Tennis News

LONDON, England – No.4 seed Angelique Kerber booked her place in the last 16 of Wimbledon with a straight set victory over Carina WItthoeft on Saturday.

While her title rivals labored, Kerber has quietly gone about her business in the opening week, continuing her unfettered progress with a 7-6(11), 6-1 win over fellow German Witthoeft.

An evenly contested first set looked to be going Kerber’s way when she broke in the 11th game. However, Witthoeft hit straight back, capitalizing on a series on uncharacteristic errors from the No.4 seed. This fighting spirit was evident in the tie-break, too, a series of winners helping her fend off four set points before a relieved Kerber converted at the fifth time of asking.

The second set was a more stop-start affair, Kerber taking a couple of rain delays in her stride to secure a fourth-round meeting with Misaki Doi.

A warm embrace between compatriots Kerber and Witthoeft as the No.4 seed advances to the fourth round#Wimbledon https://t.co/ECgQhRbd1w

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) 2 July 2016

Kerber is through to the second week at the All England Club for just the third time in her career, and despite finding herself in a wide-open section of the draw will not be looking beyond Doi. At this January’s Australian Open, the German came from match point down to defeat Doi en route to the title.

“I am expecting a really close match. She is a lefty, as well. We never played on grass before. I think this is also a little bit different than to Australia,” Kerber said about her rematch with Doi. “But I know that she is a tough opponent. I was match point down in Australia.

“But I will try not to think about who I’m playing. I will go out there trying to play my game like always, and let’s see.”

There were also hard-fought wins for Sloane Stephens and Timea Bacsinszky in a couple of the rain-affected second-round matches. Resuming midway through the final set, No.18 seed Stephens held her nerve to see off Mandy Minella, 3-6, 7-6(6), 8-6.

Meanwhile, Bacsinszky, the No.11 seed, came out all guns blazing against Monica Niculescu, reeling off six straight games to close out a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.

LONDON, Great Britain – In a rematch of the riveting Australian Open final, can Serena Williams lock up her 22nd major title over her Melbourne conqueror, Angelique Kerber?

The top seed has suffered three straight Grand Slam disappointments, but seems to have gotten her swagger back since her second round struggle against American Christina McHale, and played some of her best tennis of the fortnight to dismiss Elena Vesnina in the semifinals.

Kerber is looking for her second major of the season, and surely has fond memories of her Australian Open triumph over the six-time Wimbledon winner. The German hasn’t dropped a set through her first six matches, playing clutch tennis against No.5 seed Simona Halep and five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in ehr last two matches.

Stay tuned for Saturday’s Wimbledon final Live Blog, which promises to-the-minute commentary an insight, courtesy of WTA Insider’s Courtney Nguyen:

All at once, World No.1 Serena Williams was the hunter and the hunted, in search of a 22nd Grand Slam title – which would tie Stefanie Graf’s Open Era record – while trying to fend off a rising opposition from challengers like Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza, who each defeated her at the Australian Open and French Open finals.

“I have definitely had some sleepless nights, if I’m just honest, with a lot of stuff,” Serena said in the latest WTA Insider Champions Corner. “Coming so close. Feeling it, not being able to quite get there.”

Turning around a tense three-setter against fellow American Christina McHale, the top seed shook off the disappointment of the last six months and roared to her seventh Wimbledon crown, not dropping another set and avenging her Melbourne loss to Kerber in the championship match.

“One day I woke and I felt different. I felt I can do better. I can do this. Not only can I do this but I’m going to do this and there’s nothing in this world that’s going to stop me.”

The win tied her with Graf and put her in pole position to break the record at the upcoming US Open, the site of her first major triumph in 1999 and where she began her second Serena Slam in 2014.

“I definitely feel like when I lose I don’t feel as good about myself. But then I have to remind myself that you are Serena Williams. Do you know what you’ve done, who you are, what you continue to do not only in tennis, off the court? You’re awesome. I think that shows the human side of me, that I’m not a robot. I only expect perfection.”

If it’s not perfection from the 22-time Grand Slam champion, it’s pretty close – and more than enough to earn her the mantle of June’s WTA Player of the Month!

Final Results for June’s WTA Player Of The Month

1. Serena Williams (62%)
2. Dominika Cibulkova (21%)
3. Angelique Kerber (14%)
4. Madison Keys (3%)

2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners

January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

Every week on wtatennis.com we bring you 10 Things To Know about the week – who is playing, where and much more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through Stanford, Washington DC and Bastad…

1. Vintage Venus Williams is Stanford top seed.
No.1 seed Venus Williams, two-time champion (2000, 2002) and five-time runner-up (1998-1999, 2004-2005, 2009) at Stanford is back in action after coming off a semifinal finish at Wimbledon.

2. Newlywed Dominika Cibulkova seeks a second crown…
2013 Champion and No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova is back to earth after her fairytale fortnight at Wimbledon. She’s looking to make another deep run in Stanford, following a nine-match winning streak by clinching the title at Eastbourne and reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

3. …while British No.1 Johanna Konta makes her Stanford debut.
At this time last year, Britain’s Johanna Konta was ranked in the 120s and playing ITF events leading up to her big breakthrough later in the fall. Now, she sits at a career-high ranking of No.18 and is making her Stanford debut.

