Indian Wells: Svetlana Kuznetsova Press Conference
Svetlana Kuznetsova reflects on her career after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the BNP Paribas Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova reflects on her career after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the BNP Paribas Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinal round action at the Brisbane International.
Kristina Mladenovic talks about her performance at the BNP Paribas Open.
The Winners:
Victoria Azarenka stormed past Angelique Kerber to win the 18th WTA title of her career – and first WTA title in almost two and a half years – at the Brisbane International. Azarenka has now won 35 of her last 39 matches in Australia, a stretch dating back to 2012. Can the momentum propel the two-time Australian Open champion to make it three in Melbourne this year?
The full story – here.
Agnieszka Radwanska kept her Asia win-streak alive in the new year. She defeated Alison Riske at Shenzhen, winning her 18th career title and rising to World No.4 – just in time for Top 4 Australian Open seeding.
The full story – here.
Rain delays forced Sloane Stephens to pull double duty at Auckland – she was up 5-2 against Caroline Wozniacki in the ASB Classic semifinal when rain stopped play on Friday. The American came back on Saturday and closed out the match, edging Wozniacki 6-2, 7-6(3) before facing Julia Goerges in the final later that day. Stephens held all 10 of her service games to win 7-5, 6-2 for her career second WTA title.
The full story – here.
Game, Set, Match: WTA Insider
Game: Sam Crawford makes a splash.
Where were you when you saw the 20-year-old American qualifier blast her way past Belinda Bencic and Andrea Petkovic in back-to-back matches without dropping a set, all en route to her first WTA semifinal? Crawford’s pure power was a sight to behold at the Brisbane International. Petkovic was left shaking her head and laughing towards the end of her 6-3, 6-0 loss to the American. Bencic said she had no say in her 7-5, 7-5 loss in the second round, so audacious was Crawford’s hitting. There’s still work to be done in refining Crawford’s game – Victoria Azarenka exploited her struggles when pulled wide – but hers is a name to keep an eye on. She’s now just outside the top 100.
The full story – here.
Set: Angelique Kerber looks sharp.
When looking back on Kerber’s 2015 season it’s easy to forget she was one set away from qualifying for the semifinals in Singapore. If she had been able to control her nerves and take that one set off Lucie Safarova in group play, who knows what the business end of the tournament looks like. And perhaps we would be looking back on her fantastic year – she won four Premier level titles – in an even better light.
So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that she came out firing in Brisbane, where she unveiled her improved fitness and more offensive gameplay to make her sixth Premier final in the last 12 months. She may have lost to Azarenka in the final, but there’s a lot to like about Kerber’s week in Brisbane. It wasn’t necessarily the result that impressed – after Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Maria Sharapova pulled out Kerber was the highest seed remaining – but it’s how she played. She was hitting a bigger ball (with some help from her new hybrid Yonex strings), serving more aggressively, and moving as well as ever. If she can commit to this more aggressive game, 2016 could be a big year for the German.
Kerber’s run earned her a Top 8 seeding at the Australian Open. She also paired up with Andrea Petkovic to make the doubles final. Along with Julia Goerges’ run to the final at the ASB Classic, this was a fantastic start for the Germans.
Read more about Kerber’s adjustments, here.
Match: What’s a New Year without fireworks?
Naomi Broady and Jelena Ostapenko provided the Week 1 drama, thanks to Broady’s incredible comeback win over the 18-year-old Latvian in the second round of the Hobart International. The Brit rallied from 5-2 down in the second set and 5-1 down in the third to win 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals. But Broady’s gutsy comeback was overshadowed by a mid-match incident that involved a flying racket that hit a ballboy and tearful cries for a default.
Early in the second set tie-break, Ostapenko ran to track down a backhand wide and flung her racket – whether intentional or accidentally we don’t know – into the backstop. The racket ricocheted off the backstop and hit a ballboy. Broady pled her case to the chair umpire and supervisor, demanding that Ostapenko be defaulted. Instead the umpire issued a code violation. It all culminated in an icy post-match handshake and an exchange of words between the two that continued well after the match.
