Wuhan: Friday Highlights
Highlights from semifinal action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Highlights from semifinal action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova before her first round match at the China Open.
If there’s one thing that Serena Williams probably loves more than winning, it’s tacos.
Despite holding a record-tying number of Grand Slam titles and consecutive weeks at the WTA’s top spot, it’s tacos – not trophies – that are on her mind all day, every day.
Good thing for Serena that there’s a whole holiday dedicated to her favorite food: National Taco Day. But if you’re Serena Williams, clearly every day is National Taco Day.
Her love for tacos runs deep, as USA Today’s Nick McCarvel uncovered earlier this year.
Before she had her first taste of Grand Slam victory, Serena had already developed a taste for the delicious Mexican dish.
“I’m from Compton and there is a big mixture of cultures there,” Serena said before the US Open. “I grew up next to all of these Mexican families and we were close with them when I was little, we were friends. I think that’s where my love for tacos comes from.”
Whenever she’s not eating or thinking about tacos, Serena spends her free time lovingly photographing them for her Instagram account.
Serena’s been around the world and obviously has tried many a taco, but the quest for finding the perfect one is lifelong.
Happy National Taco Day, Serena!
Taco Talk With Serena:
Q: What’s your favorite taco place?
I never thought I would say this. But I found the best tacos in West Palm. I can't stop thinking about them. ?
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) September 17, 2016
Q: Who makes the best taco?
“I make the best taco,” Serena claimed. “Or my sister Lyn. If you ever watch my Snapchat, you know I don’t talk about my taco recipes.”
“I don’t taco about it.”
Q: What’s your favorite kind of taco?
MELBOURNE, Australia – Angie Cunningham, the WTA’s former Vice President of Player Relations and On-Site Operations, has passed away after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
A staunch campaigner in raising awareness of the disease, Angie died at her Melbourne home on Tuesday, surrounded by family.
As a teenager Angie was a leading junior player, going on to work at the WTA for eight years before moving back to Australia with husband Pat to raise their two children, Maggie and Sophie. In 2012, she was diagnosed with MND, but even as her condition deteriorated she continued the fight.
Not only fight the disease, for which there is no known cause, or effective treatment, but also to raise funds and awareness for other sufferers.
Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Rennae Stubbs, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt were among those who rallied behind the cause, many of whom took to social media to mourn the passing of an inspirational figure in the tennis community.
My courageous friend Angie Cunningham lost her fight with MND last night. I miss u we will fight on @pattweetingham pic.twitter.com/7NmI7sjbVe
— rennae stubbs (@rennaestubbs) October 5, 2016
Motor Neurone Disease is a group of neurological diseases that affects the voluntary muscles in the body, which control activities like speaking, walking, swallowing and general movement. It progresses over time, causing debilitating disability and eventually death. The life expectancy is two to three years.
There is no known cause for the disease, although many sufferers are athletes. In the US the disease is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the famous baseball player who died from it.
An interview with Zhang Shuai after her win in the round of 16 at the China Open.
An interview with Johanna Konta after her win in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the semifinal of the China Open.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Relive the game-by-game updates of the 2016 China Open final as former champ Agnieszka Radwanska took on history-making Johanna Konta.
LINZ, Austria – Dominika Cibulkova kept alive her hopes of reaching the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global with a routine 6-1, 6-2 victory over Belinda Bencic in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz.
The World No.8 is currently ninth in the road to Singapore, with three places remaining unclaimed, and took a wildcard in Austria to boost her chances of qualification.
The No.2 seed skipped into a first-set lead, breaking the 19-year-old in her opening service game. She was pegged back immediately, but did not drop a game for the rest of the first set, which she claimed 6-1 at a canter.
Cibulkova did not waste any time in the second set, either. Breaking in the first game, she sped to a 2-0 lead before breaking again to go 4-1 ahead. Bencic enjoyed a brief comeback, halving the deficit to 4-2 but the 27-year-old immediately restored her cushion and claimed the second set 6-2.
“It was a really tough draw, most of the times when wildcards play each other, it should be easier than this. It was a really tough one and I was prepared for a big battle today,” the Slovak said of being drawn with Bencic.
“I was playing solid, I did nothing extra; I was playing solid and really fast. I was just playing really good tennis from the first point to the last.”
Reacting to comments from her opponent that she “killed her”, Cibulkova responded: “I wouldn’t say ‘I killed’ her, she’s a great player, so I would say I won a lot of very important points and that made a difference. It just shows that I was really strong mentally today.”
Cibulkova will face Annika Beck in the next round for a place in the quarterfinals.
HONG KONG, SAP – Caroline Wozniacki progressed to the semifinals of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open thanks to a convincing 6-3, 7-5 victory over Wang Qiang.
The Dane, who is yet to drop a set at the tournament, is now the top-seeded player still in the draw following World No.1 Angelique Kerber’s shock defeat to Daria Gavriova earlier on Friday.
Wozniacki dominated her opponent in the opening set, during which she dropped only three points on serve, while continuously searching for a break, which she eventually found in the penultimate game thanks to three unforced errors in a row. A forehand winner wrapped up the set.
Though the Wozniacki serve was not as dominant in the second, the 26-year-old was still firmly on top and broke in the seventh game, with Wang sending a pair of groundstrokes long as she threw away a 30-0 lead. Wozniacki’s victory was delayed briefly when Wang broke back to make it 5-5 but she was unable to consolidate the break and the No.5 seed got a much-deserved win.
“She’s a good fighter, I think she plays well and she has some good groundstrokes and it was a good match,” she said afterwards.
“I take one match at a time. The trophy’s what I’m here for and I’d love to win a trophy, no doubt but there’s some strong competition left and I’m just going to see what happens.
“I’ve been sidelined for so long and definitely that’s been difficult mentally but ever since my body has gotten back on track I’m playing so that’s definitely a positive.”
Wozniacki will face Jelena Jankovic, who kept up her defence of the title by fighting back to overcome Alizé Cornet, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Cornet, fresh from her victory over Venus Williams, made the early running, a superb backhand forcing Jankovic to net on break point. Jankovic’s slump proved to be brief and a long forehand gave the World No.49 a lead she did not squander.
The Serb was far quicker out of the blocks in the second set, winning the first four games. Her progress was curtailed when Cornet responded in kind but Jankovic, having found her serve to move 5-4 up, snatched the set when the 26-year-old sent a backhand long.
Cornet appeared to be nursing an injury and consistently needed medical attention, which helped Jankovic race into a commanding 5-1 lead in the decider. Cornet delayed victory by breaking back once but Jankovic booked her place in the semifinal the next game.
Finally, Kristina Mladenovic set up a last-four tie with Daria Gavrilova, who conquered Angelique Kerber earlier on Friday, by beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
