Tennis News

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Lucie Safarova returned to winning ways by battling past Mariana Duque-Mariño at the J&T Banka Prague Open on Tuesday afternoon.

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

Since returning from the bacterial infection that blighted the end of her 2015 campaign and forced her to skip the Australian Open, Safarova has found wins hard to come by. In fact, the Czech had fallen at the first hurdle at all five tournaments since making her comeback.

When she dropped the opening set to Duque-Mariño, another disappointment looked on the cards. However, perhaps buoyed by the home crowd, the No.2 seed fought back to complete a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in a fraction over two hours.

“I’m so happy because this is my first win this year in singles and obviously it means a lot,” Safarova said. “I was trying to be positive after coming back from this long sickness, but obviously it’s about the wins. That’s why I was so excited.”

Having dropped the first set, Safarova began her comeback midway through the second, a sliding drop shot in response to a net cord bringing the decisive break. She carried this momentum into the decider, breaking once more when Duque-Mariño sent a tired backhand long. The Colombian had her chances to get back into the contest, seeing several chances to draw level slip by in the sixth game as a relieved Safarova held on.

“I fought so hard and it wasn’t easy – I lost the first set but came back well in the second and played really well in the third,” Safarova added. “I hope to continue to play well here because the crowd was fantastic. It’s so nice to play in front of your home crowd and hopefully I can continue to do so for some more matches.” 

Fellow Czech Lucie Hradecka is next up after she saw off doubles partner Andrea Hlavackova, 6-4, 6-1.

Victories for Barbora Krejcikova, Barbora Strycova and 2015 champion Karolina Pliskova provided further cheer for the locals on another chilly day. Pliskova began the defense of her title with a straightforward 6-, 6-3 win over Stefanie Voegele, while Strycova saw off Olga Govortsova, 6-3, 7-5, and lucky loser Krejcikova made the most of her second chance by upsetting No.7 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2.

DUBAI, UAE – Kateryna Bondarenko is through to the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after No.5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza was forced to withdraw due to a left achilles injury while trailing 4-1 in the opening set.

“It’s good that I’m through, but it wasn’t really a win,” Bonadarenko said after the match. “She retired.”

Muguruza suffered a shock defeat last week Doha to Zhang Shuai, and looked to be struggling with her timing early on, double faulting to hand her opponent the immediate break.

At the first changeover, Muguruza called for the physio but opted not to take an injury timeout before being broken again.

“When I finished in Doha, because of the rain, a lot of people played two matches, including me,” Muguruza explained. “The second one was very tough, and I remember that as soon as I went, after the match, to my room, I started to have a pain in my left Achilles.

“The next morning was even more painful. I have been carried this since that day. And here, I have been training but on and off, honestly, because of the pain. Some days it was a little bit better, some days it was a little bit worse. It was just hard for me to serve, especially, and to just move side to side today on the court.

A lack of mobility clearly apparent, Muguruza decided that the best way back into the match was to hit her way out of trouble. But with the score at 4-1 in the first set, she decided that it wasn’t worth continuing.

“I can’t see anything right now. I have to do some kind of MRI.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s like something big, hopefully, but it’s very irritated and it’s really bothering me every time I have to run on the court.”

.@GarbiMuguruza retires in the opening set.

Kateryna Bondarenko advances to @DDFTennis Round of 16. pic.twitter.com/zVW98VFLPo

— WTA (@WTA) February 21, 2017

Muguruza’s retirement means that Bondarenko, who has never been past the second round, will now face either Viktorija Golubic or Caroline Wozniacki.

Click here to learn more about Muguruza’s injury courtesy of WTA Insider.

DUBAI, UAE – Elina Svitolina made it through to her third quarterfinal of 2017 so far after a titanic tussle with Christina McHale.

The Ukrainian triumphed 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to set up a clash in the next round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with Lauren Davis.

“It was really tough today – I was in and out today mentally, I was a little bit losing my focus in the first set,” she said in her on-court interview after the match.

“In the end I was just trying to fight for every ball, and I think that’s why I won.”

.@ElinaSvitolina reaches third Quarterfinal of 2017!

Tops McHale 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at @DDFTennis! pic.twitter.com/0WdyLoSLVh

— WTA (@WTA) February 22, 2017

McHale pushed Svitolina right to the end, forcing her to serve for a match which lasted two hours and 22 minutes, and saving the first of three match points.

She could not delay the inevitable for too long, though, as the 22-year-old’s grit saw her through.

Svitolina was already thinking about her next opponent, the American Davis.

“I’ve played against her a couple of times…but it’s always going to be tough in any quarterfinal,” she said.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Lucie Safarova saw off Fed Cup teammate Karolina Pliskova in two tight sets on Friday to reach the final of the J&T Banka Prague Open.

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

After taking a tight opening set, No.2 seed Safarova came from a break down in the second to complete a 6-4, 7-6(4) victory.

In the final she will face Samantha Stosur, after she profited from the last-minute withdrawal of top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

More to follow…

DUBAI, UAE – Top seed Angelique Kerber needed just over an hour to move into her first semifinal of 2017 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating Ana Konjuh in straight sets.

The World No.2 employed her solid brand of tennis against the big hitting 19-year-old, staying calm against Konjuh’s barrage of winners to advance 6-3, 6-2.

“I’m really happy about the match today,” Kerber told press after the victory. “I mean, it was a tough one, because Ana is a tough opponent. She’s going for it. You have to play until the last point so it’s nice to get through in two sets.”

Speed and soft hands from @AngeliqueKerber! ? pic.twitter.com/Ti8X0o1Ej5

— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2017

Kerber got off to a roaring start, shutting out Konjuh to build up a daunting 4-0 lead.

The Croat stopped the rot with a break of serve, reeling off three straight games to cut into Kerber’s advantage. But a string of double faults – including two in the 5-3 game – and loose errors off the ground handed Kerber the opening set.

Konjuh held her ground in the second, hanging with the World No.2 in the early exchanges and showing flashes of the brilliance that caused her to be named one of the most promising young players of the WTA. Kerber stayed firmly in control, though, and broke twice to reel off four games in a row and close out the match after an hour and fifteen minutes.

“I'm feeling good and really looking forward to play my first Semifinal at @DDFTennis!” -@AngeliqueKerber pic.twitter.com/KlNLPjZ4Sq

— WTA (@WTA) February 23, 2017

Kerber hit a scant seven winners to Konjuh’s 24, but allowed just eleven unforced errors compared to her opponent’s 35.

She’ll play Elina Svitolina for a spot in the final with an eye on the WTA’s top ranking: should Kerber win the title in Dubai she’ll return to World No.1.

“I think it will be a tough match again,” Kerber said. “I think we will have a lot of rallies. I have to be aggressive and just like the last days here. I mean, I have to be really focused on my game, on my rhythm.

“Just trying to enjoy the next match here on the Centre Court, and of course I will try to go out there and to win another match here.”