Zhuhai: Svitolina vs Konta
Elina Svitolina takes on Johanna Konta in the semifinals at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Elina Svitolina takes on Johanna Konta in the semifinals at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza produced a rousing finale to defeat Jelena Ostapenko and become the first player into the last eight of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Petra Kvitova powered her way to the final of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai with the help of her dominating first serve – SAP Coaches View shows how she got it done.
Madison Keys fought her way past Barbora Strycova and into the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. There she will meet Garbiñe Muguruza.
ZHUHAI, China – Huanjin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai Ambassador and 22-time Grand Slam champion Stefanie Graf had a front row seat to the rise of World No.1 Angelique Kerber.
“She would take little breaks in the year and come to Las Vegas to train and prepare herself,” she told WTA Insider during a media Q&A on Sunday. “I had a chance to watch and help a little but, but she’s the one doing the hard work. She’s the one showing that determination and commitment.
“I felt she always had the talent and the strengths; she’s been working hard. She just needed that one win to get her mindset changed to where she could start believing in herself. She was really able to do that in the last year or two, where she started realizing that she can beat top players. That belief really changed her game around; she’s been playing with a lot more confidence, and you can see that she’s a different player on the court. With each victory, it seemed like she got stronger and more comfortable with herself on the court.”
With Kerber leading a strong German contingent – one that already includes Julia Goerges, Andrea Petkovic, Sabine Lisicki, and Laura Siegemund – Graf is hopeful for a surge in national interest in the sport she once dominated.
“I think we’ve had such strong talent in Germany over the past few years; we had a lot of great players pushing each other. For her to push through has been really important for German tennis because where we’ve seen a lot of growth here, we’ve seen fewer tournaments in Germany where we used to be really strong.
“For her to have that success, and a lot of the other players being strong behind her, that should hopefully strengthen tennis in Germany and Europe again.”
Graf wouldn’t count out former No.1 Serena Williams, who matched her Grand Slam total this year at Wimbledon, as Kerber’s biggest challenge in 2017.
“With Serena, she’s definitely had a little bit of a harder year; she wasn’t able to play as many tournaments as she might have wished to be ready for the Grand Slams. But she’s too incredible of a player to be underestimated in the coming year.
“Consistency is what we’re all striving for on the court; it’s difficult with different surfaces, different time zones and different climates. It’s a long year in tennis.”
Serving as WTA Elite Trophy Ambassador at the end of the season proved to be an easy decision for Graf; the German had never before traveled to China and has thoroughly enjoyed taking in the sights throughout the region. She arrived late Friday night and was greeted by a throng of fans at her hotel, and has since participated in several clinics with junior players, a trip to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge with Caroline Garcia, and the coin toss for the final between Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina.
“The desire has always been there to come visit China. I can say I’ve traveled the world, but there’s a few places I haven’t been but have the wish to go. I love to travel and experience different cultures. Tennis is such a great and growing sport in China; to be part of it, and hopefully help just a little bit bring the sport to our young talents, it’s a great opportunity.
“I do enjoy a coastline, and even having the possibility to drive around and get the chance yesterday to be playing a little bit of tennis on the longest bridge in the world. That was an incredible sight. The city has a lot of beautiful parts I’ve seen just by driving along, but also looking at little mountains and hills. We’ve enjoyed taking walks in the morning, jogging along the water and seeing people on early strolls of their own.
“You have so many possibilities here, so it seems like a vibrant city everyone can enjoy.”
Check out more quick hits from Graf on what she makes of the tournament, how tennis can continue growing in China, and even what she makes of new ATP World No.1 Andy Murray.
What an honor to meet & play with the Legend, Steffi Graff! And why not do it on the longest cross sea bridge in the World! #WTAEliteTrophy pic.twitter.com/LzFOGlqGtN
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 6, 2016
On the Zhuhai venue…
I’m looking at an incredible facility right now. The center court couldn’t be nicer; I got a chance to play a little bit on the outside courts yesterday, and they play beautifully. In terms of the environment – from locker rooms, to physiotherapy to massages – I thought the organization has been exceptional. I feel there’s a strong passion for tennis here, and you can feel a high level excitement from everyone on the grounds. Everyone has been so accommodating and able to help whenever you have questions. There’s a really cute conversation card in the tournament transportation vehicle, where if a driver doesn’t completely understand you, there’s a list of different questions you could have in different languages. It’s all extremely well thought through. I’m sure all the other players will agree that the organization has been top notch.
