Americans Lead Stanford Quarter Quell
WTA Insider | Two all-American battles are on Friday’s Bank of the West Classic schedule; stay tuned for an action-packed Live Blog.
WTA Insider | Two all-American battles are on Friday’s Bank of the West Classic schedule; stay tuned for an action-packed Live Blog.
ZHUHAI, China – Sunday marks 100 days until the start of the final event on the 2016 tennis calendar, the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
This year’s tournament promises to build on the overwhelming success of its inaugural staging, which saw fans flock and former World No.1 Venus Williams walk away with the trophy.
While the line-up for 2016 will not be finalized for several months yet, one bona fide star is already confirmed to be making the trip to southern China. Stefanie Graf – winner of 107 WTA singles titles, 22 Grand Slam singles titles and global ambassador for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai – will be present this November to greet players and fans at the Hengqin Tennis Center, Zhuhai.
“With a fantastic player field, increased domestic and international coverage, exciting on site entertainment activities, and a special appearance by our global ambassador Stefanie Graf, the 2016 WETZ definitely is not to be missed,” said Tournament Director Peter Johnston.
Once again the event will be organized by Zhuhai Huafa Group and APG, who in addition to the singles and doubles competitions will lay on a variety of off-court entertainment, including the unique opportunity for players and fans to enjoy the taste of famous Michelin restaurants from around the world at the on-site SAVOUR Festival. Last year’s success has also encouraged several well-known domestic and international brands to lend their support, including Peak Sports, USANA, Yonex, Guodao Gold, Liri Tent Technology, Eulong and Rossini.
“We are proud to see the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai making breakthroughs this year,” said Zhong Ming, Chairman of the Organizing Committee & Vice General Manager of Zhuhai Huafa Group. “We are determined to create the most unforgettable event for our fans with the highest level of matches and world-class entertainment activities.”
The tournament will run from November 1 to 6, and like last year the singles draw will feature 11 of the top ranked players and one wildcard, with the winner collecting 700 rankings points. The doubles will be comprised of four leading teams, plus two wildcard pairings.
“The inaugural Elite Trophy Zhuhai achieved a remarkable level of success,” added Steve Simon, CEO of the WTA, “As the 2016 event approaches the 100 days out mark, we are confident that WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai will grow to even greater heights in delivering a premier, and compelling global experience that engages our fans around the world.”
Tickets for the tournament will go on sale on July 28, and can be purchased on the official website www.wtaelitetrophy.com.
Magda Linette gave Venus Williams a scare last week in Stanford. Fresh from a confidence-boosting win in qualifying can she cause 2012 champion Petra Kvitova problems in Montréal?
STANFORD, CA, USA – Johanna Konta notched her first WTA title by denying Venus Williams her 50th. On Sunday the British No.1 prevailed in a tough toe-to-toe battle with Venus, winning, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 to win the Bank of the West Classic.
The win caps off an incredible 12-month span for the 25-year-old Eastbourne resident. Last July, Konta was ranked No.126 after a first round loss at Wimbledon, and went on an absolute tear on the North American hardcourts. She won back-to-back titles on the ITF circuit and would go 16-0 during the summer, including a successful qualifying campaign at the US Open, before losing to Petra Kvitova in the fourth round in New York.
That momentum continued in the fall, where she made the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, beating top seed Simona Halep en route. Then, of course, came the biggest result of her career in January, when she pounded her way to her first major semifinal at the Australian Open.
Through it all, Konta had still yet to make a WTA final, let alone win a title. She rolled into Stanford ranked No.18 and seeded No.3. But after playing two fantastic matches to beat the top two seeds in Dominika Cibulkova and Venus, Konta has now moved into the Top 15, at No.14 and she sits at No.8 in the Road to Singapore.
If the season ended today, Johanna Konta, ranked outside the Top 125 a year ago, would be heading to the WTA Finals. What a climb.
WTA Insider caught up with Konta after her big win in Stanford.
WTA Insider: So how does it feel to accomplish such a big milestone, to win your first WTA title, a Premier title no less?
