Brisbane: Suárez Navarro Interview
An interview with Carla Suárez Navarro after her first round win at the Brisbane International.
An interview with Carla Suárez Navarro after her first round win at the Brisbane International.
Venus Williams rallied back from a set down and fought off three match points to emerge victorious against Jelena Jankovic and move into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Petra Kvitova and Alison Riske tried their hand at traditional Chinese calligraphy before the Shenzhen Open kicked off – how did their scripts turn out? Find out here.
No.2 seed Angelique Kerber survived a topsy-turvy tussle with Pauline Parmentier; the No.1-to-be next plays No.14 seed Elena Vesnina who had her own marathon in Indian Wells.
Andrea Petkovic takes on Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the Brisbane International.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – 2011 BNP Paribas Open champion Caroline Wozniacki eased past American Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the last eight in Indian Wells and complete the quarterfinal line-up at the season’s first Premier Mandatory event.
Wozniacki came from the Middle East swing on a strong run of form, having reached back-to-back finals at the Qatar Total Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Keys, by contrast, was playing her first event of the season after missing the first two months of the year recovering from left wrist surgery. The American had nonetheless played solid tennis to start her comeback, knocking out young rival Naomi Osaka in straight sets to reach the round of 16.
.@CaroWozniacki makes the most of a tumble! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/Cdpj7BP6jX
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
“It’s always tough to play her, she has so much power and she can play some incredible shots from far behind the baseline and out wide,” said Wozniacki afterwards. “You just have to be ready for it and I was happy with how I managed to return quite a few serves back, get those extra balls back, and I think it frustrated her a little bit.”
The No.9 seed lost their only previous encounter to Wozniacki last summer at the US Open, and that experience likely assisted the Dane on Tuesday night as she advanced by a near-identical score despite some tough games in between.
“This is the furthest I’ve ever gotten at Indian Wells, funnily enough. So, go me!” Keys joked after the match. “I’m still pretty happy I was able to play three matches, and Caroline played really well. I feel like it was pretty tight for someone who’s played 20 matches against someone playing their third.”
In all, Wozniacki struck 16 fewer winners than her more aggressive opponent, but also eight fewer unforced errors, and gave the American a taste of her own medicine on match point, smacking a backhand down the line to clinch her spot in the quarterfinals.
.@CaroWozniacki secures last spot in @BNPParibasOpen Quarterfinals!
Beats Keys 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/qz8hrQRmhQ
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Standing between Wozniacki and her first Indian Wells semifinal since 2013 is surging Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic. The St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy winner earned another convincing victory against Lauren Davis, herself a fast-improving player, in the fourth round.
.@KikiMladenovic completes 6-3, 6-3 win over Davis!
Reaches her first @BNPParibasOpen Quarterfinal! pic.twitter.com/SqkvQA1j7k
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
“It’s not going to be an easy one – I played a tough one against her in Hong Kong, in the final,” said Wozniacki at the prospect of facing Mladenovic. “I’m expecting another tricky one, but I’m looking forward to it.”
BRISBANE, Australia – Angelique Kerber put on a rock solid performance against Carla Suárez Navarro on Friday to become the first player into the final of the Premier-level Brisbane International.
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The two players had played four times before and split them evenly, 2-2, but this time it was one-sided traffic as the No.4-seeded Kerber was on her game from the get-go, breaking straight away and needing just an hour and 15 minutes to finally put away the No.6-seeded Suárez Navarro, 6-2, 6-3.
“I think it was a good match from me. I was feeling very well from the first point,” Kerber said.
“I knew I had to play aggressively against her, and I was trying to go for it, trying to let her move, and if I had the chance, just going for it. It worked well today, so I’m happy with my performance.”
Kerber finished with a +6 differential of winners to unforced errors, 25 to 19, while Suárez Navarro finished at -9, 13 to 22. But the biggest stat may have come on the Kerber serve – the German held all eight of her service games during the match, and she fought off both of the break points she faced.
