Wimbledon Saturday: Weekend Warm-Up
With the first full weekend at Wimbledon on the menu since 2004, check out the best matches set to take place as the first week comes to a close.
With the first full weekend at Wimbledon on the menu since 2004, check out the best matches set to take place as the first week comes to a close.
Mandy Minella capped off a day of upsets at the Taiwan Open with a straight sets win over No.3 Caroline Garcia to book her spot in the quarterfinals.
TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan – Samantha Stosur overcame a stern second round test against Slovenian qualifier Dalila Jakupovic, needing to come back from a set down to reach the quarterfinals of the Taiwan Open.
The No.146-ranked Jakupovic was two games away from sealing the upset in the second set, but Stosur stormed back to close out the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
“I didn’t feel like I was playing too bad, because I had lots of chances to win many of the games,” the Australian explained in her post-match press conference. “I earned many break points but wasn’t able to convert them, and every time she had one chance she took it.
“It felt like I should have been leading in the first set, so it was tough to start out the second set thinking about how I was going to convert all these chances. By the third set, I feel like I was playing my best tennis.”
Perfect drop shot from @BamBamSam30!! ? #TaiwanOpen pic.twitter.com/NMeZfxLVGT
— WTA (@WTA) February 2, 2017
Stosur let four break chances go by before Jakupovic grabbed an early lead, breaking three times to take the opening set. The Australian finally converted to start the second, wrestling with the momentum as Jakupovic surged back to level the match at 5-5. Stosur grabbed the decisive break to close out the set with Jakupovic two games away from victory.
The Australian was in full flight in the final set, rattling off four straight games to make her way into the quarterfinals after two hours and sixteen minutes.
Her next opponent will be Peng Shuai, who knocked out the No.5 seed Katerina Siniakova, 6-1, 6-3.
“We’ve played each other a few times, but not for many years,” Stosur said. “She hits the ball very hard, very flat – it really comes through the court. I know it’s going to be very difficult, and I’m sure she’s feeling very confident after her quick win today.”
.@BamBamSam30 overcomes Jakupovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3!
Meets Peng in @WTA_Taiwan_Open Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/iqNO5heSoQ
— WTA (@WTA) February 2, 2017
LONDON, Great Britain – The first to play on this rare People’s Sunday at the Wimbledon Championships, No.27 seed CoCo Vandeweghe clinched a spot in the second week for the second year in a row, ousting No.6 seed Roberta Vinci, 6-3, 6-4.
Vandeweghe reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at this very tournament one year ago, and has only gotten more comfortable on the grass courts since, winning a second Ricoh Open title and reaching the semifinals of the Aegon Classic with a win over World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska.
She played another emphatic match against the Italian on Centre Court, dropping just four points behind her first serve and hitting 21 winners to 17 unforced errors to earn the upset in just over an hour.
Along with the Williams sisters and Madison Keys, Vandeweghe became the fourth American woman to reach the second week at this year’s Championships.
Pavlyuchenkova Propels Into Round Four
Standing between the American and a second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal is No.21 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who surprised No.11 seed and 2015 quarterfinalist Timea Bacsinszky, 6-3, 6-2.
Heading into the Wimbledon fortnight, the Russian had never been past the third round, and hadn’t won back-to-back matches on grass since 2012, but overcame tough battles against Hsieh Su-Wei and Yulia Putintseva to play some of her best tennis against Bacsinszky to claim victory on her 25th birthday.
Maintaining a positive winner to unforced error differential at 24 to 20, Pavlyuchenkova had a stellar serving day of her own, winning 82% first serve points and missing just 14 first serves in the one hour and 18 minute encounter. The two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and former World No.13 lost her only previous match with Vandeweghe back at the 2014 Miami Open, though the match was played over two tight sets.
Makarova Meets Vesnina In Singles Face-Off
Backing up her big win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in an endlessly rain-delayed second round, Ekaterina Makarova showed no signs of a let down against 2014 Wimbledon quarterfinalist and Aegon Classic runner-up Barbora Strycova, knocking out the No.24 seed, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.
Makarova’s superb start to the 2015 season had been derailed by a lower leg injury; unseeded at a major tournament for the first time in four years, the Russian veteran has played phenomenal tennis since reuniting with doubles partner Elena Vesnina at the Mutua Madrid Open.
