Caroline Wozniacki On Playing Through Rain Delays
A clip from Caroline Wozniacki’s press conference after her quarterfinals win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
A clip from Caroline Wozniacki’s press conference after her quarterfinals win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $776,878
Draw Size: 48 main draw (16 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, June 18 – Sunday, June 19
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, June 19
Singles Final: Saturday, June 25, 1pm GMT
Doubles Final: Sunday, June 25, after singles final
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@BritishTennis – LTA handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #AegonInternational and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska returning to tournament for the 10th time as top seed.
· Roberta Vinci is No.2 seed while defending champion Belinda Bencic is No.3 seed. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is also in the draw, as are two of last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalists, Timea Bacsinszky and Madison Keys.
· There have been nine different champions in the past nine years in Eastbourne. Six of the nine are in the field this year – Bencic (2015), Keys (2014), Elena Vesnina (2013), Ekaterina Makarova (2010), Caroline Wozniacki (2009) and Radwanska (2008).
· Click here to see the draw in full.
WILDCARDS:
Naomi Broady (GBR), Tara Moore (GBR)
Caroline Wozniacki takes on CiCi Bellis in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
EASTBOURNE, England – Caroline Wozniacki stepped up her Wimbledon preparations with a confidence-boosting win over Alizé Cornet at the Aegon International Eastbourne on Sunday.
Watch live action from Eastbourne this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Playing just her third match since March, Wozniacki showed few signs of rustiness, briskly pocketing the first set then coming from a break down in the second to complete a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
The Dane is currently ranked at No.35 in the rankings – her lowest position since May 2008 – after missing much of the season with an ankle injury. And after making her return in Nottingham last week she is refreshed eager to test her mettle ahead of the year’s second major.
“I feel confident on my feet, I’ve worked really hard to get into the best shape possible and do a lot of stability work, so now I’m feeling comfortable on my ankle and the grass,” Wozniacki said.
“It’s nice to be on a nice court with a great crowd and also to get another match in before Wimbledon. I’m just excited every time I go on court now.”
In the other three opening round matches there were wins for Jelena Ostapenko, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.
Ostapenko continued the good form that took her to the Birmingham quarterfinals by prevailing in her all-teenage battle with Daria Kasatkina, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Babos edged out Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 7-6(3), while Mladenovic prevailed in an equally close encounter with Yanina Wickmayer, 7-6(6), 6-4.
DUBAI, UAE – 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki put an end to CiCi Bellis’ dream run at the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, notching commanding 6-3, 6-2 win over the 17-year-old American.
Bellis announced herself to the Dubai draw in a big way with her stunning upset over World No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska in the last round to reach her first Premier 5 quarterfinals, but she had no answers against her childhood idol Wozniacki.
“I have been there myself, so I know what it’s like,” Wozniacki said of her young opponent. “I just try to put myself in her shoes.
“For me, it was just very important to stay strong and not show any negative emotions but just stay positive all the time, show that I have the presence on court and really make her play those extra balls and points.
“She would really have to play on a really high level to beat me, because I was going to give that extra ball back. I wasn’t going to just give it to her.”
.@cicibellis99 is ?! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/SrQdj4TNOl
— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2017
The American’s tricky disguised groundstrokes – which troubled Radwanska time and again in the third round – kept Wozniacki second-guessing as the teenager dictated the early rallies. She calmly took the break at 3-1, but it would be the only lead of the match for Bellis as the former World No.1 came roaring back.
Wozniacki kept to her game plan, tracking down every shot and making Bellis play an extra ball to draw out unforced errors. The American’s game plan crumbled, rewarding Wozniacki with the break back to level the match 3-3.
The Dane took full command from there, reeling off nine straight games to grab the opening set and take a daunting 4-0 lead in the second, and she went on to serve out a spot in her sixth straight Dubai semifinals.
The unforced errors count marked the difference between Wozniacki and Bellis: while they were almost evenly matched in winners (12 for Wozniacki to 14), Bellis struck more than twice as many unforced errors with 33 against Wozniacki’s 15.
.@CaroWozniacki advances to @DDFTennis Semifinals!