On the city’s plan to further integrate tennis into the Zhuhai landscape…
I just learned quite a bit last night and this afternoon, sitting down with some of the CTA members, as well as the mayor and vice-mayor. Just from those discussions, it seems that there’s a lot of vision already in hand, where they’re already in the second and third stages of development. They’re talking about developing a tennis academy as well as increasing the amount of tennis played in schools. It seems that there’s a lot of planning going on. With the interest and passion that I’ve seen around this tournament, I believe that there’s going to be fast growth.
It seems that everyone is very enthusiastic about it. I think from what I hear, it’s still a very new sport, because for long periods, China couldn’t watch a lot of tennis on TV. The enthusiasm is there, and just seeing the growing tournaments over the last few years has been great. During my career, we didn’t have a big women’s tournament here, so the growth in this sector is clearly immense. So the industry and fans are here; I believe that from what has already been done that we all need to be on the lookout for even more growth.
On Andy Murray ascending to World No.1…
I didn’t even know until you told me just now! It happened last night, so I hadn’t caught the news. It’s the result of some incredible tennis that he’s been playing over the last few years, and so it’s well deserved. When you look at men’s tennis, the level has been so phenomenal for such a long time; it’s still a tight race with Djokovic, players like Federer and Nadal. It’s fascinating to watch men’s tennis with how close it is. How long will he be able to hold on? I don’t know, but I’ll be looking forward to seeing what next year will bring.
On the importance of consistency throughout a long season…
Consistency is what you strive for. It’s pretty difficult to achieve in the world of tennis. There are very few sports played all year long. In my career, it was an 11-11.5 month long season; now it’s gotten a little short, more like 10 months. But it’s really difficult to hold the highest level throughout the year. Ideally, you try to pace yourself through it, meaning you pick and choose your tournaments, and take time in between. With Angie, she did a fantastic job peaking at the big tournaments this year, with strong showings at the Grand Slam tournaments.
On the next generation of players…
I think it’s important for everyone to find their individual way, their presence, and their style. I think in terms of my style of play, it’s not around so much anymore with one-handed backhand slice, and keeping the ball low. That’s a very unusual thing; I think tennis has changed quite a bit through the last few generations. But the good thing is that everyone finds their own way to become who they are.
.@WTAEliteTrophy Ambassador Stefanie Graf was on hand for a fan activity and Media Q&A in Zhuhai pic.twitter.com/ndblZTBc5y
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) November 6, 2016
All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.
It’s been a rainy day here in Rome as we wait for the Internazionali BNL d’Italia semifinals to get underway. So I’m emptying the notebook while the notebook is still dry. One semifinal note: the first semifinal between Madison Keys and Garbiñe Muguruza has been moved to Court Pietrangeli, and will start as soon as the rain stops and the courts are prepared.
– Madison Keys surprising herself: After her tough 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Barbora Strycova in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Friday, the 21-year-old American was asked whether she knew she could play so well on clay.
“No,” she said with a smile.
With her run to the semifinals in Rome, Keys has notched her best result on European clay. Her success in Rome may be surprising to some – she’s lost just one set all week – but it shouldn’t be. Her powerful game should translate well on clay. She proved that in 2015 when she made her biggest tour final in Charleston, pushing Angelique Kerber deep into a third set.
But Keys had needed time to convince herself she can get results on clay, as opposed to falling into the trap of seeing it as a stop-off before her beloved grass.
“I’m still very excited for grass,” Keys said. “Let’s put that out there right now.”
“I think over the years I have just eventually accepted that we’re not going to not have a clay court season, so going into it being positive about it is the only way to deal with it,” Keys said. “I think this year it’s just been, Okay, let’s do a little bit better than last year, and not really getting ahead of myself and really just focusing each match just trying to do what I’m here for.”
On Saturday she faces Garbiñe Muguruza for a spot in the final. Muguruza looks to be rounding into form before the French Open, playing a focused, resilient match to beat Timea Bacsinszky, 7-5, 6-2. It’s the first meeting between the two in a WTA-level main draw match. Keys beat Muguruza in three sets in qualifying for Cincinnati back in 2012.
