Kristina Mladenovic On Winning Her First Title In St. Petersburg
Kristina Mladenovic talks about winning her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kristina Mladenovic talks about winning her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Carla Suárez Navarro played some of the best tennis of her career at the Qatar Total Open to win her second career title and find herself one spot away from her season goal of reaching the Top 5.
The Spanish veteran dropped two games in the semifinals against reigning WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska, and recovered from a set down to dispatch 18-year-old Jelena Ostapenko, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“I think in the final set I played really aggressive,” she told WTA Insider in the latest Champion’s Corner. “With my backhand I played more aggressive than with my forehand. I felt more confident today at the end of the match with my backhand. That helped me win the match.”
Suárez Navarro started the week ranked No.11, but the title brought her ranking all the way up to a career-high of No.6.
“I feel really, really close. I know all the top players, I know if you want to be in the Top 5 you have to have good tournaments like this or like Melbourne to take points. Also, at the tournaments where there are all the top players, I know I’m close.
“But I know the year is very long. I want to take the experience of last year where I start really good but I lost confidence a little bit and I couldn’t end the year inside the Top 10. But I know the key and I know the things I have to do to be there. But I’m really excited about No.6 and I’m really close to No.5.”
Starting the year well, Suárez Navarro reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time since 2009 when she upset then-World No.6 Venus Williams in the second round.
“I started really good in Melbourne. I had good matches there. I lost to Aga. I want to take the experience of last year to play better in the Grand Slams. The Grand Slams are really important tournaments and when you are in the Top 20, you want to win good tournaments, big tournaments. You have to be there.
“I think the key is working and practicing really hard.”
With plenty of hard work and momentum from the Middle East Swing, Suárez Navarro appears poised for a breakout spring as February’s WTA Player Of The Month!
Final Results for February’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Carla Suárez Navarro (44%)
2. Roberta Vinci (40%)
3. Sara Errani (16%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Eight-time Miami Open champion Serena Williams will headline a stacked field in South Florida this year, including Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova, a host of former champions and the entire Top 10.
Great Britain open their Fed Cup campaign this week in Estonia – and Johanna Konta says they won’t be underestimating anyone as they look to progress from the Europe/Africa zone.
It is hard to recall a tennis season in recent memory that has thrown up quite so many surprises as the opening few months to 2016.
Showcasing the unprecedented strength and depth of the women’s game, 14 tournaments have witnessed 13 different players lifting silverware. The result has been a Road To Singapore leaderboard featuring a pleasing mix of youth and experience.
Angelique Kerber still leads the way in the fledgling leaderboard thanks to her magnificent January, when she reached the final in Brisbane before an unforgettable triumph at the Australian Open.
Hot on her heels is Carla Suárez Navarro, whose title in Doha, backed up by semi and quarterfinal runs in Brisbane and Melbourne, sees her occupy the No.2 spot.
Reigning WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska has been as consistent as ever, reaching the semifinals or better on all three outings thus far – a title in Shenzhen followed by deep runs at the Australian Open and Doha. Since the US Open last year, no player has won more matches than Radwanska, who has accumulated a 32-7 record.
Most Match Wins Since 2015 US Open
Agnieszka Radwanska 32-7
Angelique Kerber 27-10
Venus Williams 24-5
Roberta Vinci 22-11
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 21-11
Current WTA world No.1 Serena Williams holds the No.4 spot on the leaderboard with her finals appearance at the Australian Open. Jostling for position below the early pacesetters are Victoria Azarenka, Roberta Vinci, Johanna Konta and Belinda Bencic, while Sara Errani and Jelena Ostapenko are among those just outside the qualification places.
In doubles, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza cemented their place atop the leaderboard with titles at Brisbane, Sydney, Australian Open and St. Petersburg before their remarkable winning streak was finally snapped in Doha. Profiting from their slip-up were the Chan sisters, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, who left Doha with the title and the No.2 position on the leaderboard.
