Tennis News

STUTTGART, Germany – Angelique Kerber continued the defense of her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title with a straight set victory over Carla Suárez Navarro in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Since lifting her maiden major at this January’s Australian Open, Kerber has taken some time to get used to life with a target on her back. But following a couple of early exits, the German appears to have found her stride on clay, all the more impressive given the difficulty several of her peers have encountered at the Porsche Arena.

Against Suárez Navarro, one of the game’s most surefooted clay courters, she was particularly impressive, flying out of the traps, then overcoming a late wobble to close out a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

“I think it was a good match from me, a good performance,” Kerber said. “I know how Carla is playing and she is one of the best players on clay. I was trying to go for it, trying to play aggressive tennis. I knew this is the only way to beat her today and I think I did a great job.”

Although Kerber held the edge in previous matches with the Spaniard, she had lost their only tussle on the dirt. This came two years in Stuttgart and provided a source of inspiration during the rematch: “I knew that she beat me here two, three years ago. So, I was trying to take revenge! And I think it was a good match today.”

Taking the initiative from the off, a smart volley and a trademark passing shot saw Kerber break immediately for a 2-0 lead. She bookended the set with a second break, then took total control of the match with a rasping forehand drive to open up a 4-2 lead in the second.

The procession was momentarily halted when the Spaniard broke back in the ninth game, only for Kerber to batten down the hatches once more to wrap up victory the following game.

“But at the end of the second set it was still close and I know that against her I must play until the last ball because she is always tough and she’s fighting as well. So, I went out trying to take my revenge and play good tennis and beat her here,” Kerber added.

In the last four Kerber faces Petra Kvitova, who won a see-saw encounter with Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.

Dominika Cibulkova

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.38
Year-End Ranking: No.5 (Career high, Oct 31)
Season Highlights: Titles at Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz and WTA Finals, Final at Acapulco, Madrid and Wuhan
Best Major Result: Quarterfinals (Wimbledon)

5 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/S2j5gG7chp

— WTA (@WTA) December 27, 2016

There are few players who’ve had a busier season than Dominika Cibulkova had in 2016.

Whereas some players peak at the right times – an Asian Swing renaissance, a red-hot US hardcourt summer – Cibulkova did it all season long and on every surface.

She reached the final in Acapulco (outdoor hardcourts), won at Katowice (indoor hardcourts), final in Madrid (clay), title in Eastbourne (grass), final in Wuhan (outdoor hardcourts), and titles at Linz and the WTA Finals (indoor hard).

But despite her continuously stellar results, which earned her a spot in Singapore’s Greatest Eight, Cibulkova admitted that she’s always struggled with self-belief.

“I was never that kind of player that came on tour and was winning tournaments,” Cibulkova told WTA Insider in Singapore. “I always needed, you know, proof. I needed to beat a Top 20 player, a Top 10 player – I was taking small steps to get where I am now.”

It all came together at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where her qualification came down to the wire, where beat the odds to advance in the group stage, and where she defeated the World No.1 Angelique Kerber to claim the biggest title of her career.

“I always thought that winning a Grand Slam was something unreal, it’s impossible,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “But by winning [the WTA Finals], I want to achieve another dream, and that’s winning a Grand Slam.”

With her self-belief through the roof, surely Cibulkova now has all the proof she needs to know that she belongs at the top among the game’s biggest names.

STUTTGART, Germany – Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber won her second title of the season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, dispatching qualifier and countrywoman Laura Siegemund, the tournament’s Cinderella story, 6-4, 6-0.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Siegemund had played inspired tennis throughout the week, taking out three Top 10 players – including top seed and World No.2 Angieszka Radwanska – and showed few signs of stopping from the outset of Sunday’s final, twice moving ahead by a break in the opening set.

But Kerber has only lost one completed match since Indian Wells (Miami Open, Azarenka) and continued to press her opponent, who was playing in her first WTA singles final, into increasingly more grueling rallies – exposing her fatigue from eight matches in nine days and a left hip issue for which she took a medical timeout early in the second set.