But overall, Kerber was lethal whether she was on offense or defense – the perfect balance.
“For me it’s good to find the middle,” she said about her game earlier in the week. “I like to be more aggressive, but also still running everywhere and trying to get every single ball back. I was practicing that a lot the last few weeks, to make the transition better from defense to aggressive playing.
“I still think I should be more aggressive on my second serve and the next few shots, though.”
The World No.10 is now through to the 18th WTA final of her career. She has a 7-10 record in her first 17, but she’s done much better in WTA finals recently, winning four of her last five (all in 2015).
The big picture goal, however, is getting matches in before the big one – the Australian Open.
“I’m just trying to get out there and play like I’ve been practicing the last few weeks, trying to transfer it all into my matches, being more aggressive and serving better than I did in the last few months.
“I think it’s working well. I think I’m on a good way to being 100% ready for Melbourne.”
Forehand, backhand, it doesn't matter! @AngeliqueKerber just crushing the ?! #WTA pic.twitter.com/LYzgcUE2PC
— WTA (@WTA) January 8, 2016
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Madison Keys’ comeback from wrist injury may not have ended on the note that she wanted, but the 22-year-old considered her Round of 16 run at the BNP Paribas Open a success.
Keys underwent left wrist surgery during the off-season, which ruled her out of the first two months of the year. Playing in her first tournament, she scored two solid wins over Mariana Duque-Mariño and Naomi Osaka, before losing to a steady Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday night.
“Funny enough, this is the furthest I got in Indian Wells, so go me!” Keys said after the match. “Obviously it sucks, but I’m happy I could play three matches. Caroline played well tonight. I thought it was pretty tight for someone who has played 20 matches this year and I’ve played three.”
.@Madison_Keys in control of the point! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/m1CjnChreb
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Earlier in the week, Keys said her expectations for her first tournament back were fairly low.
“I was, like, if I get a set, I’ll be happy. It’s always tough to come back and everyone is in the middle of their season. I definitely had really low expectations, which is probably why, when I was up there and serving for the match in the first round, I was, like, ‘Oh, this is exciting. I didn’t think this was going to happen.'”
Keys sustained the left wrist injury at the 2015 US Open but played the entire 2016 season while managing the pain. It ended up being her best season to date, as she broke into the Top 10, made the biggest final of her career at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and qualified for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“I don’t think I really compromised my game,” Keys said, referring to playing last season with the injury. “If anything, it made me play my game better, looking more for forehands, doing what I could, maybe not going for the winner down the line from 16 feet behind the baseline, playing a lot smarter.
“More than anything, I think it made me a lot more mentally tougher knowing it’s going to hurt, it’s going to be tough, but just wanting to make Singapore that badly, I was just going to do everything that I could to get there.
“I think it was after Wimbledon I found out it’s not going to go away and that I was going to need surgery to fix it. So the original plan was, ‘Okay, after US Open, [have the surgery], be ready for Australian Open.’
“And then after US Open, I was 9th in the Race to Singapore. There was no way you’re going to get me off of a tennis court right now. Then it was, okay, we’re going to do everything we can to get to Singapore. And then, if you don’t make Singapore, we’ll call it there. If you do, which I did, I got home on the 30th or the 31st of October and I had surgery November 2nd.”
Keys’ wrist was immobilized in a cast after surgery, but once that cast was removed her panic began to set in.
“For the longest time, I still couldn’t turn my steering wheel and I couldn’t use my left hand doing this and that,” she said. “It was tough, and it was really stressful.
“There were so many times when I’d be fine for, like, a week or a month and then all of a sudden I’d be, ‘Oh, my God, guys. What if I never win a match again? What if it’s over?’
“And that’s when my team was really great about, Take a breath. It is fine. You won matches [in 2016] when every time you hit the ball you were in horrible amounts of pain. You can do this.”