Konta: It feels pretty exciting, I have to say. It’s everything to do with today. It’s not just a final. I was playing against Venus Williams, such a champion. I was playing in a Premier tournament, as well. It was quite a lot of things. I’m really happy with how I was able to deal with that and really appreciate the situation for what it was and really be grateful and humbled by it. I’m just looking forward to reinvesting this experience that I gained today into future matches in my career.
WTA Insider: You talk a lot about learning from experience. What does this week teach you?
Konta: Specifically, when I’ll be on the match court again, who knows, on Tuesday in Montréal, maybe I’ll be in the a similar situation as I experienced today or I experienced yesterday, just be able to, even if it’s just for a millisecond, reflect on that, keep myself that much calmer. You know what I’ve been there, just stay calm and keep fighting. It’s just a lot of reassurance that whatever happens I can handle it.
WTA Insider: You had a set and a 4-1 lead in the final and let that second set slip away. What did you tell yourself between the second and third set?
Konta: I think it was really important to keep things in perspective. Venus Williams is a champion for reason. Champions raise their game. Champions are not going to give you a match just because they’re 4-1 down in the second. I was really going to have to win it and really have to stay out there and do my time and really simplify things. I think coming back it was really considering every single point a battle and win as many battles as possible.
WTA Insider: What is it about your match-up with Venus that produces such exciting matches? You two had played twice and split those meetings, and now you lead the head-to-head 2-1.
Konta: I think that just happens in tennis. You have certain match-ups and game-styles that create more compelling matches. I consider myself incredibly lucky if that’s how you see it, that I’m able to play such entertaining matches, share the court with Venus Williams, and entertain the people who come watch. That’s incredibly humbling. So thank you, that’s an incredible compliment. I said in my speech after that I really look forward to the many battles that I hope to have against her.
WTA Insider: Reflecting on the last 12 months. How do you put it all perspective? I know you’re a level-headed person but this has been a remarkable career-turnaround.
Konta: I guess from the outside it looks different than how I lived it because I lived every single day of it – also the previous 17 years. I think for me it felt very much like a progression and it continues to feel that way. For me I hope this is not the pinnacle of my career, I really am humbled by the experience to have this, but I’m also really motivated to reinvest this into my career and to keep helping me push forward and keep rising to the top of my sport.
WTA Insider: So what is your motivation? Do you set goals for yourself?
Konta: I don’t set myself any outcome goals. It’s very much a personal development thing. It’s about trying my best to not make the same mistake twice, or dealing better with situations. One match I didn’t do well with it, do my best in the next time in that situation, I’m going to do better. Even on the practice court, being able to deal with situations better and better.
WTA Insider: What’s the last situation you remember where you felt like you did not handle a situation on court well?
Konta: I do try to take the positive out of every experience and also, quite honestly, not beat myself up over it. If I’m too inexperienced in a situation, that’s just the way it is. That’s not something I can control, that’s only something I can learn from. I think my experience in the semifinal of the Australian Open was an unbelievable experience and something I never experienced before. I think whenever you have a first, that’s always going to have the deepest impact. It’s basically being thrown into the deep end and then, ‘Swim!’
WTA Insider: Well you’re swimming ok. So far it seems like you’re keeping your head above water pretty well.
Konta: I’m trying. I’m dog paddling [laughs].
WTA Insider: You’re up to No.8 in the Road To Singapore. I know it’s a long way off, but what would qualifying for the WTA Finals mean to you?
Konta: It’s definitely a far way off but if it’s in the cards for me, if it’s something I am able to achieve that would be unbelievable. For now it’s definitely a result of things that happened this year. Right now it’s about my health. It’s a quick turnaround between here and Montréal so it’s about getting myself prepared to play again on Tuesday and really take it from there.
WTA Insider: So are you going to actually take the time to enjoy this? Or is it just boarding a plane and heading to Canada now?
Konta: I’ve already said I’m planning to go to In n Out. So I’m going to enjoy that. But I mean the more present you keep yourself the more appreciative you are of the moment in time. So I’m just going to my best to not look too far ahead and to just take care of things as best I can in the here and now and just appreciate it for what it is.
WTA Insider: What’s your go-to order at In n Out and are you aware of the secret menu?
Konta: I heard about this secret menu and I’m disappointed in myself I didn’t figure it out earlier! Seriously! I heard about this and I was like what? But I’m a normal cheeseburger kind of person. So maybe… two of them. And fries.
