Next Stop, Miami: Who Will Shine Under The Florida Sun?
Top 20 players’ schedules, upcoming tournaments, birthdays and more – check out what’s on tap for this week as the WTA’s top players head to Miami.
Top 20 players’ schedules, upcoming tournaments, birthdays and more – check out what’s on tap for this week as the WTA’s top players head to Miami.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Doubles star Elena Vesnina has won three Grand Slams in doubles – most recently a maiden mixed doubles trophy at the Australian Open with Bruno Soares – but the former No.3 in doubles (No.21 in singles) hit an extra-special milestone over the off-season when she married fiance Pavel Tubanstov in Moscow.
Joined by bridesmaid and longtime doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova – with whom she won the 2013 French Open and 2014 US Open – and a plethora of Russia’s tennis elite, Vesnina enjoyed a fairytale wedding in the Russian capital.
Back in her home country to play the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Vesnina reached the second round of the singles event as a wildcard, and will try to snap Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 37-match winning streak in doubles alongside rising Russian star, Daria Kasatkina.
Until then, check out some of the best photos from Vesnina’s November nuptials below:
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Angelique Kerber fought back to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro at the Western & Southern Open and move within touching distance of claiming the No.1 ranking.
Watch live action from Cincinnati this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
By winning the title in Cincinnati, Kerber will end Serena Williams’ 183-week reign as World No.1, and she kept the dream alive with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory on Friday aftrnoon.
Earlier this summer Suárez Navarro edged Kerber in a high-quality encounter in Birmingham. While the rematch failed to scale these heights, for a set and a half it looked like the result would go the same way.
The chase for top spot has now seen Kerber play 21 matches since the start of June, and at times against Suárez Navarro she appeared to be running on empty. Her usual consistency from the back of the court conspicuous by its absence, the No.2 seed committed 17 unforced errors in dropping the opening set.
Fortunately for the German, the soaring temperatures and a leg injury caused her opponent to fall away spectacularly, struggling in vain to keep fatigue at bay. The turning point came midway through the second set, a scrappy game giving Kerber a 4-2 and some much-needed momentum.
Willing herself forward, she hung onto this lead, swinging a serve out wide and beyond Suárez Navarro’s reach to level the match. This positivity continued into the decider, a brilliant angled backhand bringing an immediate break as she hurtled towards a semifinal meeting with either Simona Halep.
“I think I changed a little bit my game in the second set: I was trying to go for it when I have the chance and to making the rallies a little bit shorter,” Kerber said. “I was still thinking that I can turn around the match even after losing the first set and going down a break early in the next set.”
MIAMI, FL, USA – In one of the most intriguing first round matches at the Miami Open, former French Open finalist Sara Errani survived a tough battle with Former World No.7 Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, to book a second-round clash with No.30 seed Zhang Shuai.
There was more at stake for the pair than just a spot in the second round, though. Bencic came into the matchup with the Italian with a 2-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, but trying to halt a downward trend that has seen her win just one WTA match all year, and just two since the 2016 US Open.
And her opponent Errani was also trying to jumpstart her season after toppling out of the Top 100 earlier in the season due to injury woes, including an adductor injury that kept her out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she was the defending champion.
What a comeback!@BelindaBencic takes the second 6-4 to force a decider! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/FDBm0P8Vu4
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
“There was a period that I couldn’t play many tournaments,” Errani, who was out for a month after the Australian Open, recalled. “Of course, when you’re home and there’s good tournaments and you can’t play it’s really tough. It’s worse having an injury than losing matches.”
“I’m just happy to be here and training and improving my fitness and my game, and just having the opportunity to play again.”
Bencic got off to a roaring start under the sun in Miami, pouncing on the Errani serve to break early and build up a 2-0 lead. But once the Italian gained a foothold in the match she came storming back, peppering her tricky game with dropshots to kick the Swiss off guard. After getting the break back, Errani reeled off seven of the next eight games to take the set and open the second with a double break lead.
A strong break to love from the Swiss halted Errani’s momentum and galvanized Bencic into action. The 20-year-old turned the tables on Errani, erasing another break to level the set at 3-3. They wrestled for momentum until Bencic notched another break to love to send the match into a decider.
.@SaraErrani books a spot in @MiamiOpen Second round!
