Tennis News

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Upsets reigned supreme in the top half of the draw on Friday at Indian Wells, with seeds going only 7-9. Will the chaos continue on Sunday? We preview today’s third-round matchups here.

Sunday, Third Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA # 1) vs. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ # 56)
Head-to-head: Williams leads 1-0
Key Stat: Williams will bid for her 20th career win at Indian Wells against just one loss.

After her second-round victory over Laura Siegemund of Germany, Williams admitted that she’s a lot less nervous than she was last year, when she ended her boycott and played in the desert for the first time since 2001. “I was really kind of stressed out last year,” Williams told reporters. “It was a lot of emotions last year. This year it was a lot easier. I mean, obviously there is still something there, but it’s a lot easier to just deal with everything.” A more relaxed Williams could spell big trouble for Yulia Putintseva, but don’t expect the 21-year-old to lay down and play dead. She’s as fiery as they come and she’ll come out ready to take her shots at the World No.1.

Pick: Williams in two

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3) vs. [32] Monica Niculescu (ROU # 34)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Radwanska has reached the semis in all three events she has played in 2016.

Radwanska saved a match point in making a valiant comeback to dispatch Dominika Cibulkova on Friday. Next up, she’ll face a fellow slice-and-dicer in the quirky Monica Niculescu, who took out Heather Watson to reach the third round at Indian Wells for the first time. Though Radwanska comes in as the heavy favorite, Niculescu comes in with good form, having notched wins over Petra Kvitova, Sabine Lisicki and Jelena Jankovic this season.

Pick: Radwanska in two

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS # 32)
Head-to-head: Halep leads 2-1
Key Stat: Defending champion Halep was the WTA’s hardcourt match win leader in 2015 (41-11).

Jazzed after an inspiring hitting session with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in Las Vegas last week, Simona Halep came out and blitzed Vania King to reach the third round. But the competition stiffens for the Romanian on Sunday as 30th-seeded Ekaterina Makarova steps up. Halep owns the head-to-head edge over the Russian but Makarova won their biggest match to date at the 2015 Australian Open. To be honest, neither player has played anywhere near their potential this year, but a big win on Sunday could do a lot for the confidence of either player.

Pick: Halep in three

[8] Petra Kvitova (CZE # 8) vs. Johanna Larsson (SWE # 66)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads 2-0 (both meetings Challenger-level)
Key Stat: Kvitova has fallen against players ranked outside the Top 50 at her last two tournaments (Dubai/Brengle, Doha/Ostapenko).

Petra Kvitova narrowly avoided the upset in defeating Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in a third-set tiebreaker on Friday, and on Sunday she’ll look win back-to-back matches for the first time in 2016. The serve is the glue that generally holds the Kvitova game together, but in her last two matches the Czech has faced 26 break points. That’s too many. Kvitova will have to take command of her service games to go deep into the tournament, but if she can tighten up her game she may be able to ride her favorable draw all the way to the semis or beyond.

Pick: Kvitova in two

[19] Jelena Jankovic (SRB #19) vs. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA # 38)
Head-to-head: Tied, 3-3
Key Stat: 2010 champion Jankovic snapped a three-match losing streak versus Vandeweghe with a straight-sets win in Sydney over the American in January.

CoCo Vandeweghe is a bit of a wild card, and she can be prone to inconsistency. But when the hard-serving 24-year-old is on, she can be a terror to face. On Sunday the American will try to get past last year’s runner-up Jelena Jankovic, but beating the Serb in the desert has always proven to be a difficult task. Jankovic owns 24 career wins here, but she’s struggled to find her form thus far in 2016, going 5-7. Meanwhile, Vandeweghe has won six of eight matches—three of which came against Top 20 opposition—since dropping her first three tilts of the season.

Pick: Vandeweghe in three

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina is into the biggest final of her career after upsetting top seed Angelique Kerber in straight sets at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Friday; standing between her and her sixth career title is none other than 2011 champion and former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Check out everything you need to know about this high-stakes affair right here on wtatennis.com!

1. Svitolina can crack the Top 10 if she wins on Saturday.
Svitolina has been on the cusp of making her Top 10 debut for quite some time, and the Ukrainian youngster can close the deal should she beat Wozniacki in the final.

2. The Ukrainian is riding an 11-match winning streak.
Svitolina recovered from a third round upset at the Australian Open in impressive fashion, picking up her fifth career title at the Taiwan Open, leading her country to a Fed Cup victory over Australia, and reaching the final in Dubai.

3. Wozniacki is definitely at home in Dubai.
A Dubai Duty Free ambassador, Wozniacki overtook former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic’s record total of match wins in Dubai on Friday, winning a 22nd match in seven appearances. She last reached the final in 2011, when she beat Svetlana Kuznetsova for the title.

