Tennis News

PARIS, France – Defending champion Serena Williams fired out a warning shot that echoed around Roland Garros by swatting aside Elina Svitolina in straight sets on Wednesday morning.

The players had originally been due on court 48 hours earlier, only for the Paris weather to intervene. When they did finally make it onto Philippe Chatrier, Williams was clearly intent on making up for lost time, reeling off the first four games in the blink of an eye.

Svitolina did eventually get on the scoreboard but was unable to stem the tide for long, dropping the first set in under half an hour. The second set was almost as brief, the American wrapping up a 6-1, 6-1 victory to reach the last eight for a 10th time.

When the players last met in a major, at the 2015 Australian Open, Svitolina extended the World No.1 to three sets. However, on the clay it was never a contest, Williams making a mockery of the heavy conditions to rack up 27 winners in her 62 minutes on court.

“I think it’s definitely a whole new ballgame. I didn’t play my best in the third round and I really wanted to come out and do a lot better and prove that I can do better than that,” Williams said.

The tone was set in the opening game, Svitolina missing four first serves; Williams duly broke to love.

In the build-up to the match both Williams and her coach Patrick Mouratoglou had made no secret of the danger posed by Svitolina, particularly with four-time French Open champion Justine Henin now in her corner. 

Faced with the World No.1 in full flight, Svitolina found it tough to live up to this billing. It was not until the fifth game that she hit a winner and the few openings she did carve out were more often than not slammed shut with a thudding serve.

Williams, who remains on track to become the first player to defend the title in Paris since Henin in 2007, is now just three wins away from her 22nd major title, matching Steffi Graf’s tally and closing in on Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.

Afterwards, she refused to be drawn on her relentless record chasing exploits: “I think every day, for me, is important to get up for all my matches, you know, first round to the last round. I feel like the moment I step on the court that’s all I see, is the ball and the opportunity to do the best I can.”

She is not expecting an easy time in the next round, when she takes on one of Mouratoglou’s former charges, Yulia Putintseva. “I have actually played her a couple of times, and most recently in Indian Wells,” Williams said. “You know, she’s a tough player. She’s really hungry. I feel like she gives 200% on every single point.”

This attitude was evident in Putintseva’s rain-delayed 7-5, 7-5 win over No.12 seed Carla Suárez Navarro. Putintseva’s intensity and variety never allowed the Spaniard find her comfort zone, drawing error after error.

“I have been waiting for like two or three days for my fourth-round match. Of course it was getting nervous and all this stuff because of the weather. I had to change my hotel, as well, because my reservation finished. But I’m happy that in the end the wait was worth it,” Putintseva said.

What a passing shot by Serena Williams! ? #hotshot #RG16 (via @rolandgarros) https://t.co/ymvi9EUoIK

— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) 1 June 2016

PARIS, France – Kiki Bertens continued her French Open fairytale on Thursday afternoon with a straight set victory over No.8 seed Timea Bacsinszky.

Prior to this fortnight, Bertens had only ever been beyond the second round of a major once before – reaching the fourth round here in 2014 – but after defeating Bacsinszky, 7-5, 6-2, she will now face reigning champion Serena Williams for a place in the final.

An opening set littered with breaks and momentum shifts hinged on the 11th game when Bertens bucked the trend by holding serve. A sequence of errors from Bacsinszky brought three set points, Bertens wrapping it up courtesy of a thumping forehand.

By contrast, the second set was all Bertens, her confidence soaring after prevailing in the 70-minute opening stanza. Understandably given her recent exploits – this was her 20th match in singles and doubles in the past 20 days – the Dutchwoman began to run out of steam as the finishing line approached.

Bacsinszky, though, proved to be equally exhausted, dragging a forehand wide to bring up match point. Moments later it was over – Bertens tumbling to the clay, scarcely able to believe her accomplishment.

Afterwards, Bertens was quick to highlight the importance of the see-saw first set: “I think it was really difficult today. The circumstances were really tough. The court is really slow. The balls are heavy. It’s really tough to play aggressive, and especially with Timea. She is like changing a lot, like with some slower balls and some higher ones, so it was pretty tough for me.

“But I think afterwards I was 4-2 down, and then I was just like, Okay, we are just going to be calm and try to fight for each point. I did it and I won the first set. Yeah, it was just keep on fighting for every ball.”

The last Dutchwoman to make it this far at one of the four majors was Betty Stove, who lost in the semifinals of the 1977 US Open, while the last in Paris was Marijke Schaar, six years earlier.

It has been a remarkable clay court season for Bertens, who kicked it off by nearly leading the Netherlands to the Fed Cup title. This was followed by a semifinal in Rabat and then a title in her last tournament before Roland Garros, in Nürnberg.

The turning point came in Rabat, a particularly painful loss to Marina Erakovic leading to a frank post-mortem in the Bertens camp. “I remember like one thing I remember is like my semifinal in Rabat. I had match point there I was losing the match and I wasn’t just – in my head I was so stressed and all the time and we were like talking with my coach after that match for so long.

“I think after that match I just was so calm in my head and just trying to go out there every day and just give everything and then, yeah, just do my own thing. I think that’s the most important thing.”

Having ended 2015 at No.101, the new rankings will see Bertens break into the Top 30 for the first time in her career. It is the reward for an arduous training regime that allowed Bertens outplay and outlast Angelique Kerber, Daria Kasatkina, Madison Keys and now Bacsinszky.

“I think like in the pre-season I did a lot of work. Like the first three weeks was only physical practices, like two, sometimes three times a day. It was a hell really, but I’m really glad we did it. Like with my whole team we were like working every day like really hard. Physically I feel good the whole year. I played a lot of matches, so I feel good.”

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The 2017 BNP Paribas Open is right around the corner and the season’s first Premier Mandatory event has announced a stacked field headlined by World No.1 Angelique Kerber and the returns of former No.1s Serena Wiliams and Venus Williams.

Kerber is tentatively slated as the top seed in what will be her seventh main draw appearance in Indian Wells. The German reached back-to-back semifinals in 2012 and 2013 – losing a classic three-setter to Caroline Wozniacki in the latter – but will be aiming to build on opening-round losses since.

Not far behind Kerber is World No.2 Serena, who could well be back atop the WTA rankings by the time the tour heads West to California. The American ended a 12-year absence from Indian Wells in 2015, and the two-time champion has brought some of her best tennis to the tournament, reaching the final last year.

Venus returned last year, and the seven-time Slam champion’s career has been on a definite upswing of late, reaching two semifinals at the last three major tournaments.

Joining Kerber and the Williamses is a full slate of Top 10 opposition, including 2015 champion Simona Halep, who defeated 2010 winner Jelena Jankovic in a three-set final. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will also be in attendance; the Dane lifted the trophy back in 2011.

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka won’t be back to defend her title due to the recent birth of her first child.

The remaining spots in the draws will be filled by winners of the Qualifying tournament (March 6-8) and Wildcards, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

To purchase tickets, visit www.bnpparibasopen.com!

“Your mindset is worth more than your body.”

Well, at least it is according to Heather Watson, Great Britain’s No.2 and one of the most consistent British women’s tennis players.

Earlier in the season, Watson sat down with Women’s Health UK as a part of New Balance’s Toughest Opponent series, which discusses the inner battles that athletes have to fight within themselves. She shared her personal tips for how to ace the most important aspects of training and unlocking a positive mentality.

“Tennis, like running, is one of those sports where there’s so many factors you can’t control,” she said. “You need to be prepared for anything that hits you.”

Read on to hear what she had to say on how to improve your speed, stamina, and much more.