.@Madison_Keys saves break point with the drop volley! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/WUlSBTxbOM
— WTA (@WTA) March 15, 2017
Part of that team includes Lindsay Davenport, who rejoined Keys’ team during the off-season. The two worked together during the 2015 season and under Davenport’s tutelage Keys made her first major semifinal at the Australian Open. Family commitments led to a split but so far the reunion has been exactly what Keys needed.
“I think we both came to the table knowing what I could give, what she could give, all of that,” Keys said. “I have been lucky that I have also had the help of USTA in Orlando. So the weeks that she can’t do, I have a really good base to go home to and practice there. So that’s been really good. I think we both know what to expect.”
Going under the knife is never ideal for any athlete, but in Keys’ case there may have been a silver lining. In addition to spending time with her family – “It was nice to live a normal life for a bit” – the delayed start to her season also gave her a block of uninterrupted time to work on her fitness and improve her game.
Beautiful slice from @Madison_Keys! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/etTKNa2vLZ
— WTA (@WTA) March 14, 2017
“I worked on my slice a ton, obviously, because I had months where I couldn’t do anything else,” Keys said. “There were a lot of things I got to work on, which was great. And also, I got to work with Scott [Byrnes, her trainer] for the longest period of time without a tournament coming up. We worked on a lot of just little things we haven’t been able to.
“So I feel like I’m in the best shape that I have probably ever been in. Just feeling more comfortable coming to the net, using a slice, all of that. In a lot of ways it was really good to kind of just have the time to work on my game.”
Keys said the wrist is fully healed but she went into the tournament wondering how it would hold up through multiple matches. Under the duress of three matches, those questions were answered positively.
“I’m definitely excited to get back on the grind,” Keys said. “In a weird way I miss losing, because it means I was actually here.
Well that was fun ? thanks for the always amazing tournament @BNPPARIBASOPEN and thanks for all the support. Love you guys ? pic.twitter.com/YdUxxHH9cU
— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) March 15, 2017
“We do get to do what we love. I think that’s really special, and I think sometimes we get really caught up in the winning and the losing and rankings and all of that. At the end of the day, we get to play a sport that we love for our jobs, and just this whole time has made me realize how truly blessed I am to be able to do that.”
Keys’ next event is next week’s Miami Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – After winning the biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals at the end of the 2015 season, Agnieszka Radwanska made a big declaration – that she would do everything in her power to win a Grand Slam title in 2016 (check out the full interview with CNN Open Court here).
But Radwanska hasn’t just been talking the talk of a future Grand Slam champion – she’s been walking the walk, big time. Since losing early at the US Open she’s been doing a heck of a lot of winning, capturing four of the six tournaments she’s played – Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Tianjin, the WTA Finals in Singapore and Shenzhen this past week – and putting together a more than impressive 22-4 record.
And by winning Shenzhen, Radwanska also secured a rise from No.5 to No.4 on the WTA Rankings, meaning she’ll have a Top 4 seed at the Australian Open, which, in turn, means she won’t have to play Serena Williams until at least the semifinals – a good break given she’s 0-8 against the World No.1.
But the question remains: Why could the Australian Open be Radwanska’s first Grand Slam title?
Well, there’s actually a very good reason Radwanska could make her breakthrough at the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific – she’s won 10 of her 18 career WTA titles in the Asia-Pacific**:
2016 – Shenzhen
2015 – Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Tianjin, WTA Finals [Singapore]2014 – Montréal
2013 – Auckland, Sydney, Seoul
2012 – Dubai, Miami, Brussels
2011 – Carlsbad, Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Beijing
2008 – Pattaya City, Istanbul, Eastbourne
2007 – Stockholm
Radwanska was asked why she always does so well in the Asia-Pacific during her week in Shenzhen.
“That’s a good question – I’m not sure!” she replied. “I’m always feeling good on the court here, and I’m always playing great tennis. And you can’t ignore the results – that’s really a lot of tournaments.
“Hopefully there will be even more tournaments to play in the Asia-Pacific in the future!”
