Miami: Day 8 Roundup
All the action from around the grounds at the Miami Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinal clash between Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber.
Maria Sharapova’s candy empire is set to get a whole lot sweeter with the debut of Sugarpova Premium Chocolates.
It’s semifinal time on Thursday in Miami. We preview both of today’s must-see matchups at wtatennis.com.
Thursday
Semifinals
[10] Johanna Konta (GBR #11) vs. [11] Venus Williams (USA #12)
Head-to-head: Konta leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Konta became the first British woman to reach the Miami semifinals with her win over Simona Halep on Wednesday.
The last time Venus Williams and Johanna Konta locked horns it was an historic day for the British No.1. Konta claimed a three-set victory over the legendary American last summer to claim her first career title and become the first British woman to win the Bank of the West Classic title since 1977. Afterwards Konta summed up the experience aptly. “I wanted to leave it all out there, but also absorb everything that I could possibly reinvest in my career moving forward,” she said. “I’ve played her twice before and knew I’d be playing a magnitude of experience. Venus Williams doesn’t need an introduction.”
Williams and Konta split 144 points evenly in that entertaining final, but in the midst of her breakout season it was Konta who won the bigger points. Their fourth career battle should be similarly close, and if Williams’ form in her last two matches is any indication, she’s going to aggressively attack Konta and look to get to net often. The American became the oldest player to take out a reigning No.1 in WTA history on Wednesday night when she worked her way past Angelique Kerber, 7-5, 6-3, and while it’s easy—and inspiring—to focus on the fact that Williams is 36, the caliber of tennis she is playing belies her age. The three-time Miami Open champion has played brilliantly to reach the semifinals here for the eighth time, not dropping a single set and knocking off back-to-back Top 10 opponents in the process.
Will Williams take it a step further and avenge her loss in Stanford to Konta? The American will have her chances, but she’ll have to improve on her 45 percent first-serve percentage from her quarterfinal win over Kerber to do so. Konta picked apart Halep’s second-serve on Wednesday in her three-set victory over the Romanian, and Williams will need to keep the Dangerous 25-year-old on the back foot as much as she can to succeed.
Pick: Konta in three
[2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [12] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #14)
Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Pliskova leads the WTA with 23 wins in 2017
They are very different stylistically, but Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Wozniacki share the same sinister approach to tennis warfare. Both are calm, composed and ruthless—eager to expose their opponent’s liabilities and unflappable under duress. That’s why Thursday’s matchup between the No.2-seeded Czech and the No.12-seeded Dane is so intriguing. The experienced, wily and extremely well-rounded Wozniacki will look to keep the powerful, blossoming Pliskova at bay, and she knows she’ll have to pull out all the stops to do it.
“She beat me last time we played, so she’s clearly in good shape,” Wozniacki said on Tuesday after defeating Lucie Safarova for her 22nd win of the season. “I’m looking forward to getting another try, to see if I can beat her this time.”
Wozniacki won the first three times she faced Pliskova, but the Czech hit back earlier this season breaking Wozniacki’s serve four times in a 6-3, 6-4 win at this year’s Doha final. Despite that loss, Wozniacki is pretty confident that she has a good read on the towering Czech’s game. “I know her game, what her strengths and weaknesses are,” Wozniacki told reporters on Tuesday after her quarterfinal win.
Like Wozniacki, Pliskova has yet to drop a set this week in Miami. But she knows things will get tougher as the stakes get higher. “Anything can happen in the next semi,” she told reporters on Tuesday. “I would expect a tough one because I know she has been playing quite good here in last few years. … It’s the last tournament on hard court, so I just want to enjoy it.”
Pick: Pliskova in two
By the Numbers
7-1 – Konta’s lifetime record at Miami. She reached the quarterfinals on her debut last year.
2 – Pliskova is the only player left in the draw that has won multiple titles this season.
22 – Wozniacki has dropped just 22 games in her four matches en route to the semis. Pliskova, who has also yet to drop a set, has lost 24 games. Williams has dropped 27 games, and also not dropped a set.
14 – Number of wins that Williams has notched over reigning World No.1 players, including her win over Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.
49 – Number of career titles for Venus Williams, which is 14 more than the other three semifinalists’ career titles combined (Wozniacki, 25, Pliskova, 8, Konta, 2).
WTA Insider | On the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, all of the top seeds are on the schedule to take Cincinnati by storm after a rainy Tuesday at the Western & Southern Open.
April 03, 2017
Kirsten Flipkens, Elena Vesnina, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki – who will win March’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments? Vote now!
KAOHSUING, Taiwan – Misaki Doi’s finally roused her slumbering campaign to life on Monday with a straight set win over Kristyna Pliskova at the Taiwan Open.
Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
A miserable start to 2016 saw Doi fall at the first hurdle in Auckland, Hobart and finally the Australian Open. The third and final of these defeats Down Under was particularly galling, Doi holding a match point against eventual champion Angelique Kerber in the first round of the Australian Open.
