Tennis News

Ready? Set? Go! The third major of 2016 is about to get underway, and we’ve got your Wimbledon Day One preview right here at WTATennis.com, courtesy of contributor Chris Oddo.

Monday

First Round

[2] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #2) vs. Camila Giorgi (ITA #68)
Head-to-head: Giorgi leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Giorgi owns a 6-7 record against the Top 10, but has gone 1-6 against the Top 5.

How will Garbiñe Muguruza handle the pressure of playing the first women’s match on Wimbledon’s fabled Centre Court on Monday? All indications are that she’ll be fine. “Nothing has changed for me to look at Wimbledon different,” Muguruza confidently told a roomful of reporters on Saturday in London when she was asked about coming to Wimbledon as a Grand Slam champion for the first time. “I’m going for the first match, like everyone else, from zero.” Muguruza will have to find a way to block out all external expectations so that she may focus on getting past a very dangerous first-round opponent in Camila Giorgi. The Italian has successfully passed the first round in her last four appearances at Wimbledon and she owns a 17-11 record on grass despite losses in her last three tilts on the surface. Giorgi will certainly take her shots at using her explosive serve and flat ground strokes to expose Muguruza’s movement on the grass, but can the 24-year-old do it well enough to knock off one of the game’s rising forces on Day One?

Pick: Muguruza in three.

[8] Venus Williams (USA #9) vs. Donna Vekic (CRO #112)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Williams is 4^th on the Open Era win list at Wimbledon with 76.

Venus Williams and Wimbledon’s grass have been a perfect fit for 19 years running, and on Monday the five-time Wimbledon champion will look to cash in on her experience and grass-court karma when she takes on Croatia’s Donna Vekic for the first time. Vekic was predicted to have a bright future on the grass when she reached the Birmingham final in 2013, but the former World No.62 has struggled of late, losing five of six on the grass since then, and producing a disappointing 4-12 record on all surfaces in 2016. Williams, meanwhile, is hoping to put up back-to-back beauties at the majors. The 36-year-old reached the second week at Roland Garros for the first time since 2010 in Paris this spring and will look to begin what could potentially be a run for the ages here at Wimbledon.

Pick: Williams in two.

Many thought that Great Britain’s Laura Robson would be a fixture in Wimbledon’s second week for years to come when she produced a rousing run to the round of 16 in 2013 as a 19-year-old. But injuries have since sabotaged the progress of the promising Brit. Still working her way back to becoming a steady participant at the tour-level, world No.294 Robson will be in for a stern test on Monday as she faces Germany’s Angelique Kerber. Grass may not be Kerber’s greatest love, but she has racked up some very notable Wimbledon wins. She knocked off Kim Clijsters and Sabine Lisicki en route to the semifinals in 2012, and stunned Maria Sharapova during a quarterfinal run in 2014. Sounds like even years work well for Kerber at Wimbledon; does this year’s Australian Open champion have another deep run up her sleeve in 2016?

Pick: Kerber in two.

Sabine Lisicki (GER #81) vs. Shelby Rogers (USA #61)
Head-to-head: Lisicki leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Lisicki owns a 25-7 lifetime record at Wimbledon. She’s 28-24 lifetime in the other three majors, combined.

Welcome to another edition of Sabine Lisicki, Wimbledon fairy tale. Lisicki is a top pro on all surfaces and at all majors, but on the grass of Wimbledon the German takes her game – and emotions – to a higher level. “The first time that I was here, I don’t remember when it was, but when I was here I fell in love with Wimbledon,” Lisicki said in 2013 during her magical run to the final. The love affair has been mutual. Fans in London have warmed to Lisicki, who reached the quarterfinals or better at Wimbledon for five consecutive years until finally having that streak stopped by Timea Bacsinszky in the third round last year. In order to begin another streak, the German will have to find her way past rising American Shelby Rogers. The Charleston, S.C. native will look to notch her first career win at Wimbledon on Monday, but she’ll have to create her own fairy tale at SW19 to do so.

