Indian Wells: Elena Vesnina's Shot Of The Day
Elena Vesnina has Friday’s shot of the day at the BNP Paribas Open.
Elena Vesnina has Friday’s shot of the day at the BNP Paribas Open.
Opening Day at the US Open is always backed with action – here’s a look at everything that happened during a busy Round 1.
Arthur Ashe Stadium debuted a brand new look, as the world’s largest tennis venue now has a retractable roof overhead.
Arthur Ashe Kids’ day brought fun for everyone as hundreds of children packed the site for games, music and tennis.
A pair of Olympic medalists were on hand to teach the kids some tennis, including Monica Puig and Venus Williams.
Gold and silver medalist swimmer Simone Manuel was also in attendance.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay kicked off the first-round in historic fashion: besides grabbing her first win in her US Open main draw debut, she also recorded the first victory of the tournament.
A few minutes later, last year’s finalist Roberta Vinci recorded the tournament’s first win on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Two-time finalist Caroline Wozniacki inaugurated the new Grandstand court with a three set battle.
Wozniacki came back from a set down against Taylor Townsend to advance to Round 2.
WTA Legend and two-time US Open champion Monica Seles also surprised fans at an on-site activity.
She answered lots of questions, as well as gave a few tennis tips.
As the sun set, the first night session of the US Open was inaugurated with a spectacular Opening Ceremony.
Phil Collins provided the night’s musical entertainment, along with Leslie Odom Jr.
And we finally got to see the roof in action. (Thankfully, there was no rain in sight, just lights!)
The roof was back open for Madison Keys and Alison Riske, who made history by finishing just shy of 2 a.m., the latest finish ever recorded in a women’s match.
The stars were out in full force at the US Open, including fashion icons like Vera Wang and Anna Wintour.
They packed the stands to see World No.1 Serena Williams begin her 2016 US Open campaign with a straight sets win over Ekaterina Makarova.
BNP Paribas Open champion Elena Vesnina was in the middle of post-win press when her trophy was swiped – so it may be presented to men’s winner, Roger Federer.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Naomi Osaka scored a huge win on her US Open main draw debut, and she was powered to victory by a little bit of Lemonade.
Up against the No.28 seed CoCo Vandeweghe in a match dubbed by the WTA Insider team as a must-see opening round contest, Osaka had to recover quickly after dropping the first set in a tie-breaker. She rallied for a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 upset over the big-hitting American.
“You wouldn’t want to know what I was thinking,” Osaka said, when asked what was going through her head after losing the first set in a tiebreak to Vandeweghe. “I shouldn’t really repeat what I was thinking. But basically just try to focus more because I had moments in the tiebreaker and I hit some very bad shots.”
Osaka finished 2015 ranked No.203, and her consistency has skyrocketed her up the rankings to enter the US Open with a career high of No.81. She’s been boosted by strong Grand Slam results, too, reaching the third round at her Australian Open and French Open debuts this year.
So what was the key to last night’s comeback victory?
“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I just relaxed and started singing Beyoncé in my head. It’s the [song] where she’s very upset. It’s the one where she’s wearing the Yeezy clothes and cursing into the camera. That one.”
“You just gotta let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be baby.”
With the win, Osaka advances to the second round where she will face a qualifier Duan Ying-Ying of China.
And while Osaka was singing Beyoncé en route to victory, she wasn’t the only one feeling inspired by the pop icon.
This past weekend, World No.1 Serena Williams took to the stage at the MTV VMAs to present none other than Beyoncé herself.
Serena, who was featured in the singer’s visual album Lemonade, introduced her good friend and fellow tennis fan before the pop star tore up the stage in what was arguably the performance of the night.
When you see your girl at the @vmas killing it and looking ?? @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/Ugw9OdmLnQ
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) August 29, 2016
??? queen Serene!!
— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) August 29, 2016
You should be focused on the US Open! Oh no wait, you're Serena ? #VMAs pic.twitter.com/B0jIZhKWHb
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) August 29, 2016
#shhhh Beyoncé and Serena are on ?? https://t.co/Y3yVPV7ShS
— CoCo Vandeweghe (@CoCoVandey) August 29, 2016
And then the next day, Osaka – big fan of Serena and Beyoncé – sang the same songs on her way to the US Open second round.