Click here to see the singles and doubles leaderboards heading into the BNP Paribas Open.
QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – No.8 seed Samantha Crawford survived a spirited challenge from Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure, edging through to advance 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4 in the opening round of the Coupe Banque Nationale.
“I don’t know how many match points I had in that second set, but I know I had a few,” Crawford said after the match. “After losing the second set, I just wanted to not think about that. I was just trying to stay calm and stay in the present.”
After narrowly escaping with a tight first set – Crawford and Bonaventure traded breaks and wrestled with the momentum in the tiebreak – the American found herself holding match points after a couple of loose serves from Bonaventure. The Belgian fought her off twice to hold serve and send the match to another tiebreaker, where this time Bonaventure came out on top to even the scoreline. Some strong serving in the third set gave Crawford the edge, and the American took her third match point to advance to the second round.
Earlier this year, Crawford turned heads when she made it through qualifying at the Brisbane International to reach the semifinals, upsetting Belinda Bencic and Andrea Petkovic along the way. But it was in Québec City that the American announced her presence to the WTA, reaching the quarterfinals of the event last year after making it out of the qualifying rounds.
Also in action in Québec City, Catherine Bellis shined in her first match at the Coupe Banque Nationale, notching a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Amandine Hesse.
“We never played each other before, so I think it took a while for both of us to get used to each other’s game, and I just stayed more consistent.”
Aside from a tough opponent, Bellis also had to contend with the surface: being an indoor tournament staged on carpet, Québec is home to some of the fastest hardcourts anywhere on the tour.
“I had never played on this surface before,” Bellis said. “I think maybe a long time ago, but I liked it. I think it’s different, but I liked it a lot.”
More to come…
TALLINN, Estonia – Johanna Konta fought back from set a down to seal Great Britain’s place in the Fed Cup promotion play-off on Saturday.
The World No.10 and Heather Watson helped the British team beat Portugal 3-0 on Wednesday and Latvia by the same score on Thursday before facing Turkey in the final Pool C match today.
Watson, the World No.72, comfortably overcame Ipek Soylu 6-0 6-1 in the opener but says the match was deceptively hard.
“The score was 6-0 6-1, but it felt a lot closer than that in the games and she’s a good player but today I just felt that I was pretty flawless,” she explained after the match.
High ?! @HeatherWatson92 celebrates her brilliant win over Turkey in the @FedCup #BackTheBrits ????? pic.twitter.com/Q45lpUi0m9
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 10, 2017
Konta was made to work harder for her success. After taking a 5-3 lead in the first set against Cagla Buyukakcay, Konta lost four straight games to hand the World No.86 the opening set.
But the 25-year-old raised her game after that setback to close out a 5-7 6-4 6-3 win and victory in the tie ahead of the final doubles match.
“I’m just really happy to come through that,” she said. “It wasn’t easy and she definitely played herself into the match and to give us the opportunity to go into the play-off tomorrow, I’m very happy for us and the team.”
? fight back complete! @JoKonta91 battles past Buyukakcay 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to keep the 100% record going #BackTheBrits ?? pic.twitter.com/Df1g6uSzzA
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) February 10, 2017
Britain will face either face Hungary or Croatia for the prize of a World Group II play-off in April.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The BNP Paribas Open gets underway on Wednesday, with an in-form Heather Watson and a couple of Americans on the comeback trail in action.
Wednesday, First Round
Stadium 1
[WC] Heather Watson (GBR #53) vs. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ #NR)
Head-to-head: Watson leads 1-0
Unsurprisingly, Johanna Konta has dominated British tennis in the opening months of 2016. Last week, though, Heather Watson moved out of the shadows to lift the third WTA title of her career, at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme. Most impressive was the manner of her victory in México, taking the initiative to defeat Caroline Wozniacki, Caroline Garcia and then Kirsten Flipkens in a high-quality final.
