Tennis News

MIAMI, FL, USA – Mirjana Lucic-Baroni put together a near-perfect performance to upset the No.5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Miami Open.

She needed just over an hour to complete the comprehensive, 6-0, 6-3 victory and book a fourth-round battle with American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

“It was a great match today, she’s obviously a top player and has been for many years,” Lucic-Baroni told WTA Insider after the match. “I know what I had to do when I walked into the court. It’s always a matter of executing the plan, and I was able to do that great today.

“Today, I did a flawless job, a really beautiful performance. I’m proud of myself.”

INCREDIBLE!

Lucic-Baroni wraps up the bagel on Radwanska in under 20 minutes! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/m5Ulcmhvfw

— WTA (@WTA) March 25, 2017

Radwanska came into the matchup with the Croat with a 2-1 lead in the pair’s overall head-to-head record, but she hadn’t won a set against her in almost a year. And in their most recent match, Lucic-Baroni sent Radwanska crashing out of the Australian Open in the second round on her way to a dream run to the semifinals.

Lucic-Baroni kept the trend going in Miami, taking less than 20 minutes to drop a bagel on Radwanska and snatch away the opening set. The Pole had little answers for Lucic-Baroni’s barrage of winners; Radwanska finished the match with five winners and just a single unforced error, but Lucic-Baroni fired 38 winners past her and made only five unforced errors.

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni does it! Again!

Knocks out 2012 champ Radwanska 6-0, 6-3! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/RPl0QQtZSo

— WTA (@WTA) March 25, 2017

In the second set, Lucic-Baroni came away with the edge after weathering seven breaks of serve. She notched two vital holds of serve, keeping the vulnerable Radwanska serve under pressure throughout the match, ensuring that the Pole didn’t hold serve once during the encounter.

“She was playing unbelievable tennis today,” Radwanska told WTA Insider. “She was very solid from the beginning, very aggressive, hitting everything with unbelievable speed. I couldn’t do much.

“The first set went so quickly, and in the second set I had chances, but I didn’t come back and unfortunately I missed the chance to stay in the match. She was just too good today.”

Former World No.2 Petra Kvitova announced on Monday morning that she and coach David Kotyza had ended their seven year partnership. Beginning at the start of the 2009 season, Kvitova began her meteoric rise up the rankings with Kotyza at the helm, winning two Wimbledon titles, and a WTA Finals trophy in 2011, the year in which she was one match from finishing at No.1 in the world.

WTA Insider spoke with Kotyza last fall during the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global; check out that interview here – the audio version can be found on the WTA Insider Podcast – and read Kvitova’s statement on Facebook below:

The top half of the draw will round out the semifinals on Wednesday in Miami.

Wednesday

Quarterfinals

[3] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [10] Johanna Konta (GBR #11)
Head-to-head: Konta leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Halep can climb back to No.4 in the rankings by reaching the final in Miami.

Not only has Simona Halep won consecutive matches for the first time all season this week in Miami, now the Romanian is also pulling rabbits out of hats. Halep saved a match point in the second set to edge No.14-seeded Sam Stosur 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Monday to book a clash with Johanna Konta in the quarterfinals. Could this inspirational victory be a turning point for Halep in 2017? Maybe, but first and foremost the Romanian is just happy to be showing the world that she can still play at a high level. “Match point down and I came back,” she said after the win. “I’m happy about this, shows I can still play some tennis.”

As for the challenge of facing red-hot Johanna Konta, Halep is cautious, but eager for the test. “It will be tough,” Halep said. “She’s in a good form now, she’s near Top 10. And she plays great. It’s going to be a tough one, but here every match is tough so I don’t expect an easy one.” Konta improved to 16-3 with her Round of 16 win over Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena. The British No.1 was pleased about how she was able to find her level against the World No.72 on Monday. “As the match went on, I felt clearer and clearer on how I wanted to play and what I wanted to do out there from my perspective,” Konta told reporters afterwards.

Konta defeated Halep in their lone meeting at Wuhan in 2015 when she was still outside of the Top 50. She would break into the Top 50 the following week and never look back. Will she continue her climb up the rankings by reaching her first Miami Open semifinal, or will Halep build on her momentum with another noteworthy win?

Pick: Konta in three

[1] Angelique Kerber (GER #1) vs. [11] Venus Williams (USA #12)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 4-2
Key Stat: Kerber is 0-3 against Top 20 competition this season.

Two former Grand Slam champions will clash in a marquee quarterfinal on Wednesday as World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams lock horns for the seventh time. It was Kerber who emerged victorious when the pair last met at last year’s Wimbledon semifinals. The German executed very well in that contest, winning 43 percent of first-serve return points and breaking Williams’ serve five times on eleven opportunities. She was aggressive, because she knew she had to be. “I was trying to move her,” Kerber said. “That was the plan. That is always the plan when you play against Venus because when she has the ball on the racquet she just hits the ball from left to right, and you just run.”

Nine months later it will be interesting to see if Kerber can implement and execute a similar gameplan. The German has struggled to summon her best tennis this season, and she has lost six of eight matches against Top 50 opponents. Will she have the confidence to attack an in-form Williams?