4. The Dane is surging in 2017.
Wozniacki began this season much like she ended last; since reaching the semifinals of the US Open, she’s been on fire, reaching back-to-back finals in Doha and Dubai; the last time she did that was in 2014, when she reached two straight finals in Flushing and Tokyo at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

5. The No.2 spot on the Road to Singapore leaderboard is on the line.
Not only can Svitolina earn a career-high ranking, but a win on Saturday will also send her shooting up the RTS leaderboard, all the way to No.2. The runner-up will also be in the Top 8, ranked No.5. Svitolina would make be making her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, while Wozniacki qualified four times, most recently in 2014.

6. Svitolina saves her best for the game’s best.
The No.7 seed not only defeated Kerber for the second time this season, but also owns a three-match winning streak on the former No.1, dating back to the China Open in Beijing. She also knocked then-No.1 Serena Williams out of the Olympic tennis event; in her last three encounters with World No.1s, Svitolina’s won two.

7. Wozniacki aims for Miami Open revenge.
Wozniacki and Svitolina played just once before, in the third round of the Miami Open; Svitolina recovered from a set down to defeat the Dane, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1) in a late-night match.

8. Svitolina is one win from her biggest title yet.
Svitolina has already racked up five titles in her young career, but all on the International level. She finished runner-up at the Connecticut Open and the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai to Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova, respectively, and reached the final four last fall in Beijing.

9. Wozniacki returns to the big time.
Barring the US Open final, Wozniacki hadn’t reached a Premier Mandatory or Premier 5 final since 2013 at the BNP Paribas Open. This would be her biggest title since beating Naomi Osaka in the Tokyo final last fall.

10. The final takes place after a rousing doubles championship match.
Before Wozniacki and Svitolina hit the courts, new Road to Singapore leaderboard No.1s Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai face Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. The Russians are into their second final of the season while Hlavackova are in their third, including the Australian Open.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Their 41-match winning streak had come to an end at the Qatar Total Open, but Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s hopes of claiming a second straight BNP Paribas Open title were halted by an unseeded but dangerous pair in Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva, 7-6(7), 6-4.

“We had a game plan and I feel like we executed it really well,” King, who won back-to-back Grand Slam titles with Yaroslava Shvedova at the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open, said after the match. “We tried to take control of the points and not let them dictate the match play, and I think we did that really well. That’s why we won.”

King and Kudryavtseva are playing just their second tournament of 2016 – King sat out much of 2015 with a back injury – but already have a Grand Slam quarterfinal under their belt at the Australian Open. After edging past the top seeds in a tense tie-break, the American/Russian duo raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second set – eventually breaking at love to hand Santina their first straight-sets loss since the summer of 2015 (Rogers Cup).

“I’m feeling very glad that I have a partner like Vania; she had a great game plan. We stuck with each other through the goods and the bads, and it pays off for a doubles team to do that,” Kudryavtseva said.

“That’s what I’m useful for; I just have good game plans, and that’s all!” King added with a laugh.

“And she has good energy, and she’s a fantastic, phenomenal tennis player,” Kudryavtseva continued. “She’s really motivated. It’s nice to be around someone who has so much positive energy and love for tennis. I think we’re really enjoying ourselves on the court, good chemistry.

“We obviously complement each other well; Vania moves a lot, and I try to move a lot. We have good returns.

“I feel like as a team, all the pieces kind of fit together, and it’s only our second tournament, and we obviously have a long way to go – hopefully – but we’re playing well and we’re enjoying each other’s company; it’s great.”

Into their second straight quarterfinal, fast-rising duo face a rematch of their Australian Open encounter with Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova; the big-hitting pair survived a tough match against Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina – the very team who ended the Santina Streak in Doha – in a match tie-break, 6-1, 6-7(5), 10-4.

Deciding to pair up at the end of last season, Kudryavtseva has told WTA Insider that she and King are looking to make 2016 a season to remember; each have qualified for the WTA Finals before – King in 2010 and 2011, Kudryavtseva in 2014 – but are trying to keep a return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in the back of their minds for the time being.

“I think we have to take it match by match, tournament by tournament,” King said. “Our communication is really good, we get along on and off the court, which is important. We don’t feel any pressure to not say something to one another; we can easily talk to each other about how we feel on or off the court – if we want to work on something, or if one sees something and the other one doesn’t.

“Obviously we hope can get to Singapore. If we take it one match at a time, that’s how we will play our best at the end of the day, enjoying each day on the court, going for our shots and going from there.”

DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina took home her second title of 2017 – and the biggest one of her career – at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

Playing in her first Premier 5 final, Svitolina showed no sign of nerves as she outhit the former World No.1 to claim the victory 6-4, 6-2 after an hour and 10 minutes.

“It’s very special for me [to win such a big tournament],” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “I’ve played very amazing tennis this week and I’m happy it happened in Dubai.

“It’s the first trophy for me at such a big tournament, so it’s very special for me.”

