Tokyo: Radwanska vs Puig
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Monica Puig in the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Monica Puig in the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
TOKYO, Japan – No.2 seeded Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova took home their second doubles title of the year, handily defeating the unseeded Chinese duo of Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-1, 6-1, in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
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“We were playing great from the beginning to the end,” Strycova said in their post-match press conference. “We actually didn’t make any errors in the first set and we felt great on the court. I think it was one of the best matches we played together.”
Mirza and Strycova, who first teamed up in Cincinnati and won their first title at the Western & Southern Open, overcame a tough draw which saw them face off against home favorites Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara in the first round. After edging past the Japanese duo 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-8, Mirza and Strycova cruised against Kato Miyu and Xu Yifan before battling past Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez to reach the final.
Liang and Yang faced a tougher road to the Tokyo final, needing to battle past two seeded teams – the No.1 seeded Chan Hao-Ching and Chan-Yung-Jan in the first round, then the No.3 seeds Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears before booking a clash against the No.2 seeded Mirza and Strycova.
“It’s great to play your best tennis in the final, we were happy to do that,” Mirza said. “We played very solid, and we kept our concentration the whole match. Like [Barbora] said, it was one of the best matches that we played.”
The victory puts Mirza and Strycova one step closer to a potential spot in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Entering Tokyo the duo sat at No.19 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard, trailing the Top 8 by about 500 points. With 470 points now in the bag, the team received a major boost in their standings.
Tokyo ✅ ??
Smiles ✅
Title #2 for team ✅
Title #40 ✅?? @BaraStrycova https://t.co/9xo3Trl8Ey— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) September 24, 2016
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DOHA, Qatar – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the only winner on Tuesday at the Qatar Total Open, moving through a rainy Valentine’s Day to dispatch former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 6-4, and advance into the second round.
“It was quite a long day, but I’ll take it,” she said after the match. “I’m happy to be one of the first ones done today, and it’s a nice present for myself, as well.”
Pavlyuchenkova came in hot after a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, completing a career set of last eight appearances at major tournaments. But stormy weather threatened to cool off the big-hitting Russian, who was set to open play against Jankovic, one of the most dangerous qualifiers in recent memory.
“I haven’t such a good start to a season before, but it’s exciting, and I’m just trying to take it tournament by tournament.”
Court floor being dried in order to resume the matches of the @WTA #Qatar_Total_Open! Keep following us for more updates! pic.twitter.com/IEGFVI5wIe
— Qatar Tennis Fed. (@QatarTennis) February 14, 2017
Jankovic had to battle through three rounds of qualifying for the first time since 2004 (Filderstadt), but after a year full of injuries, the 2008 US Open finalist discussed the need for more matches to help ease her back into competitive play.
“I’m feeling good but I need to get my game up there and of course my confidence and just being comfortable in the matches, being in those situations all over again, match in, match out, day in, day out, compete and fight and find my way,” she said on Monday.
Even with multiple rain delays, the Serb ultimately had few answers against Pavlyuchenkova, who hit 23 winners to just 14 unforced errors while Jankovic went 0/5 on break point opportunities.
.@NastiaPav has come out swinging after the rain delay! @QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/f7suGTINVJ
— WTA (@WTA) February 14, 2017
“I didn’t do much,” Pavlyuchenkova said of how she spent the time between play. “I was just talking with my coach, and some players as well. But I tried not to expend too much energy so I could keep as much as I could for the court. I don’t know how i managed, so I’m happy to finish this match.
“I guess I was calm,” she continued later on in a post-match interview, “and that’s the main thing, to accept the weather conditions. We were both in the same position, waiting for play to resume. I just tried to do my best.
“I haven’t done so well in the past at this tournament. I’ll try to go as far as I can and hopefully I can show some good tennis and have a great result.”
The Valentine’s Day victory reminded her of another from a few years ago at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, where she fielded a proposal from an excited fan.
“I’d won a quarterfinal match in Monterrey, and he got on one knee with a ring. That was the last thing I expected, but it’s nice.
“At least somebody wants to marry me!”
Up next for the Russian is No.3 seed and reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Dominika Cibulkova.
.@NastiaPav edges Jankovic 6-1, 6-4!
Meets @Cibulkova in @QatarTennis Second round! pic.twitter.com/CK4wbLJFTP
— WTA (@WTA) February 14, 2017
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