That’s one way to ring in the New Year!
The full story – here.
Ranking Movers:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of January 11, 2016.
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), +1 (No.5 to 4): Radwanska captured her 18th career singles title by winning at Shenzhen and as a result moved up one spot to No.4 on Monday’s rankings, which will be used for Australian Open seeding.
Angelique Kerber (GER), +3, (No.10 to 7): Kerber started the year by advancing to the final in Brisbane where she fell short against Azarenka. However, with an appearance in the finals, Kerber moved into the Top 8 (No.7), boosting her seeding in Melbourne.
Victoria Azarenka (BLR), +6 (No.22 to 16): By winning the title in Brisbane, the former No.1 moved to No.16 in the rankings, her highest ranking since the week of August 11, 2014, when she held the No.10 ranking.
Sloane Stephens (USA), +4 (No.30 to 26): Stephens captured her second career title in Auckland moving to No.26 in the rankings, her highest ranking since the 2014 US Open.
Upcoming Tournaments:
Apia International Sydney
Sydney, Australia
Premier | $687,900 | Hard, Outdoors
Sunday, January 10 – Friday, January 15, 2016
Hobart International
Hobart, Australia
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Sunday, January 10 – Saturday, January 16, 2016
Top 20 Player Schedules:
1. Serena Williams – Australian Open
2. Simona Halep – Sydney, Australian Open
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Australian Open
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Australian Open
5. Maria Sharapova – Australian Open
6. Petra Kvitova – Australian Open
7. Angelique Kerber – Sydney, Australian Open
8. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
9. Lucie Safarova – (not competing)
10. Venus Williams – Australian Open
11. Karolina Pliskova – Sydney, Australian Open
12. Carla Suárez Navarro – Sydney, Australian Open
13. Timea Bacsinszky – Sydney, Australian Open
14. Belinda Bencic – Sydney, Australian Open
15. Roberta Vinci – Sydney, Australian Open
16. Victoria Azarenka – Australian Open
17. Madison Keys – Australian Open
18. Caroline Wozniacki – Australian Open
19. Sara Errani – Sydney , Australian Open
20. Elina Svitolina – Sydney, Australian Open
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Raina, Ankita (IND) – January 11, 1993
Shapatava, Sofia (GEO) – January 12, 1989
Chang, Kai-Chen (TPE) – January 13, 1991
Pfizenmaier, Dinah (GER) – January 13, 1992
Wang, Qiang (CHN) – January 14, 1992
Domachowska, Marta (POL) – January 16, 1986
Elena Vesnina discusses her sports psychology background and how she has been influenced by past champions in her BNP Paribas Open semifinal press conference.
An interview with Samantha Stosur after her win in the first round of the Apia International Sydney.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Elena Vesnina has the potential to make it into the singles Top 10, says Svetlana Kuznetsova – the woman she beat in an epic final at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.
“Why not? Of course, I mean, she did semis in Wimbledon last year. She won here now. She has to be much more consistent to be in the top 10, but she can make it, for sure,” said the defeated Russian of her compatriot.
.@SvetlanaK27 is moving up a gear! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/QO5bthevKE
— WTA (@WTA) March 19, 2017
Kuznetsova admitted that she had struggled with the daytime conditions, and felt rather frustrated that she had not played as well as she could.
“I didn’t feel comfortable at all today on the court,” said the 31-year-old. “I was trying to do the best I could, you know, but this is the type of day when you don’t play your best tennis and you’ve got to still give your best effort.
“I tried my best and she won because she was more aggressive than I did. I was too passive. That’s it. Too much behind and didn’t serve well, I think it was key points.”
Kuznetsova now moves on to Miami – and is confident that she can recover quickly from the loss to her countrywoman.
“I feel great,” she assured reporters in her post-match press conference. “I didn’t overwork. I think what really is difficult to handle, like, lots of stress. It’s, like, kind of waste you physically a little bit. But the rest matches didn’t get me so much tired. I feel great physically.
