WTA Frame Challenge: Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova takes on the WTA Frame Challenge! Find out how well she did right here!
Yaroslava Shvedova takes on the WTA Frame Challenge! Find out how well she did right here!
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Jelena Jankovic in the first round of the Qatar Total Open,
Highlights from the semifinal action at the BNP Paribas Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Venus Williams in the third round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
DOHA, Qatar – Zhang Shuai recorded one of the biggest wins of her career, overcoming No.5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the last eight – her fourth on the Premier level – at the Qatar Total Open.
Muguruza, who was playing her second match of the day – overcoming Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay 6-3, 6-2 after their rain delayed match – quickly found herself in trouble against the Chinese No.1 – herself having to beat Timea Babos earlier in the afternoon – in the first meeting between the pair.
“I woke up thinking that I was going to have a very tough day,” Muguruza said after. “This morning I warm up at 9:00 in the morning. I played pretty good the first match. The second one, Zhang played very well. The conditions were difficult. There was a lot of wind. She was finding her shots. At the end I think was two points difference and they went to her.”
Thunderous hitting from the baseline saw Zhang secure back-to-back breaks of the former French Open champion’s serve for a surprise early 4-1 lead. Muguruza’s fighting spirit helped her break back to love and restore parity as a tight opening set went to a tie-break.
It was the impressive Zhang from there, nailing an impressive 83% of first serves to take the opener as Muguruza double faulted on set point.
.@zhangshuai121 claims an epic rally! @QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/oOgyNEfoAA
— WTA (@WTA) February 15, 2017
The second set followed a similarly tight pattern but this time it was Muguruza with the crucial break at 4-2 as Zhang hit a forehand long, the single break proving sufficient for the Spaniard to serve out and take the match to a deciding set.
The former Australian Open quarterfinalist staved off three break points before breaking herself with a forehand onto the line.
With Muguruza struggling on her second serve, Zhang broke yet again and consolidated for a 5-2 lead but the Spaniard is not a grand slam champion for nothing and roared back to level at 5-5.
What an upset!@zhangshuai121 ousts Muguruza 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-5! #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/00mkn0hr03
— WTA (@WTA) February 15, 2017
Zhang, making only her third appearance at Doha, was not to be denied and a further break at 6-5 sealed the win and her best showing to date. The win marked her fifth career Top 10 win and first of the season after previously earning wins over Dinara Safina, Petra Kvitova, and two over Simona Halep in 2016.
Up next for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai semifinalist is either No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova or Caroline Garcia. Meanwhile Muguruza said she is looking forward to moving on to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“I think I’m going to go as soon as possible,” she said. “I want to go in Dubai, try to have a few days of training, recovery take it very seriously. I think Dubai is a big tournament this year for us. I want to do well there.”
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Serena Williams renews her rivalry with Victoria Azarenka as they battle for the BNP Paribas Open title. Follow it all live right here!
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Samantha Stosur was the latest player to send a seed out of the Qatar Total Open, beating eighth seed Barbora Strycova 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
No.3 ranked Angelique Kerber – along with the rest of the Miami Open’s top seeds – met the press at All-Access Hour on Tuesday ahead of the start of play.
“I have much more confidence inside of me. It feels a little bit different but at the end, I know that I need to go to work again, going on practice courts, working hard,” said Kerber on how she’s coping with the added pressure of being a Grand Slam champion.
Last year’s Miami Open finalist, Carla Suárez Navarro, is hoping to do one better this year and claim her first title at Crandon Park.
“Always when she’s in the tournament, she’s the favorite,” said Suárez Navarro on top seed Serena Williams, who defeated her in last year’s final. “She’s always the best because she always wants more.”
“It’s great to be around all these champions and great players, and it was very inspiring for me,” said Belinda Bencic, the youngest member of the Top 10. “That’s why I felt quite good here, and I’m starting to really feel like I’m a part of this whole thing.”
Defending champion Serena Williams has reached two finals this year, and the nine-time Miami Open champion hopes familiar ground will lead her to her first 2016 title.
For Williams, Miami is the closest thing to a home tournament: “This is the tournament that I’ve grown up coming to. Being a local it’s so easy for me to go home, come here, and it’s been just so great to tennis for decades.”
Though Simona Halep comes into Miami with no expectations, her objective is clear: “It’s tough to have expectations after three tough months this year. Always, when I go on court, I want to win the match. I fight for it.”
World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, who’s made the semifinals or higher at every tournament since October, is hoping her consistent run of form will help to grab a second Miami Open title this year.
Petra Kvitova is happy to be back in Miami: “I missed it last year, and I’m very happy to be here again. I missed the tournament; it’s just beautiful up here.”
Petra Kvitova takes on Johanna Konta in the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.