Cruises past Bellis 6-3, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/GRnNkCy797
— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2017
“She’s just really solid, really solid off the ground and serving well,” Bellis explained after the match. “[She was] more consistent than me today. Moved me a lot. I think all that combined.
“She’s such a great player. It was really fun for me to see what the highest level is.”
Up next the 2011 champion will take on Anastasija Sevastova for a spot in the final. The pair last met in the quarterfinals of the 2016 US Open, with Wozniacki emerging victorious in a comfortable straight sets.
“She’s a player that mixes the pace up quite a bit,” Wozniacki said. “She’s definitely going to try and get me out of my own rhythm. I’m just excited to play and be in the semifinals once again.”
The ladies hoping to reach the Wimbledon main draw begin their quest out in Roehampton on Tuesday; find out which are the ones to watch on wtatennis.com.
Elina Svitolina takes on Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
SINGAPORE – Doubles co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza have become the first players to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the WTA’s crown jewel event where the world’s Top 8 teams will battle for a $7-million prize purse.
“Qualifying for the WTA Finals for the second year in a row with Sania is very exciting,” said Hingis, three-time WTA Finals doubles champion. “We enjoyed every moment in Singapore last year and hope to defend our title amongst the best doubles teams in the world.”
Mirza added, “Being able to achieve such great success together has been a dream come true. Having won the WTA Finals in Singapore last year as well as multiple tournaments in such a short period of time has been an unbelievable experience. I’m very much looking forward to competing in Singapore once again to try to make it three titles in a row.”
The collaboration between Hingis and Mirza began at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where they achieved instant success by taking the title and eight more by the end of the year, including the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. This year, Hingis and Mirza have already claimed five titles – Brisbane International, Apia International Sydney, Australian Open, St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia – Rome. As a result, the Swiss-Indian duo, known as “SanTina” to their fans, will attempt to defend their title in Singapore in their second appearance as a team.
Here is the current doubles Road to Singapore Leaderboard:
1. Martina Hingis (SUI) / Sania Mirza (IND)
2. Caroline Garcia (FRA) / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
3. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) / Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
4. Chan Hao-Ching (TPE) / Chan Yung-Jan (TPE)
5. Xu Yifan (CHN) / Zheng Saisai (CHN)
6. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) / Elena Vesnina (RUS)
7. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) / Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP)
8. Julia Goerges (GER) / Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
9. Vania King (USA) / Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)
10. Timea Babos (HUN) / Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
The doubles competition will begin in Singapore on October 27 and is a single elimination contest between the Top 8 doubles teams of the 2016 season, all vying to hold the Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy. Total prize money for doubles stands at $1.4 million with the champion team taking home up to $500,000.
Want to watch SanTina go for season-ending glory? Tickets packages for the WTA Finals are already available!
For the latest updates and insights, follow on Twitter (@WTAFinalsSG), Facebook (facebook.com/WTAFinalsSG) and Instagram (@WTAFinalsSG).
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Former World No.1 Monica Seles paid a visit to the Hungarian Ladies Open in Budapest to reconnect with her roots and inspire the next generation of Hungarian tennis stars.
Seles arrived in Budapest for the Hungarian Day of Tennis, which celebrates the past, present and future of Hungarian tennis. She was joined by other Hungarian former players, like former World No.7 Andre Temesvari and Katerina Marosi.
Together they hosted a tennis clinic for Budapest’s youngest tennis hopefuls, and afterwards Seles signed autographs for her myriad fans and met the press.
“It’s been fantastic to be invited by the Hungarian Tennis Federation to be a part of the WTA tournament here in Budapest, and also to participate in the Hungarian Day of Tennis kid’s clinic,” Seles told wtatennis.com.
“I hope we can spread the love of tennis and inspire a lot of young kids to pick up a racquet, and hopefully one day see them on center court.”
A few hours later, Seles was back on site to watch Hungary’s current No.1 in action as Timea Babos took on Julia Goerges in the semifinals. Tomorrow she’ll present the trophy to the winner.
Seles will also donate a signed tennis racquet to be auctioned during the two weeks after the tournament – all proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House.
Check out the photos of Seles’ visit, courtesy of Hungarian Ladies Open!
Watch all of the best shots of the Aegon Classic Birmingham – right here!