Williams was in stellar form on Monday as she worked her way past No.7-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets. The American saved three of four break points and won 78 of her first-serve points, and she’ll need to be strong on serve again in order to defeat Kerber and earn her first win over a Reigning World No.1 since 2014.

Pick: Williams in three

By the Numbers
1 – Number of unseeded players to reach the quarterfinals this year at Miami (Safarova).
2 – Konta has reached the quarterfinals at Miami in her two career appearances at the event.
3 – Venus Williams is the only former remaining champion remaining in the draw. The three-time champion last won the title in Miami in 2001.
9 – Halep snapped a nine-match losing streak when losing the first set on Monday when she defeated Samantha Stosur in three.
13 – Williams owns 13 wins over reigning World No.1s, seven of which have come against Martina Hingis.

Serena Williams will look to maintain her perfect record in Australian Open semifinals, while Angelique Kerber will bid for a long awaited trip to her first major final on Thursday in Melbourne. It’s semifinal day Down Under, and here’s a preview of what’s on tap.

Thursday, Day 11
Semifinals

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL # 4)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 8-0
Key Stat: Radwanska comes into the semifinals riding a 13-match winning streak.

Agnieszka Radwanska enters Thursday’s semifinal with world No.1 Serena Williams as the WTA’s hottest player. She’s won 13 straight matches dating back to her title run at the WTA Finals last year, and the 26-year-old Pole is the only semifinalist to have already claimed a title this season. Even six-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams has been impressed by Radwanska’s form. “She’s been playing really well towards the end of the year, and already this year she’s been very consistent,” Williams said after reaching the semifinals with a straight-sets victory over Maria Sharapova on Tuesday. “She presents a completely different game, an extremely exciting game. So I think it will be a long match and it will be a good match to see where I am.”

Radwanska may be in scorching form, but nobody in Australian Open history has achieved more success than Williams from the semifinals on. The 21-time major champion has won the title all six times she’s reached the semifinals in Melbourne, and her overall career record in Grand Slam semifinals is an otherworldly 25-4. So what can Radwanska do to give herself a chance to create a stirring upset against arguably the greatest big match player of all time? It’s a question that many elite talents have pondered and failed to adequately answer. The matchup certainly favors Williams, who will look to take advantage of a huge power advantage by attacking the vulnerable second serve of Radwanska. The Pole will have to make first serves, and use her cleverness and variation to keep Williams from getting her rhythm. Any way you slice it it’s a tough ask for Radwanska, but her current form and the fact that she’s faced Williams in big matches before should help her in the tougher moments.

Pick: Williams in two

[7] Angelique Kerber (GER #6) vs. Johanna Konta (GBR #47)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Konta is Great Britain’s first Grand Slam semifinalist since 1983.

Great Britain’s Johanna Konta is celebrating her first appearance in the main draw of the Australian Open in style—with a trip to the semifinals. After taking down China’s Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, the Eastbourne resident has now won eight of her last nine Grand Slam matches. That in itself is impressive but when one takes into account the fact that Konta owned a career record of 1-7 in Grand Slam play before the streak started, it becomes evident just how vastly improved Konta has become in such a short time. A poised and cerebral player with weapons on both wings, Konta has risen 100 spots in the rankings since this time last year, thanks to an improved forehand and a newfound faith in her ability to tough out tight matches.

The opposite is true of Konta’s semifinal opponent, Germany’s Angelique Kerber. While Konta has been a rapid riser, Kerber has been a tried-and-true elite force on tour, and one who has been knocking on the door at Grand Slams ever since she had her breakout at the 2011 US Open. Kerber snapped a personal six-match losing streak to Victoria Azarenka on Day 10, playing courageous tennis and wreaking havoc on the speedy Belarusian with her flat, powerful backhand to clinch a spot in the last four at a major for the third time. Konta and Kerber have never met at the tour-level, but Konta has seen her share of the fit and ferocious Kerber and knows of the challenge that awaits. “She’s just an incredibly good player,” Konta said. “She’s an amazing competitor. She’s showed time and time again over the last numerous years. I’m going to go out there really enjoy it and enjoy the battle and hopefully play a good level and give the crowd a good match.”

Pick: Kerber in three

WTA Podcast Episode 15: Ker-Pow! Angelique Kerber wins the Australian Open

On this Episode 15, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen recaps the stunning result Down Under, as New World No.2 Angelique Kerber became the first German woman to win a major since Steffi Graff in 1999, stunning No.1 Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open.

Joining Courtney to discuss Kerber’s mind-bending run to her first major title as as well as the two weeks that were here in Melbourne, is Reem Abuleil, tennis correspondent for Sport360, a daily sports newspaper based in Dubai.

Finally, in the Champion’s Corner you’ll hear from the Kerber herself. She spoke to Nguyen a day after winning the title about what inspired her chilly jump into the Yarra River and how her work ethic and perseverance made the victory all the sweeter.

Kerber: “I think I’m a person that needs a little bit of time. Of course, I believed in myself, but I had a lot of up and downs in my career where I was thinking, is this the right way? Could I reach my goals? But I had a great team around me always telling me that, ‘You’re a great player and you’re practicing and working so hard. One day you will deserve it.’ I was trusting my team more than myself.”

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or any podcast app of your choice. Reviews are always helpful so if you like what you’re hearing, leave us a review. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.