“I’m excited,” Keys said. “I did not think coming into this whole kind of stretch that things would go well. I mean, even in Madrid I felt like I was playing pretty well on the clay and really just hopefully I can keep things going and, you know, keep it going tomorrow and hopefully at the end of the week be really happy.”
– Timea Bacsinszky’s perfect French Open lead-up: Bacsinszky will go into the French Open having won 14 of her last 17 matches. Despite a frustrating loss to Muguruza, which sees her drop to 0-4 against the Spaniard, Bacsinszky still found a silver lining.
“Well, without saying any bad words, it s-u-c-k-s,” Bacsinszky said after the loss. “Third time I’m losing almost with the same score against her.
“Yeah, it’s a big challenge to play against her, because there is always some possibilities to get through the first set or maybe in the second one, but then she leveled up her game. So I think, for sure, playing so many matches in the last couple of weeks got me probably a little tired, as well. But I still had a lot of energy and I was like super enthusiastic to do even better.
“Sometimes it happens that the opponent is making better choices than you are in crucial moments, so I have to give her a lot of credit for that.
“Basically I think I’m really happy about my clay court season so far, and the good news is that I can go home and celebrate tonight for the win that I had in Morocco. This is the good news of the day. I’m taking the positive side of it.”
– Madison Keys, M.D.: Who says you can’t learn anything from television?
Q. You were rubbing your arm quite a bit in the second and third set. Is it bothering you more? The conditions are heavier today than they have been in the past.
MADISON KEYS: It was a little cold. Balls were a little bit heavier. It was a little bit tight. But I’d like to think of myself as a doctor since I watched a lot of Grey’s Anatomy, so I feel like I figured it out (laughter).
– Bacsinszky goes home again: The Swiss star was asked whether she has ever returned to the hotel near Lausanne where she interned as a hospitality manager before returning to tennis. She ended up giving the best tourism ad for Switzerland.
“Yeah. Well, I did. I love this ski resort over there, Villars-sur-Ollon. It’s close from Lausanne. You take the car and you can be there in 45 minutes. So for sure Zermatt or Verbier or whatever, so many others. Vanghen, St. Moritz are more fancy, but I’m not that type of girl which likes those big things and showing off and stuff. I prefer to stay in a small mountain village. And, well, the hotel is great.
“When I worked at it, it was already great. Maybe better with me. No. (Laughter.) No, no, I was really – no, my colleagues were way better than I was. I was just learning, so it’s normal.
“The hotel is really great. It’s one of, still, my favorite hotel worldwide. I’m going to play the tournament of Gstaad this year in Switzerland – finally a woman’s tournament in Switzerland! – so I’m really proud of it. The ATP communications officer told my boyfriend yesterday, Oh, I heard you guys are going to Gstaad. And over there the palace is unbelievable.
So, yeah, it’s almost a 6-star over there, probably. But we’ll see if it challenges my old hotel where I worked, because, I have great memories over there.
I went after my semifinal of Miami for a couple of days, and, well, it’s great to go back there and to see where the colleagues are, because some of them are like traveling worldwide and they come only for half a season, so only for six months, and then they go back somewhere else.
But it’s fun to see how everyone is everywhere. And actually they joke a lot around me. They’re like, No, come on, we never — if we would knew that you were playing tennis — because they didn’t know. Actually, they didn’t know. They were making fun of me. Oh, like, you’re so old to do an internship. 24 years old? Internship at that time? Oh, your feet must hurt.
And then they found out that I play tennis, and like two years later I’m like top 10. They’re like, Okay.”
– Daria Kasatkina powering through: It hasn’t been the clay court swing the young Russian wanted. On her favorite surface she won just two matches on European clay, though she did make the quarterfinals in Charleston as well.
“I was waiting for this time [of the season] but looks like after a good start I have a little bit down,” Kasatkina told WTA Insider. “It’s ok. It happens. I will work and try to come back on my level.”
Kasatkina may be paying the price for her early season success. “This year we go tournament by tournaments. It was the plan because at the start of the season we didn’t know how I will play and if I will not reach a lot of points at the start.
“Start was good. I played a lot of matches. Reach a lot of points. Now we can maybe a little bit slow down. We will see, actually, how I feel.”