It’s only right then, that the two have a full circle moment in the round of 16 at the All England Club. In the midst of her own singles reurgence, Vesnina began the year playing Grand Slam qualifying after 40 straight main draw appearances, but after a season of solid wins over Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Belinda Bencic, and Caroline Wozniacki, the Russian veteran is back in the Top 50 and into the second week of a major for the first time since the 2013 Australian Open.
Vesnina has never beaten her doubles partner in a WTA match, losing 12 straight sets to Makarova – including four in their two 2015 matches.
Four Russians through to R16 (Kuznetsova, Makarova, Pavlyuchenkova, Vesnina) the most at #Wimbledon since 2009
— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) July 3, 2016
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Kobe Bryant, Ellen DeGeneres, Ellie Goulding – celebrities are taking to Twitter to give Serena Williams props on her historic Wimbledon win. See all the best tweets here!
TALLINN, Estonoia – A straightforward 6-2 6-3 win for the British No.1, Johanna Konta, over Jelena Ostapenko gave Great Britain an unassailable 2-0 lead over Latvia in the 2017 Fed Cup.
It was comfortable for the 25-year-old, with just one minor setback when Ostapenko, 19, broke back after Konta had taken two games against serve in the second set. But the Brit, who won a remarkable 100 per cent of points from her second serve in the match, recovered to close out.
Earlier, Heather Watson comfortably beat Diana Marcinkevica, 6-3 6-0, to put Great Britain 1-0 up.
“We knew coming in today that Latvia was going to be a strong team,” said Konta. “It’s never easy, whichever match you’re playing in. I’ve always said that in the Fed Cup players raise their level and play without inhibition so it can be tricky out there. I know the scoreline doesn’t suggest it was as difficult as I felt, for sure. Because it was hard.
“She is one of the young ones on the tour but she has a big game. She can go through phases in matches where you really don’t have much of a say. I knew going into it that I needed to stay patient and stay as solid as I possibly could, and also when the opportunities presented themselves to really go for them.”
The world No.10 also spoke about the enjoyment she derives from playing for her country. “Last year, the Olympics was one of the best experiences of my life. So whenever I get an opportunity to represent Great Britain in a team environment I look to take it.”
“I'm really enjoying it” @JoKonta91 chats after another strong performance in the @FedCup! #BackTheBrits ?? #GoJoKo pic.twitter.com/FgCOSIBrTV
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 9, 2017
Watson, ranked 72nd in the world, took just 61 minutes to see off the world No.307, Marcinkevica, continuing the fine form that has seen her lose just five games across her two Fed Cup 2017 matches. Yesterday, she cruised to a 6-1 6-1 win over Ines Murta as Anne Keothavong’s team beat Portugal 3-0.
“I’m happy with the win today,” said the British No.2. “I thought I played better than yesterday; I think I had a tougher opponent today as well. I moved better, I struck the ball cleaner. All round I thought I played well, I played positive and aggressive.”
Watson is enjoying the Fed Cup experience, adding: “Last night, we played ‘Heads up’, which is one of my favorite games. It’s a lot of fun, we’re playing a lot of games. There’s a lot of banter flying about, so I’m enjoying it.”
Great Britain will face Turkey on Friday as they bid to top their group and qualify for Saturday’s promotion play-offs.
15 year old Anastasia Potapova captured her first junior Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, defeating Dayana Yastremska in straight sets.
Andy Roddick says it has been incredible to watch Serena Williams make history and that she ranks alongside the greatest athletes of all time in any sport.
THE WINNERS
It was a tightly drawn match from start to finish, but Serena Williams outgunned Angelique Kerber in straight sets to win her seventh Wimbledon title – a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title.
Playing in their second Grand Slam final of 2016, the No.4 seed Kerber came out on fire against the World No.1, and neither player gave an inch. But when it was all said and done it was Serena, again, who clinched the match and The Championships, 7-5, 6-3.
With 22 major titles under her belt, Serena is now tied with Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era. She now sits just two behind Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
“It’s been incredibly difficult not to think about it. I had a couple of tries this year and I lost to two incredible opponents – one of them being Angelique!
“But it makes the victory even sweeter, to know how hard I’ve worked for it.”