Sometimes things really do come full circle.
.@WTA New kid on the block Naomi Osaka takes a quick selfie with @serenawilliams @BOTWClassic #wta pic.twitter.com/DfriomFvDy
— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) July 30, 2014
MIAMI, FL, USA – The second Premier Mandatory event of the season is set to kick off at the Miami Open. Qualifying starts on Monday and main draw matches will begin in earnest on Tuesday.
The draw was conducted on Sunday at the Miami Beach Lacoste store; reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Dominika Cibulkova and American Christina McHale were both on hand to help assist placing the seeds. Here’s what you need to know:
Main draw is out for @MiamiOpen. pic.twitter.com/9RDR0VWDhx
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 20, 2017
Top 8 seeds: Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbiñe Muguruza, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Madison Keys. NOTE: No.1 Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday.
Top half: Kerber, Halep, Kuznetsova, Keys.
Bottom half: Pliskova, Cibulkova, Radwanska, Muguruza
Projected quarterfinals: Kerber vs. Kuznetsova, Halep vs. Keys, Muguruza vs. Cibulkova, Radwanska vs. Pliskova.
Last year’s final: Victoria Azarenka d. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-2.
? on the ? for @AngeliqueKerber pic.twitter.com/gQJX9WzfEX
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 19, 2017
Angelique Kerber plays her first tournament since reclaiming the No.1 ranking; nemesis Kasatkina looms.
Kerber was set to chase 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, who wrested the top spot from the German after winning her record-breaking Australian Open title, at the BNP Paribas Open before the American withdrew from both Indian Wells and Miami due to a left knee injury. As the de facto No.1 in the California desert, she was on fire against countrywoman Andrea Petkovic, and struggled to defeat Pauline Parmentier before running into an in-form Elena Vesnina, who went on to win the title.
Hoping to rebound in Miami, Kerber will have to hit the ground running should she face her projected third round opponent, No.31 seed Daria Kasatkina. The young Russian has beaten Kerber in both of their 2017 meetings, including a three-set tussle at the Qatar Total Open. Should she make it out of that section, she’s almost gauranteed a tough quarterfinal opponent as she could face one of No.11 seed Venus Williams, No.22 seed Kristina Mladenovic, or Indian Wells runner-up and No.7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Well that was fun ? thanks for the always amazing tournament @BNPPARIBASOPEN and thanks for all the support. Love you guys ? pic.twitter.com/YdUxxHH9cU
— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) March 15, 2017
Time for Keys to shine in Miami?
The second quarter is anchored by a pair of players coming back from injury. No.3 seed Simona Halep had a solid start in the California desert before getting outplayed eventual semifinalist Mladenovic in straight sets. She could face further French resistence in the fourth round against No.21 seed Caroline Garcia.
No.8 Madison Keys has played just three matches in 2017, but answered many questions about her form in her relatively brief Indian Wells return. Crushing Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka, the American acquitted herself well against former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, and could be primed to blow through her section, provided she makes it past No.10 seed Johanna Konta.
First #WTA Premier Mandatory title!@EVesnina001 battles past Kuznetsova 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-4 to win @BNPParibasOpen! pic.twitter.com/4sVJAMKkN1
— WTA (@WTA) March 19, 2017
Vesnina shoots for Sunshine Double in tough third quarter.
Elena Vesnina surprised the world when she stormed to her biggest career title at the BNP Paribas Open; should she replicate the form that helped her beat Kerber, Williams, Mladenovic, and Kuznetsova in succession, the Russian will absolutely be one to watch in Crandon Park.
Her projected fourth round opponent is Cibulkova, the highest seed in the quarter. The Slovak showed signs of promise in Indian Wells, pulling out a pair of tight three-setters that appeared to give her the kind of big-match confidence she took through her stellar 2016 season.
Hello Key Biscayne!! ??
Happy with my double practice today…
Doble sesión de entrenooo…@MiamiOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/41JE7kZqEw— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) March 19, 2017
Muguruza to hit the (Danish) wall?
The third big name to watch is No.6 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, who comes to Miami after a narrow loss to Karolina Pliskova last week. The Spaniard snapped Elina Svitolina’s 15-match winning streak en route to the quarterfinals, and will likely face more surging opposition in the fourth round in the form of No.12 seed Caroline Wozniacki.