4. Kerber makes her Bastad comeback…
World No.2 Angelique Kerber returns to Bastad for the first time in five years. The German is coming off her second Grand Slam final appearance at Wimbledon. She gets Swedish wildcard Cornelia Lister in the first round.

5. … but three former champions are also back in the hunt.
Three former Bastad finalists are back in this year’s main draw: Mona Barthel (2014 champion, 2015 runner-up), Polona Hercog (2011, 2012 champion), Johanna Larsson (2011, 2013 runner-up, 2015 champion).

6. And Kiki Bertens is still red hot.
No.3 seed Kiki Bertens will be looking to continue her clay-court success in Bastad, as the 24-year-old Dutch woman won her second WTA title at Nurnberg before reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros. She’s also fresh off a run to the final in Gstaad.

7. Cagla Buyukakcay looks to make her mark.
Turkey’s No.1 Buyukakcay is one to watch in Bastad: she won her first WTA career singles title at her home tournament in Istanbul this year, also qualifying her for her first Grand Slam main draw at Roland Garros, reaching the second round

8. Can Sloane Stephens make it four?
Defending champion and No.2 seed Sloane Stephens returns to Washington DC where she captured her first WTA title in 2015. Now, the American has won three more titles – Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston – all this year. Can Stephens defend her title and make it four titles in 2016?

9. Another young American looms in the draw…
Unseeded Shelby Rogers is sitting at a career-high ranking of No.59 after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros, where she took out three seeds (No.17 Pliskova, No.10 Kvitova, No.25 Begu).

10) Find out where you can watch live action this week.

STANFORD, CA, USA – 17-year-old Catherine Bellis thrilled the Northern California crowd in her first round against No.6 seed Jelena Ostapenko; the American ousted the Latvian youngster, 6-4, 6-4 at the Bank of the West Classic.

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

“In the end, I was just a little bit more consistent than she was,” she said in her on-court interview. “I just tried to make as many balls as I could – especially in that last game. It was a little tight; I had a couple of heart attacks, but it’s all good!”

Bellis burst onto the scene back in 2014, when at 15 years of age, she stunned Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the US Open to become the youngest woman to win a main draw match there in nearly a decade. Two years on, the potential still burned bright from the young American, who twice recovered from early deficits to survive the surging Ostapenko, who struggled on serve with nine double faults in the 72 minute match.

Injured in doubles on Monday, Bellis admitted to Andrew Krasny she considered pulling out of the tournament before the match took place.

“I didn’t even know if I was going to play tonight because yesterday I got hit with an overhead in the eye. I was crying so hard and wasn’t even able to see. So to even come out today meant so much to me.”

Improving to 3-2 against Top 50 opposition, Bellis will play the winner of the second night match in Stanford between qualifiers Sachia Vickery and Elitsa Kostova.

Her win over Ostapenko was the first Stadium Court match to last only two sets as Julia Boserup, Magda Linette, and Alison Riske each needed a decider to capture their first round wins. Another American wildcard who reached the third round of Wimbledon in her Grand Slam debut, Boserup dispatched rising star Naomi Osaka, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, while Linette recovered from a one-set deficit to defeat Kristyna Pliskova, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. Riske pulled off the most dramatic win of all against Varvara Lepchenko, clinching victory in a third set tie-break, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4).

More to come…

STANFORD, CA, USA – Dominika Cibulkova defeated Misaki Doi at the Bank of the West Classic on Friday to tick off another major accomplishment in an already highly successful summer.

Watch live action from Bastad, Stanford and Washington DC this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The past few months have already brought Cibulkova significant moments on and off the court, and her 7-5, 6-0 victory over Doi confirmed that on Monday morning she will return to the Top 10 for the first time in over 18 months.

Cibulkova first broke into the Top 10 shortly after her run to the Australian Open final in 2014, staying there until Achilles surgery laid her low at the start of the following year. This star quality has been evident for much of 2016, a WTA-leading 37 wins, two titles and a Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance prompting a charge up the rankings.

Against Doi, it took a while for her class to shine through. But when the Slovak eventually acclimatized to her opponent’s frantic pace – and the sweltering conditions – she did so emphatically: a run of 11 straight games setting up a semifinal meeting with No.3 seed Johanna Konta.

“Today was really, really tough. She was playing fast from the first ball, but once I found out what I needed to do to win I was doing the right thing all the way through the match,” Cibulkova, who lifted the Stanford title three years ago, said. “I know the court, I know the balls, I know what I have to do to go all the way here.”

Like Cibulkova, Konta was forced to ride out some rocky moments against Zheng Saisai, recovering from a break down in the final set to win, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

“I think the level of tennis really took its toll on me – she made it incredibly tough to play the way I wanted to play – so I was very glad I was able to string some points together in the third set,” Konta said.