– Daria Gavrilova jumpstarts her season: After her star-making run to the fourth round of the Australian Open to start to the year, Gavrilova struggled mightily to get back on track. She won just one tour-level match after that before the tour turned to clay in Charleston.
“I was pretty flat going to the Middle East,” Gavrilova told WTA Insider. “I wasn’t ready. My mind was still at home. I was like, oh my god, really? I had tough losses in America, put myself in a good position in both matches but couldn’t close it out. But it happens.
“I was pretty frustrated after I lost to Zarina Diyas in Miami. And then I thought it’s a good time to make a difference, it’s not just me struggling. I can separate myself from other girls who are not winning so many matches. I was like ‘clay is my favorite surface’. I was keen to start playing on clay and just get over with hard court. Had a few good wins in Charleston and did get revenge over Zarina and that felt really good.”
Since the clay season began, Gavrilova scored wins over Petra Kvitova, Elina Svitolina, Simona Halep, and Sabine Lisicki. She’ll be seeded in Paris.
– Congratulations Li Na: No.2 is on the way.
Happy news for Li Na and Jiang Shan who are expecting their 2nd baby. Daughter Alisa will turn 1 June 3. #LiNaBaby pic.twitter.com/rTd6xRJL2i
— IMG Tennis (@IMGTennis) May 13, 2016
– Serena previews her documentary: Set your DVRs for June 22nd.
Here’s a sneak peek of my new documentary premiering on @EpixHD 6/22! Take a look inside my world! #Serenahttps://t.co/oj2wydQutf
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) May 12, 2016
It’s time to vote for October’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, November 11.
October 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Dominika Cibulkova: Cibulkova needed to win the Generali Ladies Linz to qualify for her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Slovak did just that, defeating Viktorija Golubic in straight sets in the final and clinching what became a winning berth in Singapore. From 0-2 down in round robin play, Cibulkova stunned 2014 finalist Simona Halep and outgutted Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals before putting on a masterclass against World No.1 Angelique Kerber to win the biggest title of her career.
Angelique Kerber: Kerber didn’t walk away with the title in Singapore, but nonetheless impressed as she clinched the Year-End No.1 ranking. Undefeated in round robin play, she brushed aside defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska before falling to Cibulkova in a high-quality final.
Agnieszka Radwanska: The Pole ended another solid season with a Premier Mandatory title at the China Open, where she defeated Johanna Konta in the final. Playing to defend her Singapore crown, Radwanska put down a pair of quality wins in round robin play, ultimately bowing out to World No.1 Kerber in the semifinals.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
STRASBOURG, France – On the eve of Roland Garros, French star and No.4 Kristina Mladenovic earned her first WTA main draw win on red clay on Sunday – and not a moment too soon – against American Madison Brengle, surviving a topsy turvy tussle, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, in the first round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Mladenovic enjoyed an impressive streak through the clay court season in doubles with partner Caroline Garcia; together the pair won three titles and won 15 straight matches (including Fed Cup). At the same time, the 23-year-old went 0-3 in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome, and was a game away from elimination against Brengle, who led 5-4 in the final set.
“It wasn’t exactly the easiest match!” she said after the match.
Steadying her nerve, the 2015 US Open quarterfinalist ran off the last three games to reach the second round, where she will play another American in Alison Riske.
“The conditions were difficult with the wind and the match was swinging back and forth. It’s also cold on the court and difficult to get comfortable.
“At 0-30 down with her two points from victory, I knew I had to change the match and dig deep. I needed a cool head and was pleased I could turn that score round to my favour and get the win.”
Riske had typically earned her best results on faster courts, but faced few problems against French qualifier Alizé Lim, winning, 6-0, 7-5.
The biggest upset of the day occurred when No.9 seed Alizé Cornet lost to another qualifier, former World No.56 Alla Kudryavtseva, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Coming off of back-to-back doubles semifinals in Charleston and Madrid, Kudryatvseva was playing her first WTA singles main draw of the season, and bounced back from losing the opening set to dispatch Cornet in an hour and 45 minutes.
