Tennis News

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – World Co-No.1s Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis reached the Western & Southern Open final, but found themselves on opposite sides of the net as Mirza and new partner Barbora Strycova recovered from 5-1 in the opening set to beat Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, 7-5, 6-4.

“I’m not going to lie,” Mirza said after the match. “It’s a very difficult situation. It’s not easy because, A, because we are still good friends, so it’s never easy. The first we tournament we split and we come and we have to play each other. Of course there is no better match to play than the final, so was difficult, I think. for both of us.

“But having said that we are professional tennis players. We have to come out and we have to give our best and we have to try and win. That’s all we can do, and we both tried to do that.

“It was going to happen eventually. We had to play against each other at some point. I think it’s better that it happened earlier, as soon as we came out, because next time it’s obviously less difficult to play.”

Hingis and Mirza were indeed playing their first tournament apart since officially confirming their split last week, and with both women advancing into the championship match, only one could remain No.1 as the points earned this week would be counted among their best results that make up their WTA ranking total.

Not that the notion bothered Mirza.

“As cliche as it sounds, a ranking is really just a number. At the end of the day you have to come out and you have to play your best tennis. That’s what we did, and we feel like that’s why we won the tournament.

“For us it’s important to win every time we play. We both fight; we both like to play and we both like tennis obviously.”

In Strycova, Mirza found another great partner, one who’d arrived in Cincinnati having just earned an Olympic bronze medal in women’s doubles.

“She was obviously one of my first choices because I felt like we could play well together given our games.

“We know each other. To be honest, we have not been like friends so to say, but we know each other since we were 15 years old. We’ve always had mutual respect for each other and our games. At least I have had.”

“Me too,” Strycova added.

Enjoying a career-best season with solid results in both disciplines, the Czech veteran admits she enjoys doubles on both a tactical and emotional level.

“I’m very emotional player. I need the communication. I need to put the emotions away.

“But you have to see the balance when it hurts me or when it or helps me. I’m 30 years old and didn’t still find it, but I’m working on it!”

In front of a packed house (and playing together for 1st time), Mirza/Strycova win the doubles title.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/9oPKL3aqlU

— W&S Open (@CincyTennis) August 21, 2016

ST PETERSBURG, Russia – No.2 seed Roberta Vinci is through to her first WTA Premier final at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy after pushing past Ana Ivanovic in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.

Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The No.4 seeded Serbian started the match strong off the blocks – she grabbed the first break of the match and raced to a strong 3-0 lead. But Vinci mounted her comeback by relying on her deadly slice backhand and timely trips up to the net, taking the first set 7-5.

Vinci and Ivanovic stayed deadlocked in the second set until Vinci broke again for a 4-3 lead. In the last game of the match, Ivanovic buried a drop shot into the net to give the Italian match point before Vinci sealed the match, winning the set 6-4.

Overall Vinci just played a cleaner game – she hit 18 winners just 12 unforced errors to Ivanovic’s 27 and 29 – and was lethal at the net, winning 19 of her 22 net points played.

“It was an incredible match, tough in the beginning with the 3-0 down in the first set,” Vinci said after the match. “But I think I play good games, aggressive.

“It’s always difficult to play against Ana. She plays so flat, so quick. But I’m happy.”

With the win, Vinci is into her first final since the 2015 US Open and is looking to add a tenth singles title to her career haul.

The 33-year-old Italian is set to face off against No.1 seed Belinda Bencic, who overcame the rising Russian Daria Kasatkina in the second semifinal. This will be the pair’s first meeting.

“Probably I’m gonna watch some games, but of course will be a tough match,” Vinci said of her potential opponents in the final. “They both play such a good game. They are so young but good ranking for both. So, will be tough but I’m in the final.”

Two of the youngest players in the Top 70, 18-year-olds Bencic and Kasatkina were facing off for the first time at the WTA level.

“Dasha is a very good friend,” Bencic said after the match. “I’m happy that we still can be friends off the court even though on the court we fight against each other. I think that’s the way it should be.”

Both players coming off of late night session quarterfinal matches yesterday, with Bencic’s battle with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ending after midnight and Kasatkina’s match against Dominika Cibulkova finishing after 1 am.

A bit of lingering sluggishness was evident at the start of the match as both players traded early breaks and holds, keeping the match level at 4-4 before Bencic broke to take the set at 6-4.

Kasatkina created many break opportunities in the match but was only about to capitalize on one out of the 10, and Bencic was able to close out comfortably in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

The win not only books Bencic’s ticket in to the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy final, it also guarantees her spot into the Top 10 for the first time in her career.

“This is a huge moment for me!” Bencic enthused after the win. “To be in the Top 10, it was always like a dream, from very small kid – now I reached it! This is a big day for me.”