Downs Bencic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/uxVgk302a2
— WTA (@WTA) March 21, 2017
But despite the strong resistance, Errani got right back on track – Bencic struggled with her serve as Errani broke her four more times, surging to a 5-1 lead. It proved too much to overcome despite Bencic’s attempts at a late comeback, and the Italian fired off a dropshot – backed up by a laser accurate passing shot – to take the match after just over two hours.
“I just tried to play every point and be a bit more aggressive with my serve,” Errani explained to WTA Insider after the match. “And even on the baseline, try to move her. This was my strategy.
“She has good timing on the ball so she took away time for me to play how I want. But I was physically quite good and I’m happy that I moved good today.”
Up next, Errani will take on Zhang for a spot in the third round in Miami.
“She’s a really solid girl, she has improved her game a lot in the past years, so it will be another tough match. But I’m just happy to be able to play it.”
Highlights of the second round action at the Taiwan Open.
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Top seed Angelique Kerber kept her bid for the WTA’s top ranking alive after defeating Simona Halep 6-3, 6-4 to reach the final at the Western & Southern Open.
Watch live action from Cincinnati this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
With back to back titles at Bucharest and Montréal, Halep came into the matchup on the back of a 13-match winning streak, and without ever having lost to Kerber on hardcourts. They’d played six times previously and while Kerber owns one win on clay and one on grass, Halep had won all four of their hardcourt matches, including their last meeting in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.
The players traded breaks to open the match. Halep was playing fast, going for quick winners but earning loose unforced errors, instead. The conditions didn’t help, either, as the win wreaked havoc on her normally sharp timing.
Another spot of Cincinnati’s rain came down again and suspended play for half an hour with both players on serve and Kerber leading 4-3. Upon resumption, Halep’s woes continued as she was quickly broken. The German rattled off five straight games to take the opening set and carve out a 4-0 lead in the second.
Follow live game-by-game analysis from Cincinnati semifinals day on WTA Insider’s Live Blog.
Calmer now in the second set despite the deficit, Halep began leaning into her backhand and taking control of the points. She rattled off three games in a row to narrow Kerber’s lead to just one break. But the German slammed the door on a Halep comeback, saving break point at 5-3 and outrallying her to draw out two errors from the Romanian.
With the finish line in sight, the match had one final hurdle for the World No.2: Kerber broke her string on match point, but a misplaced lob from Halep drifted wide to give Kerber the win anyways.
.@AngeliqueKerber is ONE win away from becoming World No.1! #CincyTennis https://t.co/ii3DU83AYF
— WTA (@WTA) August 20, 2016
“My strings have never broken! And it just broke during the match, and on match point. I was just hoping the ball would go in because I don’t know what to do with the racquet!”
Although Halep hit more winners than Kerber – 21 to Kerber’s 12 – she also hit a whopping 50 unforced errors against Kerber’s 21. The Romanian also struck five double faults and converted just three of five break points, while Kerber won five out of 15.
With the win, Kerber returns to the final of the Western & Southern Open for the first time since 2012, but there’s an even bigger prize up for grabs than just the Cincy title.
Should Kerber win in tomorrow’s final, the reigning Australian Open champion would overtake Serena Williams as WTA World No.1, snapping the American’s streak at 306 consecutive weeks.
“I think of course I’m playing now some of my best tennis,” Kerber said of the possibility of taking the top spot. “It’s one of the best years in my career. I had a lot of up and downs in the last few years and I had a lot of experience from which I learned.
“I think now I’m showing that I’m really one of the best tennis players.
“It’s still one match away, but it’s still a long match. I will not thinking about this yet. It’s a new opponent, a new day, and after that we will see what happened yeah, it’s not over yet. Still one match to go.”
Only Karolina Pliskova stands between Kerber and the top spot, and the No-17-ranked Czech is up for the challenge.
“I don’t know if she would be a little bit in stress or something, but I would love to have her as a No. 1 after few years. But I’ll do anything for her to not getting there,” Pliskova said.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Simona Halep comes to the Miami Open ready to get back on the treadmill. And that’s not just a metaphor for the tour’s non-stop grind.
“Yesterday was the first day after two months that I was on the treadmill, so I’m really happy,” a spirited Halep told press during All-Access Hour. “I can train hard; I already played two hours today with no pain.
“I’m happy about that and I’m much better than last week.”
The Romanian has struggled with health issues at the start of her last two seasons, and feels the experience will ultimately prove beneficial – especially as the year wears on.