Hsieh Su-Wei was the third top doubles talent to emerge victorious on Sunday, taking out qualifier Xu Yi-Fan, 6-3, 6-1, while Swiss qualifier Jil Tiechman upset Kurumi Nara, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Alla Kudryavtseva @AllaK11 heureuse après sa victoire contre @alizecornet #IS2016 pic.twitter.com/Hjoq4DE7qh
— WTA Strasbourg (@WTA_Strasbourg) May 15, 2016
THE WINNERS
Serena Williams emerged victorious in the first all-American final since 2012 – the first on red clay since 2002 – defeating countrywoman Madison Keys, 7-6(5), 6-3, to snap a nine-month title drought and win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the fourth time in her illustrious career.
Missing the Mutua Madrid Open due to illness, Williams was playing her first red clay event of the season; the win in Rome sets her up in good stead to defend her French Open title as she attempts to win her fourth crown there, as well.
“I have tried to defend there once, twice, three times before. Didn’t quite work so well. But this year is different. I’m going to definitely go in there and I feel more calm and I don’t feel stress to, like, have to win. You know, I feel like I just am happy to be out here.”
Read the full story and watch highlights here
Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza find themselves in pole position to complete the Santina Slam at the French Open with a 6-1, 6-7(5), 10-3 win over Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina to capture the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title – their first title since February and their first ever on red clay.
Heading into the French Open on a four-match winning streak, Santina next look to complete a box set of Grand Slam titles – a Santina Slam – that began at Wimbledon over Makarova and Vesnina, and took them through victories at the US Open and Australian Open in January.
Read the full story here.
GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider
Game: Serena back on top.
It’s slightly misleading to imply Serena has been in a nine-month slump. Heading into the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Serena had not won a title since Cincinnati last August, but she also had not played much. So you can understand why the World No.1 politely bristled when it was implied she had been a three-quarter drought.
“I mean, I have played, let’s see, US Open, Australian, Miami, Indian Wells,” she told reporters after beating Madison Keys to win her first title of the season. “So it’s only four tournaments. So it’s not like I was playing every week.
“So that’s kind of how I look at it. But it feels great to win a title, especially on clay.”
A week ago the French Open was looming and the conventional wisdom was it was a wide open field. No one had dominated the clay season — Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Timea Bacsinszky, Lucie Safarova, and Sloane Stephens had won the biggest titles — and Serena had yet to step on the red clay.
A week later and Serena has reasserted herself as the favorite to defend her title in Paris. Her trophy-run in Rome wasn’t particularly memorable aside from the first All-American final in Rome since 1970, but she rarely looked pressured or stressed throughout the week, as she racked up wins over Anna-Lena Friedsam, Christina McHale, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Irina-Camelia Begu, and Keys. Her win over Kuznetsova was her best performance since Australia, and all in all, we saw a very relaxed Serena in The Eternal City.
“I think my patience was really great,” Serena said when asked to assess her week. “I wasn’t stressed out. I wasn’t rushing too much. Basically more than anything I was able to do what I practiced, and I think that’s what really helped me out.”
Set: The Santina Slam is on.
Rome was all about the World No.1s getting back to the winners’ circle. For Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, the most dominant duo of 2015 ended their two-month title drought by beating Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. Playing on their least favorite surface, Mirza and Hingis rolled through the draw, only seeing a supertiebreaker in the final.
The reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions, Hingis and Mirza head to Paris with a sense of relief with a red clay title in hand, something they didn’t do last year. If they can win in Paris, they’ll hold all four majors and complete the non-calendar Grand Slam.
Match: Madison Keys unlocked.
Keys is 21-years-old. That’s a fact so many seem to forget when assessing her future in the sport. Already she’s won a big title on grass in Eastbourne, made the semifinals of the Australian Open, and now the biggest final of her career. And it came on slow, wet, European clay. Keys is as surprised as anyone. But she shouldn’t be.
It’s taken time for Keys to truly believe her big game could translate onto clay. She’s always joked that half her mind is already on grass when the clay season begins. It may not be a fun surface for her — she has to play much more disciplined tennis and not go for the audacious winners that shorten rallies on quicker surfaces — but it’s a good surface for her. Two of her three finals have now come on clay, with the first coming on green clay two years in Charleston.
In Rome she ran through a draw filled with top-notch clay court players: Andrea Petkovic, Petra Kvitova, Timea Babos, Barbora Strycova, and Garbiñe Muguruza. But what made this week feel different was her attitude. Keys’ focus throughout the week was superb. When she fell behind on her serve or let break point chances slide, she trudged on. That hasn’t always been the case in the past.