“I’m looking forward to have couple days off and hopefully get a good start in Miami.”
Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka got in touch with her cinematic side over the off-season, working with friends to produce an epic training montage in her home town of Minsk.
“I wanted to show a different side of me that is not out there in the world,” she told WTA Insider. “So I wanted to show my fans, the media, the people, who I am.
“I wanted it to show the behind the scenes of my preparation, and a little bit of my interests, as well. So there’s music, there’s art, and even motorcycles.
“It made my dream come true.”
With narrative quotes from rival Serena Williams and Azarenka herself audible under an original beat, the two-time Australian Open champion gets intense on a motorcycle and in front of a graffiti wall as she works out ahead of what she hopes will be her best season yet.
“I was running at home and I saw a whole movie in front of me,” she said, explaining her inspiration behind the 90-second clip. “I actually ran through the red light and I almost got hit by a car because I was so in the moment.
“I saw this and I wanted to do this video. My friends were like, ‘we can do it. We have equipment. How do you want to do it?'”
Involved throughout the creative process, the Brisbane International champion worked with friends on the project, and enjoyed giving her input through every aspect of the film.
“My friend and I worked on the music; he did most of it, but I kept giving him crap because he didn’t do it the right way.
“I may not play any instruments but I hear music in a very special way. So once he got the music it was easier to write the treatment.”
Starting the season ranked outside the Top 10 for only the second time in seven years, Azarenka is aiming for a complete renaissance in 2016, one that unveils a more finely tuned athlete and even more dynamic personality.
“I’ve done my research about what’s been said about me in the media world. They came up with a lot of different keywords and they were just about sports. I liked it but it was limited. I’m so much more than that.
“So when I have the opportunity I want to be in the world that I live in and I just want to be open and I just want to be me because I enjoy it.”
MIAMI, FL, USA – It was a personal milestone for Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella on Tuesday, as the 31-year-old won her first-ever main draw match at a Premier Mandatory event, defeating Kristyna Pliskova, 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5 in the first round at the Miami Open.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” she told WTA Insider after the match. “I’ve played her once or twice before, and I knew she serves really well. She goes for her shots, and I struggled to return her first serve. It was a tough match and big battle. I’m really happy I won it in the end.”
Playing in her first-ever main draw in Miami in her fourth career appearance, Minella showed few signs of nerves in the early going. The World No.74 broke Pliskova at her first opportunity in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead at the first change of ends, later extending her lead to 5-2 with a pair of holds without allowing Pliskova a break point chance.
Outrageous way to save match point from @KrisPliskova! ? #MiamiOPen pic.twitter.com/I5Lk2RtPzX
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
However, the Czech staged a late comeback, breaking Minella as she served for the set and delivering an emphatic love hold to knot the set at 5-5. She held to love once more to force a first-set tiebreak, but Minella proved more effective on return as the tiebreak wore on. Neutralizing the left-hander’s delivery and winning four points on Pliskova’s serve in the tiebreak, Minella secured the 59-minute opener as one final Pliskova backhand went long.
“I’ve been really good physically lately. I’m in good shape and can last for long matches. That’s a good point in my favor. I struggled a little bit today because it was quite hot and there was a lot of running. The balls are quite heavy, so that means there’ll be a lot of rallies. It was definitely tough out there today.”
After managing to win just two points on Minella’s serve to begin the second set, Pliskova secured the break in a sixth game which saw her dig in at deuce to move ahead 4-2. However, Minella hit right back in the next, passing Pliskova twice at the net en route to an emphatic break that got the set back on serve. Neither player had a look at a break point again until the final game of the set, in which Pliskova took advantage of a trio of Minella double faults to square the match at one set all.
.@MandyMinella battles past Kristyna Pliskova 7-6(4), 5-7, 7-5!