Next stop is Indian Wells and an unfamiliar foe. Galina Voskoboeva missed the best part of two years recovering from a serious foot injury, making her return at an ITF event in February. The Kazakhstani has completed just a handful of matches since then and is using her protected ranking of No.72 to step up her competition in the desert. Watson won her only previous meeting against the Kazakhstani, an extremely tight three-set battle three years ago in Memphis, and in light of recent accomplishments will expect to repeat the result.
[Q] Taylor Townsend (USA #379) vs. Vania King (USA #202)
Head-to-head: Townsend leads 1-0
Two years ago, Taylor Townsend looked ready to deliver on her boundless potential, reaching the third round of the French Open and breaking into the Top 100. But since then, things have not exactly gone to plan for the former junior No.1, injury, coaching reshuffles and a loss of form sending her tumbling down the rankings.
Such has been Townsend’s fall, she needed to win eight matches to earn a spot in the main draw. Having negotiated her way through that minefield, the American, who does not turn 20 until later this spring, meets Vania King. Like Townsend, King is also on the comeback trail, a productive spell on the ITF Circuit leaving her on the cusp of the Top 200. The match is be third on Stadium 1 and with defending champion Simona Halep awaiting in the second round the winner is likely to be rewarded with another prime time slot.
Around the grounds…
Dominika Cibulkova attempts to set up a second-round blockbuster against Agnieszka Radwanska when she takes on Katerina Siniakova. Also on court are Barbora Strycova and CoCo Vandeweghe, who face Kiki Bertens and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, respectively.
TALLINN, Estonia – Great Britain are through to the Fed Cup World Group II play-offs after a nerve-wracking tie against Croatia, with Heather Watson and Johanna Konta emerging victorious in the deciding doubles rubber.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” team captain Anne Keothavong told the LTA after the tie. “It’s been a real emotional rollercoaster, but the way the girls performed today and throughout the whole week, I’m just so proud of them.
“It wasn’t easy today against Croatia with it coming down to the deciding doubles. It was so tight, everyone was on the edge of their seats. But they fought their hearts out and played with so much passion out there. I’m so proud of them.”
Watson, who didn’t drop a set all week long against Turkey, Latvia and Portugal, kept her streak intact against Croatia as well, sweeping past Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-4 in the hour-and-20-minute opener.
But with Great Britain one win away from clinching the tie, 19-year-old Ana Konjuh stunned World No.10 Konta to keep Croatia alive, 6-4, 6-3.
A last-minute team change by team captain Keothavong had Watson and Konta back out on court for the deciding doubles rubber, replacing the undefeated Jocelyn Rae and Laura Robson against Konjuh and Darija Jurak.
Konjuh and Jurak took the opening set in just 26 minutes against to earn a lead against the British pair, but they rallied back to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory to book Britain’s spot in April’s World Group II play-offs.
“It’s safe to say we are all very happy,” Watson said to the LTA, grinning with her teammates afterwards. “That was really tough, all of our matches today were. Croatia are a strong country, and I think we all played great tennis all the way from start to finish.”
Konta added, “It was tough going back out after having lost my singles rubber, but having all the girls supporting me – Laura and Jocelyn, they made a lot of noise courtside – it helped.
“And we can’t forget all those other ties before this one. The fact that we were able to win our group undefeated, that’s a massive achievement for us.”
SQUAD. So proud to be a part of this team! Playoffs here we come ???? pic.twitter.com/LS05qz8yXm
— Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) 11 de febrero de 2017
More to follow…
ZHUHAI, China – With the dust settled after an action-packed fortnight at the US Open, there were major shifts on the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai leaderboard. Some of the WTA’s biggest stars – including defending champion Venus Williams, Roberta Vinci, Madison Keys and Johanna Konta – moving up in contention.
The year’s final tournament will run from November 1 to 6, and like last year the singles draw will feature 11 of the top ranked players and one wildcard, with the winner collecting 700 rankings points.
Here’s the latest leaderboard update for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai as of September 12, 2016:
