Stanford: Saturday Highlights
Highlights from semifinal action at the Bank of the West Classic.
Highlights from semifinal action at the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
Barbora Strycova has Monday’s shot of the day at the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
After Thursday’s look back at tennis’ historic return to the Olympics at Seoul in 1988, wtatennis.com’s next stop off on its trip down memory lane is Barcelona…
Barcelona, Spain, 1992
Tennis de la Vall d’Hebron
Red Clay
Now established at the Games once more, Barcelona saw the singles draw expanded to 64 and an even stronger line-up in attendance; in addition to defending champion Steffi Graf, six other members of the Top 10 were present, including home hopes Conchita Martínez and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario and an American teenager going by the name of Jennifer Capriati.
Staged on the red clay of the Tennis de la Vall d’Hebron to the north of the city, the early stages were devoid of any real surprises, with all four top seeds all making it through to the semifinals.
Here, though, was when the tournament really sparked into life.
Faced with the cauldron of noise that was the Olympic Tennis Stadium, a 16-year-old Capriati had every right to be overawed when she stepped on court to face Barcelona’s favorite daughter, Sánchez-Vicario.
However, the American had not read the script.
The unashamedly partisan crowd, which included King Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain, were stunned as Capriati put on a regal display of clay court tennis to triumph, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Meeting Capriati for the gold medal was Graf. Once again the odds were stacked against the teenager, and once again she beat the house.
Going into the final, Graf had never lost to Capriati, her cool temperament trumping youthful promise on all four of their previous meetings. Yet where the teenager had collapsed under the pressure in the past, in Barcelona she battled tigerishly.
Capriati had nine break points at 2-2 and when she blew them and lost the first set 6-3 she could have wilted in the debilitating heat of the bullring-like Centre Court. Instead she began to hit the ball harder and closer to the lines.
Confronted by this barrage of winners, it was Graf who cracked; she lost her serve in the eighth game of the second set and again at the same stage in the third after Capriati bludgeoned yet another forehand drive down the line.
The American had only to hold her serve to become champion and she did so to 15 to claim the fourth and most important title of her fledgling career.
“It was so emotional,” Capriati said of her feelings as she received her medal. “I had the chills the whole time. I just can’t believe it. All week I watched the other athletes up there and I was with them and I thought, ‘Wow, that would be so cool.'”
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Olympic Memories: Seoul
It’s time to crown July’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!
The winner will be announced Friday, August 5.
How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
NANCHANG, China – Francesca Schiavone moved one step closer to an eighth career title with a three-set win over Lu Jia-Jing at the Jiangxi Open on Wednesday.
Watch live action from Nanchang this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Following Magda Linette’s 11th-hour Olympic acceptance, Schiavone was elevated to the highest-ranked player in the top half of the draw, although for the first set it was her not Lu that resembled the underdog.
“I think I was playing too short and too much counter-attacking and I told myself that I can’t keep playing like this at 36 years old and I have to go to the ball, hit the ball and make life much, much easier,” Schiavone said.
The conclusion to the first set was a war of attrition, Schiavone coming off second best in two arduous games. Eager not to continue in this vein, the Italian came out firing on the restart, racing into a 3-0 lead and wrapping up the set soon after. The decider followed a similar pattern, the No.3 seed assuming control with two early breaks before surviving a slight wobble to close out a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Nanchang has been a fixture on the WTA calendar since 2014, household names Peng Shuai and Jelena Jankovic triumphing at the first two editions. Schiavone’s bid to follow in their footsteps and lift the tournament’s striking new trophy will face a stern examination in the quarterfinals when she takes on No.7 seed Risa Ozaki.
As Schiavone stepped out on Centre Court, Ozaki was putting the finishing touches to a clinical 6-0, 6-3 win over qualifier Nicha Lertpitaksinchai. Also advancing were Zhang Kai-Lin, who defeated Miyu Kato, 6-4, 7-5, and Vania King, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Zhang Ying.
Relive the Opening Ceremony as CoCo Vandeweghe’s Olympic Video Blog takes you inside the night’s festivities with Team USA!