Sets @MiamiOpen Second round vs @SvetlanaK27! pic.twitter.com/AQpf69rGBM
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
Playing a deciding set for the first time in three meetings, the duo traded breaks twice in the final set before Minella secured her third game off the Pliskova serve to put her in position to serve for the match. As the contest hit the two-hour, 30-minute mark, Minella brought up three match points on serve, only to see the Czech storm back and win the next five to level the match at 5-5, courtesy of some brilliant shot-making.
However, Minella kept her cool in the midday sun, breaking for a fourth time in the set and sealing the match on her fourth match point, closing out the two-hour, 38-minute victory as Pliskova’s final backhand return found the net.
“It’s good to start the season in this positive way; it gives you confidence for upcoming tournaments. I think I’m still on a roll, enjoying my tennis. I’m enjoying my matches and the traveling. I think that’s the reason I’ve been playing good, and because I love my sport.”
Minella, who improves to 3-0 lifetime against the left-handed Pliskova, advances to the second round where she’ll face No. 7 seed and BNP Paribas Open runner-up, Svetlana Kuznetsova.
“I think it’ll be really hard because she’s in great shape. She was in the Indian Wells final last week, and so I think she’s going to be ready. I’ll try my best to play as good as I can; I will fight, and will just try to do my best.”
The veteran has enjoyed a strong start to her season, reaching the semifinals of the Taiwan Open, but credits a career turn around by winning her first WTA 125K title in Bol, Croatia.
“Bol was where everything changed for me. I’d had some really miserable results up to that point, and I was about to stop my career at Wimbledon. I think I just relaxed and enjoyed being there. The city was fantastic; they had a nice hotel with a spa, and the sea was quiet. I really enjoyed it there, and it helped me play good enough to win my first title over there. It’ll always be in my memories for a long time.”
The end of a WTA season means something different for every player; some are relieved to return home to family and friends, while others can hardly sit still, and fly to the nearest exhibition event.
Alla Kudryavtseva needed a vacation.
A Top 20 doubles player who has been ranked as high as No.56 in singles – with wins over Maria Sharapova and Karolina Pliskova – the Russian had spent the summer playing a debut season of Mylan World TeamTennis – where she won Rookie of the Year playing for the Austin Aces – and the fall chasing one of the few remaining spots at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global with partner, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
“I was exhausted at the end of the year, and I didn’t even realize it until I had a chance to stop playing,” Kudryavtseva told WTA Insider after a practice session in Melbourne.
Narrowly missing out on a second straight Singapore appearance, she nonetheless enjoyed a week on site as a first alternate.
“I actually got to watch a lot of matches this time; I felt like a little bit like a fan! The first time I was there in 2014, I was trying to preserve energy and not watch too much, but this time I got to watch a lot of Maria Sharapova. She played so good, so powerful. Aga, of course, showed her magic and that was great as well. Just to be there in Singapore meant a lot.”
Hey @NastiaPav and @AllaK11! pic.twitter.com/GMPx6Ngf6E
— Becky! (@_strongiscaro) October 25, 2015
But the season wasn’t over yet.
“I wanted to avoid what happened this past week, which was that my singles ranking dropped to No.235. In trying to catch up on singles, I flew over to the United States, but then I got sick and it all kind of fell apart.”
Rock bottom came in Carlsbad, a WTA 125K Series event right before Thanksgiving. Playing a first round against former Aces teammate Nicole Gibbs, Kudryavtseva was fighting illness and fatigue when a mid-match court reassignment put her on emotional overload, leading to a rare default and leaving the Russian to reassess how she approached the game, mentally and physically.
“It was a wake up call. I love tennis, and especially from my experience playing in Austin, I learned that some people in tennis really love me. I have loyal fans that have stuck with me, who help me out on Twitter, sending me love and support.
“It was a moment for me to think, ‘what am I doing? Is this really who I want to be on the court? Is that the kind of person I want people to think that I am?’ My friends would tell you I’m a fairly positive girl who likes to crack jokes. I don’t want to be remembered as some grouchy, negative, complaining, or whining person who is never happy.