WTA Insider: A strawberry milkshake to wash it down?
Konta: Oh that might be difficult for me because I don’t like strawberry flavor.
WTA Insider: Well there are other options, like chocolate and vanilla.
Konta: I’ve never had a milkshake, so maybe today’s the day!
Here more from Konta in the lastest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.6 seeded Venus Williams extended her perfect record against Barbora Strycova after sailing past the Czech in straight sets to earn a spot in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Williams enjoyed a successful start after the quick turnaround from the Bank of the West Classic last week in Stanford, three time zones away from Montréal. While her last encounter with the tricky Strycova was a nearly-three hour, three set battle, today’s encounter went decidedly smoother for the American as she wrapped up the 6-3, 6-0 match in just 58 minutes.
“It was definitely more straightforward I think than all of our other matches,” Williams said after the match. “I didn’t mind that, especially after playing a lot last week, just to be able to come out and hopefully advance to the next round.
“It’s been intense. Usually I don’t play this much back-to-back. But I knew what I was going to do going into the year, what it was going to take. I never sign up for anything that I don’t think I can achieve.”
Strycova seemed to struggle under the balmy conditions after a tightly drawn first set. Her unforced errors count climbed to 36 – Williams struck 19 – and her frustration mounted as she brought up only one break point in the match even while the American struggled with her serve in the second set. Williams broke three times to zoom through the second set and into the third round.
“I had issues,” Williams admitted after the match. “I don’t like to really get into, you know, what’s going down. But I had some issues. I definitely do like to serve a lot bigger.”
“I hope to be better for the next match.”
Next up for Venus Williams is young American Madison Keys, who battled past Madison Brengle 6-4, 6-3 for a spot in the third round.
Also looking for a spot in the last 16 are No.7 seed Roberta Vinci and No.12 seed Petra Kvitova, who were both put through their paces on their way to the third round. Vinci battled back from a set down in an all-Italian derby against Camila Giorgi before advancing, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Kvitova overcame a surging Andrea Petkovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
Follow all the action from Day 3 of Montréal at the WTA Insider Live Blog!
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Kristina Kucova’s fairytale run continued in Montréal, where she fought back from a set down against home favorite Eugenie Bouchard to reach her first Premier-level quarterfinal at the Rogers Cup, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It’s unbelievable, I’m very happy,” said Kucova, currently ranked No.121. “Also I’m very tired. But it’s a very good feeling.This is my best moment so far in my tennis career.”
Starting out the match, though, it didn’t look as bright for the Slovakian qualifier as she went down a double break against a Bouchard bolstered by her home crowd. Although she would go on to lose the set 6-3, Kucova showed her grit in the final two games of the set as she fought off five break points before bringing up three of her own.
Dropping the first set has turned out to be a good omen for Kucova as both of her previous main draw matches in Montréal have gone to three sets – against Yanina Wickmayer and then against Carla Suárez Navarro.
“I must give credit to my fitness coach because I feel very good on the condition preparation,” Kucova explained after the match. “I changed fitness coach in the beginning of the year. We worked very hard.
“I feel now on the court that when it’s coming to the third set, I still have energy for that.”
Kucova brought all that energy into the latter stages of the match, where she was able to pounce as Bouchard’s trusty forehand began to repeatedly sail out. The Slovak’s signature two-handed forehands and backhands kept her shots well-disguised, often leaving the Canadian wrong-footed. Now able to read Bouchard’s game and having adjusted to the conditions – a balmy night match on the stadium court, in front of a roaring Canadian crowd – Kucova quickly turned the tables to take the second set.
“I just felt I maybe panicked a little bit, tried to finish the points too soon,” Bouchard said of her dip after the first set. “She was getting a lot of balls back.
“I think it would have been better if I was just a bit calmer mentally. But it happens and I have to learn how to deal with this.”
Kucova kept her momentum going in the third set, where she picked up the crucial break in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead before closing out the match after more than two hours. She struck 16 winners to 28 unforced errors, while Bouchard hit 45 winners and 68 unforced errors.
Up next for Kucova – who is on track to break the Top 100 after reaching her career best result – is British No.1 Johanna Konta. The Brit dispatched lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-2 to reach her sixth quarterfinal of 2016.