“I’ve learned that I have to protect my body more to prevent injuries, and do certain exercises for that. After having to do them every day, I’m already sick of them, but I have to keep doing them. It’s a routine, and routine is hard to maintain at this level, but if it helps me, I won’t stop.”
The former No.2 is nonetheless eager to get into her Miami routine; the former semifinalist has good memories of the last big hardcourt event before the clay swing starts.
“I don’t remember my first time in Miami, maybe five-six years ago. I like the weather; it’s perfect here. I like to be here; it’s a great tournament. Everyone is here, boys and girls, so it’s good that it’s mixed.
“I enjoy my time, and I’m enjoying it even more because I’m healthy and I can play. I’m just trying my best every moment.”
Halep is set to rejoin a tour that has already seen some seismic shifts, and has tried to keep up with the latest impact players during her time off.
“I’m watching matches when I’m in the room and have nothing to do, when I’ve finished my work on the courts. I like watching tennis, but I can’t say I get into it too much; I just watch for fun.”
Most striking for the Romanian has been Elena Vesnina’s stunning run to the BNP Paribas Open title, an achievement that has helped her reassess her own opinions on how long she plans to keep playing.
“Elena played really good and she’s a great player. She’s won Grand Slams in doubles, so she’s right there. She’s also over 30, so the players at that age are playing much better than before. So I still have some time, no?
“For the last year, I’ve started to think that I have many years ahead. That makes me feel more relaxed, but I’m trying to take it easy. At the beginning of my career, I’d say 28, last year I said 30. Now I’m thinking more like 32.”
Halep may be putting off a drive into the sunset, but she’s already settled on her vehicle of choice, becoming the new Romanian ambassador for Mercedes Benz
“I have weird passions. I love watches and cars. Maybe that’s a little bit weird, but I love cars, and I’m really happy with this partnership.”
She begins her tournament against Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka; the pair last played at the French Open, where the No.3 seed won in three sets.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Dominika Cibulkova takes on Caroline Wozniacki in the second round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
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
Despite the disappointing news that Serena Williams will not be competing this year, older sister Venus returns to the scene where she won three of the greatest finals ever contested in Miami.
2001: Williams defeats Capriati 4-6, 6-1, 7-6
Two years after seeing off her sister in the Miami final for the first time, Venus took centre stage again, this time to take on fellow American Jennifer Capriati and yet again those lucky enough to have finals tickets were treated to another thriller.
It was Capriati who started the better, edging a tight opening set 6-4 before Williams roared back to dominate the second set and set up a decider in which she saved a remarkable eight match points before sealing a dramatic victory.
The title marked Williams’ third and final triumph in four brilliant years in Miami but it would be sister Serena who would triumph a year later, beating Capriati to complete a sister double over the New Yorker. They now boast 11 Miami titles between them.
Serena Williams first won WTA Miami 15 yrs ago in 2002, sister Venus Williams first won the title 19 yrs ago 1998!! 11 titles between them pic.twitter.com/cixAx4GBiB
— Chris Goldsmith (@TheTennisTalker) March 21, 2017
1999: Sisters take centre stage for the first time
An historic first meeting between the two most dominant siblings in tennis ended with older sis Venus taking away the honours. This was the first all-sister final since Maud and Lillian Watson contested the 1884 Wimbledon final but it certainly wouldn’t be the last, Serena now enjoying a 17-11 head-to-head against her sister.
On this landmark occasion, however, it was Venus who came out on top over three tight sets, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
1998: Venus wins teenage tussle, defeats Kournikova 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Seeded a lowly 23rd in the women’s draw, Russian teenage sensation Anna Kournikova became the first WTA player to defeat four Top 10 players in a single event, the 15-year-old upsetting Monica Seles, Conchita Martínez, Lindsay Davenport and Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario en route to setting up a dream showdown with fellow rising star and 11th seed Venus Williams in the final.
It was the glamour finale that the crowd wanted and there was little to separate the pair throughout, Kournikova racing out of the blocks to take the opener 6-2 with a dazzling array of winners before Williams took the match to a decider by edging a tight second set 6-4.
And with the momentum behind her, it was Williams who eased to victory, crushing Kournikova 6-1 in the final set.
“Sometimes people get on fire, and you have to be able to extinguish that no matter who they are; but I was nervous. It’s like the fifth biggest tournament, so I’m pretty happy about that,” Williams told the NY Times afterwards. “I was able to feel what it was like to win, and I think that will really help me, especially this year. Sometimes you have to make that extra step, so you can make the extra step in the slams.”
