Vandeweghe Olympic Blog: Episode 3
CoCo Vandeweghe hits the practice court and gives us a taste at life in the Olympic Village on this episode of CoCo’s Olympic Video Blog!
CoCo Vandeweghe hits the practice court and gives us a taste at life in the Olympic Village on this episode of CoCo’s Olympic Video Blog!
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska before her first round at the Olympic tennis event.
Kirsten Flipkens tops Venus Williams in a three-hour epic: No.5 seed Venus Williams just couldn’t put Kirsten Flipkens away. Over the course of this three hour and 15 minute long tug-of-war match, Flipkens found a way to force Venus into playing on her terms. The Belgian’s backhand slice was effective into the corners and she used her guile to get Venus out wide and out of position before executing a pitch-perfect dropshot. It was a pattern Venus saw often and early, but one from which she struggled to break.
It was a disappointingly early exit for Venus, who also lost in the first round of doubles with Serena to the Czech duo of Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova. We know how much the Olympics means to her, and in many ways the event has been the buoy for her career whenever she was struggling and needed that bit of extra motivation.
What can I say.. Where should I start.. Rio, Brazil, u r AMAZING!! Goosebumps from the 1st untill the last second.. Which is actually 1/3
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
But this was also an incredible feel good moment for Flipkens. The 30-year-old missed out on the 2012 Olympic tennis event after her ranking slipped due to being diagnosed with blood clots in her legs. Outside the Top 200, her struggles worsened when the Belgian Tennis Federation revoked her funding. Left to go about her career alone, she rebuilt her team, and a year later she was into the Wimbledon semifinals.
quite long.. 11.580 sec 🙂 Best crowd ever.. Together with my quarter final match in Wimbledon '13 the most epic match of my carreer 2/3
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
Her career hasn’t reached the same highs since, but this win over Venus, in her Olympic debut, had to taste so sweet given her rollercoaster ride to Rio.
“I was already thinking in the third set that it was one of the most epic matches I’ve ever played,” Flipkens said in a television interview. “My dream was to come to Rio but to beat one of the greatest champions, that’s a second dream coming true.”
Ill never forget this match & experience. Enjoyed it so much to play on centre against one of the biggest champions ever. #thankfull #rio16
— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 7, 2016
The biggest upsets did not come in singles: While the focus may naturally fall on the singles competition, the most surprising results of the weekend came in doubles, where the top two seeds and medal favorites bowed out. On Saturday it was Japan’s Misaki Doi and Eri Hozumi stunning No.2 seeds and French Open champions Carolina Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic 6-0 0-6, 6-4. No one saw this result coming – let alone that wacky scoreline. The French team were a heavy medal favorite before the competition.
Then on Sunday it was the veteran Czech pair of Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova who ousted top seeds and defending gold medalists Venus and Serena Williams, winning, 6-3, 6-4. The weekend also saw India’s team of No.1 Sania Mirza and Thombare Prathana lose to China’s Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai. The losses open up a doubles draw that was always tough to call. It should be a very exciting week.
Asian tennis had a big weekend: In addition to Doi and Hozumi’s doubles upset, two of the biggest singles upsets also came at the hands of Asian players. China’s Zheng Saisai stunned a flat and frustrated No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 7-5, and Zhang Shuai saved three match points to upend No.12 seed Timea Bacsinszky, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(7). Doi and Nao Hibino also scored solid singles wins, with Doi beating Yaroslava Shvedova and Hibino ousting Florianopolis champion Irina-Camelia Begu.
These are two crushing losses for Radwanska and Bacsinszky. I tapped both women at having a good look at the medal rounds after the soft draws they were dealt. For Radwanska, a combination of her three-day journey from Canada to Rio (via…Lisbon?), combined with a slow, gritty court that plays to the opposite of her strengths, spelled her doom.
Bacsinszky will also be kicking herself after playing three passive points on match point to surrender her lead in the third set tiebreak. Unlike Radwanska, her tournament continues. She rebounded later in the evening to score a win in doubles with Martina Hingis.