Keys has the quality to make a very deep run in Paris. She’s also still learning how to maximize her game on clay and could crash out in the first round. But Rome was a huge step forward for her and the mentality she showed all week could be the building blocks for a big season going forward. Remember this week.
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of May 16, 2016.
Madison Keys (USA) – +7 (No.24 to 17): 21 year old Madison Keys returns to within one spot of her career-high ranking following an impressive week in Rome; losing a hard-fought final to World No.1 Serena Williams, Keys reached her first Premier 5 final, defeating Petra Kvitova and Garbiñe Muguruza en route.
Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) – +7 (No.35 to 28): Begu has waved the Romanian flag well during a solid clay court season that saw her back up her quarterfinal run at the Mutua Madrid Open by reaching the semifinals in Rome. Also losing to Williams, Begu thrashed Victoria Azarenka and Daria Kasatkina to reach the final four.
Misaki Doi (JPN) – +7 (No.45 to 38): Doi earned a career-high ranking after reaching the last eight in Rome. Her spring started strong with a title run at the WTA 125K series event in San Antonio, and wins over Lucie Safarova and Johanna Konta will make her a dangerous floater in Paris.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
Internationaux de Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Sunday, May 15 – Saturday, May 21
NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP
Nürnberg, Germany
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Sunday, May 15 – Saturday, May 21
Roland Garros
Paris, France
Grand Slam | – | Clay Outdoor
Sunday, May 22 – Sunday, June 5
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams- Roland Garros
2. Agnieszka Radwanska – Roland Garros
3. Angelique Kerber – Roland Garros
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Roland Garros
5. Victoria Azarenka – Roland Garros
6. Simona Halep – Roland Garros
7. Roberta Vinci – Nürnberg, Roland Garros
8. Belinda Bencic – Roland Garros
9. Timea Bacsinszky – Roland Garros
10. Flavia Pennetta
11. Venus Williams – Roland Garros
12. Petra Kvitova – Roland Garros
13. Lucie Safarova – Roland Garros
14. Carla Suárez Navarro – Roland Garros
15. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Roland Garros
16. Ana Ivanovic – Roland Garros
17. Madison Keys – Roland Garros
18. Sara Errani – Strasbourg, Roland Garros
19. Karolina Pliskova – Roland Garros
20. Elina Svitolina – Roland Garros
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Louisa Chirico (USA) – May 16, 1996
Johanna Konta (GBR) – May 17, 1991
Heather Watson (GBR) – May 19, 1992
Lucie Hradecka (CZE) – May 21, 1985
Varvara Lepchenko (USA) – May 21, 1986
NÜRNBERG, Germany – No.3 seed Annika Beck made a confident start to her NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP challenge, defeating Teliana Pereira in their rain-affected first-round encounter on Monday.
It has been a difficult clay court season for Beck, who arrived in southern Germany on the back of first-round exits in Rabat, Madrid and Rome. However, spurred on by a partisan crowd, she came raring out of the traps before withstanding a late fightback to triumph, 6-0, 6-4.
“I think overall it was a very tough match,” Beck said. “I felt good because it’s kind of my home tournament and I used the atmosphere to help me and at the end I needed this because it was hard and a lot of fighting.”
Having breezed through the opening set, Beck’s progress was halted temporarily by an hour-long rain delay. “It’s never easy to have a rain delay in between as you have to be ready all the time. You change, you cool down a bit and just try and stay focused for when you go back on court.”
Also clearing the opening hurdle was Beck’s fellow German and No.7 seed Anna-Lena Friedsam. Constant drizzle ensured conditions were far from ideal throughout the match, but Friedsam maintained her focus to run out a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Johanna Larsson.
“I played really well today. It was not easy conditions with the rain and the cold but I managed it really well,” Friedsam said. “I tried to focus on my strengths and put her under pressure.
“It’s not nice to play in this rain and cold, but I tried not to think about it, focus on my plan and this worked really well today.”
Dampening the home crowd’s spirits somewhat were defeats for Katharina Hobgarski and Tatjana Maria.
Playing her first WTA main draw match, wildcard Hobgarski received a baptism of fire, losing 6-0, 6-3 to Varvara Lepchenko, while Maria lost to fellow qualifier Kiki Bertens 6-1, 7-6(0).