WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | World No.1 Angelique Kerber leads a stacked field at the Apia International Sydney that also features WTA Finals winner Dominika Cibulkova; check out the full entry list here on wtatennis.com.
In a draw of 128 players, which players could pull off a plot twist or two at this year’s French Open? WTA Insider takes a look at the young and the restless who will reside between the biggest seeds in the forthcoming draw:
The Americans: Typically overlooked at this time of year, Internazionali BNL d’Italia runner-up Madison Keys leads a talented team of Americans who can definitely do some damage on the dirt. Keys unlocked her clay court potential last week in Rome as she found her timing and maintained her patience through a winning week in the Eternal City, outlasting Petra Kvitova and Garbiñe Muguruza en route to the final.
.@SloaneStephens receives a BIG surprise in Episode 3 of @DDFTennis' “Always Full of Surprises!” ?https://t.co/Got3BfEqZ3
— WTA (@WTA) April 27, 2016
It’s hard to predict exactly what will come next with Sloane Stephens, who has risen to the highest of highs – winning three titles – and sank to the lowest of lows – going 1-4 at the first three Premier Mandatory tournaments and Australian Open – in 2016.
The French Open, however, has been her haven for consistency, reaching the fourth round in four of her five appearances – defeating Venus Williams and pushing sister Serena to three sets last year. Stephens has made a career out of saving her best tennis for the biggest stages, and will certainly feel she has something to prove next week in Paris.
Irina Falconi won her maiden WTA title this season on red clay in Bogota, while Christina McHale is coming off a second straight quarterfinal finish in Rome.
18 Americans – including Madrid semifinalist Louisa Chirico, who qualified for the main draw on Friday – are set to face off at the French Open – the most of any nation.
The French: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic have soared to new heights as a pair, riding a 15-match winning streak through three titles in Charleston, Stuttgart, and Madrid. Apart, they’ve largely struggled to translate that success to singles, but both Garcia and Mladenovic are in the semifinals at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, making up two-thirds of the largest French representation in the final four of a WTA tournament since 2006 at the Paris Indoors.
Garcia made her breakthrough in Paris as a teenager in 2011, getting within two games of defeating Maria Sharapova. Mladenovic won the title as a junior, and upset Eugenie Bouchard en route to the third round last year. The latter lin particular has looked buoyed by a bump in confidence in Strasbourg, building on a second round win over Alison Riske, which she won a in a third set tie-break, to looking all business in the quarterfinals against Alla Kudryavtseva.
Ranked in between the two is Alizé Cornet, who flew into the fourth round for the first time in 10 previous French Open appearances last year. The veteran enjoyed a fast start to 2016 with a title in Hobart, but while a back injury has slowed her since, she will likely be appointment television should she headline one of the show courts to start the week.
Pauline Parmentier reached the quarterfinals in Strasbourg this week with a win over Stephens, and beat Roberta Vinci to reach the fourth round in 2014.
The Romanians: Simona Halep reasserted her presence as one of the biggest names in tennis this spring, and not a moment too soon, as her countrywoman were right at her heels for most of the clay court season. Irina-Camelia Begu took the only set Halep would lose in Madrid, pushing the former World No.2 to three sets in the quarterfinals.
Begu backed up that result – where she also ousted Muguruza in three grueling sets – in emphatic style a week later in Rome, reaching her first career Premier 5 semifinal.
Monica Niculescu may prefer the faster courts, but she nonetheless had a strong start to her clay court swing, defeating Garcia and holding a pair of match points on Petra Kvitova in Stuttgart. Edging into the seeds at No.31, her unique ground game could cause problems for whomever she may face in her opening rounds.
Sorana Cirstea qualified for the main draw and is a 2009 quarterfinalist in Paris – defeating former No.1 Jelena Jankovic that year – and was one of four Romanian women to reach the last eight in Madrid. Along with Chirico, Cirstea is among the most dangerous qualifiers a big name could face.
The Dashas: Two of the most compelling counterparts since Jane Austen’s Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, Daria Kasatkina and Daria Gavrilova are a pair of dynamic characters who have proven to be highly capable on clay.
Kasatkina is the embodiment of “sense.” The teenager has, with the swiftest of prudence, built up quite the resumé in her still young career. Looking to reach a third straight Grand Slam third round, the Russian reached the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open, falling to Stephens from match point up.
Another junior French Open champion, Kasatkina employs excellent court sense and a heavy topspin forehand that could reverse the blips she endured in Rome and Madrid.
Gavrilova, by contrast, is “sensibility” incarnate. The emotional Aussie began the year with a bang, roaring into the round of 16 at the Australian Open with a thrilling win over Mladenovic in the third round. Rebounding from a slump that started in the Middle East, she upset Kvitova to reach the quarterfinals of Madrid and battled past Halep in Rome, where she reached the semifinals a year ago.
Gavrilova finds herself unseeded, while Kasatkina is in the Top 32 for the first time in her career; might both carve out a happy ending in Paris?
Click here to keep up with WTA Insider’s pre-French Open coverage!
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
A resurgent Serena Williams looked unstoppable in Rome, but can anyone derail her hopes of Grand Slam number 22? Wtatennis.com contributor Ravi Ubha dissects the Roland Garros draw.
A rainy sunday washed out most of the first round matches in Roland Garros; World No.2 takes center stage on Monday while 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic also makes her debut.
PARIS, France – Former finalist Simona Halep made a confident start to her 2016 French Open challenge, swatting aside Nao Hibino in 45 minutes.
Three of Halep’s last four Grand Slam appearances have ended with defeat to players ranked outside the Top 50, however there was never any danger of World No.70 Hibino extending this sequence.