Pick: Lisicki in three.

Around the Grounds: They’ve always been great friends, even on the court where they’ve won two major doubles titles together, but on Monday Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova will meet on the singles court for the first time since 2010 on Court 8. Simona Halep will open Wimbledon accounts on Monday with a first-round tussle with Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Court 2. Schmiedlova has gone 3-16 this season after breaking out in 2015 with a career-best 37 wins.

By the Numbers:

51 – Number of consecutive Grand Slams played by Jelena Jankovic, who now holds the active record in that category. Ai Sugiyama holds the all-time record with 62.

3 – Three Americans (Keys, Serena Williams, Venus Williams) are seeded at a major for the first time since the 2005 U.S. Open (Davenport, Serena Williams, Venus Williams).

120 – The all-time record for Wimbledon wins, held by Martina Navratilova. Serena Williams leads all active players with 79.

LONDON, Great Britain – With the final four Wimbledon contenders set to take “Centre” stage on Thursday, WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen will deliver play-by-play action live on wtatennis.com.

Will Venus Williams meet sister Serena for the first all-Williams Grand Slam final since the 2009 Championships? Will we see a rematch of the Australian Open championship match between world No.1 Serena Williams reignite her quest for a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title against Melbourne conqueror Angelique Kerber? Or will Elena Vesnina, who began the year ranked outside the Top 100, spark the shock of the century on the lawns of the All England Club by reaching her first major final?

Stay tuned for all the action and Insider insight right here on the Insider Live Blog:

LONDON, Great Britain – In the aftermath of World No.1 Serena Williams’ record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title – earned by defeating previous sole record holder Stefanie Graf’s compatriot Angelique Kerber, 7-5, 6-3, on Centre Court at Wimbledon – BBC Sport aired a montage featuring the top seed reciting “Still I Rise,” a poem by legendary American poet, Maya Angelou:

Serena has paid homage to Angelou in the past, ending her Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Speech with an excerpt of “Still I Rise,” which was also included in the final scene of her Epix documentary, “Serena.”

Click here to read Angelou’s iconic poem, and check out the BBC Sport video above and on Facebook!

June was defined by three breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?

Have a look at the nominees for June’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, July 15.

June 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:

Elena Vesnina: The Russian veteran has enjoyed regular success at the upper echelons of the doubles circuit, but finally broke though in a big way at a singles Slam, reaching her first semifinal at Wimbledon with wins over Ekaterina Makarova and Dominika Cibulkova. Ranked outside the Top 100 to start the season, Vesnina has cut her ranking by nearly 100 spots since her February low of No.122 and is back inside the Top 25 for the first time since January of 2014.

Madison Keys: Keys not only earned her second title on grass at the Aegon Classic, but she also made a major rankings breakthough by becoming the first American to debut inside the Top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999. Keys backed up her newly minted Top 10 ranking with a run to the second week of Wimbledon, her sixth trip to the round of 16 or better at a major in her last seven outings.

Anastasija Sevastova: Briefly retired for a space of 18 months, the Latvian is arguably playing better than ever as she continues her climb back up the rankings, making a breakthrough at the Mallorca Open, where she reached the final – her first since 2010. The run also brought Sevastova back into the Top 70.

2016 Winners:

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

GSTAAD, Switzerland – 16-year-old Rebeka Masarova brought the sunshine to a rainy week at the Ladies Championship Gstaad, recovering from a set down to defeat former World No.1 and No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, to capture a win in her WTA main draw debut.

“I feel amazing,” she said after the match. “I prepared so well mentally and physically for this. I was so happy to play this match; I knew it’d be a good experience, but I wanted to win, and I’m glad I did!”

Masarova first turned heads a few weeks ago in Paris when she knocked out the top two junior seeds to win the junior French Open title. The feat earned her a wildcard into her debut WTA main draw appearance, one that was delayed thanks to multiple rain delays but finally got underway on Thursday.

