Montréal: Halep vs. Pliskova
Simona Halep takes on Karolina Pliskova in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
Simona Halep takes on Karolina Pliskova in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
SYDNEY, Australia – Playing her first WTA match of the season, Karolina Pliskova was in fine form against wildcard Ana Ivanovic; the Czech star hit a whopping 14 aces to oust the former No.1, 6-4, 6-2.
Ivanovic was coming into Sydney after taking a surprisingly early loss at the ASB Classic; looking for some extra match play ahead of the Australian Open, the Serb came up against a red-hot Pliskova whom she had never beaten in two previous encounters. Though she managed to exchange breaks with Pliskova in the opening set, the 2008 French Open champion was unable to convert any of the four break point opportunities she had in the second, and fell in just under an hour and 20 minutes.
Up next for Pliskova is either qualifier Lara Arruabarrena or the unseeded and looming Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who reached the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International last week.
Earlier in the day, Caroline Garcia won her first WTA match of the season, but came in buoyed by three match wins earned at last week’s Hopman Cup. Garcia won an all-French encounter on Sunday, edging past Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(4), 6-4. She’s slated to face top seed Simona Halep, who was forced to withdraw from Brisbane with an Achilles injury.
Two veterans also emerged victorious on Sunday; two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised past local wildcard Tammi Patterson, 6-2, 6-0, in just over an hour.
“I felt a bit tense, but in the end I was better,” the famously blunt Kuznetsova told press after the match.
“I have to be really prepared to play an opponent who you’ve never seen and don’t know how they play. I try to think that it’s interesting to try to figure the player out.
“I prefer to know at least a little bit, but when you know a little bit, the coach will tell you how she hits this shot, or that shot, and you’ll have this, but when you go to the court and she plays completely the opposite. I don’t have to choose!”
Kuznetsova could potentially play former No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals; the Serb took out Coco Vandeweghe, 6-3, 6-4.
“It’s the beginning of the season and I just want to get match tough again,” Jankovic said after the match. “I feel a little bit rusty. I have so many options in my head – I should play this or that – but it gets better over time, and it’s normal after not competing for a month and a half.
A Sydney finalist in 2007, the Serb had lost her last three matches to the American, having last beat her at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open.
“I lost to Coco the last few times we played; she has a big game and she doesn’t really let me play my game. If I’m able to absorb her power and move the ball around and not really give her two of the same ball, I’m in good shape.”
Jankovic will have a completely different opponent in the next round, one of Sara Errani or Carla Suárez Navarro.
2014 Sydney champion Tsvetana Pironkova was in fine form, defeating Lesia Tsurenko, 7-6(6), 6-2, and will play either No.8 seed Belinda Bencic or qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The only seed to lose on Sunday was No.6 seed Timea Bacsinszky, who faded after a strong opening set against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her withdrawal from the Apia International Sydney.
Simona Halep takes on Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
You’ve probably heard their voices during a match, but how much do you know about the WTA commentators that call all the action?
In this episode of WTA’s Behind The Tour, go inside the booth with Mikey Perera and Pete Odgers, the men behind the mic at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“It’s a pretty special and privileged position to be in, to be watching sport for a living,” Odgers said. “But not only watching sport, but to be watching it with legends and people you’ve looked up to as a child.”
Perera added, “I just like to have fun, because after all, it’s sport. It’s entertainment; it’s supposed to be fun and that’s what I try to get into my commentaries.”
Want to hear more from WTA World Feed commentator Mikey Perera?
Check out our exclusive WTA Insider Q&A right here!
An interview with Sara Errani after her win in the first round of the Apia International Sydney.
Madison Keys takes on Kristina Kucova in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.
The WTA season is over but the Mannequin Challenge is here to stay – at least for now. Simona Halep, Nicole Gibbs, Daria Kasatkina and more stars gave the social media craze a try – whose do you like best?
Nicole Gibbs, CiCi Bellis and squad:
Before her run to the Hawaii Open title, CiCi Bellis joined up with Nicole Gibbs and a whole cast of American rising stars – including Sachia Vickery, Samantha Crawford, Jamie Loeb and Asia Muhammad – for their video.
Squad uppp ?? #mannequinchallenge @SachiaVick @Gibbsyyyy @samcrawford18 @jloeb308 @asiamuhammad @AnibalAranda pic.twitter.com/rJqPxQpfKt
— CiCi Bellis (@cicibellis99) November 21, 2016
The Chan Sisters and the whole Taipei 125K Challenger:
Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan enlisted everyone at the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger – from ball kids to photographers to umpires – in their epic Mannequin Challenge.
Simona Halep… and half of Romania’s athletes
Maybe not half, but there’s a lot: Simona Halep joined over 20 of Romania’s top athletes and trainers for a cameo in the Stejarii Country Club’s Mannequin Challenge. Check it out below – they saved the best for last!
Daria Kasatkina & Ons Jabeur:
Daria Kasatkina and Ons Jabeur and more took a break from practice to freeze for their Mannequin Challenge. Kasatkina was caught mid-racquet smash, much to the dismay of her coach.
What's going on @EMPIRETennis?@DKasatkina, @Ons_Jabeur & @platno76 are doing #MannequinChallenge! #tennis #girls #MannequinChallenges @WTA pic.twitter.com/aeyEuThzYm
— TopFive (@TopFiveMgmt) November 18, 2016
Her relentless pursuit of the highest echelons of tennis now comes with the reality of having to deliver week-in and week-out. Ranked World No.3, Garbiñe Muguruza has gone from underdog to favorite, and along with that comes the inevitable – pressure.
“Before, I was Garbiñe who had chances to win; now I’m Garbiñe who is supposed to win,” Muguruza told Spanish reporters during the off-season.
“Until now I had never found myself in a situation with so many expectations and so much pressure. It’s something I have to take in, because you can’t learn that off of the court. You’re out there and you have to manage it.”
But the 22-year-old Spaniard remains undaunted by the big task of meeting high expectations – in fact, she’s learned to relish the pressure.
“It’s about dealing with it on your own,” she said, “because there’s no one who can teach you how to handle it all. It’s a part of my job – all this pressure. And I love it.”
And another thing Muguruza is loving are her chances at the Australian Open despite having to bow out of the Brisbane International early, her first tournament of 2016 cut short by the flare up of a long-standing foot injury. She’s optimistic that it won’t be a problem in Melbourne.
Muguruza hasn’t made it past the fourth round at Melbourne yet, but she also has never been seeded so high – her ranking guarantees a Top 4 seed. The only people to knock her out of the Happy Slam – Serena Williams and Agnieszka Radwanska – are both in the Top 4 as well, so she won’t have to face them until at least the semifinals.
Can the youngest member of the WTA Top 10 seize this opportunity and win the biggest title of her career in Melbourne?