Muguruza leads their head-to-head 3-1, but the pair haven’t played since 2015, when the former No.2 stunned the Dane on the way to her first Grand Slam final. Wozniacki picked up from where she left off at the end of 2016, reaching back-to-back finals in Doha and Dubai, and lost a close three-setter to Mladenovic in Indian Wells.
Still, the former No.1 will need to watch out for Olympic champion Monica Puig or rising American star Lauren Davis, two of the most dangerous floaters in the draw; both are in her section.
Hola Miami!!! First hit on center court today was ?Cant wait to get started ? pic.twitter.com/Q6BvuRVIQS
— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) March 18, 2017
Aussie Open rematches abound in Quarter No.4.
Before Svitolina got on a roll and won two straight titles in Chinese Taipei and Dubai, she took a tough three-set loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open. The Ukrainian will have a shot at avenging that defeat in Miami, as the No.9 seed is slated to face the No.17 seed in the third round.
Pavlyuchenkova has since backed up her run to the quarterfinals in Melbourne, reaching the last eight in Indian Wells with a win over Cibulkova along the way.
Speaking of big wins Down Under, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni’s fairytale fortnight started in the second round when she slid past Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round. Radwanska is projected to face the Croat once again provided she gets past a qualifier or Wang Qiang, who’s had a stealthy rise up the rankings in 2017 after reaching the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Thank you Indian Wells!?☀️ Miami next✈️ pic.twitter.com/GQZqzfSD1c
— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) March 18, 2017
Pliskova vs. Ostapenko, Part II.
We didn’t get to see how Karolina Pliskova would fare against young hotshot Jelena Ostapenko in Indian Wells after the draw was reshuffled. The Latvian went on to push Dominika Cibulkova to three sets while Pliskova edged past Monica Puig after moving into the top half of the draw.
The pair played a dramatic match in Melbourne, and the stage seems set for it to happen again should Ostapenko make it past her qualifier in the first round.
From there, things ease up for Pliskova, who is projected to play some of the first quarter’s struggling prospects in No.27 seed Yulia Putintseva and either No.15 seed Barbora Strycova or No.18 seed CoCo Vandeweghe, all three have lacked that extra spark since earning impressive results to start the season.
https://t.co/rWPukzFOod: Miami Open Wild Cards for Anisimova, Gibbs and Mmoh; Day, Kirkov Receive Qualifying Wild… https://t.co/cFrNt2bDrH pic.twitter.com/eobIWigSbR
— Colette Lewis (@zootennis) March 10, 2017
Next Gen names to watch.
The Miami Open draw boasts a diverse set of main draw and qualifying wildcards, including Kuala Lumpur champion Ashleigh Barty and St. Petersburg semifinalist Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Another wildcard to watch out for is 15-year-old American Amanda Anisimova. A junior standout, Anisimova reached the final of last year’s French Open and nearly qualified for the senior-level main draw at the US Open.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of colleague and countrywoman Kayla Day, Anisimova opens against a qualifier with a possible upset opportunity against No.25 seed Roberta Vinci.
.@ChristinaMcHale and @Cibulkova are on hand for the @MiamiOpen draw ceremony! pic.twitter.com/osb7ezfPgU
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 19, 2017
Notable first round matches:
Julia Goerges vs. Alison Riske
Mandy Minella vs. Kristyna Pliskova
Eugenie Bouchard vs. Ashleigh Barty
Christina McHale vs. Annika Beck
Belinda Bencic vs. Sara Errani
CiCi Bellis vs. Ajla Tomljanovic
Yanina Wickmayer vs. Lucie Safarova
Jelena Jankovic vs. Yaroslava Shvedova
Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs. Katerina Siniakova
Notable second round matches:
Angelique Kerber vs. Laura Siegemund
Shelby Rogers vs. Daria Kasatkina
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Kristyna Pliskova
Caroline Garcia vs. Peng Shuai
Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Wang Qiang
Barbora Strycova vs. Monica Niculescu
Andrea Petkovic vs. CoCo Vandeweghe
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Karolina Pliskova
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Venus Williams began her record-breaking 72nd Grand Slam campaign with an eventful win over Kateryna Kozlova on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Father time remains undefeated, or so the saying goes. However, a couple of months on from her 36th birthday, Williams continues to defy the aging process, taking the best part of three hours to defeat Kozlova, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
The tennis landscape is much changed since a teenage Williams – accompanied by beads and garish outfit – made her Grand Slam bow against Naoko Sawamatsu at the 1997 French Open. Remarkably, the American, now an iconic figure in the sport, remains a threat at its four flagship events.
