Tennis News

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Daria Gavrilova overcame the rain and Annika Beck to become the first winner at this year’s Rogers Cup.

Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

On a wet opening day, Gavrilova returned from a lengthy first set rain delay to complete a 6-4, 6-3 win and book a second-round meeting with No.5 seed Simona Halep.

Both players struggled to stamp their authority on the contest early on, trading four breaks of serve before the heavens opened. When they returned more than an hour later, Gavrilova came out firing, a pair of fine forehand winners bringing her the set.

The Australian carried this momentum into the start of the second set, taking the first three games. While Beck managed to reduce her arrears to 4-3, Gavrilova responded by rattling off the final eight points of the match to secure her date with Halep.

Gavrilova has met Halep twice before, winning the most recent of these this spring in Rome. Following a slow start, Halep has grown in confidence as the year has progressed and is now looking to ramp up her preparations ahead of next month’s US Open.

“The more matches I play it helps me get confidence and get used to the pressure,” Halep told wtatennis.com. “I have this tournament, I have Cincinnati, so I think I have enough – I’m also playing doubles here – time to be ready for US Open.”

The only other player to advance before Monday’s latest intervention from the weather was Madison Brengle, who scored a minor upset by defeating Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Sania Mirza, India’s most successful female tennis player, has revealed that she is in discussions over a Bollywood movie based on her life following the publication of her autobiography, Aces Against Odds, last year.

“There are some talks going on, but there’s nothing concrete right now,” the 30-year-old told Al Jazeera in an interview. “I’m a private person, so it is a difficult ask of me to open up completely.”

The 41-time WTA doubles champion also said she was aiming to return to the top of the WTA doubles rankings, a position she last held in at the start of 2017.

“We’re trying to win every tournament, whether it’s a Grand Slam or a regular tournament,” she said. “It would be great to get back to number one in the world, but I was there for almost two years. I feel like I just want to keep working hard and playing as long as I enjoy the pressure of competing.”

Mirza, who won the Brisbane International this year with WTA World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, also has six Grand Slam doubles titles to her name. She won the Australian Open last year to go with her 2015 victories at Wimbledon and the US Open, while in mixed doubles she won the Australian Open in 2009, the French Open in 2012 and the US Open in 2014.

Mirza, whose husband is Pakistan international cricketer Shoaib Malik, also spoke about the impact Bollywood can have in giving other sports exposure in a country obsessed with her husband’s game.

“We try to act like we are a sporting nation two months before the Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games. Until then, nobody really cares. We need to remember that we have champions outside of cricket, as well.

“Most sports don’t get the kind of support, help or viewership that is given to cricket. But because of movies, the whole country realises who these people are. Bollywood is probably the biggest industry that we have. It’s one way to reach out to the masses and, actually, celebrate.”

When Serena Williams dons the Team USA colors for the fourth time in her illustrious career, she won’t only be playing for herself.

“You’re playing for your country, and you become really proud to be where you’re from,” she says in a new advertisement made by Mini USA.

The campaign, called “Defy Labels,” allows Serena to tell the story of growing up as a young girl in Compton, California, and how she went on to become one of the greatest tennis players the world has ever known.

“If I was talking to the kids in Compton, I would tell them that no one can define you, no one can put a label on you.

“No one can say, ‘This is what you’re supposed to do,’ and when you think of all the Olympic athletes, they are really doing something that is beyond everything that they should have done – having the chance to win a gold medal and compete against the best of the best across the globe.”

Posted on Serena’s official Facebook page, check out the full video right here on wtatennis.com:

MONTRÉAL, Canada – No.2 seed Angelique Kerber was made to fight once more at the Rogers Cup, needing three sets to overcome an inspired effort from No.17 seed Elina Svitolina, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.

Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“I think the match was a little bit crazy,” Kerber told press after the match. 

“Actually the whole match was a lot of up and downs.”

Kerber struggled beneath the pace of big-hitting Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in her opening round on Wednesday, and started slowly against Svitolina on Thursday, losing six straight games after breaking to begin the match.

“The first set I was just playing, like I make too many mistakes. I was going for it, not playing my game actually. I was not feeling my rhythm. I was not on the court. It was a little bit tough, the first set.”

The Ukrainian youngster has been coached by former No.1 and recent International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee Justine Henin this week in Montréal, and appeared spurred on by her high-caliber mentor as she continued to punish the Kerber serve, breaking four times in the second set and twice serving for the match.

But the reigning Australian Open champion would not be denied, duly breaking back each time and recovering from a dismaying Hawkeye challenge to to win the final five points of the tie-break.

“The second set, I was trying to find my rhythm, find my game again. She was serving twice for the match. I was just trying to not thinking too much, just trying to playing the points. The tie-break was also a little bit crazy.”

Maintaining her momentum through most of the decider, Kerber broke serve one last time in the ninth game of the match and held on for dear life when it came time to serve for the match, saving three break points and clinching the win in two hours and 18 minutes.

“For sure I’m not happy about my game, how I was playing, because I really not playing my best tennis today. It’s like more I’m happy that I won the match. I don’t know how. It was a crazy match.

“But it’s good to be still in the tournament, still have the chance tomorrow. The next challenge, the next match, trying to play a better tennis tomorrow.

“So a lot of emotions right now.”

Up next for Kerber is rising Russian Daria Kasatkina, who avenged a heartbreaking Qatar Total Open defeat to No.7 seed Roberta Vinci, 7-5, 6-3.

“I saw a few matches. But, I never played against her yet. I know it will be not easy. I think she played a good match today against Vinci.

“She has nothing to lose. I know she will play good tennis tomorrow. I know that I have to improve, playing better than today to win the next match.

“I’m confident to go out there tomorrow and play good tennis again.”

“I am not happy about my game, it wasn't my best. But it's good to still be in the tournament.” – @AngeliqueKerber pic.twitter.com/mt9fuqDV04

— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) July 29, 2016