Tennis News

Every week wtatennis.com brings you 10 Things To Know about the week – who is playing, where and much more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through Doha and Acapulco…

1) Doha is the first Premier 5 tournament of 2016.
The Qatar Total Open is a Premier 5 event and part two of the WTA’s fortnightly tour of the Middle East – part one is the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. There’s nearly $3 million on the line, with the winner pocketing $518,500 and a whopping 900 points for the Road To Singapore leaderboard.

Click here for a full analysis of the Doha draw.

2) World No.2 Angelique Kerber plays her first tournament since winning the Australian Open.
Kerber played a solid weekend in Fed Cup – going 1-1 in her singles matches against Timea Bacsinszky and Belinda Bencic – but the German comes to Doha  looking to build on her early season momentum; she remains the only player to reach more than one final in 2016. It won’t be easy for the 2014 finalist with her fellow Top 8 seeds in tow: Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbiñe Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, Bencic, Lucie Safarova, and Carla Suárez Navarro.

3) Agnieszka Radwanska is also hoping to build on her strong start to the season.
Out since the Australian Open with a left leg injury, the reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion was undefeated through the semifinals in Melbourne, having won the title at the Shenzhen Open. Though she fell to World No.1 Serena Williams in her last match, the Pole has otherwise looked good since last year’s US Open, and is poised to rise to World No.3 on Monday.

4) Defending champion Lucie Safarova makes her 2016 debut.
Safarova’s stellar 2015 season started off last year in Doha. The Czech earned back-to-back Top 10 wins and beat former No.1 Victoria Azarenka in the final, parlaying that result into a maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open. A bacterial infection derailed her season after the US Open, and though she qualified for Singapore, Safarova hasn’t played since, but with several weeks of practice in Doha, look for the defending champ to make some noise with her big lefty game. 

5) Can Halep, Muguruza or Kvitova kickstart their years in Doha?
No.2 seed Halep has been looking for matches all season, but they were hard to come by in Dubai; the Romanian had to face former No.1 Ana Ivanovic in her opening round match, losing in straight sets. Muguruza has been dealing with a foot injury that has kept her from feeling prepared to play her best tennis, while Kvitova has won just one match all season and has yet to name a replacement coach since splitting the David Kotyza. All three have the talent to win in Doha; can one or more catch fire this week?

6) Azarenka does Acapulco.
While most of the game’s biggest names are duking it out in Doha, Victoria Azarenka has opted to ease into her North American hardcourt swing by playing her first tournament since the Australian Open at this week’s International event at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Top seed in Acapulco, Azarenka is joined by tricky opposition in Sloane Stephens, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Dominika Cibulkova.

7) Can Konta go further?
Johanna Konta rocked the tennis world when she made her historic run to the semifinals in Melbourne. A likely seed in Acapulco, how will the Brit back up that result as she aims to continue her march up the rankings; she is currently at a career-high ranking of No.27.

8) How will Sloane Stephens rebound?
Stephens came to Melbourne looking like a dangerous floater having won her second career title at the ASB Classic, but took a surprising first round loss to Wang Qiang. How will the American fare in her first event since then?

9) Welcome back, Galina.
Former World No.42 and No.1 Kazakh Galina Voskoboeva was close to a career-high ranking when multiple foot injuries kept her off the court for nearly two years. Playing her first matches earlier this month at Fed Cup and an ITF Challenger, Voskoboeva makes her WTA return in doubles this week with Anastasia Rodionova. Stay tuned for more insight into Voskoboeva’s comeback on WTA Insider.

10) Find out where you can watch live action this week.

MIAMI, FL, USA – The second Premier Mandatory event of the season is set to kick off at the Miami Open. Qualifying starts on Monday and main draw matches will begin in earnest on Tuesday.

The draw was conducted on Sunday at the Miami Beach Lacoste store; reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Dominika Cibulkova and American Christina McHale were both on hand to help assist placing the seeds. Here’s what you need to know:

Main draw is out for @MiamiOpen. pic.twitter.com/9RDR0VWDhx

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 20, 2017

Top 8 seeds: Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbiñe Muguruza, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Madison Keys. NOTE: No.1 Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday.
Top half: Kerber, Halep, Kuznetsova, Keys.
Bottom half: Pliskova, Cibulkova, Radwanska, Muguruza
Projected quarterfinals: Kerber vs. Kuznetsova, Halep vs. Keys, Muguruza vs. Cibulkova, Radwanska vs. Pliskova.
Last year’s final: Victoria Azarenka d. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-2.

