Biel/Bienne: Anett Kontaveit vs Elise Mertens
Anett Kontaveit takes on Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals of the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Anett Kontaveit takes on Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals of the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
BIEL/BIENNE, Switzerland – Marketa Vondrousova’s fairytale week took her to her first WTA title at the inaugural Ladies Open Biel Bienne; in the battle of first-time finalists, Vondrousova knocked out Anett Kontaveit, 6-4, 7-6(6) in a thrilling championship match.
“It’s the biggest win of my career, because I’d mostly played smaller tournaments, 25Ks and 60Ks,” she said in her post-match press conference. “This was one of my first big tournaments, and I was injured in my left elbow for a lot of last year. I had to do a lot of fitness, which helped me become a better mover.
“Now I’m playing really great!”
What a lob by Vondrousova!
Takes it into a Second set tie-break! #WTABiel pic.twitter.com/9f76GMpLT7
— WTA (@WTA) April 16, 2017
Playing in just her second WTA main draw, Vondrousova came to Biel/Bienne on a roll from the ITF Circuit, having reached four finals and won two titles on that level to start the season.
“At first, I asked for a qualifying wildcard because I wasn’t sure if I could get in without one Once I got into qualies, I almost lost my first match, but I got better and better from there. I played so great the last few matches, so I’m really happy,” she said, letting out a joyful sigh.
The Czech teenager had to qualify and battle past fellow rising stars Annika Beck and Kristyna Pliskova before earning her first career Top 20 win over top seed Barbora Strycova.
“We had goals to play Grand Slam qualifying because I was around No.220 before this tournament. So now I’ll definitely be in qualies for sure, and I’ll be changing my plans and think about it.”
SHE'S DONE IT!
17 year-old Qualifier Marketa Vondrousova captures her FIRST #WTA Title at @WTABielBienne!
Edges Kontaveit 6-4, 7-6(6)! pic.twitter.com/ABNuafCoOV
— WTA (@WTA) April 16, 2017
Against Kontaveit, she continued to employ her high-octane game to impressive effect, striking 28 winners to 26 unforced errors and edging past Kontaveit at the end of each set to take home her first title in one hour and 45 minutes.
“I was down 4-6 in the tie-break. I got a bit lucky when she hit the net then, but it helped remind me to play my game, and it worked out from there. Thank God!”
Vondrousova is set to move up over 100 points in the rankings, shattering her previous career-high and putting her in striking distance of a Top 100 debut.
“I won a 15K and that was like a thousand dollars, so I definitely don’t know what I’ll do with the money I won here!” she joked of the over $40,000 prize money. “My mom will have to help me out!”
“It's been an amazing week, thank you to everyone for your support. I hope to be back next year!” -Marketa Vondrousova #WTABiel pic.twitter.com/gPe03ydK1o
— WTA (@WTA) April 16, 2017
Earlier in the day, Hsieh Su-Wei won the battle of former doubles No.1s, pairing Monica Niculescu to outlast Olympic Silver medalists Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky, 5-7, 6-3, 10-7.
“It was a fun match because both don’t just hit straight across, but also slice and lob,” Hsieh said after the match. “They do a lot at the net, so it was a fun match to play, and plus Monica helps a lot.”
“Su-Wei always plays like this!” Niculescu added. “If you know, Su-Wei, you know!”
Hingis and Bacsinszky were using the week in Biel/Bienne to prepare for the upcoming Fed Cup semifinal, where Switzerland takes on Belarus; they were also aiming to be the only Swiss women to win their home title, but Hsieh and Niculescu had other ideas, receiving the trophy from another Swiss Olympian, Giulia Steingruber, Bronze medalist on vault.
“It was a tough match,” Niculescu continued. “I think the level was very good, and we playing some good tennis. Su-Wei and I were a good team. It was only our second time playing together, but we played amazing because we had to against Martina and Timea. You know what they did; they won the medal, won matches together, and they play good tennis.
“I’m so happy to play with Su-Wei; hopefully it’s not the last time!”
All photos courtesy of Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
With the Formation World Tour wrapping up on Friday night, singer Beyoncé still had a few surprises in store for her fans at her final show at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
It’s not easy to steal the limelight away from the multiple Grammy-winning performer, but that’s what Serena Williams did when she joined her on stage.
Reprising her famous role in “Sorry,” from Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, Serena took to her throne and twerked away, much to the crowd’s delight.
Two legends, one stage.
Beyoncé + Serena Williams#FormationWorldTour #NewYork pic.twitter.com/Lhb5TxwnBf— Formation World Tour (@FormationWT) October 8, 2016
Afterward, Serena posted these snaps to her Instagram page with the fitting caption “Not sorry.”
Serena, who is no stranger to joining mega-popstars on stage, wasn’t the only celebrity at the star-studded event, with the likes of Taylor Schilling, Adrienne Moore, Hugh Jackman, and Frank Ocean all in attendance last night, as well as Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z who joined her onstage shortly after Serena’s performance.
LONDON, United Kingdom – British No.1 Johanna Konta has set her sights on becoming the top player in the world.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed an extraordinary start to 2017, winning the Sydney International ahead of the Australian Open before claiming her first-ever Premier Mandatory title in Miami in March.