“I dreamed for all my life to be in the Top 10” -@ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/T4CooJ6Nw3

— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017

With the title, Svitolina will rise from WTA No.13 to No.10, making her the 120^th player to make her Top 10 debut since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975.

“I’ve dreamed for all my life to be in Top 10. It’s a very amazing feeling to enter Top 10, and do it by winning the tournament! I’m very excited for the season and very excited I could win this tournament.”

The 22-year-old Ukrainian entered the matchup against Wozniacki with a 1-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, with their only meeting coming last year in Miami where Svitolina came within two points of defeat before winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1).

This time in Dubai, it was a more comprehensive affair, with Svitolina injecting pace into her groundstrokes to break down Wozniacki’s rock-solid defense.

.@ElinaSvitolina captures @DDFTennis Title!

Defeats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/TA3LibF8zn

— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017

A pair of inch-perfect passing shots left Wozniacki wrong-footed and gave Svitolina the lone break in the first set at 3-2. But the Dane refused to fade away, batting away a pair of Svitolina set points at 5-4 with some bold tennis – including a second-serve ace – to force the Ukrainian to serve it out.

Wozniacki let three break points slip by that would have leveled the score, and instead Svitolina held serve from 0-40 down to take the opening set.

Svitolina continued her momentum into the final set; after trading breaks to start, Svitolina played more aggressive to chip away at Wozniacki’s defense as the Dane’s unforced error count continued to build. Svitolina rattled off the last five games in a row to close out the match and biggest title of her career.

“It’s been a good two weeks, @DDFTennis is a special tournament for me.” -@CaroWozniacki pic.twitter.com/xVVyG0fmXK

— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017

Despite the disappointing loss, Wozniacki is taking away positive signs from her Middle East fortnight, which saw her reach back-to-back finals.

“It’s been a good two weeks for me – two finals, lots of matches,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “Making another final here [in Dubai] is definitely great, and I’m already excited to be back.”

Another piece of good news for Wozniacki? The Dane is inching closer to her return to the WTA Top 10: with her run to the final she’ll move to No.14, and is defending just 145 points until the US Open.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Victoria Azarenka clinches a berth in the second week of the BNP Paribas Open for the fifth time in her career, holding off a surging Zhang Shuai, 6-4, 6-3.

The Chinese wildcard is in the midst of a career-best season, having reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open as a qualifier, and upset former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki less than 48 hours ago to set up the meeting with Azarenka, the 2012 champion in Indian Wells.

“She’s a very tricky opponent,” Azarenka admitted to Andrew Krasny after the match. “She’s playing with so much confidence and so free, and it’s the first time we’ve played each other. So, at the beginning it’s always a moment of adaptation, and she returned really well.

“I felt like I didn’t do enough on my service games and I had to step it up because she kept playing really aggressive and taking control. So, I’m glad I was able to put it in my hands.”

Adapt Azarenka did as the math unfolded, striking 27 winners to 13 from Zhang, and keeping her error count low, as well – 23 to 30. Edging ahead by an early break in the second set, Azarenka showed off some impressive gets in the last game to break Zhang once more to earn the final spot in the round of 16.

“Last year, I was a little slow. This year is definitely a different year. I’m glad I keep improving my speed; it’s so important in today’s tennis to be prepared physically so I’m really working on that.

“I’m glad that all the work off court is paying off on court.”

Up next for the former No.1 is No.26 seed and 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur, who outlasted a fiesty Christina McHale, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

As night fell on Indian Wells, 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina emerged victorious after a titanic effort against Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig; the young Russian led 3-0 in the final set but had to turn things around in a hurry when she found herself down match point at 4-5.

Making her BNP Paribas Open debut, Kasatkina broke Puig in that all-important tenth game and despite missing out on two match points of her own at 6-5, she displayed impressive tenacity in the final set tie-break, setting up a fourth round encounter with Timea Bacsinszky with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory.

“I’m a little bit tired, but I’m happy because, even though I didn’t play my best tennis over three sets, in the last three games I started to play better, so it means that I’m improving,” she said after the match.

“From the first practice, I feel like my spins are flying and the balls are good, so I like to play here because it’s a good surface for me.”

Although fans are most familiar with SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches powered by SAP HANA during on-court coaching breaks, it goes beyond the match to provide players and coaches with real-time insights throughout the season.

“Using SAP stats to review matches is an ongoing thing,” said Nicole Pratt, who coaches Daria Gavrilova. “We use it to prepare for the next match, for the next tournament, for the year ahead.”

SAP Tennis Analytics for Coaches allows for real-time statistics and data provided via Hawk-Eye during matches, with coaches now able to take an iPad tablet out on court during on-court coaching timeouts as well as practice sessions to deliver more detailed messages to their players.

Watch the video above to hear how Angelique Kerber, Lucie Safarova and Daria Gavrilova and their coaching teams use SAP Tennis Analytics to regroup after a match and prepare for the season ahead.