? on the ? for @AngeliqueKerber pic.twitter.com/gQJX9WzfEX

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 19, 2017

Angelique Kerber plays her first tournament since reclaiming the No.1 ranking; nemesis Kasatkina looms.

Kerber was set to chase 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who wrested the top spot from the German after winning her record-breaking Australian Open title, at the BNP Paribas Open before the American withdrew from both Indian Wells and Miami due to a left knee injury. As the de facto No.1 in the California desert, she was on fire against countrywoman Andrea Petkovic, and struggled to defeat Pauline Parmentier before running into an in-form Elena Vesnina, who went on to win the title.

Hoping to rebound in Miami, Kerber will have to hit the ground running should she face her projected third round opponent, No.31 seed Daria Kasatkina. The young Russian has beaten Kerber in both of their 2017 meetings, including a three-set tussle at the Qatar Total Open. Should she make it out of that section, she’s almost gauranteed a tough quarterfinal opponent as she could face one of No.11 seed Venus Williams, No.22 seed Kristina Mladenovic, or Indian Wells runner-up and No.7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

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

Time for Keys to shine in Miami?

The second quarter is anchored by a pair of players coming back from injury. No.3 seed Simona Halep had a solid start in the California desert before getting outplayed eventual semifinalist Mladenovic in straight sets. She could face further French resistence in the fourth round against No.21 seed Caroline Garcia.

No.8 Madison Keys has played just three matches in 2017, but answered many questions about her form in her relatively brief Indian Wells return. Crushing Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka, the American acquitted herself well against former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, and could be primed to blow through her section, provided she makes it past No.10 seed Johanna Konta.

First #WTA Premier Mandatory title!@EVesnina001 battles past Kuznetsova 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-4 to win @BNPParibasOpen! pic.twitter.com/4sVJAMKkN1

— WTA (@WTA) March 19, 2017

Vesnina shoots for Sunshine Double in tough third quarter.

Elena Vesnina surprised the world when she stormed to her biggest career title at the BNP Paribas Open; should she replicate the form that helped her beat Kerber, Williams, Mladenovic, and Kuznetsova in succession, the Russian will absolutely be one to watch in Crandon Park.

Her projected fourth round opponent is Cibulkova, the highest seed in the quarter. The Slovak showed signs of promise in Indian Wells, pulling out a pair of tight three-setters that appeared to give her the kind of big-match confidence she took through her stellar 2016 season.

Hello Key Biscayne!! ??
Happy with my double practice today…
Doble sesión de entrenooo…@MiamiOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/41JE7kZqEw

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) March 19, 2017

Muguruza to hit the (Danish) wall?

The third big name to watch is No.6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, who comes to Miami after a narrow loss to Karolina Pliskova last week. The Spaniard snapped Elina Svitolina’s 15-match winning streak en route to the quarterfinals, and will likely face more surging opposition in the fourth round in the form of No.12 seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Muguruza leads their head-to-head 3-1, but the pair haven’t played since 2015, when the former No.2 stunned the Dane on the way to her first Grand Slam final. Wozniacki picked up from where she left off at the end of 2016, reaching back-to-back finals in Doha and Dubai, and lost a close three-setter to Mladenovic in Indian Wells.

Still, the former No.1 will need to watch out for Olympic champion Monica Puig or rising American star Lauren Davis, two of the most dangerous floaters in the draw; both are in her section.

Hola Miami!!! First hit on center court today was ?Cant wait to get started ? pic.twitter.com/Q6BvuRVIQS

— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) March 18, 2017

Aussie Open rematches abound in Quarter No.4.

Before Svitolina got on a roll and won two straight titles in Chinese Taipei and Dubai, she took a tough three-set loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open. The Ukrainian will have a shot at avenging that defeat in Miami, as the No.9 seed is slated to face the No.17 seed in the third round.

Pavlyuchenkova has since backed up her run to the quarterfinals in Melbourne, reaching the last eight in Indian Wells with a win over Cibulkova along the way.