She currently sits third in the Road to Singapore, behind only Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Wozniacki, but is aiming for even more.
.@JoKonta91 captures the @MiamiOpen title!
Defeats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/GVOF47SOVN
— WTA (@WTA) April 1, 2017
“My dream has always been to be No.1 in the world and to win titles and to really be at the top of the game,” she told the BBC.
“I’m doing everything in my power to make it come true. That’s been a dream of mine since I was a young girl and that continues to be my dream and I think will always be as long as I’m playing the sport.
“I need to keep focusing on my work because I know that will bring the best out of me. I always wanted to be the best version of myself.”
Konta, who currently sits at a career-high ranking of WTA World No.7, returns to WTA action following her Miami triumph in Stuttgart next week.
BEIJING China – No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska returned to the final of the China Open for the third time in her career after edging past Elina Svitolina in straight sets.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Svitolina took advantage of Radwanska’s sluggish start to push her early in the first set, but the Pole survived to advance 7-6(3), 6-3 in an hour and forty minutes.
“Well, definitely a bit too slow start for me,” Radwanska assessed. “Suddenly it was 3-5. As we know, this is a score you can definitely come back. Serve was not really the key of that match, either my serve or her.”
“I was just very glad I could come back in that first set. I think it was very important. I just played a great tiebreaker, so that helped me a lot for sure in that match.”
Both Svitolina and Radwanska advanced to their semifinal match without dropping a set in Beijing, but after trading breaks to start, it was the Ukrainian who struck first. She stepped into a Radwanska lob and hammered it cross court, earning a break in fifth game which she built up into a 5-3 lead.
Radwanska was left to play catch-up, using every trick in her arsenal to stay within touching distance before finally breaking back and leveling the match. The Pole dominated in the tiebreaker, flying out to a 5-0 lead before eventually claiming the set.
She shot to a double break lead in the final set, and saved a pair of break points to keep her nose ahead. She broke once again in the final game of the match to claim another straight sets victory in Beijing.
Radwanska books a clash against Top 10 debutante Johanna Konta for a shot at her second China Open title.
“Just very, very happy to be in the third final here in Beijing,” Radwanska said. “Well, is a great event. As we know, everybody is playing here. It’s always good to be in the final that all the top players were here.”
2011 champ @ARadwanska is back in the @ChinaOpen Final! ? pic.twitter.com/aNQv1mbvzA
— WTA (@WTA) October 8, 2016
Andy Murray believes fellow Brit Johanna Konta can capitalise on Serena Williams’ absence and become World No.1.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner confirmed on Wednesday that she and fiancé Alexis Ohanian are expecting their first child and will not return until 2018.
Murray, the World No.1 in the men’s game late last year feels his compatriot can replicate his achievements over the coming year, having reached the Top 10 and narrowly missed out on qualification for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in 2016.
“It’s been pretty much 18 months where she’s played at a level where she’s in the top seven or eight players in the world,” he said in The Guardian.
“She was close to getting to Singapore last year and she’s in with a good shot of doing it this year.
“I’m sure for all of the women, with Serena out, it’s going to be tough to predict. If she steps up her game there’s no reason why she can’t get close to the top.”
Konta has enjoyed an excellent start to 2017, having won the Apia Sydney International in January before claiming the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open earlier this month.
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.4 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova secured their place in the Miami Open doubles final with a hard-fought win over Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu on Friday.
Gasparyan and Niculescu have been the tournament’s surprise package, knocking out a number of more seasoned teams, including top seeds and defending champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. However, Babos and Shvedova were determined not to add their names to the list of upsets, digging deep to close out a 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 victory in an hour and 41 minutes.
“It was a tough match because the girls played well – they’ve proved through this two weeks that they’re a very good team – and it was not easy,” Shvedova said. “The conditions were windy and Monica has a special style of playing, so we needed to be patient and keep working hard.”
The outcome of a see-saw encounter remained in the balance until the very last, Gasparyan and Niculescu rallying from 8-5 down in the match tie-break to come within two points of victory. “It’s our style, we were down in both sets and then almost in the super tie-break, too,” Babos added.
“But we enjoy playing with each other – on my part, for sure! – and this makes it a lot easier to fight for every point and as it shows in doubles anything can happen. Basically they didn’t do any mistakes but we were fighting and coming back, taking it point by point and in the end we got the tie-break.”
Having lifted the Tashkent title in their first outing together two and a half years ago, Babos and Shvedova reunited for Indian Wells, where they proceeded to make the semifinals before being edged out by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe.
Sunday’s final at Crandon Park presents a shot at – partial – revenge, after Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova prevailed, 6-2, 6-1, in their clash against Zheng Saisai and Xu Yi-Fan.
“It was a great match, we knew we had to play well, but I love the night match atmosphere – a lot of fans stayed after the men’s match – and it’s great because we really had a lot of fan support and they were cheering for some great tennis,” Mattek-Sands said.
The result means that Mattek-Sands remains on course to become just the third player to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same year with different partners; Natasha Zvereva triumphed alongside Lindsay Davenport at Indian Wells and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario at Miami, in 1997, before Martina Hingis repeated the feat two years later, teaming up with Anna Kournikova at Indian Wells and Jana Novotna at Miami.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
An interview with Madison Keys before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.