Daria Gavrilova’s spirited effort: She was outmatched on nearly every metric, but hat tip to Gavrilova, who scored the unlucky fate of being Serena’s first round opponent. The slow surface kept her in the rallies and she whooped the Center Court crowd into a frenzy with her tenacious defense. It ended in a 6-4, 6-2 loss, but that scoreline is a bit unfair. It was a great match and the perfect opening round test for Serena.
Slow and steady wins the race: Aside from the results themselves, the story of the weekend was the speed of the courts at Barra Olympic Park. They were described as being slower than the Rogers Cup, and after observing just a handful of early points it was clear it was a slow, high-bouncing court, not unlike the BNP Paribas Open, but with heavier balls and conditions. It’s not going to be easy to hit through this court, though the straight set wins by Serena Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys, and Petra Kvitova may indicate the big hitters can tee off.
Wardrobe Malfunction: After her disappointing loss in doubles, Kristina Mladenovic took to Twitter to explain the team’s frazzled state on court. According to Mladenovic, she and Garcia were ready to take the court when officials told them they could not wear kits of different colors. Luckily, Mladenovic had a second dress and Garcia wore – inside out, for sponsorship reasons – that so that they matched. But the entire ordeal was not the ideal match preparation.
Sloane Stephens bows out to Eugenie Bouchard: The Canadian won, 6-3, 6-3 to notch her first win as an Olympian. She will face Angelique Kerber in the second round. Kerber notched a scratchy opening win over Mariana Duque-Mariño, rallying from 2-5 in the second to win 6-3, 7-5.
First #Olympics win! ?? pic.twitter.com/ocGAKrpHlM
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) August 7, 2016
As for Stephens, after starting the year at 17-3 with three titles, she is now 5-7 since. Perhaps playing on home soil will get things back on track.
To Opening Ceremony or not: It’s always a tough decision to make for any tennis Olympian: Should I go to the Opening Ceremony or should I rest? For some, the schedule makes the decision for them. Those who did not have to play until Sunday jumped at the chance to walk out with the compatriots on Friday night.
In the end, there really is no science to the matter. Madison Keys went to the Opening Ceremony on Friday night and was first up on Saturday. She won. Heather Watson also went and she won both her singles and doubles matches on Saturday. Andrea Petkovic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Venus Williams opted out. They lost the next day. Reading too much into the decision is a waste of time.
But this tweet was one of the best of Friday night:
When you're not at the #OpeningCeremony ???? #swissteam #Rio2016 ??? pic.twitter.com/dfSu4hj5AO
— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) August 5, 2016
Second round matches to watch: All second round matches will be played on Monday. Here are the one’s we’re paying particular attention to: Serena Williams vs. Alizé Cornet, Petra Kvitova vs. Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber vs. Eugenie Bouchard, Madison Keys vs. Kristina Mladenovic, Johanna Konta vs. Caroline Garcia, Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Monica Niculescu, Daria Kasatkina vs. Zheng Saisai, and Barbora Strycova vs. Sara Errani.
There in spirit: Simona Halep is not in Rio for the Olympics but that doesn’t mean she’s not celebrating the Olympic spirit. In her own way.
.@simona_halep practicing for the Perfect 10 with the @nadiacomaneci10 app ? https://t.co/R55RwRLrek pic.twitter.com/4e06KrJSTh
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) August 6, 2016
How many minutes has Madison Keys spent on court? Who has hit the most aces? And in whose famous footsteps is Johanna Konta looking to follow?
Venus Williams, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and designer, sat down with Racked ahead of the Olympic Games to discuss her design empire, which covers everything from fashion to interior design.
She’s been at the helm of EleVen by Venus since 2007, but she admitted that sometimes it’s still a struggle to be taken seriously as a designer – good thing her favorite pastime is proving doubters wrong.
“It’s interesting. Because people know your name, you can get pigeonholed into being perceived a certain way. And that’s OK,” she told Racked. “People are like, “She’s a great athlete, but does it translate to design?” And actually, it does! They find out about me and the great team we have and you can see the light bulb go off.”
Venus also maintained that she’s still involved in the day-to-day happenings of EleVen, even despite the constant travel required in competing at the highest levels of women’s tennis.
“I was in the office yesterday and we’re working on fall ’17 now, so we’ve started the process of understanding what our color story is, what our prints are,” she explained to Racked. “From there, we start to work with the sales team. What do people really like? What do we want to bring back, and what are the new pieces? We look at colors and prints and actual fabrics. Then it gets refined and refined and refined.