“I resolved not to make too many mistakes, and was focused on what I had to do. I realized what she was doing to me; she was playing a lot to my backhand, and I had to play to her forehand. It wasn’t about winning the point anymore, it was about not missing. But when I had the opportunity to make a point, I did.”

The Swiss youngster will have the chance to go one better against Anett Kontaveit, who was among the event’s earliest winners with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Maria Sakkari all the way back on Monday.

Former World No.7 Patty Schnyder was Gstaad’s other wildcard entrant into Gstaad, but the veteran’s first WTA main draw appearance since 2011 didn’t go as planned as she fell to Katerina Siniakova, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.

“A couple points, and it could have gone either way. I wasn’t the luckiest, either,” Schnyder said after the match. “But we also have to talk about how tough it was to wait with the rain and to play in that wet and cold weather. It was a struggle for both, I know, but for my game, it’s helpful when the ball bounces high and it’s not too heavy. Normally I’d find these conditions in Gstaad, but not with the rain!”

Schnyder appeared in control before the rain interrupted their first round encounter, and though the Swiss star moved ahead by a break upon the resumption, Siniakova proved too strong in the end, serving out a narrow victory in just under two and a half hours.

“I could play the rallies, but just missing out on some important points. She’s also one who can play, pick the corners, run and defend. So I really had to play and make the rallies. Maybe some other conditions might have helped my balls be more effective, but it was the same for both.”

Despite the defeat, the comeback kid was feeling optimistic about how she fared against a WTA field – having played almost exclusively on the ITF Circuit since her comeback began last summer – and is looking forward to improving and getting the chance to challenge herself again.

“I’m a little bit disappointed still because I was enjoying being here, and to lose two tight sets is tough. But I’ll go on; I’m still having fun and it’s not that I feel like I have to quit or have heaps to work on. It’s just small things I have to work on that’ll help me win these kinds of matches.”

BUCHAREST, Romania – Simona Halep reached her first final since early May with a hard-fought three set win over Vania King at the BRD Bucharest Open.

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

Two years ago, Halep triumphed at the inaugural staging of the tournament, and she stayed on course for a second title on home soil with a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3 victory.

“I felt the audience’s support, they were wonderful, keeping in mind that I lost the first set, they were more and more energetic. It was good, they motivated me and I fought every ball, and that helped me win tonight,” Halep said.

Competing in the semifinals of a WTA event for the first time in two years, King recovered from a slow start to take the first set and stun the partisan crowd. Things went from bad to worse for the Romanian at the start of the second set, King rifling a backhand down the line to earn two chances for an immediate break. She only needed one, this time the forehand wing doing the damage.

The American followed this up with a gutsy hold, but could not hold onto the initiative, Halep forcing the match the distance by taking the final three games of the set.

Now bossing the baseline exchanges for the first time, Halep turned the screw at the start of the third set, duly building a 4-1 lead. King battled gamely to the end, reducing her arrears to 4-3, before Halep made it across the finishing line thanks to one final push.

“I think I was a little stronger mentally, more powerful in the game, I was more focused in the important balls and I won the important ones,” Halep added. “I started dominating the game close to the end, I lost two games when I had 4-1, and that was my fault. But I am happy that I resisted and that I won the following two.

“I was expecting her game to be good, fast and aggressive. I played well and I think it was a beautiful match for everyone.”

In the first semifinal, Anastasija Sevastova saw off No.4 seed Laura Siegemund, 6-3, 6-2, to continue her recent resurgence. Sevastova, who recently reached the final in Mallorca, actually holds a winning record over Halep, although with the most recent of these coming almost five years ago it is unlikely to have too much bearing on Sunday’s showdown.

“I don’t recall those matches, but I know I played against her,” Halep said when asked about her three defeats at the hands of Sevastova. “It’s going to be a tough match – every final is difficult – but I will try to enjoy it as much as possible.

“I’m in another final here in Bucharest and that makes me feel very good. I hope I win, I’m looking forward to it but I expect a difficult match. She has a different game, but I will try not to give up any point, just like today.”