“I also have to plan my schedule better, and listen to my body more because I guess I’m not as young as I thought! It’s time to start pacing myself, to choose the tournaments I want to play more wisely this year. I want to be able to be in touch with myself more and to not repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Red sand beach………. Surreal beauty…. My heart is stolen ❤️?? pic.twitter.com/8JjXZlnfb6
— Alla Kudryavtseva (@AllaK11) December 8, 2015
As she spoke, Alizé Lim passed by and exclaimed, “She’s so positive!” Indeed, the first people to rally around Kudryavtseva after the incident were the friends she had on tour.
“For me, the support of the players was very important. It was nice to know that they didn’t judge me by that one episode and know I’m a better person than that.”
“I’d really let down my doubles partner, Vania King; we couldn’t play doubles as a result of what had happened, and I felt terrible. But through it all, she was so nice and was a really good friend.
“The same goes for my opponent; we saw each other maybe an hour after the match, and I came over and I apologized for my behavior. Nicole was so nice; she said, ‘don’t worry about it, mate! Take a break, it’s all going to work itself out.'”
Just a few more sunsets here in Hawaii before I go back to training…. ? Tennis, I'll be back soon ? pic.twitter.com/8hAFAdnQ9q
— Alla Kudryavtseva (@AllaK11) December 6, 2015
There’s taking a break, and then there’s Kudryavtseva’s trip to Maui.
“It was all fantastic: the snorkeling, the hiking, the beaches. I even tried body surfing, which did not go so well! But still it was just wonderful. All of the people I met over there were so positive, so loving and so connected with the nature and the history of the island. I learned a lot, as well, and it was a really well-timed rest, probably the best vacation I’ve ever had, considering the place I was in.”
Two weeks on the Valley Isle thoroughly rejuvenated the Russian, who returned to the court having rediscovered her passion for the game.
“I was able to come back and find that I missed tennis. I actually played twice over there, but when the trip ended I was like, ‘oh my god, a racquet, this is so awesome!’ I made a couple of changes; for example, I started playing with a new racquet, I have a new sponsor. Everything felt new and fresh, and my head was free from the negativity and stress of last year.”
Another strong session today! ????? @AllaK11 @athletic1080 pic.twitter.com/7IEsHKymin
— Claudio Pistolesi (@cpistolesi) December 11, 2015
One familiar element came in the form of Claudio Pistolesi, a former ATP player who has worked with Monica Seles and Daniela Hantuchova through his esteemed coaching career.
“He worked with me in 2014 when I made a singles comeback into the Top 100; hopefully we can turn things around, play some aggressive tactics and get to places we haven’t been before. That’s our goal; we don’t want to put a number on it, just get to new places and go far.”
Though she plans to play through the start of year with King, a two-time major champion who spent nearly a year rehabbing a back injury, Kudryavtseva began her season with doubles specialist Andreja Klepac; together they played Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza tough over two sets in the semifinals of the the Brisbane International.
“Andreja and I played really well; we had a really good time, and she’s another example of a very positive person who sees the best of things. But I’m looking forward to playing with Vania; we actually shared an apartment when we were training at the same academy. We get along great and I was very happy to see her when she arrived in Melbourne.
Off to Oz! #yesplease #travel #tennis. Полетели! 26 часов ? #путешествия pic.twitter.com/QBvEEpxciP
— Alla Kudryavtseva (@AllaK11) December 26, 2015
“We’re going to try and make it work; I think it can be a promising partnership and I’m ready to give Miss King the title of Comeback Queen!”
The last few months read like a screenplay for Kudryavtseva, How Alla Got Her Groove Back, the working title. But the Russian is still looking for her fairytale ending, in singles as much as in doubles.
“Life works in mysterious ways. In Russia, we have this saying: ‘you make plans, but God laughs.’ I’m just trying to focus on the good atmosphere with my coach and working hard to equally focus on singles and doubles. We’ll see where things go from here.”
Follow along with Alla on her journey through the 2016 season each month on WTA Insider, and on Twitter @AllaK11!