Many would pick Wimbledon to be Radwanska’s best major – she reached her first Grand Slam final there in 2012, after all – but she’s been to the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open just as many times as at Wimbledon (five). Her best result in Melbourne was the semifinals back in 2014.
Can the World No.4, a former World No.2, go all the way this time? Stay tuned on wtatennis.com!
** The general definition for Asia-Pacific is East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania
Are you ready for prime time? It’s semifinal Friday at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open and we’re previewing both matchups right here at WTATennis.com
Friday
Semifinals
[14] Elena Vesnina (RUS #15) vs. [28] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #26)
Head-to-head: Vesnina leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Two Russians have reached the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since 2013.
Two former Grand Slam doubles champions will battle it out on the singles court on Friday for the right to reach their first ever Premier Mandatory final when Kristina Mladenovic and Elena Vesnina lock horns for the third time. Mladenovic edged Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the quarters on Thursday, ending a three-match losing streak against the Dane and assuring herself of a spot in the Top 20 next week, but the Frenchwoman would like to prolong her stay in Southern California a few days longer. “Every day I go out there on the court, in the gym practicing, it’s for moment like that,” she said after defeating Wozniacki for the first time. “So I’m not getting too excited. I’m just super satisfied that I am on these kind of stages right now and trying to use my chances.”
Vesnina fought past Venus Williams on Thursday to secure her spot in the semifinals. The Russian is a three-time major champion on the doubles court but is just now starting to blossom in singles. She reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year and could climb to a career-high ranking of No.13 in the world with a title at Indian Wells. But the veteran knows that she’ll have her hands full with Mladenovic. “Definitely she’s having a great season,” Vesnina said of the Frenchwoman. “It’s going to be tough match. She’s an upcoming player. We played couple of times, but two, three years ago, and totally different story now.”
Will it be the Russian who flies into the final, or can Mladenovic upend her and keep her hopes of becoming the first Frenchwoman to win the BNP Paribas Open title alive?
Pick: Vesnina in three
[3] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #8)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Both of the pair’s previous meetings have gone three sets.
Never mind the shy demeanor. Karolina Pliskova is very much a tennis player en vogue right now. She’s a rising star that possesses an electrifying game and has been tabbed by pundits as likely to become one of the game’s dominant forces for many years to come. On Friday the menacing Czech will square off against a player who has been there, done that and is now experiencing an inspiring renaissance. Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova is back at the top of the game after six years outside of the Top 10, and she is relishing the experience of reaching the BNP Paribas Open semifinals for the first time since 2008. “If I look back, for sure, it was very long time ago,” she said of her last deep run at Indian Wells on Wednesday after taking out compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. “So it’s great. I’m enjoying it much more now, because now I know the value of this.”
This intriguing match-up of resurgent veteran and blossoming star will be a bit of a chess match between two stylistically opposite players. Kuznetsova will hope to use variety and get her opponent the move while Pliskova knows she’ll need to dictate, shorten points, and be decisive from the baseline. “We had two matches, two times, three-setters, and two times was really tough,” Pliskova said of her previous encounters with the Russian. “I have to play well. I just keep the same game plan and have to be aggressive… And don’t let her play, otherwise she’s going to let me run. That’s what she probably wants me to do.”
Pick: Pliskova in three
By the Numbers:
1 – Mladenovic is the only semifinalist that has yet to win multiple WTA titles.
20 – By reaching the semifinals Mladenovic has assured herself a spot inside the Top 20 when next week’s rankings are released.
19-2 – Karolina Pliskova’s record in 2017. The Czech is bidding to become the WTA’s first 20-match winner today.
27 – Number of career wins Svetlana Kuznetsova has achieved at Indian Wells. The Russian is now tied for sixth all-time with Martin Hingis.
2011 – The only year a Frenchwoman has reached the final at Indian Wells. Marion Bartoli lost to Caroline Wozniacki in three sets.