Halep started confidently, breaking to love in the third game thanks to a smart backhand winner. The set was soon in the bag and when she fired away a forehand to break at the start of the second, the writing appeared on the wall.
It was not long before she arrived at match point, completing a 6-2, 6-0 victory to set up a second-round meeting against Zarina Diyas.
Two years ago, on the back of a terrific clay court season Halep made it all the way to the final at Roland Garros. Despite a recent triumph in Madrid, this time around she arrived in the French capital with less fanfare, yet a favorable draw has opened up the possibility of another deep run.
“I feel more confident now playing on clay court. I had good matches in Madrid. The title is really important for me – it means a lot,” Halep said. “You know, now I feel more confident, like everyone can see that that I play aggressive, I play my game.
“Always when I go on court I feel that I can win the match. So this makes myself a little bit more positive, a little bit more stronger on court, and I just want to go to play. I’m already in the second round. I feel good, and I feel that I have the game to win matches here.”
After starting off on an informal basis last year, since January Halep has been working full-time with celebrated coach Darren Cahill. While the union did not bring overnight success, Halep appreciates the adjustments her new mentor has brought about.
“I think the most important thing that he brought to me is mental, because he tells me how to manage all the situations,” Halep said when quizzed on their relationship. “Also tactically, he tells me how to play, always when he came on court, when I called him on-court coaching, I did what he said and I won all the matches!
“So he teaches me many things about tennis and also attitude, because sometimes I have bad attitude. But, you know, it’s normal, and when the pressure is on, you cannot control everything. But I’m better. I’m stronger now. And I keep working to get better.”
18-year-old Naomi Osaka backed up her impressive run at the Australian Open by reaching the third round of the French Open in her debut, where she’ll meet World No.6 Simona Halep.
Victoria Azarenka
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.22
Year-End Ranking: No.13
Season Highlights: Titles at Brisbane, Indian Wells & Miami
Best Major Result: QF (Australian Open)
13 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/8SEKBlJltK
— WTA (@WTA) 19 de diciembre de 2016
2017 Outlook
Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka tore off the blocks in 2016, winning the first title of the year at the Brisbane International in emphatic style. She was just as ruthless in Indian Wells and Miami, where she became the first woman in over a decade to clinch the elusive “Sunshine Double.”
And the 2016 SAP Match Stats reflect her torrid form: she dropped just 17 games en route to lifting the trophy in Brisbane – the fewest games lost in winning a WTA title in the entire year.
But after the clay season, the former No.1 announced that she was putting an end to her season in order to take on her biggest challenge yet: motherhood.
Looking ahead to 2017, Azarenka has plans to return to the sport but admits she won’t put a date on her comeback.
“I don’t put any time frame on myself,” Azarenka said in an interview with Tennis Channel. “I would love to make it as soon as possible, but give myself a reasonable time to fully recover and be ready. I’m not going to rush anything, and it’s hard to tell before the birth actually happens.
“So, we’ll see, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to play tennis again pretty soon.”
PARIS, France – Timea Bacsinszky produced a stunning turnaround to defeat Eugenie Bouchard, 6-4, 6-4, and book her place in the third round of the French Open.
Trailing Bouchard 4-1 in the opening set, an upset looked on the cards. However, a run of 10 straight games from the No.8 seed turned the match on its head, before a late wobble gave the scoreline a more respectable sheen.
The only other time Bacsinszky faced Bouchard came earlier this year in Indian Wells, where she was taken to three sets. And on Philippe Chatrier, Bouchard provided a reminder of the talent that saw her ranked No.5 not so long ago, barely making a mistake in the opening five games.
It was a standard that proved difficult to maintain, and when her level dropped Bacsinszky was there to pounce. At 4-4, the Swiss finally hit the front, finishing a well-worked point with an angled backhand winner.
In the next game, she showcased her creative side, a delicate drop shot helping her to set point, before a shellshocked Bouchard netted a backhand to complete the comeback.
Brimming with confidence, Bacsinszky raced through the opening five games of the second set, conjuring up winners from all over the court. To her credit, 2014 semifinalist Bouchard battled away to the bitter end, a relieved Bacsinszky eventually making her way across the line and into a third-round meeting against either Pauline Parmentier or Irina Falconi.
For Bouchard, the disappointment of an early exit was tempered by her performance against one of the WTA’s form players. “I felt like I put myself in a good position in preparation and everything,” she said. “I’ve done everything that I possibly could to be ready. I started out strong. The game plan was working and things like that.
“I think that my focus a little bit was the part that let me down, the mental part. Something I’ve been working on. I had been getting better, so it’s not always going to be good.”
ORLANDO, FL, USA – On-the-rise American Christina McHale took a break from her off-season preparations to take WTA fans on an exclusive tour of the new USTA National Campus in Orlando, set to open in early 2017.
“It’s just a really great environment to be in,” said McHale, who was in town for a practice session on the Team USA Player Development courts.
Dubbed “the new Home Of American Tennis,” the National Campus will serve as the home base of USTA’s Player Development and USTA’s Community Tennis divisions as well as host USTA Pro Circuit events. Formerly in New York at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which hosts the US Open, the new Orlando facility is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.
Check out the video above to follow McHale on a first look at the brand new facility!
Fast Facts About The USTA National Campus:
· With 64-plus acres and 100 lighted tennis courts, the National Campus is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.
· The USTA National Campus will open January 2, 2017 with the first tournament scheduled for January 6th.
· The Campus will host over 80 tournaments and events in 2017 with approximately 30,000 participants.
· An expected 80,000-100,000 attendees will visit the Campus in 2017.
· The USTA’s Community Tennis and Player Development divisions will be headquartered at the National Campus. It will also be home to the national training center for USTA-certified officials.
Agnieszka Radwanska takes on Caroline Garcia in the second round of Roland Garros.