Read the full story and watch highlights here | As It Happened: Game by game analysis from WTA Insider
Not content to with just one Wimbledon crown, hours after her win in singles Serena was back out on Centre Court to join Venus Williams in the final of Ladies Doubles.
The sisters extended their doubles dominance and improved their record to 14-0 in Grand Slam finals by taking the title, powering past Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-4.
“It was really special to be out there again, to win Wimbledon in doubles. We love it, we love playing doubles, we love being together,” Serena said after the match.
“I had just enough time to change and get the ankles re-taped. It was fine. I didn’t want to warm down.”
Read the full story here.
Finally, Britain enjoyed a local champion as Heather Watson’s Wimbledon ended on the best possible note, triumphing on the final day of the fortnight in mixed doubles. She partnered with Finland’s Henri Kontinen to defeat doubles specialists Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah, 7-6(5), 6-4.
Watson became the first British woman to win a Wimbledon Championship of any kind since Jo Durie, who also captured a mixed doubles crown in 1987. Virginia Wade remains the last women’s singles winner back in 1977.
Read the full story here.
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of July 11, 2016.
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) +47 (No.96 to 49): The week’s biggest ranking jump belongs to Shvedova, who reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Elena Vesnina (RUS) +26 (No.50 to 24): Vesnina had to wait a long time to reach her first ever Grand Slam semifinal – it took her 42 tries – but the feat earned her a spot back inside the Top 25. Even more impressive: she started the year ranked No.122 in mid-February.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) +4 (No.14 to 10): Kuznetsova’s run to the fourth round of Wimbledon earns her four very important ranking points, putting her back in the Top 10 for the first time since 2010.
Angelique Kerber (GER) +2 (No.4 to 2): Although she didn’t walk away the Wimbledon champion, Kerber grabbed a sweet consolation prize. The German returns to World No.2, her career-highest ranking.
Find out how the Road To Singapore shapes up here.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
BRD Bucharest Open
Bucharest, Romania
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Monday, July 11 – Sunday, July 17, 2016
Ladies Championship Gstaad
Gstaad, Switzerland
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Monday, July 11 – Sunday, July 17, 2016
Bank Of The West Classic
Standford, USA
Premier | $687,900 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, July 18 – Sunday, July 24
Citi Open
Washington DC, USA
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, July 18 – Sunday, July 24
Ericsson Open
Bastad, Sweden
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, July 18 – Sunday, July 24
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams
2. Angelique Kerber – Bastad
3. Garbiñe Muguruza
4. Agnieszka Radwanska
5. Simona Halep – Bucharest
6. Victoria Azarenka
7. Venus Williams – Stanford
8. Roberta Vinci
9. Carla Suárez Navarro
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova
11. Madison Keys
12. Dominika Cibulkova – Stanford
13. Petra Kvitova
14. Samantha Stosur – Washington DC
15. Belinda Bencic
16. Karolina Pliskova
17. Timea Bacsinszky – Gstaad
18. Johanna Konta – Stanford
19. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Stanford
20. Elina Svitolina
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Mona Barthel (GER) – July 11, 1990
Abigail Spears (USA) – July 12, 1981
Olivia Rich (AUS) – July 14, 1992
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) – July 15, 1989
It’s time to vote for June’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, July 15.
June 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Serena Williams: An athlete who needs no introduction, the World No.1 captured a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title – matching Stefanie Graf’s record – at Wimbledon. She dropped just one set en route to the title – her seventh at the All England Club – and held onto her spot atop the WTA rankings for a 301st consecutive week.
Angelique Kerber: Kerber eased into her grass court season with a run to the quarterfinals of the Aegon Classic, but caught fire at Wimbledon, racing into the final without losing a set and knocking out five-time champion Venus Williams in the semifinals. The German played a hard-fought final before losing to Serena in straight sets.
Madison Keys: The young American became the first to make her Top 10 debut since Serena in 1999 by reaching the final of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham (eventually winning the title over Barbora Strycova), and reached the second week of Wimbledon for the second year in a row.
Dominika Cibulkova: Cibulkova cemented her comeback with a title at the Aegon International in Eastborne, defeating Agnieszka Radwanska from a set and a break deficit en route to the trophy, and reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon by defeating Radwanska again in what may already be the best match of 2016.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com