Miami: Angelique Kerber Pre-Tournament Interview
Hear what new World No.1 Angelique Kerber has to say before the Miami Open.
Hear what new World No.1 Angelique Kerber has to say before the Miami Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Samantha Stosur in the semifinals of Roland Garros.
See how 2012 champion Agnieszka Radwanska got on at the Miami Open against Wang Qiang.
The highlights from World No.1 Angelique Kerber’s clash with Duan Ying-Ying at the Miami Open.
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $780,900
Draw Size: 32 main draw/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, June 11 – Monday, June 13
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, June 13
Singles Final: Sunday, June 19, 1.30pm GMT
Doubles Final: Sunday, June 19, after singles final
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@BritishTennis – LTA handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #AegonClassic and #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska accepted one of the Top 10 wildcards, returning to tournament after a nine-year absence as top seed.
· Angelique Kerber is No.2 seed and defending champion. Two-time Wimbledon champion also in draw, taking up second Top 10 wildcard.
· Former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki plays in only her second tournament since Miami after recovering from an ankle injury.
· There have been 11 different champions in the past 11 years in Birmingham. There is just one returning champion in the field this year – Kerber (2015).
· Click here on Saturday to see the full draw (ceremony at noon).
WILDCARDS:
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), Petra Kvitova (CZE), Naomi Broady (GBR), Tara Moore (GBR)
Madison Keys had Friday’s shot of the day on Day 4 of the Miami Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova took a dip into South Florida with a trip to Miami Beach, making new friends and challenging her team to feats of strength. Check out the video here!
Every week on wtatennis.com we’ll bring you 10 Things To Know about the week ahead – who’s playing, where and more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through a familiar stop off – and a brand new one.
1) Old and new.
The preparation for Wimbledon intensifies this week, with tournaments old an new on the calendar – the Aegon Classic Birmingham and the Mallorca Open. Birmingham has been a fixture of the grass court season since 1982. The Mallorca Open, on the other hand, is in its very first year.
2) The No.1 seed is making her Birmingham return.
Agnieszka Radwanska, the World No.3, is the No.1 seed this week. Traditionally, the Pole has elected not to play this week – in fact the only time she has ventured to Britain’s second city came in 2007 when she lost to Elena Likhovtseva in the second round.
3) And she has been handed a tricky start.
Saturday’s draw was not kind to Radwanska, pairing her with recently crowned ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion CoCo Vandeweghe. It was not the only eye-catching first-round match-up either: two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova takes on Lucie Safarova; Carla Suárez Navarro meets Elina Svitolina; and Karolina Pliskova faces Barbora Strycova.
4) The defending champion is back and ready to defend.
Last year Angelique Kerber won this event after coming out on top in a memorable final with Karolina Pliskova. It was also the first WTA title of her career on grass – the eight other titles have come on hardcourts or clay.
5) Kerber is trying to successfully defend a WTA title for the second time.
If she repeats at the Aegon Classic Birmingham this year, it will be Kerber’s second successful WTA title defense. The first also came this year, at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
6) Can a home favorite make a statement on grass?
Simona Halep’s withdrawal bumped British No.1 Johanna Konta into the final seeded slot. She opens up against Misaki Doi, before a potential second-round clash with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. Heather Watson, Naomi Broady and Tara Moore are also in the draw, facing Camila Giorgi, Daria Gavrilova and a qualifier, respectively.
7) Or is the stage set for one of the WTA’s young pretenders?
The WTA’s highest-ranked teenager Belinda Bencic enjoyed a sparkling grass court campaign 12 months ago, reaching the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and lifting the title in Eastbourne. Seeded No.4 this time, the Swiss has only recently recovered from a back injury and looking a tad rusty on her return in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Should she falter there are several other young guns capable of making a mark, including Madison Keys, Gavrilova and former Wimbledon junior champion Jelena Ostapenko.
8) Homecoming queen.
Garbiñe Muguruza is the star attraction at the inaugural Mallorca Open, where she will compete in her first match since being crowned Roland Garros champion.
9) Seamless transition?
The switch from clay to grass has not proved a problem in the past for Muguruza. Last year she followed up quarterfinal appearance in Paris by reaching the Wimbledon final. She will expect to improve on her preparations, though – in 2015 she won a combined total of one match in Birmingham and Eastbourne.
10) Keeping good company.
Muguruza will be wary of another early exit after being paired with former Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens in the first round. There is danger lurking elsewhere in the draw, too, in the shape of fellow seeds Eugenie Bouchard, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Kristina Mladenovic.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Top seed Angelique Kerber recovered from breaks in both sets against big-hitting American Shelby Rogers to advance, 6-4, 7-5, and reach the fourth round of the Miami Open.
“It was a good match,” she said in her post-match press conference. “I was trying to feel my game again. I was moving good, but it was not so easy because she didn’t play badly. I was trying to stay positive and play my tennis.”
Kerber was playing her first match since her late-night victory against Duan Ying-Ying, and suffered a slow start to Rogers, who reached the French Open quarterfinals last spring and began 2017 with a win over Simona Halep at the Australian Open.
.@AngeliqueKerber with a peach of a backhand!
She wins FOUR straight games! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/nWfsB3sQ22
— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2017
The German reclaimed World No.1 from Serena Williams at the start of the fortnight in Florida, and showed some of why the two-time Grand Slam champion has been so tough to beat in the last year, rolling through six of the next seven games from a break down to take the opening set.
“It’s always good to have close sets, especially when you win them at the end because they give you confidence that you can go out in your next match knowing you can win close matches because you’ve just done it a day ago. I’m looking forward to the next match.”
Incredible pass from @AngeliqueKerber! #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/1bkzF8lYCE
— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2017
Rogers kept fighting, however, and fought off multiple break points in the fifth game to engineer another service break. Much like the first set, Kerber took control from there, winning five of the final six games to seal the hometown favorite in just under 90 minutes.
“If you win the match, you’re always happy about your performance. In the second set, she was 4-2 up and we’d played a long game. That was important because she was playing well, but I was staying positive and believing in my chances. I think that was the key to the match.”
In all, Kerber struck 17 winners to only 22 unforced errors; Rogers took far more risks throughout, her 34 winners were ultimately undone by 51 unforced errors.
.@AngeliqueKerber eases into @MiamiOpen Round of 16!
Defeats Rogers 6-4, 7-5! pic.twitter.com/JpmYBoSegY
— WTA (@WTA) March 26, 2017
Up next for top seed is Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki. Ozaki was already enjoying her best-ever result at a Premier Mandatory tournament when she broke new ground on Sunday, besting Kerber’s countrywoman Julia Goerges, 7-6(5), 6-3.
“I’ve never played against her, but I saw a little bit on TV because she played Julia today. I think she’s playing good here, coming from qualies, so she has a lot of matches and confidence.
“She has nothing to lose, so it’ll be another good match.”
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before the start of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.