Tokyo: Sasnovich vs Pliskova
Aliaksandra Sasnovich takes on Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich takes on Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
TOKYO, Japan – Agnieszka Radwanska kept her Tokyo title defense on track with an emphatic win over Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, defeating her 6-2, 6-3 to claim her fifth semifinal berth at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
As SAP’s Behind The Numbers revealed, Radwanska’s game flourishes post-US Open, and is especially lethal during the WTA’s Asian Swing. She holds the record for most matches and most titles won in the Asian swing since 2011, and looks set to add to her tally after straight sets victory over Puig.
“I definitely played my best tennis today,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview. “I was serving well and keeping the ball very well. Obviously I knew [Puig] is a really great player, playing in a very top form. So I’m really glad I could do everything today, in my game.”
Radwanska hit 16 winners and allowed just 10 unforced errors during the one hour and 16 minute encounter, not giving Puig much to work with as the Puerto Rican hit 19 winners to 30 unforced errors.
Radwanska’s serve played a decisive role in the match, bailing her out of tricky situations time and time again. She struck eight aces – including a rare second serve ace to bring up set points – and won 66 percent of points behind her first serve.
“I just felt like John Isner for a little bit there!” Radwanska joked with the Japanese crowd. “I think I was serving very well today, and of course that helped me a lot. Especially because from her side the ball is coming so fast, so the serve was the key today as well.”
Radwanska awaits the winner of the day’s second quarterfinal between Caroline Wozniacki and Magda Linette for a spot in the semifinals and a shot at a third Tokyo trophy.
5th @TorayPPO Semifinal for @ARadwanska! ? pic.twitter.com/7JjtpbhMFr
— WTA (@WTA) September 23, 2016
WUHAN, China – Before main draw action got underway at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, the WTA stars set to take the court took to the red carpet for the Player’s Party. No.4 seed Simona Halep and No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova each struck a pose for the cameras, along with some of the biggest names in women’s tennis.
Check out the best photos courtesy of Getty Images:
Simona Halep (ROU)
Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
Lucie Safarova (CZE)
Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Caroline Garcia (FRA)
Petra Kvitova (CZE)
Madison Keys (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)
Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
Highlights from final round action at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Jelena Jankovic takes on Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Simona Halep takes on Yaroslava Shvedova in the third round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
An interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Highlights from the quarterfinals action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
WUHAN, China – Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova captured the Wuhan title on Saturday to secure their return for the second year in succession to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Despite starting the week in seventh place on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, Mattek-Sands and Safarova’s seventh title together saw them become the fourth team to secure a spot at the season-ending showpiece.
“Singapore last year was awesome. It’s the year-end championships, the best of the best. Only the best teams get to go, so I think it’s an honor to make it there in the end,” Mattek-Sands said. “I think everyone at this point is fighting for a spot because the rankings were pretty close.”
It is testament to the American-Czech’s partnership that they have managed to secure their place in Singapore from so few appearance; injuries and scheduling conflicts have restricted them to just seven tournaments together this year. However, when they have been on court, it has not taken long to rekindle the magic.
In their first event of the year, the Miami Open, they romped to the title without dropping a set, following this up with another final in Charleston. They lost out on the silverware there to fellow Singapore qualifiers Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic and suffered further disappointment at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, falling at the first hurdle on each occasion.
With their Finals hopes hanging by a thread, a big performance was required at Flushing Meadows. And they certainly delivered, gaining revenge on Garcia and Mladenovic to add the US Open crown to the majors titles won at the Australian and French Opens the previous year.
The current Road to Singapore leaderboard as follows (as of October 1, 2016):
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the China Open.