with an injured foot and all the pressure in the world to defend the points she’d earned. Defying the odds once more, she roared into the quarterfinals, falling to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.
“I fought a lot, and I probably had something special inside where, even though I wasn’t feeling good with my body, and wasn’t feeling confident, the passion and will took over.
“It gave me a lot of confidence in myself and was a big part of my decision to keep playing. You can’t be perfect every day, in form or body, so sometimes an injury can happen, but you can still win with the passion, fire, forehand, slice!”
Vinci ended a solid 2016 season at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai still uncertain whether she would continue, ultimately announcing her intent to play this season in late November.
Once she cleared up any doubt, it was time to get back on the court.
“The off-season is never enough, but it was nice. I stayed home in Italy with my parents. I had a great pre-season, nothing special, but I feel good, confident. I had two great matches, into the quarterfinals this week.”
Often over-analytic when it comes to ranking points – this was a player who shouted “60 points!” after a first round win at last year’s US Open – Vinci is intent on turning over a new leaf in 2017.
“When I saw the draw, I thought about how a quarterfinal is 100 points, but I’m trying not to think about that anymore. I’m happy.”
With happiness comes a more mature outlook, one the former World No.7 hopes will keep her fresh and healthy in the new year.
“I know it’s hard to work out every day; I’d speak a lot with my coach and say, ‘Today I can’t play. I’m done, finished.’ He’d say, ‘No problem; you have enough experience, and you know your body.’
“I’m happy about this decision. We’ll see from here; there might be some times when I’ll wonder ‘Why?’ but that’s normal. I’m happy, and that’s good. That’s it.”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images and Instagram.
WTA Insider | On the second day of the WTA Insider Live Blog, the top half of the draw begin their US Open campaigns, including Simona Halep and Serena Williams.
Elina Svitolina produced a spectacular finish to upset World No.1 Angelique Kerber in Thursday’s Brisbane International quarterfinals.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Anastasija Sevastova held her nerve to pull off the win of her life at the US Open, dispatching No.3 seed and reigning French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-5, 6-4.
“It still hasn’t settled in,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I mean, I’m tired mentally and it’s late. Normally I go to sleep at this time.
“It feels great, but it’s still not like I won the tournament. It’s only second round.”
Sevastova was a rising star back in 2011, reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open at 20 years old. But injuries soon sapped the desire away from the young Latvian, who hung up her racquets two years later, and was off the tour for two years more.
“I was playing a little bit. I was doing some sparring. It was better, physically. I was still playing okay. That’s why I think I decided to try again to come back.
“But you never know. A lot of people are trying to come back, and sometimes it doesn’t work out. That’s why I wanted to start from the beginning, from the lowest level.”
Playing on the game’s biggest stage, Sevastova thrilled the Arthur Ashe crowd as she took the first set and raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second, holding two match points in the next game.
“I stopped thinking. I was thinking too much at 5-2, 5-3. Then I said, ‘Okay, I have one more chance at 5-4. She’s serving. I broke her before enough times, so I will try this one more time.’
“And still, even then it’s only 5-5. It’s still an open match like the first set.”
In 2015, she came out of retirement. Tonight, she beats a GS champ. #Sevastova d. #Muguruza 7-5, 6-4. @MBUSA #usopen https://t.co/a5xfmjm8XC
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2016
That positivity took the Latvian over the finish line, breaking serve to love to clinch the biggest upset thus far.
“I think it was a very tough match,” Muguruza said after the match. “I think I didn’t play well today. I think she also played well. Everything she was doing was working. Maybe at the last part of the match I could feel like I could have a chance to come back, but, in fact, it was like 50/50.
“So at the end she played well, and that’s it.”
Still, the Spaniard seemed to take the defeat in stride, joking about her less-than-stellar record at the US Open.
“I try to give my all. I try to fight on court. She was just better. I don’t know if it’s bad luck.
“But, well, I did my best result again! I’m just saying that.”
Up next for Sevastova is Kateryna Bondarenko, who won a dramatic 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-5 match over China’s Zheng Saisai earlier in the evening.
#Sevastova with the UPSET ? tonight. Hear the call ? as she defeats No. 3 #Muguruza. https://t.co/TUa8gGkyTL
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2016
Here’s how Alizé Cornet reacted after pulling off a stunning upset over World No.5 Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International.