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.
Simona Halep was ranked as low as No.7 after lingering Achilles and nasal issues hijacked the first three months of the season, but the Romanian is back to her best ranking in nearly six months, up to No.3 on both the WTA rankings and the Road to Singapore leaderboard thanks to her Rogers Cup victory.
“Here I won matches with top players,” Halep said after winning her 10th straight match, having come to the Rogers Cup with a title in Bucharest. “That makes me more happy and relaxed that I have a good level of tennis in this moment.”
One off from a career-high ranking of No.2 Halep aims for a strong second half of the season, one that will help her qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for a third straight season.
“It’s a goal to go to Singapore every year,” she told WTA Insider in the latest Champions Corner. “I have great memories from [reaching the final] in 2014. I like the court there, and the atmosphere. I just have to do my job until Singapore.”
Madison Keys also made a big leap thanks to her runner-up finish in Montréal, returning to the Top 10 at No.9 and moving back into the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Who else made gains after a thrilling week up north?
Svetlana Kuznetsova (+1, No.11 to No.10): The Russian veteran moved back into the Top 10 after reaching the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup, pushing Halep to three sets.
Johanna Konta (+1, No.14 to No.13): Konta fell one match shy of making her Top 10 debut, but still had a solid week in Montréal before falling to Cinderella story Kristina Kucova.
Kristina Kucova (+44, No.121 to No.77): Speaking of Kucova, the former junior US Open champion made her long-awaited Top 100 debut, knocking out Carla Suárez Navarro, Eugenie Bouchard, and Konta before the qualifier ran out of gas against Keys in the semifinals. Kucova became the first qualifier to make it that far at the Rogers Cup since surprise semifinalist Zi Yan in 2007.
Daria Kasatkina (+6, No.33 to No.27): The teenaged phenom continued her meteoric rise in Montréal, reaching the last eight and hitting a new career-high ranking.
Check out the latest Top 8 line-up on the Road to Singapore leaderboard:
Chapter four of tennis’ history as a modern day Olympic sport was written in Sydney as the Games entered the new millennium and a new generation of stars looked to make their mark…
Sydney, Australia, 2000
Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Center
Hardcourt
The Olympic motto inscribed above the player’s entrance to the Sydney Olympic Tennis Center reads “Citius, altius, fortius”, and it is fitting that the player who moved faster, jumped higher and hit stronger than any other in 2000 was the one with a gold medal draped round her neck at the end of the Games.
Looking back, it is strange to think that going into the 2000 season there were question marks hanging over Venus Williams. Since breaking through at the 1997 US Open, Williams had struggled to deliver the results her talent deserved, watching her rivals – Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and even sister, Serena – take home the major prizes.
This all changed in 2000 as Williams finally shook off her tag as tennis’ nearly woman by winning Wimbledon and the US Open. On the back of these triumphs, she arrived Down Under riding high on a 26-match winning streak and, despite not being on top of the rankings, was definitely the player to beat.
Her principal rivals for gold in Sydney were compatriots Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles as the United States looked to continue its dominance of tennis at the Games.
However, for Davenport, who struck gold four years earlier, the Games would end early, when a foot injury forced her to withdraw prior to her second round-match with Rossana de los Ríos.
Seles, meanwhile, eager to make up for the disappointment of a quarterfinal exit in Atlanta, was in fearsome form, racing past her first four opponents and into the semifinals. Waiting for her there was Williams.
In four previous meetings between the two, Seles has won a solitary set and her fortunes were not about to change; despite a mid-match walkabout on serve, Williams always had the upper hand, eventually winning in three.
The final itself proved to be something of an anticlimax.
Few expected 18-year-old Elena Dementieva to make it that far, and for the first set she looked in a state of shock herself. By the time she did settle, it was too late, Williams had found her groove and was racing off towards the finish line.
The harder the Russian tried, the better Williams played. Whatever she attempted – inside out forehands, down the line backhands all came back with interest – merely succeeded in inspiring the American.
Before long match point had arrived, and moments later Williams was dancing round the court, racquet in one hand, flag in the other. A memorable end to a memorable summer.
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Olympic Memories: Atlanta
Olympic Memories: Barcelona
Olympic Memories: Seoul