Perhaps buoyed by Kerber’s subsequent heroics at Melbourne Park, Doi came out with a spring in her step against Pliskova, breaking serve twice to take the first set. She repeated the trick in the second set to wrap up a 6-3, 6-4 victory in little over an hour.
Also advancing in the bottom half of the draw was qualifier Yuxuan Zhang, a 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2 winner over lucky loser Hiroko Kuwata.
Meanwhile, in the top half there were wins for Urszula Radwanska and Anastasija Sevastova.
Radwanska was given a stern examination by local wildcard Hsu Ching-Wen, before coming through, 6-4, 7-6(1). Sevastova was pushed even harder, fighting back to see off Kristina Kucova, 4-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(3), in a match lasting nearly two and a half hours.
Tuesday will see most of the remaining seeds, including home favorite Hsieh Su-Wei, in first round action. The only exception is top seed Venus Williams, who will wait until Wednesday to get her challenge underway against Lee Pei-Chi.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – World No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza fought past an early challenge from CoCo Vandeweghe to make her way into the third round of the Western & Southern Open for the first time.
Watch live action from Cincinnati this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Curiously enough for the reigning French Open champion, this tournament has never been one where she’s seen much success. In fact, she’s never scored a win in any of her three previous appearances in Cincinnati. Muguruza made sure to fix this stat after powering past Vandeweghe, 7-6(4), 6-2.
“I’m finally happy I won my first match here, and against a very difficult opponent,” Muguruza said afterwards. “CoCo is very powerful, but I’m happy to be into the third round.
The Spaniard started out very tentatively against the big hitting Vandeweghe, striking three double faults in one game and flubbing a backhand to meekly surrender the first break at 4-2. But instead of allowing herself to panic, Muguruza put together the aggressive game she’s relied on in the past and broke back immediately to erase the lead. She kept it up well into the tiebreak and through the second set, where she broke twice more to wrap up the match after an hour and 25 minutes.
Both players posted similar numbers in the winner to unforced errors count, with Muguruza striking 21 winners and 20 unforced errors and the American hitting 22 and 21, respectively. Despite Vandeweghe outplaying and outserving Muguruza for much of the first set, Muguruza proved more dominant on the key points. She converted all three break points she created while Vandeweghe only converted one of two.
Now with a win in Cincinnati finally under her belt, what are the rest of the No.4 seed’s goals for the year?
“Well, first of all not get injured,” Muguruza laughed in her on-court interview. “Of course and keep showing this level and keep winning a lot of matches, if I can, and perform well.”
She awaits the winner between Kurumi Nara and No.16 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a spot in the quarterfinals.
More to come…
WTA Insider | Courtney Nguyen and David Kane reconvene to decide who will win their first Miami Open title: Johanna Konta or Caroline Wozniacki?
SALT LAKE CITY, USA – Climbing to the summit of women’s tennis is no easy matter. Staying there, though, is arguably even more challenging.
No stone is left unturned in the quest for the slightest competitive edge. Therefore, it is no surprise that many players are paying increasing attention the nutritional side of their preparation.
Kristina Mladenovic and Alizé Cornet are two players famed almost as much for their exceptional physical conditioning as for their technical brilliance, and on Tuesday were unveiled as the latest big names to trust their health to USANA Health Sciences.
The two Frenchwomen join USANA’s 700-plus stable of athletes who back their performances with the global nutritional company’s NSF-tested products, including fellow WTA stars Caroline Wozniacki, Eugenie Bouchard, Madison Keys, Samantha Stosur, Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig and Zheng Saisai.
Currently the highest-ranked French player in both singles and doubles, Mladenovic is one of the brightest young talents on tour. Still just 22, Mladenovic already has one WTA title in singles and a further 12 in doubles, as well as two Grand Slam mixed doubles crowns alongside Canada’s Daniel Nestor.
“I’m excited to be part of Team USANA,” Mladenovic said. “I have been using USANA vitamins and supplements for a few years and have seen the difference that it has made in my health and fitness. As one of USANA’s Ambassadors, I’m looking forward to sharing my positive experience with others and letting them know what USANA can do for them.”
Heading into her 10th year on tour, Cornet recently captured her fifth WTA singles title, at the Hobart International, taking down fellow USANA Brand Ambassador Eugenie Bouchard in the final. The former World No.11 has reached the last 16 at three of the four majors and also holds three wins over Serena Williams.
“USANA vitamins and supplements have been an important part of my nutrition routine for years,” Cornet said. “I believe in USANA products and I am thrilled to be an Ambassador.”
USANA has been the Official Health Supplement Supplier of the WTA since 2006 and continues to provide its high-quality, NSF-tested nutritional products to more than 170 WTA athletes, including 15 athletes in the WTA Top 20, and eight of the Top 10.