Last year, quarterfinal appearances at both the Australian and US Opens – backed up by no little success elsewhere – propelled Williams back into the Top 10. And this campaign she has maintained the momentum, reaching the semifinals at the site of her greatest triumphs, the All England Club.
At Wimbledon, Williams matched Amy Frazier’s Open Era record of 71 Grand Slam appearances, marking the occasion with rollercoaster victories over several of the game’s brightest young talents. Against Kozlova – who was just three years old when Williams made her US Open debut – she was once against forced to draw on her wealth of experience.
Venus Williams: Improves to 18-0 in US Open 1st round. Only Chris Evert (19-0) has a better record in the 1st round at US Open (Open Era)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) 30 August 2016
The 2000 and 2001 champion has never lost an opening round match at Flushing Meadows, a statistic that looked in little danger when she pocketed the first set and moved 4-2 ahead in the second.
Kozlova, though, had other ideas, silencing the partisan crowd by rattling off five of the next six games to take the match the distance. A similar story looked to be unfolding in the decider, the Ukrainian falling 5-2 behind only to produce an unerring down-the-line backhand to break back in the ninth game. This time she was unable to complete the comeback, erring on the backhand to succumb the following game.
Despite a messy afternoon the No.6 seed, who finished with 63 unforced errors, was characteristically upbeat afterwards. “The errors told the story today,” Williams said. “Once you’re at this level everyone can play. Today I had to hit a lot of balls and I think that will help me going into the rest of the tournament.”
Petra Kvitova says she’s “working really hard” on her recovery from a knife attack that took place in December. The two-time Wimbledon champion and former No.2 posted an update on her Instagram page on Tuesday.
“Hi guys! I wanted to say hello since time is flying by – three whole months already since the attack – and let you know that I’m working really hard on my recovery. I still can’t tell you when I will be back, but I can tell you that tennis is a huge motivation for me and I realised while I’ve been away how much I like challenges!
“My perspective on life has changed a lot and I am doing everything to give myself a second chance to be back on the court. I thank you for staying with me through this and I hope to see you all soon, love Petra.”
On December 20th of last year, Kvitova was attacked in her home in Prostejov by a knife-wielding assailant, suffering deep cuts to four fingers on her left hand that required immediately surgery.
The tennis community has rallied around the 26-year-old in her absence, most notably at the BNP Paribas Open last week, where fans turned a large support sign into a de facto get well card.
We miss you @Petra_Kvitova! ? pic.twitter.com/qilZNHGAVA
— WTA (@WTA) March 8, 2017
NEW YORK, NY, USA – With 186 straight weeks at the top, World No.1 Serena Williams is sure to have a few recovery tricks up her long Nike sleeves. In her post-match press conference after her straight sets win over Ekaterina Makarova, Williams revealed that she’s a believer in cupping therapy.
Cupping, an ancient therapeutic modality used to promote healing and recovery, came into the spotlight recently during the Rio Olympics after American swimmer Michael Phelps was seen winning gold medals with dark red circles across his shoulders and back.
According to WTA Sports Science & Medicine team member Kathy Queen: “In cupping, a cup is placed on the skin and a vacuum is created, using a flame or mechanical device, that lifts the skin and immediate layers underneath, including fascia. This allows for an increased flow of fresh blood and fluid in the area and, if moved along the body’s surface (called “sliding”), helps break up fascial adhesions. The temporary bruising created from the vacuum effect also plays an anti-inflammatory role.
“Athletes often feel immediate relief after treatment and increased range of motion and flexibility.”
But while Phelps used the therapeutic suction as a method for recovery, Williams has been using it for relaxation.
“I’ve always done that. I didn’t know it was something for recovery,” Williams said. “If I go to my lady in Palm Beach, it’s part of acupuncture.
“I love getting it, it makes me relax. I was like, Wow, you can do that for recovery?”
So what exactly does cupping feel like?