Though Siegemund finished the match with more winners (22 to 16), Kerber played her counterpunching style to perfection, hitting just nine unforced errors in 80 minutes to win the final 10 games of the match.

It was nonetheless a stellar week for the 28-year-old veteran, who will bound up nearly 30 spots to a career-high ranking of No.42; more importantly, she leapfrogs four of her compatriots to become the No.4 German woman on the WTA rankings – putting her in pole position to round out the national team who can be sent to the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Kerber remains at No.3, but her title in Stuttgart was not only her first career title defense, but the win makes her the fastest player to back up a maiden Grand Slam title since Petra Kvitova, who won the Generali Ladies Linz three months after capturing her first Wimbledon title in 2011.

The doubles final took place less than an hour later, featuring Top 2 seeds, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza against Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.

Vroom, Vroom ??@AngeliqueKerber enjoys a ride in her new @Porsche! #PTGP https://t.co/BspFDdO9QX

— WTA (@WTA) April 24, 2016

More to come…

BRISBANE/AUCKLAND/SHENZHEN – The new year has barely begun, but the 2017 WTA season has begun in earnest, with a trio of tournaments taking place across the globe. World No.1 Angelique Kerber is one of four Top 10 players at the Brisbane International, while 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams take to the ASB Classic in Auckland. Farther north in China, defending champion and World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed at the Shenzhen Open, drawn opposite to Simona Halep.

Check out the biggest storylines in the first week of the 2017 season:

1) Angelique Kerber begins her defense of top ranking.
The two-time Grand Slam champion ended her breakthrough season as No.1 in the world, and heads back to Brisbane to begin taking on challengers to her throne atop the sport. Kerber could open against wildcard and comeback kid Ashleigh Barty after a first round bye, with the likes of Eugenie Bouchard, No.6 seed Elina Svitolina, and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova all looming in the top half of the draw.

Excited to finally return to Australia ?? with @ThaiAirways. See you Down Under ? #TeamAngie #IflyThai pic.twitter.com/O7jM0tlUZn

— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) December 30, 2016

2) Kerber could book a Singapore rematch with No.2 seed Cibulkova.
The 2016 season ended with Dominika Cibulkova stunning Kerber to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Up to a career-high ranking of No.5, the Slovak is seeded No.2 in Brisbane, and will open against either Laura Siegemund or Zhang Shuai after a first round bye. No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, and No.7 seed Elena Vesnina are all in her half.

3) Kuznetsova aims to keep up late-season momentum.
Speaking of Kuznetsova, the Russian bookended her 2016 with titles in Sydney and Moscow, the latter helping her book the final ticket to Singapore. Kuznetsova begins her first season in the Top 10 since 2010, and opens against young American Louisa Chirico.

4) Serena returns in Auckland.
Over in New Zealand, World No.2 Serena Williams plays her first tour-level match since the US Open at the ASB Classic. As the top seed, Serena takes on Pauline Parmentier in the first round, and could play No.4 seed Barbora Strycova in the semifinals.

5) The Williams sisters doubles feature.
On the other half of the draw is Serena’s sister Venus, a champion in Auckland back in 2015, who opens against local wildcard Jade Lewis. Along with the hopes of an all-Williams final, Venus and Serena are set to play doubles together for the first time since the Olympic tennis event.

6) Wozniacki opens against good friend Nicole Gibbs.
Caroline Wozniacki narrowly lost to Venus in Auckland’s championship match two years ago, and the former World No.1 aims to build on the late season surge that took her from World No.74 all the way back into the Top 20. Wozniacki drew Nicole Gibbs in her first round; the two spent a week together over the off-season to play an exhibition event:

Beautiful island ✅
(Nearly lethal) drone ✅
Amazing people ✅ pic.twitter.com/V2DBmz8PJO

— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) November 18, 2016

7) Radwanska kicks off title defense against hometown favorite.
Agnieszka Radwanska kicked off 2016 on an impressive winning streaking, winning the Shenzhen Open and roaring into the Australian Open semifinals. Hoping to begin 2017 in similar style, the Pole needs to get past wildcard Duan Ying-Ying, with last year’s runner-up No.8 seed Alison Riske looming in the quarterfinals.

