Tennis News

LUXEMBOURG – Caroline Garcia battled into the second round of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open thanks to a 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4 victory over Anett Kontaveit.

LUXEMBOURG – No.1 seed Petra Kvitova and No.3 seed Kiki Bertens produced a pair of shutout performances to wrap up their quarterfinal matches comfortably. Both needed less than an hour – exactly 54 minutes, in fact – to book their spots into the semifinals of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open.

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It didn’t start out so simple for Kvitova against No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, who was into her seventh WTA quarterfinal of the year. They wrestled for footing at the start of the match, opening with four consecutive breaks of serve.

But once she settled, it was all Kvitova as the Czech reeled off 11 games in a row to power past Larsson 6-2, 6-0.

She’ll face the winner between Andrea Petkovic and American qualifier Lauren Davis for a spot in the final.

It was the opposite story for Bertens in her quarterfinal against Denisa Allertova, with the Dutch player advancing 6-0, 6-4.

Bertens was dominant on the return and broke Allertova three times, allowing the Czech to win just one point off of her services games in the 15-minute opening set.

Allertova finally held serve in the second set and stopped the rot after eight consecutive games, with Bertens up 6-0, 2-0. She put Bertens under pressure at the baseline with her powerful forehand, grabbing one of the breaks back to level the set at 2-2 and stay within touching distance.

But Bertens dug her heels in to bat away a break opportunity, breaking Allertova once more in the penultimate game to serve her way into the semifinals.

“Everyone is really tired at the end of the year, and so am I, so it’s really good to have short matches like this to get ready for the semifinals,” Bertens smiled in post-match press. “I’m just going to play here, have fun, and see how it goes.”

Monica Niculescu received a walkover into the semifinal after No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki was forced to withdraw from the match due to gastrointestinal illness.

“After the match yesterday I felt really ill and really sick,” Wozniacki explained to press afterwards. “I did everything I could to feel better today but unfortunately I’m not strong enough or feeling good to play today. I need to think about my health.

“Of course, I’m disappointed because I love to play here and of course was trying to win the tournament, but health comes first.”

More to follow…

SINGAPORE – Angelique Kerber will cap off the best season of her career with yet another accolade after clinching the 2016 WTA Year-End World No.1 Singles Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free.

For only the 12^th time since the computer rankings were introduced in November 1975, the WTA will have a new name finishing the year at the top. Kerber joins Steffi Graf as the only other German to finish the year at No.1; Graf held the year-end No.1 ranking a WTA-record eight times, most recently in 1996.

“It is a great honor and achievement to finish the year as the No.1 player in the world,” Kerber said. “This is one of the things I’ve always been dreaming of – to become No.1. I have worked extremely hard to become the best player I can be and this is a reflection of that effort and the wonderful year I have had.”

This accomplishment is the latest in what has been a breakout year for Kerber, who began the season by defeating Serena Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, and followed up by advancing to the Wimbledon final, capturing a silver medal in singles at the Rio Olympics, and winning the US Open. Kerber also leads the WTA for most main draw match wins this season, at 59-16.

The German’s rise to WTA World No.1 snapped Williams’ record-tying streak of 186 consecutive weeks at the top when Kerber took over the ranking on September 12, 2016 after winning the US Open.

“Being No.1, of course now everybody will try to beat me and have nothing to lose,” Kerber said after her victory in New York. “I will try to take this challenge, because it will be a little bit new situation for me. But at the end, I was always practicing and working hard to be No.1. Now I can also take the next step and try to stay as long as I can there.”

The Year-End No.1 trophy will be presented to Kerber by a representative of Dubai Duty Free at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where the German will be the No.1 seed in her fourth appearance at the year-end finale.

Here’s the full list of players to have held the WTA Year-End No.1 Ranking:
8 – Steffi Graf (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996)
7 – Martina Navratilova (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
5 – Chris Evert (1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981)
5 – Serena Williams (2002, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015)
4 – Lindsay Davenport (1998, 2001, 2004, 2005)
3 – Justine Henin (2003, 2006, 2007)
3 – Martina Hingis (1997, 1999, 2000)
2 – Monica Seles (1991, 1992)
2 – Caroline Wozniacki (2010, 2011)
1 – Angelique Kerber (2016)
1 – Victoria Azarenka (2012)
1 – Jelena Jankovic (2008)

MELBOURNE, Australia – The first Grand Slam of the year is almost here as the Australian Open kicks off in Melbourne on Monday. The doubles draw is out, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands reunites with Lucie Safarova in hopes of defending her No.1 ranking against a trio of challengers.

But Serena Williams and Venus Williams threaten to blow the draw right open as they will take the court together to compete in doubles for the first time since the Olympic Games.

Click here to see the full singles and doubles draws.

POTENTIAL QUARTERFINALS:

[1] Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic vs [5] Martina Hingis / CoCo Vandeweghe
[3] Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina vs [7] Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova
[8] Vania King / Yaroslava Shvedova vs [4] Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova
[6] Chan Yung-Jan / Chan Hao-Ching vs [2] Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova

STORYLINES TO WATCH:

Garcia & Mladenovic are making their 2017 debut: The No.1 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are set to play together for the first time in 2017 at the Australian Open. The reigning French Open champions have always been adamant that their focus was on the singles competition, and at times seemed almost baffled by their continued doubles success. But the pair are back together for the first major of the year, and even have a shot at becoming co-No.1s.

“As we repeated well enough, we are singles players, our priority is singles,” Mladenovic told WTA Insider at the WTA Finals, where they reached the semifinals. “[But] even if we are singles players, just to be able to say that you’ve been No.1 in the world in doubles, is such a pride.”

The French team will play Belinda Bencic and Ana Konjuh in the first round.

The No.1 ranking could change hands again: Newly-crowned World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands has barely had time to savor her rise to the top before her ranking is back into play. Garcia, Mladenovic and Elena Vesnina all have a shot at becoming World No.1 by the end of the fortnight.

Of course, should Mattek-Sands and Safarova take home the Australian Open title, the ranking will stay with the American. But that’s easier said than done….

Serena Williams and Venus Williams join forces: Looming in Mattek-Sands and Safarova’s side of the draw are Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The veteran doubles team is joining forces for the first time since the Olympic tennis event, where they lost in the first round to Czech duo Safarova & Strycova. Between the two of them they’ve amassed 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles, making them a veritable threat in any major tournament.

Seeded No.15, they could potentially book a third-round clash with Mattek-Sands/Safarova, throwing a wrench in the works for Mattek-Sands’ defense of her newly-gained top ranking.

– Photos courtesy of Getty Images