“It feels like a suction. It feels like an octopus, although I don’t know what an octopus feels like,” Williams tried to explain to press. “I think I snapped once a while back. It looks weird, the cupping. Yeah, I always do it, but I just did it for fun, so…
“But, yeah, so it just feels like it’s suctioning and it just feels good.”
Eugenie Bouchard and Monica Puig will bid for first-round victories on Wednesday at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. We preview the must-see Miami Open matchups right here at wtatennis.com.
Wednesday
First round
Monica Puig (PUR #40) vs. Sorana Cirstea (ROU #65)
Head-to-head: Cirstea leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Puig is bidding for her 10th tour-level win of the season on Wednesday.
Monica Puig will have the chance to take her solid 2017 to the next level at the Miami Open, and that challenge begins with a first-round matchup with Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. It will not be an easy task as Cirstea has defeated Puig in their lone meeting, but the Romanian has now lost five straight since reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open and she has gone 3-8 lifetime at Miami with losses in her last three matches.
Puig has a semifinal (Doha) and a quarterfinal (Acapulco) to her name this season, but the Puerto Rican is still searching for a follow-through to her breakout Gold Medal performance at last year’s Olympics. Could it happen this year in Miami, where Puig has only won two previous matches but will no doubt receive a warm reception from her fans?
Pick: Puig in three
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #56) vs. [WC] Ashleigh Barty (AUS #91)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Ashleigh Barty is the only player in 2017 to win the singles and doubles title at the same event, doing so at Kuala Lumpur.
Eugenie Bouchard had a relatively promising start to 2017 that saw her reach a semifinal at Sydney and advance to the third round at the Australian Open. But since then the Canadian has lost three straight. She’ll look to get her season on track again when she meets one of the surprising stories of 2017 in Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.
Barty has already doubled her 2016 tour-level win total and she claimed her first career title at Kuala Lumpur where she qualified before reeling off five straight victories. Bouchard will have her hands full with the upwardly mobile Aussie and she’ll have to be sharp with her passing game, as she’ll be contending with frequent forays to the net from Barty.
Pick: Bouchard in three
Ajla Tomjlanovic (CRO #594) vs. CiCi Bellis (USA #55)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Bellis reached the third round on her Miami Open debut in 2015.
Ajla Tomljanovic made her inspiring return to tennis after a year on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury by defeating Eugenie Bouchard in her first match in over a year at Acapulco. Since then she has lost two in a row but the good news for the powerful 23-year-old is that she’s finally in good health again and ready to start improving her ranking and fulfilling her vast potential on tour. But Tomjlanovic will have to contend with one of the feistiest young players in the game to get a win in Miami when she faces 17-year-old CiCi Bellis, who reached the third round as a 15-year-old Wildcard here in 2015.
Bellis started her season late due to a lower body injury but the California native reached the quarterfinals at Dubai in her first event, notching her first career Top 10 win over Agnieszka Radwanska in the process. Is Tomljanovic ready to contend with the all-out intensity of Bellis, or will it be Bellis who notches another impressive win in this young season?
Pick: Bellis in three
Lucie Safarova (CZE #36) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #67)
Head-to-head: Safarova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Safarova has gone 4-4 against players ranked outside the Top 50 at Miami.
Lucie Safarova will look to continue her climb back up the WTA rankings in a place that has given her significant trouble in recent years. The Czech has lost six of her last seven matches at the Miami Open and has never been beyond the third round in eleven career main draw appearances.
On Wednesday she’ll look to exact some revenge on the woman that knocked her out of last year’s draw, Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer. Safarova has already slipped by the Belgian once this year, defeating her in three sets at the Australian Open, but Wickmayer is a former quarterfinalist at Miami that also owns win over Kim Clijsters and Timea Bacsinszky at the event.
Pick: Safarova in two
By the Numbers:
1-4 – Eugenie’s lifetime record at Miami. The Canadian has lost four straight decisions here.
2016 – Though she fell in her first match last year, Lucie Safarova did claim the doubles title with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
5 – Ashleigh Barty is one of five WTA players to have claimed a maiden title in 2017. Lauren Davis (Auckland), Katerina Siniakova (Shenzhen), Elise Mertens (Hobart) and Kristina Mladenovic (St. Petersburg) are the other four.
Ever wonder what Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova carry with them on court inside their racquet bags? Find out right here!