Speaking of big wins Down Under, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni’s fairytale fortnight started in the second round when she slid past Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round. Radwanska is projected to face the Croat once again provided she gets past a qualifier or Wang Qiang, who’s had a stealthy rise up the rankings in 2017 after reaching the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Thank you Indian Wells!?☀️ Miami next✈️ pic.twitter.com/GQZqzfSD1c

— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) March 18, 2017

Pliskova vs. Ostapenko, Part II.

We didn’t get to see how Karolina Pliskova would fare against young hotshot Jelena Ostapenko in Indian Wells after the draw was reshuffled. The Latvian went on to push Dominika Cibulkova to three sets while Pliskova edged past Monica Puig after moving into the top half of the draw.

The pair played a dramatic match in Melbourne, and the stage seems set for it to happen again should Ostapenko make it past her qualifier in the first round.

From there, things ease up for Pliskova, who is projected to play some of the first quarter’s struggling prospects in No.27 seed Yulia Putintseva and either No.15 seed Barbora Strycova or No.18 seed CoCo Vandeweghe, all three have lacked that extra spark since earning impressive results to start the season.

https://t.co/rWPukzFOod: Miami Open Wild Cards for Anisimova, Gibbs and Mmoh; Day, Kirkov Receive Qualifying Wild… https://t.co/cFrNt2bDrH pic.twitter.com/eobIWigSbR

— Colette Lewis (@zootennis) March 10, 2017

Next Gen names to watch.

The Miami Open draw boasts a diverse set of main draw and qualifying wildcards, including Kuala Lumpur champion Ashleigh Barty and St. Petersburg semifinalist Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Another wildcard to watch out for is 15-year-old American Amanda Anisimova. A junior standout, Anisimova reached the final of last year’s French Open and nearly qualified for the senior-level main draw at the US Open.

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of colleague and countrywoman Kayla Day, Anisimova opens against a qualifier with a possible upset opportunity against No.25 seed Roberta Vinci.

.@ChristinaMcHale and @Cibulkova are on hand for the @MiamiOpen draw ceremony! pic.twitter.com/osb7ezfPgU

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 19, 2017

Notable first round matches:

Julia Goerges vs. Alison Riske
Mandy Minella vs. Kristyna Pliskova
Eugenie Bouchard vs. Ashleigh Barty
Christina McHale vs. Annika Beck
Belinda Bencic vs. Sara Errani
CiCi Bellis vs. Ajla Tomljanovic
Yanina Wickmayer vs. Lucie Safarova
Jelena Jankovic vs. Yaroslava Shvedova
Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs. Katerina Siniakova

Notable second round matches:

Angelique Kerber vs. Laura Siegemund
Shelby Rogers vs. Daria Kasatkina
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Kristyna Pliskova
Caroline Garcia vs. Peng Shuai
Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Wang Qiang
Barbora Strycova vs. Monica Niculescu
Andrea Petkovic vs. CoCo Vandeweghe
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Karolina Pliskova

Eugenie Bouchard and Monica Puig will bid for first-round victories on Wednesday at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. We preview the must-see Miami Open matchups right here at wtatennis.com.

Wednesday

First round

Monica Puig (PUR #40) vs. Sorana Cirstea (ROU #65)
Head-to-head: Cirstea leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Puig is bidding for her 10^th tour-level win of the season on Wednesday.

Monica Puig will have the chance to take her solid 2017 to the next level at the Miami Open, and that challenge begins with a first-round matchup with Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. It will not be an easy task as Cirstea has defeated Puig in their lone meeting, but the Romanian has now lost five straight since reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open and she has gone 3-8 lifetime at Miami with losses in her last three matches.

Puig has a semifinal (Doha) and a quarterfinal (Acapulco) to her name this season, but the Puerto Rican is still searching for a follow-through to her breakout Gold Medal performance at last year’s Olympics. Could it happen this year in Miami, where Puig has only won two previous matches but will no doubt receive a warm reception from her fans?

Pick: Puig in three

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #56) vs. [WC] Ashleigh Barty (AUS #91)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Ashleigh Barty is the only player in 2017 to win the singles and doubles title at the same event, doing so at Kuala Lumpur.

