Bencic Powers Past Pironkova, Earns First WTA Win Of 2017 At BNP Paribas Open
Just before her 20th birthday, Belinda Bencic scores her first WTA main draw win of the season, ousting Tsvetana Pironkova to advance in Indian Wells.
Just before her 20th birthday, Belinda Bencic scores her first WTA main draw win of the season, ousting Tsvetana Pironkova to advance in Indian Wells.
Over 300 kids and their families packed the Mextennis Stadium for the 23th edition of the annual AMT Kids’ Day.
Victoria Azarenka was in the middle of all the action, having stayed in Acapulco despite having to bow out of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel due to injury.
She was joined on court by a colorful cast of characters including Spongebob Squarepants’ Patrick…
…as well as Spongebob himself!
Vika was also joined by David Ferrer, meaning the children got the chance to hang out with both the WTA and the ATP top seeds.
Azarenka and Ferrer were recognized as Agents of Change for making a difference by being a positive example to the youth.
The 300 children present came from local tennis schools and several area youth programs.
The players led the kids through drills and exercises, as well as gave them an unforgettable experience with their heroes.
Venus Williams says it’s superb but strange to be thought of as a trailblazer – and names the legendary Billie Jean King as the woman who inspires her.
In an interview with Forbes, she says: “It’s surreal [to be considered a leader] – but at the same time, it’s extremely motivating to know that people are watching and that it’s improving their work and their lives – so it’s symbiosis.”
The Australian Open runner-up was talking about her dual careers in tennis and in business – and suggested that there are plenty of parallels.
“Absolutely sports prepares you to set goals, to fail and to win in a way that you don’t know when you are doing it,” she said. “Business and athletics really marry each other. I can only see similarities.”
Of course she was asked about her rivalry with sister Serena – and that history-making final in Melbourne in January.
“When we play against each other each other, there can only be one winner,” she pointed out. “When I see her do something great, I want to do better.”
DOHA, Qatar – Andrea Petkovic played some of her best tennis of the year to maintain a perfect head-to-head record against No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open.
Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It’s very special,” Petkovic said of her first Top 5 win in three years. “It was so tough; Garbiñe is such a talented and dangerous player who put me under pressure.
“I was a little lucky in the end, but I’m just happy to be through.”
Each woman hit 29 winners, but while the German played cleanly throughout – hitting just 16 unforced errors – Muguruza had more issues with consistency, hitting 38.
“I’ve been playing really well the past few weeks. Everything is coming together and I’m getting my match focus again,” Petkovic continued.
“I’m really happy I’m on the right path and really looking forward to the whole season.”
Up next for the former World No.9 is teen sensation Jelena Ostapenko, who dispatched China’s Zheng Saisai in the first quarterfinal of the day.
“I watched both of her matches, and she’s been playing great. I had her on the radar, before. I saw her in Linz qualifying and thought this girl is really good.
“She’s showing her talent, and hopefully I can recover well from today’s match and put on a good performance tomorrow.”
Jelena Ostapenko takes on Zheng Saisai in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.
MONTERREY, Mexico – Francesca Schiavone and Johanna Konta – two of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme’s top seeds – went to downtown Monterrey to play street tennis right outside the Palacio Municipal. They put on an exhibition match for the crowd and gave the fans a taste what’s to come this week in Monterey.
See the best photos – including some trick shots from Schiavone – right here, courtesy of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are legends on the court and megastars off of it and on Sunday night they took a break from their Indian Wells preparations, stepping out for the star-studded 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles.
On the tennis court, white dresses are typically reserved for the lawns of Wimbledon, but the players changed things up for the world-famous after-party. Sharapova turned heads in her Preen By Thornton Bregazzi dress and Williams sported a dramatic Galia Lahav lace gown, along with a sleek new haircut.
Check out the night’s best pictures as Sharapova and Williams rubbed elbows with Caitlyn Jenner, Kate Upton, Kerry Washington and more, courtesy of Getty Images and Vanity Fair:
The Oscars also played out on social media, too, with everyone weighing in and showing plenty of love for the night’s biggest winners.
Check out what WTA players had to say about Leonardo DiCaprio, who took home his first Academy Award for Best Actor:
Congrats @LeoDiCaprio for your Oscar last night! #Oscars2016 #deserved
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) February 29, 2016
So happy for @LeoDiCaprio !!? After waiting this long, he can speak for as long as he wants! #celebritycrush
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 29, 2016
Life made. @LeoDiCaprio has won an Oscar and gives the speech of the evening. Good night.
— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) February 29, 2016
Leo with that speech. Drop the mic!!! Yes
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) February 29, 2016
What a great #Oscar acceptance speach from @LeoDiCaprio! ????#SpreadAwareness #climatechange #startwithonething
— Tsvetana Pironkova (@TPironkova) February 29, 2016
The best speech from the whole night Leonardo Dicaprio well-deserved!!! #oscars2016
— Varvara Lepchenko (@Varunchik1) February 29, 2016
Congratulations to @LeoDiCaprio for his Oscar last night! Well deserved and well overdue! #Oscars2016
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) February 29, 2016
? pic.twitter.com/WBXC5O11qC
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) February 29, 2016
No more photoshop memes for #LeonardoDiCaprio #Oscars2016 pic.twitter.com/oxLkeqsqFg
— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) February 29, 2016
Leo FINALLY got it… I don't think there would have a better moment to literally drop the mike… #LeonardoDiCaprio #Oscars
— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) February 29, 2016
NEW YORK, NY, USA – A journey which began waiting around at the tournament supervisor’s office ended with Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic hoisting aloft their first Grand Slam trophy on tennis’ grandest stage.
In front of an unashamedly partisan Arthur Ashe crowd, Siegemund and Pavic spoiled the party by upsetting No.7 seeds CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 6-4.
“I’m just stunned a little bit at this point. I’m very happy. I think we played a great match today, Siegemund said. “We did play a great tournament. All the other matches were, yeah, very solid also in the important situations, although we never played together.
“So it’s just amazing that even in the finals we could just play the same, you know, stay focused and stick to the system that was working the whole week. He was, as the British say, cool as a cucumber. He was cooler than me maybe at times. I was very glad about that.”
Despite both teams carving out several chances, the first set went on serve until 4-4, before a mistake at the net from Vandeweghe leading to the ultimately decisive break. The unseeded duo continued to exert the pressure in the second set breaking Vandeweghe to secure a milestone victory.
“In all the matches that we played, we broke the guy’s serve a lot of times,” Pavic said. “Like even today Rajeev was serving big and we broke his serve twice.
“We were putting the balls back, returning good, makes the them feel pressure and then it’s not easy to make the point. So I think that make a huge difference in all the matches that we played so far.”
They had never met before.
They didn't know who one another was.
But now Siegemund-Pavic are in Mixed Dubs Final. pic.twitter.com/Kw6W3yjXCp— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) September 9, 2016
More to follow…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – World No.153 Chang Kai-Chen provided further evidence of the current strength in depth on tour by knocking out Roberta Vinci in the first round of the BMW Malaysian Open.
Watch live action from Monterrey & Kuala Lumpur this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Following a succession of surprise results during the WTA’s recent double-header in Dubai and Doha, Chang became the latest underdog to have her day, producing a rousing early evening comeback to defeat top seed Vinci, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
The result, though, is by no means an isolated one. In fact, Chang has made a habit of defeating Top 10 players, Vinci joining a list that also includes Dinara Safina, Marion Bartoli and Samantha Stosur.
“It’s always an honor to play a Top 10 player and I really enjoyed the whole match,” Chang said. “I told myself after the first set to be more patient, so I slowed everything down, kept more balls in and just played with her. The result came out well!
“She’s very difficult to play because she slices and spins it, and I’m very happy I could win this match.”
No.2 seed Elina Svitolina fared better rather better in her first-round outing, requiring only 47 minutes to defeat qualifier Miyu Kato.
There were mixed fortunes for Svitolina in the Middle East, as a semifinal in Dubai was followed by a surprise first-round loss to Denisa Allertova in Doha. And Svitolina took out her frustration on qualifier Kato, breaking five times, whilst giving up just seven points on her own serve, en route to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Equally impressive was Svitolina’s next opponent, Risa Ozaki, who defeated Elizaveta Kulichkova, 6-0, 6-2.
“I’ll try and do the same thing – play the ball and not the opponent, which is the most important thing to me,” Svitolina said. “I think she’s playing well. She had a good win today and it’s always tough to play a qualifier, because they’ve had a couple of matches and it’s completely different conditions here than to Doha and Dubai.”
A fixture inside the Top 20 for the best part of a year now, Svitolina is flying the flag for Ukrainian tennis and this summer will have the opportunity to represent her motherland on the greatest sporting stage of all.
“The Olympics is a big event. It’s the first time for me so it’s going to be a really different experience and it’s amazing that I’m going to represent my country and play for Ukraine. It’s just a great thing.”
After last year’s French Open, Svitolina overtook Alona Bondarenko as Ukraine’s highest-ranked player of all time, a status that is a source of great pride: “It feels really great since I am the highest ever Ukrainian woman. So for me it was a big thing after Roland Garros when I became one of the highest.”
Elsewhere there were wins for Naomi Broady, Zarina Diyas and Yang Zhaoxuan.
Diyas caused the day’s biggest upset, knocking out No.4 seed Annika Beck, 7-5, 6-3. Broady, meanwhile, fired down 17 aces to win a see-saw encounter with Klara Koukalova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and Zhaoxuan fought back to defeat No.8 seed Zheng Saisai, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.