8) Halep takes on Jankovic to kick off her season.
On the other half of the draw is 2015 champion Simona Halep, who has the unenviable task of taking on a former No.1 in Jelena Jankovic to start her season. Jankovic suffered through an injury-addled 2016 season, but showed off some solid tennis last fall, reaching a final in Guangzhou.

Favourite #Christmas song? @JoKonta91 tackles our Christmas quiz! pic.twitter.com/M6OJxve1mb

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) December 24, 2016

9) Can Jo Konta make new milestones?
Johanna Konta is the third Top 10 player in Shenzhen, and the Brit plays her first tournament since hiring new coach Wim Fisette. Konta scribbled her name throughout the record books in 2016, and aims to continue at that high level in her first match against Cagla Buyukakcay.

10) Mirza pairs with No.1 rival Mattek-Sands in Brisbane.
The top doubles stars converge on Brisbane, with World No.1 Sania Mirza playing with former partner Bethanie-Mattek Sands. Mattek-Sands fell one match shy of unseating Mirza for No.1 in Singapore, losing in the final to Brisbane’s No.2 seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. In an ironic twist, the American has a shot to take No.1 again this week, but will need Mirza’s help to do it – by winning the title. 

RABAT, Morocco – No.2 seed Ekaterina Makarova grabbed the first win of her clay court campaign, advancing into the second round of the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Alexandra Dulgheru.

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

The international-level tournament is the WTA’s lone stop in Africa, and has been staged in several cities in Morocco including Casablanca, Fes, Marrakech and finally Rabat.

Makarova, a former Top 10 player who reached the final in 2009 at the tournament’s Fes staging, had little trouble against the Romanian. Dulgheru has struggled recently and hasn’t won a match since January, but she owns the head-to-head record against Makarova with two wins in both of their previous encounters.

The match started out with five breaks of serve in the first six games, and Makarova scoring the lone hold to get ahead at 3-1. The Russian fought off three break points to keep the lead at 5-3, and stayed steady to close out the first set. Makarova cruised in the second set and closed out the match after one hour and thirty-six minutes.

No.5 seed Timea Babos – a finalist last year in the tournament’s Marrakech staging – had a tougher road to the second round, surviving a rollercoaster second set to advance 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-1.

A pair of seeds weren’t so lucky, as No.3 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and No.6 Annika Beck were sent crashing out of the first round. Kiki Bertens dropped just one game in her 6-0, 6-1 romp over Schmiedlova, and Teliana Pereira eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Beck.

No.1 seed Timea Bacsinszky will wrap up Rabat’s first round action tomorrow when she takes the court against Russian wildcard Anna Blinkova.

BRISBANE, Australia – No.6 seed Elina Svitolina opened her 2017 season with a comfortable straight sets win over Monica Puig, easing into the second round at the Brisbane International.

Svitolina is enjoying a career-high ranking of No.14 and, with a new coaching team behind her, has already seen the benefits in the New Year. She needed an hour and 17 minutes to complete her 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Olympic champion.

Perfect passing shot from @ElinaSvitolina! ? #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/6qHlQKCV2G

— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017

Puig showed flashes of her world-beating form throughout the encounter, but played overly aggressive, trying to end the points too quickly and was waylaid by her own unforced errors. She hit 36 errors to Svitolina’s 17 over the course of two sets, compared to 13 winners against Svitolina’s 15.

Svitolina rode out the assault and replied with her brand of pace and defensive skills, breaking twice in each set and never looking to be in too much trouble.

.@ElinaSvitolina slides past Puig 6-3, 6-3 in @BrisbaneTennis first round! pic.twitter.com/1mtZSewJWD

— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017

Awaiting Svitolina in the second round is Shelby Rogers, who opened her Brisbane account yesterday with a win over Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

More to follow…

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.