Eugenie Bouchard had a relatively promising start to 2017 that saw her reach a semifinal at Sydney and advance to the third round at the Australian Open. But since then the Canadian has lost three straight. She’ll look to get her season on track again when she meets one of the surprising stories of 2017 in Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.

Barty has already doubled her 2016 tour-level win total and she claimed her first career title at Kuala Lumpur where she qualified before reeling off five straight victories. Bouchard will have her hands full with the upwardly mobile Aussie and she’ll have to be sharp with her passing game, as she’ll be contending with frequent forays to the net from Barty.

Pick: Bouchard in three

Ajla Tomjlanovic (CRO #594) vs. CiCi Bellis (USA #55)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Bellis reached the third round on her Miami Open debut in 2015.

Ajla Tomljanovic made her inspiring return to tennis after a year on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury by defeating Eugenie Bouchard in her first match in over a year at Acapulco. Since then she has lost two in a row but the good news for the powerful 23-year-old is that she’s finally in good health again and ready to start improving her ranking and fulfilling her vast potential on tour. But Tomjlanovic will have to contend with one of the feistiest young players in the game to get a win in Miami when she faces 17-year-old CiCi Bellis, who reached the third round as a 15-year-old Wildcard here in 2015.

Bellis started her season late due to a lower body injury but the California native reached the quarterfinals at Dubai in her first event, notching her first career Top 10 win over Agnieszka Radwanska in the process. Is Tomljanovic ready to contend with the all-out intensity of Bellis, or will it be Bellis who notches another impressive win in this young season?

Pick: Bellis in three

Lucie Safarova (CZE #36) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #67)
Head-to-head: Safarova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Safarova has gone 4-4 against players ranked outside the Top 50 at Miami.

Lucie Safarova will look to continue her climb back up the WTA rankings in a place that has given her significant trouble in recent years. The Czech has lost six of her last seven matches at the Miami Open and has never been beyond the third round in eleven career main draw appearances.

On Wednesday she’ll look to exact some revenge on the woman that knocked her out of last year’s draw, Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer. Safarova has already slipped by the Belgian once this year, defeating her in three sets at the Australian Open, but Wickmayer is a former quarterfinalist at Miami that also owns win over Kim Clijsters and Timea Bacsinszky at the event.

Pick: Safarova in two

By the Numbers:

1-4 – Eugenie’s lifetime record at Miami. The Canadian has lost four straight decisions here.

2016 – Though she fell in her first match last year, Lucie Safarova did claim the doubles title with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

5 – Ashleigh Barty is one of five WTA players to have claimed a maiden title in 2017. Lauren Davis (Auckland), Katerina Siniakova (Shenzhen), Elise Mertens (Hobart) and Kristina Mladenovic (St. Petersburg) are the other four.

DOHA, Qatar – On Monday, Agnieszka Radwanska met the press ahead of the Premier 5 level event in Doha, the Qatar Total Open, and she discussed everything from her strong start to the season, her Fed Cup plans and the next generation of tennis. Here’s what the World No.3 had to say…

On her red-hot start to the season, which saw her win a title in Shenzhen and reach the semifinals at the Australian Open…
“I had very good start, and I just hope I can keep going and playing the same good tennis I was playing in Australia. I have a good rest after that. I was practicing at home and working hard. Hopefully I can really do well here.”

On the challenge of the “openness” of the women’s game…
“For us, for some players that being in the Top 10 for a while, it’s also tough to stay there. There are a lot of talented, young players coming up and playing great tennis. This is another challenge for us to stay there.

There’s a lot of players deserve to be Top 10. We can also see everything is changing every week about the majors as well.”

On how Serena Williams’ dominance affects that openness…
“Of course Serena is always there, especially last year, but other years totally different. She’s definitely dominating if she’s on fire. When she’s playing her best tennis, she just playing unbelievable and too good, but otherwise it’s open.”

On her plans to play in Poland’s Fed Cup tie against Taiwan…
“I want to help my team in April to stay in that World Group, so this is my plan and I hope I can play that. Of course we can see individually busy schedule and tight schedule because of the Olympics, so I really want to stay healthy the whole year. But here we have match at home, so I’m ready to play.”