Tennis News

MADRID Spain – The seeds in the lower half of the draw will make their 2016 BNP Paribas debut on Saturday at Indian Wells, including 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

Saturday, First Round

[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #17) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #43)
Head-to-head: Svitolina leads 1-0 
Key Stat: Svitolina’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came last year on clay at the French Open.

A solid start to Svitolina’s season – one that saw her capture her fourth career title in Kuala Lumpur – came to a thudding halt in a rain-interrupted opening round loss to Alexandra Panova in Bogota. Nonetheless, the Ukranian youngster will look to rebound against 2009 US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. Wickmayer reached the third round of the Miami Open, taking out Lucie Safarova en route, and her best result came in Acapulco, where she reached the semifinals – falling to eventual champion Sloane Stephens.

Both have yet to win a match on clay, but their only previous meeting came on the terre battue last spring, when Svitolina dropped four games on the Belgian en route to the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Svitolina is the steadier of the two, but the conditions in the Caja Magica could lend themselves better to the fiery Wickmayer’s aggressive play.

Pick: Svitolina in three

[16] Sloane Stephens (USA #21) vs. Teliana Pereira (BRA #84)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Stephens has gone on to win the title at every tournament in which she has won a match.

Sloane Stephens has had a season full of highs and lows to start 2016; despite earning three titles in Auckland, Acapulco, and Charleston, the American went out in the opening round of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami. Stephens will try to get on another title-winning roll in her first match in Madird. Clay courter Teliana Pereira enjoyed a hugely successful season in 2015, one where she won her first WTA title in Bogota and earned a career-high ranking of No.43 last October.

Olympic pressure may be starting to get to the Brazilian, who lost her in the first round of her title defense to qualifier Catalina Pella in three grueling sets.

Pick: Stephens in two

Around the grounds: An all-Italian battle will take place on Court Manolo Santana as No.15 seed Sara Errani takes on Camila Giorgi, while Manhattan-born Spanish wildcard Paula Badosa Gibert opens the night session against Alizé Cornet. Badosa Gibert won last year’s junior French Open, perhaps an auspicious sign given how quickly 2014 champion Daria Kasatkina has come into her own in the year following her title run. In doubles, No.5 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic begin their quest for a third straight title against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and CoCo Vandeweghe.

RABAT, Morocco – Timea Bacsinszky saved some of her best tennis for Saturday’s final against Marina Erakovic; the Swiss star faced few problems against the former World No.39, 6-2, 6-1, to capture her first title of 2016 at the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem.

Watch live action from Prague & Rabat this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Bacsinszky reached the semifinals of last year’s French Open, and appears to be settling into similar form after racing through Rabat – losing just one set in five matches. Against Erakovic, she played a near-perfect match over the course of an hour and seven minutes, winning 75% of the Kiwi’s second serve points without facing a break point off her own delivery. Her fourth career WTA title, the only WTA tournament in Africa Bacsinszky’s first on red clay – all three of her previous victories came on hardcourts.

It might not have been the ideal finish for Erakovic in the final, but it was still an awe-inspiring week from the qualifier, who had nearly dropped outside the world’s Top 200 due to various injuries. Taking out Fed Cup hero Kiki Bertens in three grueling sets, the 28-year-old jumps up nearly 60 spots to within spitting distance of the Top 100.

More to come…

Not long after winning her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Serena Williams met up with a player who knows plenty about what it takes to win in Melbourne.

Victoria Azarenka won back-to-back major titles in Australia back in 2012 and 2013, but sat out the first Grand Slam of 2017, having given birth to son Leo in late December.

Serena and Azarenka have played some of the best matches in the last few years, including a thrilling three-setter in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. Their most recent encounter came last spring, where Azarenka got the upper hand to win the first leg of her Sunshine Double at the BNP Paribas Open.

Off the court, however, it’s all love:

I always enjoy our meetings on and off the court! Always love for @serenawilliams #manymoretocome pic.twitter.com/xyJBGVpCLz

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) February 4, 2017

The Belarusian remains optimistic of a comeback, writing on social media that she hopes to extend her rivalry with the World No.1 on the court in the future.

Azarenka has undoubtedly remained plugged into the sport even from afar, congratulating Serena on her seventh Australian Open title on Twitter not long after the final:

Miss Serena @serenawilliams 23 quite a magic number! Bravo!!! Congrats to Venus as well and your family and your team!

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) January 28, 2017