That's right @BelindaBencic…

Top 10! #WTA pic.twitter.com/w5VAZfhvmc

— WTA (@WTA) February 13, 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia – 2003 finalist Venus Williams is back into the Australian Open final for the first time in 14 years after coming back from a set down to dispatch fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion celebrated Australia Day in the best way possible, notching a 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 victory to reach her second final in Melbourne Park.

“It means so much to me, mostly because she played so well,” an emotional Venus addressed the crowd at Rod Laver Arena. “She played so unbelievable and I had to play defense the whole time, it feels like.

“There was never a moment of relaxation ever, so to be able to get to the final through a match like this… I’m excited about American tennis!”

“I would love more than anything to see her across the net from me on Saturday.” #Venus on possibly facing #Serena in the final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/LBgBcTPqBq

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 26 de enero de 2017

Vandeweghe, whose power game suited perfectly to the faster court speeds of this year’s event, was enjoying her maiden Grand Slam semifinal appearance after a commanding run, which included a straight-sets stunner against World No.1 Angelique Kerber.

But she was out of her depth against the 36-year-old Venus, who relied on her veteran experience to allow Vandeweghe to take advantage of just one of her 13 break point chances.

“I don’t think I was totally freaking out or anything close to that when I came out there,” Vandeweghe reflected later in press. “I was pretty set on competing and working hard. I think it showed in kind of the tougher points and tougher moments.

“As far as not playing as well as I could have, it goes along with tennis. You’re going to have good days and bad days. You just have to adjust as best you can.”

Thank you #Vandeweghe for your wonderful performance at this year's #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/xxuSL3OQj2

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 26 de enero de 2017

The younger American’s lone break of serve came in the very first game of the match, where she had Venus under pressure from the start. But the lead didn’t last very long, with Venus jumping on some second serves and a double fault – the first of 11 for Vandeweghe – to wrench back the advantage.

The pair stayed on par to take the set into the tiebreak, where Vandeweghe found her dictating form once again and Venus, while not making too many missteps, was left to react. Vandeweghe crushed a Venus second serve with a backhand down the line and took the tiebreak, the first set Venus had dropped in the entire tournament.

Venus was right back on track in the second set, though, switching gears to target the vulnerable Vandeweghe backhand and reel off five straight games for a 5-1 lead. The younger American didn’t cede an inch, bringing up four break points in the marathon, seven-minute seventh game, but Venus stayed in front.

The 36-year-old stayed the course in the third, breaking twice and, after two hours and thirty minutes on court, advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2009 Wimbledon.

.@Venuseswilliams is through to the women's final #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/3Jdo8Zlag9

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 26 de enero de 2017

With the win Venus becomes the oldest Grand Slam finalist since Martina Navratilova at 1994 Wimbledon, and the 14 years between this and her last Australian Open final appearance sets a new Open Era record.

Awaiting in the final is younger sister Serena Williams, who blew past Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in straight sets to book the first all-Williams final Down Under since their 2003 meeting.

“When I’m playing on the court with her, I think I’m playing the best competitor in the game,” Venus said in her post-match press conference. “I don’t think I’m chump change either, you know. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I get out there and I compete.

“[It] won’t be an easy match. I know that it won’t be easy. You have to control yourself, then you also have to hopefully put your opponent in a box. This opponent is your sister, and she’s super awesome.”

DUBAI, UAE – Another Dubai seed was sent packing in a day rife with upsets as Elina Svitolina notched one of the biggest wins of her career against No.2 Garbiñe Muguruza at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Muguruza, who had won the pair’s previous two encounters, came out of the gates looking dominant, imposing her powerful game against her No.21-ranked opponent. But as the first set progressed, Muguruza’s trusted groundstrokes began to misfire and Svitolina found her way into the match.

The Ukrainian emerged victorious after a tough opening set, but it wasn’t without a battle. Svitolina had several chances to close out the set – at 5-4 and again at 6-5 – but was broken each time, sending it into a tiebreak. After over an hour and 15 minutes – during which Muguruza hit 40 unforced errors and 17 winners to Svitolina’s 18 to six – Svitolina closed it out 7-6(3).

“It was really tough and as you can see for both of us it was really a battle,” Svitolina told Annabel Croft after the match. “I’m happy I could win that [first] set – because it was up and down, really a rollercoaster.” 

The final set was all Svitolina, who tamped down all of Muguruza’s attempts at a late comeback to clinch the match 7-6(3), 6-3.

“It was tough, and even more fighting against the conditions, too, I think,” Svitolina said. “I think I returned really well today and that was the key – I was seeing the ball really well and moving well, so this was the main thing I was focused on.”

Not only is the win Svitolina’s second career victory over a Top 5 player, it’s also an early sign that her new coaching partnership is paying off. Last week she announced that former No.1 Justine Henin had joined her coaching team.

Awaiting Svitolina in the quarterfinals is American CoCo Vandeweghe, who overcame Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

More to come…