“I also take my sketchbooks on the road and I’m constantly sketching.”
You can see her finished product on the court as she competes for a shot at a medal in the mixed doubles semifinal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
But wish you could wear those red, white and blues yourself? The entire ensemble is available at Tennis Warehouse – it even includes Venus’ gold pendant and a certificate of authenticity.
Here it is in action on the four-time gold medalist herself:
Venus also designed a separate outfit for doubles:
Click here to visit Tennis Warehouse and check out more Olympic styles and tennis gear.
– All photos courtesy of Getty Images
CINCINNATI, OHIO, USA – World No.1 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Western & Southern Open due to a right shoulder injury.
Winner for the last two years in Cincinnati, Williams also withdrew from the Rogers Cup due to a right shoulder issue, and has played just three matches since winning a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.
“I’m very disappointed I’m not able to compete in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati as I was really looking forward to defending my title,” she said in a statement. “My shoulder inflammation continues to be a challenge, but I am anxious to return to the court as soon as possible.”
Serena needed to reach the quarterfinals this week to lock up the No.1 ranking ahead of the US Open – a tournament the American has won six times.
World No.2 and Olympic Silver medalist Angelique Kerber can now end her rival’s 183-straight week stretch atop the WTA rankings, but would have to win the entire event to do so.
Sad to announce top seed Serena Williams has withdrawn from 2016 tournament due to a shoulder injury.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/4XFgQ3YKrU
— W&S Open (@CincyTennis) August 15, 2016
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – Barbora Strycova maintained her composure to defeat Eugenie Bouchard in their rain-affected first-round encounter at the Western & Southern Open.
Watch live action from Cincinnati this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
A match scheduled second on the order of play eventually finished under the floodlights, Strycova making light of several interruptions from the weather to complete a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
“I’m not sure how I stayed focused through all of it. I think the first set was the deciding point – I was holding serve all the time and then I broke her at 3-3. I believed in myself and I’m happy that I did it,” Strycova said in her on-court interview.
Despite defeating Bouchard handily in Rome earlier in the season, there was no danger of complacency on Strycova’s part; the Canadian is a different proposition on hard as proved by impressively qualifying for the main draw.
And she started their rematch confidently enough, firing a forehand into the corner to carve out the first break point. Strycova, though, managed to repel this early danger and was soon presented with a chance of her own. Bouchard fired wide and it proved a costly error as the Czech hung onto this slender advantage to take the set.
As the clouds began to gather menacingly overhead, Strycova hurtled towards the finishing line, playing the tidier tennis to open a 5-0 lead in the second set. Another lengthy downpour halted her progress temporarily before returning to rattle off the final four points of the match.
“I felt good today and Eugenie is such a good player that you always have to stay focused,” Strycova, who finished with 15 winners and 19 unforced errors, said. “That’s what I did today and I think that was the key.”
Strycova turned 30 earlier this year but is arguably playing the best tennis of her career; finals in Dubai and Birmingham have helped propelled her back into the Top 20, while in doubles she teamed up with Lucie Safarova to win Olympic bronze.
In the next round she will play another of the tour’s elder stateswomen, former US Open champion and No.14 seed Samantha Stosur.
“The older I get I feel AWESOME!” — Barbora Strycova after she’s read off her Fed Cup Champ/Bronze Medalist/Career-high ranking resume.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) 17 August 2016
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – The quicker conditions at the Western & Southern Open tripped up a few of the returning Olympians arriving from Rio de Janeiro, but women’s doubles Bronze medalist Barbora Strycova had no such problems, overcoming a maddening number of rain delays – and a most dangerous qualifier in former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard – to advance into the second round in straight sets.
Karolina Pliskova missed the Olympic tennis event, opting to spend the time gearing up for the final stretch of the season, one that had been particularly successful for her in 2015 when she won the Emirates Airlines US Open Series.
WTA Insider caught up with both Czech starlets in the second Daily Dispatch from Cincinnati:
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Angelique Kerber takes on Kristina Mladenovic